Red Sea

[Frost]

(( Half-blood D: so we're breaking away from star wars and entering harry potter xD ))

"Any word from Bowen, yet?" Ursula asked.
"No, he hasn't sent any word on how he is going, neither has Genevieve."
"That's expected though. We don't even know if Genevieve is alive, anyway."
Ursula death-stared him.
"...Positive thinking, Kreuw."
He stood up from his desk and looked outside, which wasn't hard because on the right side of the room the entire wall was reduced to rubble. Trees surrounded them in every direction, a dirt path led from the destroyed house into the ominous forest. They were behind enemy lines, but also protected, living in a cottage that was pillaged and emptied 15 years ago. Once belonging to Siberius.

"Why are we even here, anymore? It doesn't make sense. It's obvious Siberius isn't coming back. Not ever," Kreuw spoke, growing frustrated.
"Because if Siberius was to return, he'd come here!" Ursula spat back.
"No he wouldn't! This was the first place the New Empire looked after he escaped, and he knew that."
Ursula slammed her fists onto a desk, causing abandoned quills and papers to scatter themselves across the floor.
"Fine then!" She yelled, withdrawing one of her many handguns.
"I'll fire! Make a noise! Make them come to us! So that we have to leave the only safe place in the Country!"
"Don't be ridiculous, Ursula!" Kreuw snapped.
The sound pierced their ears as the trigger was released, the smell of gunpowder lingered as it echoed throughout the forest around them.
She continued to fire until there was no more bullets, each one shocking Kreuw more and more.
Finally she placed the gun on the table beside her.
"There. Now if anyone does come, we'll run, and if they don't, we stay, problem solved," Ursula smiled.

[Frost]

"The Palace's Grand Dining Room, everyone," The Guide proudly told them as she opened the Great Doors leading to the celestial hall. The walls and roof painted golden and the floor painted black. Gardaine's colours.
The walls were lined with candles, the roof lined with chandeliers. An enormous fireplace stood strongly at the opposite end of the room, giving light and warmth to all the officials and military advisors that entered the room and took their seats.
After several minutes had passed the Great Doors opened again, every head turned.
Empress Shelrair stood in a pure white gown, angel wings were stitched onto the back, she was as white as snow and would have been mistaken for it if it weren't for her long, flowing black hair and deep red lips.
She was accompanied by one of her 2 Queens that ruled the land alongside her. Jezebel.
"Welcome all to what I hope to be an absolutely beautiful night! As we celebrate the increasing strength of our safe - and secure - country!" She happily addressed.
The whole room burst into applause as she and Jezebel, as well as the Generals, took their seats at the head of the incredibly long table.
"Before we begin, I must have intel from you all! What news from the South?" The Empress beckoned.
"Rew, Ujale and all of Ki have fallen, my Lord."
Shelrair nodded pleasingly.
"And the West?"
"The Thurgual race is now extinct, as is the Tirrir," said another.
Shelrair clapped in exclamation, "Oh, Wonderful! How exciting! And the North?"
"All the Islands are destroyed and the people...exterminated."
She sighed loudly, "That's a relief."
After a few moments of silence, Empress Shelrair raised her glass.
"Now eat, my children, your bellies must be empty."
She sat and watched as the room erupted in talk, eating and laughter.

[Farrelei]

((Hangyakunin is still part of the Empire... Emilia's there right now, in the Palace
It's taken over by a Resistance-led coup later in the story, and then declares itself a Republic. But that's not just yet.))

The large, bright eyes pierced the darkness of the night as it crunched slowly past the trees, arousing daytimers from their sleep and scattering the nocturnal on their business.
Those inside strained their eyes, looking for another light in the distance, something to follow.
"It stops."
The youngest of them flicked his eyes to the driver, "Stops?"
And indeed, it did. The path before them ended abruptly, ceasing their encroach. It was as if the forest had grown tired of rousing its nature, and simply set up a rocky formation to block them off and bid them no more.
"Curse it. All this way for nothing. What'd I tell yahs?"
"Be quiet, Pei. At least this gives as an excuse to rest."
"Ha! Damn rest. I wonder how the last party went missing?"
"Fine. You can stay up and keep watch, while we sleep."
The driver stood and stared at them both, "Both of you shut your traps. We'll take turns keeping watch."
"Traps, indeed," Pei murmured, gently patting his firearm as if rousing it from a slumber.
"At least the pay's good."
"Ever stop to wonder why?" The driver, whose name was Frallen, offered the man a drink.
Grabbing it, he sighed, "I'm surrounded by a bunch of pessimists."

---

The morning light spilled through the window, illuminating the space of the room opposite her.
She pulled herself up and cast a groggy eye out to the street below.
It's early. She tried to stand, but flopped back down, ...So early.

