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In Avalia 4 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay


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


“My apologies, I intended no insult. I have never met nor heard of devil’s before but if you're an enemy of the demon that was just here then it is nice to meet you Ezeri. I am Cadence of a Thunderstorm.” Cade said, relaxing some as the self proclaimed devil returned her sword to its sheath. Cade was still wary of her offer to join them, while the apparent demon they had just encountered was clearly no friend, Sakura was both a demon and a friend to him. He didn’t want to lead another to the port town if there was a chance Ezeri would try and harm Sakura. But much like the demon they had encountered at the ball, the demon in this forest was not something he knew how to fight, and if this devil had experience fighting demons she would be of great use.

“Excellent suggestion, let’s keep moving.” Cade said in response to Cora’s suggestion. He struggled to shake off some of his coldness towards her, relieved to hear her become more reasonable once again. What he couldn’t shake however was the words the false Shadow had spoken, even knowing it had come from a demonic enemy. Their purpose is only to destroy. He had seen the destruction, the lack of self control to wield power responsibly. Even in good people such destructive power, gone unchecked, would have devastating consequences. He remained unusually quiet, though he kept a close eye on Ezeri, unsure of what the motives of this strange creature and her unusual companions were. The sooner they got to the port town the better, he needed the help of someone like the elves, to better teach these humans control over their magic.
In Avalia 4 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay


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


Valok found Malachi to be perplexing, this was far from what he expected from a light elf, especially one so against Aklenroth. If this was some sort of trick then Malachi was an excellent liar, but nothing about his tone or demeanor seemed deceptive. He thought about what Malachi said, and it was hard to even imagine a world in which the dark and light elves could live peacefully alongside each other, and alongside fairies and demihumans as well. His people clung to pain just as tightly as they clung to hatred, it was part of them, it gave them strength. But dominion over darkness had been a gift to the dark elves from the goddess Halastra, one given in compassion to ease suffering, and they now used it to inflict pain. Dark elves had lost their way, and perhaps The Great King had as well. Valok found it difficult to imagine Aklenroth as something fallible, someone who could allow himself to be as lost as Valok had found his own people to be, but the King had ruled for a long time. Maybe to have a better world they needed someone to rule who was not burdened by the pain of the past, and willing to forgive present wrongs. If that was something Risa’s rebellion stood for that was something he was willing to try and fight for.

“If a better future is truly the goal of this rebellion, it will have my allegiance. Many of my kind are too far lost, but for those who aren’t they need a better way. You are not what I expected of light elves, and if this is what you, and the fairy Risa, fight for, I’m willing to fight alongside you. Maybe we can show our people a better way.” Valok said as he firmly shook the hand offered by Malachi. He had not expected this, to find himself willing to follow a light elf, to find him amicable, to accept a rebellion against The Great King. Rather than the doubt and dread he was expecting to find on this journey he felt something warmer. A feeling vastly different than the fires of hatred when one faced an enemy. For the briefest moment he didn’t feel the cold and consuming hollowness, as he thought about a better world, the possibility of it, the warm feeling lingered. Was this what hope felt like? Like the stories of dark elves from long ago, first inspired to fight for Aklenroth on the promise that they would thrive even in exile. The hope of something better, and the feeling it provided seemed like something worth following, enough to try.

”I am called Valok.” He added after Malachi had introduced himself. The light elf directed them to walk closer to the trees and further from the open skies and the brightness of the afternoon sun. Valok was grateful to be closer to the shade, his vision was better here and it was comforting to be near the shadows cast by the trees. They didn’t walk long before Belladonna prevented the group from traveling further, stopping to ask a string of questions. Valok had not noticed any signal from Malachi for this to happen and he wondered if it was common for light elves to allow their subordinates to act in this manner. He kept quiet, not having been addressed with any further questions and not wanting to speak out of turn. Her suspicions seemed focused on Myra and Mathias who were looking for the demon’s companions. He waited to hear there answers, wondering if the three Myra had named were demon’s as well.
In Avalia 4 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay


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.
In Avalia 4 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay


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.
In Avalia 4 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay


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.
In Avalia 4 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay
In Avalia 4 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay
In Avalia 4 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay


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.
In Avalia 4 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay


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.
In Avalia 4 yrs ago Forum: Casual Roleplay


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.
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