V for Violation

[Raelyse]

There was an alien eeriness about Concordia this day.

This was despite the fact that the sun was high in the sky, its rays barely making a dent through the dense canopies of the forest’s trees. The undergrowth was crisp and fresh with life, even after fine leather boots trod and snapped anything underfoot. The fauna were making themselves known, with the songs of birds and cries of beasts echoing throughout, not with sounds of fear or anger, but instead of impartiality. This was not a special day; this was any other day basking in the fine splendour of Concordia.

This fact though, was entirely lost of Raelyse. There was something enigmatic and mysterious emanating from this forest and he was determined to find it. His feet strode through Concordia with false purpose and authority, with none to witness the proud strides but the forest itself. The Myrusian had come here on a feeling, a twinge in his being that sparked his curiosity. Somehow, a carrot had dangled above him and ever since then, despite the many steps that he had made into the forest, it had been just out of his reach.

In truth though, Raelyse had only entered Concordia and embarked on this quest to find this intangible temptation because he was in a word, bored. Few things managed to hold his attention for very long these days and he indulged in multiple whims on a daily basis. When his magical sense, which picked up objects of people of interest on a regular basis, rang like an alarm bell, it was more than enough to lift him from the comfort of his laurels.

Concordia was difficult for someone without ranger qualifications to navigate; every tree and every grove looked the same. Raelyse followed the closest thing to a footpath that there was, while at the same time trying to pull himself closer to the very trigger that had dragged him here. He could still sense it, yet it was not getting any stronger. It was as if he was striving for a beacon of light in the distance. He was getting closer, but it was so far away that he didn’t seem to be making any progress at all.

Frustrated, the Myrusian dug his heels into the grassy ground and leaned on a nearby tree. One arm draped over a branch and the other loosely gripped around the handle of his cane, Raelyse looked skywards. It was a hopeless gesture, a sign that he was on the cusp of giving up.

His mind wandered, dwelling on thoughts of his own uselessness. His almost trademark pride grew as fragile as the twigs underfoot that he had snapped at will. Raelyse wondered what had happened to him, how he had degenerated from the ambitious prince of Myrusia to the wandering, aimless fool that he was now.

His eyes remained lost in the sky, though little of the blue expanse was visible behind the waves of canopy leaves.

They did not move, they did not waver as they searched, ultimately in vain, for a muse.

[Veatrix]

The half-Pharoas warrior sighed.

Veatrix Bane toyed with a broken branch from one of Concordia’s towering trees as her back leaned on th thick tree, crystal clear wings flapping unconsciously on each side of the tree. Her golden blonde hair rested placidly on her shoulders, sunlight barely making it through the thick canopy of foliage shielding the forest. Sitting atop one of the higher branches, simply experiencing the bustling life around her, she looked wholly out of place. White dress shirt, black silk pants, tight black corset, purple ballerina shoes and wooden sheath hanging from her waist – she looked like a musing teenager, which wasn’t so inaccurate. Her silver-framed eyes gazed at the wonder around her – ants carrying leaves hundred times larger than themselves, mother birds dropping twitching worms for the chicks, spiders stalking their prey.

Life seemed endless in Concordia.

Throwing the broken branch down, the little piece of wood falling all the way down to the forest floor, Veatrix sighed. The past couple of days had been so uneventful, so utterly boring that sitting quietly in Concordia seemed like a wonderfully entertaining goal. In all honesty, Veatrix enjoyed being around the flora and fauna, she felt instinctively at home, like she belonged. Most especially since her crystalline wings sprouted out of her back painfully in a dream-like revelation. The presence of butterfly wings seemed to make her existence predestined for Concordia, for the forest, for Mother Earth.

But why she sat and stayed in Concordia for hours on end was beyond her.

Drawing Gainsborough from its humble wooden sheath, Veatrix felt the leather handle strong under her grip. A sweet shing rang in the silence of the forest as it was pulled from its sheath, the pearl inlay decorations looking dull under the canopy darkness. Veatrix studied the sword, its expert craftsmanship, its details, its deadliness. In many ways, Gainsborough was like Concordia – beautiful, richly detailed and vibrant but also dangerous if left unchecked or tampered without experience. The blade looked dull in the shadows of the trees but its power was unmistakable.

