In a world where the Dark Arts collide with the world of Healing, a city lies far to the east; a Kingdom all it's own where Magic runs through the veins of every creature, allowing all sorts of magic to run a muck.

In this city, lives a young Elf destined to become a great Healer one day. Coming from a family with a long line of Healing Magic running through their veins, Lucia Cordei has begun working with the local hospitals as the only healer within the city limits. Although she is skilled in the art of Healing, she is not a Goddess, so she cannot perform miracles. Her magic heals based upon her energy and the healing ability of whomever she is trying to heal.

On the opposite side, a man by the name of Adrian Kenton operates several art galleries and is well known in the art world. There is not a conversation that passes amongst artists that doesn't involve his name, for his galleries are highly coveted by these well known artists.

Although Adrian does not own the galleries himself, and simply works for the wealthy entrepreneurs, he is the genius that makes these galleries successful and is the name that everyone remembers.

Adrian's past is a mystery in which no one has discovered, not even with the media of today. He has remained a mystery throughout his years in the art world, leaving his fans to speculate his hidden past.

Unbeknown to most of the world, Adrian's veins are filled with Dark Magic. Before entering the art world, Adrian Kenton practiced the Dark Arts like any other person with it in their blood would have. However, a tragic event happened while using his magic, forcing him to rethink his values and to voluntarily give up his magic. Though no one knows the story behind this turn of events, it is only a matter of time before it comes out one way or another.

Until then, Adrian Kenton will live within the city of Atidael and try to keep out of the lime-light and out of the media's focus while he does what he can to make amends for what he has done in his dark and mysterious past.

Will Lucia be able to help Adrian on his quest for self-improvement? Will Adrian's attempts prove to be fruitless? Or will Lucia and Adrian see the best in each other and fall in love over the course of their time together, despite their polar differences?

Only time will tell in this tale of Darkness and Hope.

Name: Adrian Kenton
(Elven Name: Dûrion Arandorion)

Age: 27


Appearance:

Adrian's skin is tanned, and he has red hair which he wears long. He is very masculine
looking in appearance. Usually appears to not have shaven for a day or so, as Adrian's
stubble grows back in quickly, the reddish color showing against his tanned flesh
quite vividly. His elven ears are prominent, appearing quite large. He is handsome but there is
an air of sadness about him. At first appearance, Adrian appears unapproachable. His features
are harsh, which only become more pronounced when he wears a frown. All those who know him
will profess that he always has a frown on his face, however, and that he always seems to be
sad about something, though no one knows why. He dresses professionally, always in black and
white. Adrian wears a black cloak when outdoors. The cloak is held shut by a gold clasp, a black
spider engraved into the gold, the only adornment he wears.


Personality:

Adrian is friendly and sociable with everyone he comes into contact with, both men and women
alike. He is constantly in contact with people, whether they be artists, investors, and/or
potential buyers, and his social skills are impeccable. He can be dangerous if crossed,
only having given up his black magic, and turned his back on the ways of his past,
that has not been of concern to him for many years. He is more likely to walk away from an
argument than to react to it, a strong guilt contained within the depths of his soul for
his actions of the past.

He is not a talkative man, and keeps mostly to himself, with exception
of entertaining those who attend his shows. He uses flowery speech and flattery to convince
investors to invest, and buyers to purchase. Adrian, an artist himself, has a number of
paintings he's completed, only he has kept them hidden from the rest of the world. There is a
dark quality about them, possibly depicting scenes from his own dark, hidden past. Painting
gives him an outlet, a release from the anguish and darkness that fill his mind and heart.


Despite his numerous contacts and social skills, Adrian does not have anyone he can truly call
his friend. He does not allow anyone to get close to him, nor does he allow himself to get
close to anyone, always maintaining a distance between himself and others.


The Character:

His past is a mystery, despite the attempts of reporters
and others to discover Adrian's roots. He does not talk about his past, but it
seems quite obvious to others that something tragic must have taken place
as he almost always appears melancholy and/or sad. When questioned about his
past, he always brushes the questions off with a noncholant wave of the hand
and commenting that the past is over and done with, and there is no point in
discussing it.