She stared at her reflection in the mirror, wiping away the water from the bucket she used to clean herself (she set it out on the windowsill whenever she left, so that when she returned, she had rainwater to use). She looked terrible. She always did, in the mornings, let alone those times when she hardly slept a wink.
"I wonder how Rhys went last night, all by his lonesome," she spoke aloud, in an attempt to drag herself more fully into reality, He's a grown man. I'm sure he did fine.
She retrieved the paper bag from beside the door to her small, dusty apartment. "Time to go back, Rosa. Forget about it all."

[Frost]

((Oh, okay, hang on I'll just remove that conversation))

[Frost]

Footsteps echoed through the Feyanrer's house, silent and tiptoed.
It was followed by a quiet but squeaked shut of Siberius and Savannah's bedroom door.
Someone was climbing up and out of the bottom level of the house, and it worried Hope.
She waited a few moments before silently slipping out of her own bed, trying not to wake Nero who slept quietly beside her.
She climbed her way up to the main part of her house, her head just visible as she looked around for any sign of movement, but there was none, not a sound filled her ears other than the sound of the calm waves closeby.
She got up and waited, still looking around...but nothing.
Suddenly, a loud grunt stunned Hope in fear.
She turned to her left slowly, her heart beating rapidly, light blue energy ignited in her fist, unbeknownst to her.

Montecore and Kindle lay wrapped around each other in a large patch of hay. Sleeping and snoring.
Hope relaxed and released her clenched fist, taking a deep breath of relief.
She was about to go back down the ladder to the bedrooms, but was stopped by the sound of gravel falling from the roof and onto the ground.
Aura once again appeared in her hands. Unaware of what it was, she cursed and shook her hands violently until the energy faded away. Why does that always happen? What on Vadaa is it? She asked herself, as she did several times in the past.
She opened the front door of her house and looked up toward the dark and starless sky.

Nothing.

"It's past your bedtime, Hope."
The speaker was on the roof, looking down onto her, silhouetting the person's appearance, but it was a woman's voice. A familiar one.
"Mum?" Hope called back.
There was no answer, but the person above her looked up into the sky.
"I can't sleep, Hope."
"I know," Hope replied to her mother, who had obviously been crying. This wasn't the first time Hope had found her mother up here sobbing to herself, and Hope already knew the reason.
"Is Dad...?"
"Yes. Again. They're getting worse. Now that he has an entire family to worry about..."
Hope frowned. Her Mother was always quite blunt.
"When did they start?" She asked innocently, as if it was a question that Hope had been wanting answering for a long time.
Savannah hesitated. "...For years. Even before you two were born. Your father has been through a lot in his time. More than anyone I have ever known."
Hope wanted to stop asking questions now. The fact that her Mother had told her that is a miracle, but she couldn't let this circumstance be wasted. This has been the closest she's ever been to finding more information about her parent's past.
She climbed up onto the roof through the curve on the side of the house, before approaching her Mother and sitting beside her.
"Mum...What happened?" Hope asked desperately, clenching her teeth.
There were several moments of silence.
"...Too much, Hope. Too much."
Hope rolled her eyes in frustration.
"I know you want to know what has happened, but believe your Father and I when we say...You'd be safer not knowing."
Hope's eyes widened.
Safer!? But that would imply that we may be in danger...That my parents are both being chased, or being looked for... Hope's head was suddenly overcrowded with thoughts and theories.
"Please, tell me, you can't keep me in the dark about this for my entire life!" Hope protested.
"I'd rather you not knowing and living a peaceful, happy life than having none at all, Hope. Now that is enough. I'm sure your Father's night terror is over. We've dwelled on this for long enough."
She dropped down to the ground and waited for Hope to do the same, before they both returned to their beds.
...My life may be in danger if I knew of what they went through...or what they had done...are they fugitives? Criminals, maybe? I need to know more...Mum won't tell my anymore, she'd snap at me if I tried to bring it up again...Maybe Dad will talk to me...If I can somehow be alone with him...

[Farrelei]

Kyou raised a hand to his face. His mind was a mess. He placed his second and third finger on his closed eyelides and gently drew circles on their surfaces. It was late (or, rather, early morning), and he was tired, but whenever his mind begun to inch away into dreaming, a thought arose and halted the change. It was a tedious business.
He raise his arms and stretched them, curled up his legs and stared out into the darkness. Though he couldn't see it, he looked in the direction of the hempen bag. It contained the books he'd collected that evening.
Lying here for hours won't achieve anything.

