Taking Toron Aleo

[Mistrus]

I know I’ve been gone for a long time. Nearly two years it has been since I was active in MT. I have missed quite a few things. I’ve missed RPing a bit… well, actually I’ve missed RPing a lot. I’ve missed the people I get to do the RPs with. I found quite a few friends doing RPs with them and it’s sad to think that I’ve lost touch with that. That is what this is about.

Alright, this RP is one that I have thought about since I left MT nearly two years ago. So I have had quite a bit of time to actually think on it and work out the kinks. This was actually going to be a story but I couldn’t figure the plot out because it had been thought up as a RP thread. It needed more than one input of thought. Now that I’m back on MT I decided I wanted to use this idea as it was intended to be.

Storyline

SPOILER! :

Welcome to Sector 12, Subsector 139, Land Location Ese14N8th. Better known as the Tallia Space port in Keetlia City on the planet of Toron Aleo. Toron Aleo is a world divided by a civil war and strife. The Galians, the ruling force of Toron, are a haughty and cold people. Their war is against the traditional inhabitants of the planet, the Tarians.

The war has raged on for the past three hundred years. The Galians, who have subjected the Tarians to over a thousand years of slavery and servitude, are fighting against their former captives in a bloody war that is draining the Tarians of resources and hope. Being the richer side of the war the Galians are able to provide their military with high quality weapons and armour. Their pockets are deep and their vindictive streak runs deeper. They are not wanting to decimate the Tarian army, they are wanting to annihilate it. Despite the war going on for the past three hundred years, the Galian royalty is still treating the war as a rebellion. They want to take out the Tarian rebels and force the others to accept their place in society. They do not believe that it is anything but a small nuisance.


Three hundred years before, a group of Galian soliders attacked a Tarian camp and killed everyone within it. Men, women and children were killed, nothing was spared and the camp was burned. The camp contained Tarians who had been born free and who had never felt the shackles of slavery. Even though many of the elder Tarians had been enslaved and such attacks were common, the camp contained the daughter of the Tarian former King and Queen. Though the Tarians had been beaten down for centuries the loss of the girl was an act that they could not forgive or forget.
Within several weeks the Tarians had gathered their forces and tracked down what was left of the royal line. The entire force retreated into the wilderness of Toron Aleo,. No more attacks on camps were recorded as the entire free Tarian populous had disappeared. The Tarian forces were not heard of for the next five years, despite many months of searching by the Galian Army. The Tarians had retreated back into their old lands, the mountains and the deep forests where only the bravest souls had tried to enter.

After the five years had passed, Tarian slave compounds were being destroyed and the slaves were disappearing, all within a night. The attacks were random and the Galian army had no way of knowing what would be hit next. After several months the number of Tarians that were enslaved had dropped significantly and the Galian people were taking their frustration out on the royal palace through revolts and riots. When it was discovered the free Tarians were the cause of the attacks, the Queen ordered squadrons of her men to deal with the problem, despite the men having no training to deal with combat in the forests and the mountains. After two weeks only few soldiers came out of the forests alive.

The Tarians had spent five years learning the lay of the land and they preferred a guerrilla tactic offense rather than a strong defense. The underprepared Galian soldiers didn’t stand a chance. The Tarians brought the dead soldiers back and lay them out in lines in front of Keetlia City. Even though their tactics and weaponry were considered barbaric, the Tarians had a sense of honour, they believed that the families of the soldiers should be given the chance to bury their dead kin, despite the Galians having no sense of honour. They took no prisoners but did not kill the wounded. It was how the Tarians had acted before the Galians had invaded their peaceful planet.

In response to the return of their fallen soldiers, the Galian royalty called for the public execution of fifty of their most loyal Tarian slaves. The public execution was watched throughout the entire Galian holding. All ten cities watched the execution on their public screens. The message was loud and clear to the free Tarians and they called a state of war on the Galians. The roads were no longer safe and the Tarians actively sought out base camps and destroyed them all.

Three hundred years later, the war still rages on with no end in sight. The Galian Military had called in reinforcements from the Universal Military. The Military provides them with weapons and the occasional shipment of PoWs to replace the Tarian slaves on the front lines of the war zone. Queen Aquiline and her husband, Havale brush of the war as a mere nuisance and pay it no attention, despite it nearly being fought in the city streets.

