---

Location: Ersand'Enise Notcie Board

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Interactions: Zarina@YummyYummy, Zarra@BreathOfTheWoof, Kaspar@wolfieh, and Maura @Ti

---

Ingrid was walking around the school. After such an intense time at the ruins, Ingrid wants to ruin her figure with the tastiest of street food. What is when she saw some people she knew, some more than others. They were surrounding a bulletin board with a post on it. She read it, wondering what all the chatter was about. Cooking a Snowsweeper! Ingrid was shocked at whatever bastard would try to eat an endangered species. Especially when they know it is. Sure Ingrid had eaten one years ago but they weren't this critical, nor did she know so it was bad but not the worst sin. Still, fuck him. Of course I want to taste the succulent meat again but I can wait until they get to a healthier number. I need to win to protest this atrocity.

After hearing Zarina's offer Ingrid confidently stated, "I'll be the chef, I actually cook a good deal. Let's do this." Ingrid looked to the others to hear their opinions. Ingrid smiles at Kaspar, happy to see him potentially participating.

---

The young Dorothea was rather confused as everyone in her home was hastily preparing for something. She had not seen everyone be this on edge in a while, last time was Floris’s birth. Her father had a face filled with concern. “Vati, why is everyone busy?” “Ah, Dorothea… A very special guest is coming to meet us…” The man was practically shaking, causing the young girl all the more confusion.

Time passed and passed until a carriage arrived. A young woman left the carriage and presented herself with quite the presence. The woman walked towards Dorothea’s father, never losing eye contact with him. “Hermann Hohnstein, It’s been quite some time since we last met. You’re growing old.” The woman told the man with a judging look. “Vati, who is that?” Dorothea asked, causing her father to sweat bullets. The woman looked towards and kneeled down at the girl. “My name is Annalie, Annalie Rednitz. I-..” “Bad Rednitz! You bully Vati!” Dorothea hit the woman on the shoulder. Everyone was on edge, waiting for Annalie’s response. “Hah! Your little girl has spunk, Hermann! Did that come from her mother?” The Rednitz heir laughed as she grabbed the girl’s hand softly. Hermann could do nothing but nod.

A warm smile appeared on Annalie’s face. “What is your name, girl?” “Dorothea!” The young girl stuck out her tongue. “Hello, Dorothea. I am a good friend of your father.” Annalie held her hand on top of Dorothea’s head. “Do you want to be good friends too?” The young girl did not answer, causing the woman to stand up. “I have to discuss something with your father now… I’m sure we can become great friends.” And with that Annalie and Hermann left.

---

---

“This facade is ruining Feska as we speak!” Annalie let out a frustrated sigh. “How can nobles be such idiots in things their family worked on for decades. Ah, if only I could just get rid of them.” The woman thought to herself for a while longer before revealing a sinister grin before looking rather disappointing. “That could work if that moronic man wasn’t so weak… He would never use his name to his advantage…” The Rednitz matriarch tapped her foot in frustration.

“But if I get rid of Hermann, I can use one of his Children instead…” Her train of thought furthered. “The son is almost as weak as his father is… but he might be worth shaping. His daughter might show some promise… She’ll use her name with as much as a small push.” Annalie laughed as a plan formed in her mind. “Ah, my little gift of Oraff! I’m sure you can become a great puppet!”

The Dragon Race Part IV: Invasive.
Location: Island of Longwan, Southern ReTan.

---

---

Niallus steps through the portal for his part of the race. he felt the difference almost immediately in temperature. Even without his coat, he's feeling the heat. Looking around to get his bearings in the bamboo forest, its rather dark with very little light. I must have missed the part where they mentioned it was going to be dark. This may complicate things. he takes a deep breath, focusing, trying to sense of what's around him, some dangerous predators like, snakes and alligators. nothing too dangerous as long as he avoids them, as long as they don't seem to be threatened. Speaking of which wasn't he supposed to partnered up with someone?
"Where is my partner? I might have to talk to some locals, see if anyone has seen them." Using his Arcane magic to summon one of his swords of light, using it as a makeshift torch. he makes his way to a village.

