NationStates Jolt Archive

THIS IS AN OPEN RP!


“Peace is not an absence of war, it is a virtue, a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence, confidence, justice.”—Benedict de Spinoza

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Leto Crusade, the grandson of the famed fighter and martyr, Lance Crusade, and son of the famed swordsmaster, Amistad Crusade, climbed hastily up the mountain, known as Mt. Skyfire, the proverbial home of the long dead race of the dragonlords. Although he was the descendant of generations of vaunted swordmasters and fighters, Leto was not a fighter. From youth, he loathed fighting, choosing instead to utilize the art of persuasion to fulfill his goals. But now, Leto needed the art form that had epitomized his family name, the way of the sword. Halfway up the slope, Leto stopped and gazed warily and wearily at a massive cave entrance near the summit of the mountain.

Shaking the lethargy from his head, Leto continued the arduous climb. Finally, reaching the top after an onerous climb that lasted several hours, Leto finally arrived at the cave. Warily, Leto entered the massive cave. As his eyes ate up the details of the cavernous grotto, Leto slowly walked towards a door at the far end of the cave. Stumbling over the rocks, Leto labored to the far end of cave. Finally arriving there, Leto turned around and gazing back at whence he came, he kneeled upon the ground. In a shallow, light voice, Leto intoned, “To thee dragons, long disappeared from this realm. To thee deceased, who in thy future shall return. To thee lords of the sky, to thee lords of the earth, and to thee lords of the heaven. We the caretakers of thy bones, wait patiently for thy return.”

Finished, Leto fumbled inside his tunic and produced a small key. Fitting it into a carefully hidden lock, Leto unlocked the door and entered, through to a cavernous hall. Leto closed the door behind him, locking it. Kneeling once more upon the floor, Leto intoned, “To thee the predecessors of might and power. To thee the warriors of the sky, the earth, and the heavens. To thee the champions of the dragon. I thy successor, bow down to thee…”

When Leto completed the ritual, the hall was filled with light, revealing statues of the dead, all of them heroic figures. At the foot of each statue were the personal effects of the dead heroes, their armor, their weapons, and their wealth. Leto stood and glanced about, trying to find a tri-stone. He spotted the massive tri-stone at the other end of the hall. Relieved, Leto walked unsurely and slowly towards the tri-stone, his hands trembling with anticipation. At long last, Leto was claiming his birthright, the Sword of Cala. Leto arrived at the tri-stone and gazed longingly at the golden sword held upright. His hands trembling, Leto pulled the sword carefully from its position within the tri-stone. He felt the sword hum with power as it interacted with the light filling the room. Suddenly, without warning, the entire room disappeared in a blaze of golden energy. Surprised, Leto dropped the sword on the floor and stumbled backwards. As abruptly as it had come, the light disappeared. Warily, Leto stepped forth and picked up the sword.

In a voice filled with emotion and with great hope for the future, Leto said, “I draw thee, the Sword of Cala, inherited weapon of the House of Cala. I, descendant of the Old Duke, Archio Crusade, grandson of the Duke Lance Crusade, son of the Swordmaster Amistad Crusade, claim my birthright!”

The intensity of the room suddenly brightened, when Leto uttered the intonation. And suddenly, heavenly music filled the room. As Leto watched in amazement, two figures descended through the rock and stone, landing upon the floor. Upon closer examination, Leto recognized one as his father and the other his grandfather. His face brimming with tears of joy, Leto rushed forth, eager to address his dead ancestors, but was stopped halfway by the palm of his grandfather, Lance Crusade.

“Stay, Leto,” said the being that was Lance Crusade, “It is good to see finally that you have assumed your birthright.”

Bowing respectfully to his grandfather, Leto replied, “In my folly, I failed to acknowledge it. Today, however, I have seen through this folly and have accepted my birthright.”

“Good, good,” answered Lance. Turning around, Lance gestured to his son, Amistad and said, “Leto, you have finally become a man… With your birthright, the Sword of Cala, you will achieve greatness that will rival that of me and your father.”

Amistad stepped forward and in a deep booming voice, he said, “Leto, the honor of the House of Cala rests in your hands. Do not forsake your honor. For honor is like a rugged island without a shore; once you have left it, you cannot return. For now, my son prepare for the tragedy of life and truth…”

“Tragedy of life and truth?” repeated Leto in confusion.

“Truth, what is truth? The truth is often a terrible weapon of aggression. It is possible to lie, and even to murder, for the truth.” interrupted Lance before Amistad could answer, “But for now, you must not seek this truth. In time, your quest will allow you to discover the truth… We must return to whence we come… Farewell for now, Leto… We will meet again…”

BUMP for comments...

Bump...

Bump!!!

Ah, more adventures of the Crusade Family. I would be interested to join and see what happens to the Leto.

(OOC: I would love it if you could join this... The damned forums don't allow me to change the invite to an open. *curses the new forums*)

Leto slumped to the well-worn floor, exhaustion from his long, windy journey to the peak of such an imposing mountain. Still in daze from the sudden events of the past few weeks, Leto sat quietly in the imposing hall, his thoughts racing to keep up with the events.

Quietly, Leto fell asleep...

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When Leto woke up, the once brilliant light of the hall had disappeared. All that remained was the darkness, black and stifling. Shaking his head, Leto struggled to stand. With great effort, Leto propped himself up. Leaning upon a massive statue commemorating one of the many dragonlords, Leto sighed, unable to comprehend, unable to understand, unable to grasp the meaning of the situation.

Just as Leto was about to move, something clanged at his feet. Staring down, Leto remembered the sword bestowed upon him by his ancestors, an ancient heirloom known as the Sword of Cala. Shaking his head in disbelief, Leto sat back down…

OOC: Oooh, genuine pseudo philisophical ramblings of dead people. Always a pleasure to read. So is this open or closed or some sadistic taunting approach used to draw in N00bs and quietly execute them like lost children? Ahem. Got a bit carried away there.

