A Trip in Amethyst (IC)

[Elvwitand]

Welcome/Singup | Visitors List | In-Character Thread

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Welcome to the Imperial Capital where your adventures await...

Day

Cue the background music

For imperial citizens, today would be a day like any other for most. Younger children would be off to school, older teens and adults to their employments with the Guild or other various places of employment. But today is not an ordinary day if you are one of the lucky ones who made it to this far flung mystical land of Elvwitand, a large sprawling Empire across an equally large land mass, existing for a millennia or two or three. A handful of foreign ships managed to somehow make it to the harbor, curiously only ships dated more than a century of human mortal time back, however. The modern world of Greater Dienstad was offering new opportunities for the Empire that previously only existed in some sort of negative space only to emerge fully formed. New opportunities meant more visitors, no doubt.

But it's also not just an ordinary day, today is a great day for the national sport of gladiator fights. Men and women don heavy armor and equally heavy weapons to fight each other for the Royal Crown (that is the name of the prize, not control of the Empire), which includes a hefty sum of gold, enough to make a person live quite easily for the rest of their life if they're wise enough to quit while ahead. These days it's not as much bloodsport as it once was, magic enchantments meant the opponents would take a beating but be okay in the end. Old school types would say this watered down the sport but still the gambling and huge prize made it the ever present draw for many. Though sport was always happening, right now as it so happens, an ongoing national tournament was occurring, many looking to dethrone the Arena Champ The arena always was packed during the national tournaments no matter what time of day, people would take off their daily work if they can, others will certainly enter later.

Taping on the old school looking ribbon mic, the arena commentator, Shen Lune, an elf girl hailing from the far western state of Xiao Meiqi, spoke to the gathering crowds now swarming in, in anticipation of today's first match. "Ahem, attention please, may I have your attention please! We are just an hour away from our first match of the day, get ready for the grid iron fight of Rozataria of Roseria versus Orizen de Dargon of Flurocaphi! Bets being accepted at the counter so make your wagers now!"

in the city square stood a rather unremarkable looking clock. It looked like a rather miniature Big Ben, still tall, mind you but not as large as big clock tower might be. Inside was a strange wonder, as it would transform into a massive clock with gears the size of some countries and the mighty swinging pendulum. Don't worry about the chimes though. It was a popular destination for visitors to the Capital and for small children on school tours. Helpful guides would go over the long history, why the magic made it large on the inside but not outside.

Temple row, where the faithful always gather to pay tribute to their deities. The Church had just as much sway over Government as the Empresses did, sometimes more. Moral based laws always came from the Church to be implemented for the subjects of the land. To go against was severely taboo, always said to bring about great calamity. High Priestesses among the temples were friendly with each other, even if their beliefs or Deities were slightly different, Mystics always were united in their core beliefs.

Castle Bellasea, also known by its historic name of The Great Castle Caerleon, named for the pre-Imperial Elfen Queen, Careleon, or also simply known as The Imperial Castle, the real eye catch piece of the whole capital city. Constructed on a large hilltop a 1500 years ago it has seen many royal families come and go and siege or two but always has stood in the face of everything the Divine can throw at the Empire. Fires, storms, earthquakes, pestilence, famine, plague, you name it, if it's happened the castle has long stood as a beacon of stability for Amethyst and the Empire as a whole. Something of an attraction as odd as it sounds but a large castle, one should really make more use of it. Follow your guide with the will-o-wisp lantern and you'll be fine.

Saint Inés Academy, the top magical school in the nation! Ironically not in the Imperial State of its namesake, Inés, go figure that. Name for Saint Ines, a High Witch Cleric in the Church and considered the uniter of magical types. Mostly the school caters to traditional witches (the magic wand types) but other species and users of magic also attend. Those wishing to see and learn how magic in the Empire is taught and practiced can come here. The halls bristling with the boarding students during the day with classes, night enjoy the lovely sights of the beautiful manicured grounds and gardens.


Night

The sweet tunes of a lovely evening

When dark falls upon the great city, it lights up with the flames of a million lamps. Not uncommon to see a helpful witch from the Academy flying about to assist the lamp lighters. But the light still can show the brilliant starry sky and majestic moon above. Students of St Inés will be busy with their astronomy lessons. Learning to read the stars is the first lesson of divination though the future is often hard to predict. Arguably the city's nightlife is probably more bustling than the day. Folks done with the daily grind of working now free to do as they please. Some like to engage in a little, ahem, pleasures of life, and that's not just the drink if you catch my drift. The red-light district is literally bathed in red light of dim burning lanterns. Lovely people at the beck and call of a well paying client but that's all that can be said about that.

It's not dangerous by any means to walk the city at night but one best keep to the well lit main corridors of Amethyst. Back alleys and dark corners are often filled with the unsavory types who rather work under the law or have some less than good deals. Armor and weapons on the cheap for those who wish to join the arena, charms and spells for the struggling academy witch looking to broaden their skills or maybe those wanting to delve into some more taboo magical spells. Back on the main thoroughfares, plenty of store windows glowing to catch the window shoppers eye and plenty of pubs offering their services 24/7 there's no shortage of things to do at night. Vampires are more likely to roam around at night. Contrary to the myths, they won't die in sunlight, but they sure don't like it either. Also contrary, they're not inherently predatory any more than your average person would be. And they also can't make you into a vampire no matter how much they bite you, they're vampires, not werewolves silly! Vellorina de Dreifus one such Vampire girl awaiting her special someone. She had arrived early in the morning and got some much needed shuteye. She hailed from a very prominent Vampire family in the state of Sylpynford, wealthy & aristocratic yet secluded in the Tachi Forest which surrounded the Provence of Sierra. The clock struck 10 now, it'd been an hour since she and her girlfriend were supposed to meet up. Strange, "I hope she's okay..." she muttered as was starting to worry. It was not like her to be late. But a carriage drawn by Woodland Hippocampi pulled up and out leapt Rasha Amilda an ordinary human from the same state and Provence as Vellorina. A smile crept across the stoic vampire's face as her gal leapt from the carriage into her embrace. But it faded as quick with her beaming red eyes of a slight disapproval came "You're late!" Vellorina chided. It was out of worry more than annoyance.

"Yes, I'm so very sorry, Vellorina. It was quite the trip and it took me forever to find a private coach and..."

Vellorina smiled again, honestly she was happy Rasha was okay, who's got time to be annoyed now. "Ah it's okay. I guess I was just worrying." They shared a kiss first, biting would come later as Rasha allowed. It wouldn't do her good to have a wobbly lightheaded girlfriend when they're here to explore the Imperial capital. "It was truly frightening," Rasha continued, "right as we soared above Togger's Pass in Laynyaru, a terrible storm came up and we had to ground for a day and that set me behind further..."

"Really, it's okay. I should have gone with you anyway."

"But you wanted to see your sister before she set off overseas right?"

"I did but still could have gone with you and see her another time. She'll be back in a month. Anyway are you rested, hungry or anything? I mean afraid only thing I'm hungry for is blood but I can wait until later for that but if you want to eat we can find a pub for a meal."

"It does sound good to eat now that I'm settled on the ground and the weather is nice. I could let you take a quick nibble at me though..." She tugged at the collar of her dress to signla she was ready and okay with it but Vellorina put her hands on top of Rasha's.

"I'd rather wait, I want to show you the city while we have the night, and let's be honest, one bite and you're legs are like jelly."

"Hehe. I guess you're right about that, Vello." They exchanged another small kiss and began their walk down the cobblestone corners.


These events, locations, & encounters are only but a few of what you may experience here in the Imperial Capital. What roads you'll take and adventures you'll find are your choice and yours alone!

[The Selkie]

RTNS Aaka.
Hidden behind behind the moon of the planet, I had taken one of my Lightnings down to the planet. The small fighter was capable of atmospheric flight, so I had, during my nightly entrance, looked like a comet.
A comet, that went down in a forest not too far from here, hidden.
The Realm usually followed a strict First Contact Policy: No contact until advanced space flight is achieved. However, high orbit reconnaissance had reveiled, that the local population was not of one species alone. And they seemed to live together more or less peacefully, to our limited understanding from high orbit.
We needed boots on the ground, if we wanted to satisfy our curiosity. Were the local humans the lords and masters of their non-human counterparts? Was there even much of a mix anywhere but the larger cities? Were they living in the same place, but in different worlds? Questions over questions...
...pink hair, tied into a neat bun with a flower stuck into it, two strands framing my face, red, floral pattern kimono, geta - shipgirl of Imperial Teienai Navy and easily recognizable as such by the two horns on my head, remembering people of the legendary oni, demons of the olden days.
I hid a dagger in my sleeve, for self defense, and had access to my powers as a shipgirl, an impressive number of tractor beam projectors and six light pulse phasor guns. I am not exactly a Suki-class Overlord like Shiko, but it would be more then enough, if need arose.
Which it hopefully wouldn't (seriously, when I needed to use the phasors, I was so fucked).
I didn't even have to sneak into the city.
It was open, no wall, no checkpoints I ran into, just a massive and diverse crowd of people doing their daily business. I hoped, that I would not stand out too much, even if moving on getas was not easy in this crowd.
The trick was standing at the edge.
So... where to first? The castle was an eyecatcher, the temples would be interesting for further, anthropological studies, but right now... right now, I needed information.
Dropping into a school would be difficult, the local magical academy (there is no magic, said the magical construct representing a three hundred metre long spaceship) might not have what I needed...
...public library it is.
Or bookstore.
Let's see, what I'd stumble across first.

[AHSCA]

It had been well over a month now since the Yuzu docked in the lovely harbor of Amethyst and the tourists of the UIS had dispersed all across this mighty country. But the focus is on two cute fox women, one Captain Aina Indou and her trusty sailor (but not yet First Mate) Yuzu as a couple, the two had been sailing the mighty seas for a few years now since a fateful trip years back but that's a long story in of itself. One would think after a month or two or....wait just how long had it been? Time seemed to bend in weird ways here to be honest.... Anyway, one would think after a couple of months (or so) the two gals would have ran out of things to do but somehow they didn't, this city alone was so vast they could only imagine how the rest of the country was! Of course they'd have to be ready to set sail again when their time came so they largely stuck to the capital, only branching out to a few neighboring towns for curiosity sake but really the capital city was just so beautiful! Row houses as far as the eye could see, stacked one on another, the vast stone castle that dotted the skyline was such a sight, and well there really was no shortage of activities to see or do.

This lovely night the two in their best yukata again found themselves roaming the streets in search of something to do tonight. All their exploring had been done during the day but really they kept getting suggested to start exploring at night, so they wanted to soak in the nightlife a bit see how it differed from the daytime. For essentially a couple of grown women, the sound of their own geta clacking on the stone streets just never got old! It was delightful to hear considering they were largely from earthen streets in their home of AHSCA. Yuzu sported a big grin at Aina, to which the elder captain couldn't help but giggle "We're still a couple of children aren't we?" She took the hand of Yuzu. They stopped a bit to admire the lighting of the lamps, what a beautiful sight. Sure lanterns dotted their home in Tsubaki but this was far different, it was just long rows of the lamps, opposed to the paper, stone, or iron hurricane lanterns back home. They had a moment to notice a couple of young gals, maybe their age or so engage in a little romance of their own. "Isn't that sweet?" Yuzu said regarding the girls but she couldn't help but overhear the biting part. They had learned of the inhabitants of the city but it was still so surprising! "We just have to remember, we're in a foreign land, don't we?" Aina said with a nervous chuckle. This place was something and still they were getting used to it. "Hey, we still haven't seen the Katoomba ship! I hear she's a beauty!" Yuzu suggested "I wonder what she's like at night, I bet an evening tour is so pretty!"

"I swear, you're more a ship nut than me, and I'm the captain!" Aina laughed a little, taking Yuzu by the hand "Sure, love let's go!" Aina whistled waving down what would be one of their transports. The good thing was, this wasn't just a vacation, it was partly company business too with their employer to see about maybe setting shipping roots, if possible, hard to say with this strange place, so there were things they could put on the company dime. Admittedly if they overcharged the rest would come out of their own salaries and neither were particularly good at keeping up on the math. Well they weren't splurging at the same time, they walked most places but sometimes it was nice to go for a ride in one of these little carriages. "Uh pardon me..." Satsuki said to the driver, helping Yuzu in first and joining her "We're looking to go to the Katoomba." She hoped she could be understood as a foreigner, "Can you take us there?"

[Democratic Coalitions]

A dozen coughs left the lips of 23 year old Papadimos. His right hand, clenched into a fist, was utterly useless containing his coarse breaths, but the appendage itself was raised rather nonchalantly rather than reflex. Memories of his arrival to his hotel room sluggishly returned to life, his senses steadily registering the recently newfound surroundings of his vacation destination. Lifting his eye mask, he almost carelessly tossed it aside, landing on the nightstand and the alarm clock. Once he flicked the lamp alit, he glanced at his mechanical watch.

Twas 0530 hours.

"Oh..." He sighed vulgarly, his voice largely muffled by the slight mucus in his throat. Curtly clearing his throat with his fist covering his lips, his left hand reached behind his pillow, finding nothing underneath and prompting a few brisk pats for a certain item. It was only at that moment that he never brought any protection. Not like he would need it. Or rather, not like he planned or could plan to carry anything anyway.

"Ugh, δύναμη της συνήθειας, una volta poliziotto sempre poliziotto." He muttered, swinging out of bed and inspecting the bathroom, hugging the rightward walls until he found no one else but himself. It was only until he peered through a slightly slit in the curtains that he gasped silently and minutely. "Oh yeah...I remember now."

It was upon turning and walking from the window that he chuckled heartily. "I am on holiday! Ебать, я уже чувствую себя идиотом. I thought I had to go to work."

Only when he opened his luggage upon the bed did he hurriedly swiveled around, a sigh of relief leaving his throat when he found his planner tucked inside the nightstand. "So, 여기에 무엇이..." He said to himself with his planner in his left hand and pencil in the other. "At 0900 hours, we have the Imperial Library, which I will stay there until 1200 hours. But if they're not open by then, I will head off to The Hunters Guild and arrive by 1000 hours. I'll swing by at 1300 hours to check, and if they are open, I will stay until 1600 hours and head back here. Now..."

Closing his planner, he put it away and got dressed into a white collared shirt, jeans, and sneakers, running his left hand through his hair to find it dry and clean. But upon fastening his suspenders, a handful of coughs left his throat again, prompting him to briskly reach for a spare medical mask in his luggage. His throat continued to itch despite the mask and the dissipating coughs, yet he had no medications or remedies to ease the pain. Not like he had any a prescriptions or off the shelf medications in his possession anyway. Afterwards, slipping his luggage under the bed, he made his to the door, exiting not long after taping a piece of his hair to the top of the bathroom door...

[Phibeta]

Amythest, Elvwitand

On the cold morning streets of Amethyst, two little children stand near a small river, freezing. These young boys are wearing nothing but dirty clothes, which are filled with holes. They didn’t even have shoes on their dirty bare feet. They were skinny, as they haven’t had a proper meal in days. They were filthy, as they couldn’t shower properly. They had nothing, no money, no family, and no way of making money. That might change however if they can get this to work.

These boys, who are Elijah and Aaron Hemlock both have mana and magic capabilities. IT all came from their father who was a wizard, and alchemist. During the Gilligan Wars, he met their mother who was a local in a small town that was the port capital of the territory, Port Hogarth. They married and had two children, the eldest child, Elijah already showed early prowess in magic, but the father wasn’t able to handle raising children, so abandoned them then and there, leaving the mother to care for two children, especially with mana. She did the best she can working a laundry business while raising her boys. They weren’t wealthy by any standard, but they were happy. That happiness didnt last however, when she succumbed to the deadliest disease that is common on the Gilligan Isles, Lazius Malaria.

With their mother dead, Elijah and Aaron were left orphaned. They lived in their home for a while until they couldn’t any longer. They were on the streets of the village, begging for money or food, scavenging through the garbage tins, and on the occasion, stealing using what little mana they both had. They were on the run from local authorities and hid behind a few crates, which unknown to them was being loaded onto a ship. They didn’t know where they were heading, but it has to be better than the life they were living now.

Once they arrived in this strange new land, they continued to live the life they were living on the Gilligan Isles. For a while, they slept under the docks, then in the alleyways, then under a bridge by the river, and then they settled in front of doorways. Their clothes became more and more tattered and filthy, their shoes became too worn out, and they continue to become hungrier and hungrier each day. But they did have magic in the form of alchemy, which if they can get it right, can become a more reliable source of income.

Elijah draws a makeshift transmutation circle on the dirt ground, while Aaron gathers some scrap material he was able to find in the garbage. They put their hands together on the circle and then a light of blue energy as the materials begin to transform into some sort of animal-type object. Once the transmutation is complete, the result was a few metal animal sculptures, some deformed and many looking pretty dull.

“It worked,” Elijah says. “But not to the quality of those at the toy shops. Probably won't be worth even 5 gold”. He sighs heavily, hoping that their skills will be able to provide them with the money for a decent meal, or at least a warm room at a cheap inn. Aaron tugs on his older brother’s tattered shirt.

“Eli, can we go now?” he asks. “I’m getting hungry”.

“Don’t worry, we’ll get food today” Elijah assures him. “We just have to get some money”. They gather the sculptures into a tattered blanket they found and began to walk to the marketplace. There was plenty of food, goods, and people by the city square, all in need of money for their goods and services. After drinking water from a puddle, which they did many times, they set up in an area of the square with a lot of pedestrian traffic. They set up their blanket with all the metal animal sculptures they made, a chipped bowl to collect some money in, and a sign that reads “Animal Sculptures. 2 gold or anything helps”. For some extra money and attention, Elijah brought out a lute that he found in the trash and with some alchemy, got it back into a somewhat useable condition. He plays a few notes and began playing a tune he had to learn after several days, and Aaron would sing along with an old song that their mother used to sing.