Unknown to others, Adrian had been a practitioner in the art of black magic.
At some point during that period of his life, something tragic occured, and
a strong guilt and regret overcame him. He decided to give up his black magic
and try to put the past behind him.

Obtaining a job in a gallery, he learned all the ins
and outs about running a gallery, and when the opportunity arose for him to
take over the running of a gallery, he jumped on it immediately. The gallery
became quite successful. The owner of the gallery was so impressed with his method
and ideas for making the gallery successful, that he bragged about Adrian to his
fellow entrepeneurs. Unfortunate for the owner, but fortunate for Adrian, one of the
wealthier entrepeneurs offered Adrian the position of managing his entire line of
galleries. Adrian, of course, accepted the position. It was not long before his name
became well known in the art world, artists from everywhere wanting to have their
works displayed in the shows Adrian arranged.

Being well known throughout the art world, and an available bachelor, women vie for
Adrian's attention, only he has no interest in becoming romantically involved. Although
always polite and sociable when it comes to art, the moment a woman shows any
romantic interest with him, Adrian becomes distant and aloof towards them, resulting in
rumors spread that Adrian is gay.

Being such a success, Adrian realizes that he is now expected to entertain guests from
time to time, and must find another, larger apartment to live in. The small studio apartment
he currently resides in is obviously not at all suitable for entertaining in.

[IMGleft]http://i40.tinypic.com/2hourk8.jpg[/IMGleft]







Lucia Rumeti, age 19, Elf
Blond hair, sapphire eyes, peach skin

In a world full of Magic, Lucia has been blessed with the gift of healing. She is a healer of many diseases, a mender of bones, and is able to 'fix' organs within the body. She is not a Goddess, however, and can not cure diseases such as Cancer and the like. She can keep the disease from spreading, but she cannot cure what has already been infected. She can, however, ease a person's suffering and allow them to live in peace for the remainder of their life.

This healing ability also allows Lucia to discover what is wrong with someone just by looking at them. She reads their Aura and deciphers what is ailing them.

When it comes to healing, Lucia takes her energy, the energy of the person needing healing, and the ability of the body to heal, and uses the energy to increase the healing ability of the body to heal itself.

Lucia herself is a very formal Elf - her speech seeming as if it was from the 18th or 19th century. She dresses rather elegantly and tends to leave her hair down most of the time.

Adrian exited the taxi cab, paid the driver, and stepped away from the vehicle, allowing it to
pull away. Lifting his head to peer at the sky, he thought to himself that this would be a pleasant
day...not too hot, and not too cold...the perfect day to search for an apartment. Turning, he
looked up at the tall building before him. Grey and lifeless, the building looked dull and unappealing
to him. Entering the building, two small children raced down the hall, a small boy barrelling into him.

"Woah there, slow down, son", Adrian scolded the child lightly.

Big round eyes peered up at him, but only for a moment before the child scampered off again,
back to the confines of his own hovel. Adrian shook his head and sighed. Not a good sign.
Although he did not hate children, he had no desire to be surrounded by the noisy tykes.
Children tend to be inquisitive in nature and often times make nuisances of themselves. Shaking
his head once more, he made his way to the managers office and knocked lightly on an open door.

"Come in! You can just place the packag...oh, I'm sorry, I thought you were the mail man.", the
apartment manager, a thin, frail looking speck of a woman said quickly, her voice high
pitched and quite nasal. A disapproving frown crossed Adrian's face, but he quickly veiled it.
Not before the woman had seen it, but she chose to ignore it.

Speaking quickly, as if to avert Adrian from changing his mind and turning around to leave,
she said, "You must be Mr. Kenton then. My name is Angela Porter. Apartment 303 is clean
and ready to move into. Let me take you up so you can see the apartment. We have a
swimming pool on the roof, and a rec room in the basement. Snack machines and pop machines
can be found there as well. The folk here are friendly and outgoing, so you shouldn't have
any problems with the neighbors."