The candles by his bed were lit, and the bag emptied, books sprawled across the floor. He searched through them, looking carefully at each title. He'd begun one earlier, but couldn't get quite into it. Most of these were old religious texts or legends of some kind, some dating back to the days of Seracoran and the Ancients.
One in particular interested him. He hadn't read too much, but the scrawl on the inside suggested that the book contained a novel on 'the legend of the first sword'. The 'first sword' was the name sometimes given to what they now called 'Fate', an entity in the guise of a sword - and a weapon Serenfas had been tracking for hundreds of years. It wasn't a large book, but that was precisely what he wanted. He pulled it from the ground, sat cross-legged on his bed and hunched over to see the words in the candlelight.

---

Chapter I[/u]

Times and times ago, when Vadaa was but a collection of thoughts, the first peoples and the Writers lived together in harmony. The Writers were given a special task by the gods - to create worlds for the humans to reside.
There was day and there was night - but there was no changing of the seasons, nor did it ever rain. Nourishment was provided by plentiful trees, shrubs and crops in the farmlands, and game in the large forests far from the city, and water from pure lakes and rivers with neverending flow, and the fountain-well in the center of the city that served as a favourite play ground for the children.

In daily life, the people lived in the flourishing city-town L'gaea, and the Writers in the majestical fortress connected to L'gaea by a narrow bridge made of white brick that extended for miles upon miles. The fortress itself was white, blue and dazzling red. It hung in the sky there, and the millions of strings that hung from from it were connected to millions of little anchors in the sky around them; they called these the stars.
Of course, the Writers and the people sometimes met and sometimes laughed. Nobody ever cried, and life was peaceful.

One day, the Writer Felisia had been out walking. She was far from the fortress, and so she sought rest in a house on a nearby farm. The people brought her in, offered her food, wine, and their stories.
She watched these people, and saw how differently they lived to the others. Life was harder for this family, she thought, and so she took these concerns to the Writer King, Dei'rt, and they created a helper for the humans. This helper was granted abilities beyond human capabilities, and were stronger and fitter, and so life was fairer for all. The Writers were praised, and because of this praise, they made many helpers for the people. Most families had one, some individuals having one assigned to him/herself.

And so began a new age, and the Writers, the people and their bretheren lived side-by-side.

[Farrelei]

She's open.
Rosa stopped to admire her pride and joy. Well, it wasn't much. It definately wasn't the most popular place for a drink, but she had her handful of regulars. A woman sat on the railing of the wooden fence that encompassed the cramped porch out the front, sweet talking her man. The door was open, held in place with an old brick that fell off the side of the building next door. She entered through the front door, walked through the hallway at the entrance and into the main section of the pub.
Her eyes immediately caught Rhys behind the bench, drying a glass with one of their rags. She approached him gingerly, sitting upon a stool and resting her chin in her hand,
"How's business?"
He raised his head, his eyes flashing a moment of surprise, "Pretty shit."
"Why's that? Can't handle her yourself for a day, huh?"
He put the glass back on the shelf, and chucked the rag into a basket behind him, "Not quite."
Rosa raised her eyebrows, and Rhys pulled the bartender's stool up and slumped down upon it. "So I tell you the pub'll be open last night. You head off by yourself and then never return. When I get back, there's your gun lying in the hallway. Missing a bullet. The floor's stained with little droplets of blood. Am I supposed to think you just decided to take a break for the night?"
Rosa frowned and tilted her head, "Please. Don't tell me you thought I'd died or something."
"I didn't," Rhys pinched her chin and pointed it at him, "But it doesn't give the best impression."
Rosa pulled his arm away and sighed, "Someone from my past. Thought he'd died. Wishful thinking."
"Someone from your past, huh?" Rhys pried with a smirk,
Rosa laughed, "God no. Not like that. Not for me, anyway. He was a naive man. I managed to get him good in the arm. If he ever comes back here, I swear the next'll be in his brains."
"And last night?"
"Just in case," Rosa sighed, "I stayed in the apartment."
Rhys nodded, "Fine."
"Got any specialties?" She asked with a smile.
Rhys smirked, "Make it yourself, wench. I'm taking a break."

[Farrelei]

"Tap, tap, tap..."
"Watcha doing?"
"A game."
"What game?"
"You gotta step like this, ready... Tap, tap, tap!"
"Like this?"
"Noo!!! You can't step on that line or you die."
"Blerrgghhh..."
The girl giggled as he collapsed on the ground, "Oh well, then, better eat these noodles by myself!"
"You wouldn't!"
She laughed and ran ahead, giggling all the way.


