Welcome to Gaia! ::

((Everybody is in their starting town, Nothing has really happened yet so you can be wherever.))

Maya looked to Karyn who emerged from her room when the alarm sounded. The girl was too young to know of the call to arms, most of the younger people had never even heard of it, much less the actual alarm. "That's the call to arms Karyn... you shouldn't worry. The Imperial Knights will protect the city, and we have Chloe to protect us, remember?" Her sister still looked a bit frightened. "Come on we might as well go out to the meeting and see what they have to say."

They headed down to the square and noticed Chloe's excited look as they approached. Maya went pale at the announcement. She had known of it for a few weeks now but the realization hadn't really sunk in until now. "So... War has returned to our kingdom..."



Chloe noticed her friends and made her way over. "Maya, Karyn! Did you hear!? Finally I have a chance!"

"What are you talking about Chloe?! Have you lost your mind?!"

"Maya, You know I've always wanted to be an Imperial Knight... this is my chance to prove myself in battle... my chance to live my dream of being a Knight!" Chloe was ecstatic, her voice was nearly booming. It was attracting some strange attention.

The Knight that had emerged while Chloe was at the recruiting office came over with a stern look on his face. "You there, you say you wish to become a knight? Well don't you think you should become a man first? A woman would be slain too quickly in battle to ever prove her worth. You might as well abandon hope now to save yourself the heartbreak later."

Chloe's face filled with rage and her hand raced to her hilt but what she found was Maya's hand. She turned her now tearing, furious eyes towards her friend.

Maya stared at her, "Don't... he's just a pig, let it go. You will prove yourself to him by coming home alive and giving his wife word of his death." She shot a cold stare at the now laughing Knight as he walked away muttering something about incompetent wenches.

Women had only recently been accepted into the more important roles in society, but the majority of the men were still very chauvinistic. Maya could ignore it, but it really got under Chloe's skin. Chloe had always been a tomboy, and a very skilled fighter.


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The king still stood by his window in his royal chamber over looking his kingdom. He looked to the trees, and the river, and then to the town, and with each new gaze, his eyes seemed to sadden. He was envisioning what things would be like once war reached his castle walls. It wasn't pretty, not pretty at all. His knights, though battle ready from fighting the wandering beasts in the area, were not battle hardened from fighting men like Lodis' troops would be once they arrived. The outcome would be grim unless he could stop the main force from reaching his gates. He had sent a few assassins already, but according to his scouts they weren't skilled enough to get the job done.

He turned to his patiently awaiting henchman. "Garek, get me Anatsu at once. I have a dire mission for him."

"Sir... using our..." He was silenced by the King's finger raising and pointing towards the door. "Now, Garek. Do not disobey me now."

The small servant man, Garek, made his way into the town square, eyes searching frantically. "Oh, where can that devious b*****d be..." He gave up looking through the crowd and just decided to go to the man's house. He checked the door to see if it was locked. As it was, he sighed and leaned against it, awaiting the man's return.


Maya led Chloe and Karyn back towards her house so that she could begin preparing dinner. If Chloe was going with the army tomorrow, she'd need a good meal to build up her energy.

Chloe was busy entertaining Karyn with one of her wild stories of when Maya was a lot younger. Karyn always got a kick out of her friend's stories especially when Maya cut in to turn the fun poking around on Chloe.

"And then, this big guy came crashing through the door, and Maya freaked and hit him with a pan, turns out it was our master dressed up in a funny costume..." Chloe laughed as she looked ahead to Maya to see if she was listening.

((Well, since we still need a lot more people, you may just have to wing it solo for a while unless you want to stumble into someone else's starting town and do stuff with/to them... o.0 ))

((Hurrays, more posts.))

Anatsu sighed and left the crowd in the mayhem of murmers and shouts, their sharp contrast giving an eerie feeling to the already strange situation. Rounding the corner, he came to an abrupt halt noticing a man standing outside his door....the door that never opened and never shut. Deciding on a little show of force for the intruder, the assassin flung four needles into a square shape surrounding the man connected to wires ready to charge the ground. "What business have you with the king's alchemist?" Anatsu wasn't quite sure what response of title he should have given, but by the way the man was dressed, it seemed official business ...off the records of course...and thus required a faint addition of restraint.

"Did the king send you for me? If so then what business do you have for this humble servant?" On first glance, Anatsu's figure was rather disturbing, a figure bent low and cloaked in white with red lining along with what appeared to be two glowing red orbs beneath the shroud created by his hood. A second glance freaked people out even more noticing he had no shadow and appeared to almost levitate an inch above the ground. All techniques learned through the years of intense training.

