Seven Jars

A presence, thick and suffocating, clung to every particle of air in the room. The weight, both sweet and bitter, lovely and wretched, tucked itself into every crack. The young woman in the center of the room let her eyelids flutter closed, let her head tip back; a groan escaped her lips - one of pleasure, pain and passion all at once. On the shelf situated on the opposite side of the room there sat seven glass jars. Amazing glass jars; dangerous and wonderful and fully intoxicating. But it wasn’t the jars themselves that were incredible - it was what they held.

"Beware of their power, my sweet daughter. It will ravage you the moment you enter that room. Ketus, Keax, Kemir, Kebti, Kelos, Cimor and Loik, seven different things that keep everything else in balance."

The words of her deceased mother seemed to pulsate within the room, bringing the daughter back to her reality. She opened her eyes, straightened her neck and carefully crossed the room to read the names engraved on each jar...

Plot

Long ago, only days after the world was formed, seven cities were created from nothing but dust by the great Hesota. Yenta, Moraz, Heshan, Uuabi, Neppa and Aaroaz. Though vastly different, these cities all had three things in common: They were each shielded by a thick wall, all people from all cities spoke the same language and all of them were given a jar. These jars remained in Hesota’s temples, and their contents was strange and powerful.

Five hundred after the creation of the seven cities and the seven jars, however, society became corrupt. All they wanted was power - and the jars held that power. Many tried to steal the jars, or to break them and release the power that they held. None knew the dangers associated with such jars, and they paid no heed to warnings.

Displeased with and afraid for his people, Hesota appointed one young widow and her baby daughter as guardians of the jars. He created them a sanctuary, hidden well within the beautiful mountains south of the cities. He granted them extended lives, so that they may care for the jars for precisely five-hundred years in secrecy.

The 498th year hit, and after many years of loyal service, Hesota allowed the old widow her wish - he allowed her to die peacefully, and come to live with him in another city in the unexplored regions of the far north. This left her daughter, Elodaya, to care for the jars for the last two years. Years of her mother’s training paid off - Elodaya was ready.

The jars had long lost their bond to the city, but they are now bonded to one citizen from each city - all of whom are young. The contents of the jars is emotion, lifestyle, and a power corresponding with each. Elodaya knows first hand that these are far more powerful than they seem. Now, Elodaya has seen the jars for the first time and read the names carved into their lids. She has called upon those names.

The jars are nothing but a myth now, and perhaps you’ve never even heard of them - and still, you wake up one morning in the sanctuary with six others. You have no idea how you got there, but Elodaya had appeared and told you of your individual bonds to the jars. She also gave very vague instructions, and not-so-vague warnings. Her task only half complete, Elodaya put you into a deep sleep - one that you awakened from in the ruins of a huge, ancient-looking city. Sensing your confusion, Elodaya appeared once more, and explained that this city is not ancient - that it is, in fact, a future city. Somewhere in time, the seven cities decided to join as one, but they were overcome by storms and beasts and chaos. The city was destroyed, the people with it. This is only fifty years into the future.

Your task is to stop this from happening. You’ve each been given your jars, and you’ve been told to uncover the marble table. This table is located in the very center of the temple, which is located at the heart of the city ruins. But the only way that the table can be uncovered is by you and the other six finding a way to loosen your bonds enough that a thin line of glowing color (which is the same color that your jar glows), and another one of the seven can cut it, which is the only safe way to end your bond to the jar. After this has been done for all seven, the table will appear, which has seven shallow, circular holes on its surface, and the name of the jar by each. This is where you must put the jars - this is what will end the chaos that supposedly comes soon after the city was built.




About the Jars

Spoiler

Each jar has a corresponding city and color, as well as a name and a power relevant to the emotions it contains. Note that there are no jars that hold creativity, fear, love, wisdom, and a few others. These are the emotions that had no power associated with them, and so, they had no jar. Each of the jars has a colored glow about them, though the color does not always pertain to what the jar stands for.

1) Ketus - Woe, Grief, Depression, Weight - dark blue - Yenta
The holder of this jar is one who feels the constant weight of sadness and depression. He/she has probably been hardened by years of feeling pain. His/her power consists of being able to increase gravity in small areas for short amounts of time.
Claimed by: SisterItaly - female - Daila

2) Keax - Peace, Tranquility, Calm, Relaxation - dark green - Morfaz
The holder of this jar is more often than not at peace. He/she probably accepts what comes without much fear, keeps his/her emotions and temper in check easily, though he/she may come off a bit cold at times. His/her power consists of being able to sense when people feel peace and anxiety, and is able to to bring peace-of-mind to any person he/she pleases with a single look.
Claimed by: Vramel - male - Damien

3) Kemir - Anger, Rage, Malice, Storms - black - Heshan
The holder of this jar is probably easily irritated, and always has an angry air around him/her. He/she probably also has a horrid temper, and may be bitter. His/her power consists of being able to create violent rain/thunder/lightning/wind storms, so long as it’s already raining and/or windy.
Claimed by: Chupatoasta - male - Ryker

4) Kebti - Joy, Giddiness, Bliss, Laughter - Taupe - Uabai
The holder of this jar is extremely joyful. He/she will more than likely do anything in his/her power to achieve joy and bliss, and probably sometimes goes to extremes. His/her power consists of being able to send entire groups of people into fits of hysterical laughter - a power far more dangerous than one might expect.
Claimed by: NinjaCookieMonster - female - Elua

5) Kelos - Simple Joy, Innocence, Purity, Light Rain - deep purple - Reselidor
The holder of this jar is Innocent, and he/she probably has strong moral codes. He/she has an air of simple happiness that he/she doesn’t feel the need to go to extremes to achieve, as it’s simply there. His/her power consists of being able to make it drizzle lightly, which is both refreshing and nourishing.
Claimed by: IshaThePirate - female - Ayenna

6) Cior - Bravery, Courage, Fearlessness, Strength - ivory - Neppa
The holder of this jar fears almost nothing, and he/she more than likely laughs whenever confronted by danger. Whether this is healthy or not is up to you. He/she probably jumps into battles and adventures willingly. His/her powers consist of strength - being able to naturally lift three times his/her own weight, thought he/she probably tires quickly from this.
Claimed by: Synnoev

7) Loik - Seriousness, Skepticism, Logic, Memory - crimson - Aaroaz
The holder of this jar believes firmly in logic, and is probably a very serious person. He/she is most likely skeptic of what can’t be proven, and everything must have some form of logical explanation. He/she takes everything with seriousness. His/her power consists of a photographic memory, and the ability to view the memories of others (they must be asleep), by touching their skin. He/she cannot steal the memories or alter them in any way - just view and memorize them for him/herself. This aids in aquiring knowledge and plan-making.
Claimed by: CelticaNoir - male - Ciel

Elodaya’s Warnings and Instructions:

Spoiler

Instructions:
~~Find a way to loosen the bonds until another can cut them off.
~~Do that for all seven jars, and then make sure that you place them in the proper places on the marble table.
~~The temple is located at the very center of the town.
~~After you have completed this, you may choose to go back to your families in your time period, or live in the now-thriving city.

