Again to be found in the forge, Wyrd lifts his head as the headmaster speaks, then bends to the completion of the task which has consumed the majority of his week.
A few final strokes of the hammer and chisel and the runes are finished. He removes the powdered bloodstone and casts it into the air, then lifts the black blade of the greatsword into the glittering dust. The dust seems to be drawn to the blade where it collects in the graven runes and the twin fullers grooves. Not a single speck of dust escapes the pull of the blade, and as the last one touches the blade, a shimmer of red passes over the black metal.
The massive blade finished, Wyrd hefts it and waits.
There is a mad scramble as students rush back to their rooms to grab forgotten equipment.
Ephebe adjusted her belt nervously. She had adjusted her armor to be a little looser, especially on the chest since she actually had one now. A side-benefit of pregnancy. Still not enough to offset the morning sickness. She counted out her Caster shells for the tenth time that morning to make sure she had enough healing magic to deal with anything. And she took a deep breath and remembered why they were doing this.
::You ready?::
::You ready?::
::As I'll ever be. I just keep reminding myself that we're doing this for the future of our little ones. And I've got as many active protections now as Mom could dream up, so....here goes everything.::
"Stop fussing, James. I'm fine. I'll be fine. I have everything I need. Go worry about you for a bit."
"Sorry about that," he said sheepishly. "I guess I'm just feeling nervous about this whole thing. I'll stop pestering. Mostly."
Enre readies himself, while Eir and Artōrius do the same.
::Umm...when are we supposed to go au natural?::
::Umm...when are we supposed to go au natural?::
::I think that's up to each of us. I'm thinking early on. Best to get it out of the way during the planning phases.::
"Just pretend they're deer, okay?" Michael tells his little brother as he arranges the tiny lab in a backpack. He'd removed all the potential explosives, but he still wanted to make sure. "You won't be actually hurting them, remember? The Headmaster is pretty good with wards."
"Yeah, but it'll still feel like it hurt, won't it? I just hunt small game I can down with one hit so they don't suffer."
"Most of them have been in Hunts before, Anthony, and the wards for those are pretty much the same. Just make sure you've got everything, and hope I'm not in a different kingdom. I'd have to rough you up a bit."
"I bet you couldn't even catch me." Anthony challenges.
"Well, we've got a one-in-four chance of finding out, don't we, Ant?" Michael replies as he reaches over and messes his brother's hair. Knocking his hand away, Anthony smiles.
"I'll be careful. Just gotta get into the forest, right? It's almost not fair having a forest with to people from Anderail, is it? We've got an unfair advantage."
"That we do, little brother, that we do."
Vai spent the pre-dawn with Fei, in what had become a ritual of sorts for them. Usually Vai would bring a book or some other form of homework, which she would read quietly while Fei was absorbed in his kata to greet the new day. The sound of Fei's rythmic movements was both soothing and helped Vai to focus. Vai knew that Fei was not pleased about the War, being a student of peace such as he was, and so she had not brought the subject up. Truth be told, she was also not looking forward to it. She had too many friends, people whom she couldn't... wouldn't hurt.
"Don't get too cocky, you two," she said, dressed in full shinobi gear with Saffire perched on her shoulder. "And be careful....unless I'm on the other side, then be careless." She winked and gave Michael a quick hug. "Good luck."
"No."
"But Lysander!"
"Your father said no. You are not taught by Avalon teachers. You don't not go to Avalon classes. You are not students at Avalon. You cannot participate in the War."
The Antairus Three admit defeat. Not enough time had passed since Jegerath for them to try and get in.
"So Michael hasn't borrowed the ability to summon? Good to know," she replied, grinning.
Tyrrin had finally dropped her focus on the telescope after the announcement of the war. Instead, her focus had shifted to listing the strengths and weaknesses of each kingdom. The Mountain and Island Kingdoms seemed the most defensible, add to that the Islanders had an abundant food supply and a trove of magic items... The Island nation seemed to be an outlier in the Kingdoms, having the advantage of sustainibility along with plenty of magical resources. However, all three of the other kingdoms had, according to the Headmaster, secrets which might turn the tide of the battle. Tyrrin had to be able to convince her nation that she was the most capable leader. That was the first step.
"We'll be careful, regardless of which side you're on." Michael tells his girlfriend as he returns the hug. "You be careful too, okay? I'm going to need some reason to get field work in instead of making potions in a lab, and trying to find you is reason enough."
Ehos had sneaked a peak at his sister's notes after she had gone to bed the night before. She was taking this way too seriously. Ehos knew he wouldn't be able to lead - a commander who cannot speak to his men was fairly useless. But perhaps he could find a use on the battlefield.
Nala fidgeted nervously. She didn't really have any allies at this school besides Ryuzo and she was afraid of what her own teammates would do to her if she was on a different team than him. Being able to turn into a polar bear would help her defend herself, but she didn't want to fight with people who were supposed to be on her side.
