Sky Covenant

Xecilla Ggeli walked on the warm, wet earth towards a fairly large building still quite aways away from her. Her long, blue hair flowed from her head down to her back, almost like water. She wore only a wrap around her waist and a cloth tied around her top, but she wasn't concerned about it. The guild she was headed towards had quite the reputation. What kind of reputation that was, Xecilla had no clue, but that's why she was headed over there.

Xecilla bare feet made almost no sound as they walked on the earth. She often took a sip from a large water jug on her back, but never touched the smaller pouch around her waist, which was also filled with much water. Her type of magic would never allow her to separate from her element at any time. Drinking water always refreshed her body.

While Xecilla contemplated what the guild she was headed towards might be like, her feet steadily carried her towards the building. The guild's name was: Sky Covenant. The name of the guild itself was very catchy, another reason she wanted to visit the guild. The guild was also connected to a city, called Elmban Wood City. Elmban Wood was a medium-sized town, holding about about 300 or so residents, including mages. The Sky Covenant guild had, in total, 120 different mages, including the Master and the six S-Ranked mages.

The Master, Luradi, is a mage who is proficient in many, many different types of magic, including fire, lightning, and ice magic, but he specializes in the Arcane magic of life and death. The master is also one of the 10 Great Holy Mages, who are an elite force with enormous sums of magic. At first glance, you may not expect them to be that powerful, but in actuality, they are some of the most powerful mages in the world. Quite impressive.

The six S-Ranked mages do not have as much power as the master, but they are high above any ordinary mage. Xecilla wouldn't stand a chance even against an S-Ranked Water mage. But Xecilla avoided thinking about her chances against other mages. She preferred a quieter, get-along-with-others sort of deal. It wasn't that she disliked fighting in general, only fights that had no real meaning.

Xecilla stopped in her tracks and looked up. She hadn't noticed walking into the city, but she did notice when she was in front of the guild. Xecilla smiled lightly, hearing quite a bit of noise from the building. A nervous feeling settled in her stomach, it was time to head in and see what Sky Covenant was all about. So, Xecilla pushed open the double wooden doors and walked into the guild.

The guild was filled to the brim with other people! It was amazing how many mages were gathered into one building, and they all seemed to get along. The first room, the beer hall, was filled with laughter and talking. Only a few people noticed Xecilla walk in and look around, and even fewer noticed her attire.

Some of the hall's noise died down after more people started to notice her, but otherwise no one really stopped talking because of her. Instead they began to ask each other about her appearance. They obviously knew she was not part of their guild. Xecilla didn't pay much attention to them, and was instead looking around, awestruck at the large building.

She began to walk forward, further into the building, but she soon stopped, as she was confronted with another mage, face-to-face.

This other mage was male, and much taller than she. His eyes and hair were black in color color, and he wore a red leather jacket, unzipped with a white undershirt. He also wore a pair of black pants and sandals. The mage had no expression on his face as he examined Xecilla.

After a long pause, Xecilla spoke, "May I...help you?" she asked.

"I think it's you who needs the help, actually," the mage replied. "You aren't from around her, so where are you from?" So they did know that she wasn't from here.

"My only home is the waters of the seas and oceans," said Xecilla. "And my name is Xecilla."

"Welcome to our guild, Xecilla," the mage gestured over to where the bar counter was. A large, elderly man sat behind the table, talking to some other mages. "He is Master Luradi, and I am Falar, one of the- OW!" Falar jerked his head forward, accidentally hitting Xecilla in the process. She fell to the ground, but Falar just spun around and glared at the culprit. "What the hell was that for?!" He shouted.

"You're talking to much," another mage replied, "quit hogging the newbie and let the rest of us talk to her."

"I'm dying," Xecilla murmured, rubbing her forehead in pain. She attempted to get up, but nearly fell over. She was in a sort of daze. She then felt as though her body had completely left the ground, picked up by something with a heavy grip. Xecilla blinked once before realizing that someone had picked her up.

It was a tall, burly mage with wild green hair and eyes. His face was covered with battle scars and he held a stoic expression on his face the entire time he held Xecilla up in the air. The mage let her down carefully, ensuring she had her balance before letting go. "You okay?" he grunted. Xecilla nodded rapidly, slightly shocked by the man's appearance. The mage stood up straight, noticeably larger than he had been before, but maybe it had been a trick of Xecilla's own eyes.

The mage lumbered over to where Falar and the other mage were yelling at each other. He got in between them and roared. His roar was like a dragon's roar, fierce, commanding, and above all, loud. The other two mages immediately stopped fighting and fell deathly silent.

"Both of you are at fault here!" The mage said, looking down at the two mages, "and both of you hurt our visitor, so apologize to her now!"

Falar and the other mage glared at each other before facing Xecilla, who was far more than just shocked at this point. "Sorry..." they muttered, hardly audible, even in the silence that had followed the large mage's roar. After a bit, the entire guild burst out again into laughter. Everyone seemed to think that the situation that had just passed was hilarious for some reason, Xecilla had no idea what was going on, but she had expected a less noisy entrance than this. Much less noisy.

~~~

Okay, there's the starting post. Your character can already be inside the guild, or travelling towards it. If you can make it inside the guild, that would be great, because having everyone appear at the guild at the same time would be a little weird.

Post away!

~~~

The water was cold to the touch causing her mouth to drop every so slightly into a frown. At least the soap, smelling of delicate roses, was pleasing to her sense of smell. Krasi looked into the mirror of the bathroom adjacent to the beer hall of the Sky Covenant guild's headquarters. She stared into her own icy bue eyes causing that frown that had appeared only moments before to vanish into a smile. And that's when she heard the roar.

"Aaack, what the hell was that?!" she exclaimed, jumping suddenly in fright. Her hands were still dripping wet and the water was still running, but she went over near the door and spoke through it. "Kuro, answer my question!" she demanded.

Her twin brother, Kuro, was sitting right outside and against the bathroom door waiting patiently for his sister to complete her business. He had watched the ordeal concerning a scantily clad woman and some of the more experienced mages. His eyes remained distant, but he had to admit that her entrance happened to be one that garnered attention. To him, it felt like they had snuck in like thieves. Then again, they were short. And dressed normally. They were lucky to have someone direct them to the bathroom; Kuro was worried his sister might wet herself.

