Knight's Intro Role-play

[Kat]

"If it makes you all feel better, I think he was only chasing me," said Kat, shrugging. "He barely said anything else, whether about the coronation or the next king. So maybe we can just go to the coronation now and track him down later. He's not hard to miss - tall, burly guy with a helm and visor, with dark gauntlets marked with ancient runes.

"Tamia, I appreciate your help," she added, feeling utterly grateful for the Orange Knight's support. "But I think I've got it under control, and right now we've got more pressing matters, like the ceremony. Let's just keep open eyes and ears. So...shall we go?"

[KitClairvoyance]

The corridors of the lower section of the castle echoed with footsteps as Kit made his way further down along with Shade. He found himself quite at home among the dungeons of the castle, having been here several times to conduct his more.. unsavoury ..rituals. If he had to choose a battleground, this would be it. The empty impressions made by those imprisoned or even executed here made it an almost perfect focusing site for his demonic exploits. It also made it a perfect foothold for the enemy.

He navigated the labyrinth-like corridors with ease, pausing at each turning for only a second to check for the enemy's presence. Granted, he didn't know exactly what he was searching for, but he was confident he could recognise evil when he found it. It didn't trouble him that he was for the most part unarmed, the thing about tarot magic was that it worked best when it was needed most. He had no control over what card he would draw, there had been occasions when he had drawn a totally useless card, but he trusted that the cards wouldn't fail him now.

He stopped abruptly, both in his thoughts and his movement. The presence of the enemy was weighing down heavily on his senses now. He could almost feel the sticky tendrils of corruption brushing against his skin. Instinctively he drew a card and flicked it around, the Ace of Swords.

An odd card to draw.

Before he could contemplate further on the card, two figures stepped out from the darkness, one of which looked strangely familiar to him. The figure in question looked more like a human than a demon. She wore the traditional armour of a knight and was armed with a serrated spear. Raven hair dropped down onto her shoulders in a messy tangle which looked as if it had been soaked with blood. Kristen?

He tried to vocalise his thoughts but the words.. the name wouldn't form. Instead, he took the card in his hand and slammed it against the wall, causing the card to tear into two, revealing the hilt of a sabre embedded in the wall. The two figures only watched, stared rather, as he gripped the hilt and pulled, drawing the light, slender blade out. The weapon was a lightweight one, made for quick thrusts and swipes.

For a moment, Kit wondered if Shade was still next to him or not. Either way, he couldn't check. The second the tip of the blade came out, the figure armed with the spear lunged forward, bringing her weapon down in a large, but ineffective swipe. Kit blocked the strike easily with his blade, the enemy didn't even bother to draw back her weapon, instead she looked Kit in the eyes.

"Hello Kit."

At this point, Kit could feel his legs drain of their strength. The voice, full of grace.. yet so haunting. It couldn't be.

The enemy drew the blade of her weapon across Kit's blade, the serrated edges making a slow, grinding sound of metal against metal. Kit didn't hear it. He was transfixed on the enemy in front of him. He didn't even pull his blade back into a defensive stance, leaving it as if it were still blocking an attack.

[Shadaras]

Shade followed Kit through the dungeons corridors, sword out, just in case. When he suddenly stopped, she almost ran in to him. As she stepped to the side, she saw Kit draw a tarot card. As he drew it, two figures stepped out of the darkness, one of which looked like a wounded knight. Kit slammed the card in to the wall, making a sword appear.

As he drew the sword out of the wall, lunged, attacknig him with her spear, and said "Hello Kit." The words seemed to paralyze her fellow knight, and Shade lunged at the creature, yelling, "Kit's demon helper, I don't know who you are, but you'd better help us!"

As she lunged, the other figure, who had remained in the shadows, stepped forward and blocked her lunge with a sword. Looking at his face, she saw... "Gyre?" It looked exactly like his human form, with shaggy blond hair, dark skin, and deep blue eyes. He pushed back on her with his sword and attacked her.

Shade barely got her guard up in time. Laughing, the man stepped back and saluted her. Shade froze in her guard position, shocked.

[Tam]

Still feeling a bit concerned, Tamia hesitated. There was so much going on in the castle right now, going to the ceremony hardly seemed the proper thing to do.

Remember what I said, Oran advised. You're not helping anyone when you're standing around wondering what to do. The King will need his knights behind him when the danger arrives.

