Artemesia Family/Garret

The Call of the Balance

Roleplay from Garret Artemesia (2 hours, 57 minutes ago) January 4, 2009 Message sent to everyone in the region Huanghai (7 recipients)

A stirring in the brush made the horses start. The two riders were already wary of monster attacks, and immediately drew their weapons, but only a middle-aged woman donned in a tattered brown cloak stepped forward from the brush.

"You." Said Garret.

The woman inclined her head to look Garret in the eyes. "Galahad, how are you faring in these lands?"

"I'm getting rather impatient at playing the smoke without a fire to be honest," replied Garret.

She smiled. "Yes, pateience, Galahad. The whispers take time to create a symphony. But ironically, the time is moving ever steadily towards the balance."

Captain Dietmund looked confused. "Sir Garret, what is going--" He was cut off by Garret's raised hand.

"Dietmund, scout on ahead. I will rejoin you in a while."

The captain nodded his acceptance of the noble's orders, and rode forward.

"Now, Asara, or Cielle, or Bai Yan, whatever you call yourself nowadays, what are you talking to me for? If this has anything to do with what I think--"

"It does." Replied the woman.

Garret laughed. "So then ask that hermit to do whatever you're asking me to do. It should be enough that I have been the drums from the west taht announce not the army approaching from the east."

"You do like your nonpoetic metaphors, do you not, young Galahad?" The woman said this less like a question and more as a statement.

Garret shrugged.

The woman continued, "You agreed to the Trial by Swords when you entered the Alley of Swords. You know that you cannot renege on your contract. As such, when the call of the Balance rises beyond the twilight, where neither the Stars nor the Darkness is most powerful, you agreed to volunteer as a faithful agent."

"So...I did...What of it? Do you want me to turn my back to the Bloodstars? To wage war against the light as well as the dark?" Garret angrily growled at the woman.

She did not react any differently, save for the all-knowing smile. "We are not asking you to be antagonistic. The way that this conflict must be resolved is through harmony."

"I think that a rather difficult proposition to ask of people when it comes to politics."

"Galahad, whatever made you think the Balance concerned itself with the workings of mortal men? If you truly believe we came to you today for the limited and insignificant workings of your human endeavors, then we must question how you managed to pass through the test of the Alley."

Garret stared intently at the woman. "I don't think any of this concerns me. I'm just another man, like you and the hermit said so clearly to me the first time I stepped into your...place of worship. I think the exact words were, 'You are man, made of flesh and thought. Many have walked before you on this path; many beyond you will walk this path.' And so, you can find someone else to do whatever you want. I have some monster hunting to do soon."

"Galahad, unassuming, nondescript, average, nothing special. The exceptional are found at the extremes. Do you see where this is going?"

"I see, woman, or...whatever you are."

The woman continued, "The time of the past rulers is nearing. West, and towards the east. What do you humans call them? Daimons, dragons, giants? We are rather ignorant of your terms, for we have had different names for our ancient contemporaries."

Garret continued nodding absently, "Yes, yes. But what has it got to do with me?"

She smiled. The sounds of a few Warders could be heard approaching, and Garret turned his head to see that some of their banners were visible over the plains. When he turned around, she was gone.

Roleplay from Garret Artemesia (just sent) January 4, 2009 Message sent to everyone in the region Caiyun (1 recipients)

"Here, as well?" yelled a disbelieving Garret, in a small corner of the busy Caiyun town.

She smiled. "You were not present at the battle in Shomrak."

Garret brushed past her angrily. "I had one man, Dietmund, and no gold. There was no reason to go on a meaningless sacrifice."

She continued to smile. "Perhaps you are beginning to understand what it is the Balance asks of you."

Garret did not look back. He just continued walking towards the town center.

"Galahad, of legend you were the unstoppable knight, whose abilities trumped his father, the former legend of his time. Are you worth your name?"

When Garret finally turned back, there was no one there.

Roleplay from Garret Artemesia (13 minutes ago) January 5, 2009 Message sent to everyone in the region Zhongyuan (1 recipients)

"Light ascends and darkness is quelled by the three small lights whose glow shines forth." The familiar soft voice of a woman made Garret turn his head, while still riding towards Donghai.

"You!" Cried Garret, visibly surprised. "How--Why, why do you keep following me?"