"I'm sorry, Krasi. I was afraid you were talking to yourself," he replied calmly allowing a subtle smile to creep upon his face as he heard Krasi groan from inside the bathroom. "To sum it up: new lady that doesn't belong in the guild yet entered, got caught up in some business with two mages who don't really care for each other, and then a big guy comes in and roars. Two fighting mages are scared out of their wits. Everyone laughs." Silence came from the bathroom until...

BAM!

The door swung open suddenly and Kuro was sent tumbling across the floor. Krasi stood there, defiant. She looked around like she was on some kind of assassination mission or something...sans the silent and stealthy part...with her sharp eyes gazing across the room. She ignored a comment from her brother concerning the 'poor bathroom door' and immediately located the big mage. He stood out like a enormous swollen thumb.

"You mean to tell me that the roar I heard came from a human?" she asked, going over to her brother and offering him her hand.

Kuro took it and managed to stand up, brushing himself off. "Yes, Krasi. Let us not forget that we're also in a building full of mages that can do lots of stuff. I'm surprised that it would surprise you."

Krasi huffed and crossed her arms, avoiding eye contact with her brother. "O-of course it doesn't surprise me, idiot. Still, it was such a beastly roar." She shook her head let her arms drop to her side sullenly. "Scared the hell out of me is what it did. I'm glad I was at the handwashing stage to be hon--"

"Too much information, Krasi. And you're hands are dripping water all over the floor." Kuro pointed at the small droplets of water cascading down to the floor from his sister's hands.

"Bah," she retorted and watched as Kuro went to get paper towels to dry them with. Remaining silent as her brother dried her hands, her eyes rested upon the woman wearing hardly anything. She was really pretty. This didn't seem like the place where a woman like that would appear. Was she the new one joining the guild? Guess it would be better for her to be the one to get the crazy welcome whilst her and her brother could avoid such an embarassing scene, though it seemed to have taken a turn for the worse for the two mages that had been quibbling. It was so easy to identify them based on Kuro's description of the situation.

"All done, sister," Kuro said softly and went to throw the used paper towels away. He also wanted to make sure the door was all right. Krasi had opened it with such force; she must've accidentally used some of her magic on it.

Krasi, on the other hand, just stood in place eyeing the scene from her spot, her gaze turning into a more curious one.

The larger mage glared the two quarreling mages away from Xecilla now. He then turned to her with a kinder expression, the type of expression that seemed out of place on the mage. "I am known as Trion. You are Xecilla, correct?" Xecilla nodded. "Why are you here then?"

"I'm searching for a guild to join," Xecilla said, happy to finally be able to explain why she was there. "So I've been travelling around the world in search for the right one for me."

"You're a mage?" Falar asked suddenly, looking up at her as if he were confused by her statement. Xecilla nodded again, and Falar put a hand up to his mouth in thought. "I guess I shouldn't have been surprised, you're dressed very lightly for a woman. Is it because of your magic?"

"Yes, it's because my magic would rip anything more than what I am wearing now. This is the most I can wear without ruining anything," Xecilla explained.

"What do you call your magic, and what does it do?" Falar asked, looking interested now.

"I call it Mermaid," Xecilla said, ignoring the odd stares she was receiving. "I can transform parts of my body to become fish-like. It allows me to swim quickly and breathe underwater. I can also control a little water magic for fighting if I absolutely need to."

"That explains the swimsuit, then," Falar shrugged. "Well, welcome to Sky Covenant, Xecilla the Mermaid."

"Krasi?" was all Kuro said when he went back to find his sister from inspecting the bathroom door. It turned out that the door was fine. The hinges were just a bit weakened, but it would hold up just fine. Unfortunately, it was the women's restroom and got some disapproving glares from some of nearby female mages, but he ignored them. The mystery now was where his sister had disappeared to.

The young girl tugged at the cloth covering the lower part of Xecilla's body. "No, no, no, that just wouldn't do," she said and crossed her arms, gears in her mind churning away. "You're giving me nothing to work with; if I tried to use you, you'd end up exposing yourself to the enemies, I'm sure." She waggled a finger at the woman.

"Oh great," Kuro muttered to himself as he heard the familiar voice and located her instantly. She had to be exactly where he didn't want to. It seemed as though he had to go over in order to stop her. With hasty steps, he approached the group and grabbed his sister's waggling arm. "Sister, please. That's kind of rude."

Krasi ignored the displeased look on Kuro's face and stopped with the waggling so that Kuro would let go of her arm. She didn't say anything, however, as she looked around. "Oh my, what was I thinking," she finally sighed and shook her head.

"You're making yourself look like an oddball in front of the people we might be working for," Kuro said passively. He tried to avoid eye contact with the mages all around.

"Hey, I can't help but speak my mind when I hop on a train of thought. You know that." She rolled her eyes at her brother before turning her focus onto the Mermaid magic user. "Even though you're no use to me as a weapon, I must say you're quite a stunning young woman."

Kuro nearly slammed his palm into his face. "Sister, you speak as though you're 40 years older than her..."

"Thank you," Xecilla said in reply to Krasi's compliment. She attempted to ignore the younger girl's other musings about her. She looked around at the mages who had gathered around to talk to the new girl. She gave a small smile, feeling slightly encouraged by the attention.

Xecilla felt another tug on her midriff wrap, and looked down to see one of the younger guild members staring up at her with big eyes. Xecilla smiled at the child, who's expression remained curiously blank. The boy pointed up at her with a single finger, "You have a starfish in your hair," he said.

Xecilla blinked, reaching her hand up to the top of her head, searching for a starfish. She paused for a moment, then smiled. She had nearly forgotten about it. Xecilla nodded at the boy. "Yes, I do. I love starfish, and this one helps keep my hair out of my eyes. You see, I live in the sea, and starfish do as well. We get along very well."

The boy's eyes widened even more now. "You can talk to fish!?" he asked, sounding absolutely amazed. Xecilla hesitated. It was true, she could talk to fish, but she never actually told anyone about it. Well, she supposed it wouldn't do any harm to tell other mages. They of all people would believe her.

"Yes, I can talk to fish, and they talk to me," Xecilla answered, patting the boy on the head. The boy's smile grew into an enormous grin. He was obviously impressed by Xecilla's abilities. Xecilla looked up towards where the Master was still sitting, watching them from afar. She began to walk over to him, and the other mages cleared a path for her to reach him.

