Lux Nuru / Aphen Are you an angel? The words weren't said, Lux just heard them. Thats new. He wondered. He was about to answer the child when Silar spoke. "What is the meaning of this Lux?" Silar said. So he heard it too? Silar moved slowly over to the child, who was cowering now. Lux stepped in front of him. "She is scared Silar. I caught her falling from a tree on the way here." "I see," Silar said, folding his wings back. "It seems appropriate to have her here." He unfolded one wing, reaching it forward and laying it over the shaking child. "She is one of them." Leaning towards Lux he made his voice as quiet as possible. "She is Enchanted." Silar paused as Lux stared at him. "Do not let her out of your sight." With that, Silar turned away to address the other Aphen. Lux turned back to the child. "I have been called that before, but no, I am not an angel. I am an Aphen, my fellow Aphen call me Lux. What are you called? And try to focus your thought on me this time. Lux thought, transmitting the thoughts back to the child. He was waiting for the child to respond when someone shouted. "Release the child! Or die without honour!" A figure was charging towards them bow drawn with an arrow pulled taught. Lux reared up, moving infront of the child and towering over the figure. Humans were rather small when he though about it, espcialy the young ones. He raised a claw aiming towards the figure before firing off a blast of light, her eyesight being robbed.
Shaliza's hand let go of her glowing arrow as a bright light overwhelmed her senses. She gasped in pain and collapsed to her knees with a hand over her eyes. Where did light come from!? The stories had mentioned something about these creatures being magical but she hadn't actually thought that meant they could use magic. After a few seconds Shaliza opened her eyes only to realize she couldn't see anything. Panic overwhelmed her and closed her eyes again unwilling to think that this might be permanent. She remained in the kneeling postion and raised a shaking arm to protect her head, sure that at any moment she would be exectued for daring to attempt to steal the child away from them.
Lux Nuru / Aphen Yelping the figure dropped to her knees, the arrow falling to the ground. The figure coward in fear as Lux approached, blindly shielding their head. Lux returned to his normal stance and placed a claw on the figures shoulder. He concentrated sending out a wave of calm as the figure writhed. He didn't intend to cause any harm but if the figure still had any ideas about attacking it would stop them. "Don't worry, the blindness wil fade. While I can understand that you wanted to help the child why would you charge at me?" This is most interaction I've had with humans in years and I'm already tired. They're odd creatures. Lux wondered as he waited for the figure to answer. "I haven't forgotten about you young one so an answer would be nice."
Sarya / Human Stop! Sarya had run up behind the great bird-like creature, and before she could think twice, she grabbed a strand of light which hung off the side of it and tugged gently. Please. Don’t fight. She figured if it were going to eat her, it would have done so already. But it had talked to her, and kindly at that. Working up the courage, Sarya quickly circled around and placed herself between the angel and the woman. She knew she wouldn’t actually be able to stop a fight if it was to happen, but perhaps she could discourage one. Then she turned and faced the angel – Lux – himself, and looked up at him with wide eyes. Sarya, her thoughts were barely a whisper. My name is Sarya.
As Shaliza waited for the death blow she felt a heavy item land on her shoulder. Even though she knew she should have been terrified she instead began to feel a deep sense of calm flow her being and every thought of fighting disappeared as if they had never been there. She lowered her arm and basked in a calm she hadn't felt for 10 years, since her parents death. Then the creature spoke. Shaliza was startled that the creature could speak and began to relize how ignorant she was. These Aphen were obviously highly intelligent and were to be treated as such. The calm she felt was so overwhelming that she found herself wanting to trust this creature with her life, however some small warning in the back of her mind kept her mouth in check. Shaliza blinked a few times hoping that what he had said was true and that her eyesight would indeed return. Suddenly she felt the weight upon her shoulder removed and sensed a presence move in front of her. Shaliza instinctively looked up and noticed that she was begginning to be able to make out shapes and differentitiate between the light and dark. Perhaps these creatures weren't as bad as she had originally thought. Shaliza figured that she had best not test the Aphen's patience and replied to his question. "I was watching you from the hilltop over there and I noticed you had a young girl in your midst. I could think of no other reason for her to be there accept for the fact that you were going to eat her or harm her. My heart lept for the child and I attacked with the reasoning that with your life threatened you would let her go and we would part ways without bloodshed." Shaliza lowered her head and smiled slightly and she thought back on it. She must have been quite a sight. A tiny human threatening several Aphen with simply a bow and arrow. Perhaps these Aphen truly didn't mean to cause harm. This thought gave Shaliza enough courage to raise her head again and speak bodly, "If you truly do not intend harm to either me or the child I ask that would release us so that I may return her home to her family." Shaliza's eyesight finally sharpened enough for her to relieze that the girl was standing between her and the creature. Why would she do that?
