IC Remnants of the Elements

[Catcocomics]

Night of the ball in Ciasta

Kramia​

I've been listening to the music playing all night so far, it's quite faint... so faint, I think I might be the only one who can hear it from here...
I've also been experimenting with this chain thing that seems to be keeping me from going a certain distance from the wall.
There's not much I can really do with it, but I've found that I can make it glow red if I apply fire to it long enough...

I think I did it.
I got a few of the links in the chain to glow a yellow-white color (took me a good while though), and I gave it a good yank.
Something happened with the chain links, and now I think I've managed to pull them apart...
It's a start, but the effort was quite exhausting, for both... I'm not completely sure, but I think I kind of softened the links, and then I just managed to bend them...

The wall I was chained to seems to have some kind of opening with wooden beams running through it.
I guess they weren't expecting me to be able to climb up the brick wall and burn the beams down... but now I'm so tired and soooooo hungry....
but it will be worth it when I make it to the source of the music.

Kramia, having escaped the jailhouse (which was easy, despite her exhaustion, since the guards were either sleeping or partying at the ball), followed the music to its source, which wasn't too far from where she had escaped from.
Hiding behind a bush, Kramia was able to discern that the ball, which was in some kind of large house... no, mansion, would be impossible for her to get to with the two guards (one of them looked to be sleeping) watching the front door.

Kramia found her way in through one of the lower windows in the back of the place, which was massive, larger than even what she could remember of her old home from when she was younger.
Trying not to be noticed, Kramia crept through the mansion until she found what appeared to be a ball room, already half full with people.
This would be great; no one would notice her, a girl in an 'over sized' green tunic, creeping along the sides of the room to the refreshment tables, where all sorts of drinks, seafood, and pastries were piled up.

I have to be careful not to draw attention to myself, yet I really should get something to eat soon, and a drink as well.
Perhaps this amber looking drink would be a good start...​

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Night of the ball in Ciasta

Aldkuld​

Well, the people I met in the tavern nearest the mansion that the ball is supposed to be held at are rather interesting fellows.
Not a minute after I walk in, and this shady-looking guy challenges me (on my honor, no doubt) to a drinking competition with me against each of his friends, who there were a couple of.
Well, when the game ended, they were all passed-out, and I was just beginning to feel a bit merry (you don't challenge a dwarf to a drinking competition and expect to win, especially if you're bright enough to serve out preferred kind of ale), when this one man asks if I wouldn't mind hearing a story, which I couldn't really deny at that point.

The man starts off by mentioning how he remembered his younger days, challenging foreigners to the same sort of deal, but quickly goes on to the story.
Put shortly, there was supposed to be this kid in a cave somewhere to the west, who's mere presence was enough to drive people mad, and that one day, a scream could be heard coming from the cave. Only a few minutes ago, a boy and his father had entered, but apparently only the boy made it out, fleeing the scream. When people had gone back into the cave to check things out, the boy who had been sleeping there for as long as they could remember was gone.

The old guy sais he was there himself when it happened, and so I nod my head, knowing he must be getting on in his age a little ungracefully, so I tell him of my travels down to Ecremar an he responds with 'You're a lucky little man to have made such a voyage unharmed. It may not be far from your home to the cities of Ecremar, but scary monsters are rumored to roam about at night over yonder.'

I'll be honest though. Despite my apparent disbelief at all these rumors, there is something off about the air... and not just here, but I felt it at home, perhaps others have too.
It just... doesn't feel as peaceful anymore.
I have a bad feeling that it may be good while before I get to see home again.​

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((I'm leaving it up to you guys what this 'amber colored' beverage Kramia is about to drink is, and I'm going to wait a bit so as not to crash the ball before anyone has a chance to do anything with it.
I should also ask if you guys think what I'm posting is appropriate, such as the drinking parts and the fact that Kramia is only wearing a large Tunic that goes down to her knees over her undergarments, since that's what she was caught in.))​

 

[Enderfive]

Erien

He turned around and saw Himinn standing there. "I see you're ready to go," he said. Himinn nodded. "Okay then. I think that if we start going now, the coast and my boat should be about a day away." Erien didn't mention flying, because although it would certainly have been faster and they might have reached the boat by nightfall that way, there was absolutely no way he was going to fly. Heights he could handle, but flying, nope, not a chance.

He did wish he could be on the boat faster. It was fairly comfortable: some decently decorated and furnished cabins, enough for at least six people, a spacious enough messroom that could be used for both dining and meetings, along with other necessary and perhaps not so necessary comforts. If it was just a little bigger, it could've passed for a small kind of ship.

