[IC] OAK Order of Arcane Knights.(Open!)

[Warbozz]

Sun is rising. As it rises above the clouds it casts its rays upon a great city of white stone, laden with hues of silver and gold. This is capital to Silvercliff, arguably mightiest of kingdoms upon the world of Sophitia, land touched by the gods. The city springs into life after another peaceful night, people run businesses and errands across this huge capital, and while they walk the streets their eyes linger on one colossal building in particular, anywhere else that building would be a temple or the kings palace, here it is the "Arcane bastion" home to order of knights known across Sophitia as saviors and peace keepers.

On top of Arcane bastions highest watchtower stands an large man in even larger suit of armor. armor of blue hue and gentle glow. This man is Edward the kind, grandmaster of arcane knights order. He watches the city wake, smiling under his visor. He is genuinely glad that so many people get to live in harmony, safe from the horrors his order battles valiantly against most every day. As his gaze washes over palace of the king, he has trouble upkeeping his smile. Every week more letters arrive on Edwards desk, letters with sweet words that hide quite dark political threats and undertones. Just because you happen to live in peace and prosperity you make something up to fight it, thats what Edward thinks of politics. If this place was like the outer villages, constantly under threat of raids by monstrous hordes, he doubts they would have had the time to create this vile art of hiding hostility under kind words.

Suddenly his affinity flares up and he senses magic, it seems the one he called here has arrived, he cannot be seen but his presence is clear to Edwards honed magical sense.
"It took you two whole years to tell me the whole story, of why you came here?"

Behind him an sudden swirl of sand reveals the robed figure of Hastuk the unseen.
"... I would have waited longer still. Telling you anything on the matter is risking vile blasphemy against the mighty Sand...
But it seems their plan is moving along faster than expected."

"You have found out something haven´t you?"

"Yes friend, and while it is a burden on my honor... I would request your assistance on the matter..."

For a while they discussed things upon that watchtower before Hastuk disappeared again in a billow of sand and Edward strode down the tower stairs. With determined, heavy steps he quickly traversed the distance into his workroom and pushed the heavy oak wood door open.
For a while he scribbled his message on a roll of parchment, it reads as follows:

"Esteemed knight of the order. I, Grand master Edward Lamillo beseech you (honor allowing) to drop whatever assignment or task you are currently working on. And make haste to war room where I will brief to you new urgent assignment of extreme importance."

Next he wrote down on a smaller piece, an list of names. New or older, all fine practitioners of magical arts and fine knights. Then he called for an dedicated messenger who served the order, even wearing their symbol on his uniform.

"Here lad! Find every knight listed on there and read to them out loud what is written on that scroll!"

"Ummm, you want me to present myself as I was you? They will make fun of me!"

"Damn it lad, you know I´m not good at all this management type of stuff! Read it how you will as long as every knight listed on there is here within a days time!!"

The messenger was now running for the door and practically glided down the hallways of Arcane bastion. Days time?! Crazy! Thats what the messenger thought as he knew that few of the names were currently out of capital. He would have to ride like Wind himself to get to them.

[The Narrator]

One could hear a cracking sound as Khar smashed the head of an squire of the order on the pavement. He took a bite from the piece of chicken in his right hand while the squire moaned in pain.
"Stand up boy. If this would have been a real fight you would have been dead.", Khar had the reputation as one of the hardest trainers of the order. He never let his students catch a break or get away with failure. "In a few years you will thank me for that broken nose! Now get up!", the young squire stood up and cleaned the blood of his face with his hand. "That is the spirit! Now attack, this is no fun for both of us boy.", the only reason Khar trained squires was because he was ordered to. He hates to fight against opponents that were so much weaker than him, training against a knight however...

Just as he said that a courier ran in the trainingshall. "Sir, you are ordered to visit Grandmaster Edward!", the courier proclaimed and showed a document. Khar blocked the attack of his trainee and swiped his legs away, then he directed his attention to the courier. "And why is that errant boy? What does the Grandmaster want?", he slowly got closer to the courier and pierced him with his eyes. The courier tried to stutter something when Khar disrupted him with his laugh, "Dont worry errant boy, I will go see the old Edward immediately, you go search for the others."

Khar took his weapon and left. "Training is over for today."

