A fallen knight arrives...

[Equester]

The keep rose up before him, its immense walls casting a long shadow across the crisp green grass. From the edge of the forest Equester studied the structure carefully while the creature upon his shoulder (a Djinn) whispered quickly into his ear.

 

"Can you feel it? Such power! Makes my essence curl even at this distance."

 

"I feel it. There's great darkness within these walls, I sense the prescence of powerful dark entities inside."

 

Equesters voice, while hardly the most attractive in the world, seemed so next to the harsh mutterings of the djinn.

 

"Great good too. I don't like it. We should go, find some place else. Must be lots of places a fallen knight can stay without resorting to this!"

 

Accoustomed to the djinns self-protective nature and unwilling for a battle of wills that was all to common between them, Equester resisted the urge to strike the creature.

 

"There's no where else nearby Stropha and you know it. Besides, I need to rest. three weeks running from my brothers is beggining to wear on me.

 

"Former brothers. If you'd only let me kill a few of them I could easily persaude them to leave us alone."

 

"No! They will not be harmed except in self defence." With these words Equester began walking down the long road, his plain brown cassok billowing slightly with the length of his strides.

 

***

 

A short while later Equester and Stropha reached the entrance to the keep. The metal gates stood open, the courtyard beyond bustling with people engaged in various activities.

 

"Lax security, maybe they're unwilling to fight. Maybe they'll let the Templars stroll in and take you. Then where will we be?"

 

"Hush, Stropha. And change your form, as becoming as your imp disguise is it may well be off putting for these people."

 

Muttering slightly under his breath Stropha transformed into a dark black raven, its feathers smooth and glossy. Anyone able to see onto the spiritual plane would be able to see what he truly was, but despite the power stored in the castle it seemed unlikely that any here would be able to do this.

 

Stopping the first person to cross his path Equester asked where he should go to see about accomadations. The person he asked gestured vaguley in the direction of a tower before hurrying away on some errand of their own. As Equester moved on the directions became more specific, 'till at last he stood before a large wooden door with "Recruitment Office" scrawled on it.

 

"Anything?"

 

Stropha flicked his eyes through the Planes he had access to and shook his head. "No traps, guardians or wards. Hardly what you'd expect when it leads to the office of someone important."

 

"Maybe these people don't rely on your kind for power." Ignoring Stropha's snort of disbelief Equester pushed open the door and strolled into the room.

[Equester]

ARGH! WRONG FORUM! ***SOUND OF HEAD HITTING DESK***

 

Erm...can someone please move this to the recruiters office forum?

[Tanuchan]

"You seem to be new around here, and somewhat lost... ? Maybe I can help you."

 

Equester turns around fast, surprised not to have heard the woman, who's right behind him, until she had spoken.

 

"Please, enter and try to make yourself comfortable." She smiles, urging the knight and the raven into Wyvern's room. "Our Elder uses to be busy with his... erm... scheming business... but sooner or later he's chased into his office."

 

"Chased?"

 

"You will understand... soon." Tanny looks around, and shudders at the memories of her last visits to this very room. I need a safe place, I guess...

 

"So, what brings you here? And... I hope you don't mind if I make myself more comfortable..." Locating a nice spot two steps away from the prospective new Initiate, where the sun comes through the window and warms the floor, Tanny shimmers into her wolf-form and lies down, enjoying the warmth. The black wolf grins and winks at the surprised new friend, and gives all the impression to be waiting for his story.

 

