---

”Hmm?” Elsea was pulled out of her thoughts by the man she remembered as the greeter. She glanced at him and gave him a small smile. He seemed concerned, taking notice of her troubled expression. Before she could say anything to him, however, another joined their conversation. Well perhaps joined wasn’t the right term, more interrupted and insulted poor Caius as he addressed Elsea. She now turned to face Lord Terneus, listening to him go on and couldn’t help the amused smile that graced her lips. This man truly believed she was some light elven noble. Well if that was what he wanted to believe, then a noble she would be.

”I am honored that you have recognized my station, Lord Terneus.” She said, imitating the same accent and pattern of speech that she’d heard other light elves use like Malachi and Kenia. She dipped into a curtsy before looking at him with another pleasant expression. ”It’s not often one recognizes a former lady-in-waiting to a queen. I suppose I shouldn’t put it past our governor however. Tell me, how are you doing after that dreadful attack? I heard a terrible rumor that the creature managed to horribly disfigure you, I do pray those rumors are false?” Of course this rumor she was merely fabricating all based off of her previous conversation with Kuroi, but she was willing to bet it would be a rumor that would ruffle Terneus’ pompous peacock feathers.

She didn’t wait for him to answer, however, as she decided to go on and answer his question about the human’s. ”I have heard a great deal about these humans and I must say I am quite shocked that you wish to have any dealings with them. I hear they are vile creatures with such immense power that they rival even the most powerful, like yourself. I’ve heard that one can engulf you in a column of flames just by the snap of their finger. So I bid you to be cautious, dear governor, as we would hate to see an assassination attempt by one of them actually succeed in taking your life.” She gave him another curtsy before turning back to Caius.

”I do apologize for the interruption, dear Caius, but I assure you I’m quite alright. I suppose I’m merely troubled by the arrogance of some people in this world, but that is an idiocy I suppose I can’t easily fix.” She said softly to the man, giving him a playful smirk as she gave a sidelong glance to Terneus.

Time: Evening
Location: Roshmi Grand Hall
Interaction with: @Tae ELSEA... and @Dezuel Lord Terneus

---

"Governor Andros." Umber greeted with a simple bow of his head. He appeared as a humble inferior in the brilliant presence of Terneus' excellence, even with the few insults thrown his way. However, no book should ever be judged by its cover.

Governor Andros… How I would enjoy unraveling you…. Perhaps even entertain your twisted perceptions… The urge to do harm tugged at his sleeve, especially he could feel the effects of the magic inhibitors mildly letting up. Maybe if he stepped towards the edge of the balcony, he could manage to…

Elsea's words and act grabbed Umber's attention. He found her acting ability amusing but was wary that Terneus would not be easily fooled. Though the elf seemed to be way too enamored with himself to focus on more important matters, Terneus had many years behind him. Enough years of experience could grace a clumsy oaf with useful skills and knowledge.

When she brought up the attempt on Terneus' life, Umber mentally braced himself for whatever emotion came bursting from him. Like Elsea, he kept an eye on the elf as she readdressed him.

"But it can be fixed… Not in the most pleasant way I'm afraid. But I can see why you might think otherwise. Our people are plagued with it. But, we are arrogant because we have always been considered superior. Would like to hear my theory on the arrival of humans?" Umber disliked Terneus' presence, but even he could prove to be useful at the moment.

Let's begin

"It's been… interesting." Darius had a lot of mixed feelings in the last hour, but overall it hadn't been terrible and he could still manage a smile. Artemis however, could not. Her more serious expression was accompanied by a request to talk outside. His first thought was that perhaps she wanted to bid her farewell. He gave a nod. "Of course. Could use some fresh air."

What can the fish not tell you here?

Darius ignored the voice just as Artemis started to behave rather oddly. She explained she was spooked... but by what? He smiled as she laughed it off, but grew suspicious as she ducked her head and was obviously looking around for someone.

"Come on, let's go." He deliberately took her hand and led her through the guests on the floor. Artemis didn't seem like herself. It was as if she was hiding from someone, so if this is what she needed to share, they needed to get away from the crowd as quickly as possible. They exited the ballroom and followed the hall past the stairwell to a small balcony where they could talk privately. "Sorry for pulling you out here like that, but what's going on?" His tone filled with concern as he wondered what could be going on.

Malachi bowed to Elsea and moved away from her. They both had spoken about the port town the previous day so there was no need to discuss further. It was announced that the paired dances were over and he sighed in relief. He was quite finished talking to others for the moment. He had been hoping to chat with someone new and spread the word. Though he now could wander around and quickly try to find more allies, his heart was pointing him elsewhere.

He never thought that he’d ever crave to dance with a woman again but the idea of dancing with Kenia had not left him all night. His heart started to beat faster. Would she even want to dance with him? Malachi started to glance around the ballroom until he caught sight of her and began awkwardly moving through the crowd, pushing shoulders. Yelps of surprise reached his ears dimly but he was too fixated on her to care. The pessimist in him figured there was a good chance they’d all probably die tonight and he was not going to die without getting to dance with her at a ball. Being a bit of a traditional man, Malachi valued sentimental things like that.