With nothing left to do, Veatrix let the sword hang down lazily, loosely, like a sloth’s furry tail. To the blurry eye, the sword might have just looked like a simple vine, hanging down from way up above in the treetops. To the eye with perfect vision, the gleam of Gainsborough couldn’t be missed. Putting an arm over her head, Veatrix Bane, a power-hungry warrior searching for what lay beyond herself, shut her silver-eyelashed eyes. Feeling life living all around her brought made her mind wander.

Mind lost in Concordia, eyes lost in darkness, Veatrix smiled a small, simple smile.

[Raelyse]

The countless leaves in the canopy almost completely covered the blue sky, revealing it in nothing more than blue patches in between an endless blanket of green. Rays of sunlight forced their way through any holes in the otherwise impenetrable leafy shield, almost as if they were unwilling to be suppressed. The fine day revealed itself in streaking cascades, single strands of light across the bark of century old trees. Raelyse’s eyes scanned the treetops and the trunks, not sure as to what they were looking for, but searching all the same.

He was barely paying attention when his search ended, not because of what he had found, but what had found him. His attention had been diverted elsewhere, so he barely noticed when a branch, small and insignificant, fell at his feet, a herald to something much more important. His ears took a moment to register the sound, but as soon as they did, Raelyse stood up straight instantly, on his guard. When he realized there was no immediate danger, he relaxed somewhat, but was still somewhat confused and astonished.

His neck instantly craned upwards, his eyes narrowing their search of the infinite amount of trees in Concordia to the one that was in front of him. He would not have noticed it otherwise, he noticed now, unless his attention was focused on searching the one tree, just like it was now. Sitting atop one of the higher branches of this colossal tree was a figure that was more than interesting to him. That was definitely the body of a female but as he walked around at the base of the tree, eager to get a better glimpse of her, he realized just how much more than that she was.

She appeared at first as nothing more than ordinary but Raelyse’s eyes told him otherwise with what little they could see from so far below her. For emerging from her back were two wings, but not like any he had ever seen. They were not the feathery ones of an angel, nor the leathery ones of a dragon; her’s were much more beautiful. A hundred colours perfectly matched into the effervescent shape of a pair of butterfly wings.

She was special, he knew that now. He had to get a better look, to determine whether his eyes were playing tricks on him or whether he was really in the presence of such a beautiful creature.

Raelyse concentrated for a moment, then felt his body lighten and eventually lift off from the ground. His formidable array of magic had recently expanded to include wingless flight, but until now, he had used it at high speed for transport or combat purposes. His altitude rose much more slowly now, enjoying the feeling of his body slowly lifting further and further from the ground. More than that though, the Myrusian had cast his eyes to the sky and the enigmatically beautiful figure sitting atop one of the tree’s branches.

He did not want to startle her, nor thrust the sensation of her beauty down his throat. He would enjoy his first sight of her gradually.

[Veatrix]

The leaves danced in the trees, sun barely bleeding through the floral cracks in the canopy. Short sword lightly grasped and mind wandering, Veatrix sat.

Sitting listlessly atop the trees of Concordia seemed to give Veatrix some very good forest insight. For one, she felt everything around her like a tangible force. She felt life itself, ending and beginning, living and dying, opening and closing. She felt the hearts of the trees beating, the wings of the insect buzzing, the souls of the animals calling out to their gods and goddesses.

But she also felt something else.

Eyes closed, Veatrix focused her magical energy within herself, feeling around the forest. The trees were peaceful and gentle, the animals docile, and the rest of Concordia alive but quiet. But she also felt the presence of something alien to the land, a foreign being wandering through the trees. The presence was human, male, but very, very powerful. Compared to his power, Veatrix was nothing but a simpleton, an unworthy dog wagging its tail stupidly beside its master’s feet. Fear, but more importantly, jealousy crept into Veatrix’s heart.

Turning her head very slightly, blonde hair barely moving, she saw a slender man’s figure walking aimlessly through Concordia. He was armed like a warrior, dressed like a prince. Undoubtedly, he was very handsome and carried himself with such pride that Veatrix couldn’t help but gaze on. His stride spoke of experience, his footsteps of independence, his walk of sheer power. But she also noticed his lack of ranger experience. To him, each grove and each branch, each stump and each stream was the same. He was a foreigner to this land. He was probably much more secure walking through the busy streets of Radasanth, or calling out orders on the field of battle. But in the heart of nature, he was nothing but a man.

