One such possibility.

[Aerious]

Just a place to put stories that could have happened in game, but didn't due to positioning or something that just kept them from occurring.

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Wyatt had been moving through Lycia with a rather slow pace. He'd wanted to get to Bern, but all the boats were way to expensive for a simple smith like him. So he was left with the long, significantly difficult, overland path. It was a nice trip through most of Lycia, at least. He'd arrived at another of the hundreds of simple towns peppering the land last night, and had stayed the night in relative comfort after fitting a new set of horse shoes for the local lords prized stallion. The skills of a smith were always in demand, it would seem. However, it was the morning when the unforeseen happened. A knock on the guest room he was provided, being woken by a servant, what an odd situation.

"Excuse me..." The servant spoke, attempting to rouse the young smith gently. "The Lord wishes to speak with you Master smith." he explained, Wyatt rolled over in reply. "Hmm? Ah...yeah, ok." He half grumbled, leaning up. The bed was comfortable enough, but too soft. How did rich people sleep like this all the time?

A few minutes later Wyatt was before the lord of the house, the head of a mercenary group. He looked bothered, but Wyatt just waited for him to talk. He wanted to be on his way today anyway.

"Ah, good morning master smith. I trust you slept well?"

Wyatt was not really in the mood for conversation, and nodded. "You needed something from me?"

The man seemed slightly put off by his attitude, but let it go. "Ah yes, well it is a rather simple thing. Last night, my son went out to his favorite bar, and he hasn't returned yet. I fear some villain set upon him, and I'd like your help in dealing with it."

Wyatt blinked once in confusion. "My help sir? How might I help with this?"

The master of the house laughed. "Well of course you must be very capable if you travel the world alone, I think that would make you an excellent addition to the rescue party. Won't you do me this favor, since I did open my house to you?" He said, his eyes showing a cunning expression. Wyatt mentally cursed, how had he let himself get roped into this?

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The plan was simple enough. The majority of them would go in the front of the inn where the incident happened, Wyatt would wait and then sneak in the back to try and catch anyone sneaking out. Seemed perfectly solid to him. When he heard the sounds of raised voices and a battle cry, he took that as his cue. These rogues would never know what happened to them. He burst in the back door and saw a pair of people. One of them, a middle aged man, squeeked and jumped behind a few crates. He must have been the owner. The other, had to be one of the problem makers. A girl, a sacaen sword women. What on earth would one of them be doing in here?

"A girl?" Wyatt called out. "You've gotta be kidding me. I didn't want to fight a girl..." He muttered, and the girls eyes lit up with anger.

"Not worth your time am I? Don't under estimate me!" She called, jumping across the room, drawing her blade. With an expression of surprise, Wyatt barely got his axe up before the sword came down. The colliding metal rang through the bar, causing them to pause momentarily as the weapons were locked. She was so young, but she was out for blood. What choice did he have?

With a grunt Wyatt pushed her back, and she landed deftly on her feet, watching him. They remained paused for a second, as Wyatt thought about his next move. The two warriors stared each other down, the air thick with tension. She raised her blade, and Wyatt bared his axe, ready for the next blow. With a shout she charged him, and he took a swing.

His aim was true, but her speed won out, as she ducked under the axe and came up with her sword. Wyatt knew if he stayed where he was she'd surely strike home, so he moved in closer to keep her from slashing. It worked, after a fashion. She was not as inexperienced as he thought, and quickly swept his feet out from under him. Landing hard on his back, he looked up to see her, and her sword.

Damn it.....is this it?!

"Not bad for a girl, eh?" She grinned, holding the sword over him as she placed a foot down on his chest. Was she going...to end it?

A third voice pierced the room. "Mana! Stop this!"

Wyatt looked up to see a familiar face. "Wein?!" He called. "What..are you doing here?"

The girl, Mana, looked back and forth between them. "You know this brute?"

Wein nodded. "An old friend of mine and Yaen's. Speaking of which, sounds like he's finishing up. What do you say we get out of here and then catch up then?" He suggested.

