Tales of the Betrothed (closed)

[Insanity Renaissance]

ɴᴏᴛʜɪɴɢ I s a y comes out right
I can't love w i t h o u t a ʇɥbıɟ
No one ᴇᴠᴇʀ knows my n a m e
When I p r a y for sun, it suıɐɹ


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║████❚❚❚ ℳιγαηα ❖ Жεℓƒσяиѧї❙❙ ███x║
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⟹ ❡✯ ❴ δяαδεͼυϛ βσδγɢμαяδ ❵

I'm so ʞɔıs of w a s t i n g time
But n o t h i n g ' s moving in my ᴍɪɴᴅ
Inspiration c a n ' t be punoɟ
I get up and fall but...xxxxxxɪ'ᴍ ᴀʟɪᴠᴇ ❦

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Miyana blinked for a few moments as Chandar proceeded to ramble at her about how he was attacked and the Prince was kidnapped. To be honest, she didn't care much for the whole thing, and was mildly annoyed at his questions. However, when she opened her mouth to tell him to shut up before he lost his tongue, he told her to shut up and proceeded to run off in those that had attacked the prince. With a small, annoyed sigh, she took off after him, but not before listening to Aine. 'She seems to be doing fine, well, as fine as a sheltered faerie princess can be after having a man killed right in front of her.' Her comment about being able to locate the prince caught her attention. 'Really. That's interesting.' So the princess wasn't as useless as she had originally thought. With a small nod, she followed after Chandar, who had quickly established himself in her mind to be a hot-headed idiot. And he lacked the one trait that kept her from killed the Gradians in their sleep: silence. While they were prideful, but silent about it, he seemed intent on shouting to the entire world that he was better than everyone else. But that was not her problem. Her problem was to find Heron and Lucian. Nothing else mattered.

For a moment, she did nothing but watch Chandar fight, taking quick notice of his power. 'He might be of use to us,' She thought was a small grin. 'Besides, the Gradians have no guard. He will do. And that power of his is... interesting to say the least.' Feeling the presence of others, she turned to see Remus emerge from the shadows, calling out to her in a greeting. With a smirk, she nodded, her chain-blade whipping out to take care of a man who was approaching her and Aine, wielding a crude bludgeon. Then she to the princess, who gave her a kiss.

What?

For a moment, the world seemed to freeze around Miya. Her mind instantly blanked, as if she were a computer that just got hit by the Blue Screen of Death. Again and again, she tried to process what Aine had just done. Eyes followed the faerie as she ran out to help her guard. She did not move, except for raising her finger to her lips. 'I was... kissed?' The half-elf thought as she crouched slowly, narrowing dodging the blade of a dirty fellow who had thought to sneak up behind her. He topped over her, not even able to pick himself up before a small blade went through his throat. However, despite the fact she was killing as usual, the silver-haired girl felt strangely detached. After going over what happened over, and over, and over again. Then, not knowing what to do, a deep red blush spread across her face.

Remus was now almost next to her, and Miya turned to him, still blushing. After a few moments of silence, she asked “What just happened?” She was no stranger to people's..... sexual needs. Growing up in Dradecus, it was impossible not to run into a whore, or to get harassed, or even assaulted. Unpleasant memories swam to the surface of her consciousness, trigged by Aine's action. But those things... wasn't kissing. Kissing was for... why did people kiss each other, anyway? Didn't couples do that? People who loved each other? That certainly wasn't the reason behind Aine's kiss.. right? Dammit, she was confused.

'Forget about it,' A small voice in her head said. The rest of her laughed. 'Hello? You can't forget things, you idiot. It's actually impossible for you.' For the moment, she would ignore it. Right. Ignore it. Ignore. The scene replayed in her head, only intensify the blush on her face as she rolled out of the way of a merchant's attack. But she had to. There were more important things to address at the moment. Kunal had been taken in the confusion, much to the chagrin of everyone there. Well, everyone who actually cared. Aine seemed to care though, and she reverted to her original faerie form and took off after him. Aine. Kissing. Irritated with how confused she was, the heterochromatic followed the small faerie, her eyes darted about the different buildings for any sign of the princes.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a man sitting in a tavern that she instantly recognized. 'Heron.' Stopping in her tracks, she bolted into the building, not even taking the time to look at the people inside. “Heron! I was looking for you!” It seemed as if he was completely unaware of the situation, which made Miyana feel a bit better. It meant that at least one of them was unharmed. Without apologizing for her blood-stained manner, she grabbed his hand, dragging him out of the tavern. “We have to go! We were attacked by an angry mob. They even want you and Lucian dead.” For a moment, a polite smile graced her lips, a sign that the old Miya was still there, despite the blood and death she carried. “It is good to see you unharmed, your Highness.”

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I'm ǝʌıןɐ, oh y e a h
B e t w e e n the good & bad's where ʏᴏᴜ'ʟʟ find me
buıɥɔɐǝɹ for h e a v e n!
I will ғɪɢʜᴛ, and I'll s l e e p when I die!
I live! My life! ɪ'ᴍ ᴀʟɪᴠᴇ ~


「ʟᴏᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ✦ An Alley」 「ᴄᴏᴍᴘᴀɴʏ ✦ Aine, Charmander, Emmy, Anna, and Remus」 「ᴍᴏᴏᴅ ✦ Extremely Confused?Happy」「ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛs ✦ Heron is unharmed! FREAKING WONDERFUL. And ignore Aine.」「ᴡᴏʀᴅ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛ ✦ 869 words」 「ᴏᴏᴄ ✦ o wo woo! Miya post.」

[LoserGotLucky]

The e n d of one s t o r y. . .

The b e g i n n i n g of a n o t h e r. . .

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Rubbing at his tired eyes, ‘Emmyth’ tottered down the tavern steps and towards the bar where Liluth was pouring a foaming beer from a tap for an agitated looking patron. Sliding into the seat beside them, Emmyth groaned; the transformation hadn’t been as potent as the first time it happened. He’d been unrecognisable, so much in fact that his own brother didn’t realise it was him. This time, he’d shortened slightly and become ganglier, with long, thin limbs. His hair covered the upper-half of his face, and with a squarer and prominent jaw-line, he could only hope that he wouldn’t be recognised.

“How you feeling, Em?” Liluth commented, sliding a tall glass of tepid water at the prince, along with a spiced slice of bread. Groaning, the Dradican knocked back half the water before tearing
a chunk out of the bread.

“Been better,” he said hoarsely, his voice sounding slightly foreign to his own ears. “Still, a small amount of discomfort is a fair trade for my life, right?”

“Aye, that it is,” the old elf chuckled before turning away from the young prince to answer the call of another lost refugee with a question and a craving for the cheap alcohol she provided. Sighing, Emmyth propped his elbow on the bar and looked over the crowded room. Elves and humans alike milled about the room, their faces all looking confused and scared. He could sympathise, he really could, but remembering that a number of them more than likely wanted him dead put a stop to any feelings of charity he may have been growing. Chewing through the bread, Emmyth was about to recall Liluth and ask her what she thought his best course of action might be when a small group outside the tavern caught his eye. At first glance, he couldn’t peg why they’d stood out to him… but it became clear when one of the girls bolted into the tavern towards him. Miya…by the Shadow, it’s Miya!