There wasn't a cloud in the sky. Carts rolled by and adults and other children walked past on their business, whatever that was.
She, the girl in the bright orange dress, sat firmly against the little stone wall that encompassed the fountain in the square, placing their lunchbox triumphantly by her side, "I win!"
The boy, who wore less outstanding clothes, plopped up alongside her, wheezing, "Only this time!"
"You got beat by a girl~" she chimed, much to his annoyance.
"Nah! You cheated!"
She laughed, "You were the one who lay down in the middle of the street, silly!"
He snatched the box with both hands and laughed evily, prompting a gasp and a slap from the girl.
"Hey, I was just kidding!"
"Well don't! This is for us to share."
"I know, I know..."

"Are you gonna finish it?"
He groaned, "My belly's full..."
"Let's leave it for the birds, then."
"I don't think birds eat noodles..."
"Sure they do! They look like worms."
"Yeah but... What if they die?"
"Don't be silly, come on."
He frowned and stepped down from the fountain, taking her hand.
"What'll we do now?" He asked.
"Mummy said to come home after we got lunch," said the girl in the orange dress,
"Oh yeah..."
She looked at him, "Unless you wanna go on an adventure?"
"Huh? Where to?"
"Gardaine's a big place! We'll find somewhere."
She pulled at his hand and started to tug him along.
"Wait!"
"What?" She snapped,
"Our mummies will get angry..."
"They won't know."
"Yeah but... It's dangerous past the fountain. Can't we go to the park or something..?"
"We always go to the park; it's boring!"
He sighed, "There are bad people over there."
She stared into his eyes, "How do you know?"
He frowned, "I just know."
"Have you ever been there?"
"No."
"Exactly. So how would you know?"
He bit his lip, "Daddy said."
"He's just being a big ol' fart! 'Sides, how are we ever gonna grow up to be big adults if we just stay in the park with the other kids?"
He raised his head, "...You're right."
She giggled, "Well? Let's go!"
He hesitated, "...How about... Next time?"
"Why!?"
"We'll say we're going to play in the park. It'll give us more time."
Pouting, her eyes fell to the ground, "I spose your right..."
"Let's go back, then. Next time, 'kay? I promise?"
"Really?"
"Yup!"
She raised her head and smiled, "Okay, then."
He smiled back at her, "I'll beat you home."

[Farrelei]

She poked around the meat sheepishly with her fork. She didn't really feel like eating.
Digging the prongs right in, she tore into the juicy slab with her knife, chewed the mouthful and swallowed.
Resting her chin in her hand, she stared at the meal on the table, then out to the window by her side. The curtain was drawn back. It was a simple pane set in an old, wooden frame on which the paint peeled off to the edges. Curiously, she flipped the latch keeping it locked and pulled it up, opening it. Her hair swayed a little in the breeze.
How odd of me.

The wardrobe was dusty on the inside, and smelled old and ancient. The servant assigned to her room was quite slack in their duties, she noted. In the wardrobe hung her only other set of clothes here (other than the nightgown she wore and her clothes from the day before, which lay in a folded pile by the foot of the bed).
Dropping the gown, she slipped into today's dress - an annoyingly tight thing - and returned the room to its original state (minus the clothes on the bed and the plate still full of food - the maids' business).
It was early, but she didn't feel like sleeping through the night and time seemed to slow just to pester her with more utter boredom.
Stepping outside her room, she crossed the hallway and startled the guard on duty, who bashfully spoke, "You're early, Majesty!"
"This I am," she sighed, quickly changing the subject, "I remember a game table from my last visit; a secluded room..."
The guard stammered, "Ah.. Could you hold on a moment? I'll fetch a servantgirl."
The Queen murmured an acceptance and raised a hand to her head. It was a little heavy.
I'll sleep on the ship, she promised herself.

The room was stuffy and small, and the windows were all firmly sealed. It was a reading room of sorts, probably the kind used as a study for the royal children of times past. Three tall windows sat in the center of the room, and the morning sun shone a brilliant gold light through the room, highlighting the dust as it floated weightlessly through the air and fell in clumps upon the surfaces of window panes or floorboards. The door was positioned in the corner of the room, and was the only way in or out. Along the same wall was a a series of bookcases, spanning the rest of the wall (three or four meters in length), and a desk sat opposite them in the corner of the room. In the middle of the room, however, sat two brown, wooden chairs, facing a quaint game table that sat upon a skinny pedestal made of the same tree. Atop the board were squares of equal length, carved out of the board itself to make a playing space, and in turn atop this sat two opposite sets of carved playing pieces.