[BR8K]

On the porch of one of the city's numerous taverns, Quill sat with his feet up on the railing an his hands behind his head. Presently, he sung one of the few Silvercliff tales he'd picked up from bards outside of the city. Were he in a more mischievous mood, he might have instead sung an Al Zidoan hymn and see what sort of ruckus he could stir up. But then, the tavern catered mostly to Li Lian transients anyway, so he wouldn't have much luck.

He glanced down and saw a few coins had been tossed into his upturned hat. Charity was one of the things the city had going for it, all of the noble folk held onto their spare coin like a child would their greens. If he put effort into his songs and jests, Quill rarely had to worry about paying for a place to stay out of his own pocket. However, upon a second look, he saw that coins were not the only thing filling the cap, but amidst them as well was a small piece of parchment. Sitting up, he saw the figure of a page scurrying away, and figured the boy was in enough of a hurry to warrant not presenting whatever he needed to.

The letter was plain enough, more than likely a spare ready for such instances, but the message itself was far more interesting. Sir Edward himself requesting a gathering of knights? And the man had seen fit to list his name among them? Oh, happy day indeed! Quill all but sprung from his seat, a flurry of giggles as he emptied the coins in his hat onto the ground and plopped it upon his head. The Arcane Bastion was impossible to miss, and he made quick work of navigating the streets up to its grand base. He'd never met any others of the Order, or rather, the ones he'd met had been in passing, and either wrote him off as a jester, or simply never interacted. It was a pity, really, of all the patiences in Sophitia, he was so tempted to try the knights'.

So Quill resigned to wait for a while outside of the bastion, to sit down upon its great steps and sing once again. Beneath its sanctuary he felt free to sing just about any of the melodies he could remember, and given the amount of time he still had to pass, he ran through quite a few. From tundra cantors and mockeries of the Li Lian beast folk, to ballads of past Silvercliff kings and a few hushed blasphemes from the deeper crypts in Al Zidoa. So much history, all so intricate and elegant, all of the heroes and fools that filled stories upon stories. How quaint, he thought. How quaint.

And he waited.

[LokiLeo789]

Lao Xijer

The sound of smacking lips, burping, and slurping could be heard throughout the Lion Fist Eatery. The culprit could be found at a table to the left of the entrance. During this time of day, the eatery was full of people, this included the young boy claded in silver, red, and yellow armor. Lao ate here regularly, so the regulars and the waiters were used to sloppy eating. Unfortunately, for those who were entering for the first time, it was extremely annoying and a nauseating experience. If they glanced at Lao's table, there would be a sea of plates, some empty, picked clean, others, filled to the brim with hot food.

A waiter claded in all white walked up to Lao's table and picked up all the empty plates. With a smile she left, she made sure to be especially generous to Lao, he always payed the bills, although he was a bit shrewd when it came to giving tips. Lao barely looked up from his plate of rice, he was engrossed in his food. Biting into the warm and juicy chicken leg, drinking the cool juice, despite his age, he abstained from ale or any form of alcohol.

The waiter walked back once again, at least when Lao had finally finished all his food. "God, that was good." He burped, placed his forehead on the table. The waiter took his now empty plates, quickly put it back, and walked back up to Lao with a bill in her hand. Before Lao could pay, a courier burst in and ran up to Lao. "Sir, you are ordered to visit Grandmaster Edward!" he breathed as he showed him the document. "Oh my, this...this." He mumbled sarcastically before quickly jumping out of his seat and storming out the door in an attempt to escape paying the bill. Before the owner of the Eatery could run outside, Lao was long gone, he had somewhere to be at the moment.

[tatszico]

The morning heat was prevalent on the main roads, a nuisance that only made walking along the dusty, uneven path that much more uncomfortable. But to the lean, sandy-haired Knight that strode along the edges of the path to make room for the various carts of merchantmen and diplomats that came to and fro, it was but a refreshing, brisk walk of relaxation. Adolin Sinnet had been on the main road for about two-and-a-half days now ; before that, he had spent several months venturing through scraggly mountain passes and abandoned villages plagued with various beasts of darkness as he tended to business directed by the Order. A little heat is nothing compared to what he had already endured, so Adolin continued his cheerful pace, a small smile hidden by the slight shadow of his traveler's hood.

