...by a Moonlight Shadow...

Nordian grew quiet as he listened to Silla. He did not know how to answer him, and his past. Instead, Nordian simply continued running the polishing stone along the swords length, giving the metal a reflective sheen and a keen edge. He was glad when the subject changed to where they could get some metal.

“I say we head north. I will not use any metal obtained by theft,” Nordian said, holding up the sword and looking closely at the edge. “Besides, I have not been any farther north than this, and I am curious to see what lies there.” Nordian looked around a moment, before finding a discarded hair. Holding the hair at one end, he brought it into contact with the sword’s edge. The keen edge cut the hair in two, and the other half of the hair drifted down to the ground.

“Speaking of clothing, are there any robes here that I might use? This armor is good for traveling, but it hampers my movements when working with metal,” Nordian said.

Mantis simply couldn't understand why Silla had just left his children behind like that- in fact, he was beginning to understand Lola's logic; for Mantis had attempted to take a mate when last in the Kingdom... No offspring had come of that. Aside from an incident in the Garden involving a trochili and a teenage Mantis, in which, though he was never sure, might have resulted in several trochili with exceptionally green plumage, he had no children to call his own. Though he could never prove he was the father or even admit his fleeting relationship with the harpy, he'd made Cynthia swear never to let trochili in the Garden come to harm. For a moment Mantis dwelt on the notion that Silla had left his children behind just to get his revenge on that swordsman he'd spoken of before...

But, he decided at last, best to leave well enough alone. Lola had certainly done a thorough job of punishing Silla already.

"Then are we supposed to be the bandits now?" Mantis mused in response to Silla's proposal to steal materials, but when the suggestion was made that they head north, he tried to suppress a grin. "North sounds great." he agreed earnestly. In actuality, he'd been itching to head north and find out what Deeper Felarya and beyond was all about, his adventurous mausu nature calling out to the unknown. It was fortuitous that these two weren't afraid of what the legends said- or at least, Silla. Mantis doubted Nordian had a clue. Then again, he didn't really have much to fear.

Mantis was surprised when Silla then asked about his parents. "Yeah- not too long ago... But you know, reunions..." he shrugged. Being around other fairies was uncomfortable. Being around tinies often made them panic and left him feeling guilty. Being around his parents made him very nervous and uncomfortable. To be honest, Cynthia and Hercules were somehow odder than himself, and though he was their offspring, the unlikely sum of their parts, he just felt strange around them, and thus put off family visits as long as possible.

He would never tell them about Sarah and Zach. He had honestly thought he could drop his vendetta with them. But now it revenge was impossible for him to stop searching for. Sol had killed more then his father, and both Neko and Fairy instincts demanded retribution. Silla decided it was bad enough they thought he was a cat who simply abandoned his children, no reason for them to hate him ever more. Finally, his hand, groping in the darkness, grabbed the filterer and he pulled out of the mini-closet, sighing.

Upon Nordian's request, Silla shook his head apologetically. "I'm sorry Nordian, no. The biggest person who ever lived here was my father, and he was a very small male. He never wore robes or the like either." He sighed his voice becoming slightly higher, taking the filterer, which was a small black box four by three inches, and hooked it onto a small hook attatched to the shirt in his back. "I will make you one though, if we ever come across the materials." He promised. "Cotton will be okay, right? If not, I'll use wool."

Hearing Mantis speak, Silla looked over and smiled at him. "Family reunions are nice I bet. Almost everyone in my mother's family were either captured or killed by those... insects. My dad was grown in a tube." He shuddered at the word 'insect'. "But, I suppose I don't have much to complain about. Everyone here I've known since I was a baby, and we're all family in a way, I guess. It's odd, you know, I've never been attacked by a dryad before, and sometimes fairies chase me, but not for long." Cracking his fingers, he looked at Mantis. "Doesn't stop others though! I almost got eaten by this weird naga down south once! But that's a campfire story right there."

