Karmiar:The Academy of Heroes(IC Sign up in OOC)

[Tomia]

Castle Karmiar, The Place Where Legends are Born
For over a thousand years, Castle Karmiar has stood on the peak of Mount Arnas. The origins of the castle are unknown and shrouded in mystery. Most people in the world believe that it was forged from the mountain by the gods themselves. Regardless of it's origins, Castle Karmair is one of the most important places on the continent of Anthiral. For it is there that the children of every nation are trained to be great rulers, warriors, mages, and other professions that could lead them to greatness. The school was established over 500 years ago by Eglair the Wise. He was the King of Anthil who believed that the school could stop the constant warring that took place between the kingdoms.

Anthil- This human kingdom that has significant populations of all races. Anthril is a place of culture and industry and is one the richest kingdoms in the continent. It is one of the larger kingdoms and sits in the heart of the continent, bordering most provinces.
Ezramor- Ezramor is an exotic and mysterious place home to a large elvish population. This southern island kingdom provides for most of the trade in the empire and is therefore very wealthy. Ezramor is the home of thick swamps and forests where it is said many wild creatures roam.
Yendell- Yendell is one of the most eastern kingdoms in the continent and is home a large dark elf population. Unlike their Elven brethren dark elves have a deep purple skin color and focus more on magic than more traditional forms of combat. Yendell is a muster opus and often dangerous land. A number of odd creatures inhabit this land and the environment includes large mountains and volcanoes. Yendell has a small population however the Hall of Studies which resides in the capital of Leòthe, is considered the greatest source of magical studies and training on the continent.
Terminith This harsh mountainous Kingdom is home to the Orcs of Anthimal. The orcs mostly live in isolated tribal villages, making their living as warriors and blacksmiths. Terminith's two largest exports are soldiers and ore.
Zandir Zandir lies entirely underground and is known as the kingdom of the dwarves. Dwarves often keep to themselves, usually only emerging to the surface for war or trade.
Sefmar A southern human kingdom dotted with deserts and and caverns. The men of Sefmar are skilled warriors trained in most forms of combat including magic. They are considered some of the deadliest soldiers in the world.
Rordas- A large human kingdom located in the northern part of the continent. The humans of Rordas are rugged and tough. They are been with magic abilities that aid them in surviving the harsh cold climate of their home. The Rordas tend to live simple lives and mistrust outsiders. They hold very strongly their sense of pride and religion.

Jarnos- The God of order and balance. He is worshipped predominately by elves, who believe strongly in a natural balance that always must be kept.
Torac- The god of war and conquest. Torac is a favorite deity among human kind. Humans often see war as glorious and conquest as righteous.
Walia- The goddess of peace and rest. Walia is a popular goddess among the eastern elves of Ezramore who are often pacifistic in nature.
Mornic- The god of the forge and fire. Mornic is the patron god of the Dwarven race. It is a common belief among dwarves that Mornic is the father and creator of their race.
Selania- Goddess of the seas. She is revered by humans and elves equally but is prayed to little by the mountainous dwarves.
Malthrok- God of chaos and destruction. He is rarely openly worshipped by any major kingdom. However recently a secretive yet powerful cult has risen in his name.
Velu- God of death and the after life. Feared across the land of Astiana. Prayed to and worshipped to as a way to assure a peaceful afterlife for lost souls.
Gavil- The goddess of storms, and the weather. It is common belief that the weather reflects the goddess' emotions.
Quaria- The goddess of nature and the earth. She is greatly revered by the elves for her creation of the forests, and revered by the dwarves for the creation of the minerals they mine for.

The Road to Karmiar, the morning of Summer's End
The last day of summer symbolizes many things in the world of Anthiral. By many it is celebrated as a holiday, a day to pray to the gods for protection against the dangers of winter. This day is most known however, as the day when the students of Karmiar make their annual journey up Mount Arnas to Castle Karmiar. This is far from a normal journey however. The path to Karmiar is meant to test the strength of those would enter the school. Only those who can survive the trials of the mountain are deemed worthy to attend the academy. If a student is killed during the journey, they are deemed to not have been worthy to attend the school. This is also seen as a time where students can form bonds and relationships with each other, as team work is usually required to reach the castle. This will be the first step in the new year, what will you do?

[Tomia]

Rolan Merius
Rolan was quite relieved to be heading back to Karmiar. To him, it was an escape from his father, King Moras. Rolan and his father never had gotten along, and it has only seemed to have gotten worse as Rolan aged. Rolan always disappointed his father, never being the son that Moras wanted. Rolan never asked to be crown Prince, he never wanted it either. His father never allowed Rolan to be a child, never forgave mistakes. At that thought Rolan's hand aimlessly went to his left jaw bone that had a permeant scar running across it. He currently was wearing his mask that covered that part of his face, as he normally did. He was currently riding toward Mount Arnas, with his mother, his father, his younger brother James, and a friend of the family Elisa. They sat in a large carriage together, the air not very cheerful. James was entering his first year at Karmiar and was clearly very nervous. Queen Ella was comforting her youngest son and spoke to Rolan. "I wish you wouldn't wear that mask all the time Rolan. You look much more handsome without it." Rolan was used to this complaint from his mother but he didn't care. He hated people seeing his scar. His father was very silent during the ride to the mountain, which didn't bother Rolan any. He preferred it that way. Elisa saw that James was nervous and ruffled his hair affectionately. "Don't worry kid, me and your big brother will protect you." She smiled kindly to him. James gave a nervous smile and nodded. Elisa often acted like his older sister. After a number of hours had passed the group finally arrived at the base of the mountain. They got out and the family said their goodbyes. James, Rolan, and Elise, hugged the queen and James and Elise said goodbye to the king. Rolan said nothing to him, and the King said nothing to his son either. The Queen and King returned to their carriage and the horses began to pull them back to Rordas. James, Rolan, and Elisa gathered their things as they prepared for their long journey up the mountain.