Turning her head back around, Veatrix gripped Gainsborough tighter. Anything could come out of this – she wasn’t even sure if she should be taking such hostile precautions. But experience had taught her better: never let your guard down. The man could have been anyone, anything. He could have been another assassin sent to kill her, or just another man in search of power, just like her.

The leaves danced in the trees, sun barely bleeding through the floral cracks in the canopy. Short sword in hand and mind set, Veatrix waited.

[Raelyse]

Raelyse floated slowly upwards, a wingless angel on a slow ascent towards the sky. But the sky and its limitless beauty was not the Myrusian’s destination; he intended to experience an untouched beauty he had never had the pleasure of before. Many times he had soared in the sky, the wind running through his hair, but never had he seen a creature such as this. She was captivating in her mystery, and Raelyse was hooked. He needed to know more about her.

The trees and the flora had almost lost their colour, a stark comparison to the vivid palette of colours he had glimpsed of in her wings. With every moment, his body was drawing closer and closer to her’s, his excitement and tension building to a climax. Raelyse always had a unique affinity with beauty. He was continuously on the search for it and as soon as it was found, he would immerse himself in it. His eyes would be captivated, his mind obsessed and for a few hours, he would be able to think of nothing else.

As Raelyse searched for beauty, he simultaneously exuded it. He was always flawlessly preened, down to the last strand of hair and errant crease on clothing. Today, the Myrusian was dressed in a fine two piece suit, tailored from superior materials into a magnificent black jacket and pants. The first few buttons of his silky shirt were unbuttoned, just enough to reveal and tease the eye with hints of a chest so muscular it almost seemed as though it were carved from marble.

As the final few inches between Raelyse and his object of desire grew closer, his lips slowly curved to form a smile. His lips parted slightly to reveal a row of perfect, glimmering white teeth. His was a smile of appreciation, one that had been honed to credibility through a thousand repetitions that it now came to him as easily as the drawing of breath.

Raelyse’s body lifted a few feet above his quarry’s branch, almost as if to highlight this ability, before landing subtly on the branch. The wood did not waver or even shake, for the Myrusian was still subtly levitating himself half an inch above it. He took a delicate step towards the girl, eyes captivated on her and her pair of gorgeous wings.

“I mean you no harm,” he said slowly, his voice a melody of enticing notes. “I saw you from the forest floor and for a moment, I believed my eyes to be deceiving me. I am grateful that they were not.”

[Veatrix]

The surge of magical power that she sensed flew winglessly towards where the half-Pharoas sat, leather sword hilt tight in hand and eyes shut. The presence was so strong, it was almost jarring, but as it came closer, it seemed to pose no threat.

And then he landed on her branch and spoke.

I hate smooth talkers.

Her hand loosened its grip on Gainsborough.

Veatrix, though clearly abhorring herself for doing so, stared at the beauty of a man standing, or rather, levitating before her. He was gorgeous. Silver hair preened much like a prized dog, practiced smile revealing rows of teeth so white they glittered and shirt smartly unbuttoned, barely revealing a luscious chest underneath, Veatrix’s heart fluttered, if only for a moment. She was allowed to be swept away by handsome men once in a while, what girl wasn’t? Speaking in lilting, melodic tones, the half-Pharoas kept her face stone cold.

Oh Thayne.

He took a gentle step towards Veatrix, eyes obviously glued on to the apparent beauty that she possessed, and the crystalline clear wings flapping slowly on her back. The wings reflected all the colours around them – green, yellow, red, purple, blue, indigo. It was a sight to behold, Veatrix had to admit, but she endured many painful things in exchange for wings that could barely fly.

He smiled at her, a well-practiced but genuine smile. Veatrix’s heart tangoed away.

Face absent of emotion, though she desperately tried not to gawk at the epitome of beauty standing before her, Veatrix instead smothered her scathing words with pride.

“I hate smooth talkers.”

It was all she could think of.

How pathetic.

[Raelyse]

Raelyse could not help but chuckle slightly as her comment, even if it lacked the necessary scathing effect to truly dent his pride. Many a time women had attempted to fend him off, but the Myrusian had unrivalled determination when it came to getting what he wanted. As he stood in the awkward position of a man atop a branch that had no right to support his weight, his eyes were squarely on something that he wanted.

She had started out as a curious captivation but with every moment that his eyes were on her pair of wings, that feeling was growing. Now that he had as optimum a view of her as he was going to get, Raelyse began to notice that her beauty was not entirely concentrated in her wings; she was enchanting all by herself. Her facial features demanded his attention, lengthy eyelashes ensuring that his gaze was never far from her enticing brown eyes.