(OOC: Its open...)

OOC: Have you got a direction you paticularly want the thread to go in?

(OOC: Not really... I just pretty much want mmy character to become a swordmaster)

(OCC:Ive diceded to bring Enigma, the guy from the Blood Goblet RP that we were in together, into this.)

IC:So, there Is a new Crusade.

That was what Enigma first thought of the news. He had known Lance, had fought with him, and was quite excited at the prospect of meeting him. Enigma was unaware that Lance had ever even had a son. He decided to do a little research on the Crusades.

Eventually he found that the Sword of Cala, the sword that Lance had carried on the Blood Goblet quest, was a family Hierloom, passed down from generation to generation. It was supposedly located in the mythical Mt. Skyfire. As it turned out, it actually existed. After a time-quite a long time, as it would be-Enigma managed to locate the mountian and arrive there.

Enigma didnt dare try to climb the legendary mountion-it would be an insult to the Crusades if he did. Instead he opted to stay at the foot of the mountian until the new Cruasade had retived the sword, as he would eventually have to. Luckily, Enigma managed to arrive just in time. As he walked to the foot of the Mt. Skyfire, he could see a tiny figure almost at its peak.

"Must be him," Enigma thought. He suddenly drew out a massive longbow and nocked an arrow to it. He pulled then loosed the powerful string. The arrow flew far short of the man climbing the mountian, but he, of course, was not the target. The arrow had a note tied to the back of it reading "Meet me at the bottem-I knew your GrandFather." If the new Crusade was anything like his Lance, he would notice it.

Enigma Himself was old-Very old. The elves had given him partial immortality-he was blessed with a lifespan 8 times that of a normal human. Enigma was wearing a black cloak and tunic, his bow strapped to his back and a staff in his hand. The staff helped Enigma focus his Magical Powers, witch were somewhat powerful, but very limited. The staff had a Silver orb imbedded in the middle of it. Enigma also carried dual knives-almost large enough to be considered short swords-and his familiy Katana. The sword, while no match for the Sword of Cala, was still a fine piece.

He hoped that Crusade would come down soon; He had alot to talk to him about.

(OOC: In Blood Goblet, it was Lance Crusade, the grandfather not the father...)

(Oh crap, your serious? Man, my memory is getting bad. Alrighty.....lets just say that enigma has a VERY long lifespan.)

A hauty sniff could be heard as the arrow flew out and up. And a light mutter "trying to kill little boys around here? is that a sport or are you just a demented pedophile?"

The voice came from a figure sitting on a small rock outcropping. A pair of fine, long hands were sketching some ancient peice of ruin before the figure into a thick journal like book. One couldn't make out if it were man or woman based on the grey cloak the person had on. But the sword poking out from under was quite obvious, as was the bow and quiver laying on the rock.

(OOC: Welcome Alcona and Hubris. Ravea can you please edit your post to reflect the fact that I pointed out? Thank you...

FYI, Leto is currently in a pretty massive cave....)

<<OOC - I'm thinking it may be fun to play the role of the SWORD of CALA...a weapon with a soul who has seen many deaths at its own hands, and now does not want to kill anymore...unless it is for a righteous cause. 5CN, think about it and let me know if you are interested. If not, I may just be a wandering Swords-Master who can train your boy...>>

(OOC: Well my other character's sword, the Hellblade was possessed by a demon. However, the Sword of Cala is not and will never be possessed or even be sentient. The swordmaster could work, although there are already two others waiting outside the cave...

I'll post later today... *curses loudly and obscenely about the idiotic summer program*)

*Post Edited*

Another job well done. Aschen picked up what little belongings he carried with him, a katana, a pair of concealed daggers, and a pack strapped to his back over one shoulder, and casually left the foreign city he was in. People were watching him, but then that was to be expected. They were not used to his eastern facial features.

For days he traveled by road from one town to the next, moving generally to the east, until he reached one where the easterly roads turned south. From there on, he would either have to follow the southern route for countless leagues before they finally turned east again, or he could ignore the road and go through the lands mostly untouched by civilization.

It would be nice to be alone in nature again, away from the incessant chatter of people's minds.

So without much second thoughts, Aschen purchased a donkey (which he soon named Stupid) and plenty of supplies, and struck off toward the mountains. Trekking through the wilderness was slow going, but then he was in no hurry. Two weeks in, he found himself in a forested valley, closing in on a mountain that seemed liked just any other mountain.

*Wzzzt*

An arrow whizzed past a deer and embedded itself into the trunk of tree. The animal immediately kicked its hindlegs and dashed off.

Aschen lowered his cheap bow and muttered. "No veal tonight, I guess." He strolled over to the poor, assaulted tree and pulled out his arrow, being careful not to damage his limited supply of projectiles. Looking in the direction of where the prey ran off to, he was not even able to see it anymore. With a shake of his head and a little bit of a grin, he walked back to his campsite.

Stupid was checking out some forest foliage, and he petted it on the head as he passed by. Suddenly, a massive wave bombarded his mind, a presence so strong that he dropped to his knees and clutched at his head as his brain throbbed against his skull. His eyes were wide and he gritted his teeth as the presence - no, two presences - spoke to someone else, not too far away. Aschen could just barely pick up on bits and pieces of the conversation, but he was too busy trying not to be in pain to try to eavesdrop.

Then it was gone. He was breathing hard, staring first at the ground before looking over at Stupid to see if it had any reactions. Stupid stared back blankly.

"What do you say we check out what that was, Stupid?" Aschen asked. Stupid stared back blankly.

"Good. We're in agreement, then." He packed up camp and headed in the direction of where the presences came from. He headed toward the mountain.

