Kingdom of Aire Book 1: The Book of Going Forth
 

It was a hot and muggy day. The summer sun beat down mercilessly on the earth, driving even the dark-skinned laborers, accustomed to lesser heat, back into their huts.

So it came as a surprise that one man, dressed up like a samurai of sorts, was striding proudly through the sunlight, the banner on his back bearing the characters for "Sole Supremacy in Heaven and Earth", his flowing white hair dancing in he slight breeze Mother Nature had mustered as small compensation for the blazing heat.

"I'm glad it's so hot, we won't meet any bandits, they scare me..."

"You dishonorable dog, do you have no sense of purpose at all? It is the duty of all swords to cut! Master, allow me to sunder this unworthy weakling-"

One of the white-haired man's weapons rattled in the sheath.

"Eeee! Save me, master-"

"Shut the hell up, you two! The great Raiden Moto-Rola does not tolerate bickering among his servants! When I next dazzle the world with my incomparable swordsmanship, the two of you will be exalted beyond all other weapons simply because you were wielded by me! Think on it, and stop bothering my thoughts..."

And his voice trailed off, because it was at that point in time that he spied a lady in red, with flame-colored hair, walking in the shade provided by a copse of trees by the road.

"Ah, I spy with my little eye... a fine feminine filly! Time to charm her with my wit and charisma..."

Like a flash, he was suddenly in front of her, arm leaning against a nearby tree and blocking her way. Raiden flashed a grin that shone in the twilight of the shade, and winked like the coarsest slattern ever to walk a red-light district.

"My my my, you seem to be covered in sweat, my dear. I gallantly volunteer to wipe you dry, starting with the wet spot on your butt..."

OOC: Yes Jessa, this goes out to you. Feel free to hurt him.

Liana had been walking through the shade, trying to keep cool in the impossibly hot weather. She was on her way to finally finding some shelter inside of a large tent when suddenly a man stepped in front of her, blocking her way. He leaned against the tree in front of her and made his proposition.

"My my my, you seem to be covered in sweat, my dear. I gallantly volunteer to wipe you dry, starting with the wet spot on your butt..." He said, looking at her like a starving wolf looks at a juicy steak.

Liana simply raised an eyebrow at his proposition, it was far too hot out for this kind of behavior.

"Oh dear, I believe the heat has gotten to your head, or was there something wrong with you before hand?" She said, sidestepping to go around him, "You would be wise to find some shade and cool off."

Ooooh, feisty.

Raiden flashed her another grin and closed the gap between them, pressing himself into her face.

"Oh, you like you're hot too. Hot for me, I'll bet. Why not we both cool down together? Those clothes you're wearing look awfully warm..."

Liana's eyes darkened a bit, annoyed at this man's actions. Then, suddenly, her face turned into a smile, or as much of a smile as she could muster at the moment, as she looked at the man.

"Oh, you're right, it is awfully hot out here," She said in her most flirtatious voice and she started to slowly pull up her skirt, she grinned as his eyes immediately went up her leg. While he wasn't paying attention she suddenly slapped a sticker on her boot and touched the transmutation circle on it. There was no real outwordly change, but the boot became of a much harder material, almost like iron. Before anything else could happen, she raised her foot and kicked him in a spot that would ward off even the strongest of men. As he fell to the ground, dazed, Liana slapped another sticker on her boot and turned it back to normal. Without saying another word to him, she stepped around him and kept walking forward, returning to her search for some nice shade.

(OOC: I asked Dante, go figure he's not competent enough to wear good armor down there.)

Kings had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing his head off. Apparently some samurai had just gotten a hardy blow to the gonads from some "hot" chick.

Kings lay on his back, enjoying the delightfully scorching weather. His armor and weapons lay in a bundle to his left, he was wearing only his gi and weights.

He'd come to this place, what other people called "Godforsaken sands", to celebrate his nameday. Some 73-74 years ago (He could never remember) His father had taken him to this spot, underneath a full moon and in sight of a giant star, and named him Kings at the age of five.

His father had been terrible at making names, and it took him 5 long years after King's birth to name him, but at this spot, his father had an inspiration. In order to teach his son some humility, he used the prophesy King of Kings.

That way that Kings would know that on earth, there was someone far greater than him. It hadn't worked so well, as kings was still very prideful, and as Kings was aware, that "greater" man had been killed some 60 years ago.

Kings was dense.

He rolled over. <Hmm... Perhaps if she's still here after 30 minutes, I'll give it the old Kings's try.>

After a good long time rolling around on the ground and recovering from the vicious assault on his vulnerables, Raiden sprang back up, seemingly uninjured, though he walked with a pronounced limp.

"The lesbian ninja commandos! Are they everywhere? They've even corrupted that poor girl on the street! Now she shall never know the true meaning of masculine affection..."

