Tales of Fantasia ~~ Ironic and Isenhart (Discontinued)

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful queen who lived in a land steeped in magic. She was loved by her people, the wild elves of the land, who had lived in a state of oneness with their forest homes for millennia. She was respected for her strong and fair rule, revered for her kind and charitable heart, and admired by men across the land for her breath-taking beauty. She was everything that one could ever hope that their queen would be and her praises were sung in every tavern within the kingdom of the wood elves.

In a neighboring kingdom, there lived a prince who was set to inherit his throne only when his future queen was found and he had been wed. He, too, was a just ruler who cared more for the sake of his people than his own. He was as handsome as the queen was beautiful and he was swooned over by nearly every woman in his kingdom. Perhaps the union between the prince and the queen would make sense, had it not been for one small detail...

The prince's people were not wild. Where the wood elves had chosen to live in oneness with nature, the prince's people had risen and conquered the wilds. The prince's people called themselves high elves, placing themselves above the other elven races in the land.

Where the wood elves built their homes amongst the trees and branches of the vast forests that enveloped their kingdom, the high elves cleared large expanses of these forests to erect sprawling cities. Where the wood elves lived in a symbiotic state with the animals and spirits of the forest, the high elves erected walls to keep such things from their precious lands. Where the wood elves hunted, foraged, and grew much of their food, the high elves traded rare and expensive good to other kingdoms for much of theirs.

The prince and the queen's people were too different, despite sharing common ancestry. Their kingdoms had maintained a tenuous peace for centuries and none among them could imagine a time when unrest between the kingdoms would be completely eliminated.

Despite this, a letter arrived one day for the prince bearing the royal seal of his wild neighbors. It did not contain much - merely a time, a date, and a location at which he should be with the queen' signature. The two met, against the wished of each of their adviser councils, and arranged a political marriage for the benefits of each of their people. The prince would become the king of his kingdom and the queen would continue to rule hers. Together, they would form a singular kingdom of the two elven cultures. Both peoples could only stand to benefit from this arrangement and both elven rulers were eager to see such prosperity brought for their respective kingdoms.

The wedding was arranged for a warm summer's day and the prince and queen were married. Together, they brought in a golden age for their new united kingdom, but this attracted the attention of the human kingdoms from across the sea. The humans and the elves had always had a peaceful relationship of trade, but the humans had also always stood to profit from the tenuous peace of the two elven kingdoms by acting as a middle-man of trade between the two when the two elven kingdoms had refused to trade directly with one another. Fearful that the new united elven kingdom would grow too powerful, the human king launched a preliminary assault on his former trade partners.

The small trade ports that the elven kingdoms had built on the human shores were locked down. Some were burned to the ground while others were converted into internment camps for the elves that resided in the human lands. Meanwhile, the trade ports that the humans had built in the elven lands were converted into military bases from which raids were launched. For five years, the kingdoms of man and elf were in open warfare.

During this time, the elven queen became pregnant and gave birth to a beautiful princess. The new princess was everything that her mother could have hoped - a healthy baby girl with the ethereal beauty of her father's people and the deep connection to the wilds of her mother's people. The elven king and queen could not allow their perfect princes to grow up in such a world as this - a world of fear and war.

A summit was held between the leaders of the elven kingdom and the leaders of the human kingdom. An agreement had been reached in which the elves would provide goods to the humans in exchange for a ceasefire that was to last until the princess came of age. At this point, she would be wed to the human king's eldest son so that their marriage may join the human kingdom to that of the elves, cementing the human's place in a global empire of power and wealth.

The years came and went quickly and things did not improve. The humans held their part of the deal in that they did not openly attack the elves, but they did not release their hold on the elven camps, nor did they disperse the military forces that they had stationed in their old ports. The elves, too, held their word. Resources and coin were offered to the human kingdom on a monthly basis while the humans waited for the elven princess to come of marriageable age.

When that time came, the elven princess was sent to the human lands where she would meet her new husband for the first time. She was less than pleased. The human prince was handsome, but his soul was black and his heart belonged only to his own vices. He cared only of his own lust and greed, which hit a high note when he laid eyes on the beautiful woman to which he was to be wed. The way that he looked at her... she was just a piece of meat to him and that is likely all that she ever would be.

The princess began to dread the night that was to come, but no matter how much she wished that this was not her fate she knew that it was for the best of her people. She would not let them down, even if it meant giving herself to this horrid man.

That night, the princess was walked down the aisle by her father. She stood beside her husband to be while the king of the human kingdom oversaw the wedding ceremony. Her fate was almost sealed when it happened. An arrow flew by the princess's head and struck the human king in the heart. The assembled crowed screamed as the king fell to the floor and an army of cloaked figures descended upon the collective royalty and nobility.

The ceremony had been interrupted and it seemed that these cloaked figures planned to kill everyone present at the event. The human prince, of course, fled the moment that he realized what had happened, leaving his wife-to-be to her fate. Little did he know that the princess was not the helpless damsel that she might appear. Using the magic that she had inherited from her mother's people, she was able to fight her way from the large cathedral, along with her father, mother, and a handful of their personal guards.