Warnings:
~~If a jar breaks, the holder will die, and you will be doomed to live in the ruins and the chaos forever, never dying, always tormented.
~~If the holder of a jar dies, but the jar is still intact, be warned that the other holders of the group will all be responsible for the jar. Their powers will weaken, and the emotions will not be bestowed unto them, but they will feel a greater oppression than they have every known. It will make the bonds very hard to break.
~~The chaos in the city is bizarre. The climate, foliage, atmosphere... everything but the city’s layout itself, can, and probably will, change dramatically overnight. One day, you’ll be in ruins set in a lush rain forest, and the next, you may be in a desert. There are horrible storms of strange proportions and malicious and blood-thirsty beastly animals that hide within the ruins, and their temperaments may grow worse with every shift. Do not, under any circumstances, trust these creatures.
~~There are two other creatures in particular that you should be wary (or grateful) of. White, two-foot-tall bat-like creatures called Yeshana are there to help, though they are a rare sight. They serve Hestoa, and will not harm you. They wish for the task to be completed. And then there are red, two-foot-tall bat-like creatures called Noshana, who are evil. They will toy with your mind, make you see things that aren’t there and are bent on keeping the ruins in chaos. They are blood-thirsty, and will stop at nothing. If you give them the chance - they will kill you. They travel in groups, and are a much more frequent sight than the Yeshana. Both creatures have the ability to speak - and to fight.

It has been four hours since Elodaya’s departure. She has left you each with your own bow and arrow, simple sword, two daggers and a cloak. The colors of these things pertain to the color of the glow of your jar. Food is scarce, and the climate is currently dry and desert-like. Good luck.


Rules and Notes (READ)

-- Note that before this, none of your characters would have known each other. Except for this meeting, they are complete strangers.
--You are the one who gets to design what the city your character came from is like. (Under the “City” category in the profile, give as brief or as long of a description as you want... though at least a little detail is preferred.)
--You are also able to design the creatures (except for the Yeshana and the Noshana) that live in the ruins. Go nuts, but no dragons, griffins, etc... don’t go too over-board.
--This Story Book will be small, as there are only seven spots. Planning will be taken somewhat seriously, and we will probably plan it in a separate room in chat and the DT will be used frequently.

-No godmodding. It isn’t fair, and it’s extremely annoying.
-Please read the profiles carefully before having your character interact with another. Also make sure that you read all of the posts before your own so that you know what’s going on and where everybody is.
-No perfect characters or Gary/Mary-Sues. They are irritating to deal with, and unique characters are always better. Your character must have flaws that actually affect them, and preferably more flaws than strengths.

-Swearing and cussing is allowed, but please no f-bombs or excessive use of bad language.
-Romance is allowed, but no descriptive sex scenes.
-Violence is allowed, but don’t make things excessively gory.

-Posts must be at least 1500 characters long. No. Shorter. They must also be readable - which means use paragraphs in the appropriate places, correct grammar and spelling, and absolutely no net/chat/noob-speak.
-Make sure that your post fits with the other posts, which means reading the other posts before writing up your own. Also, if somebody posted before you, and it will affect how much sense your post makes, then please edit it accordingly.

-All regular SB/YWS rules apply.

Character Templates:

CodeSelect all

[b]Name:[/b] (first and last)

[b]Age:[/b] (16+ unless I say otherwise)

[b]Gender:[/b]

[b]Appearance:[/b] (Written is required, picture is optional. No scene, anime is allowed. Remember to think of the type of city you’re in, and that this is not a modern-day era.)

[b]City:[/b] (The name and a description of what the city is like. You’re in charge of this, remember. Put the description/any pictures in a spoiler please.)

[b]Personality:[/b] (I have a new rule for this - the personality must be at least one hundred words. I want details. Weaknesses, strengths... also remember that this isn’t completely limited to your character’s jar - there could be something under the surface that comes out every now and then, or you could twist things, etc...)

[b]Flaws/Weaknesses:[/b] (This is mandatory, and you must have flaws that actually affect something. Preferably, you have more of these than strengths.)

[b]Skills:[/b] (For any additional skills that your character has that are not personality strengths)

[b]History:[/b] (Detail, once again. At least one hundred words. I don’t want “can’t remembers” - what happened before they forgot? If you have something that you wish to keep secret, please PM me saying so. You don’t have to tell me what the secret is, but jut so that I know)

[b]Up For Love:[/b] (yes or no)

[b]Other:[/b] (For any additional information/anything I forgot)


*Will finish*
Name: Daila Coffey

Age: 17

Gender: Female

Appearance: She's tiny, and pale, and has cloudy eyes, but besides that she doesn't look as depressing as she is. She has bright and shiny hair, and is always dressed in dainty clothing. She's always on the tips of her toes, even as she walks.

Spoiler

City: Yenta is a really nice city, about middle class standards. It's normally very humid there, so the air is heavy. It makes physical pain seem worse then it is at times, cramps feel worse, headaches feel worse, ect. It's just the humidity, though. They seem to have an odd fetish with paving everything, you don't see a lot of green in Yenta.

Personality: She's a delicate person, she's careful with everything she does. Every move she makes is planned, and every touch she makes is gentle. It's not often you'll see her thrashing around like a feral cat. When she does, it's because you should probably run as well. She's not known to sit there and let herself get beaten or killed, but she isn't much of a fighter either.

