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Post by Sellepa on Sept 4, 2010 17:49:14 GMT -5
Epilogue and Prologue. One beginning was the end of another story.
Again the air was clear. A few aimless clouds perused the sky in search of a soul beneath to shade for just a moment before searching for another. The sun shone in all its brilliance warming the hair and skin while the ocean revealed a cool side to existence in this small port.
Kushiro was a small city on land. It's houses and inns were more than humble yet they were not the town. The land was not the town. On the port were hundreds of ships from around the world. Each traveling to this port to sell their wares. Some were fishermen that lived off the ocean and pulled into their reserved moors to sell to their many return customers. Others are giant freighters from far away lands carrying merchandise from years in the past. Artifacts that have been held on ships in barrels for decades and just now are on display. This is a menagerie of commerce. All these souls from any place seen or unseen. All of them are able to converge here.
Not on land. But on the sea.
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Post by Sellepa on Sept 8, 2010 1:49:46 GMT -5
Wood is alive. Unlike other things separated from it's base, when wood is carved into a hundred pieces, if given water it can still warp and change. Wood is a living material. Every creak in its planks are its character, every knot every hole its personality.
Because Wood is Alive.
Lyre was pleased that they had finally moored. It meant that she could get more supplies for the ship. That is what they always did. Moor, get supplies, sail. This cycle was a quite enjoyable one. She would make her hull impenetrable, their sails unmatched and their crew, spot on.
Speaking of Crew, the stowaway had finally healed enough for her to pull the sap out of its wounds. Thankfully she would not have to eat the creature and could instead focus on more important things at hand. Like scoping out their port.
She always believed that intelligence was priority, and after being stationary for centuries before being gathered in this ship, she was always looking to find out new and interesting things about the world. Surely the captain wouldn't mind if she took a look around. She grabbed her travel plank (a plank of Khona wood that she kept strapped onto her back) and snooped around the city.
Ah there was so much to see! And as long as she kept her plank she would always have open communication with the Hull and the captain. If ever he needed her, all he had to do was call and she could instantly appear on the ship. After all, the wood was her life, not the form she held. She was still on the ship, just as she is now in the city.
She meandered up and down the port watching the people and animals go by. She noticed that her clothes seemed a little off pace. That may be the first thing that should be addressed. Her form was supposed to make her fit in, so it would be best if she fit in every way. She began looking for a shop that sold clothing.
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Post by MJ on Sept 8, 2010 3:09:44 GMT -5
Meanwhile below deck in the revenge, bound by several sturdy ropes, the defunct member of the crew and the only barbarian on board, grunted in angry frustration. Sure they had cleaned his wounds. Sure they had spared his life....for now. But who dared tie up Klave of the Ag'roth and store him away like some dirty mongrel dog. He kicked at the nearest thing to him, a large barrel or crate or something. It was a bit difficult to see in the darkness that encroached this room. Soon..,soon...Klave of the Ag'roth will be set free and once free they would all know the true meaning...of the Ag'roth creed - Ruthless AGRESSION!"
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Post by Sellepa on Sept 9, 2010 16:54:17 GMT -5
Wood bends. When it meets water it bends. Molds into new shapes. Some useful, others destructive. Still. Wood bends as time passes. It always bends.
Upon wandering the town, Lyre found a shop that sold clothing. After wandering the store, she came across a garment that she believed to be a good fit for a girl her age. Whatever that meant. She took it off the rack and brought it to the shop owner.
"You want to buy that little girl? Well get you mother and we'll put it in a nice little bag for you"
She reached behind her and delved her hand into the plank on her back. She almost pulled her axe from out of it, but decided instead to grab the bag of gold that the captain had given her for repairs on the ship. She was to make it look better, and since she was the ship...
She handed a few coins to the shop owner and without checking to see if it was the right amount, left the shop with the dress.
After returning to the ship, she went down into the hull and decided to change. She struggled with the garment at first, trying to get it over her head, and plank, and it was a mess. She threw it on the ground in frustration. She was in the Brig, so at least no one was down here to see her failure. She stared at the dress long and hard. The little girl was already wearing this dress when she was ingested, so was every other person she had ever eaten. There was no, mid dressed, people that had been ingested. Again, she stared at the dress. long and hard.
