A sudden stream of people moved through the town of Kalan, generating a cloud of dust in its wake, until the group splintered into many smaller ones, spreading throughout the city and beyond. A gust of wind echoed the situation in the village, trying to blow in every possible direction at once, raising more dust into the air. The wind slowly picked up more speed, but it stayed within acceptable margins, the wind would surely carry a fairy very far on this day, if one would fly, but on the ground, it did nothing but pull on some coats and skirts. The sky remained clear however, besides the dust, and it appeared to be going to be a most beautiful day.

The wind made Suuri long for adventure again, it reminded her of the hardships she had had to go through when she had first gone away from home, it had surely been tough, but she always looked back on those times as happy times. Not that she wasn't happy in her current life, because surely she was, but it was all so different, and she wouldn't mind having both and possibly more, if that was even possible. There were so many things to do in life, and even with her long lifetime, she didn't think she'd be able to do it. Silently she wondered how humans could ever be happy, they barely had any time in their lives, and they seemed to want to do even more things than the other races, but somehow they managed, somehow they were everything they wanted to be.

Suuri suddenly had a thought, and immediately acted on it. She grabbed two melons and rushed forward over the dusty sandy streets toward a lone male human. The man did not look her way, so she made a squeaky attention grabbing sound, holding the two melons before her chest, blushing as hard as she could and spoke in a sweet innocent voice. “Would you like a taste of my melons, mister?” The human was caught completely off guard, not knowing what to say or do, he stammered, but no words actually came out. It was always fun to pull such a suggestive joke with humans, they had no idea how to react to it, especially with the innocent faces fairies could put up. Sexuality was not something humans usually joked about, at least not with just any stranger. Fairies were of course much less prude, after all, all four of the major races had the same method of reproduction. They were even compatible to one another, even though the Pures didn't like that at all.

As Suuri returned toward her cousin, again one melon less to sell, Tuomas' face looked grim, staring of into the distance, slowly searching the horizon. She had no idea what he was doing, she couldn't see anything herself, nor had she noticed anything out of the ordinary, then again, Tuomas was good at sensing brewing trouble. She waited for a little while longer, but when Tuomas still didn't notice her presence, she decided to disturb him. “What is wrong, Tuomas?” Suuri became more and more worried as her cousin still didn't reply, just staring off into the distance, his gaze drawing closer and closer to the direction the farm was in.

--------------------

EDIT : My OoC was no longer relevant.

This message was edited by Mole on Jan 22 2008.

"Are they gone, Aranel?" Severein asked quietly.
"They are," the human responded grimly.

The two stood on the dusty country road, observing the trail of smoke snaking into the sky in the distance. The residue of magic clung to the air like a heavy stench.
"The Hadefs were meeting tonight. Coincidence?" Severein murmured.
"Doubtful. If your information is true, they were meeting at another location," Aranel said.
"It may have been leaked on purpose. Who can say? All we can do is look for survivors and pay respects to the dead," Severein began striding toward the smoke. Aranel inclined his head and followed wordlessly.
The two made quick time in reaching the site of destruction. What may have once been a grand farm was eerily silent now. Too silent. The door into the farmhouse had been blasted apart. The residue of magic now mixed with the scent of blood. Severein and Aranel glanced at each other once before Aranel crept around the other side of the farm house. If any enemies were left inside, they could be caught in a pincer attack.

Severein kicked aside the remains of the door, Archangel unsheathed and held ready in one hand. The elf couldn't help retching at the scene before him. Bodies were as common as furniture and blood seemed more likely to be seen than water.
"Brutal..." Severein murmured, kneeling to inspect the nearest corpse. A fairy's young face stared back at him through the glazed eyes of death. Shock painted the boy's features more clearly than the crimson blood caking his cheek and hair.
"Killed by a crossbow... the elf noted, pulling three bolts out of the boy's neck and torso. He moved on to the next corpse, this a set of three. A taller female fairy huddled over other fairies, her children most likely. The smell on the mother was acrid and burnt. Her arm had been torn clean off by a fireball, most likely. The children were scorched but in one piece, thankfully.
"Magic and crossbows. Not a pleasant mix..." Severein thought, continuing through the house until he heard footsteps.
"Aranel?" the elf wondered briefly. The footsteps drew nearer. "No use taking the chance of it not being him."
Severein whirled around the corner, blade raised only to have Archangel met by Aranel's own sword. The two grinned at each other.
"Are they all dead on your end too?" Severein asked quietly. The mood sobered.
"Yeah." Aranel summed it up succinctly.
"Women, children...none were spared. None," Severein spoke hollowly, perhaps remembering the destruction of his own people. His eyes were a somber, sad blue.
"Most certainly done by the Pures. But why, I wonder?"
"We have no way of knowing unless by some twist of fate, a fairy was gone from this place when the attack took place. But I will find the Pures who did this. And I'll make them pay for this genocide. For all of their crimes. I'll kill them all."
Aranel smiled to himself. Fury blazed behind Severein's now red eyes.
The elf blinked, "Oh. There are fairies coming down the road."
Aranel looked out the window behind Severein. It was true. It looked like there were two of them.
"No matter how much time I spend with you, I'll never get used to your eyesight," the human grumbled as he departed the slaughterhouse.
"Heh." Severein's chagrin was all that came out of the elf's mouth as he followed Aranel outside. Perhaps these fairies would know something. And if not...they could help with the funeral rites at the very least.