“Heron! I was looking for you!” she shouted as she approached, grabbing his hand and tugging him from his seat. His mouth falling open in surprise, Emmyth allowed her to drag him away, his eyes quickly scanning the tavern. One or two heads had risen at the shout of his old name, but luckily no-one acted; his twice-changed appearance must’ve convinced the patrons that Miya had called the wrong name. “We have to go! We were attacked by an angry mob. They even want you and Lucian dead.”

“Believe me, I know,” Emmyth said, twisting through the crowd as the two caught up with Miya’s companions. He grinned at Anna and Aine, pleased to see them in one piece, before turning to look at his bodyguard once more. “The people think my family abandoned them, but mother and father wouldn’t do that, Miya! You know how our city works; we are one being, why would they try to leave? Something’s happened to them, I know it.” The half-elf girl looked at him worriedly for a moment, before smoothing the emotion from her face and smiling at him the way he remembered. ”It is good to see you unharmed, your highness.”

“Good to be unharmed, Miya,” he answered, smiling widely. “Oh, but let me re-introduce myself; I am Emmyth Ciel Igalios, at your service.” Bowing to the three women, he returned to his full height with a wink. “I had to, uh, make a few changes to keep myself safe while we were separated. I might change my name back when all this is sorted out, or I might keep it; I haven’t decided yet. Still, it makes for a pleasant twist, wouldn’t you all say?”

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[Angst Werewolf]

xxxxxx ♨ Chαndαr Hαrí
{{ The Gradian Smith Mercenary }}
"Haters will hate. It's the price one pays for being perfect."

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Location: The Dradecus Underground

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Things had gotten quite complicated while Chandar tussled with his attackers. Unfortunately, he was still unarmed and in a rather awkward position that made getting free rather difficult. One of the others in the group came to his rescue, disposing of the attacker quickly. Chandar tried not to dwell on the fact that he had just been saved by a woman (and a non-Gradian at that!), and gave her a reluctant nod of thanks. He managed to snatch up his sword from the ground and quickly disposed of the remaining thugs. One of the unlucky attackers took a kick to head followed quickly by a pommel hit. The other one, weilding a pipe was far less fortunate. Chandar snarled and ducked a swipe. "You dare to use such a crude weapon against me?" he shouted, parrying another blow with his sword. "I am insulted!" And with that, he struck down, knocking the weapon from the thug's hand and then driving the blade into the attacker's chest. The man went downm howling like a wounded animal; Chadar ignored him, instead cringing in disgust at the dirt that covered his tunic. Ugh, it would take ages to get all that out, and there was most certainly not time to do it now.

The Gradian cracked a knuckle and turned to the two girls from earlier. By this point, the party had grown a bit and he glanced from one woman to another. Normally, chandar would not object to being the lone man in a group of women, but none of them were Gradian and he was pretty sure that at least one was Laelie. Oh, how he hated those faeries. The smith took a moment to wipe the blood and grime from his sword; another man walked up, greeting the sword-girl. Wait... Did they all know each other? Chandar frowned in confusion. Why would they? They were all from different nations, yet they acted as if they'd been friends for some time. It was just as bizarre as the royal children of Gradius being in Dradecus. Something was indeed going on, but Chandar just couldn't put his finger on it.

But Chandar didn't get mch further than that; Aine transformed into her true form and the Gradian visibly recoiled. Damn it all, he'd been in the presence of one of them and not even known! Today was just getting worse and worse by the minute. If the princess hadn't said that she could track down Kunal, Chandar would have left right then and there. But if it meant rescuing the prince, he would ignore his adversion to the faeries and put up with it.... For now, anyway. The group took off and Chandar followed, bringing up the rear to keep as mch distance between himself and the faerie as possible.

Miyana suddenly swerved into a tavern; Chandar scowled. Now was not the time for a drink! They had royalty to rescue! But she quickly returned, dragging a man behind her. She was going on about mobs and somebody wanted somebody dead, but Chandar didn't really care about that. The man introduced himself and the Gradian vaguely recognized the name. Igalios was the name of the royal family in Dradecus, was it not? But what was the son doing- No. He was not going to try to figure out this mess right now. Once he found the Prince and Princess, then he'd start asking questions. "Now is not the time for talking! We must find the royals!" he exclaimed, shaking a fist. While he hated to think that he was putting his trust in faerie, he absolutely had to find Kunal and/or Bashirah.

Who's gonna save the world tonight?
We're far from home, it's for the better,
What we dream, it's all that matters,
We're on our way, united-
We're gonna save the world tonight!

[0o0gizmo0o0]

x x x x x x x x x ✗ K o r a x Z h a d d a g h

Flashback - You don't have to read this if you really don't want to.


For a little while after being knocked unconscious, Kora felt as though she were back in Shazgard. The summer sun beat down from a clear blue sky, radiating its heat for the earth to bask in like a sleepy reptile just coming out of hibernation. The princess herself was still very young, only six years old. The small girl sat by a fountain with her knees, scraped and bruised from various child’s play, pulled to her chest as sobs shook her tiny shoulders. It was at this point that the Shasta princess realized that this was a memory. One that she had nearly forgotten. Just a little while earlier, the girl had run into her older sister. A rare occurrence as the queen kept the two princesses separated from each other whenever she had the power to do so. The two of them were both too innocent and naive to think about their differing positions, one being the crown princess and born of the rightful queen, the other an illegitimate daughter born to a mistress and taken in out of little more than pity, much less love. No, on this morning they had just been a couple of children, eager for a playmate.

They shared their toys, and laughed at the palace staff as they searched for the older of the two girls who had escaped their normally vigilant watch. Eventually, the duo had found themselves in the palace garden, where they play acted all of their favorite fairytales. When they grew too tired to run around as they had before, they sat among the grass and flowers, stringing together the tiny blossoms into long chains, which eventually became makeshift crowns. Kora’s older sibling told her that she hated being watched all the time, and that the grownups never let her have any fun. She had to study and prepare for being the future queen every day, which left little room for being a child. When she told her little sister, that she had barely even known before this day, that she wanted to run away, a bright smile spread across her features. The sisters decided that they would both run away to travel the world, and start their own theater troupe, as acting was highly valued in their homeland. The two of them were still in the middle of their plans, deciding which toys they would bring, and how to sneak the cake they had both seen earlier out of the kitchen, when a tall and graceful shadow fell over the both of them.

