Kleptomania wasn't quite the typical trait held by a heroine, but..

"No!" shouted Dxacku, grabbing Max's arm before she could open the crate. "No, no, no.. they're my travel goods, my mercantile stock, very private. Yes. Sorry, but I'm not comfortable with you.."

EDIT: RUSE ADVICE!

"Oh. You're a merchant? What do you sell? I've been looking into getting some Earthborn weaponry, or an Earthborn SUIT, or enchanted armor. With all the recent events in my brief life, I've not had the time to get money or anything.. and I'm in a bit of an odd mindset, so I apologize for not respecting your property." She said, interested and apologetic by turns.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:23, Tue 24 Nov 2009.

Dxacku suddenly smiled. All was forgiven.

"Oh, well, it's nothing - really - truth be told, if you're looking for Earthborn gear, I may be able to help, see.." he drifted off a little, smiling nervously. "I steal modern firearms for the discerning customer. That is, I sell modern firearms for the discerning victim. That is.."

He frowned.

"I may as well tell you. I'm a thief, and I stole this case from dissenting Earthborn rebels. I have an official trade permit, of course, but still - thievery, to some people, is still thievery, and.."

"I've stolen before, and paid heavily for it. What do you think the Earthborn rebels would have done with these weapons? Rebels tend to cause a lot of collateral damage.. you likely saved lives by somewhat disarming them. Now, I don't exactly have much money, but I really must go to Litheris or I will be killed. You are welcome to accompany me if you like."

With that, Maxillita opened a portal to Litheris and stepped through.

"I prefer to stay here. I know of Litheris."

Dxacku would wait behind, in the airy fields of Eulysia.

   From the vast firmament there was a form like that of a soaring angel, except this angel was grim faced and dressed in full battle gear.  Golden wings beat and then stilled as he found a suitable thermal to carry him to his people's main island center.  The wind against his face felt liberating, his muscles felt tense and unused.  The movement was alleviating to the ails of a long departure in godly stasis.  All was well, though.

   He spiraled through the air, smiling wide at the sensation of freedom, elation.  He entered a white puff of clouds, felt the gaseous white whisps caress his face.  It was like coming into an oasis in the middle of a desert.  The coolness that he felt on every pore of his body was refreshing.  He came through, exploded through the cloud, now wet with moisture, and tood a plummet toward the earthen island.  As he picked up speed the wind ripped at his hair, peeled it back.  It whistled in his ears.  To any other this would have been quite a distressing experience, but he was Armanthor, a divine being, and flight was second nature to him; battle was first nature.

   So as he plummeted through the air like a torpedo under the water, his wings pressed against his back, he watched the earth approach his vision.  It enlarged.  He moved his arms to test the resistance, just to do it.  The ground came closer, he saw fields and his winged people moving about.  Then, as he was about to smack the earth, he flipped in the air and opened his wings ever so subtly to break his momentum.  If only there were a deep body of water somewhere, he thought to himself as he stopped fifteen feet above the ground and landed softly upon the earth that his people called home.

   When he landed, he shook himself off, rolled his muscles, ran a hand through his hair.  He looked about casually, cast about to see if he saw Calbrey and opened his senses to see if he could feel any divinity in his realm that may need expunging.

   He went to one of his closest people and said, "I'm looking for Calbrey, does he still live? Is he around? "

Armanthor happened across one of his people, a warrior, who was obviously happy at the return of his Lord; the face of such a warrior was struck with uncertainty, however, when the name Calbrey was mentioned.

"Lord.. he hasn't yet returned from his errands at the 'Hall of the Sun'," said the man. "He has been gone for many weeks."

   Armanthor furrowed his shapely brows, looking somewhat perplexed at the notion.  "He went to the hall of the sun, you say? Well, that's interesting.  I wasn't aware that mortals could go to those godly places.  Thank you young warrior.  I appreciate your advice.  "

   But Armanthor was in no hurry, he leaned back and took the warrior in, and said with a fatherly type of authority; like a father that has just caught his child doing something silly.  He said with a grin and arched brow, "What are you doing out here all by your lonesome, soldier? What's your duty? "

   Armanthor did not say this in a reprimanding way, but rather relied on his general leader's mien to drive his point home; just incase the warrior was neglecting his duties.

"I stand watch, sir. On this spot two guests to Elysia came. Some of the upper brass believe them to be threats, and placed me to watch over this courtyard."

The man smiled. He enjoyed the conversation with his Lord.