The Tarians haven’t fared well in the war and their weapons and equipment have become out-dated and virtually useless but they haven’t been defeated. They resort to thievery and salvaging to compete with the Galian’s weaponry and technology. They have advanced far in the three hundred years but it is never enough. With the Military supplying the Galian Army with the newest weapons and communication technology, they are severely lacking in what they can use against them, however the Tarians rely on technique and surprise attacks to provide them with the success they need to remain a player in the war. The King Alus and Queen Beayet are tired of the war and wish for it to end but they know that if they stop, the Galians will enslave them once more.

Geography

SPOILER! :

Toron Aleo is covered in forests and mountain ranges. It is surrounded by the Tailion Ocean and the beached where the Cities lie. There are ten Galian cities, Keetlia, Jauclie, Turen, Lahing, Elu, Amoni, Shoda, Rahu, Tangis, and Velox. The cities never leave the beach, leaving most of the forests unexplored. There is flat land but it is surrounding the cities and no where else.

The cities are made of metal and stone, they are a designed to be aesthetically pleasing and are gold and white. The Palace lies directly in the center of Keetlia and is the tallest structure in the city. (I will draw a map later)

Toron Aleo Inhabitants

SPOILER! :

Galians

History:
The Galians arrived on Toron Aleo 1,500 years earlier after their planet was destroyed by an intergalactic war. Once they arrived on Toron Aleo, they set about enslaving the native inhabitants and recreating their cities on the beaches of the forest covered, mountainous land. With their grasp on the land secure they did not wish to move into the forests or the mountains, they did however enter the forests to capture the native Tarians. After five hundred years the Planet was theirs and the native inhabitants captured and enslaved.

Characteristics:
They have angular faces and bodies that resemble the fantasy elves of Earthling stories. The Royal line is most noticeable because of their wings. They are a symbol of their power and the rest of the populous have metal ones made for them, the status of the family is determined on the type of metal used to make the wings. The more expensive the metal, the wealthier the family. Their eyes have three distinct colours, gold, brown, and black and their hair colour is usually light. Light blue, purples, blonde and light brown. They age slowly, living to be around two hundred and fifty years old.



Tarians

History:
The Tarians are the native inhabitants of Toron Aleo, 1,500 years earlier they had their own royal line and their own civilization deep in the forests and the mountains of the planet. When the Galians invaded, the Tarians were the ones to extend a friendly hand but the Galians had no intentions of being friends and even though the Tarians put up a good fight, they were enslaved. Forced to work day in and day out, their culture was nearly lost and their history all but wiped out. The free Tarians still retained their sense of culture. Scrolls and texts are hidden in their long lost fortresses in the deep mountains that they are just starting to rediscover.

Characteristics:
A Tarian’s appearance is as varied as different designs of the Galians’ metal wings. They fall into five different ‘types’. Centurian, Lyrin, Natul, Byern, and Fyn. Despite the differences of appearance they consider themselves connected and they do not war within their culture. The most similar characteristics are their eye colour and hair colour. Their eyes are usually a bright vibrant colour, blue, purple, red, green, etc., etc.. Their hair colour is usually just as vibrant or can extend to plain, browns, black, purples, red, blues, etc.,etc. Their lifespan can be over five hundred years old.


Military Personnel

History:
The Universal Military has their hands in everything. Weapons, slave trade, criminal activity, anything they can make money off of. They are corrupt and extremely powerful. They do not mind helping the selfish in their quest for power. They have been helping the Galians for the past hundred and fifty years, they send them PoWs when they do not want to deal with them any longer.

Characteristics:
The Military Personnel are generally human and their appearance is varied. They are generally highly trained and intelligent.

Classes

SPOILER! :

These are the classes of people you can choose from.


Galian

Royalty Affiliated:
These Galians have royal blood but are not in line for the throne. They hold a bit of inference with the Queen and King but not much. They have little to no responsibility and tend not to think of the war. Those who do rarely question the reasons for the war. They have the royal wings and are generally sought after by the free Tarians to take and trade for the remaining slaves.
Positions available: 3

Military:
These Galians are highly trained in technology and weapons use. They have been given training to deal with the territory that the Tarians hold but they haven’t been trained in the field because of the Tarian ambushes, so their training in that field is weak. They can be grunts or they can be high ranking officials.
Positions available:
High Ranking: 2
Lower Ranks: Unlimited

Rebel:
These Galians support the Tarians and like to sabotage Military runs in the forests. They act as spies and the Tarians trust them but only to a certain level. They pass information of Military movements to the Tarian leaders and if caught they can face death, that is if the Tarians do not rescue them.
Positions available: 6


Tarian:

Royal Affiliates:
Related to the royal family, these affiliates are ususally given a job based on the type of Tarian they are. No one is given special preference in the Tarian culture and even the King and Queen work based on their abilities. The Affiliates do, however, have quite a bit of sway with the King and Queen and the others.
Positions available: 3

Military:
Tarians in the military have been trained in hand-to-hand combat, sword play, and bows. They are expert in all three. They have also been trained in use of guns and communication but as the technology is still new to them they are not comfortable using them all the time. So even though they have a gun or rifle on hand they will also have their bow or their sword close by.
Positions available:
High Ranking: 2
Lower Ranks: Unlimited

Slave:
There are still Tarians kept as slaves in the cities. They may or may not escape and the lucky ones have been given to a family that they will have to serve for the rest of their lives. The unlucky ones will be forced to work in the mines or the smelters. Those usually forced to work in the mines and smelters are the Byerns for their size and Natuls for their abilities.
Positions Available: 6


Military Personnel


Generals:
Military Generals are high ranking officers who spend more time talking to the Galian royalty and military than they do actually fighting. They are the ones who give orders and rarely actually see any fighting.
Positions Available: 2

Lower Ranks:
These ones are highly trained in technology and weapons use and are the ones who are fighting with the Galian Military against the Tarians. They have the choice to stay with the Military or to leave.
Positions available: Unlimited

PoWs:
Prisoners of war and used as replacements for Tarian slaves. They are used in the most dangerous situations where the lower ranking soldiers would get killed or hurt. They are treated badly and they do have the option of escape or/and try to join the Tarian Forces.
Positions available: 6

Types

SPOILER! :

There are four different types of Tarians.

Centurian:
This type of Tarian are mixtures between human and animal. (ex. Centaurs, Satyr, Minotaur, etc.) They very in appearance and colour.
Positions available: 6

Lyrin:
This type of Tarian has the ability to shape shift into an animal. They generally look normal in appearance until they wish to change into their animal of choice. (Animals not limited to those we have, you can make up your own, within reason.) Their powers are restricted to the type of material they are bound with. (They cannot break through metal and thick wood but ropes and thin chains are fair game).
Positions available: 6

Fyn:
These Tarians are creators and builders, they are extremely talented at creation. They can be growers, which can grow plants at a rapid pace. They can be builders, which can build anything within a short amount of time with limited supplies. Or they can be destroyers, these ones are rare, very, very rare. These ones can destroy anything around them, depending on their intent.
Positions available: 5
Positions available for the Destroyer: 1

Byern:
These Tarians are large, their height can top out at nine feet, they can be lean or they can have a large muscular frame. They are not small than six and a half feet tall. They rely on brute strength and occasionally, with the leaner ones, speed.
Positions available: 6

Natul:
These Tarians can control an element, fire, earth, air, or water. They cannot create the element out of nothing so for their powers to work they need to be near the element for their power to work.
Positions available: 6

Miscellaneous

SPOILER! :

For the Tarians, their appearance is varied, however they must not look completely human or have human. Fangs and/or claws are a must they can, however be retractable. The skin colour can be any colour but nothing too bright. (like yellow). Height is based on the type, the only really tall/large Tarians are the Byerns. However the Centurians can also be large, depending on the type of animal they are crossed with.

Tarian types are random and not hereditary. Usually Centurians Mate within the Centurians base don their animals but that doesn't mean their children will be Centurian. Their children can be Fyn, Byern, or even Natul. The different Tarian types appear at the age of ten in all types. This is where their growth changes to fit the type they will become.


The animals within the forests of Toron Aleo are as varied as their people.

Markraths: a carnivourous rat type creature that have a poisonous stinger on the tip of their tails. This stinger emits a poison with paralyzes. Once the prey is paralyzed the Markraths will eat their prey alive. They are often dull in colour but their tail is usually a bright red or orange. They are relatively large, about the size of a dog. They are not very intelligent and cannot see very well during the day. They are nocturnal and spend their days in small crevices.

Weakness: They cannot go near a Fiy plant. A Fiy is small purple coloured vine that grows on the Sitter Tree, a large redish tree with branches that grow outwards before growing upwards. This plant emits a chemical that causes the Markraths to grow weak and die after long exposures to it.

Companionship: If taken at an early age a Markraths make suitable companions for a traveler. They are still capable of harming their companion with their stinger but do not try and eat them while paralyzed. They will, however, protect them while the poison wears off, especially if the bond forged is strong.


