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Post by Mise™ on Nov 3, 2013 15:46:56 GMT -5
Many years ago a group of seven great knights roamed the land, they were known as the Seven Heavenly Virtues. The group was lead by the Virtue of Humility and following her were the Virtues of Chastity, Temperance, Charity, Diligence, Patience and Kindness. The Virtues gained fame and recognition across Britannia and the whole world. They were heroes. Were... Things changed with the death of the Great Holy Knight as the Virtues took the blame and went from great heroes to horrible villains in a blink of an eye and now were wanted by the Holy Knights. With this the Virtues had no choice, but to disband and go their separate ways and to hide from the long arm of the law. Ten years has passed since then and now their former leader M, the Dog Virtue of Humility has decided to gather up the Seven Holy Virtues again. The first of her subordinates she was reunited with was Arx, the Turtle Virtue of Diligence. Continuing on her mission M, along with Arx, are looking for more of their former comrades. --- Rumors about the Virtues' current locations have been constantly been going on since their disbandment ten years ago. Most of them have been sooner or later confirmed false or at best they just remained as rumors, with no one being able to confirm or deny them. Recently another rumor about one of the Virtues had popped up. It was of Lian, the Spider Virtue of Patience, a man that has lived for centuries waiting for a certain day to come. According to the rumor Lian has been last seen at a town known as Stardust. Stardust was a small town in a middle of a large crater in the kingdom of Britannia. The town got it's name from the huge rock that fell from the heavens a long, long time ago and caused the crater to be born. And eventually people settled around the rock and build a town there. Across the town runs a river and it leads to a small lake at the northern end of the crater. The lake and the river had also brought a lot of greenery with them to the crater with grass, bushes and some trees growing down there. Other than the meteorite the town itself was nothing special, it was just an average town with things you would expect to find in a town like this, like a pub, a church and so on. "The time cometh soon."
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Post by CJ on Nov 3, 2013 16:54:30 GMT -5
"Oh, you're so nice to help me with poor Poopsy-kins,"
"Poopsy-kins is adorable! How could anyone not help him?"
A young woman carried an extremely large cat with a scrunched up face with a bandaged leg. Her arms shook as her legs struggled to move her forward to her destination. An old woman followed behind her with a sweet smile.
They came to a small home, set among many other homes. Entering the home briefly, the woman set the cat upon a tiny bed, clearly specifically built for it. It meowed at her and she held in a laugh.
As she left, the old woman stopped her. She held out a small round caramel to her.
"Thank you so much for your help! Here, take a piece of candy for your trouble."
Holding her hand up, the young woman refused.
"You're very sweet, ma'am, but you should hold onto that candy for yourself."
"No, I insist. Take it! Take it!"
The old woman forced the candy into her hands. The young woman smiled and waved back at her as she left. As soon as she was out of sight, she found a child walking along the side of the road.
"Want some candy?" she asked him. The kid took it immediately and ran off, making the young woman sigh in relief.
Placing her hands on her hip, she looked up with a cheeky grin at her tall companion.
"Whew! That took a while! Arx, is today still going according to schedule? Will Lian finally be found today?"
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Post by Hitotsumami on Nov 4, 2013 10:18:02 GMT -5
"Absolutely," responded Arx.
Arx was a tall, hefty man. His eyes always appeared to be in a closed state, and a small smile always at on his face. His thumbs clenched his belt, which held a giant turtle shell on his back.
"When you appeared to me, dear M, I knew that we must set out and find all the Virtues. Giving up would spell disaster. So we must be steadfast in our goal, isn't that right? Of course, saving cats is also a priority I did not previously take into consideration..."
Arx turned his attention up towards the meteorite that sat in the middle of town. It was such a striking site. "Nevertheless, we've heard the rumors. Who knows if it is actually Lian, but we must search. He was always a strange one, so perhaps this strange town would suit him well..."
Arx readjusted his belt and then looked back at M. "I say we start the search at the base of the meteorite, don't you think? Perhaps stop at an Inn along the way and ask if they'd seen him."
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Post by CJ on Nov 4, 2013 12:03:44 GMT -5
"Peace is never achieved with a triumphant sound, dear Arx," M said, pointing her finger up in an academic fashion. "It's small good deeds that bring true happiness. Many think that extreme action needs to be taken to achieve world peace but it only leads to sadness and despair. The goal of The Seven Heavenly Virtues is to combat this dark ignorance!"
Smirking cutely, she darted toward the meteorite and stopped at a pub.
"But enough about cute kittens and the ultimate evil, I wonder if these people have truly seen Lian!"
Flipping her hair and skipping into the pub, M held her hand up and shouted so that practically every person there could hear her.
"Have any of you seen a purple eyed man stop through town? He literally has one purple eye and a huge scar on his face. Oh, and he wears tons of jewelry. Has anyone seen someone like that?"