“Kenia…” It was possible his voice would startle her as he approached her, but he had come to her in such a rush it had not crossed his mind. Gently, he took her hand and kissed her palm.

Kenia had bid Ilan farewell and made her way to the refreshments table as she was in need of a drink. Both dances had been rather enjoyable and she’d actually accomplished something, but she’d be lying if she said her mind wasn’t elsewhere. While she knew that they had a job to do, she also wanted to try and have some relaxing fun at this ball too.

As if reading her mind, she heard Malachi say her name from behind her which made her jump a little at first. She turned to look at him and felt her cheeks turn a little red as he kissed her hand, but she couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face. It was a relief to see him and she felt some butterflies in her stomach as if she were some foolish young girl experiencing a crush for the first time.

”Malachi…” She breathed out almost in a sigh of relief of seeing him finally. She then realized she may appear a bit silly and needed to remedy that. ”I’m so relieved to see you, I was beginning to worry that one of your dance partners was going to steal your heart.” She said playfully with a smirk. Her flirtatious comments had seemed to increase a bit since the night at the bar, but she still hadn’t really spoken to him on what happened that night and still wasn’t entirely sure if their emotions were genuine then or if it had just been the alcohol talking.

“Tchh… What heart?”Malachi asked a bit playfully with a slight smile. He took her hands and pulled her out on to the floor, spinning her around under one hand delicately, “We need to find Corvina. Keep an eye out for her. “ For a moment, what was presented in front of him was swapped for an older image of a brown-haired elven woman with a big smile. He blinked rapidly as things went back to Kenia. After all these years, Cara… I still remember your face. Malachi thought and smiled faintly. He could imagine how happy she’d be that his stubborn ass was letting himself care about people again. It had been a thought that ached in the back of his mind that Cara always said she never wanted him to be alone yet he had strived for it for so long without knowing what else he could do.

Because as much as Cara longed to be with him forever, she was now gone. No person was promised to stay. Tomorrow was not even promised to yourself.

Kenia and Corvina were not promised.

Malachi out of everyone should have no problem after all the loss he faced understanding and internalizing such ideas but his flaw was that he never truly could. Malachi tightened his grip on Kenia a little. He wanted to promise her protection, but he could never do such a thing. The world was cruel in that way.

He drew off and looked at her again. He found himself smiling a little again. He had her now and he could promise that at least. “So. What kind of people did you end up dancing with?”

“Maybe I was imagining the heartbeat I felt when we were pressed up against each other the other night,” Kenia said with a giggle and wink as he pulled her out onto the dance floor. It was strange, but being there in his arms and dancing seemed to help wash away her concerns she had going into the night. She did nod when he told her to keep an eye out for Corvina, though, as she knew it was important to make sure she was safe as well. It was hard, though, to keep an eye out for her as her mind wanted her to just stay focused on Malachi and living in the moment.

She felt his grip tighten a little and she gave him a small, funny look as she wondered what he was thinking about. As soon as he smiled at her again, though, she smiled back. “Well, my first dance was with an interesting character. He was sweet enough, but he seemed to be constantly looking around for someone or something which I found a tiny bit suspicious. My second dance, however, was with a delightful little fawn who…” She trailed off as something caught her eye briefly and she glanced over Malachi’s shoulder to see what it was, but she couldn’t figure out what it was. She continued scanning the crowd for a moment with a troubled look on her face, just having a gut feeling something wasn’t entirely right.

Malachi’s cheeks flushed at her first statement, “Err.. Well… I…Oh dear.” He had not expected her to be so forward and could not stop himself from blushing at her words. It was highly attractive. He cleared his throat awkwardly to try to cover up that he had no idea how to reply to that in the heat of the moment. So she did still like him. That night had been as real to her as it was to him. He finally smiled.

Kenia started to detail her dancing partners only to draw off. His eyes immediately widened as he followed her gaze,“What? What?!?”

Kenia shook her head as she looked back to Malachi and smiled. “Sorry I thought I saw something, but it must have been my eyes playing tricks on me.”
She said with a small laugh, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was a bit off. She opened her mouth to speak again, but then she saw it. She saw Airdan dancing with Cora and she stiffened. Her heart began to pound and she began to tremble. “Airdan…” She managed to squeak out as she watched the two part ways and he made eye contact with her, smirking, before making his way through the crowd.

Malachi noticed she had taken interest in Corvina and the man she was dancing with. He watched them a moment and watched him smirk and gave him a fierce, threatening glare. Malachi was not the most intimidating elf in the room whatsoever but when he glared, he glared. He turned to Kenia and began to rub her back gently as he felt her tremble. He seemed familiar. It only took a few moments for Malachi to realize that elf had a stark resemblance to the man in her family painting they had been looking at just a few days ago. She did not seem happy to see him whatsoever. Anger filled Malachi as he wondered what had gone on to make Kenia react this way. He protectively pulled her closer to make her feel safer, thinking about moving her away from the scene but then the question dawned on him.

What was he doing with Corvina?

He looked at Kenia, speaking urgently, “ Let’s go get Corvina.”

