Golden Sun: The Genesis Halo

[Kamotz]

EDIT: this will NOT be the signup thread. The RP will take place here. Go to the Lounge for the signups and OOC discussion

Golden Sun: The Genesis Halo

Ages ago, in the world of Weyard, the omnipotent force of Alchemy provided all manner of culture and power to its people. In this age, the ability to use Alchemy and Psynergy was unfettered and accessible to the general populace, and civilization had reached great levels of development. Various clans of Adepts (Psynergy-wielding individuals) existed across Weyard, and the landmasses of Weyard itself were far more uniform: It generally resembled the shape of a giant crescent moon. The four Lighthouses were lit at this time, providing energy to both the world and the people. This power allowed the people of Weyard to accomplish incredible feats of architecture, art, and music. But in this distant past, during Weyard's Golden Age, Alchemy was also used for more malevolent purposes.

For war.

As the story goes, conquest and war eventually became objectives amongst those who desired power, riches, and dominion over all that lived, and global war fueled by the misuse of Alchemy for military purposes yielded potentially catastrophic results for Weyard; the world would have been torn apart if not for the efforts of a group of brave and wise men who took it upon themselves to seal Alchemy away by removing the Elemental Stars from the four Lighthouses, and confining the jewels in the innermost reaches of Mt. Aleph's Sol Sanctum. The world and the people were saved from themselves, but deprived of a massive resource, and Alchemy and the four Lighthouses would remain dormant for ages to come.

With the sealing of Alchemy, Weyard's landmasses gradually began to break up and decrease in size over the ages, though this would not be noticed by the general populace due to how gradual it was. However, over time the populace began to lose much more; Civilization thrives by building upon the knowledge of the past, and the disappearance of both Alchemy and seemingly Psynergy as well caused the various cultures of the world to lose knowledge and become more primitive over the ages.

However, the sealing of Alchemy had one more dire consequence; without the powers of Alchemy to feed and nurture Weyard, the world started to deteriorate. Gaia Falls, the enormous waterfalls at the edges of the world between Weyard and the infinite void, have slowly began growing inward as the world's edge crumbles and falls into the void

In the Northern Reaches of Weyard, far above the arctic circle, the settlement of Prox was in imminent danger of being lost to the void. learned that in order to save Weyard from crumbling away the four Elemental Lighthouses must be lit. A group of Prox's finest warriors were sent to Vale to inform the elders there of the danger Weyard was in, but their message fell on deaf ears. During this trip, the Proxians investigated Sol Sanctum, accidentally triggering the storm that caused the Mt. Aleph boulder to fall. The entire Proxian party was wiped out during the storm except for two, Saturos and Menardi. Three years later, the two attempted once again to infiltrate Sol Sanctum and retrieve the elemental stars needed to light the four lighthouses. While they were initially successful, they were soon met with resistance

The "Wise One ", the monolithic guardian of Mt.Aleph, tasked Isaac and Garet (two young Valeans) with stopping the lighting of the Lighthouses for fear that once Alchemy would be released, the past would repeat itself, and Weyard would be consumed by a world war once again. Isaac and Garet eventually were joined by Ivan (a Jupiter Adept) and Mia (a Mercury Adept), and the four continued their quest to stop Saturos and Menardi. While both the Mercury and Venus lighthouses were lit, the four Adepts were able to defeat Saturos and Menardi atop Venus Lighthouse, and the two Proxians fell to their deaths.

But their quest carried on through Felix and Jenna (both citizens of Vale), and Sheba (a Jupiter Adept). While the three were initially the Proxians' hostages, they had learned of Weyard's decline and imminent doom, and took up the quest to light the two remaining lighthouses. They were later joined by Piers, a Mercury Adept from Lemuria (the last remaining great civilization), and the four Adepts set out to save the world. They lit Jupiter Lighthouse, where they encountered Isaac and the others once again. After explaining the current situation of the world to them, Isaac and his party gladly joined up with them.

The team of eight Adepts continued their quest and traveled across Weyard to the north and to Prox, where the Mars Lighthouse was located. After overcoming the Wise One's "miracle", a dragon formed from Felix and Jenna's parents and Isaac's father, they lit the final lighthouse. The Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, and Mars lighthouses are lit, and their beacons merge their lights into one focal point in the airspace of Mt. Aleph, forming the Golden Sun. In turn, the Golden Sun shoots out a ray that pierces the mountain and activates the Stone of Sages within. With this, the world of Weyard and all its inhabitants are infused with the omnipotent force of Alchemy, and as a result the climate is re-stabilized and the world's inner life force is renewed.

Alex stands at the peak of Mt. Aleph, standing in the center of the Golden Sun's stream of Alchemy-based energy into the mountain as it passes through his body. Once it ends, Alex is ecstatic with his newfound power and near-limitless life, and he is all too eager to test his power. He therefore attempts to summon a thunderstorm to attack Vale at the mountain's foothills below, but the storm fails to manifest. The Wise One appears and explains to Alex that he has not gained the entirety of the Golden Sun's power, for the Wise One took precautions to counteract Alex's would-be attempt at dominion. Alex may possess the majority of the Golden Sun's power, but the rest has entered Isaac's body, leaving Alex's mastery of Alchemy incomplete. Gravely disheartened and enraged that Isaac and the Wise One have robbed him of his dream, Alex attacks the Wise One with the power he has, but the guardian seems to paralyze him to the ground. Then the mountain and the surrounding landscape suddenly mutate and collapse, and the Wise One abandons Alex, saying that he may not survive this reformation. Alex, unable to flee, seems to disappear into oblivion as Mt. Aleph sinks into the ground.

Meanwhile, Isaac, Felix, and their friends evacuate the Mars Lighthouse which is now exhuming excess Mars Psynergy, and the energy causes the miraculous revival of their parents. Isaac and Felix immediately bring them back to Prox, where they are nursed to health by the Proxeans. Now that Alchemy has returned and Prox has been saved from doom along with the rest of the world, the Adepts and their parents receive heartfelt gratitude from the Proxeans even as the townsfolk feel remorse for the fates of their fallen heroes Saturos, Menardi, Karst, and Agatio. After saying goodbye, the Adepts sail back to their hometown of Vale. However, upon reaching it, they behold one last tragedy: The town of Vale has been erased alongside Mt. Aleph, and all of its inhabitants, including Garet's family, are believed to be lost. But suddenly, all of the townspeople of Vale, including Isaac's mother, show up in perfectly sound shape, and they explain that the Wise One evacuated them out of Vale before the town was destroyed. A great bout of rejoicing ensues; everything turned out for the best.

