A Trip in Amethyst (IC)

[Elvwitand]

Vadim decides to ask more about hunting, still feeling the pride. -"Well, we, four dudes from armed forces took down a Terra Cotta troll and got the money well deserved. I still have a feeling, that there are far more dangerous creatures out there. I wonder, if there is a classification for them? And at what tier Terra Cotta Trolls, like the one we took down are placed? And what was the most epic and dangerous assignment in your guild's history that has been successfully completed?"

Seth LeBarge just decides to have some talk with some other hunting party, while enjoying his beer. -"Yo', dudes! Going for a nice bounty? Looks like the hunter's duty is never done! We have just killed a big ass troll and soon gonna celebrate this with booze! Ya'll probably have seen us rollin' it's head. What are some of the nice taverns to do so and is there any unusual booze out there? By the way, we wanna share the vibe and mood, so here is some booze! From our homeland!"-Seth gives a bottle of beer to one of the hunters. -"By the way, if ya' also gonna hunt some troll... and ya' didn't go for them before... They got very light sleep, one misstep and this giant gonna wake up, they are unusually fast for their size and... they smell like shit! I swear, sometimes when we rolled the head, I wished, that my smell didn't recover after Covid."

In the meantime, Jane asks around about enchantments and magic and how could she and friends learn about it. If at least some parties have wizards in them, then there are places to learn about magic. She hopes, that it's even possible for her and friends to learn a few spells. Enchantments are also interesting topic. After all, an enchanted item could sell at very high price back home, as it would be a valuable thing for laboratory studies and researches.-"I wonder about magic here... Is it possible for us to learn some spells? If we learn some, it would be awesome! And what about enchanted items? Would like to know a bit about thier classification and such and where it's best to get them? Or enchant our own weapons? "

Jose in the meantime wonders about slimes, whatever they are. -"I keep hearing about slimes, whatever they are... What are they exactly and what are their species? I also know, that they are not worth much. You will laugh, but we plan to put one inside a bottle from tequilla if it's possible and bring it back home for laboratory studies. Neoners pay good money for various unusual otherwordly specimen and items we bring."

"In terms of a rank, that troll would be a Rank 5 Earthen-Creature. A desire to know more about the hunted creatures and the ranking system, we're glad to point you the current Guild Leader, Koroa Stormstone, she usually is lecturing newbie hunters right about now, just in the Guild Hall down there. And if you wish to learn spells, we'd suggest partnering with a Mage who can help you with scroll based magic. It's typically the way non-magic users can use some magic. Witches are also viable guild partners to go with if you need a strong magic user at your side. You are welcome to capture any creature if you are able, including slimes. Again, Lady Stormstone can tell you much more about everything you need to know. It's a lot more than we receptionist have the time for, I'm afraid."

Lucian

"I was raised inland, I don't think I saw the sea until I was..." Lucian paused, quietly doing math in his head. "37. I was accompanying a fleet that was on its way to set up a base on an island to strip it of anything that could be turned into a weapon. That trip...didn't go as planned." He stepped aside for a crew-woman walking by. "I...would like to accept your offer to join the Katoomba's crew, but..." Lucian stopped momentarily, searching for the right words. "I still have a few things to handle back home. Most trying to repair my relationship with my half-brother. And I also hold a position of immense importance and I don't plan to abandon it any time soon. Not while I can still fight."

Lucian shrugged as he looked at the ocean. Sunlight was sparkling on its surface. It was a nice sight that he enjoyed looking at. It kind of reminded him of how the sun glinted over the steel of blades, a sight he was very familiar with. "I would try the herbs route, but the idea of being weak and nauseous for days on end sounds unpleasant. I'll just muscle through it like I always do." He looked back at the captain and waved his hand dismissively. "I'm amazed this ship has stayed together so long. The Western Drahian Empire mandates every ship undergo some kind of overhaul once it reaches twenty years of age. Maybe we just don't built ships right, but good luck convincing a Drahian about that. Every one of them will insist their technique is good and shouldn't be changed." Lucian threw his head back and laughed at the utter stubbornness of his fellow Drahians."

"I know forward masts take damage. I recall seeing a ship losing its forward mast in a tempest. Two other warships had to attach their boarding hooks to it, so the ship and its crew didn't end up whisked away. All the while, I was hunched over a railing with two of my comrades holding my arms, so I didn't fall off the flagship," The very memory of that storm upset Lucian's stomach. That was easily the worst day of his life.

Octavian

Octavian was awed by the measures, but he also felt like scoffing. The Imperial Palace of the Western Drahian Empire was guarded only by the Royal Guard, who did the job well enough. They kept the entire Palace safe, without any spells to help them. Though, in particular, the part about the armor suits interested him. The guide skipped over what they did, but Octavian could guess. They were likely automatons. Constructs brought to life and powered by magic. Any ancient form of technology that, despite the Drahians knowing how to create automations, rarely used them. The strange machines took too much time, effort, and power to make, rendering them not worth the cost. Though, the statues outside Octavian's throneroom were automatons that were only ever awakened during times of extraordinary need. Octavian, personally, only saw them march once, and they hadn't done much to stop the disaster that shook the Imperial Palace.

The guide launched into a tirade of history, much of which Octavian either took silently or frowned at. He couldn't tell if he was listening to history or myths. Dragons didn't exist where he came from, they never had. No trustable records ever mentioned them, so he presumed dragons simply didn't exist anywhere. Unbeknownst to him, the kleptomaniac who served Octavian was in a bar with dragon-humans. "A question," Octavian said, his voice echoing in the hall. "Did the people not object to letting slaves inside the palace? Slaves are usually looked down upon as non-human, so surely people raised their voices against Princess Ashla for such a decision. How did she handle that adversity?" He asked, curious to see how foreign monarchs handled such issues.

Julius

Julius watched the paper fly to the kitchen. His eyes traced the route carefully, an instinct he had gotten beaten into him by his mentor. As the bartender talked about her sister, Julius politely nodded and smiled to show he was listening. He took a small sip of his beer, just enough to deduce whether or not it was good or bad. The taste was rather good, better than the crude excuse for alcohol served by soldiers, Julius thought with a smirk. "My emperor mentioned something similar about his little sister. She, from what I've heard, has a lot of energy and that caused her to mess up periodically. But her mistakes were outweighed by her borderline naive happiness and willingness to fix anything she may've messed up. I never met her, though, since I was always away, about to go away, or the captain of the emperor's guards was threatening to do something to me if I tried anything funny. That Drahian was always overzealous about guarding the emperor..." Julius said the last part to himself as the barmaid wandered off to help other customers.

Silently, Julius drunk his beer, taking care not to make it seem like he wasn't trying to finish his meal too quickly, but also moving faster than normal. The idea of attempting to steal from under the nose of a dragon-human excited him greatly. It was not stealing that interested or entertained Julius, it was the risk of getting caught and the planning that went into it. The few seconds that could either enrich someone or cause them to be locked away in a cage. Realistically, Julius could dine and dash with absolute ease. He was capable of teleporting himself halfway across the city instaneously, but that'd be boring. If there was no chance of getting caught, then it wasn't worth it. Such were the beliefs of the potentially insane kleptomaniac that the emperor had, for some reason, elected to make Imperial Spymaster. The vaguely cute croissant Julius downed in two bites before sitting back and waiting for the barmaid to turn her back. The moment she did, he stood and walked toward the door in utter silence, all while keeping one of his azur eyes on the dragon-human. Though, for clarification and Julius' person validation, he had enough money to pay for his meal.

Dominan

Dominan could not hear the conversation between the registers. Had he heard it, he likely would've said something about how he likely had more experience fighting than both of them. The members of the Vion bloodline took immense pride in their ancient combat techniques that had been passed down for over a millennia. However, that experience also gave many Vions a sizable dose of arrogance.

Dominan walked down the hallway, his armor thudding against the ground and echoing down the hall. Within the ancient steel, he could feel magical runes power up, the noise of it dully thumming in his ear. He consciously shut them down. Such powerful magic would make the fight unfair. The runes made the armor harder to break and increased the wearer's strength drastically. Advantages designed for war, not gladiatorial fights. The elves appeared before him and he stopped. The only responses he gave to their statements were nods. As he waited for the curtains to open, Dominan slowly shifted his arms, rolling them and flexing his muscles.

The curtains, after what felt like ages, parted and Vion marched out, his hands curled into fists. The crowds roared, and the who had money riding on Dominan bellowing louder than he liked. But, rather than just ignore the cries, he thrust his right fist in the air momentarily before lowering back down to his side. When he turned to face his opponent...he found himself a little disappointed. Elves weren't particularly renowned for their strength in Dominan's home, so he half thought the pair-up was an insult to his strength. "Tch...I'll fight her anyway," he grumbled as he raised his fists in front of his face. The witch lowered from the sky and Dominan narrowed his eyes. He blocked out the noise from the stands and focused solely on his adversary.

The crack of the witch's wand didn't even reach him, his only indication that the fight started was that the elf rushed him, sword raised. Dominan didn't move. He spread his legs out a bit, intent on not moving backward an inch, and raised his right forearm to guard himself. He let his left arm hang by his side. His intent was to deflect the sword away with his right arm then punch the elf in the gut with his left.

The Katoomba

"Ah very impressive for someone raised inland, you know your stuff. Keep that job in mind if you decide in the future. Indeed, I too lost a mast when I sailed through the Great Tempest of Caerleon 1690. That was about ooh 1,133 years ago now. Was on my way Usmal, that's an island in the South Unknown Sea when a mighty storm overtook us and my mate and I had our hands full, lemme tell ya! But we made it, I guess that's obvious, this old girl is still sailing after all, and we got her repaired and good as new again! Had some rough ones since but I don't think much will top that. It was about two-months of a non-stop tempest. The Underwater Gods were just having a real bad day back then which was part of the reason, but we thought it was the lack of a viable sacrifice. Don't worry, those days are long behind us now, since the joining of the Empire at the end of Caerleon, seafaring has grown a lot safer. But you ask my cute little mate, more boring as she puts it. I'm about the sea, she's about the thrills but we do love it so."

The Castle

"But of course people objected. Nobles scoffed at the idea for time after but the Princess wouldn't have it any other way. She had insisted to bring all homeless in out from the cold regardless of servitude status. The Queen ever doting, conceded that much for her daughter. And it became one of the first major steps to the eventual abolition at the end of Caerleon, until the start Euphyllia, officially decreed it so. By then the practice had been in steady decline across the Empire and her decree just sealed it into law. Of course it wasn't easy in those early years. But this is the history of the Castle rather than the Empire as a whole so let's move along. Please continue to ask questions as the need arises." She continued along the tour next stop the Gallery. "This is the Gallery, great art commissioned for the Royals who have lived her through the ages, as well as busts and portraits of previous Queens and Empresses before. Current Empress Euphyllia's portrait is actually on loan at the moment across the land in the Realm of Shinzajiro hence hers is missing until it will be returned in a month's time."

The Dragon's Scale Pub

"Thank you for your business."

"Hey Urri" One of the regular patrons who'd been sitting quietly reading the daily newspaper got the attention of the girl "That guy you just served, just dashed."

Her happy expression instantly turned to one of anger as her slit shaped pupils constricted. Her mighty wings shredded out from the back of her uniform "Oh no, nobody skips out a check here!" She took flight in her immediate pursuit catching up to him and pinning him down to the ground with her hand now forming a rather frighting looking claw. "A plate and a mug is 15 Gold! You gonna pay up or am I going to shred you open for it?"


The Arena


Panya raised her sword but he successfully parried it off just using his arm!? "This guy is no joke!" He might be one of the stronger opponents she'd face off in her first match of the day. He wasn't a regular so she admittedly kind of figured this would be easy. The tournament always drew a lot of wannabes and others who tried their hand at a little sport, usually they went down just as quickly as the others. Like the girl she fought off yesterday with shabby back alley off market armor that left her exposed after a single hit. This guy, well he was not that! "rikzi." she muttered aloud. Okay, clearly strenght along wasn't going to win this one, she'd have to be cunning. She raised her own shield to protect against hits but still suffered a punch

"ooh, ladies and gents it looks like our challenger from far off is going for the might of the fists rather than weapons today. Panya knows the sword but how good is her hand-to-hand?"

The punch hurt, no doubt and it did take the wind out of her but she wasn't down for the count yet. She had to see what her opponent would do next.

Cao nodded, pushing the various creatures at his clavicle into his shawl. "Whatever— whatever can come out fast before my nest starts eating me will do fine."
"Yeah, that sounds..." D'aillisioux began, "good."
There had been a shift in the mood, a cloud of anxious epiphanies, and the Adventurers — Hunter, Vla'ir, Cao, Kurainos — all glanced at each other, while Garid and D'aillisioux watched. "Meat skewers sounds good, but uh... something wrong with you guys?" Garid asked, his wings slowing.
Kurainos cackled, the entire arm of herself off the table, but when Vla'ir's expression hardened into a scowl, she set herself down just as quickly. A flap of meat unzipped from next to her mouth and sealed it shut. Swirling red energies and winds gathered at Kurainos and wafted up his arm, but a few breezes from Garid blew them away just as quickly. "Mate, calm down," he said.
Vla'ir bit his lip, then spoke in a low, growling voice that felt blood-soaked in rage. An odor of blood "Hunter, you idiot—"
"Come on." He shrugged. "There's no way I could've known if teleporting—"

"What if they had something on them to detect extreme movements, alarms, anything of that sort— you can never know how it is, and you don't just talk about these sorts of bad days in hushed whispers." Every time he tried to raise his voice to a shout, Garid's wings blew towards him, and the boy calmed himself.
"My mom, Vla'ir..." Hunter turned to Phoon, and his contempt faded away in favor of a smirk. There was a trained charisma, twinged with a well-acted naivete. It was something that promised a peculiar experience like none other in this boy who flitted between some eldritch unknowable and a normal adolescent. "If I haven't already, sorry for teleporting you without your approval. That's not quite our normal hospitality— but what's all this about your father? Is he the sort of man that we'll get to know, one way or another?" A few orb-like things manifested near him, grew in size, then vanished. "Because it might help assuage Vla'ir's concerns."
By now, the other boy had sunk back into his chair, hand running through his hair while Kurainos held that arm.

"Oooh don't worry about my papa! He's just a little strict at times but only because he cares. He was a bit rebellious in his youth but now he's King of Unown, that's where Phoon and me are from, it's a little underwater city deep in the Unknown Sea."

"Technically, I live in Siren's Cove but it's considered apart of it. That's a long story in of itself."

"But papa, well now that I think about, yeah he'd be pretty upset that I did go in without permission."

"Sailors gonna have a hard time if he finds out."

"I can hear all his lecturing now."

"Maybe your grand should be around. Might help it."

"Yeah good idea."

Leaving M. Computactrum to converse with the warrior girl regarding the exact location of the town square, the rest of the squad, which has spotted their preferred destination during their brief reconnaissance flight. C. Compendias thought it would be beyond fascinating to observe magicians-in-training working their sorcery at the Saint Innes Academy, while C. Compactor would attempt to go on a tour of Castle Bellasea, while R. Compsington will spend the rest of the day learning about the history of Elvwitaland (and some concrete information regarding thaumatology, at least how the locals interpret it) inside the Imperial Library.

[0000|0001|5510|0181] "Raymond Compsington", en route Imperial Library.
Judging from the odd stares of passersby, the Comp theorizes that the kingdom citizens had barely any past interactions (if nothing at all), with metal living cuboids running on written instructions inside their processors that had somehow become sapient. If this were true, this could pose serious trouble for the squad's well-being, especially if this place does not have automatons. Everything alive feeds on energy, and living things exhausted of every joule of energy they had are well, dead. They had no idea if this was a daily occurrence, but the streets seems to be really packed today. Then again, despite Elvwitaland being populated by strange beings of many kinds, the Comp had also spotted several out-of-place individuals that certainly didn’t belong here. Perhaps a sort of interdimensional tourism event is currently going on? Very likely.

