[Dragonworld Lada]: The Mages Apprentice

[Darian]

"Yiiiiikes." Anakis watched the belly expand even more, pushing her up against the wall entirely. "Well, I guess it's a little more extreme then getting turned into a dining hall bench during bean night...." Yeah, the little witch doesn't seem that put off by seeing one of the faculty being eaten whole. Well... TOO put off.

Lingua laughs a bit at that "Oh, yeah, but we've got specialized reformers. They work extra well in the Guild Hall... which brings me to my second punishment for the day!"

Lingua vanishes again and re-appears behind Ravaria, this time her wing wrapped around the Talroth's shoulders, even if the smaller lizard has to hang off Ravaria's back to do so. Her head is laid on Ravaria's shoulder.

"You've caused a mess in Natasha's office! now, instead of making you clean it up, I'll just have you fill out aaaaall the paperwork for scheduling that test yourself. And, you can't leave the building either! I've got to monitor naughty Natasha's punishment you know, and that means you're stuck with me until she's been digested and reformed."

Uh oh. Looks like Lingua has managed to trap Ravaria for... socialization!

"Don't worry though! I've got to fill out some paperwork to ensure Natasha's been properly spanked and get Anakis here her room for the night!" Lingua guestures grandly to the Tiefling. "Now, don't be grouchy: I'll have someplace sunny we can work, and I have a stock of snacks and driiiiinks~! Afterward, I promise I'll spread the news about your upcoming test."

[SakuraHanaryuu]

"Punishment? My dear you underestimate me." *Ravaria cooed while laying forward, letting her great belly support herself more, to balance out Linguas' extra weight.* "I am a master merchant my dear, Paperwork is little more than a hobby to me, come, lets see that all the bits and bobs are tended to, I always keep my master pen on hand for these kinds of things."

*Indeed, after Ravaria drew a wand of kenesis a swish of it reorganized the room and all the papers neatly into a stack on said desk, from there, Ravaria relocated, happily flaunting her enormous gurgling, glorping and squelching belly on the way to any passersby, and would swiftly get to work on a fat stack of paperwork, handling the signatures with a very unique golden pen that wrote in a lovely deep orange ink, the letters appearing like fire upon the pages, frozen in a wonderful blaze.*

"Caligraphy is a staple of the Merchants guild my dear", *She stated, pausing to take a sip of some nice tea and enjoying some of Natasha's kicking struggles, arching her back a bit more in the extra wide chair she was provided with, getting wonderfully cozy as her belly continued the task of adding the green dragoness to her gilded curvature.* "Mmmh we should do this more often, the tea is delicious, and just what my tummy needs to help with such a heavy BWAARP...Mmmeal" *another lick of her gilded chops confirmed it, Natasha was delicious.* "Tell me Lingua, any interesting business opportunities around the guild for me? Anyone in need of a peculiar golden medium? Or an advanced location spell? Perhapse some rare regents just in case? I do have a stock of BlackBog crystals on hand, and if I recall some Rangda root, fresh from Ruuyon, though I don't have much."

*Ravaria set another page into the little box provided for her and began to read over the next page*, "In my latest travels I saw a greater carnage beast off the eastern coast...might be a worthwhile hunt, carnage beasts tend to have rather useful materials in their bodies, not to mention the havoc stones. Those would make for a wonderful batch of new staves and wands." *Ravaria arched her back with a huge grin, letting her long tongue lol out of her lips as she moaned from Natasha struggling some more, dropping deeper into her body by the minuet, resulting in more pleasurable struggles the longer it took her to melt.*

[Darian]

"Bleaaah..." Lingua sticks out her long tongue as Ravaria fixes the mess with a wave of a wand. "I wish there was a spell that let /me do paperwork like that..." she says in mostly mock disgust. "The Merchants Guild use more paper than we do!"

Anakis quickly found herself dragooned into carrying Lingua's own stack of forms, but the promise of a good bed and snacks was temptation enough to follow.

"As for business opportunities, Professor Dilban is looking for more of those glass beakers, the unbreakable ones. He's going through those like quills because of a new potion breakthrough that doesn't stop exploding."