Ich hab die Nacht geträumet
wohl einen schweren Traum,
es wuchs in meinem Garten
ein Rosmarienbaum.

(I had a dream last night,
It was such a worrisome dream,
There was growing in my garden,
A rosemary tree.)

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She made it. Rikako Nakashima has made it to the capital of the Holy Empire. It was a long trip on board the old Phibetan steamship Empress of Phibeta, a ship that was recommissioned from the Museum of Maritime History of Orkstead that was to serve this new line back in 2019. She was an Aures Animalis (demi-human) swordswoman and a mage, a graduate of the Angelsworth School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and she was here to make a name for herself. There was no use for swordsfolk in the Phibetan Army, as it was more ceremonial in favour of rifles and guns. Wizardry, as stated by the Ministry of Magic, that magic use was on the decline. Over the course of the 20th Century, there was a change in course from magic to science, leaving most magic-related lines of work to be more or less obsolete, mostly use for performance and military. This was her reason to be here. To use her magic for a purpose. She begins walking around the town, her sword on her side, secured in a scabbard underneath her green cloak, and underneath that her light armor, and underneath that her skirt and blouse.

“Let’s see” she says to herself, looking at a map fo the capital. “The Hunter’s Guild should be somewhere here”. She looks up at a clocktower similar to Tall Tim (Big-Ben equivalent), then looks back on the map. “Ah, that must be Infinis. So the guild hall should be down that street and to the left”. She begins walking down the street, taking the left and low and behold, she arrived at the guildhall of the Hunter’s Guild. She enters and sees many strong and eager wizards and warriors who were beginning to take jobs, or sitting around and eating. She begins walking to the front desk.

“Excuse me, are there any quests for a swordswoman and Wizard can take?”

[Shwe Tu Colony]

In a Strange Land...
Daytime — a certain harbor alley

There was a gentle tunneling sound — nothing too loud to really worry about, but still, it tunneled with a meaty squishiness, like someone was rolling wads of flesh in a cavern.
"Kurainos."
Someone was in the tunnels. A boy, a youth, with an annoyed exhaustion heavy in his voice, the sort that a brother would have.
"Kurainos, must we—"
"Duh! Of course we do." It was a girl. Her voice was one that carried chaos. "If the others want to bring in a giant undead whale or divebomb, then we gotta come in style, too."

A great bubbling and boiling of flesh emanated from an alleyway corner, and out came a worm of raw meat the size of a person, in whose center lay its maw. It had no skin; rather, its flayed form left streaks of odorless red blood on the ground. Indeed, the worm itself had no significant smell, and some miracle that was.
The mouth widened. First out was the boy's head, with short brunette hair, flattened down from the worm's saliva, with freckles curving across his face. Two piercing red eyes conveyed all of his irritation as he slid out, the worm's flesh curving in and out as he exited in a pale red dress shirt with his left hand.
And his right, like the worm, was of raw flesh, red but more solid, like a crustacean's red shell. It was not as smooth as his choice of transportation; rather, bones, cartilage, and tendons covered in rags of meat curved and curled across its surface, so that no part of it could be comfortably gripped.

When he was finally out, he looked himself over, then looked at his right arm, which took in the sights and sounds, twisting and turning, gently pulling him with every motion. In the hand's center lay a single mouth with teeth, from which a tongue poked forth.
"So!" the hand's mouth said.
"So I need to get cleaned, Kurainos." He looked around, noticing that the worm had withdrawn. At least she had chosen an alley instead of the middle of a festival hall. What a start that would be, no doubt traumatizing some unsuspecting family in the name of a "stylish entry."
"And preferably without too much dr—"
"Vla'ir, no need." The arm twisted around him, but he held his ground. "Look up."
He groaned. "If that's Garid..."

Perhaps someone with a telescope might see it, some sort of white missile high in the sky. Further detailing would see that the missile resembled the underside of a whale, that it had two wings partially tucked in, that there was an unmistakable plume of short, near-yellow but pale hair at its point, and that it was heading towards that same alleyway.
And for those with more advanced observation skills, they would find that it was traveling as fast as a falcon's dive bomb.
Vla'ir sighed. "Well, only one way to clean myself up." He turned around, spreading his arms out and beckoning the incoming missile.
He opened one eye. "Kurainos, could you at least, you know..." He twitched his head. "Beacon."

"Oh, yea, sure." With a twirl, his arm faced the air, palms open, and a needle of meat blasted into the air, then plopped back into her mouth. "There." To anyone else, it'd be a faint red speck for only a split second, but she had cast more magic over it, made it so that Garid would see it as a much larger red beam.
A few moments later, the white missile was only a few meters above ground, but rather than slam into it, its wings unwrapped from its body, sending it backwards as gales of wind blew into the alley, lasting only long enough to dry his companion before they somehow dissipated.
With that done, the missile had become some sort of merman, swimming in the air with an occasional flap of his wings, far less than what would be needed to support himself. Two wings, which had earlier been the two wrapped around him, replaced his hands, while another two replaced his feet. His entire body was covered in some sort of loose outer carapace or clothes that were white with a pale yellow tint, and the whale-like look was, evidently, just bluer stripes. Two tendrils with the same textures sprouted from below the collar of his shirt, while a third trailed behind him.

His face was roundish and wore a vicious smirk, but it had a skin tone to it instead of the white of his outer shell, only his wing-fin-things were the same texture as his outer shell. Where his body ended, and where his clothes began was unclear.
"Didn't think you'd be the one to come in like that, Vla'ir."
"Wasn't me." He tilted his head towards his right arm. "Kurainos."
"Ah, wonderful, wonderful." The merman swam towards his arm, which turned away. He swam back, and a swirl of winds coalesced into his right tendril,turning into a slushie. "The others here yet?"

"By the gods, you brought a slushi—"
The sound of slurping. It came much closer to him, and he turned to his right arm.
"Vla'ir," she said between sips from a smoothie, "you're very boring."
"I'd rather save my thirst for their drinks here."
The merman's smirk grew. "You the sort of guy that rates the water quality of hotels?"
"Ah, shut up."

From an empty wharf nearby, the water swirled, swirled, swirled, into a small whirlpool of black water that tumbled and dove and weaved into itself over and over. As it did, dozens of bones and skeletons, of dead and dying and undying fish that flopped or floated on the waves, rose to the surface, but none would look familiar, as though the fish had come from somewhere else. Their eyes ranged from glazed-over and clouded to unmoving.
The water grumbled and bubbled.
Out came a pale whale, just large enough to fit in the wharf's stall, with a harpoon still stuck in its head. Empty barnacles studded its head and were patrolled by pale seabirds, all with gaunt gazes and forms with dark feathers below their eyes. As the whale surfaced and stabilized, as its eyes pried themselves open to reveal a pair of deep, black eyes, the top of the barnacles fell away, revealing seabird eggs.
To those nearby, the entire menagerie's eyes seemed to focus upon them, but beyond the visuals, it somehow had no putrid odor.

A few moments later, the whale unhinged his mouth, leaving the bottom on top of the water and revealing the rows of sharpened bones, a replacement for its teeth.
Its tongue was stranger still. It wriggled, it writhed, it danced in the whale's maw, and anyone could see that it was not a single slab of meat, what with the white lines coursing between each bit of tongue. Rather, it was made of so much more, of dozens of creatures working in tandem to mimic the rise and fall of a normal tongue.
Hagfishes.
From within its throat rose a lantern, and then another boy arose. He wore a long shawl running from his throat down to just above his waist, beneath which something writhed, but once he reached the seaside sunlight, the writhing stopped and he smoothed down the edges of the shawl with a grin.
At the sight of the harbor, it melted away into shock.

The whale's tongue sprawled forward onto the harbor, and the boy sprinted atop it into the alleyway, his shoes squishing with hagfish slime, but it never lasted long before it would dissolve away.
"I'm so stupid, I'm so God dang stupid, I'm so stupid!" He turned to his whale and gave a gesture, causing its eyes to shut. A few birds took off, probably looking for food, but the whale floated in the harbor.
Silent.
"When you guys gave me the coords and ID I thought it'd be, you know, in a—"
"You trusted Kurainos?" Vla'ir said.
"Yeah, you trusted me? Bruh."

The newcomer glared at the arm. "You are so dead when we get back."
"Hey, hey," she said, "Vla'ir and I are a package deal. No way he's gonna want to die just for my mistakes."
"I'd prefer no mistakes, but..." He shrugged. "Now then, we still have two—"
"Boo."
Something slid into his vision — part of a torus, curved away from him, then no curve, then curved towards him, then nothing and nowhere. Little orbs and other misshapen geoemtries and knots and things burst into being, then imploded inwards and faded, once again, into nothing.

"Hunter, screw off."
"Ahahah." It was a male name, but the voice was much lighter than any of theirs, more like a woman trying to imitate a boy's voice. "Prr—"
Kurainos grabbed the nothing behind Vla'ir, and a boy with golden-blonde hair, with two larger strands framing his face, appeared a few inches above where Kurainos had grabbed, and yet his face contorted like he had been grabbed. Even the sun seemed confused with where he truly was, as the shadow cast not from this fourth companion, but from where Kurainos had stopped.
"No making eldritch noises to make us all go insane on my watch, got it?" she spoke into him.

The boy folded and imploded, and appeared in front of Vla'ir. Again, his shadow and his body were mismatched, and he floated a foot off of the floor. "Hmm, fine, fine. Besides, it looks like Cao is... a bit frazzled." He smiled. "Probably better I don't."
"Yes, it's better we don't attract any more attention," Vla'ir said. "It'll be a miracle if we make it out of this alley without finding ourselves all under arrest. Anyone got any ideas as to how to convince them?" Silence. "Look, I don't think 'we were fighting to figure out who could make the best entrance' is a valid reason to bring necromancy into an unknown magical..." He sighed. "Sorry, Cao."
The other facepalmed. "It's... let's just wait for D'aillisioux and then go."

With a volley of hollow chimes and the ruffling of fabric, a purple, silken vortex opened in the ground next to them, popping out a short, blue-haired boy in a blue kimono. At his side was a scabbard for a basket-hilted rapier. "Um, you guys seem kind of... anxious?"
"Let's not worry about it," Vla'ir said. "Not until the po—"
"Wait, what did you guys do!"
Cao gestured towards the whale in the harbor, then to Kurainos. "Come on, man," she said. "Could at least have some subtlety."
"Not in the mood for that." A snake stretched out from beneath his shawl and flicked its tongue at Kurainos.

"Are we at least in the mood to enjoy ourselves?" Hunter walked out of the alleyway, taking in the seaside air as he threw down a crystal, creating a floating display. "Okay, I looked at the tourist guide here before we went, and apparently they've got a school here—"
Kurainos laughed. "That's your idea of a vacation?"
"Hey, I think it'd be kinda neat to check out some Foreign magic systems, and considering how old we are, I think it'd make sense to make sure that we won't be considered, um, prodigies or something."
Vla'ir shook his head. "That plan's probably dead. If only we just came together in a portal. Would have been so much easier. Anything else we got?"

Garid flew towards Hunter. "Pegasi? Think I could race one?"
"Are you stupid?" Hunter said. "You'd probably damage one with how fast you'd outspeed it." By now, everyone else had gathered near him. "Did you idiots forget to research?"
There was a murmur of excuses.
"Ugh. Besides that, there's food, markets... a library... hold on, endless corridors?"
Kurianos dove into the display, expanding to cover the entirety of it with lumpy flesh. "Nuh-uh, we are not playing Maze with you."

"Hah, right. There's also a guild." He looked around. "Do you guys think they'll allow a kid?"
"A?" D'aillisioux said. "We're all kids, gamer femboy."
"I told you, quit calling me that, and you're the only child here." A torus straightened out at his side. "See? You're only four foot eight. Aw, now you're blushing mad. You look like a tiny little cherry instead of a blueberry, now."
The others shifted uncomfortably. Ever since Hunter and D'aillisioux had known each other, they'd always pick on each other, but with how volatile both were, it never felt funny. It was close, too close to some sort of eldritch explosion from either, but both always did it, and it never went poorly, so maybe this was just how things were.

Garid pushed aside Kurainos's flesh with a gust of wind. "So we got guild because we can't legally do a quest together, an academy because we need to make sure we're not going to attract too much attention... no way we're going to temples with this group."
"I'd only go to one to b—"
Vla'ir shoved his left hand over Kurainos's mouth.
"Food? Market? Any of us hungry? Or, uh, any of us not pack lunch?"
"If it came down to it..." A charred tentacle sipped out from below Cao's shawl. "Did any of you guys eat?"

Garid remained silent and looked away.
"I had to clean out the whale's digestive system. No time."
"With Kurainos's worm? No."
"If I need a meal, I'll just bug a butcher."
D'aillisioux and Hunter shrugged. Neither of them really needed food; it was just a communal thing when they ate, but regardless, it was clear that nobody in the group had eaten breakfast, and Garid looked through the holographic display, moving it with one of his collarbone-tendrils.
He stopped after a few moments. "Screw it, if we wander long enough, we'll find something."

"Should we split up?" Hunter asked. "Oh, and I don't have any preference. I've already looked over the entire city. You guys just figure out what you want." He looked towards D'aillisioux. "Doesn't seem like he wants to split up, though. For a trained Assassin, you sure can't handle people."
"It's different when I'm fighting, okay?" he said.
Hunter sneered. "Silly, but all right."
"And besides, we're in a Foreign place— I— look, I'd really rather we just stay together, okay?"
"Fine, fine. Garid, since you have the map now and since you're the oldest, lead the way."
Garid started down the path, flying above everyone else as he led them towards the market, hoping for food stalls, drinks, restaurants... anything, really, to appease their boredom.

[Legokiller]

Tale of Utena

A small portal opened from an empyrean realm of golden field and a grand oriental magical estate for a young mage to approach the grand city of Amethyst. The lapis lazuli eyes shined from the dark skin mage with awe as she looked at the grand designs. “Well, this is it!” Utena chirped as she adjusted herself. Life in the Dragon Paradise and all the education from her master Catherine made it quite tiresome. After the latest examination and a special night with her wife Lux, it was time for a good vacation. There was an invitation for Lux to come over, of course, she can surprise her anytime.

And so the flowing silver hair mage in a loose groom of a dress stepped forth into her first destination: Saint Innes Academy. There was something to be said about being outside of Aurora Academy circles and the inner works of Catherine’s magic: a thirst to see how others' lore and magic are done. As Amethyst and the nation of Elvwitand itself were unknown and fresh to make contact, there is something to dig in. The old and esoteric scrolls. Traditions that may hold another secret? Or most likely, how to impress them with the usage of both firearms and magic to make the best explosive firepower out there. Utena herself was a tinker and expert in guns and magic related to casting from it herself.

That being said: for the gladiator contest, she had some other hidden tricks to reveal at a later date. Something to help make her mothers, wife, and part of Silverdale itself proud. And so Utena rushed over the halls of Saint Innes Academy to get a good look at the whole campus.


Tale of Sundae

After a long journey from the sea, the foreign priestess arrived at Amethyst at last. There was a sense of boldness and hunger for adventure outside the assistance and aid across Silverdale after the winter war. Alongside the construction of a new city of Glacius, the fox woman knew it became quite sluggish. At least alongside keeping a part of herself a secret in this place. So the orange-haired woman in a casual hoodie with the logo of ‘cute blue elf goddess’, and blue jeans stroll the streets.

Yet there was one devious intention in Sundae’s mind. As she looked one glance at the Grand Temple of Amethyst, she made a playful grin. “Hmm, that must be Amethyst’s house. I do wonder how lovable she is in comparison to my goddess.”

Sundae tried to gather some details about her destination. It was vague but a whole elven goddess. Who was she? That is one mystery to solve. That and to test the water to see how they’ll react to other similar figures in the globe. Her best friend and cuddle pal Fridea won’t be that blatant on her purse of theological inquiry. Yet this was something Sundae wanted to try, and see what art was made. So Sundae went off to the temple ground itself.

[Sunset Company]

1 - Frontiers

SCV Convocation of Saints - Duhkha Class Acausal Battlecruiser Bridge

Darkness. The room was, for the briefest of moments, lit by nothing but the blinking emergency lights dotting the walls. The murk was pierced at once by the gentle flicker of low-power lighting, but everything remained in deep shadow - the oddly-indented walls of the chamber, the complex geometric tiling of the bulkhead floor, and the foreboding, sculpted mass that was the centrally-placed command chair. Perhaps it could more accurately be called a throne - it stood as the centerpiece of the otherwise wholly empty space, and indeed its occupant could be called the king of all he surveyed. At the moment, this didn’t amount to much, even as low-light sensor matrices kicked in to scan through the artificial twilight. Plating shifted, jingled loosely. A voice, garbled by electronic interference, rang out.

“Status.”

And now there was more - six more, columns of ghostly light encircling the throne and its occupant, forming a sort of fence. The surface of each was uniquely-patterned, distinct without breaking overall uniformity. The first to respond was ringed, orderly - wreathed in interlocked, frozen ripples.

"All systems theoretically functional. Heavy interference, something like EMP, but we should reset in a few seconds."