"Okay, problem." Silla held up one finger. "If we go directly North, we go into Ur-Sagol, and I don't think our kind are exactly welcome, even though there are predators hanging around. Nordian, YOU would probably attract some kind of magic user who wants a new project to work on." Letting the finger drop to his side, Silla looked upwards. "So we'd have to head South West and go over the water." Shrugging he looked towards his blade, shifting his gender again, the shirt becoming rather tight. "But, that's a crappy idea. You two have any?" She asked, scratching her head. "Darn, thinking up plans hurts my brain."

“Any material will do,” Nordian said, giving Silla’s sword one final cleaning to remove the oil from it. “I’m afraid I know little of this land. What knowledge I have comes from a map shown to me by a passing traveler some time ago. If I recall correctly, there was a large river to the north anyway, beyond the ruins. That may prove difficult for us to cross. What if we strike off east, then head north and bypass both ruins and river? Though I don’t know what lies off to the east either.” Finishing the sword, Nordian held it up. It had been returned to a pristine condition, and had been polished to a mirror like consistency. Sheathing the sword in it’s scabbard, Nordian handed it to Silla.

“But from what I’ve learned so far about this world, there will be danger in any direction that we decide upon. I have encountered the nagas before, and I know of their appetite. I’ve had to escape them once or twice. But I’m worried that I may put you two in danger. My armor is none too quiet, as you have heard. It may attract unwelcome attention.”

Arms crossed and eyes closed, Mantis had been listening intently as Silla explained the problems associated with each potential direction- but before he could come up with an alternate plan, he noticed Silla's voice becoming higher, taking on the feminine tone he was familiar with as that he had heard from her when they'd first met. Though trying to mentally prepare himself, he still was somehow alarmed to find, upon opening one eye, that Silla had become female once again- just when Mantis was becoming comfortable with Silla's initial gender change, she went and did it again. Although- he was somehow more comfortable with this form, actually.

One finally setting his thoughts back on track, Mantis spoke up- "Instead of trying to loop around , we take the quickest route north-west over the Jewel and hopefully between Ur-Sagol and the nagas. If we go south, well, I'd rather stay away from the Grove. And as far as I know, all that lies to the east is mountains. Crossing the Jewel is the only option. Once we do make it up there, crossing the Chordoni should actually be easier than the Jewel- you know, for you two." he explained.

"Eh, I'm actually more worried about Silla drawing opal mingos than any naga" Mantis mused, recalling how he'd sensed Silla as a pure fairy. Any opal mingos that sensed her would no doubt go for him- on his own, he didn't attract them.
"But, for you" he said, motioning to Silla, "Staying away from the Giant Tree would be the best course of action. North-east takes us close to the small nagas' tribes, but we shouldn't have to mess with the giant ones... As long as we don't go too far west once we're at the Chordoni."

Silla was right about Nordian's magical nature calling for unwarranted attention, but for many predators, that would draw them before hearing the sound of clanking armor.

(((Just so you know, I'll be gone for a couple weeks)))

(((I'm back.)))

(((Was Malahite still interested in participating in this RP? Perhaps we can meet him on our way out of the fairy pond.)))

((Yes, I am still interested. ))

"Ah, thank you Nordian. You have returned my soul to me." Silla said, taking the sword and bowing deeply in gratitude and respect to Nordian. "My friend." She whispered, running her fingers over the hilt before securing it to her hip with a belt and a sash. "I feel whole." Silla remarked, a sort of relief crossing into her face.

Hearing Mantis's suggestion/desicion of going towards the Chordoni, Silla closed her eyes. "If we go to the Chordoni, we still have to be careful. Last time I went there to see something, there was this tower there... very odd to say the least. It made me feel strange as well, as though I wanted to run away. I watched some adventurers go in from afar, stayed there overnight, and one came running out in the morning shouting in gibberish. I could only make out a little of what she was saying. I say if we find ANY mysterious buildings in or around Chordoni, or anywhere else, we stay away from them after nightfall." Silla said, before stretching and yawning.

