((Apologies for my lack of activity recently. College is being particularly oppressive this semester.)) One of the first things Raoden did once he was situated in his quarters was draft a letter. The tinge of guilt for leaving Sarene on such short notice lingered in the back of his mind. She deserved to know what was going on, so he wrote everything he knew. He wrote about being safe in Ros Meam for the time being, about the old legends of the Chosen being real, about the still-enigmatic quest he was now destined to partake in. Once finished, he entrusted the letter to a servant, confident it would be delivered swiftly. You know, I don't think any of us really know what we're supposed to be doing, Raoden thought to his legendary partner as he lounged on his bed. Though he'd only been without for a couple days, it felt incredibly good to have a soft mattress supporting him as he slept instead of the hard earth. The swordsman had stated this issue several times before, though Virizion had yet to give him a conclusive answer. He wasn't satisfied with the generic "you're going to save the world" answer; he wanted to know what "saving the world" entailed. Instead of repeating the same lines he'd heard before, Virizion didn't say anything. The lack of a response annoyed Raoden, but he found himself too tired to prod further. All the travelling in the last few days left him more worn out than he anticipated, so he chose to sleep instead of demanding answers he would likely not receive.
"Perhaps they are prevented from entering in the first place. Times are dire, after all." Skeiron said and hopped off his Ponyta. He then walked over to the group. "I suppose so. They're other chosen ones, but not quite... Who I expected them to be." Cresselia's voice echoed quietly. "Hello there~!" Skeiron said, trying to be as polite as he could. "Something the matter? Can't you enter the city?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow in due process.
Sighing as he felt a headache approaching, Baiken dismounted the Ponyta who wandered off to the side to rest. Approaching the rest of the group an eyebrow found itself quirked upwards, 'These are the rest of the chosen?' Baiken thought to himself incredulously as his companion's voice echoed in his ears, the question leading to him glancing at the guards warily. Now, what is wrong with you? Never been to a city before? Darkrai asked knowingly, the cruel humour that he found in this situation dripping off his voice like acid. 'Never to the capital, I've never had plans to.' Baiken growled back before his voice lightened up with a touch of wonder, "Although it's bigger than I expected. Almost beautiful to look at" He murmured out loud, his single visible eye lighting up with a hint of glee as he took in what of the capital he could see.
Nix slowly opened his eyes, quickly noticing that there were two other men that were standing by the city gates. He yawned slightly, standing up next to a tree. Had he really fallen asleep there? "That was a stupid move," He thought to himself. "Could've been ambushed easily in a state like that." He walked towards the two men, noticing that they seemed rather... different than most others. The weapons they carried... "Nix, you know who these people are. They're more Chosen!" Articuno decided to finally say something after such a long silence. Nix chuckled slightly, finding a little bit of amusement in the Legendary Bird's words. He still kept a straight face, though, as he walked towards the two. "So... where are you two coming from? I assume you both are Chosen, as my... partner has informed me." He closed his eyes for a moment, thinking about something. "More importantly... do either of you have a way to get in?"