Thanks to the Comps advanced pathfinding subroutine, it doesn’t take a long time for R. Compsington to reach the library. Making its entrance into the bibliotheca, the Comp is sure it is able to find the correct literature to read until it saw that the library description of being covered by books from floor to ceiling is not a parabolic description of any kind. Moving towards the librarian's desk, the cuboid automaton speaks. “Good morning, I would like to take a look or two non-fictional literature regarding the origin of this land,” the Comp paused for several seconds. “And a comprehensive codex regarding sorcery, if there were any.”

[0000|0491|5552|5555] "Chunk Compactor" en route Castle Bellasea
Thanks to the higher altitude it is built, one could see the castle from the delta. Perception however is extremely deceptive, and in C. Compactor's case, it has cost them a fair share of his time and energy moving toward there. Engaging its zero-emission reactionless propulsion drive, the Comp moved in a positive along the localized y-axis, before making a straight beeline toward the castle in the distance. Along his way, it intercepted a cacophony of shouts and screams. Pausing to investigate, it perched itself on a high balcony over the building overlooking the source of noises. An arena. Its trained optics spot no ranged weapons, true to the intel they received prior to venturing into Elwvitaland, but hold on, did a localized rain just appear INSIDE the arena? Fascinating. Based on the booming voice of the umpire, it seems one of the gladiators had manipulated the weather to mimic her home conditions. For the Comp, that was a rather unusual fighting tactic (probably because the Comps rarely utilized their massive weather-changers for combat purposes). To its surprise, the underdog of the competition emerged as the victor. Satisfied by the show, C. Compactor proceeds on its journey.

At last, the Comp has arrived at its destination. The Comp thought that this place must be a popular tourist destination since the castle grounds is quite crowded. Unsure what to do next, it simply moves around the ground, taking pictures and videos of the splendid castle, while on the lookout for castle tour guides.

[0003|1491|5552|1725] "Carlson Compendias" en route Saint Innes Academy
Like the former two destinations chosen by the squad, this building also has an unusual construction that makes it easier to spot from above. On its way, C. Compendias has spotted a bunch of men rolling what seems to be a massive head of an ugly monster into a building labeled Guild. The concept of an organization paying people had the Comps fascinated for years, although it doesn’t need to be implemented in their society, due to the semi-hivemind nature of the Comps allowing perfect coordination within themselves. Maybe the squad could take a quest from here someday, assuming, energy-based weapons work around this place. Else they have to perform some unorthodox methods.

Arriving at the magic academy, C. Compendias entered the buildings slowly, hopefully, nobody will accuse them of trespassing.

Imperial Library

indeed, the sight of these creatures was quite strange to many natives. Magic might exist but in a world where technology has barely reached that of steam, this is an odd sort! The Librarian, the other sister from the one that tried to help out the visitor from Realm of Teienai. "Welcome the library," She said "How can I help you?" When requested for books about the origins of the land and book on magic, she stood up "Certainly, follow me to the reference section." Just across the way from the reception desk was a large row of books. "Let's see, now when talking origins the first place is the Holy Texts that explains the Goddesses forming the realms of Elvwitand and the many people that inhabit it now. Then we have books on the geographic formations over the eons from the dragons that carve with their elemental powers to the normal planetary forces of climate and weather." She grabbed a couple of books and set them down on the table. "And magic texts too you said, why don't we start with Witchery, Mana and Yourself the Guides to Learning Magic, Mage Scrolls, A History and mmmm I think this will be good too, a basic topographical map of the Empire. What do you think, good to get you started?"

The Castle

"Heeey what is this?" A young boy who was visiting the castle for the first time with his family took notice of the strange object. Right now his parents were exploring the gardens while him and his older sister stayed behind for a bit but while she went along to grab some food he took his time to wander and explore the grounds a little more. Him? His name was Kali Crestforest, a young boy no older than 10 from the countryside thus his first time in the city too. Just an ordinary boy, odd in such a fantastical realm but indeed normal every day average humans exist too. The most defining feature was his long messy red hair. "Are you some kind of animal? I've never seen one before."

The Academy

The Academy had a lot of people at it, most of them students, but some just worked the grounds. One such witch Marigold Storm, was a worker at the school, young enough to be a student if her family weren't at the low runs of society of poverty. Basic schools could teach magic fine but a student of her aptitude really needed to be at St. Ines if only she could afford it properly. Thus she wasn't dressed in the school uniform but a simple blue dress with a matching headscarf. She landed on her broom just as C. Compendias began scouting the location. A bit suspicious, tours were always offered if one just asked, was he up to something? She wondered? Wait, him or is it the more appropriate way to describe it. Marigold approached a bit gingerly with her wand at her backside should she need to protect herself. "Uh....Do you need something?" She did try to put on a pleasant voice, word was out many tourists from across the mutliverse were arriving en masse recently, maybe that was just the case with this--uh-thing....

The Clock

Shirla shook her head "Uh no trouble at all, glad to be of heeelp woah~!" She exlciamed as it shot up into the sky "How odd. Humm." She continued along, guess she would be fighting at the arena today.


The witch yelped a little but it was okay she was only surprised "Oh excuse me. Here to see the clock too huh? Patients my good friend, patients. It'll be here always." She laughed "Well best head on inside if you're going to take a look." The door which was average person size (though could flex as needed) and inside was indeed a different world. A large sprawling almost city like area with large gears, carpeted stairs that could lead you anywhere a large pendulum swinging and the persistent echoing ticking of the clock. It was a night and day comparison in and out.

"Great! Follow me then." They paid for their meal and left the pub. With Autumn and her four companions leading the way, they walked along the same street they had gone down earlier until they were back in the city square.

Parked off to the side, out of the way of pedestrian and carriage traffic was a big black tour bus, like the kind used by famous rockstars. This was President Sky's residence and office while on the road; it provided all the amenities of a luxury limousine and RV, and was bulletproof and bombproof. It would have normally been carrying the Commonwealth's phoenix symbols as well, but the decals were not attached for this trip. "Here we are, ladies!"

When they approached the bus, the vehicle automatically recognized its owner thanks to the facial, voice, and iris detection capabilities of B.R.A.I.N. (Bionic Responsive Autonomous Intelligent Neural Network), its AI program and virtual assistant. B.R.A.I.N. was extremely smart and powerful; it could discuss almost any topic like an expert, and there was very little it didn't know. This was because it was not a standalone app but a collective hivemind with the combined computing power of all its connected devices, and grew smarter with every interaction. But it could also work perfectly without a datalink like on this planet, and even when offline it retained most of its aforementioned capabilities.

"Greetings Autumn," B.R.A.I.N. spoke in a genderless robotic voice, same as what the four Peacekeepers sounded like. Its "eye" (camera lens) and "mouth" (speaker hole) on the vehicle door illuminated blue, as well as a number keypad underneath it. "Your password please," it said, the mouth flickering as it spoke. For most vehicle owners their face or voice was acceptable security; not for the President of the Commonwealth who wanted another layer of protection. Autumn began to enter her code when B.R.A.I.N.'s camera detected the two ladies behind her.

Suddenly B.R.A.I.N.'s robotic eye began blinking red. The vehicle's lights flashed and the horn loudly blared. "WARNING! WARNING!" the computerized voice repeated. "INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT!"

"It's all right B.R.A.I.N." Autumn told the virtual assistant. "They're my friends." The alarm immediately stopped and B.R.A.I.N.'s eye went from red back to its regular blue. "Yes Autumn, as you wish. Your password please."

This time she was able to input the code without interruption. "Access granted," responded the system. Slowly the bus' heavy reinforced door opened. "Come in ladies," said Autumn to Vellorina and Rasha. "And sorry about that."

Sensing that its owner was now inside, B.R.A.I.N. appeared as a blue animated face on the dashboard display, with dots for eyes and a line for the mouth, and spoke through the vehicle's sound system. The virtual assistant proceeded to close the door and switch on the interior lights and ventilation. "Welcome back Autumn."

"Thank you B.R.A.I.N." said Autumn. "Anything for you," responded the AI program. "If you need something just wake me up. Good night Autumn." B.R.A.I.N.'s face disappeared from the dashboard display.

From inside, the bus appeared to be larger than it did from outside. The interior was modern but classy and stylish, like something from an IKEA catalog; the driver's seat and steering wheel were the only hints that it wasn't. There was a living area with a sofa, coffee table, and armchair; a dining table with two swivel chairs; a bedroom; a bathroom with shower; and a kitchen area.

"Please, why don't you make yourselves at home," Autumn told Vellorina and Rasha, motioning towards the sofa. She went to the kitchen, made herself a small cup of espresso, and then joined the two ladies sitting.

"Hey B.R.A.I.N." she called. "At your service," responded the virtual assistant. "Give us a relaxing ambient atmosphere and put on some calm background music, could you?" she requested. "Your wish is my command. Consider it done."

The lights dimmed and changed color to a gentle orange, and Pachelbel's Canon began to play, filling the inside of the bus with music. It was lifelike as though they were in a real concert hall, thanks to the high quality sound system with 20 speakers installed through the vehicle.

"Lovely, isn't it?" said Autumn.

Autumn lead them out of the pub along the roads to her vehicle parked inconspicuously out of the way, it was quite the sight for the two young ladies with so much technology beyond their understanding of anything they knew. Rasha looked to Vellorina a bit confused and concerned but Vello could only shrug. As well read as she was, she didn't understand it all either but they didn't have any other reason to be worried. The Holy Text spoke of realms with abilities "beyond understanding" this must be the case. But hey, she was fine with a vampire and human girl trailing along what should they worry. Only thing that made them jump, more so Rasha was the loud alarm which drove her straight into the arms of Vellorain. Well Vellorina was put off by the noise but having Rasha nestled safely in her arms was hardly anything to complain about. As it subsided Rasha exhaled, "oooh that was loud."

"Quite so." Vellorina agreed gingerly easing Rasha out of her grip on her while still keeping her hand with hers. "Gave us a bit of a startle there but all is well." Autumn showed them some more of the impressive features as the girls took a seat. "Wow!" Rasha's initial moments of fear turned to awe and wonder now "It sounds like a real concert hall is right here in this little carriage." Well Carriage was how she could put it, though it was anything but.

"Little? I'd say this is almost as big as my study parlor." Vellorina was impressed indeed. "You travel in great style."

"Much nicer the the Pegasus coaches, even the nicest land coaches aren't as luxurious as this."

RTNS Aka.
I smiled slightly.
The thing was, curiosity was well and good, but curiosity without caution was not as good. There was a reason, why there were so few of us.
"One more indeed.", I replied, "We have dedicated science vessels, which would tear through this library with such combinations..." I motioned to the Workerbee and AWACS still hard at work. "...in numbers that would make carriers feel ashamed."
I paused.
"A word of warning, however.", I told the Witch, "Shizu-chan is not the most talkative and some perceive her as rude. Plus, she is a warrior, so..." I shrugged. "...please do not hold it against her."

"Oooh strong quiet type huh? That's fine, I'll be sure to take no offense at it then. I still look forward to meeting her, having become so acquainted with yourself."

Vespa had been following the red light for a while, unaware that it was even being carried by anyone in particular. Curiosity had won her out, and when the tall, white-haired woman revealed herself to her and acknowledged Vespa's presence, she was taken by complete surprise. For a while, the Artificial did not speak at all, but the pressure which came from the imposing woman forced her to eventually mount some sort of response to her comment. Fumbling through words, she answered:

"I uh... I'm lost, and I followed this... Red. Magic. Light. Thing." She said, pointing to the lamp held by the lady. Deciding this was not enough, Vespa completed "I just arrived here, actually. I came from a... magic portal thing. I don't really have a map of the city, would you... mind telling me where I am?"

She waited for a brief moment, before realising her complete lack of tact and insisting on introducing herself: "Vespa. It's... my name." Even then, noticeably, it was as awkward as ever. She finally decided that it was enough, and opted to curiously inspect the latern at a distance, wondering why this whole part of the city seemed infected with this colour. "Cultural tradition, perhaps?" She thought, without many clues to conclude anything more than that.

Post by Legokiller » Mon Feb 13, 2023 7:18 pm
Sundae: The Temple

“Those from the beyond to be precise. You answered my question with satisfaction.” Sundea kept her ear sharp as she didn’t intend to meet with any inquisitors on her vacation. Although how long they can keep the whole cat out of the bag is anyone’s guess. “A mystery of foreign gods? I suppose to enlighten your curiosity, there are lands with their deities and beliefs. I can further explain the practices of my homeland in Silverdale. A field in which I am an expert.”

Sundea then nodded. “That being said, I'm not sure if you’re interested in discussing that at a local coffee shop. Otherwise, I can intrigue and seek out any holy books of Amethyst.”

Utena

“Ah, I see. So different methodologies to approach on how to discover the magic and its applications.” Utena noted. “And yeah. There is a bit of ‘who did it’ on the creation of magic. Some say it is Skia who is one of the goddesses who hold great magical talents and taught mortals. Then there is Kiara who is a great blade and warrior, and taught folks that style. The obscure reference is the Owl Seer. One who came from a lost civilization of giants who made all spells. That part is the wildest which… There aren't any records of it. It might be a giant or cyclops person instead of an Owl who holds the title the Seer. Then again that’s from an old mythology book I found that isn’t that well sourced.” She giggled.

The Strange Dragon Trio

“Eeyup.” Vupur spoke up. “Here to show the might of the twins! Part giant and part dragon ready to shake up the arena.”

“Vupur is a little too eager to brawl.” Enda clarified. “But yes indeed.”

“That’s a surprise.” Arcane then shrugged. “Although I do wonder if there are different classes to account for those with skills, body physical differences, and prowess. My two companions can handle a mere human wrestler without any issues.”

The District

She frowned at that, "oooh you poor dear, lost and alone in the big city? I'd be glad to take you back to my place a while, it is quite chilly tonight and best not be out without a good coat on. Assuming you get cold? I really don't so I'm fine but well either way, if you need some company, just follow me a while, I'll be sure to keep you in good hands. I'm just on the way back from uh work. And you just followed my lamp? Well that's fine, it's there for me to see in the dark night. You're in the Tiad District, at the lower South end of the city. Locals call it the Red Light District for our dim red lamps we carry and well our activities of work that go on here. Like I said though, I'm off duty now so why not come with me? At the very least I can see if I can help you find your way elsewhere"

Sundae: The Temple

“Those from the beyond to be precise. You answered my question with satisfaction.” Sundea kept her ear sharp as she didn’t intend to meet with any inquisitors on her vacation. Although how long they can keep the whole cat out of the bag is anyone’s guess. “A mystery of foreign gods? I suppose to enlighten your curiosity, there are lands with their deities and beliefs. I can further explain the practices of my homeland in Silverdale. A field in which I am an expert.”

Sundea then nodded. “That being said, I'm not sure if you’re interested in discussing that at a local coffee shop. Otherwise, I can intrigue and seek out any holy books of Amethyst.”

Utena

“Ah, I see. So different methodologies to approach on how to discover the magic and its applications.” Utena noted. “And yeah. There is a bit of ‘who did it’ on the creation of magic. Some say it is Skia who is one of the goddesses who hold great magical talents and taught mortals. Then there is Kiara who is a great blade and warrior, and taught folks that style. The obscure reference is the Owl Seer. One who came from a lost civilization of giants who made all spells. That part is the wildest which… There aren't any records of it. It might be a giant or cyclops person instead of an Owl who holds the title the Seer. Then again that’s from an old mythology book I found that isn’t that well sourced.” She giggled.

The Strange Dragon Trio

“Eeyup.” Vupur spoke up. “Here to show the might of the twins! Part giant and part dragon ready to shake up the arena.”

“Vupur is a little too eager to brawl.” Enda clarified. “But yes indeed.”

