Closed When Waves and Cliffs Collide.

[Khal'iah]

Timestamp: 7th day of Spring 513 AV. The early hours of the day had found the violet-skinned warrior known drenched in a sudden rain. As typical, he ventured forth on a rigorous sprint, traversing the streets of the marine city Zeltiva and out into the surrounding hills. There he encountered his distant cousin, a Konti by the name Eleret, whom he had not seen in several years. Their reunion was cut short by the swift appearance of rain and the two found shelter underneath a formation of rocks. After waiting out the morning storm, the pair deviated, and Khal'iah made his return to Zeltiva...more than eager to dry off. As such, his first destination upon returning to the embrace of the bustling port city was the University dormitory that he had taken up residence within. Soggy. Winded. Grinning. The Akalak crossed the threshold of the establishment and ascended the flight of stairs leading up to his room. Admittedly, he felt bad that he was leaving tracks of water in his wake, but he was more focused upon getting a tad drier than he was mumbling apologies to every maid he passed along the way. Once within his quarters, the tall warrior removed his damp cloak and shook out his dreadlocks, fumbling about then to find a towel in order to dry his hair. To tell the truth, the fire he had erected whilst within the rock formation had served to eliminate much of the wetness, though his cloak was still damp. Khal'iah then simply hung the cloak over the edge of the chair present within the room, in order to dry, and replaced his longsword upon his belt. His trademark weapon, along with his buckler, had been left behind as he had went on his daily sprint. However, as typical, he had brought along his Lakan. Once thoroughly armed, the Akalak decided it was time to set out and fill the void that had come to occupy his stomach. He had yet to eat and it was high time he enjoy a nice, warm meal! With that in mind, the violet-skinned warrior departed from his room and the Inn, returning to the bustling streets in search of sustenance. His diligent search would bring him to the entrance of the local tavern, characterized by the aroma of fresh fish being cooked. The smell was enticing and ensnared the Akalak's attention from afar, guiding him to the establishment and through the door. To say the least, he was pleased with what he saw upon entering. The tavern was not especially crowded at the moment (though Khal'iah anticipated that many workers would soon be taking their lunch breaks and crowding the place) and it was aesthetically pleasing to his shimmering eyes. Long, confident strides bore the Akalak to the bar of the tavern and he seated himself upon one of the many stools before it. Upon greeting the barkeep with a warm smile and a nod of the head, he placed his order for a tankard of ale and waved over one of the waitresses roaming about to place his order for lunch. The catch of the day sounded especially pleasing, so that is exactly what he ordered. Now, it was only a matter of playing the waiting game whilst his lunch was prepared..

[Ricky Maze]

Peaceful is the city today, at least the idea was a hopeful one for Ricky. He was on lunch break when he decided to rest at the Grotto, ironically his post was mainly here today as he only needed to patrol the docks that were nearby. He was enjoying today considering things were starting to smooth out now, his home was now being shared with a friend so he knew she would be safe, and he was getting along with a woman he felt serious about. Things were just peachy this season, already the new year looked promising for Ricky. He couldn't fight the smile that came to his face as he thought about it, but then why should he anyway. After a terrible time and a miserable way to end last year, Ricky was finally glad everything finally began to turn out for the better.

His thoughts were put aside though when he saw a man enter the Grotto today, and this man happened to have a weapon at his side. 'What in Laviku's name does he need that for?'. His smile had went down a little as concern showed in his face, though that didn't keep the warm energy he felt from being present. With a drink of the water he had ordered he stood up, straightened out his azure uniform he treasured, and went over to this stranger calmly with a friendly grin. 'Keep it friendly mate, he doesn't look to be 'ere for trouble.' He reminded himself as he made is way over, today was just a good feeling day after all; nobody was here to spoil it.

"Pardon me sir," He spoke warmly with the same humble attitude, "Ye wouldn't happen to be plannin to do anythin with that blade o' yer's, would ye now?" He did his best to remain polite, considering he was still on duty. Although Ricky wore his longsword at his belt it was protocol for the guard to do so, especially after what happened with Kip last season.

[Khal'iah]

That was it. The violet-skinned warrior had finally had enough. Ever since he walked into the fair city of Zeltiva, he had received nothing but the dirtiest of glances and horrid treatment on the part of the denizens. Why? Because the Akalak carried a weapon and refused to pander to their pacifism by removing it. So, he, without complaint, went about his daily business: proof that carrying a weapon did not necessarily equate to a delinquent. Yet despite this, he was still given shifty glances, still treated poorly, and now he was being approached by a member of the Wave Guard. Ah yes, the esteemed order of servicemen garbed in azure, charged with the defense and lawkeeping of the city. Khal'iah had multitudes of respect for this fine congregation of warriors, but he was beyond tired of the ill treatment. And now, a member of the aforementioned order had decided to grace the Akalak with his presence. When he approached, Khal'iah regarded the man with a raised eyebrow, curious as to what he could possibly want. Perhaps he was simply about to ask the barkeep something...but that turned out not to be the case. Instead, his attention was placed upon the Akalak and an inquisition was posed that set the male's blood into a boil. 'Are you kidding me?!' he roared to himself, gritting his teeth in order to keep from blurting that aloud. His shimmering eyes came to narrow in response to this inquiry, and he placed a palm upon the hilt of his longsword as to make a point whilst he replied. "I wasn't planning on doing anything. I just came to eat, drink, and relax. Why do you ask? Are you planning on giving me something to do with this blade of mine??"