---

While getting closer to the village, he didn't want to be seen as a threat so undone his magic. Hopefully he'll be able to find his partner, her name is Enoxi'asha'luunetar. so hopefully she'll be able to stand out. a female voice comes from the right of him.
looking over he sees a petite Yasoi flirting with one of the islanders, That must be her. or she's a lost child. "Excuse me, are you Enoxi'asha'luuntar?" she turns her head in response, "Hey handsome, you must be Niallus my partner for capturing the Djamantese Micropigs?" he nods. the islander looks at both Niallus and Enoxi, "If you are both here to help deal with pigs, I'll happliy provide information." he clears his throat then continues, "Those little pests have been destroying our crops, we've tried setting traps with cages but they keep evading them." Niallus and Enoxi already knew this, but it never hurt to gather info from the locals. Enoxi undressing the islander with her eyes, it was kind of unsettling. trying to get back on topic Niallus asks the islander for information.
"Can you tell where there is an open field, as well as a tarpit is? also I'll like to borrow five of your cages please."
"Eh?!" Enoxi piped up. "We are here to capture them, not sightsee. Unless you have a plan?" the islander is confused by Niallus question, but answers. "There's a small open area about five minutes away to the north and the closest tarpit is 10 mins in the west of us"
Niallus thanks the islander for the advice and the cages, then walks away, while Enoxi puts the charm back on. "Now that he gone let's get back to what we were saying." moving in closer to the islander, walking two of her fingers up his chest. Suddenly she feels something grab her by the back of her collar.
"Come on, let's go. You can flirt later." Naillus says dragging Enoxi away with him, she's complaining at being dragged away.

---

While walking through the forest, sweat coming off Niallus's face, as a Eskand he wasn't used to this sort of weather. However it wasn't but he wouldn't of mind taken his shirt off in an attempt to cool off, but there was no telling what Enoxi would do. At the moment she kept close so she didnt get lost since Niallus was using one of arcane swords as a light source once again. Along the way, the preperation took a bit longer that expected. The plan; head to the Tarpit and dip an arcane sword into the tar, from there he'll carry it back to the open area and spread it onto the floor with some of the carrots from the inventory at the centre, using Enoxi's Chemical magic on some stone to create the illusion that theres more carrots. So, while waiting, they decided to look for some treasure. they stook close to together, since it would only waste time if they got lost and trying to regroup. Enoxi was the first to find an item which was a pitchfork, it was a bit odd finding it out in the middle of the forest. While walking back to where the trap they could hear squeals of panic, thats a good sign. three pigs were stuck in tar in an attempt to eat the carrot bait.
"Yay it worked!" Enoxi shouted getting three cages from under some shrubbery.
"Three out of five isn't bad." Niallus pinned a pig down with one hand, grabbing a bottle of water, he washed the tar off the pigs so they were unharmed then they placed them into the cages.

---

They went off again to look around for some more treasure. Eventually they came across a dead poacher, the only thing that was salvageable was some AAA+ Djamantese Micropigs pelts that Niallus took No idea what I'm going to do with these, but it's better than nothing. they came back to the trap and another two pigs were caught. After they were caged that was all five needed to finish the race, so Enoxi grabbed two cages while Niallus grabbed the other and made their way to the drop off.

---

---

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Location: Torragonese Desert - The Dragon: Burdensome Beasts
Day of the week: Taldes
Characters: Ayla @Ti, Zarina @YummyYummy
Isabella @Pantothenic, Jocasta @Force and Fury, Marceline
Nazih @Ziegenkonig

---

Desmond sat upon his Halassa in a very relaxed manner, he was facing off the right side of the Halassa as one leg was crossed over the other as he looked off into the vast expanse of the desert. He and Velani already spoke decently enough of their approach. Sabotage is low on their priority, amongst the 2 of them their goal is to defend and make their way across the finish line, one much faster than the other. Desmond he is curious in actually searching for specific items, loot, and other things, Velani not as much. As Velani was off making water to fill their canteens, Desmond sat upon his Halassa thinking. In his thought he seemed to shift in uncomfort from his new clothing, it was large clothes and garbs meant to cover every inch of him from the sun while trapping moisture, it was an uncomfortable feeling, almost counterintuitive to the survival tactics he was taught as a magusjeager from the colder climates, however, this is a different environment, so he needed to dress as such. He adjusted his body, he shifted some of the clothes, some items strewn across him, and even seemingly something underneath his clothing.

As he waited, thinking about why he was here, what he was doing, and why would he even care for a box and keeping it out of the hands of other countries, he heard a yell from behind as his covered head turned to see Ismette and Miret had made it through their round, and now it was their turn.



As they covered the many open distance of the desert, Desmond had faced off against and deterred the many attacks that had been aimed at him. He used much of his magic to guide and control his Halassa. Yet the one he could not handle was the one that came above, as when a Froabas came swooping down, his Halassa had hunkered down as many people tried to use this time to knock each other off. Desmond and Velani had prepared to defend themselves as Velani made shields to protect them from other attacks as once they were able to move they kept going, as next came an area that would be where the pair would go their separate ways.



