Pink Poogle Toy Forum

[Thanks Ria, I've edited the post accordingly. FM, is this okay with you?]

The current took her by surprise. It came as a sudden shock after the relative calm of the island's underwater passageways. The Lady felt herself being swept away and she almost gasped. Even the tiny breath she let out was a vital loss and she was close to panicking when she felt a hand around her wrist. Someone had caught her and he began to lead her towards the others. They fought against the current together, never letting go of each other.

Eventually, they emerged into the calmer waters of the ocean deep. Underneath the surface of the sea and away from the entrance to the island, the waters were more soothing. It was not so difficult to manoeuver one's way here, but a new problem began to arise. Althea was running out of oxygen.

They were nearing the surface where the waters began to get choppy when she began to flail wildly. She needed air, she must have air, or she would die. Her lungs felt like they were on fire. Something was constricting inside her and darkness was pressing in on her. Another diver noticed her trouble and took her other hand. Thus guided, they pulled her towards the surface with them but Althea didn't think she could make it. She'd already been going on for four minutes and she'd lost a little breath before.

I have to keep going! she thought desperately, both wanting to breathe more than anything else in the world, and wanting to just give in and succumb to the will of the ocean. Fortunately, the divers would not let her do the latter.

In what seemed an unbearably long time, but which was really only a matter of a few seconds, their heads appeared out of the water. Gasping and choking, Althea began drowning all over again, too exhausted to swim. The divers took hold of her and dragged on shore where they beached her like a whale. She lay there on her side, coughing and spluttering and taking in deep, sharp breaths of the sweet air around her.

When she had quite recovered, she looked up to see the worried faces all around her. Someone offered her a flask of water she gratefully accepted. After her drink, she smiled shakily at the divers who smiled back.

'Welcome to the surface, my Lady,' the lead diver said. 'Congratulations on making it alive.'

'Thank you,' the girl replied. 'If it wasn't for you all, I'd have drowned.'

'It was Dev,' one man grinned. 'He was the first one to save ye, milady. If it wasn't for him followin' ye so close behind when we just left the island, I daresay ye'd be swept 'way 'fore we could react. Lucky for us Dev was here.'

Althea turned towards the boy in surprise. He was looking away from her and scowling in deep embarassment. 'I owe you an apology, Devlin,' the girl said. 'If you had obeyed me and stayed in Zircon, I would have died. You saved my life. For that, I thank you.'

The boy scowled harder and turned a crimson shade of red. 'Think nothin' of it, Princess,' he muttered.

''Ey Dev! Have you forgott'n already that the Lady is a queen and not a princess now?' one diver guffawed. He slapped Dev on the back, glad that everyone was safe and well.

'No,' Dev growled. 'But I'm not "Devlin" either. It's "Dev" and I already told her that - twice.' Althea remembered dimly Dev mentioning this before in the hospital as well as just before they left. 'And s'long as the Princess calls me Devlin, I'm not going to call her Queen.' The divers chuckled and then looked anxiously at Althea, unwilling to offend her. To their relief, she was smiling oddly.

'Ah well, it's nice to be the princess still to somebody,' she said, and stood to her feet. She had had a sudden feeling of youth when he had addressed her as 'Princess'. True, she was actually young but she had hardly felt so in the last few years. The last time she had been called 'Princess' was when her father was alive. It had been a pet name for her. It reminded her of the days when the kingdom's troubles were not her sole responsibility.

This was not a time for reminiscing, however, she reminded herself. There was business to be done.

'Where are we?' she asked, looking around.

'The Kingdom of Sapphire, my Lady,' the head diver replied. 'And although it's late' - it was night-time, as the moon and stars indicated - 'the ruler would most likely welcome you into her home and make you comfortable for the night. We'd best be moving.'

With one last look towards the ink-black ocean, Althea nodded and followed her divers. She breathed the sweet air in once again. There was none of the musty tang that was so evident underwater. She smiled wistfully. How she wished she could bring her people on shore.

((I'm so sorry I haven't been able to post... and still can't. I've just gotten this horrible flu that's been going around my family and school, and have spent most of the past few days sleeping and reading. I'm a little bit better now (my fever went away) and I'm trying to write a post as we speak... well as I'm writing this... same difference

Oh, and Echo (rachel's second character) was in Garnet for a short time, I believe he's just found a passageway to Diamond...

And all the kingdoms are large islands Lillie, but the best to help the Zirconians would probably be the Sapphire Kingdom. After all, they can live and breath underwater.))

((This is all okey dokey Lillie ))

"Your Majesty, the ruler of the kingdom Zircon has just arrived, on our shores."
Emra looked up at the expectant page clad in blue edged in silver, surprised. She had never met this ruler but had heard that they were the same age, both barely sixteen.
"Please summon her, immediately..." She commanded gently, "Make sure she is alright..."she added, hoping the Queen was not ill or hurt in any sense. The page backed out of the room bowing, as she turned her attention back to the sea. She loved watching it, perhaps more than actually being within it. Carefully she slipped on a sheer white robe over her silk gown, the robe embroided with blue and green silk. Dress to impress...she thought idily.