The middle-aged woman in dull travel cloak smiled, "Galahad, you know the answer. Though the light seems to be the victor for you men of flesh, by far the battle has yet to start."

"Of course, how could I forget that you care nothing for the affairs of men, but all for whatever this balance you speak of is." The noble turned his horse around to a stop. "Asara," he said.

"Please, call us Bai Yan today." She replied.

"Bai Yan, then," Said Garret, "Huh, White Sparrow, today? And you say that your name has nothing to do with the light or the dark."

Bai Yan replied, "No, it does not."

"So," Continued Garret, speaking louder as a night wind began to pick up. "If I agree to be the envoy of your balance, will you leave me alone?"

The woman looked up at Garret, and fixed him in an unsettling stare. Her eyes were all pupil, black, and deep voids. The noble tried to avert his gaze, but found he could not. She spoke softly, but her words were perfectly audible in the quickening wind. " We do not ask you to be our champion. We do not even ask you to be our servant. We ask that youcommit yourself to learn as much of the Balance as you have learned of the Light."

"The Light?" Shouted Garret, still fixed by the gaze.

"The powers you call the Bloodstars." Seeing the confusion in Garret's eyes, she explained, "We do recognize the power of your celestial lights. We in ancient times called the divine trio the Light. As well, there is a lesser known force that exists in the dimness of the Light, and it would be no difficult task to call it the Darkness. We would have you learn the Darkness as well."

"You want me to learn about two blasphemous lies?" Screamed Garret, howling as loudly and sounding quite like the wind.

The cacophony of winds did not stop Bai Yan's voice from cutting through, though. "We ask you not to learn lies. You Light shines upon the truth, but it is only a part of the truth. Light, Darkness, Balance, and the servants of each."

Garret opened his mouth to speak, but found that the wind was almost stealing it away.

"Galahad," said Bai Yan, sensing his next question. "The servants are what you men have been foolishly calling by many names. Monsters, dragons, daimons, spirits, and who knows what other errant names you have given to what you do not understand. But you have learned much today, Galahad. You did well. Now remember."

A sharp gust blew into his face, so Garret closed his eyes, leaned forward, and urged his horse to move east.

Roleplay from Garret Artemesia Message sent to everyone in your realm (70 recipients) January 6, 2009

"Impossible," Said Garret. "You would follow me even into the capital. Isn't this where...what do you call...the Light, concentrates is power?"

The woman responded by walking closer to him. Garret backed away a few steps.

"Bai Yan, or whatever your name is today, what will it take to make you go away?"

Bai Yan lifted her hood in response. Garret gasped.

"You," he said in a confused tone. "You're not Bai Yan."

The familiar middle-aged woman was not the one beneath the cloak, as Garret had remembered from the previous encounters. Here before him this time was a young fair-skinned Dongese girl. She flicked a few strands of her black--not the usual brown-gray--hair behind her neck. Even if the face was unfamiliar, Garret felt the same tug of her gaze on him. She moved closer to him, and this time he could not move anywhere.

"We are still the same, Galahad. We ask the same of you." The girl said.

Garret made a great effort to speak, "You! If you are seen--"

The girl placed a finger on Garret's lips. "And what of it then?" She brought her head closer to whisper into his ear, "All anyone will see is you with a fresh Dongese girl. It would go by unnoticed."

"What do you want, then? Just say it already, and let me go back to my life." Growled Garret.

"Your life?" The girl giggled. "Do you mean your life in the East, where you, for all your purported skill, was given command of a mere wasteland? Or do you mean the isles here, where even you were deceived by the slave of the...you call them dragons, do you not? Or do you mean your service to the Light? Because Galahad, you are in a different life now."

She turned his face towards her own. "You," She said, "Have the means to understand the Balance."

Garret felt the tickle of the girl's hair against his neck and resisted his primal urges only by reminding himself that the girl who was so closely pressed against his body was by no means a normal human girl. "So I just need to understand? Then you'll leave me alone?" He asked.

The girl traced a light pattern with her left hand on Garret's chest. "You presume so much. That is why we were sent to you, to help guide you."

"And this is supposed to help guide me?" Asked Garret, grasping the girl's hand.

"We are prepared to do whatever it takes to keep you in good spirits." Replied the girl, moving her hand within Garret's grip such that their fingers intertwined.

