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 Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2005 5:52 pm
-Introduction- Welcome to the RP, Etsuko: The Land of the Phoenix. Some of you may recognize this RP from Barton a few months ago before Gaia had a major meltdown and fell into shambles. And for that I will personally smite each and every one of the Gaia administrators! Anywho, thank you for coming and join if you like. To those who were part of this RP before Gaia migrated, I am deeply sorry if your part was taken.
-Table of Contents-
1. Introduction and Table of Contents
2. Rules
3. Story
4. Good (Profiles)
5. Evil (Profiles)
6. Updates and Important Story Events
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Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2005 6:15 pm
-Rules-
1. This is a LITERATE role-play. Should I spell it out? L-I-T-E-R-A-T-E! Literacy is expected of anyone who joins this role-play. This means that correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation must be used. Nobody simply adores reading something incorrect. Also, if you use stars or dashes for your actions, you will be immediately removed from the role-play. (Translation: Don't do this: -walks in and says hi- hey peeps asl?)
2. Be descriptive, people! It's not a hard thing to do! However, writer's block is part of life, so one-liners are okay every once in a while.
3. DO NOT GODMOD! (Must I really say this?)
4. In order to kill off another character, you must have the person playing the character's permission. Also, notify me before killing the character so I will be able to add on the profile that the character is deceased.
5. Romance is allowed, even encouraged, but for Pete's sake, DO NOT CYBER! Cybering will not be tolerated. If you want to get jiggy with it, go to PM.
6. Spamming will also not be tolerated.
7. This is a medieval fantasy type role-play. I need say nothing more.
8. Multiple characters are allowed, but don't get them mixed up. However, only one of your characters may have a phoenix.
9. No bumping! Go bump somwhere else! For example, the chatterbox.
10. Send all profiles to me in a private message. If you post your profiles in the RPing thread, you will be flamed and maybe even put onto the blacklist.
11. Don't post anything in the RP thread until you have been accepted and instructed to post.
12. Curse words are a part of reality, but don't go overboard. Your sentence, nor your dialogue, should be a straight stream of curses. If you absolutely must use a stream of curses, do it in third person. (RP Ex: A stream of foul language flowed from his mouth as he stubbed his toe.)
13. I understand that sometimes you may have to take extended absences. Therefore, if you know before hand, please notify me beforehand. However, everyone has emergencies sometimes. If you've been gone extensively without telling beforehand, but you have a good reason, your character will be allowed back into play, but you will have to come up with an event where your character returns. (You know, kind of like how Sherlock Holmes died, but he came back.) However, make sure it's believable. Dont' just say, "I magically evaded the attack and lived and hid away for a long time." Be creative!
14. If you have any questions before or after you send me your profile, please don't pester me with private messages. I dislike logging on only to find my inbox completely full. Please post your questions in the OoC Thread, which is located in a link at the bottom of this post.
15. Don't forget to read the introduction! Part of the rules is in there! (Hint-hint: I'm testing you to see if you read everything!)
16. If you find it imperative to add something in OoC on your post in the RP thread, please do something to differentiate it from character actions. (Ex: ((OoC)) [OoC])
*Note: I will add things as they are needed.
Etsuko: OoC Thread
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Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2005 8:20 pm
-A History of Etsuko-
Etsuko--that was what the continent was finally called by its first inhabitants. However, what were these first inhabitants, anyway? Humans--no! Demons--no! Dwarves--no! Elves--no! Any other race you'd expect--no! All of these different creatures were nowhere in existence when the ancient beings named the continent Etsuko. The beings were the phoenixes.
Yes, the phoenixes. No one quite knows from where they migrated, but there were there. Soon, that was the only region where they could be found.
The phoenixes delighted in the Etsukan landscape. It was full of mountains and lush countrysides. There was even a small desert that allowed them to relax, for, after all, the phoenixes' elemental affinity was fire.
For many years, the phoenixes leaved in peace and harmony, until, inevitably, settlers from distant lands arrived. The phoenixes, being as curious as they were, found themselves interacting with the settlers.
First came the demons, who delighted at the thought of beholding the power of the phoenixes. They even began to interact with them more than any other race would. Their efforts lead to a way to telepathically communicate with them.
Next came the elves, with all their grace and splendor. They, being more in tuned with nature than any other race, found communicating with the phoenixes quite easy. They even began to form pacts with the phoenixes.
Next came the dwarves, with their mining and different sorts of crafting. To describe the phoenixes' reaction very simply, is that they angered them to the extreme of wars between the dwarves and phoenixes. The phoenixes were angered by their uprooting of the land and the dwarves were eventually forced to a small settlement in the northwestern part of the continent. There, they came to an agreement with the phoenixes that stated that they would only mine in their personal settlement. Then, all problems were solved and the dwarves eventually isolated themselves from any other part of the continent.
Then came the humans with their bulky ships and simple, yet unique customs. They were quite fascinated with the phoenixes, but preferred to stay away from them, for the fear of their immense power always stayed in the back of their minds.
Eventually, the communication methods of the demons and the pact traditions of the elves spread through to the humans. The dwarves even joined in on the customs after being isolated for hundreds of years. Everything was peaceful for some time except for the every now and then trivial conflict.
However, the peaceful era of Etsuko didn't last for long. It ended with two simple discoveries that would change the lands forever--the value of the tears and feathers of a phoenix.
The debate on how the discovery of how valuable they were would last forever, for no one is sure how the discovery was made, but once it had been discovered, the word traveled fast. A single feather was worth a large fortune and a single tear would heal any would faster than the most advanced medicine.
And so the peaceful era ended.
