Immortal Mana IC (Fayt & DarkGrey)

[Ariolus Fayt]

The large boat had been in the harbor for nearly an hour before the crew, passengers, and finally cargo were allowed to walk down the large plank of an offloading ramp. Their destination when setting out from Manaras around a week prior had seemed too easy to Soras. Just a short trip down the coast with luck they would have been there in no time at all. Luck however, was not on their side. The entire passage had been one huge storm filled journey. Inevitably they had arrived as one would expect… three days late. The other thirteen members of their expedition had surely arrived ahead of them and would be waiting at their ‘meeting point’. A well known inn and tavern here in Versai called ‘Dolphins Run’. It was rather high class, but his grandfather was footing the bill for everything.
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“Yes, please do. Tell them to gather everyone in the meeting hall and that we will be there shortly.” The finished edge of his companion’s speech had brought him from his disturbed reverie. His companion being the relatively tall man with snow white cat ears and a tail dressed in black leather and thin white cloth. The Mana Doll’s name was Aonather… but most people tended to call him Aon since it got rather annoying saying his whole name.
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“You sent a runner ahead of us Aon?” Soras asked as the salty sea wind blew his short black hair around atop his head. The damn wind was one of the things he was looking forward to getting away from when they went inland… though if what Aon had to say was much to go by, then the climate was only going to get worse… not better.
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“Yes, I did. We are already three days late, and the man I sent back to the Inn was someone they hired to keep watch for our ship. We must be quick in getting out of the city for the land will present many difficulties that may slow out travels down even farther.” The Mana Doll spoke his ‘sage like’ advice. He’d always been like that. It did grow rather annoying at time, but the information could always been seen as useful on SOME level. The man’s hand motion for Soras to follow him as they started to walk through the bustling crowd that had gathered there at the docks.
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Fish criers, sailors of many sorts including those who appeared to partake in unsavory practice’s, and runners like Aon sent off were the main bulk of those located here. Strangely enough even though they were in Elven lands from what he could tell most everyone here was human. Perhaps it was just due to this being the only port city allowed to trade with human lands. As such it was the second largest city in the Kingdom of Averos.
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From what he could remember elves were a set apart from humans. They lived longer and never appeared to age outwardly more than what would be the human standard of thirty-six. The Dark Elves had dark sun baked skin, pointy ears, and darker colors for their hair when it wasn’t dyed while the light elves were very pale of skin and with lighter colored hair... the ers were a racial trait apparently. For his first trip here he had studied what he could back in Mavora before the ship departed then more on the way over. His books and other things would be returned home after the ship departed once more for Armenon.
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“So you haven’t told me much about our traveling companions Aon. Could you clue me in before we arrive?” Soras chimed as they left the docks and made their way through the city. The inn itself was rather close to the docks… not more than a ten minute walk. His eyes were naturally scanning the strange Elven architecture around him as he awaited Aon’s reply. The place was simply fascinating. Elven structures were seen back in Armenon, but not on a scale like this. It was… rather breathtaking to see so much black and white stone used to bring out the strangest of patterns.
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“The men and women are masters at their craft and the Princess is much as you would expect a princess to be.” The Mana Doll replied and continued to walk. “If you want more information you may ask them yourself. You must get to know all of the people on this trip personally. After all, you’re going to be treading through Elven and untamed lands with them for around the next two to three months."
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“Hmm, a princess, is she anything like Princess Altessa from Gailos?” His mind wandered blissfully at being able to accompany such a high class and refined, perhaps innocent lady such as her through dangerous lands. The possibilities that may or may not occur were endless. How… close they could get. A smile was on his lips… though a strange smirk was on Aon’s as well.
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“Something like that.” What the hell is that supposed to mean, Soras wondered as they continued their walk to their destination… maybe another three to four minutes.
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[DarkGrey]

Aria had arrived three days ago along with most of her entourage... Most of them. There seemed to be one or two ships that were really late. As in, nearly three days late and counting. Needless to say, it was boring as hell waiting for them, but no more boring than being cooped up in her castle would end up being. At the very least, the food was great, there were some pretty okay sights, and she had ample time to practice her swordplay - something that she wouldn't have as much time to do if she were back in the Trade Empire.

It was on the third day that a runner came, bearing a message from - wouldn't you know it - the other ship the 'squad' was waiting for, telling her, along with the rest of the expedition members, to meet up in the meeting hall. Once the runner had left, the princess' smile faltered as she threw her hands into the air and ranted to nobody in particular, especially since nobody was actually there in her room to rant to.

"Oh so now they show up, eh?"

She paced around the room, wanting to say more, but she was saving that for some passive-aggressive socialization for sometime in the future. She wasn't mad, just slightly irritated that she had to wait three days... Never mind the fact that she actually had some semblance of fun during their absence.

"Oh well. 'Might as well not delay the expedition any longer," she mumbled as she fitted on the supplementary items of her wardrobe, namely her cape, gloves, and belt. Checking herself in the mirror, she realized she had almost forgotten one nearly essential preparation for traversing wilderness.