 

~~~~~

OOC: Welcome, Equester. I've PMd Ayshela about your request to move this, don't worry. Either her or any Elder who comes around first will do that for you.

Meanwhile, I see that you're already familiarizing yourself with the Pen, so... have fun!

 

*welcome hugs*

 

~Tanny

[Ayshela]

done, and welcome! =)

i'm sure Wyv will find his way here.. soon..ish.. =)

[Gryphon]

OOC: Welcome along I was trying to come up with an in character way to say it but like the rest of me my muse is on holiday... however:

 

BIC:

 

Stropha flicked his eyes through the Planes he had access to and shook his head. "No traps, guardians or wards. Hardly what you'd expect when it leads to the office of someone important."

 

"Maybe these people don't rely on your kind for power." Ignoring Stropha's snort of disbelief Equester pushed open the door and strolled into the room.

No sooner do these words escape Stropha's lips, or rather whatever passes as his lips in raven form, but a dry chuckle seems to come from nowhere and a voice speaks directly into Stropha and Equester's mind...

 

"Wyvern has no need for security... few but applicants and those greeting them are brave enough to enter the Elder of Initiates office.. for fear of being crushed to death by toppling piles of ancient paper."

 

Then there is silence, and the voice speaks no more.

[Equester]

"Fascinating...and there I was believing that only creatures from the Other Place could shapeshift..." Equesters eyes rested measuringly upon the wolf infront of him for a moment, then he turned and sat down in a nearby chair. Facing Tanuchan again he carefully sorted through his mind, deciding which parts of his story he should and shouldn't reveal. While he did so the raven on hs shoulder flew over to the mantlepiece, keeping a close eye on the wolf and an ear for the sound of anyone approaching.

 

"At one time I belonged to an order of knights known as the Knights Templar. It was our task to protect items of great power and history, to guard them from the greedy hands of those who would seek to use them for thier own ends. We were the soldiers of God, warriors of peace. People came to us when they needed aid and, if we judged thier claim to be just, we provided support. But then it all changed.

 

"The libary in the monastary where we dwealt held many ancient tomes of power, written centuries before even our holy Order was created. These books were forbidden to us for they held knowledge of demons and spirits, djinn and afrits, as well as a multitude of other creatures that dwell in the Other Place. But I disregarded the orders of my betters, much to my disgrace. I believed that if I could summon such creatures and manage to control them, then our monastery and its charges would be even better protected. Unfortunatly, despite many years of successful research and study of these forbidden tomes, I was eventually found out and banished from the Order, never to return.

 

"Some of my former brothers felt this penalty was not enough. They wanted me dead, seeing me as nothing more than another sorcerer who had decided to steal the monasteries knowledge. I could have destroyed tem, perhaps. I can still summon djinn, although the higher class of entities need pentacles and such in order to control them. But they were my brothers still, and I couldn't do it. Instead I fled from them for many weeks, until finally I arrived here. I felt the power of this place, the mixture of good and evil that this vast Keep holds, and it intriged me. Here was a place where good and evil worked together, side by side. Here also was a place I could rest and recover my strength."

 

Equester's voice, having become slightly dreamy as he was reciting his tale, suddenly hardened, his eyes beneath the hood of his cassock blazing sharply into Tanuchans.

 

"How do you do it? How do so many people with such different ideals and moralities manage to function?!"

[Tanuchan]

Equester's sharp gaze does not disturb Tanny, who holds it with a strength of her own. There's friendliness in her eyes, and also understanding. She chooses to keep to her wolf-form, but somehow Equester feels that she smiles mysteriously.

 

Tolerance, respect, and an open heart. You will see, and understand also.

[Peredhil]

Peredhil greets Door, and looks into the office in search of Melba or Wyvern, in time to hear Equester's question.

 

Oh, it's really quite easy to function under self-restraints.

 

One needs only to own all opinions and ideas instead of assuming that reality supports one's own point of view as the only point of view. For instance, I'm not certain gravity exists, suspecting it is actually a misrepresentational side-effect of another force. Really doesn't matter of course (so few things do), as we all proceed the same under its influence whether we believe in it or not.

 

Discuss ideas, not people.

 

Be Polite.

 

Hmmm, I guess it all comes down to respecting one another's right to be different.

 

Bows, hugs Tanuchan, and drifts away after a Polite farewell to Door.

[Equester]

The blue-green eyes of the fallen knight looked curiously after the figure of Peredhil. With one eyebrow raised he turned back to the wolf who was his only other companion save for Stropha.

 

"Does he always talk to doors?

Edited January 3, 2005 by Equester

[Tanuchan]

Tanny nods, grinning. She sends a thought to the former Knight Templar, though not sure he can understand mindspeaking. Well, he is a kind of mage...

 

::Peredhil is always Polite. Even to Doors, who do a most important work of protecting privacy and never receive enough thanks, being even beaten and destroyed by those who don't care.::

 

 

~~~~~

OOC: as a wolf, Tanny communicates through mindspeech. Usually, most humans cannot understand her; possible exceptions are shapechangers, rangers, and mages. Mindspeaking back is possible just if the person has this ability himself.

[Peredhil]

OoC:

Woody, the Recruiting Office door, is sentient. Not many other than Peredhil know this. Best described in Rune's Application

 

Actually, quite a few doors, walls, halls, and sometimes entire buildings (Reverie's Castle) have various levels of intelligence if one Listens.

 

The perfect snowfall in the Courtyard recently was done by the Pen Keep itself.

[Tanuchan]

OOC: Aw... I didn't know that Door was sentient! Sorry!

[Equester]

As Tanuchan attempted to send the telepathic mesage the Raven lets out a loud caw, startling both herself and Equester. A flash of pain pulsed through her head, making her feel like her eyes were being punctured with red hot needles. With a faint shimmer the raven transformed and Tanuchan beheld the form of a large gargoyle, it's wings outstreched, ready to attack.

 

"Stropha wait!"

 

At Equesters shout the gargoyle hesitated and looked enquiringly at his master.

 

"What did she try to do?"

 

"Master, she tried some sort of mind attack, I felt it coming towards you and rebounded it back at her. Who knows what it would have done if it had struck you."

 

Startled at what had seemed to be a new friends attack, Equester turned his gaze back to Tanuchan, his eyes enquiring. The pain in Tanuchan's mind had already faded, and the wolf that was her current form was now standing, her fur bristling and her teeth bared in anger. Upon hearing the conversation, however, she calmed down and shimmered into her human form.