The Pukei pauses when Ravaria mentions a carnage beast on the other shores, and shakes her head. "I heard about that, but the Hunters Guild have claimed first shot at that one... The Merchants Guild have been demanding higher shares, so the Hunters are less keen on sharing these days." The colorful woman sighs as she holds up a merchants guild request for Ravaria to examine. "No bet on who's pushing for THAT. Hogunn's belly is actually going to be unpleasantly bloated at this rate."

Hogunn (Possibly Hogunna, if you desire) was an Anthro Tetranodon who was OLD MONEY in the Merchants guild... and he kept trying to buy out Ravaria or secure her services exclusively for his company. For all his cheerfulness, there were suspicions about how much his business came from legitimate sources...

But, while Lingua happily gossiped about the guilds and their upcoming desires, Anakis was sipping juice and looking over the reports of Natasha's 'failed' apprentices. "Wait, that viper actually did lose an apprentice pulling a stunt like she did with me?" the Tiefling looks shocked. "What happened to her? Natasha would have been kicked out the Guild for this back in the mainland."

Lingua looks at the report Anakis is holding up, and smirks a bit. "Oh, little Kiina. She's officially missing, but I know just where she is." The Pukei flexes her belly just like Ravaria had, and reveals a small bulge in her own white scaled middle. "She's actually why I found out about all this: I ended up saving her and she was sooooo unhappy about being sent home, I decided to let her hide away for a while!"
The bulge squirms animatedly for a bit.
"Don't tell anyone else, because I wanna try and keep her there for as long as possible," Lingua whispers to Ravaria and Anakis. "I've already got the paperwork filled out to make her my apprentice, but she thinks she's been tricked into being a belly pet!"

[SakuraHanaryuu]

"You lot really should practice your penmanship, or you'll loose the skill", *Ravaria finished the papers quite easily, like a machine she went through the stack in just a half hour, at a staggering rate of a paper every three minuets*, "Professor Dilban, shatter proof beakers" *Rava wrote in a note pad removed from a pocket in her wide sleeve.*

"Dear you forget that I am a member of the Merchants guild...one with Clout to spare! Mmhmm and a carnage beast is worth a 'lot' of money, more than enough to profit from even with a low percentage, especially when you know who will pay the best price for the materials." *She probably already had a deal lined up.*

*Seeing the Guild request from that lazy bastard made Ravarias maw curl into a disgusted sneer*, "Ugh, that man shames the name of Merchant, I don't care how bloody rich he is, I don't deal with thieves...cheaters perhapse, Liars all the time...but theives...blegh, wouldn't bat an eye if that one fell off a cliff, you know his mansion has something like a thousand stairs? Who the hell needs that many stairs? The lard surely isn't using them himself."
-

*Hearing the one they thought had gone missing was just in Linguas belly, Ravarias eyes lit up*, "Oh you sneaky little fox! Come here!" *Ravaria pulled Lingua into a big warm golden hug and kneaded over her belly for a few minuets*, "I felt just awful when you mentioned it earlier, so we didn't loose anyone! Not really." *Ravaria sighed leaving Lingua free from her hold.* "Speaking of Apprentices", *Rava looked over to Anakis*, "Hey, you wanna be my apprentice?"

[Darian]

"Aahh, stop, stop! She's still wriggling!" Lingua giggles as Ravaria rubs her belly and her apprentice to be. "Anyway, you have time for a big hunt like that... lots of people want in on it, and they'll be happy to have someone like you participate. The whole thing is still being set up."

(I don't know what a carnage beast is, but lets call it an event monster. Perhaps an event for later?)

However, when Ravaria made her offhanded offer to Anakis, the Tiefling merely raised her eyebrow.

"Do I wanna get be an apprentice to the mage who uses other mages as a bludgeon? Huh, hard choice." The girl drawls, her sarcasm evident. Lingua hoots with laughter.

"Ah, give Rava a break, kiddo! She's not used to fighting with anyone else on her side!"

