The Dance of Chaos [IC-Fantasy-DEAD]

[Malkasabbat]

Anselm
Anselmian Wilderness
Playing the blame game, are we?

Now it was Konstanze's turn to be indignant. Pressing her arms onto her hips, Konstanze said pertly:

"Accusing me of leaving? Oh this is just rich!?! Who left me here first without any explanation or apology, just riding away on the back of this thing? I said I'd be your friend but friends can sorta feel betrayed if you suddenly run off with someone else."

Then she turned her glance to the newcomer who had suddenly come out of the bushes. She sent him a death glare while saying with a bittersweet voice:

"Oh my, another person. Just how many wanderers are there nowadays in this area? Back a year ago there were close to none because there was literally nothing to go to around here. And now there are people popping up everywhere. Now tell me, what in the name of whatever higher being you worship were you doing in the bushes? Trying to be a highwayman? If yes then you just met the worst group of people you could possibly meet."

Rom watched as events unfolded these people just seemed to keep calling him it, and IT was getting a bit annoying, rom did know that he didnt like how the tiny lady was yelling at his new friend. He was honestly about to try and step on the woman when another person came up and out of the woods. Today is just very strange, "Im bored" he said going over to a tree and ripping it up from the ground in his child like fit, "I thought you said the lady could help me, so far she just seems like a meany" he said coping the word that his little friend as used.

Taking out his Gargantuan sword he began to carve up the tree into a little figure, right now it was impossible to tell what he was doing besides just butchering a tree log, he didn't seem to care much about the little man who had been hiding in the woods instead sitting back down as he carved out the log waiting for his friend to tell thems when their would all be leaving or if she needed someone to go squish.

[Granis]

Anselm
Anselmian Wilderness
Playing the blame game, are we?

Now it was Konstanze's turn to be indignant. Pressing her arms onto her hips, Konstanze said pertly:

"Accusing me of leaving? Oh this is just rich!?! Who left me here first without any explanation or apology, just riding away on the back of this thing? I said I'd be your friend but friends can sorta feel betrayed if you suddenly run off with someone else."

Then she turned her glance to the newcomer who had suddenly come out of the bushes. She sent him a death glare while saying with a bittersweet voice:

"Oh my, another person. Just how many wanderers are there nowadays in this area? Back a year ago there were close to none because there was literally nothing to go to around here. And now there are people popping up everywhere. Now tell me, what in the name of whatever higher being you worship were you doing in the bushes? Trying to be a highwayman? If yes then you just met the worst group of people you could possibly meet."

"A highwayman?! Seriously?!" Jeremy shouted, a little louder than he'd originally intended. "What are you can talking about? I woke up in the middle of this forest, and I was hoping someone could tell me what the hell was going on!"

Before his rant could continue, he forced his eyes shut, taking a few deep breaths.

"Ok, let me explain it again." He said. "Just a few minutes ago, I woke up here with no idea of where I currently am. I heard your voices, and came to see what was going on, but I was also worried that you may have been behind it, so I tried to keep out of sight. However, when I came here, I didn't realise I'd be walking into the middle of a group of larpers. However, from the way the metal creature moved, I'm gonna go ahead and assume that there's something more to this than just a bunch of people having fun in the middle of the woods!"

He looked over to the other girl, slowly realising in a fit of horror that those wings may actually be real.

"Now, normally, this would be the part where I tell you not to abandon your friends, because you'd have to e blind not to see she's heartbroken about it. However, at this exact moment, that request takes a back seat to my next question. So please, for the love of all things holy, where the hell am I, and what the hell is going on?!"

[Zapatha]

As the chains began to wrap around him and the spirit, Arthur could no longer swing with his sword hand. To compensate, he made a beam of holy light in his left hand and spun his hand around, cutting the evil dark magic chains.

Once he and the spirit was free, he saw the blast of dark energy hurling towards them and ran in front of it and caught it. Arthur had to use all of his might to hold it in place before he could throw it up in the air and cut it in half with his holy sword, leaving dark energy scattered around the ground. Arthur turned to the spirit and in a low voice said:

"Spirit, you must use all of the water in that well and try to drown the boy as a distraction while I go in for the killing blow."

Arthur looked in the boy's direction, and tried to think about who he was but unusually could not remember.

[Aellex]

Somewhere in an abandoned village in Wyzkia

Frederica had been intensifying her concentration to prepare a spell that was hard to cast, even for her, she had wanted to open a rift to engulf and erase the whole area so that the old man had simply no way to just dodge her attack. Maybe she had concentrated herself a little too much because she had missed the boy who, leaving the safety of the shield the coward had created, had dashed toward her unconcerned by the "suppression fire" effect of the magic barrage she was unleashing and jumped, piercing her in the back.
A spit of blood and the cold sensation of the metal in her insides were what warned of the appearance of a new opponent. The pain was intense, way more intense than the previous one had been but she couldn't allow herself to be overwhelmed by it. As she grabbed the blade as hard as she could to try and stop him from pulling it out from inside her, she turned her head to look at the boy from over her shoulder and gave him an even uglier grin than she had to the vampire as she said : "Well little thing, if you wanted to die so much, you should have just waited some more but I'll grant your request early if you're really that eager!".
Wanting to cast a ray through herself to pierce the boy who had dared attack her, she tried to open her hand who was still clamped on the sword but couldn't manage to. Lowering her gaze toward it, her smile melted in a glimpse of a second as a primal terror she had known to fear in her long millenias of existence filled her head to the brim.
She recognized that sword but she also knew that she shouldn't try to remember about it nor about the one who wielded it. It was already too late however, and, as pure undiluted dread was overwhelming her, she lost control of her spell.

???