   "I see and I am glad that my soldiers aren't neglecting their duty, as I have vague recollections of such insubordinations from a distant past.  Or maybe just something like a dream.  ", he said, his eyes becoming unfocused as he stared seemingly past the soldier, he snapped back to instantly and chuckled. "No matter, it matters very little now.  My main concern is whether or not you have come to any harm by these...visitors.  If so, then we will have to see about reconnaisance and possible counterstrike.  "

   He didn't have the appearence of being startled, or even unnerved about the matter.  In fact, he seemed quite at ease, and though he didn't welcome conflict, he was more than willing to deal out punishment to those that chose to make themselves his enemy.  He hoped that things would not come to that, for he was a master at tactics and arms, and knew that the punishment he could deal out to his foes would be great.  He did not desire blood to be spilt.

   He looked out past the landscape, seeing if, from this distance, he could spy any of his men or any of his peoples' buildings or movements, from where he was.  He also wanted to take note of any possible defensible positions.  As a battle tactician, it came second nature to him.  Looking for such advantageous positions just in case of a battle came to him as surely as breathing, or flying.  It was something that was bred into his godly essence, something that he could not help and could probably not repress for very long.  This took him all of several seconds, his eyes leaving that of the soldier's and sweeping the landscape behind him before returning his gaze to him once again afterward.

"I was not harmed at all. They came and then they left. That was all, Lord."

Armanthor saw the city - he was quite high up. It would be easily defended, especially from an army that could not fly. Tall towers, narrow bridges, easy outposts atop most of the buildings.. many of the places themselves were only accessible from above, as the doors below led only to a swift death. He saw much of his military patrolling the city. They had not grown dull in Calbrey's absence - nor in his, for that matter.

   Armanthor smiled, felt a sense of pride in his people as he surveyed their defenses.  Of course he should not have doubted their military prowess, he should have expected nothing less than an impregnable fortress of a city.  As he smiled the corners of his eyes crinkled up, and he reached over and patted the soldier on the shoulder, then moved his hand up so that he grasped the nape of his neck, in a fatherly sort of way.  He moved so that he was now standing at the warrior's side, and he shared in the soldier's view of the land.

   He removed his hand from the back of the soldiers neck and placed his hands behind his back and merely soaked in the beauty of his realm, for it had been a long time since he had dwelt here.  He sensed that it had been a very, very long time.  There were a few moments of nostalgia as he took in the scenery.  He let the wind sweep his golden locks, let the silence enfold him and swallow his being.  He just listened and let his realm, his home, the essence of his people sweep through him.  He closed his eyes, felt the realm with his mind, reached out with his five senses so that he could better swallow the feeling of his realm once again.  He felt the earth, every granite and mineral, every life source from the smallest insect to the largest mammal.  He let small tendrils of his feeling snake outward into the ground around him, took hold of the earth with his mind just to do it, to feel it.  He just stood there like that for a few moments as he soaked in his realm.  It's good to be back, good to stand beside my people once again, good to feel my land again.

   He finally responded, looked back to the soldier, realized that he had probably waited a while to speak again and hoped that the soldier would not be distracted by his silence.

  "Then all is well, and we can focus on other matters at hand.  Tell me, who was left in command after Calbrey's departure, and what is the state of things? ", he paused, thought, and said, "What is your name, soldier? "

"Everything seems to be running fine, m'Lord. Lord Calbrey is running the city in Calbrey's absence; he is another man from Earth, Lord, claiming inheritance to the title. He is, I believe, Calbrey's brother - and there are familiar similarities between their features - but he will not tell us a thing about our last Lord of Blades."

   Armanthor nodded, " Another lord Calbrey? That's.....interesting.  I'll have to see him, meet him.  Just a moment.  ", said Armanthor as he moved away from the soldier.  "This may take a moment.  Please, go about your duties as if I were not here, and when I'm done I'll have some more inquiries for you.  "

   With that he stepped forward and bowed his head.  He planted his feet firmly against the earth, and let his wings stay at rest.  He then brought his hands forward and in front of him.

Perhaps, Armanthor knew, that if he'd spent more energy focusing on magical studies it might be possible..

Or perhaps when he is stronger, theoelectromagnetically.

Regardless, while he could feel the Plane of Earth, just beyond his grasp, he could neither access nor manipulate it.

Armanthor relieved himself of his meditative stance and turned back to his soldier.

