Merry Met, young traveler and welcome to the kingdom of Tremaine!

While normally a peaceful and prosperous country, Tremaine has fallen upon hard times of late. The King, Randolff Summers has fallen terribly ill, the healers have no idea what is causing their King's health to fail and as a result, the peace-treaty talks with the neighboring (not to mention dangerous) country of Detrimain to the north has fallen apart, the Royal Family's attempts to save the treaty-talks have all failed and now, two months later with the King's death emminant, they've given up hope...all of them however except for Randolff's youngest daughter, Lexie Raye.

A healer, Lexie Raye had been the one to sit with her dying father through the night, listening carefully as he told her between fevered nightmares of a peoples, calling themselves Arianians, to the south that he'd met as a young man. Their magic was different from that of the peoples of Tremaine or Detrimain, and perhaps if Lexie Raye could convince them to help, something could be done to save the dire situation they were facing.

Being a smart girl, Lexie Raye had broached the subject with brother due to inherete the throne and her mother, the idea had been dismissed as the ramblings of a dying man. Later that night, her brother pulled her aside and gave her permission to search for these people and try and convince them to help the children of the man they once knew.

This is where your story starts: Two countries on the verge of war, and a young girl going in search of a peoples no one believes exists. She will not travel alone. Will you help her? Or will you be working against her, and Tremaine?

Good luck to you all!


Ok, First and foremost The RULES!

Don't worry they really aren't hard to follow and aren't all that scary.

First of all, abide by the Mene and Role-playing forum rules.
Second: Please, Please, PLEASE do NOT post anything that is most'll made up of misspelled words and improper grammer or slang/abbreviations. I can understand if your character speaks that way for a REASON but please, remember to limit that to your character's speach. How they talk should have nothing to do with how you write about what is going on around your character.
Third: There will be no One-liners...NONE! it's hard to build off of characters that only write one line. The limit is three sentences. My preferance is for at least one of those sentences to be a descriptive of SOMETHING that your character sees, touches, emotional expressions, or what they are wearing.
Fourth: For now, please PM me your character Bios and any ideas/requests you may have for the plot-line.
Fifth: Yes, you're character can have magic. Make sure that their magic lines up with their heritage and that for the amount of magic your character does, they have an equal amount of energy/strength drain.
Sixth: Please keep you're OOC comments to a minimum.
Seventh: All approved Characters will be posted in the OOC thread found here: http://www.menewsha.com/forum/commun...post1765243717
Eigth: Getting sick of seeing rules? Me too! So the last rule is HAVE FUN!!!


Character Bio's
Ok, this is the minimum amount of information I need/want for this thread. Please be as descriptive as possible when filling this out, it will help everyone out.

Username:
Character Name:
Character Age:
Career/apprenticeship: (Where do you work/what do you hope to be when you're deemed ready?)
Physical Description:(Clothes, skin tones, hair color, length of hair, any distinguishing marks?)
Personality: (What is your over-all mood on most days.)
Family: (Who they are, If you have any, and where they are from (nationallity) If you don't know them please just tell me and WHY you don't know them. thanks!)
History: (Basics of what your character knows or remembers. Please..Write at least three sentences. It REALLY helps. NO ONE knows absolutely nothing about their past. even if you're memory is gone, you will remember events AFTER it's been erased.

Weapon's skills: (What you likes to use and how skilled you are with it. No one is perfect at any weapon and no one is an expert at more than two weapons. NO ONE!)
Magical Abilities: (Look below the profile for the break-down of magical abilities. no 'cross-breeding' skills here...one will over power the other. The only people that can have two different types of magic is Healers and one will always be limited in their abilities with one or both types of magic. Not necessary to have magic.)
Other: (Anything else you can think of to share with us.)


Magical Abilities Breakdown:
All magic users draw their magical strength from their own health and energy. So! the weaker your character is, the less they can do magically.
Healers: Healers come from all nationalities. Healers do what the doctors and nurses we know today do, only with magic...so naturally healers comes in all kinda of specialties. All Healers also have Empathy(Sensing another's emotional/physical state) at least in a minor form.
Mind-Magic: telepathy(reading/projecting ones thoughts), telekenetics(moving things with one mind), and Empathy. this is mainly found in Tremainians.
Battle magics: The ability to set things on fire or make them explode with a thought. Far-sight: The ability to see things at a great distance in still water/mirrors (distance of more than a mile). Found in Detrimainians.
Elemental Magic:The ability to manipulate the elements (Earth/air/fire/water/spirit). Each person specializes in ONE element, though they may have MINOR control over the other elements. This ability is found in the Arianians.


More Magical Goodness!
Enchanted Items Yes, you have magic...others even have it. Here's the catch. Enchanted items are allowed, I get to approve them. Sorry but it's to fend off overly achieving items. The best Enchanted items are gems. Gems store magic for later use, not much just a little. Spells written onto gems can be used to enhance an ability using your own magical abilities. Magicked gems can also be made by Healers, with the help of gem-cutters and such that will essentially work as a prothstetic (replacement) for missing/injured eyes/ears. Sorry folks no gem-stone limbs...way too bulky and you'll be robbed constantly. If you are an elemental earth mage, you can have a staff that can store some of your power. the rest of you will have to use gems like the rest of the world. Pretty much anything can have a spell written on it, but it will take your magic to make it work. any questions let me know and I'll try to clear up any problems. Thanks bunches!

Currency and world-wide holidays
Currency is gold,Silver, and copper coins. Gold Crowns are the largest (about 100 dollars) Gold Half-crown (50), Silver crown (25) Silver half-crown (12), Copper Crown (10), copper half-crown (5) nothing lower.

