Place: Hall of Remembrance, Hunter's Guild.


The air shifted sharply as the door let in cool breeze from the outside world, as it continued to open letting new faces be seen. Drovia had not seen a jump in population since the end of the great war, but word that the hunters guild had began recruiting openly again made new way for new comers to the great human capital. All races of Terecoth, now gathered in the hall in which it all started. A hash was issued over the large crowd. They were made up of all ages, some looking as though they had just finished grade school now to enlist in the Hunter militia. Rather large foot sets upset the silence as the hall door opened. The large metal and engraved door dragged on the ground and opened slowly. As the light from, the large windows broke the shadow of the man walking in, everyone peered to look at the new body in the room. Head-Master Ash stood tall and spoke in a deep dark voice that voided all other sounds. "Welcome New-Bloods" Ash gave a slight chuckle giving a little room for comfort. "My son Varioyn is going to be signing you. I will only say this once, come one by one up to the table and tell him your name and reason for being here today" He gave a quick glance around the room at all the faces, some strong, some frail, some looked as though he was a monster that needed to be hunted. "Many of you may not know who we are. Many of you do. We are the Hunters, Drovia's first army, Terecoth's finest men and women the titans have to offer. What we are NOT, is assassins, brutes, farmers. We are not here to murder or disrupt, we are here to help those in need." He gave another quick glance, to see if there was any change in facial expressions of the mass. "This is a life or death profession. Many here...." He looked back towards Varioyn and the veteran hunters "....Have lost friends, Family, ..Themselves." He pulled himself back. "There will be a test for both physical and mental capabilities, we need to know you are fit to be a hunter. These will begin tomorrow after the signing and introduction. Please feel free to say and look at the Hall of Remembrance after you have spoke to Varioyn" Ash nodded at the crowd and walked back into the room, closing the great metal door behind him.

Varioyn looked down at his pen and paper. "Alright, everyone line up. You heard the Head-Master" The line looked so long that it could stretch forever. Varioyn laid his cloak down. Might be a long night..

Amalay had steadily been working her way as close to the table as possible because of her impatience. She hated waiting in line, and whenever there were formalities, there was always a line. Upon everyone beginning to collect, a dodge here, a few steps there, and she was only about a dozen back from those fortunate enough to randomly choose to stand right at the origin of the line. The bows and announcements were largely human youths since we were, after all in the great city of humans, and none were more eager for their time to shine than the young.

Upon her turn, she showed all respect that was due, a flowing curtsy with crossed feet that was almost fluid. Memories of her mother teaching her her manners ran through her mind. “As though you are blown upon the wind, as though you are water trickling over the stones. Hands spiral in, and clasp at your heart. Not so fast, not so slow. Now bend at the knee and hip as though you are to fall asleep. And now remain, but not too long should the person feel themselves not important enough to deserve it.”

Strangely enough, should she show such formality to a merchant troop, not only would she be viewed as strange, they would all be horribly self conscious. She had been a very long time in coming to any sort of nobility.

“I am Amalay Du Lya, Somnant Knight of One Kill, the Dreamer of the Lya. I have come to join the hunters in order to destroy the world... and to elevate a greater one in its stead. A place where the shadow is driven farther than the most distant reaches of the abyss, and the talons of evil is scalded away by the goodness that flows from the people.”

What is in a name? Well, if one was versed in this olden time address, this was more than simply a noise that your family decided to use to clarify what they were talking about. This was a resume. Amalay Du Lya meant that she was from the village of Lya, a small and humble residence somewhere around Lothadid, like it’s greater dwelling, it too was hidden and thus meant very little to those unfamiliar with the forest and the ways of the elves.

Somnant Knight of One Kill, well, that meant she was a warrior that had seen real combat numerous times and was now considered a veteran... however, unlike a warrior in human terms, notching their weapons to keep track of the enemies they have slain, it was the opposite. Each kill was a blemish, since it meant that the conflict could not be resolved without bloodshed or killing. This was a way of the past now, Somnance was the magic of nature to transfigure opponents into harmless forms of life. While it gave a certain edge, and let the Elves sleep at night, it was not the most efficient way of battle since it required quite a bit of training, about twice as long to master as a bow. During the great war, there was no time for lengthy training of troops, and thus more carnal solutions were used. Now, most Elves had taken the habit of notching on human terms, especially since it singled out the skilled rather than sharing company with newcomers, and it was no longer a display of how approachable and humble they were.

