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 Posted: Wed Sep 27, 2006 4:59 pm
((Just so you know, any posts with this border are rather like narrations. I will outline certain things that are happening, time movements (only if needed), major events... things that aren't directly related to anything my character is doing and affecting everyone. I will also do this if there seems to be a drag in roleplaying, and no serious conversations are happening. Expect this!
So, essentially, this is me exerting control. Aha! Sorry if it messes with anyone. Oh, and if I accidentally end up godmodding someone, tell me! I don't really mean to do it.))
The meeting in the Captain's Quarters adjorned that morning, and the majority of the afternoon was spent settling into rooms and duties around the ship. The Seraphim was making good time, never allowing the wind to leave her sails. This wind was strong in the sails, but on the deck could barely be felt - evidence of how unnatural the vessel really was. Continuing in this manner, they would make the first stop for supplies in a week or less - Port Rekitose. There they would pick up certain cargo that the Emperor required they take with them. The nature of the pick up is unknown, but it is assumed to be admirable.
Now, the last of eight bells has been rung, signaling that it is around 8:00 pm on the day of their departure. The sun will begin to set soon. All is quiet... for now.
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Posted: Wed Sep 27, 2006 5:26 pm
He sat in the empty space thinking. Not really knowing what he had gotten himself into. The patroness was somebody he would have to watch out for. Especially her axes were something to watch out for. He had an idea of how to deal with them. The only problem was executing it without anyone knowing. He had several ideas flowing through his head on what he had to do. The only problem was that his plans would only slow down the mission, not stop it. Stopping it was his plan but he didn't know how to do it. Well, if his plans worked then he would have more time to think of a way to stop the mission. He knew that sailors were extremely superstitous and he planned to use that to his advantage. He would just have to wait until they got to port. Until then he could sabotage some lengths of rope to snap which would slow them down a tiny bit and plant the seeds of superstition into the sailors. He would do that soon, but he just wanted to sit and think for a bit more. Also to cool his nerves a bit as well.
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Posted: Wed Sep 27, 2006 8:40 pm
Brakus moved through the kitchen, the mighty steel cauldron, boiled and bubbled as he moved it skillfully to the galley, with the many rows of tables and chairs and set the steaming thing upon a pedestal and soon had the mighty behemoth of stew fastened into place by a series of metal bolts. He was smoking again and his pipe smoke, now smelling like apples, mixed marvelously with the aroma of the stew and sent his belly to growling like a mad wolf. He looked down and paused and then shrugged his broad shoulders as he turned and returned to the kitchen. He shortly returned, after a loud crash, with a keg of ale and a bruised head that had come into being after he had slipped on a rolling spoon. He was grumbling fiercely to himself as he put the keg on a tri pod. He took a battered flagon from a nearby hook and sampled the brew. His sip was long and he nearly emptied the flagon before the tin container was pulled away from his lips and he shrugged as he gave a loud shake of his lips.
“Not as good a dwarven stuff aye, but not bad as human water goes.” He chuckled and moved to the dinner bell and grasped the pull cord in his thick hand as he tugged it it and sent the bells reverberation echoing through the ship. He rang this bell several times and then in a hoarse, throaty growls that served him as a shout cried
“Alright ya above ground liven, sea faring blithers, ya grub be ready and if yar hungry, best ya eat it cause I’ll make the sharks happy to night with yar meals.” And with that, he turned pack to the galley, humming steadily as he walked towards the cauldron, a wooden spoon twirling nimbly through his fingers.