OOC: Blargh, writer's block. >.<

Running just slow enough so Tuomas could follow, the cart with whatever melons and watermelons that were left creaked behind her, bumbling in the same path Suuri followed. A watermelon disappeared off the cart, splattering its juices over the brown dirt and small rocks off the road, next to Tuomas' feet, who tried his best to avoid the spreading wetness of the fruit, but failed. Tuomas had no choice but to keep running, or he would fall behind, and still Suuri was not running at her fastest, not giving it her all, just so her cousin would not stray too far back. As soon as Tuomas had tranfixed his gaze upon the farmhouse, Suuri had started running, she had known, she had trusted his intuition that something was horribly wrong, and that they needed to get there as soon as they possibly could.

Unfortunately, the farm was too far away to get their within any reasonable time, too far to help in whatever may have been wrong, the duo could only return to be witness to whatever had happened. Naturally, that was not what Suuri thought off, the onlyt thing that made sense to her now was returning toward her life, her home, her friends and family. Her feet moved under her without her thinking, if her mind wandered she would surely stumble, and she couldn't allow herself to slow down for even the shortest moment, her mind remained fixed on her target. Her heart went out to her family, even though it was too late, but she didn't know it was. The lone tree her and there only formed a prelude to the brown-green natural painting of what was ahead, woods here and there, which in turn were a prelude to the forest which her ancestral home lay on the fringes of.

Ultimately, the place came up where Suuri and Tuomas would be forced to go off the road, the merging of the hollow road with the path that came from the farm, a long line where no grass grew, but that did not cut into the ground, like the road did, either. Suuri stopped, hesitating, giving Tuomas the opportunity to catch up to her. “Hide in those trees,” Suuri pointed to a small group of trees opposite the path she would take, “take the cart, do not come out for any other but me.” It was said that caution was the mother of survival, whether that was true or not, and whether it was necessary or not, Suuri did not know at this point, but now was not the time to take chances with faith. Going in alone also had the avantage of not having to worry about the other one.

A stream of water and a stream of earth shot up from the ground, mixing with the air to form her trusty aid she had come to call Miekka, and Kalpa at times. Holding the Craft wrought blade in her right hand, Suuri quickly crossed the path to the now eerily silent farm, her mind poised to lash out with the craft, any enemy in her path would regret coming here. But the deafening silence did not promise any opponents, nor did it promise any allies or family. The slowly growing scent, stench, however, promised a scene she had hoped never to encounter in her life. The stone building, overgrown with plantlife kept growing in her vision, until it was large enough to reveal its shattered windows.

The scene was indeed horrifying, as the stench had predicted, a handful of bodies strewn about outside, burned to crisps and perforated with numerous arrows. If that was not enough, a glimpse inside the farm itself revealed an equally, if not more, horrifying reality. Seeing her family slain, no differentiation between the old and the young, between men, women and children, no difference between the tall and the tiny, she felt like throwing up, and a moment later she did, spilling the melon she ate all over the dirty ground that was meant to be a yard to grow carrots. Her fingers only tightened around Miekka's hilt, her knuckles paling due to the pressure. She felt like crying, weeping for all the dead lost, but she couldn't, not now, she needed to get her cousin to safety and as quickly as possible, the ones responsible might still be around here, she simply shouldn't risk it.

As she whirled around to leave, a duo appeared before her, blocking her way. Both the elf and the human had their hands on their respective swords and both warriors of them towered above Suuri, the elf even more than the human, even though the human was tall for his race. Suuri looked them up and down, ready to strike at any second, regardless of their size and strength, they had to pay for what they had done here, and regardless of her own strength, she would be the one to hand out their punishment. The elements started whirling around her, earth and water levitated from the ground once again, forming two seperate swirling masses around her, a third, air, was present, but could not be seen by the eye of most beings, one trained in the Craft however, would surely know it was there, even if he or she could not pinpoint it exactly.

The two before her each took a step back, the elf loosening the grip on his blade before speaking. “We are not responsible for this massacre. If that is your reason for fighting us, know that we only came across this massacre when it was already too late.” Suuri glared at them suspiciously, but nevertheless she let Kalpa dissipate, its composing elements joining the swirling streams floating around her, still ready to lash out, or reform the blade when necessary. “Then who did this?” Her question came as a piercing blade, not a suggestion, not a question, just a cold hard attack, demanding a response.

Severein surveyed the fairy before him wordlessly. He towered over the fairy by head and shoulders half over.
"She is enraged and likely to do something foolish, depending on my answer. What should I tell her? Too much or too little information may very well set her on a path for vengeance. She will become reckless and may die..." Severein thought, ignoring the nagging whisper in his mind, "But isn't that what happened to you?"

"It was the Pures," Aranel said plainly.
"We don't know that for sure," Severein broke in before the fairy could speak, "It is mere conjecture on our part. Neither of us know the circumstances nor history surrounding this farmhouse. However, I doubt anyone bearing a grudge would go this far. The Hadefs present a possibility if the fairies here supported Pures, but that is also doubtful. The Hadefs are not that radical. This leaves three plausible perpetrators. The Pures may have judged the inhabitants here as impure and slaughtered them. Or they stood in the way of the counsel and the counsel ordered the annihilation of this place. In either case, the attack itself was carried out by Pures. The last scenario is that the attackers, or at the very least their leader, is a psychotic killer with no regard for life at all. Of these, an attack by the Pures seems most plausible, wouldn't you say?"

