[IC] A Game of Throhs - Medieval Pokemon RP (A Revival)

[cerozer0]

Lugere.

The country within the land of ice and snow. Wind chills blow across the hardened earth and sharp pine forests, casting almost endless cloudy skies upon the inhabitants. Lakes and oceans spread far within the kingdom, full of life and money for most of the land's people. Mountains, topped with pure white snow and full of rich ore, tower over the earth with a pure appearance. Among the frost, towns are gathered in small clumps, houses lined with stones and bricks and kept warm with hay and roaring fireplaces. The folks within are bundled heavily, whispering about the harsh winter that would soon be upon them, while their children played in the frost, blowing clouds from their mouths as they laughed thoughtlessly. Beyond the scattered towns lay a large pine forest, the probable home of many Lugere-based Morphs. Within the greenery, near the center of the forest, an eternally warm clearing stands. The Temperate Grove. Pokemon gather here all around the year, taking refugee in the constant warmth and nearby stream, and care for the land with the utmost care. Only few know of the odd clearing's location, the rest simply assume it is nothing more than a rumor. Most of those who know of the Grove are located in the main town of the country, the kingdom of Maccus. Named after the head of house Lugere, the stone-based city sits brilliantly on the side of a few close mountains, and the main castle remains on a glimmering lake. Held together by stone and frost, many people gather within the rich houses and shops that line the cobble streets.

Maccus's castle is large and elegant, topped with sharp bulbs that gleam reds and blues in even the darkest of nights, and it is guarded twenty-four-seven. Within the walls, Pokemon and royals live surrounded by knowledge, Maccus himself can normally be found in the library, filling his mind with knowledge, but it has now been three weeks since he last opened a book. These days, he is in the study, with many advisers and trusted friends. They spoke with quiet intensity, discussing the land of Egyel.... And plans of war. Tensions are high within the castle, and while the head would love to keep such topics behind closed doors, rumors have spread to the main town.

A war? With them?

The land of Egyel is ripe for the picking, why not?

I'd rather we not get involved...

Them.

Ayero.

The country within the land of sunlight and warmth. Green hills, made of the best soil money could buy, claim most of this land, a stark difference to Lugere's frosted earth. Thin forests dot the landscape, and the trees are caught in a forever autumn cycle, giving the leaves the colors of fire. The sun is harsh, and snow is an unknown phenomena to most of the land. Few lakes fill the flat plains, and most forests are kept alive by small streams and the occasional monsoon. Towns are found mostly on the coast or near lakes and rivers, where farming and glass making is easy to do. Golden fields of crops claim most of the grasslands now, and towns of wood and gravel run these farms. Near the center of the land lies the capital city, the kingdom of Hiden. Named after the head of house Ayero, the town is wood-based and the streets are lined with aqueducts, giving it a very fluid appearance. The main castle is located on the rive that the city surrounds, and its unique architecture has inspired thousands of artists, who fill the cover the walls of the palace with intricate designs and majestic imagery.

Hiden is normally found with the guards, training them to fight with the fierceness of their crest, the fire-Pokemon Ho-Oh, but now a days he is alone with only his most trusted adviser, discussing the use of the land that was once Egyel, and the threat of Lugere. Such secrets, now, if only the walls didn't have eyes. The rumors started a few days after the first secret discussion, and Hiden made constant speeches to calm the growing worry, simply dismissing the rumors. The cover ups worked, for the most part, anyway...

The people of Lugere and Ayero now live day to day, some blissfully unaware of the looming fight, and others sulking behind walls, preparing to be summoned or forced into the fight, but the upcoming war does not matter yet. On this very day, Lugere was cloudy and cold, as usual, and the threat of snow lay heavy in the air. Meanwhile, in Ayero, the sun was blissfully warm and the land was a bit dryer than usual.

---

"Did you here, another child has been taken..."

"Who's was it? Ms. Korin's? What an awful shame, to think some Pokemon could be so evil..."

Within the wall-protected town of Ladyl, a rather small city on Ayero land, people spoke excitedly. Folks gathered in circles, sharing stories of the odd occurrences that were currently plaguing their land. Children, most no older than five summers, have been getting snatched up left and right for the past week. The perpetrator, a shiny, bird-like Pokemon. Most have been blinded by the creature's gleam, not allowing them to get a good look at the Pokemon before it was off again. The men of the town have been all around the outskirts of the land, but were much too afraid to venture into the nearby forest which was the homeland of many spooky legends.

Aleida, who was currently hiding from the harsh sun's heat beneath a roof overhang, heard of these rumors from a nearby gathering of people. Curiosity and an intense motherly rage boiled up within her chest, and as her hand trailed across the back of a dozing Tidal, she spoke up suddenly, catching the circle's attention,

"I could go look for the kids, if you'd like." She said instantly, a wide smile claiming her painted face. A woman with puffy eyes rose her eyebrow, obviously a bit put off by Aleida's almost-naked appearance and sudden willingness to help, but at the sight of her smile the woman sighed, head cocking,

"Ya wanna go look, stranger? Go ahead, the men have already looked high and low."

"High and low, sure, but not in the forest, as you said before. They're probably in there, right?" Aleida's smile dropped slightly, obviously a bit confused on the town's peoples fear of the autumn colored woods just beyond the walls. The woman's lips pursed, and whispers burst out in the group behind her, but before she could say anything else Aleida was up, using her free arm to support the still sleeping Tidal while her other hand was closed around the rod of a fishing pole,

"Don't worry, Ma'am, I'll help ya out! I'll find the kids and catch the bad guy all in one go!" The woman lifted a hand, mouth opening with slight shock at the odd's girls wide grin, and before she could produce another word Aleida was gone, rushing towards the closest way out of the town. Her mind was whirling with excitement for the new adventure, and as Tidal began to stir from the sudden movement she exclaimed,

"We're gonna go catch a shiny bird-Pokemon, Tidal! Get ready!"

[McHaggis]

“You're sure it's a bird-Pokemon?” Seth asked the shopkeeper slowly as he packaged up his new belongings – bait, an assortment of berries and a brand new set of sewing needles – in brown paper. The worker refused to meet his eyes, turning a pale face to the side in the wake of the younger man's scepticism. It was the first time Seth had spoken during the transaction, the other filling the silence with general chit-chat and news about the local area, but it was something impossible to ignore.

There wasn't a single Pokemon matching that exact description. Seth should know. His childhood had been spent around both common and rare birds of almost all varieties, and his adulthood thus far marked by chasing down legends in either ancient writings or in person. The thought that there could be one out there, undiscovered for this long, was ludicrous, but a tension along Seth's spine itched for him to check it out.

“I ain't never seen it with my own eyes, kid. I jus' know it takes the children. Plenty of grieving mothers around these parts recently.” Seth took his parcel, sliding the silver coins over the counter rather than handing the man them. He could feel the shopkeeper's eyes on him and it was Seth's turn to look at the ground nervously. Every inch of him screamed 'bird-fanatic' or worse, 'Morph', but ultimately fear of being accused of the latter wasn't necessary. Belle, his pidgeot, blocked the door with her massive feathered form and everyone knew that Pokemon didn't travel with the shapeshifters willingly.

Still, in a town where some sort of bird kidnapped and possibly ate young children, Belle's existence could be just as risky. Indeed, Seth's amber eyes darted over to his loyal companion and her anxious fluttering, pecking at the door-frame to beg him to hurry up. Naturally, Seth complied without even a word of thanks to the exasperated shopkeeper left wondering, is this kid for real?

“Belle, we should go,” Seth murmured to the side of the pidgeot's head as she inclined it to nudged his chest. Such was the curse of being short – even the most common of Pokemon, albeit in stronger evolutions, were larger than him. “The townsfolk dislike you. You make them uneasy.” People were grouping up, whispering, and even he could sense the unease that pervaded the whole of Ladyl.

Belle blinked once, pecking at his shoulder gently as if to say, 'And you care what people think?' Even so, she stood perfectly still as Seth opened the satchel and placed his newly-bought goods inside. Usually there was some mischievous movement hoping to trip him up, or restless jiggling from side to side, but it was clear even she wanted to leave the town.

“They have a unique species of Pokemon here, by the sounds of things,” Seth said as they walked towards the gate to the nearby forest, footsteps quicker than usual. It was obvious they were heading in the wrong direction – they were supposed to be heading south to catch and follow the curve of the coast, not north into a dark forest. Beth let out a caw that sounded suspiciously like a whine. “I need to check it out!”