"Master Luradi, it is an honor to meet one of the Ten Great Holy Mages," Xecilla said, bowing her head low in reverence. The Master did not reply. "If you will give me permission, I would be honored to join you guild, Sky Covenant." Xecilla remained still, bowing low in front of Master Luradi.

Master Luradi looked at Xecilla, scrutinizing her through his small glasses. He then looked around at the other mages, reading their faces to see what they thought. After awhile, he seemed satisfied. "Raise you head, Xecilla. I accept you as part of my family. You are now a mage of Sky Covenant, so let's celebrate!" The Master suddenly conjoured up a large jug of ale from behind his back and lifted it high into the air. The reply was a roar of agreement from the entire guild, who also raised their jugs. Xecilla was stunned by the sudden change of pace. She hadn't expected such a fanfare of cheers. But then again, there were a lot of things that happened today she hadn't expected.

Xecilla's mouth twitched upwards in a smile, almost unable to control her excitement. She began to laugh in happiness and surprise, unable to believe that she was finally a part of a guild.

Krasi's eye twitched ever so slightly, her mouth left open. Realizing that, she closed her mouth quickly and glared at Kuro who had indeed been formulating a witty remark. "She stole the spotlight," the girl huffed and crossed her arms. With brisk steps, she walked over to an empty stool and plopped up on it.

Kuro followed. It probably would have been for the best for him not to mess with her at the moment. "Relax, sister. We'll have our chance in due time. Let's just enjoy her acceptance," he advised and took a seat next to her. He clasped his hands together and rested his chin upon them looking at all the bottles of different beverages available to the barkeep.

"I know, I know. But we got here first," she muttered and waved at the barkeep who slid a couple of mugs of ale towards them.

"Oh my, but sister, I do recall you entering this place about to wet yourself. It's your own fault," he said nonchalantly without smiling, picking up his mug and taking a sip of the cool drink, enjoying its refreshing qualities. He knew Krasi would cheer up in due time. She wasn't one to stay down for very long. Besides, the happiness radiating from the Sky Covenant mages was rather...pervasive. And contagious.

Krasi tilted her head and gave Kuro a death glare. "Well excuse me for not going beforehand. Hmph." She wouldn't waste another word on her brother and instead tasked herself with gulping ale greedily from her mug. I don't know. At least this gives us some time to observe the guild. Maybe it's not the right one for us, she thought, but she noticed a grin forming on Kuro's face that made her want to burst out laughing. "Grrraaahhh! This is the guild for us, I know it!" she shouted and slammed her mug against the bar.

Kuro had been enjoying the festive atmosphere of the place, but he had to admit that his sister scared the crap out of him. "Sister, please. You could've given me a heart attack," he pleaded gently.

Rays of light shined down upon the fluffy, onyx-colored hair of a young child as he gazed out over the rocky, ridged cliff side. His legs dangled over the edge as he allowed the gusts of wind to gently waver them back and forth. The child enjoyed the sight that lay before him, eyes fixated upon the crystal clear waters that resided approximately fifty feet below him. The water's glimmer, the calm waves quietly whispering against the rocky cliff side, it all amazed the boy. Quiet areas were his safe havens, allowing him to escape from any troubles he may be entrapped within.

To be honest, the boy didn't truly know whether or not the ocean was actually an ocean, or just a large lake slabbed into the boring landscapes that encompassed it. Regardless, it was the only piece of scenery that interested him within three-hundred-twelve miles of his homeland.

"Ichii, it's time to head on back! Your sister will worry if you don't return soon!" A small rustling noise emitted from the boy's satchel, and from it, a small, humanoid creation emerged. Although the basic skeleton of the creature resembled that of a human's, it retained no human characteristics, such as a nose, fingers and toes, or even eyes and a mouth (Hell, not even Ichiro knows how the creature speaks). The tiny golem made a small leap and landed upon Ichiro's head and softly began to pound its feet against his skull in a joking manner.

"I don't want to go back." Ichiro sighed as he mumbled into his legs, head bent over as if he was curdled up in the fetal position, attempting to lessen the irritation of the creature bouncing upon his head.

"Ichii, Sayaka may call for a rescuing mission if you don't return soon!" The creature's tone was high-pitched and contained tinges of playfulness, "You know how worrisome that lass gets, nay?"

"I didn't ask for your opinion." He replied, still monotonous and nearly unresponsive.

"She's your sister!"

"I don't want to go back, it's too boring."

"What do you 'uppose we do then?" The golem vaulted from Ichiro's head and landed in front of him, gently tapping his leg as a second attempt to get his attention, "I hear that ol' Elmban Wood has some interesting stuff in it! Why don't we head over there?"

"Elmban Wood is just a bunch of buildings connected through means of a road system. It's nothing any soul hasn't seen before." Ichiro blinked and yawned, uninterested in the golem's suggestions.

"You're so uncooperative." The creature groaned out in disappointment, proceeding to take a seat on Ichiro's left shoe, "Why do your shoes still have straps on them? You are fifteen, aren't you?"

"Shut up, Golhmar." Ichiro nudged the living formation of rubble off of his foot and stood up. Stretching his arms outward, he retorted, "I gave you life, and I can take it away if I feel like it."

"Ouch! You're a cold one, aren't you?" Golhmar's limbs formed a shocked expression; shortly after, he took another leap and landed on Ichiro's shoulder, "But that's okay with me."

"Get back in the satchel. We'll be traveling soon." Ichiro sighed and directed the creature toward the open slot of the leather bag, waving his hand toward it.

"Where?"

"Excellent question."

With the rate she had been drinking, Krasi had finished her ale off quickly before feeling a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see a rather tall man, gorgeous blond hair down to his shoulders and intriguing red eyes. A few bird feathers were stuck here and there in his hair. He wore a long red robe with white runic symbols; Krasi was lost as to what they meant if they meant anything at all.

"Why the glum face? Are you not happy to have another member in the guild?" he asked, his voice smooth like fine silk, possessing and ethereal tranquility. He bowed his head slightly to the girl.

"Of course I'm happy, but...well, we're not really in the guild yet...," Krasi admitted. It was better than trying to lie to the gentleman. He would have known that they weren't with Sky Covenant anyway. She was sure of it.