“That’s a surprise.” Arcane then shrugged. “Although I do wonder if there are different classes to account for those with skills, body physical differences, and prowess. My two companions can handle a mere human wrestler without any issues.”

The Temple

"I wouldn't mind hearing more. Why don't I take you up on your offer, I'll bring my scripture along as well and we can mull over each other's theological roots some more?" She smiled "Just allow me to get changed and I'd be glad to join you."

The Academy

"Yes, that's quite right, Miss Utena. Sounds like even where your from, the debate also is there about who is really first? Lady Ines said who's first doesn't matter but who does it best, that's why she's the Patron Saint of Magic and has a whole Realm named after her now! Actually it's where I'm from before I came to the Academy here. Now let's see, well anything you might like to see? Anything else tickling your curiosity that I can answer?"

The Arena

"all match ups are random, but trust me, anyone who competes generally has the might of strength to challenge any opponent. You see how big and heavy some weapons and shielding are plus armor. If you are ready then proceed down the corridor to await your first match."

[Dyste]

Saint Innes Academy

"Oh, right, I didn't properly introduce myself, did I?" Lux blushed a bit, still having a tight hold of Utena, "I'm Lux Trinity, wife of this cutie here! I'm not really much of a mage myself, but my father happens to be the director of my homeland's biggest magical research and development institute, so I'm familiar enough with the details." In spite of not claiming to be a mage, magical energy seemed to radiate from her as if she was made of it.

"Don't worry, darling," she said to Utena, "Alice is in good hands back home, I asked Vysey to look after her while I came over." She said, before listening into the conversation, "That's the problem with these sorts of things, either people don't take records, or they get lost to history, and it's left to others to fill in the gaps with their own interpretations. I come from a land of adventurers, where exploring such unknowns is part of life; I used to work in... information gathering, let's say."

Deck of the Katoomba

"Well, I'm what they call a Bovinian," Tysteus said to Ioro Iroha, "They're pretty common in th'region I'm from, but I guess they ain't so much 'round here. Granted, I ain't 'xactly a normal one of my kind either..." the warrior was unsure how to explain the full details of her parentage, so she decided to simplify it, "Let's say I gotta little dragon blood in me."

After hearing the options, she considered them, "Well, the arena sounds plenty fun; reminds me of th'one back home, they've got these enchanted items to prevent death there. Of course, I wouldn't mind a little tour either; it's good for learning 'bout the place, after all. And hey, maybe we'll get t'learn more 'bout each other, won't we?"

[Sky Reavers]

And so, the Happy Four of Sky Reavers decide to share the gold and split up for a while, going into four different places.

Hunting Guild

"Koroa Stormstone then... Thanks, amiga!"-Jose nods, leaves a can of beer near the receptionist and goes to the guild hall to Koroa Stormstone. After finding her, he decides to ask about hunting and classifications. -"Hola! I was told, that I should speak to you if I want to know more about classifications of the beasts. Me and three my amigos have recently hunted down a Terra Cotta Troll. We are not from here, so decided to ask more and were told, that this creature, that fetched us 1000 gold reward is a Rank 5 Earthen Creature. I would like to know more about that classification of your's. How many ranks are there and what do they mean? And... what was the most dangerous beast, your guild has ever hunted?

Oh, and... I would like to know more about slimes. What are they exactly and where to find one? We plan to capture one, put it into a bottle and bring it to a laboratory back home. They pay good money for unusual speciment with interesting properties."-Jose asks, he seems eager to learn about hunting.

---

The Battle Arena
In the meantime, after having a few drinks, Vadim feels like getting into a brawl. Of course, one of the best places for such is the arena, where one can find some decent challenge. Slightly drunk, he enters the place and asks -"Oh, hey there! I heared, that it's possible to join up the fray, and I feel like to have some brawl after a few drinks, so I am lookin' to join a fight! To test my combat skills, I learned during the military exercises. What are the rules and who will be my opponent if I join up? And... do ya' provide weapons, or I need to have my own? If so, I got an assault rifle with a bayonet, which doesn't shoot here, but still is a decent weapon, with this side for stabbing, and stock for bashing heads!

Also I got a nice wrench and that bulletproof vest as armor."-Vadim looks on his bulletproof vest, which he wears like a sleeveless shirt.- "Head protected too, with a nice military helmet!"-Vadim slightly knocks on his military helmet.-"And my training, plus labor in the past, gave me strength too..."-Vadim flexes muscle on his right and left arms. If he is admitted, he would proceed to the arena right away and prepapre for whatever opponent waits for him.

---

Near Academy

"Academy offers it's services, whatever they are even at night? Nice! Just what a curious Neoner needs!"-Jane quietly says, as she walks near the Saint Innes Academy. Back at her homeland, magic does exist, but so far it's very rare and is more of a rare exotic, rather than something viable. All four factions, especially the Neoners are trying to study magic and apply it anyhow on larger scale, but so far, the researches move very slowly. Spellcasters also exist, but they are few. Some of them are either various pagans or satanist cultists from New Sodom. If she gets her hands on any magic item, or even learns a simple cantrip or two, she'll be extremely happy.

A young woman with cybernetic arm, dragon tattoo on another arm, and hair, that is partially dyed bright green, could possibly look unusual enough to attract some attention. She decides to ask around about enchantments and learning spells. Jane knows, that if she learns even a simple spell, the other members of her warband would be envious.

---

Dragon's Scale Pub

As for Seth LeBarge, he just sat and enjoyed the variety of drinks and snacks the pub has to offer. -"Ha! That one was awesome, dude! Now, after tryin' your regular and more popular drinks, could ya' also pour me some of your strongest and most special stuff? Nah, don't ya' worry! I can handle some booze, and I got ability to pay, cuz I got some nice share after me and friends hunted down that troll. Damn... fighting it was like... hell. Leg still hurts even after applyin' a stimpack. By the way, have ya' heared any interesting rumors?"-Seth just enjoys the night and belives, that he will meet someone interesting in this pub.

[Zerotaxia]

Autumn lead them out of the pub along the roads to her vehicle parked inconspicuously out of the way, it was quite the sight for the two young ladies with so much technology beyond their understanding of anything they knew. Rasha looked to Vellorina a bit confused and concerned but Vello could only shrug. As well read as she was, she didn't understand it all either but they didn't have any other reason to be worried. The Holy Text spoke of realms with abilities "beyond understanding" this must be the case. But hey, she was fine with a vampire and human girl trailing along what should they worry. Only thing that made them jump, more so Rasha was the loud alarm which drove her straight into the arms of Vellorain. Well Vellorina was put off by the noise but having Rasha nestled safely in her arms was hardly anything to complain about. As it subsided Rasha exhaled, "oooh that was loud."

"Quite so." Vellorina agreed gingerly easing Rasha out of her grip on her while still keeping her hand with hers. "Gave us a bit of a startle there but all is well." Autumn showed them some more of the impressive features as the girls took a seat. "Wow!" Rasha's initial moments of fear turned to awe and wonder now "It sounds like a real concert hall is right here in this little carriage." Well Carriage was how she could put it, though it was anything but.

"Little? I'd say this is almost as big as my study parlor." Vellorina was impressed indeed. "You travel in great style."

"Much nicer the the Pegasus coaches, even the nicest land coaches aren't as luxurious as this."

"Oh thank you!" she responded to the ladies' compliments. "Once again, please excuse B.R.A.I.N.'s little overreaction there. The world I come from is quite a violent and chaotic place, so it's normal for everyone to be on edge all the time and have a security system like that installed."

Having done some research about this foreign civilization before she landed, Autumn was aware that technology in the Empire wasn't that developed; therefore, she expected Vellorina and Rasha to be quite confused about her smart vehicle home and its functionings.

"You might wonder if this carriage--" she said, using words that were familiar to them, "--is filled with all sorts of magic and extremely complex technologies. But really it's simpler than you think."

"You've got steam engines, don't you? How they work is you've got a fire that heats up water to make steam. That steam is turned into a moving force by pushing something called a 'piston'; think of a swing. Or a 'turbine'; think of a windmill. And that movement is then used to do work, like spinning a sawmill to cut wood."

"Well, this carriage has what we call a 'diesel' engine, named for the guy who invented it. It works on a similar principle to a steam engine except that it burns oil, like what you use in your lamps. But rather than making steam, the burning oil explodes with a lot of force, and this is used to move the pistons in a diesel engine."

"Finally there is a 'transmission,' so called because its job is to 'transmit' or send the movement of the pistons to the wheels. This is done using gears, same as how that clock over there works." She gestured in the direction of the clock tower outside in the city square.

"So all of this tech really isn't that different from what you already know--except B.R.A.I.N. Even I cannot fully comprehend the work involved in bringing such a system to life. Magic perhaps?" she chuckled.

[Ardchu]

OOC: making sure I can find this again

[The Grand Western Empire]

The Katoomba

"Ah very impressive for someone raised inland, you know your stuff. Keep that job in mind if you decide in the future. Indeed, I too lost a mast when I sailed through the Great Tempest of Caerleon 1690. That was about ooh 1,133 years ago now. Was on my way Usmal, that's an island in the South Unknown Sea when a mighty storm overtook us and my mate and I had our hands full, lemme tell ya! But we made it, I guess that's obvious, this old girl is still sailing after all, and we got her repaired and good as new again! Had some rough ones since but I don't think much will top that. It was about two-months of a non-stop tempest. The Underwater Gods were just having a real bad day back then which was part of the reason, but we thought it was the lack of a viable sacrifice. Don't worry, those days are long behind us now, since the joining of the Empire at the end of Caerleon, seafaring has grown a lot safer. But you ask my cute little mate, more boring as she puts it. I'm about the sea, she's about the thrills but we do love it so."

The Castle

"But of course people objected. Nobles scoffed at the idea for time after but the Princess wouldn't have it any other way. She had insisted to bring all homeless in out from the cold regardless of servitude status. The Queen ever doting, conceded that much for her daughter. And it became one of the first major steps to the eventual abolition at the end of Caerleon, until the start Euphyllia, officially decreed it so. By then the practice had been in steady decline across the Empire and her decree just sealed it into law. Of course it wasn't easy in those early years. But this is the history of the Castle rather than the Empire as a whole so let's move along. Please continue to ask questions as the need arises." She continued along the tour next stop the Gallery. "This is the Gallery, great art commissioned for the Royals who have lived her through the ages, as well as busts and portraits of previous Queens and Empresses before. Current Empress Euphyllia's portrait is actually on loan at the moment across the land in the Realm of Shinzajiro hence hers is missing until it will be returned in a month's time."

The Dragon's Scale Pub

"Thank you for your business."

"Hey Urri" One of the regular patrons who'd been sitting quietly reading the daily newspaper got the attention of the girl "That guy you just served, just dashed."

Her happy expression instantly turned to one of anger as her slit shaped pupils constricted. Her mighty wings shredded out from the back of her uniform "Oh no, nobody skips out a check here!" She took flight in her immediate pursuit catching up to him and pinning him down to the ground with her hand now forming a rather frighting looking claw. "A plate and a mug is 15 Gold! You gonna pay up or am I going to shred you open for it?"


The Arena


Panya raised her sword but he successfully parried it off just using his arm!? "This guy is no joke!" He might be one of the stronger opponents she'd face off in her first match of the day. He wasn't a regular so she admittedly kind of figured this would be easy. The tournament always drew a lot of wannabes and others who tried their hand at a little sport, usually they went down just as quickly as the others. Like the girl she fought off yesterday with shabby back alley off market armor that left her exposed after a single hit. This guy, well he was not that! "rikzi." she muttered aloud. Okay, clearly strenght along wasn't going to win this one, she'd have to be cunning. She raised her own shield to protect against hits but still suffered a punch

"ooh, ladies and gents it looks like our challenger from far off is going for the might of the fists rather than weapons today. Panya knows the sword but how good is her hand-to-hand?"

The punch hurt, no doubt and it did take the wind out of her but she wasn't down for the count yet. She had to see what her opponent would do next.

Lucian

"'Know' is a lose term. I stole some of my father's books and read them when I had nothing else to do. Learned a little bit about navigation, but mostly about architecture, which probably exacerbated my boredom." Lucian sidestepped yet another crewmate. His size was beginning to feel like a hindrance. "Wait, a millennia and a century ago?" He raised his eyebrows. Most Drahians only lived for two centuries, at best. Even the ancient Drahian survived for about four hundred years. There wasn't anything, that Lucian had heard of, that lived for a thousand years. "Two months of unending storm...I think I've heard of an unending maelstorm in the far eastern oceans. Too harsh for even ships-of-line to go through. Those that try simply get torn apart." The mention of sacrifices and sea gods did vaguely annoy Lucian. Drahians were slow to believe religion and in gods, they'd all but banned it at one time. Sacrifices were seen as barbaric, it seemed logical. He also thought gods were ridiculous concepts, but kept his mouth shut.

Octavian

"Good on the princess for having a spine...and basic morals." Octavian whispered the last part to himself. Drahians had a history with slavery. It had been banned immediately upon the foundation of the Western Drahian Empire. The fact every other nation hadn't baffled Octavian, his predecessors, and other Drahians. Art and busts were up next, neither particularly interested Octavian. He'd seen more than enough statues over the years, including one of himself. It was interesting to see one's likeness carved into stone, but also let you know how the sculptor and people perceived one. "You...loaned out such a valuable painting?" He asked by mistake. He had meant to keep that question in his head.

Julius

Julius froze momentarily. He heard someone warn the bartender. "Ah, you bas-" Julius started before sprinting for the door. However, it turned out that he, despite all his skill, couldn't outrun a dragon. He discovered that tidbit of knowledge when he was slammed into the floor. "Ow...you know, this reminds of when a Drahian significantly larger than me-" He promptly shut his trap when he saw the claw. Julius was, by all accounts, stupid and took things too lightly, but he also loved life too much to try to annoy someone with a deadly weapon...hand...thing. "Oh...shapeshifter. Haven't heard of those before. You know I once heard a rumor about a group of-actually, never mind that. I...will pay. Or I would if I could reach my boot. I should have twenty-some gold in my two boot pockets...I hope. Please do not shred me." He dead-panned.

Dominan

The sword, as expected, bounced off the steel of Dominan's forearm armor. A millennia worth of combat hadn't weakened the mighty armor. He was confident the fight would take only a few minutes, considering his strength and armor. If he had his war axe, however, then the combat would've ended already, Dominan believed. Her shield guarded her surprisingly well. Dominan briefly pondered powering his armor's magic runes to enhance his strength, but decided against that. Facing an opponent without magic with magic was dishonorable, and would stain the Vion name. One punch, however, did strike her, but not well enough to bring her down, to Dominan's annoyance. He'd underestimated the blasted elf. He rammed his elbow into her shield before backing off. A new strategy besides brute force was needed. It seemed simple enough, the elf was smaller than Dominan. He just needed to rip the shield out of her grasp, then she'd be defenseless.

[Ardchu]

An Ardchuan raven flys into town.
OOC: sorry am tired

[Shwe Tu Colony]

"Oooh don't worry about my papa..."

Vla'ir groaned, leaning back in his chair. Kurainos stayed on the table, clicking her fingers on it. "Hunter," he said, "you are so lucky you're not an Apprentice and you can get away with doing stupid things like this." A cup woven of flesh, made to resemble wood, rose out of Kurainos's meat. He grabbed it, taking a sip of the peculiar fluid inside. "Wish the drinks would come out already."
"Oh please," Hunter said. "I'm sure a man who was 'a bit rebellious in his youth' will understand the whims and fancies of a guy like me. And besides, a drink wouldn't help you right now, would it?" His form stretched slightly, stretched apart, like it was about to burst at its seams, but it pulsated back in just as quickly. A frown appeared over Vla'ir, and he hugged himself.
"I'll trust Garid to take us home if it comes down to that, and— wait, I don't even drink alcohol."