((THANKS FOR THE FLU RIA!!! Well, at least I have more time to post, now that I have to stay home))

Serenity

Serenity ran into her room, breathless. Usnami was sitting comfortably in a chair, sewing. When Serenity ran into the room she put down her work and looked politely surprised at her mistress who was standing breathless and worn at the door in a wrecked wedding dress.
“What happened? There is so much noise outside,” she inquired.
Serenity gave her a frightened look, “I couldn’t do it!”
“No!” Usnami gasped, “Do you have any idea what will happen to you now?”
“I don’t know. But I’m not going to stay to find out. I have to leave now!”
“But those letters that you received…what will you do with them?”
“Oh no! I better send letters to everyone as well!”
“I shall write for you, but you must hurry!”
She and Usnami managed to compose a letter, which later Usnami would send to the other kingdoms.
There is an Outah council that is held annually in two weeks. I hope that all kingdoms shall attend, as I will be a representative for Diamond, the first one in many centuries I realise. There I wish to discuss the pressing matter that I mentioned in my last letter.
I hope that you will grace the council with your presence.

From Crown Princess Serenity Tehsume

To Sapphire she wrote:

Queen Emra Raeli

I cannot speak with you right away but I will be able to talk with you if you attend the annual Outah council. There I wish to discuss the matter of Induisha with the other kingdoms. I have heard that the council is in two weeks and I shall be going for the fist time. I hope to see you there.

From Crown Princess Serenity Tehsume

And to Aquamarine:

Chancellor Thisa Polaris of Aquamarine,

I have had to flee Diamond for unimportant circumstances, so I cannot send a representative but I will enclose I few objects of proof of who I am.
I wish for you to attend the annual Outah council so I can talk about these pressing matters with the other kingdoms as well, so we can unite and become strong. I hope that you will come.

From Crown Princess Serenity Tehsume

In the letter she enclosed her wedding bracelet (diamonds on a delicate white-gold chain with Serenity’s name carved into a strip of white-gold metal with small diamonds around it) and also three white feathers that she had painfully plucked from her own wings.
“There! All done,” Serenity said getting up from her chair.
“I’ll make sure these letters are posted,” Usnami said, folding them neatly.
“I have to get going,” Serenity said, wistfully glancing out of her window.
Usnami laid a hand on her arm to stop her, “Before you go, I and the other mages who are loyal to you have made some gifts to help you with your journey,”
“Really?” Serenity’s eyes glittered hopefully.
Usnami snapped her fingers three beautiful women and an old man slowly stepped into the room.
“Your majesty,” they addressed her, bowing.
Serenity nodded and they straightened. The first woman approached her. She had long silver hair and glossy pale eyes. The lady pressed her hands to Serenity’s head, “May you always be pure of heart and never forget your quest, to save your people and your friends,”
Serenity’s head was bathed in warmth. She gasped as wooziness spread over her.
The next woman approached. This woman had flowing gold hair and long delicate fingers. Serenity though she looked like an angel. This woman pressed her hands to Serenity’s head and muttered, “May your friends always be near and willing to guide you, to safety and to your goal,”
The third woman walked up to her. She had a friendly round face and messy orange hair. She smiled as she held her hands up to Serenity’s head, “ May luck always hold you in its favour,”
The man stepped up to her. He looked old and frail, but he had a strong and undefeated look in his honest amber eyes. He handed her a strange looking sphere, “ This will be useful. If you are ever lost, ask it where to go and it shall show you the direction you need to travel,”
Usnami smiled at Serenity and pulled a small package from inside her robe, “This is for you. A sort of… going away present! Go on, open it, you don’t have much time,”
Serenity slowly and carefully unravelled the ribbon, then opened the cloth on the package. Inside was a long, delicate white gold chain attached to a large chunk of diamond.
“This,” Usnami informed her proudly “Is a shard from the real Diamond that protects this city,”
Serenity looked at Usnami in disbelief, “How can you get a shard from the Diamond? It is too hard!”
“I don’t know. I think it was your mother’s. Her maidservant gave it to me. I think the maid kept it from your mother and she gave it to me when I came to look after you,”
“Where is this maid now?”
“She died. She was very old and very ill,”
Serenity examined the delicate necklace. It had two white gold wings and a silver crown attached to the stone. On the back of the wings were carved two words, “fly free,”
Serenity stared long and hard at the words, before putting the chian around her neck.
Usnami smiled, “You better get dressed then,”
Serenity nodded and a few minutes later, she was back in her usual pink and purple costume. Usnami wordlessly handed her a long lavender cloak.
Serenity held it for a while, examining it before putting it on. It was light, and the fabric was warm.
“I knew you’d want to leave soon. So I organised all of this, so you could leave quickly, and save Diamond. I made that cloak to go with you dress. And lastly,” she produced two bottles, a black one and a pink one, “It will not be easy to walk among the people of Outah with wings. Drink the black bottle and it will take away your wings. Drink the pink bottle and it will bring them back,” she handed both bottles to Serenity, “By all means do not lose the pink bottle,” she said darkly. Serenity blushed. She was prone to losing many things.
Serenity quickly gulped down the contents of the black bottle. It tasted like soot and charcoal. She chocked and gasped as she felt a searing pain at her back. She turned to the nearest mirror and sighed… her wings were gone.
There were footsteps outside the door… and voices.
Another mage appeared in the room. She was young, about thirteen years old. This girl had short dark purple hair and black eyes, “I have been keeping the soldiers busy, but I cannot anymore. They are headed this way. You must leave, NOW!”
“Go Serenity. If they catch you now you will never escape!” urged Usnami.
Serenit nodded and ran to the otherside of the room, where her wand and sword lay. She carefully hid the wand in her cloak and fastened the sword to her belt.
“Thank you,” she whispered to everyone in the room as she climbed out of the window, just moments before her bedroom door was broken down by royal soldiers.

