Vaude

Rabia blushed at the sudden attention, gladdened to have been remembered from the brief encounter way back when, even though she had a peculiarly strong memory of Chikao himself. The others seemed familiar as well, and it took her a moment to realise that she met these other keyblade wielders at about the same time as she met him. And now they are all together again, fighting for a common goal of slaying Heartless and rescuing the world of the clutches of darkness. An odd beginning which seemed fated, and yet not unheard of. "An Esper?" she asked musingly. "Is that what those mechanised forces are after? I saw three soldiers heading into the town, with a chilly woman leading the march. If we chase after them, maybe we can stop them, or even get there before they do. Four together is better than four separate. Shall we?"

A question for you all, if I may: how do you think the four Keyblade wielders would know each other? Would they have been brought together by their masters, who had convened themselves and introduced their students, or through some other means? I do not think anything is set in stone yet, but I would like some understanding of that for my upcoming posts. Thanks in advance!

- Uzumeashy and others - The blue-haired youth and self-designated cook of The Haven hid in the back of the kitchen with the rest of the robotic staff, whipping up a meal that did not exactly belong to anybody. If anything, the art of cooking was a way to shed her worries and agitation, and figuring out how to make something better out of already prime material was a passion as much as a skill. She was greatly intent on finishing her pan-fried steak with capers and garlic, and after some time she took the final portions off of the burner and out of the brick oven, sweat glistening on her brow. It was not due to the work. Against all odds -- and her record-setting immune system -- she was feeling feverish. Setting aside all of her newly crafted meal, not even sliding it onto a decorative plate like she intended, she rubbed her eyes with her free hand and slowly meandered toward the gathering crowd. She still wondered what to say and how to say it, but she was intent on doing it. If her showing up did not happen now after all of those notes, there would be more of a fuss than she cared to let out. Among the first she saw were her friends among the Haven, mostly women. A few of the new faces she still had yet to memorise, but she recalled a number of them, Kolm and Hektor especially. Licking her dry lips, she stepped out, appearance quite pallid. "Morning, everyone," she voiced over the crowd, trying her best to look at the whole crowd but failing. Public speech was not her best class in vocational college. "I, um, I called most of you here to take a very important quest to me, one which I will join you on. The quest regarding the dragon is one thing, but what I need is another: I need the gallbladder of a dragon for, well, my health. There is a bounty on the dragon's life, but I'd rather try a surgical approach. As most of you might have guessed, I'm rather good with a knife." She would have given a smile if she were any more hale than she was, but she found herself unable to do so. She looked around sheepishly and found that someone lifted themselves up to their feet from one of the tables. "The quest on the board I understand, but why a gallbladder? You gonna cook it and . . . it will help cure you?" asked the burly man with greener skin than what can be considered normal, every muscle in his arm shifting as he twirled his mustache curiously. "Not exactly. I need a more precise medicine than something raw or cooked. In other words, a potion, and there are precious few potion masters in the place we call home, so I will go to someone I know can cure me." She looked around and attempted an air of confidence and noble ladyship she had been practicing in front of the mirror. "So? Will you assist me in this quest?" Pang had just entered the room, wandering into the room from a recent arena match against a new model of robotic combatants and having not returned to his room. He overheard a bit of what was discussed, however, and his ears perked up. Hogarth was nowhere to be found, chiefly because he was still sleeping through the music of harps and violins. Sleep had a way of overtaking the man after overworking himself in his laboratory. Winona was there alongside the others, sitting in the mustachioed pickle man's shadow and merely listening in to the conversation and Uzume's plea for help, wondering who will chime in first. She worried about the possibility that none would help her beyond herself, though she had a feeling that Pang would jump in with her. Since Aprameia's death, he had been a little more serious about helping people out than before, which was a marvelous thing to witness. She silently hoped to trump him in that regard, as she was intent to do to everyone in everything, but for now she inwardly smiled. Everyone was making remarkable strides in such short time, though they were with their own sets of suffering too.