Dreamer of Lya meant that she was given a title in her hometown as a dreamer. While someone might not know who Amalay was, they would undoubtedly hear stories of “the Dreamer of Lya.” Depending on the size of the community, such stories could really mean something, but since Lya was pretty small and un-influential, it was probably a hand-full of wild antics that the locals knew about.

With her introduction out of the way, she signed the parchment before her. A calligrapher, she was not, and her chicken scratch was full of asymmetric letters and lumpy blobby loops that would have earned her the tisk of her teacher had she been nobility herself, or had she been studying swordsmanship.

(Waddling into the lecture, Meshiro pushed to the front ... alongside the others. Even with his stature, he could barely squeeze through the breaks of the crowd for it was as a tight and clustered as tuna in a tin. Occasionally, Tsuekami found himself brushing past individuals who smelled entirely of corpus and must. With each advance, Meshiro took scheming stares, and harsh eyeballing from a few slender elves who had been plotting behind their thick black mantle of steel knives and other deadly trinkets, or even a downward glance from brutish, hulking Etlocks who loomed over the boy like an ant to a human.)

"Boy, am I gonna be an anvil's face, or a hunter? These big body, lousy ruffians here... They out here expectin' they're gonna be swift killers on a field, heh! To be soaked like a towel just by trying to move... and not even by mine sweat, musty beast ya are. Maybe, one of those filthy thieves from before will cut me with his ears alone. Dice my little body up like-- eh, signori, ya're in the way...?"

(The quiet rant had come to an end. Interrupted by a mountainous Etlock whose arm lazily swung towards Meshiro with a hand the size of a frying pan with fingers built like juicy bratwursts. Cerise fuzz decorated the giant's palm like green on endless hills. Meshiro accosted the great hand with the warmth of his own, but in reality could only bring the Etlock's pinky to a twitch and not even a shake. The Etlock grinned and scooped Meshiro from behind with his veins bulging like thick viola strings. The Etlock catapulted Meshiro through the crowd with a 'gentle' shove.)

"Uffgh, signori... Ya needa be careful shoving me around like some doll.... Oh."

(Meshiro glanced up, lying at the feet of yet another Etlock. This Etlock was not as kind the former, and didn't offer his hand. Furthermore, this Etlock was even bigger, with golden locks of hair, and wielded a heavy spiked iron baton in one hand, with a red bulwark in the other. The Etlock nudged Meshiro off the ground and faced back the other way. Meshiro looked around himself, and still, it seemed he hadn't moved even a meter from the entrance.)

"When will it be my turn already..."

Human taverns... Without knowing it, the hunter's guild had done something that asked for compensation. Wouldn't it have been the better decision to hold this rally in the open field ? The initial benefit of it being warmer and calm in here was dwindling anyway, leaking out of this room divider that was barely given the chance to stay closed for any noticeable amount of time. Still, Grol was focusing on the damn thing as if he could stop the steady stream of people by greeting them with a grim look.

A silhouette grabbed his attention. Its strange familiarity had got it past the filter in the Etlock's mind, identifying it as something that was worth being relayed to his upper levels of consciousness despite the fact that it had only occured in the corner of his view. Grol raised himself on tiptoes, something that was bound to be considered hilarious because he was already towering above his surroundings, risiking a serious strike onto his head from above. It was a sign of good quality that the floor was able to hold up against his inhuman stature on such a small area without too much protest.

It was when Amalay got up from her curtsy that he was able to see her dead ahead. What a lucky person... or... was she really ? Or had it been determined usage of her skills that had gotten her in front of this desk so quickly ? He couldn't tell, but the latter thing really would not have surprised him. Grol could very well remember when and how this 'one kill' had occured. The true meaning of this event eluded him however. For the Etlock, it was 'just' a singularity in the behaviour of his friend. As far as he knew her, she didn't freak out and stab somebody with his own weapon, but used methods that seemed to be much more advanced. Not that this would have been capable of reducing his self esteem... After all, he was the biggest one in here. That had to count, too!