[Never fear, Peridot is here!]

Character(s) Info-

Name: Molan Wan

Age: 36

Kingdom: Peridot

Position in Kingdom: Governor

Appearance: Molan, proud to flaunt his position, wears a striking royal blue tunic, striped towards the collar and belt with canary-yellow. Tall and stocky, he has a somewhat obtrusive wart on his nose, which is a constant source of amusement for the supporters of his opponent and cousin, Liam Prot. Molan has a darker complexion than is standard.

Personality: He was elected by virtue of his wits, but he’s not much brighter than your average Peridotian: it’s just that he is more decisive and a relatively gifted speaker. He is somewhat of a braggart, but by luck or by platform, he has been managing the farms and hamlets adequately… until recently, at any rate.

Weapons: A silver-handled scythe, used for ceremonial purposes only.

History: Born to the aristocratic family of Peridot, Molan has been somewhat distanced from the common folk since he was a small child. Surrounded by politics, he has desired the governor’s seat for a long time, and finally won it four and a half years ago. He has been happily married to Lady Farmer Dela for eleven years and enjoys the company of his eight-year-old daughter, Tila. Essentially good-natured, his life pampered, Molan’s only feud is with his cousin, who insists on some hare-brained scheme to trade with Zircon, even though everything, plainly, would get wet when put underwater and be ruined.

News: A deadly blight has been spreading among the birds with alarming rapidity, from the poultry to the carrier pigeons. This both wipes Peridot from the map in terms of communication and causes considerable unrest at home.

The Festival of Music approaches within the week.

Kingdom info-
Government Type: Democracy

Cultural info: Not very long ago, Peridot was a monarchy; however, Molan’s great-grandfather, Liam II, wanted to be a bit less to blame than he was for every trifling misfortune, and so set up a council from the Lord Farmers and gave the people power to elect their governor every three years, so that if the governor fumbled the ball, it would be all their fault. However, he was a bit too open about his strategy and lost the first election with a crashing thud. Nonetheless, all candidates for governor thus far have been of the royal bloodline.

As might be expected, the harvests are the main holidays of the Peridotian year. The Governor cuts the first sheaf of wheat, and the harvest is followed by three days of feasting and general drunkenness.

For Peridot, Anaedaan is all but forgotten, and Induisha generally discounted. Instead, Peridot worships the Stones. The Peridot itself is kept in a marble vault and brought out under strict and lavish guard for harvests and the Festival of Music.

Architecture/City appearance: Square dwellings of brick and sod dominate the landscape. Hamlets are built around a large, shared field, but territorial squabbles are rare. These shared farms do not diversify much – thus, whole fields are devoted to wheat, cotton, orchards, cows, and, yes, poultry. The poultry hamlets are currently in a severe state of unrest. When the Councillors are not convened, they reside in the Lordship houses of their sort of farm, which are scattered pell-mell about the island.

Main Palace/Castle: The main palace is made of Ruby-imported granite, and built to impress at four stories and with many leering arches. However, the governor, his immediate family, and assorted guards and servants are the only regular residents, though the Councillors convene in the main hall. The adjoining temple is crafted elegantly of marble and recieves about four hundred visitors for its monthly service.

Demon info-

Name: Peslanza

Human Name: Dela Wan

Appearance: In true form, Peslanza resembles a five-foot-long, green-spotted centipede with great red eyes not befitting of an insect. In her human form, however, she is every inch the governor’s wife – pale and rosy for a Peridotian and much more elegant, with a sweet and frequent smile and wavy hair to the shoulders.

Personality: Unusually patient for a demon, Peslanza is nonetheless quick to action when a situation arises, and has guile no one in Peridot could suspect.

Abilities: Peslanza can fool mind probes with decoy thoughts and assume the appearance of anyone she has killed.

History: Induisha created Peslanza, intending to bestow her upon Ishatiri of Opal, but decided that on the whole, she was better suited to wrest the Stone from Peridot. Two years ago, after assuming a variety of anonymous guises by taking numerous lives, she managed to replace the governor’s laundress and murdered Lady Farmer Dela when she stopped to chat in a secluded square. To cover her tracks, she left a note as the laundress to say that she was entirely sick of the whole affair and would be setting sail for Ruby as soon as she could build a raft. Molan has never cared enough to follow up the lead.

Minions: The Gadis, a swarm of black, ethereal flies, have the power to cause disease and misfortune in animals. They have been spreading the deadly blight among the birds from the time Peslanza heard of the letters warning of Induisha’s plan. The mindless drones only appear when summoned by Peslanza in her true form.

[Secondary character to be posted later. Diamond dust.]

Molan

The Governor of Peridot had been spending most of the day with the panicked Councillor Mashu of the chicken hamlets. It had been the first serious problem of his rule, and his suggestion of locking up the sick chickens had already been tried to no avail. Any moment, he supposed, the chicken hamlets would start some sort of revolt, oh, and he guessed he could toss in the waterbird-caretakers and the pigeon-keepers, too.