He looked at Liana, who was little more than a speck in the distance.

"But such beauty can;t go to waste... I know! I'll convert her! Once I turn that girl back onto the righteous path of me-worship, the lesbian commandos shall fall quickly to my force of personality! Wait for me, fair maiden!"

He scampered off after Liana. As one his weapons shook their heads and sighed.

"Here we go again..."

Orin was having a nice day, despite the sweltering heat. He'd managed to buy all the supplies he would need until he got to the next town, and he still had money to spare. He even had time to take a nap under one of the trees near the side of the road, the shade there making it kind of pleasant, even in the heat and humidity. Then he was woken up by something. Whatever it was, it was definitely loud.

Getting up, stretching, and yawning, Orin turned around to see a pretty young girl walking past him. She seemed to be very annoyed by something, and looking past her proved what that annoying thing was. A guy, rolling on the ground in pain, who got up quickly and yelled something about "Lesbian ninja commandos." With one of the most confused looks he'd ever had on his face, Orin picked up his bag with a small grunt of effort and went off to the well in town to get some water before he left.

"I really hope I don't see that guy again..." Orin thought, trying to keep his mood cheery.

Summer found a strange apparition within the cradles of a noisy tavern, just verging on sweaty brawling. A few coppers clinked onto the table, immediately whisked away by a waitress and replaced by a chipped cup of cool red wine. The woman delicately lifted the cup and sipped, her roving eyes calmly taking in the heated conversation on the other side of the bar. There is going to be trouble abroad.

Within her draconic eyes - the one that everybody avoided the gaze of as best as they could - she saw the angry swirls of auras, the subtle changes from emotion to emotion, and the drunken dispute changed these colours from placid drunk gold to furious crimson red within moments. Sooner or later...

Yes, one threw a punch. A shoddy one at that, too. It grazed the other man's ears, knocking the drink from his hands. The man struck back. A better one that staggered his drunken opponent.

Bismuth sighed as the bar tender tried to intervene, only to come out dismal and beckoning at a couple of brutes that possessed no visible necks, their heads preferring to wobble precariously on their shoulders. They unfolded their arms, and, flexing them so as their muscles bulged like deadly water balloons, entered the fray which had grown from two men to include nearly half the tavern.

'Course, they were soon senseless on the ground, and nearly all the inhabitants of the tavern were involved in fighting just about anybody else.

Bismuth shook her head, a wry grin on her face. A man staggered towards her, a makeshift table leg raised in his hands like a club. The woman of blue streaks raised an elegant, serpentine eyebrow and blinked. The man froze in his tracks.

"Can I help you?" Bismuth said in her best, fluent language of the man's nature. The man goggled.
"Y- you're.." he managed, before a chair broke over his head and he fell instantly asleep.

"Not bothering you, are they, miss?" A man winked at her. Bismuth smiled peacefully and sipped her wine.
"You were in the nick of time," she replied. The man returned to the brawl. She drained her cup before standing and pushing her way out of the noisy tavern. Some of the men tried to assault her, yet were pushed back by the unknown fear of her blink and the slight smile playing on her lips, as if she was amused at their attempts.

~~

A light mist of water trailed Bismuth Hesperornis as she hit the road, covering her in what looked like white cloud. The light refracted off the tiny beads held in stasis and centered around one being, making her seem to shimmer like the heat of the air. A scythe was held in her right hand, its other end detached and tucked in a thin rope-belt around her waist. She leaned on it lightly as she walked, striding in a casual way that could keep her going all day. Though her stamina was already quite strong, she still enjoyed a slight sedated pace.

Unfortunately, the man that ran past her, equipped with a pair of talking swords, did not enjoy a sedated pace. He seemed to be limping, too, in the particular way that she had seen often when men had their dignity hurt with a kick in the--

The girl he was chasing after was clearly angry, fury rising off her aura like jagged lightning. The man? He was blissfully unaware, strangely enough. He radiated hopefulness and lust. Oh, dear...

Rixaxun Jumped down from the tree and walked over to the deer he had just killed. Getting out his knife, he quickly cut it up and shoved the meat into his bag of holding (OOC: bags of holding ARE allowed right?).

As he started walking again he saw a strange man running after a girl dressed in red. He was catching up to the girl, and by the look on her face, touching her would be instant death for him. 'Time for a little fun' though Rixaxun as he jumped in front of the man and said "I challenge you to a duel"

Aurok fell in beside his young friend Orin and handed him a small rice cake. "Is it just me or did that samurai just yell somehting about 'Lesbian Ninja Commandos'?". At Orin's nod, Aurok shook his head and smiled his slow, amused smile. "Do you think we should go help that young woman, maybe pose as a brother and grandfather perhaps?"

OOC: Would that be alright with you Jessa?