Wyatt, still on the ground, looked from Yaen to Mana. "R-Right. let's go." She moved off of him so he could stand, and he looked to her for a moment. "Hey, Mana was it?"

She glared back at him. "Yeah, what do you want?"

"Your a better fighter then I thought. Sorry about that." He muttered.

She looked over him curiously. "Yeah, you aren't half bad yourself."

[Wyatt]

And a brand new chapter! This one came to me suddenly, I'll try to get everyone characters right.

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How did it ever come to this? She hadn't wanted to hurt anyone, though she'd known for a long time it was inevitable. She wanted to protect the weak, the helpless, and those who were being persecuted by evil. So why did her path lead her here, in a large pavilion, bound and with a cities worth of people cheering and shouting? Before her, a small bench roughly 2 feet off of the ground, and next to her a large man with an axe bigger then she was, flanked by two normal guards of his own. The larger man wore a black cape that covered him entirely, from his hair down to the tips of his toes. Why did people get such joy out of a public execution?

A voice rang up above the crowd, silencing the cries from the masses. "MAY SAINT ELIMINE SHINE DOWN UPON YOU!" The Herald called from his stand, his loud voice reverberating around the entire pavilion. "CLAIR FELDSKY!" He called, the name snapping her back to reality that it really was her execution she was attending. "YOU ARE AN ENEMY OF THE CHURCH, AND HAVE COMMITTED GREAT CRIMES AGAINST THE PEOPLE OF ALL OF ELIBE ALLOWING THE EVIL TO SPREAD! IT IS FOR THE SAFETY OF US ALL THAT WE SEND YOU ON TO ST. ELIMINE'S SIDE, WHERE YOU SHALL KNOW PEACE!"

What a crock! But the people, they believed what he was saying. They wanted her dead on his word, she hadn't done anything wrong! How did it even come to this?!

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[red]"Hmmm...I'd rather not risk it...." The captain replied, rubbing his chin. "We're too deep in enemy teritory to be sending out scouts, you could get cut off."[/red]

[blue]"That's exactly why I should go, sir! If we don't have any eyes we could be marching right into a trap! We wouldn't know until it's too late."[/blue]

[red]He paused, pondering this. She had a point. As usual his face was difficult to read. "We could send Marcus...he wouldn't need to worry about their forces hurting him. Not easily anyway..."[/red]

[blue]Clair pressed her hands down on Richter's desk. "Ric-...I mean Captain Abend, Marcus is far too large, it would be just like telling them our position! I can take a quick run and be back before they even notice I am in the skies! I know I can do this!"[/blue]

[red]Richter continued thinking, not wanting to make the decision. She had a point, but he'd really rather not send his second in command scouting. Then again, she was the best aerial fighter he had, so she was the best candidate for the job. "All right." He conceded, setting his own hands on the table and standing up. "The mission is yours Feldsky. Scout out the area for hostiles and potential ambushes.[/red]

[blue]"Yes, Sir!" She responded, a smile from her victory. She knew she could do this, it wasn't like she hadn't done it before."[/blue]

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Flying over the mountains of Ertuia, Clair's eyes scanned the horizon for any signs of movement. Nothing so far, and she'd been a good ways out. It was, however, at this point when she noticed a few houses dotting the mountain side. Perfect places to set an ambush, that would be for sure. It was only when a shadow crossed her vision that she became aware that she was not alone in the skies. It was...another pegasus knight?! Though this knight wore Ertuia's colors, so she was certainly an enemy. The other knight saw Clair, and made a quick turn, heading further inland.