The man shrugged suddenly, his tranquil demeanor seeming to fade into something more casual. He grinned. "Oh, I know you're with our guild. I was just testing you." He paused for a moment to chuckle. "I've seen you little brats around here before. You've been hanging around the building and talking with some of the members."

Kuro turned to see who Krasi was talking to. He had been caught up in his own thoughts. "Were we really that obvious?" he asked, just a tad sullenly. It wasn't like they had been trying to be stealthy when they were trying to gather information about Sky Covenant, but why had this man noticed them out of all the people in the room?

"The name's Soya. I'm a guardian of this guild wielding high level Truth magic," he explained. Both of the twins seemed a bit bewildered and he sighed. "I have the power to sense good intentions along with hostile ones and can distinguish truth from lies. I don't fight; it's not my thing," he concluded coolly, eyes glancing over to the side where the Master was.

Krasi nearly laughed. "I wouldn't imagine anyone would want you on their team if fighting had to be done anyway," she retorted.

Soya grimaced. "Well, that's the truth, but that's not my purpose." Placing a hand on his chin, he took a moment to think before a sparkle in his eyes notified the twins that he had remembered something. "Oh yes. The glumness. Don't worry about joining the guild right now. I'll have a work with Master Luradi afterwards and let him know you'll be joining Sky Covenant."

"But you say it as if we're going to be in no matter what," Krasi stated flatly, clearly unimpressed with this man. He was an odd one.

"Oh, don't get me wrong; you'll need to talk to him yourselves sometime maybe later tonight or tomorrow, but otherwise, you'll be in as temp members until then. Our Master is a very wise and reasonable one. The more talent we add to Sky Covenant, the more good we can do. I believe that's how he sees things, and I agree wholeheartedly with it." He winked at Krasi. "That's why I'm willing to put in a good word for you. And I should be off to do that soon, so try to perk up will you? It's unbecoming of Sky Covenant guild members." With that, Soya meandered off in the opposite direction of Master Luradi.

Krasi turned around and let her head crash into the bar.

"Sister, are you all right?" Kuro asked worriedly, trying to pick up Krasi's head to see if she was hurt.

"Where...in the world is he going? I thought he was going to talk to the Master...," she groaned in response and lifted her head ignoring Kuro's efforts. He withdrew his hands as she straightened her hair which had become just slightly untidy.

"Don't worry, Krasi. I think we can trust him," Kuro replied assuredly, yet he wasn't too sure if that was enough to quell his sister's worries.

"Will we simply travel onward? With no destination?" Golhmar quizzically asked the boy, rocky head tilted to the side, "I shall go where you go." He then gently climbed down the shoulder strap of the satchel and climbed into one of the pouches, peeking his head outward and looking up toward Ichiro.

"Now that I think about it," Ichiro began, turning away from the glimmering body of water.

"Yeah, yeah!? Have you decided!?" Golhmar eccentrically barraged the boy with unnecessary questions, flailing his arms around inside of the satchel.

"Be quiet." Ichiro mumbled as he removed the satchel from his shoulder and grabbed the strap connected to it. He swung the satchel over his head and pounded it against the rocky cliff, proceeding to place the satchel back on his shoulder. "I will tell you if you be quiet." He snickered mischievously, allowing a leak of his childish side to seep out of his stoic outward appearance.

"Oww, fine! That was entirely unnecessary, though!" The golem whined, attempting to reorient himself with the bottom of the satchel.

"You are just as unnecessary. I still question why I created you in the first place." The boy's childish stature faded away in an instant, quickly altering his personality back to its original, irritable form.

"Now that I think about it," Golhmar tapped his left arm to his chin, ruminating over the situation, "How did you create me if you are a Static Earth Mage?"

"I did not create you." Ichiro frowned, staring out toward the crystal clear, blue skies. His eyes seemed to follow the single cloud that gently floated across the sky, lost within a trance.

"Why do you keep saying you can deconstruct me-"

"My desire to have you alive gives you the power to be alive." Ichiro responded monotonously, his stature remaining still, with the exception of his hair, which wavered quietly in the breeze. "I forget whether or not you are aware of this, but my sister is also a Mage."

"I was not aware. Her power?"

"She has the power of Animation. Her power runs off of the desire of others. As long as I want you alive, you will remain so." Ichiro became mobile once more and cautiously began climbing back down to ground level.

"That's pretty deep, you know that?" Golhmar braced himself within the satchel; he knew that the ride down the cliff side would not be a smooth one, "I don't like it when you say deep things."

"I suggest you deal with it." He stated bluntly as he released his arm from a stone protruding out of the rocky cliff, gently falling approximately two feet to the grassy earth beneath him.

"Okay then." Golhmar dragged out his last word, as if pondering whether or not he was going to ask another question, "How about this? Why don't you use your magic to climb down the cliff through a more direct, easy method?"

"I do not like to waste energy."

"Here you go, Xecilla," Falar said, handing the young woman a jug of ale. She accepted it hesitantly, looking down into the ale nervously. She had never drank anything like this before, and wasn't sure what it was going to do to her body. Falar seemed to notice Xecilla's distress, and said: "Don't worry, if you don't like it we have water you can drink instead."

"Thank you," Xecilla said and, putting the jug to her lips, took a tiny sip of the ale. The alcoholic drink burned her mouth, like a carbonated drink. She coughed a few times, unable to adjust to the strange texture of the drink. Xecilla shook her head, blinking her eyes rapidly. The ale had brought tears to her eyes, and she wasn't quite used to the smell of the drink yet either.

Falar laughed. "I'm guessing that was your first time with alcohol, huh?" Xecilla nodded in response. Falar continued, "You'll get used to it eventually." Xecilla nodded again, sitting down at a table near her. She had started to feel a little dizzy. Falar sat down on the other side of the table, resting his head on his hand, looking at Xecilla curiously.

"That's right, I haven't told you my magic yet," Falar said, still looking at Xecilla. She kept her gaze low, looking down into the ale. She was beginning to feel dehydrated now, so she took another sip of the drink. That sip only made her feel worse though, so she tried to drink a mouthful. While this was going on, Falar was talking about his magic, but Xecilla really didn't hear what he was saying. Xecilla's head began to weave left and right, which is when she realized that there was something unnatural going on, probably caused by the ale. "Xecilla, are you okay?" Falar asked, his brow furrowed in concern for her.