With the last of his energy, Leto staggered out of the gigantic cavern and into the fresh mountain air, his hereditary weapon, the Sword of Cala strapped to his back. As a sigh, he sank to the floor, exhausted from his exertions.

With great effort, Leto raised himself from his position into a sitting one. Shaking his head, Leto took a deep breath, concentrating his thoughts and attempting to clear his mind...

Enigma saw a movement on the mountian high above. He didnt want to use another arrow, so he decided to catch Crusade's attention through other means. He held his staff high up and muttered an incantation. A beam of silver light burst out of it high into the air, lingered for a few seconds, then dissapeared. Enigma decided to walk up the mountian to save some time.

"What the hell!?!" muttered Leto as he watched a stream of silver light stream up towards the sky. Shaking his head in derision, Leto wearily picked himself up from the ground. His feet unsteady, Leto began to make his way down the mountain...

The figure shook it's head and looked up. "Well, he does want to get someone's attention. I wonder if this kid is awful cute or something. Oh, well let's go see what this is all about."

The figure closed the book and then opened it to the first page. Taking up the bow with one hand and tracing something on the first page the odd words seemed to form in the air about the figure. Dark runes then all vanished except for the book. It fell to the ground for a second then seemed to become a small group of bee's that flew up the hill...

(Note: Only real 'magic' that my character has...but useful.)

Enigma finally came in sight of the new Crusade.

"Mr. Crusade, I presume?" He called. "The name's Enigma. I fought with your GrandFather. Ah, the Sword of Cala. I remember it well. It's yours now, i suppose."

Something clicked in the back of his mind. He drew his bow again and nocked another arrow.

"It would seem we have a visitor, Mr Crusade. Come, show yourself!" He called to the person he knew to be watching them.

When a stranger accosted him, Leto recoiled in surprise, startled. When the man spoke and introducted himself as "Enigma," Leto's eyes widened in astonishment, as his mouth wordlessly formed the word "Who."

Shaking his head in disbelief, Leto was about to question Enigma further, when Enigma suddenly became defensive, a bow appearing in his hands. Startled, Leto stepped backwards, tripping upon a small loose rock and landing hard on his back.

As the "Thud" reverbrated through the valley and mountains, Leto slowly sat up, grasping his head in pain...

Enigma raised an eyebrow.

"Smooth. Quick, get on your feet. I doubt we're in any danger here, but always better to be on the safe side then dead."

He thought for a moment, then loosened his bowstring. He dove inside his cloak and revealed some elvish waybread. He tossed it to Crusade.

"Eat this, it'll make you feel better." Said Enigma as he pulled the arrow back on the bowstring again. "I wont ask again; Show yourself!"

(OOC: If any of you guys want to join a Future-Tech Character RP, come here (http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=343840).)

Aschen paused and looked up as the beam of light flew high into the sky. "Well, whoever it is certainly isn't trying to hide himself...or, at least, isn't very good at doing it. Come on, Stupid, let's pick up the pace."

The two moved toward the mountain a bit faster as Aschen's mind probed ahead to make sure the way was clear of danger. After a while, the distant figures began to be more detailed, and he paused again to try to discern who they were. His mind went out, focused on the figures on the mountain, but they were still out of range and he was unable to read anything.

"I wonder what these people are doing out in the middle of nowhere..." he muttered to himself before moving again.

From out of the trees came a voice...
"You know, you shouldn't point that thing unless your planning on killing me. Which really is sort of unfreindly and all. You plunk one of your arrows through me, then I miss you and give the kid a permanet headache. So why don't we all act nice and peaceful like. You lower that big bow of yours and I'll come out...sound good to you?"

The soprano sounded like a woman, although where she was in the tree's was a bit confusing.

Leto nearly jumped out of skin (if he could) when he heard the soprano voice emanate from a nearby tree. Trembling with fear, Leto quickly hid behind Enigma, afraid of everything...

Enigma thought a moment.

"Very well." He said, loosing his bowstring and sliding the arrow back into his quiver. "Wouldnt want Crusade to get hurt." He looked back to the direction of the trees, putting a hand on his Katana.

"All right, you can come out now."

The figure in grey walked out from among the trees. "Really, I'm not out to hurt anyone, I'm just a bit curious why you seem so intent on either helping or protecting the young man there. Is he your leige lord's son perhaps, or a young noble himself not yet grown into his duties. After all you sent a signal everyone and their brother for miles around could see." The figure was now leaning against one of the trees

The buzz of a large group of bee's could be heard approaching. The swarm crossed to the woman and began to reform into a book above her. As the last bee turned into leather and paper, the book dropped. A quick grab of the hand and the book was back in her grasp.

Enigma shook his head.

"Nay, i serve no man, save myself, perhaps. As for Crusade, i knew his Grandfather, Lance. I'm interested in meeting the newest Crusade and have vested a personal interest in him. I would like to see his combat skills, and see him try to match Lance."

He thought of the moment.

"Come to think of it, who the hell are you?" He asked.

"And who the hell are you?..and who in the hell is the guy srunching around in the bushes back there? One of yours, one of this Crusade's fellows, or some fellow interloper?"

"As for who I am, let's just call me 'Rava the Grey" she said in an off-hand manner.

She pulled back the hood of her grey cape to reveal short red hair, a flawless complextion on a handsom face, and startling, deep blue eyes. They seemed to almost glow a radiance.

"And so your name is Crusade," she said to Leto, "Do you speak, or are mere women beneith your notice." Her eyes twinkled while teasing the young man.

Leto's face turned crimson as he blushed. Realizing that the darkness would hide his discomfiture, Leto decided to speak. "Ma'am, my name is Leto Crusade..." Turning to Enigma, Leto said, "No, no, master... I am unworthy to be the equal of my illustrious grandfather or even my father. I am merely a scholar, given no choice except the way of the sword..."

