Appearances(open)

[Wild Dog]

This is man's worst crime. Not war. Not pollution, but this that was laid out for my eyes to see. This will leave a scar in people's mind forever. If they only knew it. As I approached the city, this crime unfolded itself. Poverty. Kids ran in the streets, muddy and not decently dressed. Mothers shooed them into their homes when they caught sight of me. Well, only a blind person would call the mud hole that they lived in a home. I didn't even need to step in one to comprehend how small they were. Not a single man was in sight. In fact, nobody was here. Just kids and their mothers. In a few moments, I was left standing there, in the cold. It was very cold, for it was yet not even morning. Though, I don't know why they were running. As if to remind me of his presence, The Spider tripped on a rock and fell. Ah yes, that is why. The Spider is not the average elf. Due to his four arms. Poor soul. Was virtually expelled from the elven nation becasue of it. His plight was no different from the thousand others suffering in this broken world. Peering around me, I saw the effects of the so-called Empire rule. Time somebody did something. Which is why I am here.

We, the Children of the Sun, Suncloaks for short, are changing this world. We are stepping out after centuries of chaos to take over the empire and restore peace and harmony to this world. Also, we hope that people will began to believe in us and in the Sun. As we came closer to the gate, the suffering, in the people and in my heart, continued to grow. I raged silently to myself. This needs to end. Up ahead, walked my helpers. Eight of them. All of them suncloaks and very accomplished sorcerers. As I passed them, they fell in behind us and relaxed. They must have thought that I was lost or worse. Silly thoughts. Finding the gate I paused, impressed, but yet saddened. Impressed that the gates could stand up, let alone work. They were magnificent. Large, brilliantly manufactured, and impossibility fancy. My heart saddened, though for the multitude of people in the streets, begging. This broke my heart.

Ahead, a stir that caused panic in the streets, Imperial guards, running towards us weapons out. Immediately, the suncloaks, my children, fanned out. If there was going to be a battle, they knew what their in for and what to do.

"You, the priest Shu'itan. You are under arrest" Shouted the captain.

I smirked at the young man. This unbeliever didn't know who he was dealing with. Obviously, he didn't know us. Now, usually I would preach and try to win their souls. But I was angry. Angry with anybody who calls themselves loyal to the king. The suncloaks ran towards the soldiers. Each one with a long, red sword and blasting words of the ancient language in the air. This was going to be ugly. Just before the wave of my men crashed into the offenders, I tore off my robe covering my clothes. Thank the light that the sun was just coming up. Speaking deeply, I caused the lights sun to be magnified. Alot. The soldiers were momentarily blinded. Then things were really getting started.

[Kite]

*Ava admired Salmissra. She was the height of beauty even with her color of brown. It was a deep brown and, like other dragons, was shiny. Salmissra had to take care of her beautiful exterior. After all she has been through in her short life with Ava's brother, Daran, she had to be cleaning herself. Fights, especially one like they got into just recently, had to dull that. She was so strong! Carrying Ava and their mysterious passenger at so young an age. Good, strong, beautiful girl!

She shakes her head out. They were above Dras-Leona now, and she had to focus a bit. Her brother had hired her to go to Dras-Leona to wait for a notorious character, Shu'itan, and his cult, The kiddies of the fire orb or something like that. He had given her a warrant for her arrest and told her to take the one behind her with her to serve the warrant. Salmissra actually volunteered to go with them, and Daran agreed for that. It allowed alone time to let them meet each other fully. Quite important. Daran had to go and track some werecat girls who had been kidnapped. Ava wondered how that was going, but then shook that thought off. He was fine, and probably kicking some sick man's ass.

Salmissra interrupts her thoughts for a moment, slipping her a message with her wonderful voice.*

Ava dear, I think i see the crazies...

*Ava nods and leans slightly, looking down past the flying Salmissra. She saw some oddly dressed men moving toward guards who had their weapons drawn in the slums. Looked like they were late, and the men were casting magic around and attacking.

At the back was a leader, an elf. Ava guessed that this was Shu'itan. She nodded and patted Salmissra on the neck before sending her a mental note.*

Well done, hon. Shall we?

We shall.

*Salmissra had just turned her back to the sun and started her decent while Ava warned the third wheel and gathered her power when everything got... brighter. Luckily, they were facing away, but it was still a bit painful. She decides that this might be a problem, with the guards being blinded with magical cultists rushing them, and she decides to do something about it. As they descend faster and faster now, she gathers her power and calls out in a clear and powerful voice.*

Datia Brisingr!