Kenia was frozen in place for a good long moment up until Malachi pulled her closer. She took a shuddering breath before she tore her gaze away from where Airdan once was. She then glanced up to Malachi as he spoke and nodded. She leaned further into him, gripping onto him tightly as she worked on calming herself. She definitely hadn’t been expecting to see him here and the fact that he was definitely had rattled her. She now just wanted to make sure Corvina was okay.

Myra was entertained with her meat, happy that Mathis had accepted the piece of meat she offered him. After spending a bit of time with him, she was comfortable enough to be alone near him as Darius went to check on Artemis. When Mathis asked how she and Darius met though, Myra stopped eating for a moment, tilting her head in a thoughtful expression. Thinking back to the first time she saw Darius when he was still traveling with Skarr, so many things happened that it was almost strange for her to think about them. In a few weeks, Myra had done more things with Darius than she had in months in the forest.

Looking at Mathis after a few seconds thinking, Myra pointed outside, drawing a tree with her fingers before stopping and thinking a bit. Almost as if she had an idea, she looked at Mathis again. Pointing towards Darius went, she put her arms on the table, laying her head down almost as if she was sleeping. Getting up from the chair, Myra got to the side of the chair where she was a moment ago, doing a poking motion with her finger on the place where her head was laying down.

After that, Myra looked around until she saw a woman wearing a green dress. Pointing at the dress, Myra pointed at her own skin again, showing her fangs and opening her arms to look bigger.

"S-Karr!" Myra said, happy to remember her name as she smiled to Mathis before she made a distant expression, almost if she was a bit sad. So many things happened since Skarr went on her own way. Myra wondered how she was right now...




As Ayita was getting back to the ball, she noticed a woman smiling towards her at the balcony. With her head a bit clearer, Ayita smiled back with a kind smile. She didn't know the woman other than having saw her earlier at the ball but she wondered for how long she was at the balcony and if she had tried to call her attention in some way. After all, she was distracted with her own thoughts for quite a while. Making a small wave towards the woman and a discreet bow, meant both as an apology for maybe not having paid attention to her and to excuse herself, Ayita went back inside the ball in order to search for her companions.

It didn't take much until Ayita found Sakura... or better... was found by her as she called her name, waving towards Ayita. Cade too was together with her, smiling as he said something to her with a happy expression. Apparently he had quite a good evening dancing. Certainly better than hers... As she approached them, Ayita smiled as she waved back to them.

"Hey Sakura! I see that Cade's evening went way better than mine, haven't it? You're almost sparkling with how happy you are!" Ayita said with a chuckle. Despite her trying to hide it, it was quite clear that something had happened that altered her humor quite a lot.

"Indeed, I could really go for some food right now. Something to calm down my stomach. Besides, you are right, Sakura, we were interrupted before we could have dinner, weren't we?" she asked with a smile.

Darius honestly thought Artemis was going to share something far worse than what she opened up about. First, she spoke of the first time they met and about how she had expected to die out in the wilderness as she sang her song.

“I’m just glad we found you when we did.” He managed to say with a warm smile during her brief pause. But then his smile faded into a neutral expression as she continued to share. It wasn’t what she said to him that disturbed him, it was how accurate Malgormuun’s previous statements about her were. He initially thought the demon was just being defensive and accusatory, but Malgormuun had been completely honest with him about Artemis.

Upon discovering her, why did she not reveal herself as what she truly was until you gave her what she wanted? Even now she keeps the whole truth from you… She is no typical mermaid, Darius. Her song belongs to that of a siren, slayer of the seafarers she lures in with the power of her voice… I'm sure you remember hearing it and how it grabbed your attention. Think back, Darius…

He expected the demon to pipe up, but there was no need. He and Darius both knew he was correct, and to Malgormuun, that is all that mattered now. The additional context behind her past activities as a siren made sense to him, and he couldn’t see himself holding that against her. It actually explained why she previously hid things from him. It was what she needed to do to survive…

“Don’t stress it. Darius flashed a smile. “I kind of had a hunch about the siren thing, and was wondering when or if you were ever going to tell me about it… And I’m glad that you told me, but I can’t help but feel like that’s just the tip of the iceberg. So you need to tell me what’s going on and then we’ll figure out how to fix it.”

O'Ner Faister

TIME: Evening

LOCATION: The Grand Ball, Roshmi City

INTERACTIONS: @13org Myra

O'Ner was amused by her way of trying to communicate; trying to figure out what she was trying to tell him. “You were sleeping underneath a tree; and Darius poked you awake?” Wondering if that assumption was correct. He wondered why Darius was just poking random women; “Do you know why he approached you?” He assumed Darius just wanted to get into her pants or in her cause her loincloth. “And was this Skarr person with Darius at the time of first meeting you?” He asked moving himself closer towards Myra. Clearing engaged in the conversation he was having with Myra.

He thought who this Skarr person could be; he assumed that Skarr was a friend of Darius. “Who was Skarr? Did you know her well” From the expression on her face he wondered if that person was a sore subject for Myra.

