It was a beautiful afternoon in Andour City, and the Festival of Destiny had begun. The cobble streets and canals of the city were bustling with life - vendors of all races and cultures had taken to the streets, selling food, trinkets, fine garments, curiosities that they swore would bring good fortune to those seeking love in the coming week. Bright ribbons had been strung across the buildings, and shimmering magical lights flitted through the air in the shapes of animals, a loan from the Archwizards of the Academy of Magic. People filled the streets, laughing and dancing, pouring out of buildings.

This first day of the festival was traditionally one for freeform merrymaking; as far as the royal family was concerned, the Festival would not begin until that night, when the King and Queen addressed the city from the balcony of the palace, but everyone knew that the festivities were on. Most of the inns and taverns had massive holiday discounts, performers and musicians and jesters flocked the streets, busking for pennies, and of course, the people had arrived, in their dozens, in their hundreds. Giggling halfling girls in sundresses had arrived in wagons, and burly sailors had come by ships. Distant tribesmen from the far north, wood elves and genasi and strangers from across the sea. Two days ago, Lord Kealander, first among equals of the High Elves to the East, had arrived to great fanfare, parading across the city with his noble guard and greeting the King and Queen publicly. Alfhild, Queen of the Dwarves, had arrived in more subtle fashion the night before, though those with an ear to the ground would have seen the goat-pulled carriage at the front gates, or seen the dwarven warriors who had escorted her to the palace.

People from everywhere came to the Festival; most of them were not Marked, just here for the party, the events, the free food and drink, or even the religious observations. But many were, young couples looking to partake in the free weddings offered by every temple in the city, or single people, hoping to meet the love of their lifetimes, that fated partner that was somewhere out there in the world, waiting for them. The Festival, ultimately, was for them - half the events were exclusive to Marked, and there would be holidays, fortune-readings, matchmaking services, everything and anything to help them. Many of them would find that special someone in the next seven days; many would not. It was a matter of luck, a matter of circumstance, and a matter, of course, of destiny.

The Festival had begun.

Ramsas is always looking forward to this time of year as he loved the atmosphere of the kingdom. The excitement in the air, the feeling of joy and merry making gives off one of the sweetest sounds to his ears. Ramsas has felt this energy build for the past few days as he has been here for about a week, as a friend in the city allowed him to stay with them for a time until the festivities are over. But 'till then Ramsas will be here taking every moment in as if it was his last time being here.

As Ramsas walks the streets of the kingdom he can hear the air filled with so much energy it gets him excited just thinking about what could happen. It brings him great joy to just be here and to just experience the energy of the place, but where is the fun in just looking when you can create it as well? So he went and found a nice spot in front of a large fountain overlooking more of the kingdom and began to make some of his favorite instruments from his magic and got to work orchestrating a magical symphony with them.

As he could manipulate his creations he could make them begin to produce the sound he wishes with multiple all floating and doing the same, with this something magical happened. He made an entire gathering of instruments that began to do as he wished playing a song to fill the once lively air with music that he felt would set the tone of not only love but happiness just that much further.

The wind instruments seemed to play as though the wind it self gave them a voice.

The harp seemed to have a spirit plucked at it almost in perfect tune.

The tabors (drums) were struck with low and quiet tones to give the music a following key and tone.

The crotals (cymbals) struck to keep the pace of the song.

Then Ramsas himself took hold of his guitar as he began to strum along keeping pace with himself. He tapped his foot as he began to walk around and began levitating his instruments and made them dance he just played and continued not worried if he plays for no one, all he cares for was to play and allow his energy to flow. People will hear, and they'll listen and that is what music is, and that is all Ramsas cares about right now.

This song was one he has been working on for weeks and he had to train himself quite a bit to control all of these instruments to do this exact song. It's the best he could do, but with more practice he could create more songs like this, but 'till then this song and show will be his best performance yet. Its still spectacular nonetheless as all instruments were a light shade of orange so it was easy to see them move with the back drop of the kingdom behind him. They even seemed to pulse with energy when the song makes them the focus and each instrument gave off sweet music as if it was the real thing. It was a magical time for such an event and Ramsas wanted to emphasize this gathering in the kingdom with a magical performance.

Lucian, having teleported in a blinding column of white a few miles away from the city, has finally made it into the city. He looked up to the sky and said "Father, Mother, I have made it!" With a grand smile and not a worry in his heart, he entered the city.

Of course, this feeling of adventure soon wore away as his nervousness soon filled every inch of his body. There were so many people that he did not know, and one of them was supposedly his soul mate? To say he was scared would be an understatement. He was worried he might screw this up.

He referred to his guidebook his father gave him, and scrolled to the page that he was looking for. It read "Chapter 15, Inns and Taverns. These are areas of gathering where people go to consume alcohol and have a merry time."

"Huh," Lucian thought to himself. "I guess we start off there."

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---

The hooded figure traveled through the crowds of people in the street, all there for their own reasons from finding love to simply enjoyment. But the figure was there for one thing, thievery. Eris, said hooded figure, had been there for three days prior to this first day of the festival, having scouted out an abandoned building within the city that she could easily get in and out of from the roof. It was the perfect place for setting up camp for the time being as it wasn't too far from the main part of the city but also wasn't too close.

During those three days Eris also scouted out where large masses of people would most likely gather along with multiple routes of escape in the event she was caught stealing; though, she was pretty good at stealing so being caught was a low risk but escape routes were always good to have planned. Now on the first day of the festival, Eris was already getting to work. She'd snatched some expensive looking bracelets off of a few people, grabbed some random items out of bags, even snatched a coin bag that someone was carrying.