The Queen bid the servant thanks, and the door was closed. She slowly looked around the room, basking in the silence and isolation that it offered, before disturbing it all by sitting upon the chair. The chairs and the game board were the only things in the room not as dusty as the rest.
I wonder who else comes here to play? She smiled to herself, Do they play alone?
"Dear, dear, Emilia."
The Queen rose her head.
"Come to challenge me again?" Spoke the man, sitting opposite her and grinning devilishly as he did,
"How in the Sea did you get from the Palace?" She spat with a sneer,
"I snuck aboard your Ship. I thought a holiday in the Ancient Capital would do me some good, being perched in that tower long enough to make me the Royal Pet."
She laughed, "To fight a war is hardly a holiday, Be'el."
"I prefer not to fight."
"That's right; you sit and laugh from the towers and watch as everyone else gets themselves killed."
"It's entertaining."
"I'm sure it would be; though not after hundreds of years."
The demon opposite her plucked one of the pieces from his side of the board, drawing it in and examining it with great care, "That's why I came to play with you today, Majesty. A bit of boredom relief."
She tilted her head, "But the next day, back you'll be. Always the observer."
"Do you envy me?" Be'el grinned,
She frowned, "Why should I? I'm worshipped and I get to kill hundreds of people every day. It's exhilirating."
"Fulfilling your role as slave to humanity, I see," he returned, placing the piece in position a few spots ahead.
"I'm not the one playing Humanity, here," the Queen mocked, observing her Demon pieces on the board. She selected one - the cruelest of all - and moved it forward in position.
"I'm only illustrating my point," moving his human to threaten her piece's new position.
Emilia grit her teeth, "What are you trying to say?"
"Life is like a game. Some are lucky, some try their best and never succeed. Others just observe, whilst others still take the board and throw it to the ground in submission to defeat. You, Emilia, move without thinking. You're just one of the pieces in the game, aren't you? But you act as if you're more than that."
Emilia took her piece and moved it back a few spaces, out of range of the threat, "Watch your tongue, Be'el. You either say what you mean to say or I lop it off."
He smiled, "All I'm saying is you've changed. Before these modern times, I've only met you once. You were different, back before the War. You fought for your people and your own personal freedom. Now, you've returned. You're back to being that puppet you were born to be, and you foolishly follow orders without even thinking for yourself. You're a slave, Emilia."
Emilia leaned forward in her seat, "For an observer, you sure don't see much."
"Oh?"
She smiled, "I admire your courage. At least you've the gall to tell me what you think of me. A pitiful image, I do agree. Though, Be'el, appearances are not all they seem. While you hide away in shadows, seeing what your eyes can see, you know nothing of what they cannot. This is your flaw. I assure you, Be'el, that I am no slave. Not to you, nor to anyone else.
I shall not yield to your whims. On the contrary, I'll keep living as I see fit."

The demon opposite her stared at her lips as they finished the sentence, curving into a neat smile.
He looked at her, unable to discern whether she bluff or tell truths.
"Perhaps you're right, Your Majesty. Perhaps."
He chose a new piece and moved it forward.

[Frost]

"Hold Amanda steady, Hope!"
"I'm trying! She's huge!"
"She was born like that!"
The large boat finally unlatched itself from the docks, deep inside the tunnels that led to the ocean.
Hope hurriedly leaped onto the boat, caught by her father, who held her for a while.
"Are you ready to smell disgusting and look even worse?" Siberius asked his daughter with a smirk.
"No..."
Sure am.

"Where's Hord? Isn't He normally here with you? Working the ropes?" Hope asked. Not only did Hope desire answers from her Father, but also to spend the day with one of the most handsome boys in the town.
"Yes, usually, but he is out today."
"Where is he?" Hope asked.
"...Lavity."
Hope jumped.
"The small farm town right next to Gardaine!?" Hope exclaimed.
"Yes, he has family living there. He has quite a lot of relatives!"
An awkward silence arose.

Finally, the fishing boat reached the end of the tunnel, and to Hope's dismay, the waves were majestically enormous.
Siberius frowned, "It's hardly ever this huge!"
The boat collided with wave after wave, knocking Hope to the ground.
"We need to turn around! I'll drop you off and you can come with me another day!" Siberius yelled as another monstrous wave knocked the boat almost completely over.
Siberius sharply spun the ship around and began returning to the tunnels, but the current was too powerful, forcing the ship away from the tunnels, and straight into the cliff face.
Siberius ran down from his post and grabbed Hope tightly just as the ship collided with the rock wall, shattering the front of the boat. The force pushed the two of them onto the side of the boat, almost sending them overboard.

Another wave crashed into the boat, pushing the boat into the cliff again.
"The ship is sinking!" Hope screamed as Siberius pulled her to the other side of the ship, grabbing a long rope and lashing it around the two of them tightly.
"You never saw this." Siberius ordered, before stretching out his arm and aiming it toward the cliff. Suddenly, a bright flash of light exploded from his hand, hitting the cliff face and causing tonnes of rock to fall upon them.
He swiftly fired more and more of this light, destroying the larger rocks before they hit him or his Daughter.
Hope watched as the dazzling energy was emitted, her prayers answered in absolute awe.
The ship was just inches from being completely covered by the water.
Another wave approached, this one much larger than any of the others.
Hope shrieked as the wave tipped the boat completely over, sending Hope and Siberius into the raging seas below...