Kraden is able to figure out that The Wise One, as an upper-tier being whose divine charge was to safeguard Alchemy's seal, constructed a giant test of some sort through all this. The Wise One knew that Alchemy would be a destructive force if it was abused by humans like it was abused in the ancient past, so he subjected Isaac and all of his friends to the trauma at Mars Lighthouse to test their virtues to see if they carried the strength necessary of the role of guiding Weyard down the path of civilization and peace as opposed to the path of warfare and power struggles, and to that end Isaac and his companions have succeeded.

More than a decade has passed since that fateful day when Alchemy was released upon the world, and drastic changes have been made. Civilization has taken a huge forward leap; buildings and structures have been erected on a scale not seen since Weyard's ancient past, and while the world has not yet returned to that "Golden Age", it is safe to say that civilization on Weyard has entered a temporary "Silver Age" and is well on its way to returning to its former glory.

But not all is peaceful in this ever-changing world. Tensions run high in the Alchemy-imbued, politically unstable Weyard and with Alchemy readily available, disagreements can rapidly escalate to an all-out war. It seems that the fears of the Wise One may become a reality.

It was for this reason that Iodem, the new ruler of Tolbi (the largest and most prosperous city in Weyard) assembled what is known as the "League of Adepts". He has gathered Adepts from across Weyard and brought them together to help keep the peace in these potentially unstable times. Instructed by the eight Adepts that helped unseal Alchemy and other skilled wielders of Psynergy from throughout Weyard, and put through an intensive training program, these Adepts quickly become highly skilled in the use of Psynergy and Alchemy.

But things are about to take a turn for the worst. Unknown to Iodem or the League, four ancient Master-Adepts have awakened after millennia of hibernation. These Adepts are Anathema; people accursed and consigned to damnation or destruction. They have embraced strange, otherworldly forms of Psynergy: Saturn, energy and force; Uranus, metal and crystals; Neptune, destruction and storms; Pluto, darkness and death. They are ancient beings of nearly godlike power who lived during Weyard's lost "Golden Age" and were sealed away with Alchemy. Now that the seal on Alchemy has been broken, they have awakened as well. But their imprisonment for all those years have left their powers at substantially diminished levels, and the lights of Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter block their powers from returning to their fullest.

So they have devised a plan. For some months they have been amassing their power; bringing the power-hungry into their folds to accomplish their goals; the corruption of the four lighthouses and the distortion and corruption of all Alchemy on Weyard. They hope to convert the lighthouses to project their otherworldly elements. Even Alchemy's guardian, the mighty Wise One, has little clue as to what they are doing. But he has realized that something is amiss, and has contacted the eight Adepts who unsealed Alchemy.

Knowing that this quest will encompass more fronts than eight Adepts can handle alone, they have turned to Iodem and the League of Adepts to help bolster their capabilities in solving this mystery and avoiding disaster.

You are one of these Adepts, trained and schooled by some of the brightest and most talented individuals in all of Weyard. You have been given skills beyond the scope of most men and women, and you have been given the knowledge to use those skills correctly for the greater good. Your quest as it is now is to uncover the plot of the four "Anathema" Master-Adepts and prevent that plan from coming to fruition. You are aided by some of the finest minds Weyard has to offer; the scholar Kraden is an especially important asset to the League and his knowledge on Alchemy has few equals. Your quest begins now.

======================================

The cry of a large bird shook Lance from his reverie. He watched as a great golden eagle descended from the sky to land on the low branch of a nearby tree. With a sigh, Lance hauled himself out of the cool, clear pool of water he had been swimming in. He grabbed his nearby towel and gave himself a quick dry-off before making his way over to the great bird and untying the note strapped to its leg.

"Well, there goes our vacation," he said with a sigh after giving it a quick read. "Hey, Amon, get up," Lance tossed his towel over his shoulder at the great cat that lay sunning itself on a nearby rock. "Get up, lazy-ass."

The lion growled his displeasure, but stood up regardless. Lance quickly slipped on a pair of pants and his boots, and then he tied his armor together and strapped that to his back. Amon walked up beside him and gently nudged his large head against Lance's thigh, nearly knocking Lance over in the process. But Lance caught himself and straightened his stance with a roll of his eyes.

"C'mon, Amon," he said as he started down the road. "If we leave now we might just make it back to Tolbi by nightfall." The lion grumbled his distaste but followed beside Lance, lumbering along with the grace only a great predatory cat possessed.

=====

"Did you send word out to Lance," Isaac asked. He stood before Iodem and the Masters of the League of Adepts. Beside him stood Felix and Garet, his two most trusted comrades, and behind them stood the five others: Ivan, Mia, Jenna, Sheba, and Piers.

The eight Adepts who had saved Weyard and unsealed Alchemy had a vested interest in making sure Weyard stayed safe.

"I sent an eagle out to Lance this morning," Iodem answered. "You seem to have a vested interest in involving him with this quest."

"Lance was one of my best pupils," Isaac said with just the faintest hint of a smile. "I know he'll be the right kind of leader for this."

"Who else are you putting on this?" Felix asked, finally speaking up.

"We had planned to put together a team of eight Adepts: two of each elemental alignment," answered Titania, one of the Masters. "But we've only managed to assemble six Adepts at the moment; two Mars Adepts, two Mercury Adepts, a Jupiter Mage, and Lance."

"Who are they?" Garet asked with a raised eyebrow.

"We have the Jupiter Mage Nero Ambrosia, the Mercury Warrior Seth Lander, the Mars Warrior Drake Arnian, the Mars Mage Sanae Fanelia, and the Mercury Mage Kazu Inoka," Iodem answered.

"Good," Isaac said simply. "They'll be able to handle this for now; but keep looking for those last two Adepts you want to add to the team. Eight seems to be the magic number."

