Checkered Promethius

[Taria]

A company of six fresh recruits rides in a large closed wagon, each wearing the insignia of their country. From the war-torn kingdom of Corsairs, Jason Argo. From the wine capital kingdom of Salubria, Civen Tirfleus. From the unscrupulous kingdom of Redoak, Gravi Nobal. From the honerable and proud kingdom of Reach, Reaver Draknoir. From the traditional kingdom of Burgess, Fayn Decaris. And finally, from the aristocratic kingdom of Kleer, Ellen Farstar. A buxom priestess from the holy city of Wreathwood yawns cutely before lifting her head up from a nap. Her face is young and pale, likely a fresh recruit same as the others. She takes a moment to look at the group before speaking up lightly, "Greetings everyone. Is this your first time out in the field as well?"

[Reaver]

Reaver was scaning the other knights in the wagon checking for battle prowess and finess until the shapley priestess woke up. He grins at her before replying " no sister, I've been out the field many times since the age of 16 so your in safe hands by the looks of it."

[Icaelus]

Fayn was roused by her doze by some..girl. Or priestess, actually. Her sleepy mind vaguely registered the priestess's words, bringing herself back up to speed. Fayn cleared her throat quickly, putting on a deeper tone.
"Yeah, it's my first time out here..Oh, right. Introductions. I'm Decaris, from Burgess."
Fayn raised an armored hand in a handshake. She had used her surname instead, since it was actually her first name on the official records. "Fayn" was a bit too girlish to be a guy's name, wasn't it? So she had gone and signed "Decaris Fayn" on the recruitment slips. Easy enough.
She glanced over at the other knights, her blue eyes settling on another knight by the name of Reaver grinning at the priestess. He seemed experienced enough.

[Lady Foxy]

Ellen had been keeping a calm but serious silence as she kept her hands locked together, thinking about all the advice and suggestions the paladin that had trained her had given her. She noticed the priestess rise up from her sleep, her eyes slowly drooping down towards her chest.. Oh my.. Now that's.. Hey! It's rude to be looking at someone else's chest, where's your noble attitude! Her thoughts scolded her before she quickly looked up and glanced away before looking back at the priestess, this time at her eyes.

''It is for me, but I can guarantee I have the needed experience and training to avoid failure.'' Ellen spoke in her feminine, but 'lady' like tone before looking away and wandering off in her thoughts.

[Taria]

The priestess smiles at Fayn. "My name is Ameilee. I'm afraid I'm a bit nervous..." She admits as the she looks out the window. The cairrage hits a bump in the road, lightly jostling all the passengers inside.

[Icaelus]

Fayn glanced around at the other knights and the priestess. Apparently no one was in a handshake mood.
"Now, why would you be nervous with us all mighty knights around to protect you?"
She grinned as she lowered her hand. Seemed like no one was overly-friendly too.
"Anyway, where is this wagon going? Heard we were off to fight some of those Nebu-things.."
An inquiring tone entered her voice as she looked at the knights, hoping anyone would know something about their destination.

[napsii]

"Nnyyehhh..." Civen yawned and stretched her entire body out across the wagon, a few satisfying cracks and pops coming from her bones as she woke from her brief nap. Eyes still closed, the green haired girl yawned again and seemed to spend a good minute or two rolling around in her spot on the wagon before finally opening her eyes and taking note of her surroundings. Knights. Priestess. And ADVENTURE!

The wagon hit a bump, shaking Civen into total awareness.

Monitoring the conversation for a few seconds to see what everyone was talking about, she seized on Fayn's absence of memory and introduced herself through a question.

"Nebulos. We are going to eliminate them." Civen corrected her smartly with a raised finger.

"Civen Tirfleuse. Dame of Salubria." she then introduced herself politely with a courteous nod to the other five, eyes panning around. She hadn't been officially knighted by the Salubrian monarchy, but considering she was undertaking a true dame's quest, she may as well have been considered an ordained knight, correct? Or maybe that was just her eight year old self, reminding her what childish ambition had poked her into joining up in the first place.

[Icaelus]

"Right you are! So, we're going to eliminate those Nebulos things, yada yada. So..while we're on that topic..anyone actually see one before?"
Fayn said cheerfully, acknowledging Civen's nod with one of her own. She looked like she could handle herself..well, of course she could. She wouldn't be here if she screamed at the sight of blood and didn't have the arm strength to raise a sword, would she?

