Birathi: The City of Light (Starting!!)

At the entrance of town a weather beaten sign reads, "Welcome to Birathi: The City of Light." Unfortunately, the sign is old and the words are nothing but lies. The city has fallen into a pit of darkness- caused by a plague.

The plague began with the curse of a Writer (keep reading for more information about the Writer). However, the Writer died before ending the plague, and years have gone by while the people continue to get sick and die. Now more than half of the city is ravaged by plague, and ever body knows of a family member or friend taken by the disease.

Now a new Writer has stepped into place, and a group has gather to force this new Writer to help them remove the plague. Unfortunately, the only book with the spell necessary to take away the plague has been moved to another kingdom. The group has decided to go to this new kingdom- to begin a quest for the cure.

The king (though sick and in bed and preparing to meet death) decided to form a fellowship of five people to journey on this quest for the spell book to end the plague. He decided to send one member of each race to represent the people. An elf, a wizard, a human, a shape-shifter, and of course, the Writer.

The Writer:

Spoiler

The Writer is the only one in the city who can read and write. The Writer uses words, spells, to use magic. However, the Writer's primary job is to record history and write down memories. There is only one Writer at a time, but there is always one. Usually they work for the king, and often they need extra protection, because they often cannot fend for themselves very well.

The Elf:

Spoiler

Elves are very well-fit, with incredible vision and incomparable speed and agility. They are strong, skilled with archery and some specially made swords, they tend to be artistic and creative and thoughtful. They love nature and dislike enclosed spaces, especially buildings. They can talk to animals.

The Human:

Spoiler

The humans often take the position as leader. For example, though it is not a rule, the king is almost always a human, and often positions in the palace are also held by humans. However, humans rely on weapons and do not have the physical abilities to compare to elves. But they are creators and builders, and share a passion for art with elves.

The Shape-Shifter:

Spoiler

The Shape-Shifters are usually the defenders and the fighters. They are strong, fast, ruthless. They can be rash decision makers and may have impulsive personalities, but they are fiercely loyal and will fight to the death to protect someone or something meaningful to them. They are also very loyal to other shape-shifters, and prefer to stay with their own kind rather than mix with the others. Of course, when they shape-shift, they take on the strengths and weaknesses of the animal.

The Wizard:

Spoiler

Wizards are the magic users. All wizards receive a symbol on the palms of their hands- possibly a different symbol on each hand. The wizards use magic to control the elements- though they are limited by their strength, since using magic weakens wizards. The wizards are often very thoughtful and intellectual, and are the least loyal of the races in the kingdom.

The Drifter:

Spoiler

Drifters are said to be made of air. They are not invisible, though they are excellent at disappearing and getting by unseen. Drifters can fly, and communicate with each other through wind. They can talk to non-drifters in this way, too- but it takes extra effort and the receiver often misses the message unless he or she is paying close attention. Drifters cannot fly, exactly, but they can drift, which is basically flying except they can't go more than ten feet up and they can barely control their direction. They tend to daydream and zone-out, and often seem very distant, which can annoy non-drifters insanely.

The Quest:

Spoiler

Travel through the Shaded Forest, across the moors and swampland, and over the ocean to the desert land of Surioy, where the past Writer hid the spell book with the antidote to the epidemic in Birathi.

The Bad Guys:

Spoiler

Scepters: Vague forms that can change their shape to mimic fears or trick unlucky travelers. They do not walk- and leave no footprints.
Crows and Eagles: spies for anyone who wants to hire them. Almost any crow is watching for someone, and it is impossible to know who, in fact, it may be more than one person. Eagles are also spies, but they're big enough that they can also attack when angered or when commanded to by a master.
Shades: Figures made up of darkness. They live in the forest and are excellent thieves and assassins. They are almost impossible to see, and they are fiercely protective of their territory. (The entire forest.)
The Pixies: Nasty creatures that live everywhere- even in Birathi. They are meddlesome, annoying, and have incredibly sharp teeth. Not particularly dangerous, just obnoxious.
The Sea Monster: pretty obvious. You don't want to cross it in the ocean.

Rules: Look on the side.