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Posted: Wed Sep 27, 2006 9:39 pm
[Wunderbar, time warping powers. heart xd ]
After the other pledges had been said and a pardon was given, the gray griffin was the last crewmember to leave the Quarters. That is, before the Captain and the Patroness, if they decided to leave just then. Whilst most had gone to settle for their own rooms, Luft had simply taken into the air and instantly began to patrol the ship's aerial perimeter. If the Dragon Sentry had also been on immediate duty, she took great care to stay away from the dragon. Gryphons weren't used to being around anyone bigger then them and it would take time to be friendly with the dragon. For the next few hours, Luft's dark brown eyes observed the few brave seagulls nearby that glided along the waves. Her nostrils breathed in the cold air above the ship, some of its salt making it onto her tongue. Gulls cried as the bells would ring in time. Once the cook gave a shout, ringing the dinner bell, the griffin stays aloft in the air, circling and looking around the empty patches of ocean with sky for any intruders. If she went down to dinner, who would watch out for the ship? Nobody, because everyone would be eating. Besides, Luft could snatch up a dolphin, a seal, or a few seagulls when she got really hungry. With the wind stroking over her feathers and her wings cupping cold air, the determined Gryphon Sentry remains to her pledge and duty.
A short humanoid with glistening scales helpded move a few more barrels into place, tying them down securely. He flickered out his long tongue in satisfaction to his work and went about with various other deckhands to tend to any lost guests, or more work. Once the dinner bell rang, the hertasi gives a hissing sigh of relief. His white shirt and his trousers had begun to feel warm. Heading towards the galley, yellow eyes rose up as a darker shadow passes along the dark deck of the white ship. A griffin is soaring around the Seraphim. Knowing this griffin personally, Gesten only grins and heads off into the galley to get himself some dinner. Being one of the first to arrive, he breathes in the aroma and keeps his grin.
"Smells mighty good."
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Posted: Wed Sep 27, 2006 9:50 pm
((Rhiannon is long-winded AND scary!))
"Hmph, no catsing off party? What kind of crewis this one?" Rosette asked hotly as she crammed her thing back into her bag after tossing over the room in her search prior to their meeting.
"Perhaps they are not as found of the drink as you are." Chrono said with a chuckle. He was pourng over a few maps he had of the coastal area. It was easily know how to get the the next port for supplies, but he always liked to add smaller details to his maps as he traveled
"Not fond of it? They can't be human!"
"Er... Quite a few of them are not human, Rosette..."
"Oh, shush you, you know what I mean."
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Posted: Wed Sep 27, 2006 11:54 pm
After the meeting, Tanyeera had returned to her room/stable to think for a while. She released her spell with a sigh of relief and practically exploded out of the restraining human shape. She stretched her wings and neck to the fullest extent and started working the kinks out of her muscles.
Finally! She was her proper size and shape. She could move about comfortably now instead of bouncing around like a silly goose. Furthermore, the entire time she'd had to don that human shape, she'd been feeling quite uncomfortably squeezed, like a human in a particularly tight fit of clothes, except all over the body, including the skull. Her muzzle had felt particulary squashed.
She stayed in the room, not wanting to don the uncomfortable human shape again. Only when her stomach started to rumble and she heard the dinner bell, did she reluctantly squeeze herself back into her human illusion.
She ate quickly and neatly, but quite a bit more than all the rest. She was a dragon after all, no matter what her guise. Her body needed more food that humans did.
As soon as she was done, she went to the deck to take her turn at sentry duty. She knew the griffin had been guarding the ship the entire afternoon and thought it was best to relieve her of her duty before dinner ended. She was probabaly quite hungry by now.
Bouncing on to the deck, for the first time since she'd boarded the ship, she allowed herself to break into a run and to let the momentum carry her. She raced across the wooden deck, faster than any mere human. Launching herself off the starboard, she fell a short distance before exploding into her true shape and winging to the skies.
Ahh...flight. She'd forgotten how truly wonderful it was.
She pumped her wings steadily, feeling the slight strain in her shoulder muscles and revelling in the sensation. Everytime she'd walked about the Seraphim, she'd been constanly aware of how much stronger she was compared to the humans.
She bounced about because without that irregularity in her step, her legs would throw her human body too far forward, she'd have to step up to avoid falling, and next thing you knew, she'd probably have holed the ship.