From what I have heard from DChiuch, the site administrator, manual spoilers are a thing of the past and is not well liked by nowadays coding. Everything is buttons now, and the older methods are now mainly defunct on this site, which stinks because I very much like typing "[ spoiler ] [ /spoiler]" instead of seeing an ugly block of whiteness, but that's the way things are going now, and is now outside of the site's hands. In regards to your new active and passive abilities, both are accepted, as we discussed a bit ago. Mark of Death will be very potent for enemies already susceptible to elemental magic, blowing up the damage output immensely. Renewing Grace will be a wonderful restorative buff, one which likely can help ward off death if poisoned or subject to damage over time like with slow burn. I look forward to seeing this, either in the arena or in the field.

All is quiet in the court of the roleplaying section, sadly. With spring, people are getting busier and less involved here, from what I have seen. I should stir up some invigoration in my roleplay too, come to think of it, and I will keep an eye out for stuff happening here.

In the video games like the Neverwinter Nights series, I personally favour sorcerers and warlocks, then for a lesser third monks. In terms of table-top adventures, I am now really liking the barbarians -- those lovable, blood-crazed guys with typically oversized weapons and undersized attention spans. Right now I am using a gnome barby that rushes headlong into battle and has a penchant for killing first and asking questions later when you really, really do not want him to, and boy! is he fun.

I am for this idea, and it would be very beneficial to have such an offensive skill on her hands as igniting these patches of poison clouds. I look forward to seeing you incorporate this new magic into your strategies.

Exiting the adventurers' den with a bit of payment spent upon them as thanks, Rabia stepped out into the cold streets, now armed with information. It seemed that this small town was the source of a bit of excitement, and that there was a new discovery within the depths of the vast caverns of Narshe, though not even a minute after she left the doors did she see a familiar man pass her by. He did not seem to see her, given her sticking to the shadows, but he was in a hurry, but she looked at him studiously. "Chikao . . . ?" she asked as if to her lonesome, too quiet to be heard by anyone other than herself. However, it could not be him. Why would he be in this neck of the woods, much less passing her by in such an auspicious time? However, this rushing mystery man did seem to resemble Chikao in many ways, and so she followed him from a distance at a brisk pace. Her hand rose to her mouth as she witnessed a keyblade being brandished by him. It was certainly Chikao, but he was not alone. Two other keyblade wielders were holding their own against a pack of large wolf-like Heartless, with him making the fighting group a trio. Against her better thoughts, her feet carried her toward the battle too, stopping about two hundred feet away from the wolves with a hand outstretched. "Crimson searing flames!" she called out, invoking fire from her whole hand that gathered into three Fire spells and launched towards the now separated wolves. At best, the Heartless would be incinerated by the blasts. At worst, she drew three wolves' attention to her, as well as their ire. However, at the very least the wolves would find themselves at a positional disadvantage of being surrounded.

Sounds good! One cannot go wrong with Status Debuff, and fire magic is very useful. Please update your character sheet accordingly, and everything should be all set. Also, Galla never ceases to amuse with her reactions, especially with this latest one. Who knew a letter can cause such ire. =P For myself, I will have Pang gain a weapon upgrade of Odd Weave for his quarterstaff (Shattering Weapon enhancement), and for Winona a passive power of self-cloning.

So here's the start of the second segment, short and sweet. A few weeks have passed, and your characters can interact with others and/or read the letters as you see fit. This quest is not mandatory, but if anyone wants to try the quest out, try out another one, or jump straight into the fray and go into the plot-relevant quest, please let me know. The job board can be found on the first post of the sign-ups and OOC chat thread, all the way back on Page 1. There is some variance in difficulty, from Bronze to Silver to Gold. Shop: You also have 2000 additional gold to spend on weapons, new powers, and the like, so feel free to add anything to your character sheet and subtract the money spent on the shop. If you are wondering how much money you have or what items you have, look at the job board to find what jobs you completed and what rewards you have. For instance, Pang now has 2000 additional gold + 1500 coins + 1 extra active power (Save the Village job rewards). This is now 3500 gold and his newly acquired active power which was already updated. Arena: If anyone wants to fight in the arena and test your powers in a battle, you are allowed to challenge a player (or have your character challenge another player's character). If they accept, a match can begin. -- -- -- -- -- Thanks for sticking around, ladies and gentlemen, and I look forward to seeing what greatness you all will achieve as this roleplay rolls into Part 2.

