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um... is that any better

There are only four options when choosing elements for magic; fire, water, air, or earth. Darkness and Light don't qualify.

-----Update-----
August 14, 2008: All character sheets should be finalized for the opening parts of the RP should be finalized by Saturday, August 16, 2008. Any changes should be PMed to Rusty the Fox.

---Update---
August 17, 2008: Today's the day we start!


The morning sun rises high into the spring sky, it’s light filtered by a thin blanket of grey clouds hovering over Asper. The mining town’s residence still sleeping in the early parts of the day, but not all are accounted for. Towards the Northwest of town, two voices discreetly break the silence, a solid tan colored figure, hunchbacked by a large backpack steps off the path and heads towards the edge of the woods followed by a reddish figure carrying a case.

”Hey, Jollanel, where are we heading today?” The reddish figure asked, ”Didn’t we already complete the survey for this area?"

Jollanel only turned his head in response. He looked at Rusty and then presented a grin before look returning his eye to the upcoming forest in front of him. Rusty didn’t pursuit the question and went silent. It annoyed Rusty when the old cougar did this. He told himself that he should be use to this, especially after three years, but it still rings his nerves.

The pair reached the forest edge. Jollanel kept walking and entered the forest but Rusty stood back. He turned and looked towards Asper, then in both directions that the forest edge ran. ”Weird. I thought someone was following us.” He turned back and jogged into the forest to catch up with Jollanel.

Nero had just woken up his hut was not the biggest or the smallest, it was just right he was thankfull that his father had taught him how to make one. sitting up he let out a yawn before looking around. " what am i going to do today?" the medium sized panther thought to himself as he got dressed. Soon Nero was dressed. Taking one last look at what he was wearing he began walking over to the bathroom he started to reach for his toothbrush and toothpaste looking away as he beagn to brush.

" Done", the large cat said as he walked out of his home looking around what was he going to do most people in his clan did not like him no matter how hard he tried to get along with everyone they would just turn and give him a evil stare almost as if he was some sort of murder. It was true that his father had killed his mother but that was not his fault it was his parents for not being faur and faithfull to each other. Sitting down he let out a sigh as he coverd his face with his hands to protect his eyes from the sun.

"C'mon, wake up!" a female timber wolf bidded to her sleeping son. The son, Akari, flipped from his side to his back, and opened his eyes. "What time is it?" he asked grogilly.
"About seven thirty," his mother replied.
"Seven thirty!? Rgh, can't you just let me sleep in a little longer?"
"Come on, don't kid around with me. The spiritual leader in Q'ercheck Ental won't let you sleep in even this much!"
Why does she always bring that up? he thought. "Isn't that more reason to enjoy what little sleeping time I still have?"
Akari's mother rolled her eyes and yanked him out of bed. Akari expected that, so he was able to stand up quickly. "Fine, fine... I'm sorry. I was mostly kidding around anyway..." he finished, laughing a bit.

Akari and his mother headed down to the kitchen. Akari headed to the gas stove, wanting to make some eggs. He snapped his fingers, and a flame appeared over his index finger, which he moved towards the gas stove to light it. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew it out! Akari looked over and saw his mother holding her palm out. "You know that's not very safe, Akari..." she said in an annoyed tone, as she had said that many times before. Akari wanted to say something smart back, but he decided not to. Akari's mother was what he called an "Air specialist", which meant that she could only do high-end magic involved with air, with a genotype of m^A m^A. "...besides," she continued, "we don't have any eggs anyway. Here," she said, throwing him a rectangular box of cereal, "eat this. We've got way too much of this anyway."
Akari nodded. "Thanks, Mom," he said. She smiled and left the room. Akari fixed himself a bowl of cereal and began eating.

Sissmuth was standing, bare-feet, on the coarse sand of Valter, the sun already starting to beat down on him and making the ground intolerably hot. It felt as if millioins of tiny mouths were constantly nipping at the bottom of his feet, but the bulky lizardfolk didn't seem to notice. He stood tall, facing the village he was now prepared to leave behind. All he needed now was the Elder's blessing.
Everyone was gathered out, looking at him as if he were a glorious statue, all quiet, yet silently boasting that such a magnificent warrior could have come from such a primitive and secluded village.