It didn't matter.

He held the sparkling letter to his chest, the panic washing over him. Who would dare think to steal the Stones?

To go by the name of the mythical darkness spirit to do it, too - not even this so-called princess knew the real name, but then again, calling herself princess of a nonexistent kingdom, maybe she simply wouldn't care to say things straight. What time was this for that sort of tomfoolery?

It wasn't only the Peridot, either. The legend-fancying... he was unable to find a word for the monstrosity - was after every Stone - well, what could he do? Again, no answer. The platform he'd cobbled together didn't take into account ever-spreading plagues and maniacs willing to take down the very Stones.

Someone strode into the room - oh, bother - Mashu was back. "No," he snapped somewhat feebly, "I haven't thought of anything yet." A sudden brainwave hit him. "Have you seen the castle's pigeon-keeper?"

"He's at his post as always, Governor. You surely don't want more people after your head?" Mashu squinted in concentration, probing for his answer. "What? You want to know about some stupid letter at a time like this?"

"I'm afraid so, Mashu. Please, go away. Unless... unless you know anybody who calls herself a princess."

"Well, there's the little girl down in Fourpoint Hamlet. And the little girl who keeps going to the mead hall. And... well, a lot of girls."

"Never mind. I need to see the pigeon-keeper." Molan stalked out of the room, and sped up towards the letter wing.

Dela, overlooking him from the ramparts, called down, "What's the matter?" but he paid her no heed, rushing headlong into the room he was after. Which had a truly rank odor: the pigeons had been struck by the plague, no doubt about it.

"I'm not to blame for this," growled Molan pre-emptively. "Listen, this is most urgent - where did you get this letter with the fancy seal?"

"Actually, it sort of... fell from the sky," said the obviously distracted pigeon-keeper. "I mean, it's not as though a bird could have delivered it, now is it?" He gave a weak laugh at those words which dissolved into sobs. "But if it's oh so very urgent, sorry that it was so nice to look at, I, I sort of kept it for a while."

So essentially, this precious warning had come out of nowhere. He had no leads to follow up; he couldn't concieve of a way for it to fall from the sky. What's more, think of how much precious time had been wasted!

"I'm sorry about the pigeons, but there's other business at hand."

He sent out foot-messengers to convene the council post-haste. Before he retired to fitful dreams, Molan told his wife all that had occured.

[Get well soon, Rachel! And welcome to the role play, Tharkun. ]

It took a lot for Althea to lose her nerve but she was beginning to now. Having never left Zircon and its impoverished state, it would be understandable that the Kingdom of Sapphire would offer a few astonishments. She had left Zircon expecting it, but now the poor girl was in a state of silent shock. The divers explained politely to the soldiers who had come to guide them up to the palace that the Queen was too tired to talk. She had, after all, nearly drowned.

This left Althea free to study her surroundings. Night had only just fallen, according to one guard, but the slender sliver of a moon above offered enough light to show the many glass houses. More imposing than the houses was the palace of glass and silk and reflected moonlight. Why, it was larger than the whole of Zircon put together! The girl almost felt like crying at the enormous space all around her. She was really quite terrified.

The inside of the palace was no less majestic than the outside. Its soft oceanic furnishings appeared brighter and more vibrant than anything in Zircon. No glow-worms needed here where moonlight and fiery torches were available. The wealth was more than anything Althea had ever imagined. Even so, she had been coping relatively well until they reached the throne room.

Now she felt like bolting. Here in front of her was Queen Emra of the Kingdom of Sapphire, arrayed in the most wonderful garments in the world, it seemed to Althea. A more beautiful human being she had never seen before, surrounded by the sick and dying and tired all her life. Everyone healthy seemed wonderful to her but the Queen was certainly above average in terms of looks. The Lady could only stop and stare in a mixture of admiration and shame.

Emra looked exactly like a queen should look, whereas Althea was anything but a queen. Still in her wetsuit, which certainly did not make anyone look pretty, her white-blond hair was pulled back sharply from her face and clinging in wet strands to her neck. The bony, angular features of her thin face were harshly emphasised and she had wrinkles in her brow from too many worries. Her small, frail body looked terribly stunted next to Emra, which indeed it was. Why, Althea looked older than Emra when Emra was certainly the older one, if only by a few months. There could be no comparison in terms of beauty. Althea had never felt less like a ruler than she did then.

This is what a real ruler should look like, she thought miserably. She wanted to give up in despair but she couldn't.

You're a real ruler too, a voice inside her head spoke. You're the Lady of Zircon. Remember that. At the same time, the lead diver announced in a sweeping bow, "Your Majesty, I present to you the Queen of Zircon, the Lady Althea Lune."

The Lady held her head up a bit higher and a slight flush entered her white cheeks. Yes, she was the leader of Zircon and they were depending on her. She could not let her people down. Her silver eyes glinted and she looked the beautiful Emra straight in the eye, almost defiantly.

Emra smiled, and stood. She walked over gracefully to the wet Queen. "Oh dear, you look drenched to the bone- I will make this meeting a short one..." Queen Emra curtsied deeply to the Queen, "It is so nice to make your aquaintance," She paused, "I am Queen Emra." she added softly.
"Are you alright?" Emra asked, her eyes concerned. She thought this meeting incredible, that these two young ruler, both the same age- or quite close to it- meeting in strange circumstances. Emra motioned to the soldiers, servant, ladies-in-waiting, and pages all in the room dismissed. The Queen turned her full attention back to the other Queen present.

