Back to Phase 6: Changes
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The Alien Wars: Guardia
Chapter One: Heroes' Pasts
- A Tavern in the Mountains
- Chased Through the Woods
- A Tavern in the City
- Tombs and Keys
- Shadows of the Past
A Tavern in the Mountains
Winter is coming. As various people take refuge on a snowy mountain to the west of Guardia, they find a warm fire and a quiet atmosphere. Entering one by one, a mysterious and rude man named Thomas, a Ranger named Leon McTreggor, a woman who dresses like a man named Miyu, two young women traveling together named Arryn and Jennifer, and a young woman named Mira find the quiet, warm place to be a beacon drawing them in. As they shake off the cold and warm their hands. However, things slowly break it as a crisis by attacking imps in the woods draws Leon and Thomas, who - despite just meeting - despise each other with intense hatred, into the woods together to save a young blonde woman from a bunch of imps. Getting the woman back to the tavern, Leon abandons Thomas after he refuses to retreat, wanting to fight the imps. Once there, the wounded girl is quickly healed by Mira and Miyu, who work together to stem her blood loss and the poison in her. When Thomas finally returns, he attacks Leon and the two women angerily tell him to knock it off.
Their combined efforts heal the girl, aided by Arryn and her strangely colored sword. They put her by the fire to rest; as they wait to see what happens, a strange white haired elven girl shows up, causing trouble by stealing things. The irate Miyu, tired from the ordeal, drags her out to the bar to punish her, where she runs into a red haired warrior in bikini armor, despite the cold, called Erevis, who strikes a deal once she learns Miyu is a "Prince" seeking to find aid to reclaim her land and find her sister. She agrees to aid Miyu and be her protector, claiming she is seeking experience as a warrior, and in return she will be fed. Given shelter by Miyu in the inn, Erevis relaxes with her as the girl they saved is taken up to Mira's room.
October 13th, 1034 AD
The girl awakens in Mira's room and seems to grow attached to her and Miyu for their aid, finding them much less scary. They learn her name is Aya but that she doesn't remember anything about her past. Mira, who is ready to move on and feels uneasy to have the 19 year old woman clinging to her for aid, sets it up with Leon, who has returned from seeking clues about the incident to get the girl a job with the bartender, who takes her own. Aya thanks Mira and Miyu as they prepare to leave and Miyu ties up the white haired elf to her horse. Leon suggests they all ride together since they woods seem to be dangerous this time of year and offers his services as a Ranger, which they all accept - including Thomas to his disgust. Erevis, riding with Miyu, joins them as they set out.
As they travel through the woods together, they are warned by red haired elven girl who seems prankish almost that an army of Imps are nearby, being led by some dark sorcerer named Sagum. Identifying herself as Isisillis, she warns them to go around them if they value their lives. Due it to being a longer journey, and possiblely more dangerous - and the fact that none of them know the girl - they debate if they should listen, with Mira being wary and Thomas being eager to listen to the elf strangely. Leon volunteers to ride ahead and investigate, and Miyu sends her wolf cub with him, which is named Pup. As they ride off, they all debate what to do, with Isisillis offering to show them another way. When Thomas takes off after Leon a moment later, they agree that following her might be the best idea, especially when Thomas alerts a bunch of imps with his loud riding and leads them back.
Isisillis quickly scampers along the tree tops as she leads them to a secret entrance into the elven village, the Imps right behind them. As they get near a clearing, and are surrounded, the dark wizard appearing behind them, an elven woman in all black, with dark hair, arrives and attacks with a magik attack that knocks the Imps back and surprises Sagum. She orders them to hurry and they cross through a barrier, arriving at safety and the Imps unable to follow.
Once there, Isisllis has them cleanse themselves in a spring, then meekly leads them into the elven village, not going in herself for some strange reason. Once there, they meet with the woman who saved them, leader of the elves. She identifies herself as Anne and tells them that Sagum is seeking them out and has attached a tracking spell to them, in the form of clouds that will stalk them. She says he appears to be looking for someone and apparantly thinks the group can lead them to it. Apparantly the mountain with the tavern is a "safe" haven due to something being there that keeps them away and suggests they go back there if they want, but the group is intent on continuing. Using a rare flower, despite the looks watching elves give her, she gives it to them to chew slowly, one petal at a time, to keep the tracking spell from working, which attaches a cloud overhead to follow them around.
Afterwards, as her favor, she asks they take Isisillis with them to the city, giving them gold; she gives them a note to give her and tells them to tell her she will meet her again one day and to be strong, but that she cannot come back. She hints taht Isisillis is different, due to her red hair. Moving to go, Miyu hands over the note and Isisillis pales at reading it, dropping it and moving on; Thomas picks it up and reads it, learning her secret, which he keeps to himself. Leading them to the north to an exit that no one knows about, Isis leads them through the barrier and back into the woods, where they meet with Leon and Pup. He leads them onward toward Guardia Castle Town.
A Tavern in the City
Traveling quickly through the woods, they find themselves tracked by an army of imps, riding on eagles, intent on getting them. Leon, worried about when their tracking spells will work again - after learning about it from them - states they will have to find someone to remove them for good once in the city since the petals are a temporary measure. Outrunning the huge army of imps, they reach the plains before the city and the imps stop following surprisingly, leading Erevis to surmise they are cowards who do not wish for the world to know of their movements yet.