Her face usually shows only sadness, even when she isn't upset over anything. People don't really like talking to her, because she either doesn't respond to them, or depresses them with what she says. Despite the fact that most people dislike her, she is always there for them. It seems almost impossible for her to hold a grudge against anyone.

She has this resentment of being touched. Which is common in abuse victims, but she only flinches away when her skin is touched. She's more upset by people touching her hair, especially in a petting fashion. If you give her the chance, she will try and make herself seem bigger and tougher then you. It makes her feel a little more empowered, and safe, even if it's at someone else's sake.

Flaws/Weaknesses: She can't swim, she's afraid of the dark, she can't stand the cold, and she has an odd fear of having her hair touched.

Skills: She can dance, if that means anything, and she can fit into small spaces.

History: Since she could remember, she was constantly abused by her father's drunken rages. A drunkard was a rare occurrance in Yenta, so he was often the subject of gossip. When Daila was just six, her mother disappeared. Daila knows that her mother left to find a better life, because her mother had told her of her plans.

She never came back for Daila, so she sometimes wonders if her mother found a better family. Her father tells her it's her fault her mother never came back, because she's a horrible daughter, and she believes him. She never understood why people refused to help her. There were often times she'd be out in town and people would point and whisper.

She did find some refuge, though. Dancing. She'd sneak out when she was supposed to be doing chores or fetching him more booze and practice twirling to the nonexistent music. She was getting really good at it too, until her father stopped her from doing it. He restricted her to the house and went out himself, there were often nights Daila went without eating. She didn't care anymore.

Up For Love: Yes

Other: Nothing I can think of.

Name: Ryker Steffans

Age: 21

Gender: Male

Appearance: Ryker has dark hair thats cropped awefully short. His skin is tanned a light brown and he has a light shade of green eyes. Ryker stands at about six foot six and is all muscle. He has multiple tattoos and tries to stay clean shaven, but it doesn't always work that well.

Spoiler

City: Heshan is the city Ryker grew up in, and has lived his entire life as a soldier in the Mayor's army as well as a hardened black smith and stormwatcher. The city sits upon a cliff face, a fifteen hundred foot drop straight down that overlooks a vast valley with multiple vineyards, which are the main components in almost all of the wine in the word, making Heshan a very rich city. On the oppisite side, however, sits a vast sea, complete with a docking harbor and beautiful, bright water. Heshan, despite its beauty, has countless, economy threatening storms, all of which Ryker and his family have looked out for for years. Its because of them that the town thrives. The town's king and queen are rarely within their home, always travelling across their kingdom and lending a helping hand, and Heshan, other than being known as the City of Wine, it tends to be one of the friendliest cities as well. The buildings are all made up of marble and stone, decorated as a modern day Italian town.

Spoiler

Their vineyard (even though you can't see it)


The cliff face of town


The harbour side

Personality: Ryker, despite the fact that his jar is "anger and rage" can be a real romantic every now and then, and he's a really sweet young man to his loved ones. His temper does get the best of him, most of the time and he really does regret it. He's very hotheaded and usually thinks before he acts. Throughout his years, he's used strength training, blacksmithing and weight lifting in a way to channel his anger, which leads to him being very buff, and having a lot of muscle. He laughs in the fact of anger, most of the time, but doesn't think before he acts, leading him to pull some stupid stunts now and again. He loves to go off alone, or with his sister, and just sit and think, stare up at the stars and so on, but he'd never admit it.

Flaws/Weaknesses: Ryker lets his anger get ahold of him, and usually during the worst of times. Rather than thinking out things rationally, he's the kind of person that dives right it, believing his brawn makes up for his lack of strategy.

Skills:

History:

Up For Love: Yesssssss!

Other: Has a rather boisterous, white speckled hawk that fancies staying on his shoulder or on his back, depending on its mood.

Name: Ciel Letear

Age: 18

Gender: Male

Appearance: Raven hair with blue eyes; he has a patch over one of them. He is fairly handsome, almost feminine but not quite. He has a lithe build, almost fragile but not. He wears clothes typical of a young man in Aaroaz.

Spoiler

Ciel-Phantomhive.jpg (22 KiB) Viewed 1387 times

City: Ciel hails from the city of Aaroaz. A large city bustling with art and creativity, most of its inhabitants are fairly educated, even the lower classes. It stands in the plains, a forest bordering closely on the west side of the walls. While thought and ingenuity are highly valued, the society of the city borders on repressed and sometimes overwhelmingly observant. The clothing reflects this; while gowns and coats look pretty with their frills and ribbons, at times they appear to be more noticeable than the person wearing them. The roads are stone-paved; rickety and sometimes dangerous. The houses are brick-and-cement; while the lower classes usually have small and somewhat unfinished-looking houses, the rich have grand and obfuscating mansions. Here, gender equality is limited; if a woman has 'the qualities of a man', she is highly applauded, but it is doubtful whether she will go far.

Spoiler

A street in Aaroaz.

Victorian_art_Grimshaw_John_Atkinson.jpg (101.88 KiB) Viewed 1341 times

Personality: While Ciel is highly intelligent and observant, he is also a tad spoiled and selfish. A difficult child from an early age, the only thing he had found solace is in books, which made a great deal of use out of his photographic memory. Although he is an ingrained skeptic of matters that can't be proven, he was exposed to the occult at any early age and he pursues the matter almost doggedly, even as far as making contact with some self-proclaimed "witches", much to the disappointment and frustration of his family. Despite his usually serious demeanor, Ciel is also a bit of a mischievous romantic, and while he may try to hide his obsession with fantasy novels, a bit of an adventurous one too. He also has a taste for the exotic and unusual.

Flaws/Weaknesses: He tends to think of things logically, and emotional depth is often foreign to him. He also has a tendency to focus on a certain thing and follow it to the end, even if more important matters arise. As mentioned above, he is also spoiled and selfish; he tends to dominate people into doing things for them, but this makes him physically weak as well. He is also incredibly inquisitive and doesn't know the meaning of "curiosity killed the cat" very personally.

Skills: His mind-reading abilities and his photographic memory, obviously. He also has some working knowledge of witchcraft and spells, and will not hesitate to use them on anybody threatening him or his own.

