Private/Closed Blades, Wings and Fire RP

[Schrift]

Tensai was already up before the sun had even risen, he had found it hard to sleep knowing that in the morning he would be taking the entrance exam. He started his early morning with a warm bath in his family's bath house, followed up with a nice new change of clothes. He put on a pair of baggy trousers followed up with a black Gi top. Tensai knew thathe was gonna have to prepare himself for the entrance exam. He started by getting a full quiver of new arrows, followed up by him taking his two sharpest tantos and strapping them to his waist. Now to finish it all off, Tensai picked up his bow. His beautifully crafted, ebony bow.

Tensai left the house as he instead went to the stables. Walking past many horses he settled infront of one, a black one with a white spot on its head. "Hey girl", he whispered under his breath. After some time, Tensai left the house on his horse as he came across a carriage. At the front were horses that carried a cart mad of a fine red bamboo. After Tensai had showed up, the cart took off with Tensai following close behind.

It was a good hour and a half later did he finally arrive at the famous Mt Kajemeni. Tensai wasn't the only one there, as he arrived other carts were arriving. The carts that carried potential future Kawon. He was one of those who had brought their own horses, he had definitely been preparing for this. Mt Kajemeni was a beast of a mountain, being the largest breeding grounds for dragons. Many fools perished here, yet many future warriors were made. The mountain was daunting site as it reached up into the clouds, but above that was the Kaisha. This tree was said to be the mother of all of Derigon. Some say that it was the first thing to grow on this land as it would always protect Derigon in any time of trouble. The tree in question was almost the size of the mountain itself as it had vines poking from out under the clouds. Tensai looked up at the mountain, the bottom was covered in snow and ice but the higher you went the hotter it seemed to get, with the top having fire and magma covering it. Such a sight to behold, man this wasn't going to be easy.

Apart from the leaves on the clouds, another being was coming down from the clouds. A golden dragon, landing in front of the crowd of people. An eastern dragon, who's body was long and thin. Covered in a plethora of scales, plates and spikes, it's red eyes pierced into everyone. It just oozed intimidation. Atop the dragon was a Kawon wearing usual Kawon uniform. A leather armour adorned his body, as he had two large swords on his waist. Most didn't know the glory of leather armour, with it not only having a thick outer layer but a layer of chain mail underneath and some padding. The man on the back of a dragon had a scarred face, and an intimidating demeanour just like his dragon. His hair tied in a top bun, it easy to mistake him for his dragon if it wasn't for the scales and spines. He spoke in a loud yet clear voice, one that just made anybody talking instantly stop. "This is Mt. Kajemeni, the largest dragon breeding grounds, for some of you this will be the start of your journey to becoming a Kawon. For those who don't become Kawon, may the gods protect you on this test. You have exactly 12 hours to climb the mountain and bring down a dragon egg, you only have the weapons you brought so be careful". He had taken a pause, looking around.

Tensai sighed at his father's speech. This was his first time seeing him in months, but he didn't mind. He could see him afterwards if he would take notice of him. Looking around at the competition he didn't seem worried. Half the people here looked like they had never wielded a sword or even ridden a horse. The others seemed more promising but nobody really caught Tensai's eye until he came across a light haired girl amongst the crowd. His mood soured as he stared her down, before he looked away to his father speaking again. "You are not allowed to kill any dragons, nor are you allowed to take multiple eggs or someone else's eggs. For those of you on horses you can ride them. The sensei will not accompany you, so work as a team. The exam starts NOW". Tensai's father's voice rang throughout the mountain as everyone began the run. Already it was carnage.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Participants: @ThePlayfulFox @RenzFlintrock @=Nightshade= @Gamingfan @Spoiled Bread @Red Gallade @| Korutesu | @Killerbunny the god

Discussion thread: https://pokecharms.com/threads/blades-wings-and-fire-again-discussion.27563/

 

[=Nightshade=]

Elle
Elliana had left her family’s farm a week before, riding eight hours a day to make it to the exam site from the outskirts of the country. For the last two days, she’d been camped out at a nearby stand of woods, allowing her faithful steed, named Sleipnir after Odin’s horse in mythology of old. While just a regular horse and not a pegasus or hippogriff, he was a strong beast with great stamina and speed. Now that the exam was close at hand, she mounted Sleipnir, machete and several knifes around her waist, and compacted her minimal camping supplies into the horse’s saddlebags before heading off towards the mountain.

Upon reaching the mountain’s base where the exam was to occur, Elle did not dismount, remaining on the gray-and-black beast’s back at attention as she listened intently to the instructions. One hand tightened on her machete’s hilt, the other fisted in the reins in her anticipation to get moving. The moment the signal was given to go, she was off like a shot, Sleipnir rearing up before taking off like he’d been shot from a cannon. Elle maneuvered him deftly through the obstacle course of other Kawon-to-be, trying not to hit anyone in the head with his rocklike hooves, only one hand on the reins as she drew her sword—not with the intention to hurt anyone, but throwing knives were being hurled in all directions, and while there weren’t a ton of them, if they hit a vital spot on her or Sleipnir, they would be encumbered. She used the flat of the blade to deflect the knives as she pulled toward the front of the mob, flank-to-flank with the other people on horseback.

Elle was ready to crush this thing.

Sachiko
Sachiko had a little less foresight. As she had run away from home—again—just that morning, all she had were the clothes on her back and her rope javelin. She waited for the majority of the stampede to pass her by before feeling her way to the side of the mountain, barefoot in the snow, and began to wind up her johyo to throw up the side. It took a few tries, but eventually it caught on a protruding rock, and after testing its security Sachiko began to climb. Here goes nothing. Time to kick some ass. Yay…

 

[Gamingfan]

"Could you stop wandering off like that?"
"Only if you stop hovering over me like that."
"It's literally the only way I can keep you from wandering in the first place."
"Your mom."
Luzen sighed as he grabbed his sister's hand, making damn sure she wasn't using a fake again. Dessi's been getting inventive with her escapades, meaning Luzen had to be on his toes too keep her from losing her.
"You know that goes both ways right? Siblings, remember?"
Dessi just stuck out her tongue.
The pair stood in front of Kajemeni, having purposefully chosen to avoid horses. That would take away from the fun, was Luzen's thought process. He insisted his sister ride one, but Dessi was just as adamant to prove herself. Luzen let her win, of only because of the realization that if she did, she'd be out of his sight. Good, thing she never caught on.
As soon as the sensei started the initiation, it was chaos. Luzen had to stand in front of Dessi to avoid getting her stamped on.
"Alright. We just stay close, find you an egg, and you go back immediately, okay?"
Dessi remained quiet.
"Dessi?"
Luzen turned to see himself holding the wrist of a random person.
"How did she-...Dessi?!" he repeated, his voice going up an octave or seven. He released the kid, and began frantically searching the area. He only say a few stragglers around, none of which familiar. Luzen groaned and ran towards the mountain, finding suitable handhold and began climbing as fast as he could. Dessi must've already been moving with the others. She had a head start, but he was faster. Luzen would cut her off, and she'll be the most regretful fargalian on the planet once he was done with her.

Dessi peeked out from a jutting rock, catching sight of her brother angrily scaling the mountain. She giggled. She know she would regret it immensely once Luzen inevitably found her, but for now she had free reign.
So Dessi skipped ahead, finding a path and happily strolling through, making sure she was out of sight from her irritating brother.

 

[Spoiled Bread]

Yumi

Yumi opened the cap of a small ceramic flask and winced when the gooey content's unpleasant smell wafted out. It's a small gift from the head miko, an energy drink she said, it would help her awake for days she said. Of course it was, if she drink something this disgusting the smell would linger in her mouth and make it hard for her to sleep. Yumi appreciated the gesture but she decided to not use it and put back the lid.

Yumi had prepared for this moment for months. After seeing her determination the head miko decided to help Yumi in her training and told her to refill an abandoned well on top of a hill with only a bucket, at first Yumi felts like this was just a way to humiliate her but the more she learned about the test the more she realized that it might be the perfect training for her. She's now used to climbing steep terrain while carrying some burden and should had plenty of stamina for it. Additionally, she also opted for less luggagges. She didn't wear any armor, she didn't even bring her bow and pocketed a sling instead. She carries enough supplies for a day, her bamboo staff, a knife and some ropes but that's it. She plan to climb up as fast as possible and climb down even faster. Of course she wouldn't be faster than the mounted contestants but she didn't plan to compete with the rich kids and their war horses anyway.

