Helo

Avalia

Time: Afternoon
Location: Forest outside of Roshmi
Interactions: Zephyrin@Howlsofwinter, Kenia@Tae, Elthrael@Dezuel, Clara@princess

Bowyn thought on Zephyrin’s response to his question, and it struck him as strange. It was hard to imagine the winter fairy would care so little about her own people. About the other races he could see, their village had always been more focused on their own problems. The winter fae had enough to deal with that the problems of the rest of the world certainly paled in relation. But to be so casual about the suffering of her own people, his people, even the coldest of his kind had to feel something for their own kinsmen. Instead of pushing it further Bowyn shrugged as she moved to follow with them. He gave a quiet chuckle as she picked up one of the discarded bottles and made a face after drinking from it. If the other winter fairy was going to start drinking he might as well too.

”Do as you please.” He said taking a drink from a bottle as Zephyrin began following with them.

They walked through the morning into the afternoon, and Bowyn was grateful for the relative quiet of it all. Whatever danger had caused the smoke they’d seen never caught up to them, the forest was quiet and just calm enough to give him a break from thinking about the danger of his own situation. He wondered how close to the fire Torvi or Belle might have been, whether they managed to stay together or if they had managed to find worthy traveling companions. He hoped they were not alone in the forest, he felt guilty that he hadn’t stuck closer to them. He drank from his bottle to try to keep these thoughts just in the back of his mind. He didn’t really want to feel anything but the comforting numbness of alcohol. The afternoon sun beat down on him, the alcohol compounded this, leaving him uncomfortably warm and slick with sweat. He didn’t like being so far from the cold but he tried not to think about it. Missing the cold made him miss his home, and the company of another of his kind only made it worse, a nagging reminder of where he came from. Even though the alcohol only made the heat worse he kept sipping from the warm bottle, making his mind focus more on walking, on not stumbling or appearing as intoxicated as he was. It kept him further from the places his mind wanted to drift too. Eventually he noticed Zephryin staring at him in a way that expected something from him. Did she want his alcohol? He was not sharing, and she already had her own bottle that she seemed barely able to stomach.

“Why is she looking at me?” He asked Boreas, who sat upon his shoulder, watching those around them.

“I believe your new friend is hungry.” Boreas replied, having heard Zephryins stomach.

“Why is that my problem?” Bowyn whispered back to the bird.

“She looks young, perhaps she has imprinted on you. You are it’s mother now.” Boreas replied, the look in his eyes clearly showing how amusing he found the situation. Bowyn choked back a laugh.

“That’s not funny.” Bowyn said, shaking his head. Boreas’s attention turned and the bird’s gaze became fixed upon an aerial figure. Bowyn turned and watched for a few moments, though staring at the winged figure made him slightly dizzy. Once it was closer he recognized it to be Elthrael as the moth fairy landed on a nearby branch.

”Oh? Couldn’t find anyone better? He asked, though he had learned by now not to expect direct answers from Elthrael, but riddles instead. Kenia didn’t stop to chat when Elthrael showed up, so Bowyn didn’t either. He found it more than a little strange that Elthrael kept disappearing, but at this point he could hardly bring himself to really care what the moth fairy was up to. It was easier to just follow Kenia’s lead, there was less to think about, less taxing on his mind. He saw Kenia reach for a dagger and turned to see another approaching them. Bowyn rolled his eyes, but before he had a chance to offer a sarcastic and unhelpful response Kenia was inviting the stranger to travel with them. He supposed he should be more concerned that he was no longer aware enough of his surroundings that random elves were sneaking up on him, but just by looking at her he dismissed this new elf as being about as dangerous as the prey Boreas hunted. He shot Kenia an annoyed and confused look, he had thought they were on the same page about keeping the group smaller.

”Better keep up elf, we’ve already left behind those who couldn’t.” He said, continuing forward and not bothering to look back over his shoulder as he spoke.

”The elf is coming with us?” Boreas asked, studying the elf more intently than Bowyn had.

”Seems likely, based on our luck today.” Bowyn said.

”I have a good feeling about this one, be nicer.” Bores added. Bowyn rolled his eyes but Boreas had been right when the bird had been nervous about the winged demihuman at the ball so maybe the bird had better judgement than him. Bowyn turned around and gave a mock bow to the new elf.

”I’m Bowyn, it is so great to meet you.” He added with a false smile before looking back to the merlin perched on his shoulder. ”Better?” He asked the bird whose beady eyes looked unimpressed.

Avalia

Time: Afternoon
Location: Forests north of Roshmi City
Interactions: Malachi@princess, Belle@Potter, Myra@13org O’ner @Eviledd1984

Valok paid attention to the way the others responded, from the corner of his eye he caught Myra’s reaction as he mentioned Aklenroth. She was viscerally uncomfortable, which he found to be a strange reaction from a demon. The Great King had always been a friend to the demons, hadn’t he? That was what he was taught, Aklenroth supported those whom the other race’s had cast aside, those others wanted destroyed. A true hero to dark elves, orcs, and to demons, allowing them to flourish, but Myra’s reaction gave him the smallest bit of doubt to that. Myra then followed with her own answer, a list of names that she spoke with great care, as if speech was difficult. He tilted his head at the curious creature who looked wild and untamed. He’d never heard of wild creatures learning speech before and the feat seemed quite impressive.

