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 Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2010 8:06 am
The woman sighed as she looked over the vast lands before her. She had never been much of a traveler before, but now it seemed that she never stayed in the same place for very long. Not that wanderlust had stuck her, but because she was always afraid she would miss to chance to meet someone who could tell her what had happened to her. It had been almost a year now... since that dreadful day when her family died and the only home she'd ever known was burnt to the ground. Even to this day she wasn't sure why she had lived. Why she had been given the cruse she carried just under her skin. But none of that mattered here. Where one barely saw another living being unless visiting a farm or a village of some sort.
The last village she had entered into was strange. It was smaller then most, and instead of being ruled by the great Kingdom of Providences, they were still lived in the old ways. And the Medicine Woman whom ruled them, for some strange reason, had taken a great liking to the girl from the moment she had laid eyes on her. The old woman lit up as if she had seen an old friend, and called her by a different name. Blazer, the old woman had called her. She had tried to convince the medicine woman that her name was Aubree Pridio, but she would not listen. She had also given her gifts. The dress she wore, and the staff, of which held the craving of a phoenix, which was now strapped to her back. When Aubree had asked why the woman had given her such beautiful things, the woman replied with the cryptic message of, "They have always been yours." Yet the young woman was sure she had never seen them before.
Yet the dress fit like it was made for her, and the staff felt right in her hands, so she took them with her when she left. And the woman had told her one more thing. To go to the east, to the Eight God Empire and to the Temple of Fire which could be found there. There, the woman had said, she would find her answers. But she had no idea where it was. Or how she would get there.
Temple of Fire... She had heard that there were still those who followed the old legends of the Gods, but she had never met any of them before. Or if she had, she didn't remember any of them. Her parents had been firm believers of the Kingdom, and so had she. Until the fire. Now she wasn't sure of what she believed. All she knew was what the old woman had told her. And it was her words that she followed now...
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Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2010 9:38 am
Two years ago Aiyana had started her journey (more like wandering) from home on the far coast of the Kingdom of Providences, and she had never traveled far from her village besides going out to sea to fish with her former guardian. Today was the first day that she had passed the border between the Kingdom and the Empire. Often her journey was quiet and lonely, but for the past month she had joined up with three merchants who were returning home in the Eight Gods Empire, from a trip where they were selling expensive wears from their home country.
They had met in passing, when one of the merchants had come across her bathing in the moonlight. Instead of the response she expected of fear, it was one of awe and amazement. They had treated her like a goddess on sight, and the merchant had begged for forgiveness on interrupting such a beautiful creature. Aiyana had never thought too much about her other form one way or the other and modesty was not something she had when it came to her body (in either form), she said she forgave him with a smile. But, then the merchant and his two friends begged her to come with them to the Empire, telling her about the prophecy and that they knew that she belonged there.
Not having anything better to do, and the fact that traveling in a group was far safer than alone, she agreed to come along. Now, the four were taking a midday break by a small creek on the side of the road, eating the catch that Aiyana had gotten for them. "My lady," laughed one of the merchants, "isn't it great to be in the Empire?"
"I suppose," she said, calmly eating her cooked fish. "Anyways, how long have I told you to call me by my given name? My lady is for royals and princesses, not Changeling fishermen."
"But isn't the fact that you are a Changeling means that you could be a princess or royal or anything else for that matter," pointed out another of the merchants. Aiyana rolled her blue eyes, pushing stray blonde hairs from her eyes. "Besides," continued the merchant, "have you thought any more about the prophecy?"
"What about it?" Aiyana replied. "It has nothing to do with me."
"You have that other form, and you can change into water, you can walk on water, and you can control water, and create illusions!" Declared the first merchant. "How can it not have something to do with you?"
"Even if you don't believe it," replied the second merchant, "if you went to the Temple of Water you would be revered as a goddess. You would never have anything to worry about. Everything you could ever want would be given to you!"
Aiyana raised a brow, "Can you keep your voices down? Someone is going to hear you." Thinking she said as her left hand dipped into the spring and water danced around her hand like flower petals until a spinning rose was formed. "What I want cannot be provided by mere mortals."
"Good thing you aren't a mere mortal then!" Exclaimed the first merchant.
The water rose broke apart and soaked the merchant, she said with a cold smile, "Shut-up. I already told you once, did I not? Next time I shall not be so kind."