The road to the boat, however, was largely the opposite, as you might expect from a wild jungle on a pretty much uninhabited island. Even though Erien had cleared a narrow path on his way to Himinn's shack, he still had to do quite a bit of hacking with a machete he had aquired near the Mys rainforest a few years back. It wasn't long until he shoved the blade away in his bag and simply used magic for clearing the way instead, since the light wood of his battlestaff made his arms ache somewhat less.

((Faliara))

 

[Faliara]

Himinn watched as Endal hacked away, eventually giving up on his machete and cleared the way with his magic.

She had picked the jungle due to the difficulty humans would go through to reach her shack should they ever discover it. Apparently, the difficulty hasn't changed. The path wasn't really difficult for her, though, as she could simply fly over everything. She hadn't really thought of how hard it would be for Endal, though...

... She gets the feeling that she can't simply fly over it anymore.

She really wanted to offer her help, but she was fully aware that she was pretty much useless here.

Eventually, they reached the coast.

((Enderfive))

 

[Ansoro2112]

Airis-Guardian of Wind.

Place:Itoghar

"Moooom! I said come quick! The big bird is getting closer!" -The little kid kept yelling while jumping up and down with excitment. "Hold on, hold on. I'm coming." -The mom said.

Airis began descending towards the little kid and his mom. Seconds later, he was standing right in front of them. "Mom look! The big bird has wings just like me!" -The kid said while turning around showing Airis his small wings. "I can see that, darling." -Said the mom. She then turned to see Airis. "Hello. Who are you? I've never seen you before around here. Are you new?"-She asked. Airis was still in shock while looking around him. He saw all these wooden cabins. Some of them on the ground around him and some of them built attached to the mountains. People started to come out of their homes, just to see the newcomer. Some of them had wings and were even flying. Some others didn't have wings, but instead were playing or practicing their wind abilities by forming miniature tornadoes.

"Sir?" -The mom said. "Oh sorry, it's just, there's humans everywhere." The mom gave him a weird look. "Sir, have you been eating those pink shrooms from the valleys?" -She said to him. "No no. I'm new here. And to be honest, I'm a little lost and I can't remember how I got here." -Airis said. "MOM! The big bird has six wings! Look!" -The kid said while running behind Airis and touching his wings. "Zelphar, what have I said to you about touching someone else's wings without asking them? -The mom said. "I'm sorry, mom." -Zelphar said. "My name's Nym, by the way." -The mom said introducing herself to Airis. "I'm Airis. Nice to meet you." "If you wish you can come inside our home. You do seem quite lost. We can talk and see if I could help you out." -Nym said to Airis. "That'd be great. Thank you." -Airis said. Nym and Airis began walking towards Nym's wooden cabin. "YAY! We're keeping big bird!" -Zelphar yelled while running right behind Airis and his mother.

 

[Enderfive]

Erien

After a whole day of pushing through the jungle, Erien and Himinn finally set up camp when the night started to fall, only to continue their way on the next morning. They reached the coast at about ten o'clock and found Erien's boat roughly an hour later.

"Here it is, my boat," said Erien as he pointed at a vessel large enough for most people to be uncertain whether to call it a boat or a ship. But since it only took one man (at least if that man was Erien) to sail it and it only had two masts instead of the usual three or four, Erien called it a boat. The sails had a slight purple tint and the flag was a bright violet, but the boat itself was uncoloured larch.

The wizard took off in the direction of the vessel, then stopped and looked back at Himinn uncertainly. "If you don't want to get a little wet, I guess you could fly on deck," he said. The boat wasn't quite at the shore, so Erien had to splash around in the shallow water to reach it. By the time he reahed the boat, he was soaked.

Once Himinn was on board as well, the seafaring wizard assumed a dramatic pose and swung his battlestaff around. All at once, the boat was ready to set sail and they were moving. "Honestly, I don't know a thing about sailing, but I had a sea wizard enchant all the necessary things to set themselves ready in proper ways and places at my command when I bought this boat, so I don't really have to do much. Perhaps it'll have more need of me if we should hit a storm, but I hope that won't happen. All I have to do right now is give the boat a course and it'll take care of itself," Erien explained.

((Faliara))

 

[Faliara]

"Is that so..." Himinn said, looking around. She had flown, but had followed Endal as he went up, a little uncertain. For a boat, it looked pretty big...