History: One of the heirs to the most prestigious families in Aaroaz, Ciel was spoiled rotten from an early age by his parents. When he was barely a year old, a younger daughter was born to the Letear family, who soon disappeared, kidnapped and spirited away. Ciel, barely walking by then, has no recollection of the incident, but found out later about her; it was during his search for her that he ran into his first experience with the occult. A young girl was cursed by her sister to die a spinster, and not long after that the girl had sickened and died. While he had dismissed this first incident as a fluke, subsequent run-ins with witchcraft made him into a believer, to the point of him taking it up as a legitimate study, much to the dismay of his parents. Up to now, he is still trying to find a spell that will enable him to find his sister.

Up For Love: Of course!

Other: He has a small pet fox named Ridan that usually follows him. Sometimes it also stays on his shoulder, depending on how he's feeling at the moment. It looks like this:

Spoiler

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Name: Ayenna Hyesu

Age: 17

Gender: Female

Appearance: Ayenna has very long, wavy light brown hair and bright hazel eyes with flecks of amber. Her skin is fairly pale. Most would assume that she is beautiful, or at least quite pretty, but facially, this isn't quite the case. Her eyes are a mite too big, her hair is thin, and her nose is quite rounded and large. Her lips are full, but if you look closely enough, they look just slightly lopsided. Her complexion is far from clear - she has tons of freckles around her nose. She's isn't ugly, but she's definitely not the most desirable girl in the world. (litotes) Her body, however, has a very sweet demeanor. She has an excellent figure with soft curves and well-toned legs, and she's a decent height - around 5'5''. Her feet are her favorite part of her entire body - they have such a delicate shape, and she decorates them with rings and strings of beads often.

Spoiler

This is her at her best, when she's been made-up for dances or big events.

City: Reselidor. It's a very well-built city, and the people seem to adore stone. The buildings are made of stone, things are decorated in marble, the ampetheter is stone, the arena... stone. They don't like wood much here. The city is what could be described as a miniature Ancient Rome, though there are some very key differences. For one, there is no emperor - there is a queen, and the rulers always have been queens. Women of high rankings are sacred beings, and allowed to do anything they wish. The high-up women are never promised to a man - the men are promised to them. If they want to be feminine, they can be just that. If they want to be warrioresses, they can do that, too. The lower-class women, however, don't have such an easy life. They're treated like women were always treated, forced into marriages, thrown around like trophies and prizes... lower-class women just weren't sacered. There were many slaves in Reselidor - though this law wasn't introduced until the last queen's reign. Some are treated well, some aren't. Many have come to Reselidor, claiming that Hestoa is disgusted by the city. Their gladiators and games, their slavery...
Reselidor sits in the middle of a dry area of land, though it's not quite a desert. It's very hot there.

Spoiler

Personality: Ayenna is, as her jar demands, a very firm believer in innocence and morals. The thousands of crued paintings and sculptures in Reselidor made her blush and look away, the thought of men killing each other at the games made her sick, and the very assumption that women are thought of as more than men makes her uneasy. (She believes in equality) She is a typically sweet girl... to other women. They don't threaten her innocence at all. Not fellow slaves, anyways. To men, however, she can come off as cold and indifferent - not cruel, just... uncaring. She says that this is to protect herself, she's honestly afraid to get too close to men, particularly those she's felt attracted to. But just because she acts like she doesn't care, doesn't mean that it's true. Ayenna is a happy girl, and if anybody needs her - even a handsome man - she'll be there to help.
Ayenna never speaks out of turn, never looks anybody in the eyes when she's speaking (she was taught that it was disrespectful), won't touch anybody or reach out to anybody physically without consent and has very natural serving instincts. The first thing she thinks about around others is making them comfortable and seeing to their wishes. Even in the ruins, you can tell that she was a slave girl before this. She's submissive and far too polite for her own good.
If you do allow her to speak, she will, and if you let her, she'll talk for hours on end. If you allow her to break out of her little slave-girl demeanor, you'll begin to realize just how short her attention span is, and how she can't stay on one topic for more than a few minutes at a time. She says that she serves with pleasure, but after you get to know her... you'll know that this really isn't the case.
One thing that shocks people about Ayenna is that she's a thrill-seeker. Often, if nobody's looking, she'll run out and roof-jump, climb trees... anything to get an adrenaline rush. She tells nobody of this, though, and the only way anybody would ever know is by watching her.

Flaws/Weaknesses: Ayenna is extremely submissive, and will do nearly anything she's told without question - even if it affects her belief in moral. She feels that she doesn't have a choice when she's told something. She doesn't know how to stand up for herself, and if she has something to say, she won't say it unless somebody specifically tells her to. She's sweet, but at first she's very shy. She can't stand when people laugh at her, or call her ugly. The fact that she likes to show off that she has a good body goes against her morals, but it eases her insecurities about her looks. She can't fight for the life of her, and couldn't hold her own in a fight against much of anything. She takes every insult, playful, sarcastic or otherwise seriously, and honestly can't tell when somebody's joking or being sarcastic. Everything - absolutely everything - is taken to heart. She startles very easily, and has fainted of fear in the past. She's clausterphobic and very afraid of being alone in total darkness. She has recurring nightmares and avoids sleep because of them, often leaving her extremely exhausted during the day.

Skills: Running and jumping and agility - she relies on her speed to break away from fights. As a slave girl, she knows all of the basics. Cooking, cleaning, basic medical care, she knows how to care for children and adults alike, and she does a good job. She knows what herbs do what, and what scents calm or give energy. All of those things come very naturally to her. She also has a very bright mind if you let her use it, and is very creative. When she could, she would paint or sculpt or sketch - and she's become very good at it. She makes wooden sculptures, blows glass, and she's even gotten into making metal ornaments. She's sweet, and knows how to listen and bite her tongue and keep her emotions in check until nobody's looking. Oh yes, and she can dance. Well. It was one of her tasks. She has a very sweet voice, and surprisingly very, very good aim. She would make a good archer if taught by the right person.

