α ωoяℓ∂ ∂єvι∂є∂ - Accepting/Open

[greendragonfly52]

((Green to the rescue? razz ))

Mia turned when another servant walked in and informed them on the appearance of the other general in the city. Looking to her master, she nodded at his order. "Yes my lord. Of coarse." Without a further word, Mia left the room, and hovered out of the palace gates to find the coming general. On her way, she just happened to notice her sister apparently arguing with the magician guild representative Elvin about something or another. The site was...rather funny actually, and Mia felt a giggle tumble over her lips.
Mia flew through the city, her leaf like wings carrying her among the people and searching out the goddesses chosen warrior, and the witch of the frozen wastes. The reaction of the people was what tipped Mia off first before she saw the general at all. The distance they took from the center of the path, the hushed whispers and glancing eyes back at the woman. Bowing her head upon approach, Mia hovered in front of the ebony haired general Sasha. "My Lady General, General Ahriman has sent me to escort you to the Palace, where he is waiting to receive you in the parlor." Mia explained in a soft voice. Turning, Mia began to hover back to the palace, leading Sasha to her master. "Right this way please."

Setting the water down, Miriallia held on to her belly lightly as she carefully lowered herself down to the ground to sit. "Oh stop worrying about me. I worked harder then this in this condition while we were still with the Duke." She murmured, giggling softly as if to show him she was just fine. "And besides...I knew what I was getting myself into when I decided to escape. I would be straining myself more if you didn't come with me." She reminded him. Looking down, she gently caressed the swell. Other breeders always told her to not get attached to her unborn babes. But it wasn't something Miriallia could ever do. This being her sixth child, she didn't want this to be like the last. She didn't want to love and care for a child, to feel it growing inside her, only to have it ripped from her arms the moment they were born. "And besides, the baby is strong. The little one is giving me some strength I think."

Talking about eating something first, before worrying about going into the city, Miriallia looked over at the small fish that they had managed to catch earlier, roasting on a rock by their small fire. "Speaking of eating...those should be done now." She murmured. Miriallia leaned forward, and used a stick to move the rock from out of the coals to let it cool enough to touch. Steam wafted from the melting snow under the rock for a moment. When it stopped, Miriallia lightly touched the rock, and found it still warm, but cool enough to pull closer to them. "Eat up. We're both going to need our strength."  

[Anniria]

{and time for more eye blinding post colors! yay! [/sarcasm]}

Sasha nodded silently as she followed the fairy, not bothering to reign in her cold aura. Her metal boots cracked the ice that formed under her feet but that didn't seem to detract from it's slipperyness as it soon froze over the cracks, as people behind them could attest to. One man slipped on the frozen path and fell onto his back, his cargo of boxes scattering.

Sasha didn't seem to care about what was happening behind her as she entered the palace and continued to follow the small fairy to General Ahriman.

 

[N K Cake]

Ahriman lifted his gaze to the doorway when Sasha entered after the servant. With his left hand, he indicated some of the comfortable seating available in the room, offering for her to sit down.

"Greetings Sasha. It has been a while. It would appear the wilderness has treated you well." Ahriman greeted her calmly. The Water General looked as he could remember her always looking... he had no further personal opinion on her appearance.
"The refreshments are for you to enjoy at your leisure, let them not go to waste." Ahriman added, indicating with a small nod to the fruit and drink on the table.

As soon as Sasha had seated herself, made herself comfortable and acknowledged his presence, Ahriman continued. "My first point to raise is to do with the magical involvement program." Straight to business and to the point, Ahriman saw little reason for idle chatter. "While there has been a successful merge between certain groups of Warlocks and Witches into the guilds of mages around Mystocentria, I would like to see this increased. To be able to include the common spells of the Arcanis along with the more primal forces of Warlocks in one's arsenal is a valuable asset, and I am always keen on seeing our magical studies expanded. If at all possible, it would require you to beseech your kind and further their involvement with Elven magi." Simply put, Ahriman wanted more Witches to attend academies for mages and be able to share their knowledge of their more unique style of magic.  