Passing by a fruit stand, Eris slyly snatched an apple and once again disappeared into the crowd. Her small stature and her cloak allowing her to blend in with ease. She slipped the apple in her satchel and made her way to the alley way where she used different objects and window sills to scale her way onto the roof. From there Eris ran, then jumped and caught the edge of hoisting herself up onto a taller roof. From this roof she had a better view of the stuff going on below while also being high up enough that she wouldn't catch the attention of those down below unless they looked up directly at her. Sitting near the building's edge she pulled out the apple and began to eat, listening to music from some unknown location and simply watching the people pass by down below.

Of all the sights he had seen, the breathtaking views of the world on a clear day atop of Mt Frostswallow, the night sky lit up into a thousand tales upon the heavens, the dawn of the world after a long nights fight, nothing could really match up to sheer beauty of the sight before him now. The large, burly man in the stall in front of Birch, grunted, spat into a bucket beneath the counter, and handed Birch another kebab of seasoned mystery meats from inside his disorganized counter space. Birch’s eyes flashed with a near frightening amount of hunger and desire. He had bought the first one on a whim , enticed to the stall by the scent of meat cooking and some type of exotic scents he had never smelled before. The first bite had changed his world as the wondrous flavors of spiced and flavored meat overwhelmed his taste buds.

Luckily, it had been easy for him to sprint back to the stall. Strangely, no one else seemed to be purchasing from his stall and instead and were going to the ones near the side painted bright white and selling some kind of baked goods, even going so far as to give the roughly built wooden stall a big berth. Birch took the second kebab reverently and looked upon the burly chef with awe in his eyes. “Thank you cook, I will never forget the masterpiece you have made for me today. You will forever be welcome in my clan halls on Mt. Frostswallow.”

The cook looked back at him again, grunted, and spat in his bucket once more.

Birch continuing the peaceful city with all its incredible sights. Even just the amount of people wandering around was mind boggling. Before he had arrived, he may not have believed there were this money people in the entire world, let alone this city. Earlier in the day, Birch had traded some of the finer furs that he hunted from the mountain so he had enough coin to get him through the week quite comfortably. Glancing around and spending a moment to adjust the well worn axe strapped to his back. He had also bought an outfit fit for tonight’s ceremony where he was supposed to sit in the nobles section. He was not sure exactly what the current fashion was, but some of the tales the skalds had told came with some descriptions so he based it off that. His fine new clothes were uncomfortable and tight against his muscled arms and his large collar made it extremely difficult to keep his axe where it should be. He sighed at the sacrifices that had to be made for fashion, though he was somewhat confused as to why the only place he could find the ensemble was a costume shop. Maybe nobles had more private stores?

As he walked around the city, he heard the faint sounds of familiar music bounced through the streets. Giving a small smile, he walked quickly, his large frame maneuvering nimbly around the other people enjoying the festival keeping one hand on his axe to prevent it from knocking into someone accidently. He rounded the corner and found large fountain overlooking much of the city with Ramsas playing with his magic band. He grinned in appreciation and enjoyed the music immensely feeling the notes pleasing sounds. He waited till the song was done, and began applauding loudly, his large hands making sonorous booms.

“Wonderful, Ramsas! Wonderful!”

@Th3King0fChaos

A pleasant sigh fell from the young woman's lips as she and her trusted companion hovered over the skies of Andour City. Despite being so high up in the air, the sounds of music and the energy of the people excited for the Festival of Destiny's first day touched her heart, bringing a smile to her lips. This had been one of the days she was assigned to watching over the skies with another individual, one she hadn't crossed paths with yet. Fei didn't really didn't mind though, as flying on her own with Charna was definitely better than looking out for someone else.

Only arriving yesterday from her father's cart down south, Fei hadn't been able to explore the city beforehand, her best bets at finding any good vendors was based on the crowd of people and where they happened to cluster. The thought did cross the dark haired girl's mind to swoop down and get a better look, but her body immediately disagreed. If Charna went down there it could possibly startle people...not to mention she might be recognized...

Eh, who needs all the interesting vendors on the ground when she basically had to entire sky to herself?

Giving her black pegasus a tender pat, both of their hair whipping around int the wind.
"Hey, Char? Let's try that manuever while we have the time, yeah?" Fei grinned, wanting to perfect the move they've desperately been trying to get right weeks before festival began. The move itself consisted of two aileron and barrel rolls while Fei herself propelled them even faster with a bit of wind magic. For now they were just trying to get the first part down before they added magic into the mix, and it looked like they were making pretty decent headway, but something about it just wasn't clicking.

Earning a quiet neigh in return, Fei nodded with a newfound determination.
"Alright, have at it n-- Whoa!" Blinking in surprise as she was suddenly pulled to the left, Fei could only let out an annoyed sigh as Charna began chasing the bird that flew by them, their vibrant colors probably enticing the beast to chase after them. "Stop that Char. We can all share the sky toget...her..." Another jerk sent the girl completely off the pegasus, her grip on the reigns being pulled away as if she wasn't holding onto them in the first place. Fei herself couldn't really comprehend what happened as she closed her eyes from the intense movements out of mostly nowhere. The loss contact from Charna made her open then again, only to see she was tumbling towards the ground below her. Her first instinct was to use magic, but with so many people below, she might hurt someone.

Letting out and embarrassed huff mixed in with a nervous sigh, Fei braced herself for either Charna saving her or the impact of falling on top of an innocent stranger.
"S-Someone? A-Anyone?! Please caTCH MEEEEE!" She yelled out, waving her arms around as if it would help slow her descent.

@Tenma Tendo

Lucian heard someone yell from above him. He jerked up in worryment as he saw a black dot falling from the sky, and fast. "Oh my!" He yelled. I know, not the most heroic thing to yell, but it was what he first thought of. He knelt down and said "Oh Guardians of this realm, grant me the strength to fly!" Once he said that, he sprouted two pure, white, feathery wings and took to the skies at immense speeds. As he was coming to intercept the falling woman. He immediately slowed his ascent, and screamed "Open your arms!"