Rezo / Aphen "Well well, Rezo, it has been some time. I am surprised you showed up before some of the others. I suppose we owe you the honor?" "Once again you insult me, Silar." replied Rezo with a grin on his face. Out of all the Aphen, Silar was the one he less despised. Just the fact that he decided to stop in Omae was enough to show how he cared for all of the Aphen race. He could hear many of his kin whispering about him behind his back, something he learned to ignore over the years. Behind Silar was another well-known Aphen, Lux. Rezo disliked his values and attitude. Being overly nice and avoiding bloodshed at all costs were qualities that didn't match their kin. "So, why did you call for this reunion?" asked Rezo.
Silar/Aphen Silar shook his head at the ignorant human who had attacked Lux. What a foolish thing to do, attack an Aphen. He was annoyed at Lux for not finishing her off, but that was besides the point. He personally would have given the woman a quick flick of his tail, and sent her on her way, sailing through the sky like a little pebble. "So, why did you call for this reunion? Rezo was an outcast of the Aphen, Silar knew. The last time he had seen him was many decades ago, maybe more. Silar didn't remember exactly, but things hadn't exactly gone well. Silar was surprised Rezo had even heard The Calling, much less shown up. "I was about to get to that," Silar said, annoyed at the much smaller dragon. He stood on two legs, a preposterous thing for an Aphen, and wore clothing. And he stood no taller than the tallest human. "Brothers and sisters," Silar said, raising his voice so the Aphen around him could hear. "I have Called you all here today because we are, once again, needed to save our land from the dangers of the humans. Long ago, our ancestors fought against a group known as the Enchanted Eight. In order to kill us, they created a sword, as you well know from the stories we were taught as young ones. The World Sword, they called it, capable of effectively fighting an Aphen as no other human weapon could. It can penetrate our magical protections, give its wielder the gift of extremely skilled combat, and give the humans the advantage they need to destroy the Aphen and take over, ruining this great land we have protected for so long." Silar knew that most humans had given up on the idea of taking over. As much as he hated them, he knew most were good and kind. Some despised the way the two governments of the land ran things, and others wanted nothing more than to live their lives out to the fullest. But Silar did know one thing: if the World Sword had been stolen, it meant someone knew about it, knew what it could do, and wanted to use it for its intended purpose. "So, my brothers and sisters, now is the time to reveal ourselves to the world once again, to find the World Sword, and to destroy those whose intent it is to wipe us off this beautiful earth. They would clip our wings, removing us from the sky. The would cut our fins and feet, leaving us to drown in the crystal clear oceans and rivers. They will penetrate our hearts, the hearts that beat to keep this world from contamination. It is our honor, our duty, our destiny to destroy those who would wipe us out. As for the Enchanted..." Silar turned to the young girl that was still standing next to Lux's feet. "The Enchanted died many generations ago, unable to use their own bladed creation. As an ancient, magical agreement, it was told to our ancestors that they would return again when The Calling was given. It seems they have." He walked up next to Lux, putting a wing above the young girl. "This human girl is Enchanted. She possesses a gift, which will help the Aphen and the humans destroy the evil that clearly exists in this world. There will be more Enchanted, as they are the link to keeping humans and Aphen aligned in a common goal: peace. Find your Enchanted, for we are all connected to one. Find the World Sword, and bring the thief who stole it to his knees." Silar nodded to his fellow Aphen. "I shall remain here for a day to speak with any stragglers. The rest of you, begin the search." Silar looked to the young girl and Lux. "It seems you two are connected. It was told destiny would bring the Enchanted and the Aphen together." He smiled. "A girl falling from a tree as we passed over her is no coincidence."
Lux Nuru / Aphen "It seems you two are connected. It was told destiny would bring the Enchanted and the Aphen together." Silar smiled. "A girl falling from a tree as we passed over her is no coincidence." Lux nodded. "I'll watch over her don't worry." My name is Sarya Came a voice into his mind. So Sarya, it appears we're to stay together for this quest so stay close. Are you hungry? Omae has some very nice food. He whispered back as turned to the kneeling figure. "As you've heard, the child cannot return home, but if you are still worried for her you may accompany us. So what will it be human?"
Shaliza's eyesight finally returned and she stood in response to his question. Laying a hand on the child's shoulder she said, "It sounds as if you are going on an important and dangerous quest. My first instinct would be to go home and live in peace but a nagging in my heart says I should accompy you, if only to protect this girl." Shaliza took a deep a breath and said the words her mind was screaming for her not to say, "I will join you." A sense of relief came over Shaliza. And peace, real peace. She hadn't relized that her heart had been longing for more then simply helping in the village hospital. But now, she knew. For some reason this quest was important. And the child was important. Shaliza was determind to protect her as if she were her own. When Shaliza saw the Aphen's affirming nod, she knelt down to look the young girl in the eyes and said, "I am Shaliza Cook. What is your name?"