The Haven, Segment 2: The Stoked Embers of War, Weeks after the Attack on the Aquafolk Village A gentle rap occurred on everyone's door at 7AM, Haven time, followed by the sliding motion of an elegant and perfumed envelope with a wax seal underneath it. After five minutes, each one rang out with a sonorous tones of a harp and piano, its aim to attract attention to itself, and upon opening it would read such, with enormous cross-outs everywhere: "Der Dear warriors, eye I need you're your assistance in the guest quest of taking down a draccoon dragon. See me in the kafteer cafeteer cafeteria or the job board for the detales details. The quest is 'Enter teh the Dragon's Lare Lair,' a silly name if ew you ask me, but it's of dire konseguens conseguens import. I await your answer. --Uzumeashy xoxoxoxoxoxox" haha XD

- Raiden: Final Epilogue - Lorleanna's hand startled, then comforted the Mystran leader as it perched upon his shoulder. He turned his head towards her with a thankful nod and patted the top of her hand with a more meaningful and genuine smile. "Letting it go is more difficult than I can bear, even for one day, but I will try my best, dear friend. As you say, much healing is to be done and will be done, this time with a conjunction few accords in history can match. Regardless, there are always beings of ill intent skulking around in the shadows, and so you, I, and Mystras in general have to keep our guard up after this day is fulfilled." He gave her a sideways look, then smirked and focused on Jynn. "For now, though, please follow your own advice and enjoy the festivities and the coronation. Terrified are some of those around us with that spear of yours in firm grip," he commented with a chuckle. The three vows of a providential blessing of a monarch were bestowed to Jynn, and much pride and respect was offered to the prince, even among the depths of the ranks of Mystras, whose entourage, while still skeptical of Kilkes Seres and the crown, felt joy upon seeing the rite of kingship take place. Raiden especially felt a sensation of relief and elation. The boy he once considered a stranger, and only recently learned to be his son by birth, now was a man and a son in full. Pride overcame him as he locked his face into a smile of stone, trying his best to openly hide the fact that tears welled up inside his shut eyes and escaped through the creases. "Shiva, your . . . our son . . . has become a marvel," he mumbled under his breath. So began a new chapter in Overworld, a time of great jubilation, rebuilding, and concordance. Raiden hoped that this third era he had borne witness to would last the longest and burn the brightest, and with proper leadership so it will. - Raleigh Marin, Epilogue - The ebony-haired Raleigh slipped through the cracks, forgotten by most and remembered almost implicitly as a travelling warrior for hire, a gourmand of several eateries, and a storyteller under a false name. She eventually adopted this name of Stormweather and went to several inns and taverns, resulting in a tragic mishap of sitting in the infamous Rufus' chair of the Flowering Hyssop. Not realising the error, she headed out the door of the tavern and disappeared into thin air in front of various starstruck drunks. In rage, the patrons turned the chair into toothpicks, but Rufus' chair lives on, knitting itself together with a baffling magic which now made it a popular tourist attraction. Even two hundred years later, the splintered wood is still melding together, with its last pieces almost making the chair whole.

In an effort to invigorate the plot and interest in the RP, I am going to move the timeskip to tonight or tomorrow morning instead of Monday night. Everybody's characters will be sent forward two (2) weeks with 2000 coins added to their pockets. This can be used for purchasing stuff in the shop which either you or I can keep track of, and if anybody wants to continue their conversations with other people's characters feel free to continue them in flashbacks. Spoiler bubbles are good for such conversations (example below), as well as PMs with one person posting the entire conversation for all involved (see this link for an example). In addition to all of this, I confess that I have been negligent in talking on this OOC chat thread, and will attempt to step up my game and use this useful thread more. With these characters I am rapidly enjoying more and more, I would love to discuss them more and their growth with other characters. Many potential pairings have been started, and I look forward to seeing and helping implement these burgeoning character connections. With all that said, Vaude out.