[Ricky Maze]

"Eh, no." Ricky ran his hand through the back part of his hair, a sincere expression now upon his face. "I'm just a concerned guard doin my job is all, simple procedure to ask a civilian what their plans with a weapon is. We've a lot of trouble with murders recently, and since one of our own was killed we have to be vigilant." Ricky guessed that this man had been asked about his weapon before, judging by the sound of his tone. With the way his hand rested on the hilt, Ricky wasn't sure if he was making a point or bringing about a challenge. Either way Ricky's comfort was a little thrown off at this, which caused his body to grow a little rigid while he carried on.

"Apologies to ya sir as it's just concern for the city, but if ya aren't plannin to do anythin with the blade then why carry it around?" Ricky inquired politely with a humble tone, there was no need for it but Ricky silently mustered confidence in himself. Confidence that would allow him to uphold the role of an authoritive protector, and give him the ability to keep his city safe from any possible threats. Not that this man was a threat to the city nor Ricky for the matter, but Ricky had to be prepared for anything nowadays so it was easier to embrace the idea that the unexpected can happen.

[Khal'iah]

'Either this man is daft...or he's never seen an Akalak before in the entirety of his life.' spat a rather venomous tone in the rear of the Akalak's psyche. Ha'lik, the "darker" persona that shared Khal'iah's body, was always watching everything that occurred from afar...and every so often he would chime in with his opinion. Whether it was welcome or not. More often than not, his statements were met with a swift rebuke on the part of Khal'iah, yet for once, the two halves agreed. 'I agree,' he thought, his grip only tightening upon the hilt of his longsword, 'yet the man is only doing his job. Perhaps I ought to cut him some slack...' To this line of thought, the darker persona filled the young warrior's ears to the brim with laughter in response. 'Are you petching mad? Must I remind you of what it was like in Syliras? Must I remind you of what you've been going through ever since you walked through the gates of this petching city? This has gone on long enough. Grow some backbone and let this man have it, because frankly, I'm tired of you letting us get walked all over.' Needless to say, the dark one's "pep talk" had worked. The growing frustration Khal'iah had dealt with from both the City of Peace and now the marine city had finally boiled over. With teeth gritting against one another, the Akalak rose to his feet, shimmering eyes glaring into the skull of the man before him. "Do you not know to whom you are speaking to? I am an Akalak, a son of Riverfall, a warrior by right and blood. I need no concrete reason to carry a blade." His nostrils flared as he paused, inhaling a deep, angry breath before continuing. "Concern for the city you say. Murder of one of your own you say. The blood of your comrade is on your own damn hands. It's you, and all the pacifist, cowardly people of this petching city's fault that your comrade was dead. Why? Because instead of doing the smart, reasonable thing and arming this city, the people rely upon a handful of glorified guards and make nasty faces at anyone whose smart enough to carry a sword around to defend themselves. If you want a petching reason for me to have this sword, here's one: I'd rather die defending my own arse from whatever mother-petcher is lurking in the shadows of this city than rely upon you and your ilk. Now, piss of and let me eat in peace."

[Ricky Maze]

Ricky was thrown off by the reaction he received from this man, the sudden outburst was enough to put Ricky right on the edge of losing his temper. He had to keep himself contained in order to keep from nearly yelling back at this man, though that still didn't stop the coloring in his cheeks when they went lightly flushed. Ricky cleared his throat as the Akalak seemed to glare into Ricky's eyes, a deep stare met the the eyes of the man before him as Ricky found courage to stand for what he believed in. This man was no threat to the city and he made it obvious, but he had practically spat on the name of the Guard which didn't favor well with Ricky. One thing he could stand to take was insults directed to him, but to his fellow men who gave their lives to protect their home just as well as he did was another. Thus Ricky decided to take matters into his own hands, and even though he would probably regret it the chance this offer was accepted could prove valuable to his home.

"Good breath of Laviku that's quite an attitude." He remarked as he placed his hands at his waist, the stare back lessened a bit as he bolstered the same confidence from earlier. "I can understand that it makes ye feel secure, I honestly push myself to have the same spirit so I can protect my home." He assured the Akalak, he believed in himself well enough to keep a sharp but lax gaze into this mans eyes. Though it was true he had never met an Akalak before, and this would clearly be an experience to remember someday. "In fact I believe our guard works pretty damn hard to keep Zeltiva safe, but if they had someone with yer kind o' spirit...

He waited to see if the Akalak knew where this was going, whether he did or didn't Ricky would continue though. "What I mean is that if ye think ya got the stones for it, try out for the initiation and see how it works. I sure as petch work hard at it." He crossed his arms as he waited to hear what the Akalak had to say, his mind curious as to what reaction he would have.

[Paragon]

Ricky

Experience

Skill	XP Earned
Investigation	1
Interrogation	1
Persuasion	1

Lores

•	Lore Earned
•	Weariness Around Armed Strangers
•	Scouting for New Wave Guardsmen
•	Spotting Potential

Legend Becomes Reality

Khal, I'm told you've left. Let me know if you return and I'll pop your grading right in. If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, please send me a PM and we can work from there.