In the little time before the war, Ryuzo comforts Nala, reminding her that he can be in multiple places at once, and he'll keep an eye out for her, no matter which kingdom he ends up in...
::Oh wow, ok. I thought there was a pre-planned exhibit...while I prefer things ordered, random can be much more fun.::
Wondered what the Headmaster was thinking, while he thought about how this was goingto end, most likely: students terrified of dragons. Or at least, they should be...
Lounges in his room, reading a book of Orcish philiophy...ok it was just a brochure, but it gave him an excuse to relax and drink some green tea. He's looking forward to some peace in quiet, with the students occupied...
Unable to find anything else to store paper and rations in, Oniero puts the three books he's collected in a safe place and wrapped them in alarms, traps, and a teleportation spell. If anyone maanged to get them, they'd go to his room back home.
He already looks bored with the whole exercise. The princess still wasn't back from her field trip and there really wasn't much else to interest him at the moment. He hoped he ended up getting taken out early. Otherwise it was just too much effort.
Jeran looks a little lost. He still hadn't really figured out what his place should be in this school now and it felt awkward. This whole exercise just exacerbated that.
Sadie sat listlessly waiting for the game to begin. She just couldn't bring herself to care. She had her sword, and her armor, but the excitement just wasn't getting through to her right now. Although she was kind of looking forward to a sanctioned excuse to take out her anger on others.
With just the faint sound of air passing over feathers to announce his arrival, Ruji lands next to Sadie and rubs up against her side, purring loudly.
Sadie stirred a little, reaching down to pet Ruji. She'd always liked cats. And the purring was very soothing. She could almost forget all the other stuff for a little bit.
"It will be okay." He images as he curls up in her lap.
"I hope so," she said, quietly. But she seemed a little more aware of her surroundings now.
Resting in his room, Phaezeriel picks up his staff and a small pack of supplies and waits.
"I hope so," she said, quietly. But she seemed a little more aware of her surroundings now.
"The Headmaster lost his parents and had to care for his little brother too. Do half as well as he has and you shall be a great success. Keep your brother from becoming a vampire and you'll already being doing better."
She seemed a bit taken aback at that thought. "I really hope that is as low a bar for success as it sounds like..."
Resting in his room, Phaezeriel picks up his staff and a small pack of supplies and waits.
::Thank you Phaeze. Don't take this the wrong way, but I hope I don't see you out there.::
"He got better." Ruji images. "So the bar is of moderately lowness. Feeling better yet?"
"He got better." Ruji images. "So the bar is of moderately lowness. Feeling better yet?"
"A little. There's a lot of leeway there. Even I can only screw up so bad," she said wryly. "Thanks."
With the time limit up, the school seems to melt away and all of the students are seperated into their Kingdoms.
After getting to the kingdom, Enre looks around his surrounding. Anyone looking at him notice that he is wearing armor that is different from what he normally wears. Next to him is a female in an odd looking suit, while standing to the side of her is a boy wearing a suit that looks similar to her's.
Krays only had to feel the warmth on his scales for a second before he realized where he ended up. He looked around to see who else he would share his destiny with for a while. He recognized a few faces, and knew one or two as friends and family. He nods in greeting to Fieri and Fei...and curtly to Ghalen. He is amused when he sees Keme wondering how this heat will affect him...no sight of Ephebe though...he knows she can take care of herself, but that won't stop his worry. ::Which one you get?:: he sends to her...
Ghalen sees Krays nod and he nods back, and also takes a look around. Not a whole lot of faces he knows...the monk...and Jiminy's mate...Firey, or something? Interesting...
Ryuzo takes in a deep breath...and loves what he smells...nothing but trees and dirt...but no Nala. Saddened, he looks around to confirm she's not here, and to see who is supposed to work with for...well he doesn't know how long. He recognizes Michael, Kitty's boyfriend, and heads in his direction.
Desert
Fieri was really enjoying the heat of the sun beating down on them. Bonnie was here as well as Jax and Nadya, who she only knew because she had a bad habit of sitting in on student council meetings. She wasn't sure she was so thrilled about Ghalen's presence, but for some odd reason Jiminy liked the guy so she was trying to keep an open mind. Krays was here too looking worried probably since Ephebe wasn't here. Keme was lounging in a patch of sunshine, seeming to enjoy the warmth almost as much as she did. The half-ogre brothers were standing around looking lost since they were separated from Sadie. And there were a couple of lycans including a very miserable looking were-frog.
"So...let's get this started. We need a plan. How do we want to work this?"
"Well, I'd say we start by doing a little reconaissance. What do we have around us? What can we use?
Also, where are the other kingdoms and what do they have?"
"Agreed...but we also need to know what talent we have to work with here, and what everyone can or cannot do. 'Each man, unto his gifts' so to speak."