When the test finally began, Yumi waited for the mounted participants to start their own race ahead before jogging her way up. At the starting line she found a girl who seemed to be blind and underprepared.

"Stay alive." Yumi said to the blind girl but didn't bother to stop or give more attention as Yumi passed her. She knew those words were kinda stupid since all of the participants here were ready to die for their dream, but that one probably wouldn't reach halfway up without help. Yumi herself didn't plan to tag along anyone though. She needs speed and if she wanted to go fast, she better go alone. She just hope the blind girl realized how foolish she was and gave up after a few meters, that would be one less corpse.

@=Nightshade=

 

[Red Gallade]

Unlike several who arrived at Mt. Kajemeni via horse carriage, Mitsuru was one of the few the made it on the back of his jet black horse, Kage, a gift from his eldest sister, Mitsuru thought she spoiled him like always, but had to appreciate how loyal he stallion was and the fact he saved a bit of time in the process. When Mitsuru saw the other arrivals, he found a mixture of both people who were eager to get their dragon egg and those who were afraid for their lives, Mitsuru didn't blame them as the mountain they were about to traverse was one that had maybe the strongest and most dangerous creatures in the world. His mind slowly drowned in the memories of his many training sessions with his family, his sparring sessions with his sisters, the wise words from his father, the day his mother gifted him the white Haori jacket he wore today.

These moments came to an abrupt halt when he heard the man atop a large and strong eastern dragon speak to everyone about the mountain they were about to traverse and the rules that involved what not to do. Mitsuru did well to remember all this, but kept one hand on the scabbard of his sword and took a breath. When the trial commenced, Mitsuru waited and watched many others run on ahead, meanwhile he let out a simple "Hyah." and Kage started to calmly walk up the mountain, he knew he had twelve hours--more than enough time--but he knew that rushing this would only cause more harm than good.

 

[Killerbunny the god]

Felix:
Felix had walked all the way to the mountain. He didn't want to take one of the horses on the farm as they were all needed there. And he sure as hell wasn't coming to the entrance exam on a donkey. All he had brought with him was a bag with a bit of food and bandages and his knives. There were a bunch of people coming with carts, carriages and on horses. He stopped in his tracks as a golden dragon descended from the sky and landed in front of all the people. The dragon was a sight to behold and Felix almost missed the man riding on it's back. The man on the dragon explained to all people how this exam would work and Felix got incredibly excited by this. It hadn't quite sunk in that he was close to getting his very own dragon until now.

As the man on the back declared the exam starting, Felix took off. His plan was to team up with someone to get better chances. But most people who were still at the bottom of the mountain seemed to have people teaming up with them and he didn't want to intrude. If there was someone without a partner, he couldn't see them at least. He decided to start climbing and hope to find someone a little higher up. After climbing for a while, he heard a clattering of metal against rock and looked in the direction of where it came from. A girl was using a rope javelin to climb the mountain. She appeared to be alone (aside from another girl who took off) so he decided to ask her if she wanted to team up. He climbed in the direction of where the girl was located, making sure he had good footing.
"Hello there. Having fun?" He said, smiling.

@=Nightshade= (just had to redo this whole thing lol)

Aki:
Aki had sneaked out of the mansion in the middle of the night so she wouldn't be caught by her father. Her carriage was already packed with bare necessities for the trip. She had simply ordered one of the servants of the house to prepare the carriage for her before the servant went to bed. All Aki needed to do was strap the carriage to a horse and then leave. Normally she would not drive the carriage herself, but she had to ensure her absence at the mansion was unnoticeable for as long as possible. Bringing a servant along would damage her chances. She had of course already told the servant that he was not to speak of her absence. She paused to eat breakfast once but that was her only break.

Arriving at the foot of the mountain, Aki listened to the Kawon speaking. She could only hope her long-lost brother was there also listening to the speech. While listening to the Kawon, Aki made sure to unstrap the horse from the carriage so she could ride the horse up the mountain. She grabbed her bags of supplies and hauled them over the horse, to then mount the horse herself. She checked her Katana to make sure it was ready for combat.

As soon as the Kawon sent them off on the exam, everyone took off. Aki, however, wanted to wait out the initial wave of people rushing up the mountain. The mountain itself is dangerous, but so is the stampede of people rushing up the mountain. If you get caught in the stampede, it's possible for you to be killed within the first five minutes of the exam. Aki was on top of a horse so she would personally be fine, but she would not sacrifice a perfectly fine horse to a stampede. She saw some other people who seemed to share the same thought process as her and decided to ride over to one of them who was also on top of a horse. As she got closer, she noticed this was Tensai Masamoto. The son of the Kawon who spoke.
"Tensai Masamoto, taking after his father I see" she said as she rode up beside him.

@Schrift

 

[Martin Pine]

Hours beforehand

Darkness carpeted the miles of field and wilderness around the great mountain, the night being quiet with merely a gentle breeze rustling grass and vegetation. Far from the mountain moved a caravan on horse back, travelling through tall grass slowly and steadily. The leader of the formation stopped, the rest beginning to move past him as the Samurai looked behind him to a boy on foot. “Aight pup, this is yer stop”

Roteki barely heard the voice, his eyes locked on the mountain in the distance, still visible through the darkness and the mist. The Samurai noticed the sense of awe in Roteki, letting out a quiet hearty chuckle upon seeing the usually focused boy so stunned. “Yeah, Mt.Kajemeni is quite the view. Hour or two walk from here so I say you get going” Roteki came back to his senses, looking up to the Samurai with a perked brow and quiet sharp tone “I could use mount” “Trust me pup, you don’t want one for this. You’ll do better on foot, take it from someone who tried it on horseback”

Roteki pauses for a moment at the revelation that the Samurai had tried to become a Kawon, a smirk growing across his face as he stood talk and proud. “Seems like I’ll succeed where you failed then” “Ha!” The caravan had moved past the pair by now, leaving them alone in the night l. “Always liked your confidence, don’t let it lead you into the mouth of a dragon” His gruff and joke tone had a slither of sincerity to it, the Samurai’s grin softening as he looked down to Roteki with a more gentle expression. “Good luck Roteki” “I won’t need it” Roteki’s response came naturally, his stern expression morphing into confusion at the growing heartfelt interaction between.

The samurai scoffed at Roteki’s response, turning his horse around to begin trotting away, leaving Roteki standing alone.

“Master!” The Samurai on horseback now a few paces away turned, seeing Roteki standing a distance away and then bowing, in thanks. “It’s not a race Roteki, it’s a marathon!” That was their final interaction, the honourable warrior returning to his travelling caravan and the reformed thief beginning to make his way to the mountain before sunrise.

Present

He’d arrived a while before the wagons, resting on the ground as he watched the others arrive. The mountain was even more daunting up close, the ominous shadow in the distance had now become an immense wall of stone and death. Mt. Kajemeni … with any luck he wouldn’t have to climb it but he had a sneaking suspicion that would be the case.

Roteki stood and joined the crowd as the carriages started pulling up, spotting the people on horseback and grimacing a little. Seemed like horses would hell a hell of a lot despite what his master had sense. His thoughts were drawn from his lack of a mount by the arrival of a Kawon and his dragon. It left him completely stunned. He’d seen dragons before, heard and learnt of what Kawons were but this was the first time he’d seen one. The strength, skill and power radiating from them, accompanying their presence was … intense.

Roteki steadied himself, focused past his awe and listened to the words of the proud and majestic warrior. They were rules and much to his dismay the mountain was to be scaled. In twelve hours they were to retrieve an egg, without killing any dragons and they could work together which seemed like a ... hinderance. Working as a team would be more efficient but when one person got an egg what was going to stop them from abandoning the rest. Nothing but honour and honour was malleable.

As the crowd surged forwards Roteki was among them, scrambling through as he watched the people on horseback take off ahead of them. He paused, remembering the parting his words from his teacher. A marathon, not a race. His pace slowed, allowing the group to take off ahead of him. He stopped, allowing himself to think for a moment. If everyone was going up one path it might be better to take a path no one was going up, increasing the odds of finding an egg.