"No!" Clair shouted to herself. If the scout got away, she'd reveal their entire position! She had to stop her from getting back. Clair gave chase, and it became instantly obvious that she was the better flier then the novice whom she chased. She swooped lower, trying to close in as she readied her Spear for the toss. Once she got close enough, she'd let it fly. It was unfortunate, but this was war. Just then, the roof of one of the houses on the cliff blew open, blades of light flying forth. With a panicked yank, she swept upwards, barely dodging the spell. However, this maneuver brought her vision in line with something else that adorned this mountain. With a deafening 'twang' the Ballista loosed it's bolt. Though it missed it's mark, the force of it passing by was enough to pull the rider from her saddle. Down down down she went, until the world faded to black.

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As she stood before the bench, she realized that she'd wound up here. They were speaking to her, but she wasn't paying attention. The words sounded almost foreign to her. A kick from the large man to her side sent her down to her knees, and she became aware of what had been said. It was time. She made no motion to place her neck on the bench. If he wished to kill her, he could do it just as easily from where she was.

With a roar of approval from the crowd the executioner stepped up, raising his axe and holding it steady. The crowd went silent, holding their breath for the exact moment. Time seemed to stop, the blade destined to end her life hovering above her. As it did, she made piece with her final thought.

He was right...I wasn't good enough for this...

And then the axe fell. Piercing armor, cloth, skin, muscle and bone. The head so severed bounded free, where it fell upon the ground, staring up at those gathered there.

But it was not Clair's head. Instead the executioner's axe had cleaved the head off of one of the guards at her side. The crowd gasped in surprise and horror as the second guard turned in shock. The axe moved again, cutting open the second guard across his chest. With a cry he flew from the pedestal, down towards the now panic stricken crowd. The Herald's voice filled the pavilion with his anger. "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?! GUARDS, KILL THEM BOTH!" He cried.

Among the noise and panic Clair felt her bonds cuts, she was free! Still slightly shell shocked from what had transpired she turned to look at the one she assumed her executioner. He was behaving oddly, now throwing away the large axe he had just used as he reached under his robe.

"I hate using someone else's weapon." The voice spoke, and Clair new that she should recognize it. However a new voice struck her ears, this one she knew well.

[red]"Clair! Catch!"[/red]

Came the shout from the crowds as a streak of Lightning came flying through the air. It impacted into the chest of a soldier that had been advancing on her, killing him outright. With a smile, Clair grabbed her Bolt Lance from the man's corpse, twirling it about her fingers. Still out numbered for sure, but now she had a chance to at least take some of them with her. She found herself back to back with her 'executioner' as he seemed to pull out another axe. This one didn't look metal to her....Hey wait a minute!

The man raise the stone axe and with a roar, brought it down into the earth. The axe glowed, veins of fire running from it, into and through the ground, tearing it up with gouts of fire and adding to the panic. The axe, and not using someone else's weapon, how did she miss it?

"Wyatt! How did you get here?!" She half shouted, parrying an incoming lance and returning with a chest stab. She was more used to the air, but she was no slouch on the ground either.

Wyatt threw off the robe, pulling his shield from his back and shifting the Molten Axe to one hand. "Richter's orders! We never leave someone behind!"

The Herald had gotten tunnel vision seeing Richter. Enraged, he ordered his troops. "KILL THE TRAITOR! A FORTUNE TO THE MAN WHO BRINGS ME THE HEAD OF ABEND!"

And instantly, Wyatt and Clair found themselves with a lacking of enemies to fight. It seemed that most of them were pre occupied with Richter who was...running away?

He was currently climbing, trying to get to higher ground, though one could guess for what. Suddenly, the ground began to rumble and quake. What was going on now?

That became obvious when a black scaled dragon tore through the remainder of the pavilion, scattering anything in it's way as it moved to the central area where Wyatt and Clair were.

"Come on!" Marcus roared. "It's time to go!"

Wyatt sheathed his axe and hopped onto the dragon's back as Clair climbed up, lance still in hand. The Herald roaring with indignation that his prize was escaping. A turn to the side would show Richter in a worse situation though. He'd climbed to the top of a fairly large scaffold, easily 75-100 feet in the air. With the majority of Ertuian forces following him, and a squad of archers aiming to strike him down from afar. One ambitious swordsman closed with Richter with a shout, aiming to make his fortune.