Looking up at the queen of Shazgard, the older girl’s features brightened with a vibrant smile as she greeted her her mama. Kora however, had gone pale, her features akin to that of a rabbit trapped in a corner. The queen stared coldly down at the child, as she wrapped a protective arm around the one that was her flesh and blood. The crown princess’s expression shifted to that of confusion, as she didn’t understand what exactly was taking place between the woman she knew as her sweet and loving mother, and her new friend who appeared terrified by her mere presence. Without even speaking a word, the queen slapped the child across her upturned face, one of her elegant rings catching in the child’s delicate cheek. Wide eyed, she cupped her cheek and found herself unable to make sense of half of the things that spewed past the queen’s lips as a long string of hateful words and emotions burst out of her. As the queen raised her hand again, the young Kora ran away before the woman could strike her again. All that was left after her hasty retreat, was a crushed crown of white flowers, which lay abandoned upon the ground.

Hiding by the fountain, she was eventually discovered by her maid. When asked by the sobbing child what the queen had meant by such words as, ‘b*****d’ and ‘illegitimate’, the old woman simply wrapped the little girl in her arms and rocked her back and forth. “The queen said I was dirty,” she had said, confused, as she continued, “But you gave me that nice soap. Do I smell funny?” At the maid’s continued silence, Kora’s questions came to halt. She was silent for a long while, before she asked one last question. The girl she had met that morning was her sister. If that was true, why couldn’t she play with her? After this, the maid finally let her own tears fall freely, and only after regaining herself, did she finally decide to explain some very important truths to the young princess. To explain why she didn’t get to eat meals with the rest of the royal family, why she wasn’t allowed to attend certain events with them, and why she was never allowed to see the other little girl that was her sister. A little girl that was probably just as lonely as she was. Late that night, as many things raced through the six year old’s mind, most of which did not make sense, she had crawled out of her bedroom and back up to the garden. She was only there for a moment, to retrieve a broken crown of little white flowers.


End Flashback


As Kora’s eyes drifted open, the back of her head throbbed from where she’d been dealt a heavy blow from behind. For a few moments, her vision swam with a mass of murky colors and indiscriminate shapes. Looking up, she expected to see clear blue skies, but instead was greeted by the oppressive darkness and stalactites of the under city beneath Dradecus. It wasn’t long before she remembered where she was and her present situation. She could feel a warm trail of blood dripping down the back of her neck, and a searing pain in her left shoulder where she’d been struck with a blade in her last attempt to take down one of her attackers. Currently, she was set upon the ground against a stone wall. Still a bit woozy, she tried to figure out just where she was in the city. Last she remembered, she had been back at the inn, but she clearly wasn’t there anymore. Nearby, she saw one of the men who had attacked her. He was speaking with several others that she didn’t recognize, but they were too far away for her to decipher their words. Every now and then she managed to catch a couple of words, one of which caused her to fall into a state of alarm... ‘sand beast’. Did they intend to feed all of the royals to that thing? She wasn’t about to wait around and see.

The men hadn’t expected her to wake up so soon after her head injury, so at the moment at least, they weren’t paying as much attention to her as they should have. Shifting only a bit, so that her movement wouldn’t draw their attention, Kora brought a hand out to her side, favoring her injured shoulder, with the palm facing up. She was nervous about using her powers while being underground like this, since she wasn’t sure what it would take to cause a cave in. However, she decided that now would be a good time to put some faith in the Dradecan engineering. She closed her hand into a tight fist, feeling a strain on the muscles in her arm as the tiny sound of stone cracking in the distance reached her ears. Kora kept her fist tight, her knuckles turning white from the strain. A light amount of dust and debris came down from the ceiling, sprinkling the heads of her captors, who all simultaneously looked up at the ceiling, confused but not wary. Just a little more... she thought, as she could feel her nails digging into her palm. Suddenly, there was a great crack, as one of the many stalactites that covered the ceiling of the under city came crashing down toward the group. Most managed to dive out of the way, but one was too slow, crushed under the weight of the stone.

Before the dust cleared, Kora pulled herself up into a standing position, disturbed by the wave of dizziness that passed over her as she did so. Once around the corner, she pressed her back against the cool stone wall, using the structure to support herself as she once again tried to determine her location, or at least some sign of the other royals and their entourages. The sounds of fighting could be heard all around her, coming from multiple locations, which led her to believe that she couldn’t be too far away from the inn where she’d first been taken, where the mob had seemed to be at its apex. She couldn’t be further than two, maybe three streets away, though the rioting that had overtaken this area would make the distance that much greater. Feeling light headed, Kora moved deeper into the alleyway, and sat herself behind a large stack of wooden crates. She only hoped that none of the crazed rioters would find her. She still didn’t understand why they would want to feed the royals to the monster that had come out of the sand. Perhaps she had misunderstood? But then again, did anything that had happened over the course of the last few days make any sense?

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“I don't believe in fate or destiny.
I believe in various degrees of hatred, paranoia, and abandonment.
However much of that gets heaped upon you doesn't matter -
it's only a matter of how much you can take and what it does to you.”

[Mythican]

⊱ ❝The greater the loyalty of a group, the greater is the motivation to achieve the goals of the group.❞

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Heavy panting was all he could hear. His own ragged breathing as his brows furrowed and sweat trickled down his chiseled features. It had been over a day of Tarkan pressing forward from Shazgard to Dradecus, and truth be told the retired soldier was worn out. He was just over halfway through, a little more than right between both Kingdoms. For the past hours he was alternating between riding his horse to a pace fast enough to be more than a gallop but not quite so as to tire the beast out to death, and teleporting whenever possible to reach there as fast as he could. The teleporting did leave the horse well over disorientated and explaining the process to the stead was impossible. He did however wish it were possible for him to simply teleport from one Kingdom to another, that kind of power would surely be useful right now. Instead the man made do with skipping about ten or less kilometers every five hours.

Since he had crossed over half of the way, the Shasta guard deemed it was time for a break, and more importantly food, maybe some sleep since he would find himself useless if he reached the princesses haggard and tired he'd probably collapse and that was the last thing anyone in trouble needed. To be honest he didn't know if they were indeed at any risk, considering his lack of knowledge on their situation maybe they could be happily frolicking in some grass or gallivanting towards their doom. But the man was not one to sit on his buttocks and do nothing. He had spent a year off the army having... Let's say 'fun' and leave it at that, and it was now time to get back to work. He had been thinking about it a while really, if anything were to happen to the Shasta princesses the future of Shazgard would be one hard to construct without an heir, and being a loyal guard he saw it as his duty to make sure the pair steer clear of any messy situations.

On top of that, he considered Kora a friend of his, and felt concerned for her well-being, Honestly he worried this whole engagement wont work out for the best, and felt bad that the young royals had to get caught up with a stranger in their life, and be used as chess pieces for a political board game, he just hoped it didn't somehow make things worse. He stopped near a tree that seemed sturdy and large enough, tied the reigns of his horse to a low branch and sat down with his back to the rough bark for a rest, a pack he had wrapped to the horse nearby him with a water container in hand, he began chugging water as if he were famished, though really he always seemed famished, and always seemed hungry, he was quite the large man and thus needed a lot of food, back in his home whatever chef that served his meals would either be overjoyed or disgruntled at the amount of work they'd have to preform.