[Taria]

Ameilee speaks up, "I have seen what they can do. Their touch festers the flesh and leaves a dark infection. If it is not quickly tended to, a small wound can consume someone entirely... and then they change." She shudders at the last part. "There was once a man too far gone for me to cure, I could not bear the sight of watching his transformation so I looked away... He was quickly slain by my guards."

[wolf_demon]

Gravi Nobal sits there in the back looking around at them all, before looking at the priestess "Yes, this is my first time in the field like this, but from where I come from it's not much of a difference." He told the priestess as he sits there keeping quiet to himself. He keep looking around them, he was looking for something out of place, or anything that looks suspicious in the slightly little bit. He was a naturally weary person by nature and he try not to same to much in front of people he didn't know to well.

[Reaver]

Reaver straches his head before grining again "so these Nebulos can infect people with a touch, then i'll just make sure to chop them up even more. Oh yeah my name is Reaver by the way, Reaver Draknoir of Reach. So if you ever need a warrior or a blacksmith let me know because i can do both." he holds out his hand to shake anyone's hand.

[Icaelus]

"Finally a guy who offers to shake hands.."
Fayn grinned, extending an armored hand to shake Reaver's hand.
She released the handshake, considering the Nebulos' abilities. They can infect people with a touch..hope our armor helps.
"I suppose a simple touch isn't enough to get through this armor, then? Must be why we're being sent out here then, hm?"
Fayn leaned back against the wall of the wagon, folding her arms. Interesting. It seemed like knights were the main combative force against the Nebulos, then.

[Taria]

The wagon finally rolls to a stop as they arrive at their destination. The door is pulled open and they are guided outside of the vehicle. The fortress is full of activity as squads of knights march and train together. This group in particular is lead towards an armory. "Here are the new recruits, sir!" The knight leading them announces to an aged yet burly-looking man decked in heavy armor and smoking a cigar. "Recruits!" He gruffly announces, "Welcom to the field. This is where you'll eat, sleep, and train for the next several months. You are to have your weapon with you at all times and be ready for battle. You'll be working together form here on, so figure out how to get along." The man leaves, off to perform whatever duties men of his standing perform. There are multiple rooms filled with a variety of targets and trainers to show newbies the ropes. Ameilee clutches her staff meekly as she glances at a nearby weapon rack. "I believe you are meant to choose a weapon now." She suggests.

[Icaelus]

Fayn had drifted back into a doze after the little introduction, only to be roused awake again by the sudden stop of the wagon.
"Urg. Just five more minutes..oh, wait."
She sat upright, yawning. Better get used to the fact that she wasn't in a comfortable bed at home now.
She stepped through the door of the wagon as it was yanked open, noting that they had stopped at some fortress full of knights training..
They seemed to headed to an armory, from the directions they seemed to be taking whilst following the knight leading them.
The group soon met up with an old, yet heavily built man. Their officer in charge or something, maybe? That cigar couldn't be good for men his age, though..
Fayn glanced at Ameilee as she suggested choosing a weapon from the weapon racks.
"Good idea..I have absolutely no idea what I would be good with, though..I take it you'll be sticking with that stick of yours?"
She smiled, striding over to one of the weapon racks and selecting from their range.
The rack was well-stocked, brimming with swords, daggers, shields, polearms and many other variable pieces of equipment all well suited to skewering the next enemy you meet in the head.
"Oh, this looks good.."
Fayn pulled out a sword from it's leather scabbard, noticing the way it perfectly balanced out in her hand. Great.
She belted the scabbard on, returning the sword to it as she continued rummaging through the stack of weapons..A shield would be nice..

[napsii]

"I will have no issue with the Nebulos. My training has been nonstop for years." Civen declared matter of factly of herself. She had been educated extensively enough in linguistics to comprehend many religious and scholarly texts surrounding some of the world's...darker inhabitants, and although most of it was unreliable conjecture and superstition she felt she had an approximate idea of what to expect.

And if anything she would expect her weapon lopping off one of their heads!

Remembering what her parents had taught her about courtesy, she gracefully extended a gloved hand to shake Reaver's and Fayn's, feeling somewhat childish surrounded by visibly older warriors.

When she arrives at the fortress, she's noticeably amazed. This is it. This is where her life as a knight begins. Dining with nobility, listening to villagers cheer her on with praise, protecting the populace from dangers near and far. It's really all she could want.