A rawkless laugh echoes through the city as a single man stands at the gates of the city. His hair whips behind him as if a wind has formed right in his face, in order to make him look dashing, larger then life. He is literally burning. His hair, his skin, crackling with harmless flame to show off his Genasai origins. The city took all kinds, and now it had a hero, a living legend in its midst.

Kyros, the Phoenix Dawn has come for the Festival of Destiny. And he was going to make sure everyone knew it.

He walked with wide steps, hands balled into fists, nothing but pants and sandals and his backpack. His shouting caused alot of people to stare but when he noticed he immediately shot them the biggest smile he could muster. "Good day my friends! I hope you enjoy the festival. I certainly am." The townsfolk didn't really know what to say to that, so they just waved, a woman laughed, another man shrugged and kept getting his cart together.

In fact that was the start of his magnificent day.

He would find some pretty women (A halfling, dwarf, elf, half orc, didn't seem to matter) and ask. "My fair beauties, have any of you bare this mark?" He'd show off his muscles with a flex, the mark of a bird on his forearm. This would cause them to giggle but decline. "Oh, truly the gods are cruel to me. Maybe that wont stop us from having a dance later." The fire elemental would wink at them.

He would go from stall to stall, one hand holding three flagons of different kinds of Lager and Ale, his other arm would have a turkey leg, corn on the cob, a shish kebab, and a sweet roll. He had a problem juggling it all, but there was so much food, so many stalls and so much things to sample and try, well, he just couldn't settle for just a few.

A flagon of ale in one hand, he's sitting with a bunch of musicians and a small crowd of people of all shapes and sizes leading them in a famous bar song.



Then the crowd started laughing as they raised their glasses together, boisterous laughing rising over the rest of it.

That was the first two hours, and Kyros was already making a name for himself as a loud if generous spender, but he seemed to really get into the grove of things, really live it up among the townsfolk. Maybe he was actually having fun, maybe he was trying to make sure that whoever had the mark for him, they could easily do so. Maybe he was trying to spread his word and legend. He did seem to flex an awful lot. In fact, he was hoping there was a good fighting arena in this city, maybe make back some of the gold he spent already. In any case Kyros was having a ball!

As Ramsas continues his song he began to watch people begin to gather, this was a spectacle very few would see and even fewer would be able to produce as Ramsas's magic is one that he has never seen anyone else recreate. As he continued people began to follow along, some dancing, some humming along, and some clapping. Some claps were louder than others but it all followed the same song, and together is made a moment few can witness. Many were dancing in front of the Ramsas's as the instruments began to float around and start to flow around with others as it began to look as if the instruments flowed with the music.

As the crowd began to swell many people began spreading around and dancing with either partners they were with or partners they found while there it filled the street quickly and made much more of a lovely image. He slowly looked away from the sky to look to find and old face of friend, Birch. As he looked further down he saw something very few will ever wear, and almost in a gut reaction he snarled out a laugh that sounded too genuine to be made up and could tell he was laughing at Birch. The music continued as he let go of his guitar to greet his friend. Still cackling he brought out his hand to meet Birch's and greeted him with a, "I have never seen a man wear something so flamboyant that I thought they were a giant tomato".

As now the music spread like a wild fire, it almost seemed like the entire area reverberated with the music and good feelings coming off of everyone, it felt as if the world froze in this moment, and nothing could stop it. Only one thing could make this better if they had a few more people playing along, so Ramsas could stop focusing so hard, he was strained to keep it up so most of his attention was purely on that and now this conversation so it was difficult for him to really try and watch everyone else have a good time, but it was at least fine, because he knew they were and he knows they will until he finishes.

Snack time was cut short when someone started falling from the sky, she would have ignored it had it not been for the obvious angel making their way towards said falling person. That was Eris' sign to disappear back into the crowd. Throwing the rest of the apple away, Eris stood up and surveyed the crowds of people finding her chosen target again. When he was spotted she took a few steps back from the edge before running forwards and jumping to the next roof, she did this until she was on a roof lower to the ground and close to her target.

Eris slipped off the roof, rolling when she landed to help soften the hard landing. She stood up seamlessly from the roll and dusted herself off as she walked through the alley towards the crowd, easily slipping in with everyone. Eris slipped between people as she made her way towards her target. When he was within sight, she slipped her dagger out of its sheath and casually walked closer to where he stood. She made it to where she stood behind him, to others it would seem as if she was just someone trying to get closer to see the musician.

With quick trained and practiced movements, she slashed the bottom of the man's backpack and slipped the dagger back in its sheath before beginning to slip items from the backpack into her bag. He had a lot of things, some she'd just ditch but a few were worth a fair amount especially the albino fur she pulled out last, the hole she cut ripping a bit more with a small ripping noise. A small smile flashed her face and she quickly slipped into the crowd and away from the man whom she had just stolen from. Hoping he didn't feel the pulling of the last fur or hear the small sound before she slipped away.

Seeing Ramsas's outstretched hand, he reached out and grabbed it gently and gave some soft shakes. He returned Ramsas laughter with a somewhat confused grin. Ramsas seemed to be talking about his outfit, more specifically directly laughing at him because of it! He looked down at his outfit, but could really only see the collar looking down at himself. Glancing back up at Ramsas, he shrugged. "It is quite... colorful to be sure. But this is what nobles wear isn't it? The shopkeeper said it was the perfect fit for someone in a noble role." As Ramsas laughed, the music continued to play and people were having the time of their lives dancing with loved ones both old and new. Despite his friend's reaction and his silly outfit, Birch could do nothing, but enjoy the moment for what it was. A moment of perfect cheer and joy for all involved. Birch smiled from the bottom of his heart. Then, he heard the sound of ripping and felt some of the weight shift at his back. The world froze and shattered all at once. The orcs had come. A flash of Aspen's face forced itself into his mind.

