Saber Knight Saga

[Siranae]

(OOC: It's no problem, Faust. I'll change that NPC's color to black. The NPC here is black too, but it's not the same person.)

Sira turned towards Marina, concern growing for her friend. "It's okay, you can go back to my house. I'm sure we won't be long. We'll meet you back there. Please make yourself at home."

"That's a shark? Did you really have to kill it?" Azriel said, voicing his concern over what had happened along with Nyandimar.
"I guess I should have done more research before coming here. Are these common occurrences here? I'm not exactly from these parts." Nyandimar said.

"It doesn't happen often." Said one man holding an axe. He apparently was one of the people who killed the strange shark. "In fact, it's very rare."“But we’re ready for when it does. We may not be as well fortified as other places you may have been, but we are prepared enough.”
Sira called the attention of the other Saber Knights. "We should probably go back to my house." She said quietly. "I’ll explain everything there."

Just as she’d finished speaking, she noticed Eskay returning. She had left when she'd seen the shark. Sira didn't blame the young girl. It was a pretty gruesome sight. She also noticed another person walking next to her.

"Er... this is Epifanio, guys," She said when she reached them.

"Pleasure to meet you," the man said with a bow. "A real pleasure indeed! After all, it's been quite some time since we've had a nice group of Saber Knights in the area."

“Hm?” Azriel said, looking up to the sky.
Before Sira could turn her gaze upward, something fell downward, landing right on Azriel.

"Ah! Azriel!" Sira shouted, her voice filled with shock and alarm.
Once the figure had landed, Sira noticed it was apparently human. He miraculously stood up, nowhere nearly as harmed as he should have been from his fall, and swept the scenery with his gaze. His eyes eventually landed on the crushed Saber Knight, and he blinked in surprise. “Azriel?” he called, kneeling down to take a closer look at the Grim Angel. “Is that you?”
He paused, glancing at the crowd of people before his gaze landed on a strange creature that seemed to be dead. "And what happened here?"

At this point, Sira became completely and utterly confused. Regaining her composure, she bent down to help up Azriel, looking up cautiously to address the new person. “I was about to tell my friends here. If you would come with me, I’ll explain it to you too.” Though she did not know who he was, he appeared to be friends with Azriel, so Sira guessed she could trust him.

[BionicleMandi121]

(Reading all that in sequence somehow made it funnier than it really was. /trying not to laugh)

Azriel staggered to his feet with Sira's help, managing a rather feeble "I'm alright." He swayed for some time on the spot, blinking furiously to clear his head. "Uh... I may be biased, but yes, I think returning to Sira's house would be a good idea." He gave her a distracted smile, then winced and held his side. "This here is Vegier, another one of us," he explained, having noticed her moment of blank confusion. Turning to the Arc, he added, "While I could have thought of some...less painful entrances, I'm glad to see you've come back." As he started limping back the way they'd come, he continued, "Where have you been, anyway?"

[PoikSpirit]

"Saber Knights?" Nyandimar assumed a more formal stance. "How rude of me. Let me introduce myself; I am Nyandimar Bridganign, Saber Knight of That One Guy." He added a large bow to the group. "Perhaps it is fate, or just luck, that I stumbled upon this village while you were here."

[Saber Knight]

"Pleasure to meet you, Nyandimar," Epifanio said with a grand bow. "And, I do believe it will do us all some good to get out of this sunlight." He then shrugged. "Though I myself happen to be quite fond of the sunlight, but that's just me." Again, he smiled, eyes sparkling.

"Well... I'm always happy to get where it's cooler," Eskay added meekly with a small shrug.

[Siranae]

Vegier, Epifanio, Nyandimar. It is nice to meet you all. Sira said to the new arrivals. As they walked back to her house, Sira turned to the Saber Knight that had not fallen from the sky. Nyandimar, have you been on this world for long?

[PoikSpirit]

"Not particularly." Nyandimar replied. "That One Guy doesn't pay much attention to me anymore, so I've been wandering. I don't stay in one place very long." He laughed. "I know why I was chosen for his Saber Knight; I have nearly as short an attention span as he does."

[Siranae]

Sira smiled and gave a slight huff of amusement at what Nyandimar had said. After that, the group was silent as they made their way back to her home.