"Viviane, put away your weapon. Richard, leave us." Lord Lane commanded. His children obeyed slowly, Viviane pulling the fan away from her brother's throat, but not putting it away, and Richard storming out of the study when his sister pulled away the sharp edge. Viviane then turned to her father, staring at him with dark purple eyes that promised nothing good. Lod Lane stood up and gestured for Viviane to follow him. They walked out of the office to a part of the keep that Viviane had never been to. It took longer than she suspected to get to wherever her father was leading. Then her father suddenly stopped at a small non-descript door. Her father opened the door with a key that he had hanging around his neck and ushered Viviane to go through it. Raising an eyebrow she stepped through the opening, only to have to shield her eyes. When she got used to the sudden brightness, she opened her eyes and gasped loudly. It was the same place where she met Latios! She quickly spun around to try and see if Latios was close by, but she couldn't spot him. "Of course, I am not here, little one. This is your world, but it is the place in this world where I have the fondest memories of." Latios spoke in a nostalgic tone. "Fondest memories, wait, you have been here before?" Viviane accidentally spoke out loud, pulling her father's attention to her. He had walked straight to the fountain, while his daughter had spun around looking for something. "I imagine he would have been here before. This is the place where he met your ancestor centuries ago even before the kingdom was made." Lord Lane looked at his daughter, who was staring at him with wonder clear in her eyes. "My ancestor? You never want to talk about the past, so why now?" asked Viviane as she took a seat on the ridge of the fountain. "Because I can no longer keep it from you. You know that all the noble houses came into existence after the war with Giratina. But what you do not know is that most of those noble houses are descended from the Chosen. Our Chosen was Latios, that is why we refer to him as our Guardian. The name of our keep is Ros Meam to pay tribute to him. It means Soul Dew, taken from the orb that gives him a boost of power when the need is highest. Some houses died out or were usurped by family members that were not a blood tie to the previous head of House." He explained. Viviane's head was spinning with the new information, but her father wasn't done yet. "The King was to be bonded with Arceus himself always. Until now the bond has been unbroken and the kingdom has prospered thanks to the Divine protection Arceus granted us. Only the head of House and its heir are allowed have this knowledge. It was supposed to be passed down generation to generation, but some houses see this as a mere fable, a myth, allowing for it to fall into disarray. Because you were Chosen you have automatically become the undisputed heir." Lord Lane laid a heavy hand on his daughter's shoulder. "I know that you thought you were never meant for more than the live as a married Lady, but destiny decided differently." The silence was deafening in the small garden as Viviane tried to process it all. Talking with Latios helped immensely, but it would take longer to have everything fall into place. "Come, Viviane, you must see to your guests and get prepared to move out to the capital. The young king will need you and the other Chosen to set things right. Be sure to relay this information to the others and be there for them." Lord Lane lead his daughter back to the keep's inner courtyard, before he went to his office to prepare the work to make Viviane his heir as decreed by ancient laws. Viviane just walked to the stables and went through the Pokémon to see which Pokémon would be a good fit for the other Ladies.
Mahsuri noticed the other two newcomers, and despite her nervousness, she managed a friendly smile and greeting, as she bowed lightly in their direction. "Peace be with you both." She had a feeling the two were also fellow Chosen, since one of them sorely reminded her of Darkrai in terms of appearance... (Forgive the short reply.)
Elodie was still unable to sleep, probably because she didn't know how to properly respond to their group having to kill people. She even wondered if she was really her father's daughter because the two are so different from each other. Her father was a bit more bloodthirsty and merciless, while Elodie was a bit more forgiving and calm. "Things seem to be troubling you," Diancie said, noticing Elodie's thoughts. "I just can't shake off the feeling," Elodie thought back, "that we're going to have to kill people." "There isn't anything we can do about it, even if we wanted to preserve the lives of those people," Diancie replied. Elodie shook her head afterwards, frustrated by the fact that she couldn't figure out a way to calm herself. "I'm not usually this stressed. Hopefully meditation can help me out."
(Forgive me for not responding earlier- sophomore year (particularly chemistry class) has been pretty stressful lately and I had decided to take a break from the internet about until last week). Seren paced in her room, her hands clasped behind her back as she shuffled her feet across the floor. Earlier that day she had written a letter to her father to alert him of her newfound group of friends, or rather, questmates, but she couldn’t bring herself to tell him where she was. It was too dangerous, and she did not want to be sent back home. You need some fresh air, Cobalion noted, as Seren continued to walk in a linear path. Or better yet, some extra training. Why don’t you take a walk? Seren practically jumped at her guardian’s suggestion, and grabbed the key to her room. It wasn’t a bad idea, and she was overflowing with energy anyway. Hopefully, there would be some good paths to walk outside.
Nodding in response to the odd greeting, Baiken hummed. "We do have a way in." He responded, before directing his gaze to Skeiron. "If you wouldn't mind, could you get us entrance? I'm not a fan of the way these guards are staring at us." As he spoke this, his lone eye narrowed on the duo standing in front of the gate into the city, their own gazes meeting his own steely.