"So... Where are we headed?"

((Enderfive Are people going to notice Sky Island now or does whatever spell on it stay?))

 

[Guest35486]

Cyra woke up. Something was different, that much was obvious. For one, her power was weaker. But corruption had also spread a lot more in this new world. Perhaps not so new now. She got out of her hole to see a completely different setting. Instead of constant conflict, the people of the land, locally at least, seem to have gathered and agreed on peace. Cyra grabbed the scythe, which seems to be completely fine. It is the scythe of a Guardian after all.
She entered the local city. The ones that had patches of corruption on themselves certainly have taken over this part of the world. The city's full of them!
"Excuse me," Cyra said to a nearby storekeeper.
"How may I help you?" the man asked, not looking up from his work.
"What's this place called?"
"The city? The Ashen City. Are you lost?" At this, he stopped to inspect the individual he has been talking to. "You don't seem to be from around here."
"I'm not." Cyra laughed. "How can you tell?"
"You don't have these things," he said as he waved his clawed hand.
"Seems pretty cool though. Why is this called the Ashen City?"
"Oh, it was burned down a while back. When we first started to gain the power of corruption, people got too excited and didn't know how to control them. Corrupted other people and started a whole bunch of things. Now we use them for other things," he explained and gestured at his table. "Like art!"
Cyra peered at the man's table to see a tiny black stone in the shape of the symbol with the bird and scythe.
"Say, you have a scythe, too. Not the most common weapon of choice, but it's common here. Especially because of our flag. Why don't you keep this one as a souvenir, I have plenty in the back."
"Thank you, you're very kind."
"You can check out Jon's table over there. He gives people tatoos, but with our power of corruption. We don't get a lot of visitors, you know, with all the 'oh corruption's bad! it'll kill you! don't go near Corrupters!'"
She laughed. "It certainly can be. Farewell."
Cyra left the booth. It's interesting to see how her power can be used in business. Apparently these people's power usage is limited to what part of their bodies are "corrupted". Very interesting. Also, did that creature call themselves the Corrupters? Guess I'll be staying a while!​

-----​

Clunk. Clunk.
"Oh will you stop playing with those cursed chains?" some creature beside her demanded.
Cyra was sitting at a local restaurant when a Corrupter complained about her chains.
"I'm sorry, is this bothering you?" she asked.
Clunk. Clunk. Clunk. Clunk.
"Ugh!" He stood up and rolled up his sleeves. "Yeah, it is! And I dare you to continue!"
Cyra noted that his "corrupted" part is his ears. What effect does it have on sound?

The manager looks worriedly from the counter. She sighed. Perhaps she should find something better to do, rather than bother the locals everyday. Should she leave the island? Cyra paid and left for a store that sold maps. But where to?​

 

[Enderfive]

Erien

He spread open a map showing a number of different cities, provinces, natural features and some scribblings and drawings that looked like personal notes. "Okay, so we are here at the moment," said Erien, pointing at what looked to be an island on the map, hand-drawn as if it hadn't been on the map at first. The name of the island was Sky Island according to the map. "And we're going here, to Ciasta." He put his finger on a small dot. "Ciasta is a city in the province of Ecremar. The population is mostly human, although you can find some dwarves and elves and the rest of them around. It's a fairly wealthy province, mostly due to the numerous mines you can come across in its mountains. They mine coal there, to satisfy the fairly new, but quickly growing technology called steam power. Since I'm not a very technologic guy, I don't really know much about it, but I can go over the basics later if you want me to. Most of its historic wealth, however, comes from the gold and diamond mines they also have.

"Anyhow, the province has some pretty well-defined notions of nobility and ascribed status, so while it is possible to move up and down the social ladders, it's also fairly difficult. Trained wizards, such as myself, are somewhere in the wide range between peasants and nobility in that system. I think that we can manage to put you on about the same step as I am on the ladder as well. In any case, a large part of the nobles are decent people and kind, but a large part aren't. The important thing to note here is that even if you see an aristocrat behave in a way that you don't really find all that humane or fair, you shouldn't step in. They can punish you for hurting a man of noble birth, even if that same man was hurting someone else and you only did it to stop him.