[Nuridia]

Oona Stuart/Virgil Koszack
"Well, I wonder what kind of subjects you'll take up this year, my dear." Queen Siobhan asked her daughter cheerfully as they rode their carriage through the path up to the mountain castle. The Queen wore a peach gown, obviously made with fabric from her birth kingdom of Ronan. It was amazing how alike the queen and the crown Princess looked, except Siobhan's hair was long, wavy and brown while Oona's was a ruby red, chin length bob that spiked up in the back. "I don't know Mother, maybe they'll let us choose a bit." Oona took a long drag off the pipe she had brought with her. "I do wish you wouldn't smoke that stuff Una, it is unbecoming of your station." "Also, it will be an embarrassment to our kingdom if the future Queen is seen in some drug induced state." her father, king Henry Stuart scolded her. Oona rolled her eyes at her father's words, she didn't think that either of her parents had a right to scold her actions while they sat in their sham of a marriage which was clearly falling apart while both the king and queen openly kept other lovers, it was known throughout the whole continent.

And Oona would rather see purple rabbits and singing trees than see her parents argue back and forth, which they had done throughout the whole ride. She had seen both her parents' lovers, Siobhan's lover Robert Fyvie, the minister of defense gave Oona the creeps. She was no ideal medieval lady, she liked to smoke magic laced plants, drink, bob her hair and wear makeup. Oona was dressed in a black gown trimmed all over with vertical stripes of pearls, and her father had made her wear a partlet and ruff collar to hide her chest and back tattoos. "You're going to be queen upon your graduation, you do know what that means don't you?" Henry asked. "I know it means you want to quit ruling to marry your mistress." Oona muttered as they finally stopped at the base of the mountain. Another carriage from the royal family of Rordas was there by the looks of it. Oona was helped out of the carriage by a grinning face she knew too well. A tall and muscular blond boy wearing gleaming light armor stepped out of a smaller carriage and waved to the princess. Oona grinned back. "Virgil!" "Hey there baby brother, first day of school noogies!" she called out as she pulled Virgil into a headlock while he protested. He was Henry's bastard son and people looked down on him for it, that's why he was determined to prove himself but he adored his half-sister. "Geez, thanks for fucking up my 'do Oona." he joked, lightly punching her in the arm. "So good to see you again, I missed you." The siblings hugged and waved goodbye to their parents as they rode off, the queen merely glanced at Virgil and looked away. "Are you high again?" Virgil asked his sister, carrying his bags. "Not yet, working on it though." Oona grinned in her Ronan accent that was identical to Scottish. The two conversed with each other as they walked up the mountain.

[Lavan Tiri]

MURNKAZ

Kilp-clop, Klip-clop, went the horses hooves, as Murnkaz and his father rode up to Karmiar. "Son, remember..MURNKAZ!" His father barked, seeing the boy zoning out. "Yes, father dear? What tip do you have today that I've heard at least twenty times since we left home?" Hrimman sighed. "Just...have fun, son. Karmiar is full of your equals. Treat them as such. And remember-NO NECROMANCY." They chanted together."I know, dad. The King was very clear last time." The carriage stopped, and Hrimman pushed Murnkaz out, before climbing out. Murnkaz had time to notice a handsome blonde boy and a pretty human girl before Hrimman pulled his son into a bear hug." Try to not kill anyone." Whispered the duke, before climbing back into the carriage. Murnkaz sighed and walked over to the other two. Guess I'd better make some friends, he thought, before starting up the Mountain.

[Nuridia]

Virgil and Oona had started their way up the mountain together. Being the bastard son of a king by his favorite mistress had some perks, he had a good education and even got a junior spot in the army. However, Virgil found it hard bearing his illegitimate status. At least he was strong and ambitious, and he had a family he loved very much. Well most of them, his older brother Alfonze wanted Oona's throne and it was no secret, Virgil hated his brother's deviousness and the two often clashed behind it. "Rule number one of Karmiar, try to quit smoking so you can make it up there alive." The princess had put her pipe out and emptied it before walking again, although she wasn't too high she was obviously buzzed. It had no long term effects and she'd be sober again within five minutes. "Hey, who's over there?" Virgil pointed with his sword, making Oona look over there. A dwarven boy in the garbs of a prince was approaching them. "What kingdom you think they're from?" Oona asked. "No idea." the young paladin told his sister. "Hey Virg, are we invisible?" Oona asked, her words were a bit slurred. "No we're not invisible." Virgil scolded, trying not to laugh. "Well hi there." Oona greeted the dwarf as he finally was with them. "Who might you be?" the princess asked him, finally starting to come down from her trance.

