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 Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2011 3:20 am
“Well, of course. That’s just the kind of organization we are. Not to mention we have some of the most wonderful Priestesses in the world,†Evelyn said, nudging Lorika with her elbow.
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Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2011 9:47 am
 The blue-haired boy hadn't actually had any intentions of leaving, but had so quickly fallen into thought that he didn't notice that he was all but pulled into the group's conversation. 'After all, offices don't reorganize themselves...wait, someone's talking about the Overseer? We are a ragtag bunch of misfits, aren't we?...hmm...Ehh, I can figure this out later'At this, Xeiashi spoke up, "Not even from other worlds. If it weren't for the Overseer, I'd probably still be scraping by in Barton, like I was before..."'Wow, I have come a long way since the Caves. ....where are the others, again? I wonder how they're doing?' After pausing a minute to think again, he continued. "Actually, if it weren't for the War, I probably would be living in a box somewhere, with little to no magical ability, and would never have even heard any of your names. Funny how the worst conflict in recent history made something as great as this" he finished, gesturing widely to include everything around him. Yes, even the crowd-monster that didn't like his taste. 
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Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2011 5:27 pm
Evelyn nearly hugged the blue-haired boy, but decided against it at the last second. While she would say that Xei and her were close, she hadn't hugged him very much in their friendship. In fact, she wasn't even sure that Xei liked hugs.
Another thing she didn’t know about Xei—his past, much like she didn’t know Lorika’s. It never took her this long to get to know people that well. Had she been running on autopilot the past year and a half? Were some strange God-like creatures planning and plotting and controlling her every move? Evelyn, somehow, felt like she was onto something, but the thought was pulled from her immediately, as if someone had just canceled her action on that popular simulation game…what was it called again…? Oh well. Evelyn shrugged off the thought decided to hug Xei anyway. “I couldn’t have said it any better myself, you blue-haired rascal.†She emphasized her point after pulling away, by ruffling his hair slightly with a silly smirk.
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Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2011 7:59 pm
Lorika looked kindly at the two young acolytes as they embraced. "It seems that everyone has a story to tell about the time before they came to the Order," she said, turning her gaze expectantly towards the elves, "In fact, I was just saying to Evelyn earlier that you both have some incredibly interesting stories in your pockets. You've both lived longer than any of us, after all."
"Cressa's stories are a lot more interesting than mine," Jessie said, barely disguising a touch of guardedness. Cressa on the other hand was quick to swell up with bravado.
"Ohhh yes, we certainly do have stories to tell! If you want to hear about foreign lands, daring battles, bard-sung heroes and horrible monsters, we've seen more of them all than you could imagine!"
"Ooooh!" replied the priestess, her eyes twinkling, "I wouldn't know where to begin. How about... bard-sung heroes? Have you met many of them?"
"I most certainly have!" Cressa replied with a flourish, "I have adventured with none but the best, the most celebrated, the wisest and the bravest of our homeworld during my many decades of travel!"
"Oh, here we go..."
"Don't scoff," she grinned at her friend, "You're counted amongst them."
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Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2011 10:48 pm
Evelyn leaned in and whispered in Lorika’s ear. “Are you three always this fun? I may need to hang around you guys more.â€
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Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2011 11:28 pm
"GATHER ROUND!" Cressa suddenly boomed, with a sweeping gesture towards the rest of the crowd. "To hear the tale of the GREAT VICTORY of CEINDRECH GREEN, champion of mortals and gods, at the battle of Llar'Myelvyn!"
It was mainly members of the Order who really took interest in this, shuffling forward to see and hear her better. They all loved a good story! The unfamiliar faces just looked puzzled - a pair of the nearest ones, slightly frightened. Wouldn't you be, if an amazonian elf suddenly started shouting just a few feet away from you? Still, they couldn't quite escape fast enough, and ended up being shunted forward, slightly unwilling participants in the listening group.
One of the acolytes who came forward, pushing her way through the crowd, was none other than Gloria, Jessie's assistant. She was looking quite as intimidating as her instructor in a sharp-angled black dress accented by crimson ruffles, a razor-sharp crow-feather fascinator and heavy, black eye-makeup. "What battle is this?" she asked. Her gaze turned towards Jessie. "Have I already heard this story? Were you there?"