As the lighting faded back to normal levels, moving everything out of twilight and into cold, clinical whitewash, there was a general, unspoken musing that this had all been a not-so-great idea. Messing with the Gates generally wasn't. But now it was something that had been more or less agreed upon, so there was little point in regrets or protests to the contrary. None of this information was shared, so much as every participant implicitly understood that every other participant held more or less this mindset. This sort of sync had taken ages to get going - it was quite a valuable thing.

[R >"Right. That's good. So, point number two - where are we?"

[I >"Unclear. Probably out-of-Sector. Currently in planetary orbit."

It remained a duet - broken static-voice from the command chair, bouncing through the ripple curtain. Others would contribute as needed. And now one did - squared, block-laden, a crystalline puzzle-stack from which truncated words were shot like low-velocity bullets.

[ II >"Scanned. Habitable. Inhabited. Anomalous."

[R >"Anomalous?"

[ II >"Everything. Janus. P-space. All returns. Surface coherent. But. Nonsense readings."

A gauntlet-clad hand was raised to tap against an armored chin.

[R >"You sure the sensors aren't fried?"

[II >"Positive."

[I >"I concur. I ran my own diagnostics, and my own sweep."

[R >"Good. It means Idris can't overcharge me for them."

But this was concerning. From what had just been shared, he was hanging above the hellscape to top all hells, local conceptions of physics and the like having been tossed wholly out of the window. A confluence of the worst kinds of disruption, planet-scaled. And yet-

[R >"And you said it was habitable?"

[II >"Positive. Inhabited. Also. Technologically. Backwards?"

[R >"How so?"

[II >"No. Spaceflight. Spotless. Orbit."

[R >"That's-"

[II >"Correction. Two. Spacecraft."

A screen-projection flickered into being, above the pillars. And the first thing it showed was quite reassuring.

[R >"Right, so Knives made it through. That's good."

The image now shifted, flicked into a new orientation. And the command chair's occupant leaned forwards, with clear interest.

[R >"Oooh. Some kind of... utility ship? If we're really out of the sector, this has some interesting implications. And it's trying to conceal itself around the moon. What from?"

[I >"Shall we hail?"

[R >"Mmmm... no. No, surprisingly enough. My interest is drawn more by the planet."

[I > "A small vessel appears to have been dispatched, entering atmosphere. Strikecraft or shuttle, unsure."

[R >"I guess shuttle. Why send a single fighter planetside? And a shuttle means that there might be something to this habitability. Which is very, very interesting. Hail the Cassandra."

SCV Lady Cassandra - Balmoral Class Assault Battleship Bridge

Here, things were a little more hectic. It was a larger space, and a lot more lively - people were milling about between stations, coordinating some sort of unified output from the mess of terminals, striving to put together a coherent image of the situation. But some things remained the same; at the center of the room stood a chair, and that chair was occupied. The occupant in question raised her eyes to a suddenly-extant screen, and subsequently waved a hand in lazy greeting. There was a glint of metal.

"Was waiting on you. As soon as we realized you got dragged with us, I decided to give up on figuring out what the fuck happened. So, what the fuck happened?"

The apparition on the screen, all bright-red plating and flickering ghost-glow, shrugged its spectral shoulders.

"I have no idea! But we're orbiting an inhabited planet. And a really fucked up one at that. We're also not necessarily alone up here."

"Do you want us to be?"

The transmitted figure waved its arms around with rather excessive theatricity.

"No, no. We're not bothering with them right now, unless they bother us first. What I'm more interested in is the planet."

"Really? That's a fucking first."

"I know! Anyway, shuttle on over. Both of us are heading down planetside."

"You know this is weird for me to say, but this doesn't seem like a very good idea."

"Someone else's already shuttling down. If it's just some outpost, we can seize it. We need some kind of orientation-point for this place anyway, we seem to have been thrown out of the sector entirely. If it's something more..."

The sentence was left unfinished, but the implications were certainly worrying. Thus the Lady Cassandra's captain shrugged her mismatched shoulders, and rose from her chair.

"Alright. If this kills us, give me a go on your immortality thing, will you?"

Not waiting for an answer, she allowed the screen to flicker out of existence, and made her way to the back of the bridge. As she walked, she gestured to a nearby attendant.

"You heard him. Prep a shuttle, get me over to the Convocation. Me and a security team. Oh, and someone fetch me my hat. Have a feeling I'll need it."

---

[Elvwitand]

RTNS Aaka.
Hidden behind behind the moon of the planet, I had taken one of my Lightnings down to the planet. The small fighter was capable of atmospheric flight, so I had, during my nightly entrance, looked like a comet.
A comet, that went down in a forest not too far from here, hidden.
The Realm usually followed a strict First Contact Policy: No contact until advanced space flight is achieved. However, high orbit reconnaissance had reveiled, that the local population was not of one species alone. And they seemed to live together more or less peacefully, to our limited understanding from high orbit.
We needed boots on the ground, if we wanted to satisfy our curiosity. Were the local humans the lords and masters of their non-human counterparts? Was there even much of a mix anywhere but the larger cities? Were they living in the same place, but in different worlds? Questions over questions...
...pink hair, tied into a neat bun with a flower stuck into it, two strands framing my face, red, floral pattern kimono, geta - shipgirl of Imperial Teienai Navy and easily recognizable as such by the two horns on my head, remembering people of the legendary oni, demons of the olden days.
I hid a dagger in my sleeve, for self defense, and had access to my powers as a shipgirl, an impressive number of tractor beam projectors and six light pulse phasor guns. I am not exactly a Suki-class Overlord like Shiko, but it would be more then enough, if need arose.
Which it hopefully wouldn't (seriously, when I needed to use the phasors, I was so fucked).
I didn't even have to sneak into the city.
It was open, no wall, no checkpoints I ran into, just a massive and diverse crowd of people doing their daily business. I hoped, that I would not stand out too much, even if moving on getas was not easy in this crowd.
The trick was standing at the edge.
So... where to first? The castle was an eyecatcher, the temples would be interesting for further, anthropological studies, but right now... right now, I needed information.
Dropping into a school would be difficult, the local magical academy (there is no magic, said the magical construct representing a three hundred metre long spaceship) might not have what I needed...
...public library it is.
Or bookstore.
Let's see, what I'd stumble across first.

When our visitor fell in the night, she had been spotted, by students of St. Ines Witching Academy. Students in their Astronomy Lessons. Instructor Juliana had been alerted by her students "Lady Juliana, a falling star?"

"Odd, no meteors are on forecast for tonight." She said peering into the telescope, whatever it was it was hard to make out, falling at a high rate of speed. It could be just some wayward meteor but could it be something more? Perhaps this is a good time to change it into a lesson. "Girls, falling stars outside of normal patterns is indeed unusual. This is a good time to talk about unexpected signs from the heavens." It was a sign all right, a sign a most odd visitor was coming down, likely to not make trouble but explore. A good time to do so.

As the morning hours drew on for our visitor as she examined her options in town, a few signs or helpful locals can easily point to where the Great Imperial Library was, a large stone building with giant support pillars, very classical looking, in human real earth terms one might compare it to the mighty Greek and Roman buildings of ancient history. It was open for the public to come and go as they please, read whatever they want whenever they want, well as expected for a magical kingdom there is indeed a restricted section, only those with royal or church decrees can enter. This morning plenty bustling already, soft murmers of people chatting could be heard echoing about as could the ruffle of the pages and thuds of heavy books on the wood tables. Signs were dotted all around saying typical stuff like, Be courteous and speak softly, checkouts require library card, inquire at desk, cafe hours: dawn-to-dusk Large windows let in plenty of sunlight, streaming in softly gave the whole place a beautiful glow of warm light.

Two librarians elf sisters capable of magic, one had to with so many Academy witches here and it also made sorting things so much easier when you don't have to roam two floors of rows and rows of books. The scholarly heart of the nation was here and it could be felt in every stone and corner of the building.

It had been well over a month now since the Yuzu docked in the lovely harbor of Amethyst and the tourists of the UIS had dispersed all across this mighty country. But the focus is on two cute fox women, one Captain Aina Indou and her trusty sailor (but not yet First Mate) Yuzu as a couple, the two had been sailing the mighty seas for a few years now since a fateful trip years back but that's a long story in of itself. One would think after a month or two or....wait just how long had it been? Time seemed to bend in weird ways here to be honest.... Anyway, one would think after a couple of months (or so) the two gals would have ran out of things to do but somehow they didn't, this city alone was so vast they could only imagine how the rest of the country was! Of course they'd have to be ready to set sail again when their time came so they largely stuck to the capital, only branching out to a few neighboring towns for curiosity sake but really the capital city was just so beautiful! Row houses as far as the eye could see, stacked one on another, the vast stone castle that dotted the skyline was such a sight, and well there really was no shortage of activities to see or do.

This lovely night the two in their best yukata again found themselves roaming the streets in search of something to do tonight. All their exploring had been done during the day but really they kept getting suggested to start exploring at night, so they wanted to soak in the nightlife a bit see how it differed from the daytime. For essentially a couple of grown women, the sound of their own geta clacking on the stone streets just never got old! It was delightful to hear considering they were largely from earthen streets in their home of AHSCA. Yuzu sported a big grin at Aina, to which the elder captain couldn't help but giggle "We're still a couple of children aren't we?" She took the hand of Yuzu. They stopped a bit to admire the lighting of the lamps, what a beautiful sight. Sure lanterns dotted their home in Tsubaki but this was far different, it was just long rows of the lamps, opposed to the paper, stone, or iron hurricane lanterns back home. They had a moment to notice a couple of young gals, maybe their age or so engage in a little romance of their own. "Isn't that sweet?" Yuzu said regarding the girls but she couldn't help but overhear the biting part. They had learned of the inhabitants of the city but it was still so surprising! "We just have to remember, we're in a foreign land, don't we?" Aina said with a nervous chuckle. This place was something and still they were getting used to it. "Hey, we still haven't seen the Katoomba ship! I hear she's a beauty!" Yuzu suggested "I wonder what she's like at night, I bet an evening tour is so pretty!"

"I swear, you're more a ship nut than me, and I'm the captain!" Aina laughed a little, taking Yuzu by the hand "Sure, love let's go!" Aina whistled waving down what would be one of their transports. The good thing was, this wasn't just a vacation, it was partly company business too with their employer to see about maybe setting shipping roots, if possible, hard to say with this strange place, so there were things they could put on the company dime. Admittedly if they overcharged the rest would come out of their own salaries and neither were particularly good at keeping up on the math. Well they weren't splurging at the same time, they walked most places but sometimes it was nice to go for a ride in one of these little carriages. "Uh pardon me..." Satsuki said to the driver, helping Yuzu in first and joining her "We're looking to go to the Katoomba." She hoped she could be understood as a foreigner, "Can you take us there?"

Odd as it may be, the two fox girls didn't stand out, there were plenty of them in the Empire but what was surprising was they were foreign. Still magic helps break through most language barriers in this case. Interested in the Katoomba indeed, a popular attraction whenever she was in port, probably because the ship had been in a single family for 600 years! She'd seen lots of history but that's something the good captain could talk about. When the woman flagged down a passing coach, the driver was thrilled to give them a ride, and why wouldn't he be, it's how he makes his liveliehood. "Certainly can, Madams. Sit on back and we'll be there shortly."

It wasn't a long trip back to the harbor and it seemed it was growing crowded with more ships from other parts of the Empire and even countries beyond, how exciting of a time this was. Were so many people just discovering the beauty of the Holy Empire, or were they coming for the tournaments? Whatever it was, what time to be in the capital right now! "Here we are ladies, feel free to stroll aboard, the Captain is a fine dame of a woman but know that she's taken." He chuckled moving along, it was a cheesy joke he always made but he didn't know the two women were a couple. Though the evening hours it seemed it drew a handful of local tourists from around, others dressed like our lovely fox ladies and some cats and foxes among them. The western half of the Empire does have a fair share of states that derive their cultures from a similar base as our visitors. Perhaps it made them feel at home? Captain Runze Vuvriroh, a dark elf woman hailing from the state Lahnavu couldn't help but take notice of her latest visitors so much she emerged from her cabin. "Mmmmmmm." She gave a audible curious murmur "My dear ladies, do correct me if I am wrong, but do tell me are you mariners yourselves? I can't quite put my finger on it but I have an uncanny ability to detect fellow women of the seas! Though if I am wrong, I'll surely be embarrassed!" She laughed a haughty laugh.

A dozen coughs left the lips of 23 year old Papadimos. His right hand, clenched into a fist, was utterly useless containing his coarse breaths, but the appendage itself was raised rather nonchalantly rather than reflex. Memories of his arrival to his hotel room sluggishly returned to life, his senses steadily registering the recently newfound surroundings of his vacation destination. Lifting his eye mask, he almost carelessly tossed it aside, landing on the nightstand and the alarm clock. Once he flicked the lamp alit, he glanced at his mechanical watch.

Twas 0530 hours.

"Oh..." He sighed vulgarly, his voice largely muffled by the slight mucus in his throat. Curtly clearing his throat with his fist covering his lips, his left hand reached behind his pillow, finding nothing underneath and prompting a few brisk pats for a certain item. It was only at that moment that he never brought any protection. Not like he would need it. Or rather, not like he planned or could plan to carry anything anyway.

"Ugh, δύναμη της συνήθειας, una volta poliziotto sempre poliziotto." He muttered, swinging out of bed and inspecting the bathroom, hugging the rightward walls until he found no one else but himself. It was only until he peered through a slightly slit in the curtains that he gasped silently and minutely. "Oh yeah...I remember now."

It was upon turning and walking from the window that he chuckled heartily. "I am on holiday! Ебать, я уже чувствую себя идиотом. I thought I had to go to work."

Only when he opened his luggage upon the bed did he hurriedly swiveled around, a sigh of relief leaving his throat when he found his planner tucked inside the nightstand. "So, 여기에 무엇이..." He said to himself with his planner in his left hand and pencil in the other. "At 0900 hours, we have the Imperial Library, which I will stay there until 1200 hours. But if they're not open by then, I will head off to The Hunters Guild and arrive by 1000 hours. I'll swing by at 1300 hours to check, and if they are open, I will stay until 1600 hours and head back here. Now..."

Closing his planner, he put it away and got dressed into a white collared shirt, jeans, and sneakers, running his left hand through his hair to find it dry and clean. But upon fastening his suspenders, a handful of coughs left his throat again, prompting him to briskly reach for a spare medical mask in his luggage. His throat continued to itch despite the mask and the dissipating coughs, yet he had no medications or remedies to ease the pain. Not like he had any a prescriptions or off the shelf medications in his possession anyway. Afterwards, slipping his luggage under the bed, he made his to the door, exiting not long after taping a piece of his hair to the top of the bathroom door...

The maids who kept up the room would be most perplexed but they would leave it be, lest they upset the guest. Now we have two people arriving at the library. Any time they entered the Liberian Lisca would look up from her book and smile, if they needed help all one need to do was ask her. Somewhere else in the library was her sister, Arika both these lovely ladies could be of service to anyone needing the library at any time. Failing that, plenty of others using the library today could be of help.

Amythest, Elvwitand

On the cold morning streets of Amethyst, two little children stand near a small river, freezing. These young boys are wearing nothing but dirty clothes, which are filled with holes. They didn’t even have shoes on their dirty bare feet. They were skinny, as they haven’t had a proper meal in days. They were filthy, as they couldn’t shower properly. They had nothing, no money, no family, and no way of making money. That might change however if they can get this to work.

These boys, who are Elijah and Aaron Hemlock both have mana and magic capabilities. IT all came from their father who was a wizard, and alchemist. During the Gilligan Wars, he met their mother who was a local in a small town that was the port capital of the territory, Port Hogarth. They married and had two children, the eldest child, Elijah already showed early prowess in magic, but the father wasn’t able to handle raising children, so abandoned them then and there, leaving the mother to care for two children, especially with mana. She did the best she can working a laundry business while raising her boys. They weren’t wealthy by any standard, but they were happy. That happiness didnt last however, when she succumbed to the deadliest disease that is common on the Gilligan Isles, Lazius Malaria.

With their mother dead, Elijah and Aaron were left orphaned. They lived in their home for a while until they couldn’t any longer. They were on the streets of the village, begging for money or food, scavenging through the garbage tins, and on the occasion, stealing using what little mana they both had. They were on the run from local authorities and hid behind a few crates, which unknown to them was being loaded onto a ship. They didn’t know where they were heading, but it has to be better than the life they were living now.

Once they arrived in this strange new land, they continued to live the life they were living on the Gilligan Isles. For a while, they slept under the docks, then in the alleyways, then under a bridge by the river, and then they settled in front of doorways. Their clothes became more and more tattered and filthy, their shoes became too worn out, and they continue to become hungrier and hungrier each day. But they did have magic in the form of alchemy, which if they can get it right, can become a more reliable source of income.

Elijah draws a makeshift transmutation circle on the dirt ground, while Aaron gathers some scrap material he was able to find in the garbage. They put their hands together on the circle and then a light of blue energy as the materials begin to transform into some sort of animal-type object. Once the transmutation is complete, the result was a few metal animal sculptures, some deformed and many looking pretty dull.

“It worked,” Elijah says. “But not to the quality of those at the toy shops. Probably won't be worth even 5 gold”. He sighs heavily, hoping that their skills will be able to provide them with the money for a decent meal, or at least a warm room at a cheap inn. Aaron tugs on his older brother’s tattered shirt.

“Eli, can we go now?” he asks. “I’m getting hungry”.