As Desmond and Velani reached the caves, Desmond and her made chemical compositions that can burn for light for her, While Desmond used Arcane to create light for him to see. As her5e was a place that would be a place that would be a difficult place to guide the Halassa, however it was perfect for searching for treasures and goodies. As Desmond was not as lucky to find rare treasures, no gold, no silver, no special weapon, no he found a lone Dragon egg. A smile crossed his face as he kinetically lifted it up and took it into his grasp before he headed off through the tunnel system before he continued off into the



Once Desmond and Velani exited the tunnel system, they found themselves not far from each other as they both charged through to the large cactus with the Golden Prickly Pears. As once they made it to the bottom of the cactus, they provided support to each other, Desmond used kinetic magic to try and pluck 2 fruits for him and Velani while she supports him and protects him from this very oblivious area of sabotage. As once they both had hold of their fruit they both began to race off throwing some magic behind them to deter others from trying to attack at them again.



Desmond and Velani challenged the climb together, as his RAS was too low for him to challenge it by himself. Velani used her Binding to make more solid places for their Halassas to step while Desmond played defense, throwing attacks at those who were trying to throw them off and using magnetic to keep himself and Velani attached to their Halassas. Instead of trying to harass others, they both pushed on to try and secure higher spots in the race.



As the last leg of the race was completely flat terrain that was a battlefield, spells were slung, people went flying, as Halassa went mad. Desmond and Velani knew the best course was to keep to themselves and play defensive in this fight. That did not mean others did not try to fight them. As Attacks were thrown, Desmond was outpowered here, but not outmatched. He could not counter the attacks directly, he needed to stop them from attacking, forcing them to flinch, or even just stopping them before they were ever able to attack. Desmond used quick flashes, kinetic jabs, and electric shocks to force people to flinch from their planned attacks. Velani played stalwart defense as she made barriers when it came time and caught their Halassas when it came to it, which was the sole reason Desmond was not sent back to the start of this last leg from Zarina trying to sabotage him.

Yet through it all, even when Desmond did not come first, he felt as if he had a fun time, he had found some interesting things. He was able to protect the Dragon egg he found, he was able to participate in a race that he has heard multiple times about but never was able to view before, and now he has some interesting stories to talk about. As Soon enough he dismounted and gave many pets to his mount before he was approached by Zarina for an interesting proposition.

---

---

Smoke trickled from the corner of Tyrel'yrash's mouth and up into the moonlit room, gradually dissipating. She lay there, naked under her ghostlike covers, hands folded behind her head and a pipe on the nightstand beside her. Chad'amis'yida shared her bed and they had shared each other. She took another pull from the pipe before it went out. She wanted to blow rings but she wasn't very good at it. She nudged him and offered it and Chad had a smoke as well.

The night air lay cool and damp upon her skin and she could feel a hint of goosebumps, but it felt strangely good. The sweltering stink of Hogh Munkhelad was still with her: its narrow claustrophobic streets and feel of enclosure. She halfway wanted to throw something on and run out into the night just to feel unconfined. "You look pensive," remarked her special one, and she snorted. "That obvious, huh?" He nodded and blew a couple of rings of smoke. She'd failed again. "Like three monkeys in a trench coat," he decided. She turned her head, looked him in the eyes, and they smiled together. "It's not a bad pensive," she decided, trailing off.

"Fuck. Whenever a chick says something like that, you know you're doomed."

She punched him on the shoulder and rolled onto her side, resting an elbow on the mattress and the side of her head on her hand. "Ypti, you're such a dick."

"That's uh... the idea."

She rolled her eyes. "Anyway, it's more like missed opportunities."

"Babe, we're in the top three. Like, seriously, what more do you -"

"Oh Vysh, I know. It's not that."

"Praying to yourself?" He arched an eyebrow, rolling onto his side to face her as well. "So what? regretting not inviting that pretty little human?"

"I'd have been good with three, maybe even four, but he wasn't interested." She didn't let herself think about why. She already knew, of course. "Didn't you have that Ingrid girl as a partner and she wasn't like... a bitch or anything?"

He smiled. "She was pretty cool, but she was in a hurry to get to somewhere in Torragon, so yeah." He shrugged. "So, what is it? You made up with that bad human copy of you?"