Terneus Andros

"I can recognize one of my kind from a far distance, to mistake you for being anything else would be folly if not outright unfitting." The governor said in a satisfied tone, it was more a indication to his own vast skills of perception and deduction rather than the woman herself. After all, he was the one who truly mattered in the end, at least to his gracious self.

"Former lady-in-waiting to a queen?" Terneus raised an eyebrow aloft, as he said it in a surprised manner. What were this woman on about? There were no queens as far as he knew, them royals had been dealt with way back, either by abdication or... misplacement. This elven woman, which was now being graced with his impressive presence. She was behaving in a suspicious way. Not only did she have the gall to mention the attack on his person, but also having the audacity to remind him of it. He gritted his teeth slightly before replying.

"As for the humans, they fetch a fine price on being captured and brought to his majesty, Aklenroth Grimuth. And rivaling my power? Obviously it would have to involve trickery and other forms of sneaky and underhanded things, I mean how else could they possibly pose a threat to me or the king? You worries are noted, but I can assure you that your benevolent benefactor is quite safe. I mean, it took thirty-seven assassins to even lay a hand of me. I am sure you didn't hear all about it as most of them died or scattered before my brilliant radiance. Despite all this a human does bring out curiousity, even in one so highly humble as myself."

Terneus began to stroke his own attire in a satisfied manner, it felt great hearing his own voice at times. It always seemed to bring him out of thinking of more damned things. "Dear Caius? Have you given it a name? Next it might eveN try speak properly. Oh and I do know how so many can be arrogant, I mean those would-be-assassins certainly were arrogant beyond belief. Aha-hah." He gave an amused chuckle, which some seemed like mock laugh. Then the creature, whatever species it was decided it was time to practice manners, which made the ever watchful protector of the elves raise his other eyebrow.

"So it can make sentences, not only receive them. How quaint. Oh and for certain your... people if you can call them that are indeed plagued." The elf said in softer tone as he stroked his ego, making him feel like this was indeed a good time to display his fairness in a different light. The elf spread his arms and manifested a very bright light to surround him, like the shine of the sun. "Am I not truly stunning to you, beastman? Am I not as radiant as the stars?" He said in a higher tone, surfing on his own magnificence as if it were a wave out at the sea, but even the seas could surely not compare with his grand visage.

Though as the elf was beaming with light he came back to the thought. 'Queen. Avalia has no queen... this woman is attempting to deceive me. I am not certain if I should be impressed of her bravery or folly. I will pry it from her, all elves fall under -my- governance.' The elf smiled as the light began to fade. "I think we should speak more after this here ball." He looked to Elsea, his eyes travelling over Umber on it's way there, but his eyes wouldn't linger on him. Who knews what illness of the eyes which he could attain by watching something so inferior and ugly compared to his grandeur.

Cade grinned at Sakura as she mentioned steak, sure he’d eaten some food both before and during the dances but there was always room for steak. “I am having a great time here, and I believe I also met one of your kin, a very kind demon, who shares our similar appreciation for a good meal. Her words were very inspiring and certainly did a great deal to calm my nerves here though it was truly a great honor to be in the presence of royalty.” He said sharing his experience at the dance with Sakura, as the demoness waved Ayita towards them. As Ayita joined them he noticed that she did not appear to share his joy. He put an arm around her as well and lowered his voice to share what he had heard from the royal fairy herself. He hoped the promise of finding allies for her would lighten her mood.

“I have wonderful news for you both, a two day journey along the northern shore will lead us to a port town, there I am told, we will find allies.” He added, deciding not to brag about meeting a princess to Ayita, before releasing his friends and clapping his hands together. “Now we should eat and maybe you both can share how your dances went. Ayita has someone here offended you?” He asked, disappointed that someone here might have spoiled Ayita’s first party in Avalia, it was certainly not the side of his world he wished her to experience. Under normal circumstances Cade went for more direct means to settle conflicts, but this was clearly not the place for a fight. ”If so, I could alway accidentally spill a full glass of ale all over a noble’s fine and overpriced clothing, just say the word.” He added with a mischievous smile, though it was not a warriors way, it was the sort of childish thing his younger self would have greatly enjoyed.

---

---

Sakura's mind suddenly was on the alert and she quickly looked up at Cade. His dance partner was a demon? She quickly glanced around before looking back at him. Did Aklenroth send a demon over to look at Sakura's progress in her mission? Maybe this demon was one of the many who hated her and wanted to meddle with her plans to make her seem like a failure in the Lich King's eyes? It looked like she couldn't afford to relax now, especially when her kind made their presence known to some of the attendees of the Ball. She was furious that her own father wouldn't even tell her what's happening so she could be ready and act appropriately too.

There's nothing she could do about it now. The best course of action was to just chill and keep her company happy and safe as the night went on. She listened as the big man put his arms around her and Ayita and said something in private. "Oh that's interesting. That would prove to be extremely helpful when the time comes. It's definitely an opportunity for us to meet more allies for our cause. I wonder if we can meet some more cute guys there?" Sakura replied with a smile. Her mind automatically went to inform her father about this new piece of information she found but part of her was still resentful about him and wanted to keep this a secret from him instead. No matter, she decided to cross that bridge when she got there.