The woman appeared to be one of those people who can babble on and on forever, and Adrian could
already feel a headache coming on. Well, he had come this far to see the apartment, he might
as well at least take a look at it. Turning to follow Ms. Porter, well, he presumed Ms as she
had not stated whether she was married or not, he asked, "Are there any children living in
the apartments adjacent to #303?"

Angela frowned a moment, as if in thought, then stated, "Well, the Matthews to the left have
a small infant boy, but he's not even toddling around yet, and the Wilkins on the right are
expecting but no children yet." She paused a moment, as if to catch her breath, then
continued on, "The Armani's who live directly across from the apartment have a boy and a
girl, but the girl is in her teens and the boy is nearly ten now. You won't have any
problems with them."

Frowning yet once again, Adrian spoke slowly and deliberately, as if to plan out his words
carefully so as not to offend her. "Ms. Porter, I really do not wish to waste your time or
my own by looking at the apartment, as I have already made my decision. I am afraid I must
decline. My apologies for having wasted your time, milady."

Knowing it was futile to do so, Ms Porter made one last valiant attempt to change his mind,
as she exclaimed, "Mr. Kenton, I'm sure we can find another apartment on one of the higher
floors where there are no children adjacent to the apartment."

Adrian shook his head, an apologetic look on his face. Ms Porter nodded in understanding and
the two of them headed back down to the main floor. Adrian offered Ms Porter his hand as he
said his farewell, but Ms Porter just waved him off. If he wasn't interested in renting an
apartment from her, she wanted nothing further to do with him. Adrian turned to walk out into
the sunshine again, and looking both up and down the street, he sighed. If this was an indication
as to how his day was to go, he was not looking forward to it.

The next apartment he looked at was not suitable for entertaining in, and the third was
much too open for him. He wanted his personal living quarters to be somewhat secluded from
the main part of the home, so as to maintain at least some bit of privacy while entertaining
guests. It seemed as if he was doomed to failure in his search for a new home, as nothing met
with his approval.

Stopping at a small bistro for lunch, Adrian ordered a sandwich and some coffee. The sandwich,
as it were, turned out to be quite delicious. He made a mental note as to the location of the
bistro for future reference. If he were to be living at this end of town, it would be helpful to
know where he could find good food.

Looking at his watch, Adrian realized he still had an hour before his next appointment, and the
place was only right up the street from him. Spying an antique bookshop across the street, he
quickly crossed over and entered the shop. Allowing his eyes to adjust to the difference in
lighting, Adrian stood just inside the doorway for a moment. Once focused, he turned his gaze
to look around the shop. A pudgy elderly man sat snoozing behind a glass counter, beneath
which appeared several ancient volumes. A few trinkets here and there, the shop was mostly
filled with books neatly placed on shelves. The aisles were small, only allowing space for
one person to pass through, but the shop was empty with exception of Adrian and the elderly
gentleman.

Not wishing to disturb the old man, Adrian stepped further into the shop and began
to browse the titles of the books on the shelves. Coming across a book of magic, Adrian pulled
the book off the shelf and opened it. No, the book was full of dark magic. He should have known
as he had felt an affinity to the book even before picking it up. He quickly shut the book and
placed it back on the shelf. Finding nothing else of interest, Adrian turned to leave, but
in a corner, where he could not have seen the book from the angle he had walked in at, lay a
book that literally repulsed him. Intrigued, he slowly walked over to the book, then slowly
lifting his fingers to touch the book, he brought his fingertip up to the book then pulled it
away just as quickly, as if he'd been expecting a jolt of electricity or something of the sort.

Adrian reached out again, this time placing his hand softly upon the cover of the book, and he
brushed away several weeks worth of dust. Gingerly picking the book up, he could see the face
of what appeared to be an angel, and not realizing he spoke aloud, he read, "Healing with
Grace".