"Damy, don't be so mean," Tyrel whined, "and yes. Her name's Penny." She smiled faintly and rolled her eyes a bit. "Honestly, such a big character and get this: I think she's like... literally dating that weird stalker guy I had before."

"That's a good thing?" Chad prodded.

Tyrel shrugged. "Hey, at least he's leaving me alone," she chirped. She caught herself then. She'd launched into a long meandering emotional conversation, just like her special one had said she would. She grimaced slightly. He really did know her too well. "Anyway, it's like..." Her face became earnest. She took a moment to scratch a itch under the covers. "We're here in Constantia and I'm supposed to be like... this goddess or whatever."

"You say it like you don't believe it."

"Chad..."

"Tyrel..." he mimicked.

She rolled her eyes. "Anyway, don't laugh at me. I was honestly thinking we could do some good. The Consansoi are hurting really badly. Maybe there's like... something I can do." She rolled onto her back again and let out a sigh. It lingered in the night air. Outside, crickets chirped and nocturnal life skittered about the city. There was a tree not far away. One good gift-enhanced leap and she could be there.

"So, if you wannna do it," he replied, sitting up and glancing fondly down at her, "then you should. You know I'm always here."

"To make fun of me?"

"Someone has to, Goddess."

"Say it again, please!" she squealed.

"Goddess."

"Oooh, Chad!" She let out another snort and her face became serious after a moment. "I wanna do it," she said. "I wanna help them. I wanna bring them hope, if I like... can." She sniffed a bit and sat up, drawing her knee to her chin. "I just don't know where to start."

Chad scooted up beside her and wrapped his right arm around her shoulders. Tyrel snuggled into his warmth. "What about that cousin of yours?" he asked. "She's lived among them for years." He furrowed his brow. "Do you even know for sure if she is your cousin?"

Tyrel went silent. She gave a little nod and he kissed the top of her head. "You know my family has secrets."

"I know," he replied.

"She's... related to me."

"Hard to miss."

The putative goddess knew it. Her mother wasn't her mother. Her cousins weren't her cousins. They all looked uncannily similar and she only stood out by virtue of her missing leg. Some received the curse, others didn't. She didn't know for sure about Ismette, but she would venture that her newly-discovered relation was like Mirette, who was out enjoying the night, of course. "I'll speak with her."

"You want me to come?" Chad asked concernedly, his voice a rare tone of earnest.

Tyrel shifted and slid over top of him. She shook her head and kissed him on the lips. "I love you."

---

---

---

After a nice, relaxing day during the derby. Dorothea was left with a sense of guilt for not having done enough while her teammates were out and trying their hardest, she was doing nothing. It might have been some hubris due to her enhanced abilities at the time, however she could not chase away that feeling.

---

The day of the Dragon was here and a new found determination was radiating from the Feskan’s face. Her hair was wilder than she would normally have it and those bags under her eyes, did she even sleep?

As soon as she saw snow covered Ingrid arrive she darted off while laughing at the sight. She tried her hardest to reach the homes as quickly as possible. As she reached said homes, she could barely catch a breath… perhaps she has gotten a little bit out of shape… there are no fields to work in, perhaps she should go to the fields in the school some day. Dory knocked on every single door she could find until one lady opened up. The nerves hit her, did she study hard enough? She cleared her throat and proclaimed very choppily, “Need. Pot. Pig. Hunt.” The lady looked rather hesitant, not up to giving up one of her pots.

No, no, no, my plan won’t fail on the first step! The desperate Feskan held the lady’s hand in desperation, starting to invade her mind with chemicals. Perhaps the magic word please could alter her mindset a bit. “Please, need, pot.” The Lady looked a lot more positively at the plea. She left and soon enough came back with a small pot, giving it to the Feskan. Step one is a go! Time to enter the forest!

Perhaps she should’ve slept more as the exhaustion is starting to hit her… not a problem, all she needs to do is pump herself full to keep going. Finding a perfect spot, Dory set up the pot, put the carrots and the water in the pot, gathered some sticks to hold it in place and lit a fire. The smell was not enticing enough. Dorothea ran around and started looking for good smelling weeds, finding some and throwing them in the pot. She hastily tried to reproduce a weaker form of her knockout liquid from the days before from the pot, and as the trap was laid she snuck back with Ashon making sure they weren't spotted so easily.

“Roight, be very very still… Them piggies are smarter than we might think…” She observed the pot, not leaving her sight for a moment until one pig approached it. “There she is, what a beauty. So rotund!” The pig could hear her as clear as day and ran away. “Clevah gal. . “ The sleep deprivation might really start hitting the woman as the words she spoke were almost like she was someone else entirely. This was luckily halted as her teammate put her hand on her mouth to shut her up.