He glanced over to the two Etlock comrades. Grol already had to bear the rather bad reputation of his people, he knew that his appearance would do nothing but support this theory of all Etlock's being brutes, and now that! A small boy being pushed around like air by two of them. Perhaps he should step over and give them a beating before he had to start being afraid of a local revolt against his kind ? Luckily, the action subsided before the hulking giant had to give up his place in the line for this.

This was a good thing, because now he had progressed so far that there was only one person left in front of him. Once the man had made his signature, it was his turn to bend down and place his hand on the desk for support. If anyone was worried about Amalay's handwriting, that same one had to be horrified by the act of pure gross motor skills Grol was torturing both parchment and quill with. "Grol. If I wouldn't be convinced that the hunter's doing is a good thing I wouldn't try to join them." he growled with a voice that was brutally deep, then chuckled.

He was really looking forward to those physical tests. Hopefully they would have much to do with what he was good at and less with what he wasn't good at, but who knew ? Now he had to try to get out of this mess as quickly as possible, even if it meant stepping forward slowly, but continuously so that people would get out of his way of their own accord.

Privy stood and was excited. Even though performing for kids was fun, he was ready for a new change of pace in his life. His axe hovered beside him, following him in the line for applying to this guild of hunters. "You do know that I'm not going to fight, right?" Cliff the axe said, with a rather echoey voice that reminded you of a lord of crime. His intentions were fair, just cursed with that sort of voice. Privy turned to his comrade and winked. "I wouldn't expect you to, friend. Sometimes a man just needs a brother to come along with him in his wacky antics, eh?" Privy cheerfully said as he nudged his axe friend. "... you're lucky that I can't actually do anything without you." exclaimed the axe as the two moved farther up in line. It took a while to notice that there was a large amount of Etlocks present in the line, and unfortunately, all of them seemed brutish. That was depressing, as Privy hoped that at least one of them would be close enough for him to relate to, but that was not the case.

Soon it got to the point where Privy and Cliff were at the front of the line, and it was time to sign up for this guild of hunters. Privy grabbed the quill and began to sign his name, which was actually legible compared to the words that were written by earlier applicants that equalled shit on paper. "Jameson Privy, Magician. Pleasure to meet your acquaintance." Privy finished his signature and moved to the side, allowing other applicants to sign up.

Amazing, everything was astonishing here, from the building to every person standing around. This is the Hall of Remembrance, a beautiful building with such detail in its design, it was made with hard work, something anyone can appreciate. Nlossae was not used to being in the city so late and felt a sense of thrill. She was experiencing an adventure already, the long line was not a bore for her if fact it was the best entertainment she had all year.

The people were so interesting everywhere, each one having their own story and own history. The mass amount of humans were not that entertaining, mostly because many of them are just the youth from Drovia that think they are true warriors. But the real interesting ones were the Elves and Etlocks, it is not normal to see those type around Drovia unless they were just visiting. So seeing so many in one building it was mind boggling.

As Nlossae waited in the long line, her eyes began to dart around looking at some of the most interesting characters. She quickly noticed the largest Etlock she had ever seen, he towered over everyone in the building. It was amazing, he carried with him a large morning star, and just his stature could frighten any normal bandit away. Then an odd little boy was getting shoved around little ways back behind between two Etlocks. He looks much too young to be in a place like this. Then maybe the oddest of them all was the very short man talking to his floating axe just ahead of Nlossae,

”This is one odd place.”

All of the sudden Nlossae was coming up in the line. The giant Etlock was up there right now but soon it would be her turn. It’s coming close to Nlossae, the nerves started to rise, this is her first impression and she knows that is the most important impression for an event like this. She stepped closer to the table mentally rehearsing what she was going to do and say. Next was the odd tiny man with the floating axe, she could not hear what he said unlike the giant that preceded him.

Finally, it was Nlossaes turn. She eagerly walked up to the table, stopping inches away from actually walking into the table. A lot ran through her mind but she knew two things meant a lot in situations like this, eye contact and a sturdy handshake. So Nlossaes stuck her hand directly at Varioyn while staring directly into his eyes, a little too intensely for a normal person.

”My name is Nlossae Qinynore, I am here to prove that I am just as good as all of the other races and also to help some people along the way.”