"Clearly," This time Anakis DOES roll her eyes. "If you're gonna smack something with an ally, you need to call it out, even if you're using a fighter or a barbarian! A mage needs a moment to prep a spell for a bit longer than mid swing unless you're actually good teammates. Every serious adventurer knows that!"

The fact that Anakis is seriously considering the merits of beating someone with someone else... well, it implies interesting things about her education. Apparently the 'Adventurer's Guild' is much more closely aligned with the Mainland Chapter of the GMG. Mainland Adventurers were often compared to Numen Hunters... and given that most Hunters threw themselves at creatures several times their size with huge grins on their faces, it was a backhanded comparison at best.

"Besides... for all you're a skilled mage, you're a merchant, yeah? And merchant mages spend most of their time doing money things, like commissions and beauty potions." Anakis gives Ravaria another challenging look and crosses her arms in front of her chest. "I bet that whatever Aramancy is, it's boring."

Lingua gapes at the girl for a few moments, her eyes wide with shock... then she turns to Ravaria with the most disbelieving, joyous expression on her face. It's like she's found something legendary, or heard the greatest joke told in history. One of the rarest and most sought after magics in the Guild... and she calls it BORING.

"L-looks like she's got YOUR number Rava!" the pukei-pukei manages to choke out, before falling on her tail laughing.

[SakuraHanaryuu]

*Ravarias cheerful expression dropped like a led brick in the ocean*, "do not insult my craft girl..." *she growled slowly standing up, her belly pulling back into her waistline before she reached into her satchel(also gold as fuck) and withdrew a full sized greatsword, clad in gold, jewels, and seething with magic, the air around the weapon all but vibrating with power*, "I am an Aramancer little one, it means, Gold Manipulator...do you know what gold is?"

*the question was rhetorical, and Ravaria would continue holding the sword in a horizontal poise before lifting it vertically to display its full length*, "Gold comes from the sun and stars, it is the metal of the gods, and I possess the rare and unique qualities to use it, to improve any item I see fit to do so, augmenting its magical properties reguardless of ANY previous augments...in short, my magic transcends normal enchantments, improving literally anything beyond its normal limitations, you can give me the most powerful artifact in the world, and I can make it better than it already was." *Ravaria put away the impressive sword*, "For the past ten years almost the entire mages guild has been falling all over themselves in a pathetic and criminally shameful stampede to secure an apprentice for me that they can use to steal my secrets, despite the fact that I keep telling them that there are no such secrets...there is no secret way to learning Aramancy, its hard, its grueling, and its painful, it takes a long damn time too...but the results of all that effort...is a power that everyone in the world desires, even gods want access to my wares." *Ravaria returned to her seat*, "the merchants guild is my beloved hobby, the crafting of items of great power is my true occupation...learn my skill, and you will become among the richest individuals on this world, wealth and power will come as easily as breathing...but of course the other side of the coin...the unworthy die trying to learn Aramancy, this is why I have been so opposed to rushing an apprentice, and why I will be holding a very difficult to pass test soon. I want to make sure I only choose candidates who have a solid chance of learning Aramancy without dying...your fire proof, that allready puts your chances at over fifty percent compare that to Lingua here, despite the fact that shes a master magus with increadible skills in illusionary magic and ample experience in many other fields, she has less than a one percent chance of survival, because she is not only 'not' fire proof, but weak to the flame, for her it would be suicide to attempt to learn, death would be certain...but you could do it, your young, you have the qualities...it would only be a matter of discipline and practice."

*Ravarias smile returned as she allowed her belly to again bulge before the two*, "Mmmmh, not to mention you'd get me as your master, and I'm a woman of luxury, after the grueling training sessions you'll be dining on cuisine and sleeping in a bed fit for royalty.....or my stomach if you so choose, you seemed very content upon my chest, I can only imagine how comfortable you'd be in my belly."

[Darian]

"Whooooa..." Anakis' eyes are drawn to the blade much like a cat's are drawn to red dots of light. They sparkle with awe and desire... not just for the gold and jewels of the blade, but the enchantments on it. It's true that Anakis has never seen the like before, except perhaps in books. The way it hums with power...

