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Once every 10 years, the cosmopolitan city of Kanjo on the western coastline of Senyorikai hosts the Ruby Phoenix Tournament on an island off the coast. Infamous for its strange spectacles and exciting mix of fighting styles, the contest draws combatants and spectators from all over the world. The tournament’s winner gets his choice of a single item from the legendary treasury of the Phoenix Emperor and earns a reputation beyond imagining. But this year, not all who have come to compete do so out of respect for the traditions of battle or even out of greed for the reward. They seek instead nothing so much as red revenge and political domination!

Can the contestants survive six bouts in the Grand Pavilion arena against the mightiest combatants and cleverest battle mages on Seken? Can they prove their mettle in tests of mind and body? Can they foil the plans of an evil organization and its powerful allies who hope to destroy the Ruby Phoenix Tournament and see its champions dead? Step into the arena to find out!

From the north came a man. He wore brigandine and some hints of steel plating. His attire would be more suitable for travelling than full-on combat, and for good reason; he was a wanderer. Spawned from the Duchy of Tanneford in the far northern lands, this man was especially well-known for his abilities. Edlin was his name; Edlin Maius, the fencing master of High Stahlsmith. He traveled throughout the lands, foreign and domestic, in hopes of finding a worthy opponent to match his own prowess in one-on-one combat. His fencing abilities were unmatched in the north. He was tall, and supposedly contained the power of 10 men. His speed was considered meta-human, and was known to have fought and out-maneuvered fully-armoured knights and men-at-arms and won. Tales suggested he fought such individuals with nothing but a mere longsword, and dagger. As Edlin traveled, he had discovered a multitude of different cultures, and have fought against said cultures' finest warriors. He had heard tales of a martial arts tournament of some kind, said to pit against their greatest warriors against others throughout the known world. This -unsurprisingly enough- captivated his interests. An opportunity to test your skills in a tournament? This seemed too good to be true.

He traveled across the sea to the western coastline of Senyorikai. He traveled throughout the various towns and cities to reach Kanjo, whilst feeling unnerved by the queer gazes he had received while travelling. It seemed only natural that a foreigner in these lands (especially when armed and armoured) would pose a subject of suspicion. As he traveled on his horse to the main gates of Kanjo, he dismounted and walked up to the gate, reins in hand. He had hoped the guardsmen would understand common of some kind. He gulped and raised his armoured hand to them.

"Hello! Is this the uh... tournament... place?" He asked nervously. Although his face was covered by the visor of a hounskull bascinet, he smiled.

The woman swaggered through the city of Kanjo, black eyes lazily darting around. The raccuous sounds and activity of life around her made it easy for her to gather the necessary familiarity with this new place. This city was nice, she had to admit, but it lacked a certain je ne sais quoi. It lacked the heart of her city.

Cities, she thought, were dangerous for more than just the people who strolled along their avenues. All cities were different - each a different slumbering beast, held captive to the whims of the under and overlords.

No matter, she was here for something different - something that had caught her eye like a shiny bauble. The Ruby Phoenix Tornament.

As she strolled further along, observing the lay of the land and feeling the rock of the stone path beneath her boots, the members of her gang who had voluntarily followed her dispersed into the crowds. They'd insisted that their leader needed a bodyguard routine, and she willingly agreed. It kept the peace at least - and it gave her a reason to spend more money than she usually might.

She hadn't bothered declaring she was attending the tournament and her entourage had made it easy to claim that they were there for a holiday. It was true for them at least.

Boredom led her near the gates, her eyes landing on the armored man for a second. Nothing interesting, she thought, until she caught the word "tournament" in a tongue she had some familiarity with.

Her eyes turned to look at the man, pausing in her walk, "tournament?" She repeated back at the man.

Edlin looked to the strangely draconic-looking woman. He had never seen such an odd specimen in his travels. Sure, elves and dwarves he saw a-plenty, yet her species remained unfamiliar to him. He was almost shocked to see her. His eyes widened behind his visor at her sight. "Um, ja... that is right. I'm here for the tournament." He said nervously, in an accent, possibly non-discernible to the likes of her or the local denizens.

(My bad.)

(Please ignore above post. I had forgotten to close the RP before someone else posted)

Zhouken pulled the brim of his sugegasa down over the his eyes to shade himself from the brightness of the sun, that hung high in the sky as he disembarked from the deck of one of many ferry that had been carrying people of all walks of life to the small island of Kanjo for what would now be the tenth Ruby Phoenix Tournament. Zhouken had heard tales of the tournament since he was young, and part of him had always wished to partake in the festivities as well as the actual tournament itself, but alas that was not to be the case.

Zhouken was on duty as usual. As a member of the Imperial Swords, Zhouken was to attend as an advisor to the multitude of guards posted to keep the peace while the tournament was held. He would have wonderful seats, but would still be only a spectator. Zhouken was never one to jump at the chance of violence, but there was a part of him that desired to test his skills against the best in the world, and also receive the chance to enter the Ruby Phoenix Vault, whose contents contained the accumulated knowledge, wealth, and power of the sorcerer for which the tournament was named for.