"Now, the reason we're going to Ecremar is the fact that there's a grand ball there that anyone can enter, even those of common birth. I think that with good wind we can be there in a week, just in time for the final evening of festivities and that way I have a chance of finding someone I've been looking for. The family hosting the ball, the ruling family in Ciasta, are kind and noble, all that they should be, but there's one particular member of the family I'm interested in, the daughter of the family. According to what I've heard, she's seventeen at the moment, so she's finally allowed to attend the annual grand ball. What is important, though, is that she's as kind as her parents, so kind that she goes out dressed like a commoner to help the poor. What's particularly intriguing is that the rumors say that she doesn't age quite as a normal person would and her eyes are not coloured the same way. One is green, the other is blue. So far, I haven't been able to meet her, but I think the ball would give us both a perfect opportunity to do so. And I'm sure you realize why I want to meet her."

Erien wrapped up the map and put it back in a large chest with a bunch of other detailed charts, maps, plans and other papers and parchments. "Come, I'll show you around the boat." Himinn followed the wizard as he showed her his quarters and then the other bedcabins. He allowed her to pick whichever she liked best.

Once Himinn was settled in her new cabin, Erien knocked on the door and came in. "I told you about the land we're going to. I also told you why I changed my own name and assumed a different identity. I think it's time for you to do the same. There are people who worship Himinn the Guardian of the Sky, Leader of Gods, but there are also those who hate you for your sympathy for Ark. Tales have twisted about you at least as much as they have about me, and we don't have our powers to keep us safe any more. Not as we once had, anyway. I think it would be safe if you didn't reveal yourself as a Guardian once we reach Ecremar, at least not right away. It's time for you to take a new name, I think."

((Faliara))

 

[Faliara]

Himinn slumped from where she sat crosslegged on her bed, leaning against the wall. "I don't think they'd believe me, anyway."

She kind of guessed that, honestly. A small part of her, though, had hoped that perhaps things had changed from when she went to sleep- that they understood Ark's circumstances.

She took a deep breathe. No use thinking about it now, Himinn.

Her mind still not quite off that subject, she looked at Endal- Erien. "So... What name do you think should I have?"

((She'll likely wait until last minute and blurt out Eiríni- as in, her name from the last world. Also, she's probably going to try to reason with the noble in such a situation anyway... Enderfive))

 

[Enderfive]

Erien

"That's up to you, really. The point here is to avoid any worshipers and the opposites causing any trouble; as long as they don't realize you're who you are, you should be fine. Well, I suppose the point is to blend in as well, since attention only serves to trouble us for now. Maybe in the future we could reveal ourselves . . . but for now, I think it's better to go under a false name."

Erien walked over to a wardrobe and flung its doors open. "I bought some clothes over the years that should fit you and definitely fit the overall fashion I've seen so far in this country. This-" he said, as he grabbed a lavender blue dress, embroidered with intricate mint green designs, "for example, would serve well for the ball. And this-" Erien grabbed a different, less fancy dress, "is fine for a common day. Of course, you don't have to wear these particular clothes, you can choose between different dresses and there should be plenty of shirts and skirts and pants and other sorts of clothing as well. I'm not sure if you should wear pants right away in Ecremar, though."

((Faliara))

 

[Faliara]

Anything that Himinn was thinking about earlier was quickly replaced with shock, as she looked in between the two dresses.

Crap. They both looked fancy.

With a growing feeling that she was guessing was horror in her chest, she blurted out "Do I have to put them on now?"

((Pffft I am laughing so hard right now
Don't worry, it's just Himinn's simpleton dressing code preference Enderfive))

 

[Jolterino]

Liro walked through the streets of the town, now wearing black gloves to disguise his left hand, he’d rather not have people start asking him questions. He wondered where to go next, he’d been sleeping for years and now he had no idea where the other guardians are or if they’re still asleep or if they even still exist. He decided to peek into a store out of curiosity and spotted hand-made maps rolled up and for sale. He unrolled the map and looked at it. So many different areas… “Excuse me sir.” He asked the owner of the store. “Can you show me where we are on this map right now.” The shop owner nodded and pointed to a spot on the map, there was a mountain range depicted on the map. Interesting, he’d split off from the other guardians before he’d fell asleep so there would probably be nobody close to him unless they fell asleep before he did. Liro hated not knowing anything. “Alright, thank you.” He said and started walking out of the store. “Hey, you have to pay for that.” The shop owner yelled at him before he left the store. “Oh… right…” Liro had learned what “money” was but it was so unfamiliar for him. He wasn’t even use to humans yet. He took out a few gold coins and put it on the counter. He walked out of the store, looking at the map and scratched his head. He had to search for a way to get to the main continent of Arun, the country he apparently was in. When the planet with still a dirt wasteland he’d just walk there but he would have to cross oceans, he couldn’t fly or swim. He couldn’t make a boat out of dirt or anything either, he would probably have to get help from the humans or whatever weird species live on this planet now. Liro sighed.