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Post by dilonovich on Sept 11, 2010 17:33:20 GMT -5
Creak, Creak, Creak
The sounds of hard steps walking down the stairs, approaching the door to the brig. With a screech of the rusted doorknob and the moan of the door, Fletcher walks in to see Lyre sitting down, staring at a pile of clothes in the center of the room.
"Skulin around in the brigs? Surely you have better things to do, my dear."
Fletcher strides into the room, stopping just short of the dress on the floor. He leans down and pulls the dress up in front of his face.
"My, my Lyre... this doesn't look like it will fit ye at all! These colours don't seem like you anyway."
Slinging the dress in his left arm, Fletcher looks at Lyre... almost in a fatherly way... and holds out his right hand.
"We still 'ave hours before sundown, so before we can take care of our barbarian friend, why don't I take ye to town and get ye a REAL dress, hmm? Besides, we must look our best for our meeting with the Bloodbanes tomorrow."
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Post by Sellepa on Sept 12, 2010 0:04:51 GMT -5
Ahh the comfort of a woodcarver. As a tree, nature can make wood into beautiful sculptures of life and fertility. It is a thing of beauty. However, as one can tell, Wood can do no such growing. It is separated from the earth, so it can no longer fold it into any use. The woodworker can take a rootless tree and give it meaning.
Lyre sat up as Captain Fletcher entered the room. She was a little embarrassed. She had chosen some time ago to know where every member of the crew was at all times, but due to her captain's authority, she chose to not know where he was unless summoned. She did this out of respect. If the captain chose to be trailed she would oblige, though she never did so automatically.
However, this did allow him to sneak up on her. She was slightly ashamed at the fact that her dress didn't work, and that it was apparently an inappropriate color. Color was a new thing to her and she was far from having the kinks worked out. She knew, for some reason, appearance was important to humans, so she realized that the captain's statement was completely logical. She was never with the captain when he did business though. This would be a new opportunity for her. The only ones that knew about her were the captain, the dead, and the soon to be dead.
She felt nervous. As nervous as a ship can feel when it is meeting its crew. "As you wish Captain" She said in her deep and hollow voice. She reached into the floor and pulled out her traveling plank again. After stapping it on her back she walked next to the captain and held his hand. In her deep and hollow voice she says, "I know where there is a very good clothing store. We should begin there"
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Post by dilonovich on Sept 12, 2010 12:17:14 GMT -5
As the Captain walked up onto the deck, the cool evening air hit his face. An air not only smelling of wet grassy fields, but of the sea as well. It was refreshing.
Lyre passed through the ship to meet Fletcher on the dock while he walked around, inspecting the repairs to his ship. The Bloodbane shipyard workers were skilled and his ship was starting to look like new again.
As he started down the boardwalk, Lyre appeared besides him. Looking down, he muttered
"I would like you to be there when we meet the Bloodbanes tomorrow. It is a very tense situation... and from the sounds of it, they already know you exist. I'm sure it would make them feel better to be able to at least see you. As for Enouska, she is leaving and most likely won't be attending the meeting, so it will just be you and me."
The town was as lively as ever, the weather has cooled down and people crowd the streets. Following Lyre's lead, they made their way to the clothing store.
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Post by Sellepa on Sept 13, 2010 8:01:21 GMT -5
War yields reward. Just as an axe against oak yields wood.
As they continued to walk, Lyre noticed a crowd of people. They were circling around the dock of a boat, yelling and cursing. It seems there was a fight going on. People fight. She didn't care. Not really.
However, as she passed, she could feel...something. She couldn't tell what it was, but she wanted to know. She glanced over to the area with the crowd and saw a few warriors fighting. It seems they were having a contest. Winner gets...winner gets... She gasped.
It was an axe. Her axe. She could tell it was her axe. She could not panic, though she knew what had happened here.