"Hmm, a scholar to become a swordsman? Tell me scholar what was thy area of study before taking up the path of the sword?" Rava asked as she unslung a pack and started to put her book away.

"I am a historian... Principally considered with the study of 春秋時代 or the Spring and Autumn Period." Leto replied without hesitation.

"That's interesting." Enigma said, slightly suprised. "A scholor, eh? And one of the Crusades, no less....Tell me, Leto, why was it you had to take up the Sword of Cala? You say you had no choice."

"Let's just say an old nemesis has decided to return to haunt my existence..." Leto replied...

And that's when Aschen showed up, leaving his donkey behind to travel up the mountainside more quickly. He decided against scanning them, as that probably wasn't the best of things to do to people who obviously had powers of their own. From his angle, Enigma was blocking his view of Leto, so he was unable to see the eastern features that both he and Leto shared in a land devoid of such features.

"Hello there!" he called out to the trio.

"Can't I get a moment to myself! That is not my damn name! Not anymore! Grant me silence for once!"

The voice reclined in it's commands, and left the figure to his own thoughts.

With a sigh, the man flopped down onto the ground wherever he was, his robes flailing as he did so. He had not rested in some time, he simply did not care anymore.

He looked up at the sky. His eyes stung and his body ached. He had not slept in many days.

Had I ever sleeped before?

For that matter, have I ever eaten?

More questions.

No answers.

Just the memories of someone else, disjointed and fragmented. This person was someone else, but not.

He placed his hand over his head and closed his eyes, his breath heavy and stressed. His health was poor, his lungs rattled.

To the outside viewer, this person was without question a mage. His heavy robes of the magical profession clung heavily to the person body due to persiperation of his efforts. He seemed young, only around twenty....but he had very strange long white hair which flayed around at the moment. It had a slight tinge of silver to it, which glinted in the light.

His eyes were a slate grey, sunken and seemingly lifeless. They were tierd and worn out. Upon his robe were a few componenets of the magical profession, a bag of strange smelling herbs, a rod filled with clear liquid.

Not that he knew entirely what to do with them. He knew very little.

He remained on the floor, breathing heavily, rattinling away, trying to think what had just happened a few days ago.


(OOC Don't worry if you don't understand what I am on about. Simply put, there is a mage like character nearby lying down, looking kinda unhealthy and worn out. So you could find him if you wanted to.)

Enigma twirled around at the newcomer. He was beginning to thing that using magic was not such a good idea after all. He wondered if any more people would come. However, this man did not seem like a threat with his friendly features.

"Hello!" Replied Enigma. "What is your name?"

"It seems we have something of a party here, Eh, Leto?" He said quitely to the boy.

(OOC: Welcome back Kain, its been a while...)

Leto shook his head as he attempted to stifle a yawn. Covering his mouth, Leto gazed sheepishly at Enigma as he surveyed the people that had somehow joined them. Is this a coincidence? Leto thought, Or is this some kind of ploy on my enemy's part to gain my trust and then murder me? Alas, it is too difficult to tell... If only my father was here... Stifling any attempts at crying, Leto said, "By the way, Enigma... How did you know I was here, at Mount Skyfire?"

He thought he was alone, he was far from. The mage was still recovering some of his independance in his thoughts, when the regular voice came in to irritate him. At least, it irritated him.

His eyes opened as the strong commanding voice spoke to him.

"Do you realise who you are?"

The mage groaned and rolled over onto his belly and covered his head with his arms, trying to block out sound sight and reason. Not that there was any reason to any of this. The flashes of memories that was not his life. His unexplainable existance. The fact that he had only had active memories for the last few days, yet he had...what....a hundred years of fragmented history?

He saw himself, but not himself. Someone else entirely. Some things where the same, many different. Still a mage, still the strange silver hair. Different eyes....those absorbing brown eyes which seemed alive with a life of thier own.....and....the skin it was....!

The mage groaned and gave a muffled reply to the persistant voice.

"Leave me alone! I want none of this! None of it...please....just....leave...me alone. I am tierd of seeing these things which you force me to endure!"

The voice receeded with some degree of mercy, but left a faint message.

"You need to know who you are, what you are."

The mage was left alone with his thoughts. He sat up, his eyes reajusting. They still stung with a passion, and his robes where clad with sweat. He felt completely vunurable, and he hated it. He just wanted to get away from this, these memories, these heart aches which he did not know who they ached for, the hatred for characters to plays he had forgotten, knowledge which had no time or place within this person.

Knowledge of magic, pain, wisdom...

Love.


But all the knowledge was fragmented, lost, distorted and hard to interpret and piece together. But there seemed to be something clear....a word.

A name.

K......K....

No, it was gone again.

The mage sighed, and sat up, still with glazed eyes. He watched a leaf fall down...and with that, he heard people talking around him.

With a predictable persistance, the mage began to hack bitterly, his lungs punishing him still. He was sickly and unhealthy, and he began to feel hot. He bent over hacking, trying to muffle the sound of his agony with his thick robes, but it was still rather loud.

He felt blood within his mouth....and a memory of that blood does not taste like this, blood tasted far far better than this....crept in.

The mage simply hoped the people where not bandits or anything...he did not know what he would do.....last time someone attacked him...well....the results where bad.

"Aschen is the name," the man said with a bow. "And may I ask..."

He drifted off as he noticed Leto. "You...you're from the East, aren't you?"

"Correct, I am from the Middle Kingdom..." Leto replied as he shifted uneasily on his feet. "Why do you ask?"

Aschen's surprise was compounded upon hearing that. He smiled and said in the ancestral tongue of a land that many centuries later would be known as China, "It is rare indeed to find a brethren in these foreign lands. I am surprised to have accidentally found you."