Silth: a small and strange creature that looks like a butterfly. They are the usually the size of a small platter and their bright wings and music like chatter charms animals and people alike. They are very intelligent and are capable of communicating with people. They like to lure unsuspecting people into the forests and into Teron territory, where the people are mauled by Terons and eaten. They do this to protect their eggs, which the Terons like to eat. They formed a relationship with the Terons to protect their offspring if they bring the Terons prey.

Weakness: Anything shiny. Silths love shiny objects and will usually do anything to touch it or to have it. Because they are capable of communication they will usually try to convince people to give up their shiny objects for a safe way through the forests or edible plants.

Companionship: Silths will sometimes choose a person as their companion and will not leave that person for the rest of their life. The behavior is common among Silths that have passed their mating phase and have hatched their offspring. They will often lead their companion through the forests on the safest paths. They form a very strong bond with their companions and if their companions die with will remains with the corpse until they too die, usually from starvation.


Teron: They are a large creature that are reptilian in nature. They walk on two feet,balancing themselves with their thick and long tails. They are carnivorous and their large and powerful jaws, much like a crocodile's can snap through bones easily. They have sharp claws and teeth that tear flesh quite easily. Their favourite food is Silth eggs but because of a trade they are not allowed to eat them. They are capable of communicating with others and are considered highly intelligent although rather shy on their own.

Weakness: They love trading. This behaviour makes it so it is impossible for them to eat their prey, if the prey has something to trade. The Tarian Force often trade with the Terons for raw metals safe passage through the forest. Once bound by a trade, a Teron never goes back on its word.

Companionship: They are a social creature within their own packs and companionship with anyone else is impossible. Even if taken as an egg and raised with a companion, they will still return to their own packs.


Hents: These are a dangerous creature, they are like a wolf except they have the ability to breath fire and run at speeds faster than the average car. They have powerful jaws and hunt alone. They do not have packs and they do not have offspring. Like the phoenix, they burst into flames when they die and are reborn from the ashes. They are considered omnivores and opportunistic eaters.

Weakness: Water. If they get wet their fire their fire goes out and they can not breathe it. They combat this by having slightly oily fur but it is only effective against rain and not a sudden downpour of water.

Companionship: They will occasionally choose a companion but will often leave them for long periods of time if the bond is not strong. A strong bond comes from the Hent breathing their name into their companion's ear during sleep. If the name is remembered when the companion wakes up a strong bond is formed. If not then the bond is weak or non-existent and the Hent will leave.


Elets: They are a large bird capable of carrying off a small child. They are generally gentle creatures that eat fruit and plants. They like beautiful things and are generally seen around the Galian cities. They are an aquatic bird as well and can breath underwater. Water is where they lay their eggs.

Weakness: Fire, if caught on fire and there is no water near by they will die within a minute. They heal fast but burns can take upwards of ten days to heal.

Companionship: If taken as an egg and raised in an environment with no view of other Elets they make loyal companions. They can live to be over four hundred years old and can be passed from generation to generation.

If you guys want to create any creature go ahead but tell me their stats so I can add it to the list.

Character sheet

SPOILER! :

Name:
Age:
Gender:
Type: *For Tarians only*
Class:
Companion: *only one companion if you wish to have one*
Eye colour:
Skin colour:
Appearance:
Personality:
Skills: *training, what your character is good at, etc.*
History:
NPCs with you: *You can create as many NPCs as you want but please make sure you say whether these NPCs can be played by others or not*

That took far longer than I thought it would but there it is. Please submit Character sheets and character drawings if you have any, to the OOC thread. A list of NPC will be in the first post of the OOC thread.

You can also stack classes. You can be a Royal Affiliate and a Low Ranking Military at the same time. You can be a Galian Rebel and a part of the Tarian low ranking military. You can stack up Low Ranking Military on everything but the Higher Ranking Military.

[Mistrus]

"Zanx-iie Tal, where do you think you are going?" At the words Zanx-iie froze. She mentally cursed herself for being so obvious. She slowly turned around to look at her father. He was trying to lean out the window, the scene would have been amusing but Zanx-iie wasn't in the mood to laugh.

"I'm heading out. There is a possible Talian Ruin that might hold information-"

"You have to train today. Your students are expecting you." He cut her off and tried to lean further out the window. His wide shoulders prevented him from actually leaning out. He looked frustrated and Zanx-iie resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"Dad, get someone else to. I'm busy. Tare-" She shrugged her shoulders with a scowl and he responded with a glare.