Sarya / Human Sarya listened to the stiff, commanding voice of the large dragon-like creature, as it spoke to an entire audience of unimaginable monsters. Many of the creatures had wings, and some of them even had extra heads and limbs. What were they? How did they get here? Sarya closed her eyes, glad that Lux wasn’t trying to fight the woman behind her. She listened to the dragon relay its message to the crowd, but realised that she didn’t understand the context. It seemed to speak of humans, but in disdain, as if humans were the monsters. Then it spoke about some sort of enchantment. And… a magic sword? As the speech continued, Sarya quickly realised that this was some sort of uprising. A declaration of war. She didn’t know what it was for, but the humans had done something to anger these demons. Sarya glanced back at Lux. He wasn’t a demon. Was he? Then for one frightening moment, the dragon turned to face her. It lifted its wing, the tip of it rising above her head. "This human girl is Enchanted. She possesses a gift, which will help the Aphen and the humans destroy the evil that clearly exists in this world,” it said, looking down at her. Enchanted. That’s what the dragon said. But what did it mean? She wondered how falling out of a tree made her enchanted. She didn’t feel very special. "As you've heard, the child cannot return home, but if you are still worried for her you may accompany us. So what will it be human?" Lux seemed to be addressing the woman behind her. Suddenly, Sarya felt a hand grip her shoulder and she turned around with a start. "I will join you,” the woman replied earnestly. Then she knelt down in front of Sarya. "I am Shaliza Cook. What is your name?" She hesitated for a moment before replying. Sarya. She didn’t know if the woman could hear her thoughts like Lux could. But the surprised look on her face gave away the answer. Shaliza stared at her for a little while longer before responding. “Hello, Sarya. It is nice to meet you.” Sarya gave a small nod. Then Lux’s voice boomed from behind her. “I am called Lux, human. This must all come as a surprise to you both, but I – we Aphen - intend no harm. We only wish to restore balance to the world.” “So you are looking for a sword?” Shaliza asked. “Yes. It's not a normal sword, though. This one is so much more. And if we don't find it, who knows what will happen? As soon as you two are ready for travel, we'll depart." Shaliza rose to her feet, and Sarya took a step back. “Where are we going?” “To the resting place of the sword. A small cave at the top of Mount Saber.” Sarya looked up with interest. We’re going to the top? Lux looked down at her and nodded. Despite her own confusion, she couldn’t help but feel more than a little bit excited. How much could she see from the top of a mountain?
Shaliza Cook Shaliza could feel excitment bubbiling up within her. An adventure. She was going to get away from that dull dry town and possible help save more lives then she could in a year at the village hospital. Shaliza picked up the bow she had dropped and whistled sharply for her horse who pranced up but stopped about 100 feet away from the Aphen. Shaliza didn't blame him; as the creature was indeed quite intimidating. She trotted up to him, unstrapped her emergency medical supplies and food and tied them to her back. She then looked at the Aphen, whose name she still did not know, and asked, "Will I be needing my horse or are we walking?"
HUMAN Name: Cyric Rivena Age: 26 Gender: Male Family: Morvan Rivena (Father-deceased), Sasha Rivena (Mother-deceased), Alec Rivena (Brother-22) Appearance: (yellow eyes, short, spiky blonde hair, 5 foot 8 inches) Typical Clothing: Large black cloak completely covering him. Only his head is visible Description: Un-speaking. Goes about his buisness methodically and only when it suits him Occupation: A wise man beyond his years, looking like a possible sage for the future. He wanders the land living self-sufficiently and rarely being seen Hobbies: Mastering his silent-stepping and hand-to-hand skills, as well as trying to find something unknown even to himself. Powers: Lightning Extra info: His family was killed trying to uncover the mystery behind the royal families and what the mythical Aphen. They didn't return. He watched from a distance, observing everything they did. The leaves on the wind had brought him here, as with everywhere he went. He was a master at being unseen. No magic or powers granted it. He just...was. There were people accompanied by...creatures. They were strange, unlike any animal that he'd ever come across. He looked to his hands. His hand-to-hand skills would not be able to help him this time. He needed to be tactful. He sighed. He hadn't spoken in what seemed like forever. He might need to this time. Perhaps he would tag along, only ever a short while behind, using his mastery of skills to stay just that small distance behind. It seemed like a good idea, but it wouldn't work. Knowing his failures in the past, he wouldn't be able to simply sneak along the whole way. He submitted. He'd need to talk to them. Whatever this was, it felt like meeting these...things here was part of his journey to find what he so dearly sought. He took a step towards them, instantly drawing their attention.