“Don’t worry, we’ll get food today” Elijah assures him. “We just have to get some money”. They gather the sculptures into a tattered blanket they found and began to walk to the marketplace. There was plenty of food, goods, and people by the city square, all in need of money for their goods and services. After drinking water from a puddle, which they did many times, they set up in an area of the square with a lot of pedestrian traffic. They set up their blanket with all the metal animal sculptures they made, a chipped bowl to collect some money in, and a sign that reads “Animal Sculptures. 2 gold or anything helps”. For some extra money and attention, Elijah brought out a lute that he found in the trash and with some alchemy, got it back into a somewhat useable condition. He plays a few notes and began playing a tune he had to learn after several days, and Aaron would sing along with an old song that their mother used to sing.

Ich hab die Nacht geträumet
wohl einen schweren Traum,
es wuchs in meinem Garten
ein Rosmarienbaum.

(I had a dream last night,
It was such a worrisome dream,
There was growing in my garden,
A rosemary tree.)



She made it. Rikako Nakashima has made it to the capital of the Holy Empire. It was a long trip on board the old Phibetan steamship Empress of Phibeta, a ship that was recommissioned from the Museum of Maritime History of Orkstead that was to serve this new line back in 2019. She was an Aures Animalis (demi-human) swordswoman and a mage, a graduate of the Angelsworth School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and she was here to make a name for herself. There was no use for swordsfolk in the Phibetan Army, as it was more ceremonial in favour of rifles and guns. Wizardry, as stated by the Ministry of Magic, that magic use was on the decline. Over the course of the 20th Century, there was a change in course from magic to science, leaving most magic-related lines of work to be more or less obsolete, mostly use for performance and military. This was her reason to be here. To use her magic for a purpose. She begins walking around the town, her sword on her side, secured in a scabbard underneath her green cloak, and underneath that her light armor, and underneath that her skirt and blouse.

“Let’s see” she says to herself, looking at a map fo the capital. “The Hunter’s Guild should be somewhere here”. She looks up at a clocktower similar to Tall Tim (Big-Ben equivalent), then looks back on the map. “Ah, that must be Infinis. So the guild hall should be down that street and to the left”. She begins walking down the street, taking the left and low and behold, she arrived at the guildhall of the Hunter’s Guild. She enters and sees many strong and eager wizards and warriors who were beginning to take jobs, or sitting around and eating. She begins walking to the front desk.

“Excuse me, are there any quests for a swordswoman and Wizard can take?”

The Market Square

The downtrodden brothers had a lot to go against them, a strange foreign land and not a lot of people to really take the time or notice. The streets could be filled with beggars at any time most would say "ya daft? Go to the guild or be an apprentice if you want money!" They'd hear that plenty if they begged their sculptures took interest but not enough to get people to buy when there's far finer craftsman here to sell their stuff. The brothers hope may be around the corner yet, a young girl by the name of Azariah Belon, on her way to fight in the arena and make her mama proud! Her mama, Selphe Belon, a proud brave arena champ, prior to being dethroned by the current champion and now a proud warrior with the Guild. Doned in her armor with a shield on her back her long pink-ish-redish-hair flowing behind her she was ready but hello what is this? "Oooh my what cute little statues! You make these?" By the looks of it these boys were quite deshelved, were they orphans? Odd, orphans are cared for by the Church why would they be in such sorry shape? Maybe they've traveled from one of the other states in the Empire and have been on the road a long time? Surely with art such as this they could find a nice inn or lean on the sympathies of a homesteader. She wanted to say something but at the same time she got plenty of pity. Her mother being so exceptional she was so...AVERAGE. People were waiting for the day for her to be married off and not have to worry about it. "I'd like to buy some but I have to say, nothing is catching my eye right now....do you have any unicorns? Maybe a Woodland Hippocampi, dragons?" Even if they didn't she'd probably buy something just because of how she felt for the boys.

They were younger than her, but not by much it seemed, she was just barely a teen, done with primary school and now having to decided her future in life. She wanted to be just like her mother, a proud brave warrior who could be a champ in the arena or envy of the guild, right now she was neither of those things. Her first attempts in the arena didn't go well, her armor which she bought in a back alley fell clean off. Imagine, standing naked before a million spectators, even in a place like this it was rather embarrassing. One would think she'd wise up but the vendor told her "what a silly mistake, I forgot to put the proper enchantments on the armor and mumbled some nonsense and sold her a new set. A good amount of gold but cheaper than the armor and weapons shops. Only way to earn money is to either be sponsored or take on guild quests but without equipment, best she could do is fight wild slimes, worth not even a single gold piece. It would take her ages that way, her mother wasn't ready to hand her anything, insisting she work for it like she did, her father was a simple baker insisting she join him in the bakery. Ugh why was she such a disappointment? But her parents are her parents and seeing these cute trinkets just made her want to bring them some. Hopefully with a victory in the arena on her side!

"I'd love to buy three pieces if you can make what I'm asking for, I'll make it worth your while too. 4 Gold each if you can make them for me! Uh though how long will it take? I can always come back if you need me to."

---

The Guild

Plenty did quests for the guild, it's how a great amount of people made their living. Women with their daughters as their apprentices, mages, witches the like all you could imagine everyone who was anyone was here. The guild receptionist welcomed Rikako Nakashima. "Welcome to the Guild, where all your dreams are belong to us!" Wait that doesn't sound right... "A sword and sorcery quest you ask huh? Let's see what the board has to say...." She craned her head over to a large board which featured flipping placard cards one quest came up Needing Wolfsbane, seeking to party with a sword warrior. Reward 530 Gold. See Soliana Aeyra for details. "You are in luck, dear guest, it seems a quest is waiting for you, go to Row G, tent 16 and when you party up with her return here when ready. You'll need to be registered with the Guild to accept formally and claim your reward but we can take care of registration in a bit, best you grab your quest while you can. Go on, she's waiting for you."

In a Strange Land...
Daytime — a certain harbor alley

There was a gentle tunneling sound — nothing too loud to really worry about, but still, it tunneled with a meaty squishiness, like someone was rolling wads of flesh in a cavern.
"Kurainos."
Someone was in the tunnels. A boy, a youth, with an annoyed exhaustion heavy in his voice, the sort that a brother would have.
"Kurainos, must we—"
"Duh! Of course we do." It was a girl. Her voice was one that carried chaos. "If the others want to bring in a giant undead whale or divebomb, then we gotta come in style, too."

A great bubbling and boiling of flesh emanated from an alleyway corner, and out came a worm of raw meat the size of a person, in whose center lay its maw. It had no skin; rather, its flayed form left streaks of odorless red blood on the ground. Indeed, the worm itself had no significant smell, and some miracle that was.
The mouth widened. First out was the boy's head, with short brunette hair, flattened down from the worm's saliva, with freckles curving across his face. Two piercing red eyes conveyed all of his irritation as he slid out, the worm's flesh curving in and out as he exited in a pale red dress shirt with his left hand.
And his right, like the worm, was of raw flesh, red but more solid, like a crustacean's red shell. It was not as smooth as his choice of transportation; rather, bones, cartilage, and tendons covered in rags of meat curved and curled across its surface, so that no part of it could be comfortably gripped.

When he was finally out, he looked himself over, then looked at his right arm, which took in the sights and sounds, twisting and turning, gently pulling him with every motion. In the hand's center lay a single mouth with teeth, from which a tongue poked forth.
"So!" the hand's mouth said.
"So I need to get cleaned, Kurainos." He looked around, noticing that the worm had withdrawn. At least she had chosen an alley instead of the middle of a festival hall. What a start that would be, no doubt traumatizing some unsuspecting family in the name of a "stylish entry."
"And preferably without too much dr—"
"Vla'ir, no need." The arm twisted around him, but he held his ground. "Look up."
He groaned. "If that's Garid..."

Perhaps someone with a telescope might see it, some sort of white missile high in the sky. Further detailing would see that the missile resembled the underside of a whale, that it had two wings partially tucked in, that there was an unmistakable plume of short, near-yellow but pale hair at its point, and that it was heading towards that same alleyway.
And for those with more advanced observation skills, they would find that it was traveling as fast as a falcon's dive bomb.
Vla'ir sighed. "Well, only one way to clean myself up." He turned around, spreading his arms out and beckoning the incoming missile.
He opened one eye. "Kurainos, could you at least, you know..." He twitched his head. "Beacon."

"Oh, yea, sure." With a twirl, his arm faced the air, palms open, and a needle of meat blasted into the air, then plopped back into her mouth. "There." To anyone else, it'd be a faint red speck for only a split second, but she had cast more magic over it, made it so that Garid would see it as a much larger red beam.
A few moments later, the white missile was only a few meters above ground, but rather than slam into it, its wings unwrapped from its body, sending it backwards as gales of wind blew into the alley, lasting only long enough to dry his companion before they somehow dissipated.
With that done, the missile had become some sort of merman, swimming in the air with an occasional flap of his wings, far less than what would be needed to support himself. Two wings, which had earlier been the two wrapped around him, replaced his hands, while another two replaced his feet. His entire body was covered in some sort of loose outer carapace or clothes that were white with a pale yellow tint, and the whale-like look was, evidently, just bluer stripes. Two tendrils with the same textures sprouted from below the collar of his shirt, while a third trailed behind him.

His face was roundish and wore a vicious smirk, but it had a skin tone to it instead of the white of his outer shell, only his wing-fin-things were the same texture as his outer shell. Where his body ended, and where his clothes began was unclear.
"Didn't think you'd be the one to come in like that, Vla'ir."
"Wasn't me." He tilted his head towards his right arm. "Kurainos."
"Ah, wonderful, wonderful." The merman swam towards his arm, which turned away. He swam back, and a swirl of winds coalesced into his right tendril,turning into a slushie. "The others here yet?"

"By the gods, you brought a slushi—"
The sound of slurping. It came much closer to him, and he turned to his right arm.
"Vla'ir," she said between sips from a smoothie, "you're very boring."
"I'd rather save my thirst for their drinks here."
The merman's smirk grew. "You the sort of guy that rates the water quality of hotels?"
"Ah, shut up."

From an empty wharf nearby, the water swirled, swirled, swirled, into a small whirlpool of black water that tumbled and dove and weaved into itself over and over. As it did, dozens of bones and skeletons, of dead and dying and undying fish that flopped or floated on the waves, rose to the surface, but none would look familiar, as though the fish had come from somewhere else. Their eyes ranged from glazed-over and clouded to unmoving.
The water grumbled and bubbled.
Out came a pale whale, just large enough to fit in the wharf's stall, with a harpoon still stuck in its head. Empty barnacles studded its head and were patrolled by pale seabirds, all with gaunt gazes and forms with dark feathers below their eyes. As the whale surfaced and stabilized, as its eyes pried themselves open to reveal a pair of deep, black eyes, the top of the barnacles fell away, revealing seabird eggs.
To those nearby, the entire menagerie's eyes seemed to focus upon them, but beyond the visuals, it somehow had no putrid odor.

A few moments later, the whale unhinged his mouth, leaving the bottom on top of the water and revealing the rows of sharpened bones, a replacement for its teeth.
Its tongue was stranger still. It wriggled, it writhed, it danced in the whale's maw, and anyone could see that it was not a single slab of meat, what with the white lines coursing between each bit of tongue. Rather, it was made of so much more, of dozens of creatures working in tandem to mimic the rise and fall of a normal tongue.
Hagfishes.
From within its throat rose a lantern, and then another boy arose. He wore a long shawl running from his throat down to just above his waist, beneath which something writhed, but once he reached the seaside sunlight, the writhing stopped and he smoothed down the edges of the shawl with a grin.
At the sight of the harbor, it melted away into shock.

The whale's tongue sprawled forward onto the harbor, and the boy sprinted atop it into the alleyway, his shoes squishing with hagfish slime, but it never lasted long before it would dissolve away.
"I'm so stupid, I'm so God dang stupid, I'm so stupid!" He turned to his whale and gave a gesture, causing its eyes to shut. A few birds took off, probably looking for food, but the whale floated in the harbor.
Silent.
"When you guys gave me the coords and ID I thought it'd be, you know, in a—"
"You trusted Kurainos?" Vla'ir said.
"Yeah, you trusted me? Bruh."

The newcomer glared at the arm. "You are so dead when we get back."
"Hey, hey," she said, "Vla'ir and I are a package deal. No way he's gonna want to die just for my mistakes."
"I'd prefer no mistakes, but..." He shrugged. "Now then, we still have two—"
"Boo."
Something slid into his vision — part of a torus, curved away from him, then no curve, then curved towards him, then nothing and nowhere. Little orbs and other misshapen geoemtries and knots and things burst into being, then imploded inwards and faded, once again, into nothing.

"Hunter, screw off."
"Ahahah." It was a male name, but the voice was much lighter than any of theirs, more like a woman trying to imitate a boy's voice. "Prr—"
Kurainos grabbed the nothing behind Vla'ir, and a boy with golden-blonde hair, with two larger strands framing his face, appeared a few inches above where Kurainos had grabbed, and yet his face contorted like he had been grabbed. Even the sun seemed confused with where he truly was, as the shadow cast not from this fourth companion, but from where Kurainos had stopped.
"No making eldritch noises to make us all go insane on my watch, got it?" she spoke into him.

The boy folded and imploded, and appeared in front of Vla'ir. Again, his shadow and his body were mismatched, and he floated a foot off of the floor. "Hmm, fine, fine. Besides, it looks like Cao is... a bit frazzled." He smiled. "Probably better I don't."
"Yes, it's better we don't attract any more attention," Vla'ir said. "It'll be a miracle if we make it out of this alley without finding ourselves all under arrest. Anyone got any ideas as to how to convince them?" Silence. "Look, I don't think 'we were fighting to figure out who could make the best entrance' is a valid reason to bring necromancy into an unknown magical..." He sighed. "Sorry, Cao."
The other facepalmed. "It's... let's just wait for D'aillisioux and then go."

With a volley of hollow chimes and the ruffling of fabric, a purple, silken vortex opened in the ground next to them, popping out a short, blue-haired boy in a blue kimono. At his side was a scabbard for a basket-hilted rapier. "Um, you guys seem kind of... anxious?"
"Let's not worry about it," Vla'ir said. "Not until the po—"
"Wait, what did you guys do!"
Cao gestured towards the whale in the harbor, then to Kurainos. "Come on, man," she said. "Could at least have some subtlety."
"Not in the mood for that." A snake stretched out from beneath his shawl and flicked its tongue at Kurainos.

"Are we at least in the mood to enjoy ourselves?" Hunter walked out of the alleyway, taking in the seaside air as he threw down a crystal, creating a floating display. "Okay, I looked at the tourist guide here before we went, and apparently they've got a school here—"
Kurainos laughed. "That's your idea of a vacation?"
"Hey, I think it'd be kinda neat to check out some Foreign magic systems, and considering how old we are, I think it'd make sense to make sure that we won't be considered, um, prodigies or something."
Vla'ir shook his head. "That plan's probably dead. If only we just came together in a portal. Would have been so much easier. Anything else we got?"

Garid flew towards Hunter. "Pegasi? Think I could race one?"
"Are you stupid?" Hunter said. "You'd probably damage one with how fast you'd outspeed it." By now, everyone else had gathered near him. "Did you idiots forget to research?"
There was a murmur of excuses.
"Ugh. Besides that, there's food, markets... a library... hold on, endless corridors?"
Kurianos dove into the display, expanding to cover the entirety of it with lumpy flesh. "Nuh-uh, we are not playing Maze with you."

"Hah, right. There's also a guild." He looked around. "Do you guys think they'll allow a kid?"
"A?" D'aillisioux said. "We're all kids, gamer femboy."
"I told you, quit calling me that, and you're the only child here." A torus straightened out at his side. "See? You're only four foot eight. Aw, now you're blushing mad. You look like a tiny little cherry instead of a blueberry, now."
The others shifted uncomfortably. Ever since Hunter and D'aillisioux had known each other, they'd always pick on each other, but with how volatile both were, it never felt funny. It was close, too close to some sort of eldritch explosion from either, but both always did it, and it never went poorly, so maybe this was just how things were.

Garid pushed aside Kurainos's flesh with a gust of wind. "So we got guild because we can't legally do a quest together, an academy because we need to make sure we're not going to attract too much attention... no way we're going to temples with this group."
"I'd only go to one to b—"
Vla'ir shoved his left hand over Kurainos's mouth.
"Food? Market? Any of us hungry? Or, uh, any of us not pack lunch?"
"If it came down to it..." A charred tentacle sipped out from below Cao's shawl. "Did any of you guys eat?"

Garid remained silent and looked away.
"I had to clean out the whale's digestive system. No time."
"With Kurainos's worm? No."
"If I need a meal, I'll just bug a butcher."
D'aillisioux and Hunter shrugged. Neither of them really needed food; it was just a communal thing when they ate, but regardless, it was clear that nobody in the group had eaten breakfast, and Garid looked through the holographic display, moving it with one of his collarbone-tendrils.
He stopped after a few moments. "Screw it, if we wander long enough, we'll find something."

"Should we split up?" Hunter asked. "Oh, and I don't have any preference. I've already looked over the entire city. You guys just figure out what you want." He looked towards D'aillisioux. "Doesn't seem like he wants to split up, though. For a trained Assassin, you sure can't handle people."
"It's different when I'm fighting, okay?" he said.
Hunter sneered. "Silly, but all right."
"And besides, we're in a Foreign place— I— look, I'd really rather we just stay together, okay?"
"Fine, fine. Garid, since you have the map now and since you're the oldest, lead the way."
Garid started down the path, flying above everyone else as he led them towards the market, hoping for food stalls, drinks, restaurants... anything, really, to appease their boredom.

