MAIN STORYLINE

Vin entered the room and carefully placed the pie on the table where Mantav had pointed, she frowned slightly when he couldn’t see her face, she knew him, Mantav, what was he playing at, everyone knew Mantav in the underworld, the bane of the hunted. She paused slightly, when he asked her name, carefully keeping her back to him. Turning she said, “There is your pie, sir. My name is...” she paused again, hurriedly thinking, torn between false name and real name, “Liz sir, Liz. Why do you ask? It isn’t important.” Vin flicked her eyes towards the doorway, “Now I really need to go and help out downstairs, mornings are always busy.” She noted the gleam in his eyes, Mantav knew something which was rarely good and in these close quarters, without her knives, if he was sent to kill her she was in trouble, but, he wouldn’t know she was who she was, few knew she was even female, let alone undercover in Ralvas.

"I'm just curious as to why an assassin who calls herself Hunter is working as a waitress called Liz." Mantav smiled. No doubt she was wondering why he was there; mere coincidence, that was all, but of course everyone has fear.
He shivered. Almost everyone. There were certainly people who simply too insane, too depressed, too angry. He had a feeling parts of him were a combination of all three.
"I don't suppose you'd know anything about the death of our good king?" He asked.

Vin froze, backing away she looked cautiously at Mantav, "Sir, I don't know what you are talking about, now can I please go? I haven't told you any lies!" She looked desperately at the doorway, realising how much of a fool she had been to let Mantav between her and it. She knew he definately knew something, too much in fact and there could only be one reason he was here, she readied her hand near one of the vials of metal.

Mantav's smile vanished. "You know full well what I'm talking about. you are an assassin, Hunter- I met you once on an assignment of my own. And I believe you killed the King."
He raised his hand to forestall any speech. "Look, I'm not here to kill you. It was pure coincidence. If I was going to kill you half the people in this building would be dead."
He twitched suddenly- violently, a spasm now. Mantav doubled over, clutching his head. "No!" He snarled.

Vin leapt backwards as Mantav revealed what he knew, he wasn't generally a lier, no, that was her, not Mantav. As he doubled over she downed her vial of metal and sped through the doorway, slaming it closed behind her. Then she saw soldiers appear at the bottom of the step, they weren't friendly either, they turned to each other and one yelled back down stairs, "We have the assassin! We've found the..." He broked off as Vin burned her Iron and pulled him forwards and her towards him. They collided as she landed foot first into his head, throwing him backwards. She round house kicked the soldiers companion as the first one fell, drew his dagger and slashed his throat all in one fluid motion. One of their companions came up the stairs, Vin burned steel and Iron, blue lines springing up and revealing sources of metal around her, she pushed the first soldier, and pulled the third, causing them to collide halfway down the stairs, tumbling into a heap in the corner of the stairwell. Extinguishing both metals she turned and fled down the corridor towards the next flight of stairs, more soldiers pounding up the first flight, a message going out that the assassin had been found...

Mantav straightened, instantly, and straight backed as a board of wood. Anyone could tell this person was in a completly different state of mind; a smile graced his face, totaly unlike the former one- this was malicious, with no humour whatsoever. The eyes were just as hard as they had been, but cruel.
He drew his surgical knife. It was as long as a short sword, much lighter, and sharper then most scalpels. He also drew a blackjack. Blackjacks in the hands of Mantav could crush part of a man's skull.
And this was no longer Mantav; this was someone completely different and exponentially more dangerous.
He rushed out the room to find Guards ascending the stairs, filling the house. He could hear shouting, fighting.
The smile never wavered, not the slightest inch as he ripped holes in the guards stomachs, slicing open intestines and stomachs. Mantav had learned a lot about human anatomy in the pay of an illegal doctor. Harvesting individual organs was hard, and took precision.
And now he was as perfect, precise as a killer could be.
Not once did a guard even manage to land a glancing blow. In less then a minute 8 dead, armoured and armed guards lay very obviously dead.

OOC: Post as Fontinne Zig oh and can everyone else try to meet up outside Ralvas or something, it's about time we got the show on the road and the group of heroes assembled otherwise this is going to be too easy for the antagonists.

Speeding up the stairs Vin crashed straight into a drunk man who turned and looked at her, "Woah! Looking for company girl?" He remained grinning when Vin burned Pewter and shoved him into the wall, knocking him out. Extinguishing the Pewter she listened to mantav killing the soldiers downstairs by burning Tin instead. Extinguishing her metals she headed back downstairs and while Mantav was standing over the bodies of the soldiers on the stairs crept back into her room, closed the door, pulled out the bag with her things in and began to get changed into the clothing she wore when she was prowling the night, her grey-blue clothing which allowed her to carry her weapons with her. It was time to move on, find her employers, get the money and get out of Corbep for a couple of years, it was about time she went back to Ao Seruld anyway.