Hope fell from the surface, her body sinking down into the deep, dark shadows below...
For a moment, she was motionless, the fear and shock gripped her with such a hold that it was almost impossible for her to come to her senses and swim back up to the surface.
She spotted Siberius, tugging violently at a large metal case on the side of the ship, locked from a metal padlock, and refusing to open.
Hope swam up beside him and tried, but to no avail.
Siberius fired more of the light upon the lock, destroying it and flinging open the lid.
He snatched the object it contained from inside - A long, thin and hollow pole - And swam up to the surface, followed by Hope.

Hope gasped for breath as they resurfaced, the waves still vicious.
Siberius pulled himself up onto the bottom of the ship, the water knee-high.
"Grab my hand!" Siberius called, outstretching his arm toward her.
Hope swam over and took his hand, and then was lifted easily with one arm out of the water and onto the upturned ship.

Siberius embraced her for a moment, before aiming the strange device to the same spot in the cliff that he released the amazing energy, with a gaping hole where the Aura had hit.
A large metal hook with a long chain attached shot from the device that Siberius fired, digging itself deep into the cliff a few metres above the hole he had made.

"Okay, we're going to run, and jump, got it?" Siberius asked after another wave knocked him to the ground.
"What!?" Hope screamed doubtfully.
"I will be holding you, we're both going to run, and jump up and reach it!" He yelled.
"That-s impo-"
Siberius grabbed her and began sprinting across the toppled boat, Hope barely being able to keep up from all the confusion.
"Ready, and...Jump!" Siberius screamed, aura blasting from his feet, launching them into the air.
Siberius grabbed the long chain that was attached to the hook, and pulled Hope and himself up and onto the ledge he had created, safe from harm.

The two of them took deep breaths, closing their eyes in relief.
"How did...you do that?" Hope asked between breaths.
Siberius didn't respond, instead he continued catching his breath.
"What...happened...all those years ago?" She asked again.
Siberius looked at her, but still did not reply.
"What was it!? A fire!? A flood!?" Hope yelled, demanding her Father to respond.
"Where did you come from!? Why are we here!? Why can you do such amazing things!?" Hope screamed, "You can't leave me in the dark here! You can't hide a lifetime of secrets from your children!"
Still no response.
She sighed deeply, listening to the crashing waves beneath them.

"...I don't even have a last name, Dad. I have nothing but a 4-letter name and 16 years worth of questions."
She placed her head on his shoulder.
"Keeping these things to yourself will only make things worse..." She told him quietly.

There was a long silence after this, the two of them watching the ocean's fury below them.

[Frost]

"...Your last name is Feyanrer. Hope Gladoris Feyanrer is your full name."
Hope looked up, regathering her attention toward her Father.
Knowing her full name was a shock, and the name itself, Hope loved.
"Hope Gladoris Feyanrer..." Hope repeated.
"The middle name is your Grandmother's Maiden Name."
Hope's eyes widened, "I have a Grandmother? What was she like!?" She exclaimed in wonder, finally gaining access to a lifetime of answers.
"I never met her, Hope. It's a very long and complicated story."
Hope sat up, her eyes attentive.
Siberius sighed and rolled his eyes.
He told her of the beginning. Of the Ancients, and of his parents. His Father, a Nature Ancient, borin in the Forest of Reiisi, and his Mother, an Eminence Ancient, born in the Mountains of Vuerria.
"Their powers were amazing. All Ancients had the ability to manipulate the spirit and soul into a physical energy. Known as Aura. Where there is spirit, there is aura. You would be able to as well, if given correct training."
Hope clasped her hands together and breathed deeply.
"Aura...that's what you used when we were on the boat. To make a hole in the cliff for us to climb onto."
Siberius nodded.
"It can be used for many things. These days, it isn't used in such a sacred way. It's primarily used as a form of combat now, rather than being used for revitalising and giving life. This is what caused the split of the Nature Ancients and the Eminence Ancients. Some were against such brutal ways of using such a blessing. Others supported it."

Siberius paused to allow Hope to take in what he had said, before continuing.
"But there are darker beings in this World. Much darker...
Known as demons, they're made from sacrificing a human and then filling their mind, body and soul with one of a demon. Ancients were able to tap into the Earth's core source of spirit, and summon the demons into our World."
Hope drew breath, "Do they still exist?" She asked with chills.
"Yes. They do. Demons have supernatural powers. Enhanced memory, knowledge or strength for example. And each Demon specialises in their ability. No two Demon are alike. They are vicious, liars and deceitful."
"Have you ever met one?" Hope asked timidly.
Siberius looked back at his daughter with a deep frown.
"...One too many, Hope. My Father became a Demon more than a millennia ago."
"A millennia!? How is that possible!? How could he live that long!?" Hope spat in confusion.

