Phoenixes Part I: Dark Morning

[Athios von Krauss]

Athios von Krauss here, welcoming all who wish to join to the world of Nastrazia, land of the draconic, a world overrun by the Darker Forces.

In a brief history, Nastrazia has been an unsettled nation as a whole. In the beginning, there was nothing but nomads and raiders, you know, your typical starting in-the-beginning type of world. But, as centuries passed, the nomads settled in small tribes, called Shi'dra. These Shi'dra soon grew large enough to become cities. But nothing was as it seemed. The Shi'dra each developed their own beliefs about the forces of the world. Some believed in a higher power, some believed in the elements, and some didn't believe at all.
This caused massive civil unrest, and a great civil war broke out, covering the entire nation. For the past 500 years, the Greatwar has been raging, and countless lives have been thrown against each other, lost among thousands of battles.
But now, a new enemy has arrived from the Depths, known as the Darker Forces, or Darkka in the common language.
Now, the lives of all of Nastrazia are in a danger greater than they have ever faced before, and must make a choice: band together and fight off this new foe, or perish in the coming storm. One thing is for sure: only those who fight for what they think is their purpose will survive.

Note: This takes place in essentially modern times, with elements included from medieval/mystical (magic, fantastic creatures) and modern times (guns, scientific stuff). Try not to make it too complex, though. Thanks.  

[Athios von Krauss]

Okay, here's the deal. Your profile should include:

Gaia Name:
Name: (can be the same name as Gaia name)
Age: (oldest can be 20,000)
Weight/Height: (put both)
Alignment/Beliefs: (what are your beliefs?)
Home Shi'dra: (your Shi'dra)
Description: (keep it simple, people!)
Powers: (what do you control? what can you do? nothing too god-like, ok?)

Any questions before we set off to save (or destroy) Nastrazia?
Ah, yes, a quick tid-bit: put your profile(s) into the rp, so the other people participating can know what your character is really like. Joining can be done at any time, even if the rp has gotten into some really deep part of the storyline.  

[Athios von Krauss]

Gaia name: Athios von Krauss
Name: Athios von Krauss
Age: 164
Weight/Height: 148 lbs./6'0"
Alignment: Believes in the elements
Shi'dra: Ishu'mon
Description: A steel-blue skinned Draconian, he is normally quiet, but loves to go exploring. Keeping up with him can be challenging at times. He can become hotheaded if there is enough instigation. He uses a behemoth-slayer, a massive blade used for killing creatures, big and small alike.
Powers: Can control ice and water, and can manipulate light to create illusions.  

[Athios von Krauss]

OokamiShiroi, I got your pm, and your profiles will be posted here:

Gaia Name: Ookamishiroi
Name: Kiri
Age: 500
Weight/Height: 125lb/5'9"
Alignment/Beliefs: Elemental
Home Shi'dra: Ha'furuku
Description: White and silver brindled draconian, build on elegant lines rather than muscular. Sage of the wind, she can often be serious, but has many faces. Uses an antiquated bow and arrows, but also carries a pistol and long knife.
Powers: Controls wind, can change the weather in certain circumstances.

Gaia Name: Ookamishiroi
Name: Kuro
Age: 113
Weight/Height: 183lb/ 6'3"
Alignment/Beliefs: Beleives in nothing, only the present exists
Home Shi'dra: None, wanders the world as he will.
Description: Riku had a spell cast upon him, going from his glorious brindled black draconic form to that of a human. He wanders the world looking for the one who cast the spell so that they can remove it. He uses an Odachi, or japanese longsword, as well as a wakizashi when it is needed.
Powers: Giving shadows material weight, using them as shields/weapons. He can also manipulate them to make it seem as if they have been given life, or are real people, but cannot do it for long and must not move while controlling them.

You're welcome in advance.  

[Athios von Krauss]

OOC: Okay, I'll post first since I'm guessing you all want to know what the posts should look like...(first person is preferable, present tense, in-character thoughts in italics, you may pick what other characters say, just make it seem like they'd say it.)

It's a warm day, unusual for Isha'mon. I sit in the shade of a nearby tree, watching the swimming hole, waiting for it to clear out. I smile, thinking to myself what a good life I have. I've got my own business, manufacturing weapons for the soldiers in the front lines. I can't really say what I think about this war, but there are many more stores opening, offering weapons and services to the soldiers. Maybe no one would notice if I left for a few days or so...

