Completed Dark Trilogy I - A Dark Stranger (Brandon)

Sneak all you like. Someone is always watching.

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The Diamond of Kalea is located on Kalea's extreme west coast and called as such because its completely made of a crystalline substance called Skyglass. Home of the Alvina of the Stars, cultural mecca of knowledge seekers, and rife with Ethaefal, this remote city shimmers with its own unique light.

Dark Trilogy I - A Dark Stranger (Brandon)

Postby Sal Mander on April 27th, 2014, 4:02 am

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Day 25, Spring of 514 A.V.

Sal stood hunched in a doorway, rubbing his hands together in an effort to summon some heat. He had no option to do the same with his feet, unless he wanted to draw stares from the handful of passersby who had not let the current storm keep them from their errands. While the roofs and trees wore thick blankets of white, the streets below were now a mess where traffic had trodden the snow into a hard sludge. The snow storm had been unrelenting for four days now, though today had seen fit to let up somewhat. Not that his place of work had shown similar mercy. Instead here he was, freezing cold and miserable, dreaming of being home in front of a fire. Not even his dog Corvo had ventured out with him, and Sal envied the mutt who was probably curled up nice and snug.

Across the street stood the majestic opera house of Lhavit, where on the morrow was to begin a host of auditions for the forthcoming ballet. Sal had little interest in performance art, but his duty here today was to find out for the Cosmos Center if the event was still going ahead, despite the weather. He had arrived earlier only to be met with no answer at the door. A merchant close by had claimed someone had been there and may have left on an errand. Rather than trudging through the streets only to return later, Sal had opted to remain in place in the doorway across the street, hoping the errand did not take whoever it was too long.

With little else to do, Sal did what he did best, watching the citizens of Lhavit going about their day as best they could given the circumstances. Here came an older man who was clearly struggling with the terrain, though his grizzled face showed a determination that he was not going to let mother nature keep him at home. In the other direction Sal heard a curse, turning to see a man with one leg ankle deep in a hidden puddle within the sludge. He chuckled to himself at the man's misfortune and wondered how many victims the puddle had claimed this day.

Now came a pair of Shinya, wearing their colored robes and intent stares. But even they seemed to carry a look that they would rather have been somewhere else today. Behind them a woman was picking her steps through the sludge, armed with a hen under one arm who seemed content to be carried. The woman let out a gob of brown spit that landed with a splat in the snow.

People continued to come and go, carrying wares or setting to tasks. Some were under dressed for the weather, rubbing their crossed arms and hurrying where the ground allowed them. Others were wrapped in thick scarves and wore woolen gloves, drawing envious glances from those without. To be fair to Lhavit, here was a city where life went on, come rain, sun and snow. Sal mused that not even fire and brimstone would keep people at bay. It also caused another chuckle when he heard people cursing, as though the weather had done them some great wrong. Certainly it was an inconvenience to people, but when did they decide that the weather should become an obedient servant?

Turning his gaze back to the opera house, Sal had decided a few more minutes was all he could spare, before he too would set out in the sludge once again, joining the rest of Lhavit in their grumblings of the weather.
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Last edited by Sal Mander on September 27th, 2014, 10:11 pm, edited 7 times in total.
Sal Mander
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A Dark Stranger (Brandon)

Postby Brandon Blackwing on April 27th, 2014, 5:18 pm

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Snow, the bat hated snow. It hurt his eyes, it was cold, it was wet and it turned in some black sludge when it was about to leave the city. Fortunately he had not been caught in the blizzard that had tormented the city the past few days, having entered his home when it started to shed the white flakes. It had raged on and on for nearly four days, starting the twenty-first and ending only today. Going out had been an idea of ridicule, it was way too comfortably warm inside and Brandon hadn’t really felt like diving into the outside world for a couple of days, he felt watched and even at home he had not been at ease, closing all curtains and opening the door for no-one, even shooting glances over his shoulder when he had been sitting in front of the fire, all alone. A couple of headaches had plagued him as well, and even though applying some of the snow on his aching forehead might have helped, he had refused to open the door, or a window. Ah, paranoia, got to love it.

