Kelvic on the slave stand, waiting for a master (closed)

[Aurum]

Timestamp: Day 23 of Spring 512
Location: A Ravok Slave Stand

"sold.Congradulations to the man in the white shirt in the back. Next up we have a beautiful young Kelvic by the name of Aurum." The crowd is watching. The stage is set. Now, Aurum walks to her postion, her beautiful black hair cascading down her back and hangs at her bare shoulders. No this is not a show. This is real life. "Now, see how this beautiful woman can become a fierce pretator." That was her cue. A shimmer of light and where a woman once was, there is now a beautiful a fierce Golden Eagle. She lifts into the air and circles the crowd. Then she dives, her talons out. A sream of a mouse. She soars back into the sky and then lands on the Auctioneer's gloved arm. She eats the mouse as she waits to see how her performence went. "are there any bidders?'' the Acutioneer calls.

[Auguste]

The pavilion reeked of humidity, sweat, and exrement, all merged together and condensed into a disgusting ball that was the slave market. The crowds roared boisterously, screaming either offers or obcenities, along with the occasional haggling of prices. Shackles that held the weakened, lethargic bodies of hundreds of men and women, clad in roughspun sackcloths and their own dried blood, were all lined up along the edges of the pavilion. It was a horrible sight, almost enough to have Auguste lose his lunch. He wedged his way past stocky men clad in unsightly thick clothing and the women who accompanied them, wondering for the life of him how they could ever benefit from such a dehumanizing act. These poor people needed to be set free. Yet he couldn't bear to do a thing about it. He gazed up at the fair-skinned, beautiful women who were strung along the pavilion's iron poles like charms on a bracelet, all purposely dressed in provocative clothing that barely even covered their bodies. He winced as he eyed the most beautiful one of them all, a blonde, her blood smeared around her body as she hung beneath a couple of brunettes and redheads. It was a shame. "Sold!" came the roar of the slaver onstage, his arms to the sky as the many onlookers either cheered for the buyer or sneered for their own loss. Auguste caught a climpse of the young slave who'd just been purchased by a rather capable merchant, who mercilessly dragged him offstage. "I have something special coming up for you all now," the slaver bellowed, and his audience cheered as if they were being inducted into a exclusive celebration. Auguste had successfully dodged the burly hand of one overexcited armored man as he had his feet planted a few meters away from the round, wooden stage. They presented the best of the best here, usually, and by the way the man was introducing the next slave, it was probably of a much different race. Sweat trickled down Auguste's neck and forehead, dripping off his chin and onto his cloak. "This place is in such a terrible condition," he noted, his eyes scanning the scene with contempt. And then came in the next creature to be auctioned. He expected a glorious Konti, from the way the slaver spoke, yet here stood a very ordinary-looking girl. Her eyes were a deep green, and her dark hair was in clumps as they fell along her back and shoulders. "In better condition than the others, but still..." he made a face, dismissing the young woman as he turned away from the stage, but the slaver continued to speak. "A kelvic!" he exclaimed, pointing his palm out to the sky, and then she took flight. Auguste's jaw slackened at the sight of her morphing, the twinkling lights and the golden gleams that surrounded her body, eating away at her human visage and revealing an eagle, its feathers an iridescent gold. She had discarded her tattered, wrinkled clothing, and was now soaring in circles around the audience, who were all in awe. She screeched and landed upon the ground near the entrance, and just as they assumed she would escape, she returned with a mouse between her talons, its skull crushed and its body bloody. She perched herself upon the slaver's gloved arm faithfully after discarding the rodent's carcass next to her clothing. "Name your price, men! She could be yours teday!" was the slaver's final, phlegmatic holler. The croud quieted, friends and companions began to whisper and mumble, debating on the detriments and benefits of purchasing the Kelvic slave. Obviously she was going to be expensive. Auguste watched as reluctance weighed on and grew even heavier as the time passed. "Does she cook?" he called out with a mischievous grin, glancing over at the other men who observed the eagle. A roung of chuckles and guffaws erupted from the crowd, effectively breaking the silence and the tension. Yet, even then, doubt and reluctance continued to reign their hearts, as more questions reigned their minds.