"Zanx-iie, you need to stop shirking your duties. You need to take these training sessions seriously. We need you to train them." He tried to fit himself out of the window again and sighed. Zanx-iie watched him with a shake of her head. "Give me a second." He disappeared window and came out the door of the barracks and Zanx-iie looked at him with a dark scowl.

"I am good at what I do, yes but I can't stand training people. I have to physically hurt them and I can't stand it, baba. I can throw Military and Galians, I cna hurt them, or even kill them if necessary but looking at those Tarian faces, I can't do it. They are so young." She crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head. "I won't do it." It was true, she couldn't bring herself to harm one of her own, her war wasn't with them, it was with the Military and the Galian slave drivers. That is where her violence lay.

"They are over a hundred years, Zanx-iie, and you will train them. If you leave now, we all know that you will go on some raid and won't return for days, weeks maybe." He walked over to her and placed a large hand on her shoulder. It was so large it overlapped down her arm. She had to crane her neck just to look him in the eye. "We need you here more than they need you out there."

"No, there are still slaves and they need our help. The Military is bringing in PoWs, these people will be killed if we don't help!" She brushed his hand away and shook her head. Why didn't he understand?

"You will not, I repeat will not, be going and jacking PoWs out of their camps. It is far too dangerous and we cannot have them coming back here. We can't trust them!" He shook his finger in her face and she resisted the urge to slap it away.

"And they don't trust the Military! They have no other choice but to trust us! We are the ones freeing them." She lifted her hands in frustration. She shook her head and her father crouched down so he was near eye level with her.

"Trust has to be earned, not forced or taken. I know you think you are helping but to really help we need you to train the new Raiders. We are counting on you, Zanx-iie." He ruffled her hair and Zanx-iie slapped his hand away with a scowl.

"Baba, say what you want but leave the hair alone! You know how it gets!" She tried to straighten her unruly hair and her father laughed.

"I do, and I know you. You will leave and I will not see you again for days. I cannot stop this, you are a grown woman, I can't say anything, sometimes I wonder if the mines left you a little leery of entrapment." He sighed and stood up, his large frame nearly blocking out the sun. "I just worry for you, Zanx-iie. I can't lose you, you are all of your mother I have left. You are my child. Take care of yourself." Zanx-iie reached over and took his large hand in her small ones.

"I will, baba, because I know mother would kill you if anything happened to me." Zanx-iie dropped his hand and headed towards the large gate. it opened on her father's command and she sprinted into the trees. One thing her father got right was she was going on a raid but it was for a PoW camp near Turen. He would not be impressed but Zanx-iie couldn't let them die. They were just as stuck as the Tarian slaves.

[T1B3R1U5]

Xanth looked over some of the new recruits. Most were rebels and other used to be Tarian slaves. The tags on the slaves disgusted him. It only brought back memories from his past that he wished would leave the forefront of his mind. The faces almost blended, some were worn and others were tired from not getting enough rest. He wasn’t sure what to do with them. Then a thought crossed his mind and he smirked, “You all look horrible. Pathetic. You don’t look like fighting men and women to me; you look more like cannon-fodder.” He shook his head to continue, “Unless you can prove otherwise. Or am I wrong that you want to train and learn to kill?” He walked up to one rebel to come face-to-face and he stared him down. He looked over the rebel’s face and laughed, “I don’t killer here. I see a wanna be who thinks they can kill.” Xanth walked away and looked at the Sergeant that had brought them in and nodded. The Sergeant got to business right away and his voice began to fade as he walked away, “All right, Ladies! Welcome to Basic Training!” Not that it mattered to Xanth, but he needed the extra men. He made his usual rounds around the military camp to check on Munitions, food rations, and how much firepower they had left. While he was making his round Saulus, his assistant, came along, “Uhh, Sir? I’ve got some news for you.” Xanth looked at him to say, “Yeah, what is it?” Saulus looked like he didn’t want to say whatever it was but he did, “It seems that those slaves and rebels were “stolen” by a…uh…woman by the name of Zanx-iie, sir.” Xanth remembered the name from some earlier report about some disciplinary actions, but what Xanth was worried about was having enough men at the end of the day to survive. He nodded and replied, “So I’ve heard, anything else to add to the list?” Saulus seemed to have a lot of information in his head since Xanth had to wait a few minutes for an answer. Saulus took a breath, “Well, the recon team came back and they want to speak to you about some Slaver operations nearby.”