Outside, the elves were met with the image of a hundred slaughtered horses - their only way of escaping this place in any fast manner. Seeming as though they were trapped, the guards told their king, queen, and princess to run. They would stay behind and stop any pursuers while the princess and her parents fled. With heavy hearts, the elven royalty said farewell to their noble heroes and parted ways. Each went in their own direction to avoid being caught together and recognized, vowing to reunite as soon as was possible in their home back across the sea. It was not a choice that came easily, but the queen insisted that it was the easiest way. Her lifetime in the forest made her the wisest person on matters such as this, so the king complied.

Three days passed and the princess had not stopped running. She had fled from the human capital and had found herself at the base of a mountain near a small village when it happened. Tired and hungry, even the princess, skilled in her natural magics, could not hope to fight off the bandits that descended upon her. She had no money - only the impressive golden jewelry that she had been wearing that night three days ago and what was left of her tattered and dirty wedding dress. Of course, for a woman so attractive as her, the thieves decided that she could serve them in other ways that were better than coin. Her jewelry was taken from her struggling form before she found herself being beaten into submission and bound in rough rope.

As she was thrown over the shoulder of the largest of the men, one final blow to the back of her head released her from consciousness.

Was this really to be the end of the beautiful princess's tale or was this just the beginning of a much grander adventure?

RE: Tales of Fantasia ~~ Ironic and Isenhart

A giant gust of cold autumn air gracefully danced in the horrid night, the bitter coldness waking up Princess Eirika slowly but surely from unconsciousness. Her eyes were sealed shut, as if glue had been binding the two lids together, daring them to separate. Her head felt as if it was swimming in the crystal clear lake that was right out back in her very home, but suddenly she remembered that home was where she was not, and an instant pain shuddered her down to her very bones; her head right by her neck ached horribly. The girl groaned somewhat, her hand gradually reaching up to feel the bump, the rough texture of dry blood skidded against her soft pale fingertips. She could feel the dried blood already clotted up in her beautiful gray hair, now dirty and knotted. Trying again, she managed to open her eyes, a neon green hue lighting up.

Her eyes began to search around, hungry to see where she now was, remembering only a few scattered parts of what happened to her right before she fell into a deep sleep, lord only knows how long she has been asleep. She was alone in a tent, outside deep into the forest, most likely where many dared to come to. Finally in a flash, she remembered what happened to her. Everything began to make sense, and quickly she looked down, taking note that all of her precious jewelry was now gone, but her tattered wedding dress was still fitted against her slim body, reminded her of the Prince that scurried away. "Some man." She muttered to herself, hoping selfishly that he found his way dead in the hands of the men that killed his father.

Outside the tent she heard the crackling of a fire, and a group of men laughing and joking around. She wanted to go outside and see what they were up to, but already she knew just what they were aware of, and decided to keep her mouth shut for now, taking her arms and crossing them over to help keep herself a bit warm. Her stomach turned and twirled at the men outside, wondering herself why the men did not kill her, but she already figured out why, just she did not want to admit up to it.

Quietly she wondered to herself how her parents were doing and if they were still even alive as she thought of this. With a trembling lower lip, she bit at it with her top teeth to fight back the tears that begged to stream down her red cheeks. Suddenly, the zipper began to move against the tent that she was in, and Eirika froze in her tracks, holding her breath almost and readying herself for battle if something terrible was about to happen to her. Her hands lifted away from her warms and was now placed by her side, curling into tiny balls of fists; the pressure so much that it began to turn her knuckles white. A man in a black V-hooded cape appeared into the tent, holding up a lantern to provide a source of light, most likely to get a better look at her and her shivering body. A mischievous smirk took place on his lips, pale looking and chapped.

"Hey there Princess, us men are feeling kind of hungry, want to join us for dinner?" He chuckled to himself, his eyes dark and full of lies and lust. Eirika wasn't stupid, and she knew what he meant. Silently she sat there, her green eyes glaring at him; even though she wasn't saying a word, you could ready so much of what she thought in her eyes and body language. His eyes continued to stare at her, eventually looking at her entire body, licking his chapped lips as he done so. "Come with me." He demanded, reaching forward and gripping at her bicep muscle and tugging her harshly towards him, making her press up against his body. Her head swayed and ached more, feeling as if she was about to hit unconsciousness again. His breath reeked of alcohol, and he smelt musky and dirty. Her face cringed, but she knew it would be best to not fight it and to save her energy for when she needed it the best.

As the mysterious man took her arm, he pushed the tent entrance slit away and walked the two out, his grip tightened and she almost wanted to wail out in pain, but she bit the inside of her cheek to hush herself from letting the cry out of her rosy pink lips. Three other men sat on a pile of wood, each having a mug of beer in there hand. The chattering fell quiet once they seen Eirika walk into view, their eyes quickly glanced all over her body, getting a good idea of what to do to her, each looking at one another and laughing at the fun time they will be having here soon. Eirika swallowed the lump that was in her throat, her hands still clenched and ready to fight, but now was not the time, and she sensed it.