The ship was very old. Lyre had long needed repairs. However, whenever a piece of her breaks off in battle, it can usually just be repaired. However, occasionally a piece or plank of khona wood would snap off. Whenever it did, it would try it's hardest to get back to the mother ship. Most would just swim back but sometimes it would end up lodged on another person's ship. As they got closer to the crowd, Lyre cleverly created a sheet of paper from her body and had written on it "Where did the axe come from?" She couldn't talk because it would immediately let people know that she wasn't human. She showed it to a passerby and they stared at her in confusion.
"Hey She knows how to write!" The old man said. "That axe came from a battle at sea. The owner claims to have fought a sea ghost that was trying to jump back into the water. He didn't capture it though, but he kept its axe as proof! This tournament is for that axe!"
Lyre tugged on her captain's cloak. He would know what happened. The piece must have tried to return, attacked as lyre when it was stopped. but since it had only a small piece of wood, it must not have been that powerful. It escaped but the axe remained. Still...
Lyre wanted that axe piece back, though the people would recognize her as the ghost if SHE entered the tournament. She stared at the captain. She wanted her piece back, but the priority was always captain's orders. They needed to gather clothing for the meeting tomorrow. But as she scoped out the contestants, she figured that it wouldn't take the captain THAT long.
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Post by dilonovich on Sept 13, 2010 8:09:33 GMT -5
"Don't worry darling, Daddy will get you that axe!"
Fletcher said, patting Lyre's shoulder as he stepped forward, not as the Captain, but as a man of around 30 with blue eyes and short blonde hair. He took off his coat, exposing his weapons on his belt.
"Think ye can squeeze me in this here fight, lads?"
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Post by Sellepa on Sept 13, 2010 8:43:13 GMT -5
"Squeeze you in?" one of the men said. "Don't you know who those people are? That guy on the left is Xion, the leader of one of the toughest pirate gangs in these parts. The X. He runs a faction of the Xion, a pirate lord. No one knows who the leader of the whole faction is, they just know that the leader of the group is also called Xion. No one knows whether or not he is the leader of just this group or the whole faction. No one has ever challenged him until now anyway."
The man in the circle was at least 500 lbs. His armor was hanging off of him as, sweating he faced his opponent. His boasting had got him into this fight. "Anyone have a problem with me not taking this axe from this man?" that's what he said. And someone did.
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Post by Sellepa on Sept 13, 2010 13:47:03 GMT -5
Wood can shift, change into anything. From a chair to a pole to a toy to a toothpick. Wood can become anything you need. Even fire.
Quite pleased that the captain decided to fight for the axe, Lyre still was skeptical about leaving him alone. What if she was needed? Something may go wrong. He could....
"Sir." She said softly in her deep hollow voice. "Your flask". Lyre could hitch a ride in his flask. Her weight may slow hid down a bit, but it would also give him a powerful back-up weapon, Her.
The axe trembled a bit on its stand. I must have felt her traveling plank. However, it was sealed onto its mount and could not move. Lyre wanted the axe, but she also wanted her captain to be safe. Who else had seen a Ghost that resembled Lyre? Her and her captain had been in countless battles. How many other times has an apparition of her appeared on other ships? It kind of made her chortle inside. She was a ghost legend already and didn't even know it.
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Post by dilonovich on Sept 13, 2010 14:09:18 GMT -5
As he took out his flask from his shirt, he whispered to Lyre
"I am going to release your axe from its mount during the fight, and I want you to take control of it if need be. Our priorites are to get the axe and not die."
Putting the flask back into his overshirt, Fletcher pushed past the man and into the circle, bellowing
"Whose arse do I 'ave to kick to get that there cursed blade!?"
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Post by Sellepa on Sept 13, 2010 14:23:05 GMT -5
Shavings, shavings, shavings. Smaller and smaller the wood gets. Till it is all shavings, and the plank is no more.
With swiftness and compliance, First fate lyre plunged into the flask and into Her captain's shirt. The wood would become considerably heavier. But she was sure that her captain could bear the weight.
Also, even though they were supposed to keep her hidden, if an emergency arose she needed to be alerted. A notch was raised in the cup. A lever. All he had to do was press it. She still had her original axe which was much more powerful than the one on the wall. She has a full plank, while that was was made from only a splinter.