Xanth nodded and began to make his way to his quarters. When he arrived, Maul was eating a small creature that looked somewhat like a rat. Xanth raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. He sat at his desk and saw a classified file sitting on the edge of his desk. Curious, he picked it up and opened to file. What he found inside was astounding. The woman named Zanx-iie was a royal affiliate! Xanth was shocked at first, but then it all began to make sense in a weird and strange way to him. He set the file down and lightly chuckled at that strange fact. He really didn’t care actually, but this was still surprising to see on paper. Xanth felt a change in the atmosphere around him. Instinctively, Xanth rolled to his rifle and loaded it lightning fast. A second later an artillery shell landed on the edge of his quarters and blew the wall out. Then only the sound of flesh being torn from bone was all that was heard in his quarters from Maul’s meal.

[Mistrus]

Zanx-iie looked through her beat up, old pair of Military grade binoculars. She sat precariously perched on a branch as she watched the PoW camp she was planning on raiding. The binoculars counted the number of heat signatures and displayed the number on the lens in red. Zanx-iie cursed softly. There were over 20 guards on the one base, twice as many as there were three months ago when she had started. Since she managed to liberate over two hundred PoWs they had started upping security. Not that she wasn't proud she had them scared and paranoid, it as just a pain in the ass to get the PoWs out without a fight when there were more guards around.

She looked up into the sky and watched as Tare circled the compound from above. She had attached a video recorder to his feet so she could get an aerial view of the compound, to see if there were any blind spots that the guards might have. She watched as he circled twice more before swooping down towards her position. She sat up straighter and pressed her back against the tree trunk. The bark rubbed against her scars through her loose shirt. Tare landed in front of her with a cooing sound. She smiled and rubbed his beak. Zanx-iie carefully removed the recorder from his foot and placed it in her pack.

"We are going to Camp Beta. The one where we left our last rescues." She rubbed his chest feathers before he took off and she gracefully hopped down from the tree branch. She sprinted into the trees and towards Camp Beta.

[T1B3R1U5]

Xanth's vision was slightly blurred. A few Galian soldiers raced in, but each was dropped as they tried to storm into his quarters. He was pissed as hell, it took him a long time to get his quarters the way he had found pleasing. He hid behind his desk and used a holo device to make it seem like he was still trying to recover from the shell impact some distance away. The rest of the base sounded like they were fighting with their own problems at the moment. Xanth put his rifle down since the charges were wasted and he pressed a few buttons near the top of his hands on his armor. The result was two Katar-like blades that made a Shiing! sound when they popped out. Maul was looking at everything like it couldn't matter to him. Xanth sighed and gave Maul that 'Are you fucking kidding me?' look, but Maul still layed there eating his meal. And the sad thing is, a stray round from outside blew Maul's meal to nothing. Xanth tried not to laugh at the reaction Maul had. Maul was furious and looked at Xanth with a feral look in his eye. Of course, Xanth just did a gesture that resembled something like 'After you...'


If anyone has seen the base from the outside, you'd think that they were fighting each other. That was the tactic the Galian had planned to use. Unfortunately, it wasn't working that well since all of the units I had trained were grouped together and firing at anything that didn't have the Talian Military logo on it. The Tarian slaves and the rebels were actually faring well in the fight. Some of them were in their own squads and their own outfits. The battle didn't last long after Maul, Xanth's companion, joined the fight. Maul was one of the most feared companions on the base, not because of his species; but because of his ferocity in battle and mercilessness he showed. Many attribute that to the personality of their commander. They say that companions can show the true nature of those they are bonded with. Of course, Xanth was wondering what to do with everything now. And he didn't know what caused this sudden raid on his base, he hadn't used any conventional use of transportation for his base to have been found out. He looked up at the sky with annoyment and saw a bird. Today, he just wanted to be that bird. Uncaring, and flying with the wind to where ever it took him. But he had work to do.

[Mistrus]

Zanx-iie skidded to a stop at the smoking base. She slowly entered the camp, watching everyone around her. She wondered if they were alright. She helped a rather shell shocked PoW to his feet and brushed him off, careful not to extend her claws and hurt him more. He was favouring his left leg so she let him lean on her as she helped him hobble over to the medical tent. A tall and lean Byern with a medical coat looked at her in surprise.

"Zanx-iie Tal, its an honour. Your father is quite the General and I hear you are quite the Raider. Most of the PoWs and former slaves here have their freedom thanks to you." He walked over and helped her place the wounded man on a cot. Zanx-iie looked up at the eight foot tall doctor.