"Come here slut!" One of the men said as he patted his lap, a smirk coming from his lips. The man that was gripping at her arm took his grip away, and pushed her harshly towards the man that was patting his lap, her body jumping and landing against the man, almost knocking the breath right out of her lungs. "It's time to get you on your knees..." She chuckled, his hands fumbling already towards his zipper. Already she felt tears stinging her eyes, and she couldn't help it anymore but to let them flow freely. As soon as the man seen that sparkle of light in the tear, his hand violently slammed against her cheek, making her fall towards the ground. "I'll give you something to cry about, bitch!" He yelled at her, yet smiled and took pride of what he just did and said. Fear consumed her, her hand slowly hovering over the cheek that he slapped, shocked that he even did that just for her crying.

And right then and there, she knew she would not get out of there alive.

RE: Tales of Fantasia ~~ Ironic and Isenhart

The thug that had slapped the elven girl and sent her flying to the ground before him, rose to his feet and towered over the silver-hair beauty. His hands fidgeted with the clasp of his belt, which seemed to have jammed and was being quite stubborn while the other three bandits moved in. They stood all around the girl, trapping her between them as a bulge became apparent in the front of each of their trousers. The anticipation of what the four of them were about to do was too much for them to hide or contain, so instead they proudly displayed themselves. One of them even began to rub the bulge in the front of his pants as he looked down upon the elven girl.

They had called her 'princess', but it had been more of a playful name than anything. They did not know that they had the true princess of the united elven kingdom here in their grasp; they couldn't have. None of the 'common folk' had been invited to the royal wedding and the princess's visage had not been shared with the human world. This wedding was nothing more than a way to gain more power to the corrupt human king and prince. They did not care if their kingdom even knew what their future queen looked like.

"I hope you're ready for a party," the man in the V-shaped hood said with a drunken laugh as he, too, began to fuss with the clasp of his belt. That made two that were now trying to unfasten their pants while a third was feverishly rubbing the bulge that all four men sported in the groin of their canvas pants. To say that Eirika was in a dire situation would have been quite the understatement. These men, all four of them, planned to have their way with her and it did not seem as though they were going to be gentle.

The two men that had previously been fussing with their belts finally managed to figure out their belt clasps. You would think that this was quite the feat by how long that it had taken them, but then again, they were all pretty smashed and they didn't look like the brightest bunch to begin with. Of course, that mattered little now. Whether or not these four were smart or dumb wouldn't stop them from shoving their dirty cocks into her virgin body.

"Well doesn't this look like one hell of a party. Mind if I join?" a deep voice rang out from the edge of the trees, interrupting the two men who had not quite finished pulling their members from beneath their undergarments.

The four men all growled as they turned to look upon the source of the new voice. There, standing in the treeline, was a heavily armored human man. He had to be about six and a half feet tall with a well-muscled physique - a giant among men, to say the least. His armor was clearly made of steel plate with a chain undercoat and leather interior core. How he could even walk in such a heavy suit of armor was anyone's guess. Small spikes decorated the armor, making it look as though the armor itself might have been as effective as any weapon that the man could carry. The left shoulder of the armor might have been the most distinct part of the suit. It was steel, like the rest of the armor, but it seemed to have horns forged into the shoulder itself, giving the shoulder a demonic appearance. Hell, the shoulder piece even looked like a demon skull. The final part of the armor suit was a large, tattered grey cloak. Between his armor and his size, this man looked like a demon, himself.

Even the man's features, or what you could see of them, were intimidating. The bone structure in his face was solid and handsome. A five-o-clock shadow decorated his chin and the hair on his head was not much longer than that. One might be able to guess by the shade of the hair-like shadow that the man would have had dark brown hair if it had not all been shaved. Intense blue eyes watched the four men while he waited for an answer. The left eye did so from beneath a large vertical scar.

"Well, boys? What do you say? Are you going to share or not?" the man asked again with a playful smirk upon his lips. He already knew the answer.

"No way, buddy! Go find your own whore before we even out that face o' yours," one of the thugs shouted before the other three of them erupted in a roar of shouts and cheers at their friend. Maybe they thought that they were clever in their threats. Maybe they thought that they could defeat this man in a four on one scenario. He was unarmed, after all. He didn't stand a chance.

"Didn't your mothers ever teach you to share," another new voice asked from the treeline opposite to the demonically armored man. Just as before the four thugs turned toward the direction of the voice just in time to see a second man of roughly six foot two, with a similar build, step out of the darkened treeline and into the light of the thugs' large fire. The two armored men now had the four thugs flanked. If I fight broke out, the four drunken buffoons would be in a bad position.

