The Ocean Lord

[Aegis]

Harken forth the song that speaks of empty sky...

A figure darted through the ocean, heightening a wave with a sweep of its cerulean webbed tail.

As the very essence of the sea sings tribute...

Coursing through the air, its magnificent crest shone with glistening droplets of water, as it slammed into the water to send a mighty wave towards the shore.

Herald ye the magnificence of the ocean lord...

It shot out of the water again, but this time did not fall. It swooped down on seaweed green webbed wings, following the wave, as it grew higher and higher, straight towards the shore.

As that which was forgotten once more IS!

The fairy dragon rose, as the wave devoured the land, a greedy maw swallowing a morsel of an island and the village it held.

For the Ocean Lord would once more makes his presence known. A being far greater than humans, he sought to let the sea once more claim those who walked on dry ground. As the ruler of the sea, there would be no way to take him on, for no boat could survive the merest flick of his tail. Projectiles from land was also pointless, for at his command, the waves could devour an entire island.

But if land and sea were impossible, what did that leave...?

~~~

...read Gerald. Knight of Pride Castle, and proud of it. There wasn't a day that he didn't stroke Cayla, his longsword, gazing deeply at the crest carved onto its blade. There wasn't an hour that his mind did not fill with thoughts of the great deeds he would achieve for Pride. There wasn't a single moment he bore his armour without a smile in his heart, or rage at those who opposed Pride.

But right now, he wasn't wearing his armour, he wasn't holding Cayla. He was too worried about the fate of Pride Castle, and all of mankind.

This report in his hand spoke of doom and destruction for his race. His mind spoke of hope and salvation. The problem was that one was happening, the other had not.

Such notices, including a copy of the report he now held with an invitation to Pride Castle, would be distributed to the higher-ups, and soon requests would be posted in taverns, guilds and the like all over the land.

...He only hoped that enough people would gather at Pride Courtyard this afternoon, that this plan could be done at all.

[Shinzar]

The assassin appeared before the Pride Castle in a blink of an eye, it has been a while since there was a mission worth taking. After having recovered from most of his injuries, he was once again ready to put his life on the line.

Using the Zero Shift once more, he finds himself in the so-called Courtyard, which was seemingly empty at the moment. The assassin felt to his knees, the side effect of his shifting skill as drained much of his energy, his body began to ache, but it was nothing he can't handle.

It has been years and yet he still couldn't perfect the skill, but in a way it was worth the pain. He sat on the ground and closed his eyes, he will try to recover as much energy as possible, even if it will be a short rest.

[Laphir]

"Mikhail, perhaps it is not wise for us to take up this request," A girl, looked about eighteen, said. Her right gloved-hand was twiddling with the feather ornament on her short black hair. She was facing her feminine companion in concern. "We should concentrate on searching for the Lady."

"Thank you for your concern, Asha," Mikhail answered meekly, soft blue eyes sparkling innocently. His features and soft demeanor was a no wonder that people had always mistaken him for a girl. "But I can't be strong if you and the others keep treating me like a child," his face radiate of an angelic smile. "Besides, it's a week 'til the cycle, so I'll be fine."

Asha studied the boy from head-to-toe suspiciously. "We will withdraw if you are in no condition to continue. I do not care even if it is the Lady's test. Srenn will not be happy."

"I'll take good care of myself!" The boy's face lit up brightly, looking as if he had just been granted permission to buy a lollipop.

They made an odd duo in the courtyard; one wore the colour of nature, the other looked as holy as an angel. Of course, what's more interesting was: they weren't from this world.

[Khalan Darkstar]

((Okay I finally decided to get serious with the TLLF RP and created a permanent character))

A Knight walked into the courtyard where there was atleast 3 people sitting or standing or resting there. He walked straight in, his armour gleamed in the sun. He was practically a Knight in Shining Armour. His brown hair moving softly in the wind ((Think Squall from FF8)).

His sword rested behind his back, tied there by a string. He looked at the others that were currently there and sat down in the shade by a wall. This mission should prove to be interesting.

[Fanlourau]

'You accepted this quest solely to show of your new red coat, did you not, Jin?'Aravip said to a blonde boy with glasses and short blonde hair who indeed had a long red coat and a bag that hung over his shoulder and rested along the left side of his waist. Onto the bag, laid a purple wolf cub, asleep.
Jerkin looked back at the girl with silvery, tied up hair, dressed in a grey dress with seperate jeans arms with blue gemstones on, on each arm and one on each side of her waist, giving her an irritated look.