The female fairy scrutinized both Severein and Aranel silently. Aranel's face was an unreadable mask and Severein's held a serene calm. His eyes had long since returned to their standard amber color.
"Who are you two?" she said at last.
"Wanderers," Aranel spoke up, "I am Aranel. The elf is Severein."
"Wanderers?" The male fairy spoke up at last and he sounded skeptical, "You do nothing for a living."
"We kill Pures." Severein said.
The female fairy's eyes narrowed. Her hand whipped forward and slapped across the elf's cheek.
"How can you!?" the fairy demanded, "It's because of people like you! People like the Pures and the Hadefs that we common folk suffer! Because of people like you that we're in the middle of a war! People like you place no bearing on what consequences your actions will have on commoners! People like you!"
Severein took the fairy's tirade calmly. When the fairy paused for breath, the elf broke in.
"Don't mistake us," he growled harshly. The fairy stopped in surprise. The elf had seemed like the calm one.
Severein paused and took a deep breath, "You are not the only one who's life was destroyed by the Pures. We, too are your 'common victims.' The entirety of my people were destroyed and ours homes burned to the ground by Pures. I am the only survivor of my race. Aranel's family was killed.
...It is true that this war is foolish. Discrimination is foolish. The concept of a 'pure' race is foolish. And mindlessly killing people for something they have no choice in is foolish. But as common people...doing nothing is pure idiocy. If we do not give voice, then we will continue to be walked over and ignored. Aranel and I do what we can to protect as many people as we can from the tyranny of the Pures simply because the Pures are the active group right now. As I said, the Hadefs are not radical..yet. Should they ever endanger the lives of commoners, ever threaten the peace of a family, then my blade will turn against them as well. Aranel and I are well aware that one person cannot change the world. Not even two can change it. But we can stir the hearts of commoners. We can bring the thought, 'If one commoner can stand up to them, why can't we?' to them. For many, the process stops there. But for every person who takes up weapons and fights tyranny, there is one more person that neither the Hadefs, the Pures, nor even the Counsel can walk on top of. They will be noticed. They will be heard.
That is why we fight."
Severein left without another word, followed by Aranel, who paused before saying, "We are unfamiliar with the funeral rites among fairies, but we are taking the bodies out of the house and laying them out back." Then the human was gone as well, leaving the two fairies alone.

"Impressive speech," Aranel remarked.
"I had to say something. I've given them a goal. Something to live for other than vengeance. Whether they work toward that goal is up to them," Severein replied.
"So it was pity, then?"
"...Perhaps." Severein lifted the limp body of a small child and carried him over to a long row of corpses he and Aranel had begun behind the farmhouse while waiting for the fairies to arrive.
"It's too late to go to the meeting the Hadefs held, but the camp should still be close by. We may be able to learn something there," Aranel said.
"I thought you didn't want to approach the Hadefs." Severein sounded amused.
"That was before this," Aranel replied with a shrug.
"Pity, then?" Severein asked with a small smile.
"Heh." Aranel shook his head as he layed an elderly fairy along side the others.
"Why did you give them our real names?" Severein asked as the two worked, "It could be a trap of some sort. Even if it isn't, the fewer people who know who we are, the better."
"It doesn't matter if the Pures find out our names. We're both wanted as it is. The only difference now is that the Pures have a name to go with our faces."
"I see. Still, we should at least show caution in the future."
The two continued to toil until the fairies approached them.

The room was this: Rich and grand, draped with red velvet, pleasant to the eye, subtle and refined in decoration.
And the people present were these: Three women, three men. Four parents, two children. Two of marriageable age, four already married.
Oh, and the occasional servant, but they were getting paid to let themselves be noticed as less as possible.
There was talk.
Samantha whispered to her parents that she didn't want to, and her parents smiled and said that everybody was nervous for such a thing.
They didn't take it serious, and that upset her.
And now she was alone with her fiancé, the man she had never met before.
She was sitting, observing him.
He was smiling, being charming, convinced that his looks did their job.
He was attractive.
His features were strong and beautiful and slightly evil, his hair was short and healthy and shone with an unusual silverish colour, he had shaved himself, but badly, in a stylish way.
His clothes were well-cut and rich and made to look so that his body looked better in it.
His legs were long and strong and he had broad shoulders.
'So you're my fiancée, huh?' He looked her up and down.
'Not bad.'
He smiled.
'Shall we try a kiss? Everything is allowed, you know.' Leo grinned seductively.
Samantha looked him in the eye.
'No. I don't want you.'
'But I'm your fiancé. If you don't want me, then what men do you want? I promise I will be gentle to a fair lady such as you.'
He reached out, confident that no woman would say no to him, not when he moved like this, and looked like this and gently...
Samantha grabbed his hand and pushed it away, softly, but sternly.
'I said I don't want it. I don't want you. I don't like you.
You're just a little swanker. Stay off of me.'
'... what?'
Leo had never been turned down by a woman before.
'You're not thinking that you are better than me, are you?'
Samantha looked him in the eye.
'I didn't even think about that. But now you say it, yes, I think I might be better than you.'
'...wha...' this was extremely unwomanly talk.
'Go away, go to your parents and go away. I don't want a petty slut like you as a husband.'
'...'
Samantha left the room, feeling like she could burst out laughing any second now.
The look on his face!
Now all she had to do was to make it clear to her parents she didn't want Cina's biggest playboy as her man.

OOC: I did get it right, right? Fiancé is the male form and fiancée the female?
If not, please imagine them the other way around and tell me.

