The sun was slowly lowering along its celestial orbit, the day giving way to the dominion of night as darkness slowly took hold of the land. It was at this time of day that Joen found himself at the edge of a vastly unexplored region of the Yladians ancient homeland of Yladia that had come to be known as the Crystallized Zalra. He watched as the diminishing sunlight danced and reflected of the crystallized surfaces making a beautifully majestic display of light and colors. As he stood there Joens mind raced with thoughts of what lay beyond, the call of the adventure, the excitement of the unknown. It was these very things that continued to bring him back to this land of enchantment for it was impossible to see sights such as this in the real world. The unmatched beauty of the scene around him was awe inspiring and he really didn't want it to end. The Crystallized Zalra region of Yladia was widely unexplored as far as Joen knew and it was exactly that which made it so interesting, he had heard stories of ancient Yladian ruins that still housed the great treasures from the lost civilization. Shaking his head Joen returned his attention to the world around him and out of his day dreams, this was no time to be spacing out not when it was getting darker by the second and danger could be lurking around any corner. "I think I will camp here for the night", he hadn't been speaking to anyone in particular since he was the only one around. Turning he built a small mound of dried wood before snapping his fingers above it "Infintato" with that single mystical word a small fire snapped to life upon the wood as Joen sat down at got ready to settle in for the night. @Marius Azzenci
Even as the sun's light slowly etched downwards, the eve of his great journey was only but hours away. Getting to this point, or region to be exact, had taken hours upon hours of northbound travel. New player mentors in the southern regions had aided him freely, something that Marius hadn't expected in the slightest. With a bright smile and warm thanks, the aspiring knight-errant hastily departed Brisshal in search of something more. He half assumed it would just fall right into his lap, but that was just abject, wishful thinking on his part. Without a care in the world, he had ventured true north. Wandering merchants had peddled their goods to him, parties of other adventurers had told him stories of the greatest raids and fights, and more menacing players had been carefully dispatched thanks to his newfound friends. They were gone now but he could still hear the laughter in the air. Fireflies and creatures of the night began to awaken, exuding a sense of liveliness as the sun splashed orange across the crystallized land. Ever cautious, even the most inexperienced of travelers knew that nighttime brought far more danger than midday. Marius extended his hand and formed a fist, quickly flexing his fingers before opening. The GUI materialized with the map enlarged. He frowned. "No nearby towns," he mumbled. "Just my luck." He still had no idea how that camping equipment shoved into his rucksack worked - whether he needed to tap an interface button or actually assemble the pup tent and campfire. Either way, Marius still needed to find a safe enough area to suit his needs; one free of monsters and conniving player-killers. As the man continued to stride down the winding crystal path, a flicker of light beyond the opal-frosted trees caught his eye. He halted for a few moments, watching as a small pillar of smoke began to rise from it: fire. Just like the cavemen who discovered it, Marius was drawn to it like a moth. Despite its low stats, the knight-errant kept a hand upon the hilt of his longsword as he approached the flickering clearing within the crystal forest. A lone figure stood among the makeshift campsite. He cleared his throat loudly. "Hi there!" Marius called out, "Setting up camp?" Maybe that something really would just fall into his lap after all. @Joen Panelis
Joen sat there on the ground next to the campfire that he had just started, the flames alone would keep away the smaller and weaker creatures of the region but he knew that the more hungry or aggressive predators wouldn't be deterred by something as small as this campfire. As he sat there his silver eyes watched the red and orange colors of the flames play with one another and crackle in the growing darkness lost in his own thoughts about how he should protect himself during the night hours he almost didn't notice the human that was making his way towards him....almost. Joen glanced out the corner of his eye and watched the human closely, his long silvery white hair dancing around gently with the breeze, his long and pointed elvish ears in plain view allowing the human to see that Joen was a Yladian Elf. When the human cleared his throat it showed Joen that he didn't seem to be a hostile, well at least not a very good one anyway giving away the element of surprise that he might have had. Turning his head he looked directly