Poachers soon set out to hunt down the phoenix for their feathers and tears. Any phoenix who was caught would be plucked and tortured to tears. Their bodies would be thrown aside as if they were nothing but scraps of garbage. Those who opposed such an atrocity endeavoured to end it to save their phoenixes, but to no avail. They eventually became extinct.
The last phoenix sighting was rumored to have been just north of a village on the Northeastern edge of Etsuko...but that was five hundred years ago.
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Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2005 2:57 pm
Character Profiles Good
Gaia Name: Shiro Yoshiyuki
Name: Shiro Yoshiyuki
Age: Fifteen
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Class Mage, Mythrilclaimer
Alignment: Good
Weapon: Mythril Staff
Appearance: A brownish mage hat sits atop his slightly spikey azure-blue hair and partially covers his bright green eyes that seem to glow in the darkness due to his excessive level of magic energy. He stands five foot nine inches and he has rather pale skin. He also wears a gray shirt, dark blue pants, and an emerald green cloak.
Bio: Shiro was born on the brother continent of Etsuko, called Akiko and he was raised in Hiroshi Village. The reason for his long distance from home is that his favorite hobby is traveling the world and seeing the strange cultures the world includes. He came to Etsuko upon hearing a strange tale of the phoenixes and decided to investigate further for his own interest. His personality includes a mild short-temper, simple-mindedness, and he strangely seems to become more calm and intelligent when under extreme pressure or when he is very angry.
Phoenix Name: Hotaru
Phoenix Gender: Female
Gaia Name: KrayZi
Name: Wei Kiru
Age: Sixteen
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Class: Magic Swordsman
Alignment: Good
Weapon: One orihalcon sword and one well made normal sword.
Appearance: Wei has dark brownish black hair, that is cut short in front, but left longer in the back and his eyes are a light blue. He has a slim but strong build from physical training, which emphasis more on movement than strength. He wears wears a red t-shirt, another black shirt over that and black pants. Over it all, he wears a brown hoodless cloak but the neck area is thicker.
Bio: Wei was born in Etsuko, and for a long time, his family has had the tradition of raising their children away from civilization from birth to the age of 10, before leaving them in the wild by themself for some time. After that time, they are brought back to civilization to live their life. This tradition started from the time when Wei's ancestors use to travel with Pheonixes. Wei has always had a free spirit, and he is rather blunt in many cases. He still prefers to live his life as he did while he was still young too, away from civilization.
Phoenix Name: Saiha
Phoenix Gender: Male
Gaia Name: kurayami_no_masamune
Name: Schwarz Eingreifen
Age: 22
Gender: Male
Race: Fallen Angel
Class: Scout/Agent (Deals with Intellegence)
Alignment: Good
Weapon: An Adamantium Rapier named Gottesstrafe.
Appearance: He stands at 6'2", and is of medium build. His raven hair is wild and untidy, and probably will never change since he pays it little attention. His eyes have mismatched irises (the right iris is a deep green, while the other is a crimsonish color), but he usually hides the crimson iris behind a green contact lense. He is notorious for wearing an open-backed black trenchcoat and a miniature hourglass pendant, as well as shades when he grows tired of wearing the contact lense. He usually dons a simple black t-shirt with a silver pentacle design, grey cargo pants, white gloves, and steel toed boots. When he's in a serious fight, he replaces the white gloves with steel plated harbinger gloves.
Bio: Schwarz, an enigmatic individual who keeps his past to himself. He is ruled by logic and reasoning, not exactly his emotions. In some cases he is somewhat of a villain, but a courteous villain with a sense of duty. Behind his half smile lies a cunning strategist, always taking in all possibilities in his calculations when making decisions. Because of his unorthadox methods, his loyalties have been questioned from time to time, but it can't be denied that he doesn't have an ultimate goal in mind.
Phoenix Name: Raven
Phoenix Gender: Male
Gaia Name: bookaholic
Name: Aiya Shin
Age: 176
Gender: Female
Race: Demon
Class: Mage
Alignment: Good
Weapon: Shuriken
Appearance: Aiya is 5'9 with tanned skin, long, straight brown hair and green eyes that look like a cat's. She is slender (despite the amount of food she likes to eat) and normally wears comfortable black pants and a green wraparound shirt, and sunglasses to conceal the way her eyes look. She wears five earrings in her right ear and two in her left; each earring holds extra power for emergencies when she's fighting.
Bio: Aiya has spent most of her life trying to hide the fact that she's a demon because despite the fact that some demons have actually helped the phoenixes, there is still prejudice against demons in general. She does mercenary work or, if she really needs money, any kind of job she can find.
Phoenix Name: Shreya
Phoenix Gender: Female
Gaia Name: Shado Rose
Name: Shikyo Taizu-Malkivan
Age: ?? - though she looks close to 20
Gender: Female
Race: Half Angel - Half Vampire
Class: Mercenary; low level Shadow Elementalist
Alignment: Neutral - Taking Good Side.
Weapon: - A black steel greatsword in the shape of a cross with a silver inscription running down the blade 'Multus Sanguis Fluit'
- two curved knives, they appear almost like minature scimatars; both have red blades and hematite stones embedded within the hilt of them; Old incriptions are engraved within their blades.