Customs can be made up. the major holidays for all are mid-summer and mid-winter festivals. Both are week-long festivals, the longest day (mid-summer) and longest night (mid-winter) of the year being in the middle of each week. Gifts are exchaned on that day in mid-winter and a day-long celebration is held in mid-summer.

(more will be added as suggestions are made. Please make your suggestions to me via PM or through the OOC link. If you do not know how to prescribe to either link, please let me know and I'll talk you through it!)

Lexie stood in the stall of her black mare Bella's stall at dawn, resting her head against the mare's neck. It had been two weeks since she'd sent her letter to Venden Ryder, in hopes that the former solider would accompany her south in search of people that most people consider to be a myth.

Sighing, Lexie pushed away from the mare far enough to start brushing her as she thought about the letter she'd written once more.

Venden Ryder,

I am writing to you in the hopes that you will be willing to accompany me on what could well be a wild goose chase and a foolish waste of time. I'm not sure how quickly word of this has travelled, but my Father is dying. Of late, he has been talking of a peoples called the Arianians that live to the south of us. My own research has proved fruitless from the capital. If they exist, the live in the south. About the only things that I have been able to find of any use is that they are mages who work, not with the mind and battle magics but with the magic of the elements.

I'll be honest. We are facing a war with the Detrimainians. The treaty talks with them crumbled after Father fell ill. My Mother and Siblings believe that Father's talks of the Arianians is the fevered ramblings of a dying man...I'm not so sure...I'm a Healer. I've seen into the minds of men who talk nonsense in the midst of a fevered dream, none of them hold the snippets of memories that I have seen in my Father's mind. I hope that you will join me. If you choose not to I completely understand and hope you will not think ill of me for chasing after ghosts in the hopes of finding allies. I will be leaving the capital in two and a half weeks. My brother has granted me some funds, and I have ensured my own monies would be available for this trip.

I wish you the best of luck and health in whatever you decide.
~Lexie Raye Summers~

Taking a curry comb to the mare's tail so that she could braid the hair in preparation for the trip she'd be making, after she snuck away from her guards that night. She would keep her word to Venden Ryder, and stay in the capital another two days in the hopes that he would join her, but she had purposefully not signed her letter to him with her title. She wanted him to know that she truly did mean for him to have a choice in the matter.

Putting the combs away and starting to braid the mare's tail, Lexie thought of the second letter she'd written. Sir Kethel had served her family as a Knight for years, she'd thought she'd been careful about not letting those that her brother needed to prepare for war to know of her wild goose chase. When he'd approached her with his regrets on not being able to accompany her she'd been shocked. That's he'd suggested that she contact his wife to see if she would go in his place she'd been dazed. She'd already spent hours composing a letter to Venden Ryder. After her conversation with Sir Kethel, Lexie had returned to her room to compose a similar letter to the Knight's wife. Like the other letter, she hadn't signed as a princess but as a young lady looking for, but not expecting help from people who probably had better things to do than humor her on an insane hunt for 'ghosts'.

Tying off the braided tail with a black ribbon, Lexie murmured softly to the mare, "I don't know why I keep hoping they'll come Bella, I'm crazy to ask important people to help me in a wild goose chase!"

Alana woke up. She looked around at the stables she spent the night in. She had never had a home but it didnt bother her. She thought she heard someone downstairs. She gathered her things together and climbed down the ladder. She saw some girl petting a horse. Alana walked up to her and smiled putting out her hand

"Hello Im Alana. Whats your name?"

She thought the girl looked familiar. But she couldnt quit place her.

Lexie jumped, she had thought that she'd been alone in the stables. Taking a closer look at the young lady that looked to be about her own age, taking in the other girl's clothes before she replied slowly, smiling faintly, "Morning. You startled me, I thought I had the stables to myself. I'm Lexie."

After a moment's pause, Lexie added gently, "You're not from around here are you?"

Alana smiled wider "No Im not im afraid. Im a traveling mage. When I graduated from school I had no were to go and cant remember my past so well so I just travel around and do whatever I want."

She looked harder at this girl. She knew she looked familiar. She just couldnt place her.

Lexie smiled back and pointed out gently, "Mage or not, you could get in trouble for hiding in the Royal Stables without permission...You're lucky the guard hasn't been through here yet with the a member of the Royal Family. You'd be sitting in prison until your identity was clarified."

Tilting her head to the side as she glanced towards the open door of the stables before she reached forward to unlock Bella's stall door and beckon the other girl inside, pointing to the black ribbons lying accross the stall door as she asked calmly, "Do you know how to braid manes? Since your here now, you could help me while we chat..."

After backing Bella up so that the other girl would have room in the stall to work beside her, Lexie added quietly, "You can tell me to be quiet if you want, but where are you from?"

Venden rode through the underbrush on the forest outside his estates chasing a quarry he knew was ahead of him somewhere, but had not seen since the creek. He felt like he was chasing a ghost.

...not think ill of me for chasing after ghosts

Venden grunted and spurred Stryck over a fallen log. As much as he had tried in the past few days he could not escape that letter. It may sit on his desk in the manor house, but still it rode in his mind, a burning ember.

I'm not sure how quickly word of this has travelled, but my Father is dying.

That cut deeply, he respected the king and knew him to be a fair and honest man. The princess had been careful not to write any orders into her letter, and yet still he felt the old burning of duty in his breast. If anything could be done to save the king, or bring to pass his dieing wish, Venden felt that he was obligated to do so. Obligated to whom he was not sure, perhaps to himself, or the man he had been. Perhaps to the kingdom of Tremain, or his family.

