Pink Poogle Toy Forum

Hikaru woke up in a beam of sunshine. Today was going to be a speciall day, she knew it. She changed into her favorite clothes and ran the day's lessons in her head.
Walking to the kitchen feeling light-headed, she began to make breakfast. Mother had probably stayed up until, well, today and Father had already gone out.
Still sleepy, she was a little more clumsy than usual and accidently put her hand on the hot pan. She jerked away, but she hadn't been burnt.
That was odd, she thought, my hand was on the pan long enough to burn.....
But she promptly forgot about it when her pancake itself began to burn.
* * *
Hikaru had done a good day of magic and swordwork today, and was so tired she lay down on the floor of her room and fell asleep after a few moments.
She had a dream that she was in her room. It was all dark, except for a pretty glowing fire ball. Hikaru reached out to touch it, not thinking of what she was doing. It floated toward her and she watched as it melted into her......
Hikaru woke up with a jolt and found she was glowing a bit. She looked up to see her mother looking at her looking a little sad, a little happy.
"You've been chosen......." She said softly.
Hikaru blinked at her and remembered. It was no dream. It had happened just that morning. She had just had a flashback.

In the throne room of the castle, the seven kings were sitting in their thrones, which were almost exact replicas of the ones in their own kingdoms. In the center of the room, Nimros was standing and facing towards the kings. "My lords, the spell I shall cast here in a moment will hopefully show the locations of the chosen ones. However, it will only show those that already have the elemental powers inside them, so we must hope that most or all of them have it," he said. He then stepped back from the center, took his staff and placed it in the exact center of the room, and started muttering a spell.

His staff was made of oak, and at the top the wood shaped into a sphere. However, around the wooden globe was a disc, with the bottom third and the center cut out. It was floating above the sphere by magic. When he said the spell, the disc started rotating clockwise around the sphere, and the staff itself started rotating in the opposite direction. Suddenly, the staff emitted a larger sphere above it, and this sphere showed the lands of Manabor. One by one, the elements that were already infused into the chosen ones lit up, showing their locations.

"Well, my lords, it seems that luck is on our side," Nimros said, muttering another spell that zoomed in on the dots. "Four of the seven have already been chosen. And it seems that one of them, the element of shadow, is right here in Cathalia," he added, zooming in on the capital.

"Good work, Nimros. Now, how are we going to convince the chosen ones that they should help us?" one of the kings asked. Nimros then started walking around the room. "Well, my lord, the answer is simple: I will have to bring them back. And I will not be going alone, I will be taking one of my sages with me." He then stopped the spell, which caused the sphere to disappear. "And because we have no time, I must leave immediately. I bid you all farewell," he said, taking his staff and walking out of the castle.

Along the way, he muttered another spell, which enchanted a piece of parchment to have a magical map, which would show him where he and the chosen ones were. He went to the Tower of Mages and brought one of his best sages, Rolanth, along. Soon, they arrived at the inn. "How interesting... The one of shadow chooses to stay at a place that goes unnoticed," Rolanth said. The two, in order to disguise themselves, covered their intricate robes in plain brown ones, and covered their faces with hoods. Nimros then compacted his staff into a small amulet.

They entered the inn, went upstairs, and guided by the magical map, found the room, which was slightly open. Nimros opened the door and saw Seferia on the floor, unconscious. "Well, it seems the elemental infusings do not come without side effects," Rolanth said. He flipped Seferia over and pushing the hood back, pressed his hand to her forehead, muttering an awakening spell.

Achmed was hunting. He had been recently hired by a person named Lady Hathton to find a person named Seferia and retrieve some money that had been stolen. Achmed didn't believe her for a second, and generally didn't do jobs from normal people, but he had heard of this Seferia and needed an excuse to find her. He focused on the wind, training his mind on the thief's name. He locked on her heartbeat just before he was slammed by a freak wind. He fell several yards back, gasping from breath and pain. His face was screaming in pain from the intence vibrations in the wind. He stood up, wondering suspiciouly at the wind. He had to put it on a back burner for now, he had a job to do. He started walking toward's Cathalia, noticing the quickening of Seferia's heartrate. She must have been napping or soemthing. He thought with a smirk. Maybe she's not as good of a theif as I've heard.

