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 Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 6:50 pm
((The mask is made of purple-dyed cloth covering his mouth and nose. She's not fighting him because of that? xp And Jikrae will only listen to your laws when you earn his respect. The foxglove-growing helped, but it didn't quite get Amelia to that level. If your guards tried to stop Jikrae at this point...well, he'd probably just toss them aside. Hitting him probably would have helped that respect thing. If he thinks his allies fear him, he will give them a reason to fear him, because he despises cowardice. Don't worry though, his personality is intentionally complicated, and it would be a miracle if you didn't insult him at some point or another. It's not a big deal unless he thinks you're doing it on purpose. xd ))
The lightning in Jikrae's eyes stopped momentarily when Amelia scolded him, an intentional action that left only two glossy orbs remaining in their places, both pure white. She had yelled at him, reprimanded him for blatantly ignoring her rules. The glass-like eyes revealed nothing, and the smile cracking below his purple cloth mask could not be seen. Nevertheless...
...this one was brave. Foolish, perhaps, but certainly not a coward. With military might, she might become powerful. When the lightning resumed in his eyes a few seconds later, the bolts were their normal length, the longest of them reaching one foot long. The creature from earlier was forgotten for a short moment.
He was about to answer Amelia when Roet interrupted him. The length of the bolts doubled as a small spike of anger erupted in him, triggered by Roet cutting off his speech. Nevertheless, he listened, and at the end of Roet's short, curt question, Jikrae was perplexed. He had been to the Library on numerous occasions over the past fifty years, mainly to learn about mining and metallurgy, and he knew what True Ore was.
Apparently Roet did not.
"I have mines, yes," Jikrae made no attempt to hide the annoyance triggered by Roet's words, as it was a minor emotion, "but I do not believe that True Ore can be mined in the traditional sense. True Ore is created by superheating metals to the point where it literally becomes cool to the touch while still being red-hot.
"So no, I do not have True Ore. I have the ability to heat metals to that temperature, I suppose, but I have no True Ore to contain the substance. True Ore can only be held in containers made of cooled True Ore, and as far as I know, only the Craftsman has such things."
Jikrae didn't have to say what he did next. It was, perhaps, a foolish thing to do, but knowing that Roet couldn't possibly muster an army large enough to breach Jikrae's Kingdom this early in the world, he saw no immediate harm in doing so.
"There are very few reasons I can think of for wanting True Ore, and only one I can think of that warrants such desperation in an Exile. If you plan to use the Ore to create weapons, and you should be wary of starting a War. The Exiles are more than a little paranoid, knowing that War is what destroyed the last world. Beginning such an event would likely bring the retribution of most of us, myself included, down upon you."
Jikrae was clearly staring at Roet, the lightning in his eyes slowly descending back to its regular length as he unstrapped the haversack from his shoulders. He knelt down, set the sack on the ground, untied the complex leather knot with a single tug, and opened it.
His head finally moved back to Amelia, watching her carefully as he produced an iron dagger with a curved blade and a rounded and polished iron handle as well. The entire item fell one inch short of one foot long.
"An iron dagger. This item, as I'm sure you know, is capable of breaking through your wooden weapons like the twigs they are. I mean no offense, Lady Amelia, but I merely wish to impress one of the weaknesses of your Kingdom's military. Armor can be made of this that can withstand direct strikes from the stone tips of many of your weapons, giving you added protection.
"Additionally, metal is cleaner as cutlery than bone and stone and wood. Using it and cleaning the instruments often will almost certainly reduce the amount of sickness in your Kingdom, Lady Amelia. Pardon my being so blunt, but are you interested in acquiring such items?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2007 5:50 am
(I have no need of Iron ore! Edit my posts will you... and yes, Roet knows this. He just encountered the same problem that you did...)
Roet sighed. He thought that perhaps someone so close to the mountains would have gotten some in the recent past. He looked up, "No, I would not be creating a weapon. Where you would have a knife, I would have a shield. I plan to defend my people when the war comes. We will attack only in defense. I had only hoped... nevermind." Roet look back to Amelia, "I'll be off then."
And he was gone. He ran back through Laeray towards Sahia. None of the guards saw him unless you were to count the sand and dirt that flew up at his feet...
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Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2007 7:32 am
(( stare She'll probably hit you over the head with the stick. Besides that, does he really think they use wood for weapons? Maybe Amelia but... >>))
Amelia half-listened to the conversation once again. It seemed as though Jikrae didn't care too much of her rules, neither did Roet, and she was sure that if any other exile were to come by to say hello, they would ignore them as well. She silently sighed, just what were these people like? In any case, as she was half-listening, she heard something interesting.