Zhouken pushed his way from the crowded docks, all the way to the grand archway that adorned the entrance to town, a vibrant red corridor which a golden bird with wings outstretched sat uptop, welcoming all into its busom.

Interesting, interesting. The dragon walked towards the man, listening to his common tongue. A pause as she had to untangle his accent from words. She, too, had been late to learn the common tongue, the disadvantage of her... upbringing. Her common was occasionally broken, muddled expressions; but she constantly strove to learn more.

Even with her attempts to learn, all common outside of the one in her city, sounded foreign, like a song sung by a slurring singer.

"Oh? You will be attending?" She asked, tilting her head. Or will you be fighting? The gleam of his armor seemed to indicate her secondary thoughts were more likely to be true. Were there that many people willing to prostitute themselves as actors on a stage for fame and glory? What need did she have for the contents of the Ruby Phoenix's baubles, when she knew what she needed here and now?

She had intended on using the tournament to discover more of this unfamiliar city - to find the beating heart of its underbelly - establish ties that could only lead her closer to taking down that man. But she smiled, "yes, the tournament, it is here." The flash of color in her vision - the dragon turned to glance at a man with a conical hat, red hair that seemed to match the corridors of the entrance.

Edlin looked to his right to see his spiritual guide; Torazel, observing the exchange taking place. He didn't say anything as he watched. This was, common for Edlin. Often times Torazel would appear before him and simply watched what he was doing. He had experienced these periods of observation since he was a little boy. At this point, it longer bothered him. Edlin turned his head to the invisible Torazel and nodded, regardless of the people's reaction.

Edlin turned to the dragon woman and nodded. "Danke. I'm Edlin, I'm from the far north. Something tells me you aren't of... well..." He looked to the guards and gestured with his head. "Their descent..." He paused, hoping he didn't sound rude in any way towards the guardsmen. "Are you here for the tournament as well? Whatever's gonna take place, I'd hate to harm a lady such as yourself." He chuckled.

Speech directed at her drew her attention away from the red-haired man, her obsidian eyes coming to land on the armored one. The distraction of the man had been enough to miss the nod to an invisible man. Again, the accented speech, she worked through it slowly and her lips curled in a smile.

How polite, how nice to be treated as if she were some delicate flower. Madeline resisted the urge to spit vitriol at the unwitting, disgusted by the idea that she might be flattered that he hadn't wanted to hurt her.

Still, the all too pleasant expression remained on Madeline's face. "Here on vacation, no, here to watch; but who knows," a shrug lifted their shoulders slightly, "I might be interested in joining."

Her eyes slid away, examining the crowd, sweeping over the man with the conical hat and over to where the guards were. "No, I'm not from here," she agreed, "just a tourist, like you are."

Edlin looked to his right to see Torazel speaking to him, his voice just as non-existent as he is invisible. Although, Torazel took the form of a hooded monk, Edlin could almost sense the worry on his shrouded face.

"Be careful with this one. She seems dangerous. Don't try and compliment her or anything..."

"Why?" He spoke out loud to nothing.

"Just be careful."

"Alright..."

He turned to the conical-shaped hatted man. A local? With his attire, he'd assume so. It didn't matter, he seemed less interested in the local. His hair colour though, seemed odd for a human. Assuming he IS human.

He turned back to the draconic woman. "Okay, well, better head off miss...?" He inquired for her name.

Why?

Her brows furrowed slightly at his peculiar question to her statement. Was this man really asking why she can called him a tourist? It made no sense within the flow of this conversation although she chose to ignore it - perhaps his grasp on her accent was a little shakier than most. Another word, "alright", Madeline was beginning to wonder if the man was perhaps slightly delirious from a lack of either food or water.

The monk who accompanied Edlin went unperceived to Madeline, remaining unseen and unheard.

Her head tilted just slightly as she moved to extend a hand to shake his in greeting. "Rude of me, I'm Madeline," she responded. It had been a name she had personally claimed and a name she used freely, hiding her birth name so those who wished her harm could not use it.

"And you?" She inquired before she paused. Wouldn't do to let him know she was beginning to memorize the layout of this city, "I would say we should, however I am not familiar with this city. Perhaps we should ask the red-headed man and see if he knows better than we?"

(( OOC: Ah... could I ask if Torazel is able to read minds? ))

Edlin took off his gauntlet and shook her hand. He'd find it rude to shake with an armoured hand; that, and the difficulties in articulating the fingers to properly shake. "Edlin... Edlin Maius of High Stahlsmith. It's way up in the north. Don't suppose you've been there?" He chuckled faintly.

He turned his head back to the red-haired man, then back to Madeline. "I'm sure he does madam. I'll ask 'em." He walked up to the man with his steel gauntlet in the other. He gently tapped his bare hand on his shoulder. "Um, excuse me, me and the lady over there," He gestured to Madeline. "are a bit lost, if you could help that'd be great, ja?"

((Not read minds, per say, but has a sort of 'danger intuition' whenever Edlin may be in danger.))

( HELLO? )