This second man seemed to be armored in more regal attire. There were parts of his armor that seemed to be made of steel, but most of the armor was clearly forged from some form of bronze. This man's armor did not seem to have a layer of chain beneath the plate and the leather lining of the other man's armor was replaced by deep blue silk. Like the other man, this regal knight possessed a large shoulder plate on his left arm. This man's shoulder plate, however, was much more simple in design and did not bear any additional ornaments, such as the demonic horns. Unlike the other man, this one was armed. Clutched in his right hand was an ornamental great sword of masterwork quality.

This man's features were softer and younger than the other man's. His face was clean-shaven and the short hair upon his head was... light brown? Dark blonde, perhaps? It was hard to tell in the dim fire light. He watched the four thugs through soft green eyes as a smile played at his lips; a smile that had been brought on by the sight of his friend slowly advancing toward the group of thugs who seemed to have forgotten about him in the appearance of his friend.

"Well, boys, we'll give you one last chance," the younger knight stated playfully. "Are you going to share that elven beauty or are my friend and I going to have to get rough?"

Just as before, the four drunkards erupted into a roar of jeers and insults. Most of their shouting was entirely incoherent up until a soft thud could be heard. That thud was the sound of the demonic knight's hands coming down hard on the necks of two of the thugs, sending them falling to the floor with two additional thuds. This, of course, prompted the other two bandits to turn to see what had happened to their friends. Why had they stopped jeering this idiot? Of course, there was only one outcome to this action. As the remaining two men turned around, they too were struck and they too fell to the ground unconscious. This merely caused the tall, demonic man to sigh in boredom before he offered a hand out to the silver-haired woman as though he would help her up.

RE: Tales of Fantasia ~~ Ironic and Isenhart

Terrified. Petrified. Words did not describe how the elven female felt in this moment. Her eyes widened as all of the men gathered around her, each about to get to business with their concealed member awaiting to be let out to get a taste of her virgin beauty. In her thoracic cavity, her heart galloped similar to the sounds of the slaughter horses she heard a few days ago, racing and beating against her chest - almost demanding to pound its way out of her. Their taunts only made her take her fingers and glide them up to her hair, digging her nails into her scalp as if this was just a mere dream that she had to wake up from, shaking her head from side to side.

An additional grip at the back of her hair was made, right on the spot that they brutally hit her to make her go unconscious the first time. Immediately, she wailed out painfully, taking her hands and clawing at the man that was holding her, her neck already beginning to ache. "Stop it you dumb whore, you know you want it!" The men immaturely chuckled at Eirika's struggles, knowing well that she couldn't do anything for herself without any help, and just right on cue, a deep unfamiliar voice came into the distance, but to Eirika she automatically thought that it was another thieve wanting a piece of her fresh flesh. As the men caught attention of the new opponent, the man that was gripping at her simply tossed her away, similar to a child throwing a toy in a random direction to pay attention to something more interesting. Her face was met with dirt, making herself more filthy than before. Simply she could use her casting spells, but the problem was, was that she lacked the strength to when she thought that she had enough.

Her blurred vision turned to the handsome man that stood before her, a devilish smile playing on his lips in the same manner as the demonic piece of armor resting on his shoulder. Staying low, the only thing she could do was stay laying down, waiting patiently for what would happen next, her skin already crawling with goosebumps from the tension between the two. Steadying her breathing, she stayed quiet and listened to the man and the four men bicker back and fourth, obviously the man was unamused and waved the taunts of the men away as if an annoying fly was buzzing about in his ear.

Another man came into the picture, sly like a cat and creeping up right behind the other guy, obviously on his side and heavily armored; the two combined looked as if they could defeat anything and everything that was met in their path, but the idiotic men that was holding Eirika captive were too drunk enough to see this, already planning on defeating them, feeling as if they outnumbered them, but in this fight the number did not matter. Quickly, the demonic man gripped at two of the men's necks, and Eirika could of sworn she noticed their face turning as blue as a blueberry before being thrown harshly towards the cold dirt ground, leaving the other two to follow the steps again, all of the men being knocked down so effortlessly. She gasped, surprised it was so simple, making her feel weak and pathetic.

As the bored demonic man yawned away, he walked towards the girl, naturally making her take her hands to shield herself from harms way, seeing what he could do to the men, imagine what he could do to her useless self. After cringing for a short moment, she peeked her eyes through a crack in her arms and seen that he was extending a hand, not to hurt her but to help her up. At a leisurely pace, she took her hand and reached it up to grip at his strong and firm hand, hard with calluses and cracks, lifting her up on her two feet. She swayed a bit back and fourth, her legs shaking slightly from being so weak.

"T-Thank you f-for t-th-that..." She stuttered out, her breath trailing in the dark forest leaving a trail of her evaporating words. In her head, she wanted to embrace the two in a hug, thanking them deeply for their heroic acts, but she was unsure to trust them or not; what if they were there to capture her too? But something inside of her told her to trust these two men, knowing that they will do more good than harm to her.