Enigma turned to Leto.

"When we were fighting together, Lance mentioned something about Mt. Skyfire. I later did a little research and found that the sword was stored there. Then, thanks to a reliable source, i found out that you existed. I eventually found Skyfire and it seems i came just in time to find you claim your birthright. I then....."

Enigma's voice trailed off. He heard a slight sound-a cough, mabey?

"Did anyone else hear that?"

The coughing subsided, and the young mage was left gasping...but alive and in some pain. He continued to hear them talk even after he had coughed....had they noticed? He could not listen to the words, they were muffled.

He felt frustrated at himself because he knew that he could hear perfectly and upon great distances, like that of an elf.

Thinking about this frustration, it dissappeared under the realisation that he had never listened that well. The memories of whoever he had within him, and the spirit which plagued him, that person could listen with that ease. Not him.

"You are understanding a little more. Good. Glad you inherited a sense of logic and deduction."

The same old spirit spoke, but to anyone else, the voice was never there. Only the young mage could hear it, clearly within his mind.

To utter a retort, the young man pushed himself off from his belly and turned his head and it was an obvious stress due to his recent fit.

"Inherited? I have nothing but confusion and a life which is not my own!" the young mage hissed with the contempt of poison, his voice quiet for two reasons. The threat of those around him, and the fact that his lungs where still trying to gulp air with fervent haste, after his lungs had buckled and kicked it all out. He was now upon his back, gasping. He put his thin and clammy hand to his neck, trying to ease the pain from all the coughing.

"But not the good-nature." The spirit commented with a hint of sadness and a little regret, but still with the same omnipresent observant tone.

The young mage certainly hoped that he did not have another coughing fit, or pass out....he had already had too many with that outcome. His body was fatigued and worn out, as if he had lived too many lifetimes within it. He was shivering now, and he felt cold even though he was sweating and within heavy robes. His head throbbed with a passion.

tag... Mind if I join in?

(Invite only now I believe)

(OOC: Sorry Khadrim, but unfortunately due to what's happening in Amanda's "Eve of Spring" thread, I'm unable to allow another people in... I don't want confusion... Sorry... :(

Ragaranathon, your character is thinking about Kain Irenicus right?)

Shrugging silently to himself, Leto gazed about, his brilliant, piercing eyes looking sharply through the darkness as he attempted to locate the interloper eavesdropping on their conversation. Shaking his head in annoyance at his inability in pick out their eavesdropper, Leto said, "I'm definitely sure I heard something, but I can't seem to identify where he's at..." Turning to Rava, Leto said, "Would you mind creating some light for us to see?"

(OOC Certainly am. Kain is not going to be involved directly , but he certainly has a lot to do with this character. Kain is taking a long retirement....possibly a pernament one. :) )

(OOC: :( BTW, do you want to try to resurrect the Gladiator Arena thread?)

(OOC I can if you really want, but I am totally not in the creative mood for that...too much work and complication. Is it actually carrying on?

OR

I could make a brand new one, clean, spick and span.

Incidently, you know the owner of the arena, that purple draconic guy? He is my nations ruler, hence the funky name :) )

(OOC: I realized that after I reread the thread... BTW, I'm thinking about nominating Kain as the best Fantasy Character, but unfortunately, most of your character's posts are gone...)

(Holy snap, you are joking right? Kain???

Whooh.

He has a TON of history and complications.

I have never rped a nation or a different character, as a serious main character. I love Kain, but he got a bit melodramatic and goody goody.

This new character is more evil and "human", but Kain has a direct influence on him.

He has been in many forms and had many names lol. Human (Psi to be exact), vampire, greenskinned vampire, spirit. Kain Irenicus, Kain Brightblade, Kain Shentavo.....

I am kinda flattered, but this character with be FAR better than Kain.

:)

(ooc: Cool! :) )

Rava looked at Leto, "Kid, trust me...darkness can be your freind...or should we just paint the target on your back and save time?"

She narrowed her eyes in the darkness and began to listen.

The young mage was in a slight state of panic. The voices had ceased for a moment, and he could feel the eyes in his direction. It could have been paranoa, but tell this to someone who has only been alive for a few days, in the middle of nowhere without a freind in the world, and a mind full of half-truths.

He froze completely, in his position. He tried to crawl away slowly, but upon making a few branches break, he kicked himself mentally for trying to do so. His purple robe was snagging on something, a branch or something, which had proceeded to create a very distinct and out of place "snap"

Now, he knew he was in deep trouble. Whatever was behind those bushes, knew he was there. He gritted his teeth and felt cold air around his face, the sensation of his sweat being exposed to the chill worsening his freezing state.

Determined to meet whatever faced him with some sort of defence.....the young mage mentally readied a spell....if they showed themselves, and they were hostile....well, they would face a few spells, however haphazard, before he went down.

He thought wryly, without the memories of whoever this person was, I would be dead already. The spells he knew had come in very useful....when he could remember how to cast them completely....

He lied in wait for whoever it was to show themselves, his face hard and eyes still retaining that cold hardness of the grave, a slate grey which had no real life.

Aschen's eyes went distant for a second and he sent out a searching thought for a mind outside of their group of four. What he encountered was something that bombarded him with all sorts of thoughts and emotions. Pain, uncertainty, frustration, stress, panic. He pulled his mind away and physically pointed in the direction of the hidden mage some distance away.

"There," he said.

The cracking of the branch confirmed it, and he placed a hand on his katana in preparation for the unexpected. Instead of approaching the location of where the mage was, however, he slowly reached out with his mind again to read the unknown person's mind, but in a way that he would be detected should the mage be able to notice such tampering.

He noticed alright.