"Opal-? Oh, those things. They taste weird." Silla said, not catching at all what Mantis ment.

"Nordian, don't worry about putting me or Mantis in danger. Felarya is our home. I worry over you. There are more then just naga that would try to nom on you. Podmaw, dridder, that funnel plant thing that almost ate me last Wednesday, and other things which warp in occasionally." Silla sighed. "What do I know? Mantis, when do you want to go? You are the leader here."


((Leaving the decision up to you, Fish.))

“That is a good sword, Silla,” Nordian said, setting aside his bladesmith tools. “Treat it well, and choose carefully when to draw it.”

“As for the Chordoni, though I am curious about this realm, your advice is sound. In my world as well, it can be dangerous to approach buildings uninvited,” Nordian said. “As for the various predators, I have heard of many varieties, and of their appetites. But really, what could they do to me? You saw what I am. Plus, my armor would afford me some protection. Despite my inexperience, I think I am less vulnerable to predation than either of you.” Nordian stood from his seat and set about gathering a few items from the room. All he collected was an inkwell, a rather worn quill pen, and several pieces of blank parchment.

“Anyway, I am ready to depart. My needs for traveling are few, but I could carry additional stores of water or food for either of you if you wish,” Nordian offered. “Do you wish to depart tonight, or wait until morning? I will go with either decision, but personally, I do not feel comfortable spending the night here. After what I saw tonight, I do not fully trust the fairies here. They seem more chaotic than I expected.”

"Hmm... True enough Nordian, you're probably the last thing a predator is looking to eat. But no one is invincible here..." Mantis trailed off in thought. Silla didn't seem to be concerned with the threat of opal mingos- he supposed that since she didn't use fairy magic, she need not fear them using it against her. Well, that was great for her. He didn't use fairy magic either, but he was bite-sized, though.

The only things he could think of that might cause trouble for Nordian would have to be something like a ghost or something else that feeds off of magic. Since he was held together by magic, apparently, the mere presence of large insects and their anti-magic auras could be a problem as well. However, he doubted anything short of a tonorion could cause that sort of effect enough to be a real threat.

Though Mantis had initially been looking forward to doing some training in the Dojo, the behavior of the resident fairies he'd encountered since their arrival had put a negative effect on him as well- besides, he never truly felt at ease near the magic-laden Pond in the way a fairy should. It was true he differed from others of his kind in many regards; for one, his wings were different- built for travel, not playing around.

"I agree." Mantis said, "It was interesting to see where you grew up, Silla. I thank you and your mother for allowing us to visit. If you're alright with it, though, then we might as well move out, in my opinion." he said, buzzing over to Nordian, tapping on his armor absentmindedly, "Can't you feel the adventure in your bones?"

((Damn! Stupid life getting in the way!))



Silla took a deep breath, nodding and becoming silent. Her mother was odd, but deep inside Silla knew it was all her fault that her mother was snapping. "Well, that is that." Was all she finally said. Putting the mask to her face and hooking the strange box machine to a hook on the back of her shirt, she crossed her arms.

"Let's go." A mechanized voice buzzed out from behind the mask. Adjusting the nozzle that held the box and mask together, she moved cooly out of the room. While walking, her mother fluttered in front of her, as though intent on stopping her. "The SchwarzBurg, look for the Petchant family and ask for Andri." She said, before brushing past the fairy.

"Andri..." Lola repeated softly, looking down.

((Sorry for the crap-tastic-post))

As Silla left, Nordian stooped to retrieve his shield and flail. He hooked the shield over his back, and put his flail over his shoulder, so his hands could be free. The inkwell, pen, and sheaf of parchment he put into a small sack and hung it on his belt. He stepped out into the hall, seeing Silla leaving and Lola remain. Nordian moved to follow, but paused next to Lola.

“Lola, thank you for your hospitality, and for the use of your blacksmith shop,” Nordian said. He glanced at Silla’s departing form. Nordian hesitated, trying to think of what to say. “…I’m not a wise man, only a blacksmith who happens to happens to be good at fighting. There are wounds here I don’t know how to heal. All I can promise is that I’ll look after Silla.”