A sly smile spread across his face. "Ah, the king is wanton of my pressence so soon after I've left his home? It truely has been quite a time since last he called me into his chamber. For such an occassion the situation must be very dire indeed. Go ahead of me then, herald, and impart the knowledge of my imminent pressence upon his quarters. I will alight soon, however there are a certain number of valuables I must stow away. Fear not, I will make haste, now away, and return to your master, bird."

Anatsu pulled the cloak tight about him and dissappeared into thin air. Though the sight was an enigma to the average townsfolk life, it was common knowledge in the world of assassin's...his stealth was just more fine tuned than the rest. Acrobatics always were favored in his eyes as a good bit of physical training and mental stimulation in accordance with it's uncanny ability to propel him in ways ordinarilly not possible. The word human for him was often replaced with demon reflecting the profound attributes gained simply from training. Just another visage among many the assassin had amongst his vast store. A rouse well learned under the title of "The Basics" was the subtle art of disguise. Life was one big masquerade so what was a few hundred more faces and names to hide behind. All mirrored the same person as skin has no hold over the soul's behavior. Anatsu dropped from an invisible hole in the ceiling which promptly sealed itself over appearing unchanged. A noiseless fall from start to finish ending in a light touch of flesh on wood. Not even his witheld breathing sounded more than a whisper. Everything about him screamed assassin and not one word of it was ever heard. He loosened a strap about his cloak and revealed the tightly fit leathery outfit made completely black and somehow removed of sheen and the usual trait to reflect bright light. An artful hand worked a locked drawer till a slight click gave notice of the iron's release. Every moment of his life was training, not all assignments revolved around slaying a target, but sometimes far less violent and despirate actions. Anatsu sprayed a clear substance from a crystal vial onto himself and the previous scent of gunpowder residue evaporated into the air of his home.

"Mind as well be at my best if it is the King himself I'm to be working for." Upon tucking away his various tools, he walked through another hole in his wall into the street which had obviously darkened. Concealed weapons was an understatement as trust was a fickle element, the likes of which he hadn't seen in many years. Even the King heald no grounds in that territory and he had just about every power possible. The castle was rigged for just such an occassion as betrayal. Though Anatsu was usually more mindful, vengeance was an aspect most dear to him for reasons even he hadn't fully come to comprehend, it just was that way.

The reknowned knight of Lodis awoke to find himself layed over the back of a horse while a resistance fighter was tending to the reigns. Kain noticed that it was beginning to get darker and darker outside. He figured the sunset was almost over. The somewhat disgruntled knight came to the conclusion that they had been traveling on horseback for quite some time and estimated to be at or near the town of Remus. Kain never let on that he actually came too and so it still remained that he was still knocked out from the blow to the back of the head that he took hours before.

The king jumped slightly, a tad startled at Anatsu's entrance. He shot a glare at Garek before asking Anatsu to stand.

"If war must come to my kingdom, it will be on my terms. I need you to help even the playing field. Our army is no where near as strong as it needs to be at this point in time. I must ask you for the most exhausting mission yet. I need you to travel in search of the strongest generals of the opposing armies, and eliminate them however you see fit. I do not have names or locations for you, so I will allow you to decide the amount of payment once the work is finished. I will pay any price as long as I am here to pay. Know that you will not be alone in this quest, per se, as I will hire a few others, but they will not be paid nearly as much as you.
The only name I have for you currently is Kain, the Dragon of Lodis. He will be a worthy opponent, and will probably give you the most trouble. I will throw in an extra reward if you bring me his head to display on pike before the castle gates." Nervousness could be picked up in his voice as he spoke. He was not looking forward to war, for he was not confident in his ability to emerge victorious.
"What say ye? Will ye accept?"




The sun was beginning to set on the kingdom. Maya had sent Karyn to bed and was downstairs with Chloe. She did not want her friend to go into battle.

"Must you go? Why can't..."

"I must, Maya... You should come to. Together we would put the rest of this army to shame. No one can fight better than us. I will become the world's greatest knight, and I want you to share that glory."

"What about Karyn? I can't just leave her here... I have to take care of her." Maya stared at her friend, eyes starting to tear up a bit.

"Well, he's supposedly a legend in the Lodis empire, I'm sure if you persuaded one of their citizens, you could get as much information as you need. aside from that, I'm afraid I leave you blind. Although I'm sure you will have no trouble with this task, as long as you make haste and get them while they are still preparing for war marches and the like. Good luck, the fate of the kingdom may rest on your shoulders."