*Dramatic Voice* The Order... of... the Eagle

Psyre wiped the sweat off his brow and groaned before before bending over and hefting another crate onto the boat. "191..." He wasn't even totally sure if that was right. There were 9 crates left, so he sure hoped it was. He sure as hell wasn't planning on counting all the others again. If he was one or two off, so be it. The work was tedious and torturous, a combination that he absolutely despised, so he wouldn't do it any longer than he had to. "194..." Psyre's whole body felt sore. All of his muscles seemed to be collaborating in some heinous plot to kill from pain alone. "196..." He was tempted to just push the rest into the water. Then he remembered his deal with the dockworker. Load up all the crates in exchange for information about the Order of the Eagle. Psyre had learned his lesson about deals with dockworkers. Hours of manual labor in exchange for a few short words. Great deal. Way to go, Psyre. 


As he heaved the last crate onto the boat, he looked up to where the worker had been. He was still there. Sitting a chair, relaxing by a fire, with a mug in his hand. Psyre looked at himself, covered in sweat and snow, panting and exhausted. Definitely a good deal. As he walked back to the man, Psyre tried to calm his breathing. In for three steps, out for two. By the time he made it back to the fire, his breathing was almost regular.

"There you go, I finished. 200 crates loaded up. None of them broken, spilled, or dropped." Psyre paused to catch his breath. Perhaps almost regular had been a stretch. "I did my part, now it's your turn. What can you tell me about the Order of the Eagle? And if you tell me they deal weapons and that's all you know, I swear to the Gods that I will throw you in that fire." Psyre was tired. And irritable. He had been working his rear off for the last several hours, and if the information he got wasn't worth it, he'd be very upset. To say the least.

The worker looked at Psyre strangely. He had honestly believed the young man would walk away, or give up, just like most others did. Instead, there he was, and the task was done perfectly. The worker stared for a moment longer, a mixture of confusion and amazement came across his face. 

"Well I..." he started, still shocked that the man had done the job. "I suppose you're set in stone on learning this information then..." he shook his head in disbelief. "Many other's have come, asking the same, but you're the first to complete the task. Well, I suppose I do have to do my part of the deal then," he said, rubbing his chin. "And, I'm afraid, I honestly don't know very much about them... They're a reclusive bunch, never staying in the same place, and never say much unless you're a part of them," he said, and then, upon seeing the anger of the man, quickly added a last part, "But I can take you to one of them, I swear!
"He'll tell you anything you want to know, don't worry, lad. There's no need to hurt me, I'm only a fence for the man; a way to stop people from getting to him," he said, raising his hands in innocence, "but you've done your work, and if you follow you to the man, I'll do mine."

The man was honest, and was telling the truth, though Psyre did not know that, and the judgement lay upon him. He dearly hoped the young man would not try to fight him, as if he was able to complete such a task, he must be truly strong. If the boy did believe him, however, the man would do as he promised, and take the boy to a true member of the order; a man which Psyre had met before.

Psyre listened to the man, gradually becoming more and more frustrated, ready to shout and start hitting things. Until he mentioned that he could take Psyre to meet one of them. That piqued his interest. He was, however, still rather wary. As far as he was concerned, this man had already essentially exploited him once, so he wanted some way to verify the information. "Very well, take me to this man," Psyre said, his voice surprisingly level, "but as we walk, tell me about him. What he looks like, how long you've dealt with him, and so on." Psyre still wasn't great at reading people, but he had an eye for detail, and he would watch closely for the slightest sign that the man was lying. If he did happen to be, Psyre would decide what to do then. For the time being, he wanted to hope for the best. He'd follow the man, try to spot any hint of a lie, and then hopefully meet this member of the Order.

Although... The man had said that to learn about them, one essentially had to become a member of the Order... Would Psyre have to go undercover? In a group involved in illegal activities? Psyre traced his fingers along the runes on his arm and, seeming to find strength in that bond with Nature, steeled himself. He would do what he had to do. For the North. No, not for the North. For himself. He did this because he wanted to. The reason for that was that he wanted to protect the people of the North, but he knew that he did this because he wanted to. He didn't help people because he was some mindless cog. He helped them because he wanted to. Because someone had to.