Approximately six hours later, the guard awoke with a startle as if there was an ambush, but the scenery was exactly the same as when he slept; empty with a bit of foreboding. The foreboding bit could be chalked up as the guards worry towards phantom enemies in his head, despite his cool demeanor most of the time, Tarkan was often paranoid but wouldn't admit that if his life depended on it. Getting up and stretching to wake himself up Tarkan fetched an apple from the sack he had earlier and took to eating it quickly, discarding the core and riding his horse once more to continue on his advances towards Dradicus, the rest of the road was somewhat easier now, but only because the distance was less. Suffice to say his entire trip would take less than two days time.

While Tarkan has been out of Shazgard a few times, this was indeed his first time to Dradecus, and he sorely wished it will be his last, He didn't like the place on bit, and more so the looks he got from the people. He didn't ignore the glares, but instead gave them right back, he was pumped with energy and took it as a sort of a contest to see how many individuals would shrink back at his gaze, but more importantly he made sure to see everything, take in every detail, memorize whatever he could, as far as Tarkan was concerned, he was in enemy territory. Guilty until the royals were found safe. Before he got too far into the city the guard spied a small stable of sorts and decided to leave the horse there after making sure he would be safe via coin and 'nice' words. It took quite a lot of wandering, and a good amount of eavesdropping and questioning until words of a commotion reached his ears. That was enough to perk his interest. Since he had no other lead he decided to go check out this inn he was hearing about, suffice to say he didn't like what he heard one bit.

The large man stood out quite well, making quite a contrast; it was easy to notice a tall muscular individual with intimidating armor and an angry look, and he hoped that would be in his favor to draw out the ones he sought out, as well as help him find them. He wasn't 'lost' so to speak, but just a little bit directionless as he found himself not facing an inn at the moment, but he was probably close since whoever he asked would point and say it was a few streets there or further. Attempting to rationalize Tarkan figured that it would make sense for them to be at an inn, however if there was a commotion at the said inn they might get away from it if they could, but Tarkan had no way of guessing where they would go instead, and that is if they managed to get away. He'd have to include alleys in his search then, as well as large crowds, they'd want to hide. Just as his mind followed this train of thought he heard a loud sound coming from the next street overhead, and made a mad dash to it, his eyes witnessing a large shard of rock make it's way towards a group of men. "Kora...!" he whispered under his breath with a smile, scanning quickly to see anyone that matched her profile. With no luck he mapped the street nearest to the site, and spied an alleyway. He stepped towards it and stood behind the large wooden crates, peering behind them and spotting a figure he all too well recognized. "Glad to see your causing your pursuers plenty of trouble."







------------- тнe вodygυard -------------

[Rada Han]

a t r i p i n t i m e

↘ all is lost again



A Mysterious Place





Somewhere, back at the Inn, where it all started... The Inn Keeper rose to his feet and dusted himself off. He prodded at the wet redness on his shirt and snickered. Mission accomplished. Now, the Royals and their Guards had been scattered about the city. They'd lost their way and were probably in a panic. It would be easy to pick them off, the way they were. By devouring them, the monster would surely leave, and Dradecus would be its usual self again. The sacrifices of their Princes was necessary. Keep in mind that not all of Dradecus felt this way... Just a rogue group of them, extremists, if you will. Had they fallen into the hands of anybody else, they might've had a chance at safety.

When the Innkeeper turned around, something black whipped across his vision and his whole world turned to blackness. This man was a traitor, never to wake again.

Every single person involved with the Royals would experience this overwhelming blackness, one by one. It would begin as a millisecond of a black stripe racing past, and they would be robbed of their vision. It wasn't sleep at all, but an embracing darkness. It had a warmth that was comforting and writhing, like the warm winds of the night, like the cradling of a mother's arms. It happened to all who associated themselves with the Betrothed.

[1]Kora, [2]Adora, [3]Aine, [4]Emmyth, [5]Lucian, [6]Kunal, [7]Bashirah...

Their guards, [8]Tarkan, [9]Anna, [10]Miyana, [11]Adele...

Even those who had nothing to do with their situation, but were unlucky enough to be mistaken as allies-- [12]Sonya, [13]Remus, and [14]Chandar.

All were taken, except for the two that could not be reached within the belly of the beast.
They woke up in an unfamiliar setting-- a circular room with torches lining the walls. There were no doors that could be seen, as it was... But the brothers Igalios would certainly identify this place as a part of their Palace, even if they may have never been inside of that private room.

Before the darkness fled from their sight, they heard voices, arguing with each other. Two men and one woman, voices that none of them had ever heard before, but seemed endlessly familiar. One by one, they opened their eyes, to find themselves roped to the walls by their wrists, sitting on their rear ends to await their fates.

It seemed that more often than not, the Betrothed and their allies found their lives in the hands of others.

[Rada Han]

H e l p e r s a n d G u i d e s


"These are the people we're looking for? They are children. How pathetic." A man's voice, light and airy. Comforting, despite his words.

"Seconded, brother. They are weak. Useless. What are we supposed to do with them?" A man, deeper in voice. Strong and sure. It makes one feel tense.

"They have the letter. They must be the ones. You know what we need to do, I won't explain it to you again." The voice of a woman, stern and educated. Rational. A perfect medium between the two. "They are stirring. Shut up and let me speak."

"Why are you always the one to speak? You never let me speak."

"It's your fault we're even in this mess. If I had it my way, you'd have been thrown into the flames long ago."

"You listen here! I've repented, so leave me be!"

"Didn't I tell you both to shut up?! I've gotten us out of trouble before, and I'll do it again, so help me Gods." She hissed at them, like they were small children quarreling over a toy.

When vision returned to the Betrothed and their Allies, they would finally see the three who had been assaulting their ears with noise and things that they did not understand. The man with the strong, deep voice was a warrior of sorts, muscular and standing tall. He carried a sword at his hip and his hands were gloved. The man with the soothing voice was much smaller than his brother, he also carried a sword, and always seemed to have a grin on his face. The woman between them was not a true beauty by any means, but had a look about her that made her seem older than she was. They were all perfect examples of purely-bred elves.

She spoke.

"You're all probably wondering why you're here. Let me get some things out of the way quickly. We aren't going to harm you. Somehow, a group of conspirators think that feeding you to the beast will make it go away. This is not true." The woman spoke as almost as a drill sergeant would. There wasn't any womanly warmth about her. "Similar problems have appeared in every kingdom, so don't be in any rush to go back home. You can't, anyway, unless you solve the problem here. We have reason to believe that everyone who has been swallowed by the beast is still alive beneath the sands."

"Don't ask me why, but you're the only people who can destroy this thing. What a joke, putting the most pathetic lot up for the job. Had this happened to the generation before you, this whole thing would've been solved already." The thinner man received quite a fierce look from his sister for his outburst, but she ultimately softened up.