The letter had arrived a week ago, with the personal seal of the princess embossed on the outside. Once again a reminder that this was a request, not a command. Why could she not have made it a command? He could have ignored a command! Venden struggled within himself to know what to do.

The doe he had been stalking for the better part of an hour broke from the trees fifty feet in front of him. Quickly pulling the bowstring to his ear he released a quarrel into the air, streaking it towards his quarry. Just at that moment the wind gusted and threw his arrow long, and the doe stood in the middle of the path, staring at him.

Moments drug by, or hours sped. Stryck nickered and pawed at the ground, anxious for oats and Venden shook himself out of his reverie. The doe was gone, and the sun told him that at least an hour had passed, wind out of the west told of a cold night coming. Venden wasn't sure what had happened, but he knew at some point during that hour his decision had been made. He would travel to the capital, and tell the Princess Summers that he would accompany her.

He had hoped that in putting off his decision it would be made for him, but unfortunately it seemed that that strategy had backfired. Now he had a day of hard riding ahead if he hoped to reach the castle before the two and a half weeks passed, and if that happened he would have to try to find her somewhere on the road south. Wheeling his horse he hurried back to his manor house. Upon arriving he found that the house woman had already made all the necessary preparations for him to leave immediately.

*It is simply amazing how women always seem to know* Venden thought sardonically as he set out on the road that would take him to the capital city by the next dusk.

She looked at her a moment and then began to braid her horses tail.
"Im from a distant land. I dont have any money thats why I was sleeping here. As for them being royal stables I didnt know. I just figured hay would make a comfortable bed."
She sighed a moment.
"Please dont ask about my past. Its a part of my life I try to forget."

Laran received her husband's letter before she received the princess'.

She read the letter countless times the evening before the princess' letter arrived. her mind was cluttered with thoughts as she tried to make up her mind. Her village was small and she was one of the few trained soldiers living within it. She had her duties not only to her family and her forge, but also her duties as the Reeve.

She found herself in the forge- her sanctuary. Her smiths apron laid over her thin, loose shirt and pants. She held her tongs in one hand and her hammer in the other. She steadied the blank of metal on her anvil, her single eye concentrating on the shape as she brought her hammer down again and again, shaping the hot metal. The rhythmic beatings cleared her mind, letting her get down to the center of the issue. She quenched the blank before preparing to reheat and fold it again.

As she stood in front of her fire, the second messenger arrive.

"Lady Reeve?" It took her a moment to realize the person was talking to her. She turned and looked at the messenger.

"I'm not noble."

"Huh?"

"I'm not a Lady. Just a Reeve."

"Ummm..."

"Call me Laran. What do you want?"

"I have a letter."

Laran set her hammer down, laying the blank back into the quencher and then aside with the tongs. She took off her thick gloves and wiped her hands on her sooty apron. "Alright." She walked over to the boy, her jeweled eye patch catching the fiery light of her forge. "Let's see it then."

The boy handed the letter over to the muscular woman. She wasn't tall, but she seemed to take up the room. Her shoulders were broad as a man's and more muscular than most. She looked at the seal and her eyebrows raised on their own. "Huh..." she said, sniffing slightly. She dug around in her pocket and spared the boy a few coins. "Thank you."

Sitting down at her anvil, she broke the seal and opened the letter. 'The princess is writing me.' She had already decided to go, but she hadn't expected a letter from the princess to truly clinch it.

----------------------
The goodbyes had not been long. They had a family dinner- everyone; her parents, her brothers, their wives. She told them what she planned. Her mother had simply nodded, her father hugged her. They presented her with gifts she hadn't expected. A fine falcata, fit perfectly to her hand, the integrated handle shaped like a cougar was a gift from her father. From her mother, she received a flexible steel cape, the bladed edges folded delicately into the flexible steel.

She wore them now as she rode her horse to the castle. her sword hung on her side over her metal war skirt, the sheath simple, utilitarian. The steel cape draped over her matching breast plate- worn with age, but in excellent repair. The war skirt was a habit, the skirt showed the scars on her leg that were pitted and puckered into her deep brown skin. The same bear that had taken her eye had nearly taken her leg as well. She made little effort to hide any of her scars; it never occurred to her to try.

Her old nag stubbornly plodded on at her own pace. "Tabitha, I should have you boiled into stew and glue. Heartless old nag." Laran sighed, trying to prod the horse faster only to have it snap at her. She didn't have her husband's way with animals. She would be lucky to arrive by the time her husband mentioned. But, if she kept on this pace, she would get there with a little time to spare.

Lexie thought about what Alana said as she helped the other girl braid Bella's mane. Glancing towards the doorway as the stable hands started to emerge to care for the other horses housed here, Lexie smiled at the head hostler before she made up her mind.

"I'm headed south in a few days. Would you like to come with me, Alana?" Lexie asked carefully, glancing over at the girl, her mint gren eyes truly becoming visible in as the stable hands opened doors and windows to let in the early morning light. "I plan on trying to find the Alianian's capital city. If you needed a horse I've got one you could borrow..."

While she let Alana think over her proposal, Lexie left her mare's stall and went to the head hostler's office, apologizing for not telling him last night, but that she'd allowed an old friend who hadn't been comfortable in the palace last night to sleep in the hayloft. The hostler smiled and told lexi that it was alright, though he thought perhaps the young princess was lying.

Walking back down the barn aisle, stopping to chat with each of stable hands and requesting that her spare mounts and her father's horses be brought down from the far pasture and put in the pasture closest to the barn, she'd already spoken wiht her brother Daniel, and would be taking all of the horses with her on her rip south.