When Frederica opened her eyes again, she realized that she wasn't herself. Or maybe, that she was her true self, rather. Her body wasn't that of a female child anymore but rather one of a man whose age and appearance was hard to determine for his entire body was black and featureless. Kneeling on the ground and panting, she had absolutely no control over it. In front of her was standing a group of people, tho the term "silhouettes" would be more accurate for they were as devoid of features as herself.
One man in particular in the front of the group was standing out, however, holding a sword that she immediately recognized as the one with which the boy had pierced her and the only object that seemed to have conserved its details in the scene. Panting too, the man started speaking to her (or rather him) in old Wyzkian : "You've lost. There is absolutely no way for you to win, just admit it already!".
Without any control on what she did, words started to come out of her mouth, a male voice with an heavy Duivenian accent spitting back his response to the figure : "Never! This is the only path left for me!" before casting a dark ray toward him. A feminine figure behind him waved her hand, dispelling the spell before it reached him while another one threw him on the ground with magic.
The figure with the sword started to walk forward, speaking again with a deep sadness "Why did it have to come to this? Why did you have to betray us my friend?". Frederica felt an anger she couldn't understand fill her and saw herself yell back at him "How dare you... You people were the one that betrayed me! You let her die! YOU KILLED HER!"
As if those words had hit him physically, the figure took a step back and stopped for a moment before starting to speak again, a deep sadness in his voice : "She... She sacrificed herself for us. You can't imagine how much sorrow and regret I feel everyday for my incapacity to save her from this fate but... It was her who made this decision. We never pressured her. She chose to give her life to save our own."
Frederica felt this body she had no control over shake of rage before spouting back : "Like hell you did! If you feel so guilty, then die! All of you die and bring her back to me! Her life is worth ten hundred thousand times all of yours combined! You lot should just have all died alone but since you couldn't even do that, then just get the fuck outta my way and let me get her back by myself!".
The figure with the sword paused again as behind him one of the figure started to sob distinctly : "I... I understand your rage, I very much do. But, as a Wyskian Knight I can not tolerate your actions and as a friend I feel it's my duty to stop you for your own good. Just think of what she would have thought of you, dabbling with the very demons we've spent so much time hunting down! Please, please, accept the hand we're offering you! Just... Just come back with us and we'll forget everything that happened. We will wipe everything clean and things will go on as they used to. Please..." As he said those words, the figure knelt toward Frederica's body who was still on the ground and offered him an hand to help him get up.
Staring at him, Frederica started to laugh maniacally before swatting his hand away and speaking on a tone that would have sounded almost joyous if the despair behind it wasn't so blatant : "I disown and renounce you Jan, you and your vows of honor and chivalry, your sixteen whores you dare to call Gods and everything you wicked creature stand for. I disown and renounce all that we did together, all the moments we shared and those bonds that united us that you still refer to as friendship but that I can not anymore. I disown and renounce the work of my life so please Devils, hear me out and grant me my wish and I shall dedicate myself entirely to your service!"
As the body she was in finished uttering these words and started to laugh desperately again, Frederica felt the pain in her head grow and grow.
Despite the utter lack of features, the emotion on the silhouette that apparently was named Jan was apparent. Behind him, more of the figures started to cry. He paused for some moments before getting up and raising his sword with two hands above his head to hit and saying, tears almost apparent in his voice : "I... I see... I would have wished for things to be different... But well, farewell then my friend ---"
Before he could finish his sentence by saying Frederica's name, she started to yell inside that prison of a body as the pain became excruciatingly painful and the world started to fade.

Somewhere in an abandoned village in Wyzkia

As she came back to the real world, the yell that she screamed inside her head was at last allowed to escape her, piercing the sky and making flee the last creatures that had remained around despite her barrage of magic. Ear-splitting, shattering the very inside of the head of everyone hearing it, her yell of pain, despair and terror continued without even the tiniest interruption for an incredible amount time before, as suddenly as it started, stopping. And, as the last sound came out of her mouth, so did her consciousness causing her to fall from the height at which she was levitating, the sword still driven into her body.

[Tourma]

Andromeda didn't even hesitate. She brought up all of the water from the well, which was a surprisingly large amount. "My apologies." She said to the white-haired mate. Before he could turn around, Andromeda began focusing all of her energy into one single action: trying to drown the Archbishop. Kill...have to kill...

[Kuhlfros]

Samuel 'the Stalwart, Archbishop of Humilitas
Holy City of Sedia, Midnight

Samuel's figure was silhouetted in the moonlight on top of a horse. He was fully armed and armored, but it was hidden underneath a long black cloak as he waited for his fellow Archbishop.

He had packed lightly so as he could move quickly across the Human Realms and hoped Lucia had done the same. In the late hours, Samuel fingered his blade. The Valkyrie's Blade was a Holy Relic devoted to Spraevia, Goddess of Justice and Balance. It has been in hibernation since the end of the war and served only as a blade, sharper, stronger, and lighter than any normal weapon. But in it's once active form it's magical power was awe and fear inspiring even for it's wielder.

Samuel worried if it was needed to become active again in the future.

[Zapatha]

Andromeda didn't even hesitate. She brought up all of the water from the well, which was a surprisingly large amount. "My apologies." She said to the white-haired mate. Before he could turn around, Andromeda began focusing all of her energy into one single action: trying to drown the Archbishop. Kill...have to kill...

After seeing the spirit do this, Arthur sprinted towards the bishop. Before he could react, Arthur tackled the bishop to the ground and plunged Lightbringer into his chest and reciting:

"With the holy power vested into me from her holiness Aurora I condemn you, Archbishop of Superbia, to death."

With this, Arthur's eyes lit up with magical power and he touched the bishop's heart, and began to burn the robes and skin but stopped when he saw a scar right where the boy's heart was. Arthur stumbled backward, as he tried to remember something but oddly couldn't, almost as if something wouldn't let him?

Gathering himself together, Arthur removed his flaming sword from the boy's chest and stepped back next to the spirit. He conjured a blue fireball of holy fire and said:

"Make any more attacks on us archbishop and this fire will make you wish you were never born. Leave this place, and never return. Tell your companions that the world will now know that the Cult of Sins is back and will try to annihilate you at any chance they can get."

[Castle Crashers]

Somewhere

This.. this situation had just become.. so awkward. "It's not my fault that you tried to bury me alive..", the black haired boy vaguely tried to protest. She continued to have that innocent and naive expression on her face, just smiling brightly...but he was just so sure that there was some sort of a mischievous intent behind her request. After all.. it was.. it was going to be so embarrassing. Doing something as ridiculous and childish like that, in front of a person he barely knew, even worse, in front of the person who was supposed to be his archenemy? He was an Archbishop of Sin, an Archbishop of Envy after all.. he was a dark and evil mage, he was a necromancer.. there was no need to do something like that. He could just leave, and ignore her.. or he could attack her or something. It would have been something normal, considering his position and purpose.. but still. He was feeling a weird, but honest determination to show her that he wasn't a zombie. That he was a living being, a human, just like her. That even if they were on different sides of an ancient conflict, even if they had different morals and purposes.. he wasn't so different from her. Maybe it was somewhere deep inside him..a desire for someone to recognize him for who he was. People only knew him for being an Archbishop, for being a dark mage. But he was more than that.. even if he had no memories.. he was.. was a being. And before being a necromancer, before being an evil necromancer.. he used to be someone, he had a life, he was sure about it. He just wanted... someone to accept him for the person he was, and not for his powers or evil deeds.. someone to understand that he had never had a choice.. even if he was never going to admit it.

"But..alright.. I'll do it...just.. don't ever tell anyone... about this.", Celio answered in a low voice, his cheeks turning a little red due to the sheer embarrassment of it. Sighing, and trying to remain as calm as possible.. the crimson eyed boy pulled his cloak over his head...he started to rotate his arms..and then he began to spin in a circle. But just as he was doing it.. something started to move behind her Julie. It kinda looked like a tree, hidden among the others, which is why none of them had noticed it.. but it was no tree. It looked like a humanoid tree, with limbs, and with long flexible branches that acted like tentacles. It had.. no face, as its head was formed by a deer skull. In silence, it made a step towards the brown haired girl, who was completely oblivious to it, her attention focused on Celio..but then, the trees all around them seemed to move for a moment..and just then, the monster's branches were launched forward, wrapping around Julie's legs and arms raising her in the air, as the ancient scream of the Leshy, the He of the Forest, the Master f the Forest, the cursed guardian of the forests was heard..