History: Ayenna was born in a different city, though she doesn't know which one it was. (It was Aaroaz) She was taken captive when she was only a few months old by illegal traffickers, and brought to Reselidor. She was raised by the men who took her, who had pretty much nothing to do with her at all. She was sold at age nine to a sweet widow who cared not for Reselidor's ways. Her husband had died and she needed somebody to help look after the house. She was treated more like a daughter than a slave, and that's what she called her master - Mama. (Her name was Arrilayn)

However, when Ayenna was only eleven, Arrilayn was forced to sell everythings he owned due to a financial crisis that Ayenna didn't understand. She was sold to a very wealthy family, who weren't cruel to her, but they were definitely neglective and they tended to doll out punishments for small things. This is where Ayenna was whipped into her slave-girl self and taught obedience and submission. Lucky for her, the husband was faithful, and they had no sons. She always dressed in fairly scanty clothes, which was typical for the entire household - not just the slaves. She was taught to dance, and danced she did. She was their entertainment, and knows a good deal about music, though she was never taught to play anything. She's always wanted somebody she could dance with, though she didn't dare say this.

In the night, she would somehow get past the family and the guards, and roof-jump and look for other thrills to pass her time. Most people find the fact that she's so clausterphobic and afraid of the dark contradicting for this, but she doesn't care what they think. Outside, she has the stars and the moon and street lamps - she doesn't have to cram herself into tiny, enclosed spaces, and when her adrenaline's rushing, she doesn't startle nearly as easy. It was an escape from nightmares, as well.

Nobody knew about her powers, though she used them secretly during dry-spells. Despite her past and her past, she really is happy and thankful for all she has.

Up For Love: Yes, but you'll have to be careful with her trust.

Other: She has a bright blue jeweled belt that she always wears. It was a gift from Arrilayn for her services before she had to sell her. Her new masters had tried to take it from her, accusing her of stealing, but she's managed to keep it with her.
She also won't cry or scream if you hit her - she'll assume that she deserved it. She'll even go as far as apologizing for angering you, even if she hadn't really done anything.

EDIT: No definite spot taken, so I won't claim any jars yet.

Name: Damien Vocifero

Age: 17

Gender: Male

Appearance:

Picture:

Spoiler

Face:
Long spiked red-orange hair to the right. His eyesbrows are black and thin for a man, his eyes are golden and they're outlined well. His nose is straight and thin, his lips are thin, straight and a light colour. All in all his features are rather small except his hair which is the average length with long hair for a man.

Eyes:
One look into those eyes and people melt, they see him through and through. It's an exhilarating feeling, and coming eye to eye is like seeing a flash of his whole life before your very eyes.

Body:
His neck is slightly bigger in proportions to his head, his shoulders are rounded and powerful. He is thin and has a large chest, his arms are very muscular and strong. He has a very good grip with his hands, because of his use with a staff. His legs are straight and thin and are used to running and jumping so are very strong aswell.

Shadows - Half his face is shaded and his body is shaded under his cape.

Clothes:
Shirt - He has a red shirt with yellow vertical stripes all the way around, he has a shirt tail at the front and at the back, his collar is open and up.

Trousers - Jean type, His trousers are dark brown, nearly black. It has gold threads with a simple design, a line leading from about 5 inches below his knee, circling a gold spot where his knee is, the lines split up into two to go around the circle and the lead from his knee up too around 7 inches below his belly and goes round the back of his leg to join up to the other side. This pattern is on both legs. He also has a gold coloured belt with a large circle to attatch it.

Gloves - His gloves are the same colour as his trousers (dark brown, nearly black.) It also has the gold threads but has a different design, an outline near the wrist part of the glove and 3 circles just below the wrist part of the glove, there is a circle between the top two 3 circles. The shape of the wrist part is different it has two points at the front of the glove.

Top Cape - Same colour but lighter due to all his clothing under his cape is shadowed. He has a similar design to his gloves and trousers, (only at the top) there is a golden circle going around it with two circle spots at the front of the cape at the sides, that's where the pattern stops, it also is outlined with thick gold thread also. On the collar though, which is up, theres a seperate pattern with two circle spots at the top corners of the collar. At the bottom of the collar there is two golden lines with a small width between the two, then they join up at the end with a circle spot in between where they join up on either side of the collar. It is attatched by a button from under his collar.

Bottom Cape - It is a long white cape outlined with the same gold thread and has a raindrop shape with another circle with a spot in, this is on the either side of the cape at the front. At the bottom the cape is spiked.

Staff - It is a very long wooden pole attatched by to a wooden rectangle, it is decorated with the same golden thread. The top of the staff looks like a sun, made with material with triangle that spikes out like the rays, It also has quarter of a sun item on the bottom of the staff attatched from the end of the wooden rectangle to the pole on each side. Damien feels very attached and bonded to this and wouldn't know what to do if it broke, he'd be more emotional than he'd ever been before...

City:

Picture:

Spoiler

Morfaz | Morfaz is a majestic city surrounded by large walls of a stone with a single entrance, this closes at 10:00, no-one can get in or out after that time, accept from above, which is near impossible with the armed guards at every tower on the wall. Further into the city there is another wall, inside this there is the Cathedral, Main Square and Town Hall. The town itself uses the same colourscheme throughout the city, light yellow-brown brick and brown roofs. Most people there keep themselves to themselves and try to avoid any conflict. Keeping that emotion in is hard though and you often see people crying, when they do let out this negative emotion it's deafening to civilians and the others around try to comfort that person as much as they can.

Personality: Damien is a strong willed person who is very intelligent for his age. He is very observent and often stays silent for moments to view people and take in knowlege of there likes, dis-likes and habits. He also uses this as a technique against enemies because he believes that any person can defeat someone physically. But if someone can defeat someone mentally, they can be scarred for the rest of there life. Damien likes socializing and often greets people with a smile and is always talking to people. Though he prefers to talk to girls than boys because most of the time he acts more femenine more than masculine. He is very flirty and cheeky!

Flaws/Weaknesses: He won't stop until he proves somebody that he is right and they're wrong. This has had disastrous effects in the past. He is also very fond of his staff and won't let anyone touch it unless he trusts them, with absolute certainty. If someone would to snatch it or steal it he would rather be raging, or crying. That's his emotions weakness, that's Damien's Flaw. Damien thinks his staff holds the spirit of the sun, and is often found talking to it, somepeople even think he listens to it also.

Skills: He is very good at using his staff as a weapon, it surprisingly very stable and has never broken, since he crafted it.