Again he made to leave, but paused again. “Oh, and might I borrow these items?” Nordian asked, showing Lola the inkwell, pen, and parchment. “I’ll need them for my trade.”

Mantis flew through the corridor, adjusting his speed to a hover when he came to Lola. "Thank you for allowing us in your home- and again for healing my leg." he gave a gracious nod, then buzzed off after Silla.

How strange her mask was- after putting it on, he felt like the only one of the group with a face. Nordian had kept his skeletal visage hidden to keep from frightening people, while Silla's served a more practical use. Strange, that she found herself unable to breathe, though she'd said that was her fathers; a heredetary trait, then, much like his own small size.
If one day he had armor of his own, he didn't think he wanted a helm or mask to cover his face. He'd want an opponent to know who he was, so they knew who to seek out after he'd beat them.

Mantis approached Silla, buzzing to her right. "What you said to Lola back there, what was that 'Schwarzburg' you mentioned?" he asked, though kept himself from asking about 'Andri', as he figured that was perhaps one of her children, and therefore a touchy subject at the moment.

Lola looked up at Nordian and nodded. "You are welcome to keep those items." She said to him, before turning to Mantis. "Your welcome." She then disappeared into the room behind her, and the sound of a loom spinning echoed out.

Silla continued walking, feeling her lungs fill up with the rich air from her mask. She was about to begin planning on how she would eat when Mantis asked her about the SchwarzBurg. "You haven't heard of the SchwarzBurg?" She questioned, before chuckling. "I'm not surprised, it's not very well known. For such a gigantic place, they remain hidden very well. I thought it was nothing but a legend as well. It's this strange place, it looks like a castle, but in fact is many towns and fairies and nagas and humans all live together... uh, I can't really explain it well, I'm not good at that." Silla looked up, blinking at the light which fell from the trees above. "It's the only place in Felarya where the soil loses it's effect."

"It's way up North though, I suppose we could stop there for awhile." Silla mumbled to herself, before scratching one of her ears, which twitched afterwards. "Or maybe not, I'm not too sure we'd want to take another detour."

“Then the SchwarzBurg is barred to me. I don’t know how, but the power of the soil is what sustains me and gives life to my being. I don’t know how long I could last bereft of it’s flow,” Nordian said, walking out with Silla and Mantis. “Besides, I am eager to see the north, so little of it is known to me. Let us be off.” He stepped out into the open air of the fairy pond. The sun had advanced in the sky, but it was not yet evening, and Nordian judged they could cover quite a stretch before nightfall.

He would be sorry to leave this place though. The rich atmosphere of magic seemed to energize him and buoy his spirits. Yet he felt he must depart soon. Worrisome events aside, his curiosity seemed to be growing stronger. Perhaps a bit of wanderlust was developing? Maybe that was because he hadn’t yet a place to call home, but at least he now knew one could be found here.

So be it. He would depart for a time, then return and forge a work of art for Mantis. Perhaps he would make one for himself as well, to replace the crude plates of metal covering him now.

So far, Luck did not decide to turn him into her personal punching bag - something Wes'li was quite glad of. He had made decent time throughout the day, and most definitely could reach the Sphere within a fortnight. Passing along the trails it seemed that luck may even at times be in his favor. A Naga was resting messily - dribbling large 'droplets' of drool - in a tree above, and though he may not have been eaten it would have been an unwelcome delay.

From what he could tell soon he'd need to change his direction of travel again. Heading straight too much longer would put him right into the Forest of Hungry Vegetables, as the Neko Village so eloquently put it. He didn't like the way he had to cut corners at specific times to cut down on travel, but it was better than stretching his luck by extending the time in such parts. At least once he returned to the planar sphere he could 'relax'.