The dark elf shook his head. "No, I was not. This happened before I was born, actually."
Cressa had pulled a chair forward from the side of the wall. Now, she sat up on it, perching upon the back of the chair, with her feet in the seat. This gained her just the right amount of height for everyone to see, without her towering over them.
"In my homeland," she began, painting a mystical picture of a far-away world using only the tone of her voice, "There lives a heroine, whose deeds from a century ago are still sung about to this day. To the humans, her name is simply Ceindrech Green," she continued, holding up her hand, with one finger extended. As she continued, eyes sparkling, she extended all four of her fingers, and her thumb. "But we elves, and all of us who knew her personally, recognise her by five - Ceindrech... Casiphia... Dearbhael... Elitael... Green. There are other versions, of course, but these are the five that were told to me by the lady herself, from her lips to my ears. Together, they mean 'The bright and beautiful one, the white flower who has been chosen by god, the predestined warrior of light.' Her surname, Green, betrays her ties to the human race - for she was not a full elf herself, only half. Her father was human, but she was named in ceremony by Elven druids, and raised by them as their own daughter."
"I was barely past thirty when her path crossed mine. I lived in a small outpost close to the surface, spending my days as a healer and a translator. Human raiders would return from the underworld that way, entrusting me with stolen tomes to translate into the common tongue from the languages of the deep races."
A look that was at once mischievious and malicious broadened her smile. "They paid me handsomely for my services - but of course, I never let them leave with the most valuable parts."
"One day, a scouting party of ten came back... in pieces. They warned of a great trouble brewing in the deeper caverns. An army was amassing there, preparing to storm the surface. This was not going to be a raid - it was an invasion! Humans are right to fear the underworld, for if all of its people united, they could never beat back the spread."
"Word was sent to the surface, and soon afterwards, she came. She was already famous upon the surface at that time, though she a mere half elf, and no older than I. I remember well seeing her arrive from the small window of my hut, because her armour gleamed through the darkness, and lit up the bright, white skin of her face. In the neverending blackness of the caverns, even in the half-light of the torches, she exuded her own light - brighter than any flame - like a gleaming beacon."
The next part of her story betrayed her immense pride at having been part of such an operation. "I might have been doing nothing but poring over tomes and mending fractures and lifting the occassional curse for months, but I was still a great sorceress at heart. I joined the heroine's party, and I stood beside the archers upon the ramparts of fort Llar'Myelvyn, as we prepared to make our stand against the encroaching army. I remember seeing them all pouring out of the darkness in their thousands, like a great swarm of insects, intent on devouring everything in their paths. I conjured a great tempest of fire, raining down death and destruction upon their ranks, and blinding many more than I killed. Illithids, beholders and dark elves alike all fell down on their knees when my power came crashing down on top of them!"
"Were you the only mage there?" Gloria interjected - not quite as snippily as before, but still in her usual to-the-point manner. She seemed to be genuinely enjoying the tale.
"Indeed I was," Cressa admitted, "I was also the only one of the dark races at the outpost so close to the surface. Magicians are rare enough as it is, but you see, in my culture, only men are trained in magic... but men are also kept in bondage, unable to travel or follow their own paths in life. Many eons ago, there were great sorceresses like myself among our kind, but people began to fear them. They destroyed many cities during times of war, even collapsing part of the underworld itself. To this day, women who develop magical powers on their own are likely to be cast out, or killed."
There was much intrigued murmuring at this. If women magicians were so taboo amongst the dark elves, how exactly did Cressa come to be where she was? How did she end up fighting against her own kind, alongside a half-elven hero...? How had Jessie escaped his own confinement? Her explanation was raising more questions than it answered.
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Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2011 12:42 am
Cressa's story made Evelyn realize three things: One, she really needed to learn more about drow culture, two, she needed to make sure to get Cressa off subject during lessons more so she could hear more stories, and three, she really wanted to ask Jessie about how he came to be here. However, it was not proper to follow through on any of those at that moment, so instead, she settled for a question.
She raised her hand and stood on her tip-toes, “Cressa, if you don’t mind my asking…how exactly was she a half-elf? I assume her mother’s side. But how could her father give her up? Why would he give her up?â€Evelyn’s thoughts flashed briefly to her own father, and she tried to imagine him haven given up any of her siblings. It was impossible to think of.
