Welcome to Gaia! ::

((LOL!! If Creed is superior then your status, you can call him -sama razz Of course, it's really for the actual upper class people... Or the gangstaz 8D OMFG! I'M FINALLY IN BOGU IN MY KENDO CLASS!! 8DDDDDDD))

Mintasuki was surprised when the small dragon had approached so close to her, but she could not help but gawk at the metal tin and the scale of the two dragons. Almost out of impulse, she raised her hand, but stopped in mid-air, smiling sheepishly at Meki. Stepping out of the two dragon's ways, she smiled and waved at them.

"That's nice... Well, then. I will catch up with you guys later. I need to get something from the market."

Minatsuki turned and walked away, Asako hovering over the town and above Minatsuki.




With a slightly sad smile, Minatsuki looked up at Asako, but continued onward to a clothing vendor. Instead of a regular cloak with a lighter material, Minatsuki bought a cloak made of heavy material that shifted little when she walked, similar to her previous one. Satisfied with the purchase, she walked around the town, witnessing all the preparations for the festival and taking in the excitement of the moment; she missed her own town's festival.

Aiva was about to say something rude back, but Umbra spoke before her. "Instead of calling me 'vaporous shades', I would prefer that you called Umbra. And contrary to what most people believe, my kind isn't just a mass of heartless shadows, we have thought and emotions and we can speak." Umbra's voice had always amazed Aiva because she always thought it would sound like groaning, but it actually sounded like a normal voice. Umbra rarely spoke because he rarely talked to anyone but Aiva, so they had always spoke using their telepathic link. Although Umbra’s voice sounded polite, Aiva could tell that he was very offended by the man’s comment.

((Actually the ability to speak would not be bound. Most creatures simply lack the necessary vocal structure to speak in human languages. Some can though. Say if somebody bound an orc or a goblin it would be able to speak human languages because of its physical similarity to humans. This shade can alter its form, so it can easily make itself capable.))

((For the sake of staying in character, or in this case, in both characters, I figured it was best to take this as I did. This way I keep away from that oh so heinous role-playing crime of metagaming. That is why I said what I said, S-Ninja.))

reported Ark to his master, still eyeing the shade warily. Damiano had watched the dragon's body movements and coupled with the summary of what the creature had said Damiano had assumed correctly. He sighed for the third time in the past few minutes as he tried desperately to purge his mind of negative thoughts, specifically those about the lady mage and her shade companion. The green dragon, Kusanagi, was right after all. He needed to exert more self control and tame both his ignorance and his blood. replied a happier Damiano. Though his grin was hidden by his mask, Arkanathalasana could tell the young magus was in better spirits.

Raising a hand, Damiano looked to his companion. Ark, without needing further instruction, knelt lower to the ground, his own grace paramount to that of the green wyrm, Kusanagi. Damiano effortlessly climbed onto his companion's shoulders, sitting himself easily enough. a magus who had been travelling for a year now, he had made sure to learn at least this much of how to make use of his companion's abilities whether it simply be riding on his great shoulders on land or in the sky. "Come now my silver friend, let us not delay any longer. We have an invitation to the sage's estate and it would be rude to make the great one wait," Damiano couldn't help but shift his gaze toward the shade and the magus that claimed mastery of it after openly instructing his companion. He acknowledged then and there that the antipathy he felt for the pair of them would not dissolve by force of will alone. They would have to prove themselves in some fashion.

It was a terrible thought, he knew this well. He was not so blindly arrogant to think himself worthy of anything, especially the proof that one person (an accepted magus no less!) was worth his time. Still, he had no love for creatures that reputedly destroyed all that was beautiful. Shadows in themselves can be beautiful, though the fiendish nature of this shadow, which he could feel in its sentience, simply through the weave of magic around them, was not one that would enhance or create beauty. No, he held no love for this thing, nor did he think he ever would.

"By the request of the great dragon Kusanagi, I have decided to put aside our argument to better enjoy the festivities later. I suggest you do the same," were Damiano's last words to the lady mage. She deserved that much, the knowledge that he would not continue this petty squabble until the right time and place.

((Not long after I started playing Lamen, her personality took on a will of its own- I think I might have strayed just a little from one of the things written in her profile. 8D;; I believe I should edit that, if possible. >.<;; ))

Simurgh, like some of the other bonded and their mages, could not help but feel some disgust at the air around the shade and the girl that rode upon it. She communicated her feelings to Lamen, who stood silently a few feet from Damiano as he and the new stranger exchanged... "greetings". However, Lamen was intrigued- this shade was something special. She had not yet met anything of the sort, and her curiosity erased the sense of threat and danger that should have accompanied its proximity. She stepped forwards and introduced herself when Damiano left in such a hurry- which had almost made her smirk in amusement. It appeared that these people weren't too good with strangers- or perhaps different cultures? Either way, Lamen very much wished to study this "shade" a little longer.

"My apologies for the late introduction. I am Lamen Tvalhal- also not a combatant, as of yet." She spoke casually, while Simurgh was all but- gathering herself close to Lamen protectively, ready to reassume her original form.
"But many have come here for the festival," she continued, "and some have just succeeded in a trial set by the Dragon Sage- the gryphon mage and the girl with a phoenix were of that group. I am certain that you will have no trouble finding an opponent- magic fights are likely to take place as events, and the castle is currently quite populated, as Kusanagi said. Now, since everyone has left before showing you the way to the castle, I suppose I should do. Where would you like to go?" She smiled kindly at the oddly-garbed magician, intending to be her guide in the meanwhile so that Kusanagi could go with his son and deal with other immediate business.

Sai tilted his head slightly at the way that Vilya had placed her hand on her hip. He dismissed the thought for the moment though.







"Hey, Vilya, wait for me. I wanna see if this library has any interesting history in it. My village never had a lot of books unless they were written by the villagers. We mostly only had spell books, and those could mostly only be viewed by family members." Sai said as he began to walk after the female combatant.

((*Whispers* Lamen, nobody knows Tura is a mage yet. So far everyone believes Vilya is. It's their secret.))

Vilya stopped, waiting for Sai to catch up before continuing up the castle steps. The twin oak doors were open, letting the afternoon sun flood onto the main hall's checkered floor. The drapes that hung over the stonework of the second floor were a deep wine red, trimmed in bright gold. Banners had already been put up inside the hall, promising a grand event within its walls great, stonewalls.
"My village never had many books at all, if you don't count almanacs and farming guides." She threw him a sheepish grin. "I come from a pretty back-water place in comparison to the rest of the continent." There was a hint of regret in her voice, though she tried to hide it. No matter where she went she always felt rather simple, and perhaps it was that feeling that made her so eager to learn.
"It was Tura who actually taught me to read," she made her way up the carpeted stairway, hanging a right and admiring the ancient suits of armor as she opened a smaller, more modest wooden door for the other combatant.
"We've made it sort of a tradition to visit any library we come across."
Vilya checked her memory, making sure she was actually going in the direction she had been told.
"It should be just at the end of this hallway. So, you're interested in history books?"


Kusanagi nodded to the Shade and his companion before starting back to the castle on foot, his son Meki bounding ahead of him brightly after a group of pigeons clustered by the fountain. He decided not to worry about potential conflict, trusting the guests of the sage to conduct themselves in a decent manner. Instead he focused most of his attention on all the events that had been planned for the festival.