Saliara walked along what looked like to be a trail that was rarely used beside Cirin. Her mind flew from one subject to another before settling on the dwarf's words again. The decision he was going to make was certainly important, but he didn't want to waste any second of time that he didn't have to. He gave one night to make the decision and he would take one day to decide who would lead the expedition. What if he made the wrong choice? Mostaki's only hope of getting rid of the Pures would be crushed for many long hard years to come. There were so many possible choices, but only one could be right.

"Right?" Saliara heard faintly. "Sal? Saliara!" Saliara shook her head. "What?" Cirin sighed softly. "What's up with you and your daydreaming lately? Normally you're so focused on what's in front of you..." "I know..I know..It's..It's just this meeting." Saliara paused for a moment, thinking of how she could explain how she felt to her friend. "It's changed how..how I look at things." "How so?" Cirin asked curiously. "I'm not sure, but I'm thinking much deeper about things than I have before." Cirin nodded. He could certainly see that happening.

Silence followed and the two seemed to enter back into their own little worlds, but before they could become fully welcome Saliara brought them back with a question. "How how have you known him?" "Who? Oh, the dwarf that was speaking?" Saliara nodded. "A few years now. That was the first time he ever talked about his weaknesses. Usually he just tries to cover them up to keep everyone calm as they can possibly be."

The silence returned until the reached Kalan. They would have to rent rooms for the night. "There's only one inn that will have vacancy tonight" Cirin whispered. Saliara raised an eyebrow. Why was he whispering all the sudden? "And...?" "The owner actively supports the Pures. She and her husband even left those in the Pure army or Counsel stay for free." Saliara's eyes narrowed. Oh. "But if you suggest not staying there, we'll be arrested if we don't. Everyone who doesn't go there is arrested under charges that they are planning against the Counsel." Saliara scowled. "I guess we have no choice then." Cirin nodded.

They hurried to the inn to get out of the rain that had begun to fall. "Two rooms, please" Cirin said as they arrived at the desk. A blond human woman turned around to face them. "Good evening" she responded in a cheery tone. "I assume the two of you are Pures?" Cirin nodded. "My name is Neran. I've passed through here a few times." The woman nodded, suddenly knowing who he was. "Oh yes." Cirin or "Neran" handed her the payment for two rooms and received two inn keys. "Enjoy your stay!" she called after them as they headed upstairs.

“Why did you come ? I told you to hide between those trees. There could've been enemies here !” Suuri spoke, doing her very best to remain as calm as she possibly could. It was not easy to loose your family and then see the only one you have left be foolish and be less than extremely careful. The human and the elf were moving in and out of the house, carrying the limp bodies of her family, Suuri tried not to think of it. Only now Tuomas seemed to realise what had happened, tears welling up into his eyes, quickly streaming over his face, the ever-present happiness of fairies seemed infinitely far away, forever out of reach. Suuri felt as sad as Tuomas looked, probably even more, but she refused to show it, she had to remain the stronger, she had to show her cousin, that he could count on her, that she would be a rock he could build on, nomatter how bleak the situation looked.

“Come. We need to bury them, they deserve that, at the very least. They must return to the Great Mother.” Tuomas could only nod to Suuri's words, his tears still glistening on his cheeks, even his gracious wings seemed to be pendulous, grieving over the loss of their family. Her two wings stuck out in all directions at once, like they always did but their color seemed pale. Gathering her strength and courage, she walked over to the two wanderers, Tuomas followed. Her eyes moved to the carpet of corpses, laying on a dirty piece of land, that had not been used this year so it could regain some fertility. The human and the elf, Aranel and Severein, merely stood by silently, a hint of pity and genuine empathy in their eyes. If their story was true, they both knew well how she felt, how terribly broken her heart and soul were, something nobody deserved to experience. At least they had helped so that everyone could have the burial they deserved, or at least close enough. She wouldn't be able to give everyone a seperate grave, they would have to be content with lying together. But at least they would all be in the arms of the Mother.

Tuomas standing diagonally behind her, it was up to Suuri to perform the rights, since she was oldest and able. It was the responsibility of the oldest to bury the dead, unless he or she no longer had the energy to do what was required, the Craft was used of course, a combination of earth and wind. Suuri put the backs of her hands together, her eyes stood focused, her concentration unwavering, pulling her hands apart, the ground under the bodies did the same, creating a hole big enough to fit everyone. While it didn't really require her hands to perform, they did help in her concentration, as it was easier to visualize what she had to be done. That went for anything done by the Craft, you had to be able to imagine what had to be done, and that proved difficult sometimes, especially when you had to be precise. The bodies of the dead remained above the hole, lifted by a thick layer of air that they could not penetrate and that would not move out of their way. Slowly the bodies sank into the hole, gently lowered until they all lay on the bottom.

“May the Mother give birth to them again one day.” Suuri and Tuomas both bowed their heads in silence, the wandering duo merely stood by and watched the ceremony. Fairies never uttered many words at a funeral, there was no need, while they were saddened by their losses, they only expressed their hope that the dead would one day be reborn. They did not believe in an after life, nor did they feel the need to express how much they would miss the deceased, nature was a endless cycle of life and death, it was only natural that people died. Nevertheless it hurt, especially taking the way it had happened into account, to see a loved one die of old age was quite something different from seeing men, women and children slaughtered.

After a short time of silence, Suuri was meant to close the grave and plant the seed of a tree on it, but she felt that would not be enough, it would not be enough for their memory. So instead she turned around and walked away, Tuomas staring after her, most likely wondering what she was doing and if he needed to finish the ceremony, but before long, she came back from behind the house, a young apple tree floating before her, she moved it to the middle of the rather huge grave and lowered it. Then using using her hands as focus again, closed the grave, the tree now firmly planted in the middle. After walking to the tree, she plucked five ripe apples from the tree and stuck them in the ground around the tree at equal distances from one another and the tree. She nodded to herself mentally, that would simply have to do. The trees would grow strong one day, a beacon of memory in the ever changing world, a sign of what had happened here.