She was careful when working doorknobs or they might wrench off in her hands. She dared not slam doors or do anything remotely violent for fear of damaging property or people.
In short, after tip-toeing all over the place and keeping herself in check while she was bursting with energy, it was a relief to finally use that energy.
She soon spotted the griffin and soared closer to let her know she could stop sentry duty and get some dinner.
"Wing-sister!" she rasped. Dragon throats were not meant to for human words. "I will guard now. Go, have dinner."
She'd have used mind-speech, except she wasn't sure how the griffin would take that. Some people objected to having voices in their heads, even if their ears were abused by the harsh noises of her attempting human speech.
The draconic language was much easier on the ears. It, at least, had been designed with draconic throats in mind. Dragon throats got sore attempting human speech, just like human throats did while trying to imitate lions, tigers, or other such creatures.
((Hey, Memory_Melancholy, you read Mercedes Lackey? I recognized the hertasi. Doesn't that mean you ought to be talking with a lot more esses? I thought that was how griffins spoke in Merc Lackey's world.))
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Posted: Thu Sep 28, 2006 6:20 am
[Mercedes Lackey is a favorite of mine, yes. heart However, the hertasi don't slur as the griffins might. And Luft, like some gryphons trained in the human tongue, usually don't slur unless they are relaxed, angered, or sad. I think I mentioned something about Luft being happy that she had not slurred, somewhere in the pledge-post. Thank you for noticing that, though. And I really like the way shrinking into a human affects your dragon character, very realistic. 3nodding I would post, but I'm waiting for a few more people to do so. It's not fun to have to read a lot of posts if you haven't been able to post during your busy time. XD By the way, to make it easier, please call me Memory. And Luft will be slurring every now and then, mainly in the presence of the dragon. Gryphons simply do not like anything bigger than them. This doesn't mean they can't/won't be friends though, so no worries.]
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Posted: Thu Sep 28, 2006 12:47 pm
[[Would you guys mind not being the only ones who know your respective languages? For instance, would it be unusual for a seasoned traveller and translator to know the language of the Dwarves, Hertasi, Griffins or Dragons? It'd be great if I could get a list or something of languages, along with a numeric indication of how well its known and spoken. 1= inborn language, everybody knows. Grunts, moans of pain, etc. 2=everybody speaks this, even if its not used 3=extremely common, rare if someone in the area doesn't know 4= root of most common languages, making it easy to understand others (ie, Romance languages: French, Portaguese, Italian, Romanian, Spanish and figuring out one from the other) 5= Neither overtly common, nor rare. An averagely well known language, like English is in the Modern world. 6= Fairly obscure, but still spoken (a rare dialect of Chinese) 7= dead language, known by most casual scholars and those who consider themselves "worldly" 8= dead language, though still known among the most dedicated scholars (perhaps a secret, ancient tongue like Atlantean) 9= no longer in use, but records do exist and can, with effort, be understood (Example: Ancient Egyptian) 10= a long lost language, with no written records that can be deciphered, no indication of where spoken or who spoke it It'd be great, although if you don't want to, that's fine. I just need to know where Amir's area of expertise really is ^_^]]
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Posted: Thu Sep 28, 2006 12:56 pm
Amir nearly raced down the wooden stairs, ears and nose leading him to the blessed dinner bell and its implications. He bumped past several people on the way, calling various apologies as he continued ever downwards.
There! He was saved. Grabbing a bowl of whatever had been prepared, Amir didn’t even sit down before beginning to wolf down his food. It was delicious of course, but Amir was the first to admit he wasn’t picky. You couldn’t be, with a life like his. After all, cooked food tasted much better than grass roots and raw slugs.
Once he’d eaten two helpings, Amir decided it would be best to find the captain and announce that he was here, and see if he was really needed, or if he could retire somewhere to pursue his own plans. He had no mind to hinder the voyage, assuming he found the real plans for it, but Amir seriously doubted that he was the only one on board who had plans to explore and prosper from this little trip.
