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 Posted: Fri Nov 15, 2013 2:02 pm
image made by: jjpeabody
original image {x}
The Gardens
. . . . . . .
Here you can take a moment to sit back and relax in the luxury of well groomed nature. This is also the location of many parties and events since it's location is ideal for people of all nations. The gardens themselves are very large, so large in fact that one could spend an entire day here exploring all the various bugs and plant life collected from all over Semesta. So stop, and take some time to relax.
. . . . . . .
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Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2014 8:35 pm
Workers from Aria flooded the gardens hanging up decorations and setting up tables and chairs for the festivities that were to come in the nearing days. The princess was very clear in her orders that everything must be perfect. The theme for this year was to be a balance of light and darkness to honor the Ladies. Everywhere candles were placed, and lanterns were hung for Mali. Covering the tables and draped all around were dark hues of cloth for Maki. During the daylight, the place had a very formal and stern look about it, however under the moonlight, it appeared to be a mini galaxy.
One part of the Gardens was set aside for dancing, as it had a nice wide open area. A stand for an orchestra was set up over on this end, along with tables for appetizers and refreshments. On the other end, was the dining area. This had even more tables for food and drinks as well as an assortment of places to sit and enjoy yourself, perhaps to take a break from the celebration without leaving the friendly atmosphere. Lastly was an area that was down a small path. It had rows of benches that served as a quiet place for those who wished to escape the party for a little while to refresh themselves, or to be alone with a loved one.
In what seemed no time at all the workers were finished changing the space from a quiet Garden to an elegant escape for those who wished to come. Those from all over would be arriving over the next few days to take part in the celebration, including that of royalty. It would be a grand event.
{{For those who plan on attending, the celebration will be starting on the 20th (this Sunday) to match up with when the expedition reaches Kainat. As far as the duration, that will depend on you party goers, though no longer than a month in real time.}}
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TheUltimateGamemaster Crew
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Posted: Sat Apr 19, 2014 9:29 pm
 When Aysta arrived at the Garden, she was very pleased with how it turned out. It was absolutely perfect, and she knew this would reflect well on her. Her parents had also come, which meant the whole family was here. Or at least, all of the family that mattered to Aysta. Her adopted pest of a sister had run off to who knows where, but not that it mattered. That just meant more of the attention would be on her and that was the way she liked it.
As she entered the area, those that had arrived early began to turn their heads to stare. It was almost impossible not to look at the girl. She moved effortlessly, gliding over the ground as she normally did, but her attire added to this affect. Her dress was a light lilac that was decorated with white accents. Over the fabrics surface strategically placed, was thousands of tiny silver stones that reflected back light, but not obnoxiously, no, instead it gave her the appearance of a soft glow which was only enhanced by her fair hair. The dress itself was made of a light airy fabric that draped all around her and down her back to a small train. Her sleeves also started just after her shoulders and turned into long piece of fabric at her elbows at continued down to near the bottom of the dress. If people didn't recognize her as royalty from Aira, some might assume she was a star in human form, and she knew it.
She continued her walk around the garden to double check that everything was in it's place, while her parents moved on to greet some of the guests. The orchestra was already there and playing out some soft melodies as couples danced together. All the food was set out in both areas, and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. 'Perfect'. She smiled to herself and then left to go freshen up in the special area set aside specifically for royalty. Even though this party was all the nations coming together to celebrate and all ranks intermingled the entire time, this area was very much needed, because lots of people tended to use this as an opportunity to get their requests heard, and sometimes the higher ranking needed a place to escape the public a little, while still being in view. This area was heavily guarded, so not just anyone would be getting in.
As she moved past one of the guards she winked, which caught the man off guard and he struggled to hide his emotions. 'Oh yes. This party is going to be wonderful.'