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Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2011 2:13 am
Cressa's answered her question with utmost gravity. "She was indeed half elven on her mother's side. As to her father, it is unfortunately something of a tragic tale. In order to be together, he and Ceindrech's mother ran away, and lived for some time in a small cottage, living a simple peasant life. Unfortunately, our homeworld can be something of a strange and unstable place. Orcs attacked the village, and her father gave his life in sacrifice to allow his wife and unborn child to escape. Her mother collapsed in the forest as she tried to find her way back home, but was found by sheer luck by two of her own tribe. Ceindrech was born early, labour induced by the shock of the ordeal, and barely survived those first few days."
"So it was a strange twist of fate, then, that this tiny infant, who had already barely scraped past the fingers of death so many times, would, at her naming ceremony, be discovered to bear the imprint of the gods. The druids foretold that this child, born of two peoples, would carry the will of light and goodness throughout her life, rescuing the world and accomplishing great deeds, before ascending into the heavens."
"Hmph," Gloria muttered, "Pity we can't all be so lucky."
"Oh, but it was such a beautiful irony!" Cressa continued, "Half elves are something of an oddity, you know, at least where we come from. Not quite of one people, not quite of another, they end up shunted into a lower class than either of them. And dark elves, my people, utterly despise them, even more than the surface elves who banished them... because to them... an elf mating with a human is like a human mating with a rodent. Half-elves are an unnatural product of a blasphemous union, lower than vermin, lower than muck!"
Jessie felt the need to push a little disclaimer into her rather graphic description. "Cressa and I don't believe that, though. That goes without saying."
Cressa went on to detail the battle at length and in artistic detail, painting a vivid, flourishing picture to ensure her audience got the full benefit of her retelling. She spoke of how it felt, after the great victory at the fort, to plunge deep into the bowels of the earth as Ceindrech's underworld guide, slithering through caves and over vast caverns to infiltrate the heart of the army's forces, and take out its mastermind and leader.
"In the underworld," she said, dropping her voice to nearly a whisper, "It is darker than dark. Some humans say that the darkness is alive. They say that it can blind you permanently, if you allow it to. Ceindrech and her party wore special, glowing pendants to cast light around them, but it only helped them to see for just a few feet in front of them, before the light was swallowed up by the blackness again. If they were going to complete their mission, they needed a guide such as I."
She leaned forward, inviting everyone around her to draw nearer too, as if sharing in some exciting secret. "The trick... is to be very... very... quiet."
Cressa stopped completely, and despite the music and the sound of talking and laughter in the background, the members of the group around her were convinced that they could hear nothing but the empty noise of silence filling their ears. She continued in an even quieter whisper. "There are monsters - and dangerous ones at that - always lurking just out of sight, even for we who can see perfectly in the dark. But they usually cannot see us, either. Neither can they smell, for the stench of the dark and the damp and the fungus destroys the sensitive follicles of the nose. And so, these terrifying creatures depend on their hearing, and their sense of touch. Moving quietly is the key to survival."
Jessie unconsciously nodded his head at this. This part of Cressa's tale stirred memories for him. He remembered the comfortable warmth of the depths, mingled with the uncomfortable wariness of the various horrors that could be waiting around the next corner. A five hundred foot drop off the edge of a chasm was one of the more innocent dangers it was possible to encounter. When he was alone, it didn't matter so much, for even young and stupid as he was, he was still capable of taking care of himself... but accompanying his charge was a different matter. How many times did he remind her to be quiet? And how many times did she fall silent, only to forget a minute later and resume her cheerful banter? And for no one's benefit but her own, for he was yet incapable of understanding more than a handful of the words that came pouring out of her...
When he eventually tuned back in, Cressa's tale had drawn to a close. The sound of the listeners' applause brought him back to Gaia - not that it mattered, as he'd heard the story before anyway. It ended with the return of Cressa and the rest of Ceindrech's party from a strange other dimension, as stories often did. Somehow the most epic tales are never complete without featuring portals to strange, malevolent other worlds. Cressa gave a couple of small bows in recognition of the applause.
"I would not see her again for quite a few years... But I suppose that is a story for another day."