Appearance: Black strands come to her chin in the front, however on the left side a thick silver highlight stands out. The rest of her hair angles shorter towards the back, though once to the back it is a close cut, almost shaved to her head it's so short. Her bangs cover the right side of her slightly pale face, hiding one of her Jade eyes. Her mouth is hidden from view most of the time from a skin tight black mask, that actually comes from her shirt, though it appears more like a turtleneck when viewed as part of the longsleeve shirt. Over this shirt is another looser one, again it is black and is odd in length; the left sleeve comes down past her fingers by about five inches while there is no right sleeve, it simply shows the skintight longsleeve and the black gauntlets with buckles she wears over her arms, even under her left sleeve. The length of this around the waist comes down about six inches and is secured by a black leather belt. Her pants are baggy, black and have chains criss-crossing the legs though she still has plenty of movement in them; her pant legs are tucked into her black boots which have straps going around the tops, they come up under her knees, and buckles around her shin and ankle.
Bio: Her past is one thing she tends to push far from her mind, though she can remember one thing that keeps her happy at least; her older brother Raziel, though she hasn't seen him for years she can still remember his face. The two can be marked as brother and sister for the markings on their body. (Will be revealed later) As of now she simply continues her life as it goes, living each day as it comes.
Phoenix Name: Mia
Phoenix Gender: Female
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Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2005 2:58 pm
Character Profiles Evil
Gaia Name: SunGazing
Name: Dax Algheri
Age: 29
Gender: Male
Race: Demon
Class: Assassin
Alignment: Evil
Weapon: Dagger, a small pendant, that can be pulled apart to reveal a thin wire for choking, several poisons in small, durable bottles
Appearance: For the most part, Dax looks human. He's freakishly tall & gangly, like a teenager with a growth spurt that never quite gained all of his adult muscle. He has a thin face and bright yellow eyes that seem to always be half-closed and daydreaming. Over his eyes are thin, rectangular glasses which he must regularly push up on his face. His long black hair is straight and tied back in a tight pony tail. His right hand is unusual, mostly because of the fact that he can move it. The reason that that's odd is because it's made of blackened steel.
Bio: He's calm and indifferent. He looks as if he might fall asleep at any moment and has a quiet but strong voice. He's strong-willed and prone to swearing.
Phoenix Name: Tee
Phoenix Gender: Female
Gaia Name: Sith Lord Darth Moren
Name: Darius Korote
Age: 19
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Class: Thief, flame magic user
Alignment: Evil
Weapon: Obsidian Daggers, fire.
Appearance: His reddish eyes seem to stand out from the long black hair that frames his face. His true face is rather or a mystery to most, as he wears a black "scarf" that cvers the lower half of his face. The scarf is actually more of an oversized black bandana that he ties around his face, leaving two long tails billowing behind him. His standard attire is comprised of a black vest overtop a black long-sleeved cloth shirt. The sleeves of his shirt are tucked under bracers on either arm.
On his lower body, he wears a pair of black pants, held up with a leather belt that holds the sheathes of his daggers as well. His pants are cuffed at the bottom, and flare over his leather travelling boots.
Bio: Darius is someone who will help out a random passerby. That is, he'll help lightnen the load of their pocketbook. Anything that's not bolted to something else is fair game to him. And if it is bolted, chances are that he'll get a nifty set of bolts too.
He rarel removes the mask. In fact, the only people who have seen his face are usually the people who happen to catch a glimpse of him when he's eating. Or if they somehow manage to sneak up on him when he's washing it, or sleeping.
Of course, when someone has so dedicated himself to being a sneaky b*****d, it becomes a quest unto itself to sneak up on him successfully.
While he doesn't usually get into an actual fight, he's more than capable of defending himself. He learned a while ago that fire is valuable asset, and so has taught himself a bit of flame magic. Along with his formidable dagger skills, he's a force to be reckoned with when he gets going. Of course, he'd be more than happy to simply steal your weapons, and sell them to someone else rather than fight you.
Phoenix Name: Lyndis
Phoenix Gender: Female
Gaia Name: hihana
Name: Amara Shin
Age: 176
Gender: female
Race: Demon
Class: Mage
Alignment: Evil
Weapon: Sword, Magic
Appearance: Amara looks like her twin sister Aiya in every way, except she has a small burn under her right eye from their last confrontation. She has the same earrings (both girls got them at birth) but wears a black trenchcoat, black jeans, and a black Chinese-style shirt. She also wears a choker with a ruby pendant shaped like a flame.
Bio: There is some serious sibling rivalry between Amara and Aiya. Amara joined the dark side so she'll have a chance to kill Aiya; she doesn't really care who owns the phoenixes, as long as she gets one.
Phoenix Name: Maeve
Phoenix Gender: Female
Gaia Name: Antideluvian
Name: Kaias Baldris
Age: 242
Gender: Male
Race: Undead
Class: Fallen Paladin (Necromancer/Warrior)
Alignment: Evil
Weapon: A magicl long sword that is always ice cold to the touch.
Appearance: Stands at a height of 6'3, pale skin, white hair, dull grey eyes and his body is slim with a light build. His clothing cinsists of black cloth underneath his cold, dark grey armour. The armour he has equiped contains many runes, symbols and it is crafted to resemble that of a dragon. He wares a black hooded robe overtop his armour, the hood is always up concealing his face, although occasionally the bottom of his face would come into view.
Bio: Kaias was turned into an undead at the age of 23, besides that he does not enjoy talking about his life when he was a mortal. Being undead he does not age, nor does he require food, drink, or rest, although from time to time he may partake in any of those activities merely for the sake of humouring his remaining humanity. Kaias serves no one but himself, he killed the one who made him an unliving creature and has been on his own since. He is driven by an unsatiable hunger for magic, so he wanders the world in search of artifacts that might improve his power further.