He'd started to walk forwards as he thought, matching pace with someone on horse back a couple of metres to his side. Roteki spared them a glance with furrowed eyed, looking to the jet black horse and then the rider on top of them without saying much at all. A hand reached onto his back to grab his Naginata and hold the spear like weapon in one hand. Twelve hours to find an egg ... it wasn't going to be easy but it'd at least be possible surely.

@Red Gallade

 

[Clite of Dragonbow]

"You heard him Hu, you should think about yourself, everyone want to pass that Exam" Suzuki told to her Blood Brother as she looked at the boy "Anyway, If you want it or not, I will be heading forward to get my dragon!"

"Please do, you dont have to worry about me, big sis" Hu said with a calm voice, he was a bit taller than her and his well trained body showed that he practiced fighting and art of combat every single day. Suzuki on a meantime was riding the white horse she named Avalon, Although he wasnt with the most of stamina, the horse was well known for its incredible speed and as they hurried to get here, Hu on his feet was capable to keep up.

Boy had a studden leather armour with paper elements, a big iron Club on the back and Katana in a scabbard, while Suzuki had a simple kimono and gloves. When the Exam started, she rushed forward leaving her Brother behind.
Suzuki
Even if she hoped to make pair with someone, she was unable to see anyone that was without pair and So she rided alone. Damn it, she joined for Hu sake and he is making this Exam harder for himself... Idiot, idiot... Big Yokai Brother idiot.

She Just didnt see anyone.. No one seemed to be alone beside her.

Hu Zihao
Hu felt sorry for his Sister, but he had a good reason to stay in a back, many of the people here clearly never fought before and they risk their lifes way too much. His father.. Wouldnt want him to pass Exam and ignore people that can die on the Exam and So he wanted to stay in a back and save people if they were in danger.. Even if that endangers him for not passing.. He couldnt leave dying people alone.

Besides he wants to prove to himself he isnt a monster as some may see him as. "Good luck sis" He said. He also wondered about a team up partner, but he doubt anyone would want to approach him.. They never did before.

 

[=Nightshade=]

Elle
As the forefront of the pack of horses became even harder to move in, Elle slowly began to steer Sleipnir towards the side of the mountain, rather than where she was in the middle of the path. There were two boys in the front but not too far forward that were working in tandem to drive others off the cliff, and she wanted to remain behind them as much as possible; if she was on the side or in front of them, either one might ram Sleipnir and send the both of them to a painful death.

Besides, it was becoming clear that staying in the stampede was not a way to go. Several horses had already lost their riders, and in their foamy-mouthed panic they continued to run, spurring the horses around them to pick up speed as well. If you slowed down, you were dead. Elle’s sharp eyes scanned the mountainside above, searching, searching, for… there! The girl twisted her body, and with it, Sleipnir’s reins, as she tightened her heels on his sides. The stallion responded instantly, working his bit to a froth but still acknowledging his rider. As they began to change directions, Elle urged the horse into a high jump. A very high jump. She had practiced it before many times at the farm, but not running perpendicular to a rampaging stampede… while in the middle of it.

Sleipnir leaped with all the strength in his powerful legs, ears laid back in semi-panic but guided by his skillful rider. His hooves soared over the one riderless horse between them and the mountainside ridge, and bit rock. The horse struggled to find a solid foothold, back hooves scrambling, before he managed to pull them onto the ridge that Elle had spotted. She pulled lightly on the reins, a message to take a break. She dismounted and walked around in front of the horse, stroking the sides of his face. “Good job, boy,” she whispered to him, breathing almost as hard as Sleipnir. “You got us outta there. See, this is why I named you Sleipnir, you’d be suited for Odin himself to ride. Take a rest now, just a few minutes, then we can get going again.” She paused in her soothing strokes to pull out two sugar cubes from her pocket, then held it out to the horse, smiling softly as his tongue lapped them out of her hand.

Sachiko
Sachiko ran her hand over the cliff face and found another handhold. She was in the process of locating her next foothold when a girl ran past her with a casually thrown “Stay alive,” which Sachiko perceived an undertone of which as “go home, you’re blind, not stupid.” Her eyes narrowed as her toes found a protruding rock and she boosted herself up. “I wasn’t planning to die, asshole,” she muttered darkly, to herself more than anything. Regardless of how well-meaning the person might have meant it to be, it was insulting to Sachiko’s pride as someone who’d been told she can’t all her life. This would be something she could do, or she’d— no, she couldn’t die trying, or she’d be proving to that girl that she really should have gone home. Her eyes narrowed further. I’ll show you. When we’re at the same school I’ll be there with my dragon and you’ll be there with yours and you’ll see me and you’ll wonder how the hell I got here and it was because I WENT OUT ON A LIMB AND DIDNT GO HOME like you thought I should’ve. Hmph.

Sachiko’s other foot located another foothold, and she jammed her toes into the crack before reaching for another rock. So consumed by her thoughts was she that she almost didn’t notice another person approach her, this one a little more thoughtful than just yelling “don’t die” over their shoulder. Instead he chose a far less confrontational phrase: having fun? “As a matter of fact,” Sachiko growled through clenched teeth as she reached higher, instead finding the top flat. “I am…” She must’ve reached the top of the ridge. With that knowledge, she hoisted herself up onto the flat rock, pulling her rope javelin out of the crack it had lodged in as she went. “Whew. That’s one ridge down. Who are you, anyway?” she threw down the small cliff.
(@Killerbunny the god)

 

[| Korutesu |]

Few hours ago..

As usual, Qi Xiang had been training since dawn. As he knew that the entrance exam would soon start, He would train until he was most prepared. His dad had always noticed this about Qi Xiang, which when he got home to get ready for the day, Qi Xiang would always enter the house tired. His father had gone to go outside to tell Qi Xiang something important. "Hey, If you keep tiring yourself out like this, How are you supposed to get to the top of Mt. Kajemeni?" Qi Xiang answered with "I'll have enough rest when it starts". His father wasn't too happy about that answer. "Qi Xiang, Go inside and get some rest. You've been training out here everyday for so long now." Qi Xiang knew his father was right, He didn't want to do it though he had to. He needed rest. "Fine. I'll go inside and take a rest." His father followed him back inside, closing the door.

Present time

Qi Xiang woke up from his nap, getting ready to hike Mount Kajemeni. He wore his armor, got a sling bag full of items, specifically a medicine kit, food, and other miscellaneous items. He walked over, since he didn't want to go by donkey as it was too crowded, nor he didn't have a horse to ride. A kawon on an eastern dragon had flew down from the clouds, It was a kawon, They expained the instructions, and started the exam. He stood there to wait for other people to go front first, as it would be a stampede if he were to go with them, and it'll just make it much more difficult than it should be. Another possibility would be if he teamed up. It'd be useful, and beneficial to him and his teammate. Though what he needed to find though, is someone who'd look promising enough to be his teammate.

 

[Your-Friday-Filet]

Tenkei Tekina was starting to feel the scope of the situation shortly after leaving the rest of the stampede on horseback. This was one of his only chances to become a Kawon, if he failed this, he would have to spend the rest of his life back at his dreadful home, and his horse 'Allouette' had grown tired due to them not training very often. The old thoroughbred stopped in a clearing where Tenkei demounted. He looked around at the tranquillity of the landscape that he had came across. He had many supplies on the Western saddle he had ridden on, that was a plus. His stress started to wane as his mind began thinking of a way to find an egg. He had branched off to be able to get to more secluded and hopefully resource-filled areas around the mountain, then finding an alternative path upward like a disused walkway or something of the like. While pondering, Allouette began munching on the grass beneath them. They still had a lot to go, judging by the sheer cliffs of the towering mountain in front of them.

 

[Spoiled Bread]

Yumi

Yumi pulled herself up and found herself finally reached the top of the cliff. There in the distance in front of her laid even more taller cliffs and various other way up. The girl had been climbing non-stop since the beggining. She didn't like the cold, or trudging through snow or slipping on ice so she refused to stop until she reached the point where the snow melts and more regular environments sprawled in front of her. She didn't know much about dragon reproduction but she speculated that dragons would prefer warmer environment to hatch their eggs, right? Then the higher she climbs the better chance she had to get an egg. From here on she would thread more carefully just in case there's an egg nearby.