Now though, he was all better, and after having been forced to slack for four days, he had to earn some money, or rather steal it. In this weather it was not a good idea to trespass, way too many trails and tracks left behind, as well as people staying inside. No, today would be a day of picking pockets, not the bat’s most liked criminal way of making money, but still, it had to be done. Even if his fingers were purple, insensitive and stiff due to the merciless cold, another reason why he disliked cold weather, not that the elements let that get to them, instead they continued their rampage, not caring about anyone or anything.

Today the bat found himself in a small alley that was close to the opera house, and surprisingly a well-used route, quite a lot of human traffic passing through for this being the aftermath of a snowstorm. The thief wore both his vest and cape today, measures to battle the cold and they held out quite well actually. The hood was raised, his scarf covering the lower part of his face, things that one might think of as means to warm himself efficiently –what indeed was part of the reason- but it was to stay anonymous too, he was thieving right now after all.

Picking pockets was harder than it looked, it required quick fingers, a target that wasn’t paying much attention and practice. No matter how good you were in picking pockets, if your target was focused enough you would not succeed. Today, it was even harder since he had almost no feeling in his fingers, making it hard to handle with finesse. Even so, when a man passed by, the top of his coin pouch sticking out from his pocket, the bat somehow managed to pull it out without him noticing. It helped that the man was in a hurry, the cold being the cause no doubt. The fished up pouch was then tied to his belt, which was also hard with icicles instead of fingers, but somehow it worked out. Somehow.

It was then that a severe case of swearing reached him, a glance around the corner was taken and not something not worth watching. The man had noticed the disappearance of his precious kina and cursed loudly at the sky, probably wondering when and where he had lost it. Brandon chuckled and retracted his head, walking a bit into the alley he was using as thieving spot, waiting for someone else to come by. And someone fit for robbing did, a man who looked quite rich, his clothes rimmed with fur. The coin pouch dangling at his hip tempted the purple fingers of the thief, they closed around it, feeling the kina inside. He pulled, but it did not loosen, instead it alarmed the rich guy, who felt the pulling at his belt and screamed something the bat didn’t care to listen to. Needing to he did not, he knew what the man had yelled, and as soon as the man had fixed his gaze on the hand at his coins pouch, the bat had let go and fled, into the larger street that housed the opera.

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A Dark Stranger (Brandon)

Postby Sal Mander on April 27th, 2014, 11:50 pm

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The few minutes Sal had allotted this fool's errand were almost up, when he spotted a figure emerging from an alley with more than a little haste in his step. If they were not careful, Sal mused they might have fallen foul of the unforgiven terrain and its lack of traction. The more devious side of his humor almost hoped that they did. The figure in question seemed well dressed for the day, wearing a cloak and covering their face to keep out the chill. As he watched the figure dart along and into another alley, next came a rich looking fellow with fur lined clothes, but it was the furious look on his face that stood out.

So red he was with rage that Sal wondered if the snow would melt before him. It was humorous to see the rich fellow trying to stalk quickly with his anger, but at the same time forced to place careful steps as he went. The end result was him looking like someone running from an outhouse with their pants around their ankles.. Yelling a string of colorful expletives, the man stopped directly outside the opera house and gave one last careful glances down each direction of the street. He then fished a key from his pocket and proceeded to take the few steps up to the heavy set wooden doors.

Realizing this was his man, Sal emerged from the doorway and crossed the street. By the time he had reached the steps, the rich man was already inside and closed the door behind him with a heavy thud. Sal climbed the steps with care, noting they were coated with a thin layer of ice that could send a man sprawling if he did not pay much heed. Landing a few good blows upon the door, it was not long before it creaked open and the red faced man peaked out from within.

The exchange with the man had not lasted long. Sal had learned the information he had come for, that the opera house would indeed be open on the morrow. Furthermore, he had mentioned a would be thief had tried to sneak away his purse, but had fled when the man had realized his coins were at peril. This brought Sal's mind back to the figure he had observed only a few minutes earlier. That fellow had seemed in an awful hurry now that he thought about it.

Descending the steps as the door closed behind him, Sal took a moment to gather his thoughts while deciding the best route back to the Cosmos Center. Turning to his left, he started off along the street before coming to the alleyway where the cloaked figure had disappeared down earlier. For some reason, Sal had an incline to hesitate at the mouth of the alley for a moment, though commonsense dictated that the thief was probably well on his well to another part of the city by now.