Belle sharply sped up, rushing around him to catch up with– was that another person? Young, too, by the height of her. Surely the woods were dangerous, as any place where the Pokemon roamed freely likely was. Still, his pidgeot's love for human contact overruled her better judgement, despite all they had done against both her and Seth and all the reasons they both had to avoid strangers. She loomed ominously behind the girl, head over her shoulder. Eyes closed in happiness.

Seth sped up before his pidgeot would get herself killed.

[Raijinslayer]

Sebastian was walking around town, wondering if their were any odd jobs that could be done. While he didn't need much do to his nomadic lifestlye, their were still certain items he couldn't get in the wild, such as certain medicines, toxins, and replacements for his lost or broken arrowheads. As he walked, he happened to hear some townspeople talk about how children seemed to be going missing in the area, taken by some shining bird pokemon. Sebastian consideted offering his service, but was beaten to the punch by a lady with strange marks on her face and her vaporeon. Taking a look at her, he wondered if she'd be even interested in a reward, as she didn't ask about one, nor did she look like the type.

Deciding he'd never know unless he tried, he followed her to the outslirts of town, where he planned to approach her about joining up to complete the task. A plan that was interrupted by a Pidegot that seemed to run up to the girl, followed shortly by a short guy, who with one look screamed bird man. Definitely a guy you want to take with you on a bird hunting mission.

"Why hello travelers, I happen to over hear the little missus here," He said, pointing to the girl who was currently being hugged by the giant bird, "talk to the townspeople about the kidnappings, so I was going to ask if I could join. And I assume that your interested in the bird pokemon doing the kidnapping, judging by your choice of garb. So what do you guys say we all try and find this thing together? The sooner we find it, the sooner we can put the town at ease."

'And the sooner I can collect a reward.'

[Rune_Alchemist]

Levinia was snoozing quietly in the forest that she had deemed would be her temporary home. It wasn't far from a small human settlement in the human kingdom of Ayero. She hadn't bothered to learn its name on her way through. Something like that was just a triviality that she didn't care for. Perhaps if it was a morph settlement, she'd make a mental note of it, but a human one? She could care less about the name - or if it was suddenly engulfed in flame and burned to the ground. The humans would deserve such a fate, for their actions against the morphs. In any case, she should probably get her business there done. She didn't venture into human towns much, those creatures had nothing to offer her in their cities, but she did like to at least keep herself aware of current events.

Rousing herself from her half asleep state, the Luxray morph gave a loud yawn and stretched her front paws out on the branch she had decided made a good bed. It was much to bright out for her liking. Oh sure, the sun was nice and all, but she prferred to be nocturnal. Much easier to hunt at night, not to mention easier to move about undetected by those humans. But, humans were less suspicious of someone if they visited the town during the day. Besides, she wouldn't be visiting for long. Just long enough to to gather some information about the current events and possibly...get some food. She was feeling rather hungry after all.

She nimbly jumped from the low-hanging branch, hitting the ground with a low thud, leaving a paw print in the dry grass as she did so. It was warm, but it was always hot in Ayero compared to Lugere, where she was born. Not that it bothered her much, she usually slept during the days. With another yawn, she set off into the forest, she should probably get her bearings first so she could easily find her way back to this comfortable little tree.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Alright boy, lets take a quick break. You've been walking since morning." Claire said, giving the red pokemon's head a friendly pat. In response, the massive pokemon let out a pleased, somewhat tired growl. She doubted the ancient pokemon was actually tired just from walking from their campsite last night to their current location, but Groudon got cranky when he didn't have enough time to himself during the day to have a small nap or so, even if he would never show it directly to her. "Don't get comfortable though, if we want to make it there today we need to get moving. Just a few more hours of walking and we'll be there." With that, Groudon gave her a somewhat playfully annoyed look as she started to climb down from her resting place on his head. "Oh don't give me that you big lummox. If you didn't stop to eat so much, we would already be at the capital." With that, the massive pokemon suddenly lurched forward, letting itself fall forward with just the force of gravity.

"Oi! Hey, I'm not off yet you-!" And with that, Claire was flung off of his head from where she had been attempting to climb down. Groudon landed on his stomach with a massive thud, causing the entire area around him to generate a small earthquake as his one-ton body hit the ground. Claire landed on her back a few feet away, a bit winded and surprised but otherwise uninjured. She laid there momentarily, simply starting up at the cloudless sky. Maybe she should take a quick nap too. It's not like it would hurt anything....No. She couldn't. She had a job to do.

Claire was going to reprimand Groudon for his behavior, but when she tilted her head towards him from where she lay on her back, she was greeted with a rather amusing sight. One of the bags on his harness that carried their food supplies had been knocked upon, and a few chunks of meat had fallen onto the ground. Groudon, was attempting to reach one of the fallen chunks of dried meet with just his tongue, which she was sure required more effort than just picking it up normally. Any small amount of anger she felt, immediately vanished and was replaced with amusement. She let out a quiet laugh. She could never stay angry at this big oaf.

"Alright, alright, don't hurt yourself." She jokingly teased, rolling over. At the sound of her voice, Groudon turned his attention from the meat to her, and began giving her what could only be described as the best puppy-dog eyes he could manage. She gave an amused sigh and stood, brushing off a bit of dirt that had gotten on her armor. She walked over to the beast, it's eyes immediately lighting up as she did so, raising it's head off the ground. She let his head rest on her hand as she began to give him a scratch just above his eyes. "Alright. You can have two. You hear me? Only two So don't get any bright ideas." With that, Groudon gave a happy sounding growl. Claire walked over and picked up two of the fallen pieces of meat and tossed them towards Groudon's head. With unexpected dexterity and swiftness, he reached out and caught the both of them at once, almost swallowing them in the same turn.

"Hah...imagine what the other nobles would say if they saw me now." She wistfully sighed, placing the rest of the fallen rations back where they belong. Groudon simply munched absentmindedly on his snack, not really caring to reply. She suspected he had heard, but didn't think it needed a reply. He was funny like that. He never commented on the little things, but if something actually concerned her, it was hard to get him to leave her side. She climbed onto the pokemon's back, and stood up to survey the current area. Plains and grassy hills as far as the eye could see with small forests dotting the landscape in the distance. Claire laid down on her pokemon and stared up at the cloudless sky again. Maybe...just maybe, a small nap wouldn't hurt. Not like it would matter if she was a little late to the capital...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was a cold, windy day at the Keirnan estate. The clouds darkened the sky with their dark grey beauty, threatening to unleash a beautiful but freezing cascade of frozen water upon the land. Indeed, it was days like this Cyrus quite liked in a sort of macabre way. Snow landscapes were always a pleasure to paint, especially if he could capture it while it was freshly fallen, or still falling. Even more entertaining was taking a walk in his gardens, which were well taken care of and always in bloom, even in the frozen north by his servants. His favorite maid, a pretty little thing by the name of Chloe and her Florges saw to that. Indeed, painting blooming flowers that were threatening to be killed due to snow and freezing temperatures elicited a...dark, enjoyment from the man known as Cyrus Keirnan. But now was not the time nor the place to think about his painting preferences, or the fact he was going to track down Chloe for a bit of fun later. Now, he had to figure out which of his servants had tried to poison him.

"Chloe, there has been a bit of a problem..." He said to the red-headed maid as he approached her. "Oooh, Cyrus. Your just in time. I just finished cleaning this hallway. Care to join me in the garden for some quality time with the flowers?" She giggled playfully, obviously thinking his visit had meant something else entirely. Chloe was only a year younger than he was, and a peasant for that matter, but such things didn't matter to him. She had been a poor girl in a place a few towns over, but she had the fortune, or misfortune as some might say, to catch his eye. He had then invited her and her parents both to live in the small village surrounding his estate. A small, cold, little village, but one that was incredibly well off compared to most other places. The city didn't formally have a name, but most locals referred to it as Snow Crest, and his estate as Snow Crest Manor. Made sense to some, since it was situated on the side of a mountain that always had snow somewhere, and was the only civilization around for quite some ways.

Taxes were low, and as the Lord of the village, taxes were not something he liked collecting and always kept them as low as he could. Work was also easy to come by, especially for the women. Cyrus could always use another maid. The men, on days the weather was nice went into the large forest nearby and cut down trees for building logs, firewood, and other things. Of course, if they were less scrupulous types and didn't mind getting their hands dirty, he could always find other...work, for them, if they were so inclined.