at the human and nodded his head slightly "Indeed I am, its not wise to explore the Zalra region in the darkness. Its dangerous enough during the daytime when you can see". turning his head away from the human he motioned to the other side of the campfire "You are welcome to share my fire if you want". Joen sat there for a moment longer before he rose to his feet and stretched his arms out above his head, the white robes that he was wearing fluttering ever so softly with the slight breeze. The elegant silver designs that were upon the shoulders slightly shining and flickering with the light of the embers "Shirak pilif dolibix!", the words of a mystical incantation seemed to echo around the small clearing as they left Joens mouth before the spell itself took affect. The air around them began to shimmer ever so slightly but that was all it seemed to do, however should the human decide to leave the clearing and look back to where Joen had been sitting he would see nothing, you see the spell that Joen had just used came from his Illusion Magic skills and allowed Joen to wrap the clearing in an illusion that made it look like the two adventures were not there. Not only did it hide them from sight but it also masked their smell and made the light from the campfire unable to be seen as well, turning his head back to the human Joen smiled softly "There, we should be safe for the night". A soft chuckle escape his lips slightly "Sorry for not introducing myself earlier, my name is Joen Panelis, and you are?"
A somber expression had taken the Yladian's face, seeming no less disturbed by Marius' arrival than any other. A peculiar race they were but the offered hospitality and an opportunity to safely sleep the night away had come as a surprise. The knight-errant had expected idle conversation, asking for directions, and then being on his own way to set up camp elsewhere. Well, at least he wasn't alone. "Agreed, the night brings many dangers," he replied, shifting his hand away from the hilt of his blade. Nodding his head appreciatively, Marius strode forward to pull a crystallized log closer to the fire and promptly dropped the entirety of his weight upon it. Armor and all, he looked imposing even for one of the most basic newbies the world had ever seen. Perhaps he'd spent far too long in the customization phase... Sparks and swirls drew him back into reality, as a shimmering mirage materialized and evaporated within the blink of an eye. Incantations were muttered under the knife-ear's breath, a tongue that Marius had never heard before - despite his short duration spent in the region. "I assume that was a spell of sorts," he cast the elf a cockeyed grin, "And not a hex." And without further ado, introductions were underway. Marius rose and began to sift through his inventory, highlighting and toggling all of the rudimentary camping equipment that had been so graciously gifted to him before. "Nice to meetcha, Joen. The name's Marius, Marius Azzenci." @Joen Panelis
The sounds of the flames crackling slightly filled the air and the scent of the burning logs filled their noses as Joen allowed his silver eyes to scan the human companion he had unwittingly picked up. From what he could gather all of the equipment that he had in his possession seemed to be the most basic tier that one could wear, and from this Joen had to assume that the human was a relatively new player to the game. This got Joen curious as it was very normal for new players to be this far away from the new player area, the creatures in this region were much more difficult to defeat and would normally spell certain death for someone new to the game. Another hint that gave the human away as a new player was that he seemed to have never heard a magical incantation before, anyone who had spent any real amount of time in game would have heard at least one incantation before. A soft sigh escaped his slightly parted lips as Joen brought his gaze to the humans face "I assume you are a new player correct?", Joen just came right out and asked the question that was on his mind no point in making assumptions when he could just get a straight answer. The feeling of being completely new, everything being fresh and amazing Joen remembered what that had been like. The first time that he had dove into the magical world of Terrasphere Online he had been completely overwhelmed by how realistic the virtual world around him had seemed, he even remember that more than once he forgot that he was playing a game for a few seconds. A soft chuckle escape his lips as Joen nodded his head "But indeed you are correct, it was a spell from my Illusion Magic mastery. It will allow us to sleep peacefully without getting attack since it cloaks out entire campground in an invisibility effect. Not only does it mask us from sight it also covers our scent as well". Lifting his head Joen looked up at the darkening sky, a small smile spread across his face before he looked back down at his companion "So what brings you this far out?"