The other man, the demihuman, offered a very simple answer, he stood against Aklenroth. Myra’s proximity and smile towards Mathias told him that the demon stood with demihuman. Although he wondered why they had such hatred for The Great King he kept his questions to himself. He didn’t need to appear more suspicious, he just had to wait, eventually he assumed their motivations would be clear and he could learn from them. The woman was apparently not expected to answer the question, but as the light elf answered his own question he figured the two shared the same sentiment. Malachi’s answer, while more complete than the other’s, did not tell him anything of use. His reasoning against Aklenroth was too personal, not one that Valok could truly understand. Casualties in war were inevitable, and change would bring more casualties. This was part of life, not a reason to rebel against order.

The light elf offered the path along the cost as a safe means of travel and Valok looked once again out at water. It was tempting, a quiet peaceful place, and he’d never seen anything quite so beautiful before. But he knew war was coming, it was coming to all places, even this one, and to look at it for too long made his eyes hurt from the brightness of it all anyhow. He did not want to be uninvolved, but he didn’t know if the kind of change Malachi spoke of would be a kind one for his people. History told him it likely would not be; what would stop light elves from thirsting for the same revenge as his people had? Valok was not interested in traveling with them through deception, he would not proclaim an allegiance he did not feel. He kept his words sincere and accepted whatever consequences that would have.

”I have nothing to gain from betraying you. I deserted the army, even if I were to return with the head of the rebel fairy herself my kindest punishment would be a quick death. And as you know my people are not known for kindness. If my goal was to kill I would’ve stayed where I was, but I want something more than to kill just because another tells me I should. I wish to learn, to see for myself if a better way exists.” Valok said in a calm and even tone.

Avalia

Time: Afternoon
Location: Forests outside Roshmi City
Interactions: Cora @Potter, Elsea @Tae, Ezeri @Alivefalling

Cade nodded and managed a half hearted smile at Elsea’s words, and he was thankful for them. He still felt uneasy but her reassurance that what he saw was an illusion calmed him enough to put it out of his mind for the time being. He headed forward, more than ready to leave the campsite and the smell of smoke and ashes behind. Just as they headed forward something barreled into him. Cade moved to swat at it but missed as the small flying imp stumbled about. The imp asked about the fire, and shortly after another appeared with the same question. He glanced around looking to make sure they were not more strangers approaching, and he saw more flames around Cora’s hands. Cade let out an exasperated sigh.

”Don’t you think you’ve done enough damage today.” Cade asked quietly, as he turned towards Cora. His eyes looking from the fire that once again danced around her hands before meeting Cora’s eyes for a brief moment. His tone came out harsher than he intended and he doubted there was anything friendly in his eyes. He felt guilty for doing so; he knew that they had all seen horrible illusions and that Cora seemed to be more deeply affected by it. But she had also unleashed destruction, allowed parts of the forest and other creatures to become collateral damage and he could not let that slide. He wished he could manage a reassuring smile, something to let her know they would be okay in time but instead he simply looked away and towards the strangers before them.

Cade kept a tight grip on his halberd, noting how the horned and red skinned woman had drawn her own sword. He walked ahead of the humans, keeping himself positioned between the devil and his companions. To Cade the creature appeared to be a demon, and demons were certainly capable of powerful magic. She had shown up just as the illusions ended and it was possible that she was the one behind them. But he didn’t know for sure, so he tried to appear non-hostile, not wanting to escalate things into a fight if it wasn’t necessary. Cora had already summoned up fire, there was no use in trying to pretend like his companions were anything other than humans. The devil’s companions, the flying imp and a strange fleshy and hissing beast, didn’t look as dangerous as their leader. Cade bowed his head to the creatures, as he greeted them.

”No need for a fight, Demoness, fire has been extinguished.” Cade said, managing a friendly smile. He elaborated no further on how the fire started, unwilling to place blame on Cora in front of strangers, that was between the three of them. ”Some sort of sorcerer lurks in this forest, we are leaving.” He added and waited to see how she responded. He occasionally stole a glance at the smaller, foul mouthed, flying creature as he still hovered about.

Avalia

Leon Sullivan, man of the future

Leon Sullivan ⋆ 21 ⋆ Male ⋆ Human

Appearance

Height:

5’11

Weight:

180lbs

Hair Color:

A bright green mohawk, though his natural hair color, dark brown, is evident at its roots.

Eye Color:

Brown

Skin Tone:

Pale

Brief Clothes Description:

His clothes from his own time period quickly stuck out in Avalia. He swapped them out for clothes bought from an elven merchant, basic black trousers, a dark green shirt, and mostly because he couldn’t bear to part with it, he kept his leather jacket with it’s lime green accents. To his own horror none of his gear or cybernetic implants worked in Avalia, even though he tried for days to repair them, it would seem the trip through the portal left them all totally fired.