A normal mind, one with memories of his own, life of his own, and affirmation of his own individuality would be read in the normal manner. But this person was different. With mixed identies, mixed memories of who he was....his other personality and life had many names, many faces...many reincarnations. Many so utterly complicated emotions, that it was like trying to crawl through barbed wire.

Aschen only got in for a second, felt the utter complication of this action. It was most discerning and confusing. First he would find indentification of one person....then another, then another then another! Different appearances and histories, but inexcrciably bound. But before he could make sense of it, he was hit by a grand mental rebuke.

But this was not the young mage's doing.

A immense force of will had just assaulted and counterattacked this probe....it was not normal. Normally the mage would have set up a set pattern of mental energy and prepared and stored it in thier mind. If someone tried to attack, through training and practice, the defence would be cast mentally.

But....this was completely different!

Aschen was attacked mentally by a spirit, a very strong old and powerful one. His image fainted appeared, that of a green-skinned....vampire! He had claws, three pronged claws and banshee like white hair which flayed.His eyes were orbs of desruction and intensity, and it sent Aschen recoiling back some feet. Needless to say, the connection was severed. The image was that of a ghost like entity, whispery and non-physical....he was not pushed back by a physical force, but by a sever mental one.

During which, the young mage simply sensed an immense force lurching into action, an attack of his pure energy. The spirit obviously did not want anyone reading the mage's mind....

The young mage did not understand fully the knowledge available to him, so was not able to summon a decent defence. Hence, the spirit had done it for him, and rather spectaculary too. But it had come at a cost.

I...I cannot...do that....again.....stand....talk....

The assertive voice was now flickering in places, his voic whispery to the young mage. It had obviously taken a lot of his strength of will to perform that. He knew that it would have...somehow.

Making a decision, taking a huge risk, the young mage slowly got up. His legs were shaking from all of this, and he was feeling faint. But he knew that he had to keep up and alert for this.

What the hell was he supposed to say?

"...I am sorry but...I wear magical...items....which prevent...*a few breaths*...that...I was just....recovering....."

His words were halfed formed, due to fatigue. It was an obvious struggle for form the words, the sentances. He lied rather well, and quickly. It was soon to be a skill he possessed and used far more than his predacessor.

His vision was slightly cloudly, and he could not see the person who was now on the floor. Appearing like he could pass out at any minute, he stayed on his feet, looking to where the person was.

Feeling a cough coming up, he tried not to cough desperately. His lungs were starting to feel on fire, and he knew that if he even began coughing, he would fall down on his knees with the pain and intensity and possibly passout.

He had to survive.
He definately inherited that instinct.

Although Leto was not attuned to the same magical properties that Aschen possessed, he had still inherited much from his father and his grandfather. He felt something odd stir through the air, as if something had occurred. He couldn't place it readily, as it was something not evident in the years since his birth, but it was clear that something existed. With a start, Leto saw something. A greenish yellow vampire exuding awesome power. Incredulous and a little astouned, Leto shook his head in confusion, cocking his head and gazing serenely upon Aschen.

Just as he was about to question Aschen, a voice, ragged and pained spoke in the darkness close by. With a start, Leto turned his head and discerned a man nearby, trembling as he struggled to maintain his balance.

With great difficult the man said, "...I am sorry but...I wear magical...items....which prevent..." The pause punctuated by a series of ragged breath, as the speaker attempted to regain his composure and continued, "...that...I was just....recovering....."

Shaking his head, a little wary of these unknown that had popped seemingly out of the gloom, Leto took a cautious step forward, his philosophical and intellectual mind attempting to discern the truth behind the man's words. It was quite evident that the man was weak, his trembling and stooped nature asserted this fact strongly. But Leto felt something strange radiating from this man. Something he couldn't place a finger upon. But Leto could sense that this aura, this presence was definitely evil... With a gasp of horror, Leto conscious was brought back to the time of his grandfather. As Leto watched, a scene of unfolded. It was a scene of friendship, between his grandfather and the very same vampire that he had witnessed. Suddenly a name came to the fore of his consciousness. Kain Irenicus, yes... The vampire's name... He was a friend of my grandfather's... And with another lurch, Leto returned to normal, dropping to the ground, his mind exhausted from the mental journey that he had undertaken.

There was a sudden intake of air as Aschen gasped, not quite prepared for the mental onslaught that he encountered. He staggered, he stumbled, he dropped to the ground, trying to bring up his mental defenses against this attack. All the while he saw disturbing images coming from his target, unnatural images.

Finally, he managed a mental foothold and started to counter the counterattack. But this was unlike anything he had ever encountered before. It was old, and much more powerful than your standard magic user was capable of. The interesting thing, though, which Aschen did not really get the time to consider until well after the incident, was that the source of such power did not come from the target itself, but rather came of the target. As for now, though, Aschen was losing the mental war, and he struggled vainly to protect his own mind. Yet, as suddenly as it came, the hostile force was gone.

Aschen laid on the ground, breathing heavily as he tried to recover from this.

The young mage was aware of the silence....he decided to speak a little more.

"Allow me to introduce myself...I am..."

Oh SHIT.

He did not even know his name!

There was a pause, and the mage seemed to be trying to remember what his name was. Quite absurd....the the watcher it must have seemed like he was trying to make up a name so his real name was not revealed.

"K...I mean.....Vincent....yeah....Vincent."

Vincent. Quite a good name. The first name that popped into his head was Kain, it was familiar and it felt similar and confortable. Too confortable. He decided for a new name, and Vincent seemed a good one.

"I am sorry for that....I was just..."

His lungs gave out and he began to cough uncontrollably again, Vincent seemed in obvious pain, and bent over, but still remained standing. HIs purple shrouded form was rather obscure.

Bump...

