The Hidden & The Lost

[Nappers]

((Really. Please don't post here unless I said for you to join. Thanks. Appreciated))

A figure in a hooded cloak that covered their body drifted ghostly out from the wood. The night sky was an explosion of light; the triplet stars dubbed the ‘Triplets of the East' lit the wanders path. They seemingly drifted across the ground, not breaking a leaf or even a granule of dirt in their wake.

Wander for three days through the Northern Wood and you shall come to a small town hidden by night. You will not see it unless they let it be seen. When you come to the pond, stand there and wait for the fourth firefly of the sky.

The pond was more of a lake, the water placid as the fireflies hovered around the weeds like a willow the wisp. A frog croaked once, then twice, and then pausing, it croaked once more. A grasshopper could be heard faintly and it leapt between the towering blades of grass. The hooded figure raised their head towards the night sky as all fell quiet.

Tearing across the sky three blazing shooting stars darted across towards the Triplets, their trail lingered for a lifetime as they passed. The fourth ball of flame darted across in the same direction before its speed slowed dramatically. It appeared to grow in size as it approached the earth. The frog dove into the pond; breaking the peace of the water. The fireflies broke their formation, their lights dimming as they flew off into the wood and the grasshopper making its biggest leaps further away from the area.

The fireball hurled towards the area, the winds picking up; blowing around the cloak, ruffling the tree's leaves and the blade of grass. The leaves showered down onto the area. The ball of flame stopped before the wanderer, it was no bigger than a beach ball. Hovering before them it shifted its shape in a bright flash of light; turning into a tall armoured man.

"Welcome. We were told that you will be coming around now,” he said as he bowed courteously. He towered above the wanderer, who themselves were no bigger than a fourteen year old in stature. The guards armour was adorned in gold and decorations of a field with a cherry blossom tree in the centre of the chest plate.

"We are privileged to play host to someone as renown as yourself. Welcome…

The fields behind him rippled.

… to Vandiel. The Last Sanctuary.”

The cloaked guest stepped forward and past the guard as if they were not there, not even acknowledging their presence. The ruffled up one of their excessively long sleeves and held out their hand forward. They placed it on what appeared to be an invisible field, it pressed inwards as if they had pressed on a balloon. Releasing their touch the balloon gripped onto their hand before releasing it; rippling outwards like when a puddle was disturbed.

The wanderer continued forwards, passing through the great puddle…

Passing through to the other side they were now out of the wood; in the grand lost Kingdom that was Vandiel. The streets were lined with stalls that were lit by lamp light. The late night did not deter the seemingly humble citizens. Across the streets hung lines bearing flags and artwork. Drummers and flautist set the rhythm and pace to the night. Fireworks were released into the air, exploding in an array of colour as the people chattered with one another. Tonight was a night of celebration, an uncanny event during a time of war.

"Where are you...”

Edited June 11, 2006 by Nappers

[Arashi]

((Yaa~y, I was invited!))

The man had been wandering around for many days, only guided by the rumours he had heard on the taverns he had visited during his quest. His eternal quest. But what was he really searching? Not many knew that, and he himself wasn't really sure. But he knew that he was in the right direction, he could feel it in the depth of his hearth.

His clothes were dirty from the dust of the road. Especially his brown cloak, that he had weared during a long time. The man was really hungry, and if he didn't found something to eat soon, he would fall to the ground inconscient and tired.

But he as lucky tonight. Just as soon as he had came out from the forest he saw the gate to what seemed to be a big city. He went closer to it, and noticed that there was a guard keeping it. The man walked toward him.

"Welcome to Vandiel, stranger. So what have made you come to such a place?" The man tried to hide his face with his cloak, but a firefly lighted up his face during one second, and then flied away. "I'm... I'm here because someone is waiting for me..."

The guard just smiled toward the mysterious man, that maybe only was around twenty years old, or maybe even younger. He let him pass without any objections. After all, it wasn't too unusual to see mysterious people come to this place.

The wanderer continued his wandering inside of Vandiel. What he would find here was unknown for him, but he knew that he finally had come to the right place. It had been his destiny to come to Vandiel...

Edited June 14, 2006 by Arashi

[Nappers]

As the drummers beat louder the bass thundered through the newcomer to the city made Kingdom. Walking over to a stall the person glanced over at its treasures. The stall had lots of hand made trinkets and jewels but a single item caught the eye of the cloaked figure. Reaching her hand out slightly to her side while staring at the stall tender he began to itch as though a thousand ants were running their trail up his arms and neck.