"Not as honoured as I am, Dr. Elliet. I've heard of you and your work. If anyone can help get these poor Tarians and PoWs back to good health it will be you." She gave him a wide smile and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly before he gave a low bow and turned to the PoW. Zanx-iie looked out of the tent and sprinted to where a woman was trying to stand up. She carefully grasped her hand and pulled her to her feet. "I'm afraid you are damaged forever now. You can't be helped." She waited for the woman's reaction and was soon drawn into a tight hug.

"Zanx-iie Tal, you horrid Tarian, you! You dropped off those PoWs and you left without a word. Didn't even come to say hi to your Aunty Louie!" The woman let her go and Zanx-iie smiled at her. She was a Natul like her, only she controlled air instead of water. They were not related in anyway but Louie took her under her wing and treated her like family during their time enslaved.

"I'm sorry but I had to go see baba, you know how he gets if he doesn't see me." She kissed Louie's cheek and the older woman smiled at her. "Now what in the world happened here? Did I miss some fun?"

[T1B3R1U5]

Xanth sneered at the base. Everything was in disarray and Xanth doesn't like things like that at all. He turned his head to see the girl who had been helping the resistance movement for a while now. Not that it was serious, but he had some issues to discuss with her. But, those would have to wait. He had a base to attend to, after all.

Maul had sat down next to Xanth with his head held high. His tail twitched every now and then form the people running around the base. One might say that he had to resist his natural instincts to run and kill whoever was moving quickly. He caught a scent in the wind and he turned towards it to be looking at small figure of a lady. He slightly padded over and started to sniff loudly at her. It may have seemed weird at first, but all he was doing was trying to get used to the smell she had on her. Maul couldn't quite figure out what it was.

Xanth watched Maul with a blank expression. He walked over and spoke orderingly, "Maul..." Maul looked over at him and nodded his head to pad back over to where he usually sat. The ground even showed it too. The brown and dying grass where Maul always laid down. Xanth then just walked past Zanx-iie and only gave her a quick glance with a cold and heartless look in his eye. To him it seemed like slow motion, but in reality it was faster than he would have thought. He quickly made his way to a weapons crate that had some scarring from the fight earlier. He popped up a screen and it had some words and writing that no one else had seen. He hit a few of the wordings and the chest hissed open to reveal wicked katarn-looking blades. Xanth put them on his back with the straps and he pulled out a small pistol sized weapon to put it in his thigh holster.

Maul watched Xanth with some intent. A small grin could've been seen on Maul's face, but it was impossible to tell. Maul then silently slank away into the forest and Xanth was starting to follow.

[Mistrus]

Zanx-iie barely spared the man a glance as she continued to help brush off her Aunty Louie.

"You did. Must have been a lucky guess on their part." The older Natul brushed Zanx-iie's hair down with her hand. "How I worry about you sometimes. Always on the next greatest adventure. I never know when you are going to come back or if you ever are. Zanx-iie rolled her vibrant green eyes.

"I'm safer than an Elut egg in the ocean when I go out. There is nothing that can make me get reckless. Safety is my first concern." She shook her head and Louie shook her head quickly.

"No, you are getting too reliant on your abilities. You will make mistakes because of it. Mistakes that could cost you your life. I need you to stay safe, Zanx-iie. You are far too important to me to lose." Louie brushed her hand down Zanx-iie's face gently. "I love you, Zanx-iie. You are dear to me and I am over three hundred years old. I have never had a child, I never can but you, I have helped raise you. You are my baby. My kit." Louie kissed her forehead gently, her purple eyes crinkling at the corners.

"Everyone of us at the compound loved you. You were the first kit to be born into the barracks. Many of use were past two hundred when you were born. Many of us had never had a child. I knew your mother. She was a wonderful woman and it hurt her to give you up but she was not allowed to bring your with her. It nearly killed her to have you in the mines. She was afraid it would kill you. That she would never get to see you again." She shook her head and Zanx-iie felt tears in her eyes. "But you survived, my kit. You survived along with us and you were strong. Much stronger than we would have hoped for you. You were as hardy as the sprig flowers that grew in the darkness of the mine."

"Aunty, please do not speak of this anymore. You are making me cry." Zanx-iie waved her off and wiped her eyes. "Tears make me look little again and I need to look like a mature adult. We need to move the camp. They found us once. They will find us again."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"General Ramos, what are you doing calling on us during our tea?" Queen Aquiline scowled at the high ranking Military General. He scowled right back.

"I am doing my job, your highness. We are needing a change in tactics in regards to these creatures you are fighting against. They are significantly more intelligent than you have lead us to believe. We need new tactics." General Ramos stared at the queen through the video communicator placed on the wall.