Several miles away from Ralvas, slowly approaching it a man in a brown travelling cloak, wearing brown robes, with the hood up slowly treked towards the city, an inexorible pace.

Mantav was breathing heavily, still grinning. No more guards- they'd fled, or their quarry had been captured.
He suddenly fell to his knees, and gasped.
A minute later Mantav came to his feet, looking exhausted, and more importantly no longer like a psychotic killer.
This safe house was now ruined- time to move. He had another in a town on the border of the two kingdoms. It was useful for swift travel, being a big center of transport.
He set off, getting his gray horse and riding swiftly.

Juliet smiled and laughed as she watched the two orphanage's puppies play-fighting.
Fantine smiled sadly. She had to go. Night was a busy time.
She said goodbye to Juliet, the little girl growing sad at the departure of her adopted mother, and went back to her room to read.
Fantine returned to the Madam's house.
The woman only ever called Madam was a stern, formidable one, who ran the business. She glanced up angrily at Fantine as she entered.
"Where've you been? Lucky for you business is slow tonight. I'd have roasted you alive if you kept a customer waiting. Get yourself off home." Fantine managed a nod, her knees weak with relief. She changed into warmer clothes and set off into the later night air.

Vin finally got changed and looking out of the window with tin enhanced eyes watched as soldiers began to approach the now wrecked inn and Mantav leaving the city through a gate, even as early morning mist began to settle over Ralvas, dawn was already up. "Blast you Mantav, get back here." She murmered and launched herself into the sky using Iron and the window frame. Dancing across the rooftops with various pieces of heavy or bolted metal she launched herself over the wall, landing on the horse behind Mantav as he left the city. Pulling out a curved knife from her sash she tapped him on the shoulder, "What do you know Mantav. This wasn't just a coincidence, nothing ever is." She whispered into his ear.

Cultists, lowlifes, invisible ones. They had had a contact inside the orphanage for a while now, one of the children was the child of not one but two heroes, a must have if the great plan was to go ahead. They crept into the building, killing the receptionist and methodically dealing with anyone they came across, a green lining mage leading them straight to Juliet. Several cultists burst into the room, Juliet turned but had no time to scream or shout for help, one of the cultists backhanded her across the face as the other smacked the side of her head with a stout cudgel. "Honoured mage, we have the child." One of the said as the mage stepped into the room, none of them knew who the others were, the hoods helped with that, preventing betrayal in the event of capture. "Very well, I shall take her with my guards, burn this place to the ground, make it look like an accident." the mage spoke with a deep voice, a calm yet dangerous tone to it. A few minutes later, the Orphanage was set on fire, as dawn came, everyone inside, methodically killed bar Juliet who now left the city with the mage and his warriors, no one knowing that they had left other than a strange note left by a traitor, now dead, in Fontinnes house, all the note said was
"Juliet lives, taken."

On the other side of Ralvas three gangs opened fire on each other with crossbows, the gang war of Ralvas was beginning and no one was safe. On the edge of the mountains a young baron, twisted by a mage he had never heard or seen began his campaign to take the throne of Corbep with lethal force, as were several other young nobles around Corbep, the discord was being sowed and in Ao Seruld assassins were approaching their targets, waiting for the message stating the date and time of their attacks to make one co-ordinated attack seem completely random, for it was in secrecy the Cult has strength...

Xu and Coralie had been renting a house under fake names for the last few days. It was nothing special, just an old wooden shack overlooking the sea. But the perfect place to lay low.

Coralie was walking swiftly across the town of Melr. She was wearing a hood, as to hide her face. As she was shopping at a small store, a voice burst through the croud.
"King of Corbep's murderer sighted last night in Ralvas! Read all about it.."

Coralie was relieved. For two reasons. For one, she was not on the wanted list anymore and two, they were one step closer to catching Cibhi's killer. She rushed back to Xu in the shack, and told him the news. Being the person Coralie is, she couldn't wait to get back to Ralvas. She liked being the good guy. Xu was already respected for helping defeating Optimarus, so she wanted to get her name in the books.