[New Strausberg]

Slag

Slag yawned loudly as he was awoken by the sound of carriages and horses coming to the base of the mountain. Unlike most people that came to this place Slag didn't leave to return home mostly because he didn't have one. He ate,sleep,and bathed near that mountain bottom he called home not many people came by except for when school was to start,so he didn't have problems with being bothered. "Time for the bloody school return already?" He said groaning as his eagle was returning from his morning flight. "Dats a good girl." He stood up and walked over clad in his armor and weapons he looked more like he was gonna rob them then talk to them. As he got closer he saw a human girl hugging some boy,and another person riding up not many people had made it yet. "I didn't sleep in dis time that's good." He then noticed one of the carriages had a loose gem which he quickly took and hide inside his armour. He keep a distance from everyone he was an Orc after all and not many humans where to kind to his kin.

[Tomia]

Rolan had gathered his equipment and helped James with his. Elisa was ready as well, urging the other two to hurry up. "Come on boys, I want to get going. I haven't seen Wylla in ages." Wylla was Elisa's pet eagle that she had met at the school. She hated the time she had to be away from her. Rolan nodded. "I can't wait to see Guardian either." Guardian was Rolan's snow wolf, and his best friend. Once the three of them were ready they started to walk off and they saw other people gathering at the base of the mountain. Rolan didn't want to go near them but Elise grabbed his arm and nearly dragged him over towards the group. Elise recognized some of them, but didn't know their names. Never having had been formally introduced to them. "Hi everyone, are you guys getting ready to climb too? My name's Elise, it's nice to meet you all." Rolan said nothing, and simply stood there. He wasn't one to talk much to strangers. James meanwhile wandered off and saw an Orc standing by himself. James was curious and walked towards him. "Hey, what's your name?" He asked him. "My name's James, it's nice to meet you."

[Serksis Federation]

Johnny Ohm was ready for this new year, he was standing next to his father at the door holding back the smile that was trying to break through. The only thing that made it possible to hold it back was the slight regret about the lack of thrill of the summer. His father tried his best to keep him in the house that was connected to his dads shop. Johnny didn't know what his father sold, Johnny wasn't around enough for that because he would sneak out to the thieves guild. Shaking his father's hand and folding up a large piece of paper he looked around his house. "If you had allowed me to steal this place would look fantastic." His father did not answer as he handed Johnny his Scythe "don't cause trouble this time, you know I got a lot of angry parents at my neck about everything for that stunt you pulled last year, walk quickly and quietly, nothing else." As he left his house he whistled, his father didn't have a horse nor did his father have the time to walk him to school. Twirling his scythe he approached a house a couple hours down the trail, he kicked the door at he strapped the scythe onto his back. A man came out the small side door and clapped his hands before a horse came running behind him. Johnny walked over and jumped on the horse, the man backed up and went into the doorway while he kept his head down. "Your house goes without a robbery for yet another year." The brown horse took off after a hard kick. Once again, he had forgotten to tell his father he didn't have to walk the entire way. He dismissed his bad memory at he narrowed his eyes, the horse was going pretty fast, the wind hitting his face was causing his eyes to water up. He wiped his face as he came into sight of the mountain. "Another year of chess" he shouted. Reaching the beginning of the mountain he jumped of the horse and walked to where he saw others, approaching Slag. "Hello mate". The horse Johnny traveled on took off, which caused Johnny to daydream about how it knew its way back.

[Merodin]

Climbing Mount Arnas, Heading to Castle Karmiar
Helyanwe Siblings

"I'm glad its cloudy today," the blonde boy said, looking up at the sky. "The sun would be killer up this damn thing."

A small giggle escaped the lips of the equally blonde girl next to him. "Perhaps it will snow later. It certainly feels cold enough with this wind."

Rubbing her shoulders, the green eyed girl shivered slightly as a cold breeze swept down from the mountain and ruffled their hair. A sudden weight fell on her shoulders, looking back she saw that it was her brother's cloak.

"I-I wasn't that cold, Arty." she said, dismissively. Despite this, she wrapped the thick cloak around her tightly and nudged her brother affectionately to show her gratitude.

Smiling, Arty said nothing as the couple continued walking along the winding mountain path until they eventually reached the base of the main mountain where the dangerous road to the academy began.

"Hey, there's Ali!" Elendil, the blonde girl, said excitedly. "Ali!" she called out, running towards the tall man, who looked like an older version of Arty.

Turning, the young man's face crinkled into a smile as he watched his young sister run towards him followed closely behind by her brother.

"Well, well, I'm surprised to see you two here. After what happened last year, I thought I'd seen the last of you." the man teased, his voice light and resonating with concealed amusement.

"How have you been, Ali?" Artanis asked politely, adhering to some formalities since he could see others arriving. It would not be statesman like to pounce on one's older brother, a Prince, and next king of Anthil in such a manner as Elendil had done.

Nodding ruefully, the older Prince unwrapped his arms from around Elendil and stood, the gold epaulettes on his shoulder catching a brief glimmer of sunlight that made them shine on his red uniform as he did so.