"I agree," She sighed. "But we must make do with what we have. I see potential, as minute as it is."

"If you help us, we'll help you." Said the warrior. He reached into a sack at his back and pulled out a book. It was an old grimoire, encrusted in amethyst, and glowed a faint violet. It wasn't very large, but obviously one part of many.

"Any questions?" Asked the woman, gingerly. Her face looked as if it had never seen a smile in her life.

[0o0gizmo0o0]

x x x x x x x x x ✗ K o r a x Z h a d d a g h

Kora sat as still as possible behind the large stack of wooden crates, careful to make as little noise as possible. The back of her head still throbbed, though the bleeding had slowed. At first she had been worried that she had a concussion, but now she thought that she might have lucked out. Head injuries always had a tendency to bleed a great deal, regardless of severity, so sometimes it was difficult to judge when one was alone. Brining her right hand to the back of her head, she hissed slightly through her teeth at the sharp stinging. Her back to the crates, Kora leaned the side of her head against the cool stone wall beside her, and let her eyes fall shut. She could still hear the sounds of violence erupting in the nearby areas, which caused her to wonder just how many people had chosen to turn against the royals. It certainly wasn’t the entire city. If it were, she doubted that any of them would have even had the chance to get away, even as narrowly as she herself had. No, it had to be a smaller group, driven out of paranoia and desperation. A sad smirk played on her features, as she thought of how these two emotions had effected many, including herself.

She pushed away some rather distracting memories, when she suddenly heard a set of heavy footsteps near the entrance to the alleyway. Her eyes flashed open as she bit the inside of her cheek. Kora listened intently, holding her breath in case the individual heard her. While she had no real way of knowing if this person was truly an enemy, after what she had been through so far this night, she wasn’t about to take any chances. Waiting for the footsteps to turn around and search another area, her heart began to hammer against her ribcage as they instead drew closer. In her current condition, she wasn’t sure if she could fight, but she would have to try at least. If there was one thing the Shasta princess was sure of, it was that if she had been able to stand against the queen, she wasn’t about to fall before some crazed extremist with some delusions about the gods. Her hand pressed its palm against the cool stone of the wall, between her thumb and pointer finger, a stone spike began to extend from the wall, forming a makeshift spear. Kora held the weapon aloft, and pointed it at where the newcomer would appear around the corner of the crates.

A string of emotions played very evidently upon her features. First was shock, then confusion, followed by an all encompassing relief that only comes when one believes themselves truly saved. The person who had turned around the corner of the crates was none other than Tarkan, one of the royal guards from back in Shazgard, and a trusted friend. "Glad to see you’re causing your pursuers plenty of trouble,” he said as he looked down at her. A small smirk pulled at the corners of her lips, as she lowered her stone spear and replied, “What can I say? I’m a lot harder to kill than I look. Just ask the queen.” She laughed a tiny bit. She was joking of course, while the queen had never once made an attempt on her life, neither she had gone out of her way to protect it. While the woman had done her a grievous hurt in the past, she doubted that these days, with the arranged marriages, she planned anything more than to pray that whoever married Kora would keep her in his kingdom and far away from Shazgard and its queen. This way the girl would no longer be there to serve as a constant reminder to her husband’s infidelity. The royal couple in Shazgard were meant to share power and rule together as a unit, so such scandals had the possibility of the people losing faith in their monarchy.

Her smile slipping slightly, and looking away from Tarkan for a moment, she asked, “Adora.... have you seen her?” She was silent for a moment, before strange sensation suddenly came over her. A black stripe whipped across her vision, robbing her of her sight. At first she was highly alarmed, crying out even, as the blackness washed over her. However, as strange as it seemed, the darkness became a source of warmth and comfort. For a moment it felt as though she were a small child again, being rocked in the arms of the maid by the fountain. Even the pain of her injuries subsided a bit. When her vision returned to her at last, she wasn’t sure if it she felt relieved, or if she had been pulled from the darkness’ comfort far too soon. It was strange that she, a princess of a land that lay beneath a white hot sun, would find this darkness so comforting. Before the darkness had abandoned her however, she could have sworn that it had been invaded by unfamiliar voices. Two of them were distinctly male, while another was female. While she was sure that she did not know who the voices belonged to, she couldn’t deny that there was something strangely.... familiar about them.

“Ugh... this is the second time I’ve been knocked unconscious today...” she groaned just under her breath, as she pushed back a tiny wave of dizziness. Looking around, she found herself in an unfamiliar room. To her surprise, all of the royals, their entourages, and the people they had picked up along the way had been gathered there. There was even a new face that she did not recognize amongst the group. She spotted her sister on the other side of the room, directly across from her, which she supposed answered her earlier curiosities as to the other princess’ safety. Unless this was all a dream of course. On her left was Tarkan, and on her right was Lucian. She was alarmed, and angered, to discover that all of them, including herself, were bound to the circular walls of the room. Kora despised any situation where she wasn’t granted at least some measure of control. Even worse, she couldn’t stand not knowing the whole truth of what was going on. As she listened to the conversation taking place between the three strangers in the center of the room, she wondered what in the world they could be talking about.

At first she was slightly annoyed by how they spoke about all of them as if they were not there, but she held her tongue, as it seemed they intended to address them directly after all. She listened carefully to what they told all of them, her heart skipping a beat when the cold elf woman stated that problems had appeared in every kingdom.... that included Shazgard. Biting down on the inside of her cheek, letting go only when presented with the possibility that those swallowed by the sand beast may yet live. But how was that possible? She reminded herself that magic was involved in this, old forgotten magic... there was no real way of knowing what those old forces were capable of. She didn’t understand why the royals were the only ones capable of solving these problems, but as she thought about it, she guessed that perhaps it was because as royals, by birth alone they had a duty to do everything in their power to protect their respective nations. One of the males, who appeared to be a warrior, pulled an ancient and beautiful book from his satchel. The item instantly drew her attention, as she had the feeling that it was an item of great importance, far beyond her current level of understanding.

The woman asked if they had any questions. Oh, did Kora have questions. “For starters,” she stated in as diplomatic a tone as she could manage, “it’s a strange way to ask people for their help... tying them up like this.” She gestured slightly to the bonds that held her, and all of the others to the wall. “And what is the ‘sand beast’... if you know? Was it made from magic of some kind?” she asked, as she thought about what they had said about those being swallowed by it being still alive, she added, “Is it really a creature? Or is it some kind of .... elaborate prison?” She paused for a moment, wondering if she was asking too many questions, or even if they would know all of the answers. Kora took a deep breath before finally saying, “You said that there were disasters taking place in every nation.... what is causing all of this?” She thought of Shazgard, the beautiful cliff city in the plateau, and couldn’t imagine it possibly ever coming to harm. Or she didn’t want to... she wasn’t sure which. “Is the world coming to an end?”

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

“I don't believe in fate or destiny.
I believe in various degrees of hatred, paranoia, and abandonment.
However much of that gets heaped upon you doesn't matter -
it's only a matter of how much you can take and what it does to you.”