“Hmm…” Amir muttered, disposing of his bowl. “What’s the plan for this anyway?” The invitation had hinted at exploration (and Amir’s heart swelled at the thought), but ulterior motives were more than likely.
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Posted: Thu Sep 28, 2006 3:13 pm
((Eh, ok, you can understand draconic but only the common tongue. I'm putting that one somewhere in between 7 and 8. You can learn it with some effort but it'll take a lifetime's study to decipher all the extra intonations, tone of whistles, etc.
(Please note that the following post has absolutely no reference to the story at all and will probably only interest fey_girl and even she may get bored. So feel free to skip.)
Even Draconic at its most common is still a rather complex language, carrying certain different undertones for different clans. The clans themselves speak their own dialect which I reserve the right for you not to understand or be capable of learning. Of course, no other dragons will understand clan-dialect either so all you really need to know is the common tongue anyway.
Then there's Casual Common and Formal Common. Formal Common is specifically designed not to give offense to other-clan dragons. As I said before, different words may have slightly different meanings for dragons from different clans.
Formal Common uses completely neutral words. Its the language one dragon will use to greet any strange dragon, at least initially. And all Elder dragons will always be addressed in Formal Common by any other dragon of a different clan, even if that dragon is an Elder himself.
Casual Common is for dragons who know each other a little better and won't take offense if the other speaks out of turn. Dragons are very big on politeness and honor so when I say "dragons who know each other a little better" I mean dragons have known each other for years. Otherwise, Formal is the best option. Casual is a bit like slang. Formal is more proper.
There's even a variant on Formal to speak with Draconic Elders. Normal Formal would be something like "Hello, how are you?" Ultra-Formal would be more "Good day, good sir. Is everything to thy satisfaction?"
Ok, I think that'll be all about the draconic language. If I haven't bored you to tears yet, fey_girl, I hope your char will find this info useful.))
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Posted: Thu Sep 28, 2006 3:20 pm
Memory_Melancholy [Mercedes Lackey is a favorite of mine, yes. heart However, the hertasi don't slur as the griffins might. And Luft, like some gryphons trained in the human tongue, usually don't slur unless they are relaxed, angered, or sad. I think I mentioned something about Luft being happy that she had not slurred, somewhere in the pledge-post. Thank you for noticing that, though. And I really like the way shrinking into a human affects your dragon character, very realistic. 3nodding I would post, but I'm waiting for a few more people to do so. It's not fun to have to read a lot of posts if you haven't been able to post during your busy time. XD By the way, to make it easier, please call me Memory. And Luft will be slurring every now and then, mainly in the presence of the dragon. Gryphons simply do not like anything bigger than them. This doesn't mean they can't/won't be friends though, so no worries.] ((That's good. Dragons have pretty much gotten used to everything being smaller than they are, so Tanyeera'll treat Luft very politely. Thanks for the comment, I wasn't sure if I portrayed Tanyeera absolutely having to bounce along right. I'm glad I've found a fellow Lackey fan. I ransacked every library in Singapore for her books and any new book she publishes will be instantly borrowed by me, no questions asked. She's proved over and over again how good she is so I don't even need to read the back of the book to know it'll be just as good if not better than the rest. 3nodding Maybe we should take this to the PMs. I'd like to talk more about her books to a fellow fan but I'll feel guilty cluttering up this RP in praise of her books.))
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Posted: Thu Sep 28, 2006 6:47 pm
((I'm going to assume that was directed at myself, fey. Also, it should have been taken directly to PMs when you felt the desire to discuss it, in my opinion.))
