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Return_to_Metropolis Crew
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 Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2006 11:14 am
Fire:
City Name: City of Fire
Population: 75,500
Trades with:
Architecture: The entire town is carved from obsidian, the volcanic glass that is common inside of the volcano crater in which the city is located. Shiny black towers jut up from the hot magma deep below the city, illuminating it from below. The incredible temperatures have little to no effect on the people of the city though, thanks to their scaled skin and natural resistance to extreme heat. The city mages keep the lava below the city at a steady temperature as rapid temperature changes could disrupt the fragile balance they’ve created.
There is no particular order to the location of housing inside the volcano, the only way to distinguish the wealthier residents house is by size. More housing is carved out of the Obsidian as needed to accommodate the slowly growing population.
Magic: Fire mages are capable if controlling not only fire but also radiant heat (heat in the air). Masters in glass working, fire mages use their powers to heat glass must faster than would be normally possible, which allows them to get a much clearer, stronger glass than any of the other cities are able to create. Able to control the creation of fire and its temperature, the residents of the volcano are able to withstand extreme heat that would surely kill a citizen from any other city.
Surrounding Area: Located deep within the crater of an active volcano.
Residents: Like so many reptiles the fire people are able to shed their skin, which can be ground and used for medicinal purposes or even turned into items by a skilled artisan. It is highly prized since the skin has a high resistance to heat.
In addition, mages are able to venture into hibernation like trance where rapid growth or healing can occur. Brought on by either hormonal changes such as those during puberty or severe injuries the hibernation allows the body to focus on growing or healing make the process more rapid. The only drawback to this venture in the Navintrux (the meditative state which they obtain) is there persons inability to defend themselves. After being severely hurt they might become drowsy, the body telling the person of the coming sleep, would have to either find secluded area and/or have someone trusted watch over them while in the Navintrux.
As far as appearances go, the citizens of Fire City are an interesting race. Their upper torso's look mostly human, though have the occasional patches of scales. Their legs though are anything but human. Their legs could be compared to the rear legs of a dragon in build and shape. They are covered in scales, though what color varies from person to person. Like dragons, they have long, supple tails, and spikes going down their spines and to the tip of their tail. These tails are simply straight tipped, no sort of long spikes or mace like growths. These people do not have wings.
Their torso and face skin is usually very dark in color, from tan to near black. Their eyes are usually golden or black, their hair dark in coloration, and the pair of horns on their head are usually a color similar to their scales.
Daily Life: As one might assume, the fire citizens’ diet consists mainly of insects, small mammals and their fellow reptiles. They prefer to cook their food to the point of blackened or char grilled (the kind of toast one family member always seems to like, the kind you could break a tooth on). Their stomachs are developed to break down not only ash and soot but also even some poisons; the people of the fire city don’t fear much contamination in food form. Much more concerned are they about finding enough food to feed the city without having to venture into the earth territory.
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Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 7:46 pm
Mage Superior Fiera Kai had dissapeared. Whispers of it echoed in the streets of the black obsidian city lit by the orange glow of the magma below it. Fiera had no family, and so there was no one to stop the rumors flying, spreading like the fire that their city was known for. Theories ranged from her breaking under the stress of her station to eloping with that new handsome teacher, though no one could prove any of them. Not just that though, all the assistant teachers were gone as well! Theories and rumors grew more wild with every telling, running on free and un-silenced until the city leader finally put his foot down. He called a meeting of the people at the base of the tower. Everyone was called to attend from the wealthiest families to the poorest.
The city leader, and older, but formidible man mounted the platform and looked down at his people.
“Enough of these wild tales!” the man shouted out over the crowd. The crowd silenced instantly.
“The honest truth is that no one knows what happened, and never will unless we can get organized and send out a search party! There is some foul plan afoot and we must find Mage Superior Fiera and her assistants before disaster strikes!” He said, smashing a large fist down on the podium that had been erected for the occasion, making it creak ominously.
“The next person caught spreading these ridiculous lies about our most cherished Mage superior will be tossed in a cell for a day and a half without food or water!”
The people where shocked by this sudden outburst, and there were quiet murmurs of discontent, but they were silenced by another glare. The old man nodded, already making plans for possible search parties, unaware that it was all in vain.
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Return_to_Metropolis Crew
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Posted: Fri Dec 15, 2006 7:53 pm
Relic slipped through a crowd of people holding his little sister, Rori, close to his chest so they would make it through easier. Rori was looking every which way, wondering what was going on. Relic had his eyes set on the goal, of getting has close to the podium, where the city leader stood, as possible. The large amount of people had Rori terrified and she wrapped her arms around Relic's neck so tight his air was almost cut off. He pat his sister softly on the back and she loosened her stong hold on him and found comfort by hitting the long braid on the back of Relic's head back and forth.