"Well done, Cressa!" Lorika said, clapping again for good measure, "But yes, I think it's time we all went back to music and dancing. I myself haven't even had a proper dance yet! Come along, Xeiashi," she sang, taking the boy by his arm and pulling him in the direction of the dancefloor, "Let's see your two-step."
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Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2011 12:50 pm
For a moment after his declaration, Xei sat in silence, thinking on just how unlikely everything was, when out of nowhere a hug and subsequent hair-ruffling surprised him. "Wha..." was all he got out before he found the instigator, to whom he flashed a small, uneasy smile. Nobody had hugged him in...years. Probably not since the Caves . "Thanks, Evelyn," he added, unsure of what the proper response was. He may have blushed, but before he could figure it out, Cressa began to speak in her dramatic voice. And then his teacher began one of her stories. Xei had heard a few before, during his training, but they were always interesting, so he listened in. Soon, he was entranced by the tale being crafted before their very eyes. He could almost see the fortress preparing for battle, and when the first rain of fire spewed forth, he recoiled slightly at the destruction, different, yet similar to that ability. At this, Xei shuddered, fell into reflection, and only half-heard the rest of the tale. He had been told of the Underworld way of life early in his training, so it wasn't much of a loss that he wasn't paying attention. The silence towards the end caused him to pay attention once more, but it was only a tool of the story, rather than the actual end. He smiled slightly and began a mental countdown. '5...4....3.....2....' and when he hit 0, the crowd erupted into applause. Cressa always did have a way with stories... And then someone had grabbed his arm and was dragging him back into the crowd. "Wait....what? I almost died in there last time....I can't even dance!
Evelyn, grab this! It'll be ruined in there!" Yes, even when confused, Xei instantly remembered the book in it's now-unsafe position in his pocket. He tossed it to Evelyn with a feeling of shame. 'Why did I throw it....now it'll lose pages...'And then the crowd swallowed him up, along with the strange person that had pulled him into it. He hadn't had the time to check, anyhow.
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Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2011 4:05 pm
Evelyn had enjoyed the immensely, but it still raised more questions. But before she could think of them, she was catching Xei’s book, flailing about reach the few pages that flew from the book. Once she had caught them, she returned to the pair of dark elves. And she couldn’t resist...“Cressa, I have a few questions,†Evelyn said, approaching everything as lightly as she could. “Starting off…why did the surface elves banish the dark elves?â€
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Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2011 10:05 pm
A dark look passed over Cressa's face. Before she could begin to reply, Jessie stepped in front of her, physically cutting her off.
"Uh-uh, don't get Cressa started on that."
"WHAT?! Why not?!" Cressa cried, "Our people have been festering under the ground for milennia because of the injustice the Sun Elves did to us!"
"Our ancestors did plenty of injustice to them to begin with," he reminded her calmly, "Though their method of punishment was uncalled for in its extremity. But I'd like to remind you that this is a party, and as such, it is not a time for ideological ranting. You've already done quite enough enlightening for one night."
Cressa looked as if she was going to argue, but after a few moments of biting her tongue she let herself agree with him. The anger lifted from her expression. "Of course. Ask me again in class," she said to Evelyn, "It'll be on-topic, if I go ahead with the lesson on drow magic."
"That's an excellent idea. But now, seeing as we're all back to enjoying the music and the dancing..."
He smiled at Evelyn, and held out his hand. It was a polite gesture, but surprisingly, his gaze and his smile glimmered with deeper invitation... and what's more, no matter how casually he continued, his choice of words were nothing short of saucy. Double-entendre, even. The entire effect was - dare I say it? - one of coy flirtation.
"Would you care to take me for a whirl?"
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Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2011 10:19 pm
Evelyn’s heart stopped for the seconds at the suggestion form the—well, the rather attractive elf. When she recovered, she threw the book at Cressa and had to stop herself from throwing herself at Jessie. “Yes, I believe that would be quite,†she paused for a moment, gulping and blushing, “quite fun.†She took Jessie’s arm and allowed him to lead her to the floor.
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Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2011 12:26 am
Cressa, clutching the book (which was beginning to resemble a 'pass-the-parcel'), eyed the back of Jessie's head with amusement as he retreated into the crowd with Evelyn. Gloria, mouth agape and staring after them too, sidled up next to her.