Psyre closed his eyes, squeezing them down, and then opened them in order to pull himself away from that train of thought. "Well? Let's get moving. I want to meet this man as soon as possible. And I hope to learn all about him on the way. If I don't, I'm not sure I'll consider you to have upheld your end of the deal..." Psyre trailed off in a manner that he hoped was sinister. He didn't particularly enjoy intimidation, but his exasperated outburst had seemed quite effective, so he chose to stick with what seemed to be the tried and true method of dealing with the man. Make him afraid, and he'll help you out. He still felt kind of bad, but he also felt cheated. The man deserved a little bit of emotional and mental abuse for the physical torture Psyre had had to endure.

"Tell you about him?" The worker asked, raising an eyebrow. It was clear that the boy had distrust, but that was to be expected. He was, after all, the only one to ever to the painful task. "Well, if you insist," he said as they began to walk. "I always keep my part of the deal, so I'll talk," he said.

"He's rather a mysterious man, and rarely stays in the same place for a long period of time," the worker started. "I might be his fence in the north, but he also have people similar to myself in both of the southern countries, and the west I've heard too. He never announces when he will come, only shows up at my door a few times a year. 
"I suppose he must have serious business in the north this month though," the man said, looking back as he walked. "He never stays more than week, but this month he's stayed three, and still does not plan to leave for a few days. A hunt, I think, or he would like me to believe that is what he up to. He spent the past two weeks sharpening every arrow he has, and stashing his quiver full. I don't doubt his confidence though; he's an incredible shot.
"He also has a companion, a much younger man, perhaps five years older than yourself... Did I mention he was older?" The worker asked suddenly. "Well, he's older than you might expect. Forty I suppose, maybe older; it's hard to tell with him. The two head out every day towards the forest though. Said they were tracking something, and finally slew it (assuming everyone lives the troll topic.). 
"The younger one is off today, but they both know a lot the north," the worker said, turning a corner and heading towards a shabby looking house in the docks. "I think they were once a part of Wulfrin; though you abandon your heritage if you join the order, so I suppose they are no longer a part," he said, thinking about what that would mean. 
"But I'm afraid that is the extent of my knowledge," the worker said, reaching the door of the run down house, and putting a key in the lock. "I hope you'll consider me an honest man," he pushed the door open. "But if you want to know more, you'll have to ask him yourself," he said, stepping into a small room, and nodding at a corner.

A lone figure sat, the only light in the room being the dull glow of the embers from a pipe sticking out of his mouth. Yet, that small light, glowing the slightest with each breath out, was enough to show the outlines of the face. Graying hair on the chin, a twin black braids of hair over each shoulder, the sharp nose, and dark eyes, and a small smile playing about the lips; the face was David's.

An older man, sharpening all of his arrows. With a younger man. Hunting something. The story sounded all too familiar, and Psyre got a funny feeling. Surely David and Sven couldn't be part of what Cedric had called a terrorist group, right? They had been hunting the troll. They were helping people by hunting down a monster that had likely lost its mind. Had Cedric lied? It hadn't seemed like it, but it certainly wouldn't have been the first time... Psyre's mind was racing. Cedric had been good, he had known a number of things that had to be done for the North, and he had honestly seemed good to Psyre. David and Sven had also seemed good. They were selflessly hunting the troll alongside him. Beyond that, they had seemed to have so much in common. Psyre was lost in the maelstrom of emotion that swirled inside his mind.

Upon hearing that they were descendants of the Wulfrin tribe, Psyre realized how much more they had in common than he had thought. He wasn't of Wulfrin, as his tribe had been the shattered fragments of the Polaris, at least, that was current theory. He had been reading many books and speaking to people to try to place himself in the great history of the North, and it seemed like his tribe had been Polaris. The once-great tribe to which Psyre had been a harbinger of destruction. He wasn't positive, but that explanation made the most sense. Psyre could feel that the man was talking about David, but he didn't want to believe it. The Order of the Eagle was supposed to be involved in illegal weapon sales. Which still kind of confused him. Why would selling weapons be illegal? In the tribe... 

