#ettavia open

[sapphire-of-talys]

The arrival; Ettavia Open!

What a strange land...

Caeda thought to herself as her sapphire eyes wandered, examining the surroundings. She was no longer on Archanea and any other being would feel panicked after realizing they were in unfamiliar territory, however she felt...relaxed. She sensed no threatening danger and even so, she clutched her wing spear firmly in her hands. But, she was without her Pegasus. 

She glanced around, seeing nothing but dense forest, catching no signs of hoof marks on the soil nor heard any wing movement in the air. It was silent. She sighed softly to herself, it must've gotten separated...or perhaps worse? She shook her head, banishing those dark thoughts out from her mind and moved forward,deeper into the forest. 

How did she end up here exactly? She wondered. These grounds harbored no distinct similarities to the ones she knew from home but yet here she was.

"Who brought--" she began muttering to herself before hearing a rustle nearby. Immediately, she shifted into a defensive stance, pointing her weapon towards the bushes, "Who goes there!" she nearly yelled, prepared to strike at any given moment if attacked.  

[princeofmisery]

Riverside (Open Post)

Lyon sat down and took his boots off before inspecting the holes. His shoes weren't designed to be practical walking boots, in fact their only practicality was their ability to make him seem a little bit taller in comparison to Ephraim. They weren't really good for much except looking grand in a throne room, which was something Lyon would probably never experience again.

His feet ached so he had decided to rest by the banks of what was either a rather large stream or a moderately sized river. Either way it was peaceful and pleasant and the path he'd been travelling on was still visible. In all honesty he didn't really want to leave the spot. No money, no food, and yet more travelling to complete an incredibly half-baked plan for redemption. He should just take some time to think everything over. There was no point rushing off unprepared.

[hurricanestrategist]

aeterna Calli(s)

Recently, Soren had seen a lot of odd things, but this might have been the oddest.  After the war, he and Ike had left, just left everyone behind, and the mage had been fine with that.  He had no personal ties to anyonebutIke, and so his only initial concern had been how Ike felt.  Did it hurt to say goodbye?  The others had been his practical family, so how hard was the decision to simply walk away?  To disappear from the face of Tellius' battle-scarred fields and forests and deserts, possibly forever?

Well, the decision had been Ike's, and Soren was content not to ask these questions.  Leaving granted them relief; yet the farther away they roamed, the more the poison of nostalgia took its toll.  However, there were enough happenings to keep them busy.  They were travellers now, but their mercenary hearts burned bright; they took jobs here and there, and it kept them with a decent-- if unstable-- income.  They put as much distance between them and the lands of their origins as possible.  Each day they went further, pressing on first to Hatari and even further still.  

As to be expected, they did come across foreign lands, strange places unheard of.  The world was much larger than anyone had ever imagined, and it was theirs for the exploring, theirs to conquer like the conquerors they truly were.  But when they encountered the gossips and whisperings on the oddities of an island known as Ettavia, they really should have known better than to insist on checking it out.  Something was calling Soren forward, drawing him to that island, and he needed to go there.  And so they did.

That night, the mage slept fitfully.  This place filled him with a sense of imprisonment and abandon, and he was fully on edge.  It was as though arriving had lit a barrier of fire, a haze from which he could never escape.  When he awoke for the final time, he realized he was alone-- Ike was nowhere to be found.  That was normal, so normal, but he couldn't shake the feeling of dread freezing the blood in his veins. He made the customary mark on the ground (the one Ike should have made besides), and set off with purpose towards the nearest town.  Even if his companion wasn't there, now he would know where to find Soren, should he see the mark.

*{Note that "aeterna" means eternal and "callis" means path-- so aeterna callis means eternal path; alternatively, aeterna Calli means louder than ever.}

[principilucis]

Fragments [ettavia open]

In Ettavia, no one knew who Marth was - to the residents, he was just another traveling swordsman, with no claims to heroic deeds nor an impressive inheritance. The invitation to the Winter Ball was then something suspicious. 

He had accepted, for the sole reason that such an event might provide new insights into the land and the nature of the entity Esu. 

In the end, it did not. Castle Marmorica possessed more surprises than even he could anticipate. Ephraim was there, too - but Marth had not succeeded in locating the older man. 

He looked back. The ruins of the Castle smouldered far off in the distance, a column of dissipating smoke marking its location. This lead had proven to be a dead end. 

This was an enigma beyond the level of normal mysteries.

And weren’t there other people who were transported to Ettavia? Marth was sure they would at least bear some kind of resentment for the act. Perhaps then this resentment could be used to his advantage - more minds were better than one. His first priority, then, was to track down these people, and subtly enlist them to his cause.

Marth had no destination in mind - he was too absorbed in his own thoughts to be concerned about where he was going. It did not really matter, anyway.

Something caught his attention, however - a glint of light on the path before him. A transparent prism of some sort - angular but not jagged, reflecting moonlight into his eyes. On a whim, he picked the object up - it was surprisingly light - and tucked it into a pocket.

