Name: Maleisia

Age: Very old, as magic has kept her alive for many years. She was one of the first children exiled in the mountains for having magic when the colony was young. Her power has prevented her from ageing very much, so she apppears to be about 16. 

Position: None. She is basically a hermit living in the mountains. 

Kingdom: She lives closest to Ilmeri.

Appearance: Magic has bleached her hair, which was once beautiful and black, to a very pale blond. Her skin is equally pale from lack of sunlight, as she lives mostly in the caves. Her eyes are turqoise pools with black pits, her nose is slim, and her frame is willowy. She wears a circlet around her head, a fur vest, and a long, midnight blue dress with faded golden designs. 

Personality: Revenge and anger churns inside her, curdling her power and turning it black with evil. She want all of Ilfay to burn for what it did to her and her family, but especially Ilara, because the rich folk that settled there originally were the ones that banished her to the barren mountains to die. But she knows she must be patient. Maleisia uses her magic to whisper into people's minds, planting seeds of uncertainty and distrust. It is a magic she can manipulate and twist to suck others into the shadows.

Any Magic?: Yes. She has power over birds, especially ravens, that knocks the birds senseless and fills them with a kind of malevolent confusion. She can also do things like scrying and a bit of telepathy, but only if she uses a ton of power in the process. 

Backstory: As mentioned before, she was one of the first children to be exiled in the first place. The people also killed her father for hiding her, because they were scared of what she could do. She tried to fight back, but that only angered them even more. She was about 9 at the time.

Other: She is very happy that Ilara and Ilwer are at war, because that means her plan is set in motion...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So! Can I be the villian of the story? If so, can the other characters not discover Maleisia until we really have this RP going and the plot is in motion? It isn't super fun when the characters discover the villian right away. 

~Hecate

"What do you think you're doing?" the angry voice says. I gasp and whirl. A guard! "I paid for this." I lie, putting three slices in my leather pouch. "No she didn't!" Knew that would happen, but I got what I came for. "Hey!"

I turn and run--the speed of light. I'm running and running and running without getting tired, what's near me blurring, my feet taking off like a Cheetah. No, faster than a Cheetah. I go for what I think is a mile, but really is three, and then I stop, and I'm dizzy. The world spins around me. After all that running, I feel so dizzy to just stop. It feels strange--I've ran for an entire 20 minutes. Oh..my goodness....trees...big trees...trees... I shake my head and clear it.

I think this is Ilsveth. I've only been here twice, once when I was five, and one more recently. Yes, this seems like Ilsveth. It's glorious...the entire city is situated in trees. Treehouses connected by hanging rope bridges, and more and more treehouses....

I turn to the nearest abode. I squint at the sign above it, and read "Library". Another thing about me: I can strangely read. Nobody has ever taught me, but I can read somehow.... Almost like Magic. Suddenly I'm clutching my head and hear voices. "Magic. The name you gave yourself. Two names. It's not what name was given to you but what name you accept (or make) and choose and believe in. Magic. You brought this upon yourself." I dig my bare feet into the mud. Ugh!

I decide to go into the Library. I rarely have time for enjoyment--and maybe I could find a special book to help me learn what enjoyment even is. 

I slam the bag down hard, raising a cloud of dust from the grimy counter. The customer, a tired looking woman, drops a few odd coins into my hand and hurriedly grabs the groceries. The toddler by her side starts to wail as she turns, his shrieks blending into the jumbled noise of shouts and bargaining that fills the crowded square. I slump into the rickety chair behind me, glaring at anyone who dares to come near the ramshackle booth. Not that anyone does. The booth's set in the dirtiest corner of the square, and the tattered sign doesn't attract anything but moths. It's still a perfect place to watch though. A gleam of metal catches my eye and I turn to see a line of soldiers enter the plaza. Thier heavy armor sparkles silver in the bright sun and I squint to make out their leader. It's a tall man, riding on a black warhorse. Nothin special about... I narrow my eyes suddenly. That emblem on his shield... I feel sure that I've seen it somewhere before. But where? It hits me just as he passes by the booth. The Royal Procession. One of the Princes. I smile as the line of tramping men-at-arms passes into a curtain covered alleyway. A perfect place to start. 

Oh my TOP!!!! By the way, the message Finnola and her crew intercepted was supposed to be from Irina. The RI initials came from when she was still called Rhea.

~Finnola~

The Rogues in the Ilwerian city of Tritica have not been doing well lately. Most of this grain is for them. I have contacts all over Ilfay, from the Mangy Cat urchin-gang in Cliff City (my childhood comrades) to a jester in the King of Ilper's court; among them is Jesse Haverhill, a miller who used to be a pickpocket before he got a wife and settled down. We wait for a couple days while he grinds our wheat into good flour, then pay him and set off for Tritica.