During the day the docks, harbors, wharfs and the like were common hangout spots for the sentient aquatic life of the Empire. Sirens, Mere people typically were the ones who liked to venture to the surface. Sirens was no problem but mere people required special potions to convert their legs to tails and make sure they could breath the air. It was a lot to keep up on but the good thing is, the potion had a decently long life before another dose was needed. Two young ladies, one siren, one mermaid emerged from the water, having witnessed the commotion from the new arrivals as they slowly dispersed from the area into the city.

"Gee what noise" The siren girl, Mayim grumbled when she emerged from the water, next to her, her best friend in the undersea world, a mermaid named Phoon. "Ah well, you know tourists. When you're not wrecking their ships." She giggled

"Hey hey, I just sing, it's not my fault their sailors are easily duped. Still they looked kind of strange...I mean strange even by outsider standards. And did you see the giant whale?"

"I saw it all right. Wonder what their connection to the sea is?"

"Ah who cares, just a bunch of people who'll buy some expensive stuff, eat a lot of food and go home in a day or two."

"Aww come on, this is exciting lots of outside travelers coming for the first time! Let's get acquainted."

"No thanks."

"Come on, please?" She waited as Mayim only gave silence. Again with her cute sugary voice, Phoon begged, "Pretty pleaaaase?"

"Ugh, fine, whatever! Give me about 20 minutes, I'll get a potion for you,failing that maybe I can hire a mage to carry you in a bubble."

"Aww you're the best, Mayim!"

"Well guess that's why we're best friends." Mayim might be haughty on the outside but on the inside she was putty in when it came to her BFF. Stepping out of the water, she was ready to walk "And get some clothes for the both of us! It's kinda chilly today!" Phoon slipped beneath the water again to await Mayim's return. When all said and done the girls were dressed and ready to go, Mayim was simple, an oversized gown, nothing fancy, Phoon who loved cute things and admiring the clothes people got to wear, got something more special. Now with legs she stumbled slowly getting the hang of it. "Still takes me a bit to get the hang of walking around. You sirens are lucky!"

"Sometimes I think the same about mere people. Won't your father and brother be upset your ditching school to hang out with me in town all day?"

"Ah don't worry about them, besides it's only one class today the rest is supposed to be independent study time but I'm already well off."

"You're not one to brag so I'll take your word for it. Wonder where those freaks went?"

"Hehe Mayim, best not call them that."

"Right right."

Tale of Utena

A small portal opened from an empyrean realm of golden field and a grand oriental magical estate for a young mage to approach the grand city of Amethyst. The lapis lazuli eyes shined from the dark skin mage with awe as she looked at the grand designs. “Well, this is it!” Utena chirped as she adjusted herself. Life in the Dragon Paradise and all the education from her master Catherine made it quite tiresome. After the latest examination and a special night with her wife Lux, it was time for a good vacation. There was an invitation for Lux to come over, of course, she can surprise her anytime.

And so the flowing silver hair mage in a loose groom of a dress stepped forth into her first destination: Saint Innes Academy. There was something to be said about being outside of Aurora Academy circles and the inner works of Catherine’s magic: a thirst to see how others' lore and magic are done. As Amethyst and the nation of Elvwitand itself were unknown and fresh to make contact, there is something to dig in. The old and esoteric scrolls. Traditions that may hold another secret? Or most likely, how to impress them with the usage of both firearms and magic to make the best explosive firepower out there. Utena herself was a tinker and expert in guns and magic related to casting from it herself.

That being said: for the gladiator contest, she had some other hidden tricks to reveal at a later date. Something to help make her mothers, wife, and part of Silverdale itself proud. And so Utena rushed over the halls of Saint Innes Academy to get a good look at the whole campus.


Tale of Sundae

After a long journey from the sea, the foreign priestess arrived at Amethyst at last. There was a sense of boldness and hunger for adventure outside the assistance and aid across Silverdale after the winter war. Alongside the construction of a new city of Glacius, the fox woman knew it became quite sluggish. At least alongside keeping a part of herself a secret in this place. So the orange-haired woman in a casual hoodie with the logo of ‘cute blue elf goddess’, and blue jeans stroll the streets.

Yet there was one devious intention in Sundae’s mind. As she looked one glance at the Grand Temple of Amethyst, she made a playful grin. “Hmm, that must be Amethyst’s house. I do wonder how lovable she is in comparison to my goddess.”

Sundae tried to gather some details about her destination. It was vague but a whole elven goddess. Who was she? That is one mystery to solve. That and to test the water to see how they’ll react to other similar figures in the globe. Her best friend and cuddle pal Fridea won’t be that blatant on her purse of theological inquiry. Yet this was something Sundae wanted to try, and see what art was made. So Sundae went off to the temple ground itself.

St. Ines Academy

A proud school of tradition, serving magical families since Fourteen Ashla. That's what the plaque upon the statue of the Academy founder St. Ines read, 14 being the year and Ashla being the era which it was founded, roughly 1400 years ago in human earth time. With many proud families sending their best and brightest from all over the Empire, it was a large academy filled with students ranging from as young as 4 to 16, beyond the minimum basic years of the Empire, with options for continued education, usually reserved for future instructors or specialty fields that were outside the traditional apprenticeship systems seen around the nation or those seeking the warriors path and working for The Guild. Young men and women alike attended, and mostly those who used the wand, those are what we call witches, those who use staffs or sticks are mages, there are differences between the magical groups and only in the last 100 years did mages begin attending as well.

Descending from the sky on her broomstick was one witch student, Bellona Ash. "Good day to you, visitor!" She dismounted her broom waving her wand to have it stand upright. "I take it you're interested in our lovely school? I'm Bellona Ash, part of the Student Council here, I help welcome new students and guests. If you care for a tour, I'd be delighted to take you around. Unless you rather look on your own, that's fine too, we only ask you do not disturb the classes."

Great Temple of Amethyst

The Great Temple, a pride of the city of the Church. Adorned with Priestesses and ladies deep in scripture. Inside welcomed visitors to the main lobby to see and converse with members of the faith. At the feet of the giant stone statue of the Elf Goddess read, Creator of Elf Kind, one of the Three Deities of Creation of the Land, Amethyst . The High Priestess, Sophitia, was easy to spot, the girls below her were draped in blue or black habits, while she was draped in red, signifying her rank in the temple. Only thing higher was purple but that's reserved for the Highest of Clergy those who directly talk to the Empress herself. Though in prayer she could always be talked to, or the other lower ranked Priestesses here. Men worked in the church too, another change of the new Enlightened Era of the Empire and a handful could be seen but still they were outranked by the women in the ranks. "What omens bring us that fall from the sky, Lady Goddess? See us through with great strength."

[Polish Prussian Commonwealth]

Elvwitand HUMINT Task Group(Bureau of Naval Intelligence / Abwehr) | Imperial Capital, F.S Denali

"Watch your step, Missus Chałubińska." The uniformed ship-spirit offered her arm to her compatriot as she came off the gangplank. "Wouldn't want you sufferin' accidents on day one."
"Considerate as always, Denali." The nature-spirit smiled. "Your pronunciation is getting better, too."
"I am pleased to hear that." Denali's face remained firm. "We best get going. I believe it would be best to arrange for accomodation first, unless you would wish to stay aboard my hull for the night?"
"Oh, that would be wonderful." Cecylia nodded. "I'm no good with the sea."
"Understood." Denali began to move at a brisk pace. "Best keep up, Ma'am."
"Oh!" Cecylia chuckled as she kept with her co-worker. "What was that tryin' to keep me from suffering accidents, now?"
"Time is limited."
"Ah, what's the hurry?"

Denali halted, and turned to Chałubińska. Her eyes narrowed. "I'll not spend a day more in Gods'-Country than I'll need to."

"Ah-hah." Cecylia's smile drained from her face. "It's that, isn't it."
"This is a 'magically-inclined' monarchy. An absolute one, from what little the boys back in Regensburg have gathered. You know our stance on those."
"Yes, I am well aware." Chałubińska replied, with a glare. "And it is generally a good idea to conduct oneself politely, is it not?"
"Tact does not have to imply a kow-tow. Have your own nation's diplomats not practiced the same? Did they not refuse to bow to the Tyrant of Goetterland, time and time again?"
"No." Chałubińska replied, evenly. "But neither did we seek to piss on her rug. Now, you mentioned seeking accomodation?"
"Right, yes." Denali turned away, frowning. Both ship-spirit and nature-spirit scanned the streets; an inn of any sort would do, for now.

[Legokiller]

Tale of Utena

“Apart from the Student Council?” Utena gave an awed look. “Quite lucky to meet’ch. My name is Utena Dragonlover from Silverdale. Nothing too high up, but I am a student from my dear master Catherine and attend Aurora Academy. One of the prestigious schools in Silverdale as a whole. I suppose in that sense, a bit of top talent from there.”

She then took a glance at the founder’s statue and back at Bellona Ash. “Oh, I’ll love the tour, to be honest.”


Tale of Sundae

The house of Amysthet was quite daunting. At least when it came to the statue that loomed over Sundae. However, just the words 'creator of elvenkind’ did make her wonder if it meant the ones in these lands. That is one question to ask. Her ears then pointed up to the high priestess's prayer to ask for guidance. [i]” An omen? What message came from the sky? Hm, I do wonder if it is far more simple than it appeared…[/b]

Sundae made her way toward the ranks of the priests and spoke up. “Pardon me, but is there anyone I can speak with?”

[Zerotaxia]

Amethyst City Harbor (Night)

In the harbor of Amethyst City, a set of blueish-white lights illuminated the night sky and the waters below. These were much brighter than any of the other lights in the harbor and the adjacent city, and were arranged in a V-shaped pattern. Therefore, it was evident that their source was not from this world.

The beams were rather coming from the landing lights of a large spacecraft the size of four football stadia. It was the UCS Phoenix, lead ship of the largest and most powerful class of battleships in the Zerotaxian Galactic Defense Force (GDF), and the personal transport of President Autumn Sky. Just one of these machines possessed enough firepower to eradicate all lifeforms from a planet and render it uninhabitable for eons; the GDF had hundreds and was still building more.

But fortunately for everyone, glassing planets wasn't on President Sky's mind tonight. She had just come back from dealing with a violent worker uprising in one of her mining colonies, and was therefore in no mood for another war. She needed a reprieve; a change of pace; a breath of fresh air. And what better place for it than here in this exotic less-traveled corner of the galaxy?

Typically during these landing maneuvers, the Phoenix would be guided down with aid from the Planetary Instrumental Landing System (PILS) integrated with the ship's autopilot, which worked by homing in on radio and laser signals emitted by special transmitters. Nearly every Zerotaxian spaceport, ground-based or free floating, was PILS-enabled; this made for effortless approaches and landings at the tap of a screen.

Tonight was different; this planet had no spaceports or PILS, and the ZDF's planetary databases did not have any terrain data for it. It was completely off the grid. Therefore, the navigational crew of the Phoenix had to maneuver the entire approach by sight, relying on the light of the lanterns to lead them close. Fortunately the Phoenix could land on water, and the harbor was a wide open area.

The Phoenix descended toward the water surface and smoothly touched down. A panel opened up to expose a cargo bay, and another craft that looked like a blimp but had four ducted rotors and jet nozzles. It was a Poseidon XQ-25 Hovertrain sub-atmospheric transport vehicle, which was a dirigible, airplane, and helicopter rolled into one; this one was extremely luxurious like a private jet because it was used exclusively to ferry the President. Even though it was the size of a 747, it seemed tiny in comparison with its mothership.

The Hovertrain raced through the air over the harbor, its jet blasts kicking up a huge cloud of water behind it. But the ride inside was very smooth and quiet, especially in the President's stateroom where she was adjusting her hair and makeup. Soon they would arrive at their destination.

Amethyst City (Night)

The Hovertrain stopped at the edge of the pier and unloaded its passengers; that was as far ashore as it could go because the city was never designed to accommodate a craft that big.

President Sky exited first with four Peacekeepers of the Zerotaxian Peacekeeping Force (ZPF) following suit as her guards. Not much could be discerned about them via appearance; their faces were hidden behind helmets with dark visors, and they used digital voice changers to obfuscate how they sounded. Their names were equally cryptic with each of them identifying only as the number on the back of their uniform: 1, 2, 3, and 4. The Peacekeepers each carried a concealed lightsaber and ray gun, which were strictly for defensive use.

Somewhere a clock struck ten. The sun had gone down but the nightlife was just starting up. President Sky wasn't looking to party however; she was looking for someplace to sit down, possibly have a drink, retire to the Hovertrain for the night, and resume seeing the city next morning.

As President Sky walked along the main street with 1, 2, 3, and 4, she saw that many pubs were open. She spent a while pondering which one to choose; at that moment two young women emerged onto the street from a corner in front of her.

"Hello there ladies!" she called to them. "Excuse me, but you two wouldn't happen to know a good place to have a drink around here, would you? It's my first time here."

[Shwe Tu Colony]

During the day the docks, harbors, wharfs and the like were common hangout spots...

The Wharf
All the while as the girls talked, the whale remained silent as it floated on the waves. Above it, a few more birds took off, searching for food, while those who had left earlier returned bearing scraps, bones, discarded shells and corals and glass clutched in their beaks, webbed feet, or in levitating balls of their own feathers. The birds deposited these all around and inside of the barnacles, adding to their nests.
Eventually, the whale opened its mouth, revealing a lobster holding a mattock. It rode the tongue out, and then stepped atop the whale, its legs dancing around the barnacles and seabirds as it scraped empty barnacles off. At other areas, the lobster would brush the whale's skin with its mattock, leaning in close, and then either proceed onward or grab something to throw into the water.
By the time Mayim was back with her potion, the lobster had finished its job. Instead, she would be greeted with the black gazes of the whale and birds. The whale called when their conversation ended, a call that sounded congested and strangling, but not unhappy, and the flocks of seabirds returned. Then, the mouth opened, revealing a centipede, but standing on its back set of legs. One leg held a lantern. Its head and mandibles tilted back and forth. After a few moments, the centipede set the lantern down and pointed to the girls, informing something deeper inside the whale.

Instead of some other attendant, the whale shut its jaws and dove under the waves. The seabirds followed, evidently fine with flying or swimming undersea.

En route
"Nothing?" Garid asked. Silence. "Really, really nothing? We've patrolled through... I mean, at least some of the market. You're all so picky..."
"Or clueless," Vla'ir said.
He paused when he stopped hearing one set of steps. "Cao?"
"Sorry, sorry, my whale just... He said there's someone near us who's taken an interest— not police or guards or anything, but—"
Kurainos laughed. "Please, anyone would."

Garid fluttered above them, the beat of his wings drawing their attention. "Where's Hunter?"
"Centipede attendant just said he registered a—"
"D'aillisioux, can you stop Hunter before he does something stupid?" Garid said. A flourish of purple cloth opened below his feet, becoming a vortex that the Assassin fell into. The others shuffled uncomfortably, and Vla'ir scowled.
"And here I was hoping for a normal vacation." Undeterred, he marched into the nearest open store, restaurant— what had he. At this point, he was hoping to get away from the rest of them for even a moment, wherever that might take him. Preferably somewhere that had food and wouldn't be impossible to live down if he made a mistake.

The Wharf
The girls would suddenly feel a presence behind them.
"B—"
Before Hunter could utter anything more, the trembling creaking of a ship curving like a pendulum cut through the air, and he leapt back, landing and still hovering off of the floor, his shadow and appearance still mismatched, while the strange curves and toruses and geometry continued to fade and curl in and out of being next to him. "Ugh, there goes that plan." He looked behind the girls. "D'aillisioux, did you guys really think I would do something like that to someone I hadn't even met yet? Most folks can handle a little spook."
"We thought it'd be better to not take any chances." He sighed and turned to the girls. "Look, I'm not sure why my friend's... whale attendants thought this was worth mentioning, but I'm sorry if the, like... general sight or something of that was an issue?" He gestured cluelessly as he spoke.

"Dude, if there were actually problems, I'd think the whale would be under armed patrol by now, except all I see are these two, but— right, right, where are my manners." Hunter cleared his throat and leaned back, still floating, but without any of the strange topologies near him. Still, there was an otherworldly influence emanating from him, like he had no right nor reason to exist,. He felt like an unwelcome guest in one's house, someone who was found rummaging through cabinets, living vicariously through every photo and eating meals in the walls, and had been doing so for years before before finally being found. On the other end, his voice was confident and boyish, the sort of voice that promised grand dreams and ambitions to his beloved, and lived up to them. "Name's Hunter. Hunter Ambrosio, son of... well, anyway, the small blueberry kid over there and I are friends of the..." He clicked his head towards D'aillisioux.
"The whale's companion."
"Yes, that." On cue, the creature rose, its black eyes betraying irritation at being mentioned before it dove back under. "Oh, and you wouldn't happen to have any restaurant recommendations around here, would you? We've been wandering for quite a while."
"Please don't overwhelm them, Hunter..."

[The Selkie]

When our visitor fell in the night, she had been spotted, by students of St. Ines Witching Academy. Students in their Astronomy Lessons. Instructor Juliana had been alerted by her students "Lady Juliana, a falling star?"

"Odd, no meteors are on forecast for tonight." She said peering into the telescope, whatever it was it was hard to make out, falling at a high rate of speed. It could be just some wayward meteor but could it be something more? Perhaps this is a good time to change it into a lesson. "Girls, falling stars outside of normal patterns is indeed unusual. This is a good time to talk about unexpected signs from the heavens." It was a sign all right, a sign a most odd visitor was coming down, likely to not make trouble but explore. A good time to do so.