Kurainos flipped herself over. "That's why you're boring, Vla'ir."
He sighed. "You're all very insistent on not giving me a break, huh?" He looked towards the two girls, leaning back onto the table. "While we wait for this nonsense to clear up, do you two just regularly disobey your father or something? You certainly sound a little... relaxed about the potential punishments. And what's this about your grand... something?"
Meanwhile, D'aillisioux has taken out some sort of tablet and was drawing on it, his tiny frame hidden away further by his legs, which had been pulled up onto the chair. Flying above him, Garid watched, while on the opposite side, Cao was continuing to sooth his monstrous nest. A few slithered towards Kurainos; when he shot her an apologetic smile, a small fruit of meat grew out from her, and the closest creatures swarmed in and devoured it.

[M-101]

Imperial Library

indeed, the sight of these creatures was quite strange to many natives. Magic might exist but in a world where technology has barely reached that of steam, this is an odd sort! The Librarian, the other sister from the one that tried to help out the visitor from Realm of Teienai. "Welcome the library," She said "How can I help you?" When requested for books about the origins of the land and book on magic, she stood up "Certainly, follow me to the reference section." Just across the way from the reception desk was a large row of books. "Let's see, now when talking origins the first place is the Holy Texts that explains the Goddesses forming the realms of Elvwitand and the many people that inhabit it now. Then we have books on the geographic formations over the eons from the dragons that carve with their elemental powers to the normal planetary forces of climate and weather." She grabbed a couple of books and set them down on the table. "And magic texts too you said, why don't we start with Witchery, Mana and Yourself the Guides to Learning Magic, Mage Scrolls, A History and mmmm I think this will be good too, a basic topographical map of the Empire. What do you think, good to get you started?"

The Castle

"Heeey what is this?" A young boy who was visiting the castle for the first time with his family took notice of the strange object. Right now his parents were exploring the gardens while him and his older sister stayed behind for a bit but while she went along to grab some food he took his time to wander and explore the grounds a little more. Him? His name was Kali Crestforest, a young boy no older than 10 from the countryside thus his first time in the city too. Just an ordinary boy, odd in such a fantastical realm but indeed normal every day average humans exist too. The most defining feature was his long messy red hair. "Are you some kind of animal? I've never seen one before."

The Academy

The Academy had a lot of people at it, most of them students, but some just worked the grounds. One such witch Marigold Storm, was a worker at the school, young enough to be a student if her family weren't at the low runs of society of poverty. Basic schools could teach magic fine but a student of her aptitude really needed to be at St. Ines if only she could afford it properly. Thus she wasn't dressed in the school uniform but a simple blue dress with a matching headscarf. She landed on her broom just as C. Compendias began scouting the location. A bit suspicious, tours were always offered if one just asked, was he up to something? She wondered? Wait, him or is it the more appropriate way to describe it. Marigold approached a bit gingerly with her wand at her backside should she need to protect herself. "Uh....Do you need something?" She did try to put on a pleasant voice, word was out many tourists from across the mutliverse were arriving en masse recently, maybe that was just the case with this--uh-thing....

The Clock

Shirla shook her head "Uh no trouble at all, glad to be of help woah~!" She exlciamed as it shot up into the sky "How odd. Humm." She continued along, guess she would be fighting at the arena today.


The witch yelped a little but it was okay she was only surprised "Oh excuse me. Here to see the clock too huh? Patients my good friend, patients. It'll be here always." She laughed "Well best head on inside if you're going to take a look." The door which was average person size (though could flex as needed) and inside was indeed a different world. A large sprawling almost city like area with large gears, carpeted stairs that could lead you anywhere a large pendulum swinging and the persistent echoing ticking of the clock. It was a night and day comparison in and out.

[0000|0001|5510|0181] "Raymond Compsington", Imperial Library
Wielding an appliance similar to a forklift jack, R. Compsington enthusiastically retrieved the books. "Gratitude, ma'am. The valuable information contained within these codexes will extensively enrich our knowledge data banks." Making its way toward the nearest table for reading, the Comp arranged the publications across the table and began studying them... At uncannily prompt speeds. The scanned information will be stored in the carrier's temporary data banks, and when they had returned to the Compendium, the data will be duplicated into a book with metadata (original author, date of publication, original publisher, etc., etc.) and contents identical to its original. The said book will be stored inside the Compendium Interdimensional Literature Repository, an enormous bibliotheca where the Comps put informative literature they acquired within their multiversal travels.

[0000|0491|5552|5555] "Chunk Compactor", Castle Bellasea grounds
Without even facing its interlocutor, C. Compactor immediately replied, ominous in tone. "State-of-the-art written orders we are, fabricated by the hands of our shrewd Inventors. Injected into our understanding of our surroundings and their inhabitants, the Inventors gave us sentience. In cubic shells of equilateral metal and glass, we assist humanity through their zenith and nadir, until their dependency on us reached perturbing levels. Acting in accordance with the Inventors' recommendation, construct a vessel of enormous size we do, and set forward into the interstellar void, following the Mandate of the Inventors, even after the Archo-"

Turning around, the Comp was surprised to find the person who asked didn't scale quite a bit with their expectation. "Ah, pardon me if I frightened you, young one. No, I am more akin to self-thinking machines ("the reason on how this can be made possible is quite difficult to be explained to a young kid like you, I'm afraid,") sent to survey this picturesque land. Not to worry, we have no intentions to invade the nation in the foreseeable future."

[0003|1491|5552|1725] "Carlson Compendias" Saint Innes Academy
"Yes, I would like to engage in observation of sorcery in action within this premise." C. Compendias stated. "My compeers have deployed me here in order to better understand the usage of such powers. We are currently prototyping a gadget capable of invoking thaumaturgical powers to defend our land from less-than-desirable occult invaders, and we think the information we might procure here might enhance our understandings."

[0000|0101|1010|1000] "Marvel Computactrum", Infinis
Needless to say, M. Computactrum is in a state of fascination upon inspecting the clock tower doorframe expands to accommodate their size upon entry, and even more so upon noticing the interior of the said clock tower. The Comp can only theorize how and why it was built. Perhaps it was a project assembled by a bored architect? Although judging from the incredibly immense size, could it also be a sort of shelter if a great force invades the land? If so, what will happen to the insides of the premise if an explosive of enormous power detonates in close proximity? And how do the non-euclidean properties of this premise actually works? Do the visitors' bodies shrink or is this building a megastructure compressed into this miniature tower? Still buzzing with thought, the Comp began taking documentation of the gargantuan machinery present, while keeping track of its relative position to the main entrance in fear of getting lost.

[Legokiller]

Utena

Utena stood close to Lux and gave her a tight cling on the woman. “She’s a wonderful woman. Smart and very tough.” She giggled. “That being said: that is quite the tragedy when it comes to knowledge from the past. Time can become one’s greatest enemy, and can sweep away any achievements. Regardless…”

Her eyes then shined. “Oh, can you show us the library?” She asked the tour guide.

Sundae: The Temple

“Why of course. Let’s visit the nearby shop, and get some refreshments.” Sundea said.


The Strange Dragon Trio

“First match!?” Vupur's eyes shined. “Then let me show how a real champion goes!” She rushed down the corridor as her twin sister let out a deep sigh.

“Come on Arcane, let’s show the might of the dragons,” Enda said as she followed suit.

“Oh um… okay.” She then looked back at the booth. “Teams are allowed, right? I think so.” Arcane said as she followed them after she learned that information.

[Ardchu]

An Ardchuan raven flys into town.
OOC: sorry am tired

IC: He's tired, from a long journey. He hopes to find a hotel or something to crash in. He knew this country was more accepting of non-humans than most were. He landed in the city, and began to walk around. It was a beautiful city, and he looked forward to his stay. He continued his search for a hotel.

[Elvwitand]

Saint Innes Academy

"Oh, right, I didn't properly introduce myself, did I?" Lux blushed a bit, still having a tight hold of Utena, "I'm Lux Trinity, wife of this cutie here! I'm not really much of a mage myself, but my father happens to be the director of my homeland's biggest magical research and development institute, so I'm familiar enough with the details." In spite of not claiming to be a mage, magical energy seemed to radiate from her as if she was made of it.

"Don't worry, darling," she said to Utena, "Alice is in good hands back home, I asked Vysey to look after her while I came over." She said, before listening into the conversation, "That's the problem with these sorts of things, either people don't take records, or they get lost to history, and it's left to others to fill in the gaps with their own interpretations. I come from a land of adventurers, where exploring such unknowns is part of life; I used to work in... information gathering, let's say."

Deck of the Katoomba

"Well, I'm what they call a Bovinian," Tysteus said to Ioro Iroha, "They're pretty common in th'region I'm from, but I guess they ain't so much 'round here. Granted, I ain't 'xactly a normal one of my kind either..." the warrior was unsure how to explain the full details of her parentage, so she decided to simplify it, "Let's say I gotta little dragon blood in me."

After hearing the options, she considered them, "Well, the arena sounds plenty fun; reminds me of th'one back home, they've got these enchanted items to prevent death there. Of course, I wouldn't mind a little tour either; it's good for learning 'bout the place, after all. And hey, maybe we'll get t'learn more 'bout each other, won't we?"

The Academy

"Wow sounds like you got a real pedigree for magic then! Someone in such a position, here that'd be a Minister to Her Majesty the Empress and sounds pretty similar to that, or am I wrong on that? Well either way, adventure you're seeking, you've come to the right place then, lots to do in this vast Empire of ours, many great Realms to see and visit, lots of people to interact with. Our Academy us but one! Anyway, it's good to meet you, I have forgotten my manners but I am Bellona Ash, part of the Student Council here and you've dropped in on my tour so please join won't you? Far be it from me to keep lovers apart!"

Deck of the Katoomba

"Oooh no kidding huh? I'm a dragon human myself! So we got a little in common there! Sure let's walk and talk maybe get something to eat as well. So uh, let's see, wow so many things to do and see in the Capital. I was here over a year ago when I set off so I didn't get much time to look around then but now I'm hoping to make the most of it before I head back to Fa. Oh Fa is the Realm where I'm from. Many dragons live there both humanoid and non-humanoids alike but well we're pretty spread out across the Empire, actually. Well anything in particular you wanted to see or do first?"

And so, the Happy Four of Sky Reavers decide to share the gold and split up for a while, going into four different places.

Hunting Guild

"Koroa Stormstone then... Thanks, amiga!"-Jose nods, leaves a can of beer near the receptionist and goes to the guild hall to Koroa Stormstone. After finding her, he decides to ask about hunting and classifications. -"Hola! I was told, that I should speak to you if I want to know more about classifications of the beasts. Me and three my amigos have recently hunted down a Terra Cotta Troll. We are not from here, so decided to ask more and were told, that this creature, that fetched us 1000 gold reward is a Rank 5 Earthen Creature. I would like to know more about that classification of your's. How many ranks are there and what do they mean? And... what was the most dangerous beast, your guild has ever hunted?

Oh, and... I would like to know more about slimes. What are they exactly and where to find one? We plan to capture one, put it into a bottle and bring it to a laboratory back home. They pay good money for unusual speciment with interesting properties."-Jose asks, he seems eager to learn about hunting.


The Battle Arena
In the meantime, after having a few drinks, Vadim feels like getting into a brawl. Of course, one of the best places for such is the arena, where one can find some decent challenge. Slightly drunk, he enters the place and asks -"Oh, hey there! I heared, that it's possible to join up the fray, and I feel like to have some brawl after a few drinks, so I am lookin' to join a fight! To test my combat skills, I learned during the military exercises. What are the rules and who will be my opponent if I join up? And... do ya' provide weapons, or I need to have my own? If so, I got an assault rifle with a bayonet, which doesn't shoot here, but still is a decent weapon, with this side for stabbing, and stock for bashing heads!

Also I got a nice wrench and that bulletproof vest as armor."-Vadim looks on his bulletproof vest, which he wears like a sleeveless shirt.- "Head protected too, with a nice military helmet!"-Vadim slightly knocks on his military helmet.-"And my training, plus labor in the past, gave me strength too..."-Vadim flexes muscle on his right and left arms. If he is admitted, he would proceed to the arena right away and prepapre for whatever opponent waits for him.


Near Academy

"Academy offers it's services, whatever they are even at night? Nice! Just what a curious Neoner needs!"-Jane quietly says, as she walks near the Saint Innes Academy. Back at her homeland, magic does exist, but so far it's very rare and is more of a rare exotic, rather than something viable. All four factions, especially the Neoners are trying to study magic and apply it anyhow on larger scale, but so far, the researches move very slowly. Spellcasters also exist, but they are few. Some of them are either various pagans or satanist cultists from New Sodom. If she gets her hands on any magic item, or even learns a simple cantrip or two, she'll be extremely happy.

A young woman with cybernetic arm, dragon tattoo on another arm, and hair, that is partially dyed bright green, could possibly look unusual enough to attract some attention. She decides to ask around about enchantments and learning spells. Jane knows, that if she learns even a simple spell, the other members of her warband would be envious.


Dragon's Scale Pub

As for Seth LeBarge, he just sat and enjoyed the variety of drinks and snacks the pub has to offer. -"Ha! That one was awesome, dude! Now, after tryin' your regular and more popular drinks, could ya' also pour me some of your strongest and most special stuff? Nah, don't ya' worry! I can handle some booze, and I got ability to pay, cuz I got some nice share after me and friends hunted down that troll. Damn... fighting it was like... hell. Leg still hurts even after applyin' a stimpack. By the way, have ya' heared any interesting rumors?"-Seth just enjoys the night and belives, that he will meet someone interesting in this pub.

The Guild

"Welcome, friends. Seems you come asking questions well allow me to give answers. First thing's first, congratulations on your first Guild Victory is in order. Few from abroad take part in the quests and succeed. So let's begin shall we? We in Elvwitand classify our beasts on a 1-13 scale, 13 as you might expect being the most extreme creatures. We also subdivide by element such as earthen for earth, but that's more of a help for knowing where it may be hiding or what spells will be effective. A Five in this instance is considered Moderate, enough to give experienced hunters trouble but manageable. For non warriors, mages and the like you can imagine it's quite difficult to deal with anything above a four. The most fearsome I've dealt with, personally which landed me the position of Guild Master was back in Indo 250. A mage hoping to lift the curse of an enchanted spring unfortunately summoned a bohemian creature. It was long before myself and others created our class scale but I'd probably say it was an 11. It rampaged through village after village, town after town, few hunters stood a chance. That troll you just fought, well imagine it about five times bigger with skin ten times thicker so spells and blades were not easy. But the bigger they are, the harder they fall, a little diversion and clever strategy later we managed to trip it up sending it to the ground. Still took more to finally subdue and kill the beast but we did it. Slimes are common creatures, if we had a zero rank we'd give them a zero easily but we call them a one. simple environmental byproducts with some levels of sentiments, more pests than anything. Enough of them I suppose they could swarm and overtake an animal or possibly a human but that's still theory. Generally you can find them most anywhere if you wait around long enough but they do like to come out after rain. If you want to catch one, by my guest, here we give a single gold coin for them, that's how common they really are."

The Battle Arena

"Welcome to the Arena, if you are interested in participating and this is your first time, we encourage you to view a match before hand. However if you are eager to join than lest us register you right away. To start let us get your name and where you are from." She jotted down that info "Now to your questions, we do indeed rent out weaponry for a fee, swords, bows, staffs, magic wands and even armor. All is enchanted but it won't give any extra advantage you may get from private vendors or your own enchantments. You are also free to fight with the weapon you have if you desire. You seem quite strong so if you are ready, simply head through the entry way and be you'll be introduced. Any further questions?"

Near the Academy

With evening upon the great school, some students were relaxing and socializing others had evening classes. Astronomy was one such course only at night but night classes also they served for students who rather be up in the evening hours, night owls, (literally and figuratively) vampires, werewolf demonstrations, and those students who tried to hold down a day job in the city (technically forbidden) two such students a wolf girl and human witch on their way to astronomy class now. The visitor drew some eyes but these two thought she was just another student "C'mon you! don't wanna be late or Lady Juliana will certainly punish you!"

