Talent Thief

Mikael

"Mikael, my friend, i have an urgent job for you and your Red Corsairs" said Rheall.
"And what would that be my leige?" I asked calmly.
"The Lunar Wolves. I require their aligence, or more importantly the alligence of their Masters of the Forge. Do you think you can get that for me?"
"Of course my lord." I rose from my meal and marched over to a collection of particularly scruffy tents.
"Red Corsairs," i bellowed towards the tents "Saddle up! We are to ride to the Arkbald and gain the alligence of the Lunar Wolves." A group of scarred, mangy and mean looking men crawled out of their tents, some with women draped around them, others sharpening various mean looking instruments.
"You've got ten minutes" i turned away and marched over to the iron hounds stables. Iron hounds were peculiar creatures created by Rheall as war mounts for his raiders. He had taken rhino, blood hound and iron and created vicious powerful mounts. Five minutes later the men were armed, dressed and mounted.
"Tonight they dine in hell!" I roared before riding off in the direction of Arkwald followed by twent five imposing men. Half and hour later we approached the gates of Arkwald.
"Lunar Wolves" i shouted at the gates. "What is your answer?"
A man climbed up onto the top of the gates. "Why don't you come in here and get it?" Leered the man only to sprout three arrows.
"You heard them men." I smiled dimounting and taking my hammer in two hands. I marched upto the gate and smashed the gates wide open before remounting and riding into the city killing any who dared oppose me. Finally i reached the central hall only to be met by the Lunar Wolves heavily armed champion. Finally i challenge, i thought before charging upto him and taking his head from his shoulders with my hammer. Maybe not, i thought before lifting his head and marching up the steps to the top of the raised dias.
"Your champion is dead" i roared into the crowd of people. "Will anyone dare oppose me?" Their was silence for a moment and then a man stepped forward.
"I'll fight you with out that hammer of yours."
"Fine" i cast my hammer aside and stood ready. As we exchanged blows i deliberately fell to the ground hiding the pain of my transforming hands. The man stood over and was about to stamp on my head before i rammed my now pointed fingers through his throat.
"Men gather the Masters of the Forge and any women you desire and return to camp. Any thaty oppose you can die." I turned away grabbed a young woman from the crowd through her on my mount and rode back towards camp.
"Be honoured" i grinned down at her. "Your very privelidged"

Elon

Hirror, High Lord of Rook, sat soundly in a white metal chair engraved with different symbols, the most predominant being that of an Ace. His graying hair sat tucked between his ears and rolled into a ball at the back. I cringed slightly; this man was not one of looks, but one of brains. I switched my gaze back to the ground when his black eyes met mine. I was not allowed to gaze at anything but the ground in his presence, something that, even after ten-and-seven years of my life, I still was not used to.

"Elon," he began flipping through a pile of cards that was in his left hand. The High Daughter, Emaya, sat awkwardly across from his spot on the table, bending her cards back and forth. "Do you know why I have called you here?"

What a stupid question, I kept my remark to myself and shook my head. "No, my liege."

"Of course not! How silly of me, expecting one with a dragon's mark to be intelligent. Hah!" Hirror placed a black three one a pile in the middle of the table and set his cards down. "I've called you here to ask- rather, order you to infiltrate one of the other six High Houses."

I rocked back on my heels. This was great; not only was I supposedly the most unintelligent girl in the entire city, but now I was supposed to be a spy. Keeping to my trained formalities, I raised my eyebrows as I studied a rock sitting beside my feet. "My liege?"

"I've reason to believe that the High Lord of Endaris," Hirror paused, picking two cards from another pile adjacent to the other, and sorted them through his hand of cards. "Has something planned; something sinister. I need you to find out what it is."

I choked as I held back a laugh. What exactly did he expect of me? Gold from straw? I wasn't so sure that Hirror, Lord of Rook, the High Swindler, was quite as intelligent as everyone blabbed. No, instead, he was Hirror, High Lord of Contradictions. That seemed to suit.

