[IC] ͼT H E R E C K O N I N Gͽ

[NightmareInd]

Four years ago...

Sam was scared. As he moved slowly towards the table with the hundred goblets, he wasn't sure what to do. They just said that the goblet would choose him, not the other way around. He looked at the goblets one by one. It didn't matter what goblet he looked at, he didn't feel anything different. When he was just about to give up and ask for help, his eye fell on one particular goblet. It seemed to have a part copied from all the other goblets, not necessarily the best parts, but so fluently that you wouldn't notice it at first glance. On closer inspection you could see that those parts were from fake materials like coloured glass instead of real gems. It seemed like this specific goblet was made to... dissapear in the crowd... That's when Sam knew what the others meant. These goblet weren't just representing styles of living, they were representing persons. And this one, it was representing him. Sam nodded at himself, then took the goblet and took it with him to the fountain. Once there he filled it with water, and waited for something to happen. Then a few minutes later, the water started to turn into a colour. Slowly but steadily, the colour would be recognised as the colour of the Harbinger: Blue.

Present...

A rabbit was walking through the forest, minding his own business. It then saw a bush with some flowers. It carefully made its way over to it, sniffed at the flower, looked around before trying to bite in it and... Zzzt! An arrow pierced the little thing right in the eye. Out of the trees, a figure jumped down and walked over to the poor animal. He took the arrow out of its eye, cleaned it up a bit, then put the arrow back in his quiver and bound the rabbit next to the other two onto his belt. A sound could be heard in the bushes from behind the hooded hunter. Sam slowly turned around, and said: "It's a fine catch today, Shade! What do you got?" A big sabertooth tiger then walked backwards out of the bushes while carrying a boar with him. Sam smiled at his partner. "Not bad, but you know the rules. You carry what you hunt." The tiger made a small groan. "Let's get back to the camp. We got enough food for now." Sam said, and they both headed back towards the camp.

[GingerBoi123]

Six years ago

Dominique entered the area where the table was with glittering goblets spanning the entirety of the ornate temple. There were all kinds of goblets: silver, gold, plain, intricate. He paced up and down the length of the table, analysing each one carefully. Nothing said "Pick me up!" to Dominique, and the young man was confused, especially to the advice given to him about how the "goblet will pick you." Pfft... a bunch of bullshit. Agh, nothing. "I might as well pick up some bog-standard one and be done with it." Wait! There is was. This golden chalice in particular had four sapphire gems around the side, all an equal distance apart. Chains that were sculpted in the gold linked between the crystals. Dominique strangely interpreted the sapphire as a representation of civilisation and the chains were the bonds that keep humanity together. These bonds would be broken if they lost the war. Dominique triumphantly picked up his chosen goblet and the water inside swirled inside, mixing from clear water to red. No... this was not his destiny.

Present

Dominique awoke from his flashback as he was stepping over a fallen tree. He chuckled to himself, he let himself get distracted. He could've been attacked at any moment. Someone with six years experience as a Harbinger should never do. He raised his crossbow as he scanned the immediate area... Nothing. He held out his arm and called out "Verja!". Like magic, an eagle swooped down through the trees and onto his arm. The scout retracted his arm as he slung his crossbow on his back. He stroked the majestic avian across it's back. "Hello Verja. You hungry?" He asked. The bird squawked in response. "Verja, hunt." He ordered as he stretched out his arm again. The eagle flapped away back up the treeline, supposedly looking for food. Dominique turned back towards the camp where he could finish his patrol.

[IcePezz]

6 years ago...

Liara had been skulking around a bakery shop for the past week, stealing bits and scraps for food, and hiding about in the cellar when she was tired enough to sleep. Dirt covered nearly every bit of her pale skin, her features quite sunken in and frail. A small hand reached out from the shadows to grab the stale end of some discarded bread. "ulgh" her eyes narrowed at the piece of bread as she forced it down. She used to love the idea of dinner, of food in general. Food unfortunately, was becoming a bit scarce these days. She was tired of the bakery though, and would have to leave it soon anyway. It wasn't because she started to hate the food, or because the store owner had started to catch on that someone was skulking and stealing ... she usually only stayed someplace for about 5-7 days. This wasn't the safest place to be, and she didn't want to get attached, or caught...really, it helped her keep track of time if nothing else. Today was her eighteenth birthday. What a way to celebrate - a piece of stale bread. At least it was the end of the loaf. She loved the way the dough bunched up at the ends, all gooey and moist. Stale bread though, well, usually the only good thing it served for was a weapon against her uncle when he would tease her.

She stared at the krusty, grey object that tried to pass itself off as something edible. It's been two years since she had anything resembling a family. This was supposed to be a joyous day, her mother would go on for hours talking about the ceremony that would be held. And now, she'd travel alone to the temple.

She gobbled down what was left of the bread that she could stomach, patted down the pair of dull brown trousers she wore, and tried to smooth out her appearance as best as she could. Her long and luxurious ebony locks had become knotted and mangled, but she figured an updo of some sort would hide the sloppy appearance of a hobo. She wiped the dirt from her face and took a long hard stare in the make-shift mirror she hung in the corner of the cellar. "Well ... I suppose this will just have to do. Don't worry mamma, if the gods don't like me, I'll just give em' hell" she smirked ... a joke of course, but it was something her mother and uncle used to say. They always encouraged her to be her own person. And today, no matter what the water had decided for her, she knew her path. She had nothing left to lose.

If you actually paid attention to the homeless wonder, you would notice how she walked down the streets this day. Her head held high, her steps confident and firm. She marched right up the stairs, into the temple and to the table where her destiny awaited.

There were so many goblets! Her eyes passed over each slowly. Some were dull, some looked fancy but then ... there was one off to the side of the table that stuck out to her. She gazed over it thoughtfully, her hand idly reaching to a locket that dangled from a simple chain she wore around her neck. Interestingly enough, the goblet was quite simple. Brushed in a soft brown paint with a design etched into the ceramic surface. The design was nearly identical to the one on her locket. Her breath held for a moment in her chest as she extended her hand out towards the goblet. Hesitantly. She heard rumors of the reckoning, the rules, the options, traditions. She didn't realize how unsettling it would all be though. "No... I will be my own person, no matter what" she bit down on her lower lip gently and shook off the ominous tones of the whole operation. With determination, she walked with the goblet to the pool of water and dipped it in. A smile spread, uncontrollably across her face, widening as it became clear. The water turned red. A Mercenary. The fates agreed, this was truly her destiny.

___________________________________________________________________________

Present Day

She had completed her training for the day and had been lingering in the woods all afternoon with Arlan. It was one of her favorite past times. A cool breeze brush over her cheek and she smiled. That was enough day dreaming for one day. She whistled loudly into the trees beyond her. An odd barking grunt came in response and suddenly a large beast came barreling towards her. Liara let out a laugh in response. “Playing ‘chicken’ are we?”. She wore half plate armor, it wasn’t the greatest defense for a front liner, but it allowed a bit more maneuverability. Enough at least to slide right past Arlan as he dove head first into her. “Ha!” she gloated, walking smugly over to the large bear. “Come on, they’ll probably be looking for us soon”

[XLegs]

Elliot Tessel | 67 Days Ago

Elliot stepped around the table, impatient eyes quickly and efficiently scanning the goblets. He'd been told that a goblet would 'choose him.' As cryptic and stupid as that sounded, he had no reason to doubt it -- Reckonings had been going since long before he had been born, so obviously the system worked.

His gaze moved around fast and, seemingly against his will, stopped dead as it reached a certain goblet. It was golden, and incredibly intricate. Impossible designs were shaped into the metal, leading down its twisting stem and onto its foot. Several jewel sockets could be found all over it, all of which were conspicuously missing a gem to fill them. Overall, despite its regal, expensive appearance, it was weathered down, the gold faded and several dents visible to the naked eye on its surface -- as though it had been traveled with, used by a person who had braved the harshest enviroments. It's apparent imperfections were anything but to Elliot. They were proof that the goblet had been on adventures, and not simply kept in a cupboard to wow the occasional guest. To top it all off, it seemed to inspire the goblets in its vicinity, making each shine brighter than they would otherwise.

There was no doubt in the boy's mind -- that was his. He picked it up by the lip with his fingertips, before casually tossing it into the air, causing it to flip once and land in the palm of his hand with a dull slap. With a small smile on his lips, he began making his way to the fountain.

Elliot wasn't worried in the slightest. 'Excited' was a much better way of describing him. He knew that no matter what, he'd become a Mercenary as he had dreamed. If the fountain's water turned any colour other than red, he wouldn't hesitate to exercise his right to choose his own path -- not to mention, he'd lose all the faith he'd had in this little ritual.

The boy filled the goblet up, and stared at the settling water. Several moments later, a satisfied grin broke out on his face. He was looking at all the validation he would ever need in the world.

The water was, of course, red.

---

Present Day

Elliot stood in the morning sunlight, battered and bruised, a wooden sword in hand, staring in obvious disgust at another boy around a year older than him. The object of Elliot's annoyance also held a practice sword in his hands, and was panting heavily, sporting a few of his own welts -- while the wooden swords used for sparring weren't razor sharp, they were still heavy enough to cause a good amount of pain on impact.