Julie watched as Celio contemplated going through with her suggestion, and her eyes lit up as she recognized the fact that he was beginning to lean towards following her instructions. She watched with a wide smile as he finally answered, explaining that she shouldn't tell anyone about it first, in which her smile only grew. "Of course, my lips are sealed!" She answered gleefully, and was barely able to restrain her laughter as his cheeks lit up and he pulled his cloak over his head, rotated his arms, and spun in a circle...and after only maybe two turns, she burst into laughter, doubling over as she did. "By the gods, I wasn't being serious!" She said through her laughter, tears coming to her eyes she was laughing so hard. "I can't believe you actually took my word on that one! Wow, that's hilarious!" She squeaked, and, distracted by both the amusing actions of Celio and her own laughter, she'd ceased to notice the presence approaching from behind...

...atleast until the branches launched forward and wrapped themselves around her arms and legs, yanking her into the air with a terrible screech, which only caused Julie to let out a terrified shriek herself. Even with her limited movement, she still attempted to keep her skirt down, since, well...gravity wasn't a skirt-wearing girl's best friend when hung upside down as she was. With both her hands occupied with such a task in keeping her lady-like decency, she had no ability to free herself. She could only rely on her archenemy now, were he to choose to free her. "H-hey, Celio! I...could really, really use some help here..!" She yelled to him in a high-pitched, squeaky way. "If you could free me from this thing...that'd be really great!"

[Tracian Empire]

Somewhere
Celio felt as if he was going to die at any moment, just because of this sheer embarrassment that he was experiencing. And her laughter certainly did not help him..it only made him feel even worse. She was laughing so hard, and when she told him that she wasn't being serious..he slowly stopped, feeling the blood rushing to his face. He closed his eyes, trying to ignore her, for a little while at least.. before his attempts to remain calm were suddenly interrupted by her terrified shriek. Turning around, he quickly pulled his cloak from over his head.. only to see a gigantic tree-like monster holding Julie in the air. The brown haired girl was simply trying to keep her skirt down, with some of the tree's branches wrapped around her legs, hanging her upside down. She seemed to be a little desperate, as she yelled to him for help.. but Celio was just.. he was really, really confused...

"You know something?..Good luck with freeing yourself from that thing. We're archenemies, right? I can't help you.." The boy looked at her with his blood-red eyes as he spoke, maybe a little angrily, before suddenly turning around and starting to walk away. Celio was.. a little hurt. He had honestly tried to prove her that he was a human, maybe hoping that it was going to earn him a little bit of her trust. He wouldn't have tried to do something as embarrassing as that for anyone. And for her to just say that she wasn't being serious, that it was just some sort of a joke..of course, she hadn't meant it like that, but for the black haired boy, it was almost as if he had just mocked him...and that made him feel.. bad. Not in a way that would make him..but it was a little sad. And.. he just felt his envy coming back.. envy was like a poison, after all. Just like poison works the best when you are weak, and hurt, envy feeds on doubt, on shame, and on negative feelings. But then, as he continued to walk.. the boy realized something. Because of the weirdness of the situation, he had forgotten about it.. but before passing out.. he was in pain, he was hurt. And now that he thought about it.. his wounds had been healed..which meant..which meant that she.. she had healed him? She hadn't just decided that he was dead.. she had tried to help him. And if not for her.. then the silver would have continued to poison him.. until he would have actually died...why would she do something like this? Why..why would she help him? But then.. she had also helped him back in the city......

Celio stopped, closing his eyes for a few moments as he tried to take a deep breath.. this was a bad idea.. this was such a bad idea..but he had to do it.. and out of a sudden, he turned around. Summoning his scythe, he started to run towards the tree-monster. Sensing his attack, the Leshy lifted Julie even more in the air, so now, the girl was basically hanging a few good meters above the ground.. but because of that, the monster never had the time to shield itself against the boy's attack. A swing of his scythe.. and the metal hit the wood.. without even scratching it. A branch then nearly hit him, but Celio jumped back just in time.. only to realize what the monster in front of him was. A Leshy.. it was immune to steel. And with his scythe hibernating.. it was a fancy magical weapon that could be summoned at will.. but it was steel. And a fire spell like the one that he had used on the blade earlier that day would have only been dangerous for the girl.. he had to enchant the blade, quickly. But with what?... The monster screamed again, prompting the boy to do something, to improve. Using the sharp tip of the scythe's curved blade, he made a small cut in his right palm, wincing because of the pain.. but with small drops of blood dripping from the small cut, the boy touched the blade, quickly drawing a few magical symbol with his blood..murmuring a short chant. A white light started to glow around the blade.. and only then did Celio realize that the enchantment that he had instinctively used.. was white magic. Magic to use against monsters.. how did he.. how did he know something like that?

But another scream made him realize that he had no time to think. Charing forward, the boy used the handle of the scythe to block the attack of the branches...and then another swing, and the black, now white glowing blade of the scythe deeply pierced the monster's wooden chest. Yet another primitive scream... and the cursed monster was dead. Now pretty much just a bunch of dead wood, it started to fall, dropping Julie...but Celio was ready. With his scythe once again disappearing in a small cloud of black smoke, the boy jumped.. managing to catch the girl just in time, before landing on the ground behind the dead Leshy. Breathing heavily, he remained quiet for a few moments, before he looked with his crimson eyes directly at the girl that he was holding in his arms. "Well.. that was pretty close.."

---

Somewhere in an abandoned village in Wyzkia

The jagged blade of Rafal's sword pierced the girl looking monster in front of him deeply, and around the moment when she grabbed the blade, starting to talk.. the green eyed boy started to realize just how bad of an idea this plan had been. He was just some random squire, so Frederica wasn't exactly wrong by calling him a little thing...so he simply closed his eyes, ready to die...and yet, for a moment.. everything seemed to slow down...and when he opened his eyes again.. everything had changed.