History: Damien grew up to a rich family, his father was a warrior who brought alot of wealth to his family, determined to follow in his fathers footsteps, he had other ideas of a warrior. He wanted to fight with something...different, he wanted to be unique. That's when he found "The Staff" He was out hunting in the nearby forest. Thick with tree branches and brushes. As he was ambling through the whipping branches he saw a bright light in the corner of his eye, he whipped around. Tree branches poking into his face and leaving gashes and scratches. As he turned towards where he saw the light, he saw nothing. But some force was pulling him closer to it, like he was bonded to this.

There he followed this unfamiliar force dragging him towards a clearing. No trees, just grass, it didn't even look like an animal inhabited this small clearing. In the centre of the clearing was a small branch. Except this was very peculiar, for it was smooth and the bark had fallen off, like driftwood. Damien ran his hand down the back of the staff, shivers crawled down his spine. He came home with the staff in his hands. For three straight days he started cutting it into shape, adding parts, until it was finished. Over the years Damien has become attached, or rather bounded to this staff and actually talks to it and listens to it. He now understands from it's wisdom that this staff beholds a spirit of some sort, very fond of the sun. Other than that he lived a rich boy life training to become a warrior with a variety of weapons, including hand-to-hand combat, with the mysterious unlocked wisdom of this sun spirit "G'reth."

Up For Love: Yes!

Other: Nothing much, just that the spirit in the staff is called G'reth.

Name: Elua Barsola (uh-loo-uh bar-soul-uh), but often goes by Elu (ee-loo).

Age: 17, two months from eighteen.

Gender: Female

Appearance: Elu's kind of on the pale side, with traces of her childhood freckles. Her eyes are sky blue, slightly tinged with green, and often framed with thick makeup. Her wavy, ginger hair is often tangled if it's not pulled back in some sloppy updo. She has a nose ring... well, give her a break, it was a lost bet. She's small: five foot three and barely breaking a hundred pounds. Her clothes are usually torn and stained, but she pulls it off so that it looks high fashion. She carries an upbeat, uncaring attitude; she doesn't quite slouch and doesn't quite stand straight, doesn't quite bounce and doesn't quite drag her feet. It's a look that's strictly Elua.

Spoiler

City: Uabai: the party city. It's famous for its towers and constant liveliness. It doesn't matter what the hour is, someplace in the city is always pounding with music and being rained on by colored sparks. Elu looked up to a constantly colored sky (bright, wild fireworks are part of the culture), walked on streets littered with shattered dishes thrown by the drunk, and was raised since she was fifteen in one of the most important party spots- the Public's Palace, a sprawling, majestic building with high ceilings and lavish decorations that houses children from five to eighteen who wouldn't have a home otherwise.

When you first step into Uabai, you think it's beautiful. There's gold, marble, and glass everywhere, and the air is pristine. But then you notice the details. There's people passed out or dead in the alleys. There are cracks in everyone's facades. There are scorch marks on the roofs and the "gardens" are overrun with weeds. The king and queen never speak to their people, and there is close to no law. The tall, magnificent towers that multiply the further in you come are unstable, and death by falling is as common as sneezing, both accidental and intentional. The weather is usually cool in the summer, and deadly cold in winter. Rain occurs at least twice a week, but that doesn't stop the explosions in the sky.

Personality: Elu comes off as a very happy-go-lucky party girl. She smiles a lot, and she's got a good face for it. She laughs as often as she talks. Just like her jar would have it, she's just generally a happy person. She wants to do the same for others, too- she wants them to be happy so she can feel the same way. She is... was... a good friend, and is always ready to put others in front of herself. She was ranked highly in her circle of peers because of her happy demeanor and willingness to help. However, she does have trust issues, which could be why she made it so high up in popularity. She doesn't want to talk about her own problems, so she listens to another person's. It got too much sometimes, having to lock up all her pain, and she'd sneak off into Uabai's cool air. She loved the peace, but the silence unnerved her.

But under layers and layers of genuinely glowing joy, her core is jaded, bitter, and lost in the past. She craves joy more than anything else, and so she hunts it down. She refuses to return to what she used to be full time- harsh, hard skinned, and cold. She's seen and lived in the worst parts of Uabai, and can handle tough blows to her pride. Years of handling youth parties has taken her dignity- she won't be the one to squeal at walking through filth or cleaning up gruesome messes. She doesn't want to be that Elua anymore, but she knows that it's still in her. So she wrapped her fear up with parties and friends that weren't ever there for her, convinced that she could change.

Flaws/Weaknesses: Because of past habits, she tends to get violent, landing her in trouble a lot. She doesn't do a great job of hiding her emotions when they're really severe; just a tinge of sadness won't make her smile dimmer, but a huge flare of anger will turn her into a totally different person.

She's known for not caring at all who you are- doesn't matter if you are the princess and heir to the throne of Uabai, she will treat you just the same as anyone else. She doesn't know how to say how she feels, and will never say if she feels sick. This has lead to several close calls on her part. She doesn't give out her true respect and trust until she is absolutely certain you deserve it. It could take years.

She has a paralyzing phobia of chains and cages. She hates seeing people and animals in captivity, and always has to look away. She also has a bad fear of wild animals. If it has fangs, claws, and is coming at her, she will not hesitate to hit it, hard. She hates being confined in any way, and is claustrophobic.

Skills: Very strong in fist fighting and with short to medium length blades. She's a fast runner and reacts quickly to sudden changes. She can take a high amount of pain and has no problems with wetness or the cold. She has very good hearing and can pick out a single whisper out of a cacophony of live music, yells and whoops, and breaking glass. She's actually decent at playing pipes, and telling clever white lies comes naturally to her.

History: For the first fifteen years of Elu's life, she was the "property" of one Sir Jerrel, who sold her into the most violent part of Uabai's underground when she was seven: the Fights. It was like dog fighting, but instead of canines, children were thrown into the ring. If they didn't fight, they would be whipped and beaten. Elu learned fast and gained her owner a lot of wealth. She was the best fighter in the ring, but she was chaos inside. The human part of her wanted to be loved and wanted to escape her life, but the fighter in her wanted to see the blood, wanted to know that she had won.

When she was fifteen, she had learned how to hide her battling emotions from Jerrel. She was going to kill him instead. She had planned it all out, and she had her heart locked in a box so that it wouldn't interfere. When she went into his bedroom that night, with the knife in her hands, he was already dead, poisoned from someone who had lost money because of betting against Elua. She ran right away, and she showed up at the Public's Palace with a knife in her shaking grip and indescribable relief glistening in her eyes.