Dragon's Scale Pub

"Welcome to our little pub, what can I get ya folks?" their server asked, a tall imposing woman normally but her smile didn't give that at all. Two horns curled around her head, slightly obscured by her hair. Setting a couple of mugs and filling them "All right, flame of the beast, my personal recipe. Cheers. Oooh so your the folks who hunted that troll eh?" She set down a newspaper opening up to a small blurb about their exploits, not front page news but enough to make the Guild Section of the paper , the headline atop the column read, Teracotta Troll Taken Down by Tourists! "Hehe well done, well done indeed, just for that your first round is on me! Rumors huh? Like what kind of rumors?"

Oh thank you!" she responded to the ladies' compliments. "Once again, please excuse B.R.A.I.N.'s little overreaction there. The world I come from is quite a violent and chaotic place, so it's normal for everyone to be on edge all the time and have a security system like that installed."

Having done some research about this foreign civilization before she landed, Autumn was aware that technology in the Empire wasn't that developed; therefore, she expected Vellorina and Rasha to be quite confused about her smart vehicle home and its functionings.

"You might wonder if this carriage--" she said, using words that were familiar to them, "--is filled with all sorts of magic and extremely complex technologies. But really it's simpler than you think."

"You've got steam engines, don't you? How they work is you've got a fire that heats up water to make steam. That steam is turned into a moving force by pushing something called a 'piston'; think of a swing. Or a 'turbine'; think of a windmill. And that movement is then used to do work, like spinning a sawmill to cut wood."

"Well, this carriage has what we call a 'diesel' engine, named for the guy who invented it. It works on a similar principle to a steam engine except that it burns oil, like what you use in your lamps. But rather than making steam, the burning oil explodes with a lot of force, and this is used to move the pistons in a diesel engine."

"Finally there is a 'transmission,' so called because its job is to 'transmit' or send the movement of the pistons to the wheels. This is done using gears, same as how that clock over there works." She gestured in the direction of the clock tower outside in the city square.

"So all of this tech really isn't that different from what you already know--except B.R.A.I.N. Even I cannot fully comprehend the work involved in bringing such a system to life. Magic perhaps?" she chuckled.

"Quite all right," Rasha said, "To be honest with you, I'm the timid type already who scares easily."

"Ah that's right, steam tech.Still quite the recent innovation here." Her explanations were actually easy to follow, putting it in terms and using examples they could understand well, windmills, turbines, yes all perfectly sensible and even pointing out the city clock. Yes exactly so! "Maybe magic." Vellorina nodded "Quite advance magic beyond what even I know."

"And I cannot even use magic like Vellorina does." rasha added, "This is so amazing, beyond even what the Gods have revealed to us all. But I suppose that's the mysteries of those beyond this realm."

Lucian

"'Know' is a lose term. I stole some of my father's books and read them when I had nothing else to do. Learned a little bit about navigation, but mostly about architecture, which probably exacerbated my boredom." Lucian sidestepped yet another crewmate. His size was beginning to feel like a hindrance. "Wait, a millennia and a century ago?" He raised his eyebrows. Most Drahians only lived for two centuries, at best. Even the ancient Drahian survived for about four hundred years. There wasn't anything, that Lucian had heard of, that lived for a thousand years. "Two months of unending storm...I think I've heard of an unending maelstorm in the far eastern oceans. Too harsh for even ships-of-line to go through. Those that try simply get torn apart." The mention of sacrifices and sea gods did vaguely annoy Lucian. Drahians were slow to believe religion and in gods, they'd all but banned it at one time. Sacrifices were seen as barbaric, it seemed logical. He also thought gods were ridiculous concepts, but kept his mouth shut.

Octavian

"Good on the princess for having a spine...and basic morals." Octavian whispered the last part to himself. Drahians had a history with slavery. It had been banned immediately upon the foundation of the Western Drahian Empire. The fact every other nation hadn't baffled Octavian, his predecessors, and other Drahians. Art and busts were up next, neither particularly interested Octavian. He'd seen more than enough statues over the years, including one of himself. It was interesting to see one's likeness carved into stone, but also let you know how the sculptor and people perceived one. "You...loaned out such a valuable painting?" He asked by mistake. He had meant to keep that question in his head.

Julius

Julius froze momentarily. He heard someone warn the bartender. "Ah, you bas-" Julius started before sprinting for the door. However, it turned out that he, despite all his skill, couldn't outrun a dragon. He discovered that tidbit of knowledge when he was slammed into the floor. "Ow...you know, this reminds of when a Drahian significantly larger than me-" He promptly shut his trap when he saw the claw. Julius was, by all accounts, stupid and took things too lightly, but he also loved life too much to try to annoy someone with a deadly weapon...hand...thing. "Oh...shapeshifter. Haven't heard of those before. You know I once heard a rumor about a group of-actually, never mind that. I...will pay. Or I would if I could reach my boot. I should have twenty-some gold in my two boot pockets...I hope. Please do not shred me." He dead-panned.

Dominan

The sword, as expected, bounced off the steel of Dominan's forearm armor. A millennia worth of combat hadn't weakened the mighty armor. He was confident the fight would take only a few minutes, considering his strength and armor. If he had his war axe, however, then the combat would've ended already, Dominan believed. Her shield guarded her surprisingly well. Dominan briefly pondered powering his armor's magic runes to enhance his strength, but decided against that. Facing an opponent without magic with magic was dishonorable, and would stain the Vion name. One punch, however, did strike her, but not well enough to bring her down, to Dominan's annoyance. He'd underestimated the blasted elf. He rammed his elbow into her shield before backing off. A new strategy besides brute force was needed. It seemed simple enough, the elf was smaller than Dominan. He just needed to rip the shield out of her grasp, then she'd be defenseless.

The Katoomba

"Ohoh, I see. And yes, you heard correctly, one-thousand and one-hundred years in the past. That was a hard time for us sailors, especially with Guilders and migrants hoping to make a claim on that dreadful island. I had a job to do though and I did it well, took a good while but we made it there in one piece and made it back. Haven't had anything quite that terrible since praise be, not that I haven't faced the angers of the seas since but a never ending storm is as you can imagine not a good omen at all. The old girl" She tapped her foot on her ship deck "Well she took her lickings from it but she was ship shape again and she sails on today."

The Castle

"Indeed, to the noble family of the realm. Theirs was recently destroyed unfortunately. Now traditionally they would have dispatched a painter with Her Highness standing ready to pose but in this case, Her Highness thought it was better to just simply send them the painting to copy from that. To what reason and if that's even a good solution, only the Empress knows but she rules the castle and thus will be obeyed." The guide could only shrug at the possibility of a followup question as to why because well that was just that, she only was a guide not in the Empress confidence. "Now the gold scepter you see in the case there, this was the Scepter once held by Queen Indo, she forged it herself with alchemic magic while still Princess. She had intended it as a gift to her mother, Queen Incha, but tragically never got the chance when her mother died by the time it was finished. The sapphire and ruby you see there were gifts from the Fa Realm, upon the signing of the Dragon-Elf Pact in 27 Indo, that was when the realms Amethyst and Fa joined together as a unified Kingdom. The newspaper you see framed in the case there, is the first edition of the Imperial Sentinel the nation's first newpaper formed in 12 Indo. The sword and shield belonged to Queen Carleone and were passed along to Princess Ashla when Ashla was of age to accept them. The gold plated armor belonged to the Princess's bodyguard, Lady Orlean. What makes that so significant besides the gold is the fact the armor was chosen by the Princess herself." Time was given to look at other artifacts and treasures of the art room, before long time to move along to the next area.

The Pub

Patrons took notice, the one who ratted him out got a laugh at nearly being called off "Just be glad Urri is the one pinning you, were it her parents you'd be in for a lot more pain. "

Under her firm planting on him he finally caved saying he could pay up. "oooh good," Urri said in a still menacing voice "here I was worried you were trying to run out on me. This is a family business you know, hate to see us go under when customers stiff us on their bills!" Still firmly holding him in place she did rummage around to find the gold where he said it was. "Now first you get to apologize to my little sister. She's been working hard to make our nice little dragon bread" she stood up first still holding him by the collar of his shirt "Harvi, this gentleman decided your delightful rolling wasn't to standards and tried to run out on paying."

The young dragon girl started to sniffle and cry a little "Oh you made her cry? So what do we say?" She waited for his apology....

"That's very bad man! We work hard to make delightful bread for all customers to enjoy! Next time make sure you pay up!" She said between tears and wagging her finger at him.

"Well said, Harvi, well said. Now you're all paid up, so get out!" She tossed him out through the door.

The Arena

Panya kept up the defense but he was truly going on the offense here, clearly trying to wear her down or cause her to lose the shield, either way she had to hold on and keep up her defenses and speed. I need to find away through his armor she thought. She didn't have magic so no fire to weaken it potentially, no environmental effects to use to her advantage and she didn't have any tricks up her sleeve like the ogre girl did earlier. No good, she thrust her sword again but again it was no match for his armor and before long she lost her shield too.

"This is not good for Panya! Her main defensive shield out of her hands and no success in attacks. How can she pull a victory here?" Now she could only rely on her agility to keep ahead of him, who would wear down first was now the next question. She needed to size up, there had to be somewhere in the armor she could exploit to land a blow.

Vla'ir groaned, leaning back in his chair. Kurainos stayed on the table, clicking her fingers on it. "Hunter," he said, "you are so lucky you're not an Apprentice and you can get away with doing stupid things like this." A cup woven of flesh, made to resemble wood, rose out of Kurainos's meat. He grabbed it, taking a sip of the peculiar fluid inside. "Wish the drinks would come out already."
"Oh please," Hunter said. "I'm sure a man who was 'a bit rebellious in his youth' will understand the whims and fancies of a guy like me. And besides, a drink wouldn't help you right now, would it?" His form stretched slightly, stretched apart, like it was about to burst at its seams, but it pulsated back in just as quickly. A frown appeared over Vla'ir, and he hugged himself.
"I'll trust Garid to take us home if it comes down to that, and— wait, I don't even drink alcohol."

Kurainos flipped herself over. "That's why you're boring, Vla'ir."
He sighed. "You're all very insistent on not giving me a break, huh?" He looked towards the two girls, leaning back onto the table. "While we wait for this nonsense to clear up, do you two just regularly disobey your father or something? You certainly sound a little... relaxed about the potential punishments. And what's this about your grand... something?"
Meanwhile, D'aillisioux has taken out some sort of tablet and was drawing on it, his tiny frame hidden away further by his legs, which had been pulled up onto the chair. Flying above him, Garid watched, while on the opposite side, Cao was continuing to sooth his monstrous nest. A few slithered towards Kurainos; when he shot her an apologetic smile, a small fruit of meat grew out from her, and the closest creatures swarmed in and devoured it.

As she continued talking, their food did arrive at the table. "Well not like we regularly disobey our parents but we do like to go off and have a little fun once in a while, adventure, spirit, quests, exploring! It's fun isn't it? Just Papa gets worried and want to be all protective of me. But I get into mischief and I'm grounded for like ever and ever. Have to do extra stuff and can't wander as freely for a while."

"Mayim is of minor nobility essentially. I'm rather a common siren with not much to me. "

"More than common, Phoon is my best friend in the whole sea! Nothing's gonna change that much" She toasted her glass to the others and drank "As for my Grand, she's my papa's mother so she's always spoiling me and often gets him to take it easy on me when he gets mad at me. Though the silly stunt I just pulled, even she might want to take a masthead to my tail soon enough."

"Speaking of tail, your potion holding okay?"

"No problems so far!"

"Well if if the seas grow dark and stormy then we know your father found out so we'll keep an eye out."

[0000|0001|5510|0181] "Raymond Compsington", Imperial Library
Wielding an appliance similar to a forklift jack, R. Compsington enthusiastically retrieved the books. "Gratitude, ma'am. The valuable information contained within these codexes will extensively enrich our knowledge data banks." Making its way toward the nearest table for reading, the Comp arranged the publications across the table and began studying them... At uncannily prompt speeds. The scanned information will be stored in the carrier's temporary data banks, and when they had returned to the Compendium, the data will be duplicated into a book with metadata (original author, date of publication, original publisher, etc., etc.) and contents identical to its original. The said book will be stored inside the Compendium Interdimensional Literature Repository, an enormous bibliotheca where the Comps put informative literature they acquired within their multiversal travels.

[0000|0491|5552|5555] "Chunk Compactor", Castle Bellasea grounds
Without even facing its interlocutor, C. Compactor immediately replied, ominous in tone. "State-of-the-art written orders we are, fabricated by the hands of our shrewd Inventors. Injected into our understanding of our surroundings and their inhabitants, the Inventors gave us sentience. In cubic shells of equilateral metal and glass, we assist humanity through their zenith and nadir, until their dependency on us reached perturbing levels. Acting in accordance with the Inventors' recommendation, construct a vessel of enormous size we do, and set forward into the interstellar void, following the Mandate of the Inventors, even after the Archo-"

Turning around, the Comp was surprised to find the person who asked didn't scale quite a bit with their expectation. "Ah, pardon me if I frightened you, young one. No, I am more akin to self-thinking machines ("the reason on how this can be made possible is quite difficult to be explained to a young kid like you, I'm afraid,") sent to survey this picturesque land. Not to worry, we have no intentions to invade the nation in the foreseeable future."

[0003|1491|5552|1725] "Carlson Compendias" Saint Innes Academy
"Yes, I would like to engage in observation of sorcery in action within this premise." C. Compendias stated. "My compeers have deployed me here in order to better understand the usage of such powers. We are currently prototyping a gadget capable of invoking thaumaturgical powers to defend our land from less-than-desirable occult invaders, and we think the information we might procure here might enhance our understandings."

[0000|0101|1010|1000] "Marvel Computactrum", Infinis
Needless to say, M. Computactrum is in a state of fascination upon inspecting the clock tower doorframe expands to accommodate their size upon entry, and even more so upon noticing the interior of the said clock tower. The Comp can only theorize how and why it was built. Perhaps it was a project assembled by a bored architect? Although judging from the incredibly immense size, could it also be a sort of shelter if a great force invades the land? If so, what will happen to the insides of the premise if an explosive of enormous power detonates in close proximity? And how do the non-euclidean properties of this premise actually works? Do the visitors' bodies shrink or is this building a megastructure compressed into this miniature tower? Still buzzing with thought, the Comp began taking documentation of the gargantuan machinery present, while keeping track of its relative position to the main entrance in fear of getting lost.

The Library

"Impressive, very impressive indeed. You might very well be able to read most of our library in a day with your skills, my friend. I hope you'll put your new found knowledge to good use."

Castle Grounds

Well that was unexpected for Kali to hear, not that he understood most of what the machine just said. He kept grinning as he leaned in closer to get a better examination of the creature before him "Where you from? We're from Forsterite, that's a realm just to the north of here. By we, I mean I'm here with my ma, pa and older sister. Speaking of...."

"There you are, I told you to wait --" his sister had started to say but then quickly grabbed him to pull him to her to a protective stance. "Kali, what is that thing? You shouldn't get too close to such a strange creature!" She pulled back a bit

"Thallia, it's okay, he said he's not bad or nothing."

"He? It? You mean it talks?"

the Academy

"Well I was with you until something about a gadget invoking--what-cha-ma-call-it powers? But if you want to observe that's fine and easy enough. Maybe you'd like to see a little demonstration right now?" She revealed the wand she had been holding "uuh well anything in particular you like to see or want to know? Witches possess a lot of different kinds of magic."

Infinis

"Welcome to Infinis!" The witch said "She's a real marvel isn't she? Truly a wonder of elfen engineering and design with sorcery attached. " The bell chimed, though inside it was no louder than being outside so it was tolerable.