Raven Srvassian a half-yeti swordsman was searching for Amistad. He had heard rumors that he had died and that his son was the wielder of the Sword of Cala. Raven at 7'4" was tall for a human but short for a yeti. He still carried the massive claymore which was almost 6' long with the cross piece of nearly three feet. He was covered with thick white hair/fur except on his face, hands and the soles of his feet. The Himalayan mountains reminded him of the high mountain plateaus of home. He was comfortable here.

He had fought many battles since seeing Amistad and had taken the words of wisdom Amistad had offered seriously. There was still a glimmer, a desire, a longing to destroy those that had killed his blind master. Amistad had told him those long years ago that vengance was a waste of time and energy. The more animalistic side of his yeti hearitage could easily forget past wrongs. The human mother side of him was where all of the powerful emotions resided.

He moved through the woods with a grace and silence unknown to humans, only elfs could match this ease of movement. There was some noise up ahead and Raven moved slower with all of his senses alert. He was always wary, humans didn't like him, yetis didn't trust him, it was usually with great tolerance that anyone would befriend him. This was the reason he was seeking the truth about Amistad, Amistad looked beyond the outward appearance and reached to Raven. If he was indeed gone Raven would find his son and if necessary teach him the lessons Amistad had shared with Raven. If Amistad's son was a swordmaster then Raven would offer to travel with him for a while.

Between Raven and the noise of people was a great thicket of briars. Raven removed his claymore from the ring on his back and with amazing speed, agility and finesse strode through the thicket. Cutting, brushing aside twigs and branches, constantly moving himself and the huge weapon he walked forward as if there was nothing there. The sword made a humming noise as Raven whirrled twisted and cut his way. Those watching would see what appeared like the blades of a lawn mower only in a very intricate pattern creating a protective bubble around the half yeti.

As he strode into a clearing populated with an odd collection of people, Raven stopped swinging the sword and grinned for he could see the Sword of Cala strapped to a young man's back.

(OOC: Hey Fetid Fens... Welcome to my humble RP... :p I'll post something either later today or tomorrow... And Fetid Fens, can you please edit your post a little? The sword is strapped to Amistad's back and not in his hands...)

Rava looked about, apparently the one hiding in the darkness, Vincent, had incappacitated one of the others. Or more correctly his magical items had. Rava may not have had the ability to commit mind attacks (although she could put up a fairly good defense) she knew that Vincent wasn't really Vincent...I mean come on his answer was so poor.

No, this kid was either on something or had something that reminded her of the Dark One. She stepped forward and pulled Leto up holding him up to her side. "Well it sounds like you and this one both need to be warmed by a fire and get some hot soup into you."

She looked at the other man on the ground and said, somone please get him also. I've only got two hands. She attempted to wake Leto.

Raven seeing Leto lying on the ground, then with Rava trying to hold him up, dashed to Leto's side. Raven easily held Leto upright with one hand the other still holding the greatsword.

Raven, even after all these years still found it difficult to hold much of a conversation. He was very concerned about the lad carrying the Sword of Cala.

"What have you done to him?" Asked Raven quite menacingly.

Vincent looked quizically about the whole thing. He had encountered some form of group....bandits? No....couldn't be bandits. Someone else.

And the it clicked.

These people where adventurers. God, Vincent could almost laugh had the situations been different.

But this situation demanded tact and skillful charisma....Kain had been a great arguer....but he found it rather difficult to talk his way out of things....

Fortunately, Vincent had some talents that Kain did not....

Vincent raised his eyebrow sardonically, as if the person who had just asked was completely stupid, not that anyone without infravision could see. His face was within a cowl, shadows being cast over his finely chistled features....he seemed a sinister character indeed.

"What have I done to him? A simple shock that is all. Your...freind should be more careful about who he probes. It can bring harmful consequences....* a very low dark chuckle*"

Vincent made his words curl and carry subtle cynicism within his speaking. His slate grey eyes slowly cast themselves over the group....judging....watching...

Kain had been a far more warm-hearted person, at least in his later and earlier years of revelation and freedom. Obviously, Vincent had inherited something of a darker streak...or made it up on his own accord...

In a change of candor, the purple clad mage removed his cowl, revealing his features in full. It was meant as something of a peaceful action, to show who he was talking to his face.

"But allow me to apologise. I did not realise that the items that I carried where so....potent. He will recover shortly, it has only shocked the poor man..."

Vincent had now changed the way he spoke, his voice being softer and less harsh. It was more welcoming....and somehow, it made it more eerie.

"May I enquire to what a group of mismatched.....persons are doing together? It seems....highly odd." Vincent said persons as if he was looking for a more appropriaite word from brigands or the like. He remained still, and his arms by his side, the purple cloth shimmering slightly in the light.

(OOC I don't know if you where refering to Rava about who the other person was, but if you were saying to Vincent that he should have some soup, it would be very very odd indeed. Remember that most of you are strangers....and btw, I will not derail this much longer 5CN, I just need to make my introduction and then we can head about what you had in mind...)

(OOC: Its alright Ragaranathon... BTW, Leto is lying prone on the ground, unconscious. He had connected briefly and oddly with images of his grandfather's life and had lost it...

In general, this RP is not really going to be a "Coming of Age" RP for Leto Crusade. In reality, it will be more of a very severe twisting of truth and the death of Leto involving another one of my characters, a paradoxical, hypocritical one at that...)

(OOC Please....call me Kain. It is more confortable than that draconic name :) )

That was nasty. And it was not something he would care to experience again.

With a groan, Aschen's hands went to his temples as his head pounded like on a morning after he had a little too much to drink. He opened his eyes as he struggled into a sitting position; but then he saw the half-man, half-something, covered in long, white fur like some kind of abominable snowbeast. With a roll of his eyes and a heavy sigh, he allowed himself to fall back down on his back as he massaged his temples some more.

"Seeing strange monsters now," he muttered underneath his breath.