As the boy opened his eyes again, he realized.. well, he realized that he wasn't a boy anymore. He was a man.. sort of, as he seemed to have no features.. being just.. a black silhouette. His right hand was tightly gripping the handle of a sword...recognizing the Jagged Blade wasn't all that difficult, the sword being the only thing to have kept its features. Around him, there was a group of people, and on the ground in front of him, there was the black silhouette of another man. But.. he had no control over his own body. It was as if he was stuck in this body, feeling and seeing everything, but forced to be just a witness.."You've lost. There is absolutely no way for you to win, just admit it already!", he said, in.. what seemed to be a really old Wyzkian...but he had no control over his own words, or over his actions. And the man on the ground responded. "Never! This is the only path left for me!", the man shouted, before launching a ray of dark magic at him. Rafal tried to do something, anything, to defend himself, but he couldn't move an inch..before a feminine figure behind him dispelled the dark spell, while another figure used magic to throw the other man to the ground. And suddenly, he started to walk forward, speaking with a deep sadness in his voice. "Why did it have to come to this? Why did you have to betray us my friend?"., he asked gently...but the other man responded angrily, yelling. "How dare you... You people were the one that betrayed me! You let her die! YOU KILLED HER!" The man that he was made a step back, as if the words had hurt him, speaking with pain in his voice. "She... She sacrificed herself for us. You can't imagine how much sorrow and regret I feel everyday for my incapacity to save her from this fate but... It was her who made this decision. We never pressured her. She chose to give her life to save our own." Who was this she? Who were these people? What was even happening? But nothing could have prepared him for the rage of that other figure.

"Like hell you did! If you feel so guilty, then die! All of you die and bring her back to me! Her life is worth ten hundred thousand times all of yours combined! You lot should just have all died alone but since you couldn't even do that, then just get the fuck outta my way and let me get her back by myself!". Someone from behind him slowly started to sob..as he continued to speak calmly, making one final effort.. "I... I understand your rage, I very much do. But, as a Wyskian Knight I can not tolerate your actions and as a friend I feel it's my duty to stop you for your own good. Just think of what she would have thought of you, dabbling with the very demons we've spent so much time hunting down! Please, please, accept the hand we're offering you! Just... Just come back with us and we'll forget everything that happened. We will wipe everything clean and things will go on as they used to. Please..." He knelt, trying to offer his hand to the figure in front of him..but the man started to laugh, swatting his hand, before he started to speak, his words drowned in despair. "I disown and renounce you Jan, you and your vows of honor and chivalry, your sixteen whores you dare to call Gods and everything you wicked creature stand for. I disown and renounce all that we did together, all the moments we shared and those bonds that united us that you still refer to as friendship but that I can not anymore. I disown and renounce the work of my life so please Devils, hear me out and grant me my wish and I shall dedicate myself entirely to your service!"

Jan.. that seemed to be his name. More of the people behind him started to cry, and the despair and pain in the soul of this man, the man in which he was trapped right now.. were obvious, while the person on the ground just continued to laugh maniacally. "I... I see... I would have wished for things to be different... But well, farewell then my friend ---" , he started to say.. but before he was able to finish his words.. everything slowed down again.. and then everything turned into darkness. But right before that...he heard a girl's voice in his head.. and a name...

And suddenly, he woke up, his hands still tightly gripping the handle of the sword that was piercing the girl in front of him.. and she screamed. She yelled in pain and terror, ripping apart their skulls and heads..and he closed his eyes, praying for it to stop, incapable of letting the sword go.. and then she fell.. and he fell to, right over her. The fall took his breath away, as he rolled over, falling on the ground next to her, his right hand still holding the handle of the sword that was still driven into her body. "What was.. what was...that?..", he tried to say, terrified, exhausted, and in pain...

---

A sphere of water was formed around the white haired boy, and for a few good moments, he was unable to even breathe..but recovering from the initial shock, the Archbishop responded by a burst of pure Ancient Magic, which broke the sphere of water. He fell back on his feet, but before he was even able to react..Arthur appeared next to him, droving his sword forward through his belly with one powerful thrust. The silver eyed boy gasped, feeling the burning sensation provoked by the holy metal, as he coughed.. blood. The flame on the sword burned part of his robe.. and then, Arthur suddenly stumbled backwards, and the Archbishop lost no time. "If that's what you two wish.. but the two of you will regret your decision, sooner or later." Even with such a threat, and even if he was in pain, the boy's voice remained just as calm and gentle as ever.. but as he snapped his fingers again, a portal appeared behind him..and not before long, the Archbishop of Pride was gone..

Only to appear on a road, in a forest, somewhere in Anselm. The white haired boy was clearly wounded and bleeding, and the frontal part of his robe was all ripped and burnt. And yet.. yet the boy simply started to walk, in silence.

[Argentarino]

Sir Trystane Poraeus
On the Road to Arys, The League of Anselm

Trystane Poraeus, along with his small contingent of knights, had been ordered by the Order of the Knights of the Golden Sun to travel to Arys. Supposedly, there was a small cell of humans who allegedly belonged to the Cult of the Sins, and the Order had no desire to let the Sins take control of one of Anselm's major cities. It had been seven years since Trystane had joined the Order, and since then he had been promoted to "Knight-Captain", a mid-ranking officer. While Trystane would normally have commanded a slightly larger contingent (especially considering the reports that the Order had been receiving around Lonriel), it had been decided by the Knight-Commander that they would have the support of the local authorities, and as such, Trystane had no need for a larger retinue. So, with Sedia days behind him, Trystane did not expect the road to Arys to be too eventful. Imagine his surprise when a white-haired boy was on the road, walking towards him...wounded and silent...

"Gods above...you there, boy! Stay where you are! We will assist you," Trystane said, slamming his halberd into the dirt, pulling out some bandages and medicines, rushing to the white-haired child. "Lie down for me, you are injured, please." Trystane's subordinates rushed behind him, with one dutifully carrying Trystane's halberd, forming a circle around their captain and the boy, keeping an eye out into the woods. After all, if a boy is bleeding around these parts, it could mean brigands on the road...or something worse.

[Zapatha]

After the Archbishop had been teleported away, Arthur had said goodbye to the spirit and opened a portal back to Castle Von Schmidt in his homeland of Velikiya. He arrived and settled back down, as he had not been home for over 6 months on his trip to Sedia and the Ecclesiarchy on behalf of the Velikiyan royal family, who happened to be his cousins.

Arthur had just finished meeting with his cousin Krajl Wilhelm's emissary. The emissary said that it was a good thing Arthur had come back to Velikiya, as the krajl said that he needed his top military leaders and noblemen to convene in his palace within a week to discuss recent troubles of the Six Nations.

Arthur had formulated an idea in his head as well about how to deal with the recent reemerging of the Cult of Sins and the vast hordes of undead in its army. Arthur, as a prominent Velikiyan noble and Knight-General of the Knights of the Dawn, had a sizeable force of around 30,000 standard troops and 1,000 knights at his command. However he knew this paled in comparison to the armies at the disposal of the Cult, and he remembered the devastating effect that magic had during the War of Seven Nations.

Arthur planned to appeal to the king his plan, however he was still unsure it would be enough after he had experienced everything in that small city with the Cult's armies and Archbishops.