Within the hour, the Knight had finally made it to the grand gates of the Capitol, finding it to be completely packed with horses, carts, and people alike. Li Lian Beastmen could be seen interacting with Silvercliff merchants as they waited their turn to be approved into the city, and one could also spot out several robed strangers bearing the marks of Al Zidoan diplomats through the dense crowd. The Knight took his time as he politely pushed his way through the masses, though he had no trouble of doing so when the people around him recognize the insignia displayed on his polished arm band. One should know better than to hinder an Arcane Knight's way. Still, Adolin smiled genuinely at those who greeted him, giving small waves here and there as he reached the captain of the guard who stood stern and fierce while overseeing the entry process.

When the man saw Adolin approaching, a light of recognition flared within his hawk-like eyes. Turning a stoic face to the men manning the huge gates, he immediately barked an order for them to be open. As the monstrous machinery groaned to life, the captain turned back to Adolin and stepped forward with a salute.

"Sir! Glad to see you back and out of harm's way. The citizens of Silvercliff thank you for yours and the Order's service of keeping the populace safe."

Adolin grinned as he reached up and pulled down his traveler's hood, revealing his tanned, angular face. "Awh, c'mon now. No need for that. I'm just doing my job, as you are doing yours."

The captain nodded in response, his face still not showing any emotion even to the compliment. Adolin tried his hardest not to chuckle. Thankfully, the guard still had more to say. "Sir, a courier of the Arcane Knights came not too long ago. He came to instruct me to direct any of those within the Order coming back into the city, to meet up at war room for an obligatory meeting. He is the copy of the summons."

Intrigued, Adolin tilted his head as he grabbed the letter and read it to himself. The Knight perked his eyebrows, giving an amused whistle. "Well, this is surprising. There's no break for me, huh?" Adolin folded the parchment, tucking it between his belt as he saluted the captain. "Thank you for informing me, Captain. I shall be on my way then - keep up the good work."

Both men nodded respectfully at each other before Adolin made his way through the opened, grand gates of the Capitol.

So far, coming back home from his travels has proved to be more exciting than any of his journeys.

[Mr_pink]

Tuyta stared out into the seemingly endless crystal blue depths. He watched the waves rise like skyscrapers and then tumble back downwards into the uneasy sea. It would be hard sailing for anyone in a small boat, possible death if they went too far out. Any galleon would have no trouble cutting through the waves though. Tuyta wondered what had happened to his galleon, the Navy had of course recommissioned it, but to whom? He'd at least hoped they were semi-competent. A captain becomes attached to his ship like a rider becomes attached to his horse after a period of time.

Tuyta pushed himself up from the sand before clapping off his clothes and hands of any sand left on them. He held a hand to his brow as he stared into the sky, at least it was sunny. He turned back to his horse, a brown, rather common breed. He wasn't one for extravagances, except, of course, for his captains jacket. He'd kept that since his days as an admiral. It was a pale blue colour with added shoulder pads for protection as well as style. He mounted his horse and set him off on a slow walk back to the village he had been staying in for the past few weeks.

The village was being terrorised by bandits, you see, and Tuyta had been hired by them to protect and train them in order to combat said bandits. In return for which he'd get food for the day, a place to stay and a sum of money after the bandits were gone. He accepted with glee, not exactly 'Order of Arcane Knight's work but at least it made him feel somewhat good inside. He arrived at the village to meet the peculiar sight of a rather out of place courier trying to communicate to a farmer that he had a letter for a man he hadn't ever met. Turya got off his horse and lead him by the reigns over to the courier. He stared at the situation for a moment, the courier getting more and more frustrated while still trying to keep his patience and the farmer trying to hold his laughter as he realised the courier had meant Tuyta, something of which Tuyta knew himself. Eventually Tuyta did tap the lad on the soldier and explained that he was the one he was looking for.
"What's this about then?" Asked Tuyta
"Grand master Edward Lamillo has called your presence in Silvercliff" Answered the courier rather formally.
"No need to talk so 'princely' lad" Tuyta joked
"I'll ride there as soon as possible, I highly doubt I'm the last one to be contacted considering how early it is, so you'd probably better get on your way" The courier agreed and set out on his way. Tuyta turned back to the farmer. He explained that he'd taught the village all he could and that with the right timing, the bandits should be done for. He refused any payment and mounted his horse.