Richter deftly drew his own blade, as dark as night itself, and with but a slash, reduced the man to a shivering heap on the scaffolding. With a cry he fell, his weakened body smashed on the stone below. He wasn't done. Turning his blade to the skies, he spied his target. That pegasus knight from earlier flew about, moving it to strike. With a word the blade's dark energy flew forth, and rider and mount fell from the sky, as a mighty boulder. As they struck into the structure, Richter leapt. The cries of those he left behind echoing about them as the scaffolding crumbled to the earth. He was in a full state of free fall, the ground approaching quickly, when a clawed hand grasped him rather unceremoniously. It was painful, and it did actually cut him, but it was better then meeting the ground surrounded by Ertuian troops. The last thing Richter heard as they sped out of the city was the Herald cursing and screaming.

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Later that evening, after the return to camp, Clair would find herself in the medical tent. Though she needed less help then most. She barely waited for them to finish before she stormed out, throwing open the flap to Richter's tent. Her face showed some real anger, but she maintained her discipline.

[blue]"Sir! Request to speak freely!" She said, more aggression in her voice then she intended.[/blue]

[red]Richter looked up at Clair, his eyes, as usual, impossible to read. "Go ahead. Welcome back Feldsky." He added.[/red]

[blue]"What in Elibe were you thinking?! Entering the Ertuian capital personally during an execution to rescue one scout?! You've tipped your hand, told them we were here, and we lost our chance to launch a surprise attack on them! The entire campaign just went up in smoke!"[/blue]

[red]Richter looked up at her. "One of my best scouts and my second in command was too high of a price to pay for that." He stated flatly. "There will always be another time. We'll get them."[/red]

[blue]Clair was still pissed. He'd thrown away everything they'd worked on for the past 3 months of crawling slowing into Ertuia, and for what? For one life? He, the leader and backbone of this army, could have been killed!

"Sir, that was an incredibly foolish and short sided decision. You can't let your emotions control your choices! You lead an army after all, sacrifices must be made." Richter looked as if her saying this depressed him, but his face resumed being stoic as he looked over the papers he had on his desk absentmindedly.

"But..." Clair continued.

It was with a short kiss on the cheek that she added. "Thank you."[/blue]

[Aerious]

OOC: Soundtrack- www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGzKCTDGxbU

IC:
[green]Some people found solace in the familiar. Be it a familiar place, a face, or simply a smell. Those who dealt in death were no different. The silence of a house after she'd finished her job...the smell of the fresh blood that greeted her nose. She was always so calm before a killing, and after the killing she was able to go about the rest of her day as normal. But those last few moments, when she prepared to descend on her target and sever their life thread, those were the worst of this life. Once the motion started, it all seemed like she was removed from it. She'd done it so many times that she could do it in her sleep, just a quick slash 2 inches or so higher then the collar bone. Quick, silent, and effective. As she paused to look at the women she'd just killed, she gathered her thoughts for a second. She'd married into nobility three times, and her husband had died under 'mysterious circumstances' each time. She'd been called a 'Black Widow' by some. She was a bad person, and that was always Jya's rule. She didn't kill innocents, not if she could avoid it. Sometimes, the job demanded it, but it didn't make it any easier.

She found it odd that she'd found the mark in such a run down place. A small one room house in the outskirts of the city. Jya had just jumped in through the thatched roof and ended it less then a minute ago. She prepared to leave by the same way, after recovering the woman's broach and placing a piece of green cloth over her face. Proof of the job, both for her employer and for the public. And then, a new and steady sound greeted her ears as a small trickle of rain began to drip in from the hole she'd made in the ceiling. Peering outside, Jya could see as the rain grew heavy. The percussion against the ceiling reverberated around her, echoing through the empty house. So empty, so quiet. She had nothing she could do here, so she looked around this meager cottage. A pair of chairs, a table, a small cooking area, and one bed big enough for two. A couple should have lived here, it would seem.

