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The city was a juxtaposition of tension an jubilation. It was the day of the Grand Gala, a festival in celebration of the peace between the three factions. The three groups had slung magic at one another for decades, each one an equal with their own school of magic. The war mages, with their combative magics and armies of spectral warriors. The elemental mages, with their power over nature and battalions of elemental spirits. And the Clerics, with the power to heal and magical rituals, scores of summoned demons at their will. It took the rise of a third faction, the necromancers, to stop their quarreling. The hunger of the undead was unquenching. They did not tire, they needed no contract, all they needed was will and their masters filled them with the will to kill. Only being burned or ground into dust could kill them, for even when defeated their masters would only raise them again. They swept over the land and ravaged it. Humans, Fae Orcs, all fell to the hunger of the undead. No species, age, or gender was safe. All fell and were risen. Eventually the necromancers were defeated, but the end of one war acted as kindling for another. All sides had taken their losses, but none more then the non-magical humans. They were beginning to tire of their status. They had looked in envy of the mages that ruled their lands for so long. The gift of magic had over time became cultivated selfishly. Though it was possible for a child born of non-magical parents to be a mage it was rare. Magical families were rich and powerful. Even lesser mages were considered noble. And as the number of the non-magical in positions of power shrank, the tension grew. Putting the Capital city in its current place today.


Twig banged and rattled against the small cage he was trapped in, shouting in the melodic twinkling of fairy speech. No matter how hard he willed the iron of the cage nullified his magic and left him helpless. Finally he gave in and settled to the bottom of the cage, wings drooping and arms crossed.

He changed tactics. Switching to human speech he addressed his horseback captor. "Where are you taking me now you insufferable mage?! This is the third town yet but you haven't done anything with me except keep me in this miserable cage."

The nondescript merchant-mage weaved through the city streets. "Well bug, since I'll be rid of you soon I might as well tell you. This is the capitol city, Grand Gala, a festival. Word on the grapevine is that many noble mages pay handsomely for magical creatures. Some collect them and others dissect them. My thinking is how much gold can I get from selling one of the trickiest to capture creatures in the woods to a noble? I'd be rich, and better yet, rid of you." The merchant dismounted in a stable in, tossing the stable boy a few coppers to brush and feed the mount. He unhooked Twig's cage and made his way down the street, towards were sound of music came from. When the mage turned down the next street the cause was obvious.

The festival was in full swing, bands scattered the open area filling each corner with music. The place, normally a market, had been cleared for the various performers. The stalls had been moved to the edges, selling wares far fancier and expensive then what you would usually find. Entertainers dotted the area, dressing up in costumes and shouting merrily. Down the streets were more merriment. One was lined with taverns and bars, keeping the celebration well quenched with mead. Another street was lined with psychics and theaters. And all around masses of people from all species and walks of life roamed. Some ogled at wares, others wobbled drunkenly, and others danced or simply enjoyed the atmosphere. Occasionally, odd figures could be seen in the crowd, each wearing the same robes.

The mage that held Twig captive made his way down a row of stalls, stopping at one that was manned by a stone elemental. With a gesture and a few words the brute was banished, freeing the space for the merchant mage to sit. He placed the cage strategically on the counter top and began to restock it with magical items from an enchanted chest underneath the tablecloth. "Now be quiet fae or I'll tear off those pretty wings of yours"

Twig eyes the many festival goers, Unfortunately for him fairies were considered magical creatures rather then a race. While in some cities it was still illegal to sell or trade anything intelligent enough to talk, that was not the case in the capitol. "My name is Twig, you bothersome man, and I will not become some diagram on some mage's desk!"

Jasper struggled through the crowd, not entirely sure what he was looking for. He had run off from his home, using gathering magic supplies as an excuse. He didn't think it would work, but his mother was busy, so she wasn't paying attention. He usually wasn't allowed to attend festivals, his naive nature tended to make him the target of thieves and pickpockets. He kept his hood pulled down to cover his face, his markings specifically, it deterred thieves a bit if they couldn't tell you were a noble.

So far he was rather enjoying the festival, the music made him feel excited and giddy. He could feel his heart thumping in his chest along to beat. He was looking around for something interesting to buy, something to show his friends, perhaps something exotic.

He turned the corner to a long row of merchants and spotted a few with cages. He pulled the hood to his cloak down a bit more, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. His mother taught him about many creatures, and he never imagined them stuck in cages. He counted out the gold pieces he had on hand in his head, wondering if he had enough to buy one of them to set them free. He was a noble, sure, but his parents didn't usually give him a lot of money.

His father would probably be angry if he found out about him spending his money on something he wouldn't keep, but he was always on his case about something. He looks around a bit at the vendors and merchants before he spots a fairy in a cage. He felt a bit of anger for the fairy. He had read about them before, he knew they could talk, so it seemed unfair to sell them.

Ricky saw the merchant with a fairy in a cage. He growled. Then Ricky snuck into the building that the merchant went into, snuck up behind him and mewed, "You do know that capturing those innocent creatures is wrong, right?"

((I am! sorry!))

Jasper eyed the creature who approached the merchant before he could ask him the price curiously. What is he? He wondered.