Extending his hand, which Arty shook, Alistair replied "Well, thank you, brother. I see that you've grown. A shame really..."
Alistair narrowed his green eyes slyly and glanced briefly at Elendil, who stood nearby.

"I remember when you use to latch onto my leg and demand that I swing you around in the air..." A grin flashed across his face as he saw his younger brother's cheeks grow pink.

Elendil snickered and then lightly punched Alistair's shoulder. "You're horrible, Ali, stop teasing the poor boy." she laughed.

Arty embraced his brother then, both of them laughing. It had been several months since they had last seen one another. It was nice to be amongst his kin again, Alistair thought.

"Come now, you two. Go and meet the other students." Alistair chuckled, nodding at a group of newly arrived students that was growing. "I need to see the brand new students to Karmiar and make sure they don't kill themselves going up the mountain."

He gave them a slight push in the direction of the gaggle of students. "I'll catch up with you guys later." Alistair said waving, and then went back to finding the new students and telling them about the mountain trials.

Leaving their brother to his teaching duties, the twins started towards the large group of students.

They overheard one of them saying their name was Elise, who seemed to be dragging some poor boy along behind her. The emerald eyed twins looked at each other before moving towards the girl and boy.

"Hello there," Arty said, always the gregarious one of the two. "I'm Arty and this i-"

"I'm his sister, Elendil." The blonde girl finished for him. She hated it when her brother introduced her, like she was a child incapable of doing it herself.

"So, you two are going up the mountain, too?" Arty asked, more to Elise as he saw the boy was uncomfortable with the social attention.

[The Armed Republic of Dutch Coolness]

"'I know thee, demon" spat the young man, 'for thou art the fearsome mountainpath!' The mountainpath grumbled. 'I know thee too, child! You are alone, and I judge thee unworthy!' The mountainpath rumbled, and the child was crushed by an avalanche of rocks, and the mountainpath fell silent. Or something like that. Point is, that mountainpath is dangerous in more ways than you can think off. Key's to work together. Always has been. So no, dearest father, keeping a distance from all those other people isn't really an option. Well, unless you want me dead, of course, though I'm not too sure of that."

The black coach beloning to the var Ortogeds drove past some of the others, before coming to a halt. One of the doors swung open, and out hopped a tall, young man, the heir of the family's ruling line. Out of the stagecoach were thrown a sword, dagger, and punching dagger, all of which were catched by the young Ephram var Ortoged. The seventeen-year-old threw a nod to those sitting inside, before walking towards the mountain, wondering what the thing'd have for him now.

[Nuridia]

As they walked up the mountain with the others who were slowly gathering, Oona wondered about her pet hawk. She missed the bird, it had been one of her closest companions at the school. She had named it Thantos, after her maternal grandfather the king of Ronan. Virgil too wondered about his pet. His wold Dyana was a beautiful black thing with a hunter's silver eyes and a calm but fierce mien. They then noticed an Orc who was walking. Virgil was weary but Oona waved to him as he passed. The Rordasian royal family was walking toward the two, and Virgil noticed a pretty girl with short black hair among them who was the firsrt to introduce herself. "Hello there my lady, I'm Virgil Koszack." "It's very nice to meet you, and your lovely name might be?" he asked with a friendly smile. Oona rolled her eyes. "I'm still the more rational one among us and I smoke korin." she said. korin was a hallucinogenic herb that grew in the wilds of Ezramor. The princess turned to the girl with a smile and greeted her, her haze had worn off a lot to the point she was about one minute from being completely sober again. "Pardon my brother's desperation, he can't really control himself around women." "I'm Oona Stuart, it's quite nice to meet you." the redhead said, holding out her hand to Elisa. Oona's gray eyes and fine features were set off by the eyeshadow and lipstick she wore. A fair beauty meets a dark one, how poetic. Virgil thought. Oona noticed Rolan out of the corner of her eyes, he was handsome except for the mask he wore, and he seemed like the kind of person who didn't like to talk. She noticed a group of beautiful blond royals go to talk to Elisa and the redhead waved to them as they passed.

[Utceforp]

Adapa worked diligently on the metal platform he held out in front of his arm. He did not like the enormous eagles the other teachers used, and as a dwarf it was harder for him to ride them anyway. As such, he often designed his own methods of flight instead for the first day. Normally he just used verbal spells to levitate himself, but this year he had taken it upon himself to design a more permanent and exact solution, using written magic. He dipped a paintbrush in magical ink and began inscribing circles of characters into the metal platform, careful to be exact. Magic was dangerous simply because it did exactly what you told it to do, and not what you wanted it to do. If he forgot to include a clarification in his spell, he could kill himself in this situation. He had to tell the magic when to start working, when to stop working, and in exact detail what it was supposed to do in between.

Adapa stood on the character-inscribed platform and said "Up!". The runes glowed softly and the platform ascended into the air. Suddenly, its speed increased, sending Adapa into the ceiling. "DOWN!" he said, in frustration, causing the platform to descend equally quickly into the ground, cracking it slightly. Adapa sighed. The section of the spell regulating the speed of the platform had been written incorrectly, and he had accelerated ten times as fast as he had intended. He rubbed out the symbols and re-wrote them.