As Tuomas and she still looked at the graves, Severein and Aranel remained at a distance, quietly talking amongst themselves, Tuomas suddenly spoke to her too. “So, what do you planning on doing now, Suuri? We can't stay here.”
“And why would we not be able to stay here? Yes it would not be easy, but we all helped to make this farm what it was. And it would be sad to see this place and what it represents be forgotten. Nevertheless, I think I'll go with the elf and the human if they'll have me. I think I can do much more that way.” Suuri replied, her words sounding a bit unsure, but it was what she wanted, and it would give her the adventure she had longed for.
“Then I suppose I will be going to.”
“No Tuomas, you cannot. You are not a warrior, and you do not belong with us. You must remain here. Seek out a good girl and come back here, this is our inheritance, I hope to see it flourishing once again.”
“But what will prevent the Pures from coming back?” Tuomas had already been convinced the Pures were responsible for this massacre, Suuri was not entirely sure, but she would find out if she travelled with the other two.
“Nothing for now. That is indeed troublesome, but perhaps we can set up a defensive spell, one that will keep out those with bad intentions, or perhaps it is better to only let those in that were invited in and those who live here.” Suuri's idea was not a bad one, but she had no idea whether a spell of that magnitude were even possible, let alone if it could be made by two. Then again, if anyone could do it, then fairies would surely be the ones with that ability.
“Is that even possible?” Even Tuomas seemed sceptical about the idea, and he still took things rather quickly.
“I have no idea, but we can at least try.”

“Master elf, master human, please follow us inside. It is late already and you probably need some rest. We can arrange some food too, if you please.” Suuri and Tuomas weren't very hungry themselves, of course, but it was too late to do anything anymore. Daylight waned as the sun started sinking behind the forest, the sky turning yellow and orange to announce the coming nightfall, red would follow later to say that nightfall was imminent. The house was rather clean for being the location of a battle, a piece of furniture only destroyed here and there and no massive piles of debris were present. The only things that had greatly suffered were the doors and windows. A few doors inside the house were alright, but other than those all doors and windows were completely obliterated. In a singles Craft-wrought wave of wind and water the farm was given a simple cleaning, removing the stench and reducing the stains of blood, and getting rid of the splinters of glass and wood from the windows and doors. “Please, make yourselves at home.” Suuri said to the elf and the human, gesturing at a couple of comfortable chairs in the corner of one of the living rooms.

Ooc: Sorry for my utter..... Non-existence thus far.

IC: After the meeting ended, Zeke wandered around town for awhile, thinking about what he had learned. He was going to have to find out who would lead this mission for sure, and get the information from them. That, or find that dwarf. But he knew that probably wouldn't work anyway. The Hadef were uncannily tough to break, even the young ones. So the odds of getting an experienced leader to talk were next to nil.

"Guess I'll just have to stand by and watch as this all unfolds, then." He said to himself. "When the moment shows itself, I'll make my move."

Just then, it began to rain, and he remembered the inn in the town. It was run by pure supporters, and they knew him well. Since he was at the meeting, he would know who was and wasn't staying, and that would in turn help the owners to rat out any obvious Hadefs.

So Zeke made his way to the inn, and went inside. "Oh, hello there, Mr.Kaden. What brings you to these parts?" The inkeeper asked.

"I've some bussiness of great importance. But that's not for publice ears. And could you please refrain from giving away what I am?" He asked in a whisper.

"...I see." The inkeeper said. "Well then, you'll be needing a room?"

"Exactly. Thanks." Zeke said, and went up to his room, to think on what he should do next.

Ooc: Not the best thing ever, but atleast I managed a post. ^^;;

OOC: It's fine, you've made a post, so I'm happy. Since one character dropped out, I already have a replacement.
IC:

Saliara barely got any sleep from the night before. Her head felt cloudy as she stood up to stretch. Today was the day Cirin and herself would head to Luna which was southwest of Kalan. They would probably part ways from there on.

Saliara walked down the stairs and out of the inn to wait for Cirin. What was up with last night anyway? Apparently Neran had been here a few times before.

"Excuse me." Saliara turned around to see a young human girl. Her face was full of dirt as she looked up at the elf. "I..I was wondering..if you would possibly want to buy some goods my brother and I made." Saliara looked her over trying to see if this was some sort of scam or not. In the end, she went ahead with it. Saliara remembered being in that very spot.

The small girl led her to a stall on the poor side of town. The Pures didn't bother patrolling this area in the daylight. These people were beneath them.

The stall itself was barely standing. It held a few potatoes, but that was it. The stand wouldn't be able to hold anything else. Saliara bought all of the potatoes at the price she would give for a regular market stall plus a few extra coins. The girl looked up at her with wide eyes. "Thank you so much, miss!" The look in her eyes was enough for Saliara. She never had such luck. "Could you meet my sick uncle? He would want to thank you." Saliara opened her mouth to abject, but it shouldn't take too long.

Saliara nodded and entered a small dusty hut that the girl pointed to. Inside was a small old man. "Saliara, isn't it?" The elf's eyes widen this time. How did this man know her name? She had rarely given it out. "I have a favor to ask of you."