He was at Silvercliff within a few hours. He made his way through the crowded streets after putting his horse in a stable near an inn. He eventually made it to the grand Arcane Bastion. A wondrous sight to see, even if Tuyta had seen it about a thousand times over. He stared up its great height from a small distance away from the steps. As he neared the steps though, he began to hear singing. An old sea shanty Tuyta had remembered from his time as a private. Ah, how that took him back. Rigging the mast, keeping watch for land from the crows nest, firing a cannon once in a blue moon. He spotted the chap who was singing it. He seemed more beast than human, but Tuyta never was a racist. He waited for the chorus and burst in with his low, bellowing vocals, a low baritone to contrast the relatively high voice of the original singer. He sang until the song was finished before beginning his discussion.
"Quite a strange song for one as young as yourself to be singing!" He speculated, appearances rarely met expectations in this day and age.
"Are you a member of the Order? Or do you just like sitting on cold, uncomfortable steps?" He joked.

[BR8K]

Quill paused only for a moment when the new voice joined him in his song, but just as quickly he pulled a wide grin and picked back up. It was rare that others would join in on his songs outside of a few drunkards now and again, and even rarer that those who would join in looked as though they new the songs well beyond their lyrics. So he enjoyed the remaining verses, harmonized with the seafaring man, and when the song came to an end, he made a show of springing to his feet and offering a graciously low bow.

"You'd be quite right, friend, on both counts! It's a tune I picked up transitioning from port to port not too long ago, in fact I carried it with me here to Silvercliff," he said. "Sir or madam Quill, whichever the fancy. Jester first, but knight as well, I take it you too are answering the summons of the kind lord Edward?"

He took a moment to search the man over, try and glean from his briny exterior what he could. The sailing types were always well-worn and hard to puzzle out, but then, most of them weren't knights of the Order either. As far as first visitors went, Quill would say he was pleased with the interesting start.

[Eisenhorn]

The wandering knight Alexander Atreides was not nearly as well found as many of the others within the list given to the messenger. The man was on the outskirts of the civilized lands, parlaying with some of the darker things of the wild woods. They had been getting restless, causing problems with the members of Silvercliff that called these borderlands their home. These Ancient Woods were indeed an unwelcome place to many, even the beastfolk within often times wisely moving about, moving under the blessing of Vine and as her whimsy demanded. Few others had ever found hospice in that place, his family included, but that was neither here nor there. Right now one such beastman was taking offense to the current farmers and their, albeit hostile, approaches to attempting to clear out the woods that had grown out into their property. This was a classic problem he saw often, the wilds growing into civilized borders, and their current denizens taking offense to what they saw as a natural course of things taking their deserved place. And, long story short, this beastman would settle for no diplomacy, so it was settled the old way.

Steel and skill. Single combat, if you will. Atreides, standing for the farmer and his kin. The beastman, for his and the forest. The two had crossed paths before, granted they had not been on opposing sides. But fate was whimsical indeed, and as he blocked a downward stroke from the creature's axe, he twisted and spun, throwing the beast off balance and planting a plated foot into its midriff, sending it skidding back several paces. His old grandblade came to rest on his shoulder, shadow billowing from its intricacies as his cowl seemed to hide his visage in inky black as well. The two would reclash several times over before blood was leaking from the chest of the beastman, a shallow blow that ended the contest. Rising from his half crouched position, Atreides settled the blade back into a resting position on his shoulder, pulling the armored cowl back. "First blood is mine, Huntsman. Today, the wild withdraws to the property lines as agreed upon."

The beastman huffed, wrapping a loose cloth around its chest to bind its wound. A few inches more leeway and he would have a corpse, not a bested foe, but the knight was not interested in needless slaughter. But an agreement was an agreement, and the woods withdrew from the farmer's land as agreed upon for the time being. Sliding the blade onto his back, where it came to rest in a sheath, he turned to face the farmers as they approached, thankful but anxious around the shadowy knight. He denied any payment beyond enough food to get him back to his homestead in the woods when a courier caught his attention. The lad rode up, hauling himself off his horse. Atreides recognized the symbol of the Order on his uniform, and walked over as the lad unrolled a scroll. "Knight Atreides, Grandmaster Edward demands your presence posthaste!"