She can't forget what she's done. She will always remember those fights; she will always remember how flesh felt under fists, and how her flesh felt under his fists. Some part of her cared for Jerrel, and that's what she refuses to think of. She has no family; all she has is that old knife and the memory of battling for survival every night without any reward.

Up For Love: Yes- please contact me first!

Other: Hates the name Lulu. With a passion. Often snuck up to the rooftops of buildings, or the top terraces in the towers, to savor how beautiful the fireworks were.

Name: Carin

Age: 11

Gender: Male

Appearance: At 11, Carin is in the middle of a long-awaited growth spurt and has finally hit the height of 4'6". Underneath the layer of dirt that usually coats his skin, he is quite tanned, and has blonde hair that has been bleached by hour under the sun. His eyes are a greenish brown, and he usually has a mischievous grin on his face.

City: Neppa - This is the slum city, one that is surrounded by oppressive heat and sands from the desert that surrounds it on all directions. It is closest to the city of Reselidor, but other than that is quite distant from the other cities both geographically and politically; there are few solid trade links with any of the other cities and Neppa is rarely considered to be a useful ally.
In Neppa, people watch their backs. Smiles and kind words are exchanged, but trust is not easily given, and alliances are based upon necessity rather than out of emotion concerns. The few wealthy people of Neppa distance themselves from the slums and are rarely seen by the normal people.

Personality: Carin is dependant upon himself above all others and takes little heed of warnings or advice from others. He is quite loud and boisterous in expressing his opinions towards things, and is still at the age where deeper emotions are very black-and-white, and for the most part, 'icky'. On the whole he doesn't have a great deal of respect for the emotional things adults worry about, commenting on them in either an incredibly profound or an incredibly stupid way.

He rarely thinks of the consequences of his actions, diving into things without a second thought. After all, what's to lose when you already live in the slums? He sees warnings as unnecessary caution, and severely overestimates his own abilities. When he is held back from doing something, usually by an adult, he has a tendency to try and sneak around them to do it anyway - when this works he is overcome with smugness. On the occasions when his recklessness gets him into trouble, he is rarely capable of taking the blame himself and tends to try and place it on other things.

Flaws/Weaknesses: Obviously, Carin's recklessness and overestimation of what he is capable of end up getting him in difficult situations on a regular basis.
Aside from this, due to his age his opinions tend to get ignored by those older than him, and he can't really deal with the cold at all as he is used to the extreme temperatures of Neppa.

Skills: Carin is fairly sly, and a very good pickpocket. Anyone interacting with him should expect to find something missing from their person later.

History: As with most people in Neppa, Carin is part of one of the many tight-knit communities bound together by common needs and shady loyalties. People in this group are intentionally left unaware of their familial ties in order to reduce needless emotional bonds between family members, and as such Carin has only an inkling of who his true mother and father are. As with all the others of the community, he defers to the group leader, the one who decides on alliances and has the power to either eject or accept people into the fold.
Within the group, Carin's voice is rarely heard, though he does his duty as one of the younger members by spying on the activities of the other communities, and by trying to reduce their influence in the city either by offering information to his leader or by stealing valuable things from them.

Up For Love: ....no.

Other: I don't think so.

Ayenna / Kelos

A breath, simple and sweet, filled Ayenna's lungs; a breath that she thought precious. She was going to treasure every one of them from here on in. Death was lurking, watching her from the rubble and ruined walls. Elodaya herself had warned them of the deadly nature of the ruins, and Ayenna had made up her mind that if she was to die, she would do it without fear.

Maybe.

She kept her eyes down, only half listening to the others speaking in their hushed, nervous tones. The jar in her hands glowed a deep purple, matching the weapons and the cloak that were now sitting at her feet. All she could do was stare at them, wondering if Elodaya honestly expected her to use them to destroy life. Evil or not, it wasn't hers to destroy. The very thought of killing anything with any of those weapons made her stomach twist. She had watched men die at the games back in Reselidor, and had made up her mind that she wanted nothing to do with the death of others.

She risked looking up through her lashes, head tilting ever so slightly. Everybody looked as worried as she felt, save for the little boy. He looked somewhat frustrated, trying to make himself heard over everyone else. Ayenna softened at the sight of him and forced a smile, waiting for him to look at her before waving him over. His name... what had Elodaya said it was? Corin... Carin? Carin.

She waited for the boy to approach her before kneeling down next to him, not looking him in the eye, speaking softly. "What are you trying to tell them Carin?" She set her jar on the ground next to her, pushing away the fear that it would be knocked to the side by careless feet and broken.

Fear was one emotion that she refused to feel right now.

Her smile broadened. "I'm sure it's a good idea, whatever it is."

Carin

I looked around the room in interest, scowling as I realised within a few moments that I was the youngest here. Great. Now I would end up getting ignored, just like always. Silly grown-ups. I scowled slightly, trying to intervene in the conversation, but getting spoken over every time. They were starting to make plans already, taking about mapping the ruins and splitting the workload, but they were missing what was most important.

Pssh. Adults. Always getting lost in the little details and forgetting what needed to come first. After yet another failed attempt at getting into the conversation, I groaned loudly, turning to sit away from the group and do something else until they all shut up and realised I was right and they should have listened to me in the first place.

My gaze shifted over to the only other person not involved in the argument, a lady sitting quietly, watching with an intrigued expression on her face. As she saw me watching, she gestured for me to come over, and after a short distrustful pause I made my way to sit closer to her. "What are you trying to tell them, Carin?" she asked, and I remained silent, looking over her for a moment with a degree of suspicion. She placed her jar down on the ground on the side further from me, and I shuffled slightly closer.

"I'm sure it's a good idea, whatever it is." she continued, eyes not quite meeting mine as she spoke.

I paused for another moment, then spoke in a fast-paced rush, getting slightly more frustrated with every word. "It's not fair cause they aren't listening and they're being all silly with maps and they're not-" I hesitated, then continued again at the same pace - "they're not thinking about important things like food and where we're gonna sleep and food and, and, erm. And water. And I'm hungry." I trailed off into a mumble, tracing swirls into the dust with a lazy finger and looking at the ground resolutely.