Siberius smiled lightly. "I am almost that old as well."
"What!?" Hope yelled with a dumbfounded expression, much too loud to her Father's liking.
"My Father, possessed by the Demon known as Diabora, became filled with so much anger and violence, that he destroyed almost all of the Eminence Ancients. All the Elders, the men, the women, the children...But he wasn't satisfied. He wanted my Mother. And Me."
Hope remained silent, saddened from the emotion her Father had as he told her these events.
"He found us. Hiding deep in the Forest. She was carrying me, a new born baby. The two confronted each other. They fought for incredibly long, but my Father's superhuman qualities overcame her. And just as he was about to finish her, he hesitated. Something a Demon never does when they are about to reach their goal. It seems that Crillic, my Father, was so powerful, that for only a moment, he was able to break from Diabora's hold on him and try and stop him from killing his wife and child.
My Mother quickly used the remainder of her powers to create an impenetrable shield around me. It was resistant to almost anything. How long it lasted exactly, I don't know, but almost one thousand years later the shield faded and I awoke, still as a baby in the arms of a man completely unknown to me."

"...I'm sorry."
Siberius turned toward her. "For what?" He asked.
"For everything that has happened to you. And your family."
Siberius smiled and held his daughter, kissing her on her forehead.
"You are my family now. You, your Mother and Nero. You 3 have rid my life of all it's wrongdoings."
With his daughter in his arms, he continued talking for hours. About Emperor Sei and the Second Demon War. About Eleanore and the Rebellion. And of meeting a clan of people he thought never existed..."

[Farrelei]

((-cries-))

His eyes flashed open. Something was piercing into his hand. He looked up, but it was gone. It was noisy. There were people all around him, each of them screaming. He was a foreign bird caught in a flock of others. It all confused him; he was sure it was quiet just a moment ago.
He looked up. All the children around him pushed forward toward a building. As he got up and strained his eyes, something flew into him and caused him to fall back down.
"What are you doing!? Get outta my way," someone yelled. He wasn't sure whether it was boy or girl, but it was hideous, and it redeemed itself and began to plough back into action.
He raised himself, brushing dirt from his clothes and trying to see past the crowds as he did. All the children squirmed to get into a building on the other side of the complex, which looked like a large arena except there were no seats, and nothing except them on the inside.

Breakfast was a dark brown and mostly-tasteless soup. To Verith, it was just hot water taken from the sewers. He slurped down what he could, and then gave it to someone far back in the line. He'd waited upward of thirty minutes to get his share, and he knew it wouldn't have been worth it. He was raised on the finest, after all. Whilst other kids cleaned off their plates and shouted for more, he found himself staring at the sky and wondering if it were different here in Hangyakunin.

Some time passed before havoc broke loose again. once more, the grounds were littered with frenzying children. They lined up in rows, straight and proper, with guns staring them down in case they defied the slightest order.
They stood, facing a wall. A crate was placed in front, and soldiers boxed in the huge group of children, rifles at the ready. A man stepped in front of them, examining them for a moment before stepping up on the crate.
"Listen up! Tall and proper, lads and lasses, you're the future fire for our great Empire!"

[peanut]

[Farrelei]

((no.))

Darkness enclosed around her in an instant. The last of the light had been choked from the room, and the creaking and moaning of the old ship drowned out the silence she expected.
Her eyes remained trained on a point. She smirked, "Don't piss me off, Cave."
"All work and no play makes the lady go dry," came the husky voice of the man opposite her.
She chuckled, "That's disgusting. Honestly, I have work to do."
He yawned in the darkness, "Not even just this once? It's a long ride across the waves, Ms. Marriane."
She kicked him under the table, "I'll spare some coin once we get to port. The girls at Hangya are top-notch, I would know."
He groaned.
"You're right though," she yawned, "It's late and I can't be bothered to work any longer. I'm gonna step outside for a while."

She stumbled through the darkness and escaped into the moonlight. The deck was bare, save for a sailor smoking and practicing cards by himself in a corner. She walked to the starboard rail, peered down over the edge and stared at the waves as they pooled over one another, edged on by the late night wind. The moon was exceptionally bright, and the stars were plentiful - each a speck of life. She sighed. She actually quite hated these visits to Hangyakunin. Sometimes she didn't know whose side she were on.
Sometimes, she decided it didn't really matter.