Yumi resumed her journey and passed the main dirt road. There's several fresh horse steps on the soil, probably somewhere between eight to twelve contestant, and one of them went straight down the cliff. Guess there would be one corpse down there. Looking at the road, she suddenly remembered a rumour from a few years ago about a participant who got their egg from ambushing a mounted participant on their way back by putting traps on the main road. She wondered if someone kills someone else and took their egg, would that be stealing? Or looting? Huh... Yumi shuddered at the thought and brushed it aside. She wouldn't resort to something like that... hopefully. The girl continued forward, entering the rocky canyon area in front of her.

 

[ThePlayfulFox]

Elwisia, unlike the others, had to make her way there on foot. It wasn't as if she couldn't afford it, her 'adoptive' family was absurdly wealthy. No, they valued the horses more than her. She begged for one, hopefully to make the starting somewhat easier. However, her request was swiftly denied. They didn't want one to die. But they were perfectly ok with her dying. She clenched her teeth. This was probably some plot to get rid of her. They did that, a lot. With several attempts with the yokai surrounding the town.

She sighed, looking up at the moutain. They said that she had to at least make it up to the fire dragons, otherwise, well, she didn't want to think about it. The idea terrorified her. She set her jaw. She would prove them wrong. She would be successful. She waited for the initial stampede to die down. She could never make that! She was on foot, and she would be trampled. Teaming up was also an option. But who would want to team up with a Fergalian? She looked around, her eyes falling on a very tall boy. She made her way to him. "Hey, want to team up?" Hopefully she could actually get a teammate. Especially since she was clearly a Fergalian, with her pale skin and Fargalian travel clothes and satchel, made by her hand.

@Clite of Dragonbow

 

[Clite of Dragonbow]

Hu turned to the girl that asked him if he wanted to team up, tho he noticed she was Fregalian he didnt mind it in the slightest, like.. He wasnt even fully human So he understood discrimination quite well, besides he felt that even if not for her to pass then definitly their teaming up can keep one or both of them alive.
He extended his hand and quietly whispering "Sure, I bet it can help both of us to watch each other back.. The name is Hu.." He said and smiled as he was slowly heading to mountain, hoping that Elwisia followed him there.
He hoped that dragons didnt get Active from horse riders yet.

@ThePlayfulFox

 

[Schrift]

Tensai stayed behind, he was wiser than getting caught up in that stampede. Too many people falling and getting crushed by the stampede. "So incompetent", he sighed as he rode over the corpses. Tensai had prepared for this exam. He knew from his brother's experiences that this wasn't a race, this was more so seeing how long you'll endure. The best plan was a steady climb, be careful and don't let your guard down. Dragons may be a kawon's best friend but they were still wild. When Aki had rode next to him, Tensai kept his calm demeanour. "Taking after my father? I'd never follow that man to even the gates to the afterlife, I'm doing this for myself. Though I wonder, why are you hear Mashimo?", he asked, as he cast his cold gaze on her. It took Tensai a moment to figure out her name, it was only when he saw her family crest did he figure out who exactly she was. It didn't confuse him any less however. However Tensai didn't show any sort of emotion, instead he kept himself calm and composed. As if he knew who she was all along. "You should hide your crest better if you're trying to sneak around", he sighed, as a group of people on horseback ran past the pair. Well 'horseback' was a bit of a stretch, if anything they were mules and the people riding them looked like the poorest of the poor. They might've been wearing potato sacks, they were that low.

Though Tensai noticed something, a glint in the hands. They were going to use their weapons? But on what? There was nothing to use it on apart from people... people?! They were trying to up their chances weren't they? Tensai scoffed a bit at this attempt. He took down his bow, taking an arrow too. He drew back the bow and aimed, keeping steady as the wind before he released the first arrow. A direct hit into the first boy's head. Another arrow went again, this time taking out the one to the first target's left. The final person had turned around, looking to see who was firing these arrows. He should've just run as a 3rd arrow hit him off his horse. Though Tensai didn't stop there as he started shooting more arrows into the stampede. He aimed for the horses as he was starting to create more chaos. "This should help our chances", he said, with a contempt look across his face.


@Killerbunny the god

 

[Killerbunny the god]

Felix:
"Good to know you're having fun. I am too" Felix said as the girl climbed past him up on a ridge.
"My name is Felix Winter. What's yours?" He said as he climbed up beside the girl and stretched out his hand for a handshake, unaware of the fact that the girl was blind.

@=Nightshade=

Aki:
Aki simply smiled. She didn't know Tensai Masamoto very well, but this was a good opportunity to change that. She knew that the older brother had died fighting Fargalians which made Tensai the Masamoto heir. And as the Mashimo heir herself, it would be wise to make friends with the next owner of this school. She ignored the comment Tensai made about his father, but made sure to note that they didn't have a happy household.
"I am here for the same reason you are. To become a Kawon. I am not trying to "sneak around", as you put it. I am proud of my family name and I will wear this crest with pride" she said as she watched Tensai shoot down some peasants with his bow. This didn't bother Aki in the slightest. Really, it was their fault for making themselves such easy targets.
"Indeed. I propose a partnership. With your undeniable skill with a bow, and me with my sword we could be quite a deadly pair" she said, calmly.

@Schrift

 

[=Nightshade=]

Elliana
“Asshole,” Elle muttered darkly as she saw arrows start raining down onto the mad dash of horses. The people dying—well, that was their choice, and they died for their dream. But the animals that were being taken down because of their riders’ incompetence and the arrogant selfishness of the person firing arrows with a big, stupid grin on his face was something she couldn’t stand. Sleipnir, sensing her change in emotion, nickered softly, as if in a message that they should get going again. Elle looked down into the stampede and the bodies—horses and riders alike—that were left in its wake, conflicted.

She wanted to help the horses that still lived, and maybe the people if any were alive, but doing so would put her in a position where she would surely be picked off by the guy shooting arrows or one of the throwing knives still flying around. Anguished, Elle turned away with tortured finality. She took hold of Sleipnir’s reins and mounted again, easing him into a slow trot up the treacherous but not impossible path she had seen up the mountain.

Looking down back towards the main path, she saw that she had left the majority of the contestants behind with the leaping-over-a-literal-horse stunt she’d pulled back at the stampede. The girl had to look away as another horse was shouldered off the path and tumbled to the sharp rocks at the bottom, landing with a sickening crunch and a guttural scream. The only time Elle had ever heard a horse scream like that was when she was very young, and there was a fire on the farm that ignited the pen they were kept in. The sounds haunted her for years after. Sleipnir whinnied at her distress, sniffing at a crack in the rock face before continuing the trek upwards. As they progressed towards the top of the mountain, the horse seemed to be getting more anxious—little did Elle know—as a reaction to the dragon just over the next ridge…

Sachiko
“Sachiko Yamamaki,” the girl said, turning her head towards the direction Felix’s voice was now coming from. Her eyes stared sightlessly into the rock behind him. She had sensed a shift in his weight, but was blissfully unaware of the fact that it came from his hand, now outstretched awkwardly between them like a cross between a peace offering and an unrequited lo-five. His voice wasn’t particularly unique, but its pitch wavered slightly in a way she committed to memory so she would know it was him if they met again in the future. The average person wouldn’t notice, but Sachiko’s heightened senses picked up on slight changes in the environment.

Although clearly not enough to let her know that there was a one-sided handshake going on two feet from her.

Sachiko felt her way to the edge of the next ride with careful steps, and began searching for handholds with slender fingers again. “Since you’re here, and you don’t seem to want to kill me, I guess it’d be smart to team up.”
(@Killerbunny the god)

 

[Red Gallade]

Mitsuru turned his head to the boy with the naginata who walked beside him, only for a brief moment as his attention turned back to the road ahead of him along with those who seemed more hasty to get their hands or impatient to get their hands on an egg. He was more of a patient man when it came to getting what he wanted... mostly, as he and his horse slowly made their way up the mountain, he caught eyes on several dragon dens that some people attempted to get an egg from.

Mitsuru shrugged and continued onward, in his mind, he assumed that some of the stronger dragon eggs were further up, his horse seemed to show more signs of worry the further they went up, but Mitsuru went to pet his stallion in an attempt to reassure him that he would be fine. He looked back to see if the naginata wielding boy was still with him, while he may not have mentioned it, he seemed like a good individual to have watch his back... especially if some of the other participants were cruel enough to try and attack one another.

 

[Spoiled Bread]

Yumi

Climbing through the canyon was exhalirating. Yumi got even more excited whenever she encountered rock formations that looks like giant nest. Unfortunately she didn't find any egg but the frequency of such nest convinced her that this place was oftenly used by dragons to lay their egg. She's on the right track!