It is quite primitive, Sissmuth thought with a slight upturn of his mouth. And it was true. Every so often, a weary traveler would wander into his village, talking, looking, and even dressing in funny ways that only heightened Sissmuth's yearning to go out and explore. While he'd seen other anthros and also a couple humans dressed in fancy hats, dresses, and even SHIRTS (Sissmuth grunted to himself), the rest of his kind stuck to traditional cloaks, cowls, pants, and tops. Even weaponry was different, but Sissmuth didn't mind too much with sharp, pointy objects. Instead, he just liked to throw big rocks at people and hit them with sticks. Nonetheless, despite how technologically-challenged his village was, he was proud of where he'd come from.

The Elder came out and Sissmuth bowed his head. He was a hunched over old dragon with eyes that could still bore holes through solid steel and a tinge of dark brown scales that suddenly seemed to brighten with the intense sunlight. Out his nostrils curved thin wisps of smoke that otherwise would've escaped through his mouth whenever he talked. Sometimes, Sissmuth had to hold his breath whenever he stood before the Elder, just so he wouldn't start coughing on the smoke.

Good times.

"Is it truly your wish to leave your village?" asked the Eldser in a rough but still stern voice.

Sissmuth stiffened. "It is my wish to go, but not to leave," he said. "I will always remember this place, where I come from, and what it has taught me through the young years of my life." Sissmuth's own voice was gruff and deep. It surprised him a little.

This seemed to be the correct answer. The Elder smiled a toothy smile... Lizardfolk were never any good at smiling, thought Sissmuth. A genuine grin could easily be mistaken for an ominous smirk or a mocking laugh. That's why they usually weren't trusted by others. But Sissmuth saw the continuity in his Elder's eyes. "A Proven One. You have passed your trials years ago and it would be wrong of us to keep you from the wonders all of Ekleron has to offer... You will go far," the old dragon rasped, flicking a thread of smoke at Sissmuth. "This, I know."

Sissmuth bowed again, but almost hit his snout when the Elder presented out his staff to him. It was a beautifully carved treasure, roughly the same height as Sissmuth. On the wood were carvings and drawings of familiar traditions and stories of previous Elders. At the top end dangled brilliantly colored beads that winked back the sunlight and a red feather [Legend tells how it came from a real live Phoenix] that fluttered to an invisible breeze. "And now you must hear my wish," the Elder continued. "Take this with you on your journey. Display it proudly so that others may see the glory of its new owner as well as the pride all Lizardfolk have in having you as their warrior."

Sissmuth rather dislike being called a warrior. He liked Proven One better. But he dared not say this aloud but instead slowly, reached out a hand to grasp the Bo staff. The beads clinked in welcome and even the feather seemed to wave at him, as if acknowledging him as the new owner. But he couldn't take it. He just couldn't. "Elder, I must protest," he said, but was silenced when the dragon lifted a claw at him.

"Shields can be splintered. Swords can be cracked. Staffs can be cleaved. Weapons can always be undone, but the souls of their wielders can NEVER be shattered. This, you must remember."

The Elder was truly the wisest person Sissmuth has even known. He took the staff and held it to his side. Bowed again. Then, the Elder beckoned him closer and he leaned in to hear. "Besides," he whispered. "That's not really a Phoenix's feather. It's just dyed." Unexpectedly, the smile he was wearing turned to a smirk as he reached up and punched Sissmuth lightly on the chest. "Go now. And may the fates bestow on you their favor."

It took Sissmuth a couple seconds to recover from the shock, but when he did, he also managed a smile. Yes, he thought. I shall definitely miss this place. He bowed deeply and turned around, starting across the dunes in a long trek that would ultimately lead him to the life of adventure he'd dreamed so long of having.

"What will Ekleron hold for me," he wondered aloud.