*As she speaks that, a long lance of fire leaps from her hand, past Salmissra, and sweeps over the cultists that are rushing the Dras-Leona City Guards. As she finishes the pass, Salmissra lands behind Shu'itan and Ava draws her elegant sword after sliding from Salmissra's back, facing Shu'itan and looking behind him to see the state of the cultists, attempting to see the damage inflicted by her surprise magical attack.*


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Note 1: Datia Brisingr means "Fire Mist". Closest I could get to Line or Lance of Fire and better than Fire Arrow.

Note 2: The Mysterious Stranger on Salmissra's back is an Emma character that she has yet to decide which, so i just left it anonymous. That would prolly make it her turn now.

[Tris]

Dolwaen was running down an alley way after a successful pick pocket, she started to turn the corner and saw a crowd gathering on the other end. Intrigued she walked to the end and pushed her way though, she saw a band of people all with long red swords and they were shouting things in the ancient language. She had seen these people and heard there leader speak before, they were called the suncloaks she thought, and they were some sort of religious group, and obviously they didn’t much like the empire very much. Right then a very interesting thing happened, a dragon swooped down from nowhere and the lady on its back yelled something and fire hit the cultists, landing right behind the leader, the lady on the dragons back draw her sword and slid of its back. Being distracted by the dragon she didn’t notice one of the cultist men running toward her “HELP ME PLEASE!!! I’m on fire!!”Grabbing her arm, he pulled her down with him.

[Ze Flying Wraithetti Monstress]

I sat as still as riding an oversized flapping lizard allowed me, arms crossed and mood dark. After leaving Urû’baen, I’d hoped my fear of flying would have diminished somewhat after the relatively lengthy flight on Thorn I’d had some time ago. But, as my luck would have it, it hadn’t. Takeoff was ruptured by my hysterical screaming and nearly slipping off, and then the ridiculous creature had spiralled in the air after I ripped several of her scales out in my desperation to hold onto something. Eventually, the beautifully intelligent elf sitting in front of me, Ava Marsados, had devised an idea- she covered my eyes and ears with my shawl, effectively blocking out two of the three senses alerting me to the flight. The wind still beat against me, but I’d at least had the learned wisdom to bring along a heavy coat to block out the freezing air.

However, in the face of the task I was supposed to accomplish, I had reverted to my usual irritable self despite my comfort. Galbatorix was in need of my services yet again, this time to remove a certain irritating religious individual known as Shu’itan. An elf, and supposedly more insane than most, he had nonetheless gathered a small amount of followers, enough to make an entire cult known as the Children of the Sun, or the Suncloaks for short. As deducible by the name, they worshipped the sun, looked down on all who did not believe their ideals, and above all else, despised the Empire. Personally, I saw it as little else but one of a number of very small organizations trying to overthrow Galbatorix- and not even the Varden had succeeded at that task.

I cared little for the effects of the rebellion, as they had yet to disturb my comfortable estate in Urû’baen, but if Galbatorix thought that he needed a Shade, an elf, and a dragon to quell this supposedly small uprising, especially compared to what the Varden had achieved, then they were obviously a botheration on his mind. I did not doubt my abilities against a pack of religious fanatics, but the fact that I was being dragged into Dras-Leona for such a ridiculous purpose was enough to make me despise Galbatorix and wish for my old home in Ília Fëon. I had brought no weapons, as I never used them, but as a safety measure I’d asked two of my guards to make for the city should I require physical protection. I trusted Lujon and Valkyn, poor painless fools, with my life.

“Countess?” came Marsados’s hesitant voice.
“Yes, what is it?” I grumbled.
“We’ll be landing shortly. Be careful, Shu’itan has some kind of ability to manipulate heat and light, so things might get…”
“Torrid?” I chuckled. “Don’t worry about me, girl. I’ve played with fire before.”

We banked sharply, making me gasp, and my ears popped with the increased pressure. On my back, I felt the sun, which made me frown. Considering we’d left at midnight, there was no possible way the sun was at all high yet. The heat became somewhat stifling, but I didn’t dare remove my shawl. In front of me, I heard Marsados shout in the ancient language, and before long the cries of men rang below us. I put on a stiff upper lip. Violence was a necessary evil in wartime. I’d have to get used to it at one point or another. We landed heavily, and I heard the hiss of a sword being drawn. I reached for the shawl, unwrapping it, and squinted at the unnatural brilliance surrounding me. This was Shu’itan’s magic, no doubt. Just for the occasion, I’d taken along a simple thin strip of black cloth. I tied this around my eyes. It lessened the light considerably, but didn’t blind me. Afterwards, I shrugged off my heavy black coat and dismounted.