Realizing the wisdom in his words, she nodded. Kat seemed to already understand that their assistance would be required most at the ceremony, and it was her call to make. "Lead the way," she said with the faintest of smiles as she adjusted the hilt of her sword in its scabbard.

[Kat]

Kat found the hidden shortcut Wolf and Shino had used to get into the Main Hall. Looking around, she snapped her fingers and created a gentle wisp of violet, sparkling mist, which slowly began to spread and grow around the passageway, nearly completely covering it.

"If anyone suspicious sees us, the mist will thicken and become a smoke screen. By the time it dissolves into the air, we'll be too far away for them to catch. I'll go first, and warn you if anything comes up. IF anything comes up, which I hardly doubt."

The tiny corridor was just about her size - a few inches separated her body from each side of the passage. It was lit by a few torches mounted on the wall, their flames nearly licking the stone ceiling. Good thing this place is made out of stone - if it were wood, this would burn straightaway, thought Kat as she kept one hand on her staff, the other in front of her.

She found the door handle, and turned it as softly as she could.

The Purple Knight found herself standing at the back of the Main Hall, which was a magnificent room - if it still qualified as a room, since it was quite huge - with beautiful marble walls, stained glass windows depicting scenes of knights, mages and other heroes triumphing over evil, and glistening tiled floors. The ceiling was adorned with paintings of creatures like phoenixes and griffins, even archangels. Everything was lit up by chandeliers overhead that held magical flames that would only go out when the mage controlling them said the word.

Waving at Shino, she quickly walked over to him and smiled. "Is everything starting yet?"

[zarikrahia]

Zahaere Emaya raced towards the Orange Knight 'Just so you know, I'm not a demon. Not of the sort you think' she said in perfect human 'Here's the scroll.' She dropped her head. 'Oh fishdroppings, it's stuck. The white cat shifted, and turned into a human girl wearing an intricate dress. She disloged the scroll from her teeth and dropped it on the floor, then returned to her quadruped form. 'I'm a Felis. Goodbye.'

Zari woke in the infirmary, and almost Immediatley got up, seeming herself again 'I'm fine, just something...err...got to me. I'm fine. Did Zahaere Emaya get the scroll to a non-mage? Mages can't read it, I know it's inconvenient. Hello Zaha, where...' she trailed off, then began questioning the cat in some strange language 'Vyarana eth ransen?'
'Materna eth ransen. Ison Paterna!'
'Ahaha...Kirius eth tharen?'
'Matera foth Paterna carense navin.' the cat reverted to an understandable language 'Better get to the Main Hall. You have some explaining to do. I mean, someone should know by now you aren't hum-Miaow!' Zari scooped the cat up and vanished.

[Tam]

Tamia followed Kat cautiously into the Main Hall, and was instantly dazed by the vast number of people occupying the beautiful room. Men dressed in impeccable uniforms, ladies in fabulous gowns and glistening jewellery: all stood waiting for the Ceremony to begin, conversing casually about everyday things, not one of them suspecting the events that were unfolding in the castle beyond the decorated walls of the chamber.

The Orange Knight lingered behind as Kat went on ahead to meet Shino, and promptly noticed a bejewelled forearm drape itself over her shoulders. Startled, she turned to behold the owner of the hand.

"Well bless me, if it isn't young Tamia Wendfeld!" a middle-aged woman, a mass of thick red hair piled atop her head declared, patting the knight goodnaturedly. "It's been years since I saw you last, child!"

Tamia nodded at the lady with an awkward smile, moving off in the direction of the knights who stood on guard against the wall near the front of the Hall, but the woman pulled her back. "And look at you now," she continued cordially, apparently oblivious to the knight's unease -- although her smile seemed to waver for a fraction of a second as she took in the scuffed and frayed hem of Tamia's dress and her slightly undone and now frizzy hair. "Your mother always said you'd do well."

The knight tried to smile as gratefully as she could, but knew it came out crooked. Although she must have had some experience with her back in Millsford, this woman was not a familiar face to her, and she was making the situation supremely uncomfortable. Tamia's place in that village was a lifetime away, and she did not relish the thought of returning. Apart from her family, she had never made many friends of the townsfolk there. If they weren't expecting too much of her, they were expecting too little. The mixed expectations, combined with her mother's inability to work in a castle so far away, were the reason she left in the first place.

Realizing that she should say something in reply, she said, "Thank you, I'm glad you approve," hoping that it was the right thing to say.