"In this weather? Please, Chloe. We'd freeze before we could even do anything." He replied with a smile. "And I don't even think you can keep going for that long"

"Is that a challenge?" She replying, standing almost uncomfortably close to him. Well, what most would consider uncomfortably close. "I do so love a good challenge" She playfully ran a finger down his shirt, eliciting a sigh from him.

"As much as I love to, I can not. There is something I need to speak to you about." Chloe took a step back with a sigh, and folded her arms.

"Well, this sounds serious. Alrighty then. Lets go somewhere more...private." With that, the two of them set off down the hallway and towards Cyrus's room. No one would question their activities. It was quite common for the both of them to spend time...alone, together. Whether it was just reading, talking over tea, or other things. Of course, he made a habit of at least spending some time with all of his servants. More often than not, a servant who disliked their lord was more likely to poison them. He liked to make sure that wouldn't happen. Or at least, not happen as often. As such, unlike most other lords, he tried to remain friendly and treat all of them as equals. It didn't take long for them to reach his room, where he had Lucine pour some tea and set a table with some snacks to eat while they discussed the matter at hand.

"So. Someone tried to poison you. Again." Chloe sighed, as she sipped her tea. "One of these days, Lucine isn't going to be there and you're going to drink poison and choke. And then I'll be left without anyone to keep up with me." She playfully added. Chloe was referring to the fact that he had Lucine use her abilities to look at anything he ate or drank to make sure it wasn't dangerous or poisonous. A bit of a trump card, if you will. The only ones who knew she could do that, was himself and Chloe.

"Hah, Indeed." He chuckled. "Can't have that, now can we?" His face suddenly turned more serious as he sat his teacup down. "But the problem is, I do not believe it to be one of the servants." He didn't elaborate on his thought, but Chloe didn't seem surprised and simply sighed again. "Alright, I'll ask if the others have seen anything suspicious." She said, standing up. "Alright then. I'm off to the garden! Got to keep those flowers all nice and pretty. Try not to die, Cyrus." she said with a playful wink as she exited his room. Cyrus simply shook his head with an amused sight before turning to Lucine.

"Well, I suppose we might as well get on with business as usual. No sense in letting an attempted murder get our spirits down, hmm?" Lucine said nothing, but simply gave a small bow before following Cyrus as he left.

[Raijinslayer]

John Flares was traveling along a road when he came upon quite a sight. A huge red pokemon laying down, with a red-headed girl on top of its head. But that wasn't any pokemon, that was Groudon, the fabled guardian of the Noble House . . ., something or other. He wasn't good at remembering stuff like that. Curious as to why a noble was a noble sleeping in the middle of a country side. With that in mind he did the next logic thing he could think of, he picked up a few pebbles then began throwing them up at her, trying to catch her attention. While he was doing this, Axia began circling the Groudon, giving it small, investigative, pokes and pricks with her horns.

[cerozer0]

Aleida and Tidal
Ayero - Ladyl Woods

The reds and oranges of the forest filled Aleida's eyes, inciting an odd inspiration within her. The colors reminded her of fire, which, in turn, reminded her of something that she couldn't really remember. Odd. The inspiration was blocked by her foggy memory, leaving her feeling somewhat empty, and just as she was about to stop and think hard her eyes turned up to find that she was completely engulfed by darkness. Tidal, whom had dropped to walk beside her a few steps back, was gone, and she was utterly alone. Confused and only slightly concerned, she glanced around cautiously, squinting in the dimness in an effort to see.

How queer, how did I get here? She wondered, reaching forward slightly. her hand pushed through the dark with ease, and met only air after each step she took. She stopped after five steps, eyes narrowing at the sudden sound of distant cries and the sight of far off lights. Eyes. Glowing, magenta eyes. A Pokemon perhaps? She took a few more steps forward then froze, quickly noting that the eyes were just out of reach, and they would remain that way with each step. Instead of focusing on the eyes, she closed her own, sucked in a deep breath, and focused on her other senses. The darkness wavered, like water, and Aleida was instantly aware that she was still warm from the Ayero sun, and that the ground beneath her feet was still rough dirt and the far off whines belonged to her faithful friend, and she focused on these feelings. A sigh escaped her lips, and she took three deep breaths before she opened her eyes again. Sunlight blinded her momentarily, and she stumbled back with a sudden frightful feeling that should have been present moments before. Where ever she had been a moment ago was no more, and whatever had been watching her was gone. Glancing back, Aleida noticed that she had walked much farther than she remembered, as the town wall was barely visible between the colorful branches. Beside her Tidal stood, eyes narrowed with worry, and Aleida gave a reassuring smile to calm the motherly vaporeon.

Must have been an illusion of sorts... Could it have been the bird-Pokemon?

No wonder people were wary of the forest, smart people would have dropped at the sudden change of environment. Luckily, Aleida was far from smart. She blinked away the images of the alleged illusion and peered forward into the red scenery. The path seemed to lead down a bit, vanishing from sight, and the thin expanse of trees appeared to grow thicker. If a bird-Pokemon was really able to snatch up kids, it would have to be reasonably big, and it would probably have a nest in a large tree or on a cliff-side. The thick trees would be the best place for it to nest, at least, that's what her brain told her. She would have continued her walk forward, if not for the sudden presence right behind her. A beak, large and orange, appeared first in her peripheral vision, and then an utterly pleased face, and finally the weight of a heavy head leaning on her shoulder nearly dragged her frail body down.

Tidal snarled instantly, tail raising in defense as it glared at the pidgeot currently hugging his master, but Aleida rose her hand quickly to stop his hiss. She lifted a hand to ruffle the bird's feathers, and a soft smile filled her face. Upon seeing the cheerful face of the Pokemon she instantly felt as though it enjoyed the presence of people, and before she could open her mouth to greet the bird a voice filled the silence.

"Why hello travelers-"

She turned, one hand still scratching the side of the pidgeot's face, and found herself staring at not one person but two! Two people, wowie, how exciting! One was speaking, a green-haired man whose eyes reminded her of something she, again, couldn't remember, and the other was approaching with his eyes locked on the pidgeot. She turned fully around and gave a friendly smile at both of them, though her mind was focused on the green one's speech. So, he wanted to help find the children too, huh? And if the assumption he made about the short man is true, then all three of them were on the same journey. Working together was obviously the best way to go about this! Tidal, however, didn't seem too open about these two new comers, as her slowly slithered forward to stand in front of Aleida, scowling in a way that could reveal his sharp fangs. Not exactly realizing the threat her friend was making before her, she continued smiling and exclaimed,

"If you're willing to work with me, then I am very willing to work with you! I'm sure we'll find the children in no time with three people!" Her hand rose to stroke the pidgeot's head gently, and her eyes scanned the two people on instinct, taking in each of their outer details. The green-haired man was taller than both she and the other man, and his hair and eyes were an oddly familiar combination. He wore light armor, and a bow was set against his back, a ranger get up. Maybe he was a wanderer like her? There was no Pokemon around him, so it would be simple to assume he didn't have one. The other man was shorter and blonde. His eyes were intense and golden, and his outfit was definitely one that would belong to a poor wanderer. He looked a bit dirty and wind blown, as well as lithe, and since he seemed so focused on the pidgeot it would be simple to assume she belonged to him. A small smile replaced her large one,

"The name's Aleida, by the way. Wouldn't wanna be working with a nameless stranger, now, would ya?"

[22xander]

Zavier opened his eyes, finding himself in a crate. He felt the ship rock back and forth, and he was unsure where he had ended up. Quickly he used Flare Blitz and shrouded himself with fire. The Crate broke apart, and he found himself on a ship in a port he had never seen before. There were a bunch of other crates, and from the sounds he heard each contained a pokemon which was about to wake up. He'd been drugged! The last thing he remembered was the graveyard, his graveyard, his territory, and... Interlopers. A group of humans and those infernal fighting tamed pokemon had captured him and.... DAMN! Zavier began to paw at his neck, and he found a collar their. Damn humans, I can't transform with this on. Hell, I gotta get out of here, I'll figure it out latter. He ran quickly off the ship and into the streets. Looking around he found that no one looked twice at him sense he had a collar on, so he tries to blend into the crowd. He only has two tails, and he's on the scrawny side for a Vulpix, so the other pokemon around him looked at him funny.

