YourSecretWeapon

Odox - Generation 99

While the naga caught up with them, Kjolmar looked at him differently than before. He had actually helped them escape rather than only saving his own ass. Perhaps there was some honor in the downworlders after all, he thought to himself.
Meanwhile the bitten human woke up and started to struggle. A normal reaction when you find yourself floating to an unknown location. "Miss, please stay calm. We are not here to hurt you."

While he tried to explain the situation, his mind was going everywhere at once. What would be a safe place for her right now? Definitely not the underworld but even in the upworld she would face threats once her transformation finishes. They had to keep her far away from the council. Ever since John Adams was elected, downworlders were heavily frowned upon when entering their domain. If only he could reach the former leader of Odox, Feandra Riverwing. She would know what to do. Kjolmar flipped out some sort of communication device out of his pocket. It looked a lot like a phone but the shape was more round. "Minister Feandra." he spoke to the device and it zoomed silently. Quickly afterwards a female voice replied with an elvish accent. "Kjolmar? I haven't heard from you in ages. How are you?" He quickled came to the point of the case. "We can chat later. I have a code grey. Do you know where I can go?" A few seconds of silence followed before Feandra replied. "Try Blind Hill. There are both humans and orcs living there in harmony to prove a point to the council. Neither of them are hostile towards other races so you should be able to stay there for a while. Tell the orc activist Xul'Tchau that I sent you."

Kjolmar looked at the naga and nodded in confirmation, knowing he must have overheard the conversation. "Blind Hill is just a little to the south from here." His gaze then turned to the human/vampire and realized how confusing all of this must be for her. "Miss, my name is Kjolmar Delacroix and I'm a lawyer. Please trust me for now. If you promise to stay calm and follow us to Blind Hill, I will terminate my levitation spell so you can walk there on your own free will and on our way there I will explain everything. What do you say?"
His head turned to the naga, wondering how to explain to a human (or at least she thought she was still human probably) that a naga was here and he wasn't a threat to her. "And this is... I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name?"

~~~~

Meanwhile at a bar near Spark (Spark is mostly the council's domain)

"It is simply ridiculous!" Phil Smith shouted while nearly knocking over his pint of beer. "John Adams claims he is on our side, the side of all humans, but the only thing he does is enjoy his power as president. What is taking his 'Dark Orc Law' so long then? Or should we face reality, that Feandra Riverwing is still calling the shots?" The other human men sitting with Phil agreed with his ranting. One of them even spitted on the floor in frustration and mumbled "You would make a much better president!" Phil let out a little sigh. "I'm afraid the other races will never see the truth like we do, they think orcs nowadays don't harm anyone. We know better than that! No, my friends, forget about presidency, we need to take matter in our own hands and force those orcs to leave - with or without that law!"

At that very same time in Alphastream (a populous city equal in size to Spark)

"Ekko Egg darg!" an Orc said with a certain growl in his tone. "If we strike the humans at their very core, they will realize what a powerful race they are dealing with here!" This orc was dressed in heavy armor, similar to that of his ancestors. He clearly did not want to 'blend in'.
One of the other orcs, wearing human clothes and looking far less threatening, seemed to hesitate in agreeing with their leader. "With all due respect, Zuxzut, will an attack not only make them fear us more and make things worse?"
Zuxzut grabbed the smaller orc by the throat and grinded his teeth. "They already fear us, fool! Let's give them a reason. Do you wish to be like that idiot Xul'Tchau and his followers who humiliate themselves? No, my comrades, Xul'Tchau may be a decendant of the last Dark Orc by blood but he has betrayed our kind and for that, he will suffer the consequences. If he wants to live side by side with the humans, he will die by their side too! We, the New Dark Clan, shall honor our ancestors of the original Dark Clan and take control over Odox!"
He let go of the smaller orc, which tried to vanish out of the room without being seen, clearly afraid. Zuxzut whispered to a third orc: "That tiny one is going to rattle us out to Xul'Tchau, I could see the fear in his eyes. Follow him and slit his throat." Merely seconds later, the order had been executed.