Xu walked outside and faced the sea. Eclipse and Genesis were hiding in a nearby wood, and he called them. They arrived in minutes. Xu and Coralie both got on their horse. Then, a magnificent thing happened. Genesis and Eclipse both sprouted wings from their back. Coralie was shocked.

"These are Pegasi?!" she asked Xu,
"Yes, Coralie. Pegasi." he said

both horses looked suicidal as they charged of the end of the cliff. But their wings carried them gracefully into the air, and the flew above the sea, towards Ralvas.

Meanwhile, Shoresaka was too looking out towards the sea. A neigh distracted her, and she looked towards the source of a noise.A black Pegasi and a white Pegasi were cartwheeling through the air, towards Grennendia. They looked happy. Happy, which was something she was not. Not quite. Soon however, she would be happy. Very happy. She looked towards Moon Isle once more. Something powerful was at work there. She shut the door and went upstairs, but not to her bedroom. She went into another room, where the door was glowing. Only she could open it. She placed her hands on the door and it unlocked.

"Sarki? Is that you?" came a crackled voice from within the darkened room,
"Yes, Mother" Shoresaka replied. She hid a dagger behind her back.
She walked over to "mother", who was an skinny, elderly women sitting in a chair.
"Sarki, it's been so long.." mother croaked
"Yes, it has" Shoresaka replied
Mother noticed a glimmer behind Shoresaka's back
"Whats tha-"
Shoresaka plunged the dagger into mothers heart. She died almost instantly. Shoresaka grinned. She was closer to her goal than she had expected.

Fantine opened the door to her small home. It was owned by a landlord next door. She rented for a very cheap sum, as well as helping out with cooking and cleaning in his house as well as hers.
She stopped as she saw the note on her table.
She snatched it up, read it. She stood motionless for some times.
Then she ran to her room, drawing the sword from underneath her bed. She ran out to the front door, wrenched it open, and ran as fast as she could to the orphanage.

Mantav stopped the horse, jabbed backwards with a knife that seemed to appear from nowhere, leaped off the horse and drew a crossbow.
Only then he take in the circumstances.
He did not relax when he saw who it was.
"Hunter, this is unexpected, to say the least. What the hell did you think you were doing?"

Heiwa was on his knees.There were guards around him,a judge at a pedestal above him,and citizens watching.He sighed.Why was it always like this?
Grennendia is going to pot,everyone needs someone to blame.Why was it him?
"....and for allowing the assassin to reach Our Majesty,possibly with intent,we sentence this Norn to Immediate Execution." Said the Judge calmly. The guards drew their swords.
That was when the man in the crowd acted.
He threw a sword to Heiwa,who had been stripped of his weapons.He caught it,and proceeded to stand up and lop off a guards head in one swift movement.
This wasnt going to be easy.
Heiwa shoved away the other guards,and ran into the crowd.Few people tried to stop the crazy man with the sword. He was out of the city gates and on a horse swiftly.
The world was falling into darkness.
-----
Meanwhile,in the Cloud City,an inventor tinkers with his latest creation...

Vin smiled slightly at Mantav, a carriage clattered past, surrounded by horsemen, it sped off into the distance, too far away to catch up with. Inside was the Green lining mage and the stunned and bound Juliet with a couple of soldier cultists. “Mantav, you should know that Hunter always appears when you least expect her. In the form you least expect as well. Now, let me relieve you of those weapons.” Burning iron as she said this blue lines popped up to various things on both of them, she put away her obsidian dagger, back into her sash and then tugged hard on the lines leading to Mantav’s dagger and crossbow, pulling them out of his hands towards her at fair speeds. She stopped pulling and they clattered to the dirt in front of her, where Vin proceeded to pick up the dagger and inspect it while casually standing on the crossbow and grinding it into the dirt with a crunching and snapping sound, the crossbow was now beyond repair. “Interesting Mantav, interesting, you certainly got this from far off places didn’t you. Capita may I ask? Certainly looks well made, now if you would please refrain from pulling out your sword we can talk. Why are you here? What do you know?”

The brown robed and cloaked man was getting closer towards them...

OOC: Mantav never drew his surgical knife.

Mantav snorted. "I have other weapons, witch, not just metal ones. And that is simply an intricate carving knife. From the Dwarves. Why am I here? Coincidence. I finished a job down south, headed north. Happened to meet you. How much do I know? I know who you are. I know what you look like, what you sound like, and likely how you think. I do not know who you work for. I do not much care, to be honest. And I will not compromise you. Business is simply business."