[PhantasmicRose]

For the blind merchant, it was difficult to tell when the strange dark spell ended and her usual darkness returned. She felt the warmth, the comfort of it leave her body like evaporating water and in its absence came voices with the power of waves rushing in with the tide. There was the scent of torches and too many people in the room, their different soaps melding in with dust and the ever-present dinginess of Dradecus. Sonya grimaced, moving to lift her hands to her ears to block out the confusing jumble only to find them stuck fast behind her. A small gasp of disbelief escaped her parted lips and the elf tried again, testing her binds, but the unyielding grain of the rope held her wrists firmly. Sonya's angered cries were only quelled by the explanation coming from who must have been her captors, thought her silence didn't last long.

"Yeah, I've got a question for you," The elf hissed, leaning forward as far as she could like she'd burst free of her bindings and tear them all apart like a wild animal. She completely ignored anyone else speaking. "Who the [********] do you think you are tying us up like this?!"

Sonya wrenched at her arms, determined to be free and making quite the scene. Whatever kind-hearted, delicate little thing she pretended to be earlier was long gone, probably as lost as all her possessions. The merchant's fingers wiggled around the back of her skirts, trying to find the knife that had been concealed there only for her to remember the failed attempt at Remus' assassination. He had her knife and the other was likely sitting at her bedside, never to be seen again. Sonya let out another string of wildly inappropriate and colorful curses, kicking out in her tantrum. Her booted foot caught the man to her right as she twisted, catching him rather hard. She didn't seem to notice, or more likely she just didn't care.


"Why don't you let me go, precious? Then we'll talk about whose pathetic." The elf's eyes flicked around the room in search of her captors, but the torchlight was too low for her to catch any silhouettes. There were two men and one woman, obviously elves from their accents. That was the extent of her knowledge. Well, that, and she knew they must all be insane if they thought her or any of her companions were going to fight some "beast".

"You're a right bunch of morons if you think we're going to fight this beast just because some bastards who captured and tied us up said we're the only ones who can. Let us go, then maybe I won't spit in your face as I leave."

[Mythican]

⊱ ❝The greater the loyalty of a group, the greater is the motivation to achieve the goals of the group.❞

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Tarkan felt overjoyed that Kora seemed good and well for the most part, he worried as to the reason of her worn out expression and obvious paranoia, but at least she had all her limbs and fingers as far as he could tell, and yes he did as a matter of fact check to make sure her organs seemed where they should be too: inside her skin. He had felt bad about not leaving with her and Adora from the beginning in all honesty, and had something happened to either of them the man might not have been able to forgive himself and feel like a failure till God knows how long. However, his relief was short lived as he only managed a grimaced shake of his head to reply a negative answer to Kora's question about her sister. This was bad, it meant that Adora might be in impending doom as they spoke.

It seemed the days events had just started for Tarkan while for the rest this was yet another annoying venture they would much rather do without, or another set of peril they'd be happier avoiding. Sadly life never gave you what you wanted. He felt himself slip into something.. sinisterly sweet, something so comforting it makes you forget about you whatever thoughts plaguing your mind. At first Tarkan wanted to resist, deeming it as witchcraft or some form of evil magic as his elbows rested on the large wooden crates in vain. Obviously that wasn't about to happen, and he joined the rest of the guards and royals in their sleepless slumber into darkness.

As began to stir awake yet another set of darkness greeted him, but this one had dim lights coming from somewhere and contained the characteristic coldness of reality. A part of him wished the darkness back, but it never so much as returned as if it never came. Tarkan briefly wondered if that's how death felt when you wished it to happen. He felt his hands unnaturally held up as his vision returned, and without thought he pulled with all force in sheer surprise. Luckily for whoever did this to him he didn't attempt it again, instead began gazing at his surroundings. When his eyes adjusted to the light he noticed Adora across the room from him. She was alive! Kora was on his side, and as it seemed the rest of the royals were here. Mind you Tarkan didn't know how they all looked, but he only guessed they were all there having no previous knowledge of the groups activities.

The voices he hadn't paid much heed to stole half his attention, his other half invested in studying the plan out of the place. Circular and no doors.. Or windows as it seems or a visible hatch or a gaping maw of an opening up ahead. Great they seemed to be trapt. How in the Gods names did they get here then? Witchcraft! These elves might deal in foul magic...
Once they finished explaining Kora seemed to take on a diplomatic role and ask some questions, while a woman he never met took on a far more aggressive stance. He wondered what other positions the others would take.

It didn't take long for Tarkan to decide he was close to despising these captors of there's, and why did he have to save Dradecus before his own country? Tarkan understood the importance of unified peace but he was not about to favor some elves over his own blood and people. Not a chance. Though he could tell they were desperate, why else would they have chained them up and captured them? Desperate measures call for desperate actions. Instead of commenting Tarkan decided to judge the three individuals first, as his gaze took to dissecting every edge and piece of them. It would be an uncomfortable stare, but that's just all it might be to them. He admitted whatever this trio was they seemed seasoned and experienced.







------------- тнe вodygυard -------------

[Insanity Renaissance]

ɴᴏᴛʜɪɴɢ I s a y comes out right
I can't love w i t h o u t a ʇɥbıɟ
No one ᴇᴠᴇʀ knows my n a m e
When I p r a y for sun, it suıɐɹ


╔════════════════════════════╗
║████❚❚❚ ℳιγαηα ❖ Жεℓƒσяиѧї❙❙ ███x║
╚════════════════════════════╝

⟹ ❡✯ ❴ δяαδεͼυϛ βσδγɢμαяδ ❵

I'm so ʞɔıs of w a s t i n g time
But n o t h i n g ' s moving in my ᴍɪɴᴅ
Inspiration c a n ' t be punoɟ
I get up and fall but...xxxxxxɪ'ᴍ ᴀʟɪᴠᴇ ❦

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Miyana rolled her eyes at Chandar as he complained, but only Emmyth could see. To be honest, she was extremely happy to see him unharmed. It was a load off her shoulders. 'Emmyth... huh?' The new name seemed to suit him for reasons unknown. 'Emily. Instant nickname.' A whisper of a chuckle escaped the girl's lips, a rare sound for her to make. "You're having an identity crisis, Emmyth." She was just about to continue following the faerie when a black stripe raced across her vision, and darkness embraced her. It was completely different than being knocked unconcious, as it held a warmth like a warm wind at night. At first, Miya's reaction was to struggle, but she knew that would get her nowhere. 'Might as well go with the flow,' She thought with a small sigh.