Still, Sal was never known for not being the curious type. With a sigh, he turned into the alley and wondered why he could not just get home and into the warm instead of letting his curiosity get the better of him.
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Last edited by Sal Mander on September 29th, 2014, 2:17 am, edited 3 times in total.
Sal Mander
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A Dark Stranger (Brandon)

Postby Brandon Blackwing on April 29th, 2014, 7:54 pm

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Black sludge was sent flying through the air with each pound of his boots, the corrupted snow pouncing and attempting to attach itself to his clothes, something in which they succeeded. Not even his face was spared, he had deemed it too high for the blobs to reach, good thing he’d covered his features with his scarf and his head with his hood. Yet still the molten snow managed to splat on his forehead, black drops then running down the bridge of his nose. He did not wipe it off though, in his haste there was no time for that, unless it would hinder him, like rolling into his eyes.

Eager to get away, the running thief shot a glance over his shoulder to confirm he had been able to get away, the cursing and splattering footsteps following hadn’t been heard for a while now… That would have been a good choice of action in normal conditions, not ceasing to flee in case he had still not succeeded to lose the pursuer. However, that was in normal conditions, that included weather and all that it brought along. The black sludge was quite treacherous to run on, slippery and sucking his feet into itself. The sole action of running required the majority of his attention, his eyes also searching for safe spots to place his feet on, good footing was important. Glancing backwards had been a mistake, one made due to not noticing his subconscious dividing his attention and using his dark orbs. The step taken while his head turned was not one that one could call “elegant” or “controlled”.

Instead it was one chaos of thoughts falling over each other, a scream tearing itself out of his throat, and instinctive movements. The moment his boot made contact with the snow and his weight was placed on it, the thief started sliding forward –well, his foot did anyways. Though regaining balance in this jeopardy was impossible, his arms swung around in circles, desperate. His thoughts tied themselves in a knot, however they all basically had the same message : I’m falling! AAAAH! While his boot continued its upward arc, the other leg was pulled along, making the total amount of contact points with the street equal to zero. The skull of the thief was getting dangerously close to the sludge-covered stones.

There was but one thing that prevented that: muscle memory. This situation was not unlike suffering lost balance due to a successful sweep attack having swept his feet away, the difference being that he was now falling backwards, not sideways. It did not matter though, his hands and arms knew what to do, reaching out for the street, intending to be used as springs to get back on his feet. On the inside, the bat had returned to a calm state, however a tad bit smug and victorious. Only one thing made his maneuver fail : the melting snow. The first part went well, it wasn’t like he had misplaced his hands or had bent his arms too much or not enough, but something different entirely.

When his hands slammed down on the street and the sludge, the latter bounced due to the impact, and because his head was close to it, hit him around his eyes, some maybe even landed them, he didn’t know, it all went too fast and it was more surprise than pain that hindered his stunt and made his arms flail, the consequence being Brandon collapsing and him still falling down on his back. H, he despised snow! A hand wiped his face of while a string of curses echoed through the alley, a friendly man offering him a hand to get up, an amused smile on his lips.

Bran gladly accepted, grabbing it and soon he was on his feet again, standing close to the man, close enough to be able to reach the wallet he had spotted in the man’s right pocket. The hand that still held his was the man’s right, making the one grabbed also the right. His left however, was free and grabbed the wallet while the man didn’t pay attention. However, the cold had made his fingers stiff and as such they had lost their dexterity, the action way too rough for an act needing subtlety, clumsy like one not used to thieving. Of course the former friendly guy bared now his canines at him, the still captured hand held tighter, accusing yells exiting his mouth.

Quick of action Brandon had always been, once things went south decisions were easily made, no time for doubt, for it could cost you your life. Now too, things needed to be handled swift and efficient, two birds had to be hit with one stone: shutting the man up and freeing himself, one move was enough, the bat became hostile. With the palm of his free left hand the cornered thief struck the man’s chin, forcing his head to snap back, and a chop to the –now unprotected-throat, right above the man’s Adam’s apple. The strength used was enough to cut off the man’s breath and force him to let go of Bran’s hand to grab his throat, but not enough to crush his windpipe. Couching as if he was terribly sick, the man sunk down on his knees, one hand on the ground, the other at his throat. And Brandon? He was running like the wind, back into the large street he’d come from.