"I am n-not sure if you know o-or not but any news on t-the k-kingdom?" Her voice was starting to falter, her body shook tremendously, more out of fear than the cold that was sweeping against her smooth skin. She figured that they would know, but it wouldn't hurt to ask to know the current status of how things were doing deep in the town. What made the people began to out pour in hate and violence? She wouldn't blame them for the selfish acts of the King and Prince, knowing well that they were greedy and probably corruptive. "Again, thank you..." She sighed out, wanting to almost weep at her freedom.

RE: Tales of Fantasia ~~ Ironic and Isenhart

The two men exchanged an odd look when the silver-haired elven woman had posed her question. The rumor had been that the elves had staged the entire attack on the wedding. Though the truth of the matter was that the masked figures had killed anyone and everyone whom they could when they descended upon the marriage ceremony, the figures had stolen away the corpses of all of the elves and left only those of the slain humans. To anyone who was not there, it certainly looked as though the elves had launched the attack and that they had taken their dead with them for a proper burial. That was the story that had been floating around the imperial city of Talador. Fortunately for Eirika, these two men belonged to an order of individuals who did not fully buy into this theory, despite the fact that Prince Gadwin fully supported the idea and that he had placed a bounty on his fiance's head for her to be delivered to him alive. Did he still intended to force her to marry him and steal control of the elven kingdom of Numeria?

The fact that this woman had to ask about the events only served to fuel the two men's belief that the elves could not have been responsible for this slaughter. Sure, no one but the elves had more reason to want to see the human kingdom dismantled for the past twenty-five years of war and recourse swindling, but the elves had never seemed to be a vengeful people. Well, not these elves, at least. The dark elves might have been a different story, but the dark elves had nothing to do with this. The girl could have been playing innocent, of course, but somehow the two men doubted that. After what she had just went through, it was unlikely that she would put on such a nearly pointless act following being saved.

"What are you going on about," the demonically armored man asked as he turned his attention back to the elf. "Have you been running from the Prince's headhunters this whole time? Have you not set foot in a town in the past couple of days?"

"She would have been apprehended if she had, Caine," the other man cut in before Eirika could mutter an answer. He, too, turned his attention to the elven woman and he offered her a quick bow before he continued. "Please excuse my companion here," he continued, "Social graces are not his strong suit, but there aren't many other people that I would rather have at my side. I am Isenhart, Isenhart De'Rathe. This walking chunk of iron here," the younger man motioned toward the tall behemoth, "this is Allister Caine."

"We were sent here to eliminate the bandit encampment that was rumored to be in these woods, but I was expecting more than this," Allister cut in. "From what the townsfolk had said, there were the better part of a dozen of these filthy mongrels hiding out here."

"If I had to guess, I would say that these four did not want to share their prize with the whole camp," a new voice came from the forest behind the two armored men. The voice was deep and aged. The very sound of it held an air of wisdom to it. It would have been easy to guess just by the sound of the voice that it belonged to an older gentleman. Not a moment later, the owner of this voice stepped out of the shadows and into view.

He was an older man, roughly the same height as Isenhart and roughly the same build as the younger men. Age had slowed his metabolism and had caused his waist and gut to grow more than that of his younger companions, but aside from that, he was just as fit as either of the youngsters. He, too, was armored, but his armor was much simpler than that of the other two men. It was forged of steel, like Allister's, but there was nothing fancy or assuming about it. The only thing of note about this man's armor was various cloths that hung from his waist and lay tucked beneath the shoulder plates. At his side, sheathed in an unassuming scabbard, was a longsword. On his back, a simple pike.

His face was aged; perhaps in his mid to late forties. Perhaps even his early fifties? A long beard of course brown hair grew from his cheeks and chin with a matching mustache sitting upon his lip. Medium-lengthen hair of a matching shade was trimmed and cleanly kempt upon his head and his dark, chocolate-brown eyes fixed themselves on the elven woman as he approached her.

"My name is Frederick Walhart," the old man said as he offered the elven woman a shallow bow. "What might I ask is yours, young elf?"

RE: Tales of Fantasia ~~ Ironic and Isenhart

Standing there, her eyes danced from Isenhart to Allister, her head moving from person to person as they each talked, her head swimming only trying to comprehend what was going on. Taking her index finger and thumb, she pressed the two against the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes, thinking of a way to understand what will most likely happen in the long run if this situation continues to flatten out. She couldn't help but let out a gentle smile as Isenhart bowed at her, responding by bowing to him and then turning her direction to Allister and bowing in front of him as well. She now knew she could trust the pair, but now it looked like a trio.

"I do not remember much of what happened... I just remember running and running, trying to get away from a group of men on horses, chanting and screaming of ending my life, and then I finally got captures, and then bam... a blow to the head and I was unconscious. Now I am and talking to you." She looked towards the moon, wondering how long its been since the day of the wedding. So much has happened, and she felt sorry that her people was falling victim of something so horrendous.