"Already? You're already done too?" Elliot spoke, his dissatisfaction coming through loud and clear. Elliot had been up before the sun, taking swings at straw dummies, and the moment some of the other mercenaries had begun getting out of bed, he had roped one into sparring with him. That first guy had lasted a good hour before calling it quits to go eat breakfast. Immediately, Elliot had found another person. And another. And another, and finally this guy who was already leaving after only twenty minutes.

Elliot clicked his tongue before he turned to address the mercenaries milling about, most of which were minding their own business and preparing for the day. "Fine. Somebody else get over here to face me, then."

This was met with more than a few eye-rolls.

"Hey, Lordling!" A voice called out jeeringly. "You're lucky anyone's agreed to spar with you at all. We have things to do, stop being such a burden."

'Lordling.' Elliot's eye twitched against his will at the insult, one that had become commonly used on him since the group had discovered how easily it upset him.

"If you have time to taunt me, you have time to raise a sword, Nicholas," he answered, swallowing his anger and putting an antagonizing grin on instead.

Another eye roll, followed by silence as the rest ignored him.

Elliot bit his lip in light frustration. "You people should all be jumping at the chance to spar with a real partner!" he said in exasperation. "It's a far better use of you time than beating on a straw dummy -- or worse, lazing around and waiting for orders, as you lot are doing."

This got Nicholas to speak up again. "Shut your mouth, Lordling, I'm getting sick of listening to your voice."

"And I will. As soon as one of you cowards agree to stand against me ."

Nicholas let out something between a growl and a sigh. "Fine. I'll force you to be quiet by knocking you unconscious with a few dozen blows to your head."

Despite the violent threat, Elliot gave a toothy grin. "That's the spirit!"

---

Nearly two hours later, both young men stared each other down, gasping desperately for air. Elliot grinned through the pain and discomfort he was experiencing, while Nicholas scowled, wondering why his foe wouldn't go down.

"This is ridiculous!" he said through deep breaths. "Had we been using real swords, you'd have been dead ten times over already! You've lost, so just quit!"

Elliot's smile only widened at the man's frustration -- what he said was entirely true; Elliot had been whacked real good several times, even once directly across the face, the welt and bleeding gash under his left eye as the proof. In contrast, Elliot had only dealt a few 'killing' blows -- which he had completely expected. It was no secret that his sword wielding and technique was awful in comparison to those who had been trained their entire lives, such as Nicholas. Every time Elliot challenged someone, he had little doubt that he'd be soundly beaten.

But that was okay. He did his best to study his opponent during their spar, to understand what they do and why, and to see if he can learn from that to improve himself.

"But we aren't using real swords, so why stop?"

With that, he ran forward, keeping himself low as he approached Nicholas, who stumbled backwards, raising his sword and swinging down. As the other boy's speed and power had dropped considerably due to exhaustion, Elliot saw it coming and reacted with plenty of time to spare, knocking it away with a large, two-handed up-swing, a blink before barrelling into the bigger man with his shoulder, knocking him off his already unsteady feet and onto his back.

Without hesitation, he reasserted his grip on his sword and brought it down point first over Nicholas' chest, stopping just short.

After a long moment, Elliot spoke. "'Nother round?"

Another long moment passed as the boy on the ground looked up in palpable annoyance, the triumphant, cheeky grin on Elliot's face doing nothing to help his mood. "Screw that. I've got better things to do."

"That's a shame. If ever you feel like having a punching bag again, give me a shout." That got a small laugh out of Nicholas as he accepted the other boy's hand, pulling himself up of the ground, muttering about how much of a piss-off the fresh recruit was.

Elliot reached up and wiped as his cheek, wincing lightly as he felt the bruise and cut. He glanced at the back of his hand as it came away covered in blood, but quickly wiped it off on his shirt, looking around impatiently as he did so.

"Anybody else?" he said.

[jagajac]

Calliope was running hard, with the bitter winds of winter burning streaks of bright red along her freckled cheeks. Her chapped lips were pressed into a thin grin across her face, and the ends of her crimson hair danced wildly in her wake. The air was crisp but barely wakened as the church bells tolled the hour. DING; Calliope did not hesitate for a moment as her long, muscular legs rotated in sync with her waist and torso to round a corner effortlessly. A small patch of snow exploded under her heel, coating Calliope's back with splashes of white. Her body, a contrasting streak of color against the snow, continued to weave through countless dilapidated structures until her heart was beating uncontrollably within her chest. DING; The girl's amber eyes shone with delight, despite the stinging sensation that overcame her throat and lungs with every intake of cold air. As the melodic sounds tickled Calliope's eardrums, an anxious memory began to surface.

"Come down, Kieren! We're going to be late." A much younger Calliope swung playfully from the support of an aging oak tree's extended branch. Above her, cradling her knees to her chest, was her sister, Kieren. The timid girl was nestled in the notch, hiding most of her face between her scraped and dirtied legs. Calliope rocked her body back and forth until she had enough momentum to thrust herself forward. She quickly tucked into a ball as the wind whooshed around her falling form. Kieren cried out in panic as Calliope dropped faster and faster to the ground below. At the last minute, Calliope unfolded and attempted to plant her heels into the earth. Although she partially accomplished the landing, her small frame stumbled forward, her hands unearthing clods of dirt and grass. Calliope flicked the dirt from her hands and chuckled under her breath as she turned her head towards Kieren. Except Kieren was not where Calliope had last seen her before leaping from the treetop. A helpless grunt pierced through Calliope's heart as she locked eyes with her sister's dangling body. Kieren hung precariously from the same branch Calliope had just jumped from, the girl's knuckles were white as ghosts with their effort to hold on firmly. "Hold on, I'm coming to get you!" Calliope dashed to the trunk of the oak and began furiously climbing back towards her sister. The church bells tolled in the distance. DING; "I.... ca-" Calliope's foot slid down, removing tree bark, as she relentlessly continued upwards. "YES YOU CAN, DON'T LET-" DING; Calliope's ears went cloudy and her heart seemed to stop its rapid beating. The autumn leaves, painted all shades of gold, red, and orange, framed Kieren's helpless, porcelain face as her widened eyes reached desperately for Calliope. Calliope couldn't hear her own screams over the bells and the breaking of bone.

Eight more chimes occurred during Calliope's daydream. She scrunched her eyelids together and shook her head fiercely from side to side. No time for pity parties, she thought as she skirted around yet another corner. This time she slowed to a swift walking pace and filled her overworked lungs with several hearty breaths of air. A large, ornate temple rose before Calliope. Its weathered pillars were expertly carved with beautiful and intricate designs. Calliope outstretched her left arm and rested her open palm on the pillar closest to her. A silver bangle on her wrist glistened in the moonlight and a sweet, soft hymn escaped through her parted lips into the dark night. Calliope's fingers pulled towards the center of her hand and back out again, the texture of the rough marble comforting to her in the eerie silence. DING, DING, midnight at last. Calliope took a step backwards, combed her fingers through her windswept hair, and curved the corners of her mouth into a hopeful smile as she stepped into the Reckoning chamber.

Four Mytics stood in a semi-circle and greeted Calliope politely with faint smiles and nods of their heads. No words were exchanged between the two parties as she ascended the stairs and gazed open-mouthed at her surroundings. Rows upon rows of goblets sparkled in the faint light on one side, while a trickling fountain rippled its rhythmic tune throughout the vast room on the other. For years Calliope had dreamt of this very moment, her Reckoning day, and had always known in her heart which Estuary she was destined and desired to serve in. She strode confidently towards the fountain, her footsteps echoing against the four walls. Midway she halted, and her cheeks flushed a deep shade of pink. Dammit, Calliope. Goblet, fountain, wait, and leave. She had recited the words in her head for as long as she could remember, and yet now she had very boldly made a mistake in front of four of the wisest and most well-known citizens of Valeriya. She pivoted gracefully on her heels, extended her arms in front of her, and flipped her body over itself in one elegant movement. She smiled innocently at the Mystics and bowed slightly, "Figured you all could use a little entertainment this morning. First show's free!" Calliope lifted her head anxiously, not wanting to make contact with any of their eyes. She heard a very brief, muffled chortle from one of the largest men standing on the far end, and the blood immediately warmed throughout her body. As she neared the vast array of goblets her mind distracted itself with other distant hopes and wishes. She reached for a tall, slender cup whose rim was bordered with some sort of thorn pattern. The tips of each curled every so slightly to give the brass goblet a more gentle appearance. Except for this, the goblet was plain and even tarnished in multiple places. Calliope inhaled deeply through her nose and held her breath as tiny droplets of water slid off her fingertips and fell back into the pool with a tiny "plop".

Calliope rushed from the temple and immediately collided with another warm body. Both figures tumbled with satisfying crunches into the freshly fallen snow. She sat upright, resting her tailbone on her heels, and cupped her hands under the other person's armpits she had run into. "Clumsy me, I wasn't even paying attention. I could've really hurt-" Calliope's words froze in her mouth as she stared into the tearful blue eyes of her sister, Kieren. The same color that had reflected in the water of her goblet only moments earlier.