Atreides looked down and took the document from his hands, reading over the contents and nodded slowly, returning the document to the boy. "So it is, Courier. Be on your way, then, I shall away to Silvercliff and see what our esteemed Grandmaster needs of me this time." Atreides had no horse, for he walked wherever he may be needed, but in times of need he knew the hidden paths around the land, part of how he had survived growing up was knowing the hidden ways around. So he covered as much ground as a man on horseback might, but it was indeed later in the day when he arrived at the capitol of the Kingdom of Silvercliff. A fine place, far too bustling and civilized for his tastes but a fine place none the less. And within was his destination, well and easy to pick out from a ways away. The Arcane Bastion, grandiose name, but fitting. Striding into its corridors, he ignored the singing and made his way towards where Edward would be no doubt waiting and bowed his head briefly to the Grandmaster. "You called and I answer, Grandmaster. What need have you of a Knight Wanderer?"

[Classified]

The fields were green and the air was fresh, at least outside of the stables. A young stable boy sat amongst the hay, a broadsword much heavier than he resting against the small tree stump beside him. With a small rag in his hand, he polished the blade until it gleamed with the intensity of the sun, as were the orders.

A luxiourious smell soon entered the stable, destroying the smell of horse manure but the stable boy did not stop instead he carried on with his work as the Knight, whose orders the stable boy was following, stood in the main house stirring a large pot of his famous stew. Throwing in a few more potatoes and carrots Arthur tasted the stew to see if it was to his liking. Pieces of meat floated among the variety of vegetables bubbling slowly to perfection, a family recipe that was sure to put some hairs on your chest.

A young man with the symbol of the Order found himself outside the stables, smelling the delicious aroma he followed the scent to kitchen. Without knocking he entered the house causing Arthur to stare down at the man at the sudden intrusion. Upon seeing the symbol he wore, Arthur laddled out the stew placing it on the table beside the messenger. "What news have you, messenger?" Arthur asked.

The messanger took out his parchment, unrolling it he read aloud, "Esteemed knight of the order. I, Grand master Edward Lamillo beseech you (honor allowing) to drop whatever assignment or task you are currently working on. And make haste to war room where I will brief to you new urgent assignment of extreme importance."

"Then I must go at once, please eat, you must have journeyed far to seek the Knights," Arthur said to the messenger before making his way out towards the stable. "BOY!" he bellowed, "bring me my horse and my sword." The stable boy hurried out of the stable towing a white horse behind him. Taking the sheathed sword off the horse, the stable boy assissted Arthur in mounting the horse before handing him his broadsword. Arthur fixed the sword to his back and took the reigns of his horse, "Thank you George, take care of everything until I return and see to it the messenger is well," he told the stable boy. Snapping the reigns he set off to meet with the others at the Arcane Bastion in Silvercliff.

Arthur's horse galloped through the streets of Silvercliff, with the Arcane Bastion in sight they made a beeline towards it, ignoring the stares of wonder and amazement being a knight in the order brought. Reaching the Bastion, Arthur dismounted the horse and tied his red cape on over his sword, the hilt sticking out through the top. Leaving his horse in the hands of a servant Arthur made his way inside to meet with Grandmaster Edward.

[Mr_pink]

Tuyta looked at Quill for a few seconds before answering. He wasn't quite sure what to kill them. Of course, the first gender that came to mind when he saw Quill was male, but now the sudden questioning of that made Tuyta ponder. He decided that it didn't actually matter, Quill seemed to not care which he was called and frankly Tuyta wasn't looking out for any young hussies like he did in his younger years.
"Aye" He answered, reaching into a small pouch that hung on his belt and pulling a wooden pipe from it along with some tobacco. He began to sprinkle the tobacco into the bowl end of the pipe as he spoke.
"The name's Tuyta, Sailor first, knight second" he joked doing a mock salute. He retrieved a box of matches from his back pocket and struck one against the rough edge of the box before putting the pipe to his mouth and lighting it. Every now and then while he spoke he would either take the pipe out from his mouth to enunciate with his hands or would blow smoke out of the side of his mouth.
"Aye, that ones got some history. I can remember singing it when I was just a private in the Royal Navy. Good times they were, none of this chivalry ponce nonsense. Just straight up fights, know what I mean?" He laughed a small bit to himself.
"But enough about me, you don't happen to know anything about why old Ed' called us here do you? The courier was a bit quick with his description of why I was summoned." He crossed his arms, but kept his right arm in a position where he could hold the pipe to his mouth.