“Then I must apologize,” the Myrusian said, his voice not losing any of its bluster and confidence despite what he was trying to say. “I am usually bold, but I see now that you deserve an approach that is a bit more... tactful.”

Raelyse took another few steps forward, closing the distance between the two of them to about three feet.

“My name is Raelyse. Believe me when I say that my original intentions upon seeing you were purely based in curiosity. I have never seen one such as you,” he began, his voice adopting the same melodic pattern he had used before. “I just wanted a better look.”

There was an almost childish feel to his last comment, as if he were peeking over the top of a fence at something his parents had forbidden him from looking at.

[Veatrix]

The wonderful-looking man took a few more steps towards Veatrix, the tree branch unmoved by his manly form as he came closer and closer and closer. He was a heavenly vision, dressed in an expensive formal attire fit for a royal prince. In fact, he did look and act like a prince. The half-Pharoas noticed, as he inched closer, that his feet never actually came in contact with the branch. He was floating at least half an inch over it, which explained why the branch seemingly maintained both their body masses. But all that observation was just a simple distraction to the blessing before her.

Feeling slightly awkward at the amount of flirtatious attention she was getting, Veatrix puffed herself up.

“There’s nothing special to see here,” she began, excited blood rising to her temples. Waving her hand dismissively, her eyes barely met his piercing blue orbs. They seemed to pierce right into the deepest recesses of her spirit. “I’m not something to be taken interest in… there’s nothing captivating about me. You’ll probably be on your way very soon, mark my words.”

She noticed his obvious captivation with her pearly butterfly wings, the pair flapping as if they each had minds of their own.

“They’re nothing special.”

Seeing no use for Gainsborough to remain unsheathed, she swished the steel short sword around, almost but not quite slicing the distance between the two branch-sitters. Hoping that her weapon posed somewhat of a threat, though she was almost certain it didn’t, Gainsborough disappeared back into its wooden home. Raising a hand above her head, she smiled a crooked smile, awkward and unappealing, but filled with anxiety and exhilaration. The gesture was a double-bladed sword – part of it was an invitation to friendliness, something Veatrix wasn’t sure she wanted with this Raelyse person. The other more empowering one was a sign of power – Raelyse had better help her up.

“I’m… Hilary.”

There was vulnerability in a name, and through the many deadly trials Veatrix had faced through the years of her leaving her home, she learned not to trust anybody. At least, not to trust anybody too quickly.

No use in having him know my name. He’ll probably take off soon enough anyway. He can’t be too engrossed. I bet he’s too good for that.

[Raelyse]

There was a coldness in her words that was distant and aloof, but the manner in which she spoke was less than intimidating. She was shy, Raelyse knew that much, but certainly held some degree of interest in the Myrusian or she would have asked him to leave or left herself. Not once since he had made himself known to her did she directly respond to what he said, or even look him in the eyes. She wanted him to stay; it was just that she did not want him to know that.

Raelyse had barely noticed her sword, but seeing her sheath it was not something that he saw as a bad sign. He saw it as a sign that she was letting her defences down, at least a little bit, and was inviting him to remain in her presence. The Myrusian did not flinch as she swung the weapon in front of her with a touch that hinted at a certain degree of proficiency, confident in the knowledge that if she really was aggressive, he would have known it by now.

The cocky man was so sure of himself at this point, that he believed there was almost no chance that she was not interested.

“I will not be on my way anytime soon,” Raelyse countered, his voice continuing with its tone of dance-like grace and allure. “Unless that is what you want.”

The Myrusian’s head turned to the left slightly, his eyes visibly sweeping over the view of the canopy from within the canopy itself. “As for your view on you being less than special, I assure you that anyone who chooses to spend her time at the top of trees certainly warrants a second glance,” Raelyse said, words spread out in between a subtle chuckle. “At least in my eyes.”

He took another step forward, closing their distance even more, extending his left hand in an open invitation to help her up.

“Hilary, I don’t want anything more than the satiation of my curiosity,” Raelyse said, his voice changing yet again, this time to a pitch that sounded almost gentle and sincere. “I just want to know why you deserve so much time in my eyes. I want to know what you’re doing in the middle of Concordia at the top of a tree.”

[Veatrix]

The sound of his voice was overwhelming. He was the lead in a chorus of angels.