I have been thinking for a long time about the implications of that scroll we captured from the Army defector. It means there's an Ilaran spy somewhere in Sheafstarn, possibly with the initials II, or maybe the second of some organized ring of spies...? Anyway, he or she is positioned well enough to hear all that info about the Ilwer Grand Army, and I'd bet my rapier that black hair came from the spy him- or herself. And of course the message won't arrive in time: Monday is only two days away now. Even if we were to be ambushed by Ilaran soldiers right now, and they were to ride back to King Ilaran as fast as they possibly could with the fastest horses available, they wouldn't make it before the invasion was already underway.

So what does this mean for the balance of power in Ilfay? It means the Ilarans won't know what's coming, unless a different spy was able to get a message through. The Ilwerians will have the element of surprise, which is a very powerful thing. Nevertheless, Ilara still has the alliance with Ilper, so Ilwer can't try to flank them from the north. However this whole invasion goes, you can bet thousands upon thousands of people will be short of food for months.

Including the Rogues in Tritica. I urge my horse, Nightmare, on a little faster. We're still three or four days out from the city; when we get there, the invasion will have started. I'll hold court with Hamish and Elvira there, and see how this all plays out.

~Anisa

I curl up in Father's lap, worry clear on my face. 

"Father, stay safe during the battle, please! I don't want anything to happen to you," I say, referring to the battle that will happen tomorrow. Luckily, we still have surprise on our side. Unless, spies have told the Ilara? I refuse to acknowledge that.

A servant, Irina, is dusting in a corner, her shoulders slightly tense. I don't know why she always seems so angry. Is it the war? But thoughts of her only enter my mind for seconds, before worry about Father dominates it. I know that assassins have been sent into Ilwer from Ilara to assassinate Father. We've done the same to Ilara. But I really couldn't bear it if anything happened to my family. Protective Mother, brave Father, beautiful Karianna, and adorable, little Alissa.

"I will, darling, Anisa. I'll come home to you, safe and sound."

"Promise?"

"I promise, dear. Now, why don't you go off to sleep? I have some work to do."

I nod, walking off toward my room, noticing that Father has been sleeping late lately, doing his "work".

I crawl into bed in the room I share with Alissa, murmuring a "Good night," to her. I hear her drowsy response and smile. I'm glad my whole family is still here. Safe and sound. I close my eyes, and soon, I am asleep.

~~~

The next morning, I wake up, stretching, looking out the window at the early morning sky. I remember the battle, and get up quickly, rushing to the window, just in time to see Father and his troops leaving. I recognise Father at the front, boldly leading the group. I just hope he'll be alright. And return, safe and sound, like he promised. 

~~~

Sorry it was kind of short. Do you think he should die? I was planning on making Alissa die later and have that make Anisa want revenge, but I don't know about her father.

Ehhh...l'm not to happy with the post, it kinda turned out weird, but here goes.  

Frostbone~

"Ah, no, no thank you," l say, nervously to the librarian. "l'm good." 

She nods, and disappears around a bookshelf. l start after her for a long moment, wondering why exactly she unnevered me. It wasn't often that someone had that affect on me.

Alive.

That't what she was, and why she was strange here, among these people, almost drunk on their peace. But she wasn't. She was alive, in the sense that she had a manner of energy and awakeness. Strange. It would fascinate me to look into this matter further, but l have better and far more important things to do. Namely murdering people.

l did not know the lay of the land, something that one always needs when one needs to escape quickly, so thus l came here to find some manner of map. Also, strange places made me uneasy. l did not know what could be around every corner. l did not know the manner of weaponery, or defense they had, or how they would react to several of their citizens being killed. So many things l needed to know.

The door of the library, which wasn't made of the same wood as the huge, hollowed tree, swings open suddenly with a snap, causing both me and the librarian to look up.

"Is this a library?" questions a younger girl, panting heavily. She has the look of a wild deer, tense and afraid.

"Yes, it is," the librarian answers from the other side of the room.

Why would the girl ask, when there is a sign outside clearly marking this as a library? And if she couldn't read, why would she come to a place filled with books? Stranger, and stranger. This place seems to be a magnet to the oddballs and energetic of this place.

l've finally found the map that l'm looking for, and attempt to memorize it, but annoyingly, both the librarian and the girl are distracting me. l wonder how she would react if she knew what l was going to do to her people, if l wasn't just a passerby. If she knew who l was, what would she do? And that young girl, so wild and fearful. How does she feel? Finally found a place of peace to stumble upon a assassin.

How could they possibly tell? And how could they ever care? They know nothing of the war. They know nothing of the horrors. 

@Curio, OH!!! Now that makes sense. Sorry. 

@Alexandra, well, he could die, but maaayybe .... Irina could do it?