Energetic ⋆ Generous ⋆ Outgoing⋆ Thrill-Seeker

Psychology

Likes:

⋆Tech
⋆New experiences
⋆Adrenaline rushes

Dislikes:

⋆Authority
⋆Boredom
⋆Being Alone

Fears:

⋆Being Disliked
⋆Isolation
⋆Physical confrontation

Sexuality:

Pansexual

Personality:

Leon is an extroverted, attention loving, adrenaline junkie. He hates silence, boredom, and most of all being alone. He will talk to basically anyone, about anything and if he has no idea what he’s talking about he will make it up and most people have a hard time figuring out when he’s lying. Which he does, compulsively, without even thinking about it, just to keep things interesting. How others see him, whether or not they like him, is incredibly important to Leon. He will do stupid things for attention. He is loud, brash, impulsive, and frequently obnoxious, but he’s also selfless to his own detriment. Leon will give up just about anything he has if it helps another out, the last of his money, food, the shirt off his back, even to a stranger. He’s not the type to leave someone behind just to save his own skin, but he's also not the first join in a fight just to have someone's back.

Leon has little patience, he prefers things that lead to instant gratification. His impulsivity means he has quick reaction times but with little forethought. Safety is not his priority, but rather will it be fun or will it help someone are his first thoughts when there’s danger, but Leon is by no means brave. He doesn't like violence, seeing it or being a part of it, and will try just about anything to avoid a confrontation. The only times he’s really felt anxious are when alone or when he feels like he’s failing at something. He’s used to picking things up quickly, shying away from pursuits he is not immediately good at, and failure is a constant worry. He hates to let people down, sets high expectations for himself and often works unintentionally towards his own detriment. He’s far more forgiving of others than he is of himself. Leon doesn’t hold grudges, and it takes a lot to anger him. He tries to keep any negative feelings buried, rather than deal with them. He is not a confrontational person, he’s not one for fighting, and violence is something he sees only as a very last resort.

While Leon’s fairly intelligent, he rarely thinks ahead before acting. Where his intelligence shines though, is with machines and technology, he can tinker around with a machine and figure out how it works with incredible skill. He will often claim machines just speak to him, and he’s at his absolute happiest when he’s playing around with new gadgets. He gets along with others easily, and with those who don’t seem to like him, he just tries even harder. There is very little he takes seriously, and he likes anyone who can tell a good joke. His energy is almost always high as long as he’s around others, but when by himself he gets lonely very quickly. Unless there’s gadgets to keep him entertained but even that only lasts for so long.

Isolating ⋆ Exciting ⋆Dangerous

Background

Occupation

Criminal/Tech Wizard/Hacker

Living Immediate Family Members:

Mostly alive but they don’t really talk

Dead Immediate Family Members:

None that he was close to

Current Companions:

TBD

Current and Past Lover(s):

Only the casual variety

Are you a loner or with a group? Have you always been in this place?:

Was quickly picked up by some rebels, helped him learn the ropes of Avalia

History:

Leon grew up the only child of two highly driven and successful parents who were rarely around. He grew up wealthy, everything he wanted was given to him but most of his childhood was spent very isolated and the loneliness was difficult for him. He acted out for attention that he never got, instead he only found his parents harsh disappointment. They didn’t want to raise a child, they wanted a perfect prodigy that would follow in their footsteps and compound on the family legacy. It was a boring path and one Leon rejected in favor of the far more exciting chance to see the world outside the gated estate he grew up in and he left home as a teenager looking for something more. From inside his home, the world was a bright and exciting place, huge leaps in technology and the wide variety of cybernetic implants made life a lot easier in a lot of ways. Outside his home he found himself drawn to the city's criminal underbelly, where regulations of technology didn’t need to be followed, and he was free to experiment on the fridges.

A childhood spent figuring out how gadgets work began to pay off, he found himself excelling at hacking machines and tinkering with illegal implants. He found the greatest minds of his time were working for crime syndicates, and he got to learn from them, experiment and tinker alongside them without having to worry about anything else, all he had to do was create. He didn’t care what his tech was used for, only that he worked on things that were new and exciting. Being considered a criminal was exciting for him, there was an element of danger to it, but he was just enough removed from the truly dangerous stuff that he rarely worried about it. It was all about the thrill as far as he was concerned, and the money and attention was enough to fend off loneliness.

He spent his off time partying, living it up like he’d always dreamed about but eventually that wasn’t enough. He wanted more excitement and found himself working with increasingly more dangerous people. The more risk, the more reward, the more it made him feel whole but still never fully satisfied. It all culminated with him fully witnessing the violence his tech could cause, seeing the way it was used to hurt people. He’d known who he was working for, creating for, the kind of people whose enemies ended up dead and whoever got in their way became collateral damage. He saw things he could’ve never prepared himself for, but in his line of work resigning was not an option. Leon tried anyway, he had a plan, he was going to run away and start over in a new city. It seemed viable at the time, he saved up, bought a ticket to a city far enough away that he could be free again. In hindsight it was stupid, of course they had eyes on his activities, his boss knew what he was up to. A couple of teched up goons caught up to him, and it was about to be the end of Leon.