[Ruskland-Preuben]

"WAIT! What are you doing!?" Stern quickly pulled Darius back into the house,"You can't just go to my house, yet. We need bodies"

"We need to plan this out first before we do anything. First, we need a body. Now we can go two ways. Steal a body by pretending to be a funeral service, which would give us the freshest body to deal with, or go graverobbing, something I have experience in." Stern angrily reprimanded, "You're going way to fast for this."

He quickly evaded Stern's hand, and then looked at Stern with a face. " Hey, I haven't even explained why we're going already." He said, "We are going to the graveyard." And his flat face contorted into a manic grin, he made a chuckle as he beckoned the horse to go on forward yet again, now that there were no distractions anymore. "A good thing I'm a necromancer eh?" He said, smiling.

[Ministerial]

"WAIT! What are you doing!?" Stern quickly pulled Darius back into the house,"You can't just go to my house, yet. We need bodies"

"We need to plan this out first before we do anything. First, we need a body. Now we can go two ways. Steal a body by pretending to be a funeral service, which would give us the freshest body to deal with, or go graverobbing, something I have experience in." Stern angrily reprimanded, "You're going way to fast for this."

He quickly evaded Stern's hand, and then looked at Stern with a face. " Hey, I haven't even explained why we're going already." He said, "We are going to the graveyard." And his flat face contorted into a manic grin, he made a chuckle as he beckoned the horse to go on forward yet again, now that there were no distractions anymore. "A good thing I'm a necromancer eh?" He said, smiling.

"We're going to the graveyard in broad daylight?" Stern quizzically asked, "Wouldn't that make us look a bit suspicious?" Stern sighed and got onto the cart, "Personally, I wanted to create life from scratch and use a bit of lightning and alchemy to do it. But your necromancy could help us get us more hands to lift bodies."

[Castle Crashers]

Somewhere
Celio felt as if he was going to die at any moment, just because of this sheer embarrassment that he was experiencing. And her laughter certainly did not help him..it only made him feel even worse. She was laughing so hard, and when she told him that she wasn't being serious..he slowly stopped, feeling the blood rushing to his face. He closed his eyes, trying to ignore her, for a little while at least.. before his attempts to remain calm were suddenly interrupted by her terrified shriek. Turning around, he quickly pulled his cloak from over his head.. only to see a gigantic tree-like monster holding Julie in the air. The brown haired girl was simply trying to keep her skirt down, with some of the tree's branches wrapped around her legs, hanging her upside down. She seemed to be a little desperate, as she yelled to him for help.. but Celio was just.. he was really, really confused...

"You know something?..Good luck with freeing yourself from that thing. We're archenemies, right? I can't help you.." The boy looked at her with his blood-red eyes as he spoke, maybe a little angrily, before suddenly turning around and starting to walk away. Celio was.. a little hurt. He had honestly tried to prove her that he was a human, maybe hoping that it was going to earn him a little bit of her trust. He wouldn't have tried to do something as embarrassing as that for anyone. And for her to just say that she wasn't being serious, that it was just some sort of a joke..of course, she hadn't meant it like that, but for the black haired boy, it was almost as if he had just mocked him...and that made him feel.. bad. Not in a way that would make him..but it was a little sad. And.. he just felt his envy coming back.. envy was like a poison, after all. Just like poison works the best when you are weak, and hurt, envy feeds on doubt, on shame, and on negative feelings. But then, as he continued to walk.. the boy realized something. Because of the weirdness of the situation, he had forgotten about it.. but before passing out.. he was in pain, he was hurt. And now that he thought about it.. his wounds had been healed..which meant..which meant that she.. she had healed him? She hadn't just decided that he was dead.. she had tried to help him. And if not for her.. then the silver would have continued to poison him.. until he would have actually died...why would she do something like this? Why..why would she help him? But then.. she had also helped him back in the city......

Celio stopped, closing his eyes for a few moments as he tried to take a deep breath.. this was a bad idea.. this was such a bad idea..but he had to do it.. and out of a sudden, he turned around. Summoning his scythe, he started to run towards the tree-monster. Sensing his attack, the Leshy lifted Julie even more in the air, so now, the girl was basically hanging a few good meters above the ground.. but because of that, the monster never had the time to shield itself against the boy's attack. A swing of his scythe.. and the metal hit the wood.. without even scratching it. A branch then nearly hit him, but Celio jumped back just in time.. only to realize what the monster in front of him was. A Leshy.. it was immune to steel. And with his scythe hibernating.. it was a fancy magical weapon that could be summoned at will.. but it was steel. And a fire spell like the one that he had used on the blade earlier that day would have only been dangerous for the girl.. he had to enchant the blade, quickly. But with what?... The monster screamed again, prompting the boy to do something, to improve. Using the sharp tip of the scythe's curved blade, he made a small cut in his right palm, wincing because of the pain.. but with small drops of blood dripping from the small cut, the boy touched the blade, quickly drawing a few magical symbol with his blood..murmuring a short chant. A white light started to glow around the blade.. and only then did Celio realize that the enchantment that he had instinctively used.. was white magic. Magic to use against monsters.. how did he.. how did he know something like that?

But another scream made him realize that he had no time to think. Charing forward, the boy used the handle of the scythe to block the attack of the branches...and then another swing, and the black, now white glowing blade of the scythe deeply pierced the monster's wooden chest. Yet another primitive scream... and the cursed monster was dead. Now pretty much just a bunch of dead wood, it started to fall, dropping Julie...but Celio was ready. With his scythe once again disappearing in a small cloud of black smoke, the boy jumped.. managing to catch the girl just in time, before landing on the ground behind the dead Leshy. Breathing heavily, he remained quiet for a few moments, before he looked with his crimson eyes directly at the girl that he was holding in his arms. "Well.. that was pretty close.."

Fighting gravity alone as well as being suspended by a giant tree monster, she would've at least assumed that, at first...he'd be gentlemanly enough to help her out of the situation she'd managed to get herself in. Her hopes began to diminish the minute he began to speak with the angry tone, and only onwards as he continued, explaining that they were archenemies and he couldn't help her. But I helped you before...why is it different now? Just because I'm the one in trouble... She frowned, and shook her head mentally. Tsk tsk, I guess you're more of a hypocrite than I thought... But even then, as he turned and began walking away, she found herself powered by frustration. "Hey, the only reason I can't fight right now is because it would be rude and indecent to show you anything so intimate without a date first!" She yelled back with a deep frown, only feeling a growing desperation as he continued to walk, still keeping a grip on her skirt as she did. She decided that, if he really did decide to walk away and leave her to her own devices, it would be fine to let go since the monster wouldn't care anyway. But...just as she almost began to decide on it, she noticed he stopped, and her eyes widened and she was filled with hope once more as he turned back around and summoned his scythe as a large smile grew upon her face.