Psyre's train of thought broke for a moment and he realized how perplexed he had been by the idea. Maybe they were just in the same position he was. The way the tribes had once been run seemed to make so much more sense than the way the North was run, so surely they were acting in what they thought to be the best interest of the people, it just didn't happen to line up with what the current society thought was acceptable. That had to be it. They were good people. They had helped Psyre find and kill the troll, which had been a threat to many people, and had done so of their own volition, even seeming ready to sacrifice themselves for the sake of the people the troll would hurt if they didn't act. They were good people. There was no doubt about that in Psyre's mind. Cedric, on the other hand. He still had quite a lot to explain and prove before Psyre ever even started to trust him again. Psyre had made his choice. 

As David's mouth curled up in a smile, Psyre felt a little relief. It would have been extremely awkward if he had gone through all that introspection and reflection only to find that the man he was meeting wasn't even David. He was still confused, but also relieved. He was dealing a man he believed to be a good one, and that was the most important part. "Great, thanks for leading me here. I think this man and I have quite a lot to talk about, so if you wouldn't mind heading on out, that would be great." Psyre glared at the dockworker as he spoke. He didn't want anyone to witness the conversation he was about to have. This was to stay between them, as he had a suspicion that he would end up not bringing any information back to Cedric, regardless of whether or not he learned any. "Oh, and close the door on your way out. If you don't mind." The last he said as he walked toward David.

Psyre sat on the floor across from David, put his gear on the floor beside him, and looked up at David. "First, thank you for everything with the troll. I can't tell you how much I appreciate the service you did for the North. You have my undying respect and gratitude for that. Now, please tell me about the Order of the Eagle. My personal respect for you is just about the only reason I didn't come in swinging. From what I've heard so far, it sounds like it's a terrorist group of sorts that poses a significant threat to the people of the North. From what I know of you and Sven, I'm sure that's not true. I still have no idea what it is, however, and I need to know. Is it because of the Order that you knew so much that I didn't about the troll? What is the Order? Why does it exist? Why are you a part of it?" Psyre didn't know if David had some trait that made him want to ask an endless stream of questions, but that was certainly what it seemed like. "To be honest, King Cedric sent me here to learn about the Order. But I'm asking for me, not for him. I have no intention of bringing anything I learn back to him. He has broken my trust before and I'm sure he would again, if I were to trust him. What you tell me stays between us. Please. I have to know." Psyre wasn't sure why he was telling David so much, but he had. His cards were on the table. Now he just had to hope that things went well.

(David now has a passive called "come power level off questions" in case you were wondering.)

David welcomed the boy, whom he had fought alongside during the skirmish of with the troll. He was a good man, and though young in years, he was smart and able-bodied. However, the questions that followed were troubling. He asked many questions of The Order, many of which were very difficult to answer without giving away. 

However, David was the current leader of The Order, and as such, the information with in it was at his discretion, and if he decided to tell this boy the answers to his questions, then that choice was his to make. 

