New Dawn Beginning

[Artria]

((New Dawn OOC is located at http://roleplayerguild.com/f15/new-dawn-64599/ ))


Satomaru reached his long arm up and plucked a fruit from the tree. His face sparkled in the light, drawing the servants attention. The Prince was used to being stared at when dressed in the feminine attire that his elder half-sister Nyu, and their childhood friend Yon put on him on a regular basis.

"What do you need?"

The servant apologized for staring with several bows. "Your father has requested the gathering of all youth within the castle. It appears that you've all graduated to the next level of your training. You're to go to the meeting room at the top of the hour."

Satomaru brought the fruit to his nose and took in the sweet scent. A dissatisfied grin forms on his lips. He tosses the fruit at the servants face only to move quickly enough behind him to catch the fruit as it comes inches from his face. "You got it."

Satomaru turns around and returns indoors. As he approaches the meeting hall, he reaches up and pulls the pins from his hair allowing it to flow freely. From within one of his sleeves he removes a mask and places it over his face.

[Harbringer]

Yon was quietly picking herbs when she heard heavy footsteps crumpling the plants behind her. Picking the last Tardolran leaf, Yon bent slowly back up and smiled at the approaching messenger, who clumsily trod on the plants with his leather boots, unlike her delicate footsteps which stepped in between the herbs and weeds alike. "May I help you good sir?" she asked in her delicate voice, her face framed by her long blonde hair. The messenger hesitated for a second, stunned by this girl's beauty. Yon smiled sweetly as the messenger just stared.

"Erm, Lord Okami has requested all youth to gather within the castle. It appears that you've all graduated to the next level of your training. You're to go to the meeting room at the top of the hour." he said, surprised that Ephraim was the father of such a beauty, even if it was only adoptive. "I understand, thank you for your troubles," Yon said sweetly as the messenger turned away and returned to his other duties. Putting her hat back on, Yon started to hum and head back to the castle, the basket with the fragrant herbs still hanging off of her forearm.

Spotting Lord Okami's son, Satomaru, shesmiled. She remembered all those times that he had spent with him playing pranks, hiding from retribution, and generally causing a little stir within the large castle. "Hello Sato!" Yon said as she ran over and gave an innocent peck on his cheek, just before he put the mask on.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tobias leaned against the wall, his legs crossed in front of him. His hands held his pan pipes, Palus volito, to his mouth. His lips danced across the individual pipes as he played a regular old song for the servants on break to ance to. He was quite popular at the servant's quarter, and they often asked him to come and play music. He almost never denied it. His constant good mood and the music was infectious, bringing joy to all who listened. The servants danced around as they waited out their breaks, doing jigs as Tobias brought the pipes left, right, left, and lifted them up.

As soon as he finished his song, he was approached by a man in the uniform of a messenger. "Hello there my friend, how may I help you?" he asked, his happy smile contorting his face to create a very pleasant face. His horns camoflagued against hisbrown hair. The messenger cleared his throat and removed a scroll from his pack. So,this is a new messenger eh? Tobias hough as the messenger read out the message.

"Lord Okami has requested all youth to gather within the castle. It appears that you've all graduated to the next level of your training. You're to go to the meeting room at the top of the hour." the young boy said proudly. Finishing, he rolled the scrobb up and put it back in his pack. Smiing, Tobias walked over and slapped him on the back. The messenger almost fell voer. "Well then, I thank you for your troubles, young man," Tobias said as he left the servant's quarter.

His feet clacked o the stones off the castle as he happily ran up the styairs and approached the meeting room. Seeing his sister, Yon, and Satomaru, Tobias ran overand grabbed the small boy with both his hands and lifted him up in a manly hug. "Good morning, Sato!" Tobias said, squeezing the seemingly young demon. Hearing nother set of hooves clattering past, Tobias froze. "Tobi-as, release Sato before I cu-ff you," Ephraim said in a sing-song way as he clattered past, his double headed poleaxe slung across his shoulders. "Sorry father," Tobias said, quickly releasing the demon. Turning to face his sister, Tobias held out his arms. "Not unless you want a scorched face," Yon said, taking out a potion from her coat. Tobias relented and fell into step with them, heading towards the Meeting room.