Profile:

Spoiler

Name:
Race:

Age: (500-800 for elves.[That would be between 15 and 18 relatively] 18-30 for human, 15-20 for the Writer, 200-400 for shape shifters [relatively 20-40 years old] and between 15-40 for the wizard. And between 32-38 for Drifters [relative age is half, so that would be about 16-19)

Gender:
Appearance (I love pictures!):
Personality:
History:
Reason for Joining the Quest:
Up for Love:
Other: (For Wizard; what is your symbol/symbols?)

Spots Taken/ Available:
Human: @Cailey
Elf: @Skyguy
Wizard: @Dante
Shape-Shifter: @janika
Writer: @Stellabeam
Drifter: @NightWolf

I think I covered everything. Ask any questions in the DT!

Well, I'm having a hard time deciding, Wizard or Elf, depending on when I put my profile up is when I will make my choice if someone hasn't asked for one or another. But I will be joining.

Id like the elf, but if you want it dante thats fine, I could do the human. This sounds really fun!

Elf seems to be pretty popular. That was the one I was considering. But I think I will take the Writer and let you have the Elf, Skyguy, and Dante, you can have the wizard? Sound good?

Sure.

Darn. Seems I was too late to snatch the Elf. I'd like to take the spot as Shape -Shifter.

Can I take the Writer? I see that no one has that part yet. Where do I submit the profile?

You sure can. Go on the right hand side where it says "create a character" and it gives you a whole format thing to fill out. It's really neat.

Hey guys! Don't forget to check in at the DT before we start. (Sorry it took so long for me to get the link up. I had some technical difficulties.)

Aryk

"A quest?" I repeated, turning my head inquisitively to ask for my father to elaborate. He didn't say anything for a long time, just sat and ran a hand through his beard and stared off into the distance. He coughed, then, a hard cough that racked his entire body. A vague thought entered my mind that my father had picked up the plague as well. I would be king before long.

I didn't give the thought time to register. After all, my father probably only had a cold. Still, a chill ran through my body at the realization that I had accepted the news with no emotion. I felt like an awful son.

"I'm going," I said then, catching my father by surprise. He opened his mouth- no doubt ready to spit out my full name, all five minutes of it. Instead, he erupted into another fit of coughing. "I'm going to represent the humans," I repeated. The advisers immediately began to complain, telling me how unfit I was and how if anything happened to my father I would need to take his place as king. I was the only heir, and could not be killed on some foolish quest. They thought my father insane for sending the quest; they believed it was doomed to fail.

And they had noticed the cough as well.

My father tried to silence the old men, tried to regain control. Each of the five races were represented in the room, elves, wizards, shape-shifters, drifters, and of course, humans. "You will each choose one member from among your people," my father commanded. Plague or not, he had authority in his voice, a trait I despised.

"Yes sir," responded the wizard immediately. I wondered if he already had someone in mind. Usually wizards were the first ones ready for this kind of thing.

"Of course," the elf responded next, and turned around to nod at the girl standing at the door. One of the Shadow Sentinels. She must have been one of the last ones- many had already fallen to the plague.

"We will find someone," the head shape-shifter gave in reluctantly, though I could see that he still opposed the idea. Shape-shifters had not yet been affected by the plague as hard as the others.

"A fool's errand." The drifter shimmered in and out of my vision while he talked. He was one of the oldest drifters, and had an air of authority that rivaled my father's. However, my father was king, and the drifter was not. "But I will select a participant. We will not be ignored on this quest. If the land is to be saved, then we will take part in saving it."

"And I will represent the humans," I repeated, more fiercely. I tried to make my voice sound as commanding as my father's. I glanced back at my father. His lips were sealed, I knew he did not want to begin an argument in front of his highest advisors. "Whether the lot of you old men like it or not." I could see my words were badly chosen, but none of the others dared contest it. If my father did not object, the others had no place to argue in his stead.

"And the Writer," the elf added. His eyes flashed angrily. Most of the people in Birathi thought all Writers were the same, and none had forgiven the last one for his cursed plague.

"She's nothing more than a child," my father complained weakly, though he also knew that she must accompany the quest.