Name: Lynn
Age: 19
Profession: Baker's assistant
Element: Water (breathing underwater, superb swimming skills, shoot columns of water, limited healing powers which can be enhanced if blessed by light element)
Appearance: Long, dark brown hair and deep blue eyes. Tall with a teasing smile, pretty and she knows it.
Other: Lives with her harangued, pregnant older sister and brother-in-law near the forest edge, not too far from a river. Sometimes stays in the bakery when there is work to be done and may be away from home for days at a time.

---

Hopping on one foot, Lynn pulled the other shoe off and threw it to one side. Her coat flew off in a different direction. Taking a breath, she dived off the riverbank and slid into the water as easily as a fish.

The liquid coolness was a welcome change to the heat of the bakery. She had been stuck in there for two weeks, baking as much bread as possible for the visiting kings and all their households. It seemed like every king had brought more servants than he knew what to do with, and they all needed to be fed. Since bread was cheaper and more available than meat (so they thought), bread was what the servants would have.

And the bakery she worked in was one of those chosen to provide the daily meals. She hadn't been able to go home and had hardly had a good night's rest since the kings had come.

More than anything else, though, she had missed the cooling sensation of the river. She had never been away from it so long - she had practically grown up in the water with her sister, playing games and swimming all day long. Nothing else could calm her like this did.

Good riddance to the bakery! she thought with pleasure as she resurfaced for a breath. She was free for a few days before her next shift came along and she meant to make the most of her little holiday. The kings would be gone by the time she went back and she would never have to deal with them again, however indirectly it might be. She didn't even like her job. She disliked the heat and was afraid of fire, though working with it all day long had taught her a grim capacity to deal with it. She resented her brother-in-law for getting her that job.

It's time you made yourself useful. That's what he had said. She didn't know what Mynn saw in him. She plunged back down.

As though to release her anger, she snapped around the riverbend faster than normal. There was a large rock - a dark blue one? - hovering suspended in the water just before she slammed right into it and saw only darkness.

Seferia came to slowly. One by one, her senses emerged from their slumber. She opened her eyes slightly, feeling confused and disorientated. Blurry shadows seemed to be moving above her. A few seconds later, she realised that they were humans, and one of them seemed to be pressing his hand against her head.

Quickly, she jerked her head away and sat up fast, suddenly alert and cautious. Her hand moved surreptitiously beneath her cloak, deftly undoing the clasp at her wrist with her one hand. She felt a small, sharp dagger slide smoothly from inside her sleeve. She gripped the hilt tightly, glad that she kept a knife for emergency situations during commissions. However, with her natural ability for covertness she had barely met any such sticky situations and therefore hadn't had much experience with using it.

"Who are you?" she demanded coldly, gazing at the two men with her hard, piercing eyes. She hoped that they would prove not to be a threat so she wouldn't have to use weapon. She felt extremely irritated, too. She would have to move to some other place of residence after this. And the inn had been such a suitably discreet place. How annoying it was to have been discovered so soon.

"...hnnh?"

A rustling in the bush made Kuyyra pause, tightening the grip on the bow that had been held loosely in her hands. She paused, glancing around at her surroundings, trying to figure out what had made the noise.

A moment later, a deer slowly walked out behind a group of bushes, ears turned forward. It looked at the girl for a few seconds, brown eyes glistening, then leapt gracefully away.

Kuyyra smiled, once again loosening her hold on the bow. She had brought it for protection mostly, and had not been intending to use it. In fact, she was glad the deer had shown at that moment -- when she was searching for herbs and not hunting.

She followed the path the deer had gone, easily finding her way over hidden sticks or stones. She followed her makeshift path until it came to a small clearing, stopping as she entered.

"...hnnh?" she said again, blinking as she saw a glowing ball of many colors floating above the ground. As if responding to her exclamation, the ball whizzed towards her.

All went black as it slammed into her body.

Aki bows before his master in the main training hall.
Master: It seems the Light has chosen you. It must have sensed the strength of your ki and beckons you towards a great journey.
Aki: Ah snap.
Master: Indeed. You must head out into the world. There is no more you can learn here. The Light will guide you on your journey.
Aki: I understand... Looks around the hall. Uh... Anyone want some Light? Comes with a free journey.
Master: Aki! This is your burden! Bear it honorably!
Aki: But I don't wanna!
Master: If you don't go on this journey, I will astral project myself into your body and make you do things. Bad things.
Aki: Thinks. After much thought, I have desided to go on a journey guided by the Light. Bye y'all!
Aki starts leaving.
Aki: And don't touch my stuff! It's booby trapped!
Master: Why do I have a bad feeling about this?