Once she had finished tying her hair up, she set off for the designated meeting hall

[Ariolus Fayt]

“So this is the place huh?” Soras questioned as he stared up at the four story black and white stone building known as ‘Dolphins Run’. It was very nice; his grandfather WAS footing quite a bill to rent out nearly the whole establishment. Their… late arrival, might have just cost the old man a small fortune. This was perhaps to accommodate one of royal standards. The smile was still on his face as he pushed the door open and walked in with Aonather right behind him.
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The ‘greeting room’ or whatever it was called in Elven lands was high class with tapestries of cityscapes, forests, and great majestic beasts hung across every wall. At the far side of the room was a beauty of an elf woman with a smile on her face. “Welcome Master Rhine, we have been expecting you for quite some time. I hope your journey wasn’t too difficult.”
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Soras and Aon both continued forward at the slow stride until they reached the counter. “A speck of bad weather, but the day just got quite a bit better.” He said then grimaced as a clawed finger prodded him in the back as if saying ‘just get going’. The Mana Doll was too much of a spoil sport. It was not every day that you came across such a beauty… though he did suppose that she was the greeter for just that reason. With an inward sigh he gave in to the second prod. “We sent a runner ahead to have everyone gathered in the Meeting Hall, are you aware of if that has been accomplished?”
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“Of course Master Rhine, we had the word spread to the guests immediately after your runner arrived with the message. They should all be there by now.” The elf said then bowed lightly and motioned to her left. After stepping out from behind the counter the light elf drew his eye in her rather… uncouth by human standards outfit. A dark green loose fitting blouse with a V neck that dipped clear down to her navel. The equally dark green Skirt she wore rode rather high on her light skinned thighs and the way she walked… another prod set his teeth to gritting. He was beginning to like the elves more and more. Now if only he hadn’t been accompanied by this stick in the mud of a Mana Doll he might actually have been able to enjoy some portion of this meeting.
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“Here we are Master Rhine,” the elf spoke while flashing a glistening white smile and pulled the door open bowing low and motioning them inside.
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“It is much appreciated Madam.” He said and forced himself not to stare lest the Aon actually puncture skin with the next one. Rather he walked into the room with head straight and observing all of the occupants. Most were human, and luckily enough there were a few females. Hmm, odd though. He didn’t see any trace of a princess. Let’s see… one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen… Everyone was certainly here, but none of them matched up to princess quality. Perhaps they had the wrong room?

[DarkGrey]

Aria had been staring at the fine Elven craftsmanship lining the meeting hall. You just didn't see this kind of work back in Armenon all that often, so Aria took the time to bask in its glory. Her reverie was interrupted by the sound of the door to the entrance hall opening up. It seemed that the two tardy newcomers had just arrived. Turning to the door like most of the others in the group, she caught sight of the two they'd been waiting for.

There was a taller, white haired fellow - or Mana Doll - along with a smaller one. She knew fully well who the white haired one with the feline appearance traits was, after all, what royal didn't know about Mavora's well-traveled ace swordsmana Doll. Aria recalled seeing his swordplay once when she was younger, but she never actually met Aonather.

Then there was the smaller one, AKA the 'son' of Mavora's archmage. It seemed that he, a young man with short black hair, was sizing them up for some reason. Probably to gauge their strength or weaknesses, maybe? Either way, she was sure it was for some important reason relating to their little hike in the wilderness. Oh well, nothing ventured nothing gained, and so Aria stepped forward and decided to pose the question as to why he was seemingly looking throughout the crowd for something.

"If I may... Why exactly are you looking at us all in the strange manner?"

[Ariolus Fayt]

Soras’s eyes latched immediately onto the effeminate boy that had spoken. Swordsman, Sigils… can’t be seen, young perhaps 14 to 17 depending on Mana power, and various other strange human traits that cropped up oddly. His voice hadn’t changed yet… perhaps closer to thirteen. “I was trying to discern where the princess was. Has she arrived yet?” A light cough echoed from behind him and when he turned from the boy to face the Mana Doll the damned cat was looking away and at the rest of the group.
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“Someone should go and get her we ar-,” he started once more before two of the others in the room burst into laughter. A jovial pair man and woman… rings deemed them man and wife… if he was correct there was a couple like that coming with them. He couldn’t fathom the why of their laughter nor why it could not wait until he was finished speaking.

[DarkGrey]

'Is this boy dense?' Aria thought after hearing what Soras had to say concerning his reasons for looking, 'I'm obviously the princess, who else here even looks like a princess?' Nevertheless, Aria didn't outwardly obviously display her irritation at the whole situation as that was very un-princess-like. Thus, the 'effeminate boy' decided to call Soras out on his idiocy.

"There's another princess on the expedition?" Aria asked, seemingly confused, "why wasn't I, the princess of the Dragonblood Trade Empire, told of this arrangement?" She put her hand to her chest in that way that people did when they gasped before putting it to her chin and adding, "truly, I wonder what other kingdom would unecessarily allow their heiress to go on such a dangerous journey?"