"The others will protect her," the shape-shifter said, always the most loyal, even on a quest he thought foolish. I waited to see if the drifter would add his opinion, but he stood at the window with his gaze focused on something only he could see.

"I'll keep her safe," I agreed, though I did not hold the Writer in the highest esteem, myself. "We'll all keep her safe."

"Go on then," my father roared at the men. "Get your representatives and have them gather here. They leave tomorrow morning."

"Tomorrow?" The drifter shot up, returning his focus to the room. "What about food, provisions? Too soon, too soon..."

"They leave tomorrow morning," my father repeated, ice in his voice. The men nodded, bowed, and slipped out of the room one by one, until only my father and I remained. "You are a fool," my father chastised me, anger glowing in his eyes. "A fool."

"I was not the one who came up with the idea of a quest in the first place," I retorted, my own anger rising to match my father's. "Isn't it fitting for a fool to carry out a fool's mission?"

I left my father speechless with barely contained wrath. "I will find the Writer," I said before he could explode. He did not answer, and I did not let him. I hurried from the room to find the girl and tell her of her mission, along with a warning that most of the participants would be coming on the quest with biases and prejudices.

"A quest," I muttered as a walked. "to find a book which may or may not exist which may or may not have a spell to counter the plague. It is a fool's journey, after all."

Spoiler

@Skyguy I hope it's okay that I mentioned your character. And @Stellabeam you can take the conversation between Aryk and the Writer discussing the plague if you want. Maybe you can PM the post to me before you submit and see how it works?
And everyone else, the storybook has begun! Enjoy! And get your characters to the palace to make last minute plans and discuss the journey.

I stared at the deserted street, at the boarded-up houses and the rubbish on the ground. The plague had destroyed this city, this once beautiful city. The City of Lights, now a dark cesspool of despair. I began to drift down the street, the breeze behind me choosing which direction I travelled. Beside me, was a barn owl, beating his wings silently as he flew. I knew it would take an exorbitant amount of energy to speak to him, energy that would be better of saved for a more urgent action, but I was lonely, I needed to speak to something, anything. Anyway, it wasn't as if talking to the owl would cost me more than speaking to any earthbound species. The birds was of air, as was I.
"Jay...the palace...a meeting," I said, my voice soft as a summer breeze.
I knew my words were broken to the owl, Jay, but he wasn't a Drifter, like me. Only Drifters could speak fluently to each other. Jay replied, but I wasn't paying attention. I turned slightly to face him.
"Repeat..." I requested.
I felt Jay's irritance, and inclined my head in apology. Though I wasn't sure if he had saw my gesture or not. We Drifters aren't exactly invisible, but it can be difficult to see us.
"Let's go...sneak in...unseen," Jay sighed.
I nodded in agreement, and tried to drift forward. A curse slipped from my lips. Why couldn't we Drifters just fly around? Nevertheless, I soon found myself floating up the palace steps and towards the double doors.

Razieral Demora - Shaded Forest to Birathi's City Gates

Pixies hated Razley as she used powerful winds to blow the little pests away, "blusterous gusts, blow away these bugs!" she commanded. She continued along her way as powerful winds surrounded her blowing away the pixies that annoyed her so. She would soon be to the City of Light, Razley heard of the plague going on there and was soon on her way to offer any kind of services she could. Her staff in one hand, and her walking stick in the other, she continued walking as the winds blew away the pixies.

Later, Razley found herself outside of the Shaded Forest and on the road to the City of Light. But when she saw the city, the light had all but faded. But instead thick black clouds clouded the skies and circled the city. Razley saw just how dire the situation was growing in the city, she feared for her own safety if she was to contract the disease. But she steeled herself, her master would never approve if she turned her back on those who need her help.

As she continued to travail, she saw a number of birds from the city take flight, each headed in a different direction. One of those birds was headed for her she continued walking, soon the bird was overhead and dropped something. Razley caught it as it gently floated down to her, clipping it between her fingers as another one pasted over head, but dropped nothing. Razlet quickly opened the letter and read the contents.

