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 Posted: Sun Aug 22, 2010 8:38 pm
 the Joining.
In the beginning of magic there was balance. Balance between dark and light. Balance between life and death. Nature was it's maker, the Mother, and it charged it's children with its protection.
Guardians of Life Magic, the Fairies were named first. Sprites, Pixies, Nymphs, and Mer-folk, all manner of magical folk, they who call themselves the First Born. Gifted the Light magic, they govern the power to manipulate the senses with illusions, songs, dance, and the greater power still - Creation. As their ability is in the image of the Mother so their arrogance has grown. They are still benevolent, kind, and sometimes even charitable, but their nature is ever always shaded by an air of superiority. Their charge is the preservation of Nature and its creatures, but always still they must obey the older law: Balance in all things.
Then came the Second Children, the spirits of darkness, the Guardians of Death Magic. Named the Second Born both by order of their birth and as slang meant to belittle them, the Vampires, Werewolves, Ghosts and other manners of shadow creatures have always been both feared and reviled for their manner. Few are those who know and appreciate their role in the Mother's kingdom, for despite the rumors that they were not birthed from her they were, indeed, a part of her womb. They have always been masters of Death, both herding lost souls and culling the population of man and beat, and it is their charge that is both dark and vital. It is no evil that they serve, simply Balance.
Each govern great bodies of magic, the children of both worlds weaving a tapestry of dark and light, but neither is greater than the other no matter the boasts and bravado of one or the other.
The Fae, spirits of light and the sky, command all that is considered "good" and hide themselves from mortals in the shapes and forms of all winged creatures. The Fairies, the royal blood of the First Born, take wing and become great birds while the more lowly courts, the Sprites and Pixies, maintain only the forms of insects.
The Dark Ones, spirits of the shadow and the earth, command only that which is birthed from both. The greatest among them, the Vampires, are able to take the form of winged rodents - bats - but this is no true imitation of the First Born's flight for they are always dark and blind to the sky that they intrude on. The lesser Second born then are the Werewolves, so named for their form, and the others, more creatures anchored to the Earth that they govern.
For generations both sides have equally opposed and supported one another, conflicting in war zones and cooperating in the sacred grounds, ever watching one another with both coveting and loathing eyes. Whenever the two sides have come together in the thousands of years since the Beginning it has always been in contest, or opposition, but for one circumstance: the Joining.
Once every hundred generations there is a marriage, a union between the two sides, where one child born on the Harvest Moon on the Light side is gifted to a child born to slaughter on the Dark. A Harmony of discord, seeds to sow balance, and an honor offering to the great Mother. Such a child has been born to the First Born, the Fairies, and she has been groomed and raised for this moment, her moment, when she would be wed at the Joining to a mate of her choice.
This child is not like the others, however. Though she is dutiful, and loyal, she is keener and more clever than those who have gone on before. Her name is Sariel, the Fairy Queen, and this is her Joining.
Will she adhere to tradition and take a Second Born for her mate?
Will she break the mold and follow her heart?
Or will fate decide and guide her to a course both to happiness and peace between the two worlds?
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Posted: Mon Aug 23, 2010 1:02 pm
 Bright amethyst orbs seemingly too large for the face they sat in stared back at their owner from the looking glass. They moved to look at the elegant updo her long silvery hair was in for the occasion tonight. A soft sigh escape her petite yet kissable mouth, Sariel was truly scared about this celebration. To have to pick a mate to would last forever. One that would stand by her, help her rule and yet not wrest power from her. A tall order. Forget about love, romance no matter how badly she wanted it. The young fairy already had her own insecurities about being Queen, but to add a Joining to the order seemed so incredibly difficult.
An added stressor was that if she failed to find a mate by the end of the Joining Celebration, she would be forced to relinquish the throne...to the Second Born. The Fey had ruled for centuries upon centuries. Sariel couldn't remember a time in all her life and tutoring that the vampiric line had ruled.
Like any creature, stress could take a physical toll, and the young Queen was no exception. Her beautiful silver wings fluttered nervously behind her, their golden veins streaking through the space behind her. Taking a deep calming breath, Sariel plastered a demure smile across her face, and settled her wings behind her so they looked like a shimmering silver cape. Her petite hands shook softly at her side as she strode confidently from her room; the long uneven hem of her strapless gown swishing across her lithe legs.
The walk down the long corridors of the palace seemed forever and unrelenting, and yet much faster then she was ready for the young fey stood before the tall imposing doors that would lead into the celebration of the Joining. It couldn't truly start without her. More deep breaths....her chest heaving from trepidation.
A nod to the guards allowed them to open the door with a superior air, showcasing her in her majesty. To her credit, Sariel did not show her lack of confidence, but stepped to the edge of the balcony before her, her wings fluttering madly and floated gently to the ballroom floor before the rest of the court.
 Her sweet smile reached her deep eyes as she looked at both the fey and vampires, "Thank you so much for joining me for such a wonderful occasion. I do hope you will all enjoy your time here."
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Hillbilly Hikari Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2010 11:50 am
Eylis Honeysweet was unaccustomed to such to-do's, much more familiar in the forested woods of her upbringing and family, and she found herself longing for the starry nights, the cool mountain air, and the smell of leaves. Even the majesty of these halls, the beauty of their ancient and magical construction (because it was plain to see that only magic could have constructed such magnificence out of stone, marble, and diamond.) She was not so much bored as completely out of her element, in both appearance and manner, and she cast a sideways glance about her at those nearest to her. Not many of the Dark Ones had arrived, the Second Born, and she was regretting that fact. She'd never met a Second Born, though she had heard the calls of some of the Werewolves in her forests she was far too young to have gone off in search of them. At this moment she found herself wishing some would show, as strange as she appeared in the company of her fellows they would draw any strangeness from her.