Birch reacted by reaching into the fire that raged in the core of his stomach. There was no time for thought only pure muscle memory born from thousands of fights, constant danger and violence. There was only the one rule his body would follow: survive! The fire greedily devoured him, first his chest, this his arms and legs, and finally his mind. The fire demanded all of him in tribute to its fierce power to not only survive, but to destroy the threat before him. The music was drowned out by the pounding his heart made against his rib cage sending out more flames through his body. The veins on his face bulged out a deep, purple color and several of the small veins near his eyes burst tinting them a dark red. His muscles bulged outward causing the tight fabric constrict his arms to burst and fall off in tatters. His mouth opened and the smallest amount of steam leaked out lazily. His body moved at lightning speed spinning to confront his foe. His eyes darted through the crowd wildly until he locked onto a figure slipping through the crowd of obstacles away from him. His lungs took in a huge amount of air and his voice bellowed out from his throat shouting out one word. "ORCS!"

No time for his axe, too many obstacles, and his foe was escaping! His foot slammed into the ground behind him with such force it created an indent into the stone below him. His leg pushed off this makeshift starting block to launch Birch's body forward with the force like a cannon. His hands stretched out to the ground below and his body began to sprint forth on all fours towards the retreating figure knocking the dancing obstacles out of the way from the power of his animalistic charge. His face was stuck in an expression of pure battle-rage and his eyes remained locked onto his target.

Eris heard the commotion behind her and turned just in time to see the man begin to sprint towards her on all fours. "Oh crap." She exclaimed, her eye widening before she turned taking off in a sprint. It was just her luck, to have all she has now and be noticed by someone and someone who believes she is an orc? Yeah that part confused the girl but right now she was looking to continue her life as it was.

Pushing people out of the way and cursing now being in a crowded area, preventing her from using any of her inherited magic to help with the get away, Eris went towards her closests set out escape route. Running and jumping up on a box then onto the top of a stand, she ignored the commotion as she ran across the top of the stand and jumped to the next, thankful these stands had those wooden tops. Pulling a bunch of small marbles from a small bag on her waist she threw them down at her chaser, hoping it would slow him down so she could slip away easier. She grabbed her hood and pulled it forward more as it had begun to slip slightly, she didn't need that happening right now as well. With the end of the stands in sight, Eris looked to the alley blocked off by a stand, the last stand to be exact. Reaching it, she jumped in the alley and ran in, knowing full well the man would follow in not too long. Looking for the place she had scouted out she went up to it and quickly scaled the building where she sat at the top and awaited the man to come. Was it smart to await him and practically taunt him by sitting there. No. But she was curious about him mainly cause he called her an orc.

Spotting his foe jumping from stand to stand and continue to sprint forward on his arms and legs alongside the stands rather than following her exact route. His mind attempted to scout out places he could overtake it, but saw none. The figure jumped into an alley with a surity in its movements that meant they knew exactly where they were heading. His mind considered briefly that he was heading into an orcish ambush spot, but his battle-rage merely welcomed the chance to confront his foes. The figure climbed quickly up a building and then sat passively waiting for him. With a roar, Birch leapt forward and onto the wall. His strong arms, with the experienced hands of someone who had to climb parts of his mountain every day, found purchase in the building and where there was none slammed his hand into the wall to make one. With a burst of barbarian rage-fueled strength, he flung himself from the wall onto the top of the building, his body rolling to recover and then bellowed wordlessly at hooded figure watching him.

Eye wide once again Eris stood up when he was on top of the building. She was not expecting him to be able to do that and now she was cornered. She could jump off the building but it was a bit too high for her to land without hurting something. Her only option was to try and fight if it came to it. Luckily no one else was around but them so using her inherited magic wouldn't do too much harm in spilling her secret, although she'd rather not if she didn't have to. "Look, whoever you are. I'm no orc so if you don't mind just leaving and such then we can both go our seperate way." That was her first tactic, try and talk to him to reason with him.

In response, Birch's throat let out a low growl, a small bit of steam escaping through his clenched teeth. His hand reached behind him and grasped his well-worn axe. Despite the size of the weapon, he wielded it in one hand. His legs sent him rocketing forward at Eris. No time for talking, only destroying his foes. He grabbed the figure by the front of its cloak, lifted her and threw her across the roof to the opposite end, knocking her prone. His other hand raised his axe above him preparing to deliver the final attack to end his foes life. Then, he saw her hood had fallen and beneath the hood was not the green skinned face of Orc in battle, but the face of a woman with skin white as the fresh snow on Mt. Frostswallow. The small voice that had been noting several alarming details that didn't quite add up now increased in volume to a maelstrom of sound, overwhelming his rage-addled mind. His axe clattered to the ground and he stared at her.

"You... you are no Orc. Oh. Oh gods! I can't believe I almost... oh god are you okay? I am so sorry!" The veins bulging out his body relaxed and his arms shrank back down to their normal size, muscles trembling at the exertion they had just been through. "I think I have some bandages in my bag!" He scrambled to grab his bag, shoving his hand in and searching then stopping and glancing down "Ah. It is empty..." He grabbed the red ripped cloth that had been his sleeves and pulled it the rest of the way off "Will this work?"

Eris lay there shocked for a second, processing all that had happened. She blinked as she stared up at the sky listening to him ask if she was okay then go on about bandages then his bag being empty. She looked at him with her single exposed eye as he held out some ripped of cloth from what he had been wearing. That is when she really took his appearance in. He seemed smaller than before and it appeared his muscles were trembling, his eyes appeared sincere with their worry. She didn't feel any need for bandages as she only felt sore as she sat up so she simply waved him off.

That is when her senses finally kicked in. Her face was exposed meaning her hood was down which meant... the breeze felt by her horns atop her head confirmed it. Scrambling up she quickly pulled the hood back over her head quickly covering her horns from sight. Standing there she noticed a few things had fallen from her bag when she'd been thrown. Scrambling around she picked them up, hoping the man didn't notice the few items that had been from his bag that she was putting in her bag. They were small but she was afraid he'd put two and two together. It was bad enough he'd seen her horns.

