Open RP: Face of the Gods; Brutalized Innocence

[Valalerin]

It was a quiet day in Steel Raven Village... The forges were all closed due to a sudden rainstorm that had passed overhead. The rain was gone by now, but the sun is yet to come out and dry the rain from the beaten streets. The town was tranquil... Little puddles of rainwater forming in the curves of the street, occasional drips of rain from off of rooftops into a small body of water beneath, ripples flaring outwards.
The sun was just barely peeking through a thick layer of clouds... It is the first bit of sun the town had seen all day, and it was already the middle. Most of the town was eating or helping to repair a ship that had taken on too much water and capsized... The ship was only small at least. A caravel from Grizzly Bee carrying a supply of pumpkins. Nobody really liked pumpkins anyway... At least the fish will be fed.

But although most of the town’s inhabitants were off and away eating their fine bread, helping heave a boat out of the water or just sulking in some warm place, there was one lonely figure stood out in the rain. It was unmistakably an Anja, a female one at that. She stood beneath the looming roof of a bathhouse. The thought of bathing in water already used by so many people was ghastly, and the bathhouse has gone into a state of disrepair.
Nobody really cares about the bathhouse, nobody ever really went there. The rain had only made it flood, too. But there stood the lone Anja beneath the roof, staring blissfully out into the tranquil streets. Such practice was once common amongst her tribe... But assimilation has destroyed most of the tranquility in her life.
She was a Riverfoot, her striking cyan eyes staring out into the drenched cobblestone walkways of Steel Raven Village. Goodness knows why they cling to the title of village... The place qualifies as a capitol city with its enormous port, ironworks and small fort. The fort in which the Baron lives, too.

Unfortunately, that Baron is insane. Nobody is quite sure what sent him mad... One day he was boasting he had discovered a new liquid metal that was cool to the touch, he would often keep it a secret and wrote how amazing this metal was in a book. Then he suddenly started doing the most bizarre things, claiming that he won’t walk the cobblestone path in case one of the pebbles is loose and he falls, breaking his neck.
He spends most of his time sitting in his home writing in his book. Nobody is quite sure where the metal went, but common rumours say he drank it in his madness.

The Anja gave a longing sigh and wrapped herself tightly in her hooded robe. It was a dreary grey colour, and it didn’t even grant a shadow over her face. Not that it was desirable to, she was one of the finest examples of an Anja. Her eyes were large and rounded, her nose was small and delicate, her lips were small and discreet. Unfortunately, this was her downfall.
She constantly hid herself from the many males who populate the ‘village’ in order to keep herself at peace. She even carries around a large iron sword at all times to keep some at bay. Although the bizarre thing about the sword is... It has an ear engraved on it. Nobody is quite sure why. It seems so... Pointless.
The sword is currently hidden from view, tucked away inside her cloak presumably. She gave a worried look around the stone buildings before taking a few steps out into the open street. She stopped dead after little more than five paces and her eyes darted to almost every dark corner there was.

Even though she was alone.

With a look of worry and panic on her face she slowly walked backwards into the shade of the bathhouse’s roof, scanning the surroundings for any signs of life, before sinking to the ground and sitting on the cold, wet, cobblestone floor.

Today was going to be like every other day...

[zianorak]

A horse walked into the village on one of the trade routes. The beast was not large, but she was big enough to carry the rider and the packs, on her back. The rider had a large brown cloak on, and it was soaking wet from the recent rain. She had thick dark red hair. It stuck to her face and neck, drenched as it was, and it made her shiver. Her green eyes seemed unfocused and drowsy. She was lost in the sound of the clip-clopping of her horses hooves on the cobble streets.

She wore a gray dress underneath the brown cloak, but the real reason she wore her clock, besides to keep warm, was to hide her weapons which were close at hand. She started to become aware of her surroundings, and noticed the many buildings. She did not know where to look for lodging, and she was certainly sick from being out in the cold rain. She could tell that she had a fever, she needed to find a warm fire and food.

Under the cover of her cloak, she pushed her weapons out of view, into the packs. She then pulled herself off the horse. She was weak, barely able to stand on her own. She was glad that the horse was beside her to help her keep her balance. She could hear voices, but they seemed to come from far away. She shook her head trying to push them out, to quiet them with her mind. She looked about, trying to find a sign for an inn or a tavern, but the fever was affecting her eyes. She could barely see her horse next to her.

She somehow managed to stumble to the side of a building, and leaned against it. She called quietly to Calaphax, her horse, and she came to stand patiently by her mistress. Suddenly Byrin was not standing, she was not sure when she had sat down, but she felt much more comfortable there. She struggled to keep her eyes open, forcing them to not fall shut. It was a difficult battle, one she was not sure she could win.