The woman laughed. "Dear girl, I shouldn't say I approve!" she exclaimed jovially. "On the contrary, I think if you had any sense at all you'd come home, find yourself a husband, and set yourself down to a task more suitable for a nice girl like you."

Irritated, Tamia shrugged her off. "Thank you, I'll keep that in mind."

"Come now dear," the lady chuckled. "We both know it won't last. It simply wasn't meant to be."

Tamia ignored her, attempting to shove through the throng of people in the Hall, but at that moment a couple pushed past, blocking her path completely.

"Come back home!" the woman said, still in annoyingly good spirits. She took hold of Tamia's shoulder once more. "Goodness knows, you can't be doing that much good here."

At that, Tamia bristled, spinning around angrily and drawing her sword in one quick motion. At the sight of the gleaming metal, the woman instantly blanched, stumbling a few steps backward. A few people standing nearby turned in alarm.

Struggling to keep her voice level, she asked, "Do you know what this is?" indicating the blade she held before her.

The woman could only stare, stunned into silence at the abrupt change in the knight.

"This is a symbol of the oath I took two months ago," Tamia continued. "An oath to stand and defend, to protect all that is good and just in this land, even at the cost of my own life. An oath that is a world more than just a word spoken by a mortal being. An oath that cannot be broken. That oath," she said, looking intently at the redheaded woman, "is the land we live in. I break that oath, and the land crumbles." As she spoke the last words, she sheathed her sword, the lady still speechless with fear.

"I will not go back," she said quietly, the strength of her monologue draining her. "Here is where I'm needed."

Leaving the lady to recover by herself, Tamia slipped through the line of onlookers, their gazes following her as she went. Distracted, she at first did not notice the cat that had appeared beside her.

The cat, beautiful and golden-eyed, snowy white limbs tipped in black, seemed to have a piece of parchment in its mouth. It looked up at her and said quite simply, "Just so you know, I'm not a demon. Not of the sort you think. Here's the scroll."

Awed by the discovery of an animal who could actually communicate by speech, Tamia could only stare, and flinch as the feline shifted smoothly into the form of an elegantly dressed human girl. She released the scroll from her mouth and let it fall to the ground at Tamia's feet, then transformed back into her feline form, as smoothly as the first time. "I'm a Felis. Goodbye."

Dazed, she watched as Zahaere Emaya dashed off. She shook her head to clear it, hardly believing what she had just seen. As she bent down for the scroll, it occured to her to discuss this event with Oran, as his ever-so-helpful "demon" story wasn't checking out.

But as she glanced around the bustling hall, it was clear that her own feline companion was nowhere to be found.

[KitClairvoyance]

Kit dashed through the streets of Dunburrow's slums, his bare feet running as fast as they could. Already he could hear the shouts of his pursuers getting closer, it was only a matter of time before he was caught. He knew he couldn't keep running forever, his legs felt as if they were burning up, yet he knew he couldn't stop. He clutched the pack of smoked meat tightly to his chest as he pressed on, the hunger beginning to take its toll on him. In an act of desperation, he ran up to one of the houses and began to knock frantically on its door, something told him that he would find refuge inside, and he had learned to trust his feelings.

"Get him! We'll teach him to steal!"

Kit turned around, his pursuers had already caught up with him. The most intimidating among them was the butcher whose meat Kit had stolen, he was easily twice the size of Kit and carried a cleaver in one hand. He also looked the angriest. Kit backed up against the door, his hand still clutching the pack of meat tightly as they advanced in on him.

Kit pressed himself so tightly against the door, he fell backwards when it opened.

He found himself looking up at a young woman, she couldn't be any more than five years his senior. Yet, for all the youth she carried, she wore the look of one who was constantly detached, as if she had seen everything the world had to offer and wasn't impressed at all. She barely gave him a glance before turning to his pursuers,

"Back off"

Two words. Yet there was something intimidating, almost evil, in her voice. The words were colder than the blade of any knife, devoid of compassion or understanding. The butcher and his friends hesitated for a moment before taking a half-step back,

"Of course Lady Kristen."

He shot one last glare at Kit before turning away and walking off. Kit looked up at the person who had chased, scared rather, his pursuers off. The first thing he noticed was the insignia of a knight emblazoned on the sleeve of her dark navy shirt. Kristen looked back down at him, her straight raven hair spilling gracefully onto her shoulders as her cold teal eyes searched his. She reached down and grabbed Kit by his collar, forcing him up roughly as she took the pack of meat from his hand and threw it out into the streets.