Fantine knelt by the burnt ruins, her hand clenched tightly around both the sword and the note.
She wept silently, partly for the loss of Juliet, kidnapped, but also for the deaths of the children. That hadn't been necessary. It was simply mindless cruelty, sadism. And it was stupid. You'd attract far less attention by kidnapping a girl silently then by murdering everyone and burning the building. Guards were approaching even now.
Fantine stood. She had no idea what to do, how to find Juliet, not a clue how to even start.
As she turned something glinted. She crouched and picked it up.
It was charred, and covered in ash, but recognizable- Juliet's bracelet. Fantine bought it for her on her birthday.
She held it tightly, and slipped it into a pocket.

"Hmm." Said Vin, thoughtfully, she tossed the knife through the air back to Mantav, "I apologise about your crossbow then but I seem to have this spasm whenever someone points a weapon at me and they usually end up like that, however I found that term, witch, highly offensive. I expected better from a fellow master, but everyone can surprise other people one way or another, best not to trust them, to a point. Where are you headed then?" Vin paused and turned around, she could see a man on a galloping horse heading towards them, he was too close to get away from easily. Vin checked on her Iron and steal reserves, "Next big city I need to check up with a metal merchant, my reserves are running low." She burned brass and gently tried to soothe Mantav's anger and distrust, hoping it would work, know that it was too low for him to feel something on his emotions but possibly too low to affect them.

Mantav snarled. He could feel the others surfacing.
"I don't like magic. I'm heading to my own safehouse; If you are not gone by the time I arrive in the town, I may just snap."
He mounted his horse and headed off.

Shiro urged his black, lightly armored horse faster. It was a good horse; he couldn't keep it near his actual house, on the shores of the bay in Capita, but he kept it in the nearest town and took it with him on most trips. It had been reluctant to board the ship to the Mainland, but it was well trained.
He was nearing the Norn. He was a seasoned fighter, as Shiro had guessed; otherwise he would have freed the Norn himself instead of throwing a sword.
There were guards behind them, but they had been too slow to react, and their horses were of poorer stock then Shiro's.
"Norn! My name is Shiro Tagachi. I freed you, and you owe me." He paused to give the horse an extra burst of speed. "The assassin who killed the king was spotted in Ralvas; she is nearby, so my informant tells me. Help me kill her." Shiro was direct, and had a bluntness often mistaken for being rude. No reason to skirt around the point; he needed help to kill a killer, and that was that.

Vin looked out after Mantav, she then called him, "Mantav, wait. Come back! Why don't you like magic? Please, tell me!" She turned dejectedly to watch as two men galloped towards her. Sitting on the roadside, expecting them to be soldiers she muttered, "Here goes nothing..." She quietly prepared herself for an imminent fight, "Should have expected him to turn on me, they always do, can't trust anyone."

Theron looked up as Mantav approached him, he heard a girl calling after the man infront of him, raising his staff he looked up at the man who was obviously a killer, "Laddie," He said to him, "Turn around, go back, that young lady appears quite distressed at your leaving." He spoke in a kindly and friendly voice, one that seemed calming and gently coaxed people to do as he asked. Mantav paused, reining his horse in to look at this strange newcomer.

Mantav paused in the road. Why didn't he like magic? A perfectly reasonable question.
But he could not give the answer.
He thought for a while.
"I just..don't trust it. It's simply unnatural. That power was supposed to belong to Emp-," He stopped. "It was not meant for humanity, or any race."

Vin, looking at Mantav, remained sitting and tilted her head. "I doubt that, Mantav, you yourself use magic in assassinations, stored fire magic? Magic crystals? Besides, how can I not be who I am? I think there is something you are not telling people." Vin looked at Theron who was sitting down in the middle of the road, sticking his staff in the road. He said nothing but took out his notepad and began scribbling fast, "Hmm," he muttered, "Something interesting here, not often two master assassins meet up," He looked at Vin, "Mistress in your case I guess."

Shoresaka went outside of her fortress. It was a rare occasion for her to go outside. The sea air chilled her. It was cold today. Perfect.

She set off to the nearby town outside Barnabii. It took her a short amount of time, Unlike others, who would of riden horse, she chose a more slender, agile creature that reflected her personality. She had transformed into a cunning fox. She lept from tree to tree, more agile than any monkey. She ran as fast as the fastest horse. She waited till nightfall at the small town. It had mostly wooden huts. As darkness fell, it was time to make her move. She turned back into her former self, her eyes glowing slightly in the moonlight. Time to get herself known, she thought. She closed her eyes and spread her arms out at the village. After a few moments, it burst into green flames, illuminating the forest in an eerie green glow. She smiled. The screams delighted her. She intensified the fire. Then, she set off "home" with a skip in her step. When morning came, the village was in peices. Burnt timber littered the ground, with no trace of anybody's remains. Yes, it certainly was getting closer.