[Altrius]

As he patrolled Steel Raven Village he felt a certain pride. He was Altrius, guard and protector of the Anja and Humans here and no harm would come to them whilst he was on guard. Walking slowly down the cobbled street he let the rain fall on his unmasked face, drenching but refreshing him as his long black hair stuck to his skin. Shaking his head he shook off most of the lose water and looked round at the nearby villagers near him.

He was an imposing figure, standing at six feet five tall and of huge muscular build he was as strong as an ox. He was clad in a set of black steel amour, which made plunking noises as he walked along the street, splashing in puddles as he went. He wore a long dark flowing cape and had two axes in holsters in open view, to show his authority.

Waving to the local townspeople he sighed happily to himself. This is where i belong, protecting my fellow people from harm. Even these Anja, who i have grown to like...they seem honorable.

As he passed down a street he saw a women slumping to the floor, looking deathly ill, he horse next to her. She looked like she would pas out any minute and obviously had some sort of fever, her skin was deathly pale.

Quickly rushing over to her he knelt down and put a hand on her shoulder "My names Altrius, are you ok?" He asked.

[Zachariah]

"So what'll it be?" Zachariah stood with a huntsman behind one of the forges. "It will certainly help with your hunts, good sir. It is a very useful item, and is good in a pinch! I can testify to that." The huntsman looked skeptical. Making a sale didn't seem to be easy in Steel Raven Village so far, but perhaps his luck would change here. "I'm not sure..." Zachariah tried his best to hide his exasperation and impatience with this man, knowing that money was the most important thing in this situation.
"Look, honored gentleman, this instant, uh... firewater will set ablaze almost anywhere and on any surface!" He dropped a bit of the water from a small crystal vial onto the floor, and then concentrated. Trying to make it look as discreet as possible, he conjured a large flame that flared up brightly for a moment, and then died down. "See, good sir?"
The huntsman seemed impressed, unaware that it was Zachariah's doing. "With the right weather conditions, you can take care of an angry bear, create a campfire in an instant, or simply show off to your friends, all with my instant firewater! If it doesn't work, you can always just set it ablaze normally and it will burn almost anything! But that almost never happens." The huntsman dropped a few gold coins in Zachriah's outstretched hand, grabbing the vial out of the other. "A wise choice, good sir."
Zachariah slipped back into the streets, leaving the huntsman to his own devices, and began to wander around aimlessly. After a moment or two, he saw what looked like a knight in the distance near a slumped-over woman. He stopped, somewhat wary this knight might be patrolling and, even moreso, recognize him as the thief and peddler he was.

[Valalerin]

Humans… Pathetic congregative creatures. Always huddling around the weak in an attempt to make them feel better. The weak should not be helped in such a manner; they should be left to help themselves. Instead the humans employ people specifically to help weaker members. If they can’t defend themselves they simply get someone else to defend them instead. This was not the way people should live… Monarchy… What an ineffective system. Now despotism… That had its merits.
Only the strong shall prevail. That is how life was supposed to go along.

But there was something abnormally compelling about this woman’s seeming pain… Why? It was nothing amazing… Nothing particularly impossible or inexplicable. But… She really wanted to know what was wrong. It was unlike her, though…
She shook her head, trying to move her attention from the woman to something else. There was nothing else though… Just some strange person over in the distance. Surely that is just as interesting though? No. It did not compel her. It did not catch her… This woman’s pain caught her. Why? Only one way to find out…

Slowly she rose to her feet, adjusting a strap hidden beneath her robe that would hold her sword to her back.
He is always watching… Always listening… He won’t let them get too close… she thought. She wasn’t sure how to approach them though, or how to inquire as to what was wrong… Approaching people was not allowed by her ‘Master’. She was supposed to simply eat and drink whilst not with him, but she often found time to avoid the presence of him or his guards. Unfortunately… A guard had just approach the woman, there was no way she could get close now. The guard would take her right back to him, and he wouldn’t be pleased about her disobedience.
Ignoring the obvious risks she made her way slowly over to them, being careful to evade the few puddles of water that still sat with the pebbles and dirt. Upon reaching them she knew that she would be recognised. There were very, very few Riverfoot as far out as Steel Raven Village.

“Well met, guard” she said shakily, trying to sound much happier than she truly was,
“I was just… Leaving the inn and I noticed this woman seemed to be in pain… I was wondering if I might be able to help?” she asked, she was a sweet looking Anja and she knew it. Wide eyes often drained the will to deny from men… Human and Anja.