- Pang - The tiger smiled wide at the thought of wandering through a serene forest as proposed by Ceres. The pleasant feel of leaves and the breeze against his fur would definitely calm his aching soul, along with the addition to work to put his mind to better use. Lucia's explanation put his mind to ease as well. He was glad to be surrounded by great friends, though it too had made him somber. He did not wish to put anyone out just because he was angry or sad, not when they could have had a pleasant time otherwise. "I would like that, Ceres," Pang answered in a kindly manner, his expression quite happy before he turned towards the wielder of shocksticks. "And, Lucia, thank you for checking in on me. We will have to make up for the festivities you are missing, in such a case, when we dine in the cafeteria." Together the three made their way out of the arena and eventually found themselves into the sparsely decorated great hall, the quintessential corridor which led to the cafeteria and had living quarters on both sides of the passageway. Adornments decorated the outside of the scrawling padlocked doors, some mere decorations, and others magical charms or technological advances to help deter snooping people. With Kimball Oakfast's passing and his unique skill of unlocking anything with it, security no longer was as tight, but security also served as a pretty garnish for an otherwise barren apartment door. Pang glanced around with an interested eye, finding some new creations or acquired things in front of some of the doors. One had dozens of dream catchers above the sill, while others had rock gardens on the outside near the wall. He wondered if he should decorate the outside of his room instead of maintaining a clean doorway, but that seemed ill-fitting to a monk like himself, so he quickly moved on from the thought. - Hogarth - Hogarth was left the one surprised as he listened with great intrigue to Reksis, blinking his three robotic eyes and analysing the Eliksni's arms with great curiosity. Part of him wondered what Reksis would look like with robotic arms, though nothing can replace his real arms any better than that of flesh and bone. "If that is the most basic of your powers, you undoubtedly have much potential. Improve that power, branch out in every direction, and I have no doubt that you will triumph over me and the rest of us in sparring matches within a few weeks flat. I daresay, however," he ventured, grinning like a madman, "that it would be fun, and quite the learning experience. Never have I fought someone who had four arms." ((I am going to wait on Winona and the Aquafolk General for now in favour of Henry's response. That, and I am supremely tired at the moment, so more will come soon, hopefully.))

If I may offer my input, it would probably be better on this site to move on in not as orderly a fashion as waiting on people to post in order. Some people post irregularly and more yet forget to post every now and again, making roleplays slower on this site. I recommend waiting for half the roleplayers (excluding yourself) to post before continuing with the plot, or if there is a lull to give people a gentle nudge to post. That is how I have done hosting and it worked pretty well so far for me. Out of curiosity, because I am very much interested, have you hosted/GM'ed/DM'ed a roleplay before? Your character sheet template seemed to indicate that you have played D&D before, for which I would shake you warmly by the hand if so. I love that series for both tabletop and computer.