Thinking about what information Silla had told him about the Schwarzburg, Mantis tried to imagine a place where it was common for predator and prey to coexist- he himself was the product of such a pairing, and so was Silla, but a place where this happened often was something he'd never heard of before. That- and the only other place he knew of where Felarya's soil loses its effects was Lamina, but that was only a weakening of the soil's effects. Quite interesting.

He was weighing the intriguing properties of the Schwarzburg with the fact that he didn't know very much about the far north, and a trip there could prove too perilous, when Nordian made the point that he probably couldn't enter the zone in the first place. Ah, well. Though it didn't seem to be an option, he might later ascertain where this place exactly was...

"I guess we'll just continue as is." he said, buzzing around Silla's mask, "I'm sure we'll see many more interesting things."

"It wouldn't be Felarya if it wasn't interesting." Silla joked, grinning beneath the mask. "You know, I think we need a name... but we could decide on one later." Silla started walking. "How about Team Catnip?" She suggested in a half-joking matter. Silla turned to look at the blade near the Dojo, sticking up at the ground, half eaten by rust and chipped from battle, with the hilt and grip still stained by blood. Flowers grew from it, and Silla couldn't help but notice how all the ones which grew beside the blade were a deep crimson. Part of her wanted to reach out and touch those petals.

"SILLA-REN LOLA! I HAVE ATLAST FOUND YOU AND CAN DEFEAT YOU IN BATTLE, WARRIOR TO WARRIOR, AND PROVE THAT I AM THE STRONGEST FIGHTER AT THE FAIRY POND!" A girl fairy randomly buzzed out, landing in front of Silla, her size matching her's. "Prepare to lose!"

Silla scratched her ear.

The girl fairy's foot suddenly lashed out, moving towards Silla's face. Silla grabbed the foot and easily tossed the petite young fairy into some nearby bushes. "Come back when you're a bit more humble, 'eh?" Silla commented, before looking to Nordian and Mantis. "Let's get going. Bye Annelisa."

"Byyyeee..." The girl fairy's voice came from the bush, before murmur's of 'next time I'll get you!' amongest other things were heard.

Silla chuckled, before walking towards the desired direction. "We have an entire world to explore, even if we get eaten or killed, atleast we would have had fun!" She was smiling though, before passing one last glance towards the mound. For some odd reason, Silla felt as though this would be her last time seeing it. She had already taken a few more steps when she realized there were a few tears coming from her eyes.

Maybe those burns from earlier were still healing.

Nordian chuckled as the over eager fairy was neatly deflected by Silla. “Friend of yours, I presume,” Nordian said, walking through the grasses away from the pond and the dojo. Gradually the pond and the dojo began to fall out of sight amid the trees, though the air was still saturated with the pond’s magic. Their encounters with fairies gradually declined until they stopped seeing them altogether.

“I can see so little through this helmet,” Nordian said. He worked the faceplate of the helmet for a moment, before it came free, revealing a portion of his skeletal visage. “If you don’t object, I think I’ll remove this for a while, now that we are away from other eyes.” Nordian said. For once, he was able to go unmasked in the presence of others without incurring fear or hatred. It reminded him of the all too brief time he was alive.

“Fate has been odd as of late,” Nordian mused as he walked. “For so long, I considered my lot a cursed one, but now Fate now seems to be intent on making it a blessing. My will is my own again, and I have been granted a second chance at life, if a different sort of life. What’s more, upon a world where my kind is not despised. And it is indeed a fascinating world.”

A 'team name?' Huh, Mantis thought. That would be interesting, but what did they have in common? Well, the three of them were adept fighters with nowhere to go. Roamers, wanderers, vagabonds, nomads, ronin, the three of them...

Mantis was surprised out of his line of thinking when a random fairy suddenly challenged Silla to a fight- it wasn't often that he encountered fairies trained in martial arts, though here at the Dojo, it was bound to be common. He was duly impressed when Silla defeated the fairy in one reflexive movement. Surely an embarrassing defeat.