"Water..." Xecilla muttered, her eyelids becoming heavier and heavier by the second. Falar realized then that Xecilla was drunk. She had been drunk ever since her first little sip of the ale.

"Oh no, you can't hold your alcohol at all," Falar swore once, looking around for water. Xecilla was already a step ahead of him though, taking her large canteen off of her back and attempting to screw open the lid, without much success. Falar snatched the canteen from her, twisted it open, and placed the canteen to Xecilla's lips, trying to make her drink the water inside.

After drinking a large sum of what was left in Xecilla's canteen, Xecilla seemed to come back to her senses a little. She was still feeling dizzy though, and her head pounded, but she wasn't about to pass out at least.

Falar began to rub Xecilla's back, still trying to get her back to normal. He noticed her ale sitting on the table, and took it. He wasn't going to let her drink any more. Instead, he took it and drank the entire jug in one swig. He may not let Xecilla drink, but he wasn't going to waste perfectly good ale. No way.

"Feeling any better?" Falar asked.

"Loads," Xecilla replied, smiling slightly, "thanks."

"Not a problem."

Krasi had finished off her first mug of ale, but shooed the barkeep away when he tried to offer another. Her stomach wasn't feeling all that well, and she remembered she hadn't eaten breakfast when they set out that morning...just like she didn't use the bathroom. She sighed and felt something nudging her arm.

"Sister, look over there!" he whispered to her, and pointed over to where Master Luradi sat. The man they had met not too long ago was whispering something in the Master's ear. "Do you think he's putting in a good word for us?"

Krasi observed the Master. His eyes were filled with the wisdom of the ages mixed with good cheer. She wondered if they were always like that. Such a carefree guy...how odd. Her eyes widened a bit when Soya backed away and winked at her as the Master stood up and began walking over towards them.

"S-sister, he's coming over here...." Kuro said worriedly.

"We had to meet him eventually anyway," Krasi muttered, glaring at the grinning Soya until the Master was standing right before the twins. She looked at him right in the eye before getting off her stool. "What can we do for you today, Master?" she asked and bowed her head. She watched as Kuro followed her example.

"It is only natural for me to want to speak with new members of my guild, Sky Covenant," he answered simply and nodded sagely, the twinkle in his eye obvious beyond belief. "After all, you're already calling me 'Master'. How uncouth of me to turn you young ones away now." He chuckled and placed a hand on Krasi's shoulder. "Go on! Enjoy yourself! I know I will be doing just that." With that, Master Luradi turned away from the twins and headed back to his seat where a full mug of ale was waiting for him.

"Huh, so he IS always like that...," Krasi said and blinked before slamming her palm against her forehead. "I hope we haven't bitten off more than we can chew, brother."

While the guild was enjoying the party, they didn't notice the low rumbling that was getting steadily louder. Thump. Thump. Thump. The ground shook with every rapid beat of the sound of approaching steps. Eventually, the guild got quieter, finally able to hear the low rumbling. Even Xecilla, still in her stupor, could sense that something was strange.

The large, double doors of the guild building practically exploded, and a large beast-like figure flew into the beer hall. The figure landed hard on the floor, cracking a few floorboards when it did, and stopped so that everyone could recognize it.

It was a man. Well, half of the figure. The man was sitting on top of what looked like a hairy, pink boar. The man wore a large blue coat with a white, buttoned shirt. Around his chest was a strap from a bag on his back, which held a threatening-looking sword in it's sheath. The man also wore blue pants to match his coat, and also wore goggles over his eyes. His hair was a wild, messy blond color. He removed his goggles to reveal unusual electric-blue eyes and a confident grin. The boar had pink fur and tusks, and also seemed to hold a confident look.

"Started the party without me?" The man asked, looking around, his grin not diminishing one bit. "Couldn't wait for me to return, could you?" The man got off of the boar.

"Yusss!" The boar said, bucking it's rear end up and shaking all about like a wet dog.

"That Excalt and his partner Nask," Falar said to Xecilla in a whisper, so only she could hear. "Excalt is our most powerful S-Rank mages in Sky Covenant. Our Master is stronger, but Excalt is the most likely candidate for the position of Master once the current Master steps down."

"Welcome back, Excalt," Master Luradi said, "How was your mission?"

"A perfect victory for me," Excalt replied, "What did you expect? The villagers returning with my corpse?" At this, Excalt burst out laughing at his own joke. The Master coughed once, hiding his grin behind a fist. "But enough about that, Master Luradi, I notice that there are some unfamiliar faces here." Excalt looked over at the twins, then at Xecilla. "Have you been recruiting while I was away?"

"All three of them came in today," Master Luradi nodded, "They have of yet to be branded with the mark of our guild."

"Mark of the guild?" Xecilla asked, looking at Falar. Falar paused for a second before standing. He turned to his side and took off his jacket. Just below his left shoulder was a black mark. It was much similar to the mark of the guild, a hawk with it's large wings spread. It looked rather impressive.

"Everyone in the guild has this mark somewhere on their body," Falar explained.

"Oh," Xecilla nodded, understanding now. She stood up, smiling. "Then how about I get that mark myself?" Falar licked his lips, walking over to the Master.

"Should we give them their marks now, Master?" He asked.

"Yes, that sounds like a good idea. Xecilla, Krasi, and Kuro come over here," The Master called the three new mages over to him. Excalt raised his eyebrows at Xecilla, slightly confused with her outfit, but quickly dismissed it. "Now, where do you want your mark, Xecilla?" Master Luradi asked.

Xecilla turned around and pointed to the center of her back, just below the cloth that covered her. The Master took a stamp that was under the bar table and held it directly over the point that Xecilla had pointed to. With a puff of smoke, the Master removed the stamp and waved away the smoke, revealing the same mark that had been on Falar.

"Welcome to Sky Covenant," Excalt said, grinning at Xecilla, who merely smiled back at him.

"And you two?" The Master asked, looking at Krasi and Kuro.

The doors blew off their hinges. And just not too long ago, Kuro was worried about Krasi damaging the door to the women's bathroom. Psh. Krasi shook her head. Apparently this guy liked brilliant entrances. And what a strange boar. Her mind was completely captivated in regards as to where it might have come from. At hearing about the mark of the guild, however, she snapped from her reverie.