[jakeholland]

Trarry was hanging upside down, enjoying the strange sensation as blood went to her head, giving her a heady and slow feeling that would be considered unpleasant by others, but was merely strange to her. She enjoyed seeing the world when it was the opposite as it should be, it gave a new perspective. She had been crawling through the trees like this for several hours, moving like a monkey through the trees in a way real monkeys could not. Of course, she had paid no heed to the various people she passed above, frightening; they simply thought she was some kind of creature, going through the trees, hidden by the rough foilage before they could get a clear look. She listened to the story that Povestea Carte was currently reading outloud; it was some creation called "The Two Hearts And The Demons' Plight". It was turning out good so far; a mix of adventure, love, and the mental experiences a person would have in horrifying situations.

But she enjoyed watching her own body at work, her arms as they effortlessly took hold of branches and her legs and they quickly wrapped around the tiniest twigs, giving her stability as she 'crawled' above the forest floor. It would be an hour before she finally got bored with this game, and it was by then that even her body was beginning to ache with the effort of holding her up, light and pain-tolorant as she was. She sighed to herself, mumbling about how dead-ends were so bothersome, and dropped to the ground, stretching her arms and legs for a moment, as well as keeping her eyes firmly shut, allowing her the luxury of being completely aware once she opened her eyes and was met with a frightening sight.

In front of her was some kind of boarish beasts, with tusks and fur. She fumbled for her weapon for a moment, quickly taking out the longsword that had refused to name itself, quickly becoming dubbed the simple and fitting name of Sword. The sound of a grunt from Sword gave Trarry all the information she needed about it's condition, and she quickly asked a question. "Mark?" The Sword did not hesitate, instead stating the words in the clipped and refined manner it had. "Eyes, neck, standard proceedure." Trarry nodded, though she knew this was unneeded. She held Sword up in the standard blocking movement, making herslef threatening but subdued at the same time.

The boar snorted, before charging forward with stupid tenacity. Trarry quickly jumped to the side, before turning in mid air with the use of a well-placed kick on a tree and quick movements of Sword, and then struck her mark; the boars' fat side, just below the ribcage. She plunged the weapon inwards, then pulled out, jumping backwards as the boar screamed and honked with fear, fury, and pain. It charged once again, but this time the movement was slow, sluggish, and there was no need to get out of the way. Trarry simply made a short skipping movement to the side as it approached, driving her sword in to the neck of the animal with the thrust of it's own movements, though mostly by her own strength, unremarkable as it was.

She grimly wiped her blade using oversized leaves, which was an action she had long ago learned after Sword had complained about how it was going to quickly become useless with her 'lack of ability to properly care for any type of true weapon'. Of course, she had followed it's instruction, but she had also complained about how her tail and limbs were appropriate weapons, just as suited for battle as Sword itself, in the small amounts of speech she had at that time. She had come to enjoy Sword, silent as it was, and it had always been a great ally in any of the numerous, ridiculously common occurences of danger she ran in to. Sometimes, when she recounted the various things that happened to her, she was not believed simply because of the sheer volume of dangerous situations she had encounted, immortal or not. She had long since began to attribute this to some internal magic.

Now, she was looking around the forest she was in, fully expecting more trouble to come, but she was glad as it didn't. So, she yawned and decided it was time for a nap, quickly setting up something akin to a primitive hammock in the 'roofs' of the trees, making herself comfortable as she lay on a bed of leeves and branches too weak to hold a normally weighed person for any amount of time. And so, she went to sleep, after feasting upon certain good bits of the boar, as well as some water from a nearby stream, and was dreaming of the old days, where she had simply lived without a care for anything except getting food, water, and making sure her home was safe. Not as peaceful or 'happy' as many modern people would think, but she had been content with it, and was certainly annoyed by the complicated ways of the various governments and groups and such things.

[pumirya]

Nyu turned yet another page in the large volume of romantic stories she was reading then paused to look up into the bright blue sky overhead. She spotted a lone bald eagle soaring across the vast expanse of sky overhead and watched the bird of prey until it vanished from sight, tracking it with her index finger just for fun. “I wonder where Sato is at,” she wondered aloud as she lowered her gaze to the large lake of crystal clear water which lay before her at the center of a large circular shaped grassy meadow that was surrounded by a massive forest of pine and other trees of various kinds that towered high into the air.