By some strange twist of luck a portal opened, a rift between time and space and Leon took his last chance and hurled himself through it. He found himself somewhere else entirely, a place primitive in so many ways but with the addition of actual magic. None of his gear worked, none of his cybernetic implants functioned, he was like a normal human from the past and that was almost enough for him to wish for death. But he had magic here, he could do incredible things and that was exciting. The technology here worked in ways entirely different from his own, there was, at least, something fun and exciting here to learn and he was fully captivated by the potential that magic held. There was danger too, some evil undead skeleton creature that wanted humans dead. It felt cartoonish in comparison to what he had lived through, like a game rather than a harsh reality. Then he saw the violence of this new world, and he soon realized how far from a game it all was, how brutal the seemingly whimsical world of Avalia could be.

Special Ability: Aerokinesis ⋆ Resourceful ⋆ Non-confrontational

Combat and Magic:

Physical Strengths:

⋆Endurance
⋆Crafty
⋆Good at picking up new things, as long as they’re interesting

Physical Weaknesses:

⋆Little combat skills
⋆Neither sneaky nor stealthy
⋆Not a fan of violence

Ability on Avalia:

Aerokinesis

Avalia

Leon Sullivan, man of the future

Leon Sullivan ⋆ 21 ⋆ Male ⋆ Human

Appearance

Height:

5’11

Weight:

180lbs

Hair Color:

A bright green mohawk, though his natural hair color, dark brown, is evident at its roots.

Eye Color:

Brown

Skin Tone:

Pale

Brief Clothes Description:

His clothes from his own time period quickly stuck out in Avalia. He swapped them out for clothes bought from an elven merchant, basic black trousers, a dark green shirt, and mostly because he couldn’t bear to part with it, he kept his leather jacket with it’s lime green accents. To his own horror none of his gear or cybernetic implants worked in Avalia, even though he tried for days to repair them, it would seem the trip through the portal left them all totally fired.

Energetic ⋆ Generous ⋆ Outgoing⋆ Thrill-Seeker

Psychology

Likes:

⋆Tech
⋆New experiences
⋆Adrenaline rushes

Dislikes:

⋆Authority
⋆Boredom
⋆Being Alone

Fears:

⋆Being Disliked
⋆Isolation
⋆Physical confrontation

Sexuality:

Pansexual

Personality:

Leon is an extroverted, attention loving, adrenaline junkie. He hates silence, boredom, and most of all being alone. He will talk to basically anyone, about anything and if he has no idea what he’s talking about he will make it up and most people have a hard time figuring out when he’s lying. Which he does, compulsively, without even thinking about it, just to keep things interesting. How others see him, whether or not they like him, is incredibly important to Leon. He will do stupid things for attention. He is loud, brash, impulsive, and frequently obnoxious, but he’s also selfless to his own detriment. Leon will give up just about anything he has if it helps another out, the last of his money, food, the shirt off his back, even to a stranger. He’s not the type to leave someone behind just to save his own skin, but he's also not the first join in a fight just to have someone's back.

Leon has little patience, he prefers things that lead to instant gratification. His impulsivity means he has quick reaction times but with little forethought. Safety is not his priority, but rather will it be fun or will it help someone are his first thoughts when there’s danger, but Leon is by no means brave. He doesn't like violence, seeing it or being a part of it, and will try just about anything to avoid a confrontation. The only times he’s really felt anxious are when alone or when he feels like he’s failing at something. He’s used to picking things up quickly, shying away from pursuits he is not immediately good at, and failure is a constant worry. He hates to let people down, sets high expectations for himself and often works unintentionally towards his own detriment. He’s far more forgiving of others than he is of himself. Leon doesn’t hold grudges, and it takes a lot to anger him. He tries to keep any negative feelings buried, rather than deal with them. He is not a confrontational person, he’s not one for fighting, and violence is something he sees only as a very last resort.

While Leon’s fairly intelligent, he rarely thinks ahead before acting. Where his intelligence shines though, is with machines and technology, he can tinker around with a machine and figure out how it works with incredible skill. He will often claim machines just speak to him, and he’s at his absolute happiest when he’s playing around with new gadgets. He gets along with others easily, and with those who don’t seem to like him, he just tries even harder. There is very little he takes seriously, and he likes anyone who can tell a good joke. His energy is almost always high as long as he’s around others, but when by himself he gets lonely very quickly. Unless there’s gadgets to keep him entertained but even that only lasts for so long.

Isolating ⋆ Exciting ⋆Dangerous

Background

Occupation

Criminal/Tech Wizard/Hacker

Living Immediate Family Members:

Mostly alive but they don’t really talk

Dead Immediate Family Members:

None that he was close to

Current Companions:

TBD

Current and Past Lover(s):

Only the casual variety

Are you a loner or with a group? Have you always been in this place?:

Was quickly picked up by some rebels, helped him learn the ropes of Avalia

History:

Leon grew up the only child of two highly driven and successful parents who were rarely around. He grew up wealthy, everything he wanted was given to him but most of his childhood was spent very isolated and the loneliness was difficult for him. He acted out for attention that he never got, instead he only found his parents harsh disappointment. They didn’t want to raise a child, they wanted a perfect prodigy that would follow in their footsteps and compound on the family legacy. It was a boring path and one Leon rejected in favor of the far more exciting chance to see the world outside the gated estate he grew up in and he left home as a teenager looking for something more. From inside his home, the world was a bright and exciting place, huge leaps in technology and the wide variety of cybernetic implants made life a lot easier in a lot of ways. Outside his home he found himself drawn to the city's criminal underbelly, where regulations of technology didn’t need to be followed, and he was free to experiment on the fridges.