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Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2010 9:59 am
The Eight Gods empire stood spread out before the drifting eyes of Lurid Vendetta, whose journey was about to come to the end. He looked to the skies and tried to ignore the burning light... it was by far too hot today.
To the passerby he could be mistaken for a vampire, with pale skin and a dark expression. His name certainly fit.
He stood outside the gates, not wanting to take the last few steps inside. He didn't wants his travel to end.
((...I personally like Lurid's name... literally, it means "dark revenge". But you probably knew that. Sorry this post is so short.))
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Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2010 11:47 pm
Aubree sighed softly as she came to the bottom of the hill she had just finished climbing a few hours before. She had wished that the old woman had let her keep her own clothes, since the hem of the dress, which she had been wearing for nearly a week now and was still somehow mostly clean, was torn and covered with mud and grass, and twigs from the forest on the other side of the hill.
And before her stood a forest as well. All over the place there were woods in large sizes of which she had never seen before. She had no idea where she was, or how far she was from anything, or anyone. The only thing she was sure of was the hot sun beating down of her skin.
She loved feeling the warmth of the sun, but today it seemed to be different. As if it was coaxing her second form to appear and her body to burst into flames. Maybe walking in the wood for the moment was not the best of ideas... but then again, it might be cooler under the shade, in which she wouldn't become a walking fireball. Either way, she needed to keep moving. She frowned somewhat as she looked around her.
She pulled the small bag from off her shoulder and reached down inside. "Hey little fellow..." The woman smiled as she pulled out the small raccoon like animal. "How are you taking the heat?"
It opened its eyes half way before letting out a yawn and stretching. Lifting his head and looking around, he ran up Aubree's arm and nestled himself at the nape of her neck.
"Better then I am I guess." She said with a laugh as she starting walking once more. "So which way will it be? The wood, or around the wood?" She looked to him and sighed. "Fine, through the wood we shall go."
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Posted: Sun Mar 21, 2010 5:41 am
The merchant nodded, "Sorry my Lady- I mean Aiyana. I spoke out of term. I will be sure to be quieter next time. I mean no harm for you. You know I would do anything to help protect you. Hell all of us would." He lowered his voice, "You are after all most likely the Water Walker."
Aiyana was already ignoring the merchant by this point, and her eyes were gazing at the winding path. She thought she had heard a laugh in the distance, that of a woman. It wasn't too useful to try looking at the path they had previously covered, since now the path had been blocked by trees. She laid down the last of her fish and stood up. "Did you hear something?"
The men shrugged unsure. "Give me a second. I shall go investigate," she told them. Closing her eyes she stepped into the water turning into water, before spiraling up above the tree much like a water spurt. About a mile from them was a lone woman in a beautiful dress. Smiling she let herself fall back into the creek as water, before reassembling herself on the banks of the river, in her normal form.
"You complain about us talking too loudly about the prophecy, but you are constantly using your abilities like that, don't you think you're giving us mixed signals about discretion?" Asked one of the merchants.
"There is someone about a mile back," Aiyana replied calmly, ignoring the merchant's comment. "It is a quite beautiful lone woman in a dress. She seems harmless enough. Though, she is a bandit magnet."
"So are you," laughed the first merchant, "especially when you are traveling alone."
"Yes, but I can take care of myself," she replied. "Any lone traveler should be able to take care of themselves, or they'll end up dead soon enough." Pensively, she thought as a ball of water formed in her hand and began to form a miniature figure of Aubree, "She looks really rich, though. I give her a week before she is dead. Alright, let's go."
"But... but," said one of the merchants, "shouldn't we help her?"
"Why?" Aiyana asked. She saw the three pleading eyes of the merchants and sighed, "Fine we will wait here till she gets here. I need to sharpen my knives anyways. Sometimes I think that the real reason why you begged me to come here is you men missed female company."
The first merchant jumped up and went to hug Aiyana, but instead found himself stumbling through a water body and landing on the ground. From the ground he laughed, "Aiyana, you are so sweet!"
"I doubt it," Aiyana replied, coldly returning to a rock on the creek bank, pulling out a long string of throwing daggers and a sharpening stone. Addressing the first merchant she said tossing him a second whet stone, "Jaque, make yourself useful. Help sharpen some of my knives after you get done with your broad sword. I've noticed that has been getting a bit dull, lately."