After additional testing, Adapa's creation worked perfectly. He knew that he had tested it more times than necessary, but he was a scientist and a scholar, and rigorous testing was what was needed to prevent him from accidentally falling over the mountain. He was going to supervise the mountainous journey, and make sure those who were lost or near death were returned to the bottom of the mountain, so that they may survive their failure. His metal platform glowed with symbols as he flew over the ground below, watching the students climb.

[New Strausberg]

Rolan had gathered his equipment and helped James with his. Elisa was ready as well, urging the other two to hurry up. "Come on boys, I want to get going. I haven't seen Wylla in ages." Wylla was Elisa's pet eagle that she had met at the school. She hated the time she had to be away from her. Rolan nodded. "I can't wait to see Guardian either." Guardian was Rolan's snow wolf, and his best friend. Once the three of them were ready they started to walk off and they saw other people gathering at the base of the mountain. Rolan didn't want to go near them but Elise grabbed his arm and nearly dragged him over towards the group. Elise recognized some of them, but didn't know their names. Never having had been formally introduced to them. "Hi everyone, are you guys getting ready to climb too? My name's Elise, it's nice to meet you all." Rolan said nothing, and simply stood there. He wasn't one to talk much to strangers. James meanwhile wandered off and saw an Orc standing by himself. James was curious and walked towards him. "Hey, what's your name?" He asked him. "My name's James, it's nice to meet you."

Slag looked down at the boy, "Da names Slag humi. Here hold this for me will you." And give him the gem he had taken from the carriage. "Just hold it tell we get up da mountain and ill give you something when we get up there. Slag turned quickly to see a horse run up behind him and another student drop off. "Oy why you gotta scare me like that you I got to scare me like dat Johnny." He scratched his head and smiled. "You got anything good on yea this time? I maya came across something you'd like." One after another the students began to arrive he waved even got a wave from some human girl he smiled and returned the gesture as he keep talking to Johnny.

[Tomia]

Elise smiled when Virgil introduced himself and seemed to be flirting with her. Elise was not one to blush, she was by no means a shy girl. "It's nice to meet you Virgil. My name is Elise." Rolan's eyes watched Virgil closely. He was very protective of Elise and didn't like the way he was flirting with her. She shook Oona's hand when she offered it. She noticed she was a very pretty girl, but her make up and demeanor made her seem very unlike the royals Elise knew. She recognized her name though and knew she was the crown princess of Ezramor. Elise laughed at Oona's comment about her brother. "It's quite alright, and it's nice to meet you Oona." Rolan didn't offer his hand to anyone or speak. Elise rolled his eyes at him. "Forgive my friend here. He's a little shy. His name's Rolan though." Elise then saw a pair of twins approach them and speak to her. "Hi, my name is Elise. Ya we're heading up to the castle too." "Speaking of that, we should start heading up soon."
James was surprised by the Orc's wires but took the gem he had given him. "Alright, I'll hold on to it." James told Slag before walking off back towards his brother's side.

[Lavan Tiri]

Virgil and Oona had started their way up the mountain together. Being the bastard son of a king by his favorite mistress had some perks, he had a good education and even got a junior spot in the army. However, Virgil found it hard bearing his illegitimate status. At least he was strong and ambitious, and he had a family he loved very much. Well most of them, his older brother Alfonze wanted Oona's throne and it was no secret, Virgil hated his brother's deviousness and the two often clashed behind it. "Rule number one of Karmiar, try to quit smoking so you can make it up there alive." The princess had put her pipe out and emptied it before walking again, although she wasn't too high she was obviously buzzed. It had no long term effects and she'd be sober again within five minutes. "Hey, who's over there?" Virgil pointed with his sword, making Oona look over there. A dwarven boy in the garbs of a prince was approaching them. "What kingdom you think they're from?" Oona asked. "No idea." the young paladin told his sister. "Hey Virg, are we invisible?" Oona asked, her words were a bit slurred. "No we're not invisible." Virgil scolded, trying not to laugh. "Well hi there." Oona greeted the dwarf as he finally was with them. "Who might you be?" the princess asked him, finally starting to come down from her trance.

"You talking to me? I'm Murnkaz, son of Duke Hrimmat of the Elves. And you are?" He asked, snapping out of his trance. This human was stunning. "Which house are you in?"

[Nuridia]

Virgil noticed Rolan's eyes scan him like a tracker hound when he spoke to Elisa. "Finally, some emotion." he thought about the prince in his mind. "Hello Elise, it's nice to meet you as well." "And your friend here too, he doesn't seem like a talker to me." The paladin said about Ronan, Virgil was a friendly guy but liked women a bit too much. "Hello there Elise." Oona greeted before the boy they had spoken to before walked over to them. Now that he was closer, they could tell that he was an elf and not a dwarf at all. Oona noticed the way he was looking at her and willed herself not to blush. Blushing was too soft. "I'm Oona, it's nice to meet you Murnkaz." the princess greeted the duke's son. "I'm in Torven, which house are you in?" Oona pushed a stray strand of red hair out of her face as she spoke. Virgil was protective of his sister but said nothing, the elf was no harm and besides, Oona was an independent lady. To say something anyway would be almost hypocritical after Rolan's reaction to him speaking to Elise.