Iodem and the Masters nodded with a smile; they understood the sentiment. It had been eight Adepts -two of each alignment- that had saved Weyard by breaking Alchemy's seal.

"Indeed," Iodem whispered. "What will you eight be up to?"

"Felix is taking his group to Lemuria to meet with King Hydros for an update on how things are faring there; it's been only recently that outsiders have been allowed to enter Lemuria, and this is our first real chance to see how they are dealing with Alchemy's release," Isaac answered. "Garet, Mia, Ivan, and I are heading back to New Vale and Sol Sanctum to seek an audience with the Wise One."

"Do you truly think things are so dire, Isaac?"

"If Isaac says he's got a bad feeling about something, then I'm not going to doubt him," said Felix. "We don't know what's going on, but there has been a lot of activity as of late."

"The League has had to work harder than usual during the last few months," Master Legol admitted.

"We figured old One-Eye might have some insight into what we're up against," Garet stated casually.

"We'll meet up in Lalivero when we're finished and then figure out what to do from there," said Felix. "We'll keep in contact with you via messenger bird to let you know what we've found."

"Okay then," Iodem declared. "We'll send our team to Indra to check out the reported disturbance around Madra and see if it ties in to whatever you find."

"Then it's settled," said Isaac. "Keep in touch."

Isaac, Felix, and their companions turned and left the Tolbi's great hall. They had a long journey ahead of them, and for the young Adepts in the League of Adepts that were being organized, their destiny was upon them.

 

[Ullion]

Kazu yawned deeply as he looked at his watch, "Hm, still fairly early by the looks of it" he said to himself. He looked around at the library he had situated himself in. Kazu placed a book mark in the textbook infront of him and placed it in a backpack and headed to the outdoors.

Upon reaching the outdoors a medium-sized, snow-white eagle came crashing down from the skies at fast pace and began to halt when only a few yeards away from Kazu. He slowly lowered himself onto his shoulder and caw'd a few times. "Oh, I should head back to the academy then, Fuber?" Kazu asked, and awaited for Fuber's nodding of his head and then began walking through the streets of Tolbi. He looked at all the majestic looking buildings around him, "My everything has changed so much these last few years, its astonishing, isn't it?" he asked - seemingly to Fuber.

eedit: ooc: Eagle's would "caw", right?

 

[Legend]

The sun was barely pushing itself past the horizon by the time Drake had awoken. It was early for him, but this fine morning Drake actually had a reason to be awake this early. Iodem, the leader of the League of Adepts he joined oh so many years ago, had called him to an important meeting or so it seemed. Following his rise from his bed, Drake prepped himself up with a fine breakfast. Due to his work with the league and side work as a smith, Drake managed to purchase a small home for himself. It was large enough to house himself and his horse, who had its own stable. It wasn't finely furnished or well decorated with any consistent theme, but to be frank Drake barely cared. Random pieces of art decorated the wooden walls usually depicting rolling hills, the serene ocean, or other elements of the world. The corners of the home were occupied by statues of knights, suits of armor or other examples of warriors. None of these decorations mingled well together but a man of Drake's caliber in art would be proud of his efforts. In his eating room, Drake sat on the fine wood table with a breakfast fit for a king. Using his talents as a Mars Adept, Drake cooked several eggs over a fire outside his home and upon completion brought the large plate to his dining room with an entire loaf of bread. Swallowing his meal whole, Drake suited up. Draping himself his tunic, armor and cape, he made his way to his stable which housed his loyal companion Epyon.

A middle-aged horse, Epyon has been living with Drake since he moved to Tolbi. Hardened, experienced and powerful, Epyon is a capable and useful follower and the bond with Isaac makes them hard to seperate. After a quick feeding, Drake suited up Epyon and by the time the sun had fully engulfed the sky, Drake galloped towards the location identifed by Iodem to meet up.

Traversing the streets in the early hours had always been a hobby of Drake's. The sun always gleamed against the structures and empty streets allowed Drake to avoid most of the citizens, especially his fangirls. The narrow streets remained open and free, allowing him to gallop at full speed throughout the city. The large buildings appeared to resemble titans compared to the small shack that Drake calls home, however rarely the buildings truly cause feelings of awe within him. His laid back personality and constant time in the city doing chores allowed him to adjust to the city's majestic size and the commoners that resided there. The capital building (OOC: I assume we meet there, if not, whoops), where Drake received the bulk of his training and was indicated to actually meet there was the only location that made Drake actually stare in awe at. The ornate design and epic scope of size simply stirred feelings that only the ocean could create within him.

Suddenly, reality struck. For once, Drake was not late for something. He had expected the other members of the league would arrive before him, if there was any. Knowing full well, they wouldn't trust him with any "real" mission alone due to his lack of real commitment, he knew they would give him at least one or two teammates. Dismounting his horse, Drake perched himself on a rock outside waiting for one of two things: 1. Someone else to show up or 2. Iodem to force him inside.

OOC: Hopefully this an acceptable post. If not, tell me why and I'll adjust.

 

[Altin]

The weather was overcast around the forest to the south-west of Tolbi. Seth was in a small clearing where he was normally found doing some training exercises. He looked up and saw a large bird, which looked like an eagle to him, nearing his location. When the bird landed he noticed that there was a message on its leg. After unrolling t he rolled it up again and put it in his bag. Apparently Iodem wanted him back to Tolbi. He gathered all of his stuff in the clearing and called for Blair, his animal patient/ friend. She loped towards Seth, walking a whole lot better. After they greeted they both headed out of the clearing and towards Tolbi.

It took him only ten minutes to get there, as he wasn't that far in his clearing, and greeted the gate gaurds. Traversing Tolbi was normally difficult for anyone else, but as he had walked from his destination from Tolbi to his clearing daily, he got to the League after walking around for another ten minutes. The only problem for him was the fact that Tolbi was a bit more crowded than usual. When he got to the Leagues building, he saw Drake, an Adept of the Mars element waiting by the door. Seth decided to do the same thing and sat opposite Drake and started to brush Blair's fur.

 

[N-XIGE]

Nero looked at the water bucket in front of him sternly; he had just taken a bath; and even though he had, there were somethings notable to him for the first time...