Arriving at the gates, Leon gets them through and directs them to a nice tavern to rest at while he prepares to look for more information on Miyu's sister. As they all rest, Isis quieter and less quirky than her first appearance and Arryn going back to the castle where Arryn is a noble member of the family, Leon talks with Mira, learning about how she goes into tombs of the dead to look for valuables and how it's earned her many enemies. He considers how when he first began investigating for Miyu, the first night they met that he left while they took care of Aya, he knows Guardia will not likely honor the agreement to help Miyu's nations unless they have documented proof on their end, due to Guardia being in tight times military wise. He suggests, since Mira claims to have found an ancient king's tomb, they help her in the event they find some documents there, and everyone agrees. While they all prepare to settle down for the night, Jennifer begins to make eyes at a drunken slaven of a man named Scott Hunter, who tries to get into her pants - non subtlely.
October 15th, 1034 A.D.
As they prepare to go, they debate what they are going to do with Isis, who is new to the world and has already been flirted with once by men. Thomas volunteers to say behind and watch over her, so Mira, Leon, Miyu, and Erevis set out across the land to the north to find the tomb Mira mentioned.
Tombs and Keys
After traveling a great distance, the four arrive at a mountain cliff and after some searching, Erevis is seemingly drawn to a spot where she pushes the rock and part of the cliffside opens. Moving inside and lighting torches, they discover many traps and discovers, as well as bodies of people long dead. Moving past them all, they arrive at a large door that they manage to open where they find the body of Guardia the III. With some trial and error, they manage to open it up, finding a satchel with documents and a strange bladeless hilt device. However, at that moment they are attacked by skeletons and the undead, and they desperately fight them off until by luck they manage to get the device to work, appearing in a gate that takes them back to Guardia Castle Town where they see their past selves setting out.
October 15th, 1034 AD Again
Watching their past selves go and marveling at the fact they have gone one day into the past, they decide to head to the castle to get more information. Mira, who is depressed at finding nothing valuable, and Leon who decides he wants nothing to do with it due to the strangeness of it and being a simple Ranger who is content to help people on a more normal basis, debate what to do with it, while Miyu and Erevis simply hope the documents have something they need. As they travel for the castle they pause briefly at the Tavern, where they spot a man harrassing Isisillis for sex. Before Miyu can get in to do something about it, Thomas slams the man's face into the table and kills him by breaking his nose into his brain. The Tavern is horrorfied and terrified of the man and chaos erupts as he runs out, killing city guards and running off.
Deciding to bring Isisillis with them, they head to the castle with Jennifer who they met at the tavern to get away from the commotion and not be seen near Thomas as he makes his escape. Once there, Jennifer leads them to Arryn who she says will know about the device they have, which she calls a key. They learn it is a Gate Key and can travel through time, with Arryn offering to take them places; they all decline and Miyu is heartbroken to find the documents so brittle that once exposed to air they turn to dust. With Leon suggesting the Castle give Mira a reward for the Gate Key, since Arryn thought they had all been destroyed and they did them a favor, the group heads away form the castle, with Mira heading her own way for now.
Miyu takes Erevis and Isisllis clothes shopping, deciding they both need to desparetely fit in - Erevis in her bikini armor and Isisllis in her elven native clothing. Meeting up with the white haired elf again who had managed to escape while they were out, they all go and buy various outfits, though Erevis stubbornly remains in her armor. Isis shyly accepts the gifts and the white haired elven lets slip she can speak their language and isn't a complete moron.
Afterwards, they prepare to head out to find the horses they left back at the cliffside due to the time travel aspect, and Erevis, Miyu, Isis, Jennifer, and the elf, who Miyu has taken to calling Atli, set out. Traveling across the landscape, they slowly get more used to each other, though Atli and Erevis remain at complete odds, bickering with each other the entire way.
October 16th, 1034 AD Again
Arriving at the location, they find the horses no longer there, so Erevis and Pup set out to look one direction, while Isisllis and Atli look about as well. However, the woods' shadows begin to come alive and attack the two, and with the forest so large, the number of shadows is overwhelming. They go for Isisillis, who seems entranced, but Atli's magik holds them off. They manage to get out and meet with Erevis and Pup who found 2 of the horses, but the shadows seem to be lurking about so they all quickly ride off back for Castle Town. As they go, Isisillis peers back almost entranced liked.
October 17th, 1034 AD
After riding hard and long they arrive back at the tavern, where Isis goes right up to their rooms, withdrawn. Miyu, worried about her, gets warm cidar and their meals and goes up after her, with Erevis inviting Jennifer up. Once there, Miyu comforts Isis and talks about her past, and how her people's history works: that since there was no son, Miyu as the elder had to take over as the Prince and lead their people; when she was of age she took her own virginity to symbolize her being an adult and how her people are open about sex, so long as Miyu is the "male" of it. She states her people were attacked by an outside force and everyone was killed, and that her twin, Kasha, was away when it happened and now she has to find her. Erevis opens up about her past as well, stating that since she was second born into her primary, which rules her people, that as the second born she cannot have kids, nor sex of any kind, and that her village withholds such knowledge from her. This is so her kids cannot fight with her siblings' kids for the right to rule. She can only have kids if her sibling dies, or does not produce an heir by the age of 35. Miyu seems angered that Erevis must remain chaste for life, but does not push it.
However, Alti mocks her in her own way and leads to another argument between and Erevis, with Atli trying to trick Erevis into attacking a special plant. However, in the end, Atli is disciplined by Miyu and everyone settles down, though Erevis notes Isisillis did not open up about her past, not Atli.