The tiefling only seems to grow more and more excited as Ravaria waxes on about the power and rarity of her craft, but it is only when she mentions how dangerous and risky the process of testing will be that Anakis gets a fiery gleam in her eye. Something has caught the girl's attention... and the master merchant can see that she's made a sale.
"Incredible..."

"Hehehe... interested, cutie?" Lingua's teasing voice seems to snap Anakis back into focus, and the Tiefling quickly realizes that she's gotten up on her feet and is leaning over the table to listen and watch Ravaria more closely. Her tail is wagging!

She quickly turns around can coughs loudly into her fist, and speaks up loudly.

"Well, it certainly sounds interesting! and that is a very shiny sword..." Anakis tries very hard to sound casual, and almost succeeds... but she quickly buries the desire with a harsh flick of her tail. "But don't think you can buy me with sweet words and some gold, Ravaria! I accept your challenge, not for power or lucre, and not because I want to pass your test..."

Anakis looks over her shoulder and flings out her arm to point dramatically at Ravaria.

"But because I KNOW I can pass it! And when I do, we will see if YOU are worthy of being the Master of Anakis Voyager!" she announces with a confident grin.

[SakuraHanaryuu]

*Ravaria fucking left* XD

*The huge golden dragoness left the room, ignoring the Tiefling completely. When Anakis' turned back around she saw the gilded Magus's long tail sliding out the door of Lingua's room. Everything the Pukie-pukie lass had asked of her was completed, but she wasn't going to sit down and take such a direct and foolish statement.*

"....if your coming move your tail, you may be fire proof but that's not the only requirement, I have a little free time right now so I can at least give you some pointers."

[Darian]

Anakis gaped a moment as she watched Ravaria's tail slip out the door. Lingua tried very hard not to laugh at the gobsmacked look on the poor girl's face.

"R-Rava hates it when someone else is just as dramatic as she is!" The Pukei-Pukei giggles as she passes over the Tiefling's room number. "Better catch up with her!"

Growling, Anakis snatched the paper and dashed after Ravaria's retreating form. She caught up fairly quickly, unashamedly glaring at the dragon for walking out on her speech.

"... I suppose some hints wouldn't be a bad idea..." Anakis grumbled, hugging her staff angrily.

(Anakis will have words for Ravaria when she passes the test! XD I'm hoping for a slightly dramatic speech where she lays out that she needs, not just wants, adventure as Ravaria's apprentice. I think it'll be fun if Ravaria gets caught in a slight catch 22 of her own... if Anakis /refuses/ to be her apprentice, the only one who passed her test, she'll be open to more trouble from the guild. Not to mention Ravaria will look REALLY bad. That a tiny tiefling catches this godlike dragon in her own words will be a great scene, I think)

[SakuraHanaryuu]

*Ravaria first oversaw her announcement of the soon to take place Trials, her presence in the Mages Guild hall was all but mandatory for the announcement, she kept it simple and brief*, "My tests and trials will determine how attuned to Aramancy you already are, simply put, if your a bad match, you'll be booted out of the line on the spot, there is good news though, I am not opposed to taking multiple apprentices at once, but I this does not mean I will be taking anyones bull shit, am I clear, for the testing period you will address me with respect, any excuse you give me to kick you out will be taken to its maximum level of punishment....people DIE trying to learn Aramancy, this is no game, no parlor trick. This is a lifetimes' worth of commitment." *Ravaria drew that glorious sword again, and motioned through her poses just like last time.* "Aramancy is gold manipulation, Kjar gold enhances the power of any magical impliment, no matter how powerful, when you first start out, you'll be producing the lesser 'gilded' items, gilding an item still astronomically increases its value and uses, gilded weapons can strike ghosts, and dispatch were beasts, and are even capable of harming deities, a god will take you more seriously with a proper Kjar implement in hand...harm mind you, I don't want to see any of my students manically diving headfirst into the slaughter-maw of some bored deity brandishing their pretty new first gilded staff, the item only works as leverage."