"Hmm...you must say; this is something that will always be easy to answer; right Odie?"

He said as he turned around with his eyes closed facing the falcons direction...

"...The reason why water is always left in the bucket after I take a ba-"

He stopped seeing what was going on as his eyes were open now...nothing. The falcon; Odie was not exhibiting any form of pleasure nor sorrow, unlike normal times...it wasn't holding his towel in its mouth; it didn't even seem concerned about the fact that he had just finished taking a shower.

"Okay; it seems someone isn't going about the usual routine...very well..."

He said as he grabbed his towel from the stand and girded himself with it. He had no real friend besides Kraden and Odie; after all, they were virtually the only people he seemed to be able to talk freely and cheerfully with.

He dried himself quickly and shabbishly and then put on his boxers; put on a "V-necked" shirt and put on a short. Right now, the sun was projecting it's warmth, and so...there was little need for him to wear a cosy; cotton stuffed cloak or a sweater; at least...it was best to stay airy right now.He put the towel on his shoulders and walked out of the bathroom...he took one last gaze at Odie; who still was depressed...

Mind read...

The falcons mind was full of a lot of stuff, but for the main time, the most pressing issue was that his partner; Nero, wasn't conscious of time!!!

"Wow...it's late isn't it..."

He said as he ran out of the room with the falcon flying at almost the same speed behind him...they were running to the academy...

Suddenly he stopped in his tracks and turned around as the falcon flew over him; he had forgotten to out some shoes one. He walked silently back to his room in order to evade getting Odie mad, and when he was there; the most ridiculous question was put on him; where did I put my sandals? He moved towards the cpboard and slowly as he looked around the room, even though there was no sign of any shoe prints, he was sure he had worn a pair of sandals into the room about 6 times of recent since the last time he took care of the floor. He paced back and forth while still breathing heavily, even though he did not have any breathing problem, he felt what he was doing was alright. He turned around to face the doorway seeing a perguine falcon with a pair of sandals hooked by their buckles in it's mouth...

 

[CyBeastSaber]

Sanae drooped to one side as she sat up on her bed rubbing on her eyes. She gave a small yawn and tried to wink both eyes open. She noticed her small crimson bunny was already up and sitting next to her. With a final yawn, Sanae moved to the edge of the bed and stood up with a stretch to wake her body. She patted Fatalis on the head and doused her face with a handful of cold water that instantly woke her half-awake face. The morning light was dancing across the room and the shadows were still plentiful inside her small room.

"Ah... I think we'll still be quite early, don't you?" Sanae asked her small partner while she combed her hair a few times just to make sure it wasn't messy and then tied it up into a ponytail with a black ribbon. Fatalis nodded but still ran to get Sanae's white boots.

"Thank you, Fatalis." Sanae patted his head once more. Sanae picked up a white shirt that was folded on top a small wooden dresser as well as a folded black dress which she had prepared the following night. Sanae quickly dressed into her clothes and almost forgot her cape. She took it from inside the small dresser and tightened her white cape with the strings that crossed over her bossom. She brushed the cape off once and took one last look in the mirror to gauge her presentable appearance. She wore her boots and tapped them one at a time on the ground slightly to fit it comfortably on both feet. Sanae bent down and placed out her hand for Fatalis, who ran up her arm and sat on her right shoulder.

"Alright. Let's do our best, Fatalis." Sanae encourage the small yet brave bunny she had been traveling with ever since they met on the way to Imil. Sanae grabbed the wand sitting on the wooden table and left the room.

"You know... I still don't know where we were suppose to meet exactly... I guess we'll meet at the main building..." Sanae commented to Fatalis, who only shrugged. Sanae looked around outside and it's empty streets. She declared it was still quite early and moved on to take the path that led towards the Citadel.

 

[Kamotz]

Lance yawned loudly as he and Amon strode through the early-morning streets of Tolbi. The trek from the region near Suhalla had taken longer than anticipated, and the two were forced to make camp in the plains outside of Tolbi. But the two of them had enjoyed the relative peace and quiet, knowing that once they returned to the prosperous and noisy city, that peace and quiet would end.

The pair soon came upon the great capital building of Tolbi, the great palace from where Iodem ruled. The great citadel crested high into the sky, far above any other structure in the city. In fact, aside from the four Elemental Lighthouses, the Tolbi Citadel was perhaps the tallest manmade structure in Weyard. Even after spending so many years in Tolbi's city center, the sight of the Citadel was still awe-inspiring.

As Lance neared, he noticed that there were several other Adepts waiting by the entrance to the Citadel. They were certainly a unique mix of individuals; Lance noted a pair of Mercury and Mars Adepts and a lone Jupiter Adept. While Adepts were certainly a common sight in Tolbi, most Adepts didn't venture too far from the League headquarters, and they certainly didn't mill around by the Citadel entrance; Lance could only conclude that they had been assembled by the League for the same reason as himself.

Amon let out a low, throaty growl, obviously untrusting of the people and animals he saw before him, but Lance gave him a quick hip-check to tell him to cut it out. Amon stopped growling, but remained wary of the unfamiliar all the same. Lance, however, wasn't so inclined. He gave the Adepts a friendly nod before joining them and waiting for the great doors to open.

The hinges of the doors suddenly creaked and groaned and they opened inward. Lance looked inside to find two guards cranking a wheel that coiled up a chain which in turn pulled the great doors open.

"Iodem is waiting for you all in the throne room," stated one of the guards. Lance nodded and almost immediately took point at the head of the group of Adepts, leading them to Iodem and the throne room

The throne room, as it was, scarcely resembled a typical "throne room," for while there was indeed a throne, the throne itself was used only for ceremonial purposes. Instead Iodem did most of his governing from a large, circular table that depicted a map of Weyard on its surface.

And it was there that Lance and the other Adepts found Iodem.

"Good, you've all arrived," Iodem said, motioning for the six to take a seat. "I've called you here to undertake a quest. I apologize for the abruptness, but these are volatile times, and I need capable and trustworthy Adepts."