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Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2014 1:37 pm
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Aiden shifted irritably under the tight leather breastplate he had been ordered to wear. Formal had been a requirement. Obviously, for someone who had spent three years of his life avoiding civilization, he had none. Even if he was only a mercenary present for security reasons, he had to look his best, his employer had insisted before shoving him into this constricting abomination bearing his employer's crest. He wanted his white coat back, dammit.
He looked around the lush vegetations of the gardens with a frown. He didn't know half of the plants in here, and hoped that no one would think if slipping any toxic plants into the garden. One could argue that he was a bit too paranoid, but he would claim that there were no such things especially seeing how scattered his 'colleagues' were. Though their task had been to protect an important figure of Vatran military, the majority of them, newly hired mercenary or personal guards alike, had been left to wander around when said important figure caught sight of a few voluptuous chests. The man had vanished faster than anyone could say 'casanova', leaving no instructions or directives for his guards. Aiden searched the gardens once, just out of principle since he was being paid for this, before giving up as well after seeing one too many lifted skirts in the bushes.
The dervish shouldn't complain though since this would allow him to do as he pleased so he could take care of personal businesses. His goal was to access the Hall of Records, but he had not yet found an opportunity to leave the gardens since there was a constant flux of newcomers blocking the exits so he did what most of the guards did, he stayed to the sides close to the section reserved for the aristocracy to observe the party-goers. He was keeping an eye out for any Mesan banners.
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Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2014 4:23 pm
 Kye entered the celebration trying to hide in the middle of her group. Her parents walked out in front, confident and casually made conversation as they went, acting like everyone was an old friend. She however wanted no part of this. All she wanted to do was just get through the celebration and return home.'Hey, it might not be so bad. I doubt the people here will want to talk anything political with you. This is a party after all. Try to have fun. You always take things so seriously.'Suddenly, Kye came to a complete stop, her escorts almost running into her at the change of pace. Was Sienna actually talking to her? No it couldn't be. Sienna wouldn't say something like that. She snapped out of her thoughts when she felt her shoulder being nudged, asking if everything was okay. Quickly she turned to the guard and nodded. "Yeah, sorry. Don't know what came over me." She smiled and kept going trying to act like the side of her that had been so distant. 'I swear Sienna, if you being gone is all some sort of trick then I will end you.' She knew the threat held no weight, as her other personality knew everything she did, and it was pretty clear she had no idea how to get rid of her, otherwise she would have done it a long time ago.
Sighing to herself, she made the decision to take her own advice and just try to enjoy herself. If she was going to be stuck here she might as well make the most of it. Maybe she would meet some world renown doctors and could pick their brain. That would make this all worth it. Now she was feeling a bit excited. Amazing how a few minutes could change a person's outlook on things. With a plan now in mind, she waved her guards away, allowing them to survey the area and do whatever they needed while she explored her new surroundings.
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Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2014 7:47 pm
Ryo walked into the fabled gardens of Dunia and almost immediately regretted his decision. There were ALOT of people milling about. When he'd read party on the poster he'd thought it was going to be a lighter affair with some food and entertainment. Still the place was breathtaking. Slipping by couples, families and dignitaries he sat down on one of the benches that had been provided for the occasion and looked around at the wondrous view.. Aria really had gone all out with the festivities this year. Lanterns floated in mid-air, lining the pathways and bathing the party-goers with light. The variety of flowers on display wouldn't be found anywhere else in any of the four nations, of that he was sure. Seeing people crowding up ahead he glanced up and noticed banners denoting the royalty of Mesa of the mist. Looking at the royal procession he noticed a blue haired girl waving guards away from herself. They seemed a little unsure but made no objections.
"She's pretty....Still she must be pretty important. I doubt she'll have anything to say to me."
Looking around the rest of the garden he spied someone that instantly had him on edge. Standing by one of the exits was the man who'd been chasing that thief in Pozar. Ryo reached up and rubbed the strap, he'd recently mended, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.
"What's that arrogant merc doing here?"