*If she decides to come with she can ride Bella, I'll ride Father's paint mare, Darling.* Lexie thought absently as she leaned against Bella's stall door watching Alana carefully. *Pity she doesn't want to talk about her past...I think she's still hurting about it.*

Alana thought for a moment. A journey with a girl she didnt even know well. A trip to the south. It would be fun and maybe even dangerous. She closed her eyes a moment and then opened them. She walked up to the girl and put out her hand.

"Consider me your new partner. I would love to go with you. And thanks for the horse I could use it."

She went back and finished the tail. Then she grabbed the horses muzzle and kissed it.

"I do love animals."

Lexie smiled, propping her hand under her chin, elbow resting on the top of the stall door. As the stable started to bustle with stable hands and knight and nobles collecting horses, Lexie told Alana sincerly, "Thank you. Her name's Bella. You can ride her for the trip."

Looking Alana over again Lexie added calmly, "Why don't you go get your stuff and we can see if I have anything else that might be useful to us for this little trip?"

Alana looked at her a moment in suprise.
"thanks for letting me accompany you. And I am well trained in horses so you wont have to worry. As for stuff. I only have what you see."

She has a sachel on her waste to hold her potions and a staff for casting spells and then her wizard robes.

Lexie's smile was reassurring as she opened Bella's stall door for Alana, "To be honest, I could use the help, and since you didn't seem as if you had any urgent plans, and you are new to the area...I thought maybe we could help each-other."

Glancing out the doorway into the sunlit beyond the stables Lexie continued softly, "You seem as if you've travelled a great deal. I'm rather new to the experience myself...I can ride, I know how to camp...I just never really got the opportunity to do so...And I know the city, the politics, and the customs of Tremaine...I'll teach you if you'll teach me..."

Looking back at Alana, Lexie sighed and beckoned with a finger, "Come on, You can raid my closet and get a chance to freshen up a bit if you want and then I've a few things to show you before we leave...if you change your mind about joining me after, Bella and whatever you want from my closet are still yours."

*Mother will have a fit but I don't care, I need help, it wouldn't hurt to have a mage about...and its not like I'm stealing her from the forces Mother will need to keep the Detrimainians from killing us all...and if Venden Ryder and Lady Laran show up and are willing to join us all the better...I'm just not sure how good of a chance two young girls have of accomplishing this on our own...* As she thought, Lexie was careful to keep her worries from her face and out of her mint green eyes.

Laran arrived in the city near the castle around mid-day. She was tired and her muscled ached, unused to rather than walking. She led her nag Tabitha through the streets, trying to work the tightness from her muscles. She had never been in city so large. She had grown up in a small village on the border and after her time in the Guard, moved to another small village. The hustle and bustle of the streets was strange to her. People gave her a wide berth- some staring openly at her scars and other deliberately looking away. No one would meet her eye. It was strange. She touched her eye patch out of habit, running her finger along the bottom as if scratching her cheek. her fingers touched the scars on her face as she did this and she remembered them. She had lived with them for so long that she hardly thought about them anymore.

She arrived at her destination- a small inn she had heard about as being respectable and close to the castle. She took her horse round the back where she was greeted by a stable hand. The boy stared openly at her, his mouth slightly open. He blinked his wide blue eyes at her, silently. "Don't stand there like a fish gasping in the air. I would like my horse stabled for the evening," Laran said bluntly. The boy snapped his mouth shut and looked down. Laran laughed at him. "It's alright, I must look like some hideous beast...hmmm?" She laughed, handing the boy the reigns. "Her name is Tabitha. And be careful, she bites." She fished around in her belt pouch and dropped a couple of half-coppers into the boy's hand.

"Ah! Thankee missus!" he said with a lisp as he grabbed the reigns. "Takee good care of Tabee-Horse."

"Alright. Thank you." She eyes her horse with her one good eye, "You be nice Tabitha- if you bite him I'll be out a whole copper coin." She looked at the boy and nodded so they understood each other. "If she bites, a whole extra coin is in it for you. I expect her to be brushed down and watered well."

"Okee missus." He led the tired, old horse into the stables.

With that, Laran walked back round to the front of the nicely kept two-story inn. Above the doorway was a sign: The Silver Kettle. She smiled at it before walking inside. She was greeted by an older woman, "'Ello missus. Ye lookin' fer a room? It'll be a silver crown fer a night. Includes supper and stablin' if ye need it."

Laran nodded, she knew the rate was a little high, but said nothing. She made good money as a weaponsmith and had little opportunity to spend it. "Yes of course. In advance I suppose?"

"Yes'm."

Laran opened her coin purse and pulled a silver crown from it, passing it to the woman. "May I also acquire the services of your stable boy to deliver a letter for me?"

"Kegan'll do it."

Laran fished the letter she had prepared from her satchel. As she moved, the old woman eyed her war skirt and sheath. her eyes then trailed to the steel cape the woman wore over her shoulders as it caught the light. "You in the army missus?"

Laran looked at the lady thoughtfully, "No, not anymore."

"Good, no place fer a woman the army. Man's work it is. Seems you got the harsh end of it. Serves ye right fer not knowing yer place." The old woman sniffed contemptuously at Laran, her eyes flicking to the jeweled eye patch the wore.

Laran frowned slightly, then smiled. "If I had not served in the guard, I would not have met my husband Sir Kethel." She held the letter in her hand as she looked down on the short old woman. She shrugged her cape off of her massive, muscled shoulders, showing them off for emphasis.