Birch looked down a familiar large roll of pure white fur rolled near his feet and picked it up gently off the ground. It was definitely one of the items from his bag. His mind finally locked down what the noise had been that had surprised him so badly earlier. The white skinned woman had thrown her hood up concealing her face again. He had probably terrified the poor woman and from the bandage on her eye, she was just trying to survive just like the rest of them. He gently tossed the bundle of white fur in front of her. "I uh think you dropped that just now." He put his hands atop his head in a non threatening, somewhat silly looking pose and took a couple steps back.

The white fur landed infront of her and she stared at it for a second before reaching down and gingerly picking it up, slipping it under her cloak and into her bag. "Thanks." Is all she said before she quickly ran off and jumped to the next roof, quickly making her escape. She jumped off a roof when it was safe and slipped from the alley back into the crowd, hoping he didn't follow this time. If he didn't she would easily disappear once again into the crowd like normal.

Birch did not follow after the strange woman, merely turning, picking up his axe, and slowly climbing back down the way he had come to apologize to the people he had knocked over. As he did, guilt streamed in from every part of his body. He was about to hurt someone, possibly lethally for no other crime than trying to survive. He had left holes in building and the ground below and had acted like a savage, wild animal. His good mood earlier was ruined from his own actions as regret took him fully.

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It was hardly Markus's first trip to the Royal City. He'd been there a half dozen times, usually on business for this or that or escorting Kryssa to an important meeting. But he'd never once set foot there during the Festival, not until now. And for all intents and purposes, it may as well have been another world entirely. The buildings were in the same place, but festooned with banners and ribbons and illuminated by magical sparkles in the air they transformed into different establishments, to say nothing of the people. Bright and vibrant colors now adorned everybody walking down the streets; from smartly dressed merchants in their coats shouting from their stalls to the revealing dresses and swirling silks of the dancers upon their raised platforms the entire city has been dyed in every shade imaginable, and the streets were absolutely packed from alley to alley. If Markus was being honest, it was all a bit overwhelming. And in the middle of all this, he was expected to magically and mysteriously encounter his soul mate? The odds must have been astronomical! But, Kryssa was convinced it could and would happen, so he would humor her. At least a little, anyway.

"Hoi there, you! The strapping young lad!"

A sharp cry pulled his attention as Markus felt the energy of a young lady being directed at him. "Yeah, you! With the black hair!"

"Can I help you, miss?" he asked as he pushed his way through the roving throng to reach her. She stood next to an odd little stall, one that was littered with stacks of paper and not much else.

"That's my line!" she replied, "You looked a little lost and not sure where to begin. First time in the city?"

"First time during the Festival, I know the layout pretty well."

"Oi, that's great! I guess you won't be needing a map then, BUT!" said the girl as she picked through one of the paper stacks on her stall. Finally she pulled a folded piece of parchment out of it, and with a flourish presented it in front of her to him. "Ta-da! One copy of Gillie's Guide, a handmade compilation of all the must-see and must-find places and things at this year's Festival, put together by yours truly!"

Markus bent over a little to get a good look at the parchment. The handwriting was a little haphazard, but it seemed to be exactly as advertised; a list of events and gatherings in the city during the Festival, including what day they were happening and what time of day, along with some opinionated footnotes from Gillie like Get there early, fills up fast! and Only go if Marked, snoozefest otherwise, and most notably one under the name of a bar Markus knew quite well called The Ape & Rapier that read ORDER THE CHOWDER IT'S INCREDIBLE.

"Well, you've convinced me with that one, Amelia's chowder is absolutely to die for," he said with a smile, "I think this will prove quite useful, Gillie is it?"

"Right you are sir! Gillie's the name!"

"Very well, how much for one of your guides, miss Gillie?" he asked as he fished a hand into the pouch at his belt.

"Well, I charge 30 for the map and the guide together, but since you don't need the map... how's about 20 coins?"

"I'll make it 25. Tip for good service," he said as he deposited the money into a smaller bag and dropped it on the stall.

"Ah gee, thanks mister! Enjoy the Festival!" Gillie yelled as he began to walk away, rolling up the guide to study later. Now that he thought about it, stopping in at the Ape for some food DID sound like a good idea...

"OI! STOP, THAT'S MINE!!"

Markus stopped in his tracks and turned at the sound of Gillie yelling. Barreling down the road towards him from the stall, bodily shoving aside anybody in his way, was an unkempt man clutching a familiar money pouch in his hands. People in his path, seeing what became those he decided needed to move, scrambled to get out of his way until the only thing standing between the man and the bustling intersection beyond where he could easily slip out of sight was Markus himself. As the thief came running, he glared and snarled at Markus and made to shoulder tackle him... but as he came closer Markus whirled around with great speed and struck the thief's face with the sole of his boot, sending him sprawling across the pavement with a bloodied nose. Gillie came running up next, short of breath and with a face flushed with anger.

"That's! What! You! Get!" she yelled as she punctuated each word with a kick of her own to his ribs, then bent down and grabbed the coinpurse from his hands. "Thanks again mister, I owe ya one big time!"

"Not a problem, Gillie. Run along now, the guards are on their way."

And so they were, as two of them came pushing through and began to lift the man off of the floor. "We'll take it from here," one of them said "We've been trying to catch this rat all day! Looks like he finally picked a fight with the wrong people."

"Nonsense, I was just passing through and wanted to help. Good day, gentlemen." Markus said as he continued on his way.

Well, he thought, now some of Amelia's food sounded REALLY good...