A childhood spent figuring out how gadgets work began to pay off, he found himself excelling at hacking machines and tinkering with illegal implants. He found the greatest minds of his time were working for crime syndicates, and he got to learn from them, experiment and tinker alongside them without having to worry about anything else, all he had to do was create. He didn’t care what his tech was used for, only that he worked on things that were new and exciting. Being considered a criminal was exciting for him, there was an element of danger to it, but he was just enough removed from the truly dangerous stuff that he rarely worried about it. It was all about the thrill as far as he was concerned, and the money and attention was enough to fend off loneliness.

He spent his off time partying, living it up like he’d always dreamed about but eventually that wasn’t enough. He wanted more excitement and found himself working with increasingly more dangerous people. The more risk, the more reward, the more it made him feel whole but still never fully satisfied. It all culminated with him fully witnessing the violence his tech could cause, seeing the way it was used to hurt people. He’d known who he was working for, creating for, the kind of people whose enemies ended up dead and whoever got in their way became collateral damage. He saw things he could’ve never prepared himself for, but in his line of work resigning was not an option. Leon tried anyway, he had a plan, he was going to run away and start over in a new city. It seemed viable at the time, he saved up, bought a ticket to a city far enough away that he could be free again. In hindsight it was stupid, of course they had eyes on his activities, his boss knew what he was up to. A couple of teched up goons caught up to him, and it was about to be the end of Leon.

By some strange twist of luck a portal opened, a rift between time and space and Leon took his last chance and hurled himself through it. He found himself somewhere else entirely, a place primitive in so many ways but with the addition of actual magic. None of his gear worked, none of his cybernetic implants functioned, he was like a normal human from the past and that was almost enough for him to wish for death. But he had magic here, he could do incredible things and that was exciting. The technology here worked in ways entirely different from his own, there was, at least, something fun and exciting here to learn and he was fully captivated by the potential that magic held. There was danger too, some evil undead skeleton creature that wanted humans dead. It felt cartoonish in comparison to what he had lived through, like a game rather than a harsh reality. Then he saw the violence of this new world, and he soon realized how far from a game it all was, how brutal the seemingly whimsical world of Avalia could be.

Special Ability: Aerokinesis ⋆ Resourceful ⋆ Non-confrontational

Combat and Magic:

Physical Strengths:

⋆Endurance
⋆Crafty
⋆Good at picking up new things, as long as they’re interesting

Physical Weaknesses:

⋆Little combat skills
⋆Neither sneaky nor stealthy
⋆Not a fan of violence

Ability on Avalia:

Aerokinesis

Avalia

Time: Afternoon
Location: Coast north of Roshmi City
Interactions: Malachi@princess, Belle@Potter, Myra@13org O’ner @Eviledd1984

Valok only nodded as the woman thanked him for the food. He supposed her comment on it being satisfying was simply an attempt to be kind as he knew no one who found the cheap protein bars to be satisfying. But food was food and they traveled well and were dirt cheap. Based on the clothing of the others, with the exception of the white furred Myra, he took them all to at least be wealthy enough to not be accustomed to peasant food. Luxuries like real meat and food made for taste were not wasted on those raised to be disposable, it was for those with coin. He wondered what they did to earn amas, the where and why of their travels. They were all mostly silent as they walked, secretive even as the male elf and woman exchanged not words but gestures and expressions to communicate something. He watched them closely, less interested in what they were up to and more taking in how they interacted. Valok had never been around light elves in any sort of amicable setting, it was new, a more interesting thing to focus on than to wonder the reason for their secrecy.

The other man, possibly some sort of demihuman creature, had become quieter, more lost in thought. Valok saw him frequently watching the demon Myra as she moved with the unencumbered freedom of something wild. These four were not one cohesive unit but two pairs traveling together, they did not explicitly interact together but the overall lack of tension was noticeable to him. None of them seemed primed for attack or ready to defend against one from the group, watching more for outside danger than from within. In his experience dark elves were never like this, at least not in the army, they would never treat something so unknown as anything but an immediate enemy. He did his best to emulate this state of calm around strangers, focusing on studying them over trying to determine weakness, even as his training told him the latter was more beneficial.

Eventually they came to an area of sand and brush where waves of the ocean crashed against the shore and the air smelled of brine. The beach here was soft and calming, even the harsh sun of midday looked welcoming when reflected back in the blue ocean, the colors blending in a way he had not seen in the north. He paused for a moment, allowing himself the opportunity to take in the view, appreciating the way the ocean looked without the distraction of voices yelling to keep moving. He was both distracted and more relaxed than he should be when the light elf asked his question. Malachi’s stern tone snapped him back to attention, his posture stiffened and his eyes focused entirely on the other elf. His immediate answer in the company of his own kind would have been to shout his allegiance to the king, a reflex drilled into him and one that would’ve naturally slipped out had the other elf not continued to speak.