x

credit goes to Euthisa
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Fighting Style and Techniques

Credit for this awesome sig goes to Estrellir Konrath
User avatar
Brandon Blackwing
The master thief Incognito
 
Posts: 1305
Words: 1496963
Joined roleplay: September 8th, 2013, 3:24 pm
Location: Lhavit
Race: Kelvic
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Medals: 5
Featured Character (1) Overlored (1)
One Thousand Posts! (1) One Million Words! (1)
2013 Mizahar NaNo Winner (1)

A Dark Stranger (Brandon)

Postby Sal Mander on May 6th, 2014, 1:49 am

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Sal stepped into the narrow alleyway, careful to place his feet in the sludge in order to remain upright while scanning ahead for any clues or signs of earlier passersby. The alleyway itself was the same as any other, doors dotted along either side offering back entrances to shops, homes or whatever else was there. With no shop windows to entice shoppers inside, or addresses to signal the owners within, those back alley doors were like a lottery for someone who elected to pass through one. Some had clues, such as recent deliveries of crates stacked outside, or piles of rubbish temporarily stored until the owners could drag them out into the main street for collection.

In one doorway a seedy looking fellow with a weasel grin leaned on one leg, enjoying his pipe. The wafts of smoke climbed lazily in the chill air, until becoming lost in the cloudy sky above. Further on a trio of young children were busy constructing a snowman, having acquired a carrot and pieces of coal for the finer details. Sal offered a warm smile as he passed, the children reminding him of his own brothers and more carefree times.

Up ahead there was a commotion of sorts, bringing Sal's attention back to the present. He could make out two figures interlocked for a moment, before one fell to his knees while the other departed with more than a little haste. There were only two ways in and out of the alleyway, save for the doors on either side of course, and the escaping figure had opted for the way he and Sal had both entered. In fact, he was coming straight at him. Despite the snow, the figure moved with surefooted confidence. He was hooded and his face covered, matching the description of the man Sal had witnessed enter this way earlier, and he settled on the conclusion that it most likely was the same one.

Before he could decide on what to do, the figure had almost reached him. Sal settled to lift one hand in a motion for the other fellow to stop, while taking an instinctive step back in order to get out of the way if the need arose. Only, he had stepped back just a few inches shy of an empty stack of crates that were leaning to one side. Just one more step and he would have been upon them.
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Last edited by Sal Mander on September 29th, 2014, 2:17 am, edited 4 times in total.
Sal Mander
Azenth
 
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A Dark Stranger (Brandon)

Postby Brandon Blackwing on May 6th, 2014, 6:40 pm

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Annoying people, crying out before he was able to react, only silencing them afterwards never was enough to prevent anyone to heed the call. A fellow stood in his way, a tall one with an expression painted on his face that mothers used to keep their children from doing naughty things. Though, he had come far too soon to have been attracted by the calling of the, now coughing, guy brought to his knees. So, he had been here all along, or had he followed the thief? Had he seen what had happened? Was he an undercover Shinya? And that arm he had raised, palm towards the bat, fingers spread …. Was it to sign him to stop or to shoot fireballs from? Both? Exactly how dangerous was he, what did he want and where had he come from?

The answers were as clear as skyglass: he was a member of a special unit of the Shinya, ones that walked the streets disguised as normal citizens and searched for people like Brandon himself: trouble makers and dangerous criminals. Thieves that were too great for the regular Shinya to arrest, a unit that had received special physical, tactical and magical training, a unit of Super Shinya! And there was one right before him, one that gestured him to stop, the focussed, steel expression of a guard on his face.

That was how he had recognised him as one of them in the first place, the chiselled features that accused him silently. The undercover Shinya took a step back, almost bumping into a stack of crates, a rookie? A clumsy one? No, that was just what he wanted the bat to believe so he’d get overconfident and then he would be destroyed by a surprise attack. That and they had just decreased the size of the alley, he could not pass the man by going right or he’d crash into the crates, but left was his only option, the place they wanted him to be in. He couldn’t take that way either, then what, stop?