And with this silence a group of micropigs approached the pot, close enough to have the liquid, now as a gas invaded their body, putting them to sleep. Moments later they got enough and the two made a run for it, Dory ran and ran as quickly as she could, giving herself one last boost of adrenaline to make it through the portal,seeing Zarra depart the moment he saw her. “I did it!” And with that everything hit her at once, collapsing to the ground, passed out. Finally some rest.

Location: Au Boeuf Rouge, Ersand’Enise
Characters: Zarina @YummyYummy as the Butcher, Ingrid @dragonpiece as the Chef, and Maura @Ti as the Mastermind. Zarra @BreathOfTheWoof, Kaspar @wolfieh as hired help.



Maura was the first to arrive and it seems she came prepared as well. Next to her are supply boxes consisting of assorted Chef, Butcher, and Help outfits, along with what appears to be good quality knives and equipment as if stolen from someone's kitchen.

Maura peers up as she receives glances from her fellow students, “It was short notice.” She huffs as she swivels towards them, “You know, it would have been a lot easier logistically if you wanted to cook the thing, but fortunately for you, you have me.”, makes a show of pointing towards herself. ”So not only did you get the means, we also happened to find a backer who is willing to help fund this escapade of yours as well. You can thank me later. Now don these things whilst you listen to the rundown.”

Maura brings up a chalk slate, scribbling upon it as to make her points more evident. “If you want to save the Snowsweeper, you need to get into the literal belly of the beast. That means you need to impress Marquis Blaise Beauregard with your cooking, or at least don’t fudge it and do better than the others in there.” She draws crosses over the stick figures of the competition. “As our Virangish friend rightly pointed out, despite his reputation for always hiring the best and brightest, he has run into a money issue. In short, if you impress, it would be a shoe in.”

She wipes the slate down, as she scribbles upon it again. “Naturally, this leads to another issue. The competition, and frankly, we are not the best there. Not only have the local talent co-opted this event to have the competition to prove their worth, the international students have got involved too. You will need to get creative… especially you”, she looks towards Zarina, handing her over a wooden twig. The pair look at eachother, especially Zarina who seemed far more expectant in her gaze. “Whilst we have heard you know which end of the sword to use, we cannot sabotage the others by trying to dull their blades. So this is a gift from our benefactor. They said to use it if you get stuck. Those were the instructions given.”

Maura coughs before continuing, “They are even charging an entry fee now due to numbers.” She produces four tokens to hand out to each of them, “Consider this my investment in each of you.”

With everything seemingly in order, she waves them off into the Restaurant. She has far more important things to arrange, assuming they are able to pull off the impossible.



Marquis Blaise Beauregard rubs upon his stomach as he remains seated upon the table. Another successful dish. This plan of his was ingenious, why bother paying for the talent when it is throwing themselves at his feet. It seems his little talent scouting has taken on a life of its own.

“Comme vous pouvez voir, nous allons servir an banquet de haute qualité. Non seulement allons-nous servir le Snowsweeper, mais nous aurons également les étoiles d'Ersand'Enise à accomplir les directives de votre père. Vous pouvez donc l'informer que les rumeurs n'étaient pas fondées.”
As you see, I will be serving up only the best quality at the banquet. Not only will I be serving a Snowsweeper, but then I will have the best and bright of Ersand’Enise fulfil the requirements set by your father. You can tell him the rumours are unfounded.



“Ce n'était qu'une formalité. Vous êtes sans doutes au courant que nous ne pouvons pas risquer la présence de l'Alliance Centrale dans cette position. Une position que sera prête à servir un repas à sa majesté, vu les tensions actuelles."
Our presence is only a formality. As you are no doubt aware, we cannot have any from the Central Alliance in a position to serve food to his Royal Highness given the political tension.
Frédérique offers the Marquis a sweet and sympathetic smile.

Étienne simply huffs as he has his arms crossed.
“Avec les masses passant ces portes, je ne suis pas sûre que leur simple présence à proximité du repas de sa majesté sera suffisante pour l'empoisonner.”
With the riff-raff coming through these doors, not sure if their mere presence near his majesty’s food would be enough to poison it.

Frédérique moves to place a hand upon his arm.
“Frère, sois gentil. Le Marquis ne cherche qu'à nous fournir le meilleur.”
Brother, be gentle now. The Marquis is only ensuring the best is offered.