[Rune_Alchemist]

~Levinia~
Ayero - Ladyl Woods
Levi walked quietly through the forest, quietly admiring the colorful leaves of the forest. She had to admit, she did like the forests of Ayero better than the bleak, dark pine forests of Lugere for some odd reason. Perhaps it was simply because it was shiny and new. Either way, she found herself strolling at a leisurely pace taking in the new sights of the forest. Perhaps she could put off her visit until tomorrow, and simply spend the day lazing about. She hadn't had a day where she just...slept and did nothing for quite some time. The forest seemed safe enough, so maybe she should just continue her leisurely stroll.

She could make this rather relaxing place into a nice little home for herself. At least a temporary one, at any rate, as long as the humans kept away she'd be fine. That, however, was unrealistic and most likely not going to happen any time soon. Even now, her ears picked up the conversation of some humans. Ugh. Why must those weak creatures ruin everything? And she was just starting to relax a bit as well. She let out a low growl, and sniffed the air before setting off in the direction of the conversation.

"Why hello travelers, I happened to over hear the little missus here," More than one then? Most likely two or three from the sound of things. Levi quietly approached, keeping herself low to the ground and hidden within the various foliage around the area. She needed to be careful here, she had no idea how skilled these humans were. Not until she got her eyes on them, anyways. Approaching quietly, she finally laid an eye on the trio. Two of which had a pokemon with them, a flying type and a water type. A feral grin overcame her features. These three would probably make easy prey then...

"If you're willing to work with me, then I am very willing to work with you! I'm sure we'll find the children in no time with three people!" Just as she was about to pounce, she stopped. Lost children....? That was unacceptable. She may not like these humans, but she wasn't about to interfere with a search and rescue for some kids....No child should ever have to grow up on their own, lost in a forest. That is not a fate she would wish even on anyone. For the briefest of moments, she was conflicted. Should she help them? She knew what it was like to be taken from your home at a young age. Though, she hadn't voluntarily ran out into the woods and gotten lost, she imagined it was the same for these currently lost children.

Levi sighed internally. She was going to regret this, she knew it. Dealing with humans always ended badly, but she couldn't just let those kids stay lost and...possibly end up like she did. Quietly, she backed away from the trio. She wouldn't interfere. Not for now. For now, she would listen.

Listen, and watch......

~Claire and Groudon
Ayero Countryside, road to Hiden~

"Please...please....you can't..."

She knelt down to where the battered pokemon lay.

"We...we were going to train....

She softly touched the limp body. He was surprisingly lighter than she had thought he would be.

"What about t-that day at the beach we planned?....

She tightly hugged his body, unable to hold back her tears anymore.

"Please...Gallade..."

Claire shot straight up, breathing heavily. It had...been awhile since she had that dream. She simply sighed, and brought a hand to her forehead and rubbed it. That dream was always unpleasant, but for some reason it had hit her harder than it should have. She was...used to it, more or less. Whether that was a good thing or not, she didn't know. Either way, she had enough sleeping. Time to rouse Groudon and get-

THUNK.

A small pebble landed on groudons backside, right next to her. She looked at it, somewhat puzzled. She looked in the direction it came from, only to be greeted by another right to the forehead. The rock hit her right in the head, dazing the human just long enough for her to knock her over and make her lose her balance on Groudons back. She rolled off onto the ground, unable to stop herself. She laid there, briefly for a few moments collecting her faculties. She was fairly certain she wasn't in any danger, so who the hell had thought it was a good idea to throw rocks at someone! She sat up, a sour look on her face as she surveyed the area. And that's when she saw the Haxorous. Who had currently just woken up Groudon from his little nap. She spotted the human that had thrown the rocks at her. She assumed that the Haxorous was his, and stood up.

"Just so you know," She yelled over to him. "I'm not responsible for what happens next!"

With that, Groudon began to rise, growling while doing so. Obviously he wasn't so happy about having his sleep interrupted by anyone other than Claire. The colossal pokemon rose, dwarfing the Haxorous that was currently harassing it. The unhappy pokemon stood at least two times the Haxorous' height, and let out a very aggressive roar. Without warning, blades of earth shot up from the ground and moved towards haxorous with surprising speed.

[Raijinslayer]

Axia immediately began evading the blades as best she could, but was still hit managed to get hit. While it didn't pierce her scales, it did send her flying. She was winded by the strike, but was able to turn her body in mid-air so she landed on her feet. John. having dropped his pebbles as soon as the girl had fallen, knew that he had gotten himself in a tough fight. And he'd be lying if he didn't think it was awesome.

"No problem," he yelled back to the girl in response to her question, "I live for this kind of stuff. Axia, take this and do the Devil's Spiral." Upon speaking he threw 3 oran berries he had on hand to his partner, who jumped up to eat them, feeling energy flow into her body from the restorative berries. Upon landing she began to move in a evasive, yet aggressive dance around the Groudon, keeping an eye out for any other attacks from the beast. As she danced,she began to get progressively faster the longer she kept it up. John watched patiently, unclipping his shield from his back, and putting it on, in case he needed to get involved to save Axia from getting to hurt.
______________________

Sebastian smiled at the girl's beaming response and instant belief, but frowned at her Pokemon's reaction. Seemed like it didn't quite trust them as completely as the girl did. He said nothing, however, as his attention was brought to a spot in the trees edging the forest. He quickly turned his attention back to the girl, but kept a note to be on alert. He could have sworn he had heard something, and might have seen something as well, but he wasn't sure.

"Guess your right. In that case, let me introduce myself. My name is Sebastian, I'm just a traveler, spending most of my time in the woods with pokemon. I haven't been able to capture and tame my own, sadly. I've tried but they always seem to allude me. I'm sorry if I'm a burden because of my lack of one." He said with a convincingly melancholic look on his face. And it wasn't like he was totally lying, he had never captured nor tamed a Pokemon, just formed a partnership with one. Speaking of, he noticed a small strip of green flying through the sky, towards an unknown destination.

Quazar, probably off to settle a dispute between a couple of shroomish or something, what with all of his 'protect the balance' crap. HE couldn't help but thing of the Legendary as a Self-righteous asshole sometimes.

[Aphelion]

Sophia Skyheart & Neva
Lugere - Skyheart Estate

A jumble of ever-revolving emotions festered at Sophia's core and she couldn't stop herself from pacing the length of her stately dining hall. Every step was accentuated by a sharp clicking sound as the butt of her crystalline cane hit the marble flooring. Silvery blonde hair spilled out behind her and swayed with her movement, not yet braided in her rush to hear what her father had to tell her after summoning her from a dead-sleep.

"Lady Sophia, please sit and rest, you will tire yourself out before your morning meal even comes from the kitchens." One of the usually demure maids lining the walls of the dining room spoke up, and Sophia turned to look. It was Evangeline, a woman with quite a curvaceous form and a motherly aura about her. Evangeline was also one of Sophia's oldest maids, and the one who had begun to bring her books back when all she could do was lay in bed as a child.

"All but Evangeline please go take a respite before tending to your other chores." Sophia said with sharp rap of her cane against the ground. One by one the maids poured out with glances back at their lady and their fellow maid. Finally, the doors clicked shut and the room was cascaded in silence. Sophia looked her maid up and down, trying to determine if she trusted the woman with what she had to say. She needed to speak with someone.

"Evangeline. I... Lugere may go to war with Ayero." She finally said with a sigh, falling into the high backed chair at the head of the table before continuing, "I am to go to Maccus and attend the court there as a representative from Skyheart, with Neva at my side. To show that we are loyal to the throne. Evangeline... I haven't been beyond the Hoarfrost Temple, nor have I been to the cities that I will someday be the Lady of. How can I just go... all the way to Maccus? Alone?"

Evangeline strode to Sophia and took her lady's hand without a word. Sophia rose her thin eyebrows a notch, but Evangeline smiled serenely and shook her head, as if to say "all in good time." The maid led her out through the mahogany double doors of the dining hall, through the arched marble hallways with stained glass in the images of articuno, zapidos, moltres and lugia lining the walls, down the grand staircase covered in thick velvet carpet, and past the guards stationed at the impossibly big stained glass double doors that marked the main entrance into the Manor of Skyheart. The guards gave them odd looks, especially at their lady who was wearing not much more than a nightgown under her beartic fur coat and some slippers. Sophia shook her head to stave off their assistance and kept following her maid.