"Oh Ayita darling, I'm so sorry your experience was uneventful. Indeed, food will make us feel better. Come." Sakura sympathized as she enclosed Ayita's hand between both of Sakura's to comfort the human as the trio made their way to the table. Like Cade, the demoness also noticed that something was wrong with Ayita. She probably got unfortunate with her dance partner and now she looked like she was less happy than she was before they entered the Ball. Sakura partly blamed herself for not keeping a good eye over her objective/friend but she was also kind of relieved that nothing worse has happened to her. Sakura playfully pushed against Cade's abdomen and gave him a chuckle. "Cadence, you best be on your good manners here. Besides, accidentally pouring something on their clothes is so old-fashioned. Perhaps I could conjure a spell that would make him fart noisily every time he put his feet on the ground?" Sakura suggested with a sly grin, hoping to make Ayita feel better as well.

When Myra heard Mathis' words, assuming that it was Darius who poked her, she gave a small, amused smile before she shook her head and pointed at herself, making the poking motion again, finishing with an innocent smile almost as if it was nothing wrong in poking random strangers. Regarding why she did so, Myra stopped thinking for a while before she turned to Mathis again, pointing towards her skin, hair and the clothes she was wearing and then pointing towards the chair, where she was sitting a moment ago and making a curious expression before turning back to Mathis with the same innocent smile.

The moment Mathis inquired more about Skarr though, Myra did make a distant expression. She missed her, despite being together only for a short time.

"S-Karr, Darr-... Da-r-ius." Myra said, almost messing up when pronouncing the single 'r' sound before she raised her right hand when she said Skarr's name and the left one when she said Darius' before putting them over her chest, roughly the location where her heart was.




When Cade mentioned the good news he had, Ayita couldn't help but let out a smile. It was good to know that they may be able to have more allies. It was indeed some refreshing news for her, especially after the meeting with Darius and seeing how there were humans who despite everything, were still on Aklenroth's side. That said, she was happy when both Cade and Sakura shown themselves worried about how she was feeling, even trying to make her feel better.

"Thank you, both of you but... It's not that..." Ayita said, looking to Cade and Sakura with a kind expression.

"It's just that... Well... I met another human and he was helping Aklenroth..." she said in a lower tone, being careful for only Sakura and Cade to hear her.

"Someone who never had to fight for anything in his life, who never had to fight to defend his land, his people. Who refuses to see the truth, only seeing what is convenient for him..." Ayita said. It was clear for Sakura and Cade that there were a lot of feelings in her words directed towards the particular human she was talking about.

"But that doesn't matter for now... Let's go, I'm sure some food will indeed make me feel better and forget what happened." Ayita said, sighing and looking at both of them with a smile.

Before they went to the table though Ayita stopped for a moment, looking towards both Cade and Sakura.

"Thanks again... For being here for me." she said with a smile, looking to Cade and Sakura.

O'Ner Faister

TIME: Evening

LOCATION: The Grand Ball, Roshmi City

INTERACTIONS: @13org Myra

Letting out a short laugh form the image of her poking random people; something he had not done in a very long time. His face looked surprised form his laughter; The last time he remembered laughing after coming back form the dead. Was when he was told a funny joke form Philip; he could not remember what the joke was but he laughed regardless. Seeing her face seemed sorrowful form speaking about this Skar person. “I apologizes for bringing up a bad memory; we can stop speaking about Skar if you like” He said taping his fingers on the table once again.

Personally he did not have many friends; their was not alot of budding friendships with Aklenroth's minions. His existences as a undead general was quite lonely; But speaking to Myra and the others made him felt loved or at the very least could have a healthy relationship with others.

Time:Evening
Location: Outskirts in the trees not far from Roshmi Hall
Interactions:@Tae@FunnyGuy@Helo@baraquiel@13org@Eviledd1984@Dezuel@dreamingflowers@Alivefalling@Potter@hide on mana


High in the trees and completely out of sight, the pink-haired fairy stood on the thick branch of a willow tree, facing a black sphere orb that was a bit above her and centered in regards to her position. It lit up her face in the darkness of the night as the crickets chirped around her as a translucent hologram of a mirror image of herself digitized in front of the orb. She swallowed hard as she stared into her own eyes and at the background of foliage behind her, her hands trembling despite their grip of her skirt. They were not too far at all out from the Roshmi Hall, but Kyran and Risa were enough into the outskirts to not get noticed. The same projection that stared back at Risa was also projected on the large windows translucently, stretching across the entire wall for all of the ball to see. The music would slow as confusion over the crowd of attendees, hushed whispers as everyone recognized the well-dressed fairy from earlier.

Hours and hours the previous day she had spent trying to write down the words to say at this moment, but it had seemed ingenuine. She had never really given a speech before despite who she was. Risa had decided there was no right way to plan it. “I am Risa Millinia. I am…”Risa began, drawing off nervously.

She could tell them how she was technically a princess, tell them how great her family was, and how educated she was growing up. That would perhaps be the better tactic in order to convince them she was worthy of being followed. She thought of Cadence and how he had treated her as an esteemed individual. It could be that just being a royal descendant was enough in a world where many still longed for the old ruling system. Her mother and father would have told her it was all in her blood if they were here at this moment.