[BR8K]

Quill enjoyed stories, both hearing, telling and retelling them. He was quite low on sailor-tales as it was, perhaps this Tuyta would make a good subject for one. He made a note to ask the man about his naval past later on, but before he could move to continue their conversation, a couple of folks who looked like proper knights had made their way into the bastion. The first was a statue of a man, his armor decrepit and haunting, and the blade he bore none the lesser. The second seemed at least somewhat cheerier, though both seemed in too much of a hurry.

"My my," Quill mused, attention completely diverted. "The eagerness of some folks, hm? I don't think the first fellow even bothered to knock. Mayhaps I've just underestimated the urgency of our summoning."

He leaned back on his hips and let his arm rest upon the handle of the blade dangling at his side. "Oh, apologies, no I can't say I'm too in the know about what we're really doing here. I can however say that, whatever it is, it's bound to me more entertaining than anything else going on in this political storm of a kingdom. I think I'm going to remain out here for a bit, see what else the tide brings in, so to speak. Always interested in seeing the sorts of people this Order attracts."

[LokiLeo789]

Lao Xijer

Lao had been switching between sprinting and jogging for the past few hours. He had made sure to take plenty of food breaks along the way, using the same tactics he used to escape the bill at the eatery. He knew that the law might catch up with him one day, but he had his excuses. "So...so...tired." Lao mumbled as he stumbled along. All that running tired him out, at least to the point of wanting to collapse right then and there. Lao was about a mile away from Silvercliff at the moment, but from here he could see the Arcane Bastions high towers. Lao smiled, it had been a while since he has seen such a place.

"Aye, ya look a little tired, have a drink!" an unknown voice yelled. Lao glanced to the right of him, off the road was a small stand with food, fruit, and all kinds of drinks were being sold. "Well don't mind if I do." Lao said light heartedly, walking over to the stand and picking out the drink. The man was surprised to see that Lao drunk it in one gulp. "Why thank you old man, I'll have to he on my way." He said quickly before taking off. "But, no pay?" The man mumbled, but Lao was long gone. Lao was running as if he was the lightning, and looked like he was, lightning was arcing of his body ad he ran, wind rushed after him as he past.

It did not take Lao to long to get to the gates of the great Arcane Bastion. He grabbed the gates, and rested, trying to regain his breath, all that running tired him out once again, but he was at his destination. "Oh...oh god." He mumbled as he barely opened the gates and stumbled in before collapsing on the cold concrete. He landed face first, and he body with him of course. "Help." He mumbled lazily. He could here the voices of other people inside the courtyard of the Bastion, he just was not sure who they were.

[Xenonia]

The large, lethargic animal man sauntered slowly towards the gate. His journey had been a long one, a bit longer than most thanks to his abnormally patient pace. The people that lined the path to the Bastion stopped and whispered as he passed, but Loduzzro paid them no mind. He had no quarrel with them, and as far as he could tell they had no quarrel with him. His destination was getting ever slowly closer, and to stop now would be a waste of precious time.

As he came upon the first steps leading toward the gate, he sniffed the air. It smelled strongly of sweat and steel. The stench of knights, TRUE knights, sworn to an order. Everything Loduzzro wanted to be was just within reach. As he ascended the stairs towards the gates of the order, Loduzzro began to hear the sound of voices. Some were indistinguishable murmurs, but some were quite loud, speaking of a new batch of knights. He paused for a moment, (or rather, a solid minute), to think. If there was a new batch of knights, could he perhaps join in alongside them? He quickened his movement ever so slightly.