[Serksis Federation]

Johnny slid his fingers through his hair and began looking up at the sky. He knew Oexling was around here somewhere. Oexling had most likely had gotten stronger. "Slag, what was that thing you passed to what boy". Johnny tried to stay focus on his question as he stayed close to Slag but his mind wondered. He began to make random hand signals, both his hands above his head while his eyes searched the sky. He tried 5 signals before just shouting. "Oexling you better get out here before I ground you for twice your lifespan". A few seconds later a dark brown hawk games flying out a nearby tree flying for Johnny's head. "Woah hey no, on the shoulder on the shoulder" Johnny said as he pointed to his shoulder. The hawk landed perfectly on his shoulder, they looked at each other, both of them had hazel eyes, Oexling's feathers matched Johnny's scythe. Oexling's black claws got a little tighter on Johnny's black muscle shirt. "Don't even, we do that tomorrow" Johnny stated before he turned back to Slag. "So yea, what did you pass to that person?" Johnny once again put his fingers through his hair.

[Merodin]

As they walked up the mountain with the others who were slowly gathering, Oona wondered about her pet hawk. She missed the bird, it had been one of her closest companions at the school. She had named it Thantos, after her maternal grandfather the king of Ronan. Virgil too wondered about his pet. His wold Dyana was a beautiful black thing with a hunter's silver eyes and a calm but fierce mien. They then noticed an Orc who was walking. Virgil was weary but Oona waved to him as he passed. The Rordasian royal family was walking toward the two, and Virgil noticed a pretty girl with short black hair among them who was the firsrt to introduce herself. "Hello there my lady, I'm Virgil Koszack." "It's very nice to meet you, and your lovely name might be?" he asked with a friendly smile. Oona rolled her eyes. "I'm still the more rational one among us and I smoke korin." she said. korin was a hallucinogenic herb that grew in the wilds of Ezramor. The princess turned to the girl with a smile and greeted her, her haze had worn off a lot to the point she was about one minute from being completely sober again. "Pardon my brother's desperation, he can't really control himself around women." "I'm Oona Stuart, it's quite nice to meet you." the redhead said, holding out her hand to Elisa. Oona's green eyes and fine features were set off by the eyeshadow and lipstick she wore. A fair beauty meets a dark one, how poetic. Virgil thought. Oona noticed Rolan out of the corner of her eyes, he was handsome except for the mask he wore, and he seemed like the kind of person who didn't like to talk. She noticed a group of beautiful blond royals go to talk to Elisa and the redhead waved to them as they passed.

Base of Mount Agnas, Heading to Castle Karmiar
Elendil and Artanis Helyanwe

Just as the twins arrived at the young girl who introduced herself as Elise, another couple arrived; a young man and an older looking woman. The green-eyed twins smiled at both in turn. Overhearing the the two introduce themselves, the the two blonde teenagers glanced at one another uncertainly.

It was normal for there to be the sons and daughters of Dukes and other nobles attending the academy, but foreign royals were not as nearly as common. Being of royal blood had its perks, but it was more of a both when it came to friendship. The twins found few people they could trust as genuine friends, others were simply their friends because of their status, their wealth, or because of their parents' pressure to get on their good side. It was this that had led them to only to each other for support, for how could they know if others were genuine in their feelings for them?

"It is an honor to be graced with your appearance, Princess Oona." Artanis bowed his head respectfully, ever the statesman-in-training, as he said. "I'm sure that Castle Karmiar will be all the better with your attendance this year."

Elendil lips tightened, but not so much as to be noticeable. "Indeed, my lady." Elendil curtsied shortly. "And you, too, Virgil." she grinned at him politely, feeling bad that her brother had only paid attention to the royalty.

Elendil looked towards the sullen-looking boy, Roland, and stepped closer to him. Greeting him softly, she hoped she'd be able to get him to open up a little more. You needed to build friendships at the academy or you'd never get up the mountain or doing the later tasks in the year.

"I'm Elendil and this is my brother, Artanis." she said kindly, gesturing towards her brother. "Your name is Rolan, right? May I ask what house you're in? I'm in Castin."

[Pinki3 Pon-3]

Temnyy Anakora
Tem glared out of the window of the carriage as it rolled across the dirt road on approach to the school entrance at the bottom of the mountain. Her mother sat in the seat across from hers watching her daughter with a concerned face.
"Temmy, listen dear, this year . . . Could you try . . . Make some friends?"
She said quietly, Tem wasn't a very normal child at any rate. For one, she had an obsession with death. Temnyy snorted dismissively and nodded,
"Sure, if any of those small minded fools understand the lie they're living."
She muttered as they pulled up next to the entrance. She climbed out with her satchel and moved silently to the cover of a nearby tree. No goodbyes, no hellos. She didn't want to be here, she had no desire to associate herself with these people. She looked at the nearby tree and pulled a leaf off. Her finger traced patterns on the leaf and left behind black streaks as she ripped the life energy out of the left, drawing intricate patterns along the leaf. Her dragon landed behind her amongst the leaves, a small crimson dragon who seemed to be one of the few things Tem actually spoke to. She reached behind her and scratched his muzzle affectionately.
"Hey, missed you."
She murmured softly and sighed as she noticed Slag off to one side as well, no doubt he would interpret this 'common ground' as a base for a friendship. All the outcasts did. It irritated her to no end, she didn't want to know them. She didn't want their company.