[zianorak]

She had lost the struggle to keep her eyes open, but she was still aware, still able to recognize the approach of someone. Her horse, Calaphax, let out a nervous sound as she stepped out of the way. She tensed her muscles, though weakly, trying to move away from the stranger. The voice that spoke to her, however, made her feel safe. Someone was there to help her, to get her to help.

"I...I need...Help," she said weakly, almost so quietly that the stranger would have missed it had they not been listening. She was shivering from a mix of the fever and the cold. She needed warmth and quickly. She tried to say as much, but her teeth chattered too much for anyone to have understood her. She then heard a second voice, much more gentle, more feminine. Relief was flooding through her, she would get help, she was sure of it.

As she came to that conclusion, her eyes shot open. She leaned forward to the knight. She reached up, pulling him closer and whispered in his ear, "Thank you." Then, she was lost in unconciousness. She lost all thought and concern, though her concern was really only for her horse. She slumped forward, leaning heavily into the knight.

[Altrius]

Hearing footsteps behind him he turned quickly, hand on the handle of his axe, ready to attack if they seemed unfriendly. However it was just an Anja, a very good looking one at that. She shakily asked to help, as if she were afraid of Altrius. Strange, well i guess the Anja are hated by humans...So its only right she should be wary.

"Greetings citizen. As you can see this women is deathly ill. Anything you can do to help, would be much appreciated by both I and her." just as he had spoke the words, the women pulled him towards her, whispering 'Thank you' in his ear before collapsing and falling unconscious on him. He caught her as she fell and picked her up in his strong arms. She felt like a feather as he arranged her in a comfortable position.

Looking back to the Anja he said "Ma'am, if you want to help then take this womens horse to the stables and tether it there. Tell them that Senior guard Altrius will pay them later for the use of the stable, they wont ask any questions. Then meet me in the inn in ten minutes." He began walking away when he thought a second then turned back to her.

"Your master will be told of your help today. i will personally praise you to him for your aid to the village and this women, have no fear." He said before flashing a quick smile and breaking into a run towards the inn.

[Valalerin]

Rather abruptly she was overcome with a sudden wave of anger toward being left to take a pathetic horse to a stable. She wanted to help the woman, not take her steed. Narrowing her eyes at the slowly escaping figure she gritted her teeth and turned her head to face the tall beast. It seemed to know she wasn’t pleased as it gently lowered its head and looked at her.
With one furious motion she forcefully took the reigns of the horse and tugged it in the direction of the stable, leading it with little mirth or forgiveness she didn’t even loosen her grip to let it raise its head. Unfortunately for them both there was the most tremendous pool of water between where they were and the stable… It was so large you could probably drown in it if you fell face first…
Her glare turned from one of anger to one of sheer frustration. It was too big to jump… Even if it wasn’t it was un-lady-like to jump, but there was no way she was going to walk through such a lake of a puddle.

She let out a sigh, looking up to the horse. She couldn’t ride a horse… No Anja could, they’re too small. They can cling to the back of a human riding a horse, but most choose not to given how pathetic it looks. She considered for a short moment holding herself aloft by the reigns, but the horse would probably neither hold her weight nor hold her high enough.
There was no way to go around it either, not without leaving town and they would never let her leave. She was bound by the Baron to stay in town. She took a quick glance around; a human would have no problem walking through it… At least a man wouldn’t. Even just an Anja man would do, someone she could charm into doing the dirty work. It’s how women worked in towns like these; charming men into doing their bidding, convincing them they might be rewarded for their actions by a simple flutter of the eyelashes.

Simpletons.

She turned again only to notice such a potential simpleton. He was stood rather fixedly in the streets; his attention was on the guard it seemed.
“Excuse me! Gentleman!” she called out, hoping to catch the attention of the stranger, but her voice was rather weak as she exceedingly rarely called out… Given her status as the Baron’s personal property she often gets approached by people desperate to help to gain good favour with the Baron. Not that it would help, he’s insane. All he cares about is that he has his importance and his income… And his pet.

“Sir!” she called again.

[Zachariah]

Zachariah saw someone calling out to her, snapped out of his thoughts and imaginings. He approached her, exceedingly wary of the guard but keeping himself calm and reserved. "What do you want?" He asked. He'd been told by peer, peasant, and parent how to treat a lady, but he'd never really listened.
They were all just beings, to him, male or female they could all be hurt, they could all be stolen from, they could all be killed in about the same ways as one another.

