A Fresh Start

[Shin]

(New thread with new character, anyone can feel free to join in the fun!)

It hadn't been to hard for Chrysander to adopt his current life style, in many ways it was identical to his old one. The town he lived in (If it could be even be called such) had only a few score of people living within close proximity of one another. It offered protection and everyone had a job to do, everyone had to contribute to society. Gold was useless even trade wasn't used often, it had gotten to the point where people took what they needed from their neighbor and vice versa.

Chrysander was the towns only metal worker, a blacksmith. He had happened upon the place only by mistake and was content with his current position and standing among them. The ore in the area wasn't exceptionally good, it was actually pore in quality, but it suited them just fine. He made arrowheads and horseshoes for the most part, and on occasion he would make things by request if they could spare the ore.

Currently the man, taking a break from his duties, sat on a clean cut log that he used for a chair, stareing out of his small work place and into the surrounding forest. It offered them protection he knew, but he felt confined by it. Chrysander preferred the open spaces, but one had to make sacrafices.

He pulled an orange out of his pocket along with a small knife and began to strip away the protective outside of the fruit. The day was going to come to an end in a few hours, the sun was on it's decent. He would have to clean up and head home soon... another day over.

[Paroxysm]

(Eh, I've got nothing better to do.)

“Mi estos vojaĝos!”

A young woman, looking to be around twenty, spitefully growled under her breath. A simple dress clothed her body and appeared far from practical, flowing well pass her legs, but the slight trail of darkness following just at her feet could offer an explanation on why no dirt or smudge bothered to cling to the fabric. She was high-born, a person of noble blood, which got her absolutely nothing in Greoul, but it was an impossible thing to hide--a trait she inherited from her parents, it was almost as though a pompous aura completely enveloped her body.

"’Vojaĝi! Vojaĝi,' Ili sugestis! ‘Vidi mondo,’ Ili sugestis! Mi estos vidi vi mondoj, idiotojn.”

The woman’s voice spoke in a tone of obvious irritation, her rhythmic tongue lost on the ears of those around her, the people of this village were far from cultured, and even still--only those as quirky as an artist or mage would ever have found use for the language she spoke.

She had left home in search of items that could augment her already formidable magical abilities, but her leads were untrustworthy, prone to failure… Had she known that her search would prove to be without results--no, scratch that; had she known her search would have taken her into Greoul; she would have reconsidered without hesitations. But now, now it was too late--she had already paid the finder’s fee. And, as if to add onto her list of annoyances, it would be another day and a half before she could possibly attempt to use her teleportation spell.

“Mi ne voli dormos ekstere, mi supozas… Dormejo… Dormejo…”

The woman spoke aloud to herself, looking around to see only a few people, including the sitting, orange-peeling man. To her, however; he looked a bit creepy… Yet, he was the only one not rushing about at the sight of the setting sun, trying to finish up for the day, or head home.

“Pardonu! Paro---…H-hello!” She shouted to gain the man’s attention, remembering that common would probably be the best language to address him in. “I, uhm… Do you know if, -- do you speak this language? Y-yes?”

[Shin]

Chrysander was quite content peeling away at his orange, his mind wandered over everything he had completed today. Over all it wasn't as productive as it could have been, the mineral he did have was of poor quality and he had much less then he would have liked to.

He was dirty, as were most everyone else, but his face was covered with patches of soot. As was the upper portion of his body, which at the moment he wore a loose fitting simple cotton shirt, his hair matted by sweat was pulled back into a ponytail to keep it from his eyes. Despite the soot and dirt he was clean shaven, his teeth and nails were clean and cut a luxury most would not take the time to think about, let a lone even do.


His face scrunched up as he listened to the words the lady spoke. He didn't understand a thing at first. "Yes." He spoke simply and plainly, standing up from his log and taking a bite into the orange he had half-way peeled. The women was clean, therefore she couldn't have been around here. She was an outsider, but then again, everyone here was an outsider none were native as far as Chrysander knew.

"What can I help you with Miss?" He didn't bother extending a hand, he didn't think she would shake it anyways, instead his emerald green eyes was focused on the girls feet and the strange darkness that followed her feet as she walked, it was enough to put the man on alert. His mind already concluded that she was some sort of mage, and mages could never be trusted.