Suddenly, they stopped at the edge of a railed awning overlooking the nearby lands, with the Hoarfrost Temple in the distance. From here, Sophia could hear the beautiful cries of the ancient pokemon who dwelt in that temple as he started to awaken from his slumber. Evangeline pointed into the distance, towards those cries. "My Lady Sophia, that is the very reason why you must not fall to fear. Do you not hear Articuno's love for you in that song? Articuno comes for you every morning as you even step a foot outside the manor walls, and he protects you each day against inconsequential things. Sometimes, you even have to stop him before he goes too far. He is raw power in a cage, and you must exercise him wisely. To that, I say exercise him in the name of Lugere, of Maccus, and do your family proud."

'A few wise words from a maid soothed the majority of my doubts.' The thought made her smile, and she gave Evangeline a quick kiss on her cheek. Before she could thank her maid in words, a gust of wind caught both of them off-balance and they had to grip the rail to stand upright as a large swirl of blue landed in the snow next to them. When the white powder settled, they saw Neva cocking his head this way and that as he regarded Evangeline being so close to Sophia, it was almost as if he inspecting an insect that would have to be gotten rid of either by beak or talon.

Sophia ran up to to Neva, her arms wide as she hugged the arctic bird pokemon. Neva swirled it's wings and plumes around her with a happy cry. "Neva, you can't eat Evangeline so don't even think it." She whispered into his ear, and the pokemon gave a disgruntled sound in it's throat as a reply. He wasn't happy about being told what he could and could not do, but he endured it for Sophia's sake. "Neva, how do you feel about taking a trip away from here for awhile?" She looked up at his eyes and she was met with a fierce gaze. In those eyes, she could tell he was ecstatic about the thought of leaving the area. She gave his beak a stroke before turning around and pushing his wings out of her way gently.

"Alright, Evangeline, it's time to pack up. I leave today if I want to make it there before the great blizzards come down from the mountains." Sophia announced resolutely. Before she could even blink, she was escorted back inside in a flurry so that she could prepare for her journey, servants seeming to spill out of the woodwork to undress her and dress her. In the same route, an unhappy Neva was also ensconced into preparation, outfitted in his armor and saddles, with supplies for their journey packed in compact and neat into each saddle-pouch.

It was just hitting noon by the time that Sophia and Neva stood outside of the manor gates, with the entire retinue of the Skyheart servantry lined up behind her parents to give their daughter farewell. Her father, a hard man with white lining his temples, came forward with her mother, a dainty and beautiful lady with an air of grace about her.

"My daughter," He began in a voice low enough that only his wife, his daughter, and the articuno could hear what he was saying, "Go swiftly and carefully. Neva will attract attention at every turn, so make sure to follow the map we drafted. Your first stop is at... the Keirnan estate. The Lord there, Cyrus, is a dubious fellow without a doubt, but he will have heard of the Skyheart family. With this letter, he may let you take refuge there to rest and restock on your supplies. The rest of your journey is detailed on this map, and the next estate after the Keirnan is Umbraisis. I have letters for each of the lords or ladies you may encounter, make sure you do not lose them."

Sophia nodded obediently throughout the conversation, giving hugs to both her parents when her father finished his instructions. She turned and swung up Neva's saddle, fighting back tears in her eyes. "Sophia, take this." Her mother tip-toed up to place a small metallic object in her hands. Sophia frowned as she looked at it: it was the signet ring of her family, something she wasn't allowed to have until she turned eighteen. When she opened her mouth to question her mother, the woman had beaten her to the chase. "We may not see you before that day, so wear it proudly through your journey. It is proof of who you are beyond a doubt."

Sophia felt tears pour down her pale cheeks as she slipped on her ring, and she gave a wave for the rest of the people lined out in the cold snow. "Good bye everyone! Stay warm!"Before she could say anything else, a great flap of shimmering blue wings and chill wind propelled her away from everything she had ever known.

And so Sophia Skyheart left on her first journey with her pokemon, Neva, as her only companion in the harsh and desolate land of Lugere.

[22xander]

After a little bit, Zavier realizes that even the humans are starring at him now. On fact, he realized that their weren't any other Vulpixes around... Then he saw a human go over and whisper to a guard, pointing at him, and he made a break for it. Quickly the guards followed in pursuit, he saw them running behind him whenever he got a chance to look back. He evaded them for a while, but the damned tamed Pokemon decided to help out the stranger in their town. A group of local pokemon came, and drove him back with small attacks. He was cornered, but he couldn't be captured... He had just escaped! NO! But it was no use, the guards tackled him and caught him, being sure to keep away from his biting and bursts of fire. Sadly they wore armor, so his attacks did vary little. The guards dragged him into a pokemon center, locking him in a cage. And... DAMN! the cages were resistant to his attacks. He wasn't sure what they would do with him, the nurses immediately reconsidered his collar and started talking in hushed tones about the nobility of the city... It was some place called Haven Port.

[McHaggis]

Seth & Belle
Ayero – Ladyl Woods

Seth inched away from the stranger he hadn't heard approaching from behind, distracted as he was by his pidgeot's rush towards the woman and her... vaporeon. With his back to the copse of trees, he nodded to the girl and then at her companion. He could understand a Pokemon's distrust for new people arriving out of the blue, uninvited.

He could not, however, understand a man who seemed willing to travel into a forest without his own Pokemon, and therefore gave 'Sebastian' a wary glance and a wide berth. With a sharp whistle from her master, Belle shook Aleida's fingers from her feathers and tilted her head downwards in apology to the vaporeon before returning to Seth's side, clearly unrepentant – her eyes twinkled knowingly..

“Seth,” he said, jabbing a thumb into his own chest and walking swiftly on so that he was nearer the front of the group, Belle hounding his every step and chewing on his loose strands of hair. “This is Belle. Nice to meet you.” The last phrase came out after a stilted pause, Seth having forgotten what few manners he had learned after years of savagery but well aware that he had to fill the silence with something.

“The rumours say that the kidnapper is a bird-Pokemon. Descriptions don't match any of my records.” Seth kicked at the leaves on the ground, absently stroking Belle's head. He didn't particularly want to join up with so many – he rarely, if ever did – but he supposed five pairs of eyes in search of the elusive creature would be better than an alternative.

His own bow and quiver were a comforting weight on his back, hidden by the edges of his ragged cloak. If it came to it, he could protect himself, be it from his temporary travelling companions or the child-eating beast.

[Rune_Alchemist]

~Levinia~
~Ayero - Ladyl Woods~

“The rumours say that the kidnapper is a bird-Pokemon..."

Wait, kidnapped? That was just...unforgivable. No one should forcibly be taken from their homes, humans, morph, or pokemon. Especially children. She supposed that was it then, her decision had been made. She would help these humans, albeit not happily. She merely couldn't stomach the thought of sitting by when someone was being taken from their home without a say in the matter, and she wouldn't be able to forgive herself if she simply sat around and do nothing.

By now, she had moved to what she thought was a relatively safe distance away from the trio. Safe enough that she could still hear them without being easily seen, and if she was detected she could quickly escape without leaving little trace. Not that she wanted to escape now. She would help these humans even if they disliked her doing so, or simply thought she was getting in the way. If it came down to it, she'd put on a little show of power to startle them and make a quick escape so she could attempt to help later. How exactly should she help though? The human with the Pidgeot...Belle, said that it was a bird pokemon of sorts doing the kidnapping. She would be able to handle it easily then...but she hadn't seen anything in the brief time she had been here. Nothing out of the ordinary anyways.

She gave an impatient growl. She would have to be content with carefully following them for now.

~Claire and Groudon
Ayero Countryside, road to Hiden~

Groudon roared in annoyance as the Haxorous, apparently named Axia, danced around him in a confusing dance of speed. Claire could only assume that it was Dragon Dance. That was bad. She couldn't let him keep that up - Groudon wasn't the fastest of pokemon and Haxorous was already faster than him by a bit. Alright then, if this guy wanted to go all out, then she'd go all out. She wouldn't let this random traveler bring shame to her honor. The nobles would never let her hear the end of it, if she lost to some guy on the road. At least he seemed prepared to lose.