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Post by Hitotsumami on Nov 4, 2013 22:23:53 GMT -5
Arx joined M as they wandered through the town as they finally entered into a nearby pub. While M called out loud enough for everyone to hear, Arx decided to take the quieter route. He eased his way through the pub, reaching the bartender, and calmly asked, "Sir, have you heard of a man named Lian? Oh, I'm sure you have. He's one of the most wanted men in the world. Do you know if he resides in this town?"
Of course, Arx's size may have made it difficult to remain discreet.
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Post by Mise™ on Nov 5, 2013 11:29:36 GMT -5
The pub the two Virtues had entered was quite a lively and noisy place, known as Star's End, and a lot locals had gathered there. It would sound like a good place to look for information. Though good leads on a wanted criminal, like Lian, might not be the easiest to come across. Arx's method of just straight out asking about Lian yielded various answers: most common them was the same rumor that he had already heard of Lian being here in this town or some variation of it. Others just pointed at the wanted poster on the wall and asked why is Arx searching for such a man. The Lian on the wanted poster did not really look anything like Lian really did. Neither did Arx's or M's posters look like them. One badly intoxicated man even told Arx that he was Lian, but that was certainly a lie. Only potentially useful information came from a concerned man that mentioned that he had heard that Lian was going to destroy the meteorite in the center of the town. The locals thought the meteorite was sacred, a gift from God, and brought them good fortune. The rock was heavily guarded and under normal circumstances only priests and other holy people were allowed to get close to it. M's method of yelling about a purple eyed cyclops got different kinds of results. At first she got a lot of nasty stares, but no one really seemed to respond to her, but after a minute one young man came up to talk to her and said: "What business does such a beautiful lady have with me?" The young man certainly had the very unusual purple eyes or rather an eye as his left was covered with bandages, the opposite of Lian's. He was wearing a suit of armor and looked like a holy knight, a very fresh one at that. The man had orange messy hair and a confident smile on his face. "You ain't the one she's looking for, Ardyn. You still have your other eye. Only reason you wear those silly bandages is because you tripped and got hurt. And with your salary you ain't buying jewelry anytime soon." Spoke another man in armor, little further back from the table where Ardyn had originally came from. Around that table there were a couple of more more people in armor, Holy Knights and all of them looked very young and were probably just recruits. "S-shut up!" Ardyn replied sounding very flustered, though soon regained his composure and looked back at M. "Do you need any help, miss? I'm very reliable and willing to help." "No he is not. No one screws up as much as he does."
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Post by CJ on Nov 5, 2013 15:26:14 GMT -5
M smiled smugly at at the bar's occupants. It seemed she and Arx had done this sort of thing before and had gotten similar results.
But this time was a little different. For a moment, M though Ardyn really was Lian, but a second look proved her wrong. It had been a long time since she had seen Lian, but even she knew this guy wasn't him. Fortunately, people wouldn't completely recognize her or Arx either. Her wanted poster depicted a gorgeous woman, unlike the plain adventurer in the bar. Ignoring the "beautiful lady" comment, she crossed her arms and leaned on her own leg.
"Would you serve as a guide to this town? There are many attractions here that one could easily miss. Who are you, Ardyn? What do you do around here?"
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Post by Hitotsumami on Nov 7, 2013 10:46:24 GMT -5
Arx was disappointed that no one really knew or could give a solid answer. It seemed the best he could learn was that perhaps Lian was around the meteor, or involved in it in some way. This solidified his belief that they should certainly head there.
"It is a good thing I am a priest," said Arx with a small laugh. "I should be allowed to inspect this holy relic."
He then went back to see how M was progressing.
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Post by Mise™ on Nov 7, 2013 14:05:19 GMT -5
"Guide you?" Ardyn seemed quite surprised when he heard the girl's request, but soon regained his composure again and smiled and gave thumbs up to M. "Sure! A champion of justice like me is always willing to help a citizen in need! Especially a lady." If nothing else Ardyn was certainly very enthusiastic. "You'll soon wish you hadn't asked for his help."
"Keep your mouth shut!" Ardyn yelled at his comrade and then turned back towards M and said. "Please, ignore them. Let's go I'll give you the greatest tour of your life." After he had said this Ardyn walked towards the door. "Yes, my name is Ardyn and I'm a holy knight. I was stationed here in this town to protect it from a evil villain known as Lian who is hiding here somewhere and plotting evil schemes to terrorize the lovely citizens of his town! But I won't let that happen! So you won't need to worry!" The knight, very eagerly, explained and then asked from Arx, who had just appeared near him and the girl he was helping. "Who might you be, mister? Is he with you, miss? Oh and I didn't catch your name either." "Ardyn. I'm not going to bother questioning you about going against orders and leaving without permission again, but at least come pick up your damn spear." "I told you to shut up! Oh wait... My spear... Sorry. I'll be right back." Ardyn said and ran back to his table to grab his spear and then back ready to leave the bar behind, expecting M to either follow or be already outside. "He didn't even finish his meal or drink."