Nlossae smiled and signed her name at the first open space she saw on the sheet. There was a lot of chicken scratch on the sheet, which made sense since this is a room full of warriors, not authors. Then she stepped to the side and looked for a way out of this jumble of people. She saw the giant Etlock making his way through the crowd step by step. Nlossae wasn’t going to miss an opportunity to squeeze through the crowd, so she quickly ran up behind him and followed his lead through the crowd.

Kyik'thai had been sitting on a treebranch outside of the Hall of Remembrance for some time, watching the other applicants and members wandering in and out of the building, when she noticed the position of the sun for the first time that day. She was still unused to the time scales of the surface dwellers and their concept of day and night, but even so, she could tell that she had accidentally waited too long. She was late. Mild humiliation both prompted her to drop off of the tree and make her way inside, past the superterranean races.

The assortment of would-be Hunters was impressive and disappointing at once. Most of the hopefuls didn't even look as though they had killed anything yet, much less anything threatening. But there were some who caught her eye - and ears. In particular, one 'Etlock' as she had learned they were called, was even taller than she was, even if only by one inch - and looked like he weighed no less than six times as much. A part of her hoped she would work with the man in the future - he seemed dangerous, and therefore safer to travel with than others. Another part wanted to avoid him as much as possible out of self preservation.

The line to Varioyn was still quite long, as the room was incredibly crowded. She knew what lines were, of course - they were present everywhere. But that didn't mean she couldn't play the part of the clueless foreigner if someone complained. That was a specialty of hers. A few minutes of listening in on the introductions told her what she assumed she needed to know, and she slipped into the line. A wide smile baring her downright violent teeth ensured the human man she cut in front of wouldn't complain at all. When she turned toward Varioyn and the front of the line, she heard the man behind her quickly shuffle himself to the back of the line.

Some short time passed, and she arrived at the front of the line, now certain that she was supposed to state her name and what she wanted. I am Kyik'thai Tvikiir, and I'm here to find proper work, she wanted to say to the man before her. Varioyn was his name, apparently.

"Kyik'thai Tvikiir. Want house money."

It didn't come out quite how she wanted it to. She was clearly several years from being properly conversational - and it didn't help that she was slightly nervous, being the only Sviirog in the building. At least it was vaguely understandable, even if she did sound like a moron.

Her own words gave her a bit of a jolt, and she hurriedly scribbled her family sigil on the sign-in sheet, along with what she assumed to be the right spelling of her own name in the common tongue. She dropped the quill back into the ink bottle and spun to shove her way through the crowd, toward the door. The enormously tall Etlock and some others who didn't appear to be cut from the same cloth as the rest of the applicants seemed to be on their way to the door as well.

As the sun cast an odd shadow on Orac's face he winced his eyes and glanced over at the Guild hall. "Suppose I better go and see if somebody wants me uh?" he said to himself nonchalantly.

With that Orac walked slowly but gallantly over the sun baked stone towards the hall. Not caring that people were busy wandering through the streets Orac just seemed to bustle his way through without hindering a single person.

As he reached the line he glanced along, "about 7 people in front, jeez I am already sick of waiting." Orac was an impatient Elf and he wasn't afraid to show his anger and restlessness.

Finally he was next to go in-"Well here we go, my parents didn't want me when I was young let's see if I fair any better here."With that he pulled his hood down on his jacket and made his way in.

Once in the hall Orac was nearly but not quite speechless so many race, origins, backstory all in one room ready to take weapons, tools and friends on to quests and who knows what battles.

"I am here to join sir you won't be disappointed." Orac said with haste to Ordmar one of the volunteer workers.

"We are the one's to decide who is worth and not, erm what is your name exactly?".

"Orac good sir and I would like to sign up please".And with that Ordmar gave him a quill and told him to sign on the line.

"That's it?, no questioning? No medical test? AWESOME!".
Orac signed.

The air became lighter and lighter as more bodies signed and left the hall, few stayed but the room seemed less daunting. Every New-Blood had a personality, it was the first time he actually felt hope for the guild again. Many of the names burned his mind, he could see potential.
His eyes glanced across the full paper of recruits, it may have been the first in a long while that The Hunters were openly inviting people to join the ranks, but never had he expected such a turn out. Varioyn grabbed his cloak and walked around to a few that had stayed, introducing himself. No one seemed interested in becoming apart of conversation, he didn't blame them. Most were probably nervous for the inevitable join or boot that tomorrow would seek to provide.