Flashes of Dionaea’s home and her dead family members flashed through her mind, as well as Dionaea’s sickened, pale face. Memories of Jean Luc even surfaced. She sighed, fighting the urge to avert her eyes as she looked directly into the orb. “I am the reason the crops are dying here in Roshmi. The dark elves are after me for the fact that I had a hand in bringing you humans here... I-I don’t think I could ever say how truly sorry I am for that hand." Risa felt her voice choke up with guilt but kept a sturdy tone, “Humans, this is my promise to you. I will do whatever it is in my power to get you home and safe. This is not a war you asked for. Anyone else with bloodied palms should also treat them with this respect. Putting another race in danger in chasing our hope makes us as evil as the dark elves. Force no one against their will. Choose better. “

She had an urge to kick herself after that last sentence. Was she really going to call out the dark elves here and now? Though her heart began to race, something in her gut told her to keep going. She had not shook hands with this darker part of herself in many years. Risa was never one to call others out as evil or place judgments.

The truth was she was no hero nor was she fit to be a queen. That had been her brother. He would have been much more suited for this role and would have been someone worth fighting for. She could not bring herself to instill as much hope as she might have been able to before all this. Risa was a girl as lost as any of the humans. She did not know what else to do other than to be honest and hope they’d see something in that.

Nonetheless, there was a fire in her that could not be doused and she could not stop herself from continuing, her emotions leaking into her voice, “Dark elves, I call you evil for good reason. You have become the very evil that you encountered long ago when you were outcast. You spread pain and terror, and though not many have stood up to you and lived to tell the tale, all of Avalia knows of your evil! If you stopped blindly falling the biddings of a mad lich, you would realize you have become nothing more than his slaves. You’ve taken my brother, my first love, my home, and I know I’m not the only one! I know deep down you all know that none of us have deserved the pain you’ve inflicted. “

“Think about a different world where the past was no longer fueling our future. We could make a new future where you all do not have to be outcast into the freezing north ever again. You could live alongside everyone else. I know my people are not the ones who put you in your grief but I am willing to admit my ancestors sure did not stand for you. I’m sure many of us would be willing to change that and stand for you if you stand with us. We could have a world where we have leaders who represent our species again and not led by those who cannot understand our cultures and way of life.” Risa thought of the dark elf she had encountered. She was sure he was the one who had set Roshmi after her and was pulling a lot of strings even now. What was he thinking of her words now?

“But if you stand against Avalia, we will stand against you. “ Risa was not even sure how many would even stand with her, but for this to work, she had to believe it would. “ I implore anyone and everyone to fight with us. There are humans who are willing to fight for us and many more Avalians who have had enough. There are more of us than there are of them and if it takes a war to have a world we’re proud to introduce children in, then I say so be it. I came in this dress tonight to let you all know I’m not afraid. You will not threaten me into hiding and I will proudly show who I am and what I represent. My grandparents spread kindness and hope through the River Kingdom. If they are my heritage, nothing you say will make me ever hide who I am.”

The mirror image of the impassioned, teary-eyed fairy that stared back at her suddenly switched off. A new image switched on. It was at first hard to make out the image but it was clear a silhouette hung from a tree branch in a similar setting as to Risa’s background. Blonde locks of hair stained with red trickled down from a bent down head and torn fairy wings drooped with gravity Vines kept the body up and swinging gently with the breeze in an almost eerily serene way. Light began to better showcase the view both to Risa and the crowd at Roshmi Hall as Dionaea Sycamore’s hanging body was displayed for all to see. The display got worse with more attention to detail with vines crawling up her legs lacerating the skin where they had moved and gruesomely protruded through her flesh in multiple areas of her torso. Her face was the worst of all with the barbed vines piercing through where her eyes used to lie, wrapping around the skull creating a crown of thorns and causing blood to pour through the sockets down her face and from her mouth, a mass of tendril-like vines flowed out bearing Clematis blooms. A deep red ichor of blood-drenched the fairy’s once white attire. It was a work of madness displaying the lifeless corpse.

Risa screamed as she threw the orb and then unbuckled.

The dark elf had watched with both intrigue and worry at the display that had appeared before the people in the great hall. Whilst listening to her plea and words of rebellion, he knew that it was of outmost importance he found the others. While Kuroi had aided him against that self-important governor, he was also surely not fully into the whole rebel thing. When it came to 'the little miss' as he liked to think of her, she was doing good work on leading the group. She would certainly lead better than he ever did, and doing so it would leave him with more freedom himself so he could undertake some covert operations.

It was important to drag as many as possible into the coming wars, not only drag people to rebel but to drag people into a massive war to seize the throne after the lich would be dealt with. People which had to be eliminated after the rebellion would have to include this Risa Millinia, Terneus Andros and also the little miss who currently leads the Golden Death. Only then could there be usurpers and infighting and true chaos, which would draw Avalia towards the end it deserved. They were all equally guilty in pushing the world towards it's self-destruction, and thus had to all vanish.