---

Calliope patted the tuft of fur between Bastian's shoulder blades and smiled weakly. Dark circles hung under her dull eyes and her hair was pulled in a knot at the back of her neck, although a few rebellious strands hung around her face. She had spent the previous night scouting with her Vein; her calloused fingers furiously sketched their surroundings and positions in relation to base camp. The morning sun peeked just above the horizon as Bastian strode with Calliope sprawled out atop him through an open expanse of meadow. Tiny pinpricks of dew clung to the lion's fore paws, and he shook them off with agitation. Bastian despised water of any kind unless it was drinking water. Calliope's body rocked peacefully from side to side with the creature's gait and as her eyes closed in sleep, she hummed a sweet, soft hymn. The same hymn that had comforted her countless times in her past wrapped its musical arms lovingly around the pair of wanderers in this moment of quiet and bliss. Moments truly cherished in these times of war and destruction. "Ready to greet the troops with good news and a smile?" Bastian blew hot air through his nostrils gruffly. "Hey, no news IS good news, my friend. Don't forget it." Calliope could hear the faint sounds of other's footsteps and voices in the distance, but she made no effort to sit up as Bastian lessened the distance between them and the Harbinger's tents with each and every step. No news IS good news, she thought one last time to herself before drifting off to sleep.

[SUN]

P A S T_________________________________________________________

Kieren heard their back door slam hard followed by hurried footsteps hitting the soft gravel and quickly growing distant. She knew this was only her sister dashing towards the temple as if her life depended on it. It was officially 12 am as she heard the familiar chime of the church bell. Which meant it was officially their birthday. Calliope must've been up all night waiting for that bell to ring, Kieren knew how eager she was to find out what Estuary she had received. On the other hand Kieren was far more timid about it, afraid of what her condition would lead her to receive. Since they were born Kieren had always been smaller than Calliope, all due to oligohydramnios. All this means was that in the womb Calliope was able to develop normally because of constant blood flow, where Kieren received such a small amount that it only allowed her to grow so much. Fortunately, Kieren received proper medical care and was able to develop normally. However, she would always struggle with long amounts of physical activity and be a little behind in her age group. Kieren slid carefully out of bed her toes curling on the cold wooden floor, she grabbed a coat and an extra one for her sister as she knew Calliope wouldn't bother with all her excitement and energy. Wrapped up in a red woolen scarf and her sturdiest shoes she walked out the door. She held her arms close to her chest as she felt an icy chill run down her spine. She took a deep breath to calm herself, but the crisp air only made her throat and lungs burn. The Temple was only a block or two away but it felt like hundreds of miles, she could feel herself begin to shake in fear. She squeezed Calliopes coat nervously, carefully approaching the Temple doors. Her glossy blue eyes began to well up with tears as she gripped the handle. Swinging the door open she came face to face with Calliope. The two fell backwards into the snow, Kieren held the back of her head painfully her eyebrows furrowed trying to focus on what she collided with. By the time she had realized, her sister was already helping her up. She smiled trying to look strong, squeezing her shoulder reassuringly and placing the coat on her shoulders. Then she moved forward the water from the fountain reflecting in her eyes, she lost grip with her anxiety and focused on the glittering chalices surrounding the room. All she knew was something was supposed to stand out to her, so she scanned the room her only thoughts on what to pick. She began to develop a headache and shut her eyes tightly, she wanted to distract herself from this moment and began to think. She sat on the cold tile curling herself in a ball, all she could think about was her mother.

*THUMP* Kieren's head slowly lifted off her pillow, her sleepy eyes now becoming wide and alert. "M-mom?" Her voice was filled with concern as she bolted out of bed and dashed into her mothers bedroom. She gasped in shock as she witnessed her mothers body lay strewn across the floor. Her stomach dropped as she came to her side lifting her up onto the bed, her mothers face extremely pale and her mouth dripping with blood. She felt that she still had a pulse, but she was getting weaker and weaker. After getting her mother in a safe place, she began to collect the medicine to help with her mothers fits. She sat close to her mother, her breathing was uneven and raspy, but Kieren remained calm. She helped her take each pill and used a wet cloth to clean up the blood. She Held her mothers hand, sitting with her on the bed till she began to breath evenly and fell back asleep. Kieren folded the covers back over her mother, kissing her hand before she let go. "You worry me so much, why can't I make you better?" She was relieved to get her mother back into a normal state, but she knew she only had days left until the disease completely shut down her body. She sighed wishing her father could be home, instead of working for the families only income. Her father actually felt the most guilt for their mother's state, after all he was with her when she fell from her watch tower and became permanently paralyzed from the waist down. He felt responsible for not being able to save her, when it could've happened to anyone. It was only from there that matters got worse for their family, because of the incident and now her recent sickness their mother was unable to work. Which meant Calliope had to take up a job in acrobatics and their father had to work full time. This left Kieren in charge of charing for their mute mother, and stepping up in taking care of the household as well. As Kieren had calculated their mother had passed within the next week, dying in her sleep. She had been preparing herself mentally everyday that she cared for her, but it still absolutely crushed her. Ever since Kieren has wanted nothing to do with heights or medicinal practices, she only wanted to focus on her family and work herself to be strong like her sister, Calliope. So everyday she would run to build up her strength. She did everything her sister did, even if it was too much for her to handle. Some days Calli would slow down purposefully just so Kieren wouldn't wear herself out. After awhile Kieren began to feel less guilt about her mothers passing, and moved on to taking care of herself and Calliope.

Calliope. Her mother. That's where all this doubt in her head was coming from. All her life she had worked hard to be something she isn't and now the answer was right in front of her. She opened her eyes paying no regard to the Mystics above her. She walked forward picking up the smallest silver goblet, it was nothing fancy but they way the water reflected off the metal made it look so beautiful. She collected the water and watched as the glow of green danced off the ripples of the water and filled the room. She knew in her heart she was meant to care for the wounded and would never fail again.

P R E S E N T___________________________________________________

Kieren looked over the rows of cots carefully, she could see that they were less full today than they had been in quite awhile. All the Injured Mercenaries and Harbingers were at rest peacefully, she felt satisfied that everything was going smoothly. She felt Felix gliding himself between her ankles and she smiled down at him, she held her arm out for him to jump onto, as he liked to perch on her shoulder to get a better view of the base. She quietly walked through the rows of cots making sure everyone was comfortable and okay, so far the morning had been going well. No sign of near by Cimmerians and no medical emergencies. The medic ward of the base was so quiet, she wondered where her other allies had run off to.

[BeautifulSnow]

3 years ago

Ashlinn woke up when the sun was shining in her face. Of course she had forgot to shut the curtains! Not that they would help much, they where white and had wholes in it because they simply where old! But hey? She couldn't afford new ones as all her money got spend on new pots, test tubes, bottles, small knifes, tweezers.. Just because? Why exactly did she even buy it? No body said she would become a Practitioner just like her mother. She sighed and got up now. Her mother had died five years ago in a huge storm when she was on her way back from a 'treasure hunt' or so she always called it.

She putted on her clothes and then checked up her cabinets.. Food, food... She had bought herself a new bread and some meat! Where was it? She looked around in her small house and opened every cabinet at least five times.. Just as she wanted to give up and put on her shoes, she saw the bag with the bread and meat. ''Ashlinn.. If your head wasn't attached to your body, you would loose it!'' she said to herself and grinned some. She then took a piece of the bread and munched on it as she walked outside. Today she would know her 'destiny'.. She looked around and smiled at everyone that would pass by.

Ten minutes later, she stood in front of the temple.. ''The goblet will choose you, when you found it..'' a man was telling her what she was expected to do. She looked at him. ''When I find it, I'll fill it with water and the water will change in a color and that will be my destiny'' she said. ''I know, my mother told me about this when I was a kid'' she said. ''Good, then go now... Take your time'' he said and Ashlin left. She entered the room and looked at all the goblets. ''so many..'' she whispered and looked at all the goblets, some where silver, other where gold or simple brown painted.. She didn't know what she was looking for and took a deep breath. She was scared.. What if she became something else that the thing she knew?

When she opened her eyes again, they fell on a bronze goblet. It was a rare one, the cup looked like it was made from stained glass in all kind of colors green yet if you looked inside the cup, it was also bronze. The stem of the goblet had some sprockets on the lower part and it was hollow.. She kinda thought it looked like a test tube. She took the goblet and walked to the fountain.. With eyes closed she filled it and then opened her eyes, placed herself on the edge of the fountain and looked at it. ''Oh please.. Be green'' she whispered and then, the water started to change from color and there it was... Green water. ''Yes!'' Ashlin said and with the filled goblet she walked to the priests.

.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Present Day

With a bag filled with new herbs and plants, Ashlinn re-entered the camp and looked around. Her winged cat, Snow, walked next to her keeping her wings folded. ''Morning'' some people said to her Ashlinn smiled and nodded to them. She had grown into a more quiet young women. She actually only talked with her colleagues or gave orders too her patients when they had to sit still or be quiet. She walked to the Medic base and saw Kieren there. ''Morning'' she said and smiled some. ''Everything okay around here?'' she asked. Snow meowed and walked over to Kieren and then used her wings to get up and looked at the leader of the Practitioners. She meowed again, happily and then flew of, back to Ashlinn. ''Silly cat'' her owner whispered. ''Maybe, I can check up on the training base if your okay with it?'' Ashlin asked. Ashlin was only a year younger than her respected leader but she didn't mind about it, she thought Kieren was a good leader and the young women with the blue eyes had helped Ashlin a lot with getting more patient.