Phoenix Name: Sargos
Phoenix Gender: Male
Gaia Name: shado rose
Name: Raziel Malkivan
Age: ?? - looks 24
Gender: Male
Race: Fallen Archangel, Vampire
Class: Unknown
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Weapon: Amure - A white katana with an ebony dragon head as the hilt, the blade itself extends over five and a half feet alone. The case is black with odd inscriptions engraved upon it in Angelic, though there are two crimson glyphs at the bottom in Vampiric for the Malkivan Clan mark.
Appearance: What skin can be seen is covered in scars, his eyes are never seen as they are hidden by his chest, almost waist length raven black hair which hangs straight against his form. Around his neck is a cross choker matching his sisters, he wears a loose and torn black robe, the sleeves tattered and coming only to his elbows, his left arm wrapped tightly in bandages; the robe comes to his shins. The rest of his outfit consists of white ronin pants and wooden sandles half hidden from his pants; along the left side a loose black chain dangles around his waist.
Bio: His true past is kept hidden from his hired help, those who took the phoenixs and continue to run with them; Raziel is the leader of the organization who hired others to steal the eggs for them. He makes his appearances when he pleases, using the night to his advantage.
In his past he can remember but one name; that of his younger sister Shikyo who called out to him before he turned into one of the Fallen and lost his wings, he no longer cares for who she is nor the name, it simply sticks with him.
Phoenix Name: Kaze
Phoenix Gender: Male
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Posted: Tue Jul 19, 2005 12:53 pm
-Updates-
7/18/05 - The RP has now opened and people will be allowed to join.
8/24/05 - All good character spots have been filled. No more good characters will be accepted.
9/25/05 - All spots are filled and the RP is full. No more people will be allowed to join.
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Posted: Tue Jul 19, 2005 6:25 pm
Shiro Yoshiyuki, a fifteen year-old mage from Hiroshi Village on the Akiko Continent, sighed as he aimlessly wandered about the capital of some country he couldn't exactly remember the name of. This had been his first visit to the brother continent of Akiko, which was only a few thousand leagues apart from each other. Though, this wasn't exactly the first time he had traveled far away from home on his own. Shiro's favorite hobby was traveling. In fact, he had been almost everywhere anyone could be in the world. Most likely, the reason for his desire to travel might come from living in the quiet Hiroshi Village since he was born.
Shiro liked this place. It was not quiet, nor to busy. Just perfect, he thought. He was now searching for something to relieve himself of persistent boredom that always came back when everything become too quiet for his taste. Everything was slowing down as late afternoon approached rather slowly. He was dragging a long slender staff with a orb-shaped jewel embedded at the top of it on the ground, leaving a line behind him as he walked.
Shiro had heard of the phoenixes. That is why he had journeyed to Etsuko in the first place. He had taken a particular interest in them after researching them. Their tears had many healing powers and their feathers were very valuable. But, no, he had not come here to kill or use them. He simply wanted to know that they existed. How disappointed he was when he found out that they were more legend than fact. But that was when he had heard about the strange eggs that had been discovered. Perhaps they were not a legend, after all. But with no leads to go on, he simply wandered the town.
He was just about to head back to the inn when he heard a scream several meters away from him and then people began scrambling around, endeavouring to get insdie before it was too late. And then he saw it. A person riding a black-colored horse was racing toward the town exit with a sack over his shoulder. After examining the being's magic energy for a moment, he discovered that it was, in fact, a demon. He quickly moved to the side of the road, not wanting to be trampled by the horse that was racing through, but everything seemed to slow down temporarily as he saw a rip in the bag. Out tumbled several oval-shaped objects; all of them red with orange designs blazing on the shell. He immediately knew.
It was an egg.
He was quite shocked for a moment as he stared as the eggs scattered into the fleeting crowds. One rolled toward and him and stopped just short of touching the tip of his foot. He looked from the egg toward the demon whom had not worried about his lost loot. He quickly looked around and kneeled to the egg, placing a hand over it. He felt a shiver rund down his spine and something seemed to click in his brain, as if someone had connected with it through unknown means. He shook his head and just as he lifted his hand from it to take his pack from his shoulder, the egg wobbled slightly.
Shiro blinked and quickly placed the egg into his pack and he stood. He was sure that he should return it back to whoever it had been stolen from, but something kept saying in the back of his mind, keep it and take it with you. He absent-mindedly obeyed and hurried back to the inn.
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Posted: Tue Jul 19, 2005 8:36 pm
"Damn, that guy really doesn't know what's needed in the forest and what's not..." Grumbling, this person wished that he was still in the forests himself. This person was Wei, someone who was used to the harshness of life, rather than the easier side. Helping his family with small delivery job that had been extended, although the delivery often varied to where it should go. Wei didn't get his own horse, but he was quick enough on his feet, and able to take shortcuts through the forests.
As he walked around a house just as a large explosion took place, and a crowd of screaming people came into view. Upon hearing the loud noise, and seeing the confusion, Wei instinctively gripped a tree branch and jumped onto it before he remembered that he reprimanded hismelf yet again that he was in a village. Too many times as a child had he been ambushed by a wild animal when he didn't react.
But from that position, he was able to view what was happening. Someone on a horse, with a brown sack was riding out of the village. The first thought that Wei had was, that it was a thief, who stole many things. But as the sack ripped, and five objects rolled out, Wei was immediately taken in surprise as he saw what they were.
"It can't be..." he mumbled to himself. Looking at the sack, he noticed a few more round objects in it. Looking down at the objects that had fallen, he cursed quickly and jumped off the branch and ran over to the closest one to make sure it didn't get damaged.
Grabbing it off the ground as it rolled in his direction, Wei something like an electrical current run up his arm and into his chest. Shaking the feeling away, Wei quickly moved away from the crowd to make sure he wasn't seeing things as he looked at what he had took.