[Ariolus Fayt]

Soras tried VERY hard not to let his astonishment show on his face, it worked for the most part. A slight dropping of his jaw was all that managed to show. Of course it was only natural, all the princess’s he knew or had seen or read about were beauties, that could enrapture a man with a single glance… not… THIS. The ‘girl’ could hardly pass off as such how old was she anyways? Where were the… no never mind best keep his thoughts elsewhere… speaking of which he had to collect them.
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Turning around he tapped Aon on the shoulder and whispered to him. “HOW IS THAT… Boy-Girl like Princess Altessa?“
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The man merely smiled as he replied in the most… frustrating of ways. “She is human, female, of a similar age, and of a royal decent. They are very much alike.”
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“They’re nothing alike!” he exclaimed while still whispering. The room probably hadn’t heard that bit… probably. Ugghh, this was horrible. His fantasies and possible great times in uncharted lands were just thrown off the ship from whence they had come. Not to mention he’d made a complete and utter fool and ass of himself.
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“She is not here to satisfy any of your dreams and desires boy. Remember what it is we are doing.” The man said and turned him back around to face down the possible female wrath he may have unwittingly unleashed.
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Soras flashed his best forced smile and spoke once more. “My apologies princess, I was… expecting something else, and No… there are no others princess’s coming along with us that I have been made aware of.” Err… that probably wasn’t going to make things any better.
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"If you're quite done boy, please get on with what we came here for!" Exclaimed a rather large yet diminutive man with a long brown beard and holding a mug of... alcohol perhaps?

[DarkGrey]

Aria's eye twitched ever so slightly in extreme irritation once she noticed Soras' semi-agape expression. However, she didn't say anything about it until he began whispering to his Mana Doll companion. She also had heard the "They're nothing alike!" but, again, didn't say anything about it... Yet.

It was when Soras gave his botched, obviously forced apology that Aria decided to make her move in this metaphorical (mostly one sided) game of chess they were playing.

"Oh no no no, it was a misunderstanding, which makes it somewhat both our faults!" Aria began before adding in a voice that was just a tad too fast... "Although if you insist it's your fault, then who am I to stop you? After all, even I should've expected somebody of your level of intelligence to have that reaction."

Aria paused and opened her mouth, about to say something else, but Soras was lucky enough that the short and stout bearded man interrupted her 'tirade' (if it could even by considered one) by bringing up the reason they were supposed to be here.

"...Anyway, now that we've settled your misunderstanding... We have priorities to get to. Do we not?"

[Ariolus Fayt]

It was natural… the woman HAD to have the last word. Typical… no he should just relax and explain what his grandfather and Aon had gone over with him… then Aon subsequently over and over again on their long voyage here. “Well then,” he started while deeming it unnecessary to respond in any way to the princess. Perhaps the last non word was better than getting in a word after all. Silence was golden… or something to that degree.
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“As you are well aware gentlemen and women; we are here to make our way to the Dragons capital in the second sector of the untamed lands. The whereabouts until recently haven’t been much more than speculation. The royal family of the Dragon Blood Trade Empire has graciously lent our expedition a map. While the runes are old and written in a draconic language left much unstudied by the world we have a translator… me.” He said and smiled at the end. No rounds of applause or… anything other than expecting stares, and not the kind he wanted. No, these expecting stares were of the hurry up and keep going kind.
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With an inward sigh he continued his little speech. “I’m sure all of you are aware of the happenings on Armenon right now. As such, the strength of these much feared creatures would be a more than welcome addition to the currently losing war effort. If we don’t get to their so called capital and back in time then Armenon may yet be lost to the coming tide.”
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He paused again… he wasn’t good at these speech things, but he couldn’t just say… ‘ok dismissed’ clap his hands and them be on their way. “Are there any questions before we leave?” Soras posed to the gather group. He could only assume there would be a few. Hopefully none about how they were late… he had to live through that nightmare, best not to revisit it.
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“I got one,” an older man said and pointed at him… no past him. Aon then? “What’s the servant on this expedition for? We don’t need no extra baggage.”
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“This is Ao,” he began but was cut off by another person.
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“I had the same question. If the fate of mortal races is at stake then we should be relying on one of these… creatures on this few man expedition?” The wife spoke, but her husband remained silent merely nodding his head. Was it really coming to this already? “Far as I know most of them, can hardly carry out simple tasks like fetching water.”
“Perhaps if you had more of their kind in the Military your people wouldn’t have been overrun so quickly Arrinosian.” Another man spoke from his post against a back wall.
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“Large words from a man that hails from the Demon Army’s first conquest.” The husband spoke up perhaps defending his wife… or his homeland. Either way, the man from… Krest apparently didn’t take the bait. He was going to have to cap this situation before it got out of hand. Now… how the hell was he going to do that?