"What. The. Hell? What the actual hell?" she exclaimed. After a long pause, she continued with incredulity. "Why can't he ever look at ME like that?!"
"Ohh, he can be a little minx when he wants to be," Cressa said. Back home, men as pretty as him kept the party going for the matrons and their daughters. "When he's feeling relaxed enough. Maybe if you'd stood over there in his line of sight, he would've turned the charm on you instead."
It took a little while for this to sink in to Gloria. "Well god damn it all," she finally ranted, "Foiled by my choice of spatial positioning. ...I think I need a drink."
"Me too. Let's go see if they have any vodka."
Meanwhile, Jessie accompanied his partner to the dance floor with an air of regality that well-befitted the lovely, cultured lady on his arm. The band had struck into a lively waltz a few minutes before, which made things simple, as he trusted the daughter of a professional ballerina would certainly know how to waltz. Not that anyone else seemed to be paying attention to the details of ballroom dancing. To their right, Lorika soared past with Xeiashi, doing a dance step that could only be described as the 'weebl-rock-circle-shuffle.' Whatever it was, it was certainly energetic. Lorika was leading.
"Y'know Xei, I never noticed how tall you are until now!" she teased, with a giggle that was just a few inches away from cackling, "There's something about being clasped tightly to a man's chest that makes you see him in a different light!"
From Jessie's vantage point, Xei didn't look like he was doing any clasping whatsoever, and certainly not of any women, and definitely not to his chest. At least Rika was enjoying herself immensely, though how she hadn't lost her love of torturing the men of the Order with her newfound inner peace was beyond him.
When they came to a sufficient place, Jessie slipped his arm out from under Evelyn's and with it, took her hand. He bowed to her cordially, before lightly placing his free hand around her waist. When hers was secured on his shoulder, he began, with a reassuring smile, to lead them in a graceful circuit - simple, but lovely.
A couple of times, Jessie thought to continue conversation, but he was hesitant of putting her on the spot again, as he'd done when he asked her to dance. Anyway, he was enjoying himself without it, and Evelyn danced absolutely exquisitely - like a true lady. It was easy to get lost in the sweeping movement, and the music. At one point, he tightened his grip around her waist and smoothly picked her up, twirling in place for a few swanlike rotations. The song ended shortly after that, giving way to a much slower piece which brought most of the couples in the room to a near-standstill, as they stood in place and swayed together.
Jessie was enjoying himself too much to let the dance finish there, however, so after another mannerly bow he drew a little closer, keeping the arm around her waist respectfully light. There wasn't much to do during these dances except stare into your partner's eyes, or excepting that, stare off into the distance... and as he didn't want to be rude or appear aloof, the first option was the only one available to him.
To avoid the dangers of becoming too intimate, or, conversely, too awkward, he gave her another gentle smile and resumed conversation. "Your dress is lovely," he complimented, "It flows beautifully when you move."
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Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2011 3:31 am
Something inside of Evelyn told her not to take anything he said with too much credit. She’d recalled dances like this she’d been forced into like this back home, with boys who were clearly did not have honorable intentions. But none of them seemed as sincere as the Combat Master who had one hand around her waist and one hand holding her own. She told herself that a man who danced as well as this obviously did it for a reason, and that she shouldn’t be blushing so fiercely.
She seemed to be telling herself a lot of things.
Upon that realization, she threw caution to the wind, and let go. It was beyond wonderful. She didn’t think of nightmares, or mirror worlds, or demons, or even that she had lost most of her hair.
When he complimented her, her blush only deepened and she looked downward a few moments, trying to conceal her embarrassment, before looking up at the man with a smile she saved for moments like this. “Thank you, really. And you’re looking particularly handsome tonight.â€
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Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2011 7:15 am
"You're too kind," he replied politely, still smiling down at her. For a moment, he thought to flirt with her openly again, but it felt to him like edging too close to ungentlemanliness. He also wouldn't want to give her the wrong impression about his intentions... so he said nothing of the sort.
Instead, he continued in a relaxed, conversational manner. "I really am enjoying myself. This is the first time I've danced with someone other than Cressa in... oh, I don't know, many years now. I feel very lucky that it was with you. Has anyone ever told you how well you dance?"
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