While he was spinning around almost crazed his friends and the shoppers rushed over to help him, during the distraction the visitor snatched a lace necklace that had a single sapphire stone strung at the end, and pocketed it.

Turning around their cloak fluttered, their hood dropped to their shoulders revealing themselves. It was a girl, seemingly around fourteen years of age. Her hair an aqua blue, trailing down to her neck. Her eyes had no pupils, they were a pure lilac colour, her skin an ashen white. Looking to one side she saw that another visitor had caught site of her at the gate.

Covering her head with the hood she ran through the streets through the crowd of people…

((Can you catch me? ))

[Arashi]

"Just... who was that...?"

The man knew that there was something with that girl he had seen and that just had ran away. He had never seen her before, but even so he did recognise her, as if he had met her every day of his life.

But now she was gone.

No, wait, there was still time to catch her. He started to follow her, trying to go through the crowd of people. There was a lot of people out there, which was strange thinking that it already was night. The man could only see the girls hood moving in the swarm of heads. He didn't knew what it was, but he just had to ask her why he felt that he knew her. How could this bound be so strong, if they didn't knew each others?

The man came finally out from the mass of persons, but he had lost the girl. And now what? He didn't had anywhere to go, anywhere to sleep. Not even a place to return to...

But that girl... was it maybe because of her he had came to this place? The voice he had heard even since that day a long time ago... Could that be his destiny? He was maybe taking that old mans words too serious. The destiny maybe didn't even existed...

Then an old but still strong man came out from a tavern not long from there. He was drunk. The drunk man couldn't really stand up, and finally he fell to the ground. The cloaked man walked toward him, and was just going to help him up, when the drunken man, by accident, grabbed the cloaked mans hood, revealing his face and head. The drunken man fell back. "A... an elf?" The other man had his sight at the ground, just like if he was ashamed. "N... no... I'm just a half elf..." "Buttth thaut ish even wourse... doun't... evan... try to come close to me... your bloody scum!" The drunken man took his bottle and went up from the ground. He would just hit the poor half elf, but it didn't seemed like he would try to defend himself...

Edited June 14, 2006 by Arashi

[Nappers]

The visitor to Vandiel ran through the streets under the guise of the night, almost in search for something or someone. She stopped at a junction of alleyways, hearing a somewhat fiesty tone in the voice of a drunk. She lowered her hood to her shoulders, her hair gracefully flowed behind her, her eyes illuminated in the dark like two lilac gems.

Raising a single hand she pointed at the man who was about to attack the Elf. A large gust of wind built up through the tunneling alleyway, building up in power and speed. Her cloak, along with the clothes of the others blustered in the winds.

"Gah!? Whatta're ye?" said the man with the bottle. Snapping her fingers the winds died down abruptly. Snappin her fingers the bottle melted into a coil around the mans hand, turning into a snake. It hissed and snapped its jaws at him. "What the! Ahhhh" he screamed, tossing the snake off his wrist and running away from the pair. As the snake hit the ground it shattered into a dozen peices, it was still only glass.

Walking up to the Elf she stood a few feet before him, and stared up, he towered over her, she was only diminuative in stature.

"I'm sorry that I had to run away before... It wasn't time. I - I am an Elvaan" all fell silent. An Elvaan were a rare race of Elves, said to be their ancestors, it is believes that only a few were still alive - but that was thought to be all myth. Yet here, before the half Elf she stood. Their abilities are unkown, but among the Elf populas they are considered Gods of sorts.

Her ash white skin gleamed in the moons light. "My name is Narr Lucene, but I prefer the name Nalu or Luce - Call me what you will.... Come" she said, turning down the alley, and opening up a door which seemed to appear from nothing.

[Arashi]

The half elf got completely stunned. First the little girl had used magic to defend him, and now she said she was an Elvaan. If someone else had said that to him, he wouldn't have trust them. But he knew that it was something special with this girl after all... Not knowing where they were going (not like he really cared) he followed the girl.

"I... I'm an half elf... We aren't very liked by either humans or elves... I'm already used to get hit just because of hat I am..."

The half elf wasn't really sure about what to do. This was the first time someone had protected him. Why had a creature from such a high race protected him? He couldn't understand that.

"Oh... I'm sorry, my name is Celethir... but you can call me Cel if you wants..."

Cel now recognised her. Her voice was the one he had dreamed with all this time. Something had led him here... to meet her? Was this what he had been searching for so long?"

He covered his head again with the hood, to hide his pointed ears that was caricaristic for the ones with elven blood. He crossed the door entrance and saw that it was a little apartment. A fire in the chimney was the only light in the dark room. "What is this place? And sorry if I'm rude, but do you have some food? I haven't eat anything in four days..."