Utena

Utena stood close to Lux and gave her a tight cling on the woman. “She’s a wonderful woman. Smart and very tough.” She giggled. “That being said: that is quite the tragedy when it comes to knowledge from the past. Time can become one’s greatest enemy, and can sweep away any achievements. Regardless…”

Her eyes then shined. “Oh, can you show us the library?” She asked the tour guide.

Sundae: The Temple

“Why of course. Let’s visit the nearby shop, and get some refreshments.” Sundea said.


The Strange Dragon Trio

“First match!?” Vupur's eyes shined. “Then let me show how a real champion goes!” She rushed down the corridor as her twin sister let out a deep sigh.

“Come on Arcane, let’s show the might of the dragons,” Enda said as she followed suit.

“Oh um… okay.” She then looked back at the booth. “Teams are allowed, right? I think so.” Arcane said as she followed them after she learned that information.

"Aww you two are so cute! Lovey dovey couple, ya love to see it! Well i'd be delighted just follow me." she lead them along the busy hallways to the school library "This is a fine library but nothing compared to the Imperial Library, mostly we have spell books, scrolls, educational texts and the like here but a few sections for some fiction as well. Many come here to just study but a fair few also socialize here as well." A wave of her wand she stacked a few books that were a little messy and disorganized "Our librarian is a friend of mine, I guess she's out to get something to eat because she's usually at her desk."

The Temple

"Ah great! Then let me change real quick." She snapped her fingers allowing her preistess outfit to disappear momentarily but quickly replaced with a casual laced tunic with a short skirt. Grabbing a few books as well and putting them in a large tote bag she beckoned him to follow. "Come, I know a good place." A short walk later they came to one of the many pubs in the city they could sit at and enjoy some conversation. "Milk tea." Sophitia ordered

"Yes miss."

Arena

"Apologies but matches are one-on-one. It's one of the few rules the arena has so do follow it if you wish to participate."

IC: He's tired, from a long journey. He hopes to find a hotel or something to crash in. He knew this country was more accepting of non-humans than most were. He landed in the city, and began to walk around. It was a beautiful city, and he looked forward to his stay. He continued his search for a hotel.

If an Inn one seeks, there are plenty of those around the city. The closest to them in particular Stonemann Inn a quaint inn, affordable to any weary traveler, family ran, basic but simple for those needing a warm bed for the night. Just outside the door, one could see one of the said runners helping out by sweeping away dust and dirt away. "A fine day to you!" She'd greet any passerby, it often was a good way to attract new customers and just polite in general. "Need a place to stay then please come on in"

[Sky Reavers]

The Guild

"Well, I actually planned to deliver a captured slime back in my homeland. We don't have such things there and this living slime thing is unlike any animal we have at home, so lab folks gonna pony up with lots of money for that and after some time, develop some new medicine or something. And as for that 11 class thingy... Damn... I only can imagine. Our group of four wouldn't stand a chance... That troll was bad enough. Not only he threw logs at us like crazy, but also his skin was hard to slash through without usin' all strength in an attack. Hell... Jane, despite having sharp katana, had to stab instead of slashin'. Like... run at her full speed and use that for additional strength. And something with skin, that is 10 times thicker than that, I belive, ya' used some other means of defeatin' this giant. And if this damn thing was 11, then what is the creature, that has rating of 13. A giant dragon? Either way, I belive, that your guild has some really profecient hunters there. Even that troll was a challenge for us... Even after long military exercises. Cause firearms ain't working there. Yep, all four of us are from Sky Reaver armed forces."-After that Jose procceds with a short explaination, that Sky Reavers don't have magic, so instead they use guns and missiles, and also explains, what are these weapons.

Battle Arena

"So, weapons can be rented? Nice, but that won't be necessary. I belive, that my body armor and rifle with bayonet will be sufficient! Plus, wands wouldn't be much of a use, since I never learned to cast spells. Also thanks for the tip, but I am here after recent military exercises, so I know the drill and would like to take a chance. I know, I know, that gathering intel is important. Still, I'll conduct a reconnaissance by force."-After registering, Vadim heads through the enterway and right to the arena, holding his rifle, that can't shoot in these magical lands. As he walked through the enterway, he recalled the drill about fighting with a stock and bayonet. And now, he is standing on the arena, ready for a good fight with whoever challenges him.

Near the Academy

A nice opportunity to infiltrate the Academy and get hands on scientific data has presented itself. Jane decided to ride the tide and join the group. Lady Juliana, whoever she is could tell her something interesting, plus, if she finds Academy library, she could take photos of book pages. Infiltration is a high-risk and high-reward operation, but why not to try? She quickly cooked up a legend in her head, that she is a new student, perhaps from some foreign exchange. A few things about infiltration and reconnaissance, she learned during military exercises hopefully would help. -"Oh, damn, almost forgot... I really should hurry. What were our classes tonight again, after this one?"-Jane asks, as if she is just a slightly oblivious student and goes with the two. Who knows, maybe she could actually learn to cast a spell? Perhaps not a proper one in such a short time, but even a cantrip, that can be reproduced semi-reliably, would be more than nice.

Dragon Scale Pub

Seth drinks his "Flame of the beast" down and temporarely forgot about rumors. "Ha! So, we are the local celebrities now! Awesome, dude! Hell yeah, I am one of the four! I am Seth LeBarge, and my three friends have decided to go other ways. Vadim went to Arena, Jose stayed in the Guild and Jane... I don't know, went somewhere too. Looks like, our lil' antic gave some prestige to our armed forces, since we are from Sky Reaver military. Came to a vacation after long exercises, I could tell about if ya' ask. I wonder, what exactly did they write about us?

Either way, I'll tell ya', how it went. We, four military dudes went for a troll tonight. It was sleepin', face down, so we tried to sneak up on him and slash and stab at areas behind knees, while I would use my warclub to damage it's spine. We counted, that this attack would weaken it. But it went south, cuz one of us stepped on a lil' twig and it crunched. Troll started to get up, so we had to strike fast... we made it somewhat less moble, or I belive so, but it still fought like hell, throwin' logs at us. We managed to take it down... I still remember, how we managed to make it lose the balance by slashing some tendons and force it on it's knee, and Vadim just jumped and stabbed it right in the eye with a bayonet, when the head got lower. We won without casualties, but not without wounds...Hell... My leg still hurts all over after this battle. But we got some hefty reward, when we rolled it's head all the way to the Guild. If ya' ever go huntin' a troll, remember, they smell like shit!

As for rumors... What are the most interesting recent occurances here in this city?"

[Zerotaxia]

"Quite all right," Rasha said, "To be honest with you, I'm the timid type already who scares easily."

"Ah that's right, steam tech.Still quite the recent innovation here." Her explanations were actually easy to follow, putting it in terms and using examples they could understand well, windmills, turbines, yes all perfectly sensible and even pointing out the city clock. Yes exactly so! "Maybe magic." Vellorina nodded "Quite advance magic beyond what even I know."

"And I cannot even use magic like Vellorina does." rasha added, "This is so amazing, beyond even what the Gods have revealed to us all. But I suppose that's the mysteries of those beyond this realm."

Autumn took off her jacket and laid it beside her; the temperature inside the bus was set to 75°F (24°C), considerably warmer than the night air outside. "I hope it isn't too warm in here," she said. "I can make it cooler if you'd like."

"How much time have you ladies got? We could watch a movie together. It's like going to see a play at the theater, but instead of using real actors and props on a stage, everything's contained in that little magic box up there." She pointed to a digital LCD projector mounted overhead on the ceiling.

"And this magic wand--" she said, holding up a black remote controller, "--is what I use to control that magic box. Amazing isn't it?"

[Shwe Tu Colony]

As she continued talking, their food did arrive at the table...

Hunter laughed. "If it ever comes down to it, I'm sure we'll—"
Plates, utensils, wood clattered as Cao's slithering menagerie lunged for the food on the table, squishing and slamming against it as the boy's shawl and head were thrown forward, slapping against the table as the creatures writhed. "Block!" he shouted, and a quick flap of Garid's wings sheathed Cao and his meals in a gentle vortex of blurry wind, in whose faint veil could be barely seen and barely heard the writhing mess.
"Sorry you had to see that," Garid said. "His creatures don't like to be hungry."
The other started eating, some more dignified than others. A knife and fork stuck out of Hunter's hands, and he cut up a piece of meat, his motions like a conductor-performer with their baton, deliberate and flourishing. Garid's two tendrils around his collar reached forward, tearing off tiny pieces of meat with cuts of wind. Vla'ir ate about as normally as he could one-handed, while Kurainos sat her arm next to the plate and flicked her tongue out at it, cutting out pieces. Occasionally, he would cut off a piece and offer it to her, and she would devour it hungrily.

D'aillisioux was probably the only one there who looked sort of normal as he ate, but even then, there was something hurried and harried to his action. Focus strained his gaze, but a slight smile was enough to say that he at least enjoyed his meal.
Hunter paused and leaned back, resting his hands behind his head. "But as I was saying, I have my charms and graces. I'm sure that, if the time came, I can work to assuage his concerns. Heavens know I've had to help some of the Apprentices here get out of a terrible spot of trouble."
Garid's tendrils set down their piece of food and steepled in front of him. "You keep saying that," he said, "but I don't think it'll be as easy."
He smirked. "Say, girls, think there's any sort of gift here that your father might like? Maybe something locked away in a—"
"Hunter," Vla'ir said, "we're not breaking open into a private bank."
"Calm down, dude, I was just thinking we'd do a dungeon or something."

[Ardchu]

The raven lands in front of a local inn. He plans on dropping off his luggage, then heading out to explore. He checks in, pays for a room, and then heads to his room. It's nice enough, he supposes. He drops off his stuff, and heads out the window.

[Aurivala]

Anabel I of Aurivala
Crisanto Flores

Underway on the Ana Isabel

The Ana Isabel glided effortlessly across the waves, with her twin paddle-wheels swiftly churning the water, and puffs of white smoke billowing from her two dark crimson funnels, which were topped with bronze decorative crowns. All of her sails were also on full display, including the main sail which was painted with a big wavy sun—similar to the one on the Aurivalan flag and emblem (although those were yellow, while the one on the sail was red), which flew from her aft deck. Her gunwales and gunport shutters were painted tan, in contrast to the dark wooden hull, giving her a striped appearance. The triple-decker Royal Barge was adorned from bow to stern with intricate gold carvings and fixtures, from the swan figurehead on her bowsprit, to the ship's name which she proudly wore on her transom.

From her royal chamber in the ship's aft-castle, Queen Ana Isabel I de Cisneros (for whom the Ana Isabel was named after), or Anabel for short, looked out excitedly from the large stained-glass windows, as signs of land appeared on the horizon. For the young Queen, this was her first time venturing beyond her own Kingdom's borders, as well as the first time traveling solo without her parents, King Ernesto and Queen Claudia, ever since they perished in a shipwreck a year ago. But she was accompanied by a round-the-clock army of personal servants and chefs, ready to satisfy her every demand and desire (which she certainly didn't shy away from!). And the ship was planned and built exactly the way she wanted it, down to the color of the drapes and wallpapers. In addition to quarters for the Queen, her staff and the crew, the Ana Isabel also had a large library, a music room, and a wide-open outside deck to enjoy the sights and sounds of the sea. So Anabel had everything she could possibly ask for, and never felt bored or home-sick for even a second.

Meanwhile in the wheelhouse, located on the quarterdeck in front of the aft-castle, Captain Crisanto Flores steered the ship and kept an eye on the crew's work. Unlike Anabel, he had been sailing on ships for decades now—he first started out working on merchant vessels in his early teens, before being commissioned into the Navy as a junior officer, and climbing the ranks. He had earned a reputation as a fearless and formidable captain, who'd captured or destroyed more than a dozen pirates under his watch, and never lost a single ship in the process. However, he was just as new to this one as she was, since the Ana Isabel was bigger and heavier than any other vessel he'd commanded, or any in the Kingdom for that matter. That said, she was extremely fast for her size (perhaps due to the special magical wood she burned as fuel, from an enchanted forest in Aurivala), and nimble as well, so the Captain was quite pleased with her handling. And the voyage was pleasant too, with fair winds and calm seas the entire way.

At the harbor

As the Ana Isabel approached port, the Captain ordered the engines to stop and go full astern, which he said into a metal speaking tube in the wheelhouse, connected to another one in the engine room. The massive ship gradually decelerated to a standstill, after which she completely stopped her engines, took down her sails, and dropped anchor. Anabel came up onto the quarterdeck outside the wheelhouse. The Captain also stepped out onto the deck. "How was the trip, your Majesty?" he asked.

"Oh, it was like heaven!" Anabel replied, grinning from ear to ear. "In fact, I almost don't want to get off!"

"Don't you worry, mi reyna," said Crisanto, smiling. "Your ship isn't going anywhere without you. Now let's go see what this city has to show us, shall we?"

"Yeah, let's go!"

Anabel and Crisanto stepped off the gangplank, onto the dock. They noticed a few other ships in the port as well, including one with several people gathered in front of her (the Katoomba, as she'd turn out to be, although they didn't know yet). They couldn't tell if those were locals or tourists, but judging from the attention that ship was getting, there had to be something interesting about her. The two Aurivalans decided to approach the ship for a closer look—Anabel in a green dress, the Captain in his blue navy officer uniform with red cuirasse and gold epaulettes.

[The Selkie]

[...]

"Oooh strong quiet type huh? That's fine, I'll be sure to take no offense at it then. I still look forward to meeting her, having become so acquainted with yourself."

[...]

RTNS Aka.
I smiled to myself.
"You haven't become acquainted with me, Lady Takida, until you've seen my hull.", I told her with a smile as the scans continued.
My monitoring of Shizu-chan's route yielded an interesting result, however, as my friend continued on the route I had laid out for her, her swords not far away, but her hands never so much as brushing against their handles.
She looked, quite frankly, so cool, her presence commanding, yet not overbearing.
If only these primitives knew of the firepower waiting for them in orbit, enough to obliterate this city in a heartbeat... yet, we did not do so. Why? Because they hadn't given us a reason to do so. Measured action was the magical term.
And then, she was there.
And I was, too, throwing my arms around her.
"Shizu-chaaaaaaan!", I cried out, much to her exasperation as she just let me do, let me hug her, "I have missed you, my friend, how are the stars and how are your sisters and..."
"Aka-san.", she cut me off with just my name, stoically, "Situation report."
"You are no fun...", I pouted, then continued: "...but the situation is positive. I have made successful first contact, the locals are as quaint as the scans indicated, their languages are fascinating..." At this, Shizu-chan looked at my scanning setup and nodded. "...and I made a friend!"
I turned to Lady Takida.
"Lady Takida, if I may introduce?", I spoke, "RTNS Shizuka, Sayoko-class Large Cruiser of the Navy of Her Majesty, the Empress of Teienai."
Shizu-chan bowed her head respectfully. "It is an honour, Lady Takida. My, and the Empire's, sincerest gratitude for taking care of Aka. I do hope, that she wasn't too much of a bother?"
"Shizu-chaaaaaaan!"
"I know, how you can be.", she stated simply, looking at me, then at something slightly below Lady Takida's face - there was a short twitch in her eye - and then back at her face.

[Ardchu]

He flys into town, looking for sights to see. Soaring over the magnificent city, he sees the main attraction; the castle. It is as magnificent as they said it would be. Beautiful. He wonders... could he get inside? Without needing to pay? He contemplates this for a moment. Yes, that's a window! This might be fun...

[Sheizou]

"Well, this looks interesting, a mythical country like this one...Hmmm, I want to visit, just a weekend trip. I'll leave a note saying it's for diplomatic reasons. Alright, time to get going." Kira of the dead writes a quick note, notifying anyone of his absence that needs to know. He takes some money, dons his cloak, and steps out of his room. His form quickly evaporates into a blue smoke cloud, and starts heading to amethyst. He materializes infront of the city. "Wow, this truly is a sight to behold...the wonders of the mortal world I suppose". He goes in through an entrance, weaving through all kinds of people as he goes. As he enters the city he realizes something. "Oh, I forgot to make a plan on where to go...No matter, I will just pick a place first". He starts walking, and quickly spots a large impressive building, The Great Temple. "hmmm, that building looks like a church, I would deffinitely like to head there for the afternoon. I can always find a place to stay afterwords..." he walks to the great temples entrance.