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The Festival of Destiny had never been her favorite time of year. Even when she was young, she had never been one for raucous celebration, and the close of the festival and return to quiet normalcy had always been accompanied with a sigh of relief. Of course, now that she had come of age, and was expected to find the love of her life within one week or else the nobles of the city would tut and tut about how her reign was 'cursed', the festival was a good deal worse.

Really, things had lined up very poorly. For the royal heir not to march in their first Festival as an adult with their destined partner was unheard of, but usually they had a few years between festivals; Delyndrah had only come of age just over a year ago, so her timetable had been enormously accelerated. At the very least, she'd been excused from her lessons at the Academy for a week; all the more time to prance about the street, hoping to catch some handsome gentleman's eye like a common...

No sense complaining about what could not be changed. Her status as a Princess and the most coveted woman in the city would be an impediment towards finding her true partner, and so that would have to be altered. A drab traveling cloak, riding pants, hair tied up in a messy bun and a streak of dirt across her chin, and she had assumed the role of Delilah Farhill, peasant mage, once again. It was something out of a fairy tail, disguising herself as one of the people in the hope of meeting her true love, and when she'd brought it up with her mother, she had been given a very generous 'it might work'. It would work. She would make it work. She would have to.

As Delyndrah wound her way through the crowd, clutching a bag of books to her chest, she was struck with the sensation of facelessness. None of this was foreign to her, not the city streets, not the festive atmosphere, not the strange and diverse collection of people. She was a well-studied young lass, and she had seen stranger. The man with the magic instruments was a bit odd, and Delyndrah favored him with a smile, remembering only a moment later that he would not feel quite as blessed by the gesture as people on the street usually did when she smiled at them. This was insane. She had no idea where to begin. All around her, people were talking, drinking, dancing, making eyes at each other - was that what she should be doing? It seemed -

There was a bellow from behind her, and before she knew it something was colliding with her, knocking her off her feet with the force of a carriage and sending her spilling into the dirty cobblestone. Whatever it was kept going, charging through the crowd like a knight on horseback and bowling people over left and right, before coming to a halt a moment later.

Delyndrah picked herself up off the ground, holding her head where she'd struck it on the cobblestone. There was a small cut on her forehead - not terribly large, but it stung a great deal, and her face pinched with pain. Instinctively, she went over to another person who'd been knocked over, an old halfling woman, and helped pick her up and steady her onto her feet. The woman's basket had spilled out onto the ground, and as Delyndrah waved her hand the various trinkets floated back into it. The princess walked away in the direction of the thing that had assaulted her, irritation on her face, without waiting for thanks.

She stalked into the alleyway that whatever had knocked her over had turned into, and as she turned the corner she saw it clambering down the side of a building to meet her.'It' was a man - human, by the look of him, tall and powerfully built, with bronzed skin and tattoos on his throat. He was wearing something singularly ridiculous; fine clothes of the kind made in the city, though in the part of her brain that knew about such things she could tell that it had gone out of style at least a season ago, and the brute had an obvious discomfort that would have made even the most fashionable of finery look ridiculous on him.

"Bastard," she called out as he turned to look at the people he'd stumbled over. "Are you in the habit of knocking people over?" She flicked her hands across her torso, irritation obvious in the gesture, and a wave of soft blue light rippled across her clothes, wiping the dirt off in a soft puff. She scowled at the man and opened her mouth, clearly intending to continue her tirade.

@FailingForward @EurmalEye

Ramsas laughed at the proclamation of Birch's outfit was fit for royals as he said, I mean if you say so I just never seen an outfit so...uncomfortable". As he gestures to his outfit Ramsas notice something off about Birch now, he almost looks like when he saw him in battle, enlarged, reddened, and animal like. Ramsas didn't know what was going on as his friend yelled out, "ORCS". Being immediately startled all the instruments creaked a nasty noise as each stopped on a bad and almost hissed the last note they were on before disappearing as Ramsas lost all focus. He look baffled and confused as he knew no Orc tribes were in the area and if they were they were either half Orcs or full Orcs who shifted to societal norms. As he began helping people up and calming people down he still looks baffled as all the energy that was once here died immediately. He begins to check on people and assuring them that there was no real trouble it looked like he was startled and ran off.

The entire crowd began to disperse to leave such a scene as it was quite bad vibes on a great day. Ramsas was slightly upset by this as he was having a great time, however he was happy that he can think straight again. His mind was extremely strained from so many instruments playing at once. Even if it was for around 10 minutes it still felt like he was playing for a few hours straight. He did feel like he could have had a lot more fun, but he can't dwell on that now he needs to check on his friend and see if Birch is alright. If there is an Orc who tried to attack him he believes in Birch to handle himself, but most likely in a large city it was probably a thief who snuck up on him and stole from him and got caught and startled Birch.

As Ramsas left he started to apologize to the people there about what happened and that the performance had to end but that they can probably find him doing this again later at around sun set if they wanted to watch him perform again. As he left he mostly followed the now very easy to follow trail of smashed cobblestone as he found Birch cornered by a woman as it seems she is laying into him as Ramsas comes jogging up and begins with a, "Whoa whoa, please ma'am you don't need to lay into him too much. Look at him he looks full of regret for what he did, and besides cut him some slack here I know he hasn't been here for all too long and is in a foreign place with no experience about this. Look how he is dressed". As Ramsas notices Birch's now ripped Tomato outfit and shakes it off as he continues, "His outfit doesn't really scream 'subtle' or 'I'm from here' and he was probably robbed by a thief and was startled so bad he thought there was an enemy here to fight him".

Ramsas says this out of hope that she will take this explanation of him being from a place where people fight more often and has never been to somewhere like here and drop this whole thing. But based on what's been going on he knows there will be more to this than her just leaving this at that. And besides even if she does leave, Birch isn't off the hook as he would need to have a talk about what happened anyways and how they can fix his whole outfit situation and maybe find somewhere to find a drink.