Edited June 14, 2006 by Arashi

[Nappers]

Lucene wandered around in the darkness of the room, the straying light from the fireplace. After whisltling softly the whole room was light up by dozens of candels. Luce was behind a counter at what appeared to be the kitched.

The walls were lined with paintings and maps of lands a far. A small circular table was in the centre of the front room, on it a small wooden box.

Lucene sliced through a curious loaf of bread with a simple knife. "Here, have this.. Eat a single slice and you won't feel hungry for a week, I promise you." The slice hovered across the room, and floated still at a halt before Cel.

"We have met before. I have watched you your whole life.. I was there when you were born in fact.. I may not look it, but I am more than 4000 years old, I have seen many Kingdoms rise and fall in my time. You are special, there are only a handful of half-breed's like yourself, almost as rare as us Elvaan. Tomorrow you will meet Bedwyn, a good friend of mine, he will come here before you wake - now; now you must get your rest."

[Arashi]

The young man with elven blood running through his veins watched at the maps and paints. Some of them were of places he never even had heard about, while others where from well known places. He stopped at one that was at the left of the chimney. A candle gave enough light to see the small details of the painting. He recognised it. Aendal, the forest where he had been born. Celethir had a lot of memories from that place. But that place did not exist anymore...

The Elvaan handed him a piece of bread. It did not take long time for him to confirm that the girl had been right, his hunger disappeared completely in just a few seconds. "Thank you, little lady..."

Then she suddenly started to talk. She told him that she was really old, and that she had been watching him. The half elf got confused first, but he understood soon that it must have been true, after all, he had heard her voice in his dreams... But what could such a special creature want from him? He wasn't anyone special, at least not anymore. He had lost everything a long time ago, and now he just was a wanderer that followed the whisperings he heard in his dreams. But this girl had made so much for him. Celethir wasn't the type of person that talked about himself, but he didn't wanted to ask too much about her either.

He thought that he just had to follow her orders, at least for a time. "Thank you again, you have done so much for me, Lady Nalu, I don't know how I will repay you all of this. I'm under your command for now, if you don't have anything against that..."

Cel then noticed that there was only one bed in the apartment. He blushed for a second, and shake his head, as he wanted to get rid of an evil though from his mind. "I guess I can sleep on the floor... There's not any problems with me, I'm used to it anyways..."

Edited June 14, 2006 by Arashi

[Guest Ichi-kun]

((OOC: With permission from Nappers))

A solemn looking man walked through the woods, his slow steps elegant with each stride as if he knew where to go. He wore a brown cloak covering his whole body, he was quite tall with a muscular body. He had lived for many years, seen many things, his hands had seen too many winters. To humans he would be only a mere 22 years of age, but to his race he was much older. Time had stopped for him, living as long as he had, you stop counting the years. Bedywn was part of the Druid race, a long forgotten and rare race, they were one with nature often times living alone in the deep woods. He looked up at the moon from under his hood, his face lit up with pleasure as his sky blue eyes glowed in the moon light.

Days before he had received a letter from someone who he had not spoken to in many years, she was an Elvaan even more unheard of than Druids. The question was raised, why after so many years did she want to speak with him? She must want something or for him to be of service, his skills were vast and well appreciated. He grinned from his hood, his front canine teeth longer then the rest.

Like many times before he was entering the city of Vandiel, a great lost Kingdom. A rather large looking guard was standing near a gateway, his arms crossed over his chest. "Welcome to Vandiel, stranger. So what have made you come to such a place?" His voice was slow and monotonous. "My business is my own, and mine alone.” Bedwyn said, his voice low and harsh as if sounding like he had not talked in days, but in his case years.

Bright lights showed him the way, a long large winding path led into large gates with a sigh dangling, swinging gently in the summers breeze. The sign read Vandiel, in bright red letters.

The street were lined with vendors and merchants selling anything from fresh fruit and vegetables to jewels and random assortment of trinkets. He picked up an apple from one of the tables and continued to walk on his way. The vendor yelled for him to stop but Bedwyn disappeared out of sight and down a narrow alleyway. The man turned the corner to see a little girl standing in the alley pointing towards a door. The vendor ran through the door and closed it behind him, the girl walked back towards the main street and turned back into his former self. His abilities allowed him to take the appearance of anyone and use their abilities.

It had been years since he visited this place last but he knew his way to his friend like the back of his hand. He strode to a large oak door and rapped it three times waiting for his old friend to answer the door.

Edited June 15, 2006 by Ichigo

[Arashi]

((BUMP, Nappers?))