As the morning hours drew on for our visitor as she examined her options in town, a few signs or helpful locals can easily point to where the Great Imperial Library was, a large stone building with giant support pillars, very classical looking, in human real earth terms one might compare it to the mighty Greek and Roman buildings of ancient history. It was open for the public to come and go as they please, read whatever they want whenever they want, well as expected for a magical kingdom there is indeed a restricted section, only those with royal or church decrees can enter. This morning plenty bustling already, soft murmers of people chatting could be heard echoing about as could the ruffle of the pages and thuds of heavy books on the wood tables. Signs were dotted all around saying typical stuff like, Be courteous and speak softly, checkouts require library card, inquire at desk, cafe hours: dawn-to-dusk Large windows let in plenty of sunlight, streaming in softly gave the whole place a beautiful glow of warm light.

Two librarians elf sisters capable of magic, one had to with so many Academy witches here and it also made sorting things so much easier when you don't have to roam two floors of rows and rows of books. The scholarly heart of the nation was here and it could be felt in every stone and corner of the building.

[...]

RTNS Aaka.
While I was swept by the crowd, observing and trying to figure out the local language by that, I also came to the conclusion, that my entry into the atmosphere had most likely been observed. The planet did not have a planet-wide datanet, but people had eyes and while had landed at night on purpose, there was no guarantee, that no one had been awake.
Astronomers, city guards, lovers and dreamers, people of more illicit persuasions, sleepless people...
I had not exactly tried to hide my entry.
Anyway, while that was running through my mind, I let myself be moved.
Towards a public library.
A big public library, with physical copies.
Of course, such existed in the Realm, too, but with the majority of all information one could ever need and then some via planetary networks, it was a bit unusual. A friend of mine collected books, tomes, scrolls... a science vessel.
The architecture spoke of sophistication, power and grandeur, but also the will to put it out, so to speak. It was a different approach to the architecture in the Realm. I might compare it to the Traditional Architecture, with its pillars of wood (or polymers), flooded with fresh air and light.
I entered.
The large windows let in plenty of sunlight, I noted the reception desk and approached. The ones manning it were kind-of cute, I knew at least three fellow shippeople, who'd made a pass or two at them and they had pointy ears. It gave me, for but a moment, pause.
Pointy ears, to me, meant shipperson - usually of the Cneas-Group. But they usually moved in large groups and scavanged, not worked as librarians.
I approached them, bowed my head politely.
"Good day, Madames.", I greeted, trying my best with my borrowed knowledge, "I not from here. Please point me to speaking books?"
It is the effort, which counted.
Please imagine me nodding sagely.

[AHSCA]

Odd as it may be, the two fox girls didn't stand out, there were plenty of them in the Empire but what was surprising was they were foreign. Still magic helps break through most language barriers in this case. Interested in the Katoomba indeed, a popular attraction whenever she was in port, probably because the ship had been in a single family for 600 years! She'd seen lots of history but that's something the good captain could talk about. When the woman flagged down a passing coach, the driver was thrilled to give them a ride, and why wouldn't he be, it's how he makes his liveliehood. "Certainly can, Madams. Sit on back and we'll be there shortly."

It wasn't a long trip back to the harbor and it seemed it was growing crowded with more ships from other parts of the Empire and even countries beyond, how exciting of a time this was. Were so many people just discovering the beauty of the Holy Empire, or were they coming for the tournaments? Whatever it was, what time to be in the capital right now! "Here we are ladies, feel free to stroll aboard, the Captain is a fine dame of a woman but know that she's taken." He chuckled moving along, it was a cheesy joke he always made but he didn't know the two women were a couple. Though the evening hours it seemed it drew a handful of local tourists from around, others dressed like our lovely fox ladies and some cats and foxes among them. The western half of the Empire does have a fair share of states that derive their cultures from a similar base as our visitors. Perhaps it made them feel at home? Captain Runze Vuvriroh, a dark elf woman hailing from the state Lahnavu couldn't help but take notice of her latest visitors so much she emerged from her cabin. "Mmmmmmm." She gave a audible curious murmur "My dear ladies, do correct me if I am wrong, but do tell me are you mariners yourselves? I can't quite put my finger on it but I have an uncanny ability to detect fellow women of the seas! Though if I am wrong, I'll surely be embarrassed!" She laughed a haughty laugh.

Their arrival was indeed swift, Aina helped Yuzu down from the carriage when the driver made a joke about the lady being taken. Strange sort, Aina thought shaking her head.

"Well?" Yuzu said taking her girl's hand. "Shall we step aboard?"

"Yeah, let's go!" The ladies walked up the gangway to the deck of the ship. Such a beautiful night under the starry sky, the soft glow of the lantern lights, frankly, this was almost like home yet still different in many ways. A look out to an endless sea, some days it felt nothing short of a miracle they arrived here but they were the bold explorers in an ever changing and growing world. "It's lovely tonight." Aina said, squeezing Yuzu's hand

"It truly is."

Their quiet romantic moment was interrupted by a woman, who asked were they fellow folks of the sea. "Ah indeed we are. Aina Indou, Captain of the S.S. Yuzu."

"I'm Yuzu Kotobuki, I'm a Crewman under the Captain here!"

"Are you by chance the Captain of this vessel?"

[Sunset Company]

2 - Novel

Amethyst, Elvwitand City Outskirts

The descent had been uneventful. The Convocation's shuttle had followed a rough analogue of the path taken by its extraterrestrial predecessor, but had peeled off once surface details could be resolved, and "parked" itself in a suitably-remote patch of woodlands. No attempts had been made at contact or interception, either during the flight itself, or post-landing, and so a brief conference between all present had concluded that the shuttle could simply be left in place under guard. From there, it had been an hour-long walk along various roads and byways towards the Imperial capital; now, two figures made their way into the city proper, each with its own distinct, though more or less equally-imposing, presence.

The first was taller, broader, clad from head to toe in an armored suit of polished red. Its face was concealed behind a slitted, cruciform visor; thus no inference could be made as to its appearance, gender, or even species. Over its armor, it had also draped a sizeable coat, dark-grey cloth holding numerous squares of additional plating. No two of these tiles were alike, varying in color, texture and truncated insignia; many bore varying degrees of damage, everything from indentations to burns and melt-deformation. The coat had been left open, and its swishing motions would occasionally bring to light a bulky underarm holster, nestled within.

The second figure was at the very least clearer in its presentation. Human, female, sporting a messy tangle of ash-blond hair that reached down to her waist. She too wore a coat - an ancient, faded thing, in a style befitting a naval admiral; it had once borne insignia, but they had all been stripped away, save for a tiny grey and orange badge on her lapel. The overall look was strange - medal-ribbons stripped of their medals, hung abreast in droves, and mismatched epaulettes, one simple and modern, the other bulky, trailing frills of gold. Steely eyes peered out over a towering collar, beneath which one could spy an occasional glint of metal. It matched the gilded cutlass, sheathed at her belt. Her voice was hoarse, authoritative.

"Still not convinced we shouldn't have brought guards. The people here are..."

"Weird?"

There was an irony to that, somewhere. The armored giant's voice was about as informative as his appearance - garbled, as if fed through a chain of mis-tuned radios, and laden with a number of additional distortions. Pale-blue motes twinkled behind his visor, sweeping around as if to survey the area.

"They're certainly lively. Look, it's like some kind of festival. Maybe they're all in costumes."

"The fuck kind of costumes are these?"

"Quieten down, now. You wouldn't want to leave a bad first impression. We've left the marines behind because we don't want to startle anyone. And also because they have the shuttle, so theoretically if we need them they could be here within minutes anyway."

The armored one leaned towards his companion as he walked, placing a finger to where his mouth may have been under the plating. The two met with a clang.

"We're practically ambassadors to these people. We're out here representing things. Exploring an entirely new frontier. Don't go around shouting. Or stabbing anyone. Or punching anyone. Or shooting anyone. Or calling up the Cassandra for an orbital strike. Or-"

"Right, yeah, I get it. Fuck."

She took her own look around, once more. A gloved hand rose to her collar, pulling it up more tightly - her posture shifted to match, as if to optimize concealment of her lower face.

"Guess I should cover up as well, yeah?"

"Oh, don't be like that. There are people here with horns, and wings, and big pointy ears. What's a little steel?"

"Then let's see you taking off that helmet, you bastard."

She actually froze for a moment as he raised his hands to his neck, poking at the seam where visor met helmet. And lowered them again, tilting his head.

"Hah. I'm not sure they'd be that tolerant. But I almost got you there, didn't I?"

And so they continued onwards, inwards, towards whatever source all this bustle might have.

[Elvwitand]

Elvwitand HUMINT Task Group(Bureau of Naval Intelligence / Abwehr) | Imperial Capital, F.S Denali

"Watch your step, Missus Chałubińska." The uniformed ship-spirit offered her arm to her compatriot as she came off the gangplank. "Wouldn't want you sufferin' accidents on day one."
"Considerate as always, Denali." The nature-spirit smiled. "Your pronunciation is getting better, too."
"I am pleased to hear that." Denali's face remained firm. "We best get going. I believe it would be best to arrange for accomodation first, unless you would wish to stay aboard my hull for the night?"
"Oh, that would be wonderful." Cecylia nodded. "I'm no good with the sea."
"Understood." Denali began to move at a brisk pace. "Best keep up, Ma'am."
"Oh!" Cecylia chuckled as she kept with her co-worker. "What was that tryin' to keep me from suffering accidents, now?"
"Time is limited."
"Ah, what's the hurry?"

Denali halted, and turned to Chałubińska. Her eyes narrowed. "I'll not spend a day more in Gods'-Country than I'll need to."

"Ah-hah." Cecylia's smile drained from her face. "It's that, isn't it."
"This is a 'magically-inclined' monarchy. An absolute one, from what little the boys back in Regensburg have gathered. You know our stance on those."
"Yes, I am well aware." Chałubińska replied, with a glare. "And it is generally a good idea to conduct oneself politely, is it not?"
"Tact does not have to imply a kow-tow. Have your own nation's diplomats not practiced the same? Did they not refuse to bow to the Tyrant of Goetterland, time and time again?"
"No." Chałubińska replied, evenly. "But neither did we seek to piss on her rug. Now, you mentioned seeking accomodation?"
"Right, yes." Denali turned away, frowning. Both ship-spirit and nature-spirit scanned the streets; an inn of any sort would do, for now.

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.

Tale of Utena

“Apart from the Student Council?” Utena gave an awed look. “Quite lucky to meet’ch. My name is Utena Dragonlover from Silverdale. Nothing too high up, but I am a student from my dear master Catherine and attend Aurora Academy. One of the prestigious schools in Silverdale as a whole. I suppose in that sense, a bit of top talent from there.”

She then took a glance at the founder’s statue and back at Bellona Ash. “Oh, I’ll love the tour, to be honest.”


Tale of Sundae

The house of Amysthet was quite daunting. At least when it came to the statue that loomed over Sundae. However, just the words 'creator of elvenkind’ did make her wonder if it meant the ones in these lands. That is one question to ask. Her ears then pointed up to the high priestess's prayer to ask for guidance. ” An omen? What message came from the sky? Hm, I do wonder if it is far more simple than it appeared…[/b]

Sundae made her way toward the ranks of the priests and spoke up. “Pardon me, but is there anyone I can speak with?”

The Academy

"A fine pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Dragonlover, or may I call you Utena or Miss Utena? A tour you desire a tour you shall get. Are you a perspective student, or just an interested visitor? It's okay either way." Allowing for an answer by Utena, Bellona waved her wand, encasing her broomstick in a little orb of light, shrinking it down to pocket size which quickly adorned to her hip. "To begin, this is the Academy Entrance grounds, you see the great statue of our found, the Patron Saint of all Witch kind across the land! Follow me, our first stop is the rose garden, if you have questions feel free to ask any time! The Rose Garden is maintained by the students, a lovely gazebo for sit and enjoy nature. Many do come here to study or just serenely soak in the nature." Indeed it was a vast rose garden with a tidy little gazebo at the top of a gentle slope, just as said. "And certainly, plenty of romantic evenings are had here among the students and even a staff member or two" She giggled.

---

The Great Temple

The High Priestess turned about when someone inquired about needing someone to speak with, "Why of course, traveler, welcome to the Great Temple of Amethyst, our devotion to the Goddess. I am Sophitia, I'm the High Priestess of the Temple. What is it I can do for you, this fine day? Questions you may have, or guidance you may seek? A prayer or blessing for you perhaps?"

Amethyst City Harbor (Night)

In the harbor of Amethyst City, a set of blueish-white lights illuminated the night sky and the waters below. These were much brighter than any of the other lights in the harbor and the adjacent city, and were arranged in a V-shaped pattern. Therefore, it was evident that their source was not from this world.

The beams were rather coming from the landing lights of a large spacecraft the size of four football stadia. It was the UCS Phoenix, lead ship of the largest and most powerful class of battleships in the Zerotaxian Galactic Defense Force (GDF), and the personal transport of President Autumn Sky. Just one of these machines possessed enough firepower to eradicate all lifeforms from a planet and render it uninhabitable for eons; the GDF had hundreds and was still building more.

But fortunately for everyone, glassing planets wasn't on President Sky's mind tonight. She had just come back from dealing with a violent worker uprising in one of her mining colonies, and was therefore in no mood for another war. She needed a reprieve; a change of pace; a breath of fresh air. And what better place for it than here in this exotic less-traveled corner of the galaxy?

Typically during these landing maneuvers, the Phoenix would be guided down with aid from the Planetary Instrumental Landing System (PILS) integrated with the ship's autopilot, which worked by homing in on radio and laser signals emitted by special transmitters. Nearly every Zerotaxian spaceport, ground-based or free floating, was PILS-enabled; this made for effortless approaches and landings at the tap of a screen.

Tonight was different; this planet had no spaceports or PILS, and the ZDF's planetary databases did not have any terrain data for it. It was completely off the grid. Therefore, the navigational crew of the Phoenix had to maneuver the entire approach by sight, relying on the light of the lanterns to lead them close. Fortunately the Phoenix could land on water, and the harbor was a wide open area.

The Phoenix descended toward the water surface and smoothly touched down. A panel opened up to expose a cargo bay, and another craft that looked like a blimp but had four ducted rotors and jet nozzles. It was a Poseidon XQ-25 Hovertrain sub-atmospheric transport vehicle, which was a dirigible, airplane, and helicopter rolled into one; this one was extremely luxurious like a private jet because it was used exclusively to ferry the President. Even though it was the size of a 747, it seemed tiny in comparison with its mothership.

The Hovertrain raced through the air over the harbor, its jet blasts kicking up a huge cloud of water behind it. But the ride inside was very smooth and quiet, especially in the President's stateroom where she was adjusting her hair and makeup. Soon they would arrive at their destination.

Amethyst City (Night)

The Hovertrain stopped at the edge of the pier and unloaded its passengers; that was as far ashore as it could go because the city was never designed to accommodate a craft that big.

President Sky exited first with four Peacekeepers of the Zerotaxian Peacekeeping Force (ZPF) following suit as her guards. Not much could be discerned about them via appearance; their faces were hidden behind helmets with dark visors, and they used digital voice changers to obfuscate how they sounded. Their names were equally cryptic with each of them identifying only as the number on the back of their uniform: 1, 2, 3, and 4. The Peacekeepers each carried a concealed lightsaber and ray gun, which were strictly for defensive use.

Somewhere a clock struck ten. The sun had gone down but the nightlife was just starting up. President Sky wasn't looking to party however; she was looking for someplace to sit down, possibly have a drink, retire to the Hovertrain for the night, and resume seeing the city next morning.

As President Sky walked along the main street with 1, 2, 3, and 4, she saw that many pubs were open. She spent a while pondering which one to choose; at that moment two young women emerged onto the street from a corner in front of her.

"Hello there ladies!" she called to them. "Excuse me, but you two wouldn't happen to know a good place to have a drink around here, would you? It's my first time here."

Between Vellorina and Rasha there was still a bit of banter, just a bit of catch up and again making sure each other were doing well. It'd only been a couple of weeks since they set off for the city but when you're young and in love, it may just feel like an eternity. ..."And Ilia and Miss Kafara really started going at it again but before too long they got tired and just had a quite cup of tea together"

"Hopefully in time they'll become friendlier towards one another." Their conversation was interrupted when they were approached by a lovely lady and her four, uhhh, what were these things? The two girls had to wonder...But clearly none meant any harm as the lady asked "Huh a good pub huh?" Vellorina thought a moment. "As a matter of fact we were just looking for a spot to eat and drink ourselves."

"Oh, now that I think about it, Talida said one of the best places in the Capital was The Lightning Sword Tavern."

"Sounds like a fine place then, maybe Madame you'd care to join us? If it's okay with you, Rasha?"

"Sure that's okay by me. You are a visitor to the city, and no doubt from outside our Empire so maybe you'd like to hear from a couple of nation-locals?"

"By that she means we're from the country but not from the city. But our offer is open, Madame."

"Good conversation and good food and good drink!"