Finally arriving at the top, Loduzzro approached the gate... To see a knight, perhaps? Or what he thought must be a knight. It wore armour and carried a sword, after all. Was that not the makings of a knight? He pondered this for a bit before remembering why he had paid this 'knight' any mind in the first place. The poor fellow was splayed out on the ground, panting and gasping. He needed help! This was Loduzzro's chance to prove himself! And so, with a loud grumbling grunt, he picked up the incapacitated cavalier and swung the poor fellow over his shoulder like a sack of flour, carrying him further inside to find help. With a loud booming voice, Loduzzro exclaimed, "THIS KNIGHT NEED HELP."

[BR8K]

Quill quite nearly laughed himself to death. Perhaps it was first the sight of the young man collapsing on the ground, but then it was most certainly the presence of the sloth. He was perhaps the most primal beastkind Quill had ever seen, even during the long stretches through Li Lian he'd never seen any so bestial. It was new, it was interesting, but above all else it was funny.

"I can only pray," Quill said, his voice a bit shaky from the laughter. "That such a man graces our Order. Oh I'm so happy I stayed I can't imagine what I'd have done had I missed that."

He wasn't normally fond of his own kind, the reputations he and others tended to garner were more often than not an inconvenience. Indeed he was impressed that the sloth, looking the way he did, was able to get through Silvercliff to the bastion in one piece. It didn't take much to set off the cruel curiosities in man, and beneath all of his amusement, Quill held an underlying pity for the sloth-y aspiring knight. It was quite a large amount of amusement however, and Quill was determined to learn more, for certainly such a man could not move through history unremembered.

[Warbozz]

Edward was waiting for his chosen warriors to appear in the grand entrance hall, standing stoically with his sword drawn and resting his hands on it in front of him. Sooner this ominous business with Hastuk was dealt with the better. He was pleased when he saw the first three walking up to him. Khar the marked champion had been breaking in their new squires by his special orders, harsh welcoming for younglings but better than training them softly to be impaled on orc spears.

"I hope I didn´t inconvenience you too much with my request. I have found that Li Lian style of combat complements central Sophitian style nicely, and is also useful to calm mind for casting."

Next Alexander Atreides strode up to him, Edward returned his nod.
"It is good to see you in the bastion again wanderer, all will be explained shortly in the war room."

Third in this group was Arthur of the Crestshield family. He knew he could trust this man but with relations hardening between knights and the crown, he wondered if Crestshield family was pressuring their son to take Kings side in this argument, he would ask about it later on.
He gave Arthur knights salute.
"Lionheart, I am glad to have your sword join us on this quest."

Then he heard voices shout something just outside. It didn´t seem like an alarm of any kind. Edward took off to open gates to courtyard, flanked on both sides by several knights of the order. When he did that, strange sight greeted him. There were three he knew and one he didn´t recognize. It seems that Lao Xijer had collapsed and been hoisted in the air by an beastman of most peculiar appearance. Edward directed his cohorts to take Lao.

"By Mother, what now? Call for sun essence healer! And bring food and wine also, that always seems to cheer Sir Metallum up."

He looked at the beastman, as peculiar as he was it was quite clear that he was affinity born, strong one too. Was he planning to join the order?
"You have my thanks stranger, I will see you are rewarded for tending to one of ours"

On the stairs he saw Quill the grin laughing uproariously in his usual fashion upon witnessing something that amused him. He/she was an strange man/woman to be an knight but Edward could see that Jesters heart was in the right place, he would stand bravely against the darkness. Beside him Edward saw familiar appearance of Admiral Tuyta, the men nodded to eachother in acknowledgement. Edward quite liked the old admiral, his boundless experience came useful time and time again. Also, men who were born with water affinity were quite rare, it was nice to converse with others who shared this gift. This was most excellent, most of the names on the list had been gathered in acceptable amount of time.
As he had a feeling that more were on their way he would give them the promised days time. Soon they would be gathering in the war room and begin briefing. If Hastuk was right, this mission was going to be no joke.

[Xenonia]

As Loduzzro handed the knight off to the proper knight authorities, he heard the very official-sounding and looking stranger mention something about a reward. Loduzzro was instantly giddy, as he knew what reward he wanted. He wanted to be a knight, to protect the realm and all within it! That seemed like the kind of thing knights did. However, before he could vocalize his wishes, the stranger, who he deemed to be the chief of the strangers, had wandered off to speak to others. And so, Loduzzro meandered slowly behind him to make his wish known.