"Very well then, let's get serious then, shall we?" She confidently smirked. "Groudon, parch the lands." With that, Groudon growled, and eyed Axia carefully. However, nothing immediately happened. Instead, Groudon became cloaked in a harsh white light that suddenly shot into the sky. The air around the two pokemon suddenly became more arid as the water in the air began to evaporate. In the sky, any clouds suddenly began to dissipate and the sun began to shine upon the land with a heat that was threatening to dry up the water in the area. It was almost as if a localized drought began to suddenly effect the area. That, however, was Groudons ability. Drought. Fire type moves gained a power boost, while weakening water type moves. Lets see how he liked Lava Plume.

"Alright, burn that dragon to cinders. Let it taste the fury of the earths fire." She calmly commanded the pokemon. Suddenly, scarlet flames surrounded Groudon. The flames lashed out at anything around him, hitting everything and violently burning it.

[The Red Seelie]

Lugure- Nouvelle Outskirts
Charak lyre

The stream kept trickling through one of the outskirt Pine forest's of Nouvelle, all was quiet until something rustled in the bush's a flock of Taillow flew out the trees at the sound of the creature that was slowly pulling its shaggy mane outside of the Bush. The creature was limping slightly lopsidedly. Every so often it let out a yelp of a annoyance and grit its teeth at the pain, as it staggered across to the steam. Its amber eyes darted down at the water with almost a human like recognition.

"Finally somewhere to rest for a little" Charaks thought to himself as he lay, he gently tipped his Front paw into the running water staining it red, His eyes drifted to his paw cut up and bleeding. all cause of a little accident... At least he thought it was a accident he kinda hightailed it outta their when the Ursaring went mental. ugh he needed to remember exactly what he was doing. other then running from his pursuers

He had entered the bar as a human yes that was it. Wearing his jacket and carrying both his packs one a small traveling pack carrying only the bare essentials, so it was light and easy to run with, and the other a large pack carrying the valuables and the extra stuff. He had slumped himself across a hard chair totally exhausted from his 3 hour straight walk. He needed a drink.

Charak quickly retorted his paw backwards it stung like a *****, "god i hate you", Charak thought to his left paw that had two cuts across the wrist one was shallower then the other. The shallow one had reopened and started bleeding again because of his sudden movement. he rolled onto his side. throwing the small pack off his back. He had manged to grab his travel pack when he had manged to flee but god knows what happened to all his money and his knife.

Charak tried to morph back to handle the Silk strips better but The pain was unbearable so he reverted back to Mightyena, "ugh this is gonna be annoying" Charak thought while emitting a low growl of annoyance. He grabbed the longest strip he had and put his paw's cut wrist onto the Makeshift bandage. Grabbing with his teeth he Tied it tightly without a knot cause that was almost impossible but it would do for now.

"What was a thinking of again... oh yea how the hell i got here and what to do next." Charak said as his thoughts refocused.

He had ordered a drink from the barmen asking for the weakest drink the barmen had as he needed to keep his wits about him. He had taken it and then turned before walking into a large fellow who had a barbaric aura about him. he had muscles that bulged out of arms his Ursaring stood beside him Looking at him as if to say " Go on punk say something i dare you" So he Looked at the guy and smiled sheepishly before saying "Sorry sir i didn't mean to hurt you." But the Man was having none of it "So Kid you know i can't let that go without punishment I got a reputation to uphold.", The Man arm was raised about to Punch him across the face and well a hit like that would knock him clear out. So He decided To punch First and his fist collided with the mans Jaw Staggering the guy. but not sending him over as Charak had first hoped, Other people started rising The smart ones left but some where eager for a brawl. some scrawny men and some larger men (none where really as large as he had just punched) Started hitting each other but Charak started to turn and run for the door.

Ducking past people a vase smashed into his hand. Shattering and leaving two awkwardly shaped shards embedded into his hand. The Ursaring roared as a Hyperbeam Teared through the Door Charak had just slammed. It was close but the hyper beam went tearing across the street, Charak staggered but continued running for the edge of the town. and well he had reached the edge of the wood's still being pursued by the guy, But as soon as he ran into that pine forest The Barbarian left him and he had yanked the other shard out of his arm. dropped the pack and then Morphed while still under the adrenaline rush. grabbed his pack and ran without direction but still away from the town.

"but where am i gonna go next." Charak Thought as he looked up. and tried to rack his brains for the nearest estate so he could trie and steal some supplies he'd probably be able to become a human by the time he got their. he pulled out the map. He was closest to the Umbrasis estate. "hadn't heard of them before..." he question himself. "oh i have no other choice i didn't need a infection inhibiting me even more then this injury" So that's how Charak Ended up traveling through a woods as a mightyena... Unknown to what he may encounter.

[Pirouette]

Nouvelle, Lugere

Commotion on near the edge of town was drawing quite the crowd. There was a vicious fight at the Chanson tavern, which was one of the rougher places in town due to its proximity with an unrecognized circus group who sat outside Nouvelle. Generally poorer than other artisans of the city, their only entertainment and time off came from booze and hooches. It wasn't just this circus group, however, as many traveling performers came to Nouvelle for recognition and a shot at fame and wealth. But with this city, everyone knew that you start out on the edge of the town, performing for the circuses or taverns, working your way into the heart of the city. Every performers' goal was to eventually find themselves on Cheviot Hill, where only the most famous and expensive talent was located. On top of that, many starving artists and writers also tried to lay a claim to fame here. Like the performers, they started out at the edge of town, selling their work for minimal pay hoping someday that they achieve success.

The crowd gathered just outside the reach of debris that a crazed Ursaring caused. A few guards, armed with pikes and burly squad of Machoke, threatened anyone that came in for a closer look. A few men were arrested and pinned by the threat of death. The Ursaring that caused this was slain and lying dead just inside the tavern. The chaos that was within was quelled late the previous night and guarded up until now. They waited command from a superior on what to do with the detainees but they were in for a shock on who would give the order.

--

Millicent Cheviot had been up and about earlier this morning with a training regiment that Mel and herself did every morning. It helped them both stay fit and in fighting condition. On her way back she saw that a crowd had gathered and went to investigate. It wasn't just her as father insisted an escort follow her in town and despite Milly's nature, she was okay with that. The people in this town were always looking for recognition and the people on the edge of town were the most desperate. They would never stop pestering her, or worse like threatening her, for her to recognize their talents. The guard, which consisted of four armored swordsmen, two armored Gallade, and two armored Machamp, kept a lot of those pesky beggars away.

Milly approached and, like a disease, people noticed that a Cheviot was nearby and they swarmed in. The guards held firm and weren't afraid to shove anyone back. The people hollered and pleaded for Milly to read their work, watch their performance or buy their painting. Half probably didn't even know her name. "Get back you filthy lot! Lady Millicent wants nothing to do with you!" The lead guard shouted as he and the two Machamp pushed their way through the crowd, parting it. It wasn't always this bad and the closer you are to the center the better it is, but the loss of their precious tavern must have made them extra desperate.

Once Milly reached the tavern, the combined guard force formed a phalanx and blocked out the commoners. Mel just behind Milly as she entered the building. "Lady Millicent!" The commanding officer at the scene sounded shocked but hastily bowed and saluted. The two other guards, guarding the prisoners did the same. "At ease boys." Milly said with slight tone of boredom. "What's the deal here? What happened?" The guard stiffened and explained the story of the brawl and how the Urasing that was lying dead had rampaged and caused most of this destruction. The detainees, as he explained, were the most violate in the brawl.

After hearing the synopsis, Milly rubbed her forehead as she compiled all the data. She walked over to the largest man, likely a circus strong man and who reportedly was the instigator, and inquired about the brawl. "You started this and now you have to answer for it. Why?" She asked sternly. Despite the man's massive size, his voice wavered a bit as she spoke. "I-I wasn't the one who started it! Honest! Some punk bumped into me and sucker punched me! I swear!" Of course this guy would try to avoid blame and not face due process. Probably a bold-faced lie, seeing as how he didn't name anyone in arrested so the sucker puncher fled. Still, Milly was fair. "Very well. I'll take that into consideration. Give your description to the guard and if we find him, you'll be spared. If not, you get full blame. Until then, you wait in a cell. Five days is all I give you." The man wanted to protest more but Milly turned and addressed the guard. "Get the description and put a bounty on him. Five days and then execute whoever has full blame. Understood?" The guard stiffened again, "Understood, Lady Millicent!" Without further word, she left the tavern, having her guard force themselves through the crowd and back into the city.