Aki is in his cell getting his robe and sword before he leaves. A shadow crosses the doorway.
Aki: Come to see me off, eh Hiroki?
Hiroki: I still don't see why the Light would have chosen you. You are lazy, rude, and you never took your training seriously.
Aki: Yeah... I had a sweet thing going. Well... Goodbye!
Aki tries leaving, but Hiroki catches his arm.
Hiroki: You may not have been the best one of us, but... good luck. You'll need it.
Aki: Thanks. I'll try not to destroy the planet or something.
Aki walks away into the forest while adjusting his sword on his back.
Hiroki: Why do I have a bad feeling about this.

Rolanth quickly jerked back as Seferia sat up, glad that the awakening spell worked. He slowly got up and stood back, in case anything bad should happen.

"I am sorry to intrude into your private room, m'lady, but the fate of Manabor is at stake," Nimros said, standing up. He then took off his hooded robe to reveal his long silver-white air, and his pure white robs with intricate designs sewed in with gold thread. "I am Nimros, the sorcerer of the western lands, and the one who woke you up is Rolanth, one of my most trusted sages," he said, pacing back and forth.

"As you may know, the Allied Kingdoms of Sezentur are close to being attacked by the Empire of Tianech. There is a prophecy that says that the seven elements which created these lands will awaken from their depths in a time of need, and embed themselves into seven chosen ones. These chosen ones will have the ability to control the elements, and thus be able to attack evil. You, my lady, are one of the seven chosen ones."

When he finished speaking, he walked over to Rolanth and whispered something to him about teleportation and the chosen ones. Rolanth nodded and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. He then went to the Tower of Mages, grabbed the Prophecy Tablet, and went up to the top of the tower. He then went and got some of the other sages, and together they cast a spell, which would not only find the chosen ones with the elements inside them, but create a portal which woul take them to the top of the tower by linking the gems embedded into the tablet with the elements embedded into the chosen ones, with the exception of Seferia.

As Rolanth walked out, Seferia stood up slowly, feeling troubled. She wished that she could say she didn't believe a word coming out of Nimros's mouth, that she thought it was all a pile of utter nonsense and then ram the blade into his chest. Except, she didn't think that. For one, she had heard of Nimros. And for another, from studying his serious countenance, she didn't think he looked like he was lying.

"Let's say for a second that I believe what you are saying," she said, picking her words carefully. "I now have elemental powers and I'm supposed to, ah, fight evil, as you put it."

She paused for a while, thinking of how to phrase her next sentence. She had never had much practice at the whole socialising thing. "I have heard that the Kings of Sezentur are here in Cathalia right now to discuss the approach of the Tianech Empire. The authorities of authorities." She gave a small, humourless smile. She didn't particularly like authorities, seeing as they wanted her dead.

"Now, I think the mistake you are making is taking for granted the fact that I am going to help you unconditionally. But why should I? You must offer me something. I don't do favours for free, sir." Another pause.

"I am Seferia Foxx," she said, wondering how good Nimros's knowledge of legendary criminals was, and watching his face to see if it rang any bells for him. "As you may know, there is a bounty of a million gold pieces for my head. My relationship with the government has never been exactly friendly."

Another break for breath. Seferia wasn't used to talking continuously like this. "If you want me to help you, then I want my bounty removed. Nobody coming after me. I want my record wiped clean, and all my future crimes ignored. Oh, and also, a payment of four and a half million gold coins. Can you, can the Kings, agree to those terms?"

Seferia felt calm. If the stuff about the elemental powers was true, then the possibility of her conditions being granted was high. They'd need her, wouldn't they?

As Seferia introduced who she was, Nimros simply smirked. Well, that's fitting... The element of shadow for someone who can never be caught, he said to himself. As he listened to what she wanted in exchange for helping, he walked around and thought about it.

"Hmm... Well, I could most certainly agree to those terms, but I'm not so sure about the kings..." he said, still pacing back and forth. "Well, they will agree to the payment, but AFTER the Empire has been defeated. And I am fairly confident they will wipe your record clean and ignore future crimes. And of course, as long as you're in my company they won't dare touch you, Seferia," Nimros added.