[merrrrideth]

Two and a half years ago...

Edith was well aware of the ins and outs of the Reckoning ritual. For the past six months, the High Professor had started the girl on a strict regiment of tomes covering the lore of the ceremony. She had diligently absorbed everything she could. Why the ritual was first instigated. How the spring that led to the fountain came from the purest of sources. How the Mystics were selected, each coming from one of the Estuaries. Most recently she had been reading on the goblets themselves. Though their creation was a guarded secret, the stories within each were amazing. Edith had even had the privilege of viewing one of the retired goblets. Through the glass case, she could hear it whispering the truths of the lives it had touched.

The High Professor was old friends with the old Mercenary that acted as a Mystic and was able to talk them into letting Edith shadow a few of the Reckoning rituals. After several of these visits, Edith was still unable to comprehend how the water could possibly look into someone's soul and know the true them. Though the percentage of people that chose a different Estuary from what was shown was very small, it was still more than a handful. But that was a tome as heavily guarded as the means for the creation of the goblets. Or maybe no one had the answer yet? All observing Reckonings had done was to inspire more curiosity in Edith's heart. She even found herself daydreaming of becoming a Mystic, a tall, slender figure starting the chapters of young lives while honoring the ending of well lived volumes.

None of Edith's studies had fully prepared her for her own Reckoning day. The High Professor had accompanied his pupil, not as her teacher, but as her doting guardian. The faces Edith greeted inside were warm and familiar. The Harbinger Mystic still had a scar across her nose. The Practitioner still smelled faintly of spearmint. Nothing about the temple had really changed. Only Edith was about to change, or so it felt. Steeling herself, she glanced across the familiar rows of goblets. A few she could recognize from studying them on her shadowing days. These goblets were all quiet. Edith walked slowly towards the back of the great hall, taking time to look at each goblet in turn. They too remained silent. Circling back, she again tried to hear the call, to spot the sign. Again, she headed towards the back. And then there it was, like a tickling feather at the back of her neck. Edith could hear it singing, but the voice was so quiet. At the very back of the hall, she found her goblet. It had been carved from marble. Inlay in the stem were three onyx stones. 'Don't listen to the water,' it whispered. 'It will lead you astray. You have to look deeper than it can.'

Edith could only respond with a small gasp. She quickly swallowed back her questions and turned to the fountain. As she plunged the cool stone cup into the water, a voice louder than before flashed red into her mind. 'Your books are nice and fancy, but what about your poor mother? How can you help her this way? Papercut the Cimmerians to death? Ha!' Edith quickly scowled in anger. 'See! You've got the fire, don't waste it. Remember all of those bullies? They were no match for you. You can still win the fight.' Edith continued to scowl down into the water as it turned red, hot tears welling into her eyes. "But I can't win the war like this..."

The Mystics could sense the tension from the fountain and approached Edith. "You don't have to make your decision now." "No, I do." Edith glanced from the red water to where the High Professor stood in the temple doors. "I choose Familiar. I choose to fight the war on different terms." The Mystics all glanced among themselves. It was unheard of for anyone to choose Familiar over another Estuary, and the girl in front of them was displaying some obvious Mercenary-esque traits. But they could not make the choice for her.

Edith slid the goblet into her bag and headed towards the High Professor. An angry cry was overdue.

Present

Edith was starving. She had been in the university vault since late the night before, and it was already noon. Sunspark squawked a reminder as the girl's stomach began to growl. "Fine, fine. You're right. How can I translate this last chapter if I can't see straight from hunger. You know me too well." Careful to mark her place without damaging the pages, Edith closed the tome and returned it to its case. She removed her leather gloves and placed them on the table. Up the stairs she ran, nearly knocking over a young lord who was acting as a page. "Sorry!"

As she finally neared the dining hall, she stopped at the sound of her name. "Edith, how goes your translation?" Edith turned and smiled to the High Professor. "I am so close! I should have information to send to the Estuary leaders ready by the end of the day tomorrow. I think this could be big... Or at least lead me towards something bigger. If you'd only let me into the catacombs, or perhaps even the tower..." The aged man looked down at the young girl he had watched grow into a young woman. "You're not ready just yet. Give it time. And stop doubting my abilities. I can read too, you know." Edith rolled her eyes, smiled again, and hugged the man. Then she quickly let go and ran the rest of the way to the dining hall. There, she found Sunspark already beak first into an apple tart.

[Zaresto]

Erika Markovic, present day

Erika stood observing her Mercenaries. They all showed differing emotions as they woke up from their night's rest. Some were enthusiastic and filled with vigor, while some shuffled around groggily. Mikhael stood by her, docile and lethargic, as he was woken up earlier than usual today. She gently rubbed behind his ear as they patrolled the encampment. The men knew their routine. After they had finished breakfast, they usually trained here near the barracks or in the surrounding forests. She watched some of her men switch shifts from their nightly patrols, a strenuous task indeed. Those coming back from their shift moved no slower than a slug, eager to get some rest.

Erika had already eaten, having woken up much earlier than most of the camp. However, she soon figured that rambling around the encampment did not help her in any way, so she set upon an exercise. She acquired some more comfortable shoes and went to a hike out in the wilderness, her bear behind her.

It was quite the way to pass the time, when Mikhael constantly broke into a full sprint at any sign of movement, it was tough for Erika to catch him.

"Guess you finally woke up, eh?" Erika whispered to the bear as he gave a soft roar. The two stopped at a nearby creek. Mikhael stared longingly at the flowing water, desperately scanning it for any delicious fishes. The entirety of their trip was uneventful, but it was a calm and peaceful way to pass the time. As the two walked back, Erika found herself reminiscing about when she was first chosen to become a Mercenary, those many years ago . . .

---

Erika, nine years ago

A girl with long, luscious blonde hair adorned in a small yet lavish white dress stared at the collection of goblets before her. She scrutinized each one that caught her eye, looking for anything that would appeal to her. Supposedly, these cups were supposed to choose her. She assumed that meant certain cups were designed to appeal to certain people with certain characteristics, but it all seemed so complicated and quixotic. THESE WERE JUST CUPS!

She was done with this silly game. Erika looked for the most overtly masculine cup, something that would, hopefully, epitomize the Mercenary way. She didn't really find anything that called out to her, until she examined a cup that seemed uneven as it sat on the table. She stared at it for what seemed like hours before she noticed something very peculiar: a blade protruding from the bottom of the goblet.

Erika almost burst out in laughter at the sight of this blade. Obviously, the blade was much too short to be of any real use in a fight, but it served a purpose at that exact time. She hurried over toward the fountain and eagerly filled the stupid hunk of metal up with some water. The suspense was palpable as she looked at it as it changed color to a nice, shiny, Mercenary Red.

She rushed out of the building to greet her family, each of whom earnestly awaited her results. Unfortunately, the truth shocked her mother and father, who stood there with an expression of both shock and disappointment, but her brother was obviously happy for her, as he always had been.

That night, the dissatisfaction at the dinner table was thick enough to cut with a knife.

"Listen, Erika, you need to protest this. We don't want you to be killed!" her dad asserted,

"You know about your cousin, Alexei? The one without any legs?! He was a Mercenary too! An ardent one at that! We don't want the same happening to you! Please, do it for us!" her mom pleaded, "Come, be a Practitioner, or a Familiar, anything but one of those brutes!"

"Look, you're probably not even cut out for fighting anyway, just quit that nonsense for your own good," her dad finally stated. He had, evidently, crossed the line. Erika stormed out her house, taking only her coat with her. Luckily for her, her brother tailed right behind her.

"Why didn't you defend me back there!?" she snapped at him when he could finally get her to stop.

"Look . . . Erika . . . I see both sides . . . but I still support you," he panted, catching his breath, "I got someone who can help you out, at least until you speak to the Mystics again . . ." he then listed off some house where she could stay at for a while. The memory escaped her, but from then on she decided she would be stable and self-assured. Quite the time of her life.

---

She was about to reminisce about her first few weeks as a Mercenary before Mikhael nudged her gently, noting that they were already back at camp. Erika regained her composure as she began to observe what was going on around her. A small conglomerate of people had amassed at the training area, looking at a fight in progress. Erika quickly went and shooed them away. After that, she was the only onlooker of the bout between Nicholas and Elliot.

Elliot won, simply due to it being a war of attrition. He could take whatever came at him and dish it back out. Erika observed him as he fought, admiring his devotion and perseverance, especially because of the fact that he was still green. He reminded her of the past, and of how devoted she was, and still is, to her craft.

As Elliot basked in the glory of victory, still relatively unfazed by the beatings he had taken, Erika walked up to him. She put her hand on his shoulder and interrupted his challenge for another opponent.