[Marcus Ahysen]

Marcus slowly made his way through the throng of people gathered in the market. He was not in disguise today, but walking openly for all to see. It was a work day, and he was dressed in his black robes, proudly wearing the crest of the Black Sun. As people noticed him they moved out of his way, the crowd parting to make room for one of their leaders. Marcus was just an agent, the lowest of the Black Sun, but it still put him mountains above the normal riff-raff that massed in the market. Marcus did not personally own any slaves, though there was no real reason for it. His family had slaves, to be sure, and many a servant waited on him hand and foot when he worked in the temple. But personally, Marcus had never owned one. His preferences were.. exotic, to say the least, and exotics were so rare, and usually snatched up by the first wealthy Nitrozian that could get their hands on one. But this day luck was on his side. Not that he was shopping for slaves, per se, he had actually come to the market to spread a bit of Chaon. It was sort of a personal campaign he was on. The storm early that season had been a sign, he believed, as well as did a few others of the faithful. Ravok had grown complacent in their worship of their god, offering him only lip service instead of love. Ravok had become orderly, disgustingly so, bordering on the likes of the Sylirians. It pained Marcus to see this, and he believed that the storm had been a punishment from Rhysol, and a reminder that the freedom Ravokians possessed was only thanks to their loyalty to their god. But those were thoughts for another day. Marcus was intrigued when the next slave was brought up, standing nude in Synas light. She was not the most alluring of all the slaves, though to say she was unattractive would be a blatant lie. She wouldn't have been on display in such a manner if she had been unattractive. But she had something else about her, a fierce look, despite her obvious obedience to the auctioneer. But it was when she shifted that Marcus truly understood. A kelvic! And a bird, at that. Strangely the crowd did not immediately go into an uproar when she landed; perhaps most of them had already spent their mizas on other slaves. One man did speak up, though not to bid. He was the smart sort, the one who would get the best wares, because he did not immediately throw his money on the table. He asked a question, and a good one at that, but Marcus also wanted to know something. The agent made his way toward the front of the crowd, and when he was in ranged, he threw his question in with the other. "Is she literate? Can she read and write?"

[Auguste]

As the roar of laughter and chuckles died out, Auguste eyed a man clad in distinctive black robes as he approached the stage, situating himself a few inches away from where he was. He glanced around and found that the crowd began to shift uncomfortably, but more so due to the presence of a respectable being, rather than one to be feared. He looked the man over curiously, as he slowly maneauvered past a couple of people to stand next to him. Everyone continued to mumble and debate with one another, as the man spoke up. "Is she literate? Can she read and write?" yet another viable question, one that had heads nod vigorously in agreement. There was no laughter, though some cracked smiles at the man's inquiry. Auguste smirked, his eyes finally able to meet with the man's face, albeit only his profile. He was a rather handsome and neat-looking man, with not a hair out of place on his head. His eyes were a brilliant light blue, a shade of which Auguste has never been accustomed to seeing. He could not, however, inspect his robes any further, but there seemed to be an emblem on its torso. "I'd have to ask around on this one," he mused, as his eyes gravitated towards the stage once more, resting his gaze upon the perching eagle. As a traveler, he had little to no information on Ravok, except their extreme reverence ot the god Rhysol. Nonetheless, if he was expecting to stay any longer, he'd better find a few things out. The slaver looked absolutely aggravated as he frowned at his audience, who all remained reluctant and uncooperative. "Keep it up and I'll be namin' the price!" he said with a chuckle, but the joking threat flew in one ear and out the next. Auguste wanted to speak, mutter something, start a conversation with the mysterious man, but found his throat locked with uncertainty. "Look at the way the moved for him, silenced for him, and respected him," he told himself, staring blankly at the slaver and his latest prize, as the other buyers did, "I mustn't speak too casually, or with disrespect." He smirked, finding it a little silly that he was preparing himself for a conversation, when normally he'd just be shooting smiles and speak in a heartbeat. The man's question seemed to be the spark he needed to start. "We seem to be thinking alike, in this situation," he mumbled, tilting his head towards the man as he spoke, yet keeping his eyes facing the two beings onstage. With luck, he may have himself a great talk, or perhaps even gain a friend.