True ore? She wondered, not showing any sign that she was thinking. Just what was True Ore? It sounded very valuable although it seemed that the Craftsman would only have it. Perhaps her bracelet, which the Craftsman had given to her almost fifty years ago, was made out of True Ore. It was likely, but she doubted it, at least for the moment.
It was then that she glanced towards Roet as he sped off back to his kingdom. It seemed as though her kingdom was the meeting point for all three. It would be a shame if Ember came here as well. She thought for a moment of her trees dieing and she remembered she had promised to visit Ember.
In any case, she sighed and looked to Jikrae who had pulled out an iron dagger. Certainly, she had only seen those weapons one or two times before while exploring the world when she was bored. Then again, that was before she was growing trees everyday.
She watched it with mild interest when he started to point out the positive aspects of it. It was true, breaking through a staff like her's would be easy if it was thrown hard enough and at the correct point of the staff. He had also stated it would help with the sickness. People did end up getting sick alot, it was completely true. Only by the help of the herbs she had grown that they had managed to make medicine for the sickness. He then asked her if she would like items such as those and knew that he would want something in return. Perhaps this was the forming of a trade route?
She sighed and thought about it for a moment. It would certainly benefit Laeray and would get rid of most common sickness associated with food. yet she knew he wanted something in return, no doubt, and it depended on what.
"Okay," She paused for a moment, "One. Don't call me 'Lady Amelia'. My name's Amelia and I don't need a title. Two. What would you like in return?" Here she smiled, hoping that her request would be taken and that this would all work out.
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Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2007 12:41 pm
((I figured that Roet knew that, but if it's not painfully obvious by now, Jikrae can be a bit of a condescending a*****e. I type as though I am Jikrae (albeit in third-person, past-tense), and the way he heard Roet talk, he assumed that Roet had no clue what he was talking about.
And did someone edit your posts, Fencer? Or were you asking us to edit your post...? I'm confoozled.))
Jikrae watched Roet leave quickly, clearly embarrassed by the fact that he had asked such a question. Jikrae didn't think that the tone of his response could have had anything to do with it, and so he didn't dwell on it. If Roet were smart, he would use the Amulets the Exiles had gotten at the last Stone Council, call the Craftsman, and request a container made of True Ore.
One thing, however, bothered Jikrae. Where you would have a knife, I would have a shield. Jikrae had no intention of starting a war, but what must it have looked like, his Kingdom containing enough weapons to arm his people three times over? He had the Wall to signify his defensive stance, yes, but...maybe he needed to concentrate more on diplomacy before other Exiles began to consider him a threat.
His attention was drawn back to Amelia as she began to speak her response. A smile spread behind his mask as she once again demanded that he stop using so many formalities. Fifty years ago, she had asked that he stop bowing to her. Now she was telling him to call her only by her name. She was humble. That was good.
The smile grew wider when she asked him what he would want. It would take a fool to assume that these items Jikrae was offering would be gifts, but it took initiative to speak Jikrae's intentions out loud before he had a chance to voice them himself. That was better than being humble.
"My apologies, Amelia, I merely hoped not to insult you," he lied. "I want several things in return," he responded, "but many of them will work for both of us, rather than just me or you. First, the main trade would be between this iron and a kind of fabric that you have, that I believe you call silk.
"I would also extend an offer to train any members of your Kingdom in the art of fighting, military, and war. I do this only under the promise that you will not use those abilities against any other Exile unless they attack you first, and because I do not consider you to be an evil individual who is prone to starting campaigns of global conquest. Nevertheless, this will help in protecting you from anyone who declares war on you, and I would ask nothing in return for it.
"I also happen to have a fighter in my Kingdom who has managed to best every opponent sent at him in small fights we have set up. I am not sure if you have any fighters, but I wish to demonstrate to him that he is not the greatest Warrior on this planet, and that there must be someone in this world capable of defeating him. If you do have a fighter who you would like to pit against this man, it would be a simple, clean sparring match. No fatalities, and at the very most an unconscious loser who will wake up with a bad headache."
"Lastly, I would like to begin construction on a road leading between out Kingdoms. Living in a mountain, I have an incredible supply of granite and rock, and I could build it, though considering the distance, it could take several generations. I would just prefer not to anger you by creating such a thing in your Nation without your permission."