"Don't worry. I'll handle this."
---
Once outside Ardyn took a look around, looking a bit confused about what he really should be doing and where he should start this tour. Like he had stated earlier he wasn't from this town and really only had been here for about a week or so. It wasn't a huge town, but he still didn't know it as well as a local would. Also in case you hadn't noticed yet, Ardyn wasn't a very bright man.
"So um... Where should we start our great tour today?"
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Post by CJ on Nov 8, 2013 0:36:31 GMT -5
"You're here solely because of Lian?" M asked with sparkling eyes. "That's amazing! You must be incredible and strong to be able to combat the Spider's Virtue of Patience!"
She didn't seem to take the other man's warnings seriously. She was so enthralled with Ardyn that the possible danger didn't seem to matter, not even trying to conceal hers or Arx's identities.
"This is a dear friend, a priest if you will. And..."
Looking down on the ground, she paused and then pointed at herself. Her hand shook and she turned pale, as though even indirectly acknowledging her existence was distressing.
"Emmmmm... mmmmmm..."
Arx would recognize this as M's struggle to answer who she was. It was a mix of guilt, shame and ignorance. It was a rumor that M had willingly forgotten her own name, but only her fellow virtues would know this was actually true.
If Arx didn't say her name was "M," Ardyn would have to guess at it.
---
Tugging at her backpack, she grinned at Ardyn and shrugged.
"Start however you'd like! You could start at the meteorite or save it for last! What else might his town have besides the meteorite?"
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Post by Hitotsumami on Nov 12, 2013 11:59:35 GMT -5
"M!" said Arx in a jolly voice. "M is her name. And yes, I am a priest. Arx is my name. Arx the Turtle."
Arx was already outside, along with M and their new tourist guide, Ardyn. He wasn't sure what kind of connection this Ardyn had with their dear friend Lian, but if he could guide them to the Spider, he'd be very gratefully.
"Let's not tarry," said Arx, smiling. "Show us the way, Ardyn."
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Post by Mise™ on Nov 12, 2013 15:59:13 GMT -5
"Kind of... There's actually a lot of us Holy Knights here in this town and all of us are after this horrible villain Lian. However I have a feeling that it will be me who will capture him. It would only be fitting for a man like that to get captured by the Champion of Justice." Ardyn explained. It would seem like even the Holy Knights thought that Lian was here, they wouldn't had sent so many men here if they didn't expect to find the Spider's Virtue of Patience, Lian. Maybe it was not just a rumor? "Miss Emm, Father Arx, nice to meet you." It would appear that Ardyn was completely oblivious to the fact that these two shared their names and quite a bit else, with two of the members of the wanted Seven Heavenly Virtues. Luckily for them Ardyn wasn't very smart and did not catch on to this. "Okay let's go see the rock first." Ardyn said and then started to walk towards the center of the town, where the sacred meteorite resided. The streets of the town were busy, with people walking around, they seemed happy. Like Ardyn had said a few busy looking Holy Knights could be seen out there as well, most likely looking for and preparing to fight Lian. "The other places to see in this town are... Um... There is the church and the monastery as well. The monks are in charge of guarding the rocks... Then there's the smith who is apparently really good... and the barber too... I guess... Oh and the theater. Yes I've been there it's fun. I'm not sure if they have a play going on right now though." From Ardyn's explanation it would seem that there really wasn't anything special in this town, other than the meteorite of course. "If you got any more questions just go ahead and ask. Oh... Also, you are here looking for your friend right? The one that looks like me." --- The town wasn't very large, it only took a few minutes to the group to reach the center and the heavenly meteorite. Once they got closer to it they could see a wall and a moat built around it, like defenses built to protect a castle. Aside for doing some crazy acrobatics the only entryway was a gate behind a, currently lowered, drawbridge that was guarded by three very scary looking monks. Despite wearing loose clothing, fitting for their vocations, it was easy to tell that these monks were very big and muscular and one of them was even carrying an axe. If one were to look closely on top of the wall they might be able to spot a few more monks that were just as intimidating as these three. A bit further away from the wall and the meteorite could be seen a large building that looked like the monastery that Ardyn had mentioned earlier on, with all the religious decorations and a few, less scary, monks standing outside. "Well... This is the holy rock of Stardust. I'm sorry, but I can't get you any closer, miss Emm. Only holy people are allowed to enter and apparently my holiness isn't enough, for some reason. I've tried. They might let you in though, father Arx. Just go ask those monks by the gate if you want to try. They will ask you to prove your holiness and if you pass you can get in, or so I've heard."
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Post by CJ on Nov 13, 2013 0:27:38 GMT -5
"Oh yes, the goal is to find him. His image is hard to recall but he looks very similar to you."