"You as well have my respect," he started, nodding his head at the boy. "And I will not lie to you, as difficult as the questions are. However, before I tell you about The Order, there is a man I must tell you about first, because The Order was formed in his name.
"I assume you, as nearly every other being on this earth, has heard of The Dragon. However, it few who have heard of the man he was before," David said. He needed the boy to understand before he could explain. "His name was Penter, and he was a man of the north, just like you or I, though he lived a hundred years ago. He lived under the Polaris tribe, and was one of the many rune chasers among them," he continued. If the boy did not know of rune chasers, it was a story for another time. "However, when the west attacked, resulting in the burned section of the forest that we now see, he and a small number of others were kidnapped. 
"It was difficult, but after a while the group escaped, and regained their strength, and after slowly began to convert the western people to their cause. 
"Combining their forces with the northern army, which had grown increasingly strong under a new chief, Penter soon found himself standing at the throne of the west, with the dead king at this feet, and the woman he would marry at his side. He was declared king on the spot, and with his wife, reformed the west into the great kingdom it is today. He expanded trade, convinced the center land to open their gates up, made a treaty with both the north and the west, and started the flow of runes once again. Everyone learned of magic in their basic schooling's, and the world had never been better.
"However, when it seemed that his wife would give no children, he was forced to name another to be the heir. Not one year from that day passed when his wife gave birth to twins, but also died in the process. She was the light in his world, and the grief caused him to sever his soul into fragments, magic which the world had never seen. He was said to have died that day, as all are told," David paused. The next part was vital to be told correctly. "However, there is no proof, and there is, in fact, proof against it.
"Ten years after his death, The Dragon's son, Belor, who was also a great man, told a young boy a story to brighten his day. However, the story he told that boy was one so strange, and filled with so many fantastical creatures that the boy had a single question. He asked if Belor had ever seen a dragon, to which Belor replied that he had not seen A dragon, but the way he answered, and the smile on his lips caused the boy to wonder. 
"The next seventy years to follow, that boy traveled the world to find The Dragon, and bring back the uptopia he had created, and as he went, the boy became a man, and gained followers." 

David paused, taking a deep breath. 

"That boy was my father," he said, finishing the tale. He hoped it not to be too long, but he had said his part, and now, it was his turn to ask Psyre a question.

"So, Psyre," David said, looking the boy straight in the eyes. "Now I ask you, what questions of yours remain, and which can you now answer yourself? Are we a terrorist group?"

((Haha it's a good passive skill to have. I'm sure it helps all the members of the Order and makes sure that they stay nice and strong))

Psyre wouldn't have dreamed of speaking before David finished. He was hanging off his every word, enthralled and enraptured. Psyre had heard of the rune chasers, it was actually a huge part of what had motivated his friendship with Cadfael, and he had seen the dangers they would have faced every day. Even just crossing the River was essentially a small trial in and of itself. And this Penter was not only a rune chaser, but also a member of Polaris. Psyre didn't know the man, but he couldn't imagine him being anything other than brave and relatively selfless. Psyre didn't know why, but when he heard someone was a member or former member of one of the tribes, he held them in the highest regard. Perhaps it was because he had something in common with them, which made him more inclined to trust them, but it was more because he had never met or heard of a tribesperson who did not care for others. Something about the way the tribes were run fostered empathy and understanding amongst all, and it showed in all the individuals thereof.

As he heard the reason for the burned clearing (the one larger than the one for which he was responsible), Psyre turned from anticipation and interest to anger. He hadn't known that the West had attacked the North. Why would they do that? The North had not attacked anyone. They lived peacefully and harmoniously. The West had been a cruel aggressor, and Psyre was beginning to feel a hatred for them that he had only ever felt for himself and Zanthro in the past. A burning hatred for those people who were responsible for the deaths of many others. 

Naturally, when he heard of Penter's (He preferred that to "The Dragon." Penter seemed so much more... personal, and Psyre felt like he would have liked Penter.) conquest of the West, Psyre was thrilled. He had taken revenge on the aggressors, spilled the blood of the cruel people who had spilled the blood of Psyre's ancestors. And yet, it didn't sound like he had. Perhaps some, perhaps even a lot, but that hadn't been his sole focus upon attaining the throne. No, he had moved beyond petty revenge. From there, he had moved to make the world a better place from what he had learned in the tribe. And he had succeeded. He had brought magic to the rest of the world, opened up trade, and brought peace to the land. He had taken the tribes' utopia and striven to bring it to the rest of the world. Just like Psyre wanted to do.

Tears started to form in Psyre's eyes when he heard of the death of Penter's wife and Penter's reaction to it. The day that the world lost such a great man (and surely a great woman as well, as he would have married no less) was a sad day indeed. Hearing of the children, however gave him hope. Perhaps the great man's bloodline lived on. Perhaps they could find some of his descendants and rally together in order to do what he had done. They could join forces and fight for those same things for which he had fought. 