"This is... A pheonix egg..." he whispered hoarsely to himself as he remembered the descriptions and stories passed around in his family, "Wow... For once I'm feeling excited after delivering something to Morikum... I don't think I'll be going home anytime soon, nor do I know who this belongs to... Damn, I'll have to think this over."
Placing the egg into the bag he had hanging from a shoulder, he ran over into an inn, and got a room.
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Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2005 5:32 pm
Shiro burst through the doors of the inn and endeavoured to ignore a cruel remark from a grumpy old man whom Shiro had nearly knocked over in his hurry to get to his room. He stomped up the stares, creating loud clunking noises, and skidded to a halt, almost slamming into the wall. He looked both ways, forgetting which way his room was. After careful consideration, he took a wild guess and turned left, and then whirled around to the right down another corridor. Fortunately, he seemed very lucky this time, for there was his room was the second last one on the left where the hall ended.
After searching in his pockets for a small brass key, he inserted it into the lock and turned it to the right. Click. He wrenched open the door and slammed it behind him. After tossing the pack onto the bed, not meaning to in his rush, he ran over to the window and drew the curtains, causing the room to become increasingly dark. All that could be seen were his green eyes glowing due to his excessive magic energy. He shuffled around and yelled as his foot collided with a leg of the bed and finally found a small lamp on a desk that was right next to it. Shiro took the Mythril Staff and held it directly over it. "Lyta! [Fire!]" A small flamed faded into view and swirled around the lamp, eventually lighting it, and illuminating the room.
He took a few seconds to catch his breath. He had run very far, but he had no clue as to why he felt the need to conceal the egg from the rest of the world. His eyes fell to his pack and he leaned the Mythril Staff on the wall between the bed and the window. He gingerly opened the pack and removed the remarkable artifact to get a better look at it. He could barely stop looking at it. The red seemed so bright and the elegant orange designs seemed entrancing. His eyes widened as he felt something move inside it and he quickly set it back down on the bed where it began to wobble. "Is it...hatching...?" he thought as he stared in awe at a crack that was slowly getting larger at the very top of the egg.
He remained quite silent as it continued to wobble and as the crack slowly enlarged, moving vertically around the egg. The crack soon surrounded it and it immediately stopped its movement, almost abruptly, really. Shiro moved a bit closer to it, wondering if he should help. He was reaching for it when...
The two sides on either side of the crack flew apart, crashing on the walls and shattering into tiny peices.
Shiro fell backward in surprise, yelling in shock as he hit the ground, definitely not expecting what was happening. His brownish pointy hat had fallen backward onto the ground has his head collided with the wooden floor. He stood, rubbing the back of his head. But he stopped moving completely as he saw what had replaced the wobbly egg.
There on the bed sat a small red bird. It's feathers beheld the same orange designs the egg was encircled in. It's feathers were a bit damp and its yellow glowing eyes were staring directly at him. Shiro stood and gaped at the bird, unable to say anything or move, for that matter.
He finally blinked as it ruffled its feathers. "It is quite cold..." a voice rang in his ears. He whirled around to see nothing behind him. He half-expected for someone to be behind him at hearing the voice. If there was, he would probably be in trouble. However, there was no one there. He turned back to the small bird and stared at it, perplexed. Surely it could not talk to him.
"It is quite cold, here..." he heard again, but something inside him knew. It had been the phoenix who spoke to him. Gaping at it in amazement, he took a spare blanket from the closet and wrapped it gingerly around the shivering bird. It immediately relaxed and closed its glowing yellow eyes. It chirped slightly in contentment. Shiro just stared at it, oblivious to how he had come to find such a magnificent creature.
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Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2005 7:11 pm
As he entered the room, Wei immediately brought the egg out of his bag and set it on the bed, after bundling up the blankets together to keep the egg warm. It wouldn't do well for a phoenix to die before it was even born. Moving towards the window, Wei looked out, and saw that the city had calmed down most of the inhabitants. He wasn't able to get a look at where he picked up the egg though. Wei wondered what happened to the other ones that fell out. Hopefully they weren't damaged either, he was only able to get one of them.
Taking his bag off, and dropping his swords and letting them sit by the wall, Wei turned his attention back to the egg, Wei grabbed the chair set by the table, and brought it by the bed and sat backwards on it, facing the egg. Leaning his head on his arms, and his arms on the back of the chair, Wei leaned in to look more closely at the egg.
Placing a hand on the top of the egg, Wei could feel a bit of warmth and movement coming from it. Smiling as he felt the living life in it, he let his hand rest there for a moment. Suddenly, he pulled his hand back, as he had felt a jolt go up his arm. From the same spot where his hand was, there was a small crack.
"What... Hatching? Wonder how long this phoenix has been in the egg..." mumbled Wei as he peered closer. Shaking a bit, the egg started to move a bit more as the crack spread all over the egg. Quickly moving the blankets away from the egg a bit, so the pieces could fall off the phoenix properly, Wei waited with his breath held for the bird to hatch out.
A piece fell off, the another. And suddenly the whole thing just fell apart, as if nothing was there to hold it together anymore, although one piece remained laying on top of the birds head. Wei's eyes widened as he saw the bird out of the egg, a real living phoenix. The bird's eyes suddenly opened, revealing light blue eyes, identical to his own. A quick moment after that, the egg pieces suddenly jolted for a brief second, before completely disintegrating, leaving no remains, except for a bit of fine powder.