Étienne turns to gaze into that smile for a minute before putting down his guard.
“Tu as raison, Frédérique. Marquis, aucun manque envers vous. Je ne souhaite simplement pas que ces gueux nous polluent avec leur crasse.”
You are right, Frédérique. Marquis, no disrespect aimed towards yourself. I simply don’t want one of these commoners to pollute us with their filth.

The Marquis simply offers a jolly laugh.
“Ne t'en fais pas, mon garçon. Tu risques d'en trouver un ou deux qui te surprendront”
It is fine, my son. You may find one or two here that may surprise you.

Étienne quietly seethes at being referred to as garçon by this fat man, before having a new idea.
“Nous allons donc opter pour ta suggestion. Frédérique, lèves-toi, nous allon juger cette compétition.”
Then I should take up your suggestion. Frédérique, stand up, we shall judge the competition.

As the pair walk away, the Marquis drops his demeanour, speaking aloud only to himself.
“Gâtés pourris. Ne ruinez pas davantage cet opportunité pour moi avec le Roi.”
Spoilt brats. Don’t ruin this opportunity with the King.

“Welcome to Au Boeuf!…” the waitress notices the tokens in their hands, and as if the costumes were not enough to signify their intentions, she takes the tokens from their hands. “You are just in time, not sure this competition will go on for much longer. Take the table at the end. The… carving is taking place in the next room. There is an additional charge for any ingredients you did not bring with you.”

As they move along to the table, they are seeing the other contestants preparing their meals.

On the chef tables, Ingrid and the boys meet their competition
There is the familiar face of Mio from Seoul Sista’s already underway with the cooking, waving towards the students she has met before.
Idun from RASgardians seems to be preparing brandæbles for her dish.
Olga from Pravda Æresvaktr is preparing a meal Vossoriyi style.
Another Vossoriya girl, Oksana appears to be there as well, taking what appears to be a very unusual approach with her cooking.
Many more of their fellow friends and rivals are taking part.

In the ‘carving’ room, Zarina finds herself faced with her own foes.
Nia from Seoul Sista’s currently sharpening a long blade usually associated with those from North Callanst culture with a whetstone.
A large Eskandish Berserker, Thorin from RASgardians wielding a hammer and what appears to be a chisel.
The Huulendamn boy from the notice board earlier with his own set of speciality tools.
Anna from Pravda Æresvaktr waves over towards her.
Many more of their fellow friends and rivals are taking part.


You have all decided to try to save the Snowsweeper!
Now you have just to convince the harshest critics you have ever come across, the Gourmet King, Marquis Blaise Beauregard, and the Perrench High Noble twins of De Perpignan, a family of Oriflamme fame.

You have a host of different opportunities only limited by your creativity.
Ingrid is on the Chef side, Zarina is on the carving side. They are expected to be primarily within their respective areas. Zarra and Kaspar can run between if required.
If you want to gather information, feel free to use the Discord thread for replies from various NPCs.
There are multiple ways to influence things in your favour. The more you do, the more success modifiers you earn.

Do you have what it takes to end up being Sipenta's next Jesse Greenwood?

---

---

Maura - Deep Blue Sea

Maura adorned in her swimming costume, goggles over her eyes, some ribbon wrapped around her legs, and a body board to help keep her afloat. She is going to do poorly in this race, but she is going to do her best to defy those expectations.

As she dives under the water, she watches side to side as they kick with theirs legs. She rolls her eyes as she moves her hands behind her, and with an explosive initial thrust, she propels herself forward at speed as she fires Oxygen and Hydrogen gas behind her as jets.

“This is a Magic contest, folks!”

Maura blasts into ninth place, as she leaves 247 other teams behind in the dust. Not bad as she looks at it this way. In terms of points, they came in joint fourth place.

Ayla - Burdensome Beasts

Ayla has prepared herself and Yo’ldoshoy with a clear plan for victory before the rumours start to circulate of treasures in the Desert. She decides to detour to pick up on the signs, soon coming across a blue square box.

Ayla polishes the device as she tries to examine it, wondering what it could be. She decides to continue ahead, coming up in the rear in thirteenth place. Though her companion followed her instructions comfortably coming fourth.

“My special number.”

Jamboi - The Dragonspine

Jamboi was already prepped for this. Rocks? Walls? Trees? It was all the same to him. No matter what the others claimed, none of them could compete in this challenge like him and it was blatantly unfair to the rest. To make it somewhat fair to the rest, he decided to carry his team-mate across the finishing line with him.