 

[Toiletprincess]

[JUSTIFY]Ark and Shyael
(8 years ago)
"Shyael!" Someone calls from behind, urgency lace into their voice. She turns to see the healer standing outside a building, beckoning her over. "What is it?" The girl asks, making her way up to the door and following the woman inside."He's waking up."

I shake my head. I'm standing in a field. A large, open field with rows and rows of beautiful crops blooming under the golden sun. Next to me, I see a girl with blonde hair running down to her waist and a soothing aura around her and a shorter boy with a mischievous smile and black hair similar to mine. Cynthia and Connor. I move to reach for them when, suddenly, the begin fading, and burst into ash. The crops begin to burn, and spread. The blazing red stripes lick my body and engulf me, and I cry out but nobody comes. I lift my hand towards the sky, hoping, begging for someone to save me. That's when, for the first time, I feel another hand.

"Ugh..." I say weakly, eyes opening slowly. I try to adjust my vision, but I feel tired and sleepy. When the scene snaps into focus, a beautiful girl stands over me. Half-asleep, I immediately blurt out, "Cynthia?"

The boy slowly opens his eyes, looking up at Shyael. "Cynthia?" He blurts out, drowsiness still discernible in his voice.
"No, I don't know who that is, are you okay?" She says softly, looking the boy up and down, "You seem to have healed up fairly well.."

I blink a few times, and my mind clears. The girl looks about my age and has short, white hair and pale blue eyes. I also notice that her ears are a little pointy. Is she an elf? I sit there, staring at her for a while, when I suddenly realize what I'm doing and my muscles tense up. I shoot up straight and roll off the bed, tangling myself in the covers. My head hits the wall accidentally and I shout, curling up and burying my head in my arms. "I-I'm sorry! Don't come near me!"

The boy pauses and the two both just look at each other before he seems to tense, rolling off the bed and apologising. She recoils slightly, bewildered at his sudden outburst. "Wha- Hey! What's wrong we aren't going to hurt you," she says quickly, moving over to where he fell, "Are you okay? What's the matter?"

"N-no!" I yell, extending my hand towards her to stop her. "Or you'll be cursed too!"

She tilts her head, furrowing her brow. "Cursed?" she asks, looking at the boy, "What are you talking about?"

For a moment, I look through my arms up at her. "If you go near me, you might die." A tear falls down my cheek.

"Hey, no," she mutters softly, "Hey don't cry I'm not going to die I'm fine."

"No... you don't understand. Everyone who comes near me dies. I can't stop them... I can't help them... Please, go away before it's too late."

She frowns, sitting back on her heels and looking at the boy. "I'm not going to die, now, do you remember anything before you woke up?"

"I... I remember too much." I stop there, trying to show her that I don't want to talk about it. "Where... am I? Who are you?"

She sighs, nodding, "Okay then, well, you're in a village called Alsari. My name is Shyael," she replies, offering a slight smile, "Who are you?"

"Ark–" I manage to get out before realizing what I was doing and covering my mouth furiously. "Uhh... uuuuhhhhhhhh..."

She frowns, thinking to herself. "Hmmm, you probably shouldn't be going around with a name like that," she replied, drumming her fingers in her leg absent-mindedly, "Hey, how about we make you another name."

---

She stands, bow lowered and arrow knocked, listening closely. A crunching of leaves catches her attention and she turns, drawing the bowstring back but keeping it lowered. Almost immediately, she lets the bowstring droop back into its normal position. "Hey! Lyari!" She called, grinning at the boy and jogging over to where he was walking, "You're back!"

I see Shyael running towards her and give a sad smile. My heart sinks. "Hi, Shyael."

She pauses, looking at the sad expression on his face. "Hey, what's wrong?" She says, looking up him, "Are you okay?"

"I... I don't know how to say this..." I look down, fidgeting with my hands. "I think... I might need to leave soon."

She cocks her head, crossing her arms. "What do you mean leave?" She asked quietly, watching him fidget, "Why would you need to leave?"

"There's... there's something I need to do. Someone I need to find. It's someone from my past."

She hesitates, looking back at the village and down to the bow in her hands. "I think, " she starts, pausing, "I'm coming with you."

"It's dangerous," I try desperately, knowing full well she's going to say she can handle it.