The narrowness of the canyon was cut off when it suddenly opened into a large-area of valley in front of her. It was a wide open grassy meadow surrounded by rock cliffs on almost all side, the only way into the valley seemed to be two narrow passages on the north and south. She's currently on the northen one. Yumi wanted to get a better view of the area so instead of going into the valley she climbed onto its rocky side and after a few minutes of straining her hands she finally able to climb the cliff and got a good look at the place.

The valley was beautiful. Just grass and rocks as far as she could see and the wind there seemed to be quite strong as she could see the grass swaying violently in some places. In the middle of the valley was a raised stone pedestal that looks like it used to be a dragon nest and not far from that pedestal was a participant on a horseback, and in his hands was a large dragon egg! Yumi clapped excitedly, even though she wasn't the one who got the egg she's already happy by seeing the thing with her own eyes.

Her joy was short-lived however, as she realized the boy was whipping his horse to run as fast it could manage. Yumi's eyes backtracked to the opposite direction the boy was going, expecting an angry mother dragon bent on getting her egg back. What she saw instead was rather shocking. Five other boys on horseback were chasing after the one with the egg. Two of them were carrying naginata, two others had bows and the one on the very front of their formation was wielding a large odachi. All of them looks well-equiped but only the one with the odachi seemed to have a crest.

Unfortunately for the boy with the egg. The bow wielders launched barrages of arrows and some of it hit the horse. Said horse immediately toppled, sending the boy and the egg flying and crashing onto the ground. He tried to get up but the one with the odachi had been speeding up towards his direction. The odachi was raised high... and Yumi averted her eyes when it was swung downward, cutting the boy's head clean from the rest of his body.

Yumi couldn't believe what she witnessed when she finally mustered the courage to watch further. The odachi wielder put the head into a sack and hung it on one side of his horse, in which there's already another bloody sack hanging from. Both of the naginata wielders started stabbing the corpse repeatedly until it was beyond recognizable. Then one of the bow wielder put the egg on the stone pedestal in the middle of the valley before all five of them scrambled away to hide themself behind the boulders laying on the valley. Yumi was sick to the stomach when she realized what was happening. Those people were even worse than overly competitive contestants who kills to increase their chance or someone who stole egg from another participant. They're just five murderers on horseback who use the kawon test as an excuse to sate their bloodlust and bait people with the egg they found. Yumi felts her body shivering and she immediately hide to avoid being spotted while throwing up her last meal onto the ground.

 

[=Nightshade=]

Sleipnir snorted, shying away from the next rock Elle tried to nudge him onto. She had noticed his increasing anxiety, but had no idea what could be causing it. Maybe it was the constant groaning and crunching of the mountain and people, horses, and dragons alike ran across it. It had gotten quieter as they left the stampede behind, but now was getting louder again. Elle had assumed it was just an avalanche on the other side. “Hey, boy, what’s wrong?” she asked softly. The horse responded with another snort and a shake of his head. “C’mon, Sleipnir, let’s keep going. Can you just get over this ridge? Please?” Sleipnir shook his head again and backed away slightly before heading slowly up the slope again at Elle’s gentle coaxing.

Just over the ridge, Elle’s heart dropped into her stomach. Now she knew what had been making Sleipnir so nervous. Off to the left of where she and Sleipnir stood was a massive dragon of stone. Elle recognized it as an Earthshaker dragon, like Reikon, her mother’s bond. It had a snakelike body type, covered in rough, ragged scales that were harder than diamonds, and when bristled, came to lethal points. At first glance, it looked simply like rocks arranged in a snakelike pattern until its arrowhead-shaped tail flicked on the ground with a thundering crash. It writhed to make its way higher on the mountain, and turned so its head was visible to Elle as it opened its mouth wide and devoured a chunk of rock. The grinding and crunching had been coming from the dragon.

The girl tried to urge Sleipnir away from the dragon, but the horse whinnied and reared in panic, then bolted from the beast. Drawn by the noise, the Earthshaker’s head whipped around to face them, then with astonishing speed cut off Sleipnir’s path. Elle was almost thrown with the force of the horse’s stop and sudden reverse in direction; it was all she could do to hold on, let alone steer. She wracked her brain for the things her mother had proudly told her about Reikon, her own Earthshaker. Don’t piss them off. Okay, too late for that… umm… strong parental instincts, okay… err, not the greatest memory and forgets things easily? Wish the thing would forget we exist—! Sleipnir skidded to a half again and reared, whinnying in foamy-mouthed terror. He had worked his bit to a froth and his gray-and-black coat was dark with sweat. Elle was thrown from his back, rolling to disperse the impact across her whole body. A rock cut into her shoulder, and she clutched the wound. Sleipnir ran again, but found the dragon’s tail in his path. Smelling blood, the dragon turned its sights on Elle.

Well, shit.

Out of the corner of Elle’s eye was a pile of rocks peculiarly placed. Another Earthshaker fact her mother had drilled into her surfaced in her mind. I found Reikon’s egg in a pile of rocks. They put the eggs there to hide them from predators. I knew it was an egg, though; it was warm and a little tingly. The beginnings of a plan were starting to form in her head; now all she had to do was not get killed before she did it. Elle moved to the right. The dragon’s head moved with her. She moved to the left. The dragon followed. She moved a little forward. So did the dragon.

Then, suddenly, she made a mad dash backwards! But she wasn’t running away, she was heading towards the nest of rocks. The dragon roared in fury and came after her. Elle grabbed the first rock her hand contacted and registered as ‘warm’ then rolled out of the way, barely avoiding a strike that would have crushed her into dust. She crawled towards the edge of the cliff and threw the egg outwards. There would be plenty of time before it hit the ground for the dragon to catch it, and she and Sleipnir would be long gone before it returned. Even if the dragon was unable to catch it, Earthshaker eggs were covered in the same scales as the full-grown dragons, the baby inside would be fine.

Sure enough, the dragon suddenly ignored Elle the moment its egg was in danger and shot after it, scales peeling off into thin sheets of rock that formed into wings. Elle stood shakily, still holding her injured shoulder, and ran for the terrified Sleipnir. She grabbed the reins and mounted in one fluid motion and urged the horse into a gallop up a thin trail to the next ridge. Now that they were moving away from the scary dragon, Sleipnir didn’t seem to have a problem moving fast. Once they were past the next two ridges, Elle eased back on the reins, slowing Sleipnir to a walk. She stroked his sweaty neck and whispered words of comfort to the horse as she tore a strip from her shirt and tied it tight around her shoulder to staunch the bleeding. “Let’s keep going, boy,” she said to Sleipnir, breathing heavily. “When this is all over, you can have all the sugar cubes you want.”

(OOC: pfft was gonna wait for KB to post so I could do Elle and Sachiko but this post is so thicccc I think it should be a standalone XD)

 

[Schrift]

He smiled a bit at the comment she made about being a kawon, before going back to his stone face demeanour. "That is very honourable", he said. Tensai wasn't planning on an alliance this early on. He took a moment to consider it, would it be right to team up with her? What she had said was definitely flattering but was she as good as she said she was? The fact that she didn't bat an eye at his arrows fired at the farm boys. "I accept your proposal, on one slight condition. You shall not interfere with me, I am here to get the egg and pass the exam. Got tha-", Tensai pulled back on his reins moving a bit slower. There was a rumbling in the ground, something that was starting to get greater and greater. Even his horse was starting to get nervous. "Something's wrong...", he said as he the rumbling got louder as he went on. Tensai took out his bow as he slung an arrow to his bow. Then it happened. From the snow beneath a large babble of students, a dragon emerged as it jumped up through the snow. Horses, people, goats, all went flying in the air as this dragon emerged. A full adult Wyrm.