[Paroxysm]

The young woman, who was, indeed, a mage; gazed from side-to-side for a few seconds before readdressing the man before her. It was a simple gesture, really--she was assessing her surroundings. Not because she expected some form of conflict, however; but because she wanted to confirm the sense of dread that had silently been washing over her from the moment she arrived in the small, shabby village.

“Mons--Y-yes, could you … elbe … Maybe ... gvidi, that is… direct me to,”
Small pauses formed between the woman’s words, having to recall a language she barely bothered to use. Still, it was second nature and she was beginning to get a feel for her past tongue, her speech becoming more and more understandable, albeit slightly accented.

“L-let’s start over, mi-I am Renata Aldaine,” another pause. “Not from here, obvious, right? Is there an, (there isn't, is there?) an inn or room I can possibly rent for the night? Don't even use money, do you? Oh god, I will not sleep outside."

The majority of what Renata had spoken was merely a hushed whisper, almost inaudible. She was a good person, generally, but her privileged upbringing did nothing to smooth her selfish streak.

"Mi volo mortigi tio eksmodan ulon! Bonvolu, diri mi estas dormejo, Sinjoro."

[Shin]

He couldn't place the womens accent, it was one he was sure he had never heard before, but it did interest Chrysander. He eventually, as the women introduced herself, managed to look up from her feet to the womens face. He studied it carefully as he took another bite of his orange.

He brushed off his right hand, the one not holding the orange, off on to his pant leg and extended it towards the girl. "They call me Chrysander, Chrys for short. There aint bound to be any Inns in this little place. Most you can get would be a barn to stay in." His own accent was not what one would expect coming from a muscular form such as his own, rather then a deep or gravily voice Chrysanders was smooth, elvish in it's tone.

"Of course, you are welcome to stay at my shack. Aint the biggest of places, but it's got walls and a roof." He threw the offer out, mainly because he was a friendly sort and if he was in her shoes he would rather sleep indoors then out. "I just gotta finish cleaning up here."

If the girl accepted Chrysander would go back to closing up shop, which consisted of putting some tools away and putting out the fire in his forge. After a few minutes he would come out no less dirty then before, but this time with his Gladius strapped to his hip...the only weapon he wore while within the confines of the village.

[Paroxysm]

In an ever-present lack of discretion, the woman took a moment to size Chrysander up, her reasons were her own, if not obvious, but she eventually came to the conclusion that if Chrysander did try anything; a frog’s life he would come to see in a new light. Literally.

“Jes! Chrys, yes? ! Not to impose, of course. But that would be very nice, thank you.”

The woman was now slipping easily into common, it only took a few minutes to recall the words and “forget” her other language, but that was another story. Still, she took the man’s offered hand into her own, a smile lighting her face, a small glint of white just behind her lips.

“I could repay you, too.”
She looked around, noting his shop, his profession.
“But we can get to that later, no? Do you need any help?”

[Shin]

"No." He said casually, going back to place his tools where they belonged and putting out the fire. Normally a forge was running twenty four hours a day, but in this little place it was hardly needed, and as it was Chrysander would have been the only person to man it.

A few minutes later when he walked out he gestured towards the southern section of the small town. "I live just over there, his own shack was among several others all of them built closely together, but none of them anything that could even be considered grand, Chrys was sure it was far less then what his 'guest' was accustomed to.

"Why are you here?" He asked while they were walking, he didn't try to come off rude, but he was a curious man and already only after a few months trapped inside the small town he found himself wondering what was going on in the outside world.

The walk itself would only take a couple minutes, it required going down a hill, over a small stream and weaving around some of the other houses before getting to his.

[Paroxysm]

The mage frowned at the man not consenting to her help, but she didn’t push the subject and instead waited until he finished, walking just behind him as he lead the way, and smiling when he asked her reason for being in Greoul.

“Well~! That’s quite the subject,” she happily exclaimed. “Ruinoj! Ruins, that is. This place is full of ‘em, I mean some are pretty… uh, new. But some are pretty old; they hold secrets, artifacts full of secrets and power. Some secrets, some power. Mostly power. I, … Some guy told me the location of some ruins near here, which were useless to me, I think, but that isn’t important.”