'Destroy each other, and keep on until nothing remains. Drown in the pit you've dug for yourselves, you ever greedy and wretched fools. I've seen the darkness of this world, it is time it consumed everything once and for all. Put an end to it all.' He slowly turned around and began to walk towards the entrance of the large hall, going along the walls to avoid the possible stampede of people in the middle. He wasn't intending on dying just yet. The appearance of Dionaea's body was further proof to him that the world was deserving what it would be getting.

Zelginn

"Whoa, that's what I like to call an entrance..." Zelginn said in a mumbling manner to himself, looking at the display that Risa had put forth before all present. The fox-eared figure blinked a few times and then smiled.

'Oh boy! Things are going to get really fun really soon isn't it?' He thought in a childish manner, his entire form squirming in joy.

'I am going to have so much fun! Finally!' He grinned, and continued to watch with a highly satisfied look on his face, even more so when he beheld what had happened to Dionaea.

'Someone has played with their food... speaking of food...' He thought in a darker way, as his eyes glanced over towards Myra. The small figure then began to scurry and press his way past people on his way closer to Myra so he could easily stalk her as soon as she began to move.

Terneus Andros

The noble elf raised an eyebrow aloft on seeing in the corner of his eye into the great hall as there was a slight commotion. There was no time to wait for the elven woman and her seemingly beastial servant to acknowledge his grandeur. What was going on in there? Terneus began to turn fully and move indoors, looking over the railing into the hall. It sure was high up but it gave quite the view. It was the fairy girl in the fancy dress, or rather fancy for a fairy. It wasn't elvenmade after all and not really on a competetive level with his own fine apparel, at least to himself.

'A rebellion? At this place? How untactful.' He thought, thinking he would -never- act without some manner of tact. After all, he was as wise as he was clever, of this there was no doubt in the ever growing mind of the governor.

'Dark elves evil? Ofcourse they are... wait what? Encountered evil? No no that's wrong. Live alongside dark elves? Is she an idiot? How I hate these would be idealists. The ideal world is one without the unclean. How is that so difficult to understand? Ahh, I expect far too much for the inferior.' The governor grimaced as he leaned over the railing, this was putting him in a difficult seat. He wanted nothing more than get rid of that lich king, but he didn't want to possibly endanger his own beautiful existance. It wasn't the liberation of the land, the death of a king or the rebellion overall which was concerning him the most. It was himself, and what he could get out of it. The elf felt physically ill on looking at the display of Dionaea's body, even if it were a pathetic creature compared to himself it still was overly sadistic and lacking in style. Typically dark elven no doubt.

At least people could look up to him from his vantage point, as it should be according to him. But they were distracted by the display, that wouldn't do. He had to put on an image which could benefit his own ascension. Thus he gathered his voice and pointed with one of his arms. "Guards! Close the gates! Don't let the rebels escape! Capture them for his majesty!" Terneus yelled across the ballroom as high as he could, this was such a great moment to earn more wealth and be the subject of noble gossip for times to come, and display his high virtues, leadership and decisiveness. He felt prideful after his own words, he felt so overwhelmed by his own performance that he felt like kissing himself, but alas such would have to wait. He didn't want people to think him to be self-centred, narcissistic or anything but humble.

At times he felt like he could compare himself with the wind, forceful and strong when he had to be, and gentle and cool when such was required. But now was a time of action, the governor turned around to begin to move down the stairs to 'take control' of the guards or to make them look sloppy. This opportunity must not be missed.

Elthrael Vol'Kerno

The moth fairy had spent abit of time relaxing on top of a rooftop, overlooking the large building which the ball was held within, after his little encounter with that arrogant governor. Watching various people from the rooftops were at least a way to pass time, someone in particular did catch his interest however. He could easily recognize a pair which was now located near a tree, whereof the female were now up into it. It was Risa and Kyran. 'Oh? What's this then? What are you doing, princess?' He thought to himself as he focused his golden gaze ahead, Risa seemed to hold unto something. The darkwinged fairy began to softly smile. "So that's it.. eh?" He said softly before pushing himself off the building, taking flight.

If Risa and Kyran were outside, they were certainly being watched from the darkness. Elthrael knew that many dark elves knew magic to camoflague themselves in shadows. They were surely going to be captured unless...

The fairy darted behind a few houses and rooftops until he got closer to the location, and that's when he saw the girl sink down on her knees on the large branch she had been standing on. Elthrael quickly fluttered his wings and flew forth, from a higher elevation, diving down and attempting to grab hold of Risa in order to lift her up into the air. This moment were too good to pass up on, the foxboy was below and Elsea were nowhere in sight.

"Time to fly!" He said quickly, his cornerteeth visible and he threw a mocking glance over his shoulder towards Kyran as he attempted to snatch the princess.

Artemis' reluctance to share what she was keeping from Darius only provided a window of opportunity for an interruption. The sound of some kind of commotion caught his ear, and though he wanted to know what Artemis had to share, he needed to stay focused on the mission at hand. Besides, Myra was out there without him. She was no damsel, but the last time he left her alone, things did not go so well.