She raised her eyebrow, a small smile playing on her lips. "Why do you even try," she replies, a hint of amusement in her tone.

"I..." I stop for a while and take a deep breath. "Remember when I first woke up here? I was so afraid you would get close to me. I tried desperately to tell you what would happen to you, but you still refused to leave me alone. You have no idea how happy I am to have a friend for this long. But I don't know how long it'll be before you start changing. If you stay around me for too long, something bad will happen. It happened to everyone. There's no exception. You've been able to be normal for really long, but I don't want to hurt you. It's time for me to leave."

She sighed, running a hand through her hair and giving him a condescending look. "I know you really care about this curse voodoo and what it might do to me, trust me, you've gone on about it for eight years, but you know that whole 'I don't want to hurt you' thing isn't going to work on me."

I grunt angrily and walk back and forth for a moment. "What about the village? You'd have to leave it."

She pauses, looking at him with a 'did-you-really-just' expression. "You don't think I'm aware of that?" She asked, crossing her arms and glaring at him.

My stubborn expression fades away. "You're serious?" I ask.

"Yeah," she replies, assuming a more relaxed position and uncrossing her arms, "I'm serious."

I sigh, shoulders slumping, and put a hand to my face. But I can't help but smiling. "Fine. I guess you can come with me."

((hon hon hon baguette))

[/JUSTIFY]

 

[Enderfive]

Erien

For once, the wizard was nonplussed. "What? Oh, uh, no no no no, you don't have try them on right now. It's just for when we reach Ecremar, which should be at least a week away. And there's plenty of other clothes to choose from as well. Besides, like, you're not going to change in front of me, are you?" A brief silence followed. "Uh. You know, I'm just going to pretend I never said that." Okay, that was awkward. Stupid teenage body making me think stupid teenage thoughts.

"I'll give you some time to think about what you want to be called and what you want to wear and such, okay? If you need anything, I'll be just across the corridor in my cabin," he said as he walked out of the cabin, leaving Himinn alone.

((Faliara))

 

[Faliara]

Himinn breathed as Endal left. Okay, okay. There's other clothes to choose from, calm down Himinn.

After a moment, she uncrossed her legs, letting herself flop to the side as her head landed on the pillow.

... A new name, huh?...

She rolled over, looking upwards at the ceiling. She's not sure what to be called. She likes her name. It'll be hard to respond to another.

Mayu? she thought to herself. She dismissed the idea immediately, somehow relating that to yanderes. Rin?

Why am I picking out Vocaloid names? Scratch that, what's Vocaloid?

She groaned inwardly. How come she can recall all these references that she doesn't even understand, but barely anything about one of her past lives?

Himinn huffed, getting up. She'll check what's in the closet first. A new name can come later.

~-~-.-~-~

After a little bit of searching and indecision, Himinn decided on a plain short sleeved yellow dress, with another long-sleeved white dress under it. She was tempted to pick one of the shirts and pants that were indeed in the closet, but Enda- Erien had said it was better not to wear pants when they reached Ecremar, and she hasn't worn skirts since the last world- she's sure she wore them sometime, then. It was a nice dress, anyway.

She had found some hairclips, hairbands and a hairbrush in one of the drawers of the table. There were other things, but those were the ones she focused on, since it occured to her just then that her hair not only reached her knees, but were extremely tangled as well. There were even some split ends.

She somehow managed to brush through it all, though with extreme difficulty. She's guessing there's some sort of magic on the brush, especially since her hair didn't even feel rough under her fingers- though it was somewhat wavy. She's not sure what to feel about that. She's used to having her hair be nice and straight- and not reaching her waist. There's nothing in view for her to cut her hair, with, though, and she's never done so before, so she's scared she might ruin it completely. Who knows, maybe she'll grow to like it.

Clipping her now-long bangs away from her face with yellow hairclips (they had grown past her collarbones), she looked at the mirror. She seemed to have grown a little older, too. Fifteen, if she were to hazard a guess, though she's never been the best at guessing that sort of thing. She's also become a little thinner, bones beginning to show. She frowned. She'll have to change that.

Himinn decided not to wear shoes just yet. Maybe later- she's not really comfortable with them.

Out of habit, she hung two of the hairbands around her wrist. She prefers to tie her hair into ponytails, but it appears to be impossible at the moment. Still, it's a small comfort.

She left her room and knocked on the door to Erien's. You never know if what you're wearing isn't actually acceptable.