"From now on, you will only eat what I give you."

From that day on, he never looked back into the streets, never looked back into his past.

Until his past came looking for him.

Kit looked at the enemy in front of him. Her eyes were as compassionless as ever, she was the epitome of cold perfection, what he had always tried to become. She brought the blade of her spear down, leveling it at him. The serrated spear had always been her weapon of choice, the long jagged blade cut ruthlessly into anything unlucky enough to come into contact with it, tearing muscle, shattering bones and spraying blood. Often, one strike was more than enough to kill, or permanently incapacitate its target.

"Kit's demon helper, I don't know who you are, but you'd better help us!"

Kit snapped out of his daze, Shade's voice pulling him back into focus. Maya. He didn’t sense Maya's presence anywhere, she had again disappeared. Typical. He tried to find some trace of his familiar, but failed. Perhaps she had gone to get help. Perhaps she had abandoned him. Demons.

His enemy slowly aimed the tip of her spear at Kit's heart as Kit brought his blade back down. Again she attacked, but not the inefficient slash from before, this time she thrusted the spear quickly and effectively. Kit brought his blade to the side, parrying the strike, deflecting the thrust to the side. His enemy twisted the spear and pulled back, catching Kit's blade with the serrated edge of her spear's blade before yanking it backwards, forcing the weapon out of Kit's hand.

Immediately Kit ducked as he drew another tarot card, the blade of the enemy cutting the air above him. The nine of swords. He slammed the card against the floor and pulled out yet another sword, this one having a sleek ebon black blade, the hilt twisted as if it had been forged by hands that weren't human. He drew the blade in time to deflect yet another blow, this one managed to catch him on his left arm though, his limb burning with pain as blood began to spray.

Somewhere above, Maya ran through the halls, searching for a knight, any knight. As she turned around a corner, she caught a glimpse of the main hall before the entire passageway erupted into a thick cloud of purple smoke.

"Accursed smoke," Maya coughed, "Magical too."

[Deleted]

Lord Wolf stumbled out from behind the curtain, onto the podium in the main hall. Instantly, the crowd grew silent. His eyes scanned the people there as they all turned to face him; thankfully, with so many here, most of the town and castle were empty, and everyone was safe. Or so he assumed, and hoped. Looking over the crowd once again, he noticed a few of his fellow knights; he smiled, glad that they had found their way to the ceremony as he had waited for his cue behind the curtain. He only hoped those who were not there, were all right.

And preferably not dead.

Earlier, in the hall, his haste had gotten the better of him-- never under calm conditions would he grab a fellow man's shirt and demand anything of him --yet now, his haste got the worst of him. Having spent his recent time fulfilling his knightly duty, and his time during the day being worried of what was to come, he had failed to prepare anything of worth to be said.

Ergo, he stood there silently, the silence even beginning to echo into itself.

In his mind, two thoughts erupted: the first, that the longer he kept everyone together, the safer they were, and the second, that the longer he waited to don the crown, the less strength Zosma would have to hold the world together waiting for him. Both, if tested, could prove volatile paths to follow. If he continued in silence, the world could shatter; if he saved the world from shattering, the people, presently safe, could be put in danger.

Yet, if the world were shattered, there would be no people left to be put in any danger...

"Lord Wolf...?" Sir Kabe said, stepping closer, "have you any words?"

Wolf licked his dry lips and hoped his voice would not crack. "I have few," he said slowly, deeply considering his thoughts and what he would say, "yet those that I do have, I hold with great... pride. As king, it shall be my duty to not only rule my people, but to guide them, and protect them, and keep this nation of Dunburrow united and peaceful, safe." He paused, uncertain if was saying too much, or if he wasn't saying enough at all. "As king, I shall fulfill my duty to my people, to my country, with justice and compassion."

"Such wise words, my lord." Sir Kabe nodded, stepping forth with the crown. "Please kneel," he said, and so Wolf turned to his side and knelt down before the leading knight; he stepped up to Wolf and held the crown up for all to see.