"Sir Kethel? Hmph. Thought he had better taste." She said taking the silver coin and the letter. "This'll be delivered."

"Take it to the castle, to Her Majesty Princess Lexie Raye."

"As ye say Lady Merryglenn. Ye'll be in the blue room. Supper'll be at sundown."

"I'm not noble...and it's Kaliya." Laran turned and headed up the stairs. She found the blue room easily- so marked by the color on the door. She entered the room. It was nice, clean and simple. She set her satchel down on the bed and looked around. She had agonized for days over the letter she had prepared for the Princess. In the end, she had kept it simple.

Your Majesty, Princess Summers-

I am contacting you in regards to your letter. I have arrived in the city as per your instructions and I am staying at The Silver Kettle near the castle. My husband, Sir Kethel Merryglenn has written me emphasizing your need for companionship on your journey. I am willingly offering to join you on your journey should you still have need of my companionship.

I await your leave to join you.

Laran Kaliya, Reeve of Templedown Provincial Village

She had sealed the letter with her family seal rather than her husband's- a sword emblazoned upon twelve-point star. Now, she waited. She sat down on the bed, taking off her boots and laying her sheath beside her. She pulled a book from her satchel to pass the time reading.

Alana watched this girl called Lexie closely and smiled after a moment.

"I would love to join you. I have a lot of experience traveling. I know how to hunt and how to make a fire. I am talented at camping in all aspects. I would love to freshen up but as for raiding your closet I'm fine honest. I would rather keep my robe. Its dirty and a bit ragged but it has served me for years. May I ask what the purpose of this trek is?"

Venden rode into the site with a scowl on his face. The last time he had been in the City he had felt disgrace as he left. It was not placed on him from any outward source, but rather something that he brought upon himself. There was no reason he should have had to abandon his post. He was only held by those Detrimainian dogs for 2 months. Everything in his training said that he should have been able to shrug off anything that they did to him and return to his duties immediately. That he couldn't spoke volumes of his manhood, at least to himself.

He sat in the path outside the west gate fiddling with the reins of Stryck and staring at the wall, not really seeing the men with crossbows at ease. The packs on the gelding behind him jingled as it lowered its head to search for scrub in the hard dirt between the cobble stones that made up the last 15 feet of the path before passing under the gate and becoming the dock road, but it found no sustenance there. The traffic was sparse this morning, with people trickling in and out of the gate with no real sense of urgency about them.

"Make a path! Hwa!" A cart rumbled by from an outlying farm. The driver cracked a whip above Venden's head as retribution for taking up so much of the road, and not moving along as he should. Had the driver known that Venden was truly the Lord Ryder, Knight of the Stars and vassal to the Commander of the Eastern Legion, as well as many other titles that had been laid on him in his retirement, he never would have dared show anything approaching such rude behavior. Had the guards at the gate known they would have instantly seized the driver and he would have spent the rest of the day in the blockade, awaiting stripes and a hefty fine at the least. But in the forest garb that he had decided to wear on the rode he was none of that in the eyes of anyone within the City. He was simply a country lout gaping at walls that couldn't possibly be as tall as they were. So much the better from his point of view. The fewer people that knew that he had returned to the City before he left again, the less pride he would have to shed in returning to this place of such shame.

Venden tapped the lead rein secured to his saddle leading back to the pack horse and it jerked its head up. Then he heeled Stryck and headed into the City. He stayed on the Docks road until it came to a fountain and intersected with an even larger road heading north/south. Turning onto the palace road he walked his horse through the crowds of wealthy merchants and well to do courtiers that were out for their daily constitution. Sedan chairs and wagons went too and fro, bearing the emblem of the house they represented.

At the main gates to the castle Venden presented himself to the lead guard. In Tremaine any citizen could request and audience with a member of the royal family, even without providing a name, so long as he surrendered all his or her weapons and subjected themselves to an armed guard. The audience would be granted for a surety, although it was never guaranteed how long the supplicant would have to wait. Venden relinquished his bow and swords to an underguard, and unmounted, giving his horses over to groomsmen that would take them to a visitors stall until they were called for.

As a loyal citizen of Tremaine and subject of the King I humbly request an audience with her personage the Princess Lexie Raye Summers. Out of the corner of his eye Venden surreptitiously searched the guardsmen present for anyone that would recognize him. At this point it was to late to run, but if he was to be shamed he would rather know in advance. For now it seemed his luck was in. All of the guardsmen on this morning seemed to be younger, and while their lead was certainly more seasoned, he was not one that Venden remembered serving with or over.

The Lieutenant eyed the apparent vagrant with a show of distaste, but the proper words having been said, and procedures having been followed, he had no choice but take the man to a reception hall, certainly one of the lesser ones, and dispatch a junior guard to find the princess.

Durran, Vellack, you will accompany myself and the guest of the castle to the Winters chamber and stand guard until he is escorted back to this gate. Yulie, you will find one of the Princess's ladies and inform them that an audience has been requested, and where she may find her guest when her schedule permits the hearing of a supplication.

The men having received their orders saluted. One, young enough to not yet grown his first full beard, nearly ran towards the castle until he remembered himself. The other two formed up around Venden with the Lieutenant ahead, and walked him towards the castle at a more stately pace.

Lexie thought a moment as she walked with Alana back up to the Palace, not noticing as Palace staff, mostly newer ones and the older workers that ignored her wish that they stop treating her like a princess with amused smiles bowed or nodded to her respectively.