The sun was shining brightly already on most southern corner of the courtyard. No ceiling limited the courtyard, it wasn't needed. Rarely any rain fell in Topaz, and if it did, it was very welcome.

Babbling and voices of the Council members resounded through the sandy colored courtyard. The fountains weren't even hearable anymore.

Gardea looked up at Merle, in the meaning to throw a look 'see, what did I tell you.' But he quickly looked away, because Merle's face wasn't very happy at all. He was in fact barely containing himself to shout above the horrible noises of Council members.

Gardea breathed in and then roared his voice, "SILENCE! Siiilence!"

Merle moved his head of his good hand supporting it.

"I will inform the other Kingdoms, I know this situation is.. unusual, but have faith it will not rule over your matters."

This time, the leaders, seated in the Council, remained silent. The Duke of Mae struggled with himself, apparently, undecisive to go against Merle's decision or not.

Merle spoke again, however, "there is another matter that also needs to be discussed." He moved his gaze to the Duke of Mae, "yesterday, there was a merchant here, who claimed to have been attacked on the border of your territory."

The Duke smiled slyly, "if I can be of any assistence.."

"Several of the attackers were recognized as men under your command, Duke Mae. Knights..."

This time, an eary silence descended.

"Beg me pardon, Sire, but these are false accusations. A mere merchant claiming this, against the word of a Duke? I can assure you, that I.."

Merle lifted his hand, he felt irritated and mightless.

"The merchant has returned several armor pieces of the attackers. I can assure you, they come from your men."

"Ah.. alas, some men got lost in a desert storm. Their bodies were discovered without the armor. I assume the same rogues took it. Unfortunate indeed."

The young king felt the trap coming, but he could do no more to avoid it.

"I would never betray. None of us would, Sire," the Duke sat down again. Merle could think up the thought all the Council was thinking now, how dare you to assume one of us would betray you? Most of the men were looking at him with an angry look, a few were confused.

This was why he hated to be a king. Finally, he nodded, "I see. Of course. I suggest to put up more patrols then, to catch the.. rogues."

Soon after the meeting ended and Merle got the time to send letters to the other kingdoms, the subject he had started the meeting with.

The letter would start with the name of the concerning ruler, continued by this text,

I have received a letter from the legendary kingdom, Diamond.
My best historians have looked upon the seal, carried by this letter
and said it to be real.

Thus, I have decided to contact you all, and would suggest to meet
at the isle Returana. I will take the necessary safety measures, to see upon your safety.

I will give you all my oath, that no harm will befall you, during your
stay here.

King Merle Dahra,
Topaz.

A little surprised at Emra's warm greeting, Althea tried to smile and managed a brittle one.

'Thank you for your concern, Queen Emra,' she said. 'I am as well as can be expected and indebted to your generousity for taking us in at such short notice. I apologise for not giving earlier warning of my arrival but circumstances made that impossible.' She suddenly dropped the formalities and her face looked much more tired than it had been before. All the troubles of Zircon had come back to mind in their full force. Althea wanted to go to bed so badly. Taking her leave of the queen, Althea left to her rooms.

She had been given the most luxurious suite she could have wished for, but she was too tired to give even that much thought. Washing and dressing in a comfortable nightdress, she tumbled into bed and was fast asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

---

In the morning, the Lady went to find the Queen again. She had breakfasted well on a variety of delicacies specially prepared for her. For the first time since she could remember, Althea was genuinely full. Everything had been perfectly delicious.

The blue sea, white sands and lush greenery surrounding the palace had made her gasp when she had seen the view upon waking. Savouring every moment in a mixture of delight and awe, Althea was feeling wonderfully refreshed. This was paradise, she thought blissfully. For just a while, she had allowed herself to wallow in selfish pleasure. She had been just Althea Lune, a tired girl of sixteen who was passing the best morning of her life.

Now Althea was back to being the Queen of Zircon and her brow was slightly puckered as she entered the room Queen Emra was waiting in.

'Good morning,' she said. 'I thank you for your hospitality. My stay here so far has been a very pleasant one.'

This morning, the Lady Althea felt a little less ugly. She was dressed in a silvery gown she had discovered in a wardrobe that morning and it brought out the colour in her eyes. Her hair hung straight down to her shoulders and well-brushed.

((I finally have a post, for Emerald that is.))

Emerald

Three days had passed since the beginning of the Spring Festival. Many people had been very pleased that the Empress had formally opened the celebrations, even if she had been whisked away, back into the palace, with formal business almost immediately afterwards.

Meret sat in the throne room, turning over the letter from Saria, the Empress of Amethyst, in her hands absentmindedly. Arelore leaned casually against the wall nearest to the door and David sat, legs crossed, a few metres from the throne on the floor. They had been like this for the past few days, each of them trying to process what the letter meant for the Emerald Kingdom.