But that would get him arrested if he was close enough and burned to a crisp if too far away. Thus, he was doomed, turning around would be rewarded with a fireball too … they were clever indeed, their tactical training had paid off, but it was nowhere near his own level. They had not included one final important thing: he was Brandon Of The Black Wings! There was no way he would get himself caught, he had a plan devised already, it was a risky one, but worth trying. That strategy was to keep running, dodge to the left when almost colliding, which might or make the Shinya flinch or get the bat fried. Brandon sure hoped it wouldn’t be the latter.

So, instead of halting his forward motion, the thief sped up, his own features steeled too, his dark orbs gleaming with determination of his own. In a mad dash he rushed towards the obstacle, gauging the steps he’d need to get close enough. Three steps, he guessed as his foot propelled him forward, two steps, he thought as his arms cut through the air. “One step!” he muttered as he prepared for dodging.

x

credit goes to Euthisa
Image
Fighting Style and Techniques

Credit for this awesome sig goes to Estrellir Konrath
User avatar
Brandon Blackwing
The master thief Incognito
 
Posts: 1305
Words: 1496963
Joined roleplay: September 8th, 2013, 3:24 pm
Location: Lhavit
Race: Kelvic
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Scrapbook
Plotnotes
Medals: 5
Featured Character (1) Overlored (1)
One Thousand Posts! (1) One Million Words! (1)
2013 Mizahar NaNo Winner (1)

A Dark Stranger (Brandon)

Postby Sal Mander on May 7th, 2014, 3:04 am

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Go to the opera house, meet with the contact, find out what needed to be found out, then home. All very simple, or at least it could have been. Instead, Sal was stuck in an alleyway, his nose in business he had no part of. It was cold, wet and miserable. The general mood in the area was not great. People were complaining of being robbed, on the knees clutching for breath, or trying to get out the way of each other. Sal was the latter, his raised hand ineffectual at getting the sprinting figure to reign in his pace. Instead the masked man actually seemed to speed up, leaving Sal with no other alternative but to back up further.

The few inches between him and the ill-stacked crates behind were reduced to none, his body reacting too late when it found itself falling against something. Jerking his head around while his other arm came up instinctively to steady himself, he felt the tell tale feeling of dread rush through his falling body as realization set in that he was going down. In the rush of events that followed, Sal tried to salvage the situation with flailing arms, but to no avail. Instead his body seemed intent on becoming entwined within the stack of crates as he and they fell together in one mass heap. Snow sprayed up from the impact, along with the slapping sound of heavy objects landing in the sludge. Where crates began and limbs ended mattered little. Sal lay stranded and confused on his back, cursing the moment he entered the wretched alleyway.

As he came to rest, he noted the figure that had been running towards him daintily leap over his prone body. For a brief second their eyes met, Sal's morning gray orbs locking on to Brandon's black tinted stare. And with that, the man was going, only the padding of feet on snow the final clue as to where. A few moments later another man came huffing and puffing to a stop, coughing and rubbing his neck with one hand, while the other stopped on his knee for support while he was bent over. Between gasps, he rasped a questioning tone to Sal. "Did you get a look at the bastard? Damn thief."

Sal was too winded to answer immediately. Laying there in the wet snow looking up at the gray sky overhead, all he could think of right now was how much he hated the opera.
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Last edited by Sal Mander on September 29th, 2014, 2:18 am, edited 3 times in total.
Sal Mander
Azenth
 
Posts: 347
Words: 287206
Joined roleplay: January 14th, 2014, 1:40 am
Location: Lhavit
Race: Human
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Medals: 1
Featured Character (1)

A Dark Stranger (Brandon)

Postby Catastrophe on May 20th, 2014, 9:31 pm

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Brandon Blackwing :
Skills

  • Larceny: 2 XP
  • Observation: 2 XP
  • Running: 1 XP
  • Unarmed Combat: 1 XP

Lores

  • Larceny: Cold Fingers Hurts Chances of Success
  • Unarmed Combat: Windpipe Strike

Loot

  • +4 kina

Sal Mander :
Skills

  • Observation: 3 XP
  • Investigation: 1 XP

Lores

  • Following a Thief to Trouble

Loot

  • N/A



Notes :
There really wasn't much I could give here guys. I would have loved to see this play out a little more. I gave what I could, but I still admired the way you both write and describe your character's reactions!

If you have any issues at all with your grade, please contact me through a private message!


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