[dragon-talk]

N K Cake

There was a loud splash, and his head ached from the sudden cold. Wulthgrand bolted up from the ground and growled in frustration. The werewolf ruffled the fur on his head furiously, trying to get rid of the wetness. He slowly came to his senses and took in the immediate environment. Wulthgrand's eyes slowly went over the whole room. Where the heck was he now? The room was small and shadowed, the ceiling was made of cloth but the walls and floor of wood... and it was moving. He could hear the wheels creak and the occasional groan of effort from the animals pulling the carriage.

"Ah, you're awake. Now just stay still and don't try anything, and we won't harm you." Came the sudden voice of an unknown male. Wulthgrand lifted his eyes to see an Aterisan clad in desert traveling cloth. He was surrounded by two others who pointed with spears... Wulthgrand's expression turned sour.
"I ain't no f****ing tribesman, but you better return my package or I'll go savage on all your a***es." Wulthgrand complained loudly. He tried to put up a firm stance, but his injured foot betrayed him and, with a yelp of pain, the werewolf fell to the floor. Looking at his foot though, he found it bandaged. The werewolf gave a more curious look to the strangers now.

"See! I told you it was just a courier. You've been jumpy since you spotted that damn bandit, but as I told you we're perfectly safe." Complained one of the men with a spear in hand, and instantly lowered his weapon. He gave a quick nod to Wulthgrand before opening up the cloth covering the exit and jumped out. Wulthgrand caught a glimpse of the evening desert and several soldiers walking alongside the carriage. It must have been a caravan belonging to someone important, or a rich merchant.

The unarmed elf laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head. "Uh, right. Your package is safe, we put it in one of our transport carts before carrying you here." The man explained. He nudged the other guard and forced him to lower his weapon and then cleared his throat. "I'm Salu Promeirs, Grand Master of Shentzthuul's Merchant's guild." The elf introduced himself.

Wulthgrand cleared the wet fur away from his face and rubbed his eyes. He sighed and looked around before focusing on this trader. Totally called it. That of course meant he was probably the most important person around these parts. The outposts depended on supplies being delivered from the main cities until they were developed enough to survive on their own. As such, the merchant guilds practically ran the outer rims of the desert.

"Wulthgrand. I'm making a delivery of arms to the Guards in Shentzthuul." The werewolf replied. No doubt though that they already knew what he was delivering of course. They must've checked his cargo before they even checked his health - even if he had been passed out on the sands. There was also the fact that with the influence this elf held, he just might have made the order for these weapons with the guards.
"Err, thanks by the way." Wulthgrand spoke quietly and nodded to his healing leg and arm, both of which were feeling surprisingly well by now.

"No problem, friend." Salu replied heartily and grinned. It was a little funny being called his friend, yet the man appeared to fear even taking one step closer. "We'll be arriving in Shentz' tomorrow morning at our current pace. You can just relax."
Wulthgrand nodded and adjusted his seat against the wall of the carriage. The person was probably feeling guilty after having those weapons pointed at him and all. At least he was not being kicked out.

On the outside, the carriage Wulth was in was following a much nicer looking one. Over it's windows hung luxurious red curtains and the whole vehicle looked to have been made of sturdy dark wood. Both were pulled by several horses. Behind were two more carts, pulled by oxen and their contents well hidden by a large tarp placed over them. Human and Elven guards were walking alongside the entire caravan, a necessary precaution for any large delivery service.

"Captain, he's back." Called one of the human guards and his fellows, along with a more finely dressed female guard, looked over. In the distance, a figure had risen on top of a sand dune and was gazing their way. The person was on horseback, but not much else could be identified from so far away.

"Just ignore it. Those scoundrels would already have attacked us if they had the guts. They know we're too numerous to be challenged." The captain told her men sternly. A strong female Aterisan was not particularly hard to find, it was in the nature of all their people. The guards turned their gazes back ahead to the sands they were crossing.