Upon finishing his bowl of cereal, Akari washed the bowl out and put it away. He headed up to his room to get his normal clothes on. He flipped on his CD player to a song that reminded him of a sunrise, and got dressed. He chose a red T-shirt, khaki cargo shorts, and a light, white button-down shirt with brown pin stripes to put over his T-shirt. Once that was done, he equiped himself with some of his essentials: his ring with his energy-storing Onyx stone, and his two swords, which he strapped to his back in his signature X-shape. Matches the scar on my face, doesn't it? he thought to himself. He stretched out and then headed back downstairs. "Hey Mom!" he called out, "I'm heading out to go practice stuff!"
"Don't hurt yourself or wander too far!" she called back.
"I'll try not to! Bye!"

He closed the door to the front of his house, and looked around. He saw his friend, Rusty's house a couple doors down. He wanted to talk to him, but he knew that Rusty was likely out wandering with the cartographer he lived with about now. He decided to head to the woods, and try to find him when he was done practicing. As soon as he entered the woods, he crouched down and moved silently, trying his best to be stealthy. He loved doing that, as it made him feel like he was a part of a suspense/action movie he'd seen. Suddenly, he drew his swords and leaped out from behind a tree, and swung them around as he landed, as if slicing through a bunch of enemies, and continued to execute fancy moves that he learned only by seeing them done in movies and by some people who already knew what they were doing in real life. Doing this was his source for adrenaline rushes when he needed one.

Sissmuth had walked for hours on end, not looking back. The biting sand didn't bother him, but it'd still be a while before he'd reach the shores of his desert home-island. With any luck, he'd be at the waterside in two days, give or take. He scowled at the thought. Water wasn't exactly his element, but with the few coins he'd saved up, he reckoned he'd be able to find a ship that could take him to the mainland. Valter wasn't exactly his definition of a vacation spot. Once you saw a small piece of the barren terrain, you'd pretty much seen it all.

Still, two days was just too long for Sissmuth to walk. The physical demands it took were no problem, but he just didn't want to wait that long. The staff he'd acquired clumped against the ground with every step. He suddenly stopped. It gave him an idea.

He checked the two glittering topaz gems that were fixed on his wristbands. Both were filled to the brim with stored magic he knew all-too-well how to use. He closed his eyes and took in a small breath. He felt the energy from the gems radiate out and absorb into his body, reliving just the right amount he needed. In his mind, Sissmuth molded the energy. He felt the ground under his feet. He felt the jittery feeling of magic ready to be used.

And so he did.

"Stone Golem," Sissmuth said to the wind. Then he opened his eyes. Focused. "ARISE!!!"

Instantly, the ground shuddered. The caked and parched ground cracked, heaved, then moaned as a massive figure emerged from the dry earth like it'd been sleeping there all along. Rocks and stones rolled towards it and attached themselves on to make the golem complete. With a groan, it turned around and looked at Sissmuth expectantly.

Sissmuth felt drained. Even summoning a golem with as little energy as he did felt like he'd used up half of his life force. The topaz glittered again, then lost a bit of its luster. He looked up at the golem. "Take me to the shore," he said.

The golem tilted its head. After a few seconds, it finally recognized him then outstretched a hand. Sissmuth climbed onto the stone figure's shoulder and rest himself. Then, the mighty stone golem began bumbling its way towards the edge of Valter.

Of course, Rusty should have always believed in his instincts since there really was someone following him through those trees. His friend and trusted acolyte to Jollanel, Dakota. With her trusted hat and somewhat formal attire that made her look like either an inspector or a moderninze version of Men In Black with wolf anthros instead of Will Smith. She was always helping out by keeping her friend alert and trusting his gut first. At first her plan was to attack him in the immeadiate second, but it would have been too obvious and not enough fun any. The wolfess kept pace only stopping for an occasional swig of water but he wasn't alert anymore which marked the perfect time to strike.

"Well Rusty I hope you really like steel 'cause that's the meal for today" she said and soon spun her tonfas leaping out of the tree both of the poles glowing red hot at around hundred-degrees combined.

The trap is sprung. Rusty spun around on the balls of his feet, his left hand still occupied by the metal case, but his right hand under his jacket and pulling out a dagger from its resting place. Holding it backwards, he rose the dagger up in front of him, ready to block.