Well, he had to give the fairy credit for being the same size as her opponent. Some fairies couldn't be held to such regard. "Nice reflexes." He praised Silla. Just like the reaction and fluid movement of a cat, he thought, buzzing in from where he'd moved away to a safe distance.

When Nordian removed his helm, Mantis couldn't help but stare for a moment at the bony surface of his skull shining white in the sunlight, devoid of physical life. A living being in the guise of death, or somewhere in-between. Mantis was glad that Nordian felt unrepressed by his skeletal nature at the moment. For some reason it struck him as ironic that Silla was bound to currently wear a mask instead. He wanted to tell Nordian that 'Fate' didn't pay much heed in Felarya, but he seemed to be in a positive mood at the moment. Hmm...

His thoughts went back to Silla's idea of naming their group....

(((Malahite, you've got the go if you want to join in here.)))

Wes'li picked up the pace as the sun waned in the sky. Assuming the sky didn't pull off the rare magic-trick and turn late afternoon into midday - something not unheard of for the unstable realm - this would be the best time to gain ground. It was just late enough that many Predators would be seeking a place to spend the night, while those that were nocturnal had yet to come out in earnest. Better yet, many of the plants that supplemented their diets off sunlight would become sluggish or inactive.

Stomping loudly through foliage he waved off several grasping plants that ineffectively reached for his form: once the weight was moving, it'd take more than a few vines to bring it to a stop. The problem with this was the same applied to himself, so when his 'foot' caught and dragged against a root that was much stronger than it should have been Wes'li slammed into the ground - hard. Though he couldn't feel any pain, Wes'li still winced. His body managed to hold itself together well enough, but the impact made even more noise than his stomping and crushing: anything nearby would have heard what sounded like a small boulder impacting the soil.

Knowing what that meant, he picked himself up as fast as he could and made off. If luck was with him, there might be an echo to throw off pursuers.

Silla's ears perked up sharply, hearing the sound of what seemed like a giant rock falling, then someone rushing nearby. "Hm, we aren't so alone." She said, before leaping onto a tree branch. Boots fell to the ground as Silla kicked them off. There was a soft pop like noise as she adjusted her feet, which were unusually large for human feet, into a much more feline form, in fact, it seemed like the more feline like 'foot' was the natural way Silla's foot was. Sharp claws pressed out, and then Silla was leaping from branch to branch with all the grace and strength of a jaguar.

Finally, her eyes caught the running figure. Doubling her speed as she slinked along the branches, she ran over a branch just in the figure's path and jumped down, sword drawn. With her masked face and her darkened figure, she looked nightmaric. "What's the rush? Something chasing you?" She asked, in a curious tone, casually leaning against a tree. "Want to join Aiya Mantis's group?" She asked hopefully.

The moment Silla mentioned not being alone, Nordian put his helmet back on and fastened it in place. He saw Silla run off, and he followed running along the ground. His armor and bones clanked together as he jogged after the lithe half-neko. Though he could move quickly in the armor, it wasn’t long before he fell behind the agile Silla. It was a while before he caught up to Silla confronting a clay golem.

“Don’t run off like that,” Nordian said, “If there’s something out here, we can confront it together.” Nordian paused, and observed the golem that Silla had stopped. There was a magic about it, much like his own. Both animating the inanimate. But it was also different, less dark in origin, and there was still some bona-fide life remaining, not just clay. A strange mix of magical and biological life.

At the sound of the crash not too far off, Mantis immediately turned his full attention in its direction. Silla took off immediately, and he zipped after, deftly buzzing around branches on the way. He noted Silla's impressive speed, and her feet's claws, which carried her swiftly, far more silently than himself and his buzzing flight.

Something fairly large was just ahead- and though Nordian was clanking after them, he had the same odd feeling about what was ahead that he did when close to the skeletal man. When they reached the figure, Mantis found himself looking at a humanoid who seemed to be enveloped in, or somehow made out of... Clay?

"Whoah" Mantis said as he buzzed to a stop, hovering, observing the human-shaped mountain, "Hey, uh, you're really loud you know."