"Yeah! I knew I didn't have to give up on yo--" But just as she was nearly finished yelling her statement to her, the Leshy yanked her farther into the air, causing her to draw out the "u" as she escalated into the sky, still held a bit defenseless, especially now that Celio had returned. She watched from the distance she was out and continued to yell encouragement to him, watching as he avoided the attacking branches of the Leshy, and winced once more as the monster screeched again, watching in tense determination and hope as she witnessed Celio's quick thinking, watching as he cut open his palm and enchanted the blade with white magic. She smiled again, and watched once more as the thing screamed, but not before Celio charged forward and plunged the blade into the heart of the Leshy, and was momentarily enveloped in ecstatic glee as it screamed with defeat (though she did feel bad that Celio killed it...), and that was, atleast...until the monster's dead grip loosened, and Julie began to drift from the sky at a terrifying speed...she barely had time to scream and squeeze her eyes shut before she landed a bit roughly in the black-haired boy's arms, half expecting to meet the ground violently as well...but after Celio landed, everything was still. Hearing the red-eyed boy's heavy breathing, she managed to crack open one eye as he expressed how close the encounter had been, and after such, realizing she was probably safe now, she opened her other eye and relaxed. "Oh, well...would you look at that, we're alive!" She exclaimed, with a bright smile. Then, though, after another moment, she realized that he hadn't quite released her from his arms yet. "I...think you can let me down now, I don't expect us to be plummeting from the heights for a while..." She said softly, wondering if he was purposely holding her or if he'd simply forgotten...and a wide grin returned to her face. A...mischievous one. "...unless you plan on carrying me around like this from now on, of course. I couldn't argue with that one."

[Remnants of Exilvania]

Anselm
Anselmian Wilderness
Eh, what?

Now, it was Konstanzes turn to look a little bit puzzled at this man. He apparently didn't like being called a highwayman by her. On the other hand though, he also stated several times that he was completely clueless as to what was going on. So what exactly was his game? And what in goods name where larpers? He didn't think of them all as a bunch of monsters, did he? But eventually she shoved all the question in her mind aside, shrugged and answered:

"Uhm, well, ugh, you're in Anselm and well uh, I was obviously leaving that girl behind after she left me behind. Does that suffice?"

[Ruskland-Preuben]

"We're going to the graveyard in broad daylight?" Stern quizzically asked, "Wouldn't that make us look a bit suspicious?" Stern sighed and got onto the cart, "Personally, I wanted to create life from scratch and use a bit of lightning and alchemy to do it. But your necromancy could help us get us more hands to lift bodies."

"You're damned right it'll help," he said while Stern came into the mobile home, "And through my necromancy, I can figure out which corpses are the freshest. Or more accurately, which ones resemble a body instead of a skeleton.". The cart was now at about at a modest pace, and dead trees were beginning to pop up, from rarely to sporadically, then after that, almost every tree was dead. "Typical graveyards..." He said as he registered the fact that they had finally arrived.

[Ministerial]

"We're going to the graveyard in broad daylight?" Stern quizzically asked, "Wouldn't that make us look a bit suspicious?" Stern sighed and got onto the cart, "Personally, I wanted to create life from scratch and use a bit of lightning and alchemy to do it. But your necromancy could help us get us more hands to lift bodies."

"You're damned right it'll help," he said while Stern came into the mobile home, "And through my necromancy, I can figure out which corpses are the freshest. Or more accurately, which ones resemble a body instead of a skeleton.". The cart was now at about at a modest pace, and dead trees were beginning to pop up, from rarely to sporadically, then after that, almost every tree was dead. "Typical graveyards..." He said as he registered the fact that they had finally arrived.

"Never understood why graveyards would have dead trees..." Stern replied, "Dead bodies would make great fertilisers... and even then it's not even winter..." They got to the first grave.

"Here lies Roland Garrison," the tombstone read, "A lone soldier with no known family"

"Roland..." Stern took off his hat and looked up to the sky, "Your soul may not have wanted your body to be defiled, but worry not! It will be put to good use. " Stern elbowed Darius to pay his respects to the dead, while Stern got a shovel from the cart and started to dig the grave.

[Granis]

Anselm
Anselmian Wilderness
Eh, what?

Now, it was Konstanzes turn to look a little bit puzzled at this man. He apparently didn't like being called a highwayman by her. On the other hand though, he also stated several times that he was completely clueless as to what was going on. So what exactly was his game? And what in goods name where larpers? He didn't think of them all as a bunch of monsters, did he? But eventually she shoved all the question in her mind aside, shrugged and answered:

"Uhm, well, ugh, you're in Anselm and well uh, I was obviously leaving that girl behind after she left me behind. Does that suffice?"

"Anselm?" Jeremy asked, confused. He'd traveled through Europe for quite a while now, and even though he hadn't actually been everywhere yet, it was incredibly unusual for him to not have at least heard of a place before.

"I..." He began, scratching his head. "I've never even heard of a place called Anselm before."

He looked around the small group, getting a little more stressed.

"Do you have a map, by any chance? I want to see where this is in Europe."

He then got a little annoyed when she explained why she abandoned the other girl, but decided that now that she was at least calm, he should do his best to remain calm as well.

"Anyway, are you absolutely sure she left you?" He asked. "She doesn't look like someone who was willing to leave you, after all. Maybe she had an explanation, but you just didn't hear it when she gave it to you."

---

Leide watched as the mage girl disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Alright, we can talk later!" He called out, before his legs gave out beneath him and he fell on his back.

As he lay there, he looked from the giant man who'd been fighting alongside him.

"Hey, sorry I didn't really coordinate with you at all during the fight..." He said, his words coming out rather wheezy due to his sudden exhaustion. "Do you have any idea what that might have been, by the way? I mean, you seem like you're not really one for magic, but you mentioned anger being your fuel, and whatever that was made me pretty angry."

He sighed.

"Anyway, my names Leide. I'm from a village called Tarbes, way up north. I would shake your hand, but whatever I did seemed to have made me too exhausted to move anything below my neck."

[Ruskland-Preuben]

[quote="Ministerial";p="32158556"
"Never understood why graveyards would have dead trees..." Stern replied, "Dead bodies would make great fertilisers... and even then it's not even winter..." They got to the first grave.

"Here lies Roland Garrison," the tombstone read, "A lone soldier with no known family"

"Roland..." Stern took off his hat and looked up to the sky, "Your soul may not have wanted your body to be defiled, but worry not! It will be put to good use. " Stern elbowed Darius to pay his respects to the dead, while Stern got a shovel from the cart and started to dig the grave.[/quote]

After his colleague finished the digging, he began whispering some incantations, and after all that a small moment of silence occurred. "Any minute now my friend..." He murmured, and then there was a slight shaking of the coffin, "And there you go, one compliant corpse, I'll see what shenanigans will ensue from now on." And he sat by a level area a foot or so higher that the nearby land, and thus a perfect place to keep lookout.