As her eyes attempted to recover their sight, the half-elf assassin heard voices. There were three, two men, and one woman. By their accents, she could tell that they were pure-breed elves. They argued amongst themselves as Miyana got her vision back, and looked at them with mismatched red eyes. It was then the half-elf noticed the fact that she was sitting, her wrists bound with Anne and Adele by her side. The entire group was there, including those that spoken with them: Sonya, Remus, and Chandar. The woman was the first to acknowledge the group, speaking about dangers in all the cities and saving the ones swallowed by the beast. 'Hah! I was right! They are alive!' The thinner man then spoke about how pathetic the whole group was, and the assassin was inclined to agree with him. She could hold her own in a fight, but she was an eighteen-year-old assassin. Not some bloody hero. Before she could open her mouth to speak, however, Kora and Sonya took care of it for her. The Shazguard guard was awake as well, but said nothing.

Miyana was more annoyed at her companions than she was at her captors. 'I'm surrounded by bloody idiots,' She thought with a groan, wishing her hands were free so she could facepalm. She had had enough. Turning towards Sonya, the small half-elf spoke, her tone cold and sharp. "Sonya, quit your bitching. They're not going to let us go if you keep foaming at the mouth like a rabid dog." Her attention was then put onto Kora. "Kora, remember what the letter said. The world is in fact ending." Then, finally, red eyes rested on the three who held them captive.

"I'm going to keep this short," Miyana said, her tone and attitude making her seem like a different person. "Because I really don't like contributing to conversations: 1. It's a bad idea to tie these people up. They all have really short tempers. 2. I do in fact know that we are in the palace, but I do not know who you all are, and would like to know the names of those asking for our help. And 3. Given the situation, I can assume that the absence of the king and queen is because the ol' beastie below decided to nab them too, correct?" Despite being bound, the assassin seemed completely at ease, as if she was hold a mild conversation with an old friend.


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I'm ǝʌıןɐ, oh y e a h
B e t w e e n the good & bad's where ʏᴏᴜ'ʟʟ find me
buıɥɔɐǝɹ for h e a v e n!
I will ғɪɢʜᴛ, and I'll s l e e p when I die!
I live! My life! ɪ'ᴍ ᴀʟɪᴠᴇ ~


「ʟᴏᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ✦ An unknown room in the palace」 「ᴄᴏᴍᴘᴀɴʏ ✦ Scooby and the Gang」 「ᴍᴏᴏᴅ ✦ Annoyed as hell」「ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛs ✦ I wish I could kill one of them.」「ᴡᴏʀᴅ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛ ✦ 563 words」 「ᴏᴏᴄ ✦ I apologize for how long it took to get this post out.」

[Angst Werewolf]

xxxxxx ♨ Chαndαr Hαrí
{{ The Gradian Smith Mercenary }}
"Haters will hate. It's the price one pays for being perfect."

►xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx◄

Location: IDK. Ask the elves.

►xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx◄

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Chandar was sure this was shaping up to be the worst day of his life. One moment, he was standing in the streets, a finger-snap away from blowing his lid, and the next, everything was warm and dark. The smith had no idea how much time had passed from the blackout to when his vision started to return. For a moment, he didn't even really process anything, such as the chains, the room, the elves, or the fact that he was sitting right next to Kunal, the man he'd been oh-so-desperately trying to rescue earlier. It wasn't until the woman next to him kicked him right in the shin did he fully wake up.

Chandar let out a howl of both pain and rage and retaliated, returning the kick. "How dare you!" he screamed, ignoring the others in the room. The Gradian pulled his legs in closer, out of range of the crazy woman. If she mananged to get another hit on him, she'd probably end up breaking his leg, and he really had enough problems at the moment. Chandar muttered a curse and turned his head away, nose stuck in the air. If he hadn't been chained to the wall, he would have walked right out of the room. Or maybe stabbed her with his sword, had he been able to reach it.

There was another voice from across the circular room, but Chandar ignored it. His attacker was still being very vocal about the situation, and it was giving him a headache. "Ugh, elves," he muttered. Out of curiosity, he glanced over at the person on his right. They were being awfully quiet, and part of him wondered if they were even alive. Of course, he wouldn't have really cared, since it seemed that pretty much every person in the room wasn't Gradian, and therefore unimportant.

He blinked once. Twice. Three times.

"My prince!" he screeched. Kunal was still unconcious (at least it looked that way; hopefully he wasn't dead), and Chandar strained against his bindings. This was terrible! If the prince was indeed dead, Chandar would be first in line to throw himself into the lava pit the next morning. It was probably fortunate for those surrounding Chandar that he couldn't see Bashirah from where he was sitting- otherwise, he would have been screaming at her, too. For a moment, he considered nudging Kunal with his foot to see if he could rouse the prince, but the thought of touching a member of the royal family without permission was enough to make him shiver. There were simply some things you just didn't do.

The smith turned his gaze to the center of the room, finally noting the three elves standing there. They didn't seem to be the least bit concerned with the situation or the fact that the crazy woman was still spouting off about them being held captive. The young swordgirl he'd run into earlier snapped at her to shut her mouth and proceeded to ask some questions of her own. But they all seemed to be missing one very important question... "Where are we?!" Chandar finally blurted, unable to fathom how the others had failed to try to find out that very vital piece of information.

[Rada Han]

H e l p e r s a n d G u i d e s


"Remind me why we're helping these people again," Said the warrior, after a few of them were finished blurting out their every thought and feeling. His brows were knit together in a sort of scowl towards them, particularly at Sonya, even though she may not have seen it. "Your cattiness will destroy you," He said, as if predicting that it actually would happen.

The thinner elf had a wide grin on his face and let out a loud, high-pitched giggle. "She's certainly no princess, that's for sure! I like her. We should keep her."

Then, the woman spoke like the true scholar she was. The whole time she'd been standing there, her expression never changed. Being such a tall woman-- at least six feet tall-- she looked formidable. Her gaze fell on Chandar, the brave, but ultimately irrational Gradian. "We'll start with the easy answers. You're located within the Dradecan Royal Palace. This is a secret room that has only ever been used for very, very secret discussions, including the one that brought you all together."

Then, her eyes flickered toward Miyana. "We've bound these people because we know they have short tempers. You would not have listened to us otherwise. Yes, there is evidence that your King and Queen have been swallowed by the beast as well. We are sure of it. As for our names... You don't nee--"

"Lun," Said the smiling elf and pointed a thumb at himself, then to his brother and his sister. "Sol, and Stella." ...and received yet another look from the woman, this time something more of an eye roll than a glare. Ignoring him completely, Stella then turned to look at Kora, the littlest Princess, and was able to speak more gently... Or at least less harshly.

"You ask the most difficult questions. The Dradecan monster is certainly a beast conjured by magic. There isn't another like it in all the world. It is alive, but has no tissues, no organs. It's sort of like a reanimated corpse."

"Fur, leather, and bones. Like its made from all the dead of the desert."

"...Yes. Unfortunately, we do not know how to kill it--"

"I would like to see what hides beneath its mask, though."

"...Likewise, brother."

With a sigh, she continued. "We do not know why these things are happening all over Yardis. It troubles me that you think that we may know these things. That is a question you would be better off asking the Gods themselves. Whatever happens, I do not feel that the world will end... Only humanity."