Lance nodded, he understood the way Iodem worked; as all good political leaders, he stroked the egos of those he was about to ask for a favor, and while Lance and the other Adepts were obliged to comply with the wishes of Iodem and the League of Adepts regardless of their personal grievances, Iodem was still asking them for a favor.

Iodem turned to Kraden -the elderly scholar who had taken up a position as advisor to Iodem and the League of Adepts- to explain. "As you all know," Kraden began. "When the seal on Alchemy was broken, the Alchemic powers that sustained Weyard flooded the world. This gave people everywhere the ability to tap into the same Psynergetic energies that were previously limited to only a select few. This wave of power also cause many of the animals that had been transformed into monsters by Mt. Aleph's eruption to return to their natural forms, hence the increasing rarity of monster attacks in the last decade and a half."

"You covered this with us when we were training in the League, Kraden," Lance said. "Why bring this back up now?"

"Ever the inquisitor," Kraden said with a smile. He turned to Iodem, "I see why Isaac chose him to lead."

"Lead what?"

"We've been keeping track of a series of instances in southern Indra," Iodem explained. "Several weeks ago, a man disappeared in the middle of the night with no warning except a blood-curling scream. There was no sign of a struggle, no blood, no human remains whatsoever. Now we usually let the local governments deal with this type of thing, but these attacks have been occurring more frequently. Men, women, and children are simply vanishing without a trace, so I decided to get the League involved before this gets out of hand."

"So we're going to Indra?" Lance asked.

"Yes," Iodem answered simply. "You'll travel from here to Suhalla and then to Lalivero (OOC: new roads have been constructed between the two cities to avoid traveling through the Suhalla Desert). There we've arranged a ship for you. Sail to the coast of eastern Indra, just south of the Dehkan Plateau and then continue your way south to Madra. That's where the instances seem to be centered."

"Any questions?" Kraden asked.

 

[Ullion]

ooc: I wasn't really at the door waiting, I was still on my way, but whatever I'll just fill in then. =)

BiC: Kazu continued his walk towards the main building. He looked at the main entrance and noticed the lack of anyone else, and that the doors were locked. He had knocked, but no one answered. "Huh, strange. Guess I'll hang out here for a while and wait for someone to open it up," Kazu said to himself. He climbed up to a ledge on the HQ and sat down on the far side of a pillar and leaned his back against it. "Hey Fuber, keep an eye out for anyone that comes and give me a heads up on the situation, okay?" He asked before falling into a sleep.

An hour or so later Fuber had descended from the sky and landed on Kazu's head, knowing the slightest agitation would awake him from his slumber. Kazu looked up to see the bird's stern face, "Oh? is something a'happening, Fuber?" he asked. The bird nodded and hopped down to the ground infront of the large building. Kazu yawned and took a long stretch and then jumped down. He noticed the door was already open and everyone was heading inside already. The doors began to close in on and the others began to dissapear in the darkness of the building. "Ahh, I don't want to get locked out now!" he mused to himself. He began to trot forwards and entered the building, approximately 20 yards behind all the others. He kept a pace until he reached them, but in a quiet manor - and never spoke when caught up.

He had listened to kraden's story and began to think about the occurances. Multiple different scenarios already began to run through his mind as to what happened, but they were mere speculations and could only be proven later. Kazu decided to speak up when kraden had finished, "Excuse me, Kraden - is it? I would like to know, are all the occurances taken place within madra and the outskirts of it, or are they just in the general area of madra, since not many cities are around it on Indra? Another thing, what ever happened to the underground section, below Madra? Are they still accessible, are they guarded, and how, if possible, can people get in and out of them?".

Kazu's mind began to quickly think of what was special about Madra, and what exactly would be the reason why these people centered their attacks within that region. Another issue is how they'd manage to get around everywhere within getting caught by the guards. If the underground section was still attached, these criminals could be using them, but surely guards would have an eye on the entrances and exits.

 

[Altin]

As Seth listened, he thought of other things he had seen in his sleep the night past. Something about evil approaching and he was pale as a sheet when he woke up then and somehio he felt the paleness creeping up on him. Though he didn't know anything about it all he still somehow knew that this was somehow related, and it chilled him to the bone. Then he snapped back to reality, and out of the dream-like state he had been in. when Seth realized that this was just like any regular leture he turned his head, so that he would seem to be looking out the window ans sat in an empty chair. As he looked out the window, he really was listening carefully.

When Kraden said that there were people dissapearing he started to give his entire being to hear him. All that was near Madra, or under it for that matter, were the catacombs. When Kraden finished, Seth didnt have any questions and he looked around the other adepts for their anwser mentaly preparing himself so he would fight all the better.

 

[N-XIGE]

Nero strolled in just early enough to see the remaining two walk in. He was in a comfortable dress right now; he had a very comfortable spot to partially stand and listen to Kraden; he was on the arm of a chair. He had nothing on his mind; he just let all Kraden say flow...he was listening alright; but he didn't seem to be getting any fun from it.

After a dull session of more and more stories; he decided to analyze his future partners...they were a blessing to look at. They virtually all had impressive appearances; and they all seemed to be ready for this...he had Lance as a popular league member with a high position...he was one of the popular people around here.

Now; concerning what Kraden was saying; a lot of this made sense...and yet; some of them just seemed to be theories from out of the blue...at least; he was sure they were right; all his years here; he had known best to believe Kraden...the Wise scholar...and to him; the Wise one's parallel entity...

He looked around a little while still paying attention...there was no other Jupiter adept here...it was a good thing...and as far as he liked calling it...there was no other "Air Bender" at the moment.

 

[CyBeastSaber]

Sanae joined the group that entered into the Citadel led by an unknown man. She was quite intrigued of his imposing aura of a leader. Nevertheless, she walked along with the group of Adepts and entered the throne room where Iodem and Kraden had gathered around a circular table. When Iodem had motioned for the group to sit, Sanae complied and sat in one of the vacant seats as did the others.

Sanae intentively listened to the conversation held by Kraden and the man who led the group within to the Citadel. The conversation wasn't as long as Sanae thought for it seemed to be about an investigation of Madra and the mysterious disappearances. However, deep down inside, something didn't feel right to her as if it was the incident was deeper and darker but she was determined to face whatever to protect the well-being of the people.