She took a deep, long breath. Her face was now flushed with the lack of breath, her lungs screamed accusations, citing that she forgot to breathe for a few moments, or so she liked to believe.

“What about you? Are you a local? … These kinds of places don’t usually have much diversity, but most everyone here was different. I was expecting a few more stares than I received, though I did get some, I think.”

[Shin]

'Treasure Hunter' is what Chrysander would have called her, she found ruins... took stuff from the, or at least that's the impression that he got. A mage and a treasure hunter, not only did the girl wield a power that was foreign to Chrysander but she used it to take things that did not belong to her, and it was all in a quest to become powerful. To what end he wondered.

Chrysanders perceived first impression of the girl, wrong or not, was not a good one. But still, she seemed interesting, and obviously excited at the idea of the old ruins in the area. He knew of one such place, though he didn't think he needed to mention that just yet.

"No. No one here is local." He explained as he pushed open the door to his small hut. "Everyone here is here by chance, after 'The End' we all managed to find one another and ... well it's safer to live in a group then by yourself."

Chrysander stepped into the one room place, it was nothing special. A single room with a one carved wooden chair that had been made for him, several cut logs that were used as chairs and a hammock strung between two thick wooden poles in the dirt. Certainly some of the other houses were better in quality and furnishings but the Blacksmith was content with his hut. The only thing out of place was the masterfully crafted set of armor set in the far corner on top of a round shield.

"It isn't much, but you are welcome to use it until you continue to the ruins."

[Paroxysm]

Off-topic: Sorry for the wait, real-life called and I (not-so-much) regrettably answered.

As far as living accommodations came, the young woman had seen the best of them and so it was without much surprise that she wasn’t all that impressed by Chrysander’s quaint, if it could be called that, dwelling. Still, she was not entirely ungrateful for the man’s charity, after all--it was his home or the unfamiliar ground outside and she had seen quite a few disturbing things prior to entering the village.

“Krom tiojn kanibalojn,” she remarked off-handedly--still looking about Chrysander’s home.
“Forgive me, kanibaloj--cannibals. They would ne be, how you say … Safe in a group, yes? They would eat each other.”

The woman shrugged with a small roll of her shoulders, turning to face the man who had shown her kindness.

“It is fine,” she assured him. “Better than ground and beast and wasting a word, you see.”

A momentary pause filled the air, however; as she thought about continuing on to the ruins--in all truthfulness, she had actually given up on her adventure--although, now … Now she was unsure, perhaps Chrysander knew more about the ruins in which she sought.

“Do you know of them?”

The woman asked Chrysander, forgetting to mention what they were. Really, for all he knew--she was still speaking about cannibals.

[Shin]

Chrysander wasn't sure where the topic of cannibals came from. Was she referring to him and the people he lived with as cannibals? It is what he thought at first and it showed at a look of disappointed crossed his face, burly arms crossing over his chest.

"Yes," He said raising a brow, wondering where this conversation was going. "but i believe it is a rarely practiced ritual now days. Though I have heard of cultures that practice is, believing they take all of the individuals strengths into them."

He shrugged as if it hardly mattered. "Though I do not see how that pertains to anything of importance."

"Where are you going exactly?" He wasn't sure if she had told him yet, but if she had he didn't remember. "We're a fair bit away from the closest town of importance, and there are things out there at night that..." He paused momentarily. "..that I wouldn't want to meet."

[Paroxysm]

Listening to her host, the young woman was half-tempted to correct him, as he had misunderstood her, but she felt it best to not bother.

“Jes! I have met things, too. When I came. Demonojn, jes? They did not like the town, it seemed, though. Or something else, I do not know. But they fled and escaped and did not eat me. Bonstata, I remain.”

Realizing that she had begun to ramble again, the girl would apologize silently, before getting back on subject, looking back towards her host, Chrysander, once again.

“Ruinoj,” she said. “I, how you say, am searching for treasure. Trinkets, really. At my craft, I am a master, you see, but my craft is flawed, mortal souls weren’t meant to tap into the power of word and concept, you understand? Written and spoken, word always held power over things, we use them to make truths and to tell lies. My craft, it uses them to do the same, I say you are a frog and you always as such. Limited, though. My lingvo and contract es only able to provide so much power and without those, kial komisii vi ĉi tio aĵoj.”