By order of Court Wizard Lady Gellantara, you Razerial Demora are to come to Birathi: The City of Light to represent your people in a Fellowship to clear Birathi of the plague and darkness that have taken over the city. You will be working with other representatives from other species. Your reward for your cooperation in this fellowship is consideration as Court Wizard for the next King of Birathi when the current wizard passes on.

Razley was happy, and her master was right, never turn your back on those who need your help. She continued on her way down the road, she would soon be in Birati.

Katii-The Writer

Katii was sitting on a bench swinging her legs back and forth as she was concentrating on the faded document before her. She was mumbling to herself trying to make sense of the cramped handwriting dictating ways on how to catch and tame a shrew. "Who'd want to tame a shrew? she asked herself.

She looked up, stretched and saw the piles before her and sighed. Katii was trying to reorganize the library, which was in absolute dismay, no thanks to the previous writer,who in addition to being an absolutely evil man was an absolutely disorganized man. She rubbed her head trying to stem the tides of a headache that she felt coming on but before she could contemplate quitting for the night and reading her favorite book, someone entered the room.

It was the Prince. Prince Aryk, the heir to the kingdom. He strode in the room and said abruptly,"The king has commissioned a quest to go find a book that will end the plague. It's supposed to be in a different kingdom, and you are to go with us."

Katii cocked her head in surprise. A Quest? She placed the document on the table and stood up. "A quest? How are we to go? When? Who is coming with us? " A thousand more questions ran through her head but she had trouble sorting them out.

"There will be a representative from each people of our kingdom; an elf, a shape-shifter, a drifter, a magician and a human. "Which will be me." he said the last part abruptly and lifted his eyes as to dare her to challenge him. When she didn't he continued,
"We leave at daybreak. Pack your bags. Bring anything that might be useful in finding this book."

"I need more time! To plan." she squeaked out. "We don't even have proof really that the book is over in the other kingdom. He might've buried it or hidden it in the castle!"

" The king has commissioned it as his last hope. He may be dying soon and he doesn't want to leave his kingdom in the shape that it's in." He shifted uncomfortably for a minute and said," I also wanted to let you to know that there is much prejudice against you from the rest. They do not like or trust you. Your age doesn't help either, you're so young."

"I know." Katii replied calmly as she walked to the nearest shelf and started pulling out books

"What?"

"I know that they are biased against me. Why wouldn't they be? The previous writer, my old master brought upon a horrible plague upon the kingdom that has killed many." She paused bit her lip and said " I just hope I can prove myself to them."

She calmly started packing her satchel and he mumbled," Well, I thought you ought to know," turned on his heel and marched out of the room.

Katti sighed as the door closed and rubbed her temples.

"What am I to do?

~Azya~

Azya sat there, watching everyone go into hysterics over this Quest the King decided was necessary to rid the land of the plague ravaging our lands, and shook her head. If there's a chance for this all to be over, you'd think they would be all for it. It might as well have been an uproar as far she thought.

"Silence!" his voice boomed, and the air was filled with a stillness she'd never felt before.

He spoke. "The King has ordered a Fellowship. One to reverse the wrong done and end the plague that is upon us. A representative from each species will be picked to be apart of this Fellowship to work as one and lay this plague to rest."

No one spoke. No one breathed. No one moved.

"I have called you all here to speak the name of the one who will represent our people in the fellowship." he holds his hand out, and his adviser steps for with a scroll in hand and gives it to him.

This outta be good, Azya smiles to herself. Watching someone go into hysterics over being chosen would be a blast.

"The person chosen to represent is will be," he opens the scroll. "Azya Dragonfire."

The smiles slides from her face, and she sits up as everyone turns to look at her. So much for that.



"You are to pack and be ready to leave by tomorrow at the first sight of Dawn," Lord Hrothgar instructed. "understood?"

"Yes, my lord." Azya bows her head.

He takes a step forward dwarfing her in height. his shoulders so wide they could block out the sun, and arms and legs banded with marble hard muscles from years of sweat, blood, and tears. The Man was well loved and respected by everyone. Because of his size, anyone who didn't know him would find him quite intimidating, be He is one of the most kind and fair people you will ever meet. Most qualities you wouldn't be able to find in most people in a position of power.

"Take off your hood." he said.