A quavering voice spoke up then,"That book is older than I am, and it's been sitting
on the shelf there for many years, just waiting for the right person to come along. I think
the book has finally picked it's new owner."

Startled, Adrian looked up to find the elderly gentleman standing next to him. He had not heard
the man move, yet there was no way this old man had made his way over to him without the sound
of shuffling feet and a cane striking the ground. This was so unlike Adrian, who was always
aware of everything that went on in his surrounding area.

I must be slipping, Adrian thought to himself. Nodding at the elderly gentleman, Adrian
said, "Yes, I think I shall take this one. Please wrap it so as to keep it safe until I get
it home."

The gentleman nodded and taking the book from Adrian, who seemed reluctant to give it up, he
smiled a crooked smile and hobbled over to the glass counter where he proceeded to wrap the
book. Adrian paid for the book and left the shop, package stowed safely under his arm.
Looking at his watch, he could not believe how much time had passed, and he walked hurriedly
over to the next apartment building he was to enter.

Finding the front entrance locked, and a buzzer and intercom outside the building, Adrian pushed
the buzzer. A cheery voice spoke up, asking him to identify himself, and upon doing so, bade
him enter. As soon as he entered the building, a tall woman with curly blonde hair exited the
office and came to greet him.

"Mr Kenton, I am Alise Morwen. It's a real pleasure to meet you, sir.", Alise spoke in a friendly
yet professional manner.

She was dressed in business attire, nothing casual about her at all and Adrian was
impressed with her mannerisms. Nothing like the managers of the previous apartments he had
looked at that day.

"Now, if you're still interested, as I'm sure you are or you would not be here, the apartment
available is right this way. Apartment 405 should meet the specifications you stated you
require. If it doesn't, then just let me know and I can show you a few other apartments in the
building that might."

Alise led Adrian to an elevator at the end of the hall, and they only had to wait a moment for
the elevator to arrive. Upon entering the elevator, Adrian could see that it was clean and
almost new looking, and the carpeting and decor were pleasing to the eye. The elevator made
almost no noise at all as it rose to the fourth floor. Following Alise out of the elevator,
she already had her keys out and the key to the apartment in hand. Opening the door to the
apartment, Alise stepped back and allowed Adrian to enter first.

Free of all furnishings, the apartment sounded hollow and looked quite bare, but Adrian
knew what a few pieces of furniture could do to change that. The apartment opened into an
entranceway about twice as wide as the front door. The floor was carpeted in a plush pale
tan color. The walls were an off white, almost almond like color. Adrian nodded his
approval.

Behind him, unbeknown to Adrian, Alise smiled, pleased that he liked what he saw. She stated
quite briefly, "If you have any questions, please feel free to ask and I will answer as best
I can. Feel free to walk through the apartment and have a look around. I have a few matters to
attend to down the hall, if you don't mind."

Adrian turned to look at Alise, and nodded his approval. He felt that she had made this
excuse in order to allow him time alone to decide, and this pleased him greatly. It seemed
the best had been saved for last. The manager was pleasant and professional, the building
was smart looking and well tended, there were no children running through the halls. All that
remained was to look through the apartment and make sure it was suitable for entertaining,
yet retained enough privacy for his own personal needs. A few steps through the entranceway
led to an opening on both sides of the apartment, giving it a spacious feeling. To his left
was a living area, which was actually quite large. The living area was carpeted in the same
plush tan carpet found in the entranceway. The wall on the right had a false fireplace
built into it, with a lovely marble mantlepiece. There was room enough for at least two sofa's
and several chairs. This pleased Adrian greatly.

Turning to look at the area to the right of the entranceway, Adrian found a spacious dining
room, allowing plenty of room for entertaining. The dining area was carpeted in the same plush
yet again. It seemed the entire house would be carpeted this way, but nothing could be more
pleasing to him. There was a breakfast bar, with a sliding enclosure that would permit him to
separate the kitchen from the dining area should he choose to do so. There was room enough for
three or four low stools to sit beneath the counter of the breakfast bar, and the counter stuck
out far enough to allow one to place platters of food upon even when the enclosure was latched
shut. To the right of the counter was a built in China cabinet with lovely etched glass windows
inset into the doors. Below the china cabinet were three drawers, the two lower drawers twice
the height of the top drawer.