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Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2014 10:30 pm
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There were...a lot of people. More than Aiden had predicted and before long, the banner of Princess Sienna of Mesa floated into view. His attention immediately shifted to the woman. If the princess was around, then surely the rest of the nobles of Mesa would be near. His first thoughts were to approach the princess, but he had to remind himself that drawing too much attention upon himself was a terrible idea. His mother still wanted him dead or so he thought. It was best if he took an indirect approach and gathered some data on all the Mesan holding the position of Duchess.
The musicians had started performing a lively gavotte, inciting attendees to take to the dance floor. Aiden chose that moment to start towards a side entrance where he wouldn't be accosted as easily. He needed a discreet exit so he went for one that was slightly blocked from view by a curtain of budding vines. However, just as he rounded the corner, his eyes made contact with another. Having the attention of someone he was not talking to was not something Aiden enjoyed unless it was a look of acknowledgement. The way the brunet was practically glaring at him irked him and he glared back, eyes scanning the man to assess whether or not he was a threat. He paused slightly when his eyes landed on one of the straps the man was rubbing. It looked familiar, but Aiden was confident that he would never forget someone of great importance. It meant that whoever was glaring daggers at him was no immediate threat so he settled with raising a taunting eyebrow at the man from across the garden to gauge his reaction.
At most, Ryo could be another assassin. Though it was worrisome that Aiden had been recognized so quick, no assassin would be stupid enough to show their face twice before their target especially if they were about to make a move in such an important gathering. At least, not when alone.
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(OoC: If you guys don't have anything too intricate planned for the party, maybe we could throw in a few assassination attempts emotion_awesome We've got all the important peeps gathered in one place after all )
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Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2014 12:02 am
 Parties were always a lovely experience, especially when there was food.. Perhaps Ace would be able to find out more about these lands by attending this party, ultimately, this was her goal.....aside from the goal, she of course wanted to enjoy all the delicious snacks that there were to offer. What a glutton.
Seeing as formal attire was required, in a rare case, Ace was seen without her hat. Her normally messy hair was groomed and accented with a pair of chibi styled wing hair clips on the sides of her head, similar to the ones on her hat. Her green clothing was replaced by a long, golden Ball gown that had star linings of sorts on it, and the hardest part....was the fact that she had to walk in her silver high heels she hated to wear. If it was socially acceptable to wear boots under her dress, she would, but with how often she tripped her feet were clearly seen. At least for safety measures, Astro had granted the Golden clutch she had with her the same pocket dimension that her travel bag had....conveniently, her travel bag was stored inside of her clutch as well, keeping her belongings with her in case of anything sudden was always a good idea.
Adjusting the white wrist length gloves on her hands, Ace had finally arrived, scanning her surroundings to try and locate the snack table first...Seeing as she was pretty hungry. It didn't occur to her whether or not she had any gazes looking in her direction, she didn't really bother to get a super fancy, expensive dress or went out of her way to make sure she looked fabulous. Ace merely just wanted to make sure that she met the requirements for the party, that was all. Although, there were quite a few cute guys that she wouldn't mind if she did grab their attention.
"Oh wow.... The food looks delicious! Yum, what to try first...." Ace spoke to herself as she finally reached the refreshments. She just stood there for a good few moments simply trying to decide what she wanted to try first, everything looked so good, she was almost about to drool. If anything, all these snacks would probably be consumed by her gradually, and she might even forget to try to interact with others if no one approached her first.
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Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2014 2:12 am
Mizu walked into the gardens of Dunia with more than a little apprehension. Some of it was down to the fact that she was totally unarmed but it was mostly due to the fact that she was in a low cut, ankle length, crimson, silk cut dress. She definitely wasn't used to trying to look elegant, and the looks that alot of the men in the area were giving her was making her wish she'd just come in her regular attire. Still the man she'd fought just outside Pozar had said her target would be here. If she was going to have a shot at this she'd need to be sneaky about it.