"...Which is why you need to kill this thing and any other things that are wreaking havoc in Yardis! Dammit, Stella, you're so grim!"

"I'm being completely realistic."

There was the sound of someone clearing their throat somewhere in the back. Sol had been quiet almost the whole time, but found the opportunity to speak between Stella's nihilism and Lun's nonsense.

"You're probably going to ask us why we couldn't just do it. Trust me, I've tried. The damn thing won't show itself to us. Guess its not interested in small fish like us. You need weapons? I've got 'em. Form a plan and I'll get you what you need."

[Luna Leska]

﹙ Ａυʀɛℓɩɑ ❀Ｐʏʀʀσƨ ﹞

xxxx↪ ＊↘↘ тнε яσγαℓ мαɪ∂ σƒ ɢяα∂ɪυs

xxxxxx﹛ ｃａｇｅｄ ｉｎ ａｍｂｅｒ ｓｈｅ ｓｉｎｇｓ ｅｔｅｒｎａｌｌｙ。﹜ xx↪x❀
ｃａｇｅｄ ｉｎ ａｍｂｅｒ ｓｈｅ ｓｉｎｇｓ ｅｔｅｒｎａｌｌｙ↘ｌocation: The belly of the beast.
ｃａｇｅｄ ｉｎ ａｍｂｅｒ ｓｈｅ ｓｉｎｇｓ ｅｔｅｒｎａｌｌｙ↘ｃompany: Prince Jean & The other victims of the beast.
ｃａｇｅｄ ｉｎ ａｍｂｅｒ ｓｈｅ ｓｉｎｇｓ ｅｔｅｒｎａｌｌｙ↘ｍ ood: Undefined
ｃａｇｅｄ ｉｎ ａｍｂｅｒ ｓｈｅ ｓｉｎｇｓ ｅｔｅｒｎａｌｌｙ↘ｉnjuries: none
ｃａｇｅｄ ｉｎ ａｍｂｅｒ ｓｈｅ ｓｉｎｇｓ ｅｔｅｒｎａｌｌｙ↘ｏoc:
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The maid made sure to examine every corner of the sandy pit along with each face, curious as to wither Kunal and Bashirah were among them. Gladly she was relieved to see her lord and lady were nowhere present among the dirty and sandy faces of the other victims. But despite her relieved state for her sovereigns absence, it did not make her any less concerned about their safety. Aurelia could only confirm Adele's feelings when Jean had been consumed by the monstrous beast and understood now exactly how the guard was feeling.

But in such a situation even Aurelia could not keep her mind on only Kunal and Bashirah, she now had to concentrate on Jean and for once herself. The burning and sting in her side quickly brought Aurelia to the realization that the wound she had only just tended too thanks to Bashirah had torn open. It was painful. Even if she had wanted to hide the expression of agony she couldn't. Aurelia had grasped the prince's robe tightly before gasping as the woman from before had placed her hands upon her wound.

It took her back slightly, but the pain slowly disappeared along with any traces of the horrid gash in her side. Aurelia's grip turned lose from the royals robe as she let out a held in breath. This was the one downside to her gifts...she could heal others but could not do the same for herself. So when the woman tended her wound, the maid could not have been anymore thankful.

But due to her state of mind as the drug was slowly wearing off, it was had to express her thanks to the other. Taking a moment to catch her breath and her composure, Aurelia made means to listen to Jean's explanation of their surroundings, hoping that by his explanation she could locate a route of escape the others could not. All her hopes however, in escaping came crashing down with another man, Ashcroft statement. The maid turned her attention to the speaking man, not sure exactly how to take his words. They were in a cage? But why? Who would keep them here?

So many questions flourished her thoughts as she tried desperately to grasp the seriousness of the situation Jean and herself were in. It was her responsibility now to assure the prince was safe...that is what she thought. Yes, she might have been a servant to the Gradius kingdom, but as far as she was concerned all of the royals were her responsibility. Jean needed her...just as much as she needed him.

Aurelia quickly turned her attention back to the woman when she was questioned about what had happened. The young woman had to concentrate hard, she felt tired...knowing she was just overwhelmed with all that had happened. Looking at the older lady and Jean, Aurelia began to explain.

"We were taken to the underground city right after we thought you were consumed by that- by this monster. We were escorted to an Inn and given clothes, food and rooms to rest. I was taken from the group. Separated from his highness and her ladyship by the Inn Keepers' Wife. After cleaning up and tending to my wound she gave me some kind of herbal drink. I couldn't move and I was losing consciousness. Before everything became dark, she called me princess. I=I think she mistaken me for one of the royal princesses. I could hear voices, I felt myself being wrapped up and could open my eyes enough to see the monster. But then everything becomes hazy...that is when I woke up here."

Aurelia looked down sorrowful that her information might not have provided much help. But she quickly looked back at the older man who spoke earlier and the woman at her side.

"I am for sure now that the royal children are in danger. Someone...or something is after them. I don't know why...but I am positive that no matter where we go...we will be faced with danger. Whom ever is after them...they want them and anyone who serves them...dead."

Her face displayed seriousness. Sitting up straight she glanced at them as if awaiting their thoughts on her words. But she turned and gazed at Jean, who questioned her about Adele.

"The last I saw of Miss Adele was during her fight with Lord Kunal. She left shortly afterwards. I'm sure she came searching for you, your highness."

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[Mythican]

⊱ ❝The greater the loyalty of a group, the greater is the motivation to achieve the goals of the group.❞

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"So, allow me to get this straight... You have brought us here to tell us about the impending doom of Yardis, in hopes that we may slay something you yourself have admitted to not finding on the off chance we can see it and you cannot, meantime you have no information that can help us on how to defeat it and say that whoever it swallows does not die." Tarkan voiced aloud in a gruff, displeased and restrained voice. He wasn't angry, but he wasn't able to make sense of any of this... There was new findings here and there but only brief mentions the guard couldn't warp his mind around. As each new face awoke from the odd slumber they were placed in, they each presented valid questions or brought to light information he did not know of before hand.

A young woman with glasses spoke with a calm not of her age and seemed to be one of the few sane people in the room. But what is it she said about a letter? His eyes stayed glued to the floor in deep thought even as he spoke, almost as if he was recollecting what he understood more than confirming or conversing with anyone int he room. With a sigh he snapped out of the far off gaze and looked at the three siblings with his shoulders somewhat slumped. "I think we'd all prefer if you stop finishing each others sentences, It's a bit.. cumbersome."
He knew his weapons were still attached to his person last he left them, but they were useless to him for the time being, though he would feel much better gripping his double bladed battle axe than being chained up to the wall, it was just something the guard was used to.

His eyes seemed to adjust better to the darkness as he started to gaze the faces of those around him, some of them he could tell which Kingdom's they belonged to and others he could not. Looking to his side the guard noted a man he hadn't paid heed to earlier, but he could not tell if he had woken up yet out of the disorientating experience.







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