To the left of the counter was a doorway that opened into the kitchen. Adrian stepped
through this to have a look at the kitchen. Although a bit narrow, the kitchen was spacious.
There was room enough for a breakfast nook on the far wall beneath the window. A small island
in the center of the kitchen contained a butcher block top on one side, and a double kitchen
sink on the other side. This would allow for easy preparation of food as well as an easy
cleanup.

The kitchen was equipped with a stainless steel double door refrigerator complete with
ice maker and dispenser, and a small water dispenser inset into the door.The stove was also
stainless steel, as was the oven, which was built into the wall. A line of cupboards framed the
upper part of the kitchen along the wall on the opposite side of the dining room. There were
additional cupboards below the stove, and a pantry built between the stove and the refrigerator.
Between the cupboards and the pantry, there was ample room to store groceries, pots and pans,
dishes, cutlery, and appliances. At the far end of the counter between the kitchen and
dining area, was a well ventilated space which was obviously intended for a microwave oven, which
would be accessible from both sides when the sliding enclosure was open. On the kitchen
side of the breakfast bar, the counter was covered in a graphite colored good quality
laminate. The floor covering was graphite tiling, and appeared to be well laid. Adrian
had never seen a kitchen quite like this before and he was quite impressed with it.

Another doorway from the kitchen led off into the hallway, which could also be entered straight
on from the entrance way once past the kitchen and living area. There were four doors that
led off from the hallway, two to the left, one to the right, and a door at the end of the hall
which opened into a linen closet. The first door to the left opened into a full bathroom. This
would be the guest bathroom. The tub/shower, toilet, and sink were all a shell almond color, with
a cream colored marble countertop for the sink, and a cupboard below. The walls were
painted in a pale almond as well. The carpeting did extend into the bathroom.

Further down the hallway to the left, the door opened into a small bedroom. A bit dejected at
the fact that this room was carpeted as well, as this room was to act as his studio, Adrian
thought to himself Well, I suppose everything can't be perfect. I'll just have to make do
and cover the carpet in plastic so as not to chance getting paint upon it.

Moving across the hall to the master bedroom, Adrian was impressed with the size of the room.
He would have to get himself a new bed, of a king size variety, just to fill the room up a bit.
To his right was a full size bathroom with a double vanity, originally intended for a couple.
There was a walk in shower, and a jacuzzi style bath to the right of the shower, both to the
left of the vanity setup. A drain was placed in the center of the floor in the bath area, to
permit water that was splashed from either the shower or the bath to drain before reaching the
other areas of the bathroom. The floor appeared to be much like that of the showers you
would find in a gym or a swimming pool, and was painted in a pale almond color.

A small linen closet was built into the wall between the bath and the vanity on the left.
In a small room to the right of the vanity sat an almond color toilet and a bidet. This
actually took Adrian by surprise as he had not expected such an elaborate bathroom in an
apartment. A large mirror covered the wall, stretching above both vanities, a light
fixture above the mirror which allowed for plenty of light while one groomed themselves.There was
a short wall extension between the linen closet and the bath, to allow for semi-privacy, and to
act as a separator between the bath area and the rest of the bathroom. The floor in the vanity
and toilet area was tiled in a high quality almond colored linoleum tile, with diamond shaped
patterns of black and a darker almond color incorporated into the tiles.

Thoroughly impressed with the apartment, Adrian decided he would go ahead and take it. Just as he
stepped out of the master bedroom, Alise stepped back into the apartment. A smile on her face,
she asked him, "So what do you think, Mr. Kenton. Does the apartment live up to your expectations?"

Adrian nodded, and said, "Mrs. Morwen, I'm prepared to sign the lease immediately. When would I
be able to move in?"