The Wharf
All the while as the girls talked, the whale remained silent as it floated on the waves. Above it, a few more birds took off, searching for food, while those who had left earlier returned bearing scraps, bones, discarded shells and corals and glass clutched in their beaks, webbed feet, or in levitating balls of their own feathers. The birds deposited these all around and inside of the barnacles, adding to their nests.
Eventually, the whale opened its mouth, revealing a lobster holding a mattock. It rode the tongue out, and then stepped atop the whale, its legs dancing around the barnacles and seabirds as it scraped empty barnacles off. At other areas, the lobster would brush the whale's skin with its mattock, leaning in close, and then either proceed onward or grab something to throw into the water.
By the time Mayim was back with her potion, the lobster had finished its job. Instead, she would be greeted with the black gazes of the whale and birds. The whale called when their conversation ended, a call that sounded congested and strangling, but not unhappy, and the flocks of seabirds returned. Then, the mouth opened, revealing a centipede, but standing on its back set of legs. One leg held a lantern. Its head and mandibles tilted back and forth. After a few moments, the centipede set the lantern down and pointed to the girls, informing something deeper inside the whale.

Instead of some other attendant, the whale shut its jaws and dove under the waves. The seabirds followed, evidently fine with flying or swimming undersea.

En route
"Nothing?" Garid asked. Silence. "Really, really nothing? We've patrolled through... I mean, at least some of the market. You're all so picky..."
"Or clueless," Vla'ir said.
He paused when he stopped hearing one set of steps. "Cao?"
"Sorry, sorry, my whale just... He said there's someone near us who's taken an interest— not police or guards or anything, but—"
Kurainos laughed. "Please, anyone would."

Garid fluttered above them, the beat of his wings drawing their attention. "Where's Hunter?"

"Centipede attendant just said he registered a—"
"D'aillisioux, can you stop Hunter before he does something stupid?" Garid said. A flourish of purple cloth opened below his feet, becoming a vortex that the Assassin fell into. The others shuffled uncomfortably, and Vla'ir scowled.
"And here I was hoping for a normal vacation." Undeterred, he marched into the nearest open store, restaurant— what had he. At this point, he was hoping to get away from the rest of them for even a moment, wherever that might take him. Preferably somewhere that had food and wouldn't be impossible to live down if he made a mistake.

The Wharf
The girls would suddenly feel a presence behind them.
"B—"
Before Hunter could utter anything more, the trembling creaking of a ship curving like a pendulum cut through the air, and he leapt back, landing and still hovering off of the floor, his shadow and appearance still mismatched, while the strange curves and toruses and geometry continued to fade and curl in and out of being next to him. "Ugh, there goes that plan." He looked behind the girls. "D'aillisioux, did you guys really think I would do something like that to someone I hadn't even met yet? Most folks can handle a little spook."
"We thought it'd be better to not take any chances." He sighed and turned to the girls. "Look, I'm not sure why my friend's... whale attendants thought this was worth mentioning, but I'm sorry if the, like... general sight or something of that was an issue?" He gestured cluelessly as he spoke.

"Dude, if there were actually problems, I'd think the whale would be under armed patrol by now, except all I see are these two, but— right, right, where are my manners." Hunter cleared his throat and leaned back, still floating, but without any of the strange topologies near him. Still, there was an otherworldly influence emanating from him, like he had no right nor reason to exist,. He felt like an unwelcome guest in one's house, someone who was found rummaging through cabinets, living vicariously through every photo and eating meals in the walls, and had been doing so for years before before finally being found. On the other end, his voice was confident and boyish, the sort of voice that promised grand dreams and ambitions to his beloved, and lived up to them. "Name's Hunter. Hunter Ambrosio, son of... well, anyway, the small blueberry kid over there and I are friends of the..." He clicked his head towards D'aillisioux.
"The whale's companion."
"Yes, that." On cue, the creature rose, its black eyes betraying irritation at being mentioned before it dove back under. "Oh, and you wouldn't happen to have any restaurant recommendations around here, would you? We've been wandering for quite a while."
"Please don't overwhelm them, Hunter..."

The Wharf

"Ah gee," Mayim grumbled when she returned to the waterfront with the potion in a small vile, it'd be enough for a 12-hour dose but it seemed for now, it wasn't needed. "Hey Phoon, sorry that took a while, seems every medicine shop was filled with people!"

"Mayim, look at that"

"That big whale."

"Think it's wanting us to come inside."

"I thought you wanted to go on land?"

"We can a little later, let's see what's inside?"

"It may be someone's foreign ship we may get whisked away to some country somewhere."

"And we'll find the seas back like we always do when we wind up way from home. Come onnnn let's be adventurous"

"Fine fine, I'm coming." Hoping inside the girls went with the giant mouth closing behind them. So far, nothing that would be particularly alarming, aquatic races are surprisingly difficult to actually kill. Worse case scenario their souls would be returned to the sea and reborn at some point very soon or held by Precipise for a sum then let go when paid. Of course the chewing out by their families would be rough but sometimes its worth it to have a fun adventure! Times they were truly vulnerable were on dry land for other reasons. Anyway, this actually was a little scary at first but it seemed their fears were quelled when someone introduced themself "oooh so this is your whale as a companion! Seems awfully nice!" Phoon said with stars in her eyes "I'm Phoon! A mermaid from well, Mermaid Bay!" She giggled being from the appropriately named bay of her race. "I'm Maylim, i'm a siren from yeah the obviously named Sirens Cove."

"Actually Mermaid's Cove is on the West shore, and Sirens Cove is just is further west past the Bay of Kephy. We are on the East shore in the Capital. Well I think anyway!"

"If you want a place to eat, let us out we can take you somewhere. I just dropped 10G on a Legs Potion for my dear friend here, hell if I'm gonna let it go to waste!"



In the City...


For those on the shore plenty of shops and pubs abound. Perhaps one place that caught attention was the said medicine and magic shop Miss Mayim had visited not more than half-an-hour before. A large plume of smoke forming a giant hand was occasionally seen to be grabbing folks to bring them inside, but that wasn't really great for business. But our visitors might just find themselves walking in on their own will to find behind the counter a goofy small girl with oversized glasses forming an equally goofy spiral pattern in the middle. "Welcome to DragonsFang for your magical and potion knickknack needs!" She jumped from behind the counter "I'm Ferroni [i]THE SCARY" she said going from high and girlish to low and deep with a dramatic thunderclap to go with it. "Ahaha just kiddin' Dragon Titles are sooooo Carleain Era! This is the new Era of Euphyllia after all! What can I do for you fine folks today!?"

RTNS Aaka.
While I was swept by the crowd, observing and trying to figure out the local language by that, I also came to the conclusion, that my entry into the atmosphere had most likely been observed. The planet did not have a planet-wide datanet, but people had eyes and while had landed at night on purpose, there was no guarantee, that no one had been awake.
Astronomers, city guards, lovers and dreamers, people of more illicit persuasions, sleepless people...
I had not exactly tried to hide my entry.
Anyway, while that was running through my mind, I let myself be moved.
Towards a public library.
A big public library, with physical copies.
Of course, such existed in the Realm, too, but with the majority of all information one could ever need and then some via planetary networks, it was a bit unusual. A friend of mine collected books, tomes, scrolls... a science vessel.
The architecture spoke of sophistication, power and grandeur, but also the will to put it out, so to speak. It was a different approach to the architecture in the Realm. I might compare it to the Traditional Architecture, with its pillars of wood (or polymers), flooded with fresh air and light.
I entered.
The large windows let in plenty of sunlight, I noted the reception desk and approached. The ones manning it were kind-of cute, I knew at least three fellow shippeople, who'd made a pass or two at them and they had pointy ears. It gave me, for but a moment, pause.
Pointy ears, to me, meant shipperson - usually of the Cneas-Group. But they usually moved in large groups and scavanged, not worked as librarians.
I approached them, bowed my head politely.
"Good day, Madames.", I greeted, trying my best with my borrowed knowledge, "I not from here. Please point me to speaking books?"
It is the effort, which counted.
Please imagine me nodding sagely.

Lisca looked up from her book first while Arika looked she also got approached by someone else. "Good morning, Madame." Her appearance almost made it seem like she might be from Shinzajiro, maybe Hatsuhotayo, Xiao Meiqi or even Raidon Showgan, all large diverse states with very similar dress but her accent she was clearly foreign. Seemed a lot of foreign tourists had been arriving of late, curious! "Speaking books, Madame, yes, follow me. If there's any book in particular you might be looking for I can help you with that as well. Otherwise you are always welcome to browse on your own and see what suits you." She lead her up the stairs around the corner to a section of books "Three shelves. Admittedly we're still quite behind in this endeavor to get more books charmed with the Enchantments of Gabbing. An endeavor that started in the first of the current era. It's taking some time but it's coming along. So far, history books, fictional literature, reference guides for mages and some Holy Texts. Much to do and much to get done. But do me mindful if you take these books anywhere else in the library, some books are known to be quite loud and we do ask our guests to be soft. This section is under a spell to muffle the noise so you can stand or sit here. Uh for example...."

She pulled a book off the shelf, cracking it open let out some bellowing operatic style singing, with one note so high pitched it did unfortunately crack the poor librarian's glasses. Slamming the book shut, Lisca tapped on her glasses giving them an instant fix. "Famous Musicals of the Imperial Theater, Euphylias 10 to Aurae 1100. Right, foreign!" She had to remind herself, "Current Era, namely the present day back 413 years! That's just this volume, there are a few more if you want to know the musical theater scene. Fine book but the Mage who enchanted it wasn't the greatest with her spells. Well oh well, she did her best. Now anything else you might need from me or shall I leave you to explore on your own?"

snip

"Aaaah see I still have it in me! 421 years upon the seas and on the Katoomba, I still got it! You are also correct, dear Captain Woman! I am Captain Runze Vuvriroh captain of the Katoomba ship, pride of Lanavu, pride of my port home of Kordryth! Well then, if you wouldn't be opposed, I'd love to have a fellow Captain and her crewman in my private quarters for a meal! Unless you've eaten then I shall wait to eat as to not be rude but but I'd love to hear the tales of a fellow captain and her trusty crewman. By the looks of it, you're not just superior and subordinate, a little more? If you don't mind me prying!" she giggled folding her arms a bit. The two women were quite cute, young, youthful full of life no doubt, to hear what they had to say would be a real treat for the captain.

The descent had been uneventful. The Convocation's shuttle had followed a rough analogue of the path taken by its extraterrestrial predecessor, but had peeled off once surface details could be resolved, and "parked" itself in a suitably-remote patch of woodlands. No attempts had been made at contact or interception, either during the flight itself, or post-landing, and so a brief conference between all present had concluded that the shuttle could simply be left in place under guard. From there, it had been an hour-long walk along various roads and byways towards the Imperial capital; now, two figures made their way into the city proper, each with its own distinct, though more or less equally-imposing, presence.

The first was taller, broader, clad from head to toe in an armored suit of polished red. Its face was concealed behind a slitted, cruciform visor; thus no inference could be made as to its appearance, gender, or even species. Over its armor, it had also draped a sizeable coat, dark-grey cloth holding numerous squares of additional plating. No two of these tiles were alike, varying in color, texture and truncated insignia; many bore varying degrees of damage, everything from indentations to burns and melt-deformation. The coat had been left open, and its swishing motions would occasionally bring to light a bulky underarm holster, nestled within.

The second figure was at the very least clearer in its presentation. Human, female, sporting a messy tangle of ash-blond hair that reached down to her waist. She too wore a coat - an ancient, faded thing, in a style befitting a naval admiral; it had once borne insignia, but they had all been stripped away, save for a tiny grey and orange badge on her lapel. The overall look was strange - medal-ribbons stripped of their medals, hung abreast in droves, and mismatched epaulettes, one simple and modern, the other bulky, trailing frills of gold. Steely eyes peered out over a towering collar, beneath which one could spy an occasional glint of metal. It matched the gilded cutlass, sheathed at her belt. Her voice was hoarse, authoritative.

"Still not convinced we shouldn't have brought guards. The people here are..."

"Weird?"

There was an irony to that, somewhere. The armored giant's voice was about as informative as his appearance - garbled, as if fed through a chain of mis-tuned radios, and laden with a number of additional distortions. Pale-blue motes twinkled behind his visor, sweeping around as if to survey the area.

"They're certainly lively. Look, it's like some kind of festival. Maybe they're all in costumes."

"The fuck kind of costumes are these?"

"Quieten down, now. You wouldn't want to leave a bad first impression. We've left the marines behind because we don't want to startle anyone. And also because they have the shuttle, so theoretically if we need them they could be here within minutes anyway."

The armored one leaned towards his companion as he walked, placing a finger to where his mouth may have been under the plating. The two met with a clang.

"We're practically ambassadors to these people. We're out here representing things. Exploring an entirely new frontier. Don't go around shouting. Or stabbing anyone. Or punching anyone. Or shooting anyone. Or calling up the Cassandra for an orbital strike. Or-"

"Right, yeah, I get it. Fuck."

She took her own look around, once more. A gloved hand rose to her collar, pulling it up more tightly - her posture shifted to match, as if to optimize concealment of her lower face.

"Guess I should cover up as well, yeah?"

"Oh, don't be like that. There are people here with horns, and wings, and big pointy ears. What's a little steel?"

"Then let's see you taking off that helmet, you bastard."

She actually froze for a moment as he raised his hands to his neck, poking at the seam where visor met helmet. And lowered them again, tilting his head.

"Hah. I'm not sure they'd be that tolerant. But I almost got you there, didn't I?"

And so they continued onwards, inwards, towards whatever source all this bustle might have.

Entering the city was simple for anyone, after all it wasn't walled off, or gated or guarded. One might say that was risky but this has been an millennium of everlasting peace among the Imperial states so the days of old walled cities was mostly behind. The city busy and bustling with people, shops open, merchants peddling there wares and trinkets. Hunters from the Guild ready to head off on quests and adventures and sportsman on their way to the arena. The visitors could chose any route or be scooped up, as wearing armor typically meant you were either with the Guild or going to the Arena. One hopeful Arena fighter, Azla-Beth herself on the way noticed a bunch of obvious "Tourists..." She puffed quietly. Some those who resided outside the city did hear some kind of commotion in the woods, guess it was good she was both a Hunter's Guild Member and Arena Fighter. "Oooooi you!" She addressed them. Her short stature made her look more like a child but she was not a child but a legal adult now! Looking to make her mark on the Empire either as a great guild member or a great tournament fighter. "What'cha ya bunch doin huh? New in town I take it?"

[Phibeta]

The Market Square

The downtrodden brothers had a lot to go against them, a strange foreign land and not a lot of people to really take the time or notice. The streets could be filled with beggars at any time most would say "ya daft? Go to the guild or be an apprentice if you want money!" They'd hear that plenty if they begged their sculptures took interest but not enough to get people to buy when there's far finer craftsman here to sell their stuff. The brothers hope may be around the corner yet, a young girl by the name of Azariah Belon, on her way to fight in the arena and make her mama proud! Her mama, Selphe Belon, a proud brave arena champ, prior to being dethroned by the current champion and now a proud warrior with the Guild. Doned in her armor with a shield on her back her long pink-ish-redish-hair flowing behind her she was ready but hello what is this? "Oooh my what cute little statues! You make these?" By the looks of it these boys were quite deshelved, were they orphans? Odd, orphans are cared for by the Church why would they be in such sorry shape? Maybe they've traveled from one of the other states in the Empire and have been on the road a long time? Surely with art such as this they could find a nice inn or lean on the sympathies of a homesteader. She wanted to say something but at the same time she got plenty of pity. Her mother being so exceptional she was so...AVERAGE. People were waiting for the day for her to be married off and not have to worry about it. "I'd like to buy some but I have to say, nothing is catching my eye right now....do you have any unicorns? Maybe a Woodland Hippocampi, dragons?" Even if they didn't she'd probably buy something just because of how she felt for the boys.

They were younger than her, but not by much it seemed, she was just barely a teen, done with primary school and now having to decided her future in life. She wanted to be just like her mother, a proud brave warrior who could be a champ in the arena or envy of the guild, right now she was neither of those things. Her first attempts in the arena didn't go well, her armor which she bought in a back alley fell clean off. Imagine, standing naked before a million spectators, even in a place like this it was rather embarrassing. One would think she'd wise up but the vendor told her "what a silly mistake, I forgot to put the proper enchantments on the armor and mumbled some nonsense and sold her a new set. A good amount of gold but cheaper than the armor and weapons shops. Only way to earn money is to either be sponsored or take on guild quests but without equipment, best she could do is fight wild slimes, worth not even a single gold piece. It would take her ages that way, her mother wasn't ready to hand her anything, insisting she work for it like she did, her father was a simple baker insisting she join him in the bakery. Ugh why was she such a disappointment? But her parents are her parents and seeing these cute trinkets just made her want to bring them some. Hopefully with a victory in the arena on her side!

"I'd love to buy three pieces if you can make what I'm asking for, I'll make it worth your while too. 4 Gold each if you can make them for me! Uh though how long will it take? I can always come back if you need me to."

---

The Guild

Plenty did quests for the guild, it's how a great amount of people made their living. Women with their daughters as their apprentices, mages, witches the like all you could imagine everyone who was anyone was here. The guild receptionist welcomed Rikako Nakashima. "Welcome to the Guild, where all your dreams are belong to us!" Wait that doesn't sound right... "A sword and sorcery quest you ask huh? Let's see what the board has to say...." She craned her head over to a large board which featured flipping placard cards one quest came up Needing Wolfsbane, seeking to party with a sword warrior. Reward 530 Gold. See Soliana Aeyra for details. "You are in luck, dear guest, it seems a quest is waiting for you, go to Row G, tent 16 and when you party up with her return here when ready. You'll need to be registered with the Guild to accept formally and claim your reward but we can take care of registration in a bit, best you grab your quest while you can. Go on, she's waiting for you."