In the distance, the horse rider turned and raced across the sands. He came to a surprisingly flat area of land, where at least thirty other horse-mounted men were waiting. All of them wore cloth robes on top of their armor and were clearly carrying weapons on their belts. A rather well funded group of bandits to say the least.
The rider approached a particular man at the front of the group. "They got the courier and the weapons. He's being held in the extra cart and the equipment in the last storage vehicle." He explained hurriedly.

"F**K!" The man he had addressed cursed loudly. "How the h*ll are we going to get paid when our target is being held by f****ing Salu and his men!" The apparent leader of the group punched the nearest man beside him, causing the victim of his anger to fall off their horse. "Our client expects all that weapon and armor by tomorrow, and specified that we should never let it reach Shentzthuul. That shortie will never give us a dime if we can't bring results." The bandits were realizing they just might have to give up on their contract and find other work. The issue was that the Vul-Infusco had promised top coin to receive those arms early. Bandit life was hard and they needed every coin they could get.
"What if we meet up with the Blood Fangs before tonight and together raid the caravan as they rest?" Another individual suggested. Several of their fellows murmured in agreement.
"... Aye, we ain't got another choice. I just hate dealing with those beasts." As the bandit group began to move, the gallop of their many horses rose sand clouds high into the air.

When she had first spotted the unconscious werewolf lying on the ground, V'i had thought he was dead. Of course, since she had been hungry at the time, she had thought she had stumbled across a free meal. Werewolf meat was not on the list of her preferences, but she hadn't found anything fresh to eat for a few days at the time. However, after landing and checking the body over with a closer look, V'i found that the werewolf was still alive. At first, she had been extremely disappointed at this information. But then she remembered that why she didn't really like eating werewolves. Their meat was stringy and tough, and V'i would much rather let the meat sit for a few days after the body was dead before eating it. It would be too much effort and a waste of time along her job to wait for a meal. As such, the young harpy decided to report the matter back to her employer, Salu Promeirs. And that was how Wulthgrand had ended up in the merchant's care.

Despite losing a chance at a good hearty meal, V'i couldn't help but be curious about this werewolf. After all, she had never actually met a live werewolf before. Most of the wolves she had met earlier in her life were already dead and ready to be eaten. So that was why V'i Vissena was hanging out (quite literally, from a hammock she had set up for herself near the tarp roofing of the cart. She was laying on her stomach, taloned feet swinging back and forth behind her, as she watched with interest as Salu and two of his men waking up the sleeping werewolf. Leaning her head onto upraised hands in front of her, a small amused smile graced her lips. This was certainly entertaining. Besides, she had been scouting and seeing most nothing besides sand, sand and more sand of this desert on their way to Shenzthuul. So this was a very nice change of pace.

After Salu and the guards had left, V'i continued watching Wulthgrand. Her head tilted to the left a little before swinging back to the right as she studied the werewolf. He certainly was a strange creature in her opinion. "So you're a werewolf..." V'i asked aloud to really no one in particular. She didn't really expect Wulthgrand to answer though. She was just speculating to herself out loud after having seen her first live werewolf.  

[Moonhera]

Elvin gave a long whistle, all he needed to have said was that he was the representative of the magician guild? All he had originally come for was to give a report on something he was constantly looking into whilst travelling. That whistle slowly turned into a frown as there was a mention of clothes. There was no way in the two kingdoms anyone was going to dress him up, people had constantly tried and given up. He was perfectly fine seemingly freezing in the winter and being cool in the summer.
“Why is it not appropriate may I ask? No one else has had such complaints, or I haven’t heard them. They seem to all be perfectly with the half-naked aspect.” He said stretching his arms up. He had gotten stiff after staying in the position he had, trying to gain a place in the inn. He heard a giggle and quickly with a glance, he noted the other twin flying past. She seemed to find this funny, the torture of wearing more clothes than he had to was not funny! In fact it was the torture of his soul and he was going to make sure that the fairy in front of him knew that. “I mean, how can I fly if I am not so free in my clothing choice? It would be like placing a large stone on my back and telling me to go from here to the kingdoms border with it!” He moaned loudly, he could hear the people bellowing grumbling and it somewhat pleased him. If that bottle had hit he would have been in a position to be asking for some medical care as well. And this female fairy was incredibly grouchy. He tried to think of another reason why he couldn’t wear more than he already had.