She hesitates for a moment, still uncomfortable with not having her hood on, before pulling it down.

"Look at me." he commanded.

Another moment of hesitation before complying.

"Stand." he motions.

Azya pushes off from one knee to stand before him, and he engulfs her in a bear hug and barries her head in his shoulder. She wraps her arms around him and breathes in his familiar scent. She'd miss him, the closest thing she had to a father, so very much.

"I'd send anyone else if I could," he says into my ear. "but you're the only one I have faith will return here unharmed."

Azya kisses his gruffy cheek and replies, "I know."

Lady Belle stepped forward to touch his arm. "Come now. She has to pack. You can say your good byes at daybreak tomorrow."

He steps back, as does Azya, pulling her hood back over head. Nothing more is said as she turns to pack her things and ready herself for the quest ahead.

Aryk

Aryk awoke with a start early the next day. He knew that the others would probably not arrive for at least another hour, but he could not force his eyes to stay closed. Instead, he jumped out of bed and got dressed as quickly as he could, then moved out of the palace to wander the gardens. He didn't like flowers, but the solitude in the garden was nice, and it gave him a chance to realize what he had just agreed to do.

"I'm going on a quest?" he mumbled into the air, almost laughing at the sheer strangeness of it all.

A noise interrupted his thoughts after a few minutes, and he followed the pathways back to the main palace entrance. A train of people was curled around the palace wall, waiting. Probably just curious peasants who had heard about the quest.

He was about to leave when one of them noticed him, and slipped out of the crowd to come and talk. "Who chose you to represent the humans?" the speaker was a knight- big and strong and extremely intimidating.

"The King," Aryk said a little too harshly, "may he live a long life," as an afterthought, though he doubted the necessary phrase that came when speaking of the king would come true. "If you'll excuse me, I need to get back inside. I need to prepare."

Aryk managed to get away somehow, but his heart had jumped to his chest and he wasn't sure if it was out of anger, annoyance, or a small bit of fear. Inside the palace the others had already gathered, and he entered the room silently.

"The members of the quest," the King said in a deep voice. Aryk bowed his head respectfully when his father caught his eye. He realized that he could at least leave with a good impression, since his father might not be alive when the quest returned.

"The Human," his father said, motioning at Aryk. Aryk knew he should have introduced himself, but he hated the cruel sound of his full name.

"Aryk," he introduced himself, standing as tall as he could. "Pleased to represent the humans in this quest." He then bowed his head as a sign of respect for the others in the room.

"Katii, the Writer," Aryk hadn't expected Katii to speak up. He wondered if maybe she was trying to prove her worth right from the beginning. He couldn't help but respect her a little for having the courage to speak.

"The Elves," Aryk's father turned to the small cluster of elves in a corner, all of them looking well poised and prepared for anything.

"Trisianna," answered a young girl, one of the remaining Shadow Sentinel. She was the one who had been present when the quest was first suggested.

"The Shape-Shifter," the king then turned to the shifters and waited as a girl embraced the leader and the old man wiped away a tear. Aryk rolled his eyes at the show of affection, but stopped himself when he noticed the representative, who did not look like the little girl in need of affection that he had imagined. She looked tough and threatening from the other side of her dark purple cloak.

"Azya," she said into the air.

The wizard, on the other hand, looked every bit the part of a child. Aryk wanted to make a face at her tiny frame and innocent looking eyes. She stepped away from the other wizards and spoke in a quiet voice. "Razley, representing the wizards."

Aryk tried to catch a glimpse of her hands to find her symbol. All he could see was the sun on one hand, and he groaned inwardly. A sunshiny child.

And all of the representatives were girls. At this he formed his mouth into a deep frown, though he tried to conceal it. It should be a blast going off into the middle of nowhere with a bunch of girls, right? He sighed and tightened his fists. They better know how to defend themselves. He would not be playing the knight and spending the journey rescuing damsels in distress.

It was at that point that he realized the Drifter had not been introduced. He scanned the room and turned to catch his father's eye. The king looked a little bit worried, and a lot bit annoyed. However, the party was still half an hour earlier than the scheduled time. The Drifter was not late. Yet.