"Well, in addition to signing the lease, there is the matter of signing papers for a credit check.
Based on my knowledge of who you are, I don't think there will be any issues with that. You should
hear from me before the end of the week, and you may have the keys to the apartment in your pocket
by this coming Friday."

Adrian thought for a moment and said, "That would work well for me."

Alise nodded and led Adrian back to the elevator and down to the managers office, where he completed
all the necessary paperwork. She then accompanied Adrian to the front door of the building where they
said their farewells. Adrian stepped out onto the sidewalk and blinked a few times, his eyes adjusting
to the sunlight.

((Sorry for the long intro post...I just wanted to give you an idea of what sort of day he'd had and what
his new apartment looks like. Most of my posts will not come even close to this length, hehe. I've left
him standing outside the building, so that if you wish to have them interact immediately, you have the
opportunity of running into him there. They don't have to interact just yet though. I don't mind playing
it out a bit before they meet.))

Lucia sighed as she left a patient's room within the hospital, giving one last longing look behind her at the corpse upon the bed covered with the thin hospital sheet. The child was in a better place now, a place without suffering, but it still broke Lucia's heart that she could only ease the young girls pain, not cure the Leukemia that ailed her small frame. Tears filling her eyes, Lucia made her way to the counter to inform inquire after the doctor in charge of the young girl. Being informed that he was with another patient, Lucia chose to wait to speak with him in person.

When the doctor finally arrived, Lucia's cheeks were a tad puffy from crying and her eyes were red. However, she had quit crying and was now in a calm state of mind as she informed the doctor of what had become of the young child despite their treatment.

"I'm sorry you were forced to go through that alone, Ms. Rumeti. Go home and rest, we will take care of everything here and let her family know of what has happened. You did all that you could, Lucia, do not blame yourself," Doctor Smitheton said warmly as he placed a firm hand on her shoulder in an act of comfort.

Lucia offered a warm smile in response as she spoke, "No, thank you, there i-"

"I will not take no for an answer, Lucia. Doctor's order, go home and rest," Doctor Smitheton said with a wink as he shooed her towards the door before heading to his office to make the necessary phone-calls to her family and fill out the proper paperwork.

Sighing, Lucia checked out and headed to her office to collect her things. She may not have been a doctor with a degree, but she was as great as any doctor within the building and had won a great deal of respect in not only the community, but in the hospital itself.

Leaving the hospital, Lucia carried her jacket and purse in one arm as her blond hair swirled in the breeze around her. Letting the sweet air of fruits and flowers from the nearby vendors surround her and lift her spirits enough to keep from crying again, Lucia began making her way home to the apartment building ran by Alise Morwen. Rosing Apartments, it was called - a rather elegant establishment that Lucia was only able to afford on account of her name: Rumeti.

In one sense, it was good that the elven family Rumeti had a great deal of wealth and status. It allowed Lucia to attend a prestigious academy, allowed her sister to travel all over the world with her boyfriend, and allowed Lucia herself to come to this city and work in the hospital without having to worry about her race being an issue with the public. However, on the downside, Lucia's name Rumeti was widely known and so much was expected of her in order to uphold the family name with Honor.

Lost in her thoughts of what had happened that day in the hospital, Lucia did not notice a man exit her apartment building as she approached. Her eyes cast downward, Lucia accidentally bumped into the man mentioned, nearly falling backwards from the collision. Steadying herself, Lucia blushed a deep scarlet as she curtsied before the man as one would bow before royalty. It seemed as if Lucia were from a different era all together; which became more apparent when she spoke in her British accent.

"Forgive me, good sir, I did not see you. I am afraid I was lost in my thoughts and was not paying attention to where I was going. I am very sorry to have ran into you, I do hope you are not hurt. Please, let me make it up to you by taking you out to a small dinner. It is the least I can do for being so terribly clumsy and making a vast fool of myself in front of a stranger. My name is Lucia Rumeti, sir, and you are?" Lucia inquired as she held out her hand to shake his own, a blush still quite present upon her cheeks as her blond hair swirled around her.