Saliara nodded to the story that the old man had told her to do. She was surprised that she had been chosen for mission. "I had a test. You were the first to past. Who ever came to the aid of my foster niece and foster nephew first would take the mission. Now, remember. Gather up a small group and get to the town I told you of. I dare not repeat anything else." Saliara nodded again and bowed her head to the old dwarf before she left the hut.

She headed back into the main part of town. Surely she would find some people that she would need in the market.

OOC: Okay. It would be very helpful if everyone was near or in the marketplace. Time to get this show on the road.

This message was edited by Kyinnla on Feb 13 2008.

OOC: i guess i'm the 'replacement'

Name: Revallyne (aka: Ree)
Gender: Female
Birth: Commoner
Race: Elf
Age: (young adult) 271
Group: Hadef
Class: Warrior
Weapon: double bladed Katana and hidden dagger
Hometown: Verrona (small)
Appearance: Ree has short, messy hair that’s a pure black and is a tad short, standing at 5’3. She has pale features and clouded eyes due to her blindness. She usually wears a tunic with a vest over it and a pair of pants that are tucked into travel-worn boots with her katana in a belt around her waist.
History: While born blind, her parents kept her away from the Pures in case she would be deemed ‘tainted’ for her blindness and killed for it. She was still raised to respect the Pures, but to also accept people with mixed blood. Ree lived a quiet life for the most part, her father teaching her how to defend herself and hone her senses to her surroundings. She soon believed she wanted to travel away from the small elven city of Verrona. With that she left home on her 240th birthday and traveled far. She soon believed the Pures had made a mistake about mixed-bloods. Then she heard of her father’s death. He had been killed by the Pures because he had refused to fight for their cause. She mourned the loss of him with her mother as she returned home, and then set off again, with a new mission to set things right.
Other: Although Ree is blind, she has developed a sense to help her with vibrations and where things are located. She is fast and deadly at her attacts. She isn’t over-sensitive about her blindness and is quite sarcastic and laughs when around friends, otherwise quiet.
------------------
Revallyne was in the marketplace, the noise of the people was comforting as they bustled about with their normal activities, chatting with eachother and buying goods. The crowd seemed to be mostly made of fairies since she was in one of their smaller cities. She had spent a little time in her travels with them.
Ree walked along at ease, she was passing through to find a descent meal she could eat. That's about all she stopped for, it's all she needed. To eat, sleep wherever was comfortable, and travel more.
A simple life, but one she was content with.
But she still wished to find the Hadefs and see if things could be made right between Pures and those of mixed blood.
Ree continued onwards through the crowd, avoiding the passerbys by their voices and foot-steps, accepting that it was another semi-uneventful day.

Severein and Aranel both took seats in comfortable cushioned chairs while Suuri sat across from the two. Awkward silence hung in the air. For minutes, nobody moved or said anything.
At last, however, Suuri spoke up, "So...where are you two going to go now?"
Severein and Aranel exchanged glances.
"Kalan," Severein said after a moment, "Aranel and I need information. There are some Hadefs there last we heard.
"Kalan..." Suuri murmured, "That's not far from here. We can make it there in good time."
"We?" Aranel asked sharply, "Since when are you coming along with us?"
"Miss Suuri, you have an opportunity to rebuild. Don't squander it. You haven't lost everything as we have. If you must fight, join the Hadefs. They, at least, can offer you protection Aranel and I cannot. We are wanted men. Traveling with us is far from the wisest decision you could make."
Suuri snorted, "And joining the Hadefs isn't dangerous? After all your talk about touching the hearts of commoners, you won't let me come with you? I want to fight! I want to protect the common people just as you two are trying to do! You two aren't tied to any organization! Your blades are free to strike where you please! I will not have that freedom under the Hadefs! Please, let me come with you!" Suuri urged.
"You speak of the dangers as though they are nothing. That alone shows how little you understand of what you are trying to throw yourself into. There have been situations where Severein and I have barely escaped. Never a time when neither of us have been wounded. And-"
Severein stood up abruptly at the same time the runes on Aranel's sword began to glow.
"What is it?" Suuri asked.
"Company," Severein said simply. Suuri looked out the window. A band of Pures were just outside.
"Have they come to look for stragglers or...?" Suuri's fists were clenched.
"No. Aranel and I...were busy last night. It seems the Pures we missed have tracked us here. Impressive," Severein remarked. Aranel said nothing, instead leaping out the window to meet the Pures.
"Miss Suuri, take the young man you arrived with and hide somewhere. Aranel and I will take care of this," Severein said as he followed Aranel out the window. The elf had to contort himself to fit through the window made for fairies, but he did make it through.

Aranel twirled his sword deftly, facing the Pures. A dwarf carrying a double-edged ax, two human swordsmen with short swords, and an elf wielding a two-handed sword.
"Could have sworn we killed them all," Aranel muttered.
"Ah, well. What's done is done," Severein replied, bring Archangel out of its scabbard The runes along the blade's length glowed an ocean blue as the elf's eyes turned to the black coal gaze of death.
"You two dare obstruct the justice of the Pures? Judgment is cast on you blood traitors!" the elf proclaimed.
"It's two on one," one of the humans jeered, "You can't possibly win."
"Quiet. Remember, they managed to take down an entire by themselves. Who knows what they're capable of?" the other human advised.
"The camp was half-asleep and caught by surprise. The circumstances are different. We can win," the dwarf replied.
"You four couldn't have talked this through before you came knocking on the door?" Aranel asked impatiently. The Pures glared at him. They seemed ready to lunge when the ground erupted beneath them.
"Suuri! I told her to hide!" Severein cursed. There was nothing for it now, though. Severein lunged at the Pure elf and caught him off balance. The elf's death was quick as Archangel plunged through his heart. Aranel, meanwhile, had already decapitated the dwarf and was rounding on one of the humans. Severein followed suit and engaged the second human. Neither were very experienced and both were quickly disposed of.
"So much for not being taken by surprise," Severein remarked, wiping his blade on the elf's coat.
"If they'd expected a surprise attack, they wouldn't have been surprised. It's their fault," Aranel replied.
Suuri was coming out to meet the two. Severein caught movement in the tree behind him.
"No, Suuri! Run, you fool! Stay away!" The arrow shot out of the branches toward Suuri while a second arrow whizzed toward Severein. The arrow aimed at Suuri missed narrowly because of the elf's warning. Severein's right arm, however, was pierced. Muffled curses came from the foliage as twigs snapped. The assailant was gone.