Alexander van Helsing
Alexander stood quietly off to the side as he watched the students began arriving. He leaned against a tree and smiled as he ran his fingers through the mane of the wolf next to him. He spotted a familiar face. Slag, a decent enough Orc. Eager to learn and friendly. There were a few other faces he recognized from the past year. They'd have a tough year ahead of them in survival training at least. The quiet teacher crouched down in the shadows of the trees, watching the new arrivals for now. Guessing which house they had been chosen for as was his hobby.

[New Strausberg]

Johnny slid his fingers through his hair and began looking up at the sky. He knew Oexling was around here somewhere. Oexling had most likely had gotten stronger. "Slag, what was that thing you passed to what boy". Johnny tried to stay focus on his question as he stayed close to Slag but his mind wondered. He began to make random hand signals, both his hands above his head while his eyes searched the sky. He tried 5 signals before just shouting. "Oexling you better get out here before I ground you for twice your lifespan". A few seconds later a dark brown hawk games flying out a nearby tree flying for Johnny's head. "Woah hey no, on the shoulder on the shoulder" Johnny said as he pointed to his shoulder. The hawk landed perfectly on his shoulder, they looked at each other, both of them had hazel eyes, Oexling's feathers matched Johnny's scythe. Oexling's black claws got a little tighter on Johnny's black muscle shirt. "Don't even, we do that tomorrow" Johnny stated before he turned back to Slag. "So yea, what did you pass to that person?" Johnny once again put his fingers through his hair.

"Just a little something one of the carragies "dropped" haha." Slag laughed a little then smiled, "and if you got something good,later when we get up to the top its yours for a trade." Slag smiled, "you coming up the hill or not I'd rather keep the theif with me then against me." He then began to walk up the hill carrying his things. Looking around there was alot going on it was very interesting seeing these new and old faces maybe play a few tricks on the way up the mountain who knows. He quickly stopped and ran over to Tem slag hated elves but dark elves where a bit of an expection he also just liked being around her there where no one orcs at the academy as far as he knew so she was the closet he had to a best friend. She was with her dragon same as last year. "Hey Tem" he said walking up to her.

[Nuridia]

As they walked up the mountain with the others who were slowly gathering, Oona wondered about her pet hawk. She missed the bird, it had been one of her closest companions at the school. She had named it Thantos, after her maternal grandfather the king of Ronan. Virgil too wondered about his pet. His wold Dyana was a beautiful black thing with a hunter's silver eyes and a calm but fierce mien. They then noticed an Orc who was walking. Virgil was weary but Oona waved to him as he passed. The Rordasian royal family was walking toward the two, and Virgil noticed a pretty girl with short black hair among them who was the firsrt to introduce herself. "Hello there my lady, I'm Virgil Koszack." "It's very nice to meet you, and your lovely name might be?" he asked with a friendly smile. Oona rolled her eyes. "I'm still the more rational one among us and I smoke korin." she said. korin was a hallucinogenic herb that grew in the wilds of Ezramor. The princess turned to the girl with a smile and greeted her, her haze had worn off a lot to the point she was about one minute from being completely sober again. "Pardon my brother's desperation, he can't really control himself around women." "I'm Oona Stuart, it's quite nice to meet you." the redhead said, holding out her hand to Elisa. Oona's green eyes and fine features were set off by the eyeshadow and lipstick she wore. A fair beauty meets a dark one, how poetic. Virgil thought. Oona noticed Rolan out of the corner of her eyes, he was handsome except for the mask he wore, and he seemed like the kind of person who didn't like to talk. She noticed a group of beautiful blond royals go to talk to Elisa and the redhead waved to them as they passed.

Base of Mount Agnas, Heading to Castle Karmiar
Elendil and Artanis Helyanwe

Just as the twins arrived at the young girl who introduced herself as Elise, another couple arrived; a young man and an older looking woman. The green-eyed twins smiled at both in turn. Overhearing the the two introduce themselves, the the two blonde teenagers glanced at one another uncertainly.

It was normal for there to be the sons and daughters of Dukes and other nobles attending the academy, but foreign royals were not as nearly as common. Being of royal blood had its perks, but it was more of a both when it came to friendship. The twins found few people they could trust as genuine friends, others were simply their friends because of their status, their wealth, or because of their parents' pressure to get on their good side. It was this that had led them to only to each other for support, for how could they know if others were genuine in their feelings for them?

"It is an honor to be graced with your appearance, Princess Oona." Artanis bowed his head respectfully, ever the statesman-in-training, as he said. "I'm sure that Castle Karmiar will be all the better with your attendance this year."

Elendil lips tightened, but not so much as to be noticeable. "Indeed, my lady." Elendil curtsied shortly. "And you, too, Virgil." she grinned at him politely, feeling bad that her brother had only paid attention to the royalty.

Elendil looked towards the sullen-looking boy, Roland, and stepped closer to him. Greeting him softly, she hoped she'd be able to get him to open up a little more. You needed to build friendships at the academy or you'd never get up the mountain or doing the later tasks in the year.