"All I know is that I am exhausted and not feeling too well at all." Her right hand wondered to the back of her head, running over the wound that was starting to bleed again, her head pounding in the same rhythm of her heart. She looked up again to be met with Frederick, an older man who was apart of the trio. Silently she thanked the stars for being on her side, knowing that this was good karma and nature's doing. Rising her chin up as he bowed, she wondered if she should tell the truth of who she is, or if she should keep her identity a secret.

"What will be for the best?" she thought to herself as her green eyes scanned over Frederick's chestnut hair, wondering of the consequences if she did or did not. Swallowing back the frog in her throat, she cleared her throat and bowed down, her silver hair cascading down and shielding her radiant face.

"My name is Autumn Frostt, a pleasure to meet you." Inside of her petite body grew an uncomfortable feeling, what was it? Guilt? Never before has she had to lie about something, and already she wanted to quickly tell them her real identity, but knew it was for the best just in case something was out for her arrest, which was already being placed but she had no clue of it. Lifting her head back up, she tucked in a silver strand of hair behind her ear and looked around, wondering if there were anymore men to join the trio's side.

"So, do you gentlemen mind if I tag along with you and help in anyway I can?" She offered, tilting her head to the side in wondering. "I know I am not of use too much now, but once I recover from my recent injuries I should be just right for combat, even though I do admit I'd rather talk a way out than fighting, but I see this is not an option here..." She slowly bowed her head down, taking her foot and kicking a nearby stone out of the way, putting her attention back on the men.

Eirika couldn't help but glance up occasionally at Isenhart... Something about him made her brow rise up in question, and she knew he was something special, she could feel it as the air brushed up against him, making its way towards her, getting a big whiff of his scent, making the hairs on the nape of her neck stand erect. She couldn't decipher if this was a good or bad feeling, but some reason or another she wanted to know more about him.

Her head danced with questions regarding of her kingdom and if they knew what had happened already, which made her thoughts go back to her parents, wondering if they are even alive or if they are held captive. Her heart yearned to talk to them at least once again, but she knew she had to be strong in order to do so, that is if there was still hope.

RE: Tales of Fantasia ~~ Ironic and Isenhart

Again, the two younger men exchanged a strange look while the older man stroked his full beard in a thoughtful manner. The three were in silent agreement that this woman could not be permitted to accompany them. Though it was not wise to question or doubt the strength of the magically-attuned elven races, this woman was a special case. She was clearly injured. It was also quite likely that she had not eaten or drank much in the past three days since the event at the royal wedding. It was easy to assume by her tattered attire that she had been a guest there. She had to be relatively weak from this combination of conditions. That, of course, left them with another problem that they could not ignore.

They could not turn their back on her. A woman in this condition would not last long out here. Between the bandits, the wildlife, and the orc stronghold that was situated atop the nearby mountain, the silver-haired elf would not make it far on her own. Even if she did, Prince Gadwin had issued a bounty on any and all elves that had been attending the royal wedding. All except the princess was to be tried and executed for the murder of the late king. The princess, unbeknownst to the people, would still be forced to marry the Prince and become a slave - a key to controlling the elven kingdom of Numeria. Seeing that the three men did not buy into the theory that the elves had staged this entire event, they could not just leave this girl to that fate.

"I cannot permit you to accompany us," the older man stated after several moments. "We are here to quell the recent bandit activity in this area and you do not appear that you are in any condition for such activities." As the man uttered those last words, he rose his hand to the elf with his palm open, as if to silence the rebuttal that he had been expecting. There was only one elf that he dealt with regularly and she always had to have the last word, so it was easy to assume that it was an elf thing.

The older man then turned his head toward Isenhart to offer a gentle smile. "Would you be so kind as to see this young woman to Avistan? I believe that she is more dire need of your aid than Allister and myself."

Isenhart nodded in response to Frederick's request. He did not need an explanation as to why. With the happenings of the past several days, Avistan would be the safest place for this woman within the entirely of the human kingdoms. It was the only place where this woman could be truly safe until the dust from this tragic event had settled and the elven court cleared of their supposed crimes.

It was then that the oldest knight turned his attention back to 'Autumn'. "That is settled then," he said. "You will be escorted to Avistan, where you will be welcome to rest and recover.

A simple smirk slid across Allister's lips at this turn of events. He and Isenhart had something of a friendly rivalry and while it was an honor to fight beside a man capable of matching the behemoth man's skill in a fight, this would make for one tale of battle and valor that he would have and Isenhart would not. Besides, Isenhart was not one to take pleasure in the assault of bandits. Though there were rare cases, such as the four idiots that still lay on the ground at their feet, most bandits were not inherently bad. Many times, they were men who had not been fortunate in life and were merely trying to feed their families. If Isenhart was sent back to Avistan now, Allister would not have to suffer his fellow knight's moral objections later in the journey.

RE: Tales of Fantasia ~~ Ironic and Isenhart

'Autumn' glared at Frederick for raising his hand up against her, commanding her to hold in her words and to not fight back with his orders, but she knew that he was right; she wasn't in any shape to tag along and help the trio. Instead of fighting, her muscles seemed to let-go a bit and she nodded shamefully, not wanting to admit to her body's defeat.