"Alright.  Would you mind showing me where I could find Lord Calbrey, just give me some directions and I'll get along just fine.  "

There were many things going through his head at the moment.  Like just what was going on with the senior Calbrey and why he was at the Conclave.  He also wanted to know what state his realm was in, he was curious, almost eager, to find out what the current happenings were in Eulysia.  He had many things he wanted to do, like find out just what was below the islands that he saw floating in the distance, he wanted to go to the actual ground level of his realm and see what awaited him there.  But he also looked toward the horizon, that broken horizon the floated above the lower one.  What was out there?

He had alot to do and he felt he had little time to do it.  Patience, he told himself, I must have patience like a good leader, a good commander.   All the while he had his gaze was upon that of his man, of that one warrior that was keeping watch in the area.  He wondered if there were any more around here to back him up if anything horrid over took.  He looked around, with his eyes rather than his head, to see if there was any back up around here for the soldier.

   Brave.  He could die out here; no one would know he was assaulted until it was too late.  Without back up, I couldn't be prouder.  , in his head, it was but a solemn whisper of a soldier that has seen too much of the world, as if there was a lot more in this reborn god than just the few moments that he'd been here.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:39, Fri 12 Feb 2010.

He was given directions to Lord Castavan Calbrey; Calbrey had taken up residence in the grandest palace the Eulysia had, reserved typically for the Lord of All, Armanthor the Highest. It was not hard to find - its globed towers dominated the horizon. As Armanthor got closer to the palace, he noticed that the soldiers grew thicker and thicker until, when he was at the gates of the place, there were twenty or thirty fighting men standing guard. They saluted him.

"Lord, you have returned," said one of the soldiers - a captain.

   As Armanthor soared to this grand palace and landed, he swept the horizon with his gaze and looked to those gathered around.  Why so many troops? Was it because they were on high alert, or was it something else? He furrowed his brows as he gazed at the surrounding men and the thick procession of military personel.  He landed and saluted the men, and looked to the captain sternly.  "Indeed I have...Captain, " Armanthor said, pausing briefly to assess the man's rank, " Why so many men? Was it because of the presence of other divinities here, or is it something else? "

   He noted that the new Calbrey had taken up residence in the grand building.  Egocentrism? He hoped that he was as humble and wise as the senior Calbrey had been.

"Lord Calbrey is a paranoid one, Lord, y'see," said one of the soldiers.

"Watch your mouth, soldier!" shouted another, apologizing to Armanthor. "You see, after.. the first Calbrey, Lord rest his soul, his brother began manifesting, uh, a certain degree of security. He believes the Tragedy of the Sun was directed at him and his family. Is this true, Lord?"

OOC: I didn't even realize I hadn't posted here.  I thought I was waiting on you. :P

Armanthor quirked his brown a bit, he said, "Tragedy of the Sun? Security? I don't understand this.  What is the tragedy of the sun? And what does this have to do with Calbrey and his family? "

"We are not .. sure," admitted the guard. "It's only been mentioned in passing by the Lord Calbrey, and he does not like us - pressing - him. As for the added security.. he fears incursion, Lord. Invasion. Perhaps it is justified, but conscription has almost doubled."

Armanthor looked over the faces of his people with an arched brow and, looked at the soldier and nodded.

"I will go and have a talk with him.  Do as you were doing before.  ", with that he started toward the new Calbrey, wondering just what as going on here.

Through the wide corridors and rooms carved of grand marble, Armanthor found the typically empty Throne Room to be occupied by a man who looked disturbingly like the Calbrey he knew. The Throne Room had been converted to a working bureaucrat's office, filled with paperwork and books on law and order - those common, Armanthor saw, to both Eulysia and the Earthborn Territories.

"Yes, what is it?" asked the man, nervously. "I thought I said that I wasn't to have any visitors.."

   Armanthor noted the list of accessories that colored the throne room and furrowed his brow at how much this man looked like Calbrey.  Why would he need books about the laws of both lands? Something was going on here, and Armanthor wanted to get to the bottom of it, but he might as well be pleasant first.  Get greetings out of the way, then he could talk business.

   "Visitors? I certainly hope that your time  isn't too strained by the mark of a mere god, such as myself.  I meant only to observe the one that has been wathcing after my people in my stead.  ", he said good-naturedly, a smile on his lips and in his eyes.

"Ah, yes, Armanthor," said Lord Calbrey, taking Armanthor's hand. "It is a pleasure to meet you. I"m sorry for not meeting you early, but with the disappearance and my... late brother, I'm afraid I haven't had the time, what with the paperwork and everything. I hope that I've done a good enough job in your stead."