Upon reopening his eyes, Aschen again saw the creature, but it was interacting with the others present. It was then that he realized that Raven was no illusion brought on by mental fatigue, and he scrambled to his feet, one hand going for the hilt of his sword.

Most everyone else was looking toward the bush, however, so he too glanced in that direction and noticed Vincent.

That's him! Aschen knew immediately, having the mental imprint fresh in his mind. How long was I out? What did I miss?

This was a dangerous fellow, he realized, and so he waited to see what would become of this situation and tried to find any indications that would reveal to him what had just happened from the others.

The other easterner was unconscious, with a monster holding him up, and the patch of briars behind them were hacked away while the mystery man had decided to show himself. Yes...someone would have to do some explaining for him...

(OOC Might I suggest that someone actually answers some questions of my character, and sets people straight.)

Raven, still holding Leto in his left hand, looked to the immediate threat of the young man rubbing his temple with one hand and reaching for his sword with the other. He did not draw the sword and Raven estimated he would make a lot of noise drawing it, therefore he was not the highest threat. He looked at the elf? still struggling to hold Leto even though Raven held him firmly in his grasp, decided she was not a threat either.

Whether from his mothers side or from the Yeti side, Raven had always been able to see not only the person but the essence, what the westerners called one's soul, but it was more than that. Everyone gathered in the clearing appeared normal to Raven except the one saying he caused Leto to faint. This one is different he thought. There was a mixture of life forces in this one, all tangled, was it one life force struggling for identity or were there more than one life force in this body? This is where the real threat existed. Raven focused on the purple clad stranger.

Raven's sword began to glow ever so slightly, this was only the second time it had done this, the first was when Raven killed the evil mage during the Yeti/Human war in Fetid Fens.

The stranger tried to curtail his threatening posture and voice, but Raven still regarded him as dangerous until proven different.

"I have come to find Amistad or his family, I owe him my continued existence due to the lessons of life he taught me. I find his obvious heir in possession of the Sword of Cala, unconscious with all of you standing around him. I can only assume you mean him harm and I am here to prevent that." These were more words than Raven had spoken at one time in over two years.

Raven had begun to focus his energies and remove emotion from his mind. He was more than ready for battle if necessary.

"You are slightly simple aren't you? If I wished that boy harm I would have done it when I had the element of suprise, not introduce myself, leave myself open for valuable seconds and allow this delightful conversation. I have left myself completely vunerable by even standing up, and assuming you are all together, and thelong time it requires to alter reality to my choosing, it would be highly foolish if I attempted to hurt him."

Vincent spoke cooly and swiftly, his words holding a certain elegance of a beautiful if cynister arguement. He certainly had enerited a considerable deal from Kain in the department of arguements, but he added his own cynical undertones to certain words.

"I have shown as much hospitality as I can show, extending a welcoming if naturally cautious hand in curious meeting with you. And what do you show me? An quick brutish assumption that I would wish you harm. Abandon the prejudices, all is not black and white within the multicolour of portraits." He almost whispered indignantly.

Vincent added a slight guilt trip upon his judger, and a moral that Kain had learned time and time again, from his mortal judgement upon vampires, to his own prejudice against those who would persicute his vampiric bretharan. Both prejudices shattered, but shattered with considerable sacrifice and pain, as was much of Kain's earned gifts and lessons.

"And why would I want to hurt him regardless? I see no real profit from such a venture..." He added softly, his voices seeming slightly echoey.

(OOC Please, just a warning which I am sure you don't need, just because a character is evil does not mean the good ones have to kill them. Think about it as if it was real life, just because you think someone was evil doesn't mean you should attack or kill them etc. I know that the characters emotions etc, but try and be reasonable. Just stating the obvious :) )

OCC:Back from a week of vacation.

IC:Enigma turned on the young mage. There was something oddly farmiliar about him, but he could not quite place what. Then a single word came to his mind:Vampire. Enigma Loathed Vampires.

"Let's just say that I am an old family friend, come to see Leto grow up." Enigma said uneasily.

(OOC: I'm gonna probably be gone for vacation for about 3-4 weeks. Any questions, just email me and I'll try to get on and reply or post something here as frequently as possible.)

(5CN has given me permission to rp his character. I will be leading this thread along. I have something small in mind, and we will go with the flow. There will be some combat etc in it, and I think it will be interesting for all considering we have the characters we have, and the black sheep in the midst. :) )

(OOC This is Rag.....BUMP!)

(OOC: This is ridiculous, I go away for ten days and everything stops... Thanks Kain for trying to move this along... Come on people, god damn't post! :mad: :headbang: )

(BUMP BUMP BUMP IT UP!

T-grams soon if people don't start coming back in)

(OOC: Don't worry about it Kain... I'll restart this thread, once I get back from vacation...)

OOC: I just got back from vacation, getting settled in for the fall. I will be back ready to go on the 6th or 7th.

IC: Raven thought about the words Vincent said, wasn't it true that people judged him first by his appearance not buy his actions or words? "I apologize for accusing you . You seemed to be the most dangerous threat to this young man's safety and I assumed too much." "What are the threats, how do we revive him, is it safe to make camp here until we can get him healthy? My name is Raven Srvassian, half Yeti half human. I studied swordsmanship for a very limited time under Amistad Crusade, who was probably this young man's father."

This was going to be a learning experience for Raven. To treat someone who was evil the way he (Raven) wished to be treated. Even harder will be to work with this odd group of people to see to the safety of the young Crusade. He gently let the young man down and leaned him up against a nearby tree.

"Who are each of you and why are you here. I have given my story it is now your turn."

(OOC: I want to restart this RP starting next week. Either that or breathing life into this current one... So what do you guys think?)

OOC: I sort of dropped off due to an invasion and this seeming to have no...well path or goal.