As they reached a side-door to the Palace, Lexie answered slowly, "My Father is very ill. I'm a Healer, specifically of the mind, but a Healer no-less. The other Healers say that there is nothing that can be done for him anymore and my own attempts of Healing him have done nothing...before he succumbed to fevered dreams, Father asked me to stop trying to Heal him and to instead try to Heal the damage the Detrimainians will do to this country once war is offically declared...He believes there is a peoples to the south of us...Arianians, he called them...they're said to be elemental mages for the most part...but we have no records of them..."

Sighing, Lexie took Alana down a wing of the Palace that had guards every ten feet, all of them jumping to attention when they spotted Lexie, though none dared to ask her what she was doing in the company of an unknown-to-them girl. Shaking her head, Lexie admitted softly, "Mother thinks his stories are merely that of a dying man's fevered dreams....My brothers for the most part feel the same way. I've seen into the minds of dying men that have been lost in a fever-filled world...they did not possess the snippets of memory that I've seen in my Father's mind. My eldest brother has given me permission to try and find the Arianians, see if they will help us....but if I do so I am on my own."

Smiling at Alana faintly, a bit of worry in her mint green eyes as she beckoned the other girl to follow her through a door way that had been opened by a pair of guards that opened onto a sitting room/office area. Once in her sitting room, Lexie waited until the doors were closed again before she continued, walking over to lean against a window frame that overlooked the horse pastures and an edge of the Royal forest. "I've the right to take my personal guard with me...but I won't. My family and my people will need them here should the war break out before I get back. I plan on leaving soon. It is my hope that a couple of others will join me, but I don't really expect anyone to come with me. I can't."

Closing her eyes, Lexie was about to continue when there was a knock on her door. Sighing, Lexie gestured to the right of half of the room where there was a second door that led to her bedroom and, further inside, her private bath.

"There is a private bath through there, if you need anything feel free to use it," Lexie murmurred apologetically to Alana before she went to see who had need of her.

Stepping outside to give Alana a bit of privacy, Lexie found herself faced by Lady Sabine,one of her ladies-in-waiting, and a young boy who appeared to be trying to escape a member of the Royal Guard who had him by an arm. Smiling apologetically, to Lady Sabine, Lexie knelt infront of the struggling boy and asked with a hint of mischief in her voice, "Hello there, What seems to be the trouble?"

The boy, named Kagen, glared at the man who held him, quietly thrilled when the pretty young lady followed his gaze to the guard and raised an eyebrow, "I was sup'osed ta give the 'rincess Lexie a let'er." The boy replied sullenly, glaring at the guard who had released his arm after a gesture from Lexie that the boy hadn't seen. "But 'hey weren't gonna let me!"

Lexie smiled with amusement and dug a copper crown out of the coin purse at her belt raising an eyebrow at any guard foolish enough to try to object, she held the coin out to the boy, "Well, then, I think you succeeded despite the guard, you've found her...I'll tell you what, I'll trade you."

The boy nodded, waiting until Lexie had deposited her coin in his hand before he handed over her letter. Lexie opened it quickly and scanned it. Nodding once she smiled at the boy and thanked him, rising to her feet, Lexie smiled at Lady Sabine and asked politely what the older girl wished of her. Upon being told of Lord Ryder's waiting for her, Lexie nodded absently, thinking.

Making up her mind, Lexie beckoned the Lady Sabine inside her rooms with her, explaining that a girl named Alana would be staying her rooms with her for a few days while they sorted out a few things and asking the Lady to wait in her study so that she could give Alana a tour if the other girl wished after she'd had a chance to freshen up. Leaving a note for Alana, so that the other girl would know that Lexie had had some business to take care of and would join her again in a few hours. Writing another note to Laran, saying simply that the Lady can come up to the Palace whenever she wished, but that Lexie would no longer be in the palace after midnight. She also asked that the lady not tell her husband of this small fact as the Lord will have no choice but to then inform Lexie's guard, and the girl felt that her guard would be better placed where they could help her people the most.

Stepping back outside, Lexie dispatched on of the guards to find Sir Kethel Merryglenn and inform him that his wife is staying the the Silver Kettle, should he wish to spend his evening with her. Asking the guard to give Sir Kethel her note to his wife, as an excuse to go to town and see her.

Once the guard had left to find Sir Kethel, Lexie headed for the reception halls to find Lord Venden. It took her longer than she would have liked to find which reception hall, the city guard had placed him in, though she did find the right one after a bit of looking. pulling the ribbon out of her long auburn had that had held it tied back in a braid, Lexie shook her hair free and quickly straightened her light blue and gold trimmed tunic over her tanned riding pants and entered the audience room, smiling at Lord Venden and the guard for a brief moment before saying politely to the guard, "Thank you, gentlemen. You may go back to your posts."

Lexie waited until the guard had left, shutting the door behind them before Lexie approached Lord Venden, asking gently, "You didn't tell them who you were?"

As the door opened to admit the princess Venden stood from the armchair and placed the cup of wine that had been offered him to quench the road dust on a table. For all the world it looked as if he had been hearing reports from his arms-men rather than under guard. Saluting with fist across chest Venden flourished a bow before remembering that this princess was not partial to pomp. Flushing a little he straightened.

He watched as the doors closed behind the guard, frowning and thinking silently. After a direct order from the princess they had little choice, but it was surprising that they had left her unguarded with some unknown man. He jerked as if coming awake suddenly, reaching back to hear the question that had already been asked,

"For now I would rather it that way, there are to many in the city that remember my honorable days. They no doubt would like to reminisce of yesteryears, and that would not be a pleasant journey for me."