He focused on the attacker as she came closer --her details became clearer behind the glowing tonfas as she did-- but his focus was thrown off by something in the air.
In the space between Rusty and his attacker, small glittering dots started forming in the air. Each dot grew and came together with others to form spheres...of water.
In no time at all there were enough spheres touching each other to for a wall that as soon it was formed, came crashing down as Dakota plowed into it; her surprise attack had been spoiled.

Rusty took an breath and then hid his dagger under his jacket and slide it into its sheath. He thought of stepped forward to help Dakota up to her feet but he stopped when he heard a gruff voice come from behind him.

"Dakota. It's a surprise to see you today, young wolfess." It was Jollanel. He came up, passed Rusty and stopping a few feet in front of him. Rusty couldn't help notice that his hands and the ends of his sleeves were soaked. "I'll give you that it was a nice attempt, but you overlooked something quite important." He lowered himself to be at Dakota's level and said: "You must know your target. Because of their light build, foxes are known for their awareness. If something goes wrong they will become wary, even when they don't show it. As is the case here." He stood up and offered a hand to Dakota to help her up.

"And were you not the one who taught that perception by the eyes isn't the bigger picture" the likeness of Dakota said sarcastically and she melted into one big puddle of water. It was then that the real Dakota popped out behind Rusty and merely touched one of her tonfas to his pressure point right underneath the arm rendering it useless for about ten seconds plenty of time to sweep at his legs and pin him to an arrowhead to his forehead. "Of course if you remember then when your enemy has believed that they have defended themselves successfully then their combat effecientcy is reduced by half thus rendering any fox instincts useless" she said and helped up Rusty then bowed respectfully.

"It's always nice to see you master and you too Rusty she said then took a look around. It wasn't long before she realized that they were in the same spot as yesterday and many months before though this time would be much different and her's and Rusty's lives would change. "Well it's almost time to begin our journey soon hard to believe that seventeen years went by like that

Akari's ears pricked up. He heard a noise in the distance, and it caused him to spin his head to the side. He noticed a flash of light and seeing something that appeared to be red-hot metal in the distance. Then he heard voices. One of them sounded like the cartographer that Rusty lived with, and the other he didn't recognize. He headed towards that direction, moving from behind one tree to another, just to be wary.

His mind went alive with imagination, imagining that he was in a secret agent, someone who could meet danger around the corner at any time, someone who could strike at any moment. It was exhilerating.

He reached the vicinity of where he heard the noises, and peered around a tree. Rusty and the cartographer, Jollanel, were there. He expected as much. But what he didn't expect was the arctic wolf whom he did not recognize. I've never seen her before... he thought to himself. Well, maybe I'll find out later. She seemed to have been attacking Rusty, but the strange part about it was that Jollanel didn't seem to be taking it seriously. Then he saw her help him up, and he was wary no longer.

Wanting to make a surprise entry, Akari held out his palm towards the arctic wolf and Rusty, then curled his fingers suddenly. A slight breeze went from that direction towards his palm. It was a move he called "Reverse breeze," which worked the same as the regular "breeze," except he made it move the opposite direction. This normally caused people to look the opposite direcion from him, making it an excellent diversion.

Without warning, he sprinted towards the group, and at the last moment, he ducked and rolled between Rusty and her, drew his swords, then held them out, pointing at both of them. "Rusty, when will you learn to get along with others?" he asked jokingly. He laughed, and then put his swords away. "Nice to see you, man..." he said to him, and then turned to face the arctic wolf. He took a good look at her face, and realized that it did look somewhat familiar. He'd seen her a few times when he was at Rusty's place when they were younger, but not recently. Since he and Rusty often went out on their own, he didn't see the interior of Rusty's house too often anymore. Yet, he still couldn't bring himself to remember the arctic wolf's name.

"I remember you," he said, "but I don't remember your name... Wait, it starts with a 'D', right?"

---Update---
August 19, 2008: I've added how currency would work in Ekleron to the main post. It is clearly labeled as NEW under the The World subsection. Be sure to read it.
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Jollanel expected as much. Dakota did have a really crafty mind, definitely talented despite being handicapped by her fake arm. She still had a lot to learn though, like being careful how much magic she used. For a trainee, a move like that would require a good amount of magic to pull, she probably didn't have enough magic to easily defend herself if Rusty saw her and counterattacked.