A few familiar voices sounded further along the streets. Garret looked into the direction of the voices.

The girl withdrew from the man. "I see we must talk some other time." Taking a few steps back, with both her hands folded before her, she said in a cheerful voice, "I will meet you later tonight!" And disappeared into the crowds.

Garret scratched his head, but soon made way to his own destination.

A Moment's Reflection in Donghaiwei

Roleplay from Garret Artemesia Message sent to everyone in your realm (70 recipients) January 7, 2009

The morning sun was still gently glowing over the ocean to the east of the coastal capital of Donghaiwei. The streets were still relatively quiet as the merchants and craftmen, sailors and workers, were just beginning to set about their daily businesses.

Garret turned his back to the morning sun to read a few letters. There was no one else in that quarter of the city, at least, no one else in the streets except for a few guards, who took no notice of the man. He paced. It was not a habit, and Garret often voluntarily stopped himself from walking around in repetitive patterns. He stared at the letter, and from within the Dongese commoners' garb he had donned, he withdrew five seals, three of which glittered under the calm sunlight.

A few guards caught the glimmer, but continued their disinterest. A few of the waking nobles in the district saw a lone figure who appeared to be a Dongese commoner holding several shiny objects. Some of those on the lower floors could clearly see the objects, and could recognize the man as a Morekian noble, among other things in the past.

The first seal was a circular disk of gold. Upon the center was engraved an owl, perched on an olive branch. Set emeralds gave a vibrant green to the leaves, and two pieces of cut onyx made the eyes of the owl stare deeply into the observer's eyes. Garret tucked away the first seal, whispering, "I am no more a man named Galahad Artemis than Jared was Jeherad Wormwood."

The second seal was a bright white platinum disk, that shone like a small beacon in the morning light. Inlaid were dozens of sapphires, and in the spaces where the gems were not present, a pattern of a tree formed. The result was a platinum white tree in the field of blue sapphires. "Artemesia," Said Garret. He held onto the seal for a while longer than he held to the first one. "Jeherad's legacy continued somewhere further to the west," said Garret, to a tattered diary he had also taken out to observe. "It is so close now, and yet, so far with what I have been offered now." He placed the seal inside the old diary.

The third seal was a tarnished silver cross with the engravings of a foreign script, that despite its wear, still shone under the sun with a defiant dull light. "For all my troubles learning, I was lord of a wasteland." Garret stared at the lordly seal of a land far to the east, and laughed. "You won't be any use here. Why did I keep you? To remind me of what I had willingly, and perhaps, foolishly discarded?" He threw the silver cross to his left, the backside facing up, with the now-black and tarnished engraving "Garret Artemesia, Baron of Upasael", still clearly visible on the smooth but blackened silver. Somehow, it landed on the windowsill of a nearby residence.

The fourth seal was a dagger, made of cast iron, useless in combat. A single ruby was set on the pommel. Garret ran his fingers along the flat of the blade, reading the letters, "Garret Artemesia, Knight of Shadovar" and the other side of the blade, "My Life for the Glory of the Dictator". But that was no more. It was a shadow of the past. Garret pushed his finger on the point. It was actually sharp, and with enough force, could indeed puncture bone.

The fifth seal was a jade fox. He had requested such a seal upon learning more of the Dongese culture. On its back were set the three Bloodstars, and underneath its base were engraved the Dongese traditional characters that read, "Knight of Cailyn" and his adopted name as written in the natives' language.

He stared at the unblinking fox. Some people were moving about now, and he thought he caught sight of a few familiar faces. There was a young woman looking out from the window to his left, although he did not see her long enough to identify her before she moved away from the window. Another, older woman who appeared to be a servant of the residence, walked to the window and the two stared blankly at each other. Garret waved. The chambermaid waved back, and then noticed the silver cross on the windowsill, picked it up, and brought it somewhere indoors. Garret chuckled. What were the chances of any noble in this place knowing who he was, anyway? "That seal won't do anyone any good. It's not even worth its weight in silver coins." Said Garret, to no one in particular.

Garret quickly replaced his seal of Cailyn, and silently sat on the steps of another residence, watching the city begin to accelerate into its normal pace.

