the land of faerres { Sih likes shiny things }

[Sarill]

Yay! First try XD Thank you so much for doing this Taiyo! I'm so exited for tomorrow ^.^

[Taiyo]

The annual Christmas Hide-and-Seek finally starts!
Each participant of the first round are escorted to their separate starting points, once the bugle signals the start of the game, you may start searching!
You have 2 days to reply to posts, failure to do so will result in disqualification.
This. of course, does not apply to me, since I have 10x more posts to reply to than you.
No one-liners. c: have fun!
* yes, you can change your form description if you want, but it's not really important *

The sound of the bugles rung loud and clear, the game starts! You now stand in the beautiful Gardens of Vinara. A vast garden that was funded by the Queen. Not willing to waste anymore time you decided to get on your way… but which way should you go?

the crooked path or the flowery path?

The blindfold on your eyes were lifted and you're surprised to find yourself stationed at Srail, the tourist town. The town is bustling with activity as usual, but there seem to be quite a warriors stationed around as well, blocking off several routes. The bugles had rung several moments ago, snapping out of your day dream you decided to start searching along the paths that are available and not blocked by warriors. Which path will you choose to travel?

the one with more shops or into the dark alley?

This is… quite unexpected. Of all places you'd expected to be escorted to, you've been placed at Yadot! The wilderness where only exiles and dangerous animals can be found! This is the forest filled with dangers and surprises and only the strongest of the strong or the stupidest of the stupid would dare venture out into this place. Is this a suicide mission? You're feeling the nervousness settling in so before you start wetting yourself you decided to get the ball rolling… until you approach a growling bush and a moving fern…

which one would you approach?

You open your eyes to face rows and rows and rows of books lined up in orderly fashion, in orderly bookcases, with orderly Faerres organizing everything in orderl- ok we get it. The sound of the bugles had signaled the start of the game several minutes ago, you looked down the path before you.. should you continue forward?

How typical! To start at the famous Altar! If Faerres leaves here, you shall start here! Suddenly you hear the soft patting of pawsteps quickly approaching you and you turned to find a courier part of the game in front of you. This courier Faerre gave you a letter and ran off to deliver the other mail.
Curious you opened the letter…

Dear participant,
Welcome to Vinara's annual hide-and-seek game!
Before you start, here's a quest for you!…

You stopped reading and looked up to find warrior Faerres blocking the exit from the Altar, so it seems like you'll have to complete the quest to be able to continue… you continued reading.

…All you have to do, is to write a poem about anything in Vinara on the back of this letter and place it on the ground. Have fun!
Signed,
The Queen

You wander aimlessly through the courtyard, confused and quite lost. Who knew you would end up within The Queen's majestic castle? You're feeling a bit nervous for so far everything looked normal until you bumped into…

The Queen herself! Quickly you went on your knees and greeted the royal and the white Faerre smiled at you, pardoning your collision with her.
"You must be one of the participants of this year's game." the twin-tailed Faerre chuckled lightly, "Well then, why not answer this riddle for me before proceeding with the game?" Not wanting to offend the kingdom's Queen or strongest Faerre alive you decided to listen to her request.
"I have buildings, but no Faerres.
Swamps, but no mud.
Gardens, but no flowers.
And lakes, but no water.
What Am I?"

You could feel the magic tingling in the air, prickling your senses. The swarm of mages that rushes here and there takes your breath away. Normally, only those with magical capabilities are allowed into the Mage Academy, you are honored to be in here, so close to many of those… rare Faerre mages. Snapping out of your daydream you started walking, something pulls at you and willingly let it, until you reached three doors…

should you enter the left, center or right door?

The clang of swords became a constant sound as you spend more and more time in the Warrior's Academy. Who knew you would end up here! You watched with fascination as warriors threw themselves at each other, mentors scolding apprentices and warriors… being warriors. A warrior noticed you and began walking over,

it was the leader of the warriors! "You must one of the participants of this year's game." he murmured softly, surprising you with his gentle low voice. "Why they would choose this place as a starting point confuses me. We're busy here." the warrior shook his head. "Well since you're here you wouldn't mind doing a quest. As a warrior, we have to train our body but also our soul. We must be gentle and caring. So do gift one of the participants a gift, be it pets or art. Come back to me when you're done. and show proof." with that the ancient warrior went back to observing the training field, barking orders and whipping out his sword to break apart fights.