Memaru was wrapped around his body like a koala-bear, the Eeaiko who are vulnerable to the cold pushed up against his back as they shared an overcoat.

“Please… feel free to leave me”, the girl was very embarrassed to be placed in this position with the Yasoi.
“No worries, we will come first and then second together like peas in a pod.”
Her cheeks flush red, “Can you not describe it like that?”
Jamboi chuckles as he looks up towards the steep face of the cliff, and with a tug, it is up on the wall.

Jamboi ducked and weaved as he was facing the barrage of assaults from the one known as Augusto who constantly kept changing the landscape whilst the Hegalen took advantage of his relatively pain-free climb as he moved with machine-like efficiency. However he was not a challenge for the Monkey King himself as Jamboi was able to keep pace and even overtake him, with Jamboi even having time to blow a kiss to the Yasoi known as Chad as well as he ran circles around him on the way up.

As Jamboi is sliding down upon the home stretch, the unexpected happens. The Hegelan comes riding down upon a massive snow tortoise and blasting ahead of him. He detours as he slides down the ski-jump, hurling himself into the air as he fires out his dervisher pegs to pull him down at increased speed.

No matter how close he gets, he just missed first at the finishing line.

”That was a good race!”
“Can you find somewhere to let me down? It is very hot under here.”

Oksana - The Dragonspine

Oksana gets to the top of the peak as she sees how some had already made it to the finishing line. There was no way she was able to keep up with a hegelan, nevermind whatever that yasoi had been smoking prior to the match.

Another comes up beside her as he looks out towards the horizon. She turns to look towards him, in a quizzical manner.

“JUSTICE”

She looks out towards the horizon herself, nodding solemnly in agreement. She signs towards him as her hands pull towards her as if cold, then waves her hands down in a diagonal manner as she brings a finger to her eye then clenches her hand.
“Ice and Snow as far as the eyes can see.”

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Ayla was surprised at the crowd that had gathered for this meetup. She awkwardly twiddled with her red ribbon amongst her blue ribbons, thinking she may have somehow stumbled in the wrong place, but with the others adorning ribbons similar to her, it seems they were all here for the same purpose.

She moved to look over the posters that adorned the wall:
“When, if ever, is it acceptable to break the law?”
“You have two minutes,”
“...I’m listening.”

That last one did make her smile, stating such a thing to a sonic mage was tantamount to a taunt, but she understood the objective, it was to assess their character. In some ways, she wonders if what is said was actually important. She carefully considers the question, two minutes each, she purses her lips, as if daring to speak first.

“Nothing is as simple as breaking or not breaking a law. First, we have to clarify, what is a law?”, she starts a more whimsical and philosophical approach. “Why have laws in the first place? What do they serve? There are many types of laws and rules, and their intention is important.”

She has often witnessed the courts in Varrahasta to see justice served. Whilst her father was very cut and dry, you broke the law, you obtain the punishment, then onto the next. There were many others such as the wise city elders who seemed to serve with a wisdom and grace beyond typical comprehension. The good ones always seemed to examine and account for things like circumstances. There have been many a time people have had a literal slap on the wrist where there is typically a severe punishment through their mercy. She always liked to listen to the old men, often creating a story, a narrative, and a punishment fitting of this.

Ayla starts to share with an example from her homeland, “Zaqhory Desert tribes believe that if you eat shellfish, you profane the gods and are cursed with sickness by them, and so by religious law, prevented to consume shellfish even outside the Desert. However, in Varrahasta, we eat fresh shellfish all the time. Is it a case that their gods hold no power over the city?” she mused the question, “The answer is, shellfish very quickly turns into a deadly poison, especially in the desert. So why does the law exist? To prevent those in the Desert from succumbing to sickness and death. As a consequence of the law in those conditions, it is to save peoples lives, however, such a law is not absolute. If the conditions change, shouldn’t it be okay to eat shellfish?”.

She ponders the concept further, “Laws are a tool. A blunt one, but their purpose is simple, protection and order. People know where they stand and what to expect. Though like all tools, it depends on who is wielding them. A hammer can be used by a blacksmith to create a cooking pot to feed a family, or it can be used to injure someone. Laws are not fundamentally just in themselves, and tyrants have often shown us this. Laws have limitations. It is for the wise and just to apply these appropriately.”

“With this in mind…”, she clicks her fingers as she directs towards the lake. “There is a law that says you should not swim after dark. In the water, you see a child drowning. The only way to rescue it would be to enter the water. Do you follow the law, or do you follow what you know to be right? Which is more valued, the law or that child’s life?”