“Ah! If I starting wearing more than this I start singing!” Elvin said, thinking that would bring about enough reason for them not to force clothes on him. “And I’m really sure you wouldn’t want me singing at all hours just because I’m wearing more clothes than I should.” He said firmly, crossing his arms tightly and nodding his head. He would make a perfect terrible sounding noise. He was good at that. There was only one song in the whole of the kingdom that he could sing well, and play well if he was given the right instrument but he could never play it. It was the only song his parents had given him. His face fell slightly at the memory and he stopped hovering for only a second. His mother was once an entertainer herself and that was the only song he had ever been taught, even though she loved her job. With a shake of his head, he brushed all thoughts of that aside. “So where am I staying then?” he asked ready to follow her with that smile still on his face.
 

[N K Cake]

He thought he smelled something, but that voice caught him totally by surprise. Wulthgrand's ears twitched and his head shot up to look at the - Harpy?!
"****" The werewolf lifted his arms in a cross shape across his front and he backed up, as much as he could at least when already pressed to the wall. He stayed that way for a moment, just assessing the situation, staring oddly at the young harpy.

His reaction was quite natural for anyone in Mythomortia, anyone experienced with harpies especially - if you saw one above you then you had better come up with a quick plan and a good spell to make it go away. When those talons dug into your shoulders, you were a goner. Wulthgrand took solace in the fact that they were inside and the creature was young, somewhat harmless looking.

What was it she said... just that he was a werewolf? "... Yes." Wulth stated slowly, almost adding 'not for eating'. Frankly he would not mind some bird right now himself. He was quite hungry. Wulthgrand cleared his head, and his throat.
"Hello." He greeted the winged girl quietly. "You with Salu and his group?" Well that much was obvious, but perhaps she was just on for the ride like he was.  

[Anniria]

The Witch of the Frozen wastes nodded slightly as she partook in the refreshments, fresh fruit was hard to come by in her territory and was always considered a delicacy.

She nodded at his suggestion, bringing the magical studies together would be good, but there was one problem, "There is a problem with your idea, as I have stated before when you asked me this last time. The magic of the witches can not simply be taught, to do so would be to lose some of it's primal aspect and dilute the very magic which we use." She nodded slightly as she thought that, she had taught herself her magic with minimal help from her mother, as did her mother with her parents. She also wouldn't admit that, like most witches, she was slightly prejudiced against the non-witches who shunned her kind and would rather not give them a chance to learn her magic.

 

[Remijio Mendoza]

Demios frowned as he looked at Miriallia "I know you've worked harder, but that doesn't mean I'm happy about it, besides we should be more careful if there are any complications we won't have anyway to deal with them now" he said sounding a bit panicked. However, when she seemed to be thinking of her coming baby it made Demios smile, he was sure she would be a great mother to the child. When he herd her speak to him again he nodded "I hope so, I really do" he said in reference to the child giving her strength.

When food was mentioned Demios herd his stomach rumble and laughed lightly feeling a little embarrassed. He watched as she moved the rock with the food on it. He took a small part of the fish and began to eat. "So do we have any idea where to head?" He asked between bites.  

[N K Cake]

"I acknowledge this fact but see it as insufficient. It is inadequate in persuading me to think of this as an unfruitful exercise." Ahriman replied steadily. No, the art of witchcraft would not simply be picked up from a textbook, some things were impossible to put down on text. Rather, like the start of any skilled mage, it came from direct experience. That did not mean it could not be taught, could not be learned, there was just a way to do it. You did not pick up a shovel and expect to cut down trees with it.

"I am willing to increase the funding and resources already on offer to make it worth your while." The boney man continued. He was being exceptionally generous, but in his mind made sure to weight up the maximum benefits to his people and would not go so far as to hinder that. His earlier offers included considerable wealth, luxuries and necessary food and water supplies.