Captain Zeiser had been standing on the upper deck with his hands resting on the railing when he was approached by a figure he didn't yet know. When he was asked of the plan, he couldn't help but reply with his own question: "First, tell me who you are. I like to know to whom I speak before I do so." The fellow didn't seem to have much regard for respect; that or he didn't care. Either way, Zeiser found it interesting. His gaze returned to the lower deck as he watched men retreat to the bowels of the Seraphim for dinner while others were coming up after having already finished. "Walk with me, if you will, sir." Zeiser stepped down to the lower deck and began strolling amongst the crew, making sure each performed their job and performed it with diligence. Zeiser had a pet peeve for slackers and lazy men. He didn't expect any, though, on such a ship. No one was supposed to be any less than the best.
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Posted: Thu Sep 28, 2006 7:20 pm
((I'm terribly sorry if I did indeed commit an unknown faux pas... I'm still new to this whole online rp, so I'm truly sorry if I somehow commit grevious errors... Please let me know if I do so... A thousand apologies.... redface Theoretically, Amir was talking to himself and would have presented a much better image once he had found the captain... again, whoops...))
“Of course, good sir!” Amir said with a low, respectful bow. He then grinned and put his hands behind his back, an attempt at a formal position held mainly to keep from thrusting out his hand for the sometimes customary greeting: Amir had found that this could occasionally be extremely offensive, and so tried to avoid it, though it was still a habit.
“Amir-aydim Madhav Hakim, at your service and disposal. I’ve hopefully found the right man and have not been mislead by a mischievous deckhand.” Amir waited for a response before continuing, smiling in an amiable sort of way. He procured his invitation with a slight flourish, still elated that he had been chosen, and handed it to the captain. All of the formality was killing him, but he knew it had to be done. If all went well, he’d have only a day or two of this stuffy talk before he could relax. Besides, Amir liked the looks of this fellow, used to pompous, fat merchant captains as he was.
“I know almost every tongue spoken anywhere, and I’m a quick study if not,” Amir continued, following the Captain back down into the hull. The flurry of activity below both excited and calmed him. “However, the invitation I received was a little, well, vague. I’m not sure how I’m needed and what for. I’m grateful, of course,” he added hurriedly, brown eyes widening with emotion, “but I don’t exactly know how I can be helpful at this point, aside from a fairly-able deckhand.” Amir allowed himself another grin, hoping that the Captain was a friendly man. If not, informality would probably end up being a problem…
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Posted: Fri Sep 29, 2006 5:51 pm
Cold wind flattened feathers along her body, but her ever in motion wing feathers remain firmly stable. It was only an hour past sunset and the open ocean seemed very tranquil, if not dark. As the griffin continued her flying routine she noticed that the gulls had given a few more screams and headed off.
Strange...I thought they'd stay until we had chucked any leftovers...
The sudden drone of leathery wings flapping makes Luft's eyes widen slightly. She turned about in midair to hover with her tingling wings, they wanted a quick rest but she did not. When the dragon wheezes out a statement, the gray griffin is slightly startled but recovers. Never before had anyone called her Wing-sister and so she decided that this dragon is friendly.
"Yesss, a dinnerrrrrr ssoundssss fine. Thank you, lady drrrragon."
Luft's nares flush a dark color as she realizes she has slurred due to her race's tension from bigger beings. Swiftly spiraling down to an empty deck, she slows and lands with care. The kitchen is not too far, but a barking sort of sound from the dark water makes the gryphon perk her ear tufts and look over the railing. There is a group of seals, meaning a fresh meal for her.
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Posted: Fri Sep 29, 2006 9:28 pm
As Tanyeera lazily drifted over the Seraphim, she heard some seals barking. Eying them from above, she briefly considered a quick snack. Then, noticing that the griffin too was looking at them with speculation, she decided to leave the seals alone.
After all, she'd already eaten at the kitchen. The griffin deserved to enjoy a meal in peace, whether she ate the meal from the kitchen or elsewhere, that was her own business.
Tanyeera spiralled higher and higher, till the Seraphim was just a little dot in the vast ocean and moonlight gilded her wings and silvered her scales. Truly, there was nothing better than flight.
((Hey, at some point in the journey, shall there be a pirate ship or ten? After all, sentries don't just warn, they guard.))
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