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Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 7:00 am
Amelia listened to his demands for the trade. It all seemed rather fair. They would build a road between the kingdoms to make the trading easier for the humans, although it would take some time. She doubted very long because soon people would be moving more northern and that would cut the distance greatly. Although, there were still a few things Amelia needed to check out on before they could move there.
They would trade iron and silk, although she wondered whether the iron had been already processed into something they could use easily. She certainly was going to have the silk processed for them. Where they got it from was a plant, and to take that and turn it into something usable for clothing, she doubted that Jikrae's people could do that.
Then he would have few of his people come and train her's. She smiled at this, it was as if he was underestimating her, yet it appeared as a normal smile. She had been training them for the past few decades. Once the entire village had been set up and everything was going smoothly, she had added the arena. To have his people come and train her's would be somewhat useless, yet useful at the same time. Although, the best part about this, was that he wasn't giving her a title anymore.
She continued to smile, her decision pretty much clear. "Well, it all seems fine. Although you wouldn't have to build the road all the way to here. Within the next few days, people will be moving more northern and starting a village almost near the edge of the forest." By 'edge of the forest' she meant they would be close to it, but not right on the edge, perhaps a kilometer or two still into the forest.
"And it would be great if some people were to come. All I can say is that my warriors are pretty much useless." She glanced over to two men who were standing there gawking at Jikrae. If she wasn't talking about something important, she would have picked up two stones and threw them at their heads, followed by rolling her eyes. One of them noticed her gaze and dragged the other one off to work. "I would also like to see this warrior of your's. He could teach these buffoons a lesson." She smiled mockingly now, "Although, by every opponent, does that include you?" She would guess that he, if he did fight against him, would be using limits that are associated with humans. He wouldn't be using any supernatural strength.
She paused for a moment before continuing on. "Yet, I have one question. Will the ore be processed or not? The silk will have been made into a form in which your people can use easily without having to go through the process of turning the silk into balls of string." She ended it abruptly there. Without finishing off as she usually would. Her smile was half there, half not. She needed to know this last piece of information or else she would have to head to the library to do research. She hadn't been inside at all after coming to the world, not even to research this amplifier she had on. Which she might do, whether Jikrae was to process the ore or not.
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Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 8:14 am
(Gack, crappy post coming up.))
Jikrae did not miss the smile that came just before Amelia spoke, and while he wasn't quite sure what it meant, he knew that something about what he said had to have interested her in some way.
He listened carefully as she told him that they would be moving their Kingdom far to the North, shortening the distance that the road would have to be built. That was good. He would have had to cut a path through a large portion of the forest in order to lay down the stone and granite, and that would speed the process up and lead to less destruction of the forest that Laeray was situated in. He nodded as she finished telling him of the likely migration.
And then she asked the question Jikrae had hoped she wouldn't. She had accepted his offer to bring Maikau, his warrior, to her Kingdom and fight her Warriors, but she couldn't refrain from asking one of the few questions that Jikrae did not want to answer. She inquired as to whether or not Maikau had beaten Jikrae in battle.
When Amelia paused between that subject and her question about processing the ore and silk, Jikrae nodded and replied curtly, "Yes, he did defeat me."
Jikrae had, thankfully, been expecting the next question and he was prepared for it. As Amelia spoke of how the silk would be made into balls of thread, Jikrae knelt back down next to his haversack, reached in, and rose back up with a straight-edged bar of iron. It was not very large, about the size of Amelia's lower arm, but it was enough to demonstrate how Jikrae's people would form the raw ore into malleable objects.
"These will be delivered in four sets. The first three are going to be rectangular bars, one small for forging dining implements or small tools, the second larger, meant for small sidearms like daggers, and the third much larger, meant to create swords, halberds, and spears.
"The pieces of the fourth set are literally going to be blocks of iron. I will bring my most skilled Blacksmith down here when I return with my Warrior, along with the first shipment of iron, and show you how to create objects with the iron bars, but these blocks will be used to create larger weapons, like the axe," he patted the large weapon latched to his belt, "and other large items."
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Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 8:30 am
Amelia ran though his response to her question. She was rather surprised that he would answer to something like that. In fact, she didn't think he would have answered it. In any case, she kept smiling. This person, this human, was quite interesting. She would have to see how they fared against the 'Champion' and perhaps even herself.