Then, he took the amulet off his neck, said a spell, and it transformed back into the staff. He then used the staff to cast a portal inside the room, which would lead to the top of the tower. "Are you going to come or not?"

Seferia felt fairly satisfied as Nimros told her the Kings would most probably agree. If she got a written contract, then it was the same as having it already ... then she realised that she was viewing this as another commission that she felt sure she would be able to complete. But it wasn't - this time, she was going to risk her life fighting the Empire of Tianech. She felt something in her stomach tighten as some of her self-confidence deflated, but she forced herself to remain calm.

She gave a simple nod in response to Nimros's question, and without hesitation, stepped through the portal.

At the top of the tower, Rolanth was waiting with the prophecy tablet by his side; after the spell was cast he sent the other sages down. One by one, seven portals opened in a circle around the top of of tower, where the seven chosen ones would soon be standing.

The portal that Nimros cast opened up at the same time as the other six, and he and Seferia stepped through. As he saw Seferia, Rolanth smiled a little bit. Well, if we can get a thief that does not wish to be found to join, the others will be easy, he thought. He gave the tablet to Nimros, who somehow managed to tuck the tablet and store it under his robes.

"This, Seferia, is a place many people never see. This is the top of the Tower of Mages, where the authorities on magic in the western lands are located. The other six portals you see here are where the other six chosen ones will soon come through. Even though I have told you some of the information, there is much more you need to know, so I need you to wait here," Nimros said, raising his staff up which caused a small pedestal to appear, for Seferia to sit on. While they waited, he paced around the tower, and occaisonally glanced at the map to see where they were. It didn't help much though, as while the chosen ones are in the process of portal-jumping, their locations are not shown.

OOC: Just to be clear, y'all are supposed to interact with the portal that magically appears near your character to get to the top of the tower.

"Are you sure?" Father asked.
Hikaru had heard the same question for the past two hours for about a hundred times. She had begun to lose confidence in herself.
Mother had packed her bag for her. Herbs, a spell book that had been minimized and lightened, a small crystal that would show where Hikaru was on the map on the wall at home, and other needed accessories.
Her father sighed and went into the storage room, and brought out a sword and sheath.
"Here." he said kneeling to place it at her feet. "I had it made just for you. It was done just in time wasn't it?" He laughed a little.
Hikaru wanted to go and didn't want to go at the same time. But she knew she had no choice. She also was aware that that was why Mother had let her go.
She picked it up, weighing it with her hands. It was finely made, with a interesting kind of metal. Hikaru noted that it wasn't quite finished.
"It's not quite finshed, but you can probably make it into your own sword that way." He kissed her on her forhead, and Hikaru turned red. She didn't like sentimental good byes.
"I'll come back." Hikaru said firmly.
"Don't forget what you learned, and stay in touch." Mother said. "See you later."she smiled and patted Hikaru on the head.
Hikaru gulped and nodded. She looked at the portal that had been in the way for the past couple of hours (it had landed right in the middle of the living room) and back.
She grinned. "See ya!"
Hikaru stepped through and felt the portal close behind her.

Wondering the forest for several hours leaves Aki one conclusion.
Aki: I am so lost. Lost, lost, lost.
A loud crack and flash blasts through the forest. Aki peeks around the nearest tree he could have hid behind.
Aki: What in the bloodiest of hells?
Aki goes low to the ground. He slinks along the ground until... splat!
Aki: Eww! Bear droppings.
Aki looks around for a leaf to wipe his hand on then stops. A massive swirlling portal is before him.
Aki: That looks like an artificial wormhole connecting two points in space by bending space and time so said points were close enough together to form a bridge. The blinding flash must have been a massive burst of neutrinos as the wormhole was formed! Stops. Thinks. That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard! This is obviously the Prophets calling out to me. Stares into portal. They will just have to call back. Stares into portal. Right. If they are calling back... why am I moving toward this thing...
Aki tries to run away but runs right into the portal.
Aki: Ah snap.

Achmed noted the movement of the heartbeat, suddenly, it repeated, but much stronger, behind him. He turned, and there was a huge portal there. He didn't want to go in, but he felt it drawing him into it. Achmed knew from experience that this could be either really good, or really bad. He went in, knowing he couldn't resist. He looked arround. He knew where he was, he had been here on a mission before. "Why am I here, mage?" He said, immediatly addressing the person ahead of him.