'Yes, you'll travel from here to Suhalla and then to Lalivero. There we've arranged a ship for you. Sail to the coast of eastern Indra, just south of the Dehkan Plateau and then continue your way south to Madra. That's where the instances seem to be centered.' Iodem said.

'Any questions?' Kraden asked the group. Sanae only shook her head as she thought of things.

'Indra huh... I guess I'll be traveling again...' Sanae wondered as she scratched Fatalis' right ear while still attentive to Kraden and the rest of the group.

 

[Legend]

Upon the beginning of the meeting, Drake more or less zoned out and began daydreaming about random things including sleep, food, and dueling. Eventually he returned to his senses when the elderly man who was called Kraden began to speak, but Drake's sudden attention did not last long and his eyes began to wander the room. Most of the adepts did not look particularly experienced or powerful, with the only one that left any impact being the unofficial leader. Drake got the impression that he was a strict leader, reminiscent of the stock-up teachers that lie within the Academy. The others seemed nothing more than pushovers, though the boy with the Scythe seemed at least on the cool side. Drake quickly shrugged them off and continued to wander his thoughts rather than listen to some mission that would likely have them walk in circles, listen to unneccessarily long speeches about nothing, fight a few monsters, fetch an item and get a reward.

Finally Kraden finished his speech and his eyes toured the room, probably wishing for questions so he can began his slow torment of Drake's mind through more talking. Then again, Drake had a single question to ask him: "This 'mission' seems easy enough that local officials or if need be lower level adepts can take care. So why send of team of 6 adepts that clearly have enough experience to tackle something of more importance?"

OOC: Its a short post, but I am at a loss of words.

 

[Kamotz]

"Excuse me, Kraden - is it? I would like to know, are all the occurances taken place within Madra and the outskirts of it, or are they just in the general area of Madra, since not many cities are around it on Indra? Another thing, what ever happened to the underground section, below Madra? Are they still accessible, are they guarded, and how, if possible, can people get in and out of them?"

"That's what you need to find out," Kraden answered. "We have very little information on the situation. The center of these attacks are most likely in Madra, based on the fact that there aren't many population centers in southern Indra, but that doesn't exclude the surrounding area."

"This 'mission' seems easy enough that local officials or if need be lower level adepts can take care. So why send of team of 6 adepts that clearly have enough experience to tackle something of more importance?"

Lance turned to the Mars Adept and regarded him with a curious glance. Most warrior-style Mars Adepts were hard-headed, brash and hot-tempered. In Lance's experience, Mars warriors generally took things at face value, and wouldn't have questioned Kraden's information. Lance was pleasantly surprised, and faced Kraden expectantly.

"We're sending you because we don't know exactly what's going on," Iodem answered for Kraden. "We thought that the Madran government would be able to take care of this. If it were a simple monster attack or murder, we wouldn't have to get involved, but Madra has been unable to handle this on its own, and even more people have disappeared. We don't know what we're dealing with so we decided to take the safest route and send in a strong group of Adepts to assess the situation. If it comes to be that this action was overkill, then so be it. But I don't want to be caught unawares."

Lance nodded; the answer made sense enough to him. But there were things that still bothered him, things that Drake's comments stirred up. For one, what could this "thing" possibly be? Kraden had to have some sort of idea: he was among the most widely-traveled sages in the entire world. He must have seen or heard about something that could possibly be behind these attacks. But if Kraden didn't know...

Lance's brow furrowed at the thought. No one liked to face the dangerous unknown. But if that's what Iodem and the League asked of him, then Lance would do what needed to be done. He'd faced down dozens of threats during his relatively short time as a Sentry, and felt that this wouldn't be any different.

"Okay then," he said with a sense of finality in his voice. "Then it's settled. We'll head to Suhalla and Lalivero right away."

"Good," Iodem stated. "Take care, and good luck. Keep us informed via messenger bird when you arrive in Madra and let us know what you find."

Lance nodded and then turned to his group of Adepts. "His" group...he'd have to get used to that. He had big shoes to fill: Venus Adepts were the usual group leaders and Lance had big shoes to fill. He had to take into account every possibility; to prepare for every possible outcome. He needed to think beyond just himself.

He needed to lead.

"Kazu, Sanae," he announced, gathering the attention of the group. "Head into the city and pick up whatever medical supplies you think we'll need." Lance gave himself a mental pat on the back: Mars and Mercury mages were the most proficient healers among Adepts. Venus Adepts like he himself had some healing techniques, but Lance wasn't as well versed in those as he probably should have been.

"Drake, go with them; see if there's anything else in the market that might be of use to us: anything that might boost our Psynergy or any strong armor, weapons, or artifacts that we can use. I don't expect you'll find much, but keep your eyes open." Lance then turned to Seth and Nero. "You two are with me. We'll check out our current supplies for this quest and finalize all our travel arrangements. This all shouldn't take too long; we'll meet right outside the City Center in a half hour."

"Looks like you've got things under control," Iodem said with a proud smile.

'God I really hope so,' Lance thought, feeling the pressure. But he instead said, "Yes, Sir. We won't let you down."

Lance and the others then quickly left the Citadel to complete their respective tasks. Lance, Seth, and Nero compiled what items the six had with them while the others went into the market.

And while Lance slowly but surely fell into the role of leader, gaining more and more confidence with his situation, his partner, the great lion Amon, lay off to the side...on his back...sleeping...snoring.

 

[Ullion]

Kazu nodded at kraden's last words and tossed out the blunt version in the air for everyone to get the idea, "So basically we're going to another continent that only has one major city - Madra - and fighting against mysterious dissapearences that we know absolutely nothing about? Sounds intriguing".

As they began to head out he noticed that Lance had been trying to claim the role of the leader. He smiled and scratched his head and thought to himself, Good, I was never much of a leader. Plus I'm the youngest here by the looks of it. And I've never been on a mission before. Ever since I've come out here I've just stayed within the academy and library. Hardly ever left the walls of Tolbi. At Lance's suggestion he nodded and caught onto his plan. He merely nodded and motioned for Sanae to join him.