His gaze fell to the floor, once again thinking of the shame that this city plunged into his heart, leaving him feeling cored and hollow. Then he noticed how he was standing, old military habits were hard to break and he had to force himself into an at ease position. Even that was a little to severe for the friendly audience that the princess was trying to hold, but it seemed he could not bring himself to less. Standing he seemed to tower over the smaller princess, but then Venden was used to being taller than most.

"I received your request," Venden said, his voice a mix of smile and sneer, "I will accompany you to the southlands, but know that this is not a resumption of my duties as a member of the Guard. I retired for a reason and it will stay that way." Fire flared in Venden's eyes. He could be locked away or exiled for speaking to a member of the royal family in such a way, but it was better that than have to relive the shame of failure every day.

Lexie smiled, for all that the older man seemed a bit stiff, and she could sense his discomfort, she liked him. Watching him, she remembered what she had heard of his retirement from the Guard, and how her teachers had tried to help him after he'd been captured by the Detrimianians. *He didn't wish to speak of that time with the other Healers, I doubt he'd appreciate my attempting to get him to talk about it now...though it still seems to pain him* the 16 year old thought absently as she gestured for him to sit again, taking a chair opposite the one he had vacated.

"I won't ask of you what you aren't willing to give," Lexie replied after a moment. Glancing around at the plain decorations of the room, meant to put those of the lower classes at ease while they waited for the audiences that they wished to have. Her mint green eyes darkened slightly as she thought of how her Father had often times conducted interviews much like she was now, though he'd have brought a guard with him. Closing her eyes a moment and stiffling a sigh as she leaned back in the chair, Lexie added quietly, "I didn't think you'd come to be honest. My Mother thinks what I'm doing is crazy....Daniel, I think just wants me out of the way, and if I accomplish something even better."

Opening her eyes to watch him once more, Lexie asked bluntly, though still careful to keep her voice gentle, "Why did you decide to come with me? We both know you could have found something else, probably more important, to do."

Lexie had decided while she had waited to be told by two people that were older and more experienced with the world than she was that she was acting like a spoiled child who refused to face reality that she would be completely honest with them, whether they chose to join her or not, they deserved at least that much respect.

Laran sat on her bed for some time, reading her book. It was not the most exciting book in the world, but it let her turn off her mind for a while. Her steel cape hung on the bed post by her side, her sword lay on the bed, the grip easily accessible. She wasn't sure why she felt the need to do this, but she was ill at ease in Tremaine City. Perhaps it was merely being away from home and her family, perhaps the tense atmosphere due to the growing troubles, perhaps something else altogether.

Just as she was contemplating setting her book aside, there was a knock at her door. She straightened, still sitting, her hand resting on the grip of her sword. "Come," she said.

The door opened to reveal her husband. "As brisk as ever I see." He chuckled, moving toward the bed. He leaned over and kissed his wife. "It has been too long. I wish we had more time together- but things are..." he waved a hand, grasping for the right word. Finally he just shrugged. He pulled a letter from his cloak and handed it to his wife. "She's a good girl. She had me bring the letter so we could see each other before you left. I suspect it will be a long time before we see each other again. I may have to ride out to the borders. I don't know yet."

He sat down beside her as she opened the letter. Her eye flicked over the page. "Seems we haven't got much time," she said with a sigh. She turned her good eye to her husband and smiled, letting her rigid exterior soften. She raised a hand to his cheek, brushing her calloused fingers over it. "Shall we call food in?" she asked as she brushed her lips over his cheek.

"Hmm...let's do..."
-----------------------------------------

Several hours later, her husband already on his way back to the castle, Laran adjusted her breastplate back into place. It fit well- made for her ample bosom and broad shoulders. It was another gift from her mother from her years in the service of the guard. She adjusted her war skirt, contemplating whether or not she should wear a pair of leggings beneath them. She sighed and went without them.

She made her way downstairs into the now busy common room. Her sheath on, her steel cape hanging from her shoulders. Her satchel was slung over her shoulder as she made her way through the common room to the door. As she passed by the tables, some of the people would stop and stare. She paid them no mind.

She made her way back to the stables and collected her crotchety nag. The stable boy was sleeping in the loft. She smiled at him, watching him sleep for several moments. She fished a few coppers from her belt pouch and set them beside him to find when he woke up. She grabbed a few lumps of sugar from a bag to urge Tabitha forward.

She walked through the streets now, headed to the castle. Upon reaching the castle she spoke with the guard, "I am Laran Kaliya, Reeve of Templedown and I am here to see her majesty, the princess."

The guard looked at her, "Sir Kethel said to expect you." He led her into castle walls, calling one of the stable hands to take her horse. "You're not what I expected."

"Most people say something like that when they meet me."

"Is it true you fought a bear and won?"

"Ah...yes. It is." Laran said stiffly. She didn't realize that particular story had made its way to the City. She wasn't sure how the soldiery here would feel about the reason for her fighting a bear.

"You're some kind of woman. My wife can make a mean bear stew, but that is the only way she'd ever go near one." He laughed, clapping Laran on the shoulder as if they were old friends. "You're okay by me."

Laran was led to the castle. She was confused when they let her keep her steel cape but took her sword. She let it go- they probably didn't believe it was a real weapon. She was led to a door and her guide knocked, opening the door slightly. "The Reeve of Templedown to see you, your majesty. Shall we take her to another sitting room to await you?"

Lexie looked up at the door, a little startled though she quickly hid it when a guard poked his head in and announced Sir Kethel's wife's appearance. *He must not of had as much free time as I thought, pity. I'd hoped to give them more time together before I left...* Lexie thought tiredly, though her smile was cheerful and polite as she shook her head, standing, though she waved for Venden to remain seated, "No, no, please, show her in. Thank you." After a quick moments thought, Lexie added before the guard left, "If you could pass it along to the guards outside to send anyone else looking for me here I would appreciate it."