Severein turned to Suuri, already knowing that Aranel was on his way to meet her. There was something different in the way the human carried himself, though. It was dangerous, a wolf that had cornered its prey. Severein knew the stance.
"Suuri, get away from Aranel!" the elf shouted, making a mad dash toward the two.
"What...?" Suuri asked as Aranel's blade whipped toward her.
"Move!" Severein growled, managing to shove the fairy aside. Aranel's sword sliced across the elf's stomach, leaving a long, but shallow cut.
"Aranel, wake up! This is no time for you to be going mad!" Severein growled, taking up Archangel and blocking the blow Aranel had followed through with.
"What are you two doing!?" Suuri demanded.
"Stay out of this! Aranel is dangerous right now!" Severein barked sharply as Aranel's blade whistled through the air. Severein blocked again, but winced as he did so. The skin around the cut was turning a sickening shade of yellow.
"Aranel and his bloody runes," the elf cursed as he dodged the human's next blow and countered by punching the human square in the jaw. Aranel careened through the air and slid across the ground. He didn't get up.

"What's going on?" Suuri asked again.
"...When Aranel's family was killed, Aranel took the bones of his sister and ground them into dust. He used the dust for the runes you see on him. However, in doing so, Aranel cut his lifespan in half. He will not live beyond 40. A short life even by human standards. An effect Aranel did not foresee, however, was that in making the runes, Aranel would experience periods of madness. What you just experienced. Aranel does not distinguish between friend and foe. Everyone is a foe. Another reason why it is dangerous with us. But you've been seen with us. You're involved," Severein sighed, "I don't like it, but there's no choice. Gather what you need from the house. Tell the young man to go into hiding until the Pures go away. A week should be long enough. You can come with Aranel and I for now, if that is still what you want. Be quick either way. I don't want to take the chance of their being an entire company of Pures waiting to see what happens to those four and the one that got away."
"But your wound-" Suuri began as Severein cut her off.
"Pay it no heed. I've had worse. Hurry and gather what you need."
The fairy gave one last look at the wound across Severein's stomach before bolting into the house. The swollen wound had turned black and purple now and yellow pus was beginning to coagulate around it.
Severein watched her go before turning to Aranel and setting about waking the human up.

Saliara watched the marketplace from one of the nearby rooftops. She planned on watching the activity below. Whoever seemed like they were worthy of this cause would be offered a place on their journey..Well without explaining too many details, of course.

Salira pretended to be waiting for someone. She was in a sense, but hopefully it would be more than one. The market got busier and busier, so it was less likely that anyone would be paying attention to her. People would be too preoccupied with the swarm of people around them that they wouldn't care about someone up on a rooftop.

One elf caught her eye. She seemed to avoid the Pure guards that hung around the stalls. Once she was out of the square, Saliara's eyes narrowed angry that the other person forget she was meeting him or her here and climbed down from the building. Keeping her act, she ran off in the elf's direction.

Saliara almost bumped into her, but the elf moved at the last second. Saliara luckily caught her balance before she fell and turned to face her. "You seem to not like the Pures and their friends" she began, thinking quickly. "I'm not much of a buddy to them myself. So..what do you say about going on a little trip?"

OOC: Ree the vampire! Yay! Oh, wait, it's an elf now.
I just never seem to have time lately, or at least no energy. Oh, well, it'll pass.
Confession: I just skim the posts here, at the moment, instead of properly reading them.
Oh, well, I've read the last ones. I'll just keep it up from there.

By the way, Ishilar, where does that "I find you moderately attractive, and have grown to tolerate your presence. Become legally bonded to me." thing come from?
Whatever it is, tell me, I'm going to love it.


Samantha woke up, shivering.
Her feet were killing her.
She was not, never, ever, ever going to sleep outside again.
She stood up, packed her things, and got moving again.
A warm bath would be so welcome right now, but the chances of her finding a warm bath here, in the middle of no-ones land between cities and farms, in a place that was non-vulcanic, including some soap and a sponge and maybe a rubber duck (those kind of things popped up near baths by rule), was highly unlikely.
And she didn't have any food.
'I'm not going to cry, I'm not going to cry, I'm not going to cry. I'm a woman and I currently have no good reason to cry.' she mouthed to herself as she was getting blisters on her blisters of yesterday with every mile, every step she took.
Tears sprang in her eyes as her feet started bleeding.
'Damn all stubborn, senseless, insensitive, un-empathetic, unkind men!'
It would be ok in a few days, but not now, and she lived now.
'I am going to get into the first tavern I see and get myself a hot bath and a decent meal. So stop hurting already!' she yelled at her feet.
Then she ignored them and walked on, flinching with every pebble or plant she trod on.
She thought she was going deeper into human territory, but the direction she really was going was towards the middle of the land, where every border met.