[Raijinslayer]

|Lugere, near the town of Nouvelle|

Korrigan was not happy. First he had been called to Blackened SkyHold, an Umbraisis Fort that was made in case their was ever a need to evacuate local towns, to deal with the local bandits that were kidnapping travelers off the roads, then he had to deal with the immense disrespect of his so called 'family' as they called him a 'morph-lover' and a 'traitor to the family'. He shut them up real quick by asking them if they want to duel over it, if they cared so much. Since he was one of the best swordsmen in Lugere, they quickly backed off, resorting to talking about him behind his back. And finally, he had to track these bandits through rocky mountains, dark, damp tunnels, and now this stupid forest. Compared to the other places, it wasn't that bad, but after all of the walking he had to do to get here, he was thoroughly pissed off at the moment.

He had found the bandits hideout, a camp in the middle of the forest, and he wondered how come the guards hadn't caught thee guys already. They didn't cover their tracks and only seemed to eat rum and mead if the litter form their last camps was anything to go on. It was ridiculous, and he was beginning to think the only reason they didn't catch the bandits themselves was they knew they could get him to do it. Probably on the orders of the shit-nosed brat of a family heir, Nathaniel.

Quickly turning away from that line of thinking, he took a deep breath and surveyed his surroundings. He was currently in a tree over looking the drunken festivities as the bandits ate, drank, and leered at the women they had taken hostage from the roads. It didn't take much imagination to figure out what they had planned, and it disgusted him. Getting tired of waiting, he called out to Shade with his mind.

'Are you ready, because I'm about 5 seconds from starting this with out you'

Calm down Korrigan, I'm in position, though if you give me a couple more minutes, I'll be completely ready. Could you do that for me?

'Are you preening yourself down there?' Korrigan asked in a flat, unamused tone, followed by a growl of annoyance when he received no reply. 'We're doing this now, so you better be ready now!' His command was met with grumbling acceptance, causing him to sigh. You would think a supposed God of Death wouldn't be so goddamn worried about his appearance all the damn time.

Korrigan silently slid down the tree to the ground, and then began stalking through brush to the camp, his eyes open and his hands on his two blades. As he moved towards the camp, the shadows of the surrounding area began to slightly flicker and shift, as if something was moving on the other side. As one of the bandits walked towards the edge of the camp, probably to throw up or relieve himself, he was suddenly dragged into the shadows of a nearby brush, to fast for him to even let out a sound. This began happening all around the camp, with the brigands being dragged to their doom. It went on for a lot longer than it should have, due to the fact that most of them were drunk, and those that weren't were asleep.

But that couldn't hold forever.

A scream tore through the air as one man had managed to get away, only to be stabbed through the leg by a long black claw and dragged back into the shadows. It was at this moment that Korrigan struck, his red eyes taking a menacing glow as demonic apparitions began to form around him to the eyes of his enemies, giving him a look of a demon to all who witnessed him. The bandits, having their reactions dulled by drink and fear, were slow to react as he killed two of the ten still alive, decapitating them in a flash, before turning to the rest.

"Who's next."

|Ayero, Road to Hiden|

John cursed as he felt the dryness of the air envelope him, he had faced other pokemon with similar abilities, but not quite to this level. His cursing only increasing as he saw the Pokemon's attack, backing up so he didn't get caught in the blast. Axia wouldn't be able to take a direct hit from that, even with her resistance. He drew in a breath, before yelling out to Axia, hoping that she could hear him over the roaring flames.

"Axia, dual dragon claw into the ground, NOW."

Axia upopn hearing her masters orders, quickly charged up her dragonic energy over her horns, before slamming them at angle into the ground in front of her. Boosted by her dragon dance, it caused a small shield of earth to rise up, protecting her from a good portion of the attack. She stayed their until he attack ended, then quickly jumped over the charred hill, her entire body becoming covered with dragonic energy as she went in to a rampage, charging the Groudon at extreme speeds with an all-out Outrage attack.

[Rune_Alchemist]

~Claire and Groudon~
~Ayero Countryside, road to Hiden~

"Hmph, clever, aren't you?" She smirked, watching the Haxorous create a shield of earth by smashing the ground. Whoever this man was, he had skill to be sure, and that Haxorous was indeed quite powerful. Still, he had made a mistake of carelessly engaging them. Powerful or not, Groudon was the pokemon who was said to have formed the continents in ancient times during its clash with Kyogre. If this man and his Haxorous thought they had any chance of winning, they were wrong on so many levels, it was almost laughable.

Claire didn't seemed fazed by the scarlet flames that rushed passed her even though they singed her armor slightly. She turned calmly away from the battle as the Haxorous rushed at Groudon, putting some distance between herself in the pokemon that were fighting. Groudon wasn't fast enough to dodge the attack, that much was sure, especially after the Haxorous had its speed amplified by Dragon Dance. However, if there was one thing she was confident in...was Groudons defense, and his ability to take damage without even flinching.

"This battles already been decided, I hope you know." She confidently and calmly stated to the man. Perhaps it was a bit arrogant for her to say so, but the chances that she would lose this fight, were slim, at least it was by her calculations. If there was one thing she had taught Groudon to do against a speedier opponent, was to restrict its movements, and Groudon did just that without even having to be commanded. Once he could even get a single claw on the pokemon, it would be over.

As Haxorous rushed at Groudon, the ancient pokemon simply grabbed the Haxorous' horns with his claws. The force of the attack was enough to shove the titanic pokemon back about a foot, leaving a gash in the earth from Groudons feet. Of course, the attack did quite a number on Groudon, the tusks no doubt digging into his own claws, but Groudon simply growled as it held the Haxorous by its tusks.

"Slam it with your Precipice blades!" The ground rumbled as numerous blades of earth erupted in a circle around Groudon, creating an almost maze like path along the ground, further restricting the Haxorous movements should she manage to free himself, which was unlikely. The blades no doubt would have hit Haxorous, unless she had somehow managed to free herself and deflect the blades. Even then, she had a plan for such an outcome "If it frees itself, use Lava Plume to finish it before it can even move!"

[Aphelion]

Corivana Espada
Haven Port, Council Room - Ayero

Something about this day ignited a petulant attitude in Corivana. Perhaps it was her summons back from the high seas to the land she had come to despise that erred on her poor disposition? Or was it the fact that the guards of her home town, Haven Port, now looked at her with grimaces on their faces? Every little bit added up, and it got under Corivana's normally sarcastic, go-with-the-flow personality.

She stood with a hand at the hilt of her sword, and the other was digging out her breakfast from in between her two front teeth while she listened to the Council of Elders berate her with nonsensical questions. She knew she had made a mistake coming through Haven Port on the way to the capital, but she didn't know it'd be this bad.

"Corivana du Espada, listen when your betters speak!" The Eldest slammed her judgement rod upon the thick oaken desk she sat behind in irritation. They had noticed that Corivana wasn't paying much attention, after near an hour of gabbering? Corivana couldn't suppress a scoff before it escaped her throat, and some of the Elders gasped at her behavior, while others frowned and furrowed their brows.

"Blimey, ye bilge-guzzlin' old fools, punish a lady for sayin' 'ello eh? I just came back to this shoddy old village to pay my respect to ye land-lubbin' wretches. This lass 'as got more important things to be doin' right now, to be sure, so let me leave 'ere before one of yer old sacks gets a hernia by lookin' at me pretty little face ye all love so much." Corivana folded her arms under her breasts and looked the Eldest in the eye while her voice carried across the whole Council room. The Eldest, a woman who held the most power on the Council, near to being the ruler of Haven Port, met the pirate stare-for-stare.

"Let the girl leave. Apparently respect hasn't been pounded into her thick hide, even under the strict rules of the King's Guard. You will learn the error of your ways yet, Corivana du Espada." She gave a dismissive wave of her hand, while the Elders gathered around muttered under their breath. Corivana's lips quirked into a smirk as she turned her back to the Council and swaggered to the door, but as her hand gripped the door handle the powerful voice of the Eldest rang in Corivana's ears. "Kyogre has been taken to the pokemon center to be treated, and I couldn't help but notice that our deity has many injuries since the last time you thought to bless us with it's presence. You will need to be more proactive in your care for it, or you may find that we remove you from it's presence."