Creator: Farrelei.
My name: April Marriane.
My age: 28.
My faith: -shrug- I'm atheistic, to be blunt, but I like to pretend I follow a god. For appearances, and all that.
I live: ooh, I live many lives. On the surface, I'm the Ranran Ambassador to Immestrial. I move between cities, but mainly stay in the Embassy in Gardaine or my residence in Capital State. Beneath that, though... Well, I suppose you could call me a mercenary. They offer me gold, I offer them a chance at independance. It's not all for the money, though, don't get me wrong. I've seen for myself the error of the Empire. I don't agree with tearing it down, though - no. It's the administration that's fucked up. Get rid of the Empress, and reinstate a proper government. That's what I say.
My story: I was born on an Asfarian Mountain (I forget which), migrating to Hangyakunin as a baby. I spent my childhood years there, and my family moved again to Ranra when I was 12. Since then, I aspired to be the first woman Admiral of the Fleet.
Well, things changed. I met people who knew people who fucked people. Let's just say the young Princess isn't so quiet and refined come night... -cough- Anyhow, I was offered this position through my ties and my background. I hated the idea at first, but I'm coping. As for the Resistance, well... Let's say the pay was high. Really high. Even Ranra couldn't offer me as much. But I'm not just doing this for the money. I'm doing it for Ranra, and for Immestrial, and for the whole of Vadaa. History took a wrong turn, annd when the reigns are handed over, I'd really just like to get back on track.
You see: A woman looking slightly older than she may actually be. I've short, messy blonde-brown hair and a stout build.
I like:

• Cards.
  
• Nighttime.
  
• Money.

But hate:

• Summer.
  
• Fat people.
  
• Men.

Oh, and: Children. Did I mention that? Yeah. I really freaking hate kids.
Roleplays: Red Sea.

[Frost]

"Like this?"
"Kind of. You're getting the hang of it, I'll give you that."
Hope stood parallel to her Father, in the same stance as him.
Slowly, Siberius moved, swinging his right leg to the ground and raising his left knee.
"This is one of the most simple techniques, after you raise your left knee, you spin around, and when you swing your left leg to the ground, you outstretch your arms."
He did what he said to do, showing Hope once more.
"Try again."
Hope tried to follow, but found herself stumbling all over the place.
Her Father laughed and pulled her up.
"You can go slower up until the end, the movements are supposed to stimulate blood flow, and at the same time, aura. Keep at it."
Several minutes passed, but to no avail.
Hope cursed and sat herself on the ground.
"Don't give up. It gets easier, trust me."
Her Father's comforting words meant nothing to her.
"What if I'm not like you? Maybe I'm more like Mum," She replied.
"You have a spirit beast, Hope. That's how you can tell. All Ancients and their Descendants had one. It's an animal that shares your soul. It's your protector and companion. Like Montecore to me."

Hope sighed and stood up.
"Fine then, lets try again."


"Hangyakunin is one of the only remaining threats. Eventually we will have to eliminate them, but for now, I suggest we befriend them. Invite them to dine with us," Emilia suggested.

"Bah! They'd just think we're going to kill them like we killed all them other leaders! They won't trust us!" Diabora spat, slamming his fist onto the incredibly expensive table.

"Perhaps we should go dine with them. Just a handful of us. Then they would trust us," Jezebel stated.

"No-one is dining with anyone. It's much too risky," Shelrair told them all, only just now entering the room and sitting on her chair. Surrounding her were her 2 Queens, Emilia and Jezebel, Vanguard Diabora, General Asmoday, and Alistar and Blight. Be'el sat in the corner of the room with a book in his hands.

"Then what would you have us do, my Empress?" Emilia asked sarcastically.

"They have not shown signs of warfare, and neither have we, perhaps, for now, we'd do our best to ignore them. In terms of sheer numbers and how much ground we have, we can win. But Hangyakunin possesses much more allies than we do, so it's split fifty-fifty. Anyone can win given the situation is in their favour," Asmoday said.

Shelrair nodded.
"The Southern Front is now eradicated. All of their land has been turned over to us. We've already began shipping farming supplies and families over there. Especially in Conin," Shelrair told them, moving onto other state of affairs.
"Also, on a much more important note, we seem to have located the 3rd and final altar."
Emilia's eyes widened, as did a smile. Jezebel noticed.

"Once we open it, our strength will increase, and, if it's functional, we can begin resurrecting brethren at twice the rate," Shelrair explained.
"Oh, might I add to that." Emilia asked.
All heads turned to Emilia, who took the attention rather nicely.
"How many Commanders are you wanting? Hanna, Nos Ni and Bein were all successfully resurrected. We can make more if they are needed."
Shelrair nodded.
"Of course. We'll need every demon if we are to win this war."

There was a long silence after this.
'Well, it's time for lunch, I now declare this meeting over," Shelrair told them all.