Next to the captain, Lyre was like any of the other utensils on his belt. Poised and ready to strike.
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Post by Sellepa on Sept 13, 2010 15:38:56 GMT -5
"I guess you'd have to fight one of them." The townsperson said. "Noboody wants to face him. Except that stranger. I wouldn't interrupt him. He's probably a little upset.
The giant man with his warhammer stopped when he heard their talking. He paused only for a moment, his fight was definitely more important.
"DIE!!!!"
Hammer Attack:50(150) Defense: 50(150) Speed: 12(10) Magic: 10 hp:400
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Post by shade4711 on Sept 14, 2010 11:37:35 GMT -5
Celestia stood in awe when she arrived at the port town. She was expecting a lot of people, but this was more than she had imagined. 'Hopefully they will be receptive to the message of salvation I bring' she thought.
She noticed a pretty big crowd gathered in one particular part of the town. 'Hmm, I might be able to take advantage of this and already start spreading my message.' When she went over to where the crowd was gathered, however, she found out it was just some kind of street fighting tournament for a prize. While Celestia was disappointed by this, she decided to stay and watch. She would need to find strong fighters who accepted the truth, considering those whom she already met did not accept the truth, meaning that the war would probably occur.
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Post by Sellepa on Sept 14, 2010 14:17:34 GMT -5
Furious and circling back around for another attack, the giant's opponent continued her attack. She turned and faced the sailor and dove in for a strike at his chest.
blade Attack: 10 (100) Defence: 10 (100) Speed: 70 Magic: 0
hp 400
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Post by Sellepa on Sept 14, 2010 20:43:58 GMT -5
Xion blocked the blade with the handle of his hammer. He didn't expect that the Xion that lead the I faction would challenge him. They both were part of the same group, but having been honor bound to strike when challenged, she had not choice. They did not have to fight to the death, but fight they must, with the intention to kill.
Turning around, he swung full force with his hammer directly at her gut. One of them had to be decommisioned. It wasn't going to be him. He knew that a swing from him could knock her unconscious, but She was a kill strike warrior. The only attacks that she knew were to take another person completely out. But he....kinda was not in the mood to be killed... Hp-400 Mp-12
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Post by Sellepa on Sept 14, 2010 20:53:07 GMT -5
Upset in her mind for having to battle with this behemoth, She recoiled as her blade bounced off. Why was she here? Her pact was to fight whenever challenged. Why did this idiot have to yell out such an ignorant blanket challenge? A few words different would have been great. "Does anyone here male want to challenge me"...No that would still be a challenge, just indirectly. "Does anyone think they are better that I am?" ...no that still wouldn't work. Maybe he should have just taken the stupid axe, She wouldn't have said anything then. She only had a problem with it because he was making such a big deal out of it. And hence, She was bound to fight.
Stupid semantics.
At any rate, she couldn't kill the big ox even though she was bound to attack with full force. Maybe she could just fake getting knocked out? . . . No that still wouldn't work. But perhaps....
She took the blow from the hammer. Not because she couldn't dodge it, but because she was thinking too much and not focusing on the fight. . . At least that is how she rationalized it.
"XION" She yelled "I invoke the right of passage. If another accepts a challenge then I am free to let them fight in it correct?" She really needed to get out of this without loosing face or loosing a teammate.
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Post by Sellepa on Sept 14, 2010 21:00:02 GMT -5
Of COURSE! The right of passage! why didn't he think of that.
"Yes. But you since you have already entered the battle, you would be saying that that person was worse than you and hence could take your place and still kill me. If he doesn't then you were just incorrect, if he does, you have to prove yourself better than them by facing them in combat."
Of course this was all for show. This was really just a loophole to get out of these skirmishes. An unlucky competitor would enter the ring, be killed by him, and then everything would go back to normal.
"Does anyone dare take the place of this fighter?"
HP 400 Mp-12
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Post by Jarome on Sept 14, 2010 21:01:57 GMT -5
Armal was in the crowd watching the fight when one of the fighters called out. He waited a few moments before stepping out. "I accept and will fight in your stead." He turned and faced the brute.
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