Corivana's hand gripped the knob till her knuckles went white and her face contorted into a fierce scowl at the older woman's words. She managed to smooth out her features into her characteristic smirk when she looked over her shoulder at the Eldest. "Kyo goes where she pleases. Iffin' that aint with me, then she'll be lettin' me know... savvy?" And with that she opened the door, swaggered out, and let it fall closed behind her with a loud creak.

Outside the massive town hall, Corivana took a deep breath of the salty air of Haven Port. Home. It wasn't quite how she remembered leaving it, every building had rough edges, and every face was harder still. There was even less time for the children to enjoy themselves outside, and nearly all of them were in the dojos or in the school houses of the town, perfecting their chosen path in life. The only few that weren't forced into being taught weren't Espada children, and thus not restricted to their harsh reality. People in the gardens and farms slaved away, and guards sweated beneath their armor while they stood erect and focused on their tasks. In the various shops lining the streets, people toiled at their crafts endlessly as foreigners and neighbors alike perused and bartered for goods.

She was pulled out of her observations by a gaggle of foreign women passing by, all in their summer dresses with glameow and persians at their sides. Corivana smiled for real this time, her face lighting up brilliantly. "Good day, ladies. I must say you all look prettier than a bouquet of rosalia." Corivana said, losing her pirate accent and flourishing her jacket behind her as she took an extravagant bow. The ladies paused and looked at her in confusion, but before any of them could blink Corivana continued. "And for your beauty, I say that you all deserve a rose just as beautiful as you are." And with that she produced a rose for each of them from somewhere on her person. The women held their delicate hand fans to their faces and giggled in turn.

When they left a few minutes later, all huddled together and glancing back at Corivana, the latter felt a rush of pleasure at watching their retreating figures. One or two of them had given her their beautifully scented silk 'kerchiefs to remember them by, and Corivana had placed them in her own brassiere. Women. She loved them enough to forget what she had been doing. With a start of realization, she made her way through town, dodging and ducking through the crowd in her rush to the pokemon center where her companion surely waited for her.

Corivana Espada & Kyo (Interaction with Zavier)
Haven Port, Pokemon Center

Corivana burst through the door of the pokemon center with all of her usual swagger, and noticed that a large amount of noise came from the back room, where they usually held wild pokemon who were to be cared for before they were released. Corivana rushed back as the nurses yells became more frantic, to see that they were dealing with vulpix who was still in it's cage and causing a ruckus. The pair of nurses were too busy dodging the fire that the small pokemon spewed at the bars of the cage in it's ferocity to escape. "What's going on here? Where's Kyo?" She inquired, her voice harsh. When she spoke up, the two nurses looked back at her in surprise. "We left the deity in it's own room, on the top floor." The one on the left said, a lady that Corivana vaguely remembered as Cecile. The one on the right was still busy was still busy with the vulpix, but spoke with her back turned anyways, "If you can help us with this vulpix, we believe it belongs to one of the foreigners, we'll get the great deity prepared to leave."

Corivana swaggered over and placed her hand on the top of the cage that held Zavier. "Ye scurvy dog, ye should know that these bars are resistant to fire pokemon. And ye see that over there?" Corivana pointed to more cages lining the south side of the room. "Those do be resistant to water, and those do be resistant to electric... So if ye get my point, perhaps yer yap can shut while I take ye to freedom." She pointed at each gathering of cages in turn before leaning down to peer in at the vulpix. "Savvy?"

[22xander]

Zavier nodded, realising what he had to do. He instantly calmed down, to the suprise of the nurses who went to go and finish up with kyogre. Once they were gone Zavier's eyes glowed and he used hex on the cage lock. The lock wasn't resistant to ghost. And it snapped open easily. Nonchalantly Zavier jumped down and out of the cage, and he circled the pirate girl. He realized that t he collar on his kneck wouldn't be so easy, the people who had captured him had obviously had more information and resources then these nurses. Well, he could play the pet for a while, he rubbed himself affectionately on the girl. Hopefully she could get him out of this mess, even if that ment she would think he was some kind of pet.

[cerozer0]

Aleida and Tidal
Ayero - Ladyl Woods

As his friend listened to the two newcomers, Tidal turned his glare towards the forest, fins trembling ever so slightly. He had noticed something, or someone, and without wanting to concern her he simply watched and waited. Meanwhile, Aleida listened to Sebastian's plight of loneliness, eyebrows upturning slightly, and with a slight motion she scooped up Tidal and squeezed him tightly with one arm. While she had intended it to be a gesture of love, the squeeze might have been a bit too right as the vaporeon instantly wriggled out of her grasp, returning his glare to the forest. The blonde boy was the next to speak, jabbing his chest with his thumb in an almost forceful way as he announced his name and his pidgeot's name. Seth and Belle. She smiled at the pidgeot cheerily, eyes sparkling with excitement at being able to travel with a new Pokemon, and then simply nodded to Seth, face not faltering. Aleida continued her never breaking attention towards the two men, listening and repeating their names in her head over and over again. Sebastian, Belle, and Seth, Sebastian, Belle, and Seth.

A bird man, a loner, and me. What an odd group.

"Well, now that we're acquainted, let's head off!" Aleida cheerfully cried, raising her hands high above her head. The fishing rod on her back shook as she turned, the metallic weight at the end of the line swaying dangerously close to her head. She clicked her tongue, calling Tidal's attention, and began leading the crew forward through the woods, keeping her eyes to the sky as she quickly went through what she had heard from town. From the type of creature that was snatching up the kids to her current thoughts on where the children would be hidden, Aleida explained each detail with somewhat vague explanations. As they wandered deeper, the trees grew thicker, but it was still somewhat easy to make out the far off walls of the city and nearby plains where the farmers worked. Ayero forests were nothing compared to the thick pine woods of Lugere, at least, that's what everyone told her, but even now Ladyl Wood was growing darker with each step taken. Shadows skipped through the spaces of light that remained, barely noticed by Aleida, but upon seeing a flash of magenta out of the corner of her eye she froze, tapping her chin thoughtfully.

"I should have said before," her steps slowed, only slightly, as her head turned to make eye contact with the two, "there seems to be some sort of Pokemon in here that I'm worried about. I'm pretty sure they are able to create illu-!" Her voice caught as she was suddenly whipped into the air by a not yet seen force. Her body jerked back as if she were falling and then instantly rose up, foot tangled within a thick rope, and the tree which supported the trap let out a soft groan, obviously unprepared for the added weight. Tidal had been slapped away by Aleida's un-caught foot, and he landed in a heap in a nearby bush, letting out an annoyed whine all the way down. Aleida, after an initial shriek of surprise, became quiet and thoughtful once more, confused eyes glancing about a now upside-down world. She swung from side to side, lips pursed and cheeks flushing ever so slightly as she finally mumbled,

"I think I've been caught~."

Tidal rose slowly, head cocked to the side and lips pulled back in a sneer, but it lowered to a simple, confused poker face when he saw Aleida's concentrated face. Her eyes were closed, lips pursed, and while the blood slowly rushed to her head she thought hard. It was easy to assume that the villagers set this up, probably hoping to catch whatever was plaguing this forest with what seemed to be allusions or hallucinations, and from the creak of the rope and groan of the tree she could also assume it had been set up awhile. There were now two mysteries to solve, the children kidnappings and the magenta-eyed creature in the shadows. The first was for the sake of the families at Ladyl, of course, and the second, well, the second was bore from Aleida's child-like curiosity which could only be quenched by cold hard answers. A headache quickly pulled her from her thoughts, and she finally realized her situations. She let out a small gasp and wiggled, making her body sway harder. With embarrassed eyes she tilted her head towards the two boys, biting her lips until she swore she tasted copper,

"Sorry, sorry. I didn't see the trap. Could you help before Tidal attempts to cut me down." She nodded towards the rearing up vaporeon, who's sharp fangs were gleaming in the half-light, "I really don't trust him to get me down without breaking my neck." Another smile beamed across her face. Boy, was it good to have companions. Aleida allowed her head to drop back down, and as she waited for her freedom she immediately saw an orange light gleam through the leaves. A bird, glowing in the sunlight, flew close to the trees. Something was moving by its talons, a child perhaps? It vanished into the far off branches, and she attempted to follow it with her eyes until another pang of pain threw her head back to its original position. Aleida rose her left hand to the sky as soon as she could, mouth wide as she let out a loud,

"I see it! The bird Pokemon!"