- Raiden, in the near future - The bag was nearly prepared in full, and Raiden rubbed his aching eyes as, even if the nation was reunited under the rule of the new king, he could not get any sense of rest. The news that was alerted him by his ongoing network of spies caught him entirely off-guard, and he could not stop himself from being on the move and being worried. Mariel had gone missing. Reports revealed that a sanguine-winged angelic being had saved a woman and her child before rushing off into a set of brigands that attacked their family, killing the father of the child in the process. There were scarce other reports of a similar sighting, but he was certain it was Mariel, having seen her in action through a different set of eyes. The door creaked open, and one of his newest promoted individuals, a commander subsidiary to both Alastor and Lorleanna poured in with certain steps, closing the portal behind him. Like Lorleanna, he was a reptilian and held the appearance of a lizard, but unlike her he did not have draconic blood flowing through his veins but rather that of a serpent. Raiden looked up at him with reddened eyes, causing the man to stiffen and lock his knees in military fashion. "You're leaving?" "That I am, Augustav. I feel the need to visit a faraway friend. I leave the city in your and Lorleanna's capable hands in the meantime. This trip of mine should not take much longer than a week, should I be able to find her." Augustav's slitted green eyes narrowed as he tilted his autumnal head sideways. "Her, sir?" "My friend Mariel, more specifically. I have only just found out that she is alive and well weeks ago, and she slipped off the radar once again. I lost a queen not long ago. I'm not going to lose someone I care about again so quickly." That shut Augustav's mouth for a time. He was still young, the new commander, and held himself in a stoic quiet befitting those who did not know what next to say. Raiden went back to his packing, placing the final remnants of items required for the trip in a newly acquired bag of holding with silver filigree. "That's that. Hold down the fort while I am gone. In this new era of peace I have a feeling that we will be seeing less of each other and Lorleanna and you will be leading more." "Then we will do our best to lead, sir," the red lizardman voiced with a sense of bravado, his mouth flickering with a smile for a brevity. Raiden grinned as well as he ensnared the mouth of the bag with gloved hands and tossed the bag over his grey-cloaked shoulder. The open road called to him, and he answered with a determined step that marked the beginning of his journey. - Rufus Contralto, Epilogue - Upon being reunited with his shadowy half Nihil, Rufus was freed from the shackles of his prison with well-made wishes, and after an endless shower of thanks and gratitude he set out in search for the woman elephant of his dreams, Mouse. His powers as a djinni waned as his old set of powers slowly restored themselves, along with his memory through bits and pieces. One day while in Mystras' bar, The Flowering Hyssop, he disappeared entirely from the face of the Overworld and that of the World Below. Never was he seen again. In time, the chair he sat in was later called Rufus' chair, and was anecdotally linked to many disappearances within Overworld. - Jari Coriander, Epilogue - Jari continued his journey for power without being thwarted, eventually becoming a stronger, more confident kitsune who gained new tails considerably quicker than that of many of his brothers and sisters. After years of being on the road, he settled down with a lovely wife who kept him happy for the rest of his years, as well as a growing family of crafty yellow-faced kitsunes and foxchildren who shared his affinity for accelerated learning. When he died two hundred years after the events of the second Great War, he was known as Hepta Jari after his accumulation of seven tails through battle, intelligence, and wisdom.

A short while before Chikao arrived, a second portal had opened up on the side of one of the multitudes of snowy mountains within Narshe's landscape, revealing a shivering redhead who was a little half-dressed for the snowy weather. Holding check her breath, she allowed the hole in space to mend itself and put away her keyblade, murmuring a light fire spell of her own devising that wreathed her in radiant warmth. Then it was on to business. There had been rumours and tips about this place that were seedy at best within her master's inner circle of information gathering. Unfortunately, even with all of the information in the world, it was challenging for her to land in the location she desired most, a curse of lack of direction. Nevertheless, a town was nearby. The pinpoint glints of cabin lights were a telltale sign of civilisation. She had no choice; she had to go there, if only for a clue. After multiple castings of Inner Resolve, her fire-based spell, and a longer distance down steep and treacherous snowy terrain, she found herself near the entrance. She dared to slip inside a larger building that seemed like an adventurer's den, the signs remarkably similar to those of back home, but as she did so she caught a glance of three Magitek suits of odd, steampunk design, with a woman with a blank expression leading the pack. Shuddering even if the cold did not touch her, she entered wordlessly and -- she hoped -- without detection. That was the easy part. Now was the harder part: talking to people. Swallowing hard and whispering pacifying things to steel her unsteady self, Rabia Polvo went further in. It was time to collect information of her own.

I feel all set as well to start or otherwise.