Buuuutttt she's barely even started. Better arm herself first.

"I should cover all my bases..." she thinks aloud, considering her own skill.

She plucks a plain, light but strong shield a silvery shortsword with a wide blade (and a convenient scabbard with an attached belt so she could keep it attached to her waist) off of the rack, testing each for being in good repair and willingness to work. Both feel like they're made for her after she had trained with tools of similar design for so long.

"I'll take these." she confirms, swinging the blade around and testing the weight of the shield so she can bash, block and move with it easily. The sword is fairly light and its edge is highly keen.

[Taria]

Fayn finds shields in another section, separated by size. There are large tower shields that can cover a whole person's body, efficient medium shields that grant decent protection without being too heavy, and cumberless bucklers that can only deflect when combined with dexterous movements.

Ameilee walks up to Civen as she examins her equipment. "You all seem so familiar with combat." She states demurely. "I will have to be out there as well when the time comes; every squadron has an assigned cleric to protect them against malificent energies." She calmly leans on her staff as she gives an awkward half-smile.

[napsii]

Civen gives a little smile and a polite nod at Ameilee's words.

"I've been training for years. Nothing is gonna get past me." the young knight assured her, seeming eager to test out her skills.

She looked back to the weapon rack and spied a sexy looking bow, seeming out of place from the rest of the weapons. She was a huge fan of archery...she once recalled blowing up a nodule of wine grapes from 60 yards away when she was only 8 when she got hold of a local hunter's bow.

Immediately interested in it she picked it up and adjusted the string somewhat so its draw was just strong and accurate enough. She hadn't even fired it yet, but for some reason already felt more comfortable with it than her previous choice.

She set down the sword and shield and took a large but slender quiver of broadhead arrows to sling over her back instead alongside the bow. The quiver could hold the bow strung, which was very convenient.

Her armor was light enough that she could move around in it easily, so running and evading should be easy enough for her.

"When are we gonna fight the Nebulos?" she asked almost immediately to Ameilee even though she didn't expect much of an answer. Why would Civen want to screw around in the fortress? She was wearing the proud orange colors of her country (and her eyes happened to be the same color!) and it should be stained with the blood of the enemy, she thought, not dirt collected from walking around randomly.

[jayjaycaps]

Jason kept to himself, not looking at anyone or acknowledging them. When dropped off at the armory, Jason took a medium shield and a medium length sword.

[Reaver]

Reaver snorts at Civen's comment while digging through the pile of weapons " training is no substitute for the real thing, training can't prepare you for the blood, gore, guts and death around you. Nor will it prepare you for looking death straight in the face. The day you fight and kill is the only day of training that matters and that only prepares you for the next day. There we go" Reaver says as he picks up a pair of vicious axes with dark steel handles and the blades covered in carvings of dragons. He swings them a couple of times to get a feel for them. "nice balance, strong handles and sharp blades, these will do well. He straps them to his back before turning around grinning "now that, that's done what's next?"

[Taria]

Ameilee responds to Civen with only an uncertain smile as she watches the warriors train in silence. Eventually the one known as Reaver comes up to her asking what is to be done next. Changing her expression into a thoughtfull frown she states, "I suppose it is my turn to train now." After a quite examination of the barracks, she finds the room she is looking for and begin languidly shuffling inside. "If you'd all follow me, please." She asks simply.

The room is heavily fortified and sealed with a large sealed door. No sound from the outside can be heard within this small quiet room. The only source of light is a low candle placed in the center on a table. The priestess sits down against the outer circle of stone. Rifling through her pouch, Ameilee pulls out a gathering of oblong white stones. Her face is one of determination as she passes the items to everyone within the room. "The purpose of the cleric is to heal and protect the party. The dark manifistation of our foes cannot always be cleansed away." Ameilee gazes at a somewhat larger and more radiant stone as her eye begin glowing white with power. "In the event of failure... there is only one way to save your soul." Her mood become grim as she begins her incantation, a small wind of power stirring the air as her magic works through the stones. "You bind your soul to the stone, and wear it around your neck. When you have fallen and have no hope, you smash the stone to release your soul from your body. This is the only way we can prevent ourselve from becoming one of the dark soldiers; it is the only way to stop the procreation of the Nebulos." Wisps of light begin the string out in every direction from the priestess's master stone. The wisps latch onto all the other stone in the room and extend the magic into their respective possessors.