Flapping its moist wings a bit, the bird tried to figure out its surroundings. As it did, Wei saw that its feathers held an interesting base of red, and highlighted with a bit of yellow and a bit of blue. Blinking a bit as the bird reached up with its neck, Wei leaned in, wondering what it was doing. As soon as he did, the bird touched his cheak with its beak, leaving Wei with a quick jolt go through his head. As sudden as it reached upwards, it immediately fell back down as it nipped at the surrounding blankets, pulling them closer.
Snapping out of it, Wei wondered what happened, and the one word that had suddenly sprung up in his mind after the beak left his cheek.
"'Okay'?"
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Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2005 9:13 pm
Shiro continued to gape at the bird in a state of baffledness until he looked outside. The usual blackness had covered the sky as night crept throughout the area. Bits of snow were swirling around in the air ever so gracefully, for it was mid-winter. Shiro looked back to the phoenix who was dozing slightly. It's glowing yellow eyes were opening and closing. He could tell that the bird was rather tired after endeavouring to escape the the shell. More could he tell that this was probably something he would not be able to explain to anyone.
After a few more moments, he brought up a chair beside the bed and reached out a hand. Pausing only for a second as his hand reached a few centimeters away, he stroked the phoenixes head. A shiver ran up his arm and down his spine, but a warm tingling sensation seemed to appear in his head shortly after. It felt almost like something was clicking, or awakening rather. The phoenix crooned and rubbed its head against his hand as he stroked it. There was something so right about being with the phoenix.
"Wha... Who are you?" the voice rang again in his head. He was not so startled this time, only a bit confused. The voice was child-like and stuttery. Much like an infant learning how to speak.
Shiro smiled and thought back to it. "I am... Shiro," he replied, finding this state of conversation to be strange and...almost normal. He blinked at his own thoughts. Was he actually speaking telepathically to this creature?
The phoenix's feathers were beginning to dry out now. They were amazingly shiny in places. The feathers on it's head were beginning to take form, also. Its tail feathers had splashes of orange and red mixed together and its wings were the most magnificent of all. They were red with swirls and different designs of orange. He was sure that if the phoenix were able to spread its wings at the moment, it would be a sight that he wouldn't want to miss.
The bird, having become warm enough due to the fact that it was dry, removed the blankets from around itself with its slender yellow beak and began to wobble around on the bed. Its feet were the same color as its beak and sharp red talons stuck out of each toe. After exploring a bit, it came back to where it was and stared up at him with its big glowing yellow eyes. It gave a chirp and he bent down closer to it. It leapt to his shoulder were it perched there, as if refusing to move even if anyone demanded it to. He only laughed at this and stood.
However, as he was standing up, a rumble sounded deep in the phoenix's stomach and it opened its beak. A long strand of fire shot from its throat and collided with the paper of the stationery on the desk. His eyes widened and he turned his head toward it. It tilted its head as if to give him a look that said 'what?'. He simply sighed and opened his pack, searching for something for the phoenix to eat. He wasn't exactly sure what they ate, seeing as how he had never actually learned much about them. He shrugged and took out a small bag of diced fruit. He opened the bag and took a small peice of mango and held it up to its beak. The phoenix stared at it for a few moments, contemplating what it was. It then jerked forward and took the mango in its beak. It tilted its head back and swallowed it in a single gulp. Shiro laughed and continued to feed the phoenix the fruit, hoping that he was doing this correctly.
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Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2005 10:23 pm
The pungent odor of whisky and ale hung in the air like a cloud, table scattered in no particular order hosted many a gambling circle, where men and women alike placed down their hard-earned money for a simple toss of the dice or drawing of a card. Usually the tavern was the center of a massive slug out or drunken brawl, but today was a pretty quiet day by their standards despite the occassional shouting matches and well earned bum's rush.
And here in a corner of this dank, poorly lit hole in the wall were two odd men chatting to eachother as though they weren't in this rancid dark pit that stunk of stale whisky and cheap cigarettes, but some quiet cafe at the corner of a well-to-do street in the city. The tavern was well known for attracting shady characters, but these two seemed a little...differen, almost out of place despite their normal enough appearance. Of course, it was a busy day and everyone ran too and from all over this hectic mess, so no one seemed to notice them anymore than the small hands of young sly thieves slipping into their pockets and relieving their wallets of all their contents.
"So...have you brought it?" said the figure near the window, apparently breaking from the conversation they were having earlier.
"Well...I wouldn't be here if I didn't now would I?" said the other, reaching into his trenchcoat and revealing the end of what looked like a manilla folder. Despite the fact that it was sweltering hot outside with no wind, he didn't even appear to break a sweat.
"May I see it?" asked the the figure, a note of impatience creeping in his voice.
"Of course..." the other said, a sly smile slipping onto his face. "...so long as you have what 'I' want."
"Yes, of course." said the figure near the window, taking out a briefcase from under the table and presenting it before the figure in the trenchcoat. "Just as you've requested."
He placed it on the table in front of him.
"Now, may I?" he repeated, the impatience in his voice no longer disguised.
"Not before I inspect it, if you don't mind of course?"
The man slid the briefcase toward the man in the trenchcoat. He opened it and inspected it thoroughly. After a minute he appeared satisfied, for he closed the briefcase and reached into his trenchcoat again, taking out the manilla folder and placing it in the figure's outstetched hands.
"Everything you need to know is in there, just as you've requested."
The man in the trenchcoat outstretched his hand. The other man hesitated for a second, then shook it.
"A pleasure doing business with you." the man in the trenchcoat said, staning up and turning to leave.
The other man stared out the folder again, then said in an under tone "How can I trust you?"
The man in the trenchcoat stopped, and replied without turning his head.
"You can't..."
He turned his head a little to the side, a cunning smile appearing on his face.