This spelt trouble. Tensai looked at the creature then to Aki. This could spell disaster if they were to try and take it on. Though as he stayed perfectly still he looked at the dragon for closer inspection. For starters, the dragon was covered in plate upon plate of some ice like material. The only part of it that wasn't made of ice was the mouth as the tongue was a deep blue. Though as Tensai looked closer he realised something, it had no eyes. How on earth did this thing figure them out? "Mashimo I have an idea...", he whispered in a hushed tone. "Just follow as I do-", Tensai froze as the dragon's head darted towards them. It was beginning to approach the pair slowly as it's speed was growing. Tensai aimed the arrow off the the side as he aimed for yet another horse. He released the arrow, piercing the horse and creating a shrilled cry. The Wyrm's head instantly turned around, as it's direction was for the horse and its rider. Tensai rode forward, going up the hill as he hoped Aki had followed him. As he went up and passed Elliana he could only hiss one word as he passed her. "RUN", was all he could get out before he sped ahead. Tensai wasn't the only one that ran ahead as anyone else who saw him bolt for it took suit. Tensai made it over the ridge, but he began to go down the slope at speed as the Wyrm had just finished off its last victim. Tensai ran fast, pulling ahead of the others. He was doing great until the snow behind him exploded as the Wyrm burst through the ground. "Crap, it's after me", he hissed as he kept moving faster and faster. Jesus it was like outpacing a worm that was hellbent on eating you.

The wyrm had already left a body in its waking behind it, but Tensai had to go on. Then for a brief moment, it went silent. There was nothing, no dragon, no beastly creature, only the sound of screams and hoofs hitting snow. It wasn't long till the peace was broken as the beast snapped up from behind tensai and sent him and his horse flying. Tensai landed in the snow, rolling down the hill, while his horse was nowhere to be seen.Though soon he came to a halt, Tensai was back to being on edge as neither his horse or Wyrm could be seen or heard.

@=Nightshade= @Killerbunny the god

 

[Killerbunny the god]

Felix:
Felix withdrew his hand feeling a little confused, but chalked it all up to Sachiko disliking handshakes. It was either that or she was crazy, judging by how she hadn't looked at him even once. The thought of her being blind didn't occur to him at all.
"That's actually what I came here to ask you. I would love to team up. You got any plans on how to deal with the dragons that will want to kill us?" Felix said as he continued to climb. He tried keeping an even pace with her, but that was hard considering they were scaling a mountain.

He began making his way over to a small plateau where they could rest for a few minutes, signalling for Sachiko to follow. They had already gotten quite high up and a fall from this height would be about as deadly as a meeting with one of the smaller types of dragons.
"I suggest taking a small break here and then continue in a couple of minutes. We're gonna need our strength" he said.

@=Nightshade=

Aki:
"Jeez, someone's grumpy..." Aki thought to herself when listening to Tensai's demand. She looked intently at him with a sweet smile on her face. This boy clearly didn't know how much power she held over him. The school itself may be owned by Tensai's father who operated directly under the Emperor himself, but outside of school she held more power than either of them.
"You know who I am, Masamoto. If you try to order me around, I will make sure you will live long enough to regret it" She said with a sweet voice.

As they had started making their way up the mountain, a rumbling in the ground could be felt. Aki heard Tensai say something but couldn't make out what exactly before a Wyrm seemingly made purely out of ice jumped out of the snow, taking out a group of students and horses.

As Tensai began to whisper to her, the dragon's head whipped around to their location faster than a unicorn could run away from a human. Through Tensai's quick-thinking, the dragon got distracted with the sound of a horse in pain. Aki saw which direction Tensai took off in but decided to look for alternate routes. Splitting up like that when facing a dragon seemingly using sounds to hunt would increase not only your own, but everyone else's chance of survival. At least if everyone was smart enough to think the same way. Especially since they couldn't really fight back.

Aki took a route not too far away from Tensai, but far enough away to not put herself in immediate danger. She nearly bumped into another girl and her horse and glared at the girl. She wished she could tell the girl off because of her recklessness but that would have to wait.
"Control your horse" She simply said before looking at the dragon as it seemingly disappeared under the snow. Just as she wondered if the dragon was gone, she saw it burst out of the snow towards Tensai and threw both him and his horse into the air before disappearing again.

Aki decided it would be best to leave the horse behind for now. She made sure it calmed down before dismounting it as quietly as she could and took her bags as well just in case the horse would be attacked. Then she began to tiptoe away from the horse and closer to Tensai little by little.
"You said you had an idea?" she whispered.

@=Nightshade= @Schrift

 

[=Nightshade=]

Elliana
Apparently Elle’s head start hadn’t lasted as long as she had hoped as the boy who had shot arrows into the stampede came galloping up a shallower slope of a path to and then past where she was. She sent a glare at his back with a “I don’t need advice from a— ……Holy fucking shit.” Her retort was cut off as the massive Wyrm came crushing over the ridge behind him. It made the young Earthshaker look like a garter snake, it was so huge. Elle posted as she snapped the reins, sending Sleipnir into a full-tilt gallop. “Hyah!” she shouted, clutching the horse’s flanks tight with her legs. Her shoulder wound had opened up again with the jostling, blood running down her arm, but she didn’t notice. She hadn’t felt any pain when it happened, but it was hard to miss the blood in the snow; but right now, she was high on adrenaline as she whipped the reins again. “Hyah! Cha! Go, Sleipnir!”

The horse charged further up the mountain, cutting across the Wyrm’s path to get out of the way. His huge hooves found cracks in the mountain as footholds, and where there were no footholds, he made footholds. Elle couldn’t help but notice the boy get thrown and roll down the ridge in the snow as his horse was thrown in a different direction, but the Wyrm seemed to have no interest in him anymore. She felt a little bad that she had left him, then remembered the horse’s scream as it had been shouldered off a cliff, rider likely trampled to death. He can take care of himself. He’s an ass, but he seemed capable enough. I feel kind of bad for his horse, though. Alone on a mountain full of dragons the poor thing’ll be eaten in a week.

Elle kept pushing Sleipnir’s gallop until the Wyrm below appeared like an actual worm. The horse’s sides heaved as he fought for breath, and Elle felt rather winded as well. They had been riding hard for nearly ten minutes without rest. Elle dismounted and took hold of Sleipnir’s reins, leading him slowly towards a slight rippling sound. The horse followed, exhausted, to where there was a small stream trickling into a steaming pool. Now that Elle thought about it, it was actually quite hot. That’s strange… shouldn’t it be colder higher up? Regardless of what logic told her, she and her mount had come across a small hot spring, and she could see rivulets of lava running down between cracks in the stones, from larger flows of it higher up.

There was plant life here, too; a bush with berries here, peach and plum trees there, a stand of pine forest. Pillars of what looked like rock shimmered as though dusted with gold, but upon closer inspection, were tree roots. When Elle laid a hand on it, tiny fae emerged from knots in the root and circled her head, and the glittering wood seemed to pulse with life. She took her hand from the root and lead Sleipnir to the pool, where the horse began drinking thirstily from the hot spring.

Elle knelt beside the huge horse, appearing small and fragile beside him, and lifted a scoop of water to her lips, quenching her own thirst. She put several loose rocks together to form a crude holding place of sorts, to which she transported a few scoops of water. This water she used to wash out her shoulder wound so she wouldn’t contaminate the larger water supply. Elle tore two more strips from her shirt, one as a new bandage and the other to soak in the water and place around her neck to cool herself off when she grew closer to the lava. It wouldn’t last long, but it would be better than nothing.

It was becoming obvious that climbing the tree roots would not be possible while riding Sleipnir. With that in mind, she removed his halter and began to strip him of his saddlebags. The horse shook out his glossy black mane and continued to drink. Elle put his saddle and the bags that had been on it, along with the halter, in the hollow of a tree, then began to lay protective charms around the area. Many of them were imbued with the scent of dragonsbane and marigold—Sleipnir’s least favorite scent—to keep the dragons out and the horse in. There were other smells known to be unbearable to humans as well that she released and immediately regretted. With any luck, the small area would be secure until she came back after she had reached the top and secured her egg.

Elle let Sleipnir lick a few more sugar cubes from her hand, then began to climb.

Sachiko
The sounds of Felix climbing were beginning to get further away, off to the side. Sachiko followed them, unsure of why he was changing directions, but assuming he had found a semi-flat place. She was fast…for a blind person… but Felix seemed to either be very slow at climbing or trying to keep pace with her. Probably the latter, she thought. To Felix, it would have appeared she changed direction with a slight delay after his signal, but not one long enough to be abnormal.