The day after...

Varioyn rose and grabbed his cloak and swords, his gut twisted for those he was going to have to let go today. Varioyn was a kind man, not one to fancy bringing senseless pain to others, it was a great honor to be in the guild, at least among the humans of Drovia, it gave anyone respect no matter the race.

As he walked down stairs he noticed yet again the large crowd gathered in the Hall of Remembrance, he stopped and looked around. "Where in the hell is Javier.." he thought to himself. He shrugged it off, seeing how he may have better things to do than train a bunch of new bloods.

"Hello again everyone, I hope you slept well in anticipation for your tests.." Varioyn gave a slight smirk. "I'm afraid to inform you that Head-Master will not be joining us on this day as he has a important deliverer mission that was urgent for the Kings men." Varioyn's face molded back into a stern seriousness that he was partly afraid might make the crowd uncomfortable. He tried to lighten up. "As Head-Master explained yesterday, you have all signed up and now will begin your trials.. We will start with the intellectual trials. A test if you will." He was surprised to not here an uproar of groans and agony set forth by education that he was so used to from his younger brethren. Varioyn laid he sword on the large wooden table across from the first of the crowd. "There is old language, even I do not know on this blade, it was given to me but a old Etlock friend of mine. By his word he said it is a shard of a much larger sword called Illikorav, or 'Blood Cleaver' In Giant, now I speak of this because your first question is. Who was the first Titan, born of ash and also known as the Father of the giants? Varioyn panned the group as the question set it. Your second question is How was the Hunters guild come to be? A simpler question he thought, but it opened the end of history not normally studied. He looked down at his pencil scratched paper, that was the last question provided by Ash. He looked up quickly not to give his struggled facial expression away. Last question.. What city must you never step foot in, for it is the source of all death and darkness? He looked up to the map on the wall behind him, to the west past Lothadia.. Darkness. Varioyn moved out of his seat and looked around. Once those are answered, we will move on.

(Pondering, Meshiro stared down at his paper and pencil with a blank expression. Suddenly, the lad began blurting out in one of his random self rants.)

"Taha! A test of smarts, right? Childs play... Eh.. Even though I am a child, but... Alright. Ehh.. Time to answer I guess, signori."

Titan Oric was born of ash...
Well, the hunters...

(Meshiro was interrupted by a sudden yet familiar musty stench permeating his nostrils. On his side, he caught glimpse of a looming Etlock gazing at his answer sheet from above.)

"Huh? I can smell you inching closer, and closer, so listen big fella', back off my paper before I bonk you with my staff, ok? Eh, I guess only one of us will be a hunter after all, so no worries. Teehaha."

(Said Meshiro to the now embarrassed Etlock on his right. The Etlock cocked his head in the other direction, flushed with steam billowing from out his nostrils. The Etlock then started to cheat off a nearby elf paper. However, now that Meshiro is looking around, he could find so many individuals cheating. There was one human using some sort of unusual body language with his comrade to communicate answers. There was an elf holding a toxin-tipped arrow into the side of a human sitting next to him, forcing the human to cough up answers. An Etlock towards the corner of the room hung his unnecessarily shiny buckler shield against the wall at an angle that allowed him to see answers in the reflection of the shiny rampart.)

"Seems everyone is cheating in some way."

Anyways... The hunters started off as an elite crew of assassins made to dispatch adversaries of the old king, but now have been reformed into trained guards of the land.

Lastly, the 'Burg'. Mhm, Finished!

"Godspeed ya bub. See ya later, if ya pass! Teehahaha!"

(Shouted the youngling as he trudged off, staff in hand.)

Privy stared down at his piece of paper, his axe friend looking over it with him. Privy began writing the answers to the questions provided, occasionally whispering to Cliff for some assistance with this test. Cliff was the more intelligent one of this duo, while Privy was everything else.

I know that it was Oric that was born of ash, I do know that... but why was the Hunter's guild created...?