"Re'ic why are we here?" she asked him curiously, her voice soft and small.
"Cause... there's... an announcement... and... we need... to hear... it" Relic answered her in between cutting in front of other spectators.
"Where's mommydaddy?" she continued to be the typical toddler-aged child full of questions and curiosity.
"They're working..." Relic said sadly, after all that was why he was sent here. They couldn't make it, so he had to go listen to the announcement for them.
"Will they be coming to see me later?"
"I doubt it, its busy season, but I see you." Relic shifted Rori's weight onto his other arm and then used his free hand to cover his eyes. "And now I don't. I don't see you but I'm still here. And so are mom and dad. Right..." Relic touched the place where Rori's heart was. "Here..." Rori giggled, that had tickled.
Relic finally got as far as he could, and as close to the front as he could in time for the announcement to start. "Gone..." he muttered. "But how am I supposed to learn if they are all gone?" Relic shouted, but his voice was quickly muffled by the sound of hundreds of others voicing their questions. Relic clutched Rori tighter as the crowd got rowdy and he quickly got out of the crowd.
"What's wrong Re'ic?" Rori asked him, as she looked up at him with her soft gold eyes with eyelashes that fluttered like butterfly wings.
"My teacher is gone..." Relic said flatly, not sure if he had come to grips with the news yet. What was he supposed to do? When would they get back? Would they get back? "C'mon lets get you back home..." Relic said softly as he made his way back to the obsidian Ikkuma tower standing tall amongst the city.
Relic tucked Rori into her bed and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek.
"Sleep tight Rori, I'll see you after your nap and then we can play a game or whatever you like." He whispered. Rori gave a soft yawn and then rolled over to her side, clutching the blanket close to her. Relic smiled, he was so proud of his little sister, he made his way down the long sets of glass stairs to where his parents were working. He slowly walked into their workplace, he had learned from experience that suddenly coming in often caused things to break from surprise. Both his parents and some other members of the extended family looked up when they heard his claws tapping on the floor.
"What's the news boy?" one of his uncles asked. Relic lifted his head slowly and informed them that mage superior Fiera had disappeared along with the assistants.
"What about my teaching?" Relic asked his parents.
"Well you need to start right away if you want to join the family at 18." His dad spoke, Relic cowered slightly, but then stood straight and tall showing he was strong.
"But how will I learn if they are not here?" Relic asked.
"If you want to learn, they need to be found. Perhaps you should search for them or something" his mother suggested. Relic took a deep breath and sighed, this was something he'd have to put a lot of thought into. He slowly made his way to his own room and sat down on the edge of his bed, burying his head in his hands.
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Posted: Sat Dec 16, 2006 3:43 pm
Relic lifted up a bag and set it on his bed, letting go of a deep sigh. He didn't want to go, leaving his sister all alone, she was only 4, how could he do this to her. Relic had no other choice though, he had to honor his family and prove to his father he was dedicated enough to be a fire mage. It was all his decision, he didn't have to go, but something in his gut or conciousness was telling him to search for the mage, so he had to do it. He slowly filled the pack, he wanted to travel light so he'd only bring the bare necessities with him, an extra pair of clothing, things to help keep him clean. He could find his source of food, insects, anywhere so there was no need to burden his load with them. As he filled his pack he thought about his little sister, she would be so devastated, probably try to stop him from going, maybe it was just better for the both of him that he skipped saying goodbye to her. It'd be all to easy for Rori to persuade him to stay, and then what would he do to learn? Relic shook his head and grabbed a pillow and a light blanket, he was able to adapt to heat easily, but who knew what type of cold weather lay beyond this lava mountain.
Relic put the pack on his back and walked down the glass staircase, sometimes he really hated the living quarters being up so high, it took an awfully long time to get down the stairs, and with the stairs being made of glass he couldn't quietly make his way down them either. Relic walked past Rori's room as quietly as possible, but she was awake so she immiediatly spotted Relic after hearing his feet tap against the glass.
"Re'ic... where you going?" Rori asked curiously as she climbed out of her bed and walked over to Relic. Relic's mouth dropped, he had been hoping to avoid this goodbye. Relic dropped to his knees so he was at Rori's height.
"Hey..." he said softly.
"Are you going somewheres?" she asked, her golden eyes wide with curiousity.
"Uhm... yeah... yes Rori.... I am" he said softly.
"Well where are you going?" she asked wanting to know.
"I'm going..." now that he thought about he wasn't sure where he was going "... on a journey..."
"Can I go witch you?" she smiled brightly up at him giving the puppy eyes he knew she would use to convince him to stay.
"No Rori, you can't... you need to stay here with mom and dad... I can't take you with me."