((All right, folks; it is almost time to progress, so let's see if we can wrap it up in two weeks' time and we will move on to a timeskip. Thank you all for sticking around through the first portion of the RP, and I hope you will enjoy the second portion where we will delve more into the meat of the plot.)) - Pang - Earlier, the white tiger perked his ears up in the direction of Lucia for but a moment, but his eyes did not follow, and both ears cocked back into position to listen to Ceres. He merely figured it to be just another passerby, stepping into the arena to idly watch the mock fight between the Jun twins, and it was not until Lucia stepped up to them with a hand resting on her hip that he turned toward her bashfully, eyes blinking twice before he spoke up. "Lucia?" he voiced in surprise before he relaxed his shoulders and slumped forward, putting his large hands together as if in some sort of prayer. "I'm all right for now, and I thank you for asking. There is . . . much for me to think about, to put it lightly, and all of that can be set aside for a run-in to the lunch room. Like Ceres said, you are welcome to join us, of course. Three is better than two." With that, he rose with the crumpling of some sort of leather from his seat and looked down upon the two with a slowly building smile. "Shall we go? We might be able to catch Rhiannon, Hogarth, and the others if we make it in time before they head to their quarters. It is getting late, after all." He did not wait for much longer, stepping down the corridor to head to the exit and toward the cafeteria, hoping both Ceres and Lucia would follow alongside him. He paused shortly and looked back at the wielder of shocksticks. "Not a fan of parties, I take it, Lucia?" he queried, curious as to why she did not stay at the Aquafolk village to enjoy the festivities. - Hogarth - The bushy-haired Hogarth blinked his three eyes with great interest as each went over their home world. Hektor appeared to have had a very interesting world that he came from, one filled with adventures and every kind of physical enjoyment. Reksis revealed that he was at a loss of knowing much of his homeworld, being born far, far from it. Moreover, his people sounded like they were very technologically advanced, something that drew his interest heavily. Rhiannon was the last, regaling over wistful childhood memories that seemed long distant. That left him as the next candidate for storytelling. "Those sound like great places, ones I would love to visit someday if I ever go on tour when my studies cease their constant demands," he uttered with a kindly smile, getting his tea from the robotic servant as well and dismissing her with a thank-you. "They speak of freedom, fun, adoration, and perseverance. My world seems on the opposite extreme. War, strife, and constant one-uppance was as regular as breathing. Technology was constantly on the rise, limitlessly stretching its tendrils and infiltrating not only everyday life, but us as well." Hogarth seemed hesitant at first, pausing from reaching towards his other wrist, but he continued and tugged off the glove of pseudo-skin from his left hand. Beneath lay a complicated mesh of circuitry, silicon, and hydraulic drive systems, kept neatly within a tempered glass casing that just barely encapsulated all within it. "I'm not all flesh and bone, as you may have realised," he continued, popping a razor-thin shuriken out of a slot in his bare hand for observation. "It makes handling fragile things like pillows, papers, and glass beakers, er, challenging, to say the least. Working on that is something I also am performing. "Anyhow," he continued, replacing his shuriken into its groove and his glove of false skin, "I am very eager to learn more about you all. I don't often get out of my lab, but if you need me or would like to chat, my doors are always open." - Aquafolk Festivities - The Aquafolk general lifted an eyebrow upon seeing Henry down the stiff liqueur before laughing and pounding the man on the back good-heartedly and in good spirits. "Avid drinker or not, I welcome a challenge. Another, Illsley, another!" "Whatever you say, Briggs," uttered the barman, already getting started on filling up two glasses worth with the same strong drink, "but you'll get wasted before he will, I am betting." Briggs cast a puzzling gaze at the barman that looked like it said "Then you'd better do something about it" before he took the drink. Illsley took the hint and sighed, passing an empty-handed gesture over Henry's glass before returning back to his duties. Henry's drink was now three times stronger in terms of inducing drunkenness, though neither the taste nor the alcohol content changed for the sambuca. That is because Illsley was a liquor mage, one of the strangest sets of mages in the multiverse, and one of the most unknown to boot. To change the properties of water is a strange and wondrous phenomenon. For some reason or another, liquor mages were more prevalent in the Aquafolk nation than in any other, and as a result they practically wrote the book in terms of the practise of being a liquor mage. "So, Henry," brought up the general anew, guzzling down his second glass in between words, "you are from another world, yes? Besides the destruction and craziness, what is your world like, or even The Haven? I have not left my homelands except during matters of diplomacy, and even then I do not know much beyond the border or the many worlds. As a result, I'm very curious."

I am open to any world possibility, Disney, Square Enix, or original. Posting here would be fine, I think, so that you do not need to finagle with the messy poll system on this site. Regarding the time allotted to each person to post, how about one week as a standard before the topic can move on? For instance, Character A talks to Character B, but wants to talk to Character C too. After one week passes without a reply from Character B, it is fair game to move on.

World-to-world travel will keep things interesting, which I adore, and the possible splitting up of characters into Heartless/Nobodies would be a very neat idea! To see who would create such beings and what they would be like would be quite fun, especially with this very interesting cast of characters (speaking of which, great job on your character sheets, all).