"So, we're still missing something," she said and hopped off her stool, walking over to where the master was. She noticed Kuro following behind her, a little anxious. The process seemed simple enough. And the mark was actually pretty cool. "Kuro."

"Yes, sister," he answered and stood to her left. They both rolled up their sleeves just so that their forearms were exposed: Kuro's right and Krasi's left. Both pointed with the opposite hand to the spot right in the middle of the underside of their forearms.

"Yes, this will work out nicely," she said with a grin, her eyes filled with energy. She wasn't the least bit apprehensive. If they bit off more than they could chew, they would just have to live with it and do their best. Simple as that.

"There we go," the Master said, stamping both of them with the mark of Sky Covenant. "You three are now officially a part of Sky Covenant. Excalt, would you mind explaining to them the mission requests for me?"

Excalt shook his head, "Sure, I'll need to take a break from my last mission anyway. Come with me you three," Excalt said, beckoning them over to a large signpost. His boar, Kast, bounded up next to him. Excalt waited until everyone had gathered before starting. "This is, as you may have guessed by now, the guild's request board. To claim a request, simply take the paper and present it to the Master. If the Master is not here, I can also confirm requests. This is so we can contact the client to ensure that no other guilds have started on the request yet. We don't want two guilds competing for the reward, that might end up badly." Excalt smacked the board with the back of his hand. "You can only accept one of these at a time, and can be done as a team or by yourself. The requests can range from helping out in a kitchen to exterminating demons to stopping volcanoes from destroying a city. Every day we get more and more requests, so we would be much better off if they were completed as soon as possible. I think that's all you need to know for now."

"Actually," A rather high pitched, squeaky voice butted in, "There are other requests that can only be completed by S-Rank mages, called S-Rank Requests! They are significantly tougher, but the pay is better!" It was the boar. The boar was talking to them, explaining something about S-Rank requests.

Xecilla couldn't believe that the boar had talked. It was so unexpected, she would have never guessed that the boar was special like that. A pink, talking boar. Could this day get any stranger?

"Right, who has the first question?" Excalt asked, rubbing his hands together.

Krasi looked at all the requests on the board. Certainly enough to keep someone busy. She liked the feeling of having a lot to do. It was better that completing the tasks was so versatile; if Kuro felt overwhelmed, he could always sit a few out. She glanced at him caringly for just a second before returning her focus to Excalt who obviously assumed they'd have questions.

"Seems straightforward enough," she replied, crossing her arms. Her foot set to tapping against the floor impatiently. "So, when can we get started?"

Kuro's jaw dropped. "Sister, you're so blunt and reckless sometimes...," he spoke up sadly and sighed. "What about our lodgings? Also, we've never actually been inside the building before, sister; we only stalked around outside..." He paused for a second and blushed in embarassment before shaking it off. "D-do we get a tour?"

Krasi huffed. "Since when are you one to take charge of things?" she shot at her brother, stomping the ground with the foot she had previously been tapping.

"S-since you neglected to do so...h-hmph," he tried to retort defiantly, only to fail miserably causing Krasi to burst out laughing.

The currency of Fiore is called "Jewels." It's similar to the Japanese Yen in value.

~~~

At this point, Falar walked forward. "The city isn't very large, it's nearly impossible to get lost. There are also plenty of apartments, and there is a dorm building for the guild members, a guy and a girl dorm." Falar spread his hands out, shrugging, "But if you want to start with a request, you can just pick one up and give it to Master Luradi. I suggest picking one of the easier ones to start. Of course, you could ask one of the experienced members for their help, to get to know what missions are all about."

"In that case..." Xecilla began, taking a step forward and looking at the requests on the board. Excalt stood back to watch, interested to see what she would choose. After a little while, she took off a request from the board and showed it to Falar, "Will you help me with this?" Xecilla asked politely.

Falar took the paper and peered at it, "What do we have here then...'Protect our cargo ship from the beasts of the sea...Reward of 50,000 Jewels...'" Falar raised an eyebrow, then shrugged. "Sure, I'll lend a hand. It sounds like an interesting request," he said, nodding once.

Xecilla seemed pleased. She then turned to Krasi and Kuro, "Would you two like to come along?" Xecilla offered. "I'm sure it will be a good experience for all of us."

~~~~~~~~

The Request Board suggestions can be found in the chatting thread for this role play. Note that they are merely suggestions, and you can create a request for yourself. Of course, you could just go with Xecilla and not have to bother of making or choosing a request yourself.

Kuro sighed as he watched Krasi grin. "Please, don't indulge her...," he pleaded only to get a whack on the head from his twin sister.

"I'll be delighted to go," she replied somewhat seriously; the grin on her face was making it a bit hard to do so. She turned to her brother. "If you don't want to go, then stay here and do nothing. Or find another request. Whatever." She wasn't too pleased. They were just starting out and her brother was already being...himself. He shouldn't have anything to worry about. With a powerful, more experienced mage working with them, the request was sure to be a breeze.

Kuro shook his head. "But sister, if it's only these two that are going with you...you'll need me for your magic...," he replied, and the moment he looked into Krasi's eyes, he understood. "I'll come. The sooner we develop our powers, the better it will be later on when we become more versatile and don't need each other as much in battle.

"I forsaw that outcome." Krasi turned to face Xecilla. "Count us in." She paused. "Oh, I guess we didn't quite introduce ourselves properly yet. My names Krasi. Krasi Antares."

"I'm her twin brother, Kuro," Kuro said. "I-it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, my name is Xecilla Ggeli," Xecilla introduced herself politely, smiling at them. Falar had walked over to the Master in order to confirm that they could take the request, and was now returning. He noticed they were introducing themselves, so he waited until Xecilla was finished.

"I am Falar Utano, a specialist in Beam Magic. You'll have a better understanding of my powers once you see them," Falar said, then beckoned them over. "Come on, we have a boat to catch." Falar turned his back, guiding the three others out of the guild, but they were stopped by another mage. It was the same mage that had thrown something at Falar when Xecilla had first entered.

"Hold on Falar," the mage said, "Promise me that, when you get back, we're going to finish our battle."

"You've got yourself a fight, Resin," Falar answered almost immediately, a grin growing on his face. Xecilla paled slightly at the prospect of allies fighting each other. She didn't like conflict to begin with, but maybe a little competition was okay once in awhile. Either way, if she didn't hurry up and follow Falar, she would be left behind.