It became a little crowded due to the increase in their numbers, but they all managed to fit. And once everyone had gotten themselves situated, Sira stood against one of the walls, as she had given the chairs to her guests. Then, she began with the long awaited explanation.

I'm sorry you all had to see that. She began. It is really not a testament to the safety of Tanisian. The area around here is pretty secure. Not anything extravagant like you'd see in bigger cities, but it is enough that nothing bad happens. Shark attacks are very rare, and I hope we won't have to see another.

She paused for a second, looking uneasy, as if she wasn't telling the whole truth. After darting her worried eyes from person to person, she gave a sigh and continued. I hope it won't happen again...but from what I've gathered, I'm afraid that may not be the case.

...While we were out there, I was able to speak to a few friends I have in town. From them I have gathered that attacks by sharks, and on occasion other creatures, have increased in the days of my absense, which I have discovered has been almost a month. I'm sure it we'll be fine, but it is still a little unsettling.

[BionicleMandi121]

Azriel eased himself into a chair, glad he'd gotten rid of his wings earlier. They would have gotten in the way. "So these...shark attacks." He looked up at Sira. "Why are these shark things attacking, and what might be causing them to attack more often?" He shrugged, carefully to avoid further pain. "In my home world, an increase in demon attacks meant something really bad was happening, so if that's the case in this dimension, it might be a good idea to figure out what's going on before it smacks us in the face."

[Faustgy]

((Sorry. I’ve been getting some writer’s block. :x))

Vegier looked utterly lost and confused with all these strangers surrounding him. The fact that he was still a bit dazed from his fall didn’t help him grasp his current situation. So he settled with the only thing he could do: keeping his mouth shut and following the others into a house, presumably belonging to the girl who had helped Azriel up.
He accepted the chair when it was offered to him, but felt rather awkward as he sat uncomfortably close to the others. He soon forgot about his discomfort, however, as he listened to the girl’s explanation about the dead creature he had spotted earlier. It did lessen his confusion somewhat, at least enough for him to start speaking again. In fact, he was about to comment about how the shark attacks the girl mentioned seemed similar to the demon attacks back in Riviera until Azriel spoke, practically taking the words out of his mouth.
He gave the other Saber Knight an odd look. “What a coincidence. We have demons in my home world as well, and they’re pretty hostile toward Sprites and Arcs.” Suddenly recalling Azriel’s previous questions, he hurriedly added to the Grim Angel, “That’s where I ended up after Marina teleported the rest of you to her world. Apparently, my patron goddess wanted me to take care of a few minor demon invasions.”
He smiled a bit sheepishly as he remembered Azriel’s other remark. “And I apologize for…uh…falling on you. If I could have chosen how I enter a new dimension, I certainly would have picked a…less painful method.” He scowled rather darkly. “Unfortunately, my patron goddess seems to enjoy watching other people’s misery.”

[Siranae]

Sira gave a shrug. The sharks aren't without intelligence. They know to stay away from large groups of humans. Usually when one does go to civilization it is manic, suffering from some illness that has made it rabid. Either way, it has lost control and is dangerous. A normal shark wouldn't just up and attack someone. It would have to be in search of food, and even then they'll usually go after much easier prey.

She looked out the window to her left. But if they are attacking more and more, I'm afraid they're may in fact be something wrong. She looked at Vegier, then Azriel. You both might be right. In fact, that may even explain our presence here.

[PoikSpirit]

Nyandimar followed, humming a bit, to the house. Graciously he accepted the seat from his host, feeling a bit out of place sitting.

I'm sorry you all had to see that. Sira began. Nyandimar was pretty certain he knew where this was going. He stretched his legs a little and leaned back in the seat.
Someone else was talking, Azriel. "...Why are these shark things attacking, and what might be causing them to attack more often?..." Hmmm... I do not believe we were introduced, Nyandimar thought. Ah well, as long as I keep my mouth shut and remember who's introduced themselves to me, no one will notice.
Then Vegier spoke. Something about demons and patron goddesses.
And Sira replied. "I thought I could find you here."
Nyandimar's body went still, stiffened up, and his eyes shot wide open. At a glance, nothing looked too out of place, it just seemed like something caught his fancy, except that he was staring at a wall; but something appeared wrong with his eyes, almost as if no one was staring out of them anymore.