~~~~

List of characters so far

* Played by roleplayers

Kjolmar Delacroix (YourSecretWeapon): Elvish Lawyer
Ithnesi Rarrisa (jetipster): Naga Ambassador
Dagny Finnur (PaperGroove): Going from Human to Vampire

* Humans

John Adams: President of Odox with controversial ideas
Phil Smith: Aggressive radical who believes John Adams is too soft on the Orcs

* Elves

Feandra Riverwing: Ex-President, still has a passive position on the council

* Orcs

Xul'Tchau: Pacifist and activist, openly critising John Adams
Zuxzut: Aggressive radical who wants to control Odox with his New Dark Clan

* Naga

no NPC's so far

* Werewolves

Shadow: Unofficial leader of the Werewolves with respect for other races
Kain: Egocentric individualist

* Vampires

No NPC's so far

~~~~

List of mentioned locations so far

* Upworld

Spark: the council's domain and its surrounding areas
Alphastream: the second biggest domain, usually avoided by humans
Blind Hill: a small town somewhere in between the two big domains, where humans and orcs live in harmony

* Downworld

Tunnels of Pleasure (usually refered to as simply 'Tunnels'): mostly werewolf territory but open to naga and vampires too, located underground near Alphastream
--> This is where we were in the beginning of the story

Odox - Generation 99

While the naga was eager to leave in a rush, the sight of a fainting human startled both of them. Not always a very big fan of the humans, Kjolmar wasn't sure what to make out of this scene. However, his inner instincts made him bend over her to see if she was okay. Even humans were Odoxians after all. He might not always agree with them but he shouldn't ignore someone who is clearly in some sort of trouble. "Miss?" he asked while gently poking her cheek with the back of his fingers. He looked at the naga as if looking for answers on what was going on. While he turned the girl's head to check her pulse, he noticed a bite mark. Two fangs. Sharp ones, not thick like a werewolf's. It could only mean one thing: bitten by a vampire.

Kjolmar knew this would change the girl's entire world. She would go from the 'upworld' to the 'downworld', filled with vampires, werewolves and naga. Races that all had one thing in common: they were generally distrusted by the humans. They didn't suffer as much as the orcs though. While the humans despised everything about the orcs, they usually tolerated the downworld races. Mostly thanks to the openness of the elves. Kjolmar always thought the humans despise the orcs the most because they live in the upworld like them and it's more confronting to them than races who are not in immediate sight.

The difference among the downworld races were complex.

In general the naga don't have too many problems with the humans as they most likely see them as 'just another race', not necessarily better or worse than any other. They don't have much contact with them anyway so there is little room for confrontation. When they do make contact, they keep it brief. They aren't very high on the human's agenda because of the lack of encounters.

The werewolves don't dislike the humans in particular either but they can blend it rather well because of their human shapeshift form. When they have to change back to their wolf form because of a full moon, for example, they wisely choose to go to the underworld.

Vampires on the other hand are very distrusted by some of the humans, probably because they can't fit in as well as the wolves and they don't avoid contact like the naga. However, the recent politics have largely changes the dynamics between these races. Vampires have been attacked by orcs in the past and this makes them more interested in the "Dark Orc Law" that John Adams is trying to push through. While a small group of vamps tries to see beyond their troubled past with the orcs, most of them are very cautious when it comes to orcs. Something the humans happily take advantage of. Despite distrusting the vampires as well, humans like John Adams have started to speech how he feels like the humans and the vampires should work together to face 'the orc problem'.

As a group of who-knows-who approached in the distance, Kjolmar levitated the fainted girl from the ground. "We need to take her out of here. She's the most vulnerable right now and about to change. In this phase she's not safe in the upworld nor the downworld. Could you please help me get her out of sight?" Kjolmar asked the naga. He needed some backup. When he noticed some sort of doubt in the stranger's eyes, he gave the naga his most sincere and begging look. "Haven't we all been in a vulnerable position once, grateful that we weren't left behind?" It were words you wouldn't expect from an elf, who generally hadn't seen darkness in their lives, but they sounded very sincere. Kjolmar was no average elf, that was obvious now.

Pokemon in the real world

While Umbreon snuggled up close to Connor, the latter closed his deep blue eyes and enjoyed the breeze going through his semi-long blonde hair. He tried to forget about work and just focus on the peace and quiet.

Connor hadn't heard the guy approaching. Judging from the look on it's face, Umbreon had noticed him earlier. There was a Vulpix at his side that looked a lot whiter than the Vulpix Connor had encountered before. When the guy called Umbreon cute, Connor grinned while looking at Umbreon. He was pretty sure Umbreon wouldn't like to be seen as cute. Connor offered a handshake to the guy. "Hi. Thanks. That Vulpix is pretty awesome too." He gave Umbreon the let-it-go look and smiled. Connor wondered if the guy came over just to make conversion or if there was a higher purpose to making contact. "It is an ice type, right? I've seen a fire Vulpix before but not this one."