"Let us not neglect the benefit to both of our people from a more peaceful co-existence, and the many things Witches can learn from the Arcanis in the process." Ahriman pointed out.
Sasha should not forget that such an exchange was not just in the interest of the elves. Ahriman was looking to strengthen the bonds between the people of Mystocentria more so than to just advance magical research.

Breaking barriers of inequality had been a big approach of his politics since his coming to power, a great wish of Mysto. Her people had only one enemy, there was no need for any strife between any others. As far as humans went, his opinion did generally stay that of the elven population. He lacked the capacity to hate, it was nothing person. But he understood the humans as a service class made by the elves. The resulting uncivil unrest in the human population was of course a rising problem, but that was not something to deal with at this instant.

"My second concern is the inclusion of ranks of Witches and Warlocks in the Mystocentrian military. Mysto seeks the participation of all her people in her quest. War is an inevitability and I would wish to see you rise by my side to lead our people, were combat to ensue." Ahriman stayed motionless, his voice echoing from the depths of his artificial silver features. The witches had of course participated in their wars before, but usually more on their own terms, not always as a significant fighting group of their main fighting force. That was something he would want. To be able to understand the entire strength of the Mystocentrian army and deploy it as necessary. Disorganization lead to confusion which would lead to inefficiencies and failure.  

[dragon-talk]

V'i's smirk widened when she saw the werewolf's reaction to her presence. She knew he could have caught her scent earlier, but it was still pretty funny that he was acting the way his was. Neither of them said a word as they studied each other for a moment or two. Her eyes closed as her smirk widened into a grin at his answer to her question. "Cool! I've never met a live werewolf before!" V'i stated in an almost excited manner. She didn't seem to pick up on the implied addition to Wulthgrand's answer about not eating him. Instead, the young harpy deftly swung her legs over the side of the hammock, skillfully avoiding tearing the cloth beneath her with her talons. Her feet began swinging back and forth as she tilted her head to the side to study Wulth some more before speaking again to answer his question. "Of course I'm with these guys. I was hired as a scout for them. Why else would I be here?" V'i asked, smiling slightly, until a thought crossed her mind which she soon voiced without really thinking first as a pout came to her features. "Unless you're thinking that I managed to get myself captured by some puny little flightless merchants and their guards... I'm not that stupid..." she finished, thinking that Wulth was trying to insult her in some way, even if it was unintentionally.  

[Anniria]

"I can realize how good you may think us joining the army would be, but you must realize, our goddess given duty was to defend Mystocentria from invaders, not to invade Mythomortia. If, and I mean If, the other witches join the army, w would request to only be used for defense positions, and even then most of us would rather not go far from their territory, our magic is usually stronger there than somewhere else. For instance, while in my territory I could summon storms strong enough to destroy entire cities even this one, but while here the most I could do would be to make a really bad blizzard. This is another reason why teaching our magic in a central place is not such a good idea, because if we are taught in a school, how will we find our territory?" Sasha said as she ate another piece of fruit, "Tell me, if we were to join the army, how would we be utilized?" She, like most witches didn't care for wealth not having much of a use for it, luxuries were another thing that weren't necessarily needed and most witches could get food and water from their territories though those in the frozen wastes, like herself had a harder time and thus she was more interested in that.

{Something about this post just seems wrong but I can't figure out what, meh}  

[M3Gnificent]

Animeprincess_9400

Romhild, for the most part, did not know the names or faces of any important peoples in the land. She knew of certain prominant slave owners, the council seats, and perhaps an influential trader or two - but that was it. She could only hope her mannerisms and speach made her seem more educated and in-the-know than she really was. (At least she was not often put in a situation in which her illiteracy would be made obvious.)
"Very well. If there's any way I can make myself useful, please, let me know."

gaaras and milk

{Please post. If my above post was unacceptable, I'll rewrite something better.}

Lord Zerix

Were you waiting on me, Anime?