I get up, and wander toward town, creating a mental list of all I would need for an adventure. The Shi'dra, full of one and two-story buildings, is fairly large, considering it's small population. But it's size is due to the large manufactories for the many weapons and arms produced here.

I reach my house, a two-story building on main street, built of wood with metal plating. The bottom floor contains my weapon shop, and the top floor is my home. As I reach the door to my shop, I notice someone inside. Obviously, I think that they were there to buy, not knowing if I was avaliable. I walk through the door, and the bell above it rings. The other draconian turns, and I notice that she has white and silver, instead of the usual mono-colored skin. I walk over and give a hearty "Hallo, can I help you at all?"

She at first makes no motion to speak. I wonder why she's so quiet? Normally, anyone in here knows what they want...  

[OokamiShiroi]

OOC: does this mean we are starting?

I turn knowing someone is there before the bell rings. A sturdily built bluish grey skinned draconian who I assume is the owner of this shop greets me and I am slightly surprised by his hearty demeanor. I would have expected the owner of a weapons shop to be a cold eyed veteran, but this draconian was anything but.

I realize that I have disconcerted him with my silence and quickly attempt to make amends, "Forgive me," I say, with a slight bow of respect, "I was merely passing through and your shop caught my eye."

The unstrung bow at my back and the quiver at my hip would clearly mark me as an archer and not a swordsman as this man obviously was. And from the looks of this shop, most of his customers would be blade wielders as well.  

[Inarath]

Gaia Name: Serpent44
Name: Ki Salamander
Age: ???
Weight/Height: light, short
Alignment/Beliefs: Doesn't really care
Home Shi'dra: Shea'Dker

Description: A short cat-like demon with purple eyes, short white fur, black tipped ears and a black tipped tail. She wears a black scarf, a black sleeveless shirt, and dark brown pants. She looks like a little kid, and has mastered the use of the puppy-eyes. She also has two long daggers.

Abilities: Ki is good at climbing, and she uses magic to move from one shadow to another (for short distances). Her favorite attacks are moving behind a person and stabbing them in the back, and jumping off a high place and landing on someone.

Other: Ki has a large pet spider named Nina. She's about 6 inches from leg-to-leg, and usually stays hidden. Ki and Nina can understand each other, and are good friends. Nina is very poisonous. She is black with red feet and small red spots on her back.  

[Inarath]

Ki walks into the weapons shop and starts to look around. She had just broken her last dagger and needed a replacement. "Hey! Mister! How much are these? Ki holds out a pair of long daggers with a tiny dragon on the bases of each blade.  

[Athios von Krauss]

I turn towards the door, hearing it ring again. I gasp a little bit as I see a demon in white fur, with obviously feline features, and purple eyes. She is holding out two daggers, each with a dragon emblazoned on the base of each blade; one of my store's special styles of daggers, mostly used for show, not war.
"Hey, mister! How much are these?"
"Uhh...lets's see...600 gold for the pair. Though if you're planning on using them in battle, forget about it. They're showpieces." I explain to the cat-demon. "Now, if you want some real blades, try these," I say, holding out two steel daggers, each about a foot long. "They are perfect for war, and they have a good upkeep."
"Uh-huh. And how much are they?" asks the cat-demon.
"Only 400 gold for both." I respond. "By the way, can I get your name? I prefer to keep my records..."
"Sure, my name's Ki. I'm not from around here, but don't tell anyone."
"No offense, but that's kinda obvious."
We both grin, then begin to laugh. I smile, and feel glad that Ki has a sense of humor. I turn back to the draconian in my shop.
"And now, you said that my shop caught your eye? How so? There are quite a few shops that are of much better quality than mine."
Interesting that she would want to stop by my shop. I don't really support ranged weapons, but I do have the skill to do so... But still, that doesn't seem to be the exact reason why...hrmmm.  

[OokamiShiroi]

I press a taloned finger to my lips, trying to find a way to explain. "Your shop, it has," I pause, trying to think of the word in this language, "how should I say it, a good wind."

I shrug, having not found the best explanation for this, but continue, "The other shops' wind is soft on the outside, but hard on the inside. Yours is the opposite. What was the word,... it has heart." I nod, having got the gist of it out.