Suuri exited the farmhouse, carrying a simple bag across her shoulder, a bag made especially for fairies. Since fairies had wings, it was incredibly hard for them to carry anything around, in fact, even clothing was already a pain for them, which lay at the basis of their openness: they were simply annoyed by having to wear clothes. The bag contained nothing but some reserve clothes and some dry food, anything else could be done or gotten through magic easily enough, or she could do without. Severein and Aranel didn't seem to be carrying much around either, so she travelled as lightly as she possibly could.

Tuomas refused to even say goodbye to her, but there was no choice in the matter now, Suuri had to go, and Tuomas had to rebuild, others would surely come to help, most people didn't like what the pures did, the hadefs were much less disliked because they never seemed to harass anyone. Tuomas didn't like it though, but nothing would change what had happened and he still had a chance to clean this place, to open it up to others with such experiences, a place to recover and grow old. Suuri was sure her cousin would see it someday, and he would do it, he had always been a gentle person, he wouldn't hesitate to help another person, except in combat. And she would make sure he would never have to fight, but she couldn't do that here. Nor could she actually stay, the Pures knew her now, and they wouldn't stay away unless they knew she was really gone. Nevertheless, she would miss caring for the trees here.

Aranel was back on his feet, grinning a sort of apoligizing smile, at least, that's what Suuri thought it was. It didn't really matter now, though. Even if the man was dangerous on occasion, her only possible, her only logical choice was to travel with them, the wheels of time were turning, and they would never turn the other way around, her family was gone and she still needed to go forward herself. Severein stood next to the human, the vicious looking wound still across his stomach. Suuri had heard of the elves' supposedly amazing healing abilities, but the look of that wound turned around her stomach even more than the image of her dead family, she wanted to reach out and heal it. “Please let me take a look at that wound, master Elf.”

“If you are to travel with us, call me Severein, he is Aranel,” the elf nudged his head toward the human as he spoke his name, “but the wound is not important now. We need to go before the survivor comes back with reïnforcements and they will even come through the darkness.” Suuri replied without hesitation, she knew these lands better than either of them, and she could get them a long part of the way unseen. “Follow me then.” No explanation was required, while she had no doubt either of them would take charge in any other part of their journey, they would recognize her knowledge of the surrounding terrain. She just hoped Tuomas was smart enough to return to the cart of melons right away.

Running through the forest southward, the last rays of the sun fell behind the horizon, bathing everything in an all-ensconcing darkness. The darkness was near total now, only through her magic, could Suuri still see enough to manoeuvre through the forest. How the other two managed to follow her, she didn't know. She realized that she barely heard the two behind her, even though they were all running, it gave her hope. She hadn't actually known yet that she needed that, it had all been cold hard decisions before, only now did her feelings return. No, they would still have to wait a bit longer, she had no time to deal with them before they reached relative safety.

Suddenly Suuri Metsä halted, which the other two with her echoed, any and all sounds around them had faded. A small creature could be heard now and again, the flapping of wings, an owl's hoot and then again silence. The trio listened, at least, she thought the others were doing the same as her, but when she heard nothing, she spoke silently. “From here, we have to head due west to Kalan. There are no great hiding places the first three quarters of the way, so if the moon is right, we will easily be seen. Once we're close enough to the town, there will be farms to hide at, I know many of the owners, they will not harm, or betray us. However, many would also rather see us go than stay, keep that in mind. Other than that, there's two rivers, one is barely worth mentioning, you can just step over, but be careful not to fall in in the dark. The other river is much larger, I think I can make a bridge with the Craft though.” Suuri thought for a moment, to be sure she had said everything of importance, then without another word, she approached the edge of the forest.

As she gazed up from under the trees, the moon was apparent in the sky, but covered by a mild field of clouds, reducing the lightness it threw on Mostaki. Perhaps they would be lucky and nothing would happen, though Suuri realized the chance of that was slim. At least there was next to no chance of running into Pures across these fields, there was nothing but short grass here, grass didn't thrive in this ground, she couldn't remember a single year the grass had been longer than it was now. Wishing she had done something about the length of the grass while tending the forest, Suuri was the first to step away from the treeline, revealing herself to whoever could be watching. Severein and Aranel didn't hesitate to follow though.

OOC: YAY! Jord the dragon is here too! but now you're a woman

It was an eerie sensation.
When eyes were on you and you couldn't sense anyone near enough to pin the location they were at.
And suddenly, the feeling was gone, just as another lady seemed to almost bump into her. Revallyne sidestepped to avoid being taken down and losing some of her dignity with it.
Ree didn't hear the lady that brushed by her fall, it showed that something wasn't ordinary, most people would have fallen.

And then the lady said, "You seem to not like the Pures and their friends" she began, "I'm not much of a buddy to them myself. So..what do you say about going on a little trip?"
It was blunt, but Ree preferred that compared to the lies everyone seems to tell these days.
"A trip? I'm afraid I know little of you m'Lady. Not to mention, I dunno if you're part of the Pures luring me into a trap. I do not trust people that blindly." ((ironic ))
Ree tried to give a light smile to be polite.
She really did want a way to get back at the Pures and stop the slaughter of so many people.
But it all hung on this new woman and if she actually had a way...
If only Ree could bring herself to believe in such a strong hope.
She didn't want to be hopeful and have it chased away.
Not again.