"All who have come upon this day," Kabe continued, "and all who shall ever find themselves in this land of Dunburrow, now and for all times under the rule of our king, know that upon this day, our king was crowned!" Sir Kabe lowered the crown onto Lord Wolf's head; it fit snugly, as if forged for him solely, and sat beneath his hairline, his woody-brown hair falling over it regally. Though Wolf had hardly had any time to see the crown, he had seen that in truth it was a wide circlet, maybe an inch in width and tenth of that in thickness, and was brushed pewter, not the traditional pronged gold. Then again, as he knew by now, Dunburrow was not a traditional kingdom.

"You may now rise," Sir Kabe said, bowing, "King of Dunburrow."

Wolf gulped. It had at last happened; he was now rightfully king. As he stood up, he turned to gaze out over his people, his country's people; as his gaze fell upon them, they all bowed. He was filled with a sense of shock, almost, as his breath escaped him at the sight, the sensation that crept up his spine unlike anything he had ever felt before. He was truly king now. He was a king... he was the king...

He sighed, pushing the stupor away as best as he could.

The world had been kept together, freed from the crown's curse, but what now would become of it?

[zarikrahia]

Zari joined the rest of the knights quickly, brushing her hair out of her eyes and shifting her staff to her right hand. Zaha coiled around the bottom of the polished black wood staff. The two pairs of tawny eyes were fixed on the podium, and both cat and girl were tense, ready to spring out if needed. Zari whispered out of the corner of her mouth 'I don't like this. Something's wrong. Something should have happened by now. Zaha, ifeel discord, closer ever second. Alert the other knights. The cat nodded and slid through the crowd, warning each Knight in turn. 'Something's wrong. Be on your guard.' before returning to the Crimson Knight.

[Shadaras]

Shade stood, blade held in a guard position. Gyre? She called, hoping for an answer, any answer at all. Because if there was no answer… No. She couldn’t think about that possibility. Her fath… No, don’t call him that. The creature impersonating her father stood in front of her, his sword in a salute. She was frozen in the creatures stare, and even when his blade began to sweep toward her, she couldn’t move.

Clang. The sound of steel broke her trance, and Shade threw herself back, out of the broadswords way. Clang. Her sword hit the ground beside her, as she had dropped it when she fell. Drawing her daggers, Shade went in to a crouch, hoping she would be able to dodge the creature’s next blow.

[Tam]

Trying to put Oran's untimely disappearance out of her mind, Tamia couldn't help but smile as Wolf rose nobly as the new King of Dunburrow, triggering the celebratory mood that filled the Hall from corner to corner. Finally, something going right this evening, she thought, bowing respectfully as a new subject of Wolf's kingdom.

As she rose, Tamia glanced down at the slightly battered scroll she now held in her hands. For a second, she gazed at it, wondering if she should read it. Finally, she frowned and clutched the roll of paper securely in one hand, beginning to make her way back to the front of the hall, where the knights stood. There were others who should read this before her.

Nearing the assembled knights, she scanned their faces, wondering who she should go to. The new King Wolf would be busy enough. Few of the other knights' faces were even very familiar to the knight, much fewer were faces she would trust with something as potentially important as this. Then her eyes fell on Lady Kat, not far from where they had emerged from the secret entrance just minutes ago. An experienced knight who might be better able to handle a document like this, especially if it contained information having to do with magic.

Firmly decided, she approached the knight-mage again.

[zarikrahia]

((Tamia, the scroll is enchanted so only a non-mage can read it. Just so you know.))

[Frozen]

[glow=teal,2,300]((Frozen became ill and will stay in his room until he is better a.k.a. Quitting the RP until further notice ))

[Kat]

Before Shino could say anything, Kat ducked again towards the passageway as Lord Wolf continued to stand in front with Sir Kabe (and since that was pretty much the answer to her question). She wondered if anyone would activate the smoke spell, but highly doubted it - the passage was known only by a precious few; most of them knights and nobles.

As the ceremony drew to a close and Wolf was officially crowned king, Kat clapped silently before sinking into a deep curtsy, as low as she could go. He was the king, after all...and she his vassal, bound to serve him as was her duty as a knight and a mage.

She stood up again and saw Tamia approach her. Seeing the scroll in the Orange Knight's hand, Kat reached out with a little of her magical power and probed it, the violet fire eddying and winding through her fingers like a tiny, lazy serpent ready to spring onto the scroll. Not long after that, she gasped as a strange sensation rippled through her hand, blazing up her arm before disappearing.

"I cannot help you," she said, shaking her numbed hand a bit. "Apparently it doesn't like those who dabble in magic."