“Dealing with them?” Sachiko said, not really asking for clarification, just thinking out loud. “Would probably be best if they never know we’re there. Since we don’t have horses we’ll be too slow to run unless the thing is like… frozen in place or something. Or we could hide, but they’ve got good senses of smell…depends on the species, I assume…”

The next handhold Sachiko reached for was the edge of the plateaued area Felix had described. She nodded at his suggestion as she carefully lifted herself up and onto the flat rock. She felt her way over to where the flat part met the next rise on hands and knees, then sat with her back against the rock face with a “Whew.”
(@Killerbunny the god)

 

[Clite of Dragonbow]

Suzuki didnt know where she was about to go, but seeing dragon Nests gave her hope. She bet that knowing Hu, he was still at the start. Idiot, His Blood Sister was doing those things for his safety and he doesnt take the test seriously enough. She would punch some wisdom to his head when she sees him next time.

Next person she saw however, was a girl hiding behind a rock and waiting, then she saw the egg that definitly girl behind rock saw too and would want to have it. "I wont steal it from..." She whispered and was about to leave but a thought hit her "Why she is waiting there?"

She decided to be a bait for whatever she hides from, she believed she can escape from dragon but she didnt want to risk horse life and she went without it. After a while she reached the egg and picked it up. "Well arent you a cute one" She smiled then she focused her senses.

@Spoiled Bread

 

[Schrift]

Tensai looked up at Aki, patting the snow off his head. "The plan was to escape that thing, and I think we may have done it. The snow here is too thin for it to burrow in, and I doubt it will waste energy going into the harder layers only to lose the stealth advantage. Though we should still be careful of that", he said, as he slowly got up and kept his bow by his side. He prepped another arrow if he saw the dragon again. Though as Tensai was beginning to get his bearings, he looked around for his horse. But he couldn't seem to find it anywhere, apart from a trail of blood. Following it, it wasn't long till he found his horse. Albeit a horse that was missing its hind legs. He pursed his lips as he looked at its state, it wasn't going to live long. But he could do something about that. Going low to it, he took out his tanto and slipped the blade to its throat. "I'm truly sorry", he said, bowing his head. Running his hand through his steed's mane, he cut off a lock of it. Tying it around the handle of his bow, he made sure to keep it as a good luck charm. This wasn't pleasant, Tensai had raised this horse since he was 11 years old. To see it go in such a way truly did hurt him inside but he didn't show it. He was going to be a Kawon, Kawon don't show their emotions.

Tensai picked up the spare quivers he had around his waist, "I have a plan, I'm going to ride with you. We ride on and get out of here, if we can just climb up higher out of the snow we should be fine to go up higher to the tree. The tree is where you find some truly remarkable dragons, only the strong ones are up there. If we can scale it, we should be fine. I am aware that you are the lord's daughter, but this is my advice for this entire course. From now on, I will protect you if need be as the son of a Kawon", he said, as he moved to her horse. This had been the most Tensai had spoken in his entire meeting with Aki. For an edge lord with a bow, his voice was oddly soft and well tempered. Climbing onto the back of Aki's horse he waited for her. "If the Wyrm decides to return, I'll try to distract it but for now we must leave here"

@Killerbunny the god

 

[Killerbunny the god]

Felix:
Felix nodded, not knowing Sachiko couldn't see it.
"I have some experiences with hunting so I know how to stay quiet. But I haven't really perfected that particular skill yet. But I do have something in my bag that we could use to hide our scents with. It's disgusting though, so I wouldn't really want to use that unless absolutely necessary. You probably don't want to know what it is either" he said, thinking about a jar of manure he had with him in his bag. He hated the thought of using it, but he'd rather smell bad than die.

Felix looked around for where to go next. There was a "pathway" to their right that seemingly led even further up. He sat down for a couple of minutes to rest. He assumed Sachiko had seen the path to the right as well.

After a couple minutes had passed, he stood back up and stretched out his arms.
"Ready to go again?" He asked.

Aki:
Aki didn't bat an eye to what Tensai said about the dragon. She didn't bat an eye when she saw the horse missing it's hind legs, with blood everywhere. She didn't bat an eye when Tensai killed it out of mercy. Not even when Tensai had the idea of riding together would she bat an eye. But when Tensai said he would protect her, she was dumbfounded. She stared at Tensai as he got up on the horse. Then she started giggling.
"And what exactly gave you the impression that I need protection? Although I am the daughter of the lord, I am not a simple damsel in distress. I appreciate the thought, but it is quite unnecessary. As stated before, I am quite skilled with my sword" she said with a cute smile.

She climbed back up on the horse after she had put the bags back. With Tensai sitting behind her, she began riding up the mountain again. Hopefully that dragon wouldn't attack again.

 

[Spoiled Bread]

Seeing someone took their bait again, the group of five rushed out of their hiding places and circled Suzuki. Their laughs echoed throughout the valley while their horses whines as their leader, a boy with Odachi signaled the others to stop.

"Ohh, look. This time we get a girl! A nice addition for my collection." The leader of the group patted the two bloody back on his side while smiling proudly, he then pointed to one of his friend who was carrying a naginata. "Lend me your spear. I want to try it."

The spear wielder just shrug and gave his naginata away. The leader put his odachi on the big sheath on his back and clumsily pointed the naginata towards Suzuki. It was clear he never trained with a spear before but the fact that he's doing it on horseback still made him quite an imposing threat.

"I don't know who you are, but your life ends here. I am a generous person though so if you lick the hoove of my horse then I might consider ending your life quickly." The group leader offered to Suzuki and the others simply clapped enthusiastly as if they would witness an entertaining event.

Spoiler: Enemies status

Odachi: alive, wielding spear, on horse
Spear 1: alive, unarmed, on horse
Spear 2: alive, wielding spear, on horse
Bow 1: alive, weapon not drawn, on horse
Bow 2: alive, weapon not drawn, on horse

Yumi

Whyyy!!!!!

Yumi screamed inside her mind when she noticed another person walked right into their trap. She could imagine something equally bad or even worse would happen to the girl and she wouldn't even be able to outrun them since she was on foot.

Should Yumi run away? Leaving these sickos plays with the life of others and keep chasing for her dream alone? Or should she help the girl run away or maybe even defeat them, but she would put herself at risk and her plan to go all speed would crumble right away. Still, she wanted to becomes a kawon so she could enact justice, and even if she becomes a kawon she couldn't imagine herself working with these sick persons in the future... Yumi's mind was fighting against each other and she could feel cold sweat flowing down her forehead.

@Clite of Dragonbow

 

[Clite of Dragonbow]

"Wow.. Sounds like sooo generous offer" said Suzuki with a bit of sarcasm then she started to sound more naturally. "Although I would really want to help your horses out as they need to carry that big amount of your shitty ego, I need to disagree, you see, I dont have much time So..." She clinched her fist and started to jump in place with small jumpes, a warm up.

"You see, I wont help out your horses, but if you care for them then you can do it yourself and I will be on my way.. Unless" She then jumped up, although she didnt seem like it, her jumping power was something to not suspevt at first glance, she aimed to Grab by the face the guy that throw to his boss the spear, make him Fall from the horse and smash to the ground in Quick jump to knock him unconcious, if he is lucky.

"Your shitty ego is stopping you, then I Just will send you back down to the floor."

@Spoiled Bread

 

[Gamingfan]

"And THEN I'll make sure she doesn't get sweets for a week. And then, AND ONLY THEN, will I consider let her off the hook!"
Finally finished with ranting, Luzen managed to pull himself over a precipice and relax, coming to a realization he should've come to about halfway up.
"...Where am I?"
He was so caught up in his indignation he didn't notice anything happening around him while he climbed the mountain. Luzen faintly remembered some horses whinnying and some screams from the carnage below, but he had otherwise completely lost track. Looking down the cliff, Luzen realized he was rather high up, evidenced by the thick cover of clouds below, and the sheer brightness above.

Well he certainly wouldn't find Dessi here, so Luzen decided he may as well look for an egg of his own. The area was rather barren, likely because few future kawons made it here, especially alive. He trudged on, feeling the exhaustion of his climb catch up.


Dessi hummed as she skipped. Despite avoiding as much trouble as she could, Dessi kept getting distracted by shiny things, small rodents, pretty plants, and whatever more. As such, she moved at a snail's pace, lagging behind most others. The fargaligan suddenly stopped, and blinked in curiosity at the sight of a cave. She loitered at the entrance, squinting down it. It was rather dark, but she nonetheless trotted inside with gusto, her humming reverberating inside.