"You leave me? Rori's eyes blinked as she stood there quietly. Relic could already see water filling up her large orbitals.
"There there..." Relic said softly, trying his best to comfort her. He stood up and picked Rori up off the ground and sat her at the edge of her bed, he sat down next to her and put his arm on her shoulder. "Look how big you're getting..." he smiled softly "I almost couldn't carry you anymore... I'm not sure how long I will be gone Rori... and I can't honestly tell you anything because I do not know. But this journey is important to me, and you gotta, just gotta understand that..." Rori's lips trembled and tears began rolling down her tanned cheeks.
"What I do without you? Why can't I come?" she asked tuggin on his arm. "Why?" she persisted. Relic looked down at her softly. He couldn't cry, he wasn't going to, he was 15 years old, practically a man in his mind, men don't cry.
"Rori, I can't explain this to you. I promise I'll come back though, and maybe I'll find a way to write you or something, and Aryn will read it for you and help you write me something back..." this was all he could come up with to say to her. How do you explain to a 4 year old that you're going away to prove to your parents that you are something, thet you'll be traveling across places you've never heard of, that there may be days when you don't eat or don't drink or that you'll have to walk throught the night and not sleep a wink because you're somewhere unsafe? He didn't know.
"Re'ic stay!" she demanded through her tears.
"Rori... please... don't, you got to understand, I don't want to leave, I would never leave you, you're my world. I have to go, I have to do this, I have no choice." He tried to explain. Rori crawled into his lap and hugged him tightly.
"I not let you, I tell dem you not go..." she offered. Relic looked out the window towards the barely visible sky, light was already starting to streak the once midnight sky. He had to get going soon if he wanted to get out of the city. He put his hands on Rori's arms and slowly loosened the hug she had around him. He lifted her off his lap and set her back down on the bed. Relic stood up and leaned down once more to hug his little sister.
"I got to go Rori..." he told her. "Goodbye little sis." He said softly as he stood to his full height and straightened out his pack.
"Re'ic... you can't..." she whispered in between sniffles. Relic sighed and walked out of the room towards their cousin Aryn.
"Wake up." Relic said as he shook Aryn's bed which he slept on. Aryn lifted his head lazily and looked at Relic with sleepy eyes. "Watch Rori, make sure she doesn't follow me..." Relic spoke.
Relic quickly returned to Rori's room and gave her a final hug.
"Goodbye Rori, I'll be back soon. Please don't follow me." Relic spoke as he walked to leave her room.
"Bye Relic..." she sniffled. She followed him out the door with her eyes. When she heard Relic's feet hit the stairs she ran out of her room to chase after him. Aryn was there and he quickly wrapped his arms around her tight so she wouldn't break free. "Noooo! Relic don't go!!! Please!" she shouted her eyes glittering with tears. "Don't leave me, please!" she continued. Relic shut his eyes tight and walked down the steps trying his best to shut out the crys for him. He swiped his hand past his cheek to dispose of a few tears that had strayed from his eyes and he made his way out of the house. It was a long and tiring walk through the city, his eyes were now a stinging red from more tears that had fallen and full of tire from the long morning, but his journey had only just begun. he passed almost every obsidian home and market that lived in the spiraling city, after a long morning and a long way up, Relic finally reached the mouth of the volcano. He took a deep breath, the air was so much different out here, cleaner, and it was considerably cold to him, at least compared to the climate he lived in. From on top of the volcano he could see everything for miles.
"Ok, where do I start...?" he said to himself.
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Posted: Tue Jan 02, 2007 9:13 pm
Feuer sat silently in her room, a dark glass bulb rolled around on the floor in front of her as she listened to her parents yell in the other room. Her father had just come home from the search party, and her mother was close to tears because if the Mage Superior couldnt be found, that ment that she wouldnt have any lessons. A frown appeared on Feuer's face as she stopped listening to them, and started thinking her own thoughts. She wanted to be taught, it wasnt fair that just as she was about to learn something that would help her, and make her be able to stand up to her brother, all chances of that would disappear.
Tears trickled down her face, and she whiped them angrily away, she was too old to cry. Or, at least she thought so. Getting up she clenched her fists and snuck out so that her parents wouldnt hear her, wandering towards the glass blowers, she sighed, listening to the gossip on the wind, wondering if the Mages would ever be found. Feuer wanted to do something about it, but felt powerless to do so. Walking home in a sulk she was about to give up, before she heard someone speaking at one of the shops about a boy who had run away to find the Mage's and his parents didnt know where to find him. The idea of running away had never occured to Feuer, perhaps thats what she would do.
With the new idea planted in her head she snuck back into her room and started to get to work. Her mind racing at the chance of adventure once she was away from her family. Of course it would be just her, but she figured she could handle it, no problem. Little did she know of the task ahead of her.
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