*flashback to just after the letter was delivered*

“So, what does it say?” David asked cautiously, tilting his head to one side with curiosity. Meret frowned lightly, re-reading it quickly before looking up at both David and Arelore. “Well…” she began, biting on her lip anxiously, “It’s from Saria, and its talking about Induisha and his minions trying to kill her, and the possibility of a threat to me, and all the other kingdoms’ leaders.”

Arelore raised one eyebrow, “Induisha? Why on earth would he sent minions to kill the leaders? He isn’t even supposed to exist anymore.”

Meret nodded, her frown deepening, “You’re right. We’re missing something here. I’m sure of it.”

*end flashback*

During the past few days none of them had been able to come up with anything that could explain the reason for this letter, or any recent information on Induisha. Just as Meret was about to give up, and tell David and Arelore that it was nothing to worry about, a servant ran into the throne room. He was gasping and panting, his face flushed red, as he hunched over for a moment trying to regain his breath.

Meret jumped up, David and Arelore following, “What’s wrong?” she asked, eyes searching worriedly. The servant tilted his head up, “There’s a… child…. missing… signs of… a struggle… looks like… a wild creature…” the man trailed off, his breathing still heavy. Meret immediately took off running, Arelore and David ran behind her. When they reached the palace entrance hall they saw a group of villagers gathered outside, obviously waiting for the Empress to tell them what to do.

Meret looked to the leaders of the gathered villagers, the child’s parents it seemed. “I want everyone to go to where the boy was presumably taken. Spread out in all directions, in groups of three or four, but keep within shouting distance of the other groups. Every group must have someone carrying a weapon, just in case. As soon as any clue is found, call to the other groups, don’t keep going without more help. Everyone move out!”

* * * *

They had been searching all throughout the night and it was only at the first light of the dawn that they found anything substantial. Meret was sitting on a tree stump, her eyes on the floor and her fingers gently running through Ruti, her animal companion, ‘s mane. Arelore suddenly leaped out of a tree and landed with a great whoosh in front of her. David was up a split second later, sword aimed at her in case she was a threat. Arelore brushed the blade away, and David quickly sheathed it, eyes slightly narrowed, “You should be more careful in how you approach the Empress.”

Arelore ignored him, and help up a torn strip of fabric for Meret to see. “It was found about 3 kilometres from here. Down south. The villagers were very reluctant to head that way, its very overgrown.”
Meret nodded at Arelore, “Then that’s where we’ll search.” Two servants quickly approached, leading three horses for them. Meret smiled, climbing gracefully onto the horse’s back, as did David. Arelore warily stared at the horse she was supposed to mount. “I’d really rather just go through the trees. I’ve never been a big fan of horses.” Meret raised an eyebrow questioningly, but didn’t pursue it, “Suit yourself. I just hope you can keep up.”

* * * *

The woods had grown dark even though the sun was now high in the sky, the thick canopy of the forest seemed to have blocked out most of the light. Soon the forest had grown so thick that the horses couldn’t be ridden anymore. Meret had been slowly telling people to stay behind as they came here, and now there was only two villagers, David, Arelore and herself left. Her reasoning behind this strategy was that if… no, when… they found the child, they could each run the small distance to the other group, passing over the child as they went.

Meret left the remaining two villagers to wait with the horses, then proceeded further into the dark forest with Ruti following close behind and David and Arelore leading them in the front.

The silence was interrupted only by the metallic swish of David’s blade as it cut a path through the low hanging vines and bushes of the forest. They walked for at least 10 minutes before the forest seemed to open out into a clearing. There were tall pale brown shoots of grass poking between the dark brown and green leaves which covered the floor. It was eerily silent, the only sound being their muffled footsteps as they carefully walked into the centre of the clearing. Ruti suddenly began to growl, coming to stand protectively in front of Meret with its fur raised and teeth bared.

Soon more noises began to come forth from the forest surrounding them. The sounds of leaves and twigs snapping, low menacing growls and piercing bird calls. David drew his sword, and stood, his back to Meret, facing the forest. Arelore followed David’s example, so now there was a triangle of protection surrounding the Empress.

Suddenly, a scream reverberated around the clearing. All three of the humans jumped slightly, the scream sounded human, but slightly inhuman as well. A barely audible sound of footsteps could be heard drawing closer and the three turned to face the edge of the clearing. The shrubbery parted and a young boy stumbled out into the clearing, his eyes were droopy and he was covered in scratches and gashes, his clothes were torn and it was a miracle that they stayed on at all.

“Help me…” he whispered, before fainting down onto the leaf litter. Meret’s eyes widened and she ran forth to quickly scoop the boy into her arms. A sudden chirrup from above startled her, looking up she spotted a fluffy brown wood pigeon. It seemed to be the boy’s animal companion and, apart from a slim gash around its breast, it seemed fine. Clutched in its tiny claws was a letter, it was pure white and had a shiny diamond shaped seal on it.

Meret grabbed the letter carefully and turned to face Arelore and David, “Let’s get out of here.”

Queen Emra smiled warmly at the Queen once again, but inside her calm face feelings were all a tumult. She wondered desperately every minute of the day about the dark plot.
"Good morning, Queen Althea. I am quite glad it has been a pleasant visit so far." Her eyes took in the sight of her, pretty in the silver dress. "That is a lovely dress," she remarked, smiling still- for she did like it. Herself wore a beautiful white blouse, and a beaded blue skirt that was made from many yards of some silky, luminous material. Once more she dismissed all the others in the room, just in case it was to be a private talk.