As Birch reached the ground, he heard someone call him a bastard, not that he disagreed at this exact moment. He hung his head in remorse of his actions and let the the person's angry word slam into his conscience like a charging mountain troll. He had lost control over himself in the very first hours of the festival and that was a shame to himself and his people. As he looked up to apologize to the person berating him, he noticed a far more important detail that got him moving once again as the woman magicked the dirt off herself.

"You're hurt!" Birch took out the pieces of red fabric that he had offered to the strange white skinned, horned woman from earlier from where he had tucked them into his belt. The fabric, while ruined for the purposes of clothing, was clean and would work for his purposes. He took one of the smaller pieces of fabric and handed it to the young woman. In the calm, authoritative voice of someone who had spent some time instructing others on field medicine he said,"Hold that against the wound and apply pressure. Head wounds can be tricky and tend to bleed more than others. Keep it there for a bit." He took in her appearance fully then. She wore a poorly made traveling cloak that would do little against the cold of night, normal pieces of clothing, but walked with a sense of inborn authority.

His other hand reached down and felt around in his boot, until it came out with a small jar that smelled faintly of herbs. Birch momentarily reflected he had had the good sense not to store all of his belongings in his backpack even the vast majority had left his possession. "This poultice comes from the petals of the rare thornwind flowers atop the peaks of Mt. Frostswallow. The petals speed healing of minor wounds, relieve pain, and greatly lower the chance of scarring." After handing her the poultice and the rest of the red fabric to use as a bandage, he placed his fist over his heart and bowed deeply at the waist first at the woman in front of him and then at all those beyond the alley that he had hit.

Ramsas came over and spoke on his behalf. Birch gave him a small smile, but placed a placating hand on Ramsas's shoulder. "I was surprised from behind and thought myself in the midst of a orc ambush. I... I lost sight of where I was and who was around me. I have no excuse and only shame for my actions. I take full responsibility for my actions. If you wish to bring me before the local guard, I will come with you peacefully and with no anger in my heart against you and yours. From the bottom of my soul, I apologize to you and all others that I treated so roughly. I owe you all a great debt and shall repay it, if you would give me to opportunity to do so. I swear I shall never make this mistake again and not form a habit of it."

As he looked up, he noticed a bag full of books left abandoned on the floor of the fountain plaza. He walked briskly, but careful not to come near anyone else and picked it gently. He looked around and a woman holding a basketful of small trinkets pointed back at the woman who had chastised him. He walked back to the woman and passed her back her bag of books, glancing briefly at the titles out of curiosity.

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Interaction with Lia (towards the bottom)

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Of course as multiple thefts have already attested, alot of people tend to attract alot of problems.

Showing off a birthmark on his neck. "C'mon baby. This is my mark. We're destined for eachother." It was a gaggle of four guys, all of them wearing leather and chain over tunics and equipped with swords and knives. Though still sheathed their intentions were made clear when one of the first guy's lackeys coped a feel on one of the three girls they were staring down. An elf in a rather fluffy dress stood her ground while her friends whom were not quite so brave were shaking behind her.

The elf, Valara happened to be a pretty capable shield maiden, and in any other instance she'd wipe the floor with these guys. But she only had a knife on her ankle, her mistake for letting her friends dress her up for the festival. She stood with her arm crossed and head up. It was four against one... not good odds.
"Funny, your mark looks like you stabbed yourself with a branding iron." Said the confident warrior. "That's pathetically desperate."

The thug was undeterred. "Still doesn't mean we can't be friends. Enjoy the festival."
"Find a lil love and all that."
One of the other thug comes forward and tries to grab one of the fearful girls behind Valara, she screams. "Im feeling something kinda special about this one." Valara gives the thug a knocked out tooth for his grabby hands. He of course responds with force. Drawing his sword and cursing at her.
The leader just crosses his arms. "If you want rough, we can do-"



"It's good to see you again Valara." Came a might voice from behind the group of thugs. Kyros had stood there, his chest out, his eyes aflame and his hair whipping as if in some kind of wind... but if anything its him doing it, blasting out puffs of heated air as he got pumped, his fire elements made manifest.

Valara immediately recognized her friend from the Battle of Astanore. The man hadn't changed a bit, and still without a shirt. "Hey there golden boy." The thugs all looked at him, not exactly keen to take on something that big.

"These guys troubling you?" He cracked his knuckles.

"A little." She smirked. The tables had turned very quickly, and she could use this distraction to reach her knife.

"Three and one?" "As long as I get the three." "Half." "Half." They reached an agreement.

---

Valara had gotten two of her harrassers on the ground and was beating the living hell out of one of them, the other's face looking like a swollen tuber. She was now on the leader, each hit, promising another bruise as she held him up by the collar.

Kyros in the meantime was dragging away the other two assailants. Their weapons broke again his semi magical techniques and a few other moves bit them in a painful daze. "Looks like these gents need to cool off. Catch you later Valara."

"Next rounds on me. See ya." She then gave her victim another good punch.

Kyros was heading towards the docks nearby with his two thugs, no doubt attracting some onlookers who were very puzzled by what just conspired. The whole time. "Let this be a lesson to you about respect. Women are delicate flowers, and should be treated as such."
"You look at me when I'm hitting you, you filthy pig!"
"After all, this is a festival celebrating the sanctity of romance and partnership. We are nothing if we live for ourselves, but we all find happiness in the sacrifice of ourselves for others. That is how we become heroes." They just groaned in response, and minor pleas to let them go as Kyros reached the edge of the walkways, near a bridge that reached towards the piers, the cerulean blue water shimmering beneath them. "Know that I do this to hopefully have that lesson sink in. You'll be better people for it. Good luck on your new journey my friends!" With a great yell, Kyros then hurled the men into the water, clearing the walkway and landing them safely in the deeper water. A second or two later, they both rose to the surface, most assuredly humbled. Kyros laughed, proud of a job well done.