"These slaves are no more intelligent than Markraths fleeing from a nest caught on fire. Our tactics are centuries old. We do not wish them to change." Queen Aquiline held her chin higher, giving her the appearance of looking down upon him and he hated it.

"You are blind. The Tarians are destroying our forces as soon as they enter the forest. They are using the land to their advantage. You cannot underestimate them. That is how they will win this. I will be instituting a new tactic as soon as this conversation ends, with, or without, you approval. I will not have my men dying over your naivety." He ended the call quickly and ran his hand over his face. "Get the slaves up here. We need to pry them for information about their people."

[T1B3R1U5]

Xanth was running full bore through the forest when he arrived near a cliff looking over a small field. With the neural band that he wore over his eyes, he nodded to cause the band to zoom in on the field. He saw slight movements or rather outlines of beings. One final nod showed everything in a sort of x-ray. With this, he saw a large amount of enemy troops loading and unloading ammunition and the like.

"Heh...So, now they're making a forward base...this could cause some problems.." He spoke to himself as he backed up into the brush and he charged off the cliff to land with a roll at the base of the cliff. He was running again, but his movements were so silent that it was impossible to even hear that he was moving so fast. If someone were to see him, he would seem like a blur of motion.

Maul was already scouting around the base, sniffing for any scent that would lead him to any type of commander. The strange thing was that he couldn't actually smell anything at all. So, he followed his companion Xanth.

The small base was a forward operations by the Galian military. The guards that were around weren't really paying any attention to their surroundings which gave Xanth an edge over them. Xanth ran past one and continued running, but the scene behind him was gruesome. The guard was almost literally in pieces. The other guards seemed to wonder where one of the others went. They decided to go and see. So, they went around a corner of the building they were guarding and they saw most of the base decimated. Well, not the base itself, but the other guards. Now nervous, they both walked slowly over to the center of the base to see Xanth smoking while sitting on a barrel. He looked at the guards and the two looked at each other to aim their rifles at him. Xanth just waved his finger and loudly went, "Tsk, tsk, tsk...I don't think so..." The guards were just beginning to pull on the trigger when Xanth killed them both, gunslinger style with the pistol.

To the people back at the base, it was just the sound of two rapid fire shots. Some seemed kind of edgy and nervous while, others just went about their day figuring that it was Xanth on his own personal raids.

By the time Xanth returned, most of the base was being moved and he liked the idea. He figured that Zanx-iie had talked with Saulus or Kia or whoever was left in charge of his absence. He had the logic down as he walked through the base, "Pretty smart girl. If they found us once, they sure as hell can find us again. Heh, I'm beginning to kind of like the girl." Saulus came running over to him, "Uh, sir? We're moving the base. If that's alright with you...?" Xanth just grinned and nodded without even giving his reply. Though, he had blood splatter patterns on his armor and his face. It was hard to tell if he was even fit for duty because of the grin he wore on his face.

[Pax]

Ceril's small white paws treaded silently over the the dry field surrounding the PoW camp. For days he had been scouting, watching the gaurds movements, the rotations of their watchs, and the direction of their glances. He circled the place one last time, nearly certain of the information he had gained. At the final shift change of the night when the moon was still high, but leaned to set, the gaurds changed rounds, lingering longer in groggy groups inside the walls. At the South East corner was a single ungaurded opening for approximately 45 minutes.
Turning to rejoin the confides of his forest Baisle, his faithful Sylth companion, fluttered at the trees edge waiting for his return. Upon coming into view he barked a laugh of celebration and dashed forward. She flitted around his ears excitedly in response, and followed him deeper into the forest, heading to the camp to seek council with anyone who would listen to his information and deliver results. "Free as many as we can, through life or liberation, anything is better than the life of a slave." he thought.

He reached the camp shortly his panting filling his ears and the strong smell of blood and smoke. He weaved into the camp, barely noticed by those not paying much attention. He chirped a high call to Baisle to follow closer to him as they began to cross the path of many unnoticing feet. He reached the guards of the queens tent and sat in front of them silently. They gazed down at him only a few aware of his appearance, even less of his identy, since he preffered to give his reports at nightfall.

He barked at them impatiently. "Aye, your true form for presence in front of the Queen." was the only response he recieved. Without flinching he stood and changed back, standing stark naked in front of the Queens quarters. "Better?" he asked with a smile as the gaurds face frowned. "Someone find Ceril some clothes..." he responded.