But that was not a true answer, nothing he’d done since he had deserted the army had been in service or allegiance to the king. He wanted to serve the king again, desperately, but in a way that felt right and not in a way that felt only cruel. That life had been easy, there were less questions, more certainty, but it now felt like something that he had lost or given up. While he found himself curious about the goals promised by the rebel fairy he did not know enough to offer his allegiance to Risa either. The other elf offered no clue as to what answer, if any, was the correct one, and Valok doubted that the wrong answer would be free of any danger.

”I don’t know.” He stated simply, offered what was the most honest answer, though he knew it was far from a satisfactory one. Valok thought for a moment more; deception would gain him nothing and even if he could think of one, he doubted he could lie with any sort of conviction enough to convince the elf anyhow.

”I know what I was told my answer should be; that I exist only to serve The Great King Aklenroth. But that path would lead me to become something I don’t want to be, something twisted and cruel. Instead I seek a different path but I don’t know what that looks like yet. Nor do I know where my allegiances will lie should I find it.” He added, expanding on his answer honestly. He left out any mention of the rebel message he had heard in Roshmi, feeling it was a subject too dangerous to mention casually.

Avalia

Time: Morning
Location: Forests outside Roshmi City
Interactions: Cora @Potter, Elsea @Tae

”Thank you.” Cade said to Elsea relieved that she both believed him and quelled much of the destruction the fire was causing to the forest. He retrieved his halberd from the entrance of the cave before following close behind Elsea, approaching Cora with caution. Whatever the magic was that had affected all of them, was certainly more potent against Cora. Elsea got much closer to Cora than he did. Cade hung back from the fire and watched as Elsea spoke calmly to her. Cade was sure he would’ve been that calm, and while he knew he wasn’t going to attack the human, he didn’t want to say anything in anger that he would regret later. He saw no sign of whatever had cast the enchantment on them, but large amounts of smoke billowed from their location, surely alerting anyone nearby that someone was in the area.

He watched, only slightly satisfied, as Cora put out the fires she had unleashed on the forest. He noted that she paused, seemingly taking in what she had done and he hoped that the human had at the very least realized the gravity of her actions, her loss of control. Then Cade approached the two humans, he saw enough of Cora to tell that she was upset, troubled by whatever the magic had made her see, but did not address her directly or even maintain any sort of eye contact. To say anything now would only further drive a wedge within the group, she was upset, and he didn’t want to make it worse. He didn’t trust his control over his own temper enough to talk to her, he was still shaken by what he had seen that was not true and by what he had seen Cora do.

“I saw, or I thought I saw Ayita slain by something that whoever did this had conjured up. Do you think that was false as well?” Cade asked, looking at Elsea, his voice hopeful. No matter her answer he wasn’t entirely sure he would believe it all fake unless he saw Ayita again at the port town. It had all been so real, not only in sight but in sound and smell as well. All too unnerving, but he could at least hope that wasn’t the truth, at least enough that the thought wouldn’t haunt him for the entire journey. He wanted to go back and check, to see if the body was still there pinned to a tree, but there was no time for that. Their location was compromised and they had to leave now. ”We’ve wasted enough time, let’s get going.” He added looking towards the distance, and still keeping from making any direct eye contact with Cora, at least until some time had passed.

Avalia

Time: Morning
Location: Forest outside of Roshmi
Interactions: Darius@FunnyGuy, Elthrael@Dezuel, Zephyrin@Howlsofwinter, Kenia@Tae Vaeril @AliveFalling

Bowyn found Vaeril’s request to be left behind worrying. He didn’t trust the wealthy noble elf who had hosted a ball, an event so full of excess and waste while so many in Roshmi struggled and starved. An event marked by slaughter. The elf had power, he had fought with them at the inn and so Bowyn had accepted that keeping an eye on him and allowing him to be useful seemed fine, but leaving him behind, with every opportunity to betray them, that was a risk. It was believable that he was just a soft noble unable to truly hold his drink and unused to things like hard work and dangerous travels but a man like that was just as likely to betray them as someone with more devious motives. As much as he didn’t care for that amount of uncertainty he simply shrugged and left the elf behind. There was nothing he could do about that potential threat, his magic was more than likely far stronger than Bowyn’s and even if wasn’t, to attack someone on mere suspicion was not something he wanted to do.

Zephyrin meanwhile stuck with her claim that she only cared about an adventure. He knew what life was like in the winter village, and for those whose every day wasn’t a constant struggle for survival, it was comfortable and dull. Anyone who wanted an adventure badly enough to go this far south, risking abduction, traveling alone, was willing to take great risk. She had potential, but lacked the motives for joining the rebellion, and that was disappointing. Kenia, the only one in the group he had any trust in, whispered something to him and Bowyn simply nodded with agreement. As a whole this group was a disaster, and he missed the assurance he had when with his previous human friends, that feeling of being among friends, with people he could trust.