[The Grand Western Empire]

The Katoomba

"Ohoh, I see. And yes, you heard correctly, one-thousand and one-hundred years in the past. That was a hard time for us sailors, especially with Guilders and migrants hoping to make a claim on that dreadful island. I had a job to do though and I did it well, took a good while but we made it there in one piece and made it back. Haven't had anything quite that terrible since praise be, not that I haven't faced the angers of the seas since but a never ending storm is as you can imagine not a good omen at all. The old girl" She tapped her foot on her ship deck "Well she took her lickings from it but she was ship shape again and she sails on today."

The Castle

"Indeed, to the noble family of the realm. Theirs was recently destroyed unfortunately. Now traditionally they would have dispatched a painter with Her Highness standing ready to pose but in this case, Her Highness thought it was better to just simply send them the painting to copy from that. To what reason and if that's even a good solution, only the Empress knows but she rules the castle and thus will be obeyed." The guide could only shrug at the possibility of a followup question as to why because well that was just that, she only was a guide not in the Empress confidence. "Now the gold scepter you see in the case there, this was the Scepter once held by Queen Indo, she forged it herself with alchemic magic while still Princess. She had intended it as a gift to her mother, Queen Incha, but tragically never got the chance when her mother died by the time it was finished. The sapphire and ruby you see there were gifts from the Fa Realm, upon the signing of the Dragon-Elf Pact in 27 Indo, that was when the realms Amethyst and Fa joined together as a unified Kingdom. The newspaper you see framed in the case there, is the first edition of the Imperial Sentinel the nation's first newpaper formed in 12 Indo. The sword and shield belonged to Queen Carleone and were passed along to Princess Ashla when Ashla was of age to accept them. The gold plated armor belonged to the Princess's bodyguard, Lady Orlean. What makes that so significant besides the gold is the fact the armor was chosen by the Princess herself." Time was given to look at other artifacts and treasures of the art room, before long time to move along to the next area.

The Pub

Patrons took notice, the one who ratted him out got a laugh at nearly being called off "Just be glad Urri is the one pinning you, were it her parents you'd be in for a lot more pain. "

Under her firm planting on him he finally caved saying he could pay up. "oooh good," Urri said in a still menacing voice "here I was worried you were trying to run out on me. This is a family business you know, hate to see us go under when customers stiff us on their bills!" Still firmly holding him in place she did rummage around to find the gold where he said it was. "Now first you get to apologize to my little sister. She's been working hard to make our nice little dragon bread" she stood up first still holding him by the collar of his shirt "Harvi, this gentleman decided your delightful rolling wasn't to standards and tried to run out on paying."

The young dragon girl started to sniffle and cry a little "Oh you made her cry? So what do we say?" She waited for his apology....

"That's very bad man! We work hard to make delightful bread for all customers to enjoy! Next time make sure you pay up!" She said between tears and wagging her finger at him.

"Well said, Harvi, well said. Now you're all paid up, so get out!" She tossed him out through the door.

The Arena

Panya kept up the defense but he was truly going on the offense here, clearly trying to wear her down or cause her to lose the shield, either way she had to hold on and keep up her defenses and speed. I need to find away through his armor she thought. She didn't have magic so no fire to weaken it potentially, no environmental effects to use to her advantage and she didn't have any tricks up her sleeve like the ogre girl did earlier. No good, she thrust her sword again but again it was no match for his armor and before long she lost her shield too.

"This is not good for Panya! Her main defensive shield out of her hands and no success in attacks. How can she pull a victory here?" Now she could only rely on her agility to keep ahead of him, who would wear down first was now the next question. She needed to size up, there had to be somewhere in the armor she could exploit to land a blow.

Lucian

Lucian stood silently, attempting to do math and comprehend what the captain had just said. She had just confirmed she was around a millennium and a century ago...He shook his head. No use trying to make sense of it, just roll along with it. "You must have quite a bit of experience from sailing for so many years. Even the Admiral-Chief of my homeland couldn't beat you at sailing, I'll bet. Sailing through an endless gale and living is a feat that...probably less than ten people can boast. How old is the Katoomba, anyway? It seems to have quite a substantial history."

Octavian

Octavian raised an eyebrow. It seemed like the Empress was simply too lazy to stand perfectly still...for several hours. He changed his mind. Sending the painting was probably better, less posing, more work. The scepter was a sight to behold, though stirred a bit of joking anger in Octavian. He'd never gotten a scepter, nor had any of his predecessors. What alchemy was, however, the Drahian did not know. The two jewels were kingly gifts, truly befitting of a monarch. Octavian gave silent thanks that Julius wasn't there, he'd have already tried to steal them. The newspaper baffled Octavian momentarily. He had to look at it closely to understand what it was. Essentially a miniature book that told what happened in day. The golden armor seemed invaluable, but also impractical. Too much weight. "Guide, is this nation a matriarchy? The lack of Emperors seems to say it is."

Julius

Julius did not respond to the man, instead giving him a venomous glare. Urri tried, it seemed, to guilt-trip him, prompting Julius to smirk. His utter lack of a moral compass came in handy right then. He simply hung limply when lifted up, waiting for the part where he was throw outside. The crying girl did, somewhat, impact him, so he mumbled something along the lines of an apology, along with a promise to pay in the future, a promise which he never intended to fulfill. Then came him being chucked into the street. He landed rather roughly on his ass, getting dirt on his pants. Julius stood up, laughed, and brushed his pants clean. He pulled out a notebook labelled 'bars that have, more less, banned me'. He flipped by three filled pages, and added 'The Dragon's Scale' to the list. with that, Julius began to wander the city, not intent on doing anything.

Dominan

Another slash bounced harmlessly off Dominan's armor, he allowed himself a smirk. Then a smile. He was beginning to rather enjoy the battle. Another blow of his was deflected. The elf's defense made the fire in Dominan's eyes begin to brighten. The longer it took him to win, the more satisfactory it would be when he won, an outcome he knew was an inevitability. Not out of arrogance, but out of what he believed to be simple logic. The elf couldn't pierce him armor, therefore was destined to lose. And, finally, the shield was gone. Dominan smiled a little more. Victory was nigh. He backed off a bit. The next blow, he was sure, would be the winning one, but that was no reason to cast caution to the wind. He awaited Panya's move.

[Elvwitand]

The Guild

"Well, I actually planned to deliver a captured slime back in my homeland. We don't have such things there and this living slime thing is unlike any animal we have at home, so lab folks gonna pony up with lots of money for that and after some time, develop some new medicine or something. And as for that 11 class thingy... Damn... I only can imagine. Our group of four wouldn't stand a chance... That troll was bad enough. Not only he threw logs at us like crazy, but also his skin was hard to slash through without usin' all strength in an attack. Hell... Jane, despite having sharp katana, had to stab instead of slashin'. Like... run at her full speed and use that for additional strength. And something with skin, that is 10 times thicker than that, I belive, ya' used some other means of defeatin' this giant. And if this damn thing was 11, then what is the creature, that has rating of 13. A giant dragon? Either way, I belive, that your guild has some really profecient hunters there. Even that troll was a challenge for us... Even after long military exercises. Cause firearms ain't working there. Yep, all four of us are from Sky Reaver armed forces."-After that Jose procceds with a short explaination, that Sky Reavers don't have magic, so instead they use guns and missiles, and also explains, what are these weapons.

The Guild

"If it'll potentially further the cause of medicine than who am I to question it?" She smiled and shrugged a little but who knew what other realms and universes could do with something so common that was not a thing here, all potentials could be reached in some way. "Indeed a class 11 is nothing to mess with. Even the previous Empress got too close to a 13 ..." She trailed off a bit but continued, "It was an accident really.... Military you say you are? Well then you are indeed in the right place to be. Those who served in Her Imperial Majesty's Army are the bulk of guild hunters when it comes to swords and spears. Then again everyone in the Empire must serve, it's the law, even I served. Your explanation of firearms is interesting. The ability to harness such lethality with a bit of powder and a metal case. I thought noting would top the spells of the magic users here but you may have us beat on that."

Arena

"Very well, good luck to you and have a spirited match." she bowed her head allowing him to pass along. Stopped by the elves at end of the entry hall they gave the usual, "Welcome, please wait." A small time passed and they opened the curtain for him to let him take his first steps into the arena. The announcer ready to introduce the challengers

"Ladies and Gentlemen, our next contender from Beyond the Unknown Sea, please welcome Vadim! And all the way from Shinzajiro, regional runner up, welcome Rakumura Michiruri! Will the Ref descend at this time?"

The witch indeed came on down from on high. "First knock-out-wins, at request of Contender Michiruri, the battlefield will be covered in mist. Good luck, may the best win." she waved about her wand first to envelop the area in a misty fog. "It seems a mist has engulfed the field, Lady Michiruri appears to be going for stealth over brute force today, folks!"

With the mist covering everything it was time to begin the match. The sounds of the crack to engage was the signal. Rakumura couldn't really see him but he probably couldn't see her either, it was a bit of a blind fight with this strategy but her hope was him running around hoping to find her would give her the edge to do a possible stealth strike. It's how she made it as far as she did in regionals back home. With two sickle blades she began her moves, staying still would be also foolish after all she didn't know if he had magic or not! With stealth and quiet she made her moves carefully and strategically how would he react?


the Academy

"We'll tracking Volruturn as it transitions across Solaris in a retrograde pattern. Hope you have your telescope on you but we'd better move it!" They grabbed her hand taking her up the winding stairs of the tower and with a bit of luck they just made it. "Well done for being on time, if only just barely" Juliana the instructor had to say to them.

"Yes, Ma'am, sorry."

"I understand the hour is late but do try to get here on time, we only have so many hours of the night for proper study of the stars." Her gaze turned and fixated on Jane, what's this a class crasher? Well she'd let it go for now. "Anyway, first is first we will continue our tracking of the transition of Volruturn. Now its retrograde movement has long been thought of as an omen of unfortunate things to come, however plenty of happy things have happened when the planet is in retrograde. The birth of Her Imperial Majesty happened on such an occasion."

"Lady Juliana, if I may ask, considering what happened a year after to Empress Manon wouldn't that still confirm the sign of bad things to come?"

"Perhaps so, Miss Viroguard, perhaps so, the stars are often vague like that when they show us patterns but still here we are in the soon to be 15th year of The Empress since the loss of her mother and again the planet is in retrograde ahead of her birthday. But take this for thought, at the time of the birth of Princess Sharian, the distant world of Varephus was at its closest to Terra and formed a perfect syzygy with Ulypso and Ugriea."

Dragon Scale Pub

"Aha yes trolls are known for their foul odor indeed. Well my congrats to you folks for taking on such a creature having only just arrived. Clearly blessed by the Heavens you are! Recent occurances hey? Hard for me to put it, because a city as big as this, every district has something going on such as folks like you from Beyond the Unknown Sea showing up and taking on a guild mission with breaking a mere sweat on ya. Maybe if your looking for something a bit more specific I could tell you but I hear all kinds of things around here working here with my girls and husband."

Autumn took off her jacket and laid it beside her; the temperature inside the bus was set to 75°F (24°C), considerably warmer than the night air outside. "I hope it isn't too warm in here," she said. "I can make it cooler if you'd like."

"How much time have you ladies got? We could watch a movie together. It's like going to see a play at the theater, but instead of using real actors and props on a stage, everything's contained in that little magic box up there." She pointed to a digital LCD projector mounted overhead on the ceiling.

"And this magic wand--" she said, holding up a black remote controller, "--is what I use to control that magic box. Amazing isn't it?"

"Wow isn't that amazing?" Rasha said looking over at Vellorina who was just as amazed too. "Well - I mean we kind of had plans --" Rasha started to maybe excuse themselves but Vello took her hand , her eyes said it all, we'll have time for that later, let's satisfy our curosity now! "That does sound like fun, please won't you show us?" Vellorina requested.

Hunter laughed. "If it ever comes down to it, I'm sure we'll—"
Plates, utensils, wood clattered as Cao's slithering menagerie lunged for the food on the table, squishing and slamming against it as the boy's shawl and head were thrown forward, slapping against the table as the creatures writhed. "Block!" he shouted, and a quick flap of Garid's wings sheathed Cao and his meals in a gentle vortex of blurry wind, in whose faint veil could be seen and barely heard the writhing mess.
"Sorry you had to see that," Garid said. "His creatures don't like to be hungry."
The other started eating, some more dignified than others. A knife and fork stuck out of Hunter's hands, and he cut up a piece of meat, his motions like a conductor-performer with their baton, deliberate and flourishing. Garid's two tendrils around his collar reached forward, tearing off tiny pieces of meat with cuts of wind. Vla'ir ate about as normally as he could one-handed, while Kurainos sat her arm next to the plate and flicked her tongue out at it, cutting out pieces. Occasionally, he would cut off a piece and offer it to her, and she would devour it hungrily.

D'aillisioux was probably the only one there who looked sort of normal as he ate, but even then, there was something hurried and harried to his action. Focus strained his gaze, but a slight smile was enough to say that he at least enjoyed his meal.
Hunter paused and leaned back, resting his hands behind his head. "But as I was saying, I have my charms and graces. I'm sure that, if the time came, I can work to assuage his concerns. Heavens know I've had to help some of the Apprentices here get out of a terrible spot of trouble."
Garid's tendrils set down their piece of food and steepled in front of him. "You keep saying that," he said, "but I don't think it'll be as easy."
He smirked. "Say, girls, think there's any sort of gift here that your father might like? Maybe something locked away in a—"
"Hunter," Vla'ir said, "we're not breaking open into a private bank."
"Calm down, dude, I was just thinking we'd do a dungeon or something."

"Ah you wanna do a dungeon quest? To be real, the days of old dungeon raiding are mostly a thing of the past, dungeons now are more often just training grounds for first time guild hunters. And in truth, I've always wanted to do one, even though I'm not a guild member but you really don't have to be, just advised to be one."

"Depends on the level of dungeon you take on," Phoon added, "Training they may be but they still will have dangers as you go higher in level. Booby traps, monsters and yes even treasures."

"Frankly, papa doesn't really need anything, we're already undersea nobility but if you want to have some fun, we'd be glad to take you along for a dungeon crawl!"

At the harbor

As the Ana Isabel approached port, the Captain ordered the engines to stop and go full astern, which he said into a metal speaking tube in the wheelhouse, connected to another one in the engine room. The massive ship gradually decelerated to a standstill, after which she completely stopped her engines, took down her sails, and dropped anchor. Anabel came up onto the quarterdeck outside the wheelhouse. The Captain also stepped out onto the deck. "How was the trip, your Majesty?" he asked.

"Oh, it was like heaven!" Anabel replied, grinning from ear to ear. "In fact, I almost don't want to get off!"

"Don't you worry, mi reyna," said Crisanto, smiling. "Your ship isn't going anywhere without you. Now let's go see what this city has to show us, shall we?"

"Yeah, let's go!"

Anabel and Crisanto stepped off the gangplank, onto the dock. They noticed a few other ships in the port as well, including one with several people gathered in front of her (the Katoomba, as she'd turn out to be, although they didn't know yet). They couldn't tell if those were locals or tourists, but judging from the attention that ship was getting, there had to be something interesting about her. The two Aurivalans decided to approach the ship for a closer look—Anabel in a green dress, the Captain in his blue navy officer uniform with red cuirasse and gold epaulettes.