Well. This is weird. Why would they escort you to the very gates of Vinara? The starting point of all starting points indeed! You began to proceed into the city to continue the hunt when you were stopped by two Faerres. "We can't let you past!" "Nope! We can't! Not until you answer this wittle quiz!" the twins giggled and pranced around you. "Do you still remember who was the first warrior to leave Vinara?"

Blurp. Uck! Ew! ADHLKASJHDLKJSH! The swamp?! Of all places, THE SWAMP?! It stinks, it gurgles and it groans! The swamp is dark and menacing and even looks alive! You're quite disgusted and frightened at the odd turn of events, is there even a Faerre or perhaps a custom orb hidden in such a place? And even if there is… would you still want to take it home…? Just then you hear the eerie sounds of something shuffling in the darkness followed by an ugly burp of the swamp… should you investigate?

[Starless Eyes]

Straggler looked worried. Her bright pink pelt would stand out. But, prior to leaving Toxin helped her. A small vial of his worst toxin. She looked around. A growling bush, that could mean a Faerre. Or a moving fern. She looked side to side. She breathed in the air and went toward the moving fern

[Starmz ♥]

The cat was in her normal form, for the situation (despite being rather enchanting) had not yet called for a change into her fantasy form. And, well, something she wouldn't admit to anyone else was that she had yet to get her morphing under control. It could be triggered by a threat, a shock, or even the slightest emotional rush. Which, of course, totally explained why her tail started to fluff up abnormally when she bumped into something soft - and then saw the Queen of Faerres herself. Eyes opening wide, Mikomi quickly attempted a deep bow, and then, struggling to get up, apologised over and over. She was definitely not making a good first impression! Smiling bashfully at the Queen, she wondered what the consequences would be.

"W-why yes, I am." Though she started off stuttering, well, who was to say that the Siamese mix was not well-versed in the art of putting up pretences? Masking her anxiety with a cover of calm, Mikomi still bore a shy smile on her muzzle, but managed to speak in a flowing, (almost!) confident manner. "A riddle, hmm?" She murmured, more to herself than the Queen. Sitting down on her haunches, Mikomi pondered this in her mind as her tail, still fluffed up, wove light patterns in the air. Normally she might be able to answer a riddle or two, but put on the spot, in front of one of the most respected Faerres in the known world, the cat no longer could say that reason was the determining factor for her actions.

Right paw tracing swirls in the ground, Mikomi's eyes gazed downwards for a few heartbeats before she looked up at the Queen again, all façades of calmness gone. "Well, I'm not quite sure, but could it be ... a drought?" 'Wait, no, that's bound to be wrong - that doesn't fit with the, What Am I question she posed.' Cringing, she half-heartedly wondered why she did everything wrong. 'Hey. It doesn't matter if you're wrong, right? There is no one true answer - there are unorthodox ones, like the one you just thought up, and then there are those that people usually think of. It just shows that everyone, including you, is unique.' Great. Apparently the situation called for her very own comforting voice as well.

[Sarill]

Ugh. The swamp. The think mud coated her soft, silvery fur, and Algez wanted nothing more than to leave and get take a long, long bath. But still, the possibilities of the whole treasure hunt exited her. And after all, she had been lucky enough to get a coveted spot in the event, and she was going to play this game to the fullest. The noise off in the darkness was frightening, but she would go and investigate. It will be fun, she told herself, trying to believe her own words. The queen wouldn’t allow anything dangerous to happen to the participants, would she? Fear gnawing at her belly, Algez took one squelching step at a time, growing closer and closer to the mysterious noise.

[dragonewe]

"Th-the Queen?" September said almost stumbling back in awe and excited horror. She smiled and then tucked the note carefully into the book bag on her back. while at the same time pulling out a piece of paper and pencil. "Alright lets start this!" she said putting the pencil to paper and beginning to write...

Vinara
Magic and awe
An altar of hope
The faerees of a land
Of wonder abroad
Tucked away for so long
And then shown the light
Vinara, vinara, continue to shine bright.

September smiled and then held the paper up to the warrior.

[Raindrop]

Tenme stared around in awe, struck by the realisation that she was standing one of the most magical areas in Vinara. Even her usual shyness was forgotten as she looked around at the regal building. Eventually, her eyes came to rest upon three similar-looking doors, each the same, from the wooden frames, down to the polished bronze doorknob. She approached them warily, sniffing each in turn.