Snapping out of his reminiscence of his beliefs on the equality of gender and race, he noticed that this particular lady happened to be an Anja. He couldn't help but be fairly intrigued by this fact, as he hadn't seen to many Anja and had done dealings with only one as far as he knew.
He found it best in his job to treat every race the same, thus developing the belief he had, and in many situations it worked, though he had to make a fair amount of exceptions in many situations, mostly those in which his life was on the line.

[Altrius]

As he ran through the village he called out "Out of the way!" "Move please!" As he went along. He didnt have time to be stopped at the moment, he was the only chance that this women had between life and death, and he was not about to let the latter to happen. Racing through the streets he saw two men beating up a poor helpless citizen. Halting instantly he turned to the two men, face flushed red in anger. He rose to his full height and roared to the men "You had better stop that right now or i will come over then and cut your heads clean off!" Before swishing his cloak to show his deadly axes. The two men scarpered instantly leaving a stuttering human to thank Altrius before running to their home. Looking round in annoyance he turned and carried on towards the inn.

As he reached the Stoney inn he breathed a sigh of relief. He had made it and the women was still breathing. Thank the lord for that, i thought she was going to die.... As he pushed open the door he walked quickly to the person behind reception. "I must have a room made free immediatly, this women is deathly ill. I need to get her warm and safe. Call somebody, anybody who has knowledge in healing. Understood?" He barked at the person behind the counter.

Shaking his head furiously he pointed upstairs "Room 28 is free, and i will get somebody to help immediatly." before rushing off to find somebody.

Shaking his head he hurried up the stairs to room 28, opened the door and set the women down on the bed, She was drenched to the skin, She needs to get out of those clothes. I hate to do this but i need to change her...

He looked in the wardrobe and found a dress and a warm jumper. Quickly taking her clothes off he could not help but run an eye over her perfect figure. Shoving all thoughts out of his head he quickly dressed her and set the fire going, before taking a seat and waiting for her to wake up.

[Valalerin]

Oddly enough considering the rudeness of the man she was quite happy that he wasn’t another petty fool intent on gaining favour with the Baron. She turned and gave a wry smile at the man, noticing that he didn’t look like the friendliest of folk...
No matter. He was still taller and still capable of crossing a puddle, therefore he was still useful. He was also still a man, still weakened by the petty fluttering of eyelashes.
“Well... If you wouldn’t mind” she started, realizing that perhaps that start to a request was potentially a poor one,
“...I need to get this horse to a stable, but there’s a large puddle in the way” she turned and pointed directly at the gaping maw of water. It didn’t look too clean either, a murky brown colour no doubt alive with filth and scum. She considered for a brief moment just releasing the horse and hoping it would flee... Claiming later that it tore free from her. Still turned from the man she rolled her eyes and sighed, she was thinking far too in depth about this... All she wanted was to know what ailed the poor woman.

She turned back to face the stranger and gave him an expectant look, and added to it a look of submissiveness by lowering her head to him. Courtesy was quaint, quaint was attractive, attractive was persuasive.

[Zachariah]

Zachariah was taken aback by this, shown by the slight look of indignation on his face. Did this woman honestly take him for a patsy to do his dirty work, perhaps easily swayed by the charms of a woman? It was days like these he was glad he didn't care to ally with anyone. He noted her wry smile, the lowering of his head when she was finished, and the disgusting muck through which she was requesting he trudge. He didn't know if this creature thought humans to be stupid, or just himself.

The charms of a woman; he began to remember how weak he was to them. He had lost several gold, his sword, and quite a few of his more valuable items that he had planned to sell all after falling for a particularly persuasive woman. He had walked no more than three steps before being knocked out with a wooden bat and robbed.

He was not emotionless, but he wasn't as easily swayed as he once was. Money, sweet glittering coins were his one true love. And it never let him down, never tricked him, and always ended up getting him good things. Money can't buy happiness. Ha! He laughed at those who parroted that old heap of garbage.

"My dear woman, might I suggest...." He made a gallant sweeping gesture, his voice kind and respectful. "....that you do it yourself." He turned away and began to walk, chuckling quietly to himself as he did.