Nyu lay her book gently off to one side and lay back, sighing comfortably as she nestled her head in the soft green grass. In the distance she could hear the many faint sounds of animals going about their daily lives in the forest, some looking for food, some eating, and some trying to avoid being eaten. No animals had come to the lake to quench their thirst as of yet, something that Nyu had hoped to see so she could make use of the painting supplies she had brought with her for just that reason. “Maybe I scared them all away,” she said aloud to herself as she began to twist some of her long hair around one of her fingers absentmindedly. "I wonder what I should paint then," Nyu pondered and sighed.

A soft noise nearby alerted Nyu to the servant’s approach even before the young woman had set one foot in the meadow and Nyu sat up with a curious look upon her face as she turned to address her unexpected visitor. “Good morning, Yumi,” she said pleasantly with a cheerful smile as the young servant approached and stopped at a respectful distance. “Lord Okami has requested your presence,” the servant began speaking. “It seems that you all have graduated to the next level of training. You are to gather in the meeting room at the top of the hour.” With a reluctant sigh, Nyu replied, “Thank you,” as the servant vanished. "Well, I don't have to worry about what to paint now," she thought.

Getting slowly to her feet, Nyu quickly packed away the things she had brought with her to paint with and the volume of romance stories last of all. She moved at a quicker pace, but not yet a fast one, there was still a little bit of time left after all or so she reasoned. “I wonder what father has planned,” Nyu mused thoughtfully as she opened a portal to Castle Luperca and stepped quickly through it, appearing directly behind her haft brother Satomaru and embracing him briefly before she released him. “Good morning, Sato,” she said with a cheerful smile before turning and giving Yon a brief hug as well. “And good morning to you as well, Yon-chan,” she said pleasantly before she gave Yon a quick kiss.

"So we graduated, I knew we would though," Nyu said quietly with a brief but confident smile. "But it wasn't easy, was it," she added softly as a look of recollection crossed her face. "I wonder what we will be doing next, do either of you have any ideas?" Nyu asked and looked first from Yon and then to Sato. "I bet you have some ideas, Sato," she said teasingly and began to mess with Sato's hair just to hopefully get a reaction out of her haft brother, he was a lot of fun most of the time. 'Anyways, Yon, I found a really good book. I'll let you borow it later," Nyu added and showed Yon the book she'd been reading.

[Artria]

Satomaru grinned under his mask, blushing lightly that he had been kissed by Yon yet again. "Yon." he replied softly, before grunting in the strong grasp of Tobias. The always excited son of Ephraim had at first greatly annoyed the half demon to the point that he had bullied him a for a time, but at some point Tobias won him over with his musical abilities, capable of making him weak with a single song. It was hard for the half demon to lose control when surrounded by his friends, which had been a natural remedy to an otherwise troublesome existence. Without his friends, his family, he would not have learned the level of self control he had accomplished.

A more delicate embrace from his beloved half sister, Nyu, helped him relax further. He clutched the fruit that still rested in his hand as she messed with his hair. How could he possibly know more about their future than she did with her unique tracking abilities? He knew only enough to know that she was teasing him. Glancing over at the girls chit chatting about the book, he recalled the ever growing feeling that he always felt when he thought about them. 'I'll never let anyone hurt you no matter what you do; no matter what you say.'

They reached the meeting room and two guards opened the doors for them. Many of fathers councilmen were there as well as some family. Most began to clap lightly so that the combination and echo would not be overwhelming. At the head of the long table stood his father, Okami, and his mother, Ionia. It was a little surprising to see her there. She did not attend many events, and rarely appeared more than satisfied with anything these days.

Satomaru ran his empty fingers through his hair. "Honored." He approached his father, holding out the fruit to his mother. "About time..." he says softly between them, before walking back over and taking his own seat. He rubbed the sweet scent from his hand.

[Lord DragonFly of Dawn]

Sara sat in front of the healers hut working on a small loom. She was weaving new bandages to replace those recently used. Her work is slowed by the splint strapped to her left arm, a gift from a fever victim last week, too far gone in delirium to understand where he was or what was going on.

She hated taking care of cases such as his, when the patient was too far gone to be saved, when all that she could do is make them as comfortable as she could while she waited for the black winged angel to pay them a visit ant take their souls away. The man was still alive, but only barely, and Sara had gotten so agitated that the healer had sent her out to weave more cloth for bandages.