Behind them in the lake, Gyarados had splashed water all over Lapras by making a rough turn right before it. "Hey Gyarados, watch out for other pokemon, okay?" Connor shouted. With a little bit of embarrasment, he looked back at the guy with the Vulpix. "He can be a bit much." he explained about the Gyarados. Immediatly he realized that the Lapras might be this guy's pokemon too, as no one else was around. "Is it yours by any chance?" With a little stressed look on his face he quickly peered back at Gyarados but the latter had calmed down by now and was calmly making circles in the lake.

Pokemon in the real world

Connor tried to keep a clear face while the man in front of him had used pretty much any excuse in the book. Connor looked straighed at him and asked "Mr. Hill, why do think you feel the need to justify your actions against me? I'm not here to judge you, I'm here to help you figure out a solution. I'm a therapist, not a judge."
The man sighed loudly. "You make it sound like I am the problem. Maybe I cheat on my wife because she's never in the mood."
Connor write something down on his notebook while replying "I didn't say you WERE the problem, I meant that you HAVE a pr-"
But Mr Hill wouldn't have any of it. "In fact, I am paying you to see things from my point of view. What a lousy therapist are you?!"
Connor had enough. "Look, Mr Hill, you came here to get my advise and I'm willing to do everything I can to help you. But I will not have that tone used against me in my own office."
Hill rolled his eyes and left the office while mumbling he'd find another therapist.

Connor sighed deeply, took the last sip of his coffee and turned on the radio. There was a broadcast about Team Rocket's latest crime and Connor quickly turned the radio back off again. Today had been exhausting enough without dealing with more bad news. As he walked towards the giant window of his office, he noticed his Noivern hanging upside down right outside the window. Connor opened it and Noivern's eyes opened. "Hey there, you wanna come back into your pokeball to rest a bit? Noivern nodded and Connor reached for one of the three pokeballs on his belt. He pressed the center button and Noivern got retreated. One can assume the two other pokeballs also contained pokemon owned by Connor. He stared at them, looked at his desk and then back to the pokeballs. Connor could remember his life before pokemon were discovered in the real world, back when they only existed in games and anime. At first it had felt so unreal that they actually existed but by now he had gotten somewhat used to it. He grabbed his office phone and dialed #01. "Please cancel the rest of today's appointments. Thank you."

Before he walked out, he changed into something more comfortable. Heading to the nearby lake, he wondered how he had ever gotten so tired of his job. Maybe that was why Ho-oh had brought him back? To give him a second chance in life, to not just go through the motions this time? Whatever the reason was, Connor was grateful that Ho-oh showed up during what could have been his final moments in life. Ever since, Connor looked at things differently. It was like his sole purpose was to find a higher meaning in life. Perhaps pokemon could show him the way.

At the lake he first released his Umbreon. It stretched and yawned, but looked happy to be out. Connor patted it on the head. "Let's spend some time outside." He then approached the lake and pressed the button of his third and last pokeball, unleashing a Gyarados in the lake. It looked absolutely fierce and yet somehow you could tell it was totally obedient to Connor. The minute Gyarados was out, a second Gyarados approached it with a certain hostile approach. At the edge of the lake, a well-built guy with a tan walked up to Connor. "Well, look who it is. Can your Gyarados mega-evolve yet? Or is it still weak?"
Connor frowned at the guy. "Gyarados is not weak, Julien. He doesn't need to mega-evolve in order to be strong. You have no idea how hard he has worked to be where he is today." Julien chuckled. "I remember the time when you had no clue how to train your Eevee, Noibat and Magikarp. I'm surprised they have even evolved." Connor gazed at Julien. "And yet they did."

While Julien walked off, Connor made a fist. He couldn't stand that guy. Umbreon came rubbing his head against Connor's leg in order to distract him from his frustrations. "You're right." he said to Umbreon. "I shouldn't let him get to me like that." They both sat down in the grass while Gyarados enjoyed his swim. Connor didn't let Noivern out for now because he knew it was resting. Connor looked towards the sky and wondered if he'd ever see Ho-oh again.

Odox - Generation 99

Kjolmar felt himself being in the same trance that usually affected him while getting his Werewolf venom. As he looked around, his gaze turned to Ithnesi. Because of the venom, however, Kjolmar's eyesight was a bit blurry and he wasn't exactly sure who or what he saw. Was that a Naga fleeing the scene? The Werewolves and the Naga weren't exactly mainstream civilians but as far as Kjolmar figures, they wouldn't steal from each other.