'I accepted this quest because there are some herbs that is out of stock and they are usually very hard to find. So if we do this, we might stumble upon them on the way.' he corrected her.

[Aegis]

Gerald walked into the courtyard, Cayla in her sheath. He walked towards the centre of the Courtyard, quickly glancing around.

It was as beautiful as ever, with well-tended trees scattered around the flagstones. Spring had sprung, and few flowers were blossoming yet, but this sight relaxed him tremendously normally. These circumstances, however, were not normal, and he still felt as though the world was about to fall apart, trees or not. The sight of this many unfamiliar faces, while not new to him, still had him in a bundle of nerves, especially at the thought that he would be interacting closely with many of these people. A fair number of knights, but the number of mercenaries easily dominated over them.

The Knight-Captain, Silas Carmine Lukeford, walked towards the raised platform at one end of the courtyard that served as a stage. Unhurriedly taking the centre, he cleared his throat to catch everyone's attention.

"All who gather here this day either wish for safety for the land, or for the reward offered. Either way, your time is valuable. So, dispensing with the 'welcome to Pride' nonsense, I regret to say that we are not having all of you along. The incompetent will only hinder everyone else in this mission, which is unfortunately something we cannot afford. Therefore, we shall be conducting a quick selection trial. Our mages require the following:

Wax
Shell of a Flying Tortoise
Harpy Feathers
Two Roc Wings
and Basilisk Oil

as spell reagents in a spell that will aid you tremendously. The stronger the reagent you collect (the further down it is in the list), the better an effect you will gain, except for Basilisk Oil. A special bonus will go to the one who obtains Basilisk oil, because at least one flask of it will be necessary. Wax, of course, is the easiest to gain, you can easily buy some at a store in town. The rest might not be as easy.The Flying Tortoises gather in flocks along the shore north of Pride. Harpies hunt in the jungles to the south, but they might lay ambushes, so be careful. As for Rocs...a few can be found to the east, in the desert sands. While they do not hunt in packs, they are tremendously strong, and only supply enough wings for one person. Which you search for, or buy, is up to you. Hunting parties are acceptable. Be here by sundown tomorrow." Silas left the platform as silently as he came.

Gerald nodded, trying to take it all in. If he decided to search for Roc Wings, the best plan would really be to team up with several others, and try to find more Rocs, as compared to suicidally taking on a Roc by himself. But how many mercenaries could be trusted? He decided to start at the beginning: talking to someone. He walked over to a fellow knight (Khalan's character) and spoke: "Comrade, though I am not familiar with you, shall we hunt together?"

[Shinzar]

The assassin laughed, though his eye isn't open, his ears were. Calling those who came to help incompetent sounded like a bad start, even if it was just for the money.

For now he would remain silent, it wasn't his style to care about others, less people means less competition, and that means a bigger reward.

[Khalan Darkstar]

The knight looked at the man.

"Depends on what you're hunting, if you're up for Rocs then I'm with you." he replied, grinning slightly.

[Laphir]

Collecting ingredients! Asha frowned. This quest was too much of a hassle, and what did it matter if they chose not to join? The world is not theirs after all.

O Father Sun, if it wasn't for Mikhail's pestering, she would not be here at all. And, if anything happens to Mikhail, Srenn would not be pleased; everyone under the Lady knew that the assassin was protective of his brother. Mother Moon, he had even decapitated a mugger just for handling his brother roughly! And there was also a time when-

"Asha, you look pale," Mikhail's voice broke the girl's scary train of thought. Blue eyes glowed softly with worry. "I hope you're not burdened by the thought of my health. I'm fine, really."

How could she tell the boy that it was also Srenn's wrath she's afraid, too?

"Of course, we could also team up with others," Mikhail smiled encouragingly. "There are only a few of us here after all. And who knows, we might bump into Heinel, Ikarus, Srenn or even Lady Cecille on our quest."

Well, yes, that was a good idea too.

"Very well," Asha nodded. "We will seek help, and start with the easiest ingredient on the list. If all goes well, we can even split groups to collect ingredients."

Mikhail beamed. "That would certainly save time and energy if each of us tackle a job. Let us go, Asha!"

Without even waiting for Asha's reply, Mikhail ran towards the duo (referring to Jerkin and Aravip; he didn't see the wolf cub on the pack) that stood by the gates and bowed politely and daintily that most people would think he's a girl. Of course, it did not help with his feminine features too; the long blonde hair that flowed past his shoulders, large blue eyes and an oh-so-cherubic holy face...