On the other side of a low wall nearby the sounds of battle came. Accalia was over there examining the fourth year students. From the sounds of it they were smart enough to avoid tactics that would results in injuries worse than scrapes and bruises. That was good, sometimes the older students got overconfident and Accalia always made sure to teach them the error of their ways in a manner that they would not soon forget.

There were thirty students in the courtyard, but only fifteen were still fighting, the others had either been 'killed' by the instructor or withdrew on their own. The last fifteen were trying to press Accalia against the wall where they could breach her defenses and pass the test. Accalia smiled softly in a way that should have made her attackers worried....

[pumirya]

Nyu followed Sato into the room after softly telling Yon that she thought Yon looked extra cute that morning and asking if she had had a pleasant night's rest... "Good morning," she said softly, stopping briefly in the open doorway to curtsy. It was a old habit of her's, one that Nyu couldn't break, not that she ever had really tried. "Okami-same, Ionia-same," she said softly, respectfully as she walked the length of the table and embraced each of them gently in turn. "Thank you," she added quietly and smiled warmly at them both. As she sat took the seat to Sato's right, Nyu wondered what new and difficult things she, Sato and the others would have to do in the next phase of their training. It was so very exciting.

Their training had already been filled with many difficult days and so there had been times when Nyu had wondered if she would be able to make it... The help and support that she had received from Sato, Tobias, and especially Yon had helped Nyu a great deal and she felt a great deal of love for all her friends and Sato. Her favorite friend was Yon, who Nyu was very close to, as close as the two could have been and not been lovers and Tobias, who's music Nyu loved to listen to while she painted... Sara was a nice girl too and Nyu liked her as well. She wondered briefly where Sara was and what the other girl was doing just then. "Hurry up, Yon," she thought, allowing her thoughts to travel to Yon's mind...

Ayame stood alone on the balcony of the home she and Illian shared that sat on a hill overlooking her hometown of Faoiltiama. Her carmine coloured eyes wandered down the beach and moved to the blue-green waves of the ocean that curled up gentry onto the sandy shoreline. A warm, gentle breeze ruffled her long hair and Ayame sighed quietly... She wondered where Illian was right now. He had said he had something important to do that morning but hadn't elaborated, which was okay, Ayame trusted him completely but that didn't stop her from missing her mate when he was gone from her side for any length.

Azami was gone from the house, spending a might over at her best friend, Akari's house in the city a few blocks from the Green Dragon Inn, which Akari's parent's now owned. After watching a small pod of dolphins jump and play about in the bay for a few minutes longer, Ayame turned and walked slowly back into the bedroom. A large four poster canopy bed sat at the center of the room. Along the wall at the foot of the bed were she and Illian's wardrobes. Along the wall that held the door to the bed's right were two writing desks and the wall opposite that held four tall windows and the door that lead to the balcony.

In the next section of the bedroom suite that was reached by going through a small door between the wardrobes was the dressing area used by Ayame and Illian and a large table with a ornate golden bordered mirror where Ayame could sit and fix her hair, adorn jewelry and makeup and generally make herself look pretty, although Illian was want to say often that she, Ayame had wonderful natural beauty and didn't need any makeup... All of the furnishing were solid white with a bright gold trim around the outside edges. There was also a ornately designed piano in the right corner area of the bedroom near the two most right-hand windows, this piano being smaller then its larger twin in the music room, both piano also being designed the same as the rest of the furnishings in the bedroom suite...

The floors of the large bedroom suite was made of a Bole coloured marble withthe walls a desert sand colour... On the wall at the bed's head hung a large painting of Okami, Ionia, Ayame, Illian and Azami framed in an intricate gold weave pattern... To the right of that painting was one of Ayame, Illian and Azami, also framed similarly and to the left of the first painting was one of Azami herself... Four tapestries adorned the wall opposite of the windows, all of different floral patterns and made of a shimmering silk cloth... On the wall that lead into the dressing room were two framed paintings. One of of Castle Luperca and the other was of Faoiltiama, both in a winter setting and framed in the same style as the paintings... Last of all was a large crest of Luperca, which had been hand painted in the official state colours of blue and gold upon the ceiling of the room directly over the bed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Shades_of_brown