Before he knew it, (as Loduzzro thought at a very slow pace), he found himself standing in a grand hall of some sort, where many knights and soon-to-be-knights were assembled. though most of those assembled were humans, Loduzzro saw a few who differed, including a laughing beast man of some sort, though Loduzzro could not tell what animal he resembled. Perhaps some form of hyena? Hyenas were known to laugh. But that was again beside the point. He saw the chief-knight, the one that had thanked him, still moving towards the group of soon-to-be-knights. It was then that Loduzzro spoke up again.

"Big knight chief! I come for be a knight. Want join this order." his words were broken and a bit hard to understand, but his intention was clear.

[LokiLeo789]

Lao Xijer

Lao had no idea how long his body hugged the cold concrete, but he really did not want to get up, the could concrete was comfortable. It was like when you just got on bed and the pillow was cold, refreshing. Despite the comfort, the need for food was killing him. "Foood..." Lao mumbled lazily, dragging his arm up towards the gate in an attempt to try and get food. Unfortunately, this attempt obviously failed, and Lao was left to lay were he was.

Suddenly, he was hoisted up into the air by an unknown figure. It was definitely something he had not seen before. It was furry, kind of tall, and smelled a bit, unusual, but Lao did not discriminate. Lao dangled weakly on the beasts arm and shoulder, to tired to struggle in anyway. Suddenly the beast yelled, in his head Lao jumped for joy, he was saved. "Food." Lao mumbled bleakly from were he lied.

Once again he was trust into a new pair of hands, this one human at least. He could faintly recognize a voice, but he could not figure out who it was. Despite that, he did here about the prospect of getting food, and wine, perfect.

[The Narrator]

Khar just wanted to object that his fighting style was not really Li Lian when the whole spectacle began. "How can one be so weak that he can't even walk in here. A shame to call that man a knight.", were the words Khar choose. He hated weakness, and that was just a example of it. Many of the knights were weak in his opinion.
There were of course many he quite liked. The Admiral for example or the wanderer. Quill however was for Khar a jester and not a knight.
That however was beside the point. The one who carried Lao Xijer inside was a weird looking fellow. Khar knew plenty of beast kin, but none looked like the slothman. When the Grandmaster offered him a reward Khar quenched his fist. He did not think that was justified. When he heard what the slothman wanted he had to speak. "Do you think that is how you become a knight? Just carrying some weakling through this door? Being a knight means being one of the strongest fighters in the world!", he looked at Lao, "Or I thought it did."

[BR8K]

It seemed as though it was time to move in. Quill could hear Edward's voice from outside, and, much more entertainingly, he saw Khar. Perhaps his favorite of the Order, at least as far as fun went. For a while he'd thought Khar just shared his distaste for people, but really what it came down to was much different. Khar was so serious, so proper about everything, and here yet again he displayed the very attitude that at first had had Quill backing away, but in the end had brought him back with vigor. What a fun man.

Quill bounded over, his performance voice tacked on. "Look, everyone look! A feat of strength not yet before seen on Sophitia!" he called, hands gesturing proudly to Khar. "Forget the miracles of Steel, bury the sayings of Sand, for here we have a new god among us! Our very own Khar has done the unthinkable, look fast and you might see it! Stand and bask, for he was born friends, and to this day still lives and fights, with a stick lodged firmly up his ass!"

He wasn't sure yet if he liked the slothman well enough to stand up for him, but one thing Quill would never pass up was a chance to poke a little fun at the grump. He laughed and skipped to the end of his little mock-performance, before actually coming to a rest within the great hall. A quick glance outside to see if the Admiral had followed, before his attention returned to the present.

[Xenonia]

Loduzzro stared for a brief moment, pondering. Had he not shown he was strong by carrying the knight as if he weighed nothing? Or did he mean that a knight had to be violent? Loduzzro was rather sure that wasn't the case, but who was he to disagree with this seasoned veteran.

"Am can be strong." and with that, he lifted the large branch that dragged behind him, holding it above his head. "Can lift this! And use for hitting." he brought it down again, cracking the stony floor around himself.