"Listen, Elliot, is it? I think you'd better take a break, at least before you pass out,"

[Ammokkx]

"Ah, man..." A young man was walking down a forest path, clutching his forehead all the while. "Great, I've got three days to prepare myself... Everyone else's already done theirs, and as soon as I hit 18..." The more the boy walked, the more he mumbled to himself. And then he heard something. A growl. That boy instantly tensed up, looking around as to what animal it came from. Then it dawned on him... "...Wait, where am I? ...Oh, I'm lost. Great." Yeah, no, that's totally what he needed. Being lost in the middle of the woods with some stray animal growling at him, probably because he's in their territory. The boy looked around again, his black hair flying frantically in the wind as he does so. In between the trees... There was a figure. A lone... No, not lone. It was a wolf with some cubs pushed against them... And she looked protective. Very much so. But there was one of those cubs that caught the black-haired boy's eye... One that seemed awfully thin, and malnutritioned. But their fur was also such an... Odd colour. It looked blue, but closer to grey than blue... It seemed that cub had noticed him back...

But the mother started barking now, standing prepared to jump the boy any second. He'd best get out of here. Slowly they backed off, until they were out of range, and tried to find there way out of the forest...

"Fell, you know what day it is right?" A woman asked while sitting next to him. "Yeah, yeah, I know mom. My birthday, and by extension the ceremony right...?" Honestly, Fell wasn't really too pumped for it. Some ritual that decides what you become for the rest of your life, and even if you don't want it, there's only four things to choose from anyway. And after that, you get assigned to a "Vein", an animal or creature that is supposed to support you... But the man didn't have any prior experience with 'em. Fell's mind drifted back to that wolf in the forest... She was so protective. ...But not so much of that one cub, come to think of it. The one with the special fur... "Fell? You've not touched your breakfast." His mom reaffirmed, causing the guy to snap out of his day dream. "Oh, right."

...And then there were four goblets. To be honest, they all looked identical. Just some minor adjustments in each one, and honestly Fell didn't care to much about the whole "Choose one" thing. If the gods give you your destiny anyway, what's the point? You'll end up with the same result no matter what. He just chose the last one in the row, or at least what he thought to be the last, to be done with it. Walking over to the fountain and filling it up, Fell toyed around with it a bit before taking a swig. It took a little whole, but the color started to turn. At first the boy thought he'd cut himself on the edge and blood got in it, but that wasn't the case. "Huh, so this really does change color?" The guy said to himself, looking at the blood-red water that chose Mercenary for him.

...A week passed, and Fell Bleader had officially become the new greenhorn of the mercenary encampment... But he was lacking something the others had. A vein. No, not one of those blue things you find in your arm... A companion. Probably within the next few days someone would appoint one to him, and he'd have to go along with it because there was none chosen on Fell's part. What a bother. Then something caught his eye... Right there in the corner. Something was hiding itself. Curiosity killing cats didn't stop the man from investigating, though. Upon closer inspection... Why, it's that cub again? ...And it didn't run when Fell approached it. He didn't speak a word, instead just giving it a silent pat on the head. It seemed to want more. So, Fell gave it more and started petting and playing with it. "...Ah. Haha... So this is how veins are chosen...?" he wondered to himself, while playing with it. "How about I call you Noone? Your fur kind of reminds me of the night..."

Present day

Fell sat against a tree, Noone resting with her head on his lap as the bulky man thought back to those young days... "...Sneaky cub." Chuckling to himself, the guy scratched Noone behind her ears giving a howl of approval. Old girl had been through a lot with him... That's for sure. To think she approached him so casually, too... "This the work of gods as well...?" Fell mumbles, before rising up. Noone soon followed, knowing full well that nap time was over. "Let's head back to camp. I want to see how the fresh meat is doing!" A hearty laugh escaped the man, who casually strolled down the path back. The forest certainly reminds him of the day he first laid eyes on Noone... Even though it isn't the same one. As Fell drew closer to the camp, someone caught his eye. A young girl, and from the way she was dressed, a mercenary. He'd only recently been transferred, so Fell didn't know exactly everyone outside of the commander for obvious reasons... Why not have a little chat?

"Hey!" Fell called out to Liara, noticing the large bear she's playing with. Another bear eh? Wonder if she's related to the commander, somehow... While Fell was thinking this, Noone had already dashed ahead to greet the new faces. The man drew a bit closer before crossing his arms and grinning, looking at the female who was noticeably smaller than him. "You're also a mercenary, right? Plate armor and posture give it away. Name's Fell, and this is my partner Noone. Transferred here a few days ago, nice to meet you."

[MasterLink742]

Past

---

Nathan had been awake nearly all night worrying about his reckoning. He had plenty of opportunities to research the event, but the very idea frightened him to his core. At this point, all he had were rumors. The one that frightened him the most was the whole lineage thing. Both of his parents were familiars and it wasn't like there was anything wrong with familiars, but it just didn't sit right with Nathan. Sure, ultimately, he had the final say on the matter, but if the liquid wasn't the green he had dreamed of since he was young, he wouldn't know where to begin on how to change that.

Would I just have to will it into another color, he thought, Or do I speak out?

The day had changed over long ago and sleep wasn't any closer now than it was then. Fed up with the lack of sleeping, Nathan decided to study something, anything, for a little while. He walked to his bookshelf opposite his bed, lit a nearby candle, and started perusing through his collection.

Let's see here... A Journeyman's Guide to Making Medicine? Ehhh, maybe another time. He didn't have anything against medicine, but it just didn't feel right. He put the book back and grabbed another at random. Huh, this one looks new: Medical Practices: Expert Level, Maybe I should finish reading the beginner level stuff, much less the intermediate, first... Medical practices were Nathan's worst subject. Any mistakes in that field could lead to hurting someone. Or worse. This was another thing bothering him: patching people up was half of a practitioner's job and he was mediocre at it at best. Would that affect the reckoning? Moving away from that thought, he quickly shoved the book back on the shelf and grabbed another.

Ah, here we go, Basic Alchemical Practices, much better. It wasn't as if there was any new information to be found in this book, the core concept of alchemy was Nathan's favorite subject. Mixing ingredients, whether for medicine or otherwise, researching new procedures, everything about it added a spring to his step. He knew this particular book better than anyone, it was the book that got him interested in practitioner after all, so it was more for comfort than anything. And comfort it did, for within 10 pages, Nathan had fallen asleep in his chair.

He awoke several hours later, at mid morning. Not as early as he wanted to be up for such an important day, but it could have been worse. Shortly after waking, the anxiety that plagued him all night returned, prompting him to skip breakfast and head straight for the temple. There he was greeted by the four mystics. Well, as much of a greeting as, "Remember, the chalice will choose you", can be.

What does that even mean? he thought, anxiety growing more by the second. He quickly received insight on the situation when he saw a seemingly unlimited number of chalices lining the next room. Anxiety grew to panic as he had not expected there to be more than one chalice, much less hundreds. Nathan lurched forward, grabbing at the nearest table for support. His head was spinning and he felt as if he were about to vomit. He looked up, hoping to find some kind of relief among the sea of gold chalices. Immediately upon laying his eyes on one particular cup, the panic began to fade. He picked it up, all traces of anxiety gone and a new sense of warmth taking its place. He examined it, trying to find something that made it different from the others around it, but found nothing. The feeling was undeniable, however, so he approached the fountain with his new found confidence.

He began filling up the chalice with the mysterious clear liquid, waiting for it to change colors. The wait seemed to take ages and for a few moments, he was unable to tell if the yellow color was the liquid declaring its decision, or the bright gold shining through. His fears were alleviated as quickly as they arose when, deep from withing the chalice, the liquid began to turn green. He was going to be a practitioner.

Present

---

Nathan awoke in his study, interestingly enough in the same chair, with the same book as in his dreams of the recent past. The main difference is now he also had a stubborn cat asleep in his lap. And, well, the fact that he had his own study now. He had to leave for the practitioner camp soon, so he picked up Doug and set him on the floor. The small cat loudly voiced his complaints to being woken up. "Hey, it's not as if you don't already get enough sleep, so be quiet. Besides, we need to get going soon, we're running a little late." Nathan retorted. Doug returned a look almost as if he was judging the young practitioner. Nathan ignored the judgmental cat and hurriedly gathered his things. He rushed out the door and then immediately rushed back in. "Come on Doug, I said we had to go". Doug reluctantly got up and followed his master out the door.

The walk to the camp was not long, but it definitely felt like it. Nathan liked this part of his job the least. Researching and making medicine? Easy. Applying his medical knowledge to the wounded? Not so much. He hadn't improved much in that field in the short time he had been a practitioner. "There are plenty of others that could help" was a common justification.

When he arrived at the main tent in the camp, there were two others already there. The current leader of the practitioners, Kieren, I think and a girl whose name he could not for the life of him remember. He was awful at names. Hell, if Kieren wasn't the leader, he wouldn't remember her name either. Clearly out of his element, Nathan quickly elected to take a seat in the corner of the tent and wait for someone to need him for something.