“So my answer is simple. There are fundamental values, as transcribed by the gods that transcend the laws of man. They move us to act and do what is right. At times, laws follow these values as a general rule, for one should not steal, one should not murder, but there are times where the law is not enough and doing what is right is paramount and takes priority. In those moments, there is an obligation to disobey.” With her own little speech finished, she finds a nice place to relax as she leaves the floor to the others to continue with where she left off.

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Location: A fountain by the Arboretum

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Interactions: Zarra @BreathOfTheWoof, Desmond @Th3King0fChaos, Sven @Force and Fury, Dory@jasbraq, Ayla@Ti, Casii@Pirouette, Ymiico@Salsa Verde

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Ingrid arrived a little early and sat near the fountain to read as she waited for others. Her hair was still braided from Roses and Neskals. The ends of the braids are tied with a dark red ribbon. The light of the moons were just enough for her to read without having to cast some light. She watched people appear one by one, some seemed to be there all along and she just didn't see them, and others just walked in on time.

The moment of silence wasn't felt by Ingrid who was genuinely reading in wait when suddenly posters appeared on a building in front of them. When should laws be broken? An interesting question that depends on who you are. Ingrid thought for a moment as it seemed Ayla started to 'answer'. Ingrid only required a moment to put together her thoughts but Ayla was still going. As much as Ingrid didn't mind long winded discussions, we were on a timer and brevity would be appreciated. She waited another handful of seconds hoping Ayla would reach a conclusion but no. With how many people were here, Ingrid doubted they would be allotted 2 minutes each.

Ingrid decided to cut into her speech, however rude that was, and simply speak over her. Ingrid kept her talking short, "Laws should be broken when there is no recourse for the injustice those laws cause. Without any recourse, the governing bodies leave no other choice." Ingrid knew that laws are by their nature imperfect, there will always be people whose laws passively or actively hurt them. That is why there needs to be systems in place for recourse and if there are not then let the breakage of those laws be the mechanism for change.

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Dorothea couldn’t believe she was dumb enough to yet again dabble in politics. Like Vati always said: Don’t concern yourself with politics, don’t end up like Opa. The Feskan started to feel a lump in her throat as she noticed some familiar faces at the meeting point. I hope Vati won’t know about this…

Dory did not say a word to anyone and tried to not stand out too much… Just standing around made her nervous, was this a trap?... Did she fall for a trap? The nerves just kept on building up until a couple of posters appeared.

The Feskan could only think of her own hypocrisy as she thought about it, having profited from laws that would not be considered morally right.. Having seen enough women driven abroad just so their children would not become Feskan and thus gain rights by law. She held her ribbon as Ayla monologued about laws. Dory could not help but speak her answer without realizing she spurted it out. “If the law hurts people and can not be bent to keep it from hurting people… It may need to be broken.” A face filled with uncertain determination was clear as day.

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Location: A fountain by the Arboretum

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Interactions: Zarra @BreathOfTheWoof, Ingrid @dragonpiece, Sven @Force and Fury, Dory@jasbraq, Ayla@Ti, Casii@Pirouette, Ymiico@Salsa Verde

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Desmond showed up to the fountain about on time, maybe a minute early, but being early is better than late. The hissing of the gas lamp made him uneasy, it was almost like the sound of a snake in the distance, and the energy it caused made him wary of being near the lamp. It made him feel as if he was standing near a burning fuse, waiting to explode something. Yet either way, he noticed a few people each wearing the same thing, a red ribbon. Desmond wore his and his wrist, something tucked and neatly made to make it very easy to hide in the cuff of his shirt. He gave nods to those he knew, and then simple little head bows to those he did not know.

They waited for roughly up to 10 minutes, nothing but waiting, they sat and waited, and as Desmond began to grumble to himself he saw a flash, a poster seemingly appeared. They all moved over to it as they all read it silently to themselves, then another one, then one last one. They wanted to test them, to see if they had the right mindset for this. As right when they finished reading, Desmond heard Ayla, speak up first. He at least decided to give her the courtesy to speak and not be interrupted, that was until she had been talking for over a minute and was not even done with her hypotheticals, as Ingrid spoke over Ayla, Desmond did the same, as he had something to say, and he would not be denied that, "Laws are made to protect the general people against abuses from others, organizations, and the government itself. But when it fails to do those things and becomes unjust, then we must break them. As it is not just right to, but we must, to show the corruption and unjustness of it".