The city of Elmban Wood was, as Falar had mentioned before, one of the smaller cities. In just a few minutes, one could travel from one side of the city to the other. Although it was small, Elmban Wood was not lacking in activity. The market was crowded with the hustle and bustle of everyday life. The dock was not as lively; but it did have a few people hanging around for the next ship out of the city.

"You were right, it isn't a very large city at all," Xecilla said, looking at Falar. "Not to mention it's right next to the ocean where our request is supposed to be."

"It isn't an ocean," Falar replied, "It's the Balam Sea. A salt-water sea that is mostly surrounded by land, but connects to the ocean by a narrow river called Kela River. Not only that, but that river is blocked off by two large cliffs on either side. It is extremely dangerous to go through, because you never know if there is another ship coming through from the other side. There have been multiple shipwrecks in the Kela River, so the Magic Council banned the usage of the river as a passage to get in or out of the city. It's a real problem, because most of this city's supplies comes from the countries overseas. The land around Elmban is not suitable for farming, so if the supplies are late, it could be a real problem." Falar sighed heavily, looking down at Xecilla and the others. "Part of our mission is actually to protect the cargo for the next food shipment to Elmban City. So there can be no screw ups, got it?"

"Right, we'll be careful," Xecilla answered obediently.

Krasi took note of the names of her new allies and paid special attention to Falar's relationship to this Resin character. A slight smirk crossed her face as she heard they were to battle. What an interesting pair..., she thought before feeling a poke in her back that could only be Kuro.

"Are you daydreaming again, sister? We're going to get left behind," he said and past her, trailing after Falar and Xecilla who had already begun to move on. "And I thought you were the one so eager to get started...," he added, smiling after hearing her groan.

The twins had spent a lot of time in the outdoors of the city, mainly snooping around the Sky Covenant building for their research. They had made quite a few friends; acting stealthy and getting the drop on passing Sky Covenant guild members was a great conversation starter. But today, they were busy. And so was the town. If any of their friends had waved or something, Krasi wouldn't have noticed. Kuro seemed focused on following his sister; she had managed to pass him, so he just took up the rear. Upon reaching the sea, they stopped.

"Well, we have you with us, so I don't think it'll be much of a problem," Krasi spoke up after hearing Falar's bit on how important the job was. She got a disapproving look from Kuro but shook it off with a wave of her hand. She looked Falar right square in the eye, unyielding. "It's a given that we'd do our best."

"You're scary sometimes, sister," Kuro quipped only to get a whack on the head from Krasi.

"Yes, well," Falar grimaced, "Don't rely on me too much." He then began searching for the boat that would lead them across the sea to the other side. "We have quite a bit of travelling to do, so be ready for it."

Xecilla was paying attention to Falar, but her excitement for being near water took hold of her, and she approached the sea. The port was held up over the water level, so Xecilla had to sit down and hang her legs over the edge in order for her feet to touch the water. Xecilla sighed deeply, shivering with delight at the touch of the clear, blue liquid. A smile spread across her lips, her sea blue hair seeming to glow radiantly with glee. Before she knew what she was doing, her feet began to merge together into a fin. It wasn't until she felt a familiar, dry feeling on her upper legs did she realize that her magic had activated. Xecilla quickly undid the magic and stood up, turning to face the others.

It was a good thing too, Falar was just coming back from one of the transport boats. "I managed to snag a transport boat over to the other side of the sea, as close to the Kela River as possible. We're leaving right now." Falar then showed them the way to the boat, where an elderly man was already ready to shove off.

"Is this it, Falar?" The old man croaked, once everyone had gotten aboard. Falar nodded once and the sailor started to push his boat through the water. Although he was elderly, he obviously had a lot of strength. Xecilla knew how much effort was required in a rowboat such as this one, and it was impressive that an elderly man could row a boat with five people without breaking so much as a sweat.

Xecilla sat in spot, one of her arms hanging out of the boat, her fingers lightly tracing the water below them. She had an urge to jump out of the boat and swim, but she didn't want to miss anything Falar might say when she was away. That, and she didn't want to risk running out of magic and getting stuck in her Mermaid form. It was unlikely, but if something unfriendly came by, it would be a dangerous situation.

Though she hated to admit it, Krasi was a bit skeptical at first as she got on the boat. The old man didn't seem...too reliable. Sure enough, he proved her wrong and she grimaced as he continued to row with relative ease along the water. Kuro sat next to her, playing with her hair. It always made her nervous when he did that. And it was always a pain to fix. Her grimace worsened.

"Sister, you should lighten up," Kuro said suddenly, taking a lock of his sister's hair and twirling it around one of his fingers. "What happened to all of that excitement you were showing this morning?"

Krasi rolled her eyes. "I'm still excited, genius. I mean, it's our first day on the job." She tilted her head back to look up at the sky. Sky Covenant. Here they were. "I'm just worried you might screw up. And if you screw up, I'm screwed up. You understand?" Taking her attention off the sky, she spared a moment to glare at her brother who let go of her hair quickly.

"I know, I know. I remember the plan in case something bad happens. I won't leave you unarmed," he replied and tried to give her a reassuring smile. "I promise to be a good weapon as always. You never were good at improvising..."

Again with another eye roll. Krasi knew he was right. Her magic was so versatile, yet her limited imagination seemed to prevent her from growing. Now that she was part of a guild, she'd have more time to think of ideas on how to use her magic, along with getting some on-the-field training every so often.

"I think you should talk to that, Soya guy," Kuro suggested. "He seemed pretty eccentric and imaginative."

"No, Kuro. People like that live in their own little world. I would be perfectly satisfied never having to associate with that weirdo again in my life," she stated flatly.

In the distance, three mages stood on the Kela River cliffs, looking out at the Balam Sea. The two males were searching for possible threats, while the one female was crouched low to the ground, fiddling with a small machine. The woman grabbed a clod of earth and began to focus, changing it's shape and structure to an entirely different metal, which she used to finally clamp the machine's two halves together.

"Target is in sight," One of the male mages said, his eyes focused on a single spot in the sea. "Are you ready, Tilora? They might see us soon."

"I'm ready to go," the female, Tilora, responded. She hefted the machine onto her shoulder and aimed it carefully.

"X Coordinates: 12 degrees," the male mage said, still focused on the spot where the "target" was heading, his hand on the machine. "Y Coordinates: 30 degrees." He pushed the machine to the exact spot where he mentioned. "A little more...that's it, right there."