Privy whispered to Cliff. They signed up under the same list so it wasn't technically cheating.
_{"Cliff, what do I put for the second one...?"
"... fuck man I don't know. They were assassins or something right?"
"Were they? That would make some sense..."}

Privy wrote down that they were assassins at some point hired by the king, who later... um... fuck.
_{"Cliff, why are they still around?"
"... James we both know you found me in a trinket store, how would I know? What did you write..."
"I wrote that they were assassins hired by the king, that's all I had."
"... um... the king found another use for their services or something like that?"}

Privy wrote down that the king found another use of their services after they fulfilled their need as assassins.

Last one... which town...? Oh it's the Burg.

Privy finished the test as he and Cliff turned in his exam and left.

"... you failed didn't you?"
"I at least got one I think."

Javier was sent to round up a bunch of bandits and take them to jail with minimal bloodshed. It was quite difficult, given how barbaric and aggressive they were towards outsiders. Good thing he was with a bunch of other experienced Hunters. They were able to incapacitate the bandits without killing any of them. The leader of the bandits was quite a person, that was for sure. Very different from who Javier worked for before.

Boss Rodevic was quite a kind man. After his surrender, he kept quiet and didn't resist. He knew he couldn't escape so he hushed his own guild while they were being transported. Rodevic was in no way honorable nor was he merciful, but he was at least a smart man. Smart enough to know when he is defeated. This leader, however, kept on struggling against his binds as he and his team was being sent to the capital for their trial. He kept on spouting off insults like the Hunters present would even care what he said. They were sent and they would do their job. That was it.

They had dropped off the gang and after making sure that the guards had them, they left for the Hall of Remembrance. They talked among each other about the new recruits. This should be their next day after the sign-ups. A test, if they remembered correctly. The white haired male silently listened though, as they moved in their carriage. Soon enough, the Hall of Remembrance was in sight. Loading off their supplies, they headed through the other doors so that they wouldn't meet the mass of new-bloods.

Javier peered from the second floor. There were a lot of them. Some would surely not get into the guild because... well because they couldn't get everyone in there. Some caught his eye. Like that tall Etlock over there. There were other smaller people. As expected, they were taking the test. It is quite easy if you knew at least the basics. Well, to be perfectly honest, he almost failed at this one mostly because he was just a mercenary. The second question threw him way off but he was briefed about it thanks to the King.

He descended from the stairs silently and took his place beside Varioyn. He kept his head down as he did so and asked, "Is there anything for me to do Varioyn?"

Intellectual tests ? One could tell by the Etlock's facial expression that he wasn't exactly fond of that immediate prospect. The room had already filled with a plethora of different people of most of the races he knew about. Of course it had to. It was the same bunch of people he had seen the day before, the day of his signup. Hopefully he wouldn't regret it...

The Etlock's hand, richly decorated with robust, black hair sprouting from its back, went for a head-on assault against the pile of writing material. He knew that his writing was rather horrible, and as he had already provided a sample of it to Varioyn, he had to assume that the instructor knew as well. Grol wasn't eager to be the one that had to more or less shily get up and ask for another sheet of parchment because he needed more than twice as much space for the same number of letters than the average elf.

He noted someone who appeared to be an Etlock just like himself by his stature. Yet Grol found it still very difficult to believe that, because... How tall was this guy ? Four feet, perhaps even less. He couldn't help but pity him - such a curse. This boy likely was being laughed at by many, perhaps that was the reason why he had taken his weapon with him. So had several people; it was something Grol considered bravado. Noone needed a sword or a shield to fill in a stupid test!

Jameson's seat on the bench dropped significantly when Grol placed himself next to him and started to read. The first question seemed very easy on first glance, but it took the Etlock a several seconds to start writing.

Well... Since you are referring to a Titan born out of ash, it is clear that the correct answer is Oric. However the legend only says that 'Titans were born', indicating that the first titan might not exist, but that Oric and Iris are both the first of their kind.

Boring. Grol slammed his right index finger into the right hole of his nose (that luckily had a sufficient diameter) and started drilling for a couple of seconds. Considering the output - that quickly got swiped off the parchment onto his lap and from there onto the floor -, perhaps it was not such a lucky thing that the hole's diameter was sufficient after all.

Next question.

