Welcome to Gaia! ::

I t ' s

The forest was windy that morning. The trees in the forest shook violently with it. She wondered if the tree house would be swaying. The island was a bit quieter this time than for the start of the first game. A bit gloomier too. She could almost sense the fright in the air. Her team lost the first game. Zeladis had won. It scared her to know that they were another step toward the stone. A step ahead of Ithus, and two steps ahead of Mallandaia. The looks on most of her teammate’s faces reflected her unspoken thoughts. She didn’t dare say a word of the severity of their situation. She was afraid of turning her team’s morale more south. Instead, she needed to think of something inspirational to say. ’Hmmm…’ Reizo stood next to Saiyuri, sniffing the air. There were a lot of new and some familiar scents.

While she tossed inspiration ideas about, she headed to the platform to listen to the game instructions. By the time everyone had gathered, the man had started talking. She listened to the game’s setup. ’Knights and Damsels? That’s ridiculous!’ She wanted to vocalize her displeasure, but it would have been a bad example to her team. But what was worse than the game’s setup was the role she was just assigned. ’A damsel? He expects me to play a damsel? What is this garbage? I am a warrior, not a maiden in need of rescuing.’ But she could only imagine how the guys were feeling. Being male and a damsel would be worse. But, it should be interesting to hear how the game will be played. She listened on.

’Great. So we have no powers and are allowed a tiny weapon. We might as well be objects. Of course, that seems to be the idea.’ It was obvious that not everyone loved this game as much as the last. But they had to remember that this wasn’t just a game. It was the closest thing to war without declaring it. When the man finished, she walked with her group to their gate. In front of it were a few game moderators and some tables. They were set up according to last name. The first table was for people with names from A to F, then G to M, then N to T, and finally U to Z. Saiyuri went to the second table and stood in line. When it came to her turn, the woman sitting at the table handed her a map and then came around the table to paint the Ithus symbol on Saiyuri. The woman pressed the cold brush to her left shoulder blade and made the swirls that symbolized air. When she was done, she told her to hold out her wrist. Saiyuri did, and the moderator placed a metal bangle on her wrist. She closed the metal around her thin wrist, and locked it with a tiny key. Then, the woman searched her. She felt in pockets, sleeves, boots, anywhere she could have been hiding a weapon. The only one she found was her sword. The woman returned to the other side of the table and asked, “I will need to take your sword, and since you don’t have a smaller weapon, you may choose from these.” There were a bunch of small weapons aligned at the front of the table. She handed her sword to the woman, and picked up a simple dagger from the table. She tested the weight, balance, and sharpness. ”This will do.” She said. The woman replied. “Then you’re all set.”

Saiyuri passed the table and walked to the gate. After everyone passed through the tables, the gate opened and the game begun.

She entered the forest and took a glace back at her teammates. She wanted to gather them and settle things before moving any further. She didn't see Gian at the moment, so she figured she would gather them for him to speak to. "Everyone, gather over here. We're going to have a meeting before we start." She called over the crowd of knights and damsels.