She then listened to his explanation of the sets of iron that would be coming. Some small, some larger, and some huge. She eyed the iron bar he had pulled out. It definitely seemed that it could be made into different things. He then mentioned bringing his most skilled Blacksmith. For a moment, she could help but smiling sheepishly. He didn't really have to. Although she bet that there was another skilled Blacksmith in his kingdom. In any case, she was glad that a trade route was being set up.
She smiled, not really sure how to respond. He was doing so much, and yet all she could offer would be silk. "You're doing so much." She finally stated, "If you would like something else, you can ask." She had to reply to this bluntly. To train her warriors, bring a Blacksmith and his best warrior down, as well as create a road. The scale was just too off. She was sure that there had to be something else.
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Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 10:45 am
((I'd be interested in seeing Maikau fight Amelia. Amelia's probably a better fighter than Jikrae, so it might be an even(ish) match. What about a sparring match between Jikrae and Amelia?
Perhaps not unexpectedly, there's another crappy post coming up. Headache.))
Jikrae did have a few things in-mind, but in general, he was doing all these things in order to help Amelia's people. He didn't trust Ember, to any extend, and he fully expected the Exile of Fire to attempt to destroy Amelia's Kingdom --the one that seemed most vulnerable to fire-- and Jikrae didn't think that the World could afford to let something like that happen.
Still, he was interested in acquiring more flora from Amelia's Kingdom. He didn't expect that the War would take very long to begin, and he wanted to gain as much of an advantage as possible. That included figuring out how to streamline work in his Kingdom, designing more powerful weapons, and giving Maikau as many poisonous substances as he could find.
"You underestimate my generosity, Amelia, but you are right. There is one more thing that I would wish, simple as it may be. Being defeated by a Human was a humbling experience, despite the fact that I limited my strength during the fight. Perhaps it is only to see if all Humans are like my Warrior and if all Exiles are like me, but I would like to challenge you, along with your best fighter, to separate fight. I will limit my strength against the Human, and against you if you wish."
Jikrae had a motive for asking that favor, but he manipulated the tone in his voice to make it sound as though he was asking to fight in order to heal his bruised ego. There were problems with trying that tactic, not the least of which was Amelia asking her fighter to throw the fight on purpose. Jikrae needed to know how strong Amelia was, and how strong her best fighter was, and couldn't afford to be tricked.
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Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 11:01 am
((Perhaps. Although she'll probably jump in without warning.))
Amelia listened to him ramble on for a moment about something completely off topic until she realized what he wanted was a fight. Certainly she could give one to him. Although, her best fighter? Somehow, she didn't trust that the 'Champion' would be suited. She thought it would go to his head, yet, he was the most skilled.
The fact that he wanted to fight against her when he could have asked for something like herbs or otherwise only meant that he was seeing how strong they were. It would be interesting with Jikrae and her fight, that was for sure, and she would like to try and fight against his warrior, although she wondered whether his would be kind to females. She hoped not. If so, she might as well refuse. Yet, she honestly couldn't. Not after what he was offering to do for her.
With a slight sigh and a shrug, she smiled, "I'm not too sure how well of a fight my warrior could put up, but it certainly would be interesting. As well, I'd like to see how I can fair agianst your's. And of course, our match." She paused for a moment. "Well, if so, we'd have to set ground rules. I think that having limits of our own would be best. That way we don't end up going over board. As well, I have wooden weapons for such fights." She smiled more happily, as if she wanted the fight to be right now. "Any time would be good."
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Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 11:51 am
"All the wooden weapons that I have tried to use break under my strength when I swing them against a solid surface, and so I have trained myself to use my fists and very heavy weapons. Seeing as how this axe might be a little inappropriate for a friendly sparring match, I'll use my fists."
Jikrae was aware that wearing his armor would seal his fate, for it would keep him tied to the ground with its incredible weight. Furthermore, the spikes on it could maim Amelia if Jikrae struck her, and so it seemed obvious that such garments would not be allowed.
He unlatched his cuirass and pouldrons, setting them gently on the ground. He was wearing a green-dyed cloth shirt beneath that, an appearance that was drastically different than his regular, intimidating armor. He removed his greaves and boots next, showing a pair of tanned leather pants that were loose around his ankles, allowing him freedom of movement. His feet were bare, revealing skin the color of a moonless night sky.
He let his gauntlets fall to the floor, revealing hands the same color as his feet, and he undid the clasp that held the axe to his belt, setting the weapon on the ground carefully. The last thing he took off was his mask, revealing lips even blacker than his skin, with razor-sharp teeth behind them that looked like they were caked with ash. His nostrils were two vertical slits cut into his face above his mouth. The mask floated to the ground before he spoke again, revealing a tongue that seemed even darker than his teeth and skin.