But peaking over the edge- he was rather shocked to see a woman, her face down on the marble pathway @Hero. From this vantage point, she looked as if she fainted. She was wet, maybe she fell overboard and swam back. Maybe she's clinging to life this very moment. No time to waste. "By the gods!" He announced before bounding over the railing and into the water beside her, no doubt splashing her with more water. He was very quick however to climb up onto the walkway, the water quickly steaming off of his hotter then normal skin, and he knelt at her head. Thankfully at this point she seemed to have recovered.

While she looked at the ground, a hand would come into view. A hand to assist. Mame? Mame? Are you okay?" Kyros would be silhouetted by the sun when he offered to help her to her feet. A look of concern, even with his eyes flaming as they were.

Fei resisted the immediate urge to scream even louder than she has before, the ground littered with people of various races and kinds. Instead, her hands remained clasped in front of her chest, eyes squeezed shut and mouth clamped tight from the wind, and knees bent close to her, resulting in the falling girl to begin spin like a certain blue hedgehog. Too scared to check how much closer she'd gotten in that time, Fei mentally prays to the gods in hope that she wouldn't kill someone over such a stupid reason.

_{"Open your arms!"}

She thought all hope was lost until the sound of another voice cut through the wind, but only barely. It was enough for the dark haired girl to force an eye open, gasping at the sight she was approaching.

It was a man, but not just any man, an angel right there waiting to stop her descent. Knowing that now wasn't the time to get giddy off a literal perfect person swooping in to save her, Fei attempted to straighten out, body twisting and curling before her arms eventually straightened out and she was facing the angel, baggy sleeves sliding back and exposing her arms.

Doing as she was told, the young Sky Knight could only hope this man was strong enough to stop the both of them from tumbling down...

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Interaction with Lia @Hero

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Kyros' concerned face turned into a one of shock. She looked up at him, and immediately Kyros' mind went to a few things. Gemstones. Her hair cascaded around her face like the soft hues of turquoise. Her skin held a delicate sheen of white with pink, reminding him of polished pearl. She had fins, fins of cut amber or topaz. But what got him most was that she flashed two gleaming eyes of the most brilliant sapphires he had laid eyes upon. He was taken aback by the beauty before him. Save a little marring on her face, a little speckle of red from where she face planted, the woman took his hand and looked back. She stared as well, though aside from the fire in his eyes and his hair, there was nothing delicate about him. Nothing that would take breath away the same as this one had. He must have looked even more unsightly. Her eyes had left him without words, and made his heart thump, the blood pooling in his cheeks. "By the dawn..." He uttered in amazement.

She gave him a curious look before she looked down again to take his hand. He of course, felt positively small against her gaze. He almost felt bad just by asking if she was alright. Still she seemed to require his assistance. He nervously began to speak, his deep mighty voice almost failing him a few times. "I mean... I'm sorry to catch you in such a state, it seemed like you might have, fallen off a ship and struggled to get to shore."

Suddenly she looked at him with eyes brighter then the sky on a cloudless day. He couldnt read her face. Had he said something? Did he suddenly frighten her?

Kyros looked back at her, he gulped, his hand still extended, and his thumb on the back of her hand to provide support. He animated under such a stare. "Not saying you are clumsy or anything- like that- its only I wanted to make sure you weren't hurt..." Her staring never wavered. "Oh... Oh please, please forgive me for my presumptuousness. I'm unfamiliar from where your people hail. You are probably excellent swimmers, judging by- the- fins." He smacked his face, feeling particularly stupid.

She was still staring.

He decided to laugh it off, his other hand on the back of his neck. "Please you have to forgive me, Genasai are impulsive creatures. We always speak our minds. And your fins look lovely... I mean" He turned his gaze, scratching his cheek. "All of you... looks lovely."

She started to give him the barest of smiles.

Her look did wonders for putting him at ease. He laughed nervously. "There I go again, hehe." He winked and put a hand infront of him, as if praying and bowing his head. "Please fair maiden, let me start again." He realized he was still holding her hand, and he quickly released his thumb, he must have been creepy, holding her hand for so long. He looked at her hand... steady as a rock on his... then back to her.

Her smile got a little bigger. Okay so she didn't mind.

Her smile just made her look more lovely. "I uhh, oh...dear I Cough" He smiled broadly. "Anyway, please. My name is Kyros. It would be an absolute honor and pleasure to get you something or escort you through this fine city. It is the least I could do for acting so inappropriately. But just-" He blushed a little more, covering his mouth. "When I saw your face, I thought I was looking at the face of a goddess. The moon herself must hide her face in shame when she looks upon you. Mere mortals are not worthy." He realized his mistake, he berated himself and then looked back, a big toothy grin. "There I go again haha... oh wait I already said that."

Her smile got a little too big.

Kyros looked back, a look of honest to the gods worry. "Is that a yes?" Several very still and awkward seconds later. The maiden finally spoke, the tension released like a snapping spring.

Her tongue was as flowery as her face, and immediately she seemed to be not only okay with Kyros' blunder but she admitted to one on her own. Kyros laughed when she mentioned her legs. "They look fine to me. Better then most infact." He wasn't quite sure what her species was but he was willing to play along. Her spirit and words were infectious and even he felt her own excitement. Her proclamation of the fated day was the cornerstone of it all. Announcing proudly "I like that idea! Seems like you really have gotten into the spirit of the Festival!" He closed one eye and held up a finger with a huge smile. "But fair maiden from the sea, the day has only begun. If you allow me to escort you, I'm sure it will be a day that sages will recite and bards will sing about." He stood at her side, offer her his rather large arm. "Shall we." He was unaware of her awkwards or clumsiness. He merely played the part of gentleman.

"Though of course, I must ask my fair sea maiden her name. How will our story be told without it?" He was getting a kick out of this destiny talk.