"But then again, you can't trust yourself either. Why else would you hire me?"
The man in the trenchcoat turned back, and walked away briskly before the other figure could work out what he said.
When he opened the door and stepped outside, he was surprised to be greeted by a quickly darkening sky.
"That's funny...It was sunny just a moment ago..."
A sound like an explosion echoed in the distance, and what appeared to be a grim looking man man speed past him on horseback, trampling anyone unfortunate enough to cross its path.
Wait...that's not a man. No, it's a...demon?! But what is a demon doing here, more importantly what is it trying to escape from-
His thoughts were soon interupted when he felt something tap his boot. He looked down and saw what looked like a smooth rock. He bent down and wiped away the mud with the back of his hand. On closer inspection it was much larger than a rock, and it was a fiery crimson color.
Wait, that's not a rock...that's an egg?!
Indeed it was. It was even warm, a slight pulsing emitted from it and into his hand.
The man pulled down his shades slightly, and grinned.
"Well well well, this is interesting..." said Schwarz, pocketing the egg and patting it lightly. "I'm sure it's worth something in the black market..."
((Just a heads up, I'll be gone for a week. Please continue without me until I get back sweatdrop ))
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Posted: Sat Jul 23, 2005 6:01 pm
Snow flew up as the horse's hooves pounded away into it, like small white children leaping out of the way of falling pillars. The black horse galloped through the white-covered forest, making its way through the trees. The rider on its back cursed vulgarly. The yellow eyes of the demon on the horse's back darted back to the brown sack on his shoulder.
It was significantly lighter than when he had set out, mainly because of the missing eggs. But he thought he had also possibly lost some provisions on the way, thanks to the now gaping hole in his bag. He thought he could get a little further out from Morikum before stopping to fix the bag. He turned his gaze away from the eggs and watched forward.
He saw a clearing up ahead, and decided to stop there. He slowed his horse to a trot and made his way to the clearing. He tied the horse to a tree and put the sack down. He examined the hole and decided it wasn't worth fixing it. With five of the eggs gone, he could store the rest in the horse's side pouch reasonbly easily. He took the pack off of the horse, slung it over his shoulder, and slapped the horse on its hindquarters. The horse whinnied and galloped off.
Dax had never liked horses much anyway. It was his reluctance to get on a horse that had probably caused the sack to rip. Actually, he thought it was more the horses fault than anybody elses, and blamed it happily. He started off for his destination when he spotted one of the eggs out of the corner of his eye. He went over and picked it up with his left hand, turning over and feeling it's warmth. He passed it over into his steel hand with a bored look on his face. The egg cracked slightly as it his hit his hand. Dax's heart beat a little faster, but his facial expression did not change. Did he break it? Had he killed the bird inside? And more importantly, would it still hatch? Another crack appeared, running down the crimson egg's side like a jagged raindrop trail. The crack split into many, crawling along the sides of the egg. The pieces of shell suddenly collapsed on itself, revealing the pheonix hatchling. Dax blinked a couple of times. He knew they were pheonix eggs, but he had been a little skeptical about whether they would hatch or not.
The pheonix was covered in brilliant red and orange plumage, wet and plastered down its body. Black lines of feathers were on either side of its body, as well as mingled it with its tail feathers. It's eyes were bright, shining, and pitch black. "I don't believe it..." Dax said under his breath. He swore in amazement.
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Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2005 5:00 pm
Aiya ran out of the bar furiously, slamming the glass door so hard that the panes completely shattered, then hurried down the first alley she could find, where she proceeded to kick the wall until there was a sizeable crater. Damn, damn, damn... the lame pickup lines I could manage... the groping I could tolerate... but he had to go and touch my glasses! A shattered pair of mirrored sunglasses fell onto the snow, revealing a pair of huge green eyes with cat's pupils.
Earlier...
Aiya had never liked this job, but it was one of the few that didn't require schooling or degrees of any kind, even if she did attract a lot of attention...
For a human female, this probably wouldn't be a problem. But Aiya was a demon in a world where her kind, even the good demons, were despised for driving the phoenixes away.
She brushed past a few rowdy drunks, getting whistles and even a few pinches on the a**. But she ignored it. It was all part of the job.
"Heey, shweetie." A giant of a man lumbered up, weaving unsteadily. "What're ya doin' in a dump like this?" He slid closer, reeking of cheap gin. "You're mighty pretty... except for those shtupid shadesh. Why're ya wearin' them at night anyway?" He reached for them, but she slapped his hand away. "Don't touch the glasses, you'll get hurt," she hissed.
He caught her wrist. "Aww, don't be shuch a shpoilsport..." With surprising speed, he tried to wrench her sunglasses off and succeeded in snatching them and hurling them to the floor.
She tried to cover her eyes, but it was too late. The bar fell silent with a hush.
Aiya snatched up the shattered glasses and sped out.
An explosion suddenly rent the air. She jumped up and yelped, "What the... " As she ran out into the street, she was nearly trampled by a black rider on horseback, who quickly faded into the distance.
Shaking her head, she was about to head home when she noticed her lack of shades. Hurrying back into the alley to retrieve them, she tripped over something and landed with an "Oof!" in the snow. "Son of a..." Aiya never finished the sentence. Nestled in the snow was a pulsing red-and-gold egg.
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Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2005 8:08 pm
After feeding the last bits of fruit to the red and orange bird, he found himself content with just sitting in the chair and marveling at it. It was now dozing on the desk near the ashes of the scorched stationery that it itself had burnt on an accident. It's feathers were ruffled, an insulation technique he had guess it was, and was drifting in and out of sleep; it's bright yellow eyes opening and closing every now and then. Shiro soon became bored. He wanted to know more about the creature. And he didn't exactly like staying in one place for too long unless he was eating or sleeping. So, he decided to leave the inn room for outside where he could probably find more clues as how the phoenix eggs had left the tower they were so jealously guarded in.