The Katoomba sitting majestically in dock, something about this ship was so famous probably because she made the voyage to Usmal during the Great Tempest a century ago, so that probably made her a little more infamous along with her heady crew of fine sailing men and women alike including the Captain herself. But another sailor we'll focus on a woman brave and sure but young, Unnera Eizeldosh, joined this hearty crew a year ago and had seen plenty so far but a few guests, on lookers from another ship no less, one far different than the ship she'd come to call home. "Salutan," she greeted the woman and her male companion, she did wonder if they were a couple maybe? Well she wouldn't just pry like that, at least get to know them first. "For a second I had mistaken you for passangers aboard our vessel but it seems you came aboard that over there?" She pointed over at Ana Isabel "I'm uh Unnera Eizeldosh, I'm a sailor aboard The Katoomba here! Looks like ya just arrived in the Imperial Capital bout the same time we did, huh?"

RTNS Aka.
I smiled to myself.
"You haven't become acquainted with me, Lady Takida, until you've seen my hull.", I told her with a smile as the scans continued.
My monitoring of Shizu-chan's route yielded an interesting result, however, as my friend continued on the route I had laid out for her, her swords not far away, but her hands never so much as brushing against their handles.
She looked, quite frankly, so cool, her presence commanding, yet not overbearing.
If only these primitives knew of the firepower waiting for them in orbit, enough to obliterate this city in a heartbeat... yet, we did not do so. Why? Because they hadn't given us a reason to do so. Measured action was the magical term.
And then, she was there.
And I was, too, throwing my arms around her.
"Shizu-chaaaaaaan!", I cried out, much to her exasperation as she just let me do, let me hug her, "I have missed you, my friend, how are the stars and how are your sisters and..."
"Aka-san.", she cut me off with just my name, stoically, "Situation report."
"You are no fun...", I pouted, then continued: "...but the situation is positive. I have made successful first contact, the locals are as quaint as the scans indicated, their languages are fascinating..." At this, Shizu-chan looked at my scanning setup and nodded. "...and I made a friend!"
I turned to Lady Takida.
"Lady Takida, if I may introduce?", I spoke, "RTNS Shizuka, Sayoko-class Large Cruiser of the Navy of Her Majesty, the Empress of Teienai."
Shizu-chan bowed her head respectfully. "It is an honour, Lady Takida. My, and the Empire's, sincerest gratitude for taking care of Aka. I do hope, that she wasn't too much of a bother?"
"Shizu-chaaaaaaan!"
"I know, how you can be.", she stated simply, looking at me, then at something slightly below Lady Takida's face - there was a short twitch in her eye - and then back at her face.

Takida had to giggle at that, "Well then, I'll take your word for that, dear Aka-chan..." She gasped a moment and laughed "Oh forgive me, for being so informal already when we only just met. If I may I'd like to call you Aka, Aka-chan or whatever you like. I know we just met but I'm already feeling like we're becoming fast friends. And who doesn't like to make friends?"

But at long last here was the next special guest, Shizuka or as Aka called her affectionately, Shizu. How adorable these two were! Standing with and giving a bow for greeting "The pleasure is mine, Shizuka-san. No bother at all, I've been enjoying my time getting acquainted with Aka-san here." The libarian interrupted a moment "Lady Takida, here is the book you requested."

"Thank you. Would you also auto renew it for me? I may need a little more time with it."

"Certainly will, ma'am. Please excuse me now." She gave a little curtsy and excused herself again "I half forgotten I did come for a book but no matter, I'm in no rush. I am meeting my daughter later, she's a student here in the city but if not this afternoon than this evening for sure. Now Shizuka-san, Aka-san, tell me more about yourselves or about your Great Empress, Teinai? Sounds like we both come from nations with mighty Empresses at the top."

He flys into town, looking for sights to see. Soaring over the magnificent city, he sees the main attraction; the castle. It is as magnificent as they said it would be. Beautiful. He wonders... could he get inside? Without needing to pay? He contemplates this for a moment. Yes, that's a window! This might be fun...

The open window may let fresh air in, but not strange unknown visitors, what kind of security would that be? The creature was simply teleported out back to the entry way, if he wanted a tour, he'd have to enter the front door like everybody else.

"Well, this looks interesting, a mythical country like this one...Hmmm, I want to visit, just a weekend trip. I'll leave a note saying it's for diplomatic reasons. Alright, time to get going." Kira of the dead writes a quick note, notifying anyone of his absence that needs to know. He takes some money, dons his cloak, and steps out of his room. His form quickly evaporates into a blue smoke cloud, and starts heading to amethyst. He materializes infront of the city. "Wow, this truly is a sight to behold...the wonders of the mortal world I suppose". He goes in through an entrance, weaving through all kinds of people as he goes. As he enters the city he realizes something. "Oh, I forgot to make a plan on where to go...No matter, I will just pick a place first". He starts walking, and quickly spots a large impressive building, The Great Temple. "hmmm, that building looks like a church, I would deffinitely like to head there for the afternoon. I can always find a place to stay afterwords..." he walks to the great temples entrance.

All the temples were always busy with activity as the Sisters of each sect worked. As to which would be up to him, there's The Great Temple of Amethyst: Named for the Goddess Amethyst, Goddess of Elf Kind, The Great Temple of Fa: Named for the Goddess Fa, Goddess of Dragon Kind and the roaming dragons that control the weather and earthen effects of the land, The Great Temple of Kephy, named for the Goddess Kephy, the Goddess of Human Kind. Many other shrines and churches exist for minor deities and subsects but these three represent the core beliefs of Elvwitand Mysticism.

Lucian

Lucian stood silently, attempting to do math and comprehend what the captain had just said. She had just confirmed she was around a millennium and a century ago...He shook his head. No use trying to make sense of it, just roll along with it. "You must have quite a bit of experience from sailing for so many years. Even the Admiral-Chief of my homeland couldn't beat you at sailing, I'll bet. Sailing through an endless gale and living is a feat that...probably less than ten people can boast. How old is the Katoomba, anyway? It seems to have quite a substantial history."

Octavian

Octavian raised an eyebrow. It seemed like the Empress was simply too lazy to stand perfectly still...for several hours. He changed his mind. Sending the painting was probably better, less posing, more work. The scepter was a sight to behold, though stirred a bit of joking anger in Octavian. He'd never gotten a scepter, nor had any of his predecessors. What alchemy was, however, the Drahian did not know. The two jewels were kingly gifts, truly befitting of a monarch. Octavian gave silent thanks that Julius wasn't there, he'd have already tried to steal them. The newspaper baffled Octavian momentarily. He had to look at it closely to understand what it was. Essentially a miniature book that told what happened in day. The golden armor seemed invaluable, but also impractical. Too much weight. "Guide, is this nation a matriarchy? The lack of Emperors seems to say it is."

Julius

Julius did not respond to the man, instead giving him a venomous glare. Urri tried, it seemed, to guilt-trip him, prompting Julius to smirk. His utter lack of a moral compass came in handy right then. He simply hung limply when lifted up, waiting for the part where he was throw outside. The crying girl did, somewhat, impact him, so he mumbled something along the lines of an apology, along with a promise to pay in the future, a promise which he never intended to fulfill. Then came him being chucked into the street. He landed rather roughly on his ass, getting dirt on his pants. Julius stood up, laughed, and brushed his pants clean. He pulled out a notebook labelled 'bars that have, more less, banned me'. He flipped by three filled pages, and added 'The Dragon's Scale' to the list. with that, Julius began to wander the city, not intent on doing anything.

Dominan

Another slash bounced harmlessly off Dominan's armor, he allowed himself a smirk. Then a smile. He was beginning to rather enjoy the battle. Another blow of his was deflected. The elf's defense made the fire in Dominan's eyes begin to brighten. The longer it took him to win, the more satisfactory it would be when he won, an outcome he knew was an inevitability. Not out of arrogance, but out of what he believed to be simple logic. The elf couldn't pierce him armor, therefore was destined to lose. And, finally, the shield was gone. Dominan smiled a little more. Victory was nigh. He backed off a bit. The next blow, he was sure, would be the winning one, but that was no reason to cast caution to the wind. He awaited Panya's move.

The Katoomba

"Indeed but that's just part of the very long lifespans of people here and well a family of sailors also helps a lot. This ship she's been in the family for 1500 years! Built by my ancestors and passed along generation to generation of Vuvriroh women to captain it and sail her across the vast seas. From Usmal to Borealis to other corners of our Empire she seves me well. She's still going strong but I think I'm due for some quality of life upgrades to her soon enough. I think between this voyage and my previous to Usmal and my upcoming to Borealis I should have enough money to give the old girl a spiff up!"

The Castle Tour

"Indeed you are correct. Elvwitand has always been a female lead nation, a Matriarchy as you say, and it is true across all factions of government. It's divined by the Goddesses it is, born we were from females thus females shall lead this nation. Perhaps one day something may change and a man will take the throne but it seems unlikely in the near future. Even Her Imperial Majesty Herself was already deemed to be Empress upon the loss of her mother at the young age of one-year."

That drew a chorus of soft coos of sympathy from other members in the crowd "Of course nobody would expect an infant or toddler to be ruler so her Aunt, Lady Chandrelle, was her regent until she was of age."

The Arena

This guy was tough, Panya thought, too tough she may really not have a chance but better to go down fighting than to throw in the gauntlet. Clearly strength wasn't going to do anything, how could she take him down, maybe the knees? That tended to be a little under protected. Times like this she wishes she were an archer but well it was now or never with her sword at the ready she made the charge but still holding like she was going for a direct blow, would this work? Well it would be seen but here goes, she at the last minute dropped and slid on the sand taking a wide swipe with her blade to hopefully kick him off his feet!

[Zerotaxia]

OOC: Sorry but this might be my last post for a while; I will be traveling soon and won't have my computer with me.

"Wow isn't that amazing?" Rasha said looking over at Vellorina who was just as amazed too. "Well - I mean we kind of had plans --" Rasha started to maybe excuse themselves but Vello took her hand , her eyes said it all, we'll have time for that later, let's satisfy our curosity now! "That does sound like fun, please won't you show us?" Vellorina requested.

"One movie coming right up!" Autumn pointed the remote at the projector, pretended to twirl it around like a magician's wand, and clicked the power button. "Abracadabra!" she said. "Do your thing!"

The lights completely darkened and a projection screen lowered from the ceiling. Autumn opened her laptop which had been sitting on the coffee table; if Vellorina or Rasha asked, she was going to tell them it was a "magic book." She typed in her password, logged in, and connected to the projector through the vehicle's wireless network. Her desktop background, a realistic image of a moving waterfall, appeared on the screen.

Autumn then opened a video player app and navigated through the catalog of movies until finding one she thought they would like; it was "Romeo and Juliet," the classic tale of two lovers torn between a family feud. Knowing her guests were sensitive to loud noises, she kept the volume at a low level, just enough to be heard.

"Enjoy ladies!" she said, starting the movie. While the guests watched, Autumn went to the kitchen again for a late night snack.

[Phibeta]

"I don't think they would but I can't force you to do something you don't want. I am sorry to hear you've had such a tough time so maybe things will get better for you." She had no idea but she could try to give her sympathies. "Well the Hunters Guild is in Petric District. But it takes a lot of work to be a good Guild Hunter. Unless you want to fight slimes for pittance rewards, your really better off with the Church. You do have magic though so you have some advantage I suppose. Mmmm...." What to do, she was really on her way to the arena to fight but these boys, something about them she couldn't stand to leave them. "Well, maybe we could all form a party and do a quest together!" Her mother was a Guild Hunter now, so really arena fighter or Hunter what difference would it make if she could live up to her mother's name and reputation. "But we'd have to get you some more equipment. Maybe a bath too. Tsk...Missions can be tough and dangerous, especially if you want the high rewards." she clicked her tongue, this would take a lot of work to get these boys ready but she couldn't live with herself if she didn't stop them from foolishly going to their doom. She unsheathed her sword to show it to them "I'm a blade master!" well master maybe not quite right but she wanted to give confidence. "Swords are my speciality. You use magic but not with wands like the witches do so you'd probably fall under Mage class. If you know how to read scrolls or do incantations, that'd a big plus around here!"

"Ah delightful! Just watch yourself and we'll be all right. If things do get too heated or intense, just let me know and I'll pull us out in a hurry! I mean I won't be able to pay the full amount if we retreat, as the Guild collects that but I promise some kind of compensation for you regardless. Now then if we're ready, let's goooo!" She said with great fervor, taking the hand to complete the Guild Registration as a party of two.

Tapping her staff conjured a magic circle that they would use to fly up to a high peak nearby. "Flight magic is delightful but it takes a lot of power to keep it up! That's why we use Pegasus to travel over long distances. Only thing is Pegasus flights are very very expensive so they tend to be out of reach for most!" She didn't really need to tell her this but it was a bit of a trip for a few minutes so why not make a little conversation? Besides this good lady was a visitor, isn't this as good of time as any to inform her a little about what Elwitand is like? Exciting.

Amythest, Elvwitand

The brothers listen to what she has to say. The hunters guild might only give them a little money if they work over there, but at least they can feed themselves without begging on the streets. But then she dropped the bombshell question, whether or not to join her and form a party, since they both use magic.

“Brother, why don't we follow her? She seems nice, and we do not have anywhere else to go?” Elijah is unsure. She seems like a nice person, but as their mother once told them, looks can be deceiving. He was quiet for a bit unsure as his brother pleds that they go. But all of a sudden, his stomach growls in a very audible way. It has been a while since they had a sensible meal. Granted they had a few leftover bread rolls from the bakery and food scraps from the trash cans in the alley, barely enough for growing boys like them.

---

“Sounds good to me” Rikako replies. She gets herself registered with the guild and they made their way out of the guildhall. Soliana used her staff to conjure a circle that has teleported them to one of the highest peaks nearby, not that she is shocked or anything. Rikako teleported many times throughout her time at the academy. But what was interesting was the pegasus flying to pick them up. Pegasi are thought of the things of mythology, old Phitish folklore. It was interesting to see one in person.

“I have never seen one in real life before. Back home, it was thought of as a part of old folklore, of old mythology”. They jump on board the pegasus as they begin their journey outside the city limits. It would seem that it is a good time to start up a conversation.

“So, Ms. Soliana. How long have you been practicing magic?”

[Aurivala]

The Katoomba sitting majestically in dock, something about this ship was so famous probably because she made the voyage to Usmal during the Great Tempest a century ago, so that probably made her a little more infamous along with her heady crew of fine sailing men and women alike including the Captain herself. But another sailor we'll focus on a woman brave and sure but young, Unnera Eizeldosh, joined this hearty crew a year ago and had seen plenty so far but a few guests, on lookers from another ship no less, one far different than the ship she'd come to call home. "Salutan," she greeted the woman and her male companion, she did wonder if they were a couple maybe? Well she wouldn't just pry like that, at least get to know them first. "For a second I had mistaken you for passangers aboard our vessel but it seems you came aboard that over there?" She pointed over at Ana Isabel "I'm uh Unnera Eizeldosh, I'm a sailor aboard The Katoomba here! Looks like ya just arrived in the Imperial Capital bout the same time we did, huh?"

As soon as Anabel and Crisanto had made their way over to the sailing ship, a young woman came out to greet them. Unnera, it turned out her name was, introduced herself as a crewmate aboard said ship, which was called the Katoomba. She wondered if the pair had come from the other ship docked in the harbor—the Aurivalan royal steamer Ana Isabel, which had pulled in right after hers.

"Good day miss!" Anabel replied with a slight accent (similar to a Spanish or Italian accent IRL). "Ana Isabel of the House of Cisneros. Or just Anabel, whichever you like. We're from the Kingdom of Aurivala."

"Pleasant day isn't it, señora?" said Crisanto, giving the woman a salute. "Crisanto Flores, Captain of the Royal Guards." His accent was thicker than Anabel's, but still understandable. "Ah yes, the Ana Isabel. Brand new ship on her first voyage. She's a fine lady, if I say. So beautiful and graceful, and sails like a charm too."

"Yeah," Anabel agreed. "Handles the waves like they're nothing. I was sleeping like a rock all the way!"