 

"It wasn't an attack, I was just trying to send you a mind-message. It's rather difficult for me to communicate as a wolf."

 

Sudden understanding flashed across Equesters face, followed by remorse.

 

"My apologies, I hope my djinn's attack didn't harm you in any way, but it wouldn't have done you any good. The gift of telepathy is not something I posess. Where I come from, only creatures from the Other Place have such powers, and then only those of high levels."

 

"If she really was only trying to send messages, she could always send them to me, I could pass them on to you through the bond that exists between us. It depends on whether you believe what she claims. And whether you trust me enough."

 

With the last sentance the gargoyle grinned, showing a set of razor-sharp teeth.

 

"You never mentioned you had mind powers Strophs." Equester's voice was dangerously calm, barely hiding his anger at the djinn.

 

"You never asked."

 

Calming himself down, Equester turned back to Tanuchan. "My apologies once again for my djinn's actions. Are you able to send messages to spirits?"

Edited January 4, 2005 by Equester

[Tanuchan]

Tanny blinks, not very sure whether she wants to trust Stropha.

 

"I don't know... I'm no telepath. Mindspeech is just like another language for me; my race uses that to communicate while in our many animal forms. I can't read thoughts or use it for any kind of prying, if that's what your... friend... is concerned about. Maybe I'll just settle for my human self around you..."

 

She sits down in the same spot she had been as a wolf, eyeing Stropha warily.

[Wyvern]

"Equester" whispers Stropha, quickly shifting back into the form of a raven. "I sense... a great annoyance."

 

"What?" mutters Equester quietly just as Wyvern barges in through the front door of the Office. The overgrown lizard takes long strides into the room, hurting Woody's feelings with his lack of an apology and causing Peredhil to go back to consoling him. The reptilian Elder grins and nods upon seeing Equester, then turns to Tanuchan in concern and places a claw on her shoulder as he heroically hisses:

 

"Tanuchan, I heard a cry, and you're sssquinting. Are you hurt?"

 

Tanuchan turns her human head to Wyvern for a moment, slightly baffled by his concern.

 

"Why... I-I'm fine, I think. Thank y-"

 

"Have no fear" exclaims Wyvern, pulling out a large bag of Almost Dragonic Brand Leftover Mannequin Arms and Legs™. "Hide in these for now, I'll deal with the applicant."

 

"Wait-" manages Tanuchan before Wyvern dumps the bags contents onto her head, burying her in arms and legs. Turning once again to the applicant, the lizard observes him from head to toe, then makes his way to the recruitment desk and searches through a pile of papers until he comes across Equester's application. Scratching his scaly head and looking over the former Templar's resume, the reptilian Elder glances towards him and hisses:

 

"Sssso lemme get this straight in the hopes of being crooked... you have the knowledge of several ancient tomes of power, yet you've been outlawed and are frequently looked down upon by your brethren? Soundsss kinda familiar."

 

"That is correct" mutters Equester, eyeing Wyvern cautiously as the lizard turns his application sheet sideways and upsidedown. "Me and my Dj- errrr... pet raven came to these halls as we sensed great powers of good and evil mingling here. For the record, I can firmly assure you that my pet raven is incapable of causing eyes any sort of torment, and would never touch any women akin to wolves."

 

"I see" mutters Wyvern, kicking back in his favorite easychair and stretching. "Well, you'll find nothing but the forces of good in this Office, as I'm certain you'll find me a trustworthy accountant and investor, even when it comes to spending 98% of your profits on a single far-fetched yet perfectly executable scheme. Nice to see that you have a pet raven, I'm sure he'll get along with cryptomancer nicely."

 

"Glad you like him." Equester snickers silently, nudging and winking to Stropha. "He's a pure bred"

 

Wyvern nods. "Of courssse, you'll have to get him an Almost Dragonic Brand Leash™, an Almost Dragonic Brand Pet Dental Care Plan™, and an Almost Dragonic Brand Neutering Service™."

 

Wyvern pulls out several sheets of paper for Equester to sign, and Stropha opens his beak in horror only to have it swiftly stuffed with a stale Almost Dragonic Brand Edgar Allen Poe Substitute Birdy Treat™. As Equester reads through the pet documents in morbid fascination, Wyvern stamps his application ACCEPTED and whispers:

 

"Oh, and regardless of what people sssay, remember that the thing that bonds the Mighty Pen (as well as the entire world) together is geld, glorious geld! Ssspeaking of which, that'll be 5 geld for application services please."

 

;-)

 

OOC: On a more serious note: a well-roleplayed application Equester, and an ACCEPTED application. Welcome to the Mighty Pen! I look forward to reading more of your writing here, and apologize for the wait... the holidays deprived me of board access for a bit. Once again, welcome!

[Equester]

OOC: No apology is needed, it gave me a chance to carry the roleplay further than I had anticipated. It has to be said that this way of registering for something has a lot more going for it than filling out a form and getting an automated reply...