((A wish was made upon Rufus to bring upon a separation of Odin into two parts: Raiden and Teshub again. As a result, Odin is no more, and Raiden has returned. More will come for Raiden and Rufus in time. In the immortal words of Square Enix, "Please be excited.)) - Raiden: Epilogue - Jynn's Coronation After a harrowing set of events brought about by several weeks of misguided conceptions and an endless series of horrible mishaps, Raiden found himself here, back in the capital of Kilkes Seres, anxiously awaiting within his best robe made of spider silk the moment when the prince will be bestowed the throne of the continent. He was amidst friends garnered through a myriad of ways -- choice humans of the World Below who had earned their rights of passage into the Overworld over and over again, those who were for and against his cause, and some people who remained neutral and unattached. All had their own reasons to being here, but under the unified banner of watching a king get crowned. He breathed in and out, trepidation causing his hands to shake in a manner quite unfitting to him. He both worried for and looked forward to the future state of the kingdom, once solidified by Shiva's ideals and now under Jynn's guiding hand. Would he be able to handle the pressures of the state and remain level-headed? He trusted Jynn's judgement, but even still he worried, almost enough that he wanted to bring up the possibility of being an advisor to his son. He decided against it, however. The Mystran people needed him for the time being, at least until he could find someone or a suite of people who were fully able to take over the affairs of being the ruler. Teshub was his prime choice for a candidate, even if the man attempted to kill him in secret. His hopes and aspirations for reuniting Odin dashed upon the rocks when he rediscovered what Odin was really like, Teshub seemed skeptical as to what to do with his life if he ever left imprisonment. Kept within the most secure parts of the Mystran cells, he had no ways of escape and precious few ways of entertaining himself, so Raiden came to visit him between his duties. Both seemed apologetic for their disparities against each other, and slowly their kinship was being reintegrated, healing the damage caused by both centuries of unspoken frustration and recent betrayal. Once trust can be reinstated, Raiden had no doubt that Teshub would easily be able to handle all of the faculties of being a ruler, much like he did. That was not to say that fail-safes would not be instated, however. A new pedigree of guardsmen was to be promoted as elite soldiers of Mystras, to keep him and Teshub on the right path as well as keep a sense of order to the growing city. Back to the present, Raiden snapped out of his introspection and found that Jynn made his entrance, accompanied by his entourage. He issued a mixed smile and stood straight up. It was time.

Dang, Mariel went out with a note that I would never have guessed! Like everyone else, I was taken aback and yet impressed. Nicely done, RikuNobody.

I would be up for that. The characters for the most part are set up, and Kuni is still working on his sheet for his character, so this is a good time. What planning do you have in mind for this roleplay? A lot of hosts for roleplays on this site have followed a rough idea at the very start and developed them as they moved along, though I would be perfectly content with a discussion regarding possibilities.

- Pang - The Zouyu's fuzzy head looked up to listen to Ceres' tale of where she came from and the ordeals that she faced long ago, the sheer strife that she had to endure. She was no stranger to ending the lives of people she once knew, it seemed, and her take on life ruffled his fur a little, even if only mildly. The path he strode was of respect for the living and destruction of anything unsanctioned by natural law. Hers was that of survival, a legacy born of hardship. There was an allure to her words, however, and tears started to well in his eyes. He nodded his head somberly in his seat and placed one hand on hers as she reached out to his shoulder, thankful for her kindness and for her support. "That was the description, yes," he voiced, a low rumble in his throat upon thinking of the man mentioned. His expression softened upon hearing more of her offer, however, and his frown gave way to a smirk. "That sounds good to me, though if I ever see him too it will be a race to stove his head in. If only this clue was more to go off of . . . but first things first. Like you say, I need to get my mind off of this. Obsessing over this is not good for the mind. I, ah . . . know it is late, but would you care for some refreshments at the cafeteria? Some tea would do me good." He glanced over to Ceres with an amiable smile. It surprised him that he never really asked about her past. Perhaps it was because for a while he thought of them both as equals, he and her. They even showed up around the same time, days separate, if his memory rang true.