[NightmareInd]

Collab between jagajac, GingerBoi123 and NightmareInd

Sam

Sam slowly sneaked closer to the rabbit. It was in the middle of a clearing, eating a carrot like it was king of the hill. He got closer, knowing that Shade would be on the other side to take it down if it might notice him and try to run away. However, it didn't look like it noticed him. Sam put an arrow one his bow, aimed for it, and... Zzzt! The arrow shot through the air, but before it hit the target, it suddenly ducked and ran. darn... Sam thought as the arrow landed somewhere on the opposite side of the clearing, around the part where Shade was hiding. As the rabbit ran a few meters further, an eagle suddenly dropped from the sky and attacked the rabbit. It killed it fast, then carried it back into the air. Sam ran into the clearing. "Shade, are you okay?" The tiger walked through the plants into the clearing, carry the arrow wich was stuck in a piece of wood. "Good, you aren't hurt. However, that bird stole our prey. How about we get it back and take some extra meat with us back to the camp?" A small approving groan came from the cat, and Sam started to run through the forest into the direction the eagle went, having his eyes on the sky, and a tiger on his tail.

Dominique

Dominique sat on a log as he was checking his crossbow, testing the firing mechanism as he was admiring a crossbow bolt in his other hand. A squawk alerted his attention to the sky as Verja swooped down with her prey in her claws. She landed gracefully just after letting the dead rabbit fall to the ground with a resounding thud. Dominique slung his crossbow and slid the bolt back in his quiver as he walked over. He crouched down next to Verja as his Vein began its meal. "Nice kill, Verja." he commented as the eagle picked at it again. Then he heard footsteps. There shouldn't be anyone around here? Dominique immediately loaded his crossbow and pointed it at the direction it was coming from.

As the eagle dropped down into the woods, Sam looked at Shade, his vein knowing what to do. Sam started moving a bit more slowly, making the sound of his footsteps now dissapear, and went right while shade went left. When he was right of the place the eagled dropped, he got out his bow, and looked at the eagle, and saw it not only eating his prey, but it was also with one of his colleagues. Darn... Again... He stole my prey. Sam got out into the open, and said: "Hey Dom, you should keep an eye on that bird of yours. I almost shot it."

Dominique turned to Sam as he introduced himself. The blond-haired harbinger gave a curt nod as a response to his name but his face showed a hint of anger as he heard about Sam's mishap. "And... how did that happen?" he asked, hoping he would be given an explanation to what sounded like a possible Vein killing.

Sam shrugged. "I have honestly no idea. Oh whait, maybe it was because it stole my rabbit right in front of me. There are a lot of things a hunter like me can handle, but stealing their prey? That is one thing that gets them angry." He said, while not changing his voice while he said it. Shade now come into the open as well, with the boar still on his back. Verja and Dominique were surrounded by the two now. "So if you would just please give the rabbit back, I can..." he started, but saw then that the bird had already eaten from it. "...well isn't that just great. You not only stole my prey, but you also let your bird eat it. Disposing of the evidence before it can even be considered a crime. Good job, but this ain't over. You owe me now."

Dominique let out a frustrated sigh and folded his arms, as if he was being impatient with a child. "Did you actually kill it before Verja did?" Dominique asked, knowing full well what the answer would be. "Because eagles dont swoop for dead meat." he explained.

Sam's eyes narrowed. "I was about to. I even already shot at it, but your chicken scared it away. It doesn't matter though. I give you till the end of the evening to bring me an edible dead animal before I will tell Calliope about it."

Dominique chuckled. "Then you are going to be sorely disappointed because if Verja killed it first then thats all I need to hear." He explained. The eagle was satisfied with its meal and Dominique held his arm out to let the eagel perch. Dominique then turned around to head back to the camp.

Sam got mad now. As Dominique tried to just get away with it, Sam whistled a tune and Shade jumped between the Harbringer and the camp, while setting his back on fire, while making sure not to set the whole forest on fire. "you're not getting away with this that easily."

Calliope

Bastian's ears swiveled behind him, and the fur along his spine stood on alert as if something had disturbed him. Calliope's fingers ran through his coarse coat, but her eyes remained closed even as the large creature halted not twenty yards from the encampment. Voices carried on the cool breeze, a twinge of frustration coating their tone. The large lion shrugged its shoulders, attempting to wake the exhausted girl sprawled out atop his back, but Calliope simply grunted and rolled onto her side. Bastian blew air through his nostrils in annoyance and shifted his weight to Calliope's side. Before she could react and grab hold of her Vein, Calliope slid down awkwardly and landed on the ground below with a cloud of dust swirling up and around her. "That was a little unnecessary, don't ya think?" She glared up into Bastian's eyes, but his gaze was directed backwards towards a shaded clearing. Calliope stood to full height and wiped her dirtied palms against her thighs. Her brows furrowed in the direction that Bastian seemed transfixed on, and then she heard them. Although her hearing was no where near as sophisticated as Bastian's, Calliope could distinctly pick out two angered, but muffled, voices in the distance. She let an exasperated sigh escape her parched lips and looked upward at Bastian. "Do I have to?" The majestic lion, as if on cue, grabbed Calliope gently with his mouth and swung her softly back atop his shoulders. "Let's go." At her simple command, Bastian leapt forward gracefully and pounded his heels into the earth at a dead sprint.

In a matter of minutes they had reached the sources of the earlier garbled noises they had both heard outside base camp. Not caring about entrances, Bastian skirted into the clearing where Sam, Dominique, and their Veins stood quarreling. His large presence extinguised most of the creatures surrounding him, as Calliope steadied herself to a crouched position atop him. The Harbinger leader surveyed the scene before them. There was Sam, his body tense and his Vein alight with fury. They stood on either side of Dominique, who seemed unbothered by either of their presences. One, two, three... someone's missing. Just as Calliope thought the words, a loud caw streaked above her head. Verja's talons displaced more of the hairs into Calliope's face as the eagle swooped to a sitting position on a low hanging branch nearby. The girl's lips curved into knowing smile as she addressed Dominique's Vein. "I should've known you'd be the one causing all the trouble."

"Calliope." Dominique greeted as he turned to the female voice, accompanied with a curt nod.

"Ma'am!" Sam said, surprised but pleased to see his leader there. Shade's fire went out and he made a small bow towards the winged lion and its rider. Shade respected Sam as its leader, but with that also respected those Sam respected.

Calliope closed her eyes and shook her head at both of the two men before her. She sprung gracefully from Bastian's back and held out her arm for Verja. The eagle complied respectfully, and Calliope's elbow bent slightly at the added weight of the bird. She strode past both Sam and Dominique to press her other palm against the wide bridge of Shade's nose. You two would be easier to deal with. Calliope's thoughts were interrupted by a curt grunt from Bastian, reminding her of the more present duty at hand. She raised her arm to release Verja back to her perch and turned her amber eyes on both Sam and Dominique in turn. "If either of you gives me the same tattle-tale bullshit as the last, however many times I've spoken with you, I swear I'll send you to the mucking stalls for a week. Now, someone explain."

Sam was the first one to talk. "Ma'am, I was hunting with Shade when suddenly that bird dropped out of the sky and stole my prey right in front of me. When I asked Dominique for an explenation, he just said it was my own fault."

Calliope narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms against her chest, trying to keep her demeanor fierce and authoritative as she spoke again. "Go on, I'm still waiting."

Dominique leant back against the tree his precious eagle was perched on. "The kid is mad because my Vein did something he failed, as he didnt actually kill it in the first place." He explained.

"Failed?!" Even Shade started to growl lightly now. "The only reason I missed my target, was because your winged piece of meat scared it away and made me almost hit Shade!" Sam made a fist with both his hands each. This guy was getting on his nerves, and he started to have enough of this.

Her eyes clenched shut in agitation, and she rubbed her index and forefinger into one temple while thinking aloud. "There are more important things to worry about than prey, gentlemen. Did it ever occur to either of you that you aren't each others' predators?"

"Hey, I'm not worrying about dead rabbit here. Sam is the one complaining." Dominique retorted with a calm, controlled voice, raising his hands as if to say "Im innocent".

Sam started to laugh suddenly. "Seriously, you thought this was about a dumb rabbit? I could find at least 4 more before the sun sets. No, this is about you not able to control your Vein, which is getting others in danger! I almost lost Shade! You're lucky he was hiding behind a tree, but otherwise you would've been in big trouble."

"Sooo, it's my fault... that Verja killed something before you did... and the arrow you shot nearly hit your Vein. Am I missing something or?" Dominique argued back. He then turned to Calliope. "Im sorry ma'am, we are wasting your time." He apologised, with actual seriousness in his voice

Calliope whistled loudly to the Harbingers in front of her and motioned her hand upwards at the now watercolored sky. Pastel shades of pink and orange filled the vast expanse, but out of the corner of human eyesight was a patch of black clouds, reaching long, twisted tendrils of smoke in all directions. Its infectious girth was obvious to even the greenest of recruits, let alone three seasoned Harbinger scouts. "We patrolled through the night, marking its spread and speed. I'd give us four days, tops, before shit hits the fan at base camp." She sighed and walked sullenly forward towards her comrades. Her small hands wrapped around each of their shoulders, but her eyes stared daggers in the cloud's direction. "I'm not about to be the juicy gossip for other Estuaries to distract themselves with. If you two want to fight this out, do it now, because we've got much bigger enemies to face." Her hands lingered for a moment before sliding off as she mounted Bastian once more. "You know what I expect, from all of you, don't disappoint me." She glanced upward one last time before Bastian bolted out of the clearning and back towards their original destination. "So much for no news, eh?"