Darius had chosen to stay behind with Vaeril. He could guess as to why, perhaps they really were friends, or maybe the human wanted to stick to whoever had wealth and power to make his time in Avalia more bearable. It didn’t really matter, Darius seemed comfortable enough with his magic that he could take care of himself, and he was free to make whatever choices he wanted. Ethereal made more cryptic statements that meant little to Bowyn, and then the forest fairy took off. His statement of putting one’s faith in one’s self and not in others, that had Bowyn’s way of thinking for a long time. That motto did the job, prolonged survival sure, but more recently he had put faith in Torvi and then in Belle. Neither had let him down, they had his back, and ultimately that time had been better spent, offered more reward than just survival. Bowyn now found it better to simply carefully pick who he put his faith in, the question was, would he be willing to put some of that faith in Kenia? And what about Zephyrin, could he convince someone of the worth of cause he had only just accepted. Or more accurately reaccepted, because he had believed in it before it was so deeply personal, back when he still felt a sense of connection and community in his village.

“You don’t care about rebellion? What about the winter fae stolen and sold into slavery on the black market? The Dark Elves and their reign of torment and slaughter? The destruction of forests, the rising tides of poverty and suffering? How does all that sit with you Zephyrin? All of it caused by the lich, fueled by him. Ours is not an adventure for tourists, that smoke, likely Aklenroth’s forces burning the forests just on the chance he might kill some of us. Destruction and murder just to keep us all subjugated.” Bowyn said as he glanced up at the dark smoke that the other fairies had also noticed. ”If you’re looking for something easy, you are probably better off following the moth than with us.” He added.

”That smoke is pretty close, I think we need to pick up the pace and put as much distance between us and it.” Bowyn added, turning his attention back to Kenia. With most of the group gone it did occur to him that he and Boreas alone could cover more ground in the air than on ground. Begrudgingly, he decided he didn’t want to spend his time alone though. Maybe Kenia was worth the risk, she didn’t seem too bad for an elf, and maybe she wasn’t but the only way he’d know for sure was to stick around and find out. An even worse realization was that the large bag of alcohol he had been carrying would most certainly slow him down if he wanted to get far away from whatever was burning in the forest. With a heavy sigh Bowyn lightened the bag, dumping out the bottles and keeping only a couple of the stronger ones to carry with him and leaving the rest by a tree.

Ember Grove - Reboot

Time: Evening
Location: Alexei’s
Interaction with: Vivian@Pink Khione, Finn@Milkman, Ylva@13org, Valya@Crusader Lord

Eli gave a shrug at the mention of the food, truthfully most of it was barely passable, but most of the clientele came here to drink, not eat. He grabbed a menu listing off various burgers, wings, a few questionable specials, and of course the surprisingly good nacho’s and placed it near Valya. Overall, he found the group likeable, and despite Finn’s earlier door breaking, he seemed pretty humble about the whole vampire fight from the other night, and Eli thought he seemed like a solid guy. There was no animosity between hunter and wolf, and he didn’t see why there needed to be. So long as Finn wasn’t killing people, why shouldn’t they be able to co-exist, to be on friendly terms. Not all supernaturals were monsters, not all humans were innocent, and that was the problem with groups like Operation Humanity, they had no space for nuance, and that just wasn’t how the world worked. This was why places like Alexei’s mattered, a place where supernaturals and humans could exist peacefully, share drinks, and maybe change a few minds.

“Nacho’s are pretty good, the burgers are ok, and for your own safety and the sake of whoever draws bathroom clean up stay away from the chili.” Eli advised. The chili was made whenever meat was getting close to going bad, and in his opinion was never a wise gamble. “Unfortunately your bar staff is contractually required to make sure the alcohol here stays a flowing, so while we can’t join you we’re always around to keep your spirits up.” He added to Ylva, a slight grin at his own pun. “Welcome aboard Finn." He added before he went and grabbed the group another round of drinks before returning to the bar with Viv to work on drink orders.

”Take as long as you need, sounds like you’ve already dealt with enough mayhem tonight, I can handle the bar for a while.” Eli said as Viv mixed up a screwdriver and he started filling a couple of pitches of beer.

---

Time: Evening
Location: Boardwalk
Interaction with: Shay @Potter

Noah let out an amused chuckle at Shay’s comment, as if he cared what his parents thought of him; they were weak and now they were dead. The dog comment, that one ignited rage, to be compared to a filthy pet, the pale shadow of the predator's dogs came from, as if he was no better than a god damn werewolf. He didn’t even get the chance to respond, to unleash that rage, because the next thing he knew a foul substance hit his face, pepper spray. It burned his good eye, making it water as if he was some crying child. It leaked through his eyepatch, burning into the open wound where his other eye used to be. It continued through his nose, down his throat, burning even worse than the unnatural scents that clung to the witch. Fluids leaked from his eyes, from his nose, and Noah hacked and spit a mouthful of spit onto the ground. He barely registered the witches shrieking through the distraction of it. Then the opportunistic witch used his temporary blindness to deliver the lowest of blows; and kicked him in the groin. Noah let out a primal howl of rage and pain, and as he went to lunge towards the witch he found the spot where she had been empty.