"Salutations," The blonde greeted. "My name is Mikhail. My comrade and I wondered if you'd like to join us in out ingredient hunt. After all, it is better if we work together."

[Aegis]

Gerald grinned, clapping the knight he was speaking to on the shoulder. "My kinda guy. Though, we need to take down two Rocs, so that we'll both have enough wings. What say we go into town and prepare?"

The town offered a wealth of items, with a weaponry store that sold steel weapons of virtually any make one could dream up, a food store which sold both cooking supplies and, surprisingly, food, a magic store which could provide sufficient reagents for all of a somewhat advanced mage's needs, a tavern, and a general store that sold both common adventuring supplies and the uncommon. It was also where wax could be bought.

[Khalan Darkstar]

The knight grinned as the other clapped his shoulder, he nodded his head towards the entrance.

"Lead the way then. Two Rocs shouldn't be a problem for us." he said, grinning.

[Fanlourau]

Aravip looked through the ingredients.
'Hmm... If I go for the flying tortoise shell, could you two go for the harpy feathers? I got a feeling most people would go for the Rocs, as they give higher points.' she turned to Jerkin and Sann who still was in his pup form.

Jerkin blinked.
'Are you sure that we should split up? Most people band together for these things....' he began, but Aravip looked at him with her special look, which silenced him.

"Salutations," a blonde girl greeted them.
"My name is Mikhail. My comrade and I wondered if you'd like to join us in out ingredient hunt. After all, it is better if we work together."

Sann and Aravip looked at each other and back to 'Mikhail' again.
'That depends on what you plan to hunt, we were just discussing that most people would probobly go for the Rocs, so it wouls be better for us to take on the flying tortiose and the harpys, going for several, easier, ingredients instead of just the one hard one.' Aravip replied.

Jerkin noticed that Aravip forgot to introduce them.
'Pleased to meet you Mikhail, my name is Jerkin, she is Aravip and the purple guy here' he shifted stance so the wolf cub at hig bag was seen 'is Sann. He might not look like much right now, but... lets just say that most people notice the opposite'.

[Laphir]

"Flying tortoise and harpies..." Mikhail considered this, and smiled serenely as his partner reached him. "Yes, that would be fine."

"Mikhail, please refrain from running around without my consent!" Asha reprimanded. Noticing at the trio, she suddenly felt nervous; she was never good at socializing or talking. Thus, she merely nod at the three.

"This is Asha, my partner," Mikhail introduced her to the others, understanding her nervousness and fear. In her world, nomads seldom interact with anyone other than their own kin. "She battles with her fist, has a special affinity with the wind and a really sharp instinct. I'm more of a healer, a white magic user. So where shall we began, and should we get the wax before the store closes?"

[Fanlourau]

'Actually, we already have some wax with us, Jerkin is an alchemist and uses it frequently to seal his potions, to make sure they stay intact even during rhougher handlings. If we will be working together, it is cheap enough for us to spare enough wax for you.' as Aravip spoke, Jerkin handed over a package that indeed contain the needed wax.

'If we had known about the basilisk oil, we would have asked Mastress Glaive, but she vent of somewhere again and we cant contact her for now.' the silverhaired summoner sighed.
'I doubt she would hand out a hard to get ingredient like that though, so it don't really matter Aravip...' the blonde alchemist corrected her.
Aravip turned to him. 'Don't be so negative!'

She turned back to the other two.
'We had planned to split up so that Jerkin and Sann took care of the harpys and I took care of the flying tortoise, but if we will work together with you, I would suggest that you come with me Asha, and you Mikhail, go with Jin and Sann.' she used Jerkins nickname of old habit.

[Aegis]

The four gates of the castle were not creatively named: The North, East, West and South gates, located in the direction their name implied. What they each lead to were vastly different - The North Gate led to the edge of the land, a beautiful beach where golden sand and azure seas met.

The South Gate led to a deep and dense jungle, where the air was moist.

The East Gate led to a large, dry desert, where the sandstorms were few and the oasis' were many, permitting a good measure of life to grow there.

The West Gate led to rocky mountains, pierced by serpent-like caverns, where a great Basilisk was said to dwell.

"Well, you look interesting." A boy, no older than thirteen, grinned slyly at the assassin (Shinzar's character). "Want to hunt together? The name's Faizleen."

Gerald nodded. "Let's go, then. Oh, my name's Gerald. As well, what supplies do you think we'll need? Goggles are a must, if we don't want sand-filled eyes. Anything else?"