Her eyes widened as she heard that Isenhart would be accompanying her on their journey to a place called 'Avistan.' She regretted not studying the new kingdom and its cities before she approached these lands, but back then she never thought that something would happen like this - but she should of seen it coming due to the attitude of the kingdom anyways. Once again, she nodded and looked into Isenhart's eyes, smiling softly as a sign that she would be good and to not have any doubts about her.

"It was a pleasure to meet the two of you," bowing down again, she finished her sentence, "Thanks again for all of your help. You will be blessed by the stars." Lifting up her head, she grinned at them, but that alone took a lot of energy from her. Lord knows how it was going to be walking back to the city, she knew she wasn't up for it now. Her calves ached and her head continued its rhythmical pounding, but somehow she seemed to pull it off as if she was fine. Unfortunately, she was still too young to learn such powerful spells to regain her health and strength, but soon she would have to know them to be better prepared for situations like this. No one saw it coming...

Taking her hand, she began to wave farewell as Frederick and Allister turned their backs and began to walk away into the darkness of the woods, the dark shadows concealing their identity for another victim to slither their way into their fate. Turning her body around, she faced Isenhart once more, an awkward flow of air shifting between the two. "Hello again, so it's just me and you now, hm?" She giggled out, trying to break the ice that was between them, but she was shy admittedly, not really knowing what to say or do. She folded her hands in front of her, twiddling her thumbs as she waited for him to speak and give orders, trying to be respectful of him and that he was trying to help her.

RE: Tales of Fantasia ~~ Ironic and Isenhart

Secretly, Isenhart was glad to see Frederick and Caine trod off back into the dark woods. He and Caine always got into it on missions like this - missions where they would have to engage in combat with their fellow men and women. When they were called upon to engage with beasts or monsters, there was never any trouble. These creatures were not sentient. They were not self-aware and though they could certainly feel physical pain, they were not capable of emotional or spiritual pain; incapable of understanding the world beyond survival and reproduction. These creatures were just that; beasts, monsters, and animals. There was no crime in cutting them down when need be. No guilt. No shame.

Bandits and thugs, however... Most of them were men and women trying to feed their lovers and children. There were the select few who deserved retribution. There were those that murdered, pillaged, and caused pain for the sake of causing pain. There were those that would abduct and rape women for some sick sense of pleasure. There were those who deserved to taste the steel of a fine sword. Most, however, were beneath such fates. Caine could never understand this.

Watching his companions walk off into the night would mean that Isenhart and Caine would be spared this bout. Undoubtedly, that is why Frederick had asked Isenhart to accompany this woman.

"Just us until we get to Avistan," Isenhart replied as he turned his attention back to the elf. If Isenhart was going to have to babysit for a while, at least he was going to get to babysit a young woman with such beauty. Even though she was beaten, tired, and dirty, she still had an ethereal beauty to her that surpassed that of even most other elves. This duty certainly beat out beating the sense out of dirty bandits.

"We're a solid two days out from there, though, and you hardly look like you are in any shape for such a journey," Isenhart stated as he glanced around the camp. There wasn't much laying around in the ways of supplies. That was unfortunate. "Well, fortunately, we passed a large building not too far back. I think that it might have been a Traveler's Guild Inn. We can rest there for the night, maybe get you something to eat and a change of clothes."

RE: Tales of Fantasia ~~ Ironic and Isenhart

Not wanting to get caught staring at the man, she glanced up at him occasionally, trying to take in all of his features. Sighing at the length of the journey, she tucked in another stray hair that wondered away behind her ear, and glanced up at him, nodding in agreement. She had to trust him in his sense of direction, since he most likely knew every crevice and terrain in the kingdom. Looking around her, she looked for things that they could take with them along their way, but she did not see anything but the tents and alcohol.

"An Inn sounds good, I can already feel the warmth just by the thought of it." She joked around, smiling softly as she began to walk alongside of Isenhart, her feet being met with the hard and cold ground, her toes becoming numb from the feeling. Even though she was cold, this would of been far worse for someone who wasn't accustomed to nature like she was.

"So, tell me about yourself, if I may ask you." Offering to start up a conversation, she took her hands that was folded against her stomach and brought them against her arms in a crossing position, rubbing at her skin occasionally to keep her body warm. Hearing something in the distance, her sharp pointed ears flicked, staying in tune to whatever lurked in the dark forest, her heart beginning to picking up its pace. Only a small black squirrel jumped out of the bushes, scampering away into the other side of the forest. Her heart began to settle back down to its regular beat after finding out the cause of the unexpected noise.