Tenme knew that any non-Mages should never attempt to play or fiddle with magic if they did not know what they were doing, for it could spontaneously combust in her face and scar her for the rest of her life, but she couldn't help it. Something, a strong feeling of temptation, was urging her to enter through one of those doors. She briefly struggled with this urge, but soon curiosity won her over. Hesitating for just the slightest moment, she walked straight up to the center door.

[Taiyo]

Better safe than sorry! You decided to take on the moving fern instead. ANY moving fern could still be better than anything growling in the bushes of Yadot… even if moving ferns are a bit… unusual…
Cautiously you approached the fern, your heart beating in your throat and you could almost taste the bile from your stomach. What monster… what… creature will you meet? You closed the last few steps and peeked into the fern… and nearly got ran over by an escaping bunny rabbit! You collapsed on the ground, stunned and bewildered, your heart beating at an abnormal and unhealthy rate. That scared you! But it was only a bunny rabbit! Sighing you stood up and continued, nerves frazzled and senses on high alert. It wasn't long until something else collides into you! You turned to find a strange Faerre frothing at the mouth staring up at you. "You…" it hissed. UGH! It's breath stinks! This must be one of the many exiled Faerres in Yadot, he must've gone crazy in his stay in this… bizarre wilderness. "You… strange… creature…" it spat, it's frothy spit flying everywhere. "Answer me! WHEN DID RETSMAH LEAVE VINARA?! AND WHO DID SHE LEAVE WITH?!" the deranged old Faerre gargled, clinging onto you. Perhaps it's wise to answer his question before leaving… who knows what kind of disease he has… you wouldn't want his… frothy spit and fangs in you do you?

You hand the piece of paper to a warrior who was guarding the exit, and the Faerre graciously accepted the paper but… didn't move aside. Awkwardly the warrior coughed and started speaking, "I'm sorry, but you can't leave yet…" shock coursed through your body and doubt came next. What is this? This couldn't have been a prank right? "You must complete this quiz first…" OH. Well.. ok. You nod your head as a signal for the warrior to continue. "What is the name of the Faerre who likes poems?" then another warrior piped in quietly. "And what are the four main elements of Faerre magic?"

The Queen chuckled lightly "Nice try! But the riddle's answer is a map! I had fun little one, go on, proceed with the game, I wish you the best of luck!" with that, the majestic Faerre left you. You shrugged off the strange meeting and began walking aimlessly through the castle when you collided (AGAIN?!) with another Faerre.

This time, you came face to face with Rauga, the event coordinator and moderator. Oh no… you didn't do anything bad right? Didn't break any rules right? YOU JUST COLLIDED WITH THE EVENT COORDINATOR! You're not going to get disqualified for that right…? "Oh good!" What? "I'm busy, so why don't you help me with my work? It's… a QUEST! Yes. A quest for the game, so do it!" the orange hued Faerre huffed, his blind eyes staring ominously at you. Nodding slowly (even though you know Rauga can't see…) "Go and write up a list of all the participants in alphabetical order AND write where their starting points are as well! I don't know how you're going to do it, but just do! Just give your list to a warrior when you're done and tell them to give it to me." with that, the organizer rushed away, hurrying to attend to his other duties.

The center door swung open and an invisible force reached out and pulled you in so fast you barely had time to scream for help. You were flung unceremoniously into a dark room the sound of a door clicking shut echoing ominously in the dark room. In the room of utter darkness you felt confuse. Not even a peep of light can be seen, you can't even see the floor you're standing on! Where is the ceiling? where is the floor? are you standing? floating? where's the left? The right? Fear began to eat into you as you struggled through the blindness and utter darkness, until a foreign voice whispered into your ear. "Don't fret. We won't harm you." Ok. Now that's creepy! You opened your mouth to scream to only find that your voice failed you, something cold brushed along your neck, precariously close to your voice box. "Don't pollute our peace and silence." the voice whispered. "We'll let you go… when you answer this… how many Faerres have backward-spelt names?"

You decided to investigate anyways, nothing can get worse than getting stuck here in the first place… right? Shaking your head, you plod on through the ick and the mud, to find yourself at a fork in the road. The road on the left is dark and eerie, vines drape themselves lazily over a muddied pond. It seems like you'll have to waddle through the mud to get to the other side. The road on the right is illuminated slightly by sunlight, the road is clear and flattened with a rare flower growing here and there… it all seems a bit… well laid out don't you think?