"An expected reaction," he said, placing his cards on the table and standing up. He placed both his hands on my shoulders and turned my body, leading me away from Emaya and the unfinished game of canasta. "You do carry the Dragon's mark, and even though you could never tell a pebble from a stone, you have powers. I paid good money for you,"

You fool, you paid none at all! Suppressing the urge to strike Hirror, I tensed my body. "Yes, my liege,"

"So I expect you to be worth it." He let go and walked past me, heading towards the stables. "The stable boy will have your mission orders. Meet him in the third stall in ten throws sharp, and be quick about it!"

--

I stood at the gate of Rook, the Fifth High House. The stable boy had given me three different colored vials, but I had not listened to his explanations. Instead, my gaze had been fixed on Hirror's black mare; the white diamond above her right eye had entranced me many a time's, and it always would. the poor girl, though: Hirror never took her for a gallop. He just kept her locked up; as he did me. Strange.

I took one step outside the black iron gate and froze. It was odd to be leaving the grounds that had been my home; my hell for seven-and-ten years. Closing my eyes, I willed my body to change. If I were to be captured, I would be killed, leaving shape changing as the only option. Endaris was well guarded, and my only chance of sneaking past the guards would be in the form of a small kitten. A very small, black kitten.

Rowan

What she had witnessed Rowan knew not except that it was the happenings of nightmares and as she fled, making for the stables, she hoped fervently that she would wake. It could not be so! Her husband, her Tobias, he could not be dead. She had not seen it so perhaps he had escaped and she in running was taking herself away from him. She might even have been able to believe that if not for the monster's face. There had been the look of her murder in his eyes and... he took her child.

Rowan slowed to a walk, taking a key from about her neck. Tobias had made her wear it always and now she was grateful for its weight. She opened the stable doors and wasted no time in saddling her horse, instead going first to the small store room where she quickly dressed in her armour and grabbed her bow and quiver. She hesitated as she fastened her belt around her waist. She took her husband's sword.

Riding hard, Rowan knew that she would be expected to go to her brother's brethren for help and could therefore not seek aid from her own house. She had to hide and hire aid and so she rode to the house of Endaris, them being the nearest.

Rowan knocked heavily on the door with her right hand that held the ring of her house, her proof that she was a member.

"Please, somebody help me," Rowan cried. "Please."

Are there any spots still open, and are there a list of Houses I can look at?

Is it too late?

If not, I have to warn y'all I can only post on weekends...

MJ

Can I assume this uses swords and other such weapons?

Triston~~

The man walked out of the room, his face red with rage. I didn't leave though. It wasn't because of the crossbow men on the roofs, or the knights waiting outside to slaughter me, those were easily enough dealt with. The reason I stayed made itself apparent soon after.

The general ran back into the room, all the blood from before drained from his face, "What have you done?!"

"Given you a reminder of who I am." I replied calmly, "I will not work for your lord, no matter how much he pays me. He is slime that should not even be allowed to walk the earth. I would sooner kill him than work for him."

He tried to speak, but the poison was already taking it's effect.

"The door knob was coated in a contact poison that activated when you touched it. It is not deadly, but it will render you completely able to move for the next twenty four hours. Take that time to reconsider your foolishness and remember what I have done and how easily it could have been worse."

I picked up my coat from the back of my chair and exited the room; the general collapsed behind me.

-----

I looked down at the target from my perch on top of the tower overlooking the harbor. This was going to be fun.

I dropped off the tower, drawing my sword as I did. It was long and slender, with a slightly curving single edged blade.

The target's guards turned to face me and drew their weapons. They were all big, so I assumed they all had war marks. Easy.

The first one rushed, but in a blinding movement his throat was torn out and he stumbled a few more steps before dropping. The others fell jut as fast. I sheathed my sword and started walking towards the target, who was still smiling. No one about to die would smile.