"I'm Elendil and this is my brother, Artanis." she said kindly, gesturing towards her brother. "Your name is Rolan, right? May I ask what house you're in? I'm in Castin."

"Hey there yourself, Prince Artanis." "Hopefully this year won't be as boring and stupid as the last." Oona greeted the blond prince kindly. She was going along with her own nature, she didn't care much for protocol but only bowed for politeness. She was a bit offended that he had deliberately ignored her brother and Virgil was trying to hide his indignation. Oona gently put a hand on his arm and Virgil heard the princess Elendil greet him. "My lady." Virgil said, bowing his head quickly to Elendil in greeting. He noticed her trying to open up to Rolan, the paladin felt like the Rordas prince would be a tough nut to crack. Oona noticed something out of the corner of her eye, a sullen looking girl with flowing raven hair and piercing blue eyes was nearly hidden by a tree. Her look promised death to whoever approached her but the redhead wasn't scared. As she stepped forward to maybe speak to Tem, Virgil held her back. "I wouldn't do that Oona, we have to get up the mountain she she looks like she eats souls for breakfast." "We can all speak when we make it to the top." the blond said. Oona sighed. "Virg, you shouldn't judge people." "You don't like it when they judge you right?" "But you're right, we do have to get up this bloody damned mountain for the fourth and fifth time." the princess sighed.

[Tomia]

Elise laughed at Virgil's comment about Rolan. "Ya, he's not the most talkative person you're going to meet." Rolan merely rolled his eyes and turned away, seeing his little brother standing by his side." He tapped him on the head affectionately, making James smile. Rolan was surprised when one of the girls who had introduced herself to Elise. He wasn't used to people approaching him. He looked at her as she spoke, almost like he was studying her. "Castin" He told her simply through the wolf mask he wore around the lower parts of his face. It was clear he wasn't planning on having a long conversation. As the students were speaking, a large Orc in battle armor spoke from the base of the mountain. He was Urac, the captain of the castle's guard. "Alright you lot! Get moving up the mountain. You don't want to be stuck on the mountain at night." He called to them. Elise rolled her eyes. "Well, I guess we should get going." She said to the people around her as she started to head towards the mountain with Rolan and James following.

[Lavan Tiri]

Virgil noticed Rolan's eyes scan him like a tracker hound when he spoke to Elisa. "Finally, some emotion." he thought about the prince in his mind. "Hello Elise, it's nice to meet you as well." "And your friend here too, he doesn't seem like a talker to me." The paladin said about Ronan, Virgil was a friendly guy but liked women a bit too much. "Hello there Elise." Oona greeted before the boy they had spoken to before walked over to them. Now that he was closer, they could tell that he was an elf and not a dwarf at all. Oona noticed the way he was looking at her and willed herself not to blush. Blushing was too soft. "I'm Oona, it's nice to meet you Murnkaz." the princess greeted the duke's son. "I'm in Torven, which house are you in?" Oona pushed a stray strand of red hair out of her face as she spoke. Virgil was protective of his sister but said nothing, the elf was no harm and besides, Oona was an independent lady. To say something anyway would be almost hypocritical after Rolan's reaction to him speaking to Elise.

"Torven, eh? Tell Nogaatha I said hi. I, however, am in Abisilia, your Majesty." he said, bowing exaggeratedly. "Who's the shining knight, ma'am?" He asked, gesturing to the other boy.

[Nuridia]

Virgil laughed at Elise's comment and then the elven duke bowed exaggerately to Oona, making her blush slightly. "I'll make sure to speak to her for you." "This is my brother Lord Virgil Koszack, Duke of Argyll." the redhead said before the armored Orc announced that they had to get moving. "Time to put our skills to use, it was nice speaking to you all." Oona and her brother waved goodbye to everyone before she and Virgil headed up the mountain and to face the trials, yet again.

[Pinki3 Pon-3]

Temnyy Anakora
Tem let out a long tired sigh and looked down at a patch of grass in front of her.
"Hey Slag."
She muttered moodily. He was like a puppy, no matter how many times she shunned him he still seemed convinced she was a friend. She would tolerate it at least, not propagate or encourage it but tolerate it. She dropped the leaf which flitted down towards the ground with its face scarred by the withering plague that had sapped parts of it.
"Almost thought we'd made it home,
But we don't know this place at all."
She murmured distractedly and then turned towards the mountain with a swish of her raven hair.
"Come on Hunter, we're climbing."
She said, beckoning her dragon, Hunter, away from his playful interaction with Slag's eagle.

Alexander
The muscly ex-merc stood up as Urac arrived and chuckled to himself. Slag was attempting to talk to that weird dark elf witch. There was something about her that made Alex feel uneasy around her. He wasn't sure whether it was something he had done, or just in general but she never seemed to smile.
"Werewolves are out for blood tonight, full moon. You'll be wanting to follow Urac then. I'll be at the back."
He said, tacitly informing them that if they fell behind him they would likely not be returning. As the survival training teacher he felt this was a pretty good way to gauge those in his class, not to mention he was also the groundskeeper . . . Not that the grounds really needed keeping, it was more keeping people alive on the grounds.