Kazu sighed and began to go into deep thought. I wonder why they wished for me to go with them. Maybe I just got mixed up by accident? No, that couldn't have been it - they would have noticed and sent me out immediately. And what about my weapon? Why do I have a scythe, especially one that looks so deathly? I don't wish to kill - ever. Just bring peace.

ooc: When I rp, I use italics for thoughts. Just to let you know. And also Kamo - is it okay if I create a small thing for Kazu regarding his scythe? It is not going to change anything, its just a mental alteration on his part. If you want I can pm you tomorrow about my plans? It isn't much or anything.

And on another note - would Kazu still be a recruit/trainee because he is still very young and has never been outside of tolbi since joining?

 

[N-XIGE]

Nero tried not to listen to the questions being asked to Kraden…sure alright he knew pretty much of all the answers because he spent some of his lazy evenings listening to the whispers in the wind around the league; he snooped around taking juicy gossip and details; and always had them recorded a book of his; he referred to it as the "Wise one." It was more of a diary; except for the fact that he embedded none of his feelings into it...it contained only what he heard and saw with his ears and eyes. He always carried it in his jacket; and since he picked it along with him; it was in a zipped pocket; and so it could not come out now.

He looked sternly at the earth shaker in their midst; Lance. He probably wasn't ready for a journey; and that was probably why he was trying to find an excuse not to leave; set out for the journey. He was eager to leave the league anyway; he wanted to venture out…see other places; go on a life threatening journey; see the limit of the Staff of Anubis. He pursed his lips in an attempt to speak but then stop at Kradens reply. Well said indeed it was; nothing else was expected from such a great Scholar; as far as he was concerned; it was The Wise One; then Kraden, after which; his book…and then him; after all, he was also wise in his own way; and he would never want to put his confidence aside…he was finally through with his response; and so…Nero was rested…he looked at Odie who was coming from the corridors with juicy gossip for him…until it finally reached him.

Mind read…

Hm…the Falcon had heard a great deal…it was juicy; juicy indeed…probably valuable information compared to regular gossips in Tolbi.

But there was no time to record it; unfortunately; Lance had gotten plans for them...big plans...

 

[Legend]

OOC: Much like Ullion, italics represent thoughts as this will be a thought-driven post. Hope my attempt to act as Lance is not an epic fail.

Lance barked orders and gave Drake probably the most useless and most vague of them all: Find items. Item quests were the lamest of all missions yet the most basic. And ironically, Drake sucked at them. Find weapons and armor, he says. Find useful items, he says. I ain't a good thinker. I smash things with a sword and poke things with a lance. Plus everyone already has weapons and armor, like they needed anymore. And if they did need it, I don't know their size. Drake was never a great mind and it never bothered him. He was a natural born fighter, through and through. Regardless, Drake sucked it up and did what he was told. He realized that put in Lance's position, he wouldn't do much better. In fact, he probably would of froze out of fear.

Wandering the shops, Drake found mostly rusty and out of date stock. Being a smith, he understood the fundamentals of a fine piece of armor or weapon and most of the supplies were terrible and over-priced. Despite his lack of interest, various shop-owners offered him great deals, at least in their opinion. Drake escaped their clutches and walked into numerous fangirls. His futile attempts to escape led him to an older part of the shopping district. There, he found artifacts and magical items that mages would likely drool over. Suddenly, the overpowering sun released its rays upon the earth and a gem glistened. A purple, green orb gleamed in the light and asborbed Drake's short attention span. Shiny....I like shiny.

"Hey Grandma!" Drake shouted, however the elderly shopkeeper appeared to be dead. Drake aggressively snapped his girls and eventually the woman was released from her coma. "Hello, my beutiful woman. I am interested in that gem that your fine store has in stock." Drake attempted to his educated charm that his many years in the Acadamies has taught him. The gem was purple and green, with a black hole that resembled an aura in the dead center of it. It was really big or small, about the size of Drake's fist to give a prospective.

"That old thing," She mumbled looking up to Drake's young face. He could her whispering to herself about how it seemed nice and pretty. "I will give to you for 5,000 gold."

"5,000!!!" Drake yelped in horror. "But surely a woman of your stature and experience will understand that times are tough and my longtime girlfriend expects be to bring her a gift for our 3 year anniversary. I wish to marry this girl too." Clearly, Drake's heartbreaking story touched her heart and the woman's eyes lit up.

"I remember those days. Fine how's 500? I am cutting you a break since you are so cute." Drake nodded in approval and gave the woman her due and retreated back to Lance, after a series of run-ins with fan girls. Lance detected his presence, probaly due to the stomping of hundreds of women.

"What was that about?" Lance asked, in a serious yet curious tone.

"Stupid fangirls. Nothing important." Drake responded with a light-hearted voice.

"Well, did you find anything at least? It has been a while."

"Yeah, right here." Drake removed the stone from his pocket and handed it over to Lance.

"What is it? Looks like a plain gemstone."

"Well, not sure. I didn't ask any questions. But it looked real cool in the sun and seemed important. Something told me to buy it. Like a Force."

"Great." Lance responded, disappointed and disgruntled as he slowly walked away.

"Come on. I had to lie to an old lady to lower the price." Lance's distance increased. "It's shiny!!!", Drake's volume decreased. "Important things are always shiny...."

 

[Altin]

Seth made sure that they all had the basic sundries to go on a long journey. Everyon had a few vials, antidotes, elixersand the like. He also made sure that everyone had a bottle of Hermes' Water that he got from the tower itself. Their stock of psy crystals wasn't anything to brag about, they would have to get more soon. He put a few sacred feathers so they might not have to unnessecessarily die before they get there. Seth put on his Adept ring, which he won when he was last in Contigo, and finalized everyones packs and brought everything out to where lance told him to bring their stuff. As he waited at the gate Blair growled inquisitively. He looked at her and then to where she was looking. He saw a fight breaking out over to the left of him and decided to break it up.

"Okay people, whats going on here?" he asked after he puled the two apart.

One of the people, who started it all said, "HE cheated me and my buddies during the morn. THIS ITEM," He pulled up a mysterious item that looked rather rare it looked like a cleric's ring,"was only supposed to cost 9600 gold and HE sold it to me for 19200, which is DOUBLE THE ACTUAL PRICE!!!!!!!"