Will you take the left or the right path?

[Wolf Shadowstalker]

Tsug gave a slight bow to leader of the Warriors. He understood the task he had been assigned. Even though he had only been a farmer before he left Vinara, all Faerres knew the importance of a strong body and heart to the Queen’s Warriors. Walking out of the Academy, he did his best to recall the other participants he’s seen before being blindfolded. The one he would give the gift to should be someone who would need it the most. One participant in particular came to mind; a pale grey Faerre like himself, who had seemed slightly overwhelmed by the excitement of the event. She could probably use a little encouragement. Tsug gave a slight nod to himself to finalize the decision and made his way into town. After asking around, he managed to get the information he needed. On his way to the Mage Academy, he stopped by one of the vendors along the path and bought a little something.

The Academy loomed above Tsug as he stared in amazement at the amount of mages surrounding him. It was the Mage Academy after all, but he never expected there would be so many! Suddenly coming to himself, he asked a passing courier if she had seen the Faerre he was looking for nearby. After being pointed in the right direction, he came upon the three, very large doors where the courier said she had seen the Faerre last. Despite the fact he carried no magic potential, Tsug could feel the power behind these doors and was feeling a little hesitant to pass through them. But if he was feeling this nervous, how much more agitated would the grey Faerre be? He pulled himself together and went through the center door, the only one that was open. He soon came upon the grey Faerre, and while her head was turned, quickly placed the gift he bought in town where she could easily spot it. Then he took off like the wind in a hurricane.

As Tsug left the left the Mage Academy, still in high gear, he chuckled. How surprised she would be to find something that hadn’t been there when she had entered! He was out of breath by the time he reached the Warrior Academy and had to pause a few moments to recover. Then, he walked up to the leader of the Warriors and stood at attention, trying hard to keep the delighted grin off his face. “I’ve delivered the gift, sir. What do I have to do next?”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Okay, the reply turned out to be a bit longer than I expected, but I had fun with it. c:
As you might have already guessed, I gifted Raindrop. Here’s the trade!

[Starmz ♥]

A little shaken by the meeting, she shrugs it off, giving the appearance of nonchalance. Inwardly, however, she is still contemplating the riddle. 'A map, huh? Hmm. Never heard of that one. Oh well, perhaps I can save it for another occasion!'

Wait, wait, wait - why exactly was she so clumsy today?! Normally Mikomi would be able to traverse such a short distance with nary a collision in sight, and yet this was the second accident she had had in the span of, what, a few metres? Groaning silently, she looked up and then quivered slightly. Wow. Either she was extremely fortunate to be meeting such important Faerres today, or she was having a bout of bad luck, meeting them in a most disastrous way. Sighing, she resigned herself to her fate and then waited to see what Rauga would do.

"A quest? I-" She was going to say that she would accept, but well, clearly he was in a hurry. Resisting the urge to frown at his retreating back, Mikomi nonetheless started to draw up a list of participants. Scanning the courtyard, she hurried over to one of the many dwindling Faerres and asked for a piece of paper and pen. The Faerre was surprised, but handed over the requested tools after asking others to pass them along. Smiling lightly, she thanked them and then thought back to the start of the event.

'Starting from alphabetical order ... then the first would have to be: Aruc!'
Writing that down, eventually the cat (through lots of hardship, sweat, blood and tears) managed to draw up the following list:
Aruc (Lostwhisper) - the Gardens of Vinara
Algez (Sarill) - the Swamp
Citrin (Ashenjay) - Srail, the tourist town
Mikomi Lunae ; Me! (Starmz) - the Castle Courtyard
Nimbus (Azure23) - Gates of Vinara
Schi (i8chichi) - the Library (?)
September (RighteousDream) - the Altar
Sraggler (Sebastian <3) - Yadot
Tenme (Raindrop) - the Mage Academy
Tsug (Wolf Shadowstalker) - the Warrior's Academy

Furrowing her brow, she hopes that's right. Hailing a passing warrior, Mikomi hands the list over with instructions to give it to Rauga. "Try to do it soon, please!" A feeling of foreboding passes over her, but she waves it away with a mental paw.