Trying to blend in with the crowd she looked for a girl to talk to. It'd be nice to have someone who wasn't staring at her chest the whole time they spoke. Looking around she saw a couple of girls that might make good company. There was a beautiful girl, dressed in blue, a noble if she wasn't mistaken, who had just entered the gardens. Another girl was over by the buffet, stuffing her face. Mizu winced slightly at the speed she put food away. Sighing softly to herself she sat down on one of the benches beside a man who seemed to be paying very little attention to anything. He was staring intently at someone or something across the garden but Mizu couldn't see who or what it was from where she was sitting. Cradling her head in her hands she kept an eye out for the assassin, wishing she was somewhere else.
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Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2014 9:12 pm
Kye began to move her way through the crowd, though her plans, well, weren't exactly going to plan. It seemed that every few steps, someone would slither up out of the crowd to talk to her. Thankfully, as Sienna had suggested, no one wanted to deal with politics. Instead they were asking very superficial questions like if she had her eyes set on anyone yet, or wanting to discuss things such as her appearance. As much as she had tried to pick something relatively simple and possibly even dull so as to blend in and go under the radar, it seemed that it just wasn't going to slide. Her dress was just a plain simple blue dress that went all the way down to the floor. It had two thin straps that held it up and one small jewel on each where they attached. Sure the fabric was wrapped in it's own special way, but it certainly wasn't flashy. Still girls would compliment her saying silly things like, 'You make simple stunning', and then would continue on for a good five or so minutes before finally leaving her alone.
Sadly, that was just what being a figure head was about. People wanted you to like them and would say anything to kiss up to you and earn your favor. She would do anything for a conversation with actual substance at this point, but that didn't look like it would happen if she didn't move away from the horde of people. 'Maybe if I could just slip away for just a minute people would forget about my being here.' So with determination set in, she set course for outside the cluster and to the edges where maybe she could reassess the situation.
((ooc @Feiyimei go for it. It will definitely add some life to the party, that's for sure haha.))
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Posted: Thu Apr 24, 2014 6:58 am
The man stared back at him and eventually Ryo sighed and looked away. There was no point getting worked up over the guy, what's done is done. It was then that he noticed the girl sitting beside him. She was dressed in a silk crimson dress that matched the deep red of her hair. He looked down the dress and found himself turning the same shade as her attire. Straightening up instantly he looked at her face. She had her head in her hands and looked immensely bored, scanning the room for something or someone. She was kinda pretty, in a cute way, although he didn't think he could've said that to her face. Sighing softly he tried to get her attention.
"Um hey? You look a little lost. Are you ok?"
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Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2014 4:16 pm
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Aiden did not look away even as the mystery man nurturing a damaged strapped did so because the mercenary had slowly started recalling the inn patron that had had its room destroyed the night before. His eyes narrowed even more in suspicion. The case of missing weapon designs and prototypes had still not been solved. Perhaps it would be best to haul the man in for some questioning.
So focused he had been on the unfortunate bystander that Aiden missed a hooded figure lurking in the shadows of a tall building surrounding the crowded gardens. It circled around, leaping and climbing higher, and higher until it was around a block away and directly facing Aiden, Ryo and Mizu though the former had his back turned towards it. From their position, both Ryo and Mizu would be able to detect the man should they decide to let their gaze wander upwards and Ryo's tactical training would allow him to conclude that the figure had found the perfect vantage point to launch a ranged attack.
As if on cue, the hooded assailant pulled out a crossbow, but it was no ordinary crossbow as it looked much closer to a portable canon with its bulk and the numerous levers that were pulled before a shot was fired. The projectile shot out and began spinning. Before long, it was as though it was surrounded by a small twister that drilled right through the protective air barrier security had set around the gardens for the occasion. A sachet landed square in the middle of the dancing guests who only had time to look around in confusion before the sachet burst open, releasing an extremely volatile powder. The more the guests scattered about in confusion and panic, the more air current they created, facilitating the propagation of the powder. The left over currents of the twister only worsened the situation. Though not lethal, it was a paralyzing powder that would immobilize all who had breathed it in for at least half an hour.