"Hey do you blame me for trying to make a profit? I have a familiy to you know." the accused shopkepper said.

"TELL you what," Seth started," since overpricing isnt a crime, I'LL buy the ring from you. and I'll give you the full price that you paid for it out of my own money." And seth pulled out his pouch with his money, counted out 19200 pieces (OOC:from his pocket, not the rest of the party) , paid the man and put the ring in his pocket. It might be useful.

 

[Kamotz]

(OOC: I'm going to skip all the "stuff-gathering" so that we can start this RP. You're all free to put down what you purchased...if you want. But I figured it's best to get this moving.)

Lance waved to the guards outside of Suhalla as he and the rest of the Adepts team made their way into the small city. Beside him trotted Amon, who didn't seem to be bothered in the least by the hot near-desert sun. It was nearly unbearable. Lance had already taken off his armor (it was designed to be compacted to be made easier to carry) and had removed his tunic and tied it around his head. As they passed into Suhalla's town square, Lance took a quick glance at the large clock by the center of the square. It read two o'clock. Lance sighed; it would be getting too hot to continue for a while.

"Okay guys, let's take a break," Lance stated. He looked over and nodded towards the local inn. "We can wait there for a few hours; we'll leave at six once it starts to cool down. We should make it to Lalivero by eleven tonight."

Lance stepped over to a nearby well and accepted a jar of water from one of the locals. He took a long drink and then poured the rest over his face.

"You know anywhere to get something to eat?" Lance asked. Behind him, Amon's ears perked up at the mention of food.

"Are you all with the League?" the man asked.

"Yeah," Lance answered warily. "We're just passing through on our way to Lalivero."

"You take care of problems, yes?" another man asked. Lance noticed that more and more of the locals were gathering around him. "We have big problem here. It come from desert."

"Look, we're pretty powerful but we can't change the weather any more than you can," Lance said with a helpless smile. "It's hot here 'cus it's hot. No way around that."

"Problem is not heat," said the man. "Problem is monster in desert. It makes travel into desert impossible. And it takes our sheep from the meadows."

Lance's interest was piqued, and he called the rest of his team over. When everyone had arrived, he asked the man to continue.

"It is a terrible monster, covered in white scale and feather," said the man. "It has terrible claws and great white wings. Its mouth has vicious teeth, and it has the head of a woman."

"What is it?" Lance asked, wondering for a name for this monstrosity. He wasn't keen on where this line of conversation was going; he'd rather have used this time to rest and regain his strength, not fighting some monster.

"We call it the 'Feather Sphinx'," said the man. "It is a terrible creature that appears only in afternoon. It flies from the south in desert and attacks our sheep. You can kill this for us, ya?"

"Look," Lance said hesitantly. "We're on a very important mission from the League and we need to get to Lalivero. If we spend too much time here, we might-"

"If you kill it, we will give you prized jewel of our city," said the man. "It is magic: with it you can see very far."

This piqued Lance's interest; it sounded like a new type of utility Psynergy item. The League began producing more of the utility items that Isaac and Felix had found once it was discovered how, but creating whole new types of utility Psynergy was something the League hadn't been able to accomplish just yet.

The offer was just too good to pass up. Lance called his team over and explained the situation, as well as their reward for completing their job.

"I normally wouldn't want to take the time here," Lance told them. "These people could easily contact the League and have another team of Adepts here by tomorrow. But this new Psynergy seems just too good to pass up. It might really help us out further down the line.

"But I'll leave this up to a vote: for or against. There's six of us, so majority wins. You already know my vote: for."

He waited for the others to give him the word.

 

[N-XIGE]

Nero was not enjoying the sun at all; it was very unfavourable...and the fact that he was wearing a thick cloth made it even worse for him. It was time to take a rest...and he really needed it; so...he used the break to re-organise himself. He noticed a man approach Lance and detected that they wouldn't be resting for a longer time. So he put his coat back on and started getting ready to leave...no wonder why when Lacne called out to them he was ready. When he reached alex he listened keenly to the conversation...it was unique; at least...it would be the tale of 6 fools who went out to fight a beast because of fortune...at least if they died.

What's wrong with this guy...he hasn't told us how big it is and why they cant fight it...in that case it's his game...but not his rules!

He took a deep sigh and kept listening harder...there were a lot of things that just headed to the same point...they were desperate to relieve themselves of this beast...but why had they not reported to the league quarters if they knew the league existed. He listened closely and when Lance opted for Democracy; he used the chance to talk.

"Well...I'm for the motion...BUT I want to straighten out some points...why don't you let us do this how we want to...we dont have to collect that gem; you have taken us as mercenaries...so; we will name our price...why don't you give us the gem before we set out?"

He looked at the man and spoke before he could reply.

"We could give you our names...that way you can report us to the league if you are disturbed by the creature again...you know; the jewel might aid us in tracking down and killing the beast...and that way; we will just head to Lalivero from the dessert...no need to waste time and energy coming back..."

He paused and and looked at the pereguine falcon...

 

[Legend]

The sands consumed all hope and love for the quest that the Adepts had the misfortune of undertaking. Even Drake, a man who loved the heat in all its forms, despised his current situation and wanted nothing more than to return to Tolbi and murder Kraden slowly with a rusty buttering knife. Epyon, his loyal horse, was also miserable as no sort of conditioning could prepare a horse of his size for the trials of the desert. Finally, Lance ordered a break and Drake dished out his megear amount of water amongst himself and Epyon. A local had appoarched Lance and demanded something about aiding in a regional problem over some creature that had beeing plauging the region. Lance called the group over asking for their opinions. Drake waited a while before finally interjecting his point.

"If we do it, I think more than some age old rock would be a better reward. I mean, it could be a random stone they found and chose to decorate it making it some ancient relic. So unless they give us more incentive, I am against it. We have a direct mission from the League that holds a higher level of importance than some wild goose chase. We are not some insant mercenary force that works for table scraps." Drake stated with a stinging tone. Clearly the overbearing heat and desire for a change of scenary commanded him, more so than his morale code. Bitter, annoyed, and determined, Drake crossed his arms and stared down at his potential employer, hoping than the possible fear factor would motion to give in to Drake's demands.