Young Writers Society

Enya could hear people downstairs, the sounds echoing from the stairwell at the far end of the hallway she had stepped out onto. Where was she? And what was that smell?

She creeped down the hallway, toward the staircase. She looked over the railing to the world below; it was a tavern. There were a few people, mostly men, sitting around playing cards and drinking; the only women that were present were playing peek-a-boo through a veil leading to another room.

One of the men glanced up and saw her. He whistled. "Hey, cutie!"

She blushed and took off back up the hallway, the men laughing at her escape.

Cathy

Nodding, Cathy could see Edgar's point completely. Was the protection of the lands not also her goal? She cared for people but only in the way that she though it would be a shame for the entire human race to die out, she didn't give any particular value to each individual. The human race as a whole was something that should be preserved but its size didn't matter to her.

She wondered if it would be foolish to consider herself able to learn the powers this man had. Was he saying that a Geomancer was something you were or something you learned? It seemed to be a bit of both. Maybe only these shapeshifters could become Geomancers but Cathy didn't think that was quite fair. She'd spent a lot more time being close to nature than any other human could have. Was it different for shapeshifters? Did they live in forests? Cathy wondered why she had not come across them before.

"And what of me?" she asked. "Would I be called a mage by people such as you?" When she was little she had heard the story of such things, things that were supposed to be human but weren't. Her parents hadn't been the type to fill her head with fairy tales so she had tried to listen and remember but that was all very fuzzy now. It was hard to recall the time she had spent with humans.

Edgar


"Yes," Edgar said. "That boy that stayed in Kvatch, Reon, was a mage as well. Mages control the elements of fire, lightning, and ice. While earth, air, and water are elements of life, fire, lightning, and ice are elements of destruction."

"Destruction..."

Edgar glanced at her before adding, "A sword can be used to protect, as well as destroy. Magic is no different."
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Enya made her way back to her room. In her rush she didn't notice Martin and accidentally bumped into him. "I'm sorry," she said.

"That's quite all right," he said.

"Where are we?"

"We are in one of the taverns of Skingrad. Adrian had thought it best if we stayed here for a few hours to rest, seeing as you all fought through the night to destroy that gate."

"I see." She was silent for a moment, then asked, "So, how does it feel to be the king's son?" She had made sure no one was around to hear her when she said it. The last thing they needed was people coming up to them and asking questions. Then again, people might be more willing to believe he wasn't the king's son, but she didn't want to risk it.

"Honestly, I don't know," Martin said. "To tell you the truth, I'm still a little skeptical."

"I know what you mean. It is a little hard to believe that you're his last son."

Martin nodded. "Adrian believes that I am Uriel Septim's son. If he's so sure of it, then I suppose there must be truth in what he has told me."

"He lead the group that went into that Oblivion Gate in order to find a way to close it," Enya said. "I don't think he would have risked his life over a lie."

"That is what I believe as well," Martin said. "Adrian is a noble person, just like his father. I have already decided to go see Jauffre. Even if it turns out that I'm not the king's son, I will see this through if it means there's a chance to save this land from Mehrunes Dagon."

(It's time for someone to post.)

(It's been a week and no one has posted.)

Sorry, I'm in Kent at the moment and internet is very scarce!

Enya smiled, nodding. She would not dare touch the priest; her mother had burned it into her memory that she would be disrespectful if she ever touched Martin outside of saving his life or praying.

"That's thoughtful of you," she said simply.

He nodded. "Why don't you go back to bed? It's been a long few days for you, I believe; you and your brother need the rest and each other."

She curtsies obediently. "Yes, sir. Goodnight, sir."






***Sorry...I'm a bit out of it, still...***

Balaes

The dark mage sat in his room, staring at the wand balanced carefully between the tips of his index fingers. This was all so strange – using his magic against the very creatures his father had allied himself with, being accepted by the others despite the taint on his magic. Being…thanked by Adam. Tyson. Balaes reminded himself, Though he doesn’t want any of the others knowing that name yet. And that was the strangest part of all. He felt detached from the others, but Adam he felt he could relate to, at least on some level. He didn’t quite share the desire to gamble or drink that Adam had mentioned earlier, but there was something there he admired – something in Tyson.

Fragments of a conversation drifted through the open window with the cold night air. Balaes recognised the voices as Cathy and Edgar, speaking of magic. Their natural magic. Balaes felt a pang of jealousy at that, pressing his fingertips harder into the ends of the wand as he glowered down at it.

After a while, he sighed to himself. He hadn’t heard much of what they were saying, hadn’t wanted to. Destruction, protection, many words like that. Balaes shook himself a little and set the wand aside, next to the dagger he’d taken from the tower in Oblivion. This was his burden to bear, and he would take it, to see that Mehrunes Dagon didn’t succeed in Arcadia.

**Not much, I know, but I wanted to get Balaes back in.**

(There's not much I can post with my characters. Adrian is asleep, Martin is going to go back to his room if no one else bumps into him, and I'm still waiting for Kitty15 to post Cathy's response with her conversation with Edgar. I suppose if Kitty15 doesn't post for a few more days we can do a time jump to after they're all rested.)

***That sounds good to me. I would post, but I'm wiped out. Just got home from the first football game of the season. Won 28-7!***

Sorry again, I seem to be doing this a lot of late. I'm home for a few days now but after that it could take me another week to get the internet sorted at my new home. Still, I'll post here and there and loving the post Billy, it's good to have Baleas back

Cathy

"So you hold the shield and I the sword," Cathy mused more to herself than anyone else. She didn't think she liked that, it didn't feel right. Cathy had lived her whole life with nature so how could she have something so unnatural running through her veins? Fire and ice and lightening. Those didn't have any place in a forest except when humans brought them there. "I think the land has blessed you more than me." That had been a lot of talking for Cathy and she didn't want to speak any longer so she turned on to her side and hoped he would understand.

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There that's a little more conclusive, feel free to do a time skip and I'll see if I can join in <333

(Yeah, for a while there I was afraid Billy had run out on us. But, it is good to have you back. I've been pretty distracted myself from posting lately. For my birthday I got Final Fantasy Dissidia for the PSP, Dragon Quest Master for the DS, and Prototype for the PC. I've been playing Dissidia the most, you can fight with any main character or villain from every game of the Final Fantasy franchise from 1 to 10. Prototype is a cool game, but it likes to chug a lot on my computer. I'll try to get back up to speed with my posts.)


Edgar saw her move on her side, facing away from him. It seemed as though this was a touchy subject for her, and she didn't want to talk about it anymore. But still, he didn't feel nature had blessed him more than her.

"Every living thing is blessed by nature. Whether your powers were given to you for a reason or not is irrelevant, for it is you that decides how to use it." He left it at that and closed his eyes to go to sleep.


(We can do a time jump whenever you guys are ready.)

***I'm ready, but I have no idea what to post. Last night's football game was the worst one I believe I have ever and will ever have!***

(Let's time jump to when they wake up and you guys can post them getting out of bed.)

Kai groaned, shifting when sunlight hit him in the face. He turned his face away from the source, only to regain his senses. He could tell he was sitting up, in a chair, with his feet propped on an ottoman. Someone had even draped a quilt over him, tucking it behind his arms so that it wouldn't fall.

He opened his eyes, lifting his head. They were in some kind of room...with wooden walls, ceiling, and floor. He could smell tobacco smoke, alcohol, and wood smoke from downstairs... He finally remembered, Oh, yeah...the inn.

He pulled the quilt off and stood up, stretching his back. He smiled when he saw Enya; she was still curled up asleep in the bed.