Roleplay from Alanya Costella (just in) January 7, 2009 Message sent to everyone in your realm (70 recipients) -Tossing and turning in her bed, Alanya finally awakes a little early. She pushed off the warm covers and stretched her arms into the air. Climbing out of bed, she felt a chill coming from the balcony, and covered herself with her arms, shivering...-

Alanya: Katherine! Are you out there? Its so cold! You left the door open!"

Katherine: "I'm sorry Alanya...why dont you come out? I found something right after you went to sleep."

-Alanya walked through into the cold outside, and stood before Katherine holding herself to keep warm. Her hair was all messed up and her nightgown was ruffled.-

Alanya: "What did you have to show me?"

-Katherine took the silver cross from the table and showed it to Alanya...-

Katherine: "I found it sitting out here right after I waved to a nobleman down below. I thought you would like it, so I kept it. I'm not sure if it was his or not though...maybe I should have asked?"

-Alanya took the cross and turned it over and over, until the foreign engravings caught her eye. She had studied to learn many languages, and she was surpised she knew this one...-

Katherine: "What does it say?"

Alanya: "Garret Artemesia, Baron of Upasael"

-A look of suprise came over Alanya's face as she finished reading the seal. Her jade colored eyes then turned to Katherine, who was waiting patiently to hear what exactly that means.-

Alanya: "I know Sir Garret, he is a noble here. And Upasael is a wasteland on the Far East Continent. He was its Baron? Hmm...then why did he come here?"

Katherine: "I knew he looked important! I have an eye for these things Alanya..."

Alanya: "Hmm...did he throw it up here for me? Or is it just...a coincidence?"

-Taking the cross inside, Alanya placed it on her nightstand. She looked at it for a while, then jumped onto her bed, lost in thought.-

Alanya: "Did he throw it up here for me? Well...if it was for me...I'm sure this wont be the end of it..."

Roleplay from Garret Artemesia (just sent) January 7, 2009 Message sent to everyone in your realm (70 recipients)

"You got the gold fer all that?" Grumbled the gruff smith, who was staring at a large cart full of weapons and armor.

Garret patted his empty pockets. Once again, he had absolutely no gold. "Uh, hang on..." He silently swore. Of all the trinkets he could pawn off for extra gold, the only one he didn't care about was thrown away that morning. "Wait a while, will you? I will be right back." Said Garret, retreating from the smithy and leaving a large group of soldiers standing in the smithy.

The residence was right around here, or so Garret remembered. He looked up at the windowsill. He was at the right place. He scratched his head, feeling rather foolish to be asking for some item that he threw away, and only hours before thought he would never need again. He chuckled. All that would become of the seal would be a pawned item.

He knocked on the door, hoping someone would be home.

Roleplay from Alanya Costella (just in) Message sent to everyone in your realm (70 recipients) -Hearing a few knocks at the door, Alanya laid still on her bed. When the knocks continued, she figured Katherine was in the kitchen...so she went down to get the door...-

Alanya: "I'll be right there, hold on a second!"

-Still tired and a little groggy, Alanya opened the door, only to find Sir Garret on the other end. Her mind then raced to the cross she recieved a few moments earlier...-

Sir Garret: "Umm..."

-Alanya stood still as Garret studied her for a second, until she finally realized she was still wearing her nightgown...and her hair was still all messed up from sleeping...-

Alanya: "Oh! Umm...I'm sorry Sir Garret I'll be right back! Katherine! Katherine! Take care of Sir Garret for me I'll be right back down!"

-She ran back upstairs at full speed, red in the face...leaving Garret standing in the doorway. Katherine finally came to greet him, and invited him inside.-

Katherine: "Come in my Lord. Please forgive Alanya, the young can be a little forgetful at times unfortunately..."

Roleplay from Garret Artemesia Message sent to everyone in your realm (70 recipients)

Garret stepped inside, allowing Katherine to close the door behind him.

"I actually don't need to stay long," Said Garret, "I was just wondering if you happened to have kept the silver cross that somehow landed on your windowsill, and if I could possibly have it returned. Even nobles have desperate times when they would sell less valued treasures for some gold."

Katherine led him to a seat. "I gave it to my lady. She should be down soon so you can ask her, but please, take a seat, my lord. Perhaps I can get you something to drink?"

"No thank you. It is not my custom to take anything of my hosts when I arrive uninvited." He sat in one of the chairs, and silently waited.