[Aurum]

The Accutioneer smiled. "My dear would you like to tell them?" Aurum flew over to the stage's steps and landed. Then there was a flash of white and the woman was sitting on the steps. She got up and brushed off some dirt and then started to walk toward the two men singing. "Does an owl live for night? Does a fox pup play in the grass? Does a fish swim in the sea?" She walked up to Auguste "Yes i can cook. I'm not the best in the world but i can." She danced her way over to Marcus. "Yes, I can read and write. Im not the best in the world but i can." A flash of brillant white light and the Eagle soared back to the stage, landing on the accutoneer's arm.

[Airyn]

Airyn stood in the center of the crowd, listening to all of this with rage building inside of her. She had come here on a mission of her own, but seeing this going on and more importantly that another Kelvic was a slave herself, Airyn was completely pissed off. She started to forget why she was here, and more importantly that she needed to stay hidden and blend in as a human so she was not captured herself. And yet this girl seemed at peace with her fate, she was so controlled with her actions and she didn't look frightened at all.

*This is horseshite* She thought to herself. She stood there silently though, her bright green eyes flashing, and asking herself why she wasn't leaving this place yet.

[Marcus Ahysen]

Marcus watched and listened as the kelvic woman answered both of their questions, her impressive display of shifting and flying quite entertaining to watch, not to mention the show of complete obedience she displayed to the auctioneer. As for his competition, the man who wanted to know if she could cook, he seemed to be trying to cozy up to Marcus. Normaly the agent didn't mind good conversation, but they were in the middle of a business deal, so he had to be wary. The man could simply be trying to trick him out of a good buy. "Indeed," he responded, "Only a fool buys something he doesn't know anything about. A well behaved kelvic like this one could be quite useful to Rhysol, and to me, but only if she has skills that I can use." From the looks of it, she did have skills that Marcus could use. Cooking wasn't all that important to him, but the reading and writing was good, she was pleasing enough to look at, a singing voice could come in handy.. well, even the cooking could be useful to him in some situations. Was she worth the coin it would take to win her, though? True, as an agent of the Black Sun, he could always requisition her, but one thing he was taught at the Temple was that whenever possible it was best not to take advantage of the populace. The Black Sun wanted their people to love them, not hate them. Stealing from them was always a last resort. "Let's start it at a hundred then," Marcus shouted, much to the delight of the auctioneer as he held up a bulging bag of coins. Granted, there weren't hundreds in the little bag itself, but Marcus was good for it.

[Auguste]