She'd grown a lot in the last seven years. Seven...had it been that long? They'd finished their mission, and they'd all gone their separate ways. Calvin had resumed wandering, spreading great tales and songs about Elibe. Isabel had joined him for a bit, and the last she heard of her old friend she'd actually gotten married! To that shy smith they'd met back then...Val-something. But thinking on that brought an unwelcome memory back to her mind.

Val... That had been a long time ago. She hadn't understood him back then, she was just a girl. It wasn't until she first had to kill a man with a family that she really understood what the Sage had been trying to say to her. She remembered that job...it always left a bitter taste in her mouth. The only job she'd ever failed. A corrupt Lycian noble, taxing his people into starvation. But when she descended on him, the unthinkable happened. His wife, a women battered and abused by him more then anyone else, stood between them. No matter how Jya pressed, she would not move. She spoke of love, something Jya had never understood. And then, to her surprise, the man had gently pushed his own wife aside. Ready to face his own death that he had cowered from just moments earlier, saying that this assassin should leave his wife alone. Survival was always paramount...your life was your greatest treasure. After all, you couldn't do anything when you were dead.

Nobody had died that night.

And at that point, she had finally understood what he'd meant all those years ago.[/green]

[blue]"I have a promise to keep, to an old friend. I'll be there for the rest of my days...I'd...like it if you came with me."[/blue]

[green]"All of us? Izzy and Calvin and Mr. Baker too?" She asked.[/green]

[blue]He scratched his head, seemingly lost for words for a minute. "Well of course if they want to...but well...you're really the one I care most about."[/blue]

[green]"It's a nice place." She said, as the confession went right over her head. "But it's kinda boring. Nothing for me to do."[/green]

[blue]He seemed embarrassed as he spoke the next lines. She hadn't understood their meaning at the time, but now she cursed her stupidity for missing it. "Well...you could be a wife?" he suggested.[/blue]

[green]And she laughed, so sure that he was joking about that. Only now did she realize how cruel that must have seemed. "Oh no no! I couldn't do that. I'll come to visit you though!" And the memory of him giving her a half-hearted smile as he walked away into the vast plains of Sacae was the last memory she had of the green haired boy.[/green]

[green]She'd had a lot of work to do since then, cleaning out all of the filth she could find. But then the problem happened, she became wise. She realized what she'd said...what he'd said. And now, she couldn't even bring herself to return to see him again. He was a good man, and in seven years he'd likely moved on. The boy had been haunted by his past for five years before meeting her, no need to do it to him again. As she stared out into the rain she pondered what her life choices had gotten her. All of her friends had moved on...but she couldn't. Still the same child she was a decade ago...and how many lives had she ended in the course of hers?

No, not the time to think that. Those people deserved to die. All of them. And maybe that was true, but it didn't make accepting her life and easier. She stepped out into the sheet of rain that fell through the hole, allowing it to cascade over her. It was so cold she almost didn't feel the warm water streaming down her cheeks.[/green]

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[red]"Flames come forth!" The female voice cried, as the practice dummy was reduced to ash.[/red]

[blue]"Excellent! Fine work Kirala." The older man spoke as he examined the magical residue in the air. "A little too much magic force in it, you need to be more graceful with it. Let's try something a bit tri-" He paused for a moment, looking south along the horizon. His student seemed to sense the distraction.[/blue]

[red]"Master? Are you all right?" The younger girl asked, waving her hand at him.[/red]

[blue]He shook his head briefly and looked back to his student with a smile. "Ah, yes I am fine Kirala. Just thinking about an old friend of mine. I don't know why, she just popped in there all of a sudden."[/blue]

[red]The thought that her teacher had an 'old flame' enticed the girl, and she looked positively giddy. "Oooh? An old girlfriend, Master?"[/red]

[blue]"Let's get back to work." He spoke clearly. "The past is past, no sense worrying about it."

After all, he knew better then most that you couldn't take back bad choices. No matter how much you wanted to.[/blue]