Dominque sighed as he held out his arm for Verja. They were about to walk away before he stopped at the edge of the clearing and slightly turned his head, not facing Sam. "We argued over nothing. I'm... sorry." he stated, with no differentiation in his voice before making his own way back to camp.

Sam was a bit surprised, and looked at Shade in disbelief. However, he shrugged it off, and went with Shade their sepperate way towards the camp.

---

Without warning the folds of one of the Practitioner's tents flew open by Calliope's hands. Her mouth muttered unintelligable words while her brain worked furiously to piece things together. She tripped over Doug as he walked patterns between Nathan's legs in the darkened corner. "Dammit, cat... oh, sorry Nathan." She raised her hand apologetically before turning to face her sister, Kieren, briefly nodding at Ashlinn as an afterthought. "We need to arrange a meeting, all of us, tonight. It can't wait."

TL;DR

An arguement between Sam and Dominique, Calliope warning for an incoming danger and a meeting being arranged.

People being mentioned

@NightmareInd@GingerBoi123@jagajac@SUN@MasterLink742@BeautifulSnow

[IcePezz]

Liara was making her way through the clearing when she heard a voice. "Hey!" The bear beside her let out a soft growl, but she managed to still his concerns with a pat on the head and a good scratch behind the ear. As the man and his vein grew closer, her smile widened and she dipped her head. "Why hello!"

"You're also a mercenary, right? Plate armor and posture give it away. Name's Fell, and this is my partner Noone. Transferred here a few days ago, nice to meet you.""A pleasure to meet you both. I'm Liara, and this is Arlan." She extended a hand towards Fell in greeting. Arlan in turn, raised his snout to smell Fell's should he accept Liara's greeting, unsure just yet if he would bite it off or accept him as ally. Liara giggled softly. "Don't mind him, he's just a bit weary of new comers. Arlan, be nice!", she reprimanded the bear. He grunted and growled, but eventually backed down ... the man's hand was saved, at least for now.

Liara was dressed in her usual training garb. Her armor and sword were well polished, padding secured, she smelled of the wilds and was even furnished with sweat and dirt, marking her efforts this morning. Her uneven braid, which fell to the middle of her back, now seemed to fray and fall apart. She wasn't the greatest at being a girl, but you could tell that she did try every once in a while. How she carried herself though, it was evident that she was more concerned with being a good soldier than anything else.

"A new transfer you said? A welcoming is in order then. We were just on our way back to the camp if you'd like to join us.", an insistent nod followed as she beckoned them forward. Despite continuing on gingerly, there was a calmness about her. And her smile, though sincere, was almost disconcerting. Infectious as it may be at times, you might often stop and wonder about her. Was she always this happy? "How have you found it here so far?

[XLegs]

Elliot Tessel

Elliot blinked once as he stared in confusion, wondering where everyone had disappeared to, and feeling more than a little dumb for having addressed absolutely no one.

The moment of self-shaming quickly came to an end when he felt a hand on his shoulder and heard the voice that spoke to him.

"Nonsense! he said as he spun around to face the new-comer. "As long as I can stand, there's no--" Two things made him stop mid sentence and caused his face to go pale. The first was the wave of nausea that hit him from turning around so quickly in his state, and the second was the realization of who had addressed him.

"Oh, uhh... Sorry, Ma'am." He glanced away, any embarrassed blush appearing on his face hidden away by the countless bruises covering him.

He, of course, had a ton of respect for Erika, seeing as she was the leader of the Mercenaries. Thinking over her words quickly, he decided that they sounded more like a suggestion and less like an order, so - not wanting to take a break in the slightest - he decided to try his luck a little.

"Thanks for your concern, but I need to keep practicing..." He trailed off, as he glanced around and again realized that there was no longer any one around for him to spar with. He quickly back-pedalled. "Uh, actually, sure, I'll take a break from sparring, and just go run or something instead."

As he finished the sentence, a sudden ball of fire exploded over his head, from it emerging Elliot's Vein, Harley, who promptly landed on his head and began squawking loudly at him, her feet stomping around on his hair.

After his startled jump at the phoenix's loud appearance, he gave a sigh, looking up at her as she bent down, holding her head upside-down to stare directly into his eyes -- this was the young creatures incredibly annoying way of communicating that she was hungry.

But as aggravating as it was, Elliot felt she was in the right. After all, he had gotten so caught up in his sparring that he had completely skipped breakfast and now almost lunch.

"Alright, girl, calm down, we'll go friggin' eat."

Elliot looked back to Erika, his defeated expression brightening up a little as an idea crossed his mind.

"Okay, Ma'am, I'll take a break, but on the condition that you have a sparring match with me at a later time!" The boy's chest puffed out as his excitement grew at the idea -- he had studied Erika plenty in the time he'd been here, but being able to observe her up close as she brutally beat on him? That would be perfect!

Realizing how forcefully he had just asked his superior for a favour, he mellowed out and glanced away, wiping his bloody cheek with his hand again as he quickly added "Uh, only if it wouldn't trouble you too much, of course..."

[SUN]

''Maybe, I can check up on the training base if you're okay with it?''

Kieren thoughts were suddenly interrupted. She looked up smiling apologetically for not paying attention to Ashlinn when she initially approached her. She nodded in approval seeing as no one in the medic tent was in dyer need. "I don't see any problem with that, It's been a pretty quiet morning." She looked over to Nathan who sat idly in the corner, He looked bored"If you'd like you can venture around the grounds as well, I think I-" She was suddenly interrupted by her sister storming into the tent. She felt Felix jump off her shoulders to greet her sister happily, placing his paws up on her shins and mewing affectionately "Cal, I-". The smile from the sight of her sister faded into a concerning frown. She knew exactly what her sister was so urgent about, she had noticed the clouds the day before, only this morning they seemed to be moving closer to base camp. "How many days do we have left?" she started to feel anxious but kept a calm face.

Calliope idly stroked the tops of Felix's heads and answered Kieren, sarcasm dripping from her tongue. "If I factor in the wind speed, tidal strength, and the phase of the moon I'd say-seriously, Kieren? You know it's not enough time regardless of my tracking." She sighed deeply, realizing the mixture of her fear and anger were misdirected.

Kieren eyed her sister carefully, she knew Calliope was only just as scared as she was and that her sarcasm was used in a line of defense. Her sister was a show off until it came to weakness, she had a way to hide her insecurities and Kieren admired that about her. Serious situations such as these were not what Calliope preferred to deal with.

Calliope took Kieren's wrist in her hand and stroked the golden bangle resting around it. "I need to check the fields for any stragglers; inform them of tonight's Circle. Kieren... don't raise alarm just yet." She glanced over her shoulder at Nathan and Ashlinn and forced a plastic smile. Lowering her voice she added, "I'm too tired to deal with wipe spread panic at the moment." She leaned back, winked with her familiar mischievous grin, and turned abruptly to start her patrol.

Before her sister vanished, Kieren pulled her in by her shoulders for a forced hug. " Listen, I know you're my tough badass sister, but everyone has their limits. Don't worry too much about it, we have a great team of Mercenaries and Harbingers" She pulled away to look at her gleaming amber eyes, and flashed her a smile,"And an outstanding Harbinger leader I might add...Search the fields and take a rest, okay?" She finally let go of her shoulders, she had every confidence that they could handle this next wave of Cimmerians. However, there was always a small amount of fear of what damage they may cause. She didn't let her mind dwell on it, she felt Felix return to her shoulders his heads resting peacefully against her neck. After her sister left the tent Kieren turned back to Ashlinn, "Why don't I join you, I could use the fresh air"

[Zaresto]

Erika Markovic

"All right Elliot, I'll fight you . . . some other time," she sighed. If it would make the kid happy, she supposed there was no harm in helping him train.

With that, Erika turned to leave with her bear. The atmosphere seemed a bit too calm, she noted as she went back into her personal tent. She postulated that something was going to happen. She hadn't seen any Cimmerians for a long time, although she knew that their luck just might run out.

The tent felt dim and refreshing, a calm departure from the sun outside. Her bear was eager to lie down in his bed and Erika was eager to look over whatever letters had been sent to her.

She milled over the papers in front of her after she sat down. Almost all of it was fluff relating to the organization of her men or redundant moaning about her supposed incompetence. The constant complaints, she had thought, were probably because they didn't like how the war squeezed money out of their pockets. A few were, at the least, informative, even if they brought nothing but bad news.

Her petition for more horses: DENIED, her petition for more men: DENIED. Not even her petition for a castle or fortress of some sort could get approved, she noted as she stared at the letter.

---

≼Dear Ms. Markovic≽

We regret to inform you that we cannot start any more building projects, as any assets that would be sent to help you would serve to cripple other, more important parts of our society. You understand that we are at war; thus we cannot spend resources on mindless frivolities of which you had the whimsical notion to ask for. You and your men should already have sufficient defenses and manpower to stave off any possible attack, so your demands are not only deleterious to the war effort at large, but also do not have basis in fact. Please do not ask to bolster your forces any more.