She had nothing grand to dress in, her and her other sprite-kin, but she had wanted to come. Sprites did not live as long as other Fairies and she was afraid it would be the only Joining she would be able to witness. So she'd arrived in a flutter of her own, along with a number of woodland friends that had since made themselves scarce, and done what she could for her appearance. A cream colored dress made of the softest of petals in the morning dawn, some still with some dew upon their lengths, was a myriad of white and yellow as the base of the petals boasted of gold and faded then into white. It was strapless, and much more like a tunic than a dress, and showed more leg than she was now realizing was appropriate. While those around her were adorned in what looked like crystal and silk robes, perhaps spun for just this night by spiders befriended, her own garb was simple and plain. To top it off, she had not thought of the need for shoes - her own feet, though dainty and small, were bare and still colored in the very earth she had danced upon that morn.
When the Queen made her appearance all worry eased from Eylis. Her beauty washed over the room like a wave of serenity and peace and, for a moment, the young sprite's mind was calm. Then, after that moment, she found herself reaching up to her thick, dark curls and attempting to brush them. Though she'd secretly always been vain of her lovely, rich earth colored locks, now it seemed such a common color - one that any mortal could be born with - in comparison to the jeweled color of the Queen. Her deep blue eyes, dark and bluer than the ponds and rivers in her home, were veiled by her lashes as she pulled out a stray vine from her hair and sighed in the wake of the Queen's entrance.
Any insecurities were quickly gone, fleeting as most emotions were in a creature like Eylis, and she found herself looking around the room and wondering who the Queen would take for a mate.
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Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2010 1:13 pm
Tempest, as she was better known in this world, was only present out of decorum. As the oldest of the Fairy court, and any sprite or pixie as well for that matter, it would have been far too noticed if she had not made an appearance. A Blessing of the Ancients - that's what she had been sent to produce and, when she felt the time was right, she would. Perhaps that time was now.
She stepped forward, each step she took leaving a trail of sparks and mist, a strange combination of elements for the elder Fairy, and she clapped her hands. From that action came the sound of thunder, with each clap it, too, clapped, and she applauded the grace and graciousness of the young Queen. It was important to show this support for their ruler especially in front of the Second Born. There had been talk of sabotage on the wind, betrayal whispered on the rain, and this Ancient would not have it. Powerful and beautiful in her years, one of the first of the First Born, Tempest was undeviatingly loyal to the throne.
"Your Majesty." She said with an elegant bow of her head to the younger fairy. Her voice was a strange contrast to the volume of her applause, ushered in as gentle as rain in the night as she spoke. "The Ancients are with you to Bless you in this Joining."
Not a second after she spoke, her head still bowed, but more thunder played out over their heads within the great hall. There were no storm clouds but great rumbles of a building storm echoed and, at no movement of Tempest's, her wings disappeared into sparks at exactly the same time as a great lightning strike snaked downwards between them into the center of the room. It's energy flew out and then burrowed into the stone, filling its marble veins with an otherworldly glow. The Circle was cast and the hall was now shrouded in the most primal of magical wards against danger.
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Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2010 6:05 pm
It had been quite some time since Azria had seen some of the Fairies and Sprites that were here at the gathering to see who the Queen would take as a mate from the Second Born that had amassed here. She was in such a fine mood that a sprite next to her caught her eye as they locked eyes for a moment. Was she looking for someone? It made her smile anyway to the Sprite.
"Hello there."
She said reflexively as manners dictated. She could not remember when she had not been hospitable or ill-mannered ever. Her heart glistened just as the moon does off the forest rivers on a clear autumn night.
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Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2010 8:41 pm
Eylis blinked her deep blue eyes rapidly and then looked around her for the voice, taking a moment to realize that the voice was addressing her.
"Oh, hello." She said somewhat timidly, making no effort not to hide slightly behind her wild, forest colored hair. As she peered up through both lash and mane, she considered the fairy before her. She seemed friendly enough...
Emotions flipping like a switch, Eylis tossed the handful of curly hair that had been veiling her face back over her shoulder and extended a slim arm and her petite hand.
"Eylis Honeysweet, but my friends call me Acorn. Nice to meet you!" She grinned widely at the friendly introduction and giggled slightly at her own boldness, revealing her spritely sharp canines.
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Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2010 11:37 pm
Azria reciprocated the gesture and giggled herself, the tune light and airless like the night. It was no secret how and when she was born. It had appeared she was simply born from the night itself. She smiled taking note of the Sprite's actions. She did not much care though. If she was known for anything, it was making friends for a lifetime.
"Azria Al 'Cindrin. You can call me Azria. Very few people mention my last name as it is a slightly difficult name to remember."
Her own smile widened, with her teeth glistening bright as a star. She liked this Eylis, quite so. Perhaps they would become best of friends. Her attention had been quickly wrapped up in Eylis, that she had nearly forgotten where she was. She blinked once and looked around before looking back at Eylis.
"Who do you think the Queen will choose?"
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Posted: Thu Aug 26, 2010 2:12 pm
Eylis shrugged as she cast her deep blue eyes around the room curiously.
"I really cannot say." She said, looking back to the Fairy with a small smile. "I've never met a Second Born before so I would not be able to guess the who."
The young Sprite wonders for a moment what the Fairy may have meant by that question. As far as she knew, very few among the First Born were friendly to the Second Born enough to know their names, so how would anyone know.
"Did you have a guess?"
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