M looked with glee upon the wall and moat as though she had planned to do some crazy acrobatics around them. Her humble smile was strangely radiant in her excitement and wonder over the spectacle.
"Arx, perhaps you should do what dear Ardyn says and try to get in to see the meteorite! The mission is counting on you!"
As the holy man would make his decision, M turned to Ardyn and rocked back on forth on her feet, making the mask dangling off her backpack swing to and fro.
"Ardyn, why do the monks think this meteorite is holy? Why would anyone think it's holy? This question is not meant to be critical or demeaning, but is rather said out of curiosity."
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Post by Hitotsumami on Nov 14, 2013 12:56:50 GMT -5
Arx walked behind Ardyn as he lead them through the town, pointing out all the notable locations. He also kept silent, just a small smile on his face, his eyes closed.
Finally, they reached the meteor, the main attraction. Arx looked up at the huge meteor, surprised it didn't totally flatten the landscape when it hit. When Ardyn mentioned that he might have a chance to get past the monks, he nodded.
"Yes, I think I will try to gain admittance. Thank you for your guidance, Ardyn. M, good luck to you. I shall call if... I need assistance. Haha."
Arx walked up to the monks, and although they looked threatening, Arx was at least a foot or two taller than them, so he looked down at them with a calm small smile.
"Good afternoon, my fellow spiritual warriors. I am Arx, the highest bishop in all of Brittania, counselor to the King himself. I'd like to examine this... holy Stardust a bit closer, if you wouldn't mind."
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Post by Mise™ on Nov 15, 2013 16:00:44 GMT -5
"Maybe this friends of yours is related to me." Ardyn suggested though he couldn't think of anyone of his family that could be mistaken for him like that. Mostly because everyone had two eyes. "Good luck. We'll see you soon Father Arx." After Arx had left the two to try his luck with the monks and the gate M asked the knight about why the rock was worshipped. "Ehhh....." Ardyn knew the answer to this question; someone had told him that when he first arrived here, but now that he had been put on the spot he just couldn't recall it. His mind just kept drawing a blank. "It had something to do with the people who founded this town." Luckily one of the not-scary monks nearby overheard their conversation and decided to help Ardyn out. "You want to know why we worship the fallen star, young lady? Let me tell you. Among the settlers that founded this town was a monk, brother Gis, who also built our monastery. When they were looking for a place to set up a town brother Gis saw the crater and the fallen star in the middle of it and said: "God has pointed us the place. This is where we should settle." And so to they did. The rock is a gift from heavens, the heart of the town, it protects it and it's people." "Oh yes... That's how it was. Thank you, sir." Ardyn thanked the monk. He still looked a bit embarrassed due to forgetting all this. "My pleasure. Anything else you would like to know?" The monk seemed to be willing to help them and now would be a good moment to ask something if M was going to wait for Arx as it might take a few minutes. And he would seem like more reliable source of information than Ardyn was. Meanwhile very nasty looking clouds were making their way towards the town of Stardust. It would probably start raining soon. --- As Arx asked the monks guarding the gate to let him see the heavenly rock and told them about himself the monks simply stared at each other for a moment. It was almost like they were communicating without actually talking. After a few seconds the oldest looking monk responded to him. "You are certainly a holy-man worthy to pass and see the fallen star. However the words you speak were not true." A short pause followed and then the elderly monk added: "You may go forward, but brother Oina will keep an eye on you." And so the gate opened for Arx and he was free to enter, but the large monk carrying an axe would be following him around while within the walls. There it was, the holy rock of Stardust, a majestic looking meteorite. From close one might have been able to tell that it was of some rather unusual mineral, something not normally found on earth. That would also explain why the monks had built such massive defenses around it; the rock was probably worth it's weight in gold and it weighted a lot. Whoever owned that would be one of the richest people in the world. Within the walls there were a few more monks paying their respects to the holy rock as well as two people dressed in similar outfits as Arx himself. They were priests. The older one of the two wore more decorated clothes, while the younger one had simpler set of priest wear. Arx would probably find the younger priest very interesting as he had a very terrifying scar across his face and only had one eye remaining and that eye was bright purple. Unlike Ardyn who only kind of distantly looked like Lian the younger priest looked exactly like Lian, he was literally identical. The way he acted and talked like was very different from the Virtue of Patience though. And Lian wasn't the type of person to become a priest. "So you will be leaving soon?" The older priest spoke to his younger colleague. "Yes. I thank you for everything you have done for me these last few years, but I must go my own way now." The Lian look-a-like responded. "I understand." After having been silent for a moment, brother Oina finally decided to speak to Arx. There had been something he had been wondering ever since they met and now decided to ask him about it: "Your name is Arx and you are a bishop. Are you the Arx, Virtue of Patience?"
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