When he heard that such was the goal of the Order of the Eagle, Psyre almost broke out laughing. The group that Cedric had labelled terrorists and a threat to the North was a group that had Psyre's dream as their goal. Of course, he thought to himself, of course Cedric wouldn't be able to understand that. Psyre took a moment to collect his thoughts, then calmly looked up at David's face. "I have one question that is of utmost import and I need answered. Then, as you've probably guessed by now, I'll have a slew of other questions, but this is the most important by far." Psyre looked back down at the floor, took a deep breath, and then looked up to David's face once again. He was almost afraid of the answer, but the question had to be asked. "David... How do I join?"

At first, David was unsure of what the boy's question would be, but when he asked, a slow smile spread across the man's face.

"Now that," he said, with a small laugh. "Is a very good question. 
"Normally, to join The Order of the Eagle, you must have to show yourself worthy somehow. To show that you would be able to contribute and carry your own weight. However, I think you've already done that, with the troll businesses.
"However, if I say that you can, the question is: do you really want to join? To do so is leaving your land and people. You will no longer be a citizen of the north, nor of any land, but a member of The Order. You might be seen as a terrorist to some, just as the king of the north sees us as. You may find yourself unable to trust any but the members of The Order.
"Even though we seek to create a world as perfect as once was, there are those who do not believe us, and we do have out enemies. Are you sure you want to join us?"

Psyre paused for a moment to consider his next words. "I have never been a citizen of the North. I was a member of the shattered remnants of Polaris, but when that was gone, I was nothing. I am a man. A man of the Wild, one who does not belong in a nation of people raised in such a way that they need laws to tell them how to act. I am no citizen of any land, no member of any group, no leader, no follower. I am Psyre Dragnil. And I want to be a part of the Order."


Psyre had never realized how true the words were until he had spoken them. He had contributed nothing to the North. Well. Not Cedric's North, anyway. He didn't serve a King. He served himself. And what he wanted to do was extend the way of life that had been available in the tribes to everyone. What he wanted to do was make the world a better place. And the best way he saw to do so was to join the Order. Here, he could perhaps fit in. But that wasn't the important part. If he wanted to fit in, he could simply forget his old ways of life and go live with the rest. But that wasn't what he wanted. What he wanted to make his dream a reality, and the Order of the Eagle seemed the best way to do so.

"I leave nothing behind, for there was nothing there. What I see is not a past of broken dreams and painful memories. Not anymore. No, what I see now is a future of dreams brought to fruition and joyous memories with loved ones. I want to look past the field of charred and dead trees, past the ashes and the ruins. Rather, to look forward. To the life that shall spring anew on those hallowed grounds, to the great civilizations that shall arise from those ruins. I am certain of my choice. If the Order will allow it, then I will find that future with the Order."

David had expected an answer similar, but the way the boy talked caused him to smile. He elaborated so much, and seemed to share his mind so freely, David had no doubts by the end. 

"Then, Psyre," he said, reaching inside his cloak. "It is an honor," he continued, drawing forth a necklace of a metal circle with the black outline of the wings and head of an eagle, "to welcome you to The Order of the Eagle."

(Added you to the group "The Order", and the rules for such now apply to you. Removed you from the group "The North".
Also, sorry for the shortness of the post."

((Wooh! Let's just pick up a mission for the Order and then this topic can be done! But so much introspection and character growth, holla. Also, sorry this is so short, I need to go to work but wanted to pick up a quest at some point today.))

Psyre felt a surge of pleasure at his initiation to the group. He had hoped he would be able to join, and now that he had, he was positively overjoyed. He kept it to himself, but the emotions were there. "Well then, now that I'm officially a member, what I can do to further our goals? I'd like to start helping as soon as possible."

((Again, sorry it's so short. Work sucks sometimes.))