Ash


Ash sat up in her bed. There were voices. Loud voices.
She stood up and wrapped her nightgown around her, then stepped out of the room, following the direction of the voices. She could hear her uncle and stepfather, Ishatiri talking to her mother, “ Alanni, really, this letter cannot be real. It has been sent by someone who wants to trick me and overthrow me. We must ignore it,”
“ I do not agree! Much mystery surrounds that letter but that is no reason to ignore it! Who is to say that we are not in great danger?” Alanni, her mother cried.
“Who is to say we are? And even if it is real, why should we help them? We have to fend for ourselves alone down here, no one ever came looking or came to help us, so why should we help them? Induisha will not come under the earth looking for our stone,” She heard footsteps and assumed her uncle had left the room.
She entered the beautiful thrown room, and saw her mother standing, her hands shaking in rage. As she turned to see Ash, her knee-length lavender hair swayed gently behind her, shining in the light.
Ash could truly see why her mother was called the Jewel of Opal. Alanni had white soft skin with a tinge of rose in each cheek; her nose was small and delicate. Her eyes bore long lashes on top of bright blue eyes, which sparkled when the light caught them. Her eyes were slightly tilted upwards creating a graceful effect. Her build was long, and delicate and her wavy lavender hair that cascaded down her back slowly turned into dark purple as it reached her knees. Today she was dressed in a marbled white and purple dress, with a tight fitting waist and a flowing skirt. It was unusual of one of opal to look like her mother, but her mother had actually not come from Opal. She was from Sapphire and had somehow wandered down into the mines of Opal when she was eight years old. There, an eleven-year-old Lenatiri had rescued her from falling down into an abandoned part of the mine and they became best friends. She lived with the royal family and when they were old enough, they married and became King and Queen.
Alanni was always telling Ash how brave her father was, and how much she missed him. Ash had never met her dad, but there were portraits of him. He had messy black hair, short black beard and Ash’s sparkling green eyes. What Ash had liked most about his face was the lines around his eyes, making him look honest and friendly. Alanni said that those lines were from laughing so much.
“Is there something wrong?” Ash asked, delicately stepping into the room.
Alanni smiled weakly, “ Here,” she handed two letters to Ash. Ash scanned them carefully and gasped, “These letters say that they’re from Diamond!”
“Yes. And the Princess wishes to meet us at the council meeting in two weeks,” sighed Alanni. Ever since Ishatiri had taken over the throne, he had not allowed people to visit the annual Outah council.
“Well, we must go. If this letter is right, we are in great danger,” exclaimed Ash.
“It’s not that simple. It could be a fake,”
“Even so. We need to attend that council… to ask them for help,”
“Don’t speak of such things here! It is a treasonable offence!” gasped Alanni.
“ And what about that rumour,” Ash continued loudly, ignoring her mother, “ About my brother? Maybe he would be at the council,”
Alanni gave up, “Even if he was, which is not possible, he would not know you. Where I sent him, he probably doesn’t even know about his past!”
Ash stared at her mother, “Why?”
Alanni stared back, “ Because I don’t want anyone else in this family dying,”
……………………………………………..
Ash kneeled, tending to her garden. It was beautiful, full of many coloured hitari, blues, pinks, yellows, reds, oranges and many others. She pressed her palm onto a yellow hitari and felt it’s warm glow. She heard footsteps behind her and turned to see who was making them. She sighted the people and glared with annoyance. It was Utara and Itara. They were whispering to each other. They noticed Ash staring at them and glared at her, before walking away. Ash hated them. Her uncle fawned over them, spoiling them. Ash could not remember when they came, but they had been there ever since she could remember. They were meant to be children from her uncle’s first marriage. When she was very little, they always used to study her, to assess her, as if they wanted to know what she was capable of. Once they had gathered all of their information about her, they moved onto Alanni, hanging around her and studying her.
In short they were very… very… annoying and weird.
“Ashalind!” her uncle called angrily, strolling into the courtyard.
Ash quickly stood up and bowed her head, “Yes, your majesty?”
“ Your mother told you about those letters, didn’t she?”
There was no point in lying, “Yes,”
“You are to ignore them. They are a hoax, formed by a deranged mind,”
“Of course,”
Ishatiri paused. There was more he wished to discuss, “There is a rumor going around,”
Ash looked up with slight interest, “Yes?”
“People say that you wish to take the crown earlier… than expected. As the rightful king, I find this unacceptable,”
“No! It’s not true!” Ash cried, which was correct. She had no intention of taking the throne early let alone taking it at all.
“Anyway, just to be safe, you will be confined to your room, for the next couple of months. I cannot have traitors in this kingdom. Because of who you are, you should’ve been killed right after you were born. But as proof to my love to your mother, I kept you alive, sheltered you and even accepted you as my heir. You should be grateful, you little brat!” Ishatiri said smirking.
Ash kept her face unemotional and unreadable. He had done this to her before, she could not show any pain.
Ishatiri began to walk away, then stopped, he walked back over to her, with a unreadable expression on his face, “I have been talking to your mother, for a while. I have decided that you are too spoilt and there are some things that must be taken from you, so you will know your place,”
He put his foot through the heart of her garden, a flower that glowed four colours, red, green, yellow and blue, to represent the four elements. It was the most rare of the hitari and only five known flowers existed. This was one of them. Ishatiri then beckoned to a guard, “Have this garden removed,” he told the guard, “ It is ruining my palace,”
Ash’s knees gave way and she crumpled to the ground, as the guard destroyed her garden, glowing petals flying everywhere. She let out a long, heartbreaking wail.