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Posted: Sun Mar 21, 2010 8:49 am
Aubree paused for a moment. Then suddenly sneezed. She sniffed and then blinked rapidly before she shook her head and continued on. "That was odd." She looked to the small red-furred animal on her shoulder. "You know, I should give you a name...." She moved around a fallen tree in the pathway. "hmmmm... How about. Cinead? It means born of Fire, and the woman said you were a little Fire Fox, although I think you look more like a Raccoon." She tapped Cinead's nose before she turned forwards and walked.
After a short silence, she paused once more when she saw someone standing just ahead in the path. "Oh no, people...." She sighed as she looked behind her for a moment, wondering if she should turn back. Inside the forest was hot and humid and Aubree's skin felt as if it was going to lit at any second. She needed to calm down and think clearly right now. She needed to control herself. She took a deep breath and moved closer to the group.
She could see four body's, although she couldn't tell anything about them just yet. "Um.. Excuse me. May I ask you a question?" She called out ahead of her.
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Posted: Sun Mar 21, 2010 12:27 pm
Jaque turned hearing the girl call out and glanced back to Aiyana. It was best to let her deal with it, after all, a woman would be far less intimidating than a man, though, he knew as well as the other merchants traveling that Aiyana was most likely more dangerous than the others, though she didn't often bother with offensive attacks. From what he could tell in the distance, the woman was quite beautiful.
The other merchants smiled, this new girl was a looker too, of course they knew that already thanks to Aiyana's illusion work. It was good that they stayed they decided it was good they had requested Aiyana to let them linger for the presence of the woman, she was in danger wondering in such a fine dress on a lone road like this.
Aiyana sighed, standing and muttered, "Shouting like that is going to get her killed all the sooner." Smiling she stepped away from the banks of the river and called back, "No we won't rape, rob, or kill you, if you wondering that. You can come closer, we are mostly harmless. What is it that you want?"
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Posted: Sun Mar 21, 2010 4:36 pm
Aubree paused a short while away from them and seemed unsure about they way the woman responded. "Actually..." She said softly as she came up closer to them. "I was wondering if I am heading the right to the Eight Gods Empire? Do you know how much further it is? I've been traveling for a while, but this is one of the first main roads I've come along, and well, quite frankly, I seem to be lost." She smiled somewhat as she looked over the group and found the woman almost hostile in her approach. The mention of rape was not something she was used to from her home. She watched the with a sort of guard up, unsure what one of them would say next.
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Posted: Sun Mar 21, 2010 4:57 pm
Jaque sighed, perhaps it was not best to let Aiyana speak for them. What did that woman think? Was that supposed to be funny? "My la..." began Jaque pausing at Aiyana's glare, "um... Aiyana, that isn't funny. You shouldn't say things like that."
"What?" Aiyana replied batting her eyes, "As a woman, especially one traveling the main roads, you must be concerned about such thing. Are you aware of how many propositions I have had in the past two years?"
"Hmm..." Jaque said, "I'm sure the poor bastards didn't stand a chance." Sighing he bowed to Aubree, "Please excuse my rather forward, um friend. She has poor upbringing. You're in luck, miss, we are about two miles into the Eight Gods Empire already. Mudslinger territory. We are headed back home, and then I will be escorting my ill tempered friend to the Temple of Water."
"You are?" Aiyana said. "That is news to me."
"You'll love it," he countered, smiling as he hugged her. "Even if you don't stay long it is worth seeing for you." If looks could kill, Jaque would have been in grave danger as Aiyana glared at him, while he had his arm around her.
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Posted: Sun Mar 21, 2010 6:03 pm
Aubree smiled at that men, and mentally thanked him for taking over for the other woman. But at the mention of a poor up bringing, she once again paused. "you think-?" She laughed softly. "Oh no. This dress doesn't belong to me. Well. I mean, it does. but, it was given to me. As a gift from a... a friend I guess you could say." She blushed softly before she turned back to the woman.
"And no, I hadn't thought of that. I prefer to look at things brightly, one might say." She shrugged somewhat. "Besides, I'm not completely defenseless. And I can protect myself if need be." She smiled somewhat as she nuzzled her face into Cin's. "Mudslinger Territory? Hmmm. So that must be... for a Earth God.... Right?" She frowned as she second guessed herself and began to chew on her cheek from the inside.