@Jarvis, sure! Sounds amazing! *starts dancing around because I love Jarvis' charrie so much*

Also, Jarvis and everybody who has Catan, the country looks like the country on the back of the cards. I'll make it out of tiles for those who don't have the game, though. JARVIS PLAYS SEVEN WONDERS?!?!?!

(Me too!) My parents play Splendor on an app, but I prefer playing the actual game.

@Everybody sorry for not posting, our internet was down for about twenty-four hours, and then I was using the WiFi/internet to catch Pokemon ... :D

Sorry. Pokemon Go fan. 

~|Irina|~

I strike a match across its box. A flame flickers to life. I quickly bring the wick of my candle and the flame together, producing a brighter light. Paper, inkwell with ink, pen, sealing wax ... I've got everything.

I dip the pen into the inkwell, frantically scribbling down my new discoveries. 

The Army is set to attack Monday next. They've a muster going in Ryeborough Valley: ten thousand troops give or take, under five generals. Three of them are greenhorns, but General Camaras is a veteran of the Battle of Thundertree, and General Stonestrom is fresh from the border skirmishes with the Court of the Rogue. Don't worry about my new messenger Ellingson; he's a defector, and I trust him somewhat, but if he doesn't give the password...well, that's the worse for the Ilwerese spy trying to take his place, isn't it? For the glory of Ilara! ~II 

I quickly roll the scroll up, stamp it, and blow out my light. I can only get so many candles from my pay as a maid. And I can't use hardly any more money, as it would make me highly suspicous.

Now I can only hope Ellingson is trustworthy ...

~Hecate

"Oh thank you.." I say quietly. "Anything you're looking for in particular?" she asks. "Not really." I look around until I find what looks like the oldest book in the library. I dust off the side and read: "Fairy Tales of The Five Kingdoms". I flip through it for a bit. There're sections--Ilsveth Fairy Tales, Ilara, Ilper, and everything else. I give it the ghost of a smile and take the book to the desk, where I check it out.

~Later~

Hmm...this book is great! I love these tales! I'm so absorbed in the book that at first I don't notice the voices of guards. "I swear, those Assassin spies should be around here somewhere..." one mutters. People? Near my home!? The thought fills me with dread, adrenaline, hope, and wishful thoughts. I put the book down on two logs and a plank I use for a counter (in a shape like this o--o), and walk up to the flap of deer hide I use for a door. I listen carefully. "I swear, that spy's been in the forest..." "Don't talk about it! She might hear you!" "What difference will it make?" Spies? Honest-to-goodness spies? For what?

~~~

I would love it if someone could meet up with me soon.. 

I'm going to post later, as I'm working on an idea ...

Kir~

"Those assassin spies could be anywhere!" the Guard outside accidentally makes his presence known.

"Yeah, well one of them's supposed to be in here. Along with a thief," another Guard says. I stiffen, but not nearly so much as the other two people in the room. Who is the assassin and who is the thief?"

The boy whirls and raises a throwing knife towards me, looking guilty.

I still don't know who the assassin is; thieves in guilds  and assassins carry knives. The other girl gasps. She can't have stolen anything, can she? No, no... he must be the thief, and the others must be mistaken about an assassin being here.

"Do you have any hidden rooms?" he asks. I nod.

He motions for Hecate to come. They follow me, and I open a hidden closet door. We climb in and shut the door, the only lines of light coming from above and below the hidden doorframe.

"Weird, there should be a' least one person here," a Guard says.

"Oi, what's this?" a Guard says. I wait for the worst; he is walking closer to the door, closer-

The boy grabs my arm. I feel a stickiness on his hand and see blood. I gasp.

"A-are you the assass-"

"Quiet," he says frantically. The girl and I are speechless; his tone admits his guilt. 

The Guard sighs. "Naw, this is a storage closet."

I sigh quietly, relieved. He found the storage closet apart from the hidden room. The Guards leave eventually, and we tumble out of the closet in a heap.

I leap up from the floor and grab the first thing I can get my hands on: a copy of a fairytale book. "I-I was reading-" I cut the girl off by raising it over my head.

"Who do you work for, assassin?" I snap. 

"I-I'm not an assassin!" he says.

"Liar!" I say, raising the book higher, "Tell me!"

"No!" he says. I hit his chest hard with the book.

"Stop it!" the girl says. I would, but I'm livid; the prospect of someone bringing evil into my land is too much to bear.

"TELL-(whap)-ME- (thock)-WHO?" the girl grabs the book and sets it on the table after I lay a few more blows in. 

I calm down. "Oh, dear stars, I'm sorry," I tell the dazed boy. 

"Off," he says. I realize I have a foot on his arm. I back off warily.

"I'm Kir," I say, stepping back.

"Hecate," the girl offers, obviously grateful that I'm no longer using a book as a bludgeoning weapon.

The boy lies there, astonished. I wince.