((Enderfive Don't be surprised if I'm not here until Friday.))

 

[Enderfive]

Erien

He had slumped back into the world of books, reading about history. The book at hand was a gargantuan monstrosity titled "A study on the lands now known as the Province of Erelis from the Creation to the Unification of Arun" by a professor Garen of the Sitian University for the Greater Study of Wizardry, Witchcraft, Alchemy and Other Disciplines of Magic, commonly shortened to Sitian Magic University. It had other names and nicknames as well, but Erien didn't really bother learning them all. The book itself was, in fact, a property of the Great Library (the official name was The Great Library and Storage for Books, Manuscripts, Letters, Documents and Other Written Notes of Importance of the Sitian University for the Greater Study of Wizardry, Witchcraft, Alchemy and Other Disciplines of Magic, but since it was long and bloated and otherwise inconvenient, everyone called it just the Great Library), and normally it wouldn't have moved anywhere from there, but since Erien was a member of the University, he had some bonuses.

Surprisingly, the book made for some rather interesting reading, despite the dull title. Professor Garen was a rather good storyteller and provided Erien with just the right mixture of facts, analysis, narrative and personality that he found himself reading the book at any free moment. By the time he'd get back to SMU, it'd be long finished.

He had just finished a chapter detailing the efforts of Felerna of Fellenmount, who was apparently a pretty badass woman about twelve hundred years ago, when there was a knock on the cabin door. Erien lifted his eyes from the tome, placed it on the desk and walked across the room to open the door. Behind it stood Himinn - wow, who else were you expecting - in a plain yellow dress. "How is it," she asked.

"Yeah, it's fine. If we make the ball, you'll probably have to change into something a little more . . . fancy, but for everyday wear, it's good. Come in," said Erien, moving out of the way to allow Himinn to step through the door.

"So, have you thought about a name yet? If not, then it's okay, we have a week to invent a false identity for you."

((Faliara))

 

[Faliara]

"No such luck," Himinn replied, sighing. "Let's hope I can come up with one before we reach Ciasta."

She rubbed her neck. "So... What do we do now?"

((Should we do a timeskip soon? Enderfive))

 

[CaffeinatedKitty]

Light and music spill out of the doors as they're opened, illuminating the stairs nearly to the bottom. The ballroom is comfortably full, not crowded but nowhere near empty.
Nodding to the guard, Marisa sweeps inside, rather dramatic compared to Avis.
She's much quieter, quite optimistic about her prospects of finding another Guardian here. She might have only just woken up, but others have probably already integrated themselves into society.
Her eyes land on one of the most brilliantly dressed girls in the room; clad in green and gold, she looks to be about Avis's age. Older she may be, but she's still recognizable.
"Excuse me," she says, "I believe I see someone I know."
Without waiting for a response- she wouldn't have gotten a clear one anyway, seeing as someone had just asked Marisa to dance- she starts towards the girl.
Threading her way through the crowd is relatively easy; it only takes her a few minutes. She does, however, take a moment to gather her nerves before speaking.
"Zwn?"
~~~
((Toiletprincess sorry this took so long, I had writers' block))

 

[Toiletprincess]

"Zwn?"
She turns, a baffled expression on her face as a girl happens to utter her name to her. In a moment of confusion, she inspects the girl - looking over her turquoise shoes and dress before resting her eyes on familiar grey wings. Wing's she'd healed a long time ago. She knitted her brow, observing the girls face before her own expression softens. "Alouette?" she whispers, a child-like hope in her voice, "is that you?"

CaffeinatedKitty

 

[CaffeinatedKitty]

"Yep!"
She'd looked confused at first, but that was only natural. They hadn't seen each other in ages.
"But I'm going by Avis now. A bit more discreet, I think."
She smiles widely. That was faster than she'd expected- and this being such a large event, surely they'd find at least one other?
Perhaps. That would certainly be nice.
~~~
((Toiletprincess))

 

[Mia]

I walked towards the stairs slowly with my fingers crossed tightly behind my back, it had been so long since I had see another guardian.. I reached the top of the stairs, I shooed away a few animals that had followed me before I entered the ball room.

It was magnificent, people danced and twirled in circles and beautiful music played. After looking around a bit I spotted two girls talking to each other, a winged girl who looked very familiar and another girl, with the most gorgeous dress in the room. I made my way towards them through the crowd which was far easier then I had anticipated, I gulped nervously before introducing myself to the two, "Um- Hi.. Zwn, Alouette? Is that you?" Hopefully they would notice my markings that hadn't left my face, "It's Tora." I said smiling nervously waiting for their reply.