Jollanel rose and faced Dakota and Rusty. "Likewise, Dakota. But you know not to call me master anymore. I'm not a part of Q'ercheck Ental as I once was." He focused on Dakota, crossed his arms, and grinned. "Not too worry, Dakota. You have plenty of time to marinate in the fact. For you, the coming-age-pilgrimage isn't almost for another month. "

The wind suddenly shifted for the opposite direction. Jollanel didn't seem to really notice, though he did take a quick glance towards the very direction. Rusty, on the other hand could guess what would happen next; he had experience this entrance before.
Sure enough, a moment later a dark gray and drown figure is standing in front of him with two swords drawn."Hello, Akari," he said simply. Then he turned to Dakota waiting to see what she would say.

Sissmuth didn't know he'd drifted off to sleep until he heard the startled cries of people and anthros below. His eyes snapped open, and the first thing he noticed was the sight of water. Lots of it. In no time, they've reached the shorelines of Valter. His gaze held for a moment as his body bounced to the rhythmic CHUM-CHUM-CHUM of his stone golem's footsteps...

At it was precisely his stone golem's footsteps that was causing all the commotion. Suddenly, he was wide awake, and gazing down, horrified, as the golem continued to trample forward, completely mindless of anything -- or anyone -- in its way. It simply kept on walking towards the water.

Another Lizardfolk whom Sissmuth did not recognize hissed up at him and spat out a words he was already too far away to hear. Others were quickly trying to gather their things and scramble out of the way before they were crushed beneath the stone golem's feet.

"Oh no. No, no, no, no!!" Sismuth slithered around the golem's back, his mind frantic at the commotion he'd caused.

A scream. The golem was only two steps away from crushing a small Lizardfolk child who stood petrified, half with fear and half with awe, looking up at the golem. It didn't slow down a bit.

Finally, Sissmuth maneuvered right next to the golem's head. "HAAALT!!!" He shrieked. The golem had a foot already half-lifted up in the air, mere inches away from flattening the child. Another Lizardfolk scooped up the youngster and called out a chain of curses at him, disappearing into the crowd.

The golem stood dumbfounded, and was obviously no better at standing on one foot that it was at being mindful of its surroundings. SIssmuth looked down at the angry glares of the people gathered at the water's edge, the docks not too far away. A nervous chuckle escaped him as he jumped down from the golem's shoulder. He landed roughly on the ground, the staff pounding the earth beside him. He looked at everyone, then addressed, "I humbly apologize for the commotion. Golems can be very stupid creatures."

The stone golem tilted its head in confusion.

Everyone looked at one another, then back at Sissmuth before silently and slowly dispersing to return to their business. Their eyes were still slanted in a glare, but it was obvious that no one wanted to make a big deal out of this any more than was necessary. No harm had been done.

Sissmuth turned back to the golem and said in a faint whisper, "I release you now." Instantly, the golem heaved a sigh as it crumbled to the ground in a heap of stone and rubble.

Continuing forward, it took four tries before Sissmuth finally found a suitable boat and a willing captain to carry him to the mainland. It was an export ship, loaded with all sorts of goods native to Valter that would be sold to other locations -- Hamma Fruit, with seeds as poisonous as swamp bile, but meat as sweet as candy; shedded Lizardfolk skin that could be used to make a kind of armor (Sissmuth winced; the captain only shrugged and said it was business... why let it go to waste?); and spicy Ba-ugan pods, which, only native Valterians could eat without ever needing a glass of water to go along with it.

The bargaining was vicious. The captain first demanded 25,000 drops, but with a tweak of his eyebrows and a slight rumbling from beneath the ground, he finally agreed to an even 10,000. Once the price was settled, Sissmuth frowned as he pulled out a great many of the flattened jewels out of his sash. He now only hoped this captain was trustworthy.

Within the hour, Sissmuth was out in open water, feeling the fresh breeze against his snout, hearing the melodic crash of waves, and feeling the slight churning in his stomach. He groaned and leaned over the edge of the boat. "I think I'm going to be sick," he moaned.

And he did.