 

[=Nightshade=]

Elliana
Elle’s arms were shaking with the effort it took to continue pulling herself up the huge tree root, though she didn’t feel it. The scrap of cloth around her neck had long since dried and evaporated. It was hot, so hot; the lava, now below her, gave off an oppressive heat that pressed in on her from all sides. She had no doubt she would have to treat several burns on her return—she could see the skin on her hands reddening by the minute. Finally she reached a place level enough to rest where she flopped down and began stretching her arms. They didn’t hurt, but she needed to be aware of any possible muscle strain and avoid as much of it as possible.

Her shoulder had opened up again and was bleeding sluggishly. Elle glared daggers at it, willing it to close up, but a minute passed and nothing happened. Not that she was expecting it to. A couple curious fae flitted around her, letting off a soft light that was a welcome contrast to the harsh glare of the lava. Sounds of dragon roars and almost slow-motion explosions from below bombarded her ears in a muted cacophony. Another minute passed, and Elle hoisted herself back to her feet to continue her climb.

The further up she went, the more frequently Elle found she had to rest. The air was getting thinner, but at least it was getting cooler again. The mist from clouds was a nice change in comparison to the scalding steam, and felt good on her shoulder. Once Elle had caught her breath again, she continued. It was more than halfway through the exam by this point, and she hoped the downward journey would be easier.

Finally the nearly perpendicular slope of the tree root leveled out, tangling in knots with the others near the base of the trunk and Elle found herself breathless- partly from the lack of oxygen, partly from the scene in front of her. The tree was huge, golden trunk sparkling and fae appearing everywhere like fireflies. Phoenixes flitted between leaves that seemed to shine prismatically, as though made from crystal. Parts of dragons big and small peeked out from between the leaves, images fragmented by the translucent crystalline nature or the foliage. Huge nests the size of her farm littered the roots, eggs as large as she was and those smaller than a chicken’s guarded boldly by their parents, cloaked in a hundred shades of colors Elle never knew existed. Everything felt larger than life, majestic. The girl with a bloodied shoulder, struggling to get a full breath, certainly wasn’t a part of the picture. But still, Elle knew she wanted to climb that tree. Even though the trunk was so wide it would have taken a thousand people to circle it with their arms, even though it was so high she couldn’t see the top, even though there were dragons that could kill her with a look everywhere— she wanted to climb that tree. Just to the first branch, she told herself. That’ll be enough.
(OOC: it’s not necessarily more than halfway through for all the characters, pretty sure every interaction is on its own timeline. Just figured it would’ve taken at least half the time to even reach the tree)

Sachiko
The girl nodded and stood at Felix’s words. She did a few stretches herself, clenching and unclenching her toes and fingers to bring feeling back into them before figuring it wouldn’t matter. They’re climbing through snow anyway, either she’d get frostbite or she wouldn’t. “Which way?” she asked Felix, decidedly not seeing the path to the right. “Just straight up? Or is there a path?” Please tell me there’s a path. Or at least something that requires less climbing perpendicular to the ground. I don’t feel like dying right now, I still have to get in and rub it in that other girl’s face that I made it. Or at least get someone to describe the look on her face when she sees me.

Sachiko blinked rapidly, a speck of dust in her eye. When it was finally dislodged, she shook her head and looked straight ahead again, cloudy green eyes aimed a little to the right of where Felix’s voice had come from. “As for whatever you have, if it’s that smell I’m getting from your direction then you’re right, I probably don’t want to know what it is.”

 

[Spoiled Bread]

The leader's eyes lit up with anger as he heard Suzuki's words at him, he didn't bat an eye even after the girl smacked one of his subordinate onto the ground, breaking some parts of his neck and left him squirming painfully on the ground. Even if he's still alive he wouldn't get up anytime soon.

"Funny words from someone at the mercy of my horse's feet. Reyal, stomp her." The gang leader yanked the rein for his horse. As if already trained to kill other people in the most torturing way possible, the black stallion raised its forelegs and revealed that its horseshoes had sharp spikes underneath it. Anyone who got stomped would likely end up with more than just broken bones. The horse lunged toward Suzuki's direction with said spikes extended forward.

The others subordinates seemed uneasy looking at their fallen comrade, but because their leader didn't do anything about it no one moved from their spot, but the bow wielders did draw their bow in caution. The girl was their leader's prey so no one launch any attack until they're ordered to.

Spoiler: Enemies status

Odachi: alive, wielding spear, on horse
Spear 1: alive, unarmed, crippled, unhorsed
Spear 2: alive, wielding spear, on horse
Bow 1: alive, bow drawn, on horse
Bow 2: alive, bow drawn, on horse

Yumi

"Right. I just can't let them be." Yumi seemed to had made up her mind and peeked from her hiding place up there on the cliff. Thankfully, the thugs hadn't kill the girl so she still can escape. Yumi loaded a rock into her sling and started spinning it to gather some momentum. If possible she wanted to hit the leader but he's moving quite a lot so it would probably be easier for her to target one of the bowman.

@Clite of Dragonbow

 

[ThePlayfulFox]

Elwisia smiled at Hu, giving a curtsey, weirdly since she wasn't wearing a dress, but typical Faragalian male clothes, a large bag hanging to her side. "And I'm Elwisia Gwarn, daughter of Tobias Gwarn." She smiled at the oni, not knowing that he was not exactly a human. She started making her way up the mountain, hoping that Hu would follow her. After a while, she came up to the bodies of dead horses and riders, taken out by another tester she presumed. She gulped. This wasn't good at all. She wasn't exactly armed, just had a small dagger on her so then she could cut ropes and whatnot if she got stuck in them. Defiantly not good against a fellow human, which would have further range and probably far more aggressive than her, simply wanting to steal aquire a dragon's egg so then she could be done with this stupid test. She couldn't fail, anyways. Well, unless she died.

She took in a deep breath and told herslef to keep going. It was terrible they all died, but she had to keep going. If she stayed here, she might end up like them. A silent tear ran down her cheek. Were they like her? Were they forced to take the test? She didn't want to ponder on it for too long, but she found it hard not to. Just keep on moving, she told herself, thinking about that isn't doing anything for anyone. She continued her trek up the moutian, trying not to get involved in any conflicts.

 

[Clite of Dragonbow]

"A pleasure to meet you" Oni replied, aknowledging courtesy with a bow of the head and a smile.
He did follow her and as he saw dead horses and people, he uttered short prayers for them as he was tought to do, believing he helps them this way.

He looked at Elwisia and noticed the tear falling down her cheek, he understood her and was glad she is not as emotionless as those that killed those people. He also wondered how she would protect herself, as unlike him she didnt have any serious weapons.
"If... If you worry, Just know that I will protect you if anything happends" He claimed as they went further forward.
@ThePlayfulFox

Suzuki sighed as she looked at a Leader "Sorry, I am not eager to die yet.. My Brother would be very mad at me" She said and then kicked branch in horse direction.

Tho it was definitly about to get destroyed, It caused the Animal to slow down on instinct. Letting her to jump to the side to avoid him then she grabbed leader by clothing and throw him down to the ground.
She now had to stop archers from any stupid ideas. But she had no idea how So she jumped away from the Man as safety measure.
@Spoiled Bread

 

[Killerbunny the god]

Felix:
Felix looked at Sachiko curiously. Had she not seen the path to the right? It was pretty hard to miss.
"Uh... yeah. There's a path over this way. Did you not see it?" He asked as he pointed to his right. This girl had seemed quite weird at first but now he was worried he was dealing with some sort of crazy person. The possibility that she could be blind was the last thing he thought about.

He started walking to the right path to continue advancing. He looked behind himself to make sure Sachiko was following him.
"Don't fall behind now. Why do you want to become a Kawon, by the way? Same reason like me and seemingly everyone else?" He asked.

Aki:
Aki rode her horse with Tensai behind her until she came across a group of thugs attacking two girls. She stopped the horse to assess the situation from a distance.
“Oh my, this will not do. A group of boys going after two innocent girls. Shall we teach them a lesson, Tensai?” She said as she drew her katana. She paid as much attention she could to each face to get a read on them. While doing so, she came to the conclusion that these thugs were simply enjoying murder. Aki did not approve of such behaviour. She contemplated using her father’s status as a means to end this swiftly, though she doubted it would matter much up here. It would be worth a try though.
“Perhaps I could at least give these boys a shock with my status as the daughter of the lord” she suggested. It would either make her a bigger target, or the least likely to be attacked after the initial confusion.