'Thank you,' Althea replied absent-mindedly. Her face turned quite serious.

'Your Majesty, you have always been kind to my people and offered what help you could give. Although there was not much you can do, I am nevertheless grateful for your kindness towards my divers. You have always allowed them to land here and you have given them safe passage to other countries so they can act as my ambassadors to the other kingdoms. For all this, I would like to thank you.'

She paused, uncertain how to go on and plunged on recklessly. 'You may be surprised to see me here in person. After all, I have never come up to land before. My kingdom can ill afford to spare me and I would not leave if there were any other option. However, problems come fast and furious. My island has sunk so much that one of my divers - perhaps you know him, Devlin Keith - nearly drowned on the last trip back. It was imperative for me to come up for myself on the last trip my divers make so I may seek help somehow.

'Not every kingdom has been as open as you.' Her face took on a look of displeasure. 'Unfortunately, some are prone to disbelieving my divers and question their reliability. They doubt that the divers are my true ambassadors and have had the nerve to question my very existence. Part of the reason in coming in person is to seek help myself. Perhaps I will be taken more seriously then.'

Althea hesitated and then went on. 'But most disturbing of all is a letter I received recently ... It claims to be from the mythological Kingdom of Diamond.' She laughed weakly and shook her head. 'As if it could exist! And yet I do not really know what to think. It claims of a great plot that seeks to destroy all our kingdoms. If it is true - but what do you make of it, Your Majesty?' She took out the letter in question and passed it to Emra.

[FM, if you could mention the meeting between the kingdoms at some point, I could work that into my next post. ]

((Sure ))

Queen Emra nodded slowly, taking in the words. "I will do all that is within my power to help your kingdom, for if one kingdom shall fall- we all fall.

"I myself have become to believe in this kingdom of Diamond, but it shall all be straightened out I believe at the upcoming meeting between all the kingdoms---the Diamond will, as we always have- unite for peace. We will help in any way possible, to this terrible affair and to help your kingdom."

At this she rose from her seat, and was posed as though to move, but seemed to be frozen in thought. She spoke after a moment's silence and relaxed her posture a bit.

"I hope your stay shall be long and happy, and I will help your kingdom, as Diamond shall try to help all."

((It is nice to play the young noble Queen, fun roleplaying ))

((Sorry for being inactive...it's difficult to write when you have no one to interact with. By the way Tharkun, my kingdom's sent a few message to yours.))

Thisa quickly made her way to the top of the keep, and discovered that many senators were already there, some looking out of the window at the mysterious cloud that seemed to be drifting away at the moment, and a few absent mindedly toying with magnetic metals found in the mines. Though the cloud was moving away, it was clear that a smaller object was fluttering towards them.

The others acknowledged Thisa's presence with a few nods, but kept quiet. They were too engrossed in whatever they werw doing or watching to comment, all except Juliy Rigel, who led Thisa there.

"Seems as though it's departing. What a shame, you would've been dazzled by the sights we've seen on it!"

"What sort of sights?" Thisa queried.

"As I told you before, there was movement, almost as though there was a city nesting in it. A few misty spires even appeared to be buildings." She gestured with her hands, as though trying to show the height and shape of the objects.

Their conversation would have continued, if it weren't for the object that was meandering towards them earlier didn't land at Thisa's feet. The object was a letter, with the seal of Diamond clearly stamped on it. The others stared at it in wonder, as though they were surprised but didn't know what to do with it, or perhaps didn't even want to do anything to it. Thisa tenatively reached down and picked the letter up, lifting the seal and removing a sheet of parchement with writing on it. She read the message aloud:

Chancellor Thisa Polaris of Aquamarine,

I have had to flee Diamond for unimportant circumstances, so I cannot send a representative but I will enclose I few objects of proof of who I am.
I wish for you to attend the annual Outah council so I can talk about these pressing matters with the other kingdoms as well, so we can unite and become strong. I hope that you will come.

From Crown Princess Serenity Tehsume

The envelope still felt heavy. Holding out her palm, Thisa shook out the contents, an elegant bracelet and a few feathers. She held them in her hand, and closed her eyes for a moment.

So...Diamond is real.

When she opened her eyes, she realized she must've said it out loud, for some of the senators were showing expressions of agreement, while others wore faces of confusion.

She cleared her throat. "Her highness of Diamond says she will attend the Ouhta council in two weeks. Where is it this year?"

Besthif shook his head. "We don't know yet, but should recieve the word soon. However, myself and many of my colleagues wish to join you to the meeting." There was a murmur of agreement in the crowd.

"Very well. We shall hold a meeting at sunrise, like we've done before. be sure someone trustworthy is monitoring the mail halls, I want to be sure we recieve any more letter that Diamond may send, along with notices about the Ouhta council and anything Peridot has to say."

A shuffling sound and goodbyes from the senate was all that Thisa heard. If she had better hearing, however, she may have been able to pick up the sounds an angry spirit was making, watching her in the shadows.