Meanwhile, on a different world.
"You've picked a terrible time," Nyandimar greeted his unexpected guest without opening his eyes.
"Nevermind that, you implied you would like to join us and we would like to know what that entails."
"Be patient, I will answer your questions, Haruki. I will meet with you when the day is done to discuss my offer."
"How do you-"
"I know a lot of things, now leave me before you blow my cover."
Nyandimar glowed a little as he returned to concentrating on the bond.

Back in Tanisian.
A few seconds after he zoned out Nyandimar's eyes sprung back to life. He scratched the back of his head, "I apologize. The desert air must have taken more out of me than I thought. Is it possible to get a little water?"

((Sorry for the long post...))

[Siranae]

(Compared to my recent ones, it's not long at all .)

Sira's worried demeanor was replaced by one of apparent surprise. She was so absorbed in thought about the day's events, it was as if she had forgotten anyone was there.
Oh! Yes, no problem. She continued talking as she went to get a cup from the cupboard. It's okay, I don't blame you if you feel uncomfortable in this climate. It takes a little getting used to if you've not from around here.
Moving back over to the pitcher, she dropped into the water the stone she had given Eskay before. Then she filled the cup and handed it to Nyandimar. Here you go. She said with a small smile.

[PoikSpirit]

((It was longer until I removed a few spaces, I didn't feel like removing my OoC when I edited it though...))

"Thank you kindly." Nyandimar took the water and sipped from the cup. "So these sharks live on their own somewhere out there, and now they've been agitated into wandering into town." He took another sip and swirled the water for a second. "Do you think we could find where they're wandering from? That may give us some sort of idea as to what's happening."

[Siranae]

(Oh now I see what you mean.)

Sira returned to her spot on the wall, folding her arms.The sharks are from the Nuino Ocean, to the north. It's pretty odd though, the ocean's ten miles from here. That's why it's so rare. Only the most deranged shark would come here. They don't like to be on land for too long, so to walk that distance is out of the question. So if it ever does happen, they swim up the river...which, is also strange. They have to swim against the current, through freshwater. She shook her head, as if she couldn't believe what she was saying. You're probably starting to notice the absurdity of this.

[Saber Knight]

Eskay rubbed her temples with a sigh. It was really too confusing for her. First off, being in a new universe... getting yourself oriented there... not the easiest thing to do. Second off, things were even absurd by the standards of this universe. Yeah. No hope of catching up.

Seraphina ((Who was totally just kind of moodily sitting there the entire time and I didn't have a total mental blank and forget about her.... *shifty eyes*)) took every piece of information in wordlessly. She occassionally cast odd glances toward Nyandimar, but her gaze was so swift one couldn't even be sure it occured.

Epifanio, for his part, was still smiling as he listened silently, nodding here and there. "Yes... this whole shark incident really is rather confusing," he said after some time. "It's not the first, though, as you are aware. Things have indeed been rather off in the time you've been gone, Sira. Balance has been upset here."

"What do you mean?" inquired Eskay.

Epifanio smiled again. "A job of a Saber Knight is to keep Balance in the many dimensions. Many others, such as the Corrupeted Ones, have taken it as their duty to offset this Balance we work so hard for."

"You said we," Seraphina said quickly, startling Eskay. The girl had not spoken for quite some time, and Eskay ((QUITE UNLIKE ME I ASSURE YOU)) had practically forgotten that she was there. "As if you include yourself among the order."

"Don't miss a beat, do you?" His eyes were still sparking, and Seraphina made no response. "It wasn't a secret or anything, we've barely known each other five minutes, and I really didn't see an opportunity to bring it up. After all, many years of being a Saber Knight has trained me not to make it policy to run around, shouting, 'Hello word, I'm the Saber Knight of Apollo!'"

"Apollo?"

"Well, Ra, if you prefer," Epifanio said with a slight shrug. "It's the same guy." He turned to Agnamatus. "I'm sure Apollo is a more familiar name with you, Agnamatus."

"What are you doing here?" Seraphina blurted out.

"Very accusitory, aren't we?" No response. "I was informed by Apollo that there were some Saber Knights in the area, and I decided to check it out. After all, restoring Balance isn't really a one man job, and this little band of Saber Knights here is really quite intriguing."