The Kelvic shifted forms in such an effortless flourish, as she just had just done so thrice, with barely any length of time between them. Yet she walked, moved, and stood without even a break of sweat, a loss of breath, or an aching muscle. "Now, isn't that supposedly tiresome?" he whispered to no one in particular as he gazed up at the girl, who had herself enveloped in the golden speckles of light, eating at her visage and reverting her back into her eagle form. She perched herself upon the slaver's gloved arm once more, who looked clearly pleased with himself. Despite her display of fluent speaking and apparent literacy, Auguste continued to have his doubts. Clearly, the audience was pleased with her, and perhaps even the robed man next to him was convinced, as the Kelvic had suddenly gained more of his focus and attention. "There's more to her than meets the eye, I wonder..." he mused silently. "Indeed," he heard the robed man respond to him, "Only a fool buys something he doesn't know anything about. A well behaved kelvic like this one could be quite useful to Rhysol, and to me, but only if she has skills that I can use." Auguste grinned, licking his lips as he nodded to the man. "It all seems quite peculiar to me, though," he murmured, hoping that he could hear him despite the constant bickering of the crowd that enveloped them from behind, their noise only heightening after her little show. "I still have my qualms, as it all seems rather... Staged and rehearsed, her words? Her manner of speaking?" he shook his head, his eyes still set upon the Kelvic as he spoke. But the man did seem intent on purchasing the girl, his heart was set, and it appeared that at any given moment, he would begin the bid with his own. Auguste did not bother to ask his opinion, as he assumed he would voice it if he agreed or disagreed with him. He simply watched as the robed man held up voluptuous bag of coins and voiced his bid. "Let's start it at a hundred then," he called out. His pouch barely made a noise as he raised it up; clearly it was filled to the brim. "A hundred mizas!" came the auctioneer's excited cheer, his free arm raising up as he shook his fist, his face glowing as he eyed the robed man's coin pouch. But just as quickly was he delighted, was he quick to regain composure. He contorted his features into nonchalance as he turned towards the mumbling crowd, who by the looks of it contained numerous people who were more interested in bidding than before. The audience stared up at him expectantly, and he returned their gaze with his own determined one. "I have a hundred mizas, do I have a hundred and fifty?" he exclaimed, as he held up his prized Kelvic a little higher. "A hundred and fifty?" he reiterated. Auguste shook his head once more, and turned towards the robed man. "This one will be yours, I believe," he said with a small smile, "I'd rather a simple human." And he meant it. The whole concept of slavery was not something that bothered him, but neither was it something that interested him. He would purchase whatever enthralls him to such a degree that he would bid on impulse, if the slavers and the auctioneer could ever display one that would. He remained in his place, however, next to the robed man. He wanted to see who would be going home with this Kelvic.

[Aurum]

Aurum smiled an eagle type of a smile at the handsome brown haired man with light blue eyes. He was a figter, a predator, and she could see it. She admired him for it. All predators respect each other. She may be bird and he may be human, but she reconzied the predator in him. Those eyes scanned the crowd with the stare of a hunter, as if stalking his prey. The robes that danced around his body in the wind made her want to fly. She had been told to stay where she was unless the auctioneer told her to otherwise. However, she couldn't resist. Besides, one last show might stir up some more bidders. She took off. Circling the crowd, she saw the auctioneer glare at her for not doing as she was told. Oh well, nothing i can do about that now. I'll just have to put on a good show. She gave of a shreik that sent small dogs running. She banked and turned and wheeled. Acrobat of the Sky. She plunged to earth, almost crashing. Then with a beat of her powerful wings she soar up high, dashing in and out of low forming clouds. The sun reflected off her golden-brown wings and she shreiked in delight. Soon, too soon, the flight came to an end and she landed on the auctioneer's arm again. The man smiled fakely, "Wasn't that amazing folks? Imaging, having this beautiful hunter obey your every command!" He did adapt to situations quickly. She wondered if that was part of the job requirement, to be open to change. Probably. "Do I have one hundrad fifty? one fifty? Anyone?"

[Marcus Ahysen]

The man standing nearby seemed more intent on conversation than he did on actually purchasing the kelvic. Of course it was staged, how else did he expect the slaver to sell a person to a bunch of people who knew absolutely nothing about what they could do. That she could read and write meant she had at least a little bit of brains about her, and that was good in a slave. True, it meant that they were more likely to rebel against an unruly master, but such thoughts could be broken from even the most stubborn slave. And Marcus had the advantage of Chaon on his side. Few were willing to risk being cursed by the power of Rhysol's faithful. "Perhaps it is staged, but you can still learn a thing or two from an act. She has stamina, always a good quality in a slave. She has the sense of mind to keep up the act and she is willing to obey at least her current master. She can obviously speak well enough, but if it's true that she can also read and write, then it means she is likely smart enough to perform complex tasks. Sounds like a good buy to me." Marcus looked about, waiting for someone to raise the bid. He obviously wasn't going to raise it himself, that would be silly. If he could get the slave for the one hundred mizas, he would be a happy man. But he would go higher if he must. He had coin to spare. So far though it seemed that the rest of the crowd was unconvinced, or perhaps they did not want to bid against one of the Black Sun. Marcus didn't mind a little friendly competition, but there were some among his religion that would maim a man simply for looking at them wrong. Marcus wasn't one of them, but the reputation did come in handy from time to time.