That was not the end of it though. The attacker had fired a second shot with surprising reload speed as soon as his first projectile had landed. This shot was different though. It was a precision shot now that the barrier had been destroyed and was aimed at none other than the princess of Mesa. A single arrow coated with a poisonous toxin was shot in the princess' direction, its speed and accuracy enhanced by a powerful air current.
Meanwhile, masked men dressed in black had burst through the gardens' exits, sealing them from whoever were still capable of moving and started drawing their weapons on the guards and guests. Their mask appear to be shielding them from the powder which gave them quite an advantage on the soldiers guarding the party though those were not their priority. The assailants were aiming for the nobility, but were taking extra care to steer clear of those of Aria...
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(OoC: Been busy the past week, but ello. Hopefully this brick will make up for it ;P I'll be counting on you guys to play around with the NPCs too :> Or Aiden won't be getting any action DX Adding some life...I tend to overdo stuff. emotion_awesome )
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Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2014 5:28 pm
Kye was just exiting the crowd of the dance floor when suddenly those in the middle started screaming. She turned around startled, to see a big puff of what appeared to be powder, clouding up among the party goers which sent them running frantically in all directions. She didn't have but moments to take in what was happening before one of the scared guests plowed into her and knocked her to the ground while they continued to run. She had scraped up her arm in the fall, and grimaced as she held the wound before taking another look at the chaos around her. Men in black with masks had surrounded the area closing in the party and the cloud of powder was spreading quickly, as those from the affected area ran and brought it with them.
Putting two and two together, she figured it was probably some kind of toxic spore prepared for everyone here to breathe in, so she needed to find a way out of the area as soon as possible. As she moved to get up off the ground, she noticed an arrow stuck in the path right next to her and felt her insides go cold. Whoever these people were, they had been aiming for her, and possibly other nobility here at the party. 'If that person hadn't knocked me out of the way... No, she wouldn't let herself focus on the what-ifs. The only reason she probably hadn't been shot at again was because she was obscured by the crowd that was standing. She was safest on the ground, but she also couldn't stay where she was. Peaking between the running legs around her she hoped to find a pond or even a drink stand near by, something she knew how to use to defend herself. Weapons were out of the question, she had no idea how to fight with those, but water? She was great with that. Maybe not for fighting, but it was something.
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Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2014 6:16 pm
Aysta had certainly taken her time to clean up again for the party. After all, it had just started, so she would have plenty of time to spend among everyone and she wanted to make sure that she looked her best when she did. So when her guards suddenly moved in on her and started pulling her out of the area, she was a little more than upset. "What do you think you're doin-" But she didn't finish her outburst before hearing the screams of the people off in the other area."Princess, we have to go!" The one in charge ordered as they continued to try to remove her. Sadly for them, that was not going to be the case. "Like hell you will! This is my party, and whatever is going on out there I'm going to put a stop to. No one is going to ruin this for me." At the end of her 'speech', the air around her had started to move faster, pushing her guards away from her body. There was really nothing they could do to stop her now.
Aysta turned on her heel and stormed out of the area she'd been occupying to find the place in chaos. Something resembling smoke was bellowing out from the center of the dance floor. Armed men in masks had surrounded the place, and all the guests were running and screaming. Her annoyance levels were now peaking to an all time high as she watched all her hard work and planning get torn to shreds. No, she would not stand by and watch this spectacle. She was going to take action. First thing on the list was to remove the dust coming closer to her. She didn't know what it was, but it was already getting all over everyone and everything, and the last thing it was going to do was get on her.
Using the energy from her anger, she she built up the air around her until it was as dense as she could make it. Once satisfied, she released it in the direction of the party, creating a giant gust of wind that violently moved across the area, pushing all the particles past the men in black and outside the boundaries of the garden. She knew that kind of display was going to draw attention from the attackers, but that's exactly what she wanted. She was going to destroy whoever was ruining this for her.
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