((Toiletprincess CaffeinatedKitty ))

 

[Enderfive]

Erien

"Well, there's not much to do on the ship. I could give you some books to read, if that's what you'd like. I have both fiction and non-fiction, so you can pick whatever you'd like. There are some games I could teach you, games that are played often in Arun. Wouldn't hurt you to know these games, I suppose, and they're good for passing time. I could also just teach you about Arun in general, which would probably be useful, since if you don't know some basic stuff, your cover could blow. I don't know, it's up to you."

((Faliara))

((And yes, I think this is a good place for a timeskip.))

 

[Guest35486]

The Guardian of Corruption boarded a crappy ship and arrived at Erelis. Cyra did not want to waste her money on fancy stuff (yet) and therefore did not care much for the transportation. Why has she chosen to come to Erelis? Well, she didn't choose to, it was the only port. She could go on to other places if Erelis is not interesting enough. This chunk of land should be though, seeing how it's, well, bigger. It's also part of the mainland, meaning there's a bigger mix of creatures. She would find something interesting in the mean time.

For some reason, Cyra ended up in the local market. There certainly are more kinds of creatures here. Not just Corrupters. At that moment, she realized she was causing some traffic with her scythe. She then realized she didn't care and continued her own thoughts. In fact, she cared so little that when someone audibly complained, she turned one of the stalls to goo. The creatures instantly turned silent.

"Well, there's more space to pass through now," she states simply.

Chaos then ensued.

Some panicked and ran around, causing even more traffic. One shop owner got really mad for some unknown reason. It was really messy. Erelis will certainly be interesting enough for quite a while.

 

[Jolterino]

Liro walked down the streets of Melsar, a town near the coast of Erelis. He came here to get out of the cold province of Sitia after he ported on the north side of it. He was looking for supplies before he traveled down to Ecremar. He enter a shop then noticed some chaos as he entered. People running around in panic he looked around to find the source of it, he saw a large pile of goo next to a few stalls.

He remembered how his sword was once turned to goo just like that. He frowned at the thought of it happening again.

"Cyra?!" He shouted out amidst the chaos.

 

[Guest35486]

Guardians of Corruption and Ground​

Cyra turned around at the sound of a familiar voice shouting her name. If it isn't Liro! "Hey Liro! How are you? Sorry it's kinda hard to talk, creatures just started panicking!"

Liro sighed. "What did you do this time?"

"Me? Pretty fast to accuse me! I was just standing here, being a noble citizen, when the stall melted. I may have caused it. These creatures got pretty upset at that."

"I don't know much about human etiquette either but I'm pretty sure it's not accepted to melt things."

"Is it not? Pity, I was making space for movement. You still haven't answered me, Liro, how have you been?"

"Sorry, can't hear you well. We should probably move somewhere else."

"Well that should be easy due to the space I have created. But panicking creatures are not helping. So I suppose that didn't make space at all. Let me quit my rambling and steer you out of this chaotic place," Cyra said as she put one hand on Liro's shoulder to sneak out of the market place. "Where to?"

Liro dived into the crowrd to avoid any suspision. "A restaurant or something. I just got here so I have no idea where anything is."

"Well, my bad for making everything even more confusing. I wonder how badly I'll get in trouble if one of those official-looking guys catch me. Anyways, I saw a restaurant at the east exit of the market place a while ago. Let's head that way."

Liro nodded and followed Cyra.

The two successfully left without being caught and sat down in a simple restaurant. "So, third attempt, how have you been, Liro?"

"Fine I guess, trying to figure out what the hell happened while I was asleep."

"I see. And did you find out?"

"No."

"I see. Me neither! The humans seemed to have evolved. Or mutated. Or something. But that's all I got."

"I met some group that worshipped me, I've mostly only seen regular humans. What are you doing here by the way?"

"I kinda got bored of the weird group that worshipped me. They even had a flag and everything. Got a ship down here. Just hanging around for now. You?"

"I've been traveling around, looking for other guardians. I was about to head down to Ecremar but stopped here for supplies."

"Ecremar? Why Ecremar?"

"I'm going through every province in hopes of news of the locations of guardians."

"That sounds interesting. Mind if I tag along? I mean, if you do, I'm still going. Just perhaps a different route."

"As long as you don't try to kill me... again..."

"I'll think about it!" Cyra said cheerfully. "Do you want anything from the menu?"