((PS, the stand is outdoors, sorry I didn't make that clear.))

Twig pouted in his cage, he had been there for a little while now. Occasionally a mage or someone's kid would wonder over to the stand and peer into the cage. He mostly ignored the kids and gave the mages a death glare. Between the merchant's extreme prices and Twig's glare nobody who was interested took the deal. Instead they bought various baubles and other items from the stall. Lucas could tell that many of the items weren't as magical as he claimed but the non-magicals in the crowd wouldn't be able to tell. He noticed somebody in a cloak walking along the stall. It was unusual since many of the merry makers preferred not to wear the long fabric in case it was dirtied with booze or in the crowd. Though there were also a strange group of people wearing matching cloaks, but this guy did not match that pattern.

For a second he though he saw a pair of blue eyes before the merchant behind his shouted and jumped up. "What in the!" The merchant had been lazily watching passerby and did not expect the voice behind him. One moment Twig was seeing a brown furred creature with catlike ears, the next he was free falling towards the ground with a number of the baubles around him. The mage merchant had accidentally knocked over his own stand in his haste. Twig wasn't afraid of the fall, it wasn't hight enough to do more then bruise him, but the crowds of the festival could be another matter.

When the merchant fell over, Ricky drew his sword and jumped on the merchant and press his sword to the merchants neck. "I'd free all of the innocent creature you caught now, if I were you," Ricky mewed.

Jasper acted fast moving to protect the fairy from the unaware feet of the festival goers and stood by him making an effort to conceal him with his cloak.

"Are you alright?" He muttered, looking around to see if anyone was looking at him in suspicion.

Twig rubbed his head which had banged against the iron bars. It didn't take him long to notice the loss in light. He looked up to see the same cloaked figure from before, this time with his cloak around Twig too. He noticed the boy's blue hair and eyes, though the odd marking was the most prominent feature. " Yeah, I'm fine. Bit bruised but nothing to tell mum about." Twig tried to kick at the cage door once again, hoping it had gotten jarred in the fall. But once again it stuck. The door didn't have a keyhole, only a metal block for the mage to press his finger. Twig had saw him do it before, muttering some words and he knew that only the mage could open it. "Hey, can you take me back to the merchant. Only he could open this blasted thing and I'd like to give him a piece of my mind while we're at it."

Ricky started pressing his sword harder against the merchant's neck.

Jasper nodded a bit, "Gimme a sec, I got a trick for this." He focuses a bit waving his hand close to the cage as his fingertips glow with a slight blue light. The metal hissed with heat before the cage popped open.

Ricky heard a popping sound coming from a human with a cloak. He jumped on the cloaked human.

Jasper was knocked off his feet by the cat-like being jumping on him. He let out as startled yelp as his back in the dirty ground. His hood sliding off his head, revealing the red mark adorning half his face. "Oh gods..." he whispered in fear.

Ricky fell paws to the sky onto the ground. "Oph," he mewed.

Jasper sat up quickly and scrambled to put his hood back on, the horror practically visible in his wide blue eyes.

Twig watched the boy work and looked intently at the glowing fingertips. It took him a moment to noticed that the lock on the cage was beginning to melt. He gave it a good kick at the right moment to help it along. Almost as soon as the door was open he was out. Flying out from beneath his savior's cloak and into the open. A few member of the crowd that had already paused at the sight of the toppled stand and they stepped back a bit in shock as Twig flitted in front of their faces. I was nice to spread his wings after being in that crampt cage. He looked around, searching for his once captor. Finding him he flew towards the stall. The mage was already sweating profusely at the blade at his neck and muttering about only selling baubles. He landed on the merchant's forehead, commanding the larger man's eyesight. "Look here, as you can imagine I don't exactly appreciate you putting me in a cage, but at the same time I ain't so mean to let puss in boots here skewer you like the pig you are. But I am gonna tell ya to watch out, us forest folk like to stick to our own, so next time you enter a forest I suggest you bend over an kiss your but goodbye." He looked back at the pair behind him, finding that the mage and cat thing had gotten into some kind of tussle.

Ricky tried to get up, but his tail was underneath the human's foot.

Jasper spotted his boot over the cats tail and moved it like he was stepping on hot coals, screeching out "I'm sorry!" before slowly getting back on his feet, glancing around hoping no one noticed the tumble he just took. He brushed himself off and grimaced at the dirt on his cloak, his mother would be furious he let himself get dirty.

"Your lucky I don't make that scar of your's worse," Ricky mewed as he looked at his tail, "And if you want to know what I am, I am a Felyne."

Jasper nods a bit. Trying to remember if he had heard of his kind. He couldn't recall anything after a few moments so he just looked at the creature curiously. Must be rare he thinks in awe. "I apologize, I have never heard of your kind before..." He didn't feel the need to explain his marking, he figured it would be better to not.

((brb))

Twig kicked the mage in the nose and got a satisfying grunt before launching off the man's forehead. He went back to the pair behind him, making sure to stay at eye level so that both could see him. "Whatever you are you have great timing. If you didn't scare ugly over there I might not have landed in twickle fingers hands over there. Speaking of which I need to thank you too for opening that lock. I was coming up with the best way to jupe whatever sucker bought me till the two of you came around."