My dress was maroon in colour, made of simple velvet, and not one of my best - it would likely be ruined and stained in the coming battle, and washing blood out of anything was a hell I didn’t need to put up with. It didn’t even need a whalebone frame for the skirt, so the only particularly painful thing I had to contend with was the ever-necessary corset beneath my clothing. Tossing my scarlet curls, I strode forward, eyeing the damage. Shu’itan was attacking the city guards, but a good few of his cultists were currently being incinerated by Ava’s fire spell. Considering that my orders were to make sure they were dead or in chains, preferably dead, I paid more attention to a lone woman fleeing the city gates only to be apprehended and pulled down by one of the fanatics. Trapped underneath his bulk, she, too, began to catch fire.

“HMM!” she mumbled, the bottom half of her face obscured by his arm. “Hmm mmph mm hmm hmm!”
“I can’t understand a word you’re saying,” I told her flatly. “You’ve got a thing on top of you.”
“MM!” was her only response, as the fires caught onto her clothing. It was worn and faded, giving away her status as a drifter, probably a criminal. Normally I wouldn’t give half a mind to a common street vagrant, but her eyes were pleading. I sighed.
“Brisingr,” I said, raising my hand. “Letta.”

The flames went out with a raspy poof, and I used my boot, not at all willing to touch the maniac with my bare hands, to turn the cultist over. The flames had already killed him. That was one fool off my list. I took the woman’s hand- I could now see that she was very young- and pulled her to her feet. Behind me, I heard Salmissra’s roars as she likely trampled and burned the cultists, the clang of swords, and Marsados shouting in the ancient language. No one was paying attention to the Shade that really didn’t want to be here. However, Shu’itan had finally gotten control of the flames killing his warriors, and the elf maiden would need backup. I glanced back at the girl, who was backing away, her eyes firmly fixated on the battle scene. Well, at least she knew what was good for her. I turned back to the fight, readying my magic.

People were already dead on both sides, although the Imperial soldiers were backing away, probably wanting to wait for their reinforcements. I took a moment to realize the sheer stupidity of this entire venture. Even if Shu’itan somehow destroyed every single soldier in the city and took over, Galbatorix’s armies would be on him like wolves on raw meat, and he would die. I thought back to the many religions I’d read about. This might be some kind of purification, purging the unbelievers- in this case, the Empire- but I didn’t know what Shu’itan, with his small amount of followers, would achieve by killing about two-thirds of the human population. I doubted the Varden would enjoy his methods, either. Or, he just wanted to show off the power of the sun and turn others to his cause. I heard he had quite the reputation for being persuasive. Out of curiosity if nothing else, I would ask him. Hopefully, he’d say something intelligent.

“Bjarg abr du deloi,” I said clearly, “fang un huildr Shu’itan!”

The earth answered my call. Rocks as tall as a man and shaped like spikes burst from the earth around the elf, encircling him. They pointed inwards, drawing closer, pointed ends aimed at his neck. Leaving Salmissra and Marsados to deal with the obviously infuriated Suncloaks, I approached him, not daring to remove the blindfold on my eyes. He opened his mouth, probably to either break into religious babble or cast a spell on me, but I raised my hand sharply, glaring at him and blaming him for making me come here.

“Oh, shut up!” I barked. “What a pain in me backside! One word and yer pushin’ up daisies. I could have just spoken a word o’ death and killed you on the spot, but I’m curious.” I stopped in front of the spikes, mouth trembling with rage. “What blarney is this?! Galbatorix easily sent ya bloody elves with yer tails between your legs, an’ he can do it again! Whatever yer doin’, however dense ya are, I can assure you that killin’ innocents’ll result in nothing but gettin’ yerself offed! Understand?”

Words;; 1406
Muse;; Bad until the very end, where I had fun with the dialogue. XD
Thoughts;; To clarify, Pele has an Irish accent. MUAHAHA.

[Wild Dog]

I burned inwardly.

First came the dragon rider. She landed right next to me, sword drawn. A flash of fire, and two of my children cried out in pain. Her dragon scared me more than the rider. Behind me, I heard Child Manus giving orders. He was a great eleven magician. He knew how to fight. All I had to deal with were these two unbelievers here. The other pain came off with the Rider. She appeared to be a Shade. The demon. She wore a black scarf tied over her eyes. Blocking my attack from hurting her eyes. She saved a girl (I have no idea who) and came towards me.

“Bjarg abr du deloi,” she said , “fang un huildr Shu’itan!” i would have countered her, which I could have done easily. Twelve hundred years took its toll on my body, but I can contest anybody in a battle of wills. Even this shade would have been no match for me. But something caught my eye. On the roof tops, the Snake waited. I blinked; the Snake wasn't a warrior, more like my spy. He was definitely out of his zone being there. Blinking again, I found myself surrounded by stone fingers. The nails were pointed right at my neck. Understandably, I tried not to breathe. I could sense my Children dying. Child Mangus had only half of the remaining children alive. But, my eye’s wandered over to the Snake. Still on the roof. What in the world was he doing? And why was Kelwen……….hmmmm, yes. Good and now to stall. The Shade did it for me. She seemed pretty pissed. The idea of a shade being here intrigued me. Maybe the old man felt that my teachings were too dangerous to be left uncontested. But, the children of the Sun didn’t have a strong foothold in Dras-leona. Neither did the king, come to think about it. The shade walked up to me, and started a really interesting speech.