Amythest, Elvwitand

It was a while until someone took notice of them, perhaps it was the song Aaron sang. He had a good voice, but nothing that would stand out, also like Elijah’s lute playing. Just enough to get by. The lady, who’s long pinkish-reddish-hair captured the eyes of the boys, has asked about the animals in question and were awestruck when she offered 4 gold for three of them, different animals. They looked at their little, dull, misshapen sculptures. There were dogs, cats, ducks, and horses. But nothing of the other animals she mentioned. Unicorns and dragons are not too hard of a problem, as they have read books on them, many years ago with their mother. The Woodland Hippocampi, might be a problem, as they have not seen such animals a lot. For now, Aaron began drawing a transmutation circle, while Elijah gathered three of the sculptures.

“We did make them ourselves ma’am,” Elijah said. “You don’t need to wait. We can make ‘em right now”. With that, both of them clapped their hands on the circle, and once again a light of blue energy shone as the sculptures reshaped to take the form of the requests. Of course, given their age and skill, the they were not as good as ones in the stores, the Hippocampi was terrible to them. All of them were dull and a little deformed.

“I don’t know if this is to be your liking miss,” Elijah stated, holding up the Hippocampi on his dirty, skinny hands. “But I hope it is to your liking”.

---

“I’ll get on to that, thank you”. She takes the card with the request and heads down the area of the guild. A lot of peoples of all shapes, sizes, and ethnicities. She was all familiar with different ethnic groups. Her home country has plenty, and though she was not discriminated in the past, Albums (humans) are the majority (again though, no discrimination. The reform acts in the 1800s helped prevent that suffering (apart from magic users, which was resolved in the 1920s)). She walks down and reaches Row G, tent 16. Where she sees the person in question, Soliana Aeyra.

“Excuse me, I hear you are looking for a swordsperson. My name is Rikako Nakashima, and I am a swordswoman and a mage wishing to join a quest”.

[Zerotaxia]

Between Vellorina and Rasha there was still a bit of banter, just a bit of catch up and again making sure each other were doing well. It'd only been a couple of weeks since they set off for the city but when you're young and in love, it may just feel like an eternity. ..."And Ilia and Miss Kafara really started going at it again but before too long they got tired and just had a quite cup of tea together"

"Hopefully in time they'll become friendlier towards one another." Their conversation was interrupted when they were approached by a lovely lady and her four, uhhh, what were these things? The two girls had to wonder...But clearly none meant any harm as the lady asked "Huh a good pub huh?" Vellorina thought a moment. "As a matter of fact we were just looking for a spot to eat and drink ourselves."

"Oh, now that I think about it, Talida said one of the best places in the Capital was The Lightning Sword Tavern."

"Sounds like a fine place then, maybe Madame you'd care to join us? If it's okay with you, Rasha?"

"Sure that's okay by me. You are a visitor to the city, and no doubt from outside our Empire so maybe you'd like to hear from a couple of nation-locals?"

"By that she means we're from the country but not from the city. But our offer is open, Madame."

"Sure, I'll be glad to join you!" she responded.

"Just call me Autumn," she added, not wanting to burden the girls with the revelation of her status at first; that could come up later in conversation. She motioned towards the four Peacekeepers. "And don't worry about them; they won't bite."

She paused and let off a small chuckle. "Alcohol and I are a recipe for trouble, so it'll be on them to make sure I don't drink more than I can handle."

[Shwe Tu Colony]

"Ah gee," Mayim grumbled...

The Whale
Hunter cleared his throat. Behind him, in the dark of the whale's throat, dozens of curious eyes, legs, crawling things woke up, and some wandered into the scene. There were crabs, lobsters, all sorts of crustaceans with gaping wounds hastily patched and sewn together by corals and rotting seaweed. Others were sea snakes, tongues flicking, sea anemones that floated and swam in the air, sea cucumbers that crawled across the whale. Towering over these were centipedes standing up, holding lanterns, and octopi that watched on top of their tentacles, their skin dotted in blue glowing rings.
A miniature ecosystem lay within the whale.
"By the by, girls," Hunter said, "you, uh, really aren't supposed to be in here. Just hold still, though, I'll get us right out." More curves and toruses faded into being around him, and with each new geometric piece, the terrain warped more and more, until finally, they were on the wharf.

"Showoff..." D'aillisioux said.
"Like you would've been any less extravagant. It was either grabbing them or prying the whale's mouth open, and I'd rather not piss it off." With that said, he turned to the two sea-dwellers with a smile. He wasn't here for anything romantic, but the least that he would try was his usual charm. That was as his father, Narci Ambrosio, had always taught him — treat people well. It was how he and his mom, an eldritch goddess of some forsaken land, met, but that was family history for another day. "And I would be delighted if you'd show us the way, although I'd prefer we start from where our friends are, so lemme show you a shortcut. Or, well, take you along one."
D'aillisioux scowled. A vortex of purple fabric opened at his feet, and he leapt in, while the same geometry as before faded into view near Hunter. "Oh, and holding still was a lie. I can teleport someone who's moving a bit." There was an ominous lilt to his voice, but he smirked it away.

In a few moments, they were at Dragon's Fang.

For those on the shore plenty of shops and pubs abound...

DragonsFang
The others followed not far behind Vla'ir, who sighed at the shopkeeper. This wasn't quite what he wanted, least of all the spiral glasses. Who knew another civilization had their own animation quirks, or maybe she just wore those sorts of glasses because they amused her. Could've been anything, but then there was the thunderclap spell, and that was all the confirmation he needed to reach the conclusion of simply eccentric.
"Well," Vla'ir said as the rest of his friends started looking through the shop, "I was hoping to walk into a restaurant, not a potion seller's. You got any directions to a good place to eat?"
"Unless your potions are edible," Kurainos said, opening Vla'ir's palm, just to make it clear that she — his arm — was speaking.
"We are not eating herbs, Kurainos."
"That's because you're not creative enough to cook with them." She reached towards a shelf, while a protrusion of meat grew on her and produced a foreign gold coin. "Here, lemme—"

Before he could respond, D'aillisioux's vortex opened at his side. "The other three—"
"Three?" Vla'ir asked, only for Hunter and the other two to fade into existence just outside of DragonsFang. "Screw me... shopkeep, sorry." At the sight of Hunter, Vla'ir ran out. "Hunter, did you maim someone and we have to take care of their daughters again while we wait for—"
"Oh, shut up." Hunter's right index opened into a web of black, and a strange, oscillating strip flung out at Vla'ir, but Kurainos slapped it to the ground with a wad of meat. "They were in Cao's whale— and also, they mentioned they might know a place to eat."
The mentioned boy slid into the doorway, his shawl ruffling as the creatures below it rose awake. His brief glare faded into calmness. There was a marine scent to them, and they didn't seem like the sort of people who could harm the whale, but still, nobody was supposed to go inside of it but him, because that was his domain. The last thing he needed was someone getting all their grubby hands and fingers over the delicate ecosystem inside and making all the cockroaches panic again.
Garid fluttered over him, his wings flapping with bright yellow winds. "Calm down. I can see your critters getting antsy, you know." He turned to Mayim and Phoon. "But didn't your... parents or guardians or caretakers tell you not to enter every random hole in the ground? Or every random creature? You could've been eaten in there."

Hunter laughed. "They could just be Adventurers."

[The Selkie]

[...]
Lisca looked up from her book first while Arika looked she also got approached by someone else. "Good morning, Madame." Her appearance almost made it seem like she might be from Shinzajiro, maybe Hatsuhotayo, Xiao Meiqi or even Raidon Showgan, all large diverse states with very similar dress but her accent she was clearly foreign. Seemed a lot of foreign tourists had been arriving of late, curious! "Speaking books, Madame, yes, follow me. If there's any book in particular you might be looking for I can help you with that as well. Otherwise you are always welcome to browse on your own and see what suits you." She lead her up the stairs around the corner to a section of books "Three shelves. Admittedly we're still quite behind in this endeavor to get more books charmed with the Enchantments of Gabbing. An endeavor that started in the first of the current era. It's taking some time but it's coming along. So far, history books, fictional literature, reference guides for mages and some Holy Texts. Much to do and much to get done. But do me mindful if you take these books anywhere else in the library, some books are known to be quite loud and we do ask our guests to be soft. This section is under a spell to muffle the noise so you can stand or sit here. Uh for example...."

She pulled a book off the shelf, cracking it open let out some bellowing operatic style singing, with one note so high pitched it did unfortunately crack the poor librarian's glasses. Slamming the book shut, Lisca tapped on her glasses giving them an instant fix. "Famous Musicals of the Imperial Theater, Euphylias 10 to Aurae 1100. Right, foreign!" She had to remind herself, "Current Era, namely the present day back 413 years! That's just this volume, there are a few more if you want to know the musical theater scene. Fine book but the Mage who enchanted it wasn't the greatest with her spells. Well oh well, she did her best. Now anything else you might need from me or shall I leave you to explore on your own?"
[...]

RTNS Aaka.
Oh, for the love of...
One of the receptionists took care of my request, apparently missing the fact, that I was not that well-versed in her tongue, and led me into the shelves, indeed, to speaking books, or audio books, and demonstrated using one apparently containing an opera.
A crack in her glasses, a bit of self-repairing materials - sadly, the aluminum oxynitride we used for windows and canopies in our spacecraft was not one of those. Still, an impressive achievement for such a primitive culture.
The lass finished speaking like a waterfall, another problem I had, and I gathered, that she was asking me, if she could help me more.
I smiled, bowed, and spoke in Teienai: "I am very sorry, Miss Librarian..."
I rose, continued to smile, as I continued in what I had gathered and clued together in my short time here: "...I not know you speak. I require to..." The word slipped, I tried to lure it back via the word in my own tongue: "...learn... dang..." I waved my hand, as if trying to get my point across anyway. "...you know..."
Who knew, maybe there was a handy spell for that was well?

[Sunset Company]

3 - Charm

Amethyst, Elvwitand City Streets

The armored figure turned its head first, then subtly adjusted the path it'd been taking to vaguely bring it into proximity of Azla-Beth. The woman followed suit, and a few moments later both of them stood before - or rather, towered over - the diminutive resident. Motes of light flickered on and off behind the visor, forming complex patterns for the briefest of moments before fading away once more. Perhaps they were something akin to eyes. Their dance synced up with modulations in the creature's voice, every spike and fizzle corresponding to some shift in the light-arrangement.

"That we are! Truth be told, this was a bit of an unplanned trip. This place looked interesting, so we dropped by!"

The woman turned a disapproving stare towards her companion, but didn't seem to elicit any kind of reaction. Thus she sighed, and directed her attention back to the native who'd addressed them.

"Yeah, we're here for sightseeing, and boy have I seen sights. Mind directing us to wherever you're keeping the amat, so we can fuck off-"

She was interrupted with a none-too-gentle rap to the top of her head. The armored figure shook its head disapprovingly.

"We're being welcomed. Be polite."

"Motherfuck- tone down the servos at least! Not all of me's metal."

"You had a skull-plate somewhere, didn't you? In any case-"

The faceplate was once more turned towards Azla-Beth. Neither expression nor tone were clearly (or at all) discernible, but there may have been something vaguely apologetic in the figure's motions and words. It even gave a tiny mock-bow.

"What my charming companion was trying to say is that we'd very much appreciate some pointers towards interesting places. We don't have much knowledge of the area. All very impromptu, you know."

[Scornerse]

This was by no means the first time Sartana Ninakatari had traveled like this but it was the first time in awhile that she'd be traveling alongside fellow Scornerse ab's for a similar purpose at least since her last Olympiad.

With her were the Aguilar sisters, Estella and Carissa, along with Celia Ramirez. In a crowd with magical creatures they didn't stand out as much as they otherwise would, but looking at them it wouldn't be too difficult to guess that they weren' heading toward the battle arena only intending to watch the gladiator fights.

Among them the shortest of the four Carissa, who herself was nearly six feet tall. Even though their casual wear, it was clear they all had strong builds.

"Sure you remember how to wield a sword, Sartana?" Carissa asked with a mocking smile as they walked toward what looked like the arena entrance.

"Well enough to cut you down, Celia is the one you should be asking." Sartana responded turning to the tallest woman of the group.

"I'll be fine, I might not be a fencer like you three but I'll find a weapon I can manage, even if it's just gauntlets." Celia responded.

"I'm surprised you even wanted to come her, despite your skill you never seemed to like fighting with weapons much." Celia continued.

"When we're back home, sure, but I wouldn't miss an opportunity to swing around swords with protection enchantments like in this magical place." Sartana replied.

"Ah. Magic, I love magic. You know. We should really go out in the city and explore, there's so much we can experience here that we'll never get to experience back home." Said Estella, spinning around and taking in the sights. Of the four of them, Estella was the youngest, the only blonde and easily the most whimsical, but by no means was that indication of soft innocence.

Not only was Estella a world class archer, she was easily one of the best martial artists around, having won a gold in both Judo and Taekwondo in her previous Olympiad. Sartana would be hard pressed to admit it, but of the three women, the Estella, was the one she considered most threatening. Growing up with her, Carissa was plenty familiar with getting slammed and kicked by her sister for mocking her girly habits.

"Sure, sis, but we'll need to at least find out where to sign up for the tournament first, even if we don't stop to watch a match or two." Carissa said as the four headed approached the arena entrance.

[AHSCA]

"Aaaah see I still have it in me! 421 years upon the seas and on the Katoomba, I still got it! You are also correct, dear Captain Woman! I am Captain Runze Vuvriroh captain of the Katoomba ship, pride of Lanavu, pride of my port home of Kordryth! Well then, if you wouldn't be opposed, I'd love to have a fellow Captain and her crewman in my private quarters for a meal! Unless you've eaten then I shall wait to eat as to not be rude but but I'd love to hear the tales of a fellow captain and her trusty crewman. By the looks of it, you're not just superior and subordinate, a little more? If you don't mind me prying!" she giggled folding her arms a bit. The two women were quite cute, young, youthful full of life no doubt, to hear what they had to say would be a real treat for the captain.

"Uh well, yeah sure!" Aina agreed, actually it would be nice to hear from a captain from a way far off land, especially of an old sailing vessel like this. Often times, it was like AHSCA was the only ones using such primitive forms of transportation but that's the culture for you. Granted this place was kind of in a world of its own, a strange sort of place where logic of their home didn't really apply yet did at the same time. "What do you say, Yuzu?"

"Yeah, it'll be great!" She nodded at Aina and looked back up at the good Captain welcoming them "We'd be delighted, thank you Captain! And we have not had dinner yet so, I think we'd be glad to take you up on a meal."

"Yeah, certainly!"

[Sky Reavers]

Four happy Sky Reavers walked through the moonlit night streets of Imperial Capital, drinking and bursting into laughter everytime one of them tells a joke or a life story. Right now, they debated about which one of four major factions would win if a civil war between them breaks out, arguing for their respective factions. Vadim would insist, that the winner would be the Syndicalist faction, as they control a large part of heavy industry. Jane in her turn vouched for Neoners, as they are the most technologically advanced faction. Seth belived, that Chillax Dudes would win, thanks to the cultural influence. And Jose... he belived, that Cowboy Republic would thanks to thier weapon industry. Discussion ended with deciding, that all factions are roughly equal in power.

Their looks and dress could have attracted some looks and stares, as they walked through the nightly streets.

Vadim was wearing baggy jeans with additional pockets for tools, steel toed boots and bulletproof vest with a red emblem of Syndicalist faction, that resembled crossed wrench and torch inside gear. He wore it as if it was sleeveless shirt. A ponytail resided under a military helmet with a cigarette pack and several joints strapped to it. An old, but trusty VOX-21 assault rifle with a bayonet was slung behind his back.

Beside him, walked Seth LeBarge, who wore cargo pants, sandals and black t-shirt. That's more ordinary things on him. He also wore a steel shoulderguard, bulletproof vest decorated with shiny steel plates, and pyramid stud wristbands. And an ammo necklace made of five 5.56 rounds. On his forehead, he wore a light blue bandana, that was partially hidden by his long hair. He also wore blue warpain in Celtic swirl style. One could also spot a warclub, a baseball bat upgraded with cromed chain behind his back.

Jane was perhaps the most colorful of them, with her bright green and red one sided hairdress. Her outfit was of a cybergoth and was complimented by her shining cybernetic arm. One of her eyes was also cybernetic and emmited slight green glow. Her weapon of choice was a light, but sharp hi-tech katana.

As for Jose, he looked like a mexican cowboy with his sombrero, white pants and poncho, that partially hid his body armor. Behind his belt, he had a machete, useful in many situations.

They were like this, because they just came fresh from long military exercises abroad. On their way back home, they decided to have a vacation in Amethyst since it was an interesting place, that is also close to a route. And so, a transport VTOL made a quick turn and dropped them off nearby before flying into the darkness. After hearing rumors about firearms not working, they left them in VTOL to comrades for safekeeping. All except Vadim, who still took his trusty rifle with him. After all, it also works as a short spear if bayonet is attached to it.

Four Sky Reavers noticed, that they didn't take too much money. They had enough to enjoy some pleasures, but they wanted lots of exotics and after hearing a rumor in one of the local pubs about hunter's guild, they decided, that they could earn something there. They don't know much about it, but went there anyway to try and find out if they could get money and trophy after the successful quest.

-"Hey there! We heared, that there is open season for some big game and that one could hunt for some nice trophy! If it's open, we could aid ya' for some booze money and nice trophy! Don't you worry, we are four tough folks and know how to handle ourselves in hunting and fighting, tovarisch!"-Vadim said in thick Russian accent.