[singleniceguy]

In which Gatrie is not fond of birds [OPEN]

In most instances birds were nice little things- they went about their lives, singing their little song and keeping to their business as they should. They were respectable little fellows, the natural musicians of the world, he'd like to think. 

But then, there were crows. 

Loud, annoying, and, unfortunately, intelligent crows. 

It was in times like these where Gatrie remembered his distinct disliking of them as a startling "Ka-kaaw" echoed loudly through the air and awoke him. His hand instinctively moved to swat the air near him, inaudibly grumbling something in annoyance. He didn't move or get up quite yet, though, still trying to catch the coattails of his sleep to grab at the faint lingering of the dream that he had been very much enjoying. 

Instead, "Ka-kaaaaww."

Gatrie could have thrown something at the fiend, but being awoken by the annoying bird was probably for the better, he decided, and finally opened his eyes, only to realize he really wasn't sure where he was at. He blinked a few times, trying to make sense of the trees around him. Had he stumbled somewhere drunk again? He didn't think that was the case- usually in such instances he'd have a terrible headache to attest to his drinking habits, and he'd never drank so much as to have a total void of memory, usually just a foggy haze. Not to mention if drunkenness was really the answer, there'd probably be a disgruntled marksman not too far from here.

Well, he guess he could check for that one, at least. He rose to his feet, dusting his clothes, and realizing, to his dismay, he didn't have any of his armor nearby. Well, at least he wouldn't have to burden himself with it, but still, it was always better to have it on him.

There was a a dock not too far ahead, a fishing port, no doubt, and more trees behind him. It would probably be better to check the forest behind him first, so he began walking, looking around, and also up. (He doubted a drunk Shinon would ever manage to climb a tree, let alone have enough balance to sleep in one, but the archer was a man of many talents and he'd certainly surprised him in the past.) After a while, he came to terms with the fact that he'd probably not see a disgruntled Shinon no matter how far he headed, but before he turned to head back to the port, a reflection of light caught his eye, and he rushed over to find his greatlance tangled within the bushes.

How had that gotten there?

It was a familiarity though, and he was happy for it. 

His happy reunion was short-lived, however, when the rustling of a bush brought him back to reality, followed by a condescending "ka-kaaw" in the distance, as if saying hey pay attention you unobservant fool.

Fool he was not! (Or so he'd like to dream, ahem.) Maybe it was a bandit- or just some rabbit or something. "Who goes there?" he demanded. 

[princeofmisery]

(open post)

Lyon was confused. He had thought those shards of glass were his method of execution, but no, they had healed him. Not only that, someone in the room had then recognised him before everything went white and he had ended up here - in a forest nonetheless.

He felt incredibly weary and a little ill. His hands were still covered in his own, now-dried, blood and he felt incredibly light-headed...was that what blood-loss did to you when you survived it? He just needed to sit down, rest a little, perhaps sleep. He strayed off the path he had found himself on and located a clump of bushes that surrounded a gnarled looking tree. The bushes provided an almost-perfect screen from the path.

Lyon sat down, curling into the rather uncomfortable-looking ball he was used to sleeping in. He didn't intend to doze off, just rest a bit, but still...he was ever so weary.

[watcherofdarkness-blog]

He had been trapped in a room with two strangers, shortly before the castle began burning in flames.

A few hours afterwards, Knoll found himself wandering the lands alone after being teleported out of the burning inferno to safety by a mysterious light. He had all but returned to the starting point; lost in the middle of an unknown land with no clues whatsoever as to how to return to his country. Except now he knew for a fact that his prince was alive, and he had most certainly lost him for good this time. He had vowed to help the prince redeem himself in this second chance, no matter what happened, yet he was incapable of even standing by his side during conflict, as it had taken only a few seconds for them to be separated.

As things stood, he would end up dead before he found his prince for a second time-- and that was only if he too had been teleported to safety after the incident. Resigned, Knoll walked towards the nearby town. He should look for a way to return to his reconstruction work on Grado.

[principilucis]

Secrets [ Marth | Forde | Percival ]

The abrupt darkening of the ball room was a shock. Marth wasn't too stunned by it, however - years of controlling his emotions had given him an acuity of mind undisturbed by circumstances - and, on hindsight, it was to be expected.

Transport to a mysterious land. A deity with less-than-noble intentions. A noble with a mind likewise. A ball, with guests who were transported just like him.

Marth was beginning to suspect that he was a pawn in a greater entity's plan.

And he did not like it.

He scoured the sides of the hall for a possible exit - ah, a room. Its door was open, and there was candlelight inside as well. Marth unsheathed the Falchion, and stepped in, closing the door after him.

He was in for another surprise.

The tables were stacked with papers - at a glance, they appeared to be simple state documents, but a closer look proved otherwise. Several files filled with names and sketches of people he knew. Descriptions of foreign lands - Marth saw Elibe and Magvel as he scanned an open page -

- Altea. How could it be?

His hands trembled, knocking the parchment to the floor - he was having difficulty keeping his emotions in check. Despair, hope, suspicion - and above all, an overwhelming sense of danger.