The woman's voice trailed off as she noted to herself that Chrysander probably didn't care too much about the details, or at least that's what she thought. Plus, there was the chance that he would mistake her as something so simple as a grave robber seeking power, that wasn't it, either. She was an eccentric, but she wasn't a bad person. Her craft, her arcane studies, they could do much to help people, taboos aside. What good were items of power and tomes of knowledge if they could not be used to better the lives of others? Why should they rot away in decrepit ruins, hidden for all time?

"Well," she started to speak again. "I have no more interest here, I think. The demonoj do well in discouraging me, jes. But leaving is no option, either. For now."

[Shin]

The girl was hard to understand, Chrysander was forced to listen intently, sounding out the words in his head as she spoke them. Several times he crinkled his noes in confusion. After she was done speaking though he was fairly confident that he understood enough of what she was saying.

"So..." He said, taking a seat on his table that groaned in protest as he shifted his weight on it. "...You are a mage of sorts? And you are looking for ruins in the area?" He was confident that that was the gist of what she had been saying, but he wanted to sure.

Though the word 'demon' peaked his interest. Was she using it in casual terms, comparing something to a demon or did she literally mean demon he wondered. The town had been safe for sometime now, so the news of a demon living so close if that was in fact what she was talking about would be be a shock, and require immediate attention.

"Demon...there is a demon in these ruins?"

[Paroxysm]

“No, no!” The woman corrected the man, “Demonojn! Demons! There are several, jes. Scary red eyes, a black hide, you know the types. The large ones, they do not see too well, sometimes not at all, but the small ones--they are the ones to watch, they are sneaky and fast.”

The woman waved her hands in emphasis, gauging the man’s reaction to her words. He seemed worried about there being demons in the area, which was understandable. However, these demons seemed shy of civilization, maybe even having an ulterior motive behind their protecting the local wilds, who knew?

“I have visited other lands with demons, I have seen these kinds before, last I did, however; I was under protection from the Emperor of the lands, he is very unforgiving, this man, Shenfald. He would not allow me to be harmed, most haps requiring my skills and favor.”

Shenfald. Even uttering the name sent great, visible chills through the woman’s body. The man had a presence about him that forced others to feel terror like they have never felt before. If the woman’s host had heard the name before, he would understand why she shook with the mention of the name, why she would probably never repeat it again. The man waged war on Utopia with his army of the damned, his arrogance rising to such lengths as to take part in every major battle himself, riding upon a throne, carried on the backs of his enemy’s defeated dead. Cizok itself was most likely still recovering from their war with Darokin.

“The demons and dead things from the eclipsed lands are known for following a hive mind … If they are here, a captain or general is likely to be near, too. But Darokin has closed its boarders since the event happened, the end., that is.”

Taking the moment to spare herself from speaking any longer, Renata removed a folded piece of paper from a bag at her side, holding the object between her fore and middle fingers, she made an effort to tug at the thing, a hue of purple flaring around her hand, burning the paper to a crisp, as a trail of energetic color moved about her arm.

The paper itself had a written word on its surface, just barely visible. It was one of several she kept on her person at all times, mostly objects needed for survival, in this case: A small flask of water appeared in place of the paper, her hand instinctively moving to clutch the object as the energies had been evoked.

“It would be wise not to chase after these demons,” she informed the man. “I do not thinks they are the hugging types, jes?”

[Shin]

Chrysander had gone as far as taking a step in the direction of his armor and weapons. The word demon had evoked a fire in him, an anger that was was foreign to his docile nature. Though, he soon realized that the women was referring to what he had learned were called Shades, or at least that's what it had sounded like.

Though that wasn't much better, the creatures came out in numbers at night. No one that left during the night ever came back. And if the girl before him wasn't a mage of some sort he would have wondered how she managed the journey, obviously she was much more capable then she appeared. That was the way of magic he mused, one didn't have to be strong of arm or heart to wield it, only strong willed.

Chrysander hadn't heard the name before, that was obvious because he simply ignored it. He moved to sit back on his table before he spoke, running a hand through his dirty unwashed hair.

"Well, what do you plan to do now? If you choose to stay here I am sure you will be more then welcomed." He added with a smile. "It has been some time since a magic user of any sorts has been around, our last wandered off into the forest and...well I am sure you can guess what happened to him..."