The noises of the other guests led Darius back into the ballroom. And as he entered his attention was drawn to the projection on the walls. Displayed was the pink-haired fairy that had gotten so much attention when she had entered the Roshmi Grand Hall. She was indeed beautiful and probably deserved the spotlight. The technology or magic at use was intriguing and sort of reminded him of Aklenroth's message in the sky. Was it the same kind of ingenuity? Darius wondered with curiosity as he looked about before her initial sputter of nervous words morphed into verbal daggers that struck him.

His eyes fixed on hers with a fury he had not felt or expressed since the day he met Aklenroth. The day he was shown the countless deaths of those irresponsibly and inconsiderately brought into this world. The lost… by this world and the former. Her very form seemed to twist in his perception as he heard her proud words. How she promised a way home. He didn't even notice his right hand balling so tightly that it caused his arm to tremble ever so slightly. She was part of what he hated about his and all the other humans' circumstances in this world. Her approach was gentle but her motive was far from it. Like pawns, humans were being used to kick off a game of chess. The game could not start without them of course. No matter the winner, the pawns ran the high risk of being sacrificed. All for a king… or in this case, a princess.

She mocks you. You and the rest of your kind. Just look at her weakness! The cowardice of these fae! Always pushing others to the front... You hate her, don't you? You hate her! She couldn't even face the crowd in person. A message that cannot be challenged and only be heard! We kill her and we end this Darius. Remember. No rebellion. No reason to fight... Darius, I shall burn this feeling into your memory! Like all of those horrid visions I have shown you! It may feel like a curse. A nightmare even. But it is a gift that pushes you further. Makes you stronger. Let's find her Darius… Come on!

Whether it was Malgormuun's doing or just his emotions getting the better of his senses, Darius could still see Risa so clearly on the wall. Even after the projection changed to the horrific display of a fairy that had been fatally violated, her face was visible. It took the place of the unfortunately mutilated woman's face. Was this what he desired? Is this what he wanted for her?

No. I don't want that. He seemed calmer now. Malgormuun was quiet and oddly satisfied despite the young man's demeanor seemingly going away from the anger he had been feeling. Instead, there was sorrow. He nodded to himself, preparing himself for what he was about to do. With a look of pride, he raised a fist proudly. "Why not take a chance! I stand with Princess Millinia! Down with the Lich King!" Darius shouted as a few around him began to nod reluctantly before another cried out.

"Princess Millinia!"

"Down with the Lich King!" Another cheered.

"End his tyranny!" Someone shouted.

"Stand with the fairy princess!"

The few soon became the many within the crowd. Some of it was just drunken excitement, but there are those who legitimately wanted to see Aklenroth fall in the face of righteousness.

Time: Late Afternoon
Location: Roshmi Hall
Interactions:@Potter@Tae


Malachi had just pulled out a chair at the table Corvina had been seated at for Kenia to sit in when a forest background took over the wall behind them. The young fairy girl stood in the middle of the projection and started nervously speaking. She took a different route with her speech than he had suggested to her yesterday and he stressfully rubbed his temples as she spoke. It did improve as she went on. Her youth was her obvious flaw but somehow the humbleness and honesty of her words, as well as her raw emotions, carried better than whatever logical words he had advised her. She even seemed to empathize with the dark elves in her plea for peace, letting them know that fighting them wasn't what she wanted but it was what she would stand for if they would not agree. There was something brilliant about innocence and earnest. He was a bit ashamed he had forgotten the power of those things.

Little did the fairy girl know, he had set up about ten orbs all across Roshmi City. Thousands of demi-humans were perhaps crowding around them to watch. If things went the way he wanted them to, the entire city would soon be in an uproar if Risa's words were as powerful as he believed them to be. Risa probably would have objected that it would have endangered many lives to involve all of Roshmi. He feared the girl was perhaps too idealistic and trying to save too many lives in order to really push through a war. She seemed to really think that perhaps simply speaking to everyone the way she was now could convince them, but it was going to take more than that to convince the dark elves to stop what they were doing.

Then came the display of a dead blonde fairy. He quickly covered Corvina's eyes with his hands. This could not be Risa's doing. She got in the way of him killing a disgusting mosquito yesterday when they had first met. Malachi had seen a lot of horrible sights in his day so he was, fortunately, able to stomach the view enough to analyze it more than the others would be able to. The weapon of choice for the fairy's death seemed to be vines. This was certainly the work of another fairy. For something like that to be suddenly hijacked with a gruesome display prepared in advance, it had to have all been long premeditated. This meant that someone knew of their plan and have somehow been listening in yesterday despite their careful efforts, or Risa was somehow insane enough to think that was a great idea to end her speech with, though he doubted that final theory.

None of it mattered as it was clear things were escalating. The annoying light elf governor had been first to react, calling for guards and whatever else to probably make him feel like he was doing something useful. Then someone he had not been paying much attention to suddenly spoke up, proclaiming his allegiance to 'Princess Millinia' and starting a chain reaction. Indubitably, things were going the way he wanted but that also meant things were going to get a lot more dangerous. He turned to the women, "Kenia, Corvina, we have to get out of here now."