Because the great king Darion anticipated that one day the world would need an institution so awesome that a legendary Etlock called Grol would consider joining, giving it that tiny extra bit of power it needed to finally save the world. He quickly scored out this sentence and started writing the real answer beneath it.

Now: A city one should not dare to enter because it was the source of all death and darkness ? Grol arched one eyebrow, grinning. With the vigor of someone who had had a great idea and wanted to secure it in written form before his mind would loose it again, the Etlock scribbled.

Now you've maneuvered yourself into a serious dilemma: Of course, there is the undead city simply called The Burg, which could be considered the correct answer. However, according to my experience and knowledge, my race (I'm an Etlock) is often considered brute and filled with dark magic. So I could theorize that from your perspective, you could consider Etlockbarv as a source of death and darkness as well. One normally isn't allowed to enter it. So, hard choices for me... But I just say The Burg.

Orac heard Varioyn speak about the 'aptitude' tests and muttered "Me take a test? You have got to be joking, I have never had to take a test in my life, can they not see how ready and able I am? Oh well I better answer I don't want to get kicked out in front of all these guild starters".

Orac lifted his hand to the paper in front and started to write, "OK question one" Orac inked Oric was born of ash.
He then moved on to question 2.

"HM tough one however I believe this to be Etlock Barve but I am not totally sure, ah screw it" and inks it anyway. Orac then moves on to question 3.

He pens simply, elite crew of assassins.

Orac sat back in his chair and crossed his legs waiting for the slower guild members to finish looking over to his right he see's (@Fetzen) Grol digging his finger in to his nose and quickly wiping it away.

putting his legs straight and slight moving forward again back to his desk Orac pulls a bottle of cider from his satchel and begins taking sips swigging it around his mouth like he was sitting in the village dentist throne awaiting a procedure.

He could hear people all around him whispering and confirming answers even though they were told not to - "Pfft god damn cheaters didn't they hear what the guy said?"

Amalay glanced around the room after the questions were asked. Every question was common knowledge. Of course, as he spoke she wrote his questions down verbatim. She glanced at them again trying to see if held a double meaning or were deceptive, but no, every question was pretty straightforward. She glanced around to make sure that this wasn't some sort of social experiment or hazing, but everybody seemed diligently writing down the answers or trying to wrack their brains in order to find out.



She shrugged and wrote down the answers in as few words as possible. Then things began clicking in her brain and wouldn't stop.



It had been some time since she had relied on the words of bards, she was kind of busy. However, the Burg was always a real threat. When she tried to venture there when she was younger; it earned 5 days in Elvin confinement, and then release when they had an appropriate chaperone. Stories were pretty common about the constant threat of the border villages being attacked or abandoned because of the forces of the Burg.

"Excuse me," she asked, and promptly stood up, "You aren't really going to find the pieces of this Illikorav to start assassinating notable forces from the Burg are you?"

Varioyn looked around at everyone as they too looked around and some cheated. They did not realize the point in the test.. His thoughts were broken by Javier's voice. No.. no. They are only going to move to the second step now. If you would like, go and prep training yard for the physical portion of the test. His words trailed as he waved his hand to a man hidden in the corner.

"Okay" He shouted. Test is over.. Now before I ask you to hand your parchments in His words were broke by an elves question, Amalay if he remembered correctly from the day before. She seemed outlandish to him, but he appropriated her questioning.
"she wonders" The man in a dark blue robe leaned down and spoke softly to Varioyn.
"No. Amalay is it? This is not for war, in fact I believe I couldn't find the remaining pieces of Illikorav if I spent my life trying to do so. He turned and again listened to the man in the robes soft words.
"Keep an eye on her.. she is, different." They both nodded, and Varioyn spoke again.
"Well, all. I would like introduce you to a good friend of mine, and also the reason that you took this seemingly pointless quiz." The man unhooded to show long brown hair and dark green eyes that seemed to darken the room around them.