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Posted: Sun Mar 21, 2010 6:41 pm
"Regardless of what we think may be your upbringing, it is near impossible to have a 'poorer' upbringing than I," laughed Aiyana. "I'm the Changeling fisherman. I was found in a boat and raised by a Bachelor fisherman, who come to think of it, if he wasn't murdered I may have some day married."
One of the other merchants spoke up, "You seem confident of your abilities to protect yourself, madam so I'll assume you know what you are doing, but you seem awfully innocent and quite lady like to be traveling around alone."
Aiyana narrowed her eyes at him, "What is that supposed to mean? That I'm not lady like because I've spent months traveling on my own?"
"My lady, he does have a point. You do lack the decorum one expects of a proper lady," Jaque sighed, releasing Aiyana and returning his attention to Aubree. "You're right, the Mudslinger is an Earth God. He, we believe in this land to be a guardian of life, nature, earth, crops and a man with the ability to control the earth and cause earthquakes at will... I don't know the accuracy of this necessarily, but that is what they claim at the Temple of Earth where my sister is a priestess. So what are you heading into the Eight Gods Empire for? You don't sound like a native to the area."
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Posted: Sun Mar 21, 2010 7:08 pm
"I was told I could find the answers that I need at the Temple of Fire." She blushed softly. "I'm sorry, but I can't say more then that." She laughed softly. "And no, I'm not a native. I come from a small village... but... I can't go back anymore, so...." She shrugged somewhat.
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Posted: Sun Mar 21, 2010 7:35 pm
Aiyana rolled her eyes and tossed her blonde hair over her shoulder, "Sounds suspicious to me. We have no use helping a person like her. Let's leave her."
"Everyone has their secrets they want to keep, my lady," said the third merchant, "I am sure you of all people would understand that."
Aiyana narrowed her eyes at the merchant and then the other two merchants. "Let's go. She said she can take care of herself, I'm sure she should be able to find her way to the Temple of Fire without our directions."
Jaque stared at Aiyana and sighed. He bowed to Aiyana and then very slightly to Aubree, "I'm sorry, miss. My lady has deemed it inappropriate to help you without you disclosing the facts of your situation. It is dangerous to blindly help people in this day and age." Jaque's gaze traveled to Aiyana who had returned to the bank of the creek and began to gather her supplies ignoring Aubree.
She was not about to get involved in someone as suspicious as that woman. Even she, who had a 'demonic form' had bared the facts of her situation to those she had traveled with (and even bared it all with the group she was currently traveling, after all Jaque had even seen her naked when he first came across her bathing). Aiyana had no patience to deal with those who couldn't bother to answer questions of those who were going to go out of their way to help her.
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Posted: Sun Mar 21, 2010 7:49 pm
Aubree felt her mouth drop open as the woman deiced to leave her without help for what Aubree felt was a pointless reason. Her eyes narrowed somewhat as she felt the heat of anger flare up inside her. "I guess I had though I'd gotten used to people closing doors in my face but that was outright rude! Simply because I don't tell you every detail of my life suddenly, you can't even tell me if I'm going the right way?! Whoa re you to diced suck things? Who are you to say I'm not worthy enough for a simply question!" Fire flared in her eyes as her breath quicken and her skin began to emit an unnatural heat. Her sin turning red as she growled.
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Posted: Sun Mar 21, 2010 8:25 pm
Jaque swore, jumping back from Aubree, and drawing one of his katanas. Aiyana turned looking up to see the girl's skin start to turn red and the fire began to take her. She rushed to where Jaque was and stood in front of him between him and Aubree. "Well," hissed Aiyana, "I can see why she is so secretive." Meanwhile the other two merchants stared in awe at her, and muttered, "The Blazer."
Aiyana's body began to turn into water and a water figure stood between Jaque and Aubree. Though composed of water, her features were evident as she continued, "We never said that we wanted every detail of your life, we merely wished why you wanted to go to the Temple of Fire, you could have said for answers or private matters and that would have sufficed. Instead you stumble over your words and claim you can't say more than that. There is no reason anyone cannot say anything they wish."
Aiyana's eyes narrowed and she hissed, "I ask you to calm yourself and stop endangering my Jaque and the others. It doesn't take a genius to know that water trumps fire." Meanwhile, Jaque smiled at the possessive the Water Walker added, of course, that most likely meant she had business for him that would be unpleasant soon. Aiyana got more affectionate every time she was trying to weasel something out of someone- probably trying to avoid going to the Temple of Water, was Jaque's bet.
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