[Harbringer]

Yon smiled upon seeing the book. She and Nyu had been through a lot together, and it was through this bond that they knew waht each other liked. "Thank you Nyu, that would be nice," she replied gently, smiling in her direction. Right now, she seemed as gentle as a flower swaying in the breeze, completely at odds to when she had threatened her brother a few seconds before. Chuckling slightly, Yon looked at Nyu as she said she was cute today, "Really Nyu? I did put special care into today after all," she said, "and how about you? Miss Beauty, right Tobias?" she said, glancing over at Tobias. The satyr merely blushed and laughed weakly. "If you say so, sis," he said, attempting to hide the fact that he did not know how to deal with women.

As they all reached the entrance, they were met with a sound wall of clapping, although it was only just polite applause. Yon smiled gently and curtsied, a habit she had copied off Nyu. Tobias, bowed formally, as his father had taught him to do. Wiping his feet outside, he clip-clopped in. Standing next to Lord Okami and Lady Ionia, the siblings bowed and curtsied, before walking over to their seats, next to Ephraim. The centaur had no need of a chair, and simply stood, still as a statue. "Greetings, children," he said softly in his deep voice, stroking his beard with one hand. He was in formal regalia, the crest of House Luperca displayed proudly on the dress armour. Everyone knew how much he hated the breastplate, but this ceremony was especially important, so Ephraim had deigned to wear it.

[Artria]

Ionia took the fruit that was given to her. When everyone had entered and taken their seats, she cleared her throat and the clapping died down to nothing. The room was quiet and still save the popping sound as Satomaru absentmindedly pulled his thumb out of it's joint over and over again.

"You have come a long way from the little children of yesterday. You are a breath of fresh air for the soldiers that gave birth to a new Luperca over 150 years ago. I am proud to send you on to your next level of training, yet dearly afraid as every mother bird feels when their babies are finally strong enough to leave the nest. That being said," Ionia stands and draws out a small square cloth and tosses it onto the table. "I send you." She glances briefly at Okami, sadness and concern reflecting in her eyes. Without another word she takes her leave from the room.

"Send? We're leaving Luperca?" Satomaru asks, crossing his arms. "I bet that was a very long conversation." he mumbles, stifling a laugh.

~~

Captain: "Prince Illian, you're looking strong today. As discussed, the plans to receive your siblings and the others will be on schedule. However, a new problem has arisen this early morn'. A small fleet of human manned vessels were spotted toward the northeast. We sent a messenger ship to inquire about their purpose. Should we feel any threat we will attack, otherwise we shall offer them aid so that they may be on their way as quickly as possible."

Illian rubbed his chin. "A small fleet this time? They are either growing more curious, or they find us too kind. Have we not warned them every time they appear that we do not welcome them to make camp on our lands? Father would be furious with me if he knew that I let them come and go so easily. I'd like you to send out five ships to join the other. I do not trust this day. I shall join one of the ships."

Captain: "As you wish. I shall be your eyes." He turns and begins to give out orders.

"This will be interesting. We might capture their fleet if things do not go smoothly. I wonder what they will have to say about that." Illian pondered out loud as he followed the Captain to their ship. Though he had lost the sight of his eyes, he could still see their beautiful energies and the way their bodies moved as though they were merely spirits. It was like living in a different world.

[Lord DragonFly of Dawn]

A crack of sound and the lesson is over. Accalia emerges unscathed and not even winded.

Accalia: You will have to do better than that if you wish to land a blow on me. None of you qualify yet for the paranormal squad, although a few show promise there, but you have done well enough to pass the test. Go have that new healer look at any injuries you acquired and i shall require a full writeup of your observations by tomorrow, including some ideas on what you could have done better. Class is dismissed.

Accalia turns and walks quickly towards the castle kitchens. there is a basket there she had asked the cooks to prepare for her.

Accalia: AdoQhina! Come meet me at the usual spot for lunch. I have good news.

~~~

At the healers hut Sara puts the loom aside and turns to face the practice yard, but although several of the combatants seem to be limping heavily or otherwise injured none of them stop at her master's hut to be tended to.

Sara: Hmph. They will have to lose that pride of theirs if they want to survive their first campaign...