"If this guy is someone I can trust, then I will feel comfortable telling him my true identity..." she quietly thought to herself as she waited for his response, her mind racing with many scattered thoughts, throwing around like papers in the middle of a busy street being bullied around by a strong current of wind, whipping the papers violently in different directions. Lowering her head, she secretly looked at him once more in the corner of her eye, taking in more of his striking looks. For a human he was very good-looking, and she found herself feeling rather fluttery in her stomach. "Why am I feeling this way over someone I do not know? Was this how I was suppose to feel about the Prince Gadwin?" she posed the question on her, her stomach fluttering with butterflies. The vibes that the environment was giving her was telling her that this was a good choice, and that she should take her feelings into consideration in the future, and to not jump too quickly. Questioned at this reading, she sighed and shrugged it off. "There is more to worry about now than some new and random feelings." She reminded herself, her eyes now attuned to what was in front of her, keeping a steady pace.

RE: Tales of Fantasia ~~ Ironic and Isenhart

As the knight and the princess pushed their way through the forest and back towards the road that lay some distance down through the dark forest, Isenhart considered her question. Considering what she had just went through with being assaulted at he royal wedding, abducted by bandits who knows how long ago, and nearly raped had Isenhart's group not seen the fire and grown curious, Isen had thought that the woman would be quiet. He had expected to trek back through the woods in silence and not hear much from the elf for a day or two. It wasn't that the small talk was not welcome, mind you, but the young knight had far from expected her to be interested in exchanging words.

"There isn't much to tell," Isenhart finally answered in an earnest tone. "The only remarkable thing to tell would be the conditions of my birth. My father was a Knight of Aroden and my mother was a simple farmer's daughter. Such a union was highly frowned upon, of course. A knight of noble standing cavorting with a woman of such low social standing was unheard of. Hell, such a union is still unheard of. I don't know hoe things are in Numeria, but here in Arcadia, social classes do not intermingle."

Isenhart paused for a moment and gave a quick glance to the elf to make sure that she was doing alright. He could carry her if she needed, but he would not offer until it looked like she required his assistance. Doing so might have offended her.

"My father was sent to Lastwall shortly after I was born as punishment for his indecision. He died there in an orc assault, from what I am told, so I grew up on the farm with my mother. My grandfather taught me the crafts of the smith when I was young and I got pretty good at it as I grew older, but that pretty much sums up my childhood. I was too young to remember the civil unrest when House Egorian wrest control of Arcadia from House Aroden, so I can't say much on that though I know that it was no good. House Aroden were well respected in Arcadia and it was they who began trade across the sea with your own people. The wars all started when House Egorian took control, so don't assume that all of us humans are bad eggs - it's just our current royal family."

Isenhart let a weak laugh escape him. He didn't know what he thought was so funny. The truth of the matter was a sad one - that Arcadia had once been ruled by a well respected family who wanted the best for the kingdom only to have that family succeeded by the snakes that currently resided on the throne. Hopefully, a new family would take advantage of Prince Gadwin's inability to truly rule and save the kingdom from his greed and lust.

"My life didn't get interesting until I was sixteen," Isenhart continued. "That was when I met three older knights who were friends of my father; fellow Knights of Aroden. You just met one of them, Sir Frederick Walhart. These three men had taken up the plight of the people in House Egorian's rule. Our late king cared not for the people and they were in need of heroes. The invited me to their new order in honor of my father's deeds and I have been with them since."

RE: Tales of Fantasia ~~ Ironic and Isenhart

Silently the elf walked as her ears stayed in tune to Isenhart's voice, listening to his story and the background of his life that he was telling her about. His story was sad, and she was very sympathetic, trying to put herself in the place of his misfortunes. She could not relate by much, being raised in such high royalty, but everyone in Numeria was 'one', no one was scaled down, and everyone was treated fairly and with respect; she couldn't believe that such a union was frowned upon.

Her head tilted to the side for a short moment, wondering why he decided to make a small laugh towards the situation. Nothing was funny about it, but she figured it was only nerves that was caught up in his throat, knowing that she too would make a chuckle out of a horrible situation, because essentially it is what it is, regardless if the story was sad or happy.

"At least you still had a male figure to look up to after your father passed on. It could of went way worse than what it is now, even though it seems that it is as low as it gets." She warmly said in response to his grandfather teaching him the useful essentials to know in life. Already they waked quite a distance, and this was taking a toll on her already weak body. Her knees began to quiver and her muscles burned, but she bit at her lower lip and tried her best to hide the symptoms of weakness, gripping at her arms and pushing herself further. To keep herself from thinking of her fatigue, she continued to listen to Isenhart, smiling at how he was introduced into becoming a 'hero', but probably to him he just shrugged it off and would respond as it "was no big deal."

"That was sweet of them to take you in in remembrance of your father. I am sure he would of been pr-" her sentence was cut short when she stumbled against her own feet due to the enervation taking it toll on her weak body. Her knees and palms were met with the road, her breathing becoming panting as her vision was starting to fog, black spots starting to consume her. She wanted to scream, her mouth opened to, but nothing came out. She didn't want to fall victim to this, and she struggled to stay awake, but her muscles began to lose their strength, her body slowly but surely began to fall limp on the ground, her breathing becoming shortened and slower.

"What's hapenning..... To me..." She thought to herself as she stared blankly to the side of the forest, the fuzziness beginning to clog her mind.