There was a silence, and for a moment I thought yet another grown-up was going to dismiss me. Then - "Well, we will have to go and find you some food then, sir." She stood up then, brushing the dust off of her clothing and glancing around quietly.

I looked up, not really understanding what she was doing, but understanding enough to realise that she was offering me food. Offering food. Freely.

There had to be a catch. I narrowed my eyes up at her. "Why?" I asked, more than a slight trace of suspicion in my tone.

Ciel | Ruins

The hands on Ciel's pocket-watch ticked unnervingly fast; surely the seconds weren't passing by that fast? He clicked his teeth together as he flipped it shut, stowing it away in his coat. He adjusted his hat and looked around; beside him, Ridan curled up, a small firey ball of fur quivering with fear. Ciel 'tch'ed and turned towards his companions; with five of them seemingly having no glint of intelligence in their eyes - at least, to him - he was going to have to do a lot of thinking for them to survive.

Soft murmurs echoed around the room; some of it reminded him of the mansion back in Aaroaz. A draft of air suddenly blew in, carrying a hint of a mist with it. Their environs were already changing; it wouldn't be long until they found themselves lurking in some hideous locale trying to survive. Probably. He rubbed his head, feeling the irritation close in on him He had to call the attention of the others; fast.

He looked around; except for one young boy, most of them seemed to be adults, or at least close to it. One of them glared back; a young man with dark hair and green eyes; the situation of his attire would've been considered scandalous by Aaroaz standards. Ciel smirked at him. No doubt this was one of the more 'uncivilized' ones...

A girl with dark-red hair and cloudy gray eyes stood off to one side, her expression almost heart-wrenchingly sad. Ciel gulped and looked away. Why on earth did he get stuck with the oddballs? It was then that someone tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hello."

Daila

I pressed my back against the wall and let myself slide down so I was sitting against it. I tried to block them out as they argued over who had to do what and how we should go about doing this. I looked away from the group and into the darkness of this strange, ruined town. Who knew what was lurking in the shadows and waiting for us.

I fingered the little glass jar in my hands. The dark blue glow didn't offer as much light as the other jars did. It was a sad shade of blue, the color alone was depressing. Typical. The younger boy seemed to be talking to the rather... cheery girl. I envied cheery people. Always so... happy.

I glanced at the man with black hair, he seemed to be unimpressed with the lot of us. It made my stomach twist. The look on his face reminded me... of a time and a place where things seemed hopeless. A small creature scurried into the darkness nearby. Followed by a low growl.

I imagined the poor creature, cornered. No where left to run as the predictor took advantage of it's small size and ate it. It truly was a dog eat dog world. In my mind.

"We need to get a move on, we can decide on the details later." one voice advised.

"We need to make sure we have everything we need to survive!" another protested.

"Are you sure everyone is here?" pepped up another voice.

"This is everyone, where'd the Dark-Blue go?" Inquired the first voice.

"She's in the corner." stated the black-haired boy, annoyance even flowed through his voice.

It's not like I was sad. It wasn't like I wanted to cry. I just wanted to lay down and quietly go to sleep.

Damien

I've had enough with these people, why can't we all come to a resolution in a peaceful way? No conflict or argument, just calm down...

"Enough!" I stated very loudly, then when I had known I had drawn everyone's attention I began to say what I had to tell: "If we all want to keep our precious jars safe we need, we need to come to a resolution of what we are going to do, it's just us now. No royal heir to rule us, I suggest we each say what we have to say then we can come to a vote."

I just hoped they didn't make me lose my temper, when I do...you'd have to stay away from me. I looked at my dark-green jar emitting the strange light. This'll be of my top priority right now, I need a safe place to keep it safe and protected. But where?

I felt the cooling vibrations of my staff, he wanted a say in something? I was about to ask him what he suggested when I realized people where still looking at me, I drew back then started my conversation. "Where do you suggest I put it G'reth?" I felt the answer come to my mind, "Tie it to the end of the staff, I will protect it."

I was hesitant of it falling off, but I trusted G'reth with my life, and the jar was my life as of now. I searched my pockets for some string, I got a long piece of string and tied it round twice, this was the same string I wrapped it together with, and the parts have never parted. I tied the knot to the jar and moved back into the crowd we're they were saying there views each in turn. I joined back into the crowd, not saying a word, only listening.

Ayenna

They were still arguing amongst themselves- in fact, they were now arguing over whether or not they were arguing. Ayenna sighed, looking back towards the boy, still careful to keep her eyes from his.

"Why? Because you're hungry, and you're absolutely right. We do need food to survive." She smiled sweetly, pushed herself to her feet and brushed her tunic off. "All of their arguing is useless unless we have food, right? And, I suppose that it would be my obligation to serve all of you that food."

Carin blinked up at her, head tilted slightly to one side. "Yeah... I suppose so..." He didn't sound entirely convinced, but Ayenna paid his distrust no mind. He was a child, and as far as her experience went, children were either all to quick to trust, or they just didn't trust at all. This boy seemed to be the latter.

Ayenna glanced back at the group, head tilting at the sight of one girl in the corner. Alone. Sad. Her jar emmited the dullest, darkest blue glow. "Wait here, if you please, sir," she said quietly to Carin. Children were different than adults- you could give them slight suggestions - not orders, just suggestions - and not get beaten for it.

Frowning, she made her way to the girl. Dalla? Dana? It had to be something similar... Daila! That was it, Ayenna was sure of it. Ayenna hesitated for a moment a few feet away, directly behind the man with the staff of sorts. He didn't seem to notice her, just kept on about voting for a leader. Leaders. Ayenna shuddered slightly.

"Excuse me, my lady," she said nervously, having finally reached Daila. The girl looked up, eyebrows slightly scrunched together. Ayenna paused for a moment, only continuing when the girl didn't answer. "I'm... I'm sorry if I disturbed you, but... I was wondering if you would like to come with Carin and myself to... find food?" She cleared her throat awkwardly, completely unaccustomed to asking things of people. Sad and lonely or otherwise. "Everything that they're planning is useless without it... and Carin's hungry..."

She stopped, glancing back at Carin. Much to Ayenna's surprise, the boy hadn't moved. Her cloak and weapons still sat in a pile next to him, untouched. Along with the jar... it could stay there, couldn't it? For a few seconds? Ayenna bit her lip and forced her head to turn forwards, dipped slightly.