"I am Volric Ravenroot. Of my fathers Ravenroot house." The man scanned everyone, almost looking to see a familiar face.
"This man is a Arc-Mage, he also is a Shadow Hunter. Varioyn smirked. He reads minds..
Varioyn walked around the tables and seated races. The point to this quiz was not the questions themselves but the attack, the way that you think about these question" He stopped, moving small dust with his foot on the hard wooden floor. "Volric can tell me any little thoughts you had, for the questions and for the guild, for our past, for me. You see.. being a hunter is not about brute strength. Not about your ability to over come your opponent with power but how to out think them. This may sound silly to some, mostly those who have been raised to think other wise, but your mind is stronger than your sword, that is what makes a hunter. Or a pray." Now that Varioyn had completely made everyone uncomfortable, or so he guessed by the silence. He moved towards the door. "Now on to the physical test. The Arc-mage will be joining us again for this one." Varioyn smirked once again, possibly enlightening those confused on what was next.

(Meshiro dragged his nose along his sleeve while gazing around the room before taking a seat. Legs swinging, the lad used his staff to scratch his head. Meshiro looked in the direction of Ravenroot with his eyes squinting and began to think inside his head.)

Mind-reading magic, eh? Reminds me of my aura sensing, but that's not possible to read minds. Must be some kind of bluff.

Well.. Hey there, look over here. If ya can read minds, then say the numbers '1-5-6-7' outloud. Yah yeah, that'll stump em'.

"Teeheheha.."

"Yes sir." Javier nodded. He then took steps backwards with a small bow, as respect, and then proceeded to walk towards the back door to head for the training yard without having to pass through the mass of new blood present. He did pass by Volric though, before he was called, and he bowed his head to him as a greeting. He highly respected the arc mage. He had the power to read minds and not succumb to the amount of voices he hears in his head and he was able to discern it. That is quite challenging considering the amount of people in the hall right now, thinking about the test.

The white haired male continued outside and towards the training yard. There were others already preparing the yard for the coming of the new bloods. He greeted them with a nod and then began getting to work, or whatever the lead ordered him to do. It only took a few minutes, to be honest, given how fast everyone seemed to be going. And with that, everything was prepared for the physical test. This brings back memories. What he lacked for the first test, he made up tenfold with this one. He wasn't exactly praised but there was that look that they'll give you that says that you did well. He then made his way to the nearest tree and climbed up with no difficulty. He perched atop a branch, his eyes glued to where the new bloods would be after they come there.

The Sviirog had been, of course, completely unprepared for a test of knowledge, and she wasn't entirely sure how relevant existing knowledge was to the job. But she had answered regardless - taking full advantage of her obsidian goggles and stature to 'borrow' the most common answers from other applicants without being easily caught.

It had been a fairly straightforward series of questions, and none of them required eloquent answers, which made the cheating considerably easier. One-word answers were simple, although Kyik didn't quite comprehend the concepts of Titans or Born of Ash. Indeed, her and her people were completely oblivious to the folklore of the surface dwellers, and had never even bothered to question where they had come from in the first place.

When she handed in her paper, though, despite having stolen her answers from others, she was confident that she had passed. Information gathering was an important skill for any sort of 'hunter' regardless of the type. The third question, though, rang in her mind all the way through to the next segment of the examination. What city must you never step foot in, for it is the source of all death and darkness?, she had been asked - and though the written answer was The Burg, it made very little sense to her. Death and darkness were everywhere - no city had exclusive claim over either, and the framing of 'darkness' as a bad thing seemed a little bit insensitive to her cavern-dwelling mind.

Mentions of mind-reading were made, and she wasn't bothered in the slightest at the concept of the invasion of privacy. It wasn't as though she had anything to hide about herself, after all - and she wanted to know if the Arc-Mage were capable of reading intentions and emotions rather than just thought words.

She responded to Varioyn's statements with a shrug, and handed in her paper before moving toward the door. It would be interesting to see how these sun-walking people would perform in the physical tests.

Privy followed the white-haired man out into a training field, with Cliff staying close. One Privy actually got a good look at the training field, he whistled with a tone of being impressed. It was one tidy and badass field, perfectly suited for Privy to train in his magical skills, as well as the other new guys to try and
"Daaaamn. Cliff, you like how this training field looks?"
"I mean not really, since you know... pacifism..."
"I mean still though, it's rather nice."
Privy removed his top hat, as he casted a single random spell.

A large claw of a shadowy material comes out of the ground and slashes a dummy on the training field, opening it and pouring straw around it.
"Eyyy I still got it!"
"Damn, that was a new trick."