I dove to the side right as a fireball hit where I was standing. I sighed again and threw a knife where the mage was standing on top of the wall surrounding that area of the docs, but it just stopped in mid air. He threw another wave of fire at me, but I didn't dodge this time. I brought my hands together around the fire and formed it into a ball. I transfered it to my other hand and charged the mage. His eyes were wide with fear as he realized that he was about to die from his own gift. I used a crate for leverage to reach the wall. The fire slammed into his chest and his clothes disintegrated and his body became blackened and warped.

I shivered as I hopped back down to street level. Using magic always made me a little jittery, and on top of the high I got from battle I was almost literally bouncing off walls.

The target was whimpering up against his ship. I killed him and left.

I woke with a start, my body covered in sweat from the dream. I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep any more that night so I got up and splashed my face with water.

I stood looking at my face and I became filled with revulsion. What kind of man derived pleasure from killing? Me. I sighed and wiped my face with a towel. It would be another long day.

Kylar-

Hours had passed since breakfast. Kylar practiced in the courtyard, facing off against three of the household guards. He slid through the forms of the sword, moving like liquid. In an instant all three were disarmed.

He heard sardonic clapping and turned around, Tirin, the guard captain, leaned against the wall. "Good job Kylar, you're almost on the level of a blade master now."

Shrugging, Kylar sheathed the katana, and walked towards Tirin. "It was nothing." As he spoke one of his opponents snarled and charged towards him. He slid out of the way and tripped the guard, sending him flying across the paving stones.

Tirin chuckled in amusement as the guard scrambled to his feet, "Nothing, right. Come with me Kylar we're going to patrol the grounds." He spun on his heel and marched off, sighing Kylar made to follow him, but his gaze caught on a small black kitten crawling through the grate.

To Kylar's eyes, the cat shone softly with the light of the Changed. Only someone with the same talent would be able to see. Now here was a problem, Kylar wasn't supposed to have the Change talent.

Shouting came from the gate, and someone stumbled through. Kylar's eyes widened as he recognized Rowan, he hadn't seen he since she'd married her husband, a son of Briseis. She was disheveled and wild eyed, mud splattered on her clothes. She clutched her husbands sword as if his life depended on it.

Tirin caught her as her legs buckled, shivering she told them what had happened to her. Horror etched on every ones face, the idea of someone taking another's Talent was terrifying, the worst kind of rape.

Rhulais

"You'll be coming with me." Parum growled, seizing Rhulais by the arm. Rather than his usual cloak, Parum appeared to be a soldier of Fexair, just as planned.

Rhulais reacted instantly, gathering an amount of wind around him and slamming it into Parum, sending him skidding backwards. Twisting in midair, Parum drew a one handed crossbow, already loaded, and fired it at him. It glanced off thin air, Rhulais standing with a smug expression on his face.

By this time, the two Andareil dragon's children had attracted the attention of a number of Endaris talents. "Grab them!" One shouted, and roughly twenty guards surged forward.

Where normally the two of them would have fought back to back, here they forced themselves not to. Parum slashed about himself with a scimitar in one hand, a short bladed rapier in the other. Three guards fell, mortally wounded, and Parum could have easily taken more, but gave the impression of not being fully trained in his War talent. He went down amidst a flurry of blows from spear hafts and sword hilts, his enemies realising he was talented enough to keep alive.

Rhulais allowed himself to fare little better, sending focused spears of wind to throw multiple guards off their feet before allowing himself to be caught from behind by one Endaris soldier who thought himself to be particularly sneaky. Well at least that went right... He thought absently as he fell sideways, before a second blow to the head from the guard's cudgel sent him too far into unconsciousness for such reflections.

Mikael

I rode back into camp passing through the inposing arched entrance. I dismounted and headed straight toward Prince Rhealls tent. I waited outside and was quickly bekoned inside.
"My leige, the Lunar Wolves are all yours, and there masters of the Forge should arrive any moment."
"Well done Mikael. I knew you would get the job done where so many others have failed."
"My leige for you i would give my very soul."
"I don't require it my friend. However i do need you gather the men. Select your best men and send them out to the tribes. Three days from now we march on Traythel. They have until then to prepare."
"Yes my leige." I saluted and marched out of the tent to await the return of my men.