"Anyway, since you do not seem to specialize in the weaponry I use, maybe you can do a sharpening. It is not my specialty as sharpening a blade is much different than doing the same for an arrowhead." I pull my long knife from it's sheath behind my quiver.

I hold it out to him, the blade resting on the back of my free hand. It is a magnificent piece of work, I know. Given to me as a gift when I helped a sword smith. It's blade, rippling blue and grey reminds me even now of the wind, and the characters in my language, etched into the flat of the blade, do not weaken it, but rather strengthen the steel. It's hilt did not reflect the beauty but was rather utilitarian, wrapped in tough cord with a simple oval guard. The only thing that marred the knife was it's blade. Nicked slightly near it's curve and sharpened at a small angle, not something you want on a knife.  

[Inarath]

The daggers the shopkeeper handed Ki were of good quality. They had perfect balance and had a good weight, and though they weren't particularly beautiful, they seemed a lot sharper and more sturdy than the decorative ones. Ki could tell that, though the shopkeeper was kind of weird, he was honest, too, because instead of having her pay for the more expensive ones that would likely break on the battlefield, he showed her the better, less expensive ones.

Ki put the daggers on the counter, and got out her purse. ...OK, so this one is worth 10, and this one is worth 25... Blast it! What's this one worth!? Ki glared at the coin she was holding. Though Ki had been in this country for a month and could speak it's language fluently, she still couldn't count the currency here. It was immensely annoying.  

[Athios von Krauss]

"Well, it's nice to know someone appreciates pure quality over quantity. Those other shops are full of themselves," I say as I walk behind the counter of the shop. I reach underneath and pull out a whetstone, used for sharpening all sorts of edges. I then pull out a piece of diamond.
"Is that a diamond?" asks the other draconian.
"Yeah, I prefer using it, despite its rarity. You know, diamond is the hardest substance ever," I explain as I scrape the edge of the knife she handed me. I try to be careful, as I never have let anyone really see how I work. I then use the diamond to finish, creating an edge so sharp, it can cut through a rock like paper or butter.
I give the blade back, and then ask "By the way, I never got your name."
"You may call me Kiri. I am from Ha'furuku."
"Wow, you're a long ways from home. What are you doing up north this far? You're almost in the mountains by now." I tell Kiri.
Kiri falls silent, and I shrug. I turn back to help Ki, who seems to be having trouble with the coin of the realm.
I point to the large iron gray piece in her hand. "That one's worth about 100, so four of those will pay for the daggers. But, if you don't have enough, then don't worry about it. You could help me around the shop a little, since I plan on going on a trip in three days time, and I know I need help cleaning up my messes. You'll be paid for the work, exactly enough to pay for the daggers."
I offer my hand, waiting for a deal to be made or denied.  

[OokamiShiroi]

I am a bit surprised that I told him my name, but I let it go, having more or less gotten a feel for his wind. Anyway, I am not well known around here and the plateau into which Ha'furuku is built is far from here. my enemies would not follow me here, I hope.

Carefully I pick up my knife and examine the edge. Interesting, I think to myself, then lightly skim my thumb across the blade. Most interesting. I lick the cut to stop the bleeding, wondering at how he did it while sheathing my knife after wiping off the small trace of blood that I had left on it. "How much do I owe you?" I ask, pulling my wallet out of it's pocket on my quiver.  

[Inarath]

Ki thought about what the shopkeeper said. Well, I don't seem to have enough of those large coins, and I don't have much else to do, so why not?
"Before I make a deal with you, I need to know what your name is, and if you're afraid of large spiders." Ki said.  

[Athios von Krauss]

(OOC: I wonder if we'll get some more people in here anytime soon... Hey, try to get other guild members interested, if it pleases you.)

After hearing both of the girls out, I decided to make a few decisions. I turn to Kiri.
"Well the average payment for a shaprning is around 60 kin (currency). But I've never worked on such an intricate blade before. Might I ask where you got it from?"
Kiri doesn't respond. I look at her with pleading eyes, but she just turns away. I shrug, and turn to Ki, who had just asked me for my name and if I was afraid of spiders. Spiders, of all things! But she also mentioned them being very large...
"Firstly, you can call me Athios, or Athi if you're feel like it. And second, spiders? I don't get it. Why would spiders scare me?"