Signed, The Valeriyan Department of War

---

"What can I assume when those 'assets' are probably used for building manors of some sort," she grumbled silently. She threw the letter to the ground, now angered that she was left without any real assistance. She somewhat calmed down and left her tent, trying to separate herself from what she had just read. The feeling of contempt for those pinhead politicians who barely knew the ramifications of this war stirred inside her. Erika knew it would take something big to change their mind, something very big. Erika patrolled the palisades surrounding her part of the camp, trying to calm down. She was livid.

[MasterLink742]

Shortly after Nathan arrived, Other Girl asked to leave for the training base. After okaying that, Kieren looked over towards Nathan and said, "If you'd like you can venture around the grounds as well," I kinda just want to stay here, maybe get some reading in... he thought to himself, deciding on how to word it. Before he could decide and before Kieren could finish her sentence, someone burst into the tent. Nathan quickly noted it was Kieren's sister and she didn't look like she had great news.

She immediately tripped over Doug, who was being the obnoxious little cat he was. "Dammit, cat... oh, sorry Nathan."
"It's not your fault," he tried to say to her, embarrassed. His voice failed him for half of the statement, and was too quiet for the other half. He decided against repeating himself as her news seemed to be more urgent.

Ugh, I hate bad news. I think I will go out after all. he thought as he tried to leave unnoticed. I'll have to hear it eventually, but it's too early for that kind of thing. "Well Douglas?" he scolded, "What do you have to say for yourself? You can't just get in people's way like that." The small cat looked up curiously at the young practitioner. "You know what you did," he sighed, "but anyway, let's go do something while we still have some semblance of free time."

With cat in tow, Nathan remembered Other Girl talking about the training camp. Alternatively, he could go around to the other camps to see if anyone needed any help. That seems to be the least appealing option. Lastly, he could probably get some reading in under a tree somewhere. After considering his options, he decided that the training camp would be the best option. If no one needed anything, he'd have time to read and if someone did need help, there would be another practitioner there to help take the pressure off him (not to mention the practical training). And you can never have too many practitioners, right?

With his mind made up, he began his trip to the training camp, though he did drag his feet a little bit so he wouldn't be the first one there.

[Mike the Bloodwolf]

5 or 6 years ago

Mike woke up once more to the sound of the wind blowing against his window, he sighed and got of bed accidently knocking the sleeping Draco next to him who woke up with a start and growled lightly before he noticed Mike and stretched himself out before he curled up again on the bed to sleep. Draco could easily switch between his large dragon and a smaller dragon about the same height as a fully grown Beagle dog. Mike chuckled at his friend before he shut the window and leaned back on the wall.
Mike lived in his house all alone after both his parents had died in a battle against the foe outside the village, "Shadows" Mike had called them. but today all that would change. Tonight the mystics had called on Mike to choose his path, so Mike curled up with Draco and went back to sleep for a few more hours.

Once he woke up, Mike and Draco worked hard all day getting things ready for whatever destiny that had, Draco of course was coming with him to the ceremony as Draco had been a part of Mike's life since he was a year old though an elder had once called Mike a cursed being to have a dragon as his pet, they had claimed the dragon would bring bad luck to everyone there. Of course that had been over 14 years ago and nothing had changed.

Once night fell, Mike approached the temple and then the alter where four goblets were placed, Mike inpected each of them until he came across a goblet with dragon like design on it. He looked at the Mystic and then at the very elder who had claimed the dragon would bring bad luck and said with a smile "This proves it elder, Draco was not unlucky", he then walked to the fountain and dip the Goblet in there. The liquid changed colour a few times switching between Red and blue the most before it finally settled on Red which Mike smiled about as Draco sniffed around and then found the duel blades that Jarred had wielded before his death, he handed them to Mike who nodded and drank the liquid before he attached them to his belt.

Present:

Mike had grown and become fair more mature since he was chosen to become a Mercenary, Mike had also become very very good at fighting with duel weapons, he had taken up a little blacksmithing to make his duel swords better and more aero dynamic, he had made the handle a dragon head and the blade would have a blue glow to it every time he pulled it from it sheathe. He was in the main camp before he looked up and saw Ashlinn so he took a deep breath and walked up to her after putting his sword away and asked "Hey Ashlinn, do you need any help with carrying anything to the training area? I was just about to head there myself". He then heard that everyone needed to meet up tonight, as Draco landed on his shoulder and greeted Snow with a friendly growl.

[Ammokkx]

Fell nodded in response to Liara's own introduction, happily accepting the handshake. Fell had dressed himself in his common garb instead of full plate armor, it being too hot outside to do so. If Fell needed to be brought to standby he'd immediately slip into it, war axe and shield ready. Honestly though, he couldn't help but let out a laugh at how wary the bear is of strangers, although considering the man's build it might not be farfetched to say his bulky exterior might be what causes such a hostile reaction. Noone on the other hand stepped forward, eyeing Liara with curiosity. It didn't nearly take long for her to accept the new face as it did Arlan, letting out a single content bark. "Seems she's takin' a liking to you, Liara." Fell chuckles.

"Well, I was about to head back down to camp m'self, so I'd be more than glad to join you Ms. Liara." The black-haired bruiser walked further down the path, Noone hot on his tail. He took a note of that oddly cheerful smile, and thought of it as a good thing. A soldier who can't enjoy themselves is no good off the frontlines. It gave Fell a grin of his own, that little thought.

"If I have takin' a likin' to this place, that what you're asking? Hm... Can't say I haven't, with all the young spirit around this place. Although it concerns me our leaders seem to be relatively lacking in age, one would think commanders should be more experienced than our current ones. Although, can't say much. I haven't seen 'em show their prowess, so if indeed they prove to be more than capable of their current position I see no reason to complain!" It was quite a mouthful, but that were the man's thoughts on this encampment. Not a bad place at all. He'd been walking cross-armed back to camp, his muscles connecting like a chain. Fell looked back to Liara, curious as to something. "You must have been here for a while now, yourself. What would your opinion be of our station?"

[jagajac]

Calliope rubbed her palms vigorously along her biceps in an effort to erase the sensation of her sister's earlier embrace. If there was one thing she wasn't fond of, it was the feeling of being pitied or coddled, especially if it was coming from Kieren. Calliope had always assumed the role of "protector", and she struggled to relinquish that title to anyone besides Bastian. As she walked towards the forest with determination, Calliope's Vein called out from behind. The wind pulled Calliope's tresses to one side as she craned her neck to address Bastian, "It's alright, just a routine patrol. Stay here and keep an eye on Kieren for me, will ya?" She twitched her lips into a playful smile, and Bastian sighed a quick protest before stalking towards the Practitioner's tent. Just as the large lion poked his nose curiously through the curtains Calliope added, "And try not to piss off Felix too much."

Once inside the protection of the treeline Calliope detoured onto a path that, although slightly overgrown, was still obviously worn from the weight of someone's footsteps over a period of time. A large, ashen birch tree hung crookedly some ways down the path, and Calliope approached it swiftly. She reached her hand inside a large, hollowed knot of the tree and retrieved a ragged leather pack that she flung delicately over her shoulders. Inside was an array of essentials: five slender steel throwing knives, a canteen of purified drinking water, discarded pieces of flint, rope she had braided from the sturdy field grasses, and a carefully packaged assortment of tonics from Kieren and the other Practitioners. With her supplies resting soundly against her back, Calliope headed out to scout for anyone still lingering from the protection of camp.

After about twenty minutes of exerting her energy skirting through the treetops, Calliope flipped down in one fluid motion, landing expertly on the ground below. She whistled for her Harbinger comrades but was greeted with only the gentle hum of insects and birdsong. As she turned on her heels, she caught the faint crackle of leaves a few yards to her left. Cautiously, Calliope stalked in the direction of the sound and was awarded with a harmony of male and female voice; two sets of paws were also padding softly in the voices' stead. As the voices became clearer, Calliope could now see through the brush and caught traces of their origins. A patch of uniquely bluish grey fur made the girl halt and rest her palm against her wrinkled forehead. Fell. The recent Mercenary transfer, whom Calliope had only encountered upon his arrival, had an inherent intimidation factor that radiated off his persona. The other voice she could not place, mainly because her thoughts were now clouding with doubt. In and out, Calliope. No need for pleasantries. She thought the words to herself once or twice before safely making herself known to the two Mercenaries.

With a friendly smile plastered upon her freckled face, she bowed her head respectfully to both Fell and Liara in turn. Each of the Mercenaries' Veins instinctively moved closer to their partner's side. Calliope could now place a name with the female voice from before and greeted them as cheerfully as she could muster, "Afternoon. On behalf of Erika, I'd urge you both to return to base camp with haste." Calliope raised her own eyebrow at the foreign sound of her rigid voice. Well this is going swimmingly. She cleared her throat and gently pushed her nails into the base of her palms before speaking again, this time sounding much more relaxed. "We wouldn't want to miss either of your inputs at tonight's Circle." Calliope tried to train her eyes on both Fell and Liara, but they kept falling towards Noone. The creature's seasoned beauty seemingly captivating Calliope's curious nature. She pulled her chin up to avoid the distraction and locked eyes with Fell. With his arms crossed along his broad chest, the Mercenary warrior made Calliope feel like a fragile toothpick. Still, the brave, stubborn Harbinger leader reassured herself subconsciously before exposing her bright teeth in another eager smile. "May I join your company on the last leg?"