[Free Empire of the Low Isles]

Aleksandr 'Sasha' Vasiliev,
A Devastated Hamlet, Wyzkia

The force with which the void elemental had thrown Sasha around was actually somewhat surprising. It proved that the beast was a little too powerful for Ryker to have had handled on his own. Squatting on a nearby rooftop, Sasha watched the girl start muttering in that strange language again, the familiar energy build up that a massive spell needed quickly forming around her. Strangely, it seemed to be unstable, as the effects of the magic started early with a slow sucking in of mist along with other portions of the environment. While he watched, somewhat indifferent, Sasha could have ended that spell in seven different ways with simple physical attacks, since it seemed that she was vulnerable to those kinds of things. He guessed it was because she wasn't used to fighting an enemy that had the same maneuverability as she did. Standing up from his position, the vampire was about to sigh and end the fight with the simplest move he could think of when something slightly more interesting happened. The boy that had galloped in earlier with his dormant relic and a girl entered the fray, running up behind the elemental without her noticing.

Sasha chalked that one up to the stupidity of the enemy, but he didn't really have any proof to be sure. Maybe the kid was some kind of secret void elemental as well that was masking his presence or something, though that was highly unlikely.

When the squire stabbed Frederica, Sasha sighed and made to move into range to save the boy, but then the elemental simply passed out, leaving the boy standing there for a few seconds, awestruck. Instead of following the suit of the boy, Sasha teleported behind him and made his presence known. "What happened isn't of importance right now. Focusing on controlling the relic you just partially awakened is what's important." Sasha explained, gesturing to the light that was on the blade. "I assume you know her true name. Saying that might complete the process." With that explained, the vampire knelt down and forced the collar on Frederica with a sigh. "I have no idea why Ryker's friend wants you, you disgusting thing, but she does... and she's paying us rather well for it, so I can't really argue."

[Zapatha]

Arthur was in his throne room in Castle Von Schmidt, meeting with his three generals of his army.

As the three commanders left, Arthur took a moment to think about what had happened in the fight against Pride. Why was it that the "boy" seemed to know who he was? Arthur hadn't even told him his name, yet the boy knew it anyways. Unless it was some sort of archbishop magical power, he couldn't have known who he was. And that scar. The damned scar above the bishop's heart. Arthur had gotten a vague memory when he had touched it, of a throne room laden with dark power, and seven figures standing before him. We're they enemies? Arthur couldn't remember, he couldn't even remember what they looked like. He did remember the fight though, and his sword.....

Arthur was interrupted by a trumpet blaring outside of the throne room, and dropped the thought. He walked to the balcony outside and looked at the 200 trained Von Schmidt soldiers standing outside of his castle in rank and the 40 knights in armor on their horses. The Knights of the Dawn in his chapter were commanders of the his force, and wielded the best armor and weapons the Von Schmidts had. Arthur smiled, seeing the brave men who stood before him to combat the coming darkness. Arthur spoke:

"Today fellow Velikiyans, I stand before you to tell you of the darkness I have witnessed. I battled a foe in a small city, a foe the likes of which hasn't been seen since the end of the Great War three years ago. This Archbishop was a member of the Cult of Sins, who spearheaded an attack on the city with legions of undead brought back from the grave by heinous necromantic rituals. I fear that this enemy has a chance to upset the fragile balance of peace in the Six Nations and plunge this world into darkness once more.

That is why it is up to us, my Crusaders, to cleanse Lonriel of the Cult of Sins and any who practice the dark arts."

Arthur put on his helmet, and lit his holy sword's flaming blade, pointing it South.

"Today we march to the Imperial Palace!"

With that, his army started off to greet Velikiya's leader, where Arthur would plead to his cousin for more troops to combat the Cult and it's undead hordes. Arthur knew that he had to convince the Krajl to call the other princes to arms to stand the slightest chance of fighting the Cult. Prince Arthur was marching with his already trained troops and hoped to train at least 500-700 more peasants to add to his force.

However Arthur knew that peasants weren't going to win the coming battles.

[Remnants of Exilvania]

Anselm
Anselmian Wilderness
What is europe?

Konstanze looked at the stranger quite perplexed. How could someone not have heard of Anselm, one of the large nations of the known world? Like seriously, how? But then he mentioned something else, a name that triggered all sorts alarms in her mind. Europe? What was that? Konstanze had studied many maps, as a successful merchant you better have done that because it is crucial for planning trade routes and many other things. Yet, she had never seen a place called Europe. And now that he had mentioned it, excitement grasped her. And fear followed directly after that. Where was this Europe? What opportunities did it offer? What nations existed there? What races lived there? Could one do business there? Where the people maybe hostile? Questions over questions were coming down on Kostanze like a hailstorm. Quickly she stormed to the carriage, forgetting everything he was trying to tell her about Mireille while quickly searching for her maps. When she had finally found them, she hurried to get back and almost shoved the maps down Jeremy's throat, so anxious was she to make him show her wha Europe was. All the while she exclaimed:

"Maps? Maps! Yes, indeed, I have maps. Here! Take them! Show me this Europe you speak of, quickly! And tell me, since you obviously seem to know about it, what is it like?"

[Tracian Empire]

Breathing heavily, the black hair boy.. simply did not think about it. About the fact that he was still holding her. He was just..well, partially tired, partially still filled with adrenaline, partially confused, and partially just glad that she was alright. But when she reminded him of it so mischievously..Celio immediately turned red, as blood rushed to his cheeks. Rather embarrassed, he let her down, helping her get back on her feet, while vaguely trying to apologize. "S-sorry, I w-wasn't thinking about it..I just.." Realizing that he wasn't making much sense, he just tried to take a few deep breaths, to calm down. Thinking about.. he had no idea how to interact with her. They were supposed to be archenemies.. and yet here they were, helping each other and saving each other..

This was just so weird. And so confusing.

But Celio's deep thoughts were suddenly interrupted..when the two of them heard something. A group of people. The red eyed boy put his finger on his lips, so that they would remain quiet..and so, they were able to hear people talking.. in what seemed to be Anselmian. "Deserters and mercenaries. We have to leave, before they'll find us.", Celio said, his voice as low as a whisper. "It's already pretty late.. we have to leave the forest before nightfall. When the sun is gone....many things wake up around here. Come on." Looking pretty determined, the boy took her by the hand as they started to run, before a portal appeared in front of them. They rushed towards it.. and like that, they left the forest, leaving the monsters and the bandits behind.

But it's not like what awaited them was any better. The city of Arys..the scum of Anselm. The city was.. simply, ugly. Built on the coast of the Zephyrian Sea, the city was spread between the Tapian Mountains to the southeast, and the coast. Arys was deeply fragmented, between the rich districts of the southeast, clean, with large estates, culminating in the beautiful palace that was built on the lower slopes of the mountains. But the poor districts were situated in the other direction, closer to the coast, and to the swamps. Ugly, dirty, and overpopulated, with a lot of wooden houses. A network of large towers and high stone walls surrounded the city, but their once white stone was now a dull and dirty gray, and the walls that guarded the port side still had the holes and the signs of damage from the past. And while the port itself was cleaned, and filled with ships.. the rest of the coast was dirty, and filled with.. everything, from dead bodies, to a huge golf, filled with shipwrecks, in the north. Wonderful.