The guard smiled back and bowed, knowing as all of those who worked around the palace did that while the youngest Royal disliked being treated as 'different', she was by far the easiest, aside from her father, to serve as she was so easy-going, "Of course, your majesty." The guard nodded to Laran as he left, stopping half-way down the hall to talk with the guard posted there before returning to his post.

Beckoning Laran inside and gesturing towards the remaining furniture as she spoke, taking her seat again, frowning slightly as she thought about the lapse of time, "Thank you for coming...I thought Kethel had a bit more free time today. If I'd know how little he had, I would have thought of something else to send with him."

Letting Laran think about that a moment, Lexie made introductions, purposefully dropping the titles that both had earned, not wishing to cause discomfort to either of them but hoping that they would talk with each other later and decide they were equals, "Laran Kaliya, I'd like you to meet Venden Ryder. We were just talking about my wish to go south...I know you both could be doing other things, probably more important the trapsing about the country side looking for 'ghosts'..."

Lexie stopped there, her thoughts returning to her father once more, *I wish there was a way for me to stay with Father and still do what he wants of me....What I've seen in his mind lately...he tries to hide it but I don't think he'll live long after I leave... Closing her eyes to keep Laran and Venden from seeing them darkened with her sad thoughts, Lexie took a deep breath and continued, keeping her voice calm and collected even if she felt as if her mind wandered back to her father too often to be seen as the adult she was trying to be, "There is one other person that shall be joining us. Her name is Alana....To be completely honest, unlike the two of you, I don't know much about her. She's new to the City and has been travelling on her own for awhile. She offered to help. I accepted. I don't want to take anyone away from the defenses my brother is trying to build but I know I won't likely get very far without some help..."

Stifling another sigh, Lexie opened her eyes to move her gaze between Venden and Laran before she spoke, half of her attention on her empathy as she tried to get a reading of the mood of the room. "I won't ask anyone who goes with me to do something that they don't want to. If you decide later on that you've had enough and want to return, I won't stop you. This is your choice and as such I think you should know everything that I do about the situation...both with the Detrimianians, and with what I wish to do."

Lexie waited quietly for one or both of the vetrans to respond, not daring to hope that they were actually serious about helping her.

"Unacceptable!" the outraged contract giver, a salesman who wanted a mercenary to guard his wares, blurted out to Jame, who sat calmly at the other side of the table. "There is no need to raise your voice. Surely 5 silver crowns is equal to my services to guard your goods." This was a bit of a bluff, Jame just wanted more money. "You're a fool! I make no more than that in selling my goods!" The salesman's face was reddening. In reality, this kind of job normally fetched about a silver half-crown. "Fine then, 2 Silver Crowns." Jame had lowered the asking price significantly, but this was still asking a lot, and was still knowing that he would lower the price again anyway. The salesman began to calm down. "Damn mercenaries... 3 Copper Crowns." Jame thought this a good deal, it was significantly better than the normal price. "Seems you have a deal, good sir." He reached out his hand, and the two shook. The salesman, who was oddly strong, tightened his grip and said, "You'll be guarding them tonight, near the south gate. If ANYTHING is gone in the morning, I'll have the guards skin you alive." They released and went their separate ways, the salesman sitting back at his table, Jame walking outside into the fresh air, the sun sitting high in the sky. I suppose I'll rest until nightfall...

Alana opened the door to make sure she was truly alone and then stripped out of her clothes. She went to the window while she was taking them off to see an exquisite view of the castle ground and the forest beyond. She sighed. SHe was already missing the traveling she had enjoyed. She had to supress and giggle when Lexie mentioned Aranians. One of the things she does know about herself is she is Arainian. She wondered if her people had been wiped out. There had to be a reason people thought they were myth. She sighed and climbed into the bath. She noticed scrubbing sand in abundance and spent the next hour scrubbing her skin raw. She hadent had a real bath in a long time and she missed it. She watched the brown water drain down a trench that was replaced with fresh clean water. These people were resourceful that was for sure. She stood up and wrung her hair free of water. She slipped on her old clothes and stood in front of a mirrior she saw. She was pretty alright. With her long white hair, That was typical of Aranians. She braided up her hair and took a seat in the window to watch the people run around doing things.

Venden was about to answer the princesses question when a tap came at the door and another guest was ushered in. He tensed at the sight of a steel cape around the woman's shoulders, rarely were weapons allowed in the presence of royalty, especially without an adequate size guard, but it seemed that this guest of the castle was well known amongst the guards, either that or the fools thought it to not be a weapon. Regardless Venden prepared to put himself between the unknown woman and the princess.

As introductions were made the name tickled something in the back of his mind, he knew he had heard it before, but could not remember where. As the woman took a seat that was offered his gaze returned to the princess.

"My lot is cast with yours at this point. When you leave the City I will depart as well, and do whatever I can in your quest. As to why," Venden chuckled darkly at the thought that he had better things to do with his time. His entire day consisted of yelling at his staff, hunting his game, and reposing in a dark sitting room. "let's just say that sometimes requests are made that receive more credence than orders. I could never ignore your father when he made a request of me, and it seems that is something that you have inherited from him."

Venden's eyes swept up the walls, towards the ceiling, staring at something that was not there. "My swords are yours, and my bow is as well. I cannot promise a cheerful companionship, that is beyond me now. But know that when you are with me no harm will befall you that I could have prevented."