But Veatrix was determined not to succumb to his ploys. For one, she wasn’t even sure if this handsome man was a hideous shape-shifting sorcerer or vicious demon in disguise. Sometimes, old ladies turned out to be magic-stealing palmists that threatened to make your body shrivel up into nothing.

No.

Taking his outstretched hand, Veatrix pulled herself up, along with Raelyse’s tremendous amount of strength, judging by the way he grasped her. His hand was so firm, so strong, and when he pulled her up, he swept her off her feet in more ways than the half-Pharoas can comprehend. Dusting the twigs and stray ants that had decided to make her clothing their new home, she stood on the branch, balancing between life and death in the high tops of the tree.

Glancing down to Concordia’s floor very quickly, she hadn’t realized how far she climbed. Seeing the very long drop below her, she put a hand to lean on the tree to keep her balance. Her wings weren’t much help in a drop so dangerous – beautiful as they were, they were weak still; hovering was the only thing Veatrix could do without causing herself severe back pains. She didn’t want to embarrass herself by falling, especially in front of a stranger that had taken a very dodgy desire to “unclog his curiosity.”

“I was just thinking,” Veatrix said, answering his question of why she was in Concordia.

In all honesty though, she wasn’t particularly thinking about anything. She just wanted to let her mind wander somewhere much bigger than herself. Having her busy mind trapped inside her head for so long caused her headaches. She didn’t want to live with her trauma alone, the forest seemed like a good companion.

“Concordia is peaceful. Helps me clear my mind. But what about you? What are you doing here? You seem awfully out of place.”

It was true, Raelyse’s two-piece suit hardly looked indistinguishable in the greenery of Concordia. He stuck out like a sore thumb, most especially with his wingless flight. Creatures that flew in the forest usually had wings, and though Veatrix’s weren’t very strong, at least she blended in. If anything decided to attack them Raelyse would be a sure target. The notion of him being mauled by an animal of some sorts gave the half-Pharoas minor chills.

Why was he so gorgeous?

[Veatrix]

[OOC: Since this thread has been inactive for just shy of a year, I might as well finish it off. Raelyse seems to have gone missing, but no complaints here. No use in letting a good thread (or at least a potential one) go to waste. Had to finish it, Raelyse dear!]

Suddenly, darkness enveloped her eyesight, her mind attacked my some sort of unprovoked magic. It was like a thousand bees stinging her mental state, vengeful, evil, blood-lust. It was an internal pain, she knew, as she couldn’t feel anything but butterflies physically. Veatrix knew not of what made her head go through the torture, she had no business in thinking of such things when her mind was being pelted by a thousand bee stingers. Her palms went directly to her head. The pain surged – it wasn’t a normal pain either. A piercing scream escaped from her fragile form. She sounded worse than a warrior wounded in battle. Her wounds were mental, not physical.

FOOLED YOU.

A voice pounded into the girl’s head, tone deep and demanding respect and fear. The voice was deeper than the oceans’ depths, thicker than the Concordian Forest, as commanding as the nercromancer Xem’Zud. There was no explanation for its interruption on what could have been something delightfully beautiful. It just wanted to be heard.

Strangely, Veatrix didn’t even have to let go of Raelyse’s hand – his hand wasn’t even there for her to hold. All she could fill through her fingertips, before her palms shot to her head, were the hairy buzzing life of bees. It was a sensation the girl never wanted to know again. After her two almost fatal encounters with the Beekeeper, an old enemy of hers, bees were one of the worst things to terrorize the girl with.

Veatrix’s balance was thrown to the ground, as gravity demanded to be followed. Her wings, still weak and useless, tried to flap as her body soared through the air. Her back pleaded for the wings to stop moving, but Veatrix didn’t know what to do. Tears streaming from her eyes as she fell to the ground, everything went dark.

The last thing she remembered was the cool earth of Mother Concordia on her cheek.

[Taskmienster]

As requested, so I do. Just numbers, since it’s incomplete. Good luck in the future!

Continuity 5

Setting 6

Pacing 5

Dialogue 6

Action 5

Persona 6

Technique 6

Mechanics 7

Clarity 7

Wild Card 6

Score: 59!

Rewards:

Raelyse: 1775 exp | 100 gold

Veatrix: 1280 exp | 125 gold

[Taskmienster]

Exp and GP added!

Raelyse is now level 9!