"That's enough for now." Shadow said and ended the ritual. One of the other Werewolves chuckled and let his hairy hand glide over Kjolmar's cheek. "Why don't you let me have a turn next?" Kjolmar wasn't sure what to make out of the not very subtle suggestions but Shadow gently pushed the other Werewolf away. "Too much will endanger him. Back off, Kain." Kjolmar noticed how Kain seemed to be very less trustworthy than Shadow and tool a step backwards. "I should get back." He shook Shadow's hand and a small blue glow could be seen for a split second. Payment was Elvish magic. Kjolmar wasn't sure what Shadow used it for but he decided to not ask questions.

On his way out of the tunnels, Kjolmar's physical appearance changed. Instead of the hooded black robes, a sapphire outfit with Elvish design poppers up around him. Right before going above ground he found himself eye to eye with a Naga again. Was it the same one? "Don't I know you from somewhere?" he asked, immediately regretting his question as he realized he shouldnt be there, soecially with his main outfit on - easy recognized.

Odox - Generation 99

There are a lot of changes happening in the council that rules over the magical Odox. For decades it was led by Feandra Riverwing and her Elves but recently the Human called John Adams was elected as new president of Odox. As many Odoxians supported this change, John Adams replaced many Elvish council spots by Humans. Feandra remained on the council along with two other Elves but everyone knew that they would no longer have a big impact on it.

One of the most controverse debates in the council is wether or not they should remove the civil rights of the Orcs. The Humans have never trusted the Orcs and because of a few bad apples, public opinion turned against them. The Elves try their best to avoid this change as they feel that most of the Orcs are not savage anymore like they used to be. They also warn for a possible civil war of an entire race is taken their rights away.

Xul'Tchau, an Orc activist, wants to see the Humans taken out of the council before they can do any real harm but feels disappointed by the lack of rebellion of the Elves (who prefer dialogue over rebellion).

John Adams is working on a so-called "Dark Orc Law" which allows the exhile of Orcs that decend from the Dark Orcs. This is no coincidence, as Xul'Tchau is the great-grandson of a Dark Orc.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kjolmar was making his way to the deepest parts of the tunnels. Everywhere the eyes of Werewolves glared at him. "What is an Elf doing down here?" they whispered. Despite being political neutral, the Werewolves were causious of the Elves. As Kjolmar went deeper underground, he came to a gigant area filled with Werewolves partying, dancing, drinking, having sexual interactions and even fighting. It was no place you would expect to see an Elf like Kjolmar.

A badass-looking Werewolf approached Kjolmar the second he saw him. "I knew you would be back. Came to escape the Human bullshit, did you?". Kjolmar looked him straight in the eyes. "You know why I'm here, Shadow."

Shadow grinned. "Shall we get on with it then?" After a nod from Kjolmar, Shadow placed his teeth in Kjolmar's arm.

Kjolmar had recently discovered that Werewolf venom, spread through their fangs, had a strange addictive effect on Elvish blood. It didn't turn them into fellow wolves but it sure wasn't healthy either. Like no addiction ever is. Kjolmar moaned as he felt the venom go through his veins. And just like last time, when it is over, he would go back to the Elves and pretend like he had never been there. As a lawyer, he would defend Orc cases by day and at night he came to the tunnels. Shadow was his main supplier.

Sun & Moon

On their way to the pokecenter, Kjolmar decided to keep the conversation going. "So, Makoto. I told you something rather personal about myself. Is there anything you would like to share?"

Eevee looked up in curiosity while they walked. It had a rather calm personality outside battle bit then again, it had been through a lot innthe past.

Sun & Moon

-removed- (sorry, will reply later)

Sun & Moon

Kjolmar looked at Eevee and a worried facial expression appeared. "Well, I have two pokemon who have always been with me: Eevee right here and Noibat. Noibat prefers to stay in her pokeball. They are both very special to me, but..." He sighed and looked to the floor in shame. "But I haven't always been a good trainer to them. In fact, I was very selfish. But all of that is going to change now, we are given a fresh start and this time I'm not going to put myself first." Eevee rubbed his head against Kjolmar's leg in agreement.

Sun & Moon

Together, Kjolmar and Makoto were able to defeat the totem pokemon. "Thank you for your help. Those guys were huge." While Kjolmar retreated Noibat to its pokeball, Eevee just lay down on the grass for a minute in order to regain some energy.

Meanwhile the island kahuna walked up to the boys. "That was impressive, to say the least. Would you two please come to the festival we are holding tonight in honor of our island guardian? I'll make you both a z-ring and give it to you there."

"Island guardian, huh?" Kjolmar asked out loud. He looked at Eevee and they both nodded at each other. "We're in!"

He offered Makoto his hand. "You should come too. I'm Kjolmar, by the way."