"Would you like to go outside?" he asked telepathically. He was growing a bit more used to this type of conversation. He knew he would probably have to grow accustomed to it anyway. He despised the though of separating with the phoenix, though he did not know exactly why.
The phoenix tilted its head and replied, "What is...outside?" it asked. It's mental voice was becoming a bit less awkward. The syllables were more clear and easier to understand. Almost like a three year-old's. Shiro chuckled a bit and lifted an arm to point out the window behind the phoenix. It stood and wobbled around and stared out through the lightly following snow. It chirped in excitement and Shiro could almost feel the phoenix's growing eagerness and curiosity.
Shiro gathered the things he would need to leave and stuffed them into his pack. He beckoned the phoenix to climb up his arm and onto his shoulder and headed for the door. As he was reaching for the doorknob, however, he stopped and thought a moment. Wouldn't he look rather strange carrying around a bird that was though to be extinct for centuries? "Hmm..." Shiro stared at the phoenix and sighed. "You'll have to go into my pack for now... Just until we get out of the crowds. I don't want to make a fuss with everyone seeing you," he said, and the phoenix seemed to understand.
The phoenix waited patiently for him to undo the clasp on the bag and it hopped in as he lifted it up to his shoulder. He then gingerly placed it back on his pack. "You okay in there? Not squashed?"
"I'm okay..." it said anxiously. Shiro go the feeling that the phoenix didn't exactly like being there. He was noticing that the phoenix was gathering information at an accelerated rate. It could already telepathically speak several words. Was it reading his memory?
Shiro shook off the feeling and left through the door after remembering to gather the Mythril Staff. He walked slowly around corridors and through hallways, not wanting to bounce too much because the phoenix was in his pack. He didn't want to crush the thing. About a minute later, he exited through the inn doors and stared around. Where could he go that didn't have many people? He stared a bit more and noticed the snow-covered forest. "The forest..." he thought allowed and made his decision. He quickly made his way through a number of confused and disorientated guards and entered through two trees into the forest. It was astonishingly strange how bright the snow made everything since it was mid afternoon and the sun was about to fall behind the mountains in the west. He looked around momentarily, making sure that there was no one around and opened his pack. The phoenix was staring eagerly up at him.
"This is...outside?" the phoenix asked and hopped back onto his left shoulder. It stared at it's own beak at a small snowflake as it landed there. It blinked as it instantly turned to steam. He could hear it mentally chuckling.
"Snow..." he said to the phoenix and he walked on. After a few more moments, he said something else. "Do you have a name?" he asked, laughing a bit as the phoenix snapped at another snowflake.
"I don't know..." it replied. "Should I have a name?"
Shiro blinked. "Of course you should. Everyone has a name."
The phoenix tilted it's head. "Well, then, I should have a name, too, right?"
Shiro was amazed at the complexity of the phoenix's thoughts now. How was it learning everything? He shook off the thought and sighed. "Of course... We should get you a name," Shiro said, thinking. An epiphany hit him. He had yet to know if the phoenix was a boy or a girl.
"I'm a girl," the phoenix said, startling him.
"I didn't even ask," he said, confused.
"You were about to. You were thinking it," it explained.
Shiro continued to be baffled for a moment. And then he remembered something. When he had touched the egg's shell, he had felt something click, as if a connection had been made. He stared to the phoenix in surprise. "Then I didn't imagine it..." he said aloud and the phoenix chirped rather loudly.
"So what should my name be?" the phoenix asked.
Shiro went down a list of names. The phoenix refused each one. But, then, he tried to examine her personality. It was beginning to mold and take shape even only a few hours after hatching. The phoenix was very bright. And phoenix were strongest in the element of fire...
"Hotaru!" he exclaimed both mentally and aloud at the same time. "It meas firefly," he said and smiled.
The phoenix thought for a moment and chirped excitedly. "I like it!
Shiro opened his mouth to reply, but he was cut short as he had to leap out of the way of a black horse galloping through the forest. Something seemed very familiar. "It couldn't be..." he muttered staring ahead. There were footprints leading deeper into the forest. The phoenix stared in contemptment at the prints and then looked ahead.
"I remember him...from when I was still unhatched... He put me in a sack and tried to take me away. That's when I remember mentally connecting with you," Hotaru informed, stepping sideways closer to Shiro's neck.
Shiro walked ahead, trying to be as quiet as possible. He soon came to the edge of a clearing and then he saw him. It had been the same one who was carrying the sack--the demon whom had stolen the phoenix eggs from the tower.
Shiro didn't take the chance to be seen and moved behind a tree, hoping that he hadn't been heard or seen. He looked back from behind the tree and noticed that the demon was staring at something. He squinted his eyes and gasped. There in his hand was a phoenix, but it looked a bit different. It had a few black feathers. Shiro froze. Did that mean that the other phoenixes were hatching, too? He thought about a horrible scenario where the other four that had fallen out of the sack hatched and then froze to death outside. What a horrible thought. He was about to run back to the village when he noticed that Hotaru had hopped off his shoulder and glided down to the ground. She was walking toward the demon. "No!" he whispered as softly as he could and snatched up Hotaru from the ground. But as he did, his elbow hit the side of the tree rather and a branch over head shook, causing large amounts of frozen water to crash down on him. Luckily, there were no icicles. But the slushing sound it made when it hit the ground was more than noticable to anyone in the immediate area.
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