Having emerged from their portal on a road nearby, Julie and Celio had joined the crowd of merchants and random people alike, heading for the city's main gates. The boy's hooded cloak managed to cover up most of his distinctive features, but Celio was still clearly stressed..who wouldn't be, if the mob might just attack you at any time? But eventually, they approached the gate, with the white-red flag of Anselm waving above them..

"Papers.", one of the guards told them, tightly gripping his halberd. Remaining quiet, the red eyed boy took out a small coin purse, giving it directly to that guard. And of course, the guard accepted it, putting it in his bodies, and stepping aside. None of the other guards reacted, no one else cared, and the small gate remained open, allowing them to enter. Saying that the city was Arys was corrupted.. would be quite an insult. The city was.. far more than that. Arys was rotten to its core..and money was everything that mattered. The League itself only had a vague influence ever, despite the fact that Arys was one of its three founding city. Everything you wanted, you could buy here. Anyone was corruptible. It had not always been like that.. but right now, the city of Arys was the center of the black market. Slaves. Potions. Assassins. Anything your dark heart could desire.. could be found there. A truly wonderful city.

As they were walking on the dirty streets, Celio continued to hold Julie by the hand, motivating it by telling her how dangerous the city was. And.. he was right. She was an Archbishop, of course, but she wasn't exactly the type of person who was experienced in fighting on the streets. And walking around Arys, as a girl, on her own.. that really wasn't recommended. All around them, there were mercenaries, shady looking merchants, beggars...and even if some of them did look at them rather insistently, most of them abandoned whatever weird thoughts they had when Celio looked back at them. And eventually, they managed to find what they were looking for. An inn, or better said, a tavern. Somewhere to spend the night.

Of course, it was filled with people, but that allowed them to blend in. There weren't many people awake enough to notice suspicious looking people there...after all, nearly everyone was drunk. Anselm was.. well, it wasn't exactly under the jurisdiction of the Ecclesiarchy.. and none of the Cults were especially beloved by the general population. And it wasn't like anyone in Arys was going to care about their positions, they were going to be attacked anyway. So, the boy had managed to convince Julie that they should both try to attract as little attention as necessary. And as soon as the night would end, they were going to leave.....because as soon as the sun was gone, anyone stuck outside the gates, in the forest..well, let's just say that the guards had stopped trying to find out what was going to happen to those people long ago. What kind of foul creatures were hidden there, in the forest, appearing at night? No one knew. And no one wanted to know.

"We should get something to drink. We'll look weird otherwise.", Celio finally told her once they entered, letting go of her hand. The boy was still clearly embarrassed, about everything, but he knew how the city of Arys was.. so he was strangely determined to help her. Because even if it sounded pretty rough..on her own, Julie wouldn't have been able to do much in here.. it was a world that was completely different from what she knew...

Anyway, the two of them headed for the bar, where the boy quietly ordered two mugs of.. some sort of an alcoholic beverage that was supposed to be beer. And in order to blend in with the rest, they drank them.. and then probably another mug each. The atmosphere wasn't that bad.. it was warm, there was music, and not all of the people around here looked like bandits. But while they were waiting for the innkeeper to refill their mugs a third time, the boy decided that they had to find a table. Which was quite an endeavor, with all these people..."Take our drinks when they're filled.. I'll go and..find a table." Taking down his hood, and as such, revealing his black hair, the boy turned around, disappearing in the crowd.. before finding a table, somewhere. And just after he left, a blonde boy stopped near Julie, also giving the innkeeper two mugs, for refilling.

But what Julie and the blonde boy did not know..was that right now.. there were two black haired, and red eyed boys in this tavern..

---

On the Road to Arys, The League of Anselm
Even if the boy's eyes were open, he did not look at any of the knights, just looking in the general direction of Trystane's voice. But while a normal boy would have been relieved to meet someone who was willing to help him, especially with all those wounds..the boy's expression remained completely emotionless..and as the white haired Archbishop clenched his right fist, a small magical circle appeared right in front of Trystane. "Might I know who you are, first?" Despite the fact that he was threatening another person, the boy's voice was just..so calm, and gentle. "I do not wish to seem hostile.. but there aren't many people willing to help others around here.."

[Ministerial]

"Never understood why graveyards would have dead trees..." Stern replied, "Dead bodies would make great fertilisers... and even then it's not even winter..." They got to the first grave.

"Here lies Roland Garrison," the tombstone read, "A lone soldier with no known family"

"Roland..." Stern took off his hat and looked up to the sky, "Your soul may not have wanted your body to be defiled, but worry not! It will be put to good use. " Stern elbowed Darius to pay his respects to the dead, while Stern got a shovel from the cart and started to dig the grave.

After his colleague finished the digging, he began whispering some incantations, and after all that a small moment of silence occurred. "Any minute now my friend..." He murmured, and then there was a slight shaking of the coffin, "And there you go, one compliant corpse, I'll see what shenanigans will ensue from now on." And he sat by a level area a foot or so higher that the nearby land, and thus a perfect place to keep lookout.

Stern was using a magnifying lens to observe the standing corpse. "IT SEEMS THAT THIS CORPSE WON'T BE OF MUCH USE TO US..." Stern called out to his colleague, "WOULD IT STILL BE ABLE TO STAND IF WE WERE TO LOB OFF THE HEAD!?" The corpse was still fresh, but signs of decomposing were starting to become apparent. The face of the corpse had a rather large scar across its face. He put the magnifying lens back into his pocket and turned to Darius for a response.

"ON ANOTHER NOTE, DO YOU KNOW ANYBODY THAT WOULD BE ABLE TO SEPARATE ITEMS INTO THEIR ORIGINAL INGREDIENTS USING MAGIC?"

[Argentarino]

On the Road to Arys, The League of Anselm
Even if the boy's eyes were open, he did not look at any of the knights, just looking in the general direction of Trystane's voice. But while a normal boy would have been relieved to meet someone who was willing to help him, especially with all those wounds..the boy's expression remained completely emotionless..and as the white haired Archbishop clenched his right fist, a small magical circle appeared right in front of Trystane. "Might I know who you are, first?" Despite the fact that he was threatening another person, the boy's voice was just..so calm, and gentle. "I do not wish to seem hostile.. but there aren't many people willing to help others around here.."

Slightly taken aback by the magic exuded by the boy, Trystane hesitantly answered the boy. "And not many draw prepare to use magic on strangers. My name is Trystane, we're with the Knights of the Golden Sun. Please, let me tend to your wounds. You are in no position to run off, or fight for that matter. Besides," Trystane continued, "if we were hostiles, don't you think we would have offered to bandage you up?"