"Let us fight, then. You have the first strike, Amelia."
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Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 12:23 pm
It was easy to say that Amelia was not expecting to fight in the middle of town. She was going to lead him over to the arena where it was more suited to fighting, not the middle of the road where they could probably injure someone. She sighed and scratched the back of her head as he took his armor off.
He definitely looked different with the armor off, as well, somewhat scary. In any case, as he offered to let her have the first strike, she sighed again. "You know, we could have gone over to the arena." She pointed to the left where there was a pit along with a few people standing by it. It seemed word of another exile brought few fighters to the arena.
She glanced back to Jikrae, wondering if he felt somewhat silly. She certainly would, but she wouldn't hold it against him. With a small smile, she walked over to the pit and jumped in, along with her staff. Unlike Jikrae, she needed a weapon. She glanced back to the top of the pit as the 'Champion' came to the arena to watch.
"You don't mind if I use my stick? Do you?" She called back up to Jikrae as she gave a short stretch and waited. "Oh yes, same limits as humans?" She added afterwards.
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Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 8:54 pm
Jikrae hadn't noticed the Arena. Or rather, he hadn't realized exactly what it was. To him, it looked more like a geographical anomaly than a man-made place. Jikrae followed her slowly to the Arena, noting that many of the people had moved closer so as to watch the impending fight. He didn't know who the Champion was, but Jikrae assumed that he -- or she, Jikrae reminded himself -- was watching the fight carefully.
"Feel free to use any weapon you have, Milady," he taunted patronizingly. His intention was to be slightly insulting, in order to get her angry enough that she wouldn't hold back. And though he didn't like the idea, he would have to be condescending in order to do that. "You'll still have a hard time winning this fight. Do not hold anything back, as I want no limitations in this fight. While both of us could probably hurt the other, I do not think that either of us have the capacity to seriously maim or kill the other unless we truly want to."
He hopped down into the pit, and said one last thing before preparing himself for the fight. His hands were still sitting at his side lazily, but his ankles both pivoted inward, crossing each other at a right angle to help his balance.
"First strike, Lady Amelia."
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Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 6:22 am
Amelia was rather annoyed at his tone of voice he was using. It was as if he had already won, or something of the sort. Then he went back to giving her a title. At this, she mentally sighed. What was he trying to do? The only thing he said that was of importance was that he was going all out. Although, should they aim to kill each other? She smirked, if there was no limitations, her people could see how easy she went on the 'Champion'.
Amelia glanced over to the top of the arena and spotted the medic. He looked a little nervous and she looked back to Jikrae as he told her to have the first strike. The first strike again? She gave a less-than-amused look to Jikrae as she leveled the staff. She held it diagonal and sighed. "No limits, correct?" She smiled here and didn't leave time for him to reply.
Within the moment she had finished, she had dashed off straight at Jikrae. Her staff had been pulled back to her side and she slowed down as she came right up to Jikrae and bent down, coming under his arms. She brought the staff around to her hands and went to strike at his torso.
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Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 6:51 am
Jidroshei Vendrosek Amelia just barely missed her first strike, for Jikrae had underestimated the ferocity of her initial attack. He had a feeling that she was still holding back, even if only slightly. He had expected a weak first attack, not a swift lunge. Clearly Amelia had every intention of using all her abilities in this battle.
"Correct," was the only word that Jikrae uttered as he hopped into the air, vaulting high above Amelia. He landed softly a few meters away, his hands still hanging limply at his side; he had to make absolutely sure that Amelia fought at her best, and that meant making her feel as though Jikrae thought she was beneath him.
"But we probably shouldn't use our abilities as Exiles. I don't think using mine would be safe for your people. Or your forest. Or you.
"I'll give you the second strike as well, Lady Amelia," he said this with a quick, flourishing bow. "Try not to miss." Vendrosek Jidroshei
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Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 6:59 am
Amelia had noticed Jikrae jumped off into the air and was rather annoyed as she spun around to face him. What was he trying to do, fight, or play? It was certainly irritating when he spojke of how much more poerful he was over herself. How could he know that anyways? Did he just automatically think that he was? Then he bowed. She wasn't having any fun at all.
Without a second thought, she wished he would come and attack her. That would make everything better. She gripped her staff hard and came forwards again, meaning to do the same as before. Only this time, if he tried to jumped away, she could lunge in any direction and hit him by pushing off her feet. This time she would hit him, for sure.
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