[Valalerin]

She was amazed. It was unbelievable. It was unheard of. Not only did he turn down her charm, but he turned down the Baron’s pet. She didn’t care about the horse any more; she wanted to know who this stranger was and how he had the gall to turn her down.
Releasing the reigns she started after him but stopped short and turned back to the horse, she knew she couldn’t just leave the horse… Running back to it she gave it a harsh slap on the back of the leg in hopes that it would make its way toward the stable of its own accord… She’d never done anything with a horse before and nothing could prepare her for what was about to happen…

The horse kicked her rather violently square in the chest, the force of the blow from the large creature sent her clear off the ground and hard onto the cobblestone path. It didn’t help that she struck her head with considerable force on a poorly aligned stone. She simply laid there for a short while to recover from the shock of the impact, but even then she didn’t quite seem aware of just what had happened.
She looked drearily into the sky, lifting her arm slightly and rolling onto her side. She wasn’t bleeding anywhere, she got off fairly lightly considering what had just happened, but she was definitely in a lot of pain. Women were not exactly brilliant at taking blows, nevermind Anja women.
She managed to sit herself upright, albeit swaying rather fiercely, and assessed just what had happened to her. She put a hand to her heart where the hoof had rather unfortunately struck, it was still beating so she was fine that far... A sharp pain in the back of her head sent her on her back though, hands clutching her skull for all its worth, it felt as though it had split open.

In reality her head was quite intact, merely bruised, battered and fairly swollen. The pain was fairly intense too, so much so that she did not care that she was lying down in the middle of a filthy street with water flowing through it. The water was actually quite soothing, the cold numbing her from the pain and keeping her conscious.
Even after all that had happened the only indication she was struck was the solid thump she made when she hit the ground, the force had torn every shred of breath from her body and she hadn’t made a sound. Until she caught her breath again, that is. But even then the only sounds were short, sharp grunts of pain.

At least she was in the middle of the street, even if it was empty. There was still one person there... And no matter how heartless anyone is, not even the Dark Lord was likely to leave a woman on the ground after being kicked by a horse.

[Zachariah]

Zachariah heard a slapping sound and had looked back in curiosity, and was cruelly amused by what he saw next. The would-be-deceiver anja woman was struck in the chest by the horse, and looked as though a good bit of her brains had been rattled around by the way she reacted. Physical humor was one thing, to him, pain and killing was another. This, however, fell somewhere in between the two, making it simply amusing. Even if the Dark Lord himself wouldn't leave a woman lying in the streets after getting kicked by a horse, despite how much he wished it and dressed somewhat similarly to, he was quite far from being the Dark Lord.
He gave her an odd sort of smirk and a slight nod before turning and continuing to walk. He had better things to do than help some woman who had taken him for a fool. He had things to sell, people to rob, and he was very late for lunch. He had become accustomed to being ruthless and uncaring. It doesn't matter that you can outrun the dragon, only that you can outrun the man behind you. Of course, given his training in pyromancy he could simply make the dragon explode, but that was besides the point.

[zianorak]

Warmth was the first thing that Byrin noticed. She felt immeasurably warm and then slowly she became aware of the soft surface on which she lie. She still had her eyes closed, they seemd unwilling to open, and she did not force them. She then started the task of regaining her composure.

She still had a fever, the burning sensation that it caused across her body was made accutely aware to her. The fever would pass she hoped, but she was certain that a healer of some sort would need to be consulted. She shifted in the bed of warmth, and a spike of pain shot through her back. She had been riding her horse for the last day, and from her lower back down she was sore and stiff. She wiggled her toes, a good sign that she was not seriously hurt.

Then a thought occured to her, something that only became apparent by the fact that her hair was still a little wet. Her clothes were dry. She was glad that she had been placed in dry clothes, but she blushed feircely as she wondered who might have changed her. She remembered that brief glimpse of the man in armor, her first hope of getting better. She would have to thank him once she was better.

She then decided that it was time to open her eyes. She needed to know where she had been taken. Slowly, she started to force her eyelids to part. Her eyes were swollen from the sickness. Though she could not see it, the whites of her eyes were a pale yellow color and the veins of blood showed clearly. The rims of her eyes were crusted over with some type of substance, that was what had kept her eyes matted shut. The light from the fire was too bright for her to keep her eyes open, but in that brief glimpse of the room she had seen the knight. He was waiting patiently near her.

She wanted to call out, but her throat was sore and possibly raw from the sickness. She saved her voice for when she felt stronger, but she shifted heavily in the bed, trying to let the knight know that she had awakened. She forced her eyes open again, making contact with the knights eyes, then allowed them to close. She forced a weak smile, which seemed all the weaker due to her very pale skin and the flush of her cheeks. She was sick, but hopefully, with care, she would soon be better.

A sudden worry crossed her face as she considered her horse. She prayed the horse would be okay, it was a dear companion. Calaphax was a wonderful ally, and a worthy steed. She considered her horse's love for apples, and then decided that as a reward for getting her into the village, that Calaphax would receive an apple.