“Oh, shut up!” she yelled. “What a pain in me backside! One word and yer pushin’ up daisies. I could have just spoken a word o’ death and killed you on the spot, but I’m curious. What blarney is this?! Galbatorix easily sent ya bloody elves with yer tails between your legs, an’ he can do it again! Whatever yer doin’, however dense ya are, I can assure you that killin’ innocents’ll result in nothing but gettin’ yerself offed! Understand?” Why in the world did she tell me to shut up? Well, maybe my mouth dropped open when I caught sight of Kelwen. I needed time. So I braced myself, muttered a prayer, in my head so not to anger the shade, and shouted, “STOP” I have it on the best of witnesses that my voice carried on throughout the whole city. My children stopped, to catch their breathe. The imperial soldiers stopped, maybe waiting for reinforcements. Or simply curiosity? I faced the shade in front of me.

“The bloody king can beat the elves? Ha. Walk into our forest and say that. And you, a demon shade. A little puppy for the king. Did he say go get the priest called Shu’itan, or fetch? Tell me, when you bring me, will you wag your tail and bark for a treat? Will you yearn for him to pat you on the head? You think that a puppy like yourself can stop me from bringing justice to these lands? This evil can no longer be tolerated. Innocent?!! These men have done nothing to stop the poverty around them. They are not innocent. This girl, she is innocent. (pointing to a girl knocked down by my soldier) And look what your little display did to her. Pulled down by my child, dead because of you. How’s that for being dense?” Now, while all this was very true, I really didn’t have a heart for this. In my head, I was conversing with Kelwen.

“Child Kelwen, what in the hell are you doing here”
“Master, the Snake told me about your predicament. I acted accordingly and brought twenty archers. Each capable of fighting at least two soldiers. Are you okay?”
“Yes, fine, but I am sure happy you decided to show up. Here is the plan. I need all your archers around this plaza. Wait for my signal. But Kelwen, why are you here? You are supposed to be in Teirm.”
“Well, we were tracking that assassin all across the country. He gave us quite a slip. Kill a Suncloak here, and we surrounded the place. But he was long gone. Finally, we caught him and interrogated him. He cracked, thankfully, after a while. Found out he was working for the head priest here. Under direct orders from him, in fact. To kill you. What are you going to do about it?”
“Leap for joy, actually” I ended the connection now the gamble.

Eyeing the shade (deliberately ignoring the dragon rider) I pressed forward, verbally. Since the points of stone were two inches from my neck, it wasn’t going to happen physically. A kept a thread of contact to Kelwen, who knew when I would next need him. Contacting Mangus, I asked of his situation. He was fine, albeit exhausted. The four of them would have killed the soldiers, if the Dragon rider wouldn’t have attacked them. They weren’t feeling up to killing the dragon rider, but the dragon was a whole different story. Two would distract the rider and lure her away from the beast. Then Mangus would bring it down, with the help of the archers.

“So, here is the deal”, softly, so the soldiers couldn’t here, “look around you, dog. See those archers? At my command, they will shoot, killing everybody here. Yes, you can deal with those archers. But, I will invade your mind and kill you, maybe with one of your ‘word o’ death’ (eyeing the dragon rider) and you, you can take care of the archers and this shade puppy can take care of me, but what about my men? They can also kill you. All four of them can join together, override you, and kill you. Even some of the archers are magicians. Weak, yes, but the will join strengths to kill you. There is, however, an option that will benefit all of us. See, I know what is going on in this city. The head priest, Sharg, he is testing the king’s patience. He also tests mine. Don’t believe me, look around. He has tripled the temple guards around here. He is preaching that this plague, this disease, is a result of the king’s. People are starting to believe him. Soon, this whole city will go up in flames. Maybe the king can stop it, maybe not. Here is what I will do. I will stop killing the soldiers and withdraw. You will also withdraw from this area. Then we will talk about this Sharg business. Your choice, either get killed, or kill somebody else. Your king will greatly appreciate it if you eliminated a hazard before he knew about it. What do you say?”

About this time, I came to my senses. I was so enraged at the state of this city that I lost my hold on things. Killing these soldiers might have not been the best shot. At least, not out in the open. I still burned with pride on how my children handled themselves. They were (and still) are my best. They really could keep that rider at bay until the dragon died. The archers drew back, ready to fire. It all depends now on the shade, who was obviously in charge.