Noah could barely see through the swelling in his eye, what he could see was blurred and distorted from tears. He clawed out his own face as if he could scrap the spray from it, but only further set the burning into his skin. He could hear people approaching him, shouting and closing in, but his sense of smell was left useless, his vision was almost as useless. He could see the blurry shapes moving towards him and grabbed the nearest one throwing the human with all his strength towards the others like it was nothing. Noah let out the growl of a cornered predator, and as another rushed towards him Noah grabbed the human and snapped its neck like a satisfying crack. The small crowd backed off some, he knew they were afraid, and he took a small step forward and growled again.

“Shit someone call the cops this freaks hyped up on PCP or something.”

Noah heard a panicked voice from the group of people, and as much as the idea of a huge slaughter appealed to him, he knew he had to get out of there. Noah couldn’t be sure there weren’t hunters close by, he couldn’t risk it after the witch had stripped him of two of his sharpest senses. Noah leapt from the side of the boardwalk, diving into the ocean and using the briny water to flush out the pepper spray from his eye and off his face. This had not gone even remotely close to his plan, the witch had made a fool of him, and he would find a way to make sure she suffered more before he brought her to Drake. Noah knew he could do better than this disaster, he would have to, he had been trained to do better. He would make sure that before he confronted the witch again, she would find freedom so unbearable that she would beg for a cage in New Paeonia. Noah knew he could do this, he knew exactly how to strip the will to be free from someone, because it had been done to him.

Ember Grove - Reboot

Time: Evening
Location: Boardwalk
Interaction with: Shay @Potter

Noah left the shop with the dead witch and annoyed cat behind, wearing a satisfied grin as he walked. His freshly stolen coat felt right, the eye patch was a fun addition as well for as long as it took for the eye to regrow. He still had the taste of fresh blood in his mouth and the slightest bit of warmth that a vampire only ever felt after feeding left him more at ease. Noah was thriving on his own, he felt he had achieved the right look, like a badass vampire from a movie. He had a plan, he knew it would work eventually. The killings, the posters, his hunting; eventually it would all come to fruition. He needed the success, he had to prove himself to Drake, show his worth as a vampire. He had decided that is what would fix him, it would fill the void inside that he felt ever since his sire abandoned him. Success, approval, becoming a perfect predator; that was what he needed to feel whole again. Once he got there maybe his sire would return, or maybe he wouldn’t even need her anymore.

Noah was more than ready to leave the boardwalk, it was an unpleasant place. Too full of people, of smells that became too muddled to distinguish, and too loud. He would’ve left, but then he spotted perfect prey, one that strayed from the herd. Vampires were perfectly designed predators, they had sense for spotting exploitable weaknesses. Loners, those who stayed away from groups of people, those with that aura of sadness and pain surrounding them. That was the prey that could be easily taken, ones few would miss, and ones that could be manipulated into walking into New Paeonia. He didn’t have a plan, just the confidence of a vampire looking to toy with what he thought of as easy prey. He approached the hooded woman who looked out at the ocean, his footsteps drowned out by the noise of the boardwalk.

As he got closer he found his nose assaulted by the foul scents of things artificial. A criminal overuse of perfume, and an underlying smell of the harsh chemicals that humans used to dye their hair, combined with more things used to mask that smell like soaps and shampoos. It was all too much, the smells combined into an odor so harsh it burned through his nostrils and down his throat to the point where he could taste it. It was ruining the taste of his last kill, turning his stomach even. A guttural growl crawled out of his throat and the smell alone was almost enough that he was going to walk away. He wasn’t really hungry anyway, just looking to manipulate or kill to fend off boredom. Then he caught another scent, one buried under all that was artificial, one that was familiar. He grinned at the randomness of it all; so much work put into finding the witch only to stumble upon her by chance.

Noah knew he could not simply grab someone in a place so crowded, and the old one he’d met at the club had refused to teach him to compel others. He knew the best chance at a successful capture would be to watch from a distance, to call in more vampires, follow her to someplace more secluded before making any move. Noah knew this but that way was no fun, it lacked flair, and he would have to share the credit. He didn’t like that plan, he had done the work, he deserved the glory. He would not remain some insignificant lackey, he was better than that. Noah was in the mood to gamble, he wanted all the credit, he needed the satisfaction of having completed a mission all on his own. Noah cracked his neck, grinned with unabashed confidence, and strode forward towards Shay.

“Here kitty, kitty, kitty.” He whispered in a voice that was low and menacing. ”I’ve been looking for you. I even put up posters. Do you know how many of your kind I’ve tortured trying to find you? None of them even knew who you were. I think I know why, you’ve got no friends in this town. No one to hide you, and you can try to run but I think we both know who's faster. Just a sad little lost pet, all alone in the big bad world. Don’t you think it’s time you came home? I’m starting to get a real taste for witches, Shay, you don’t want me to develop a habit now do you?” He spoke, savoring every moment, enjoying the opportunity to taunt, threaten, and gloat.