At the boy's request, David sat back to think for a moment. There was a person that had his interest currently, for the fact that David was not entirely sure it was a person at all. There had been a rumor, very similar, that had once been spread in the west around the time that Belor came to power. A strange man, with even stranger powers, and blood red pupils and razor sharp teeth. The one in the west, however, had disappeared, and the time, his own father had only been five years of age, and so The Order knew nothing of this strange man.

Yet, Belor had mentioned something of the sort in a short journal entry he once made. Yes, Belor, the son of Penter, and yet another in the great line of the family that The Order learned from. Belor mentioned the strange man to have wed his own sister; something very strange, for Belor only met his sister for the first time at the age of twenty and five. Yet, something within the journal entry had caught Belor's attention, and therefore, it caught The Order's as well. He supposed that a chase for information was always a good place to start for new recruits.

"Well, if you wish to begin so soon," David started, scratching his chin. "There is a person of interest to The Order that we know nothing about. I do not intend to harm him, but... only to learn more. There is a very high chance he is not entirely human, and there have been rumors of a similar person having appeared about eighty years ago, just before Belor came to power in the west, and it is speculated that there is a connection.
"But," David said, realizing he was drifting further and further from the topic. "We have heard that currently he is in the South West, however, I doubt he will stay there for long. He may come to the north, or not, but if you wish to begin your work, then I would task you with discovering more about this man, and possibly, if you find his whereabouts, speaking with him personally.
"I do not know if he is dangerous, but if you hear rumors that he is, then keep your distance," David said, wrapping up this (aweful) shpeel. "But, if that does not sound like too much, then the job is yours."


(oh boy, for tying all the players together somehow)

Psyre listened intently. He had been doing a lot of that lately, so he was quite good at it. Not entirely human? Could someone be part human? He had never heard of something able to breed with humans -- well, aside from other humans, of course. He had to learn more. But then again, that seemed to be another thing that the Order offered - an opportunity to get more knowledge about darn near anything and everything under the sun. But that could all wait. He wanted to complete this mission for the Order before anything else.

"Okay, I'll get started right away. I still have quite a lot of business in the North, but I'll do what I can from here and then travel if I need to. When I'm done, I suppose I'll find you or Sven so that I can relay the information. I'll keep you updated on my progress as I'm able, but my first priority is going to be completing this as quickly as I am able. Thank you, sir. I won't let you down."

Honestly, Psyre had no clue where to start. Perhaps with that dockworker that had known about the Order? Surely he'd have heard rumors from the travelers who came to the North by boat. Then again, perhaps it would just be better to simply finish what business he had there and head out to try to find this man. Or pseudo-man, as the case seemed to be. Whatever was going on, it seemed dangerous, intriguing, and vital, all of which Psyre liked. He didn't know what the rest of his time with the Order would be like, but this certainly seemed like a good first mission. He nodded to David as he stood and practically ran out of the building.

The sky was darkening by the time Psyre had left, so he wasn't sure he'd be able to find that dockworker. Then again, he didn't need to. Not right now. First, he had other business to which he had to attend. The Order was at the front of his mind, yes, but he had a former friend that needed to learn a lesson. Cedric had been mistaken about the Order. Psyre could not be more sure about that. Cedric would need to educate himself about the Order and learn their true nature. Psyre had no intention of telling him what it was, but he certainly considered it Cedric's responsibility to learn. If he didn't do so and continued to speak poorly of and even persecute the Order, Psyre would ensure that he would bring no harm to them. He had said Cedric may one day have a chance to prove himself, and that day had come. The moment of truth lay around the corner. Cedric would learn the error of his thoughts. Or, if he didn't, Psyre would teach him the error of his ways.

[Exit]

((IC words: 3318 (66 points)
Attribute points:
+ 47 Memory (150)
No others

Skills:
2000 toward Two Weapon Fighting (once that becomes approved)

Crafting:
+ 26 Arrows (1300 words)

Costs:
(.1 x .25 x 26, rounded down = 0)
None
))

Aaaand, approved. Not gunna really respond, cause there's nothing for the npc