{You and Gaaras. Thank you very much for posting. Sorry for the delay in my response. Also, sorry if this post is a little wierd. Was a little at loss for what to write.}

Aamira's lips slowly curled into a pleasant yet knowing smile as she caught sight of the hunger in Gale's eyes. She began pondering just how far she could go with this man, how much she could milk out of this man with her gentle words alone. She was certain she already held his favor, for no man would speak such high praise for a mere stranger or provide a horse with his own pay if he did not have some ulterior motive in mind. She was silent when he would speak, carefully listening to each word spoken, trying to get a better feel for the mentality and personality of her current employer.

Only when he was finished speaking did she let words flow from her own lips as well. Her words were quiet, careful, only intended to be heard by herself and the man escorting her. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Gale. You may call me Aamira. I'm afraid I've not been outside of Samiel since my early childhood, so you are right to assume I might be...a little at loss for what to bring. Nevertheless, I will do my best to make myself useful in the journey to come."

 

[Anniria]

{no, the quoting! THE QUOTING! It buuuuuurns us! it burns us precious!}  

[Lord Zerix]

((Oh it's perfectly fine. And it doesn't sound weird at all.))

Gareth recognized the look of instant calculation that came into the courtesan's eye; living among prostitutes and exotic dancers let him read human expressions in case of being placed into imminent danger. Perhaps he should have scaled back on all the gifts he had purchased her, as he doubted the dancer was much more than a temporary gift for more sensual delights later on in the trip. But that was a matter for another time, and time was a pressing factor considering they had to grab supplies for the voyage.

His footsteps barely echoed off the firm surface of the rich dark granite underfoot acting as the road, the stream of unlit buildings seeming to blend together into non-distinct shapes and figures that acted to conceal his home. He took a right down a small alleyway as though leading the human maiden into a trap, a trio of sheer black walls the only aspect of their new surroundings. At least so they appeared as he stepped forward and pushed in the middle stone of the northern most wall, causing a large fissure within the hard surface to expose itself to act as a hidden door. "Wait here Aamira." His words were spoken as softly as her own in turn, stepping inside the unlit cavern that was his base of operations. He wasted no time in grabbing a set of large leather satchels that were his primary travel wear, stepping back outside to hang the used sacks off the left flank of his courser. "No we're ready. Come." At his word he turned back to the entrance and pushed in another stone section, causing the doorway to conceal itself once more.

Without explanation he guided the steeds and his lovely companion back towards the marketplace, making sure he made it seem as though the bazaar was their destination before taking a sudden turn to the left aimed towards the back of the inn and the stable where they were to meet Gmurk. "Incidentally, I trust you won't mind a few dances here and there for the rest of the troupe? Morale will be quite low without your charms to soothe them over...And as for myself, I'll request a few private dances."  

[N K Cake]

"Those terms are acceptable. You will be utilized to your best capacities in border defense." Ahriman stated straightforwardly. That was taken care of then. Their research on the magical hot spots in the border lands would help him better situate these magical warriors.
"It is only appropriate our smiths provide you with any requests of armor and weapons you may require. Though I do understand you are able to provide for your own in this area." The witches had their own forms of magical tools for combat and otherwise. The Arcanis elves commonly used larger battle staves embedded with magical stones.

"As far as attempting to teach outsiders witchcraft goes, they can be situated into the lands of your kin with ease." Quite honestly say. Pay for some food and drink to last the fellow to travel to wherever he/she might be assigned and the expenses were covered.
"The matter of course would be more social, the views of you and your people and their opinion toward dealing with the elves." That was obvious.

The witches were not as integrated into mainstream Mystocentrian society from their humble beginnings, and over the years that just made it unnatural to view each other as nothing but strangers. Ahriman of course had no social or personal qualms and viewed such things as extremely illogical. Oh they could be explained, it always had some reason backing it, but it always worked against the favor of both parties - thus making no sense whatsoever. It was one of the more challenging things to overcome when ruling people.

"Unless you have any points to raise personally, I invite you to stay in the Silver Hall and attend tomorrow's festivities. A room will have been already prepared and fitted. Anything you desire can be provided for. We can talk more afterward if the need arises." Anything she desired of course were bound by Mysto's way of grace. It would be disgraceful to abuse their generosity and an insult to ask for anything unreasonable. Ahriman could expect another General to behave as was appropriate of course.