"Ready to fire. Count me down."

"5 seconds,"

-

Falar turned his head towards the land that they were slowly, but surely, approaching. He knew that this mission was important, and the cargo was at risk, but he never suspected that enemy guilds would go out of their way to stop them. With that in mind, he didn't have too many worries. But he still couldn't shake off the feeling that something dangerous was coming.

"Xecilla," Falar said, not straying his line of sight from the land, "Can you do anything other than transform your body?"

Xecilla was slightly perturbed by Falar's question. She gave him a questioning look and said, "Yes, I can control the flow of water a little. I always have some water with me for defending myself."

"Is it possible for you to harden the surface of the water without making it ice?" Falar's next question was even stranger than his first.

"Yes, but not for a long time. Why?" Xecilla responded.

"Because you need to do just that. Now!" Falar jumped off the boat, causing it to rock a bit. Xecilla hesitated for just a second before reacting and using her magic to harden the surface of the water that Falar was about to land in. His feet touched the surface, but he did not sink. The water seemed to convulse and give way, but Falar did not fall.

Falar brought back both of his hands, charging up a large sum of his magic into his forefingers and middlefingers. Just as he started to throw his arms forward, a glint in the distance flashed brightly, a large beam of condensed magic streaking towards them. Falar shot his own beam of magic back at the enemy attack. The beam was black in color to counteract the enemy beam of white. The force of the blast caused the water around them to quiver and shake violently, making the boat rock as well.

Falar jumped back into the boat as soon as the beams had stopped each other and exploded in midair. He then attempted to wake the old man, who had seemingly fainted from the surprise of the sudden attacks. Xecilla, however, knew that there wasn't enough time for that, so she pulled her palm back and shot it forward, concentrating her own magic. The water seemed as though it had been punched by a hard fist, as it splashed upwards and fired the boat like a cannon towards the land.

The boat crashed into the sandy beach, launching everyone on it off and onto the ground. Xecille quickly stood up and fixed herself, brushing off the sand. She looked at the others. "Is everyone okay?"

Falar was kneeling down by the elderly man, "It seems that he just fainted. He'll be okay."

Krasi grimaced as the boat began rocking due to all of the sudden activity. Kuro was clutching onto her arm pretty tightly which only made matters worse. "What the...?" she said bewildered as Falar's beam magic collided with what must have been an attack on them. An attack. On them. Her mouth was hanging open, but she quickly closed it remembering the situation earlier this morning that had her shocked. Of course, there was no time to react. In mere seconds, the boat was sent rocketing towards land.

"Krasi...get up. Laaaaazy," Kuro muttered as he poked his sister's leg which was sticking up out of the sand. Half of her body, the top half, was submerged in the sand. But even through all the granules of sediment, Kuro could still hear his sister groan in response to his comments. He smiled. Of course, with a tug, he freed his sister from her sandy predicament, pending a whack on the head and a rolling of the eyes in thanks.

"I think we're as fine as we're going to be," Krasi responded to Xecilla's question. "I know dark guids are complete asses, but seriously? We just want to protect some food. What are they going to eat with no food shipment? They might be content with eating poisonous berries in the wilderness, but some of us actually have some sanity around here." She growled. She felt like pulverizing whoever did that to them. They were lucky to have Falar around.

"Well, sister. I'm sure they had their reasons, but I do say it was quite rude of them to fire at people they didn't even know. I'd feel somewhat better knowing they had a personal vendetta against us," Kuro reasoned, mostly to himself, but he felt Krasi's gaze on him. It practically said: "Damn, boy. You crazy."

Krasi shrugged her shoulders. "Whatever you say, kid." She looked around the area. The water was starting to settle back into its normal ebb and flow after all the action. "What do we do now? Everyone's fine. So we need to think of what to do next."

"First of all," Falar said, "We need to find a shelter for the old man here. We can't just leave him out in the open, nor can we take him with us." Falar began looking around for some sort of structure that would provide a means of protection for the old man. Xecilla, however, had something else in mind.

"How about this?" She asked, "Instead of leaving the old man vulnerable over here, if you put him in the boat, I can pull it back to the other side and get someone else to help him, then I'll swim back over here."

Falar paused for a second before nodding, and lifting the old man up and into the boat. Then he and Xecilla pushed the boat back into the sea. Xecilla took the rope and tied it around herself and the boat. She then waded out into the water and began to transform. Her feet and legs began to merge together and change color. Blue scales appeared from her waist all the way down to her fin. Her neck split into three flaps on both sides that quickly closed as soon as they formed. Xecilla's hair began to glow slightly, a chemical reaction when her hair touched the water.

"I'll be back as quickly as I can," Xecilla said to the others, her voice magically changed into a much more soothing tone. She then dived into the water and swam off, taking the boat and the old man inside with her.

Falar turned to Krasi and Kuro now, nodding once at them. "As for the Dark Guild, there is one nearby that has been causing Elmban Wood and Sky Covenant some trouble. Reports have come in from other boats, saying they were attacked by a strange beam of magic that destroyed the entire boat."

"Since I managed to stop their first attack, they probably will try to come down here and finish us off." Falar grimaced. He wasn't exactly looking forward to a fight with a Dark Guild. "I don't know how many members they use for these attacks, but it has to be at least two. And considering the strength of that beam attack, I'd have to say it was fired from a machine, not a human's own magic. But for now, that's all I know. Be on your guard, we don't know where they might attack us from next."

"Affirmative," Krasi spoke seriously.

"Righto," Kuro confirmed.

Both scanned the area some more, but if they were to get attacked again, which direction would it come from. Krasi sighed and stared out at the sea towards the Kela River cliffs where the beam had come from. Who in their right mind? It just didn't make sense to her. So many of these dark guilds were just ridiculous--only coming into formation to cause trouble for others. Just horrible.

"What sick pleasure do these people derive from making the lives of others more difficult," she spoke casually, eyes still trained on the cliffs in the distance. Where would they move from there? How many would there be? Would they even come at all?

"I guess that's just their prerrogative or something," Kuro replied, walking over to his sister and tugging gently at her hair causing her to glare at him, but he didn't care. It was kind of cute when she did that anyway. "Have you had a lot of encounters with dark guilds, Falar?"