Heiwa turned to Shiro.
"Interesting." Heiwa said."And how do I know you helped me?I saw not your face,but only the kindness or hatred of a man who threw a sword at me."He sighed as he continued on."I guess killing the assassin may help me clear my name.But...why do you want her dead?Are you an assassin yourself?"

Shiro shook his head. "I am from Capita- the continent northeast of here. I work to eradicate and protect from evil, be it creatures or humans."
He looked ahead, to the small group of people. He spared them a moment's thought, and turned back.
"Recently the danger has been increasing, worsening noticeably. Do you know of Kirin? they are like big horse, some 10 feet high, most about 8. they are usually benign and pure- but some become corrupted. It's usually very rare, but there's more and more of them recently."
"I think someone is behind it. Maybe not directly, but there's major events happening. I was heading to the mainland anyway and heard the king had been killed. This can be no coincidence. I've no proof, I know, but I always go by my instincts."

Shoresaka checks the silvery moon above Grennendia. Yes, just a few days, she thinks. Not long now. She can feel it building up inside her. Moon Isle is responding to the position of the Grennendian moons. It's near, very near now. Her mother was the only thing holding her back until now. But with her out of the way, Shoresaka is free to do whatever she likes. Destroying that pathetic town was a way of proving to herself she could do it. Nobody's ever been hurt like Shoresaka has. Her sister, twin sister, kidnapped when she was young. Shoresaka could do nothing about it. She felt so weak, so unimportant. But soon, it will be her people will feel weak to. Gemini, which is what shoresaka is, have incredible strong bonds with there Sisters. It's deeper than love; deeper than hate. Something much more magical. Once you cut that bond...Strange things happen.Shoresaka likes the idea of being a ruler, having people bow before your feet. How powerful she would feel..

Meanwhile, Xu and Coralie land at Ralvas. it is the dead of night, and Coralie is on alert to the slightest of sounds. She's not scared; but she's not feeling so confident, either. There walking along an old, dusty path when they hear voices. Obviously, in times like these. you don't like people plotting at night. Xu and Coralie crouch behind some bushes...they can only make out a few words..

"I'm...from Capita....I...eradicate...evil..."
Coralie tries to get a better view of the people. She raises her head above the bush slowly. One is a Norn; she can tell that by his size. The other, she is not sure about. She moves foward slowly, but trips over Xu's leg and faceplants the dusty ground..

OOC: Galox I deleted that because it made no sense. It looked like the thing the language program gives you.

OOC: HAR HAR, my writer's block is over, demolished, finito!

A young man in a signature red coat walked steadily to his house. He wielded a small, rusted key and softly placed it within the lock. The purple shirt showed he was of rich origin, a nobleman. Being a Lorian, he had mastered some magical forms, and with his lightning powers, he lit the room. He walked slowly into a large room, dominated by a large star on the ground, with planets on the ceiling and magical runes etched on the walls in an articulate manner. He placed his staff on its rack and sat down heavily on the soft sofa he had there. He carefully embraced a book, worn with age, but still in good shape. It had a lightning storm on the front, and the picture seemed to move when you looked at it from different angles. It was an Arcana Astra, a copy of the book of Lightning. He was still learning the full extent of his powers.

He opened it gently and began to read, a thimble on his finger gently stroking the line he was reading. It spoke of how to summon lightning mounts for him to ride. He hated the idea of buying a real mount- the price was rediculous. Instead, he considered summoning his own. Through reading the book, he learned he could take a piece of lightning, form it into any creature, and ride it. Interested, he looked down to the formula page....and sighed when he saw this extremely advanced, painstaking spell. It would take him a long time to learn it. Thankfully, he loved walking and didn't mind the setback, for now. Walking was a hobby of his, he would often simply waste time in the open air.

His name was Salvanar, the infamous Lightning Lorian who has little control over his powers, often eletrocuting himself whenever he even thought about the lightning powers he possesses. He was also the master of a Lightning elemental, Izath, for a time, though the elemental did not stay with him for long. It was part of the reason he wanted a lightning creature. He often felt lonely and he needed company every now and then. Afterall, what's the point in being rich if you've got no-one to share it with? As he flipped through the excessively long formula, he decided he would attempt it to the best of his ability.