"Those wishing to participate, carve your name onto one of the golden plates I left with the guild, I shall come to collect them in a fortnights time, be here bright and early when I do." *Ravaria her grand belly still squirming with that cheeky little trickster Natasha, made her way out of the guild hall in full strut, though her huge mantle hiding the main curves of her frame, even that couldn't fully conceal the astounding curvature beneath the cloak of gold. Ravaria took Anakis to the courtyard of one of her numerous mansions, and instructed her to give a demonstration of her current abilities. Calling her servants to set up some targets and practice dummies, to help with the observation.* "show me everything you can do, right now no secrets, everything from magic to swordplay, even reading and writing, am I clear?" *Ravaria stated, dropping her huge ass into an enormous padded chair the servants brought out to her, as her stomach continued the process of churning away that clearly tenacious green dragon Natasha, she was lasting an awful long time inside Ravaria.*

[Darian]

Anakis raises her eyebrows at this... and hands Ravaria a piece of parchment. It's a combination of resume and report card... something all apprentices get when they're sent off.

Anakis Voyager is apparently a middling student with no real expertise, whose real talent lies in the variety of the skills she knows, and her knowledge of runecraft. She's mastered all the basic cantrips, from cleaning and food purification to minor illusions and lights. Of note are 'survival' spells: odd, low power spells to identify food or dry wood for campfires. Anakis has apparently leaned many of them!
These survival spells have also bumped up Anakis' potion making skills from a C to an B+. Being able to locate and process ingredients and herbs quickly and on site means that Anakis can brew a variety of potions and tinctures anywhere. She's apparently memorized several traveler's cures and minor healing potions. Also, she's been banned from accessing or posseting large amounts of Saltpeter in Guild buildings.

Her attack spells are the standard Magical Missile (noted for being a great shot), Firey hands (less control), and a variant of eldritch lightning balls. Apparently her attempts to learn fireball have gone very poorly. (The blasts are impressive, but not when they're directly in the casters face.) Other spells include Thunderclap (A sonic attack), and a talent for gusts of wind.

Runecraft masters can create powerful, lasting effects... Anakis Voyager is noted to NOT be a master, but to have potential. She's apparently learned to read Several different languages (sort of) in an attempt to create and empower her enchantments and engravings. Dwarvish, Infernal, Fae, specifically, but she's learned runes in Draconic, Celestial, and Elfish script to try and enhance her rune-crafting. Successes are mixed, but adaptable when they don't explode.

There are smarter mages than Anakis, and there are more powerful mages than Anakis. There are even better Rune-mages than Anakis... but few apprentices do as well in the field. While reckless and perhaps in need of more study, Anakis is mostly noted for her fast reflexes and willingness to use low magic solutions to problems.

Of course, there is a slight problem with this report. It's an overview, not 'everything she can do.'

[SakuraHanaryuu]

*Ravaria scanned over the paper with a bored expression, before letting the page go limp and handing it to one of her servants.* "If I wanted to know the opinion of some guild mage stooge I would have asked for this instead of a demonstration..." *There was a slight pause before she bellowed* "SHOW ME FOOL!" *slamming her very VERY heavy tail over the grass. Ravaria would then provide a gauntlet of obstacles and creatures for the young witch to interact with, not just battling, but also healing, purifying, evading, deceiving, observing in stealth, and a smorgasbord of tests designed to show Ravaria as much as the young witch could do. After which she stood and motioned for Anakis to follow her.* "Lets get you cleaned and fed", *Ravaria would proceed to bathe Anakis herself like a puppy much to the witches discomfort. After which she gave her some fresh clothes and brought her into a lovely little dining hall.* "No need to use the Banquet hall", *Ravarias servents a quartet of red scaled Kobolds with surprisingly plump and cute frames all dressed in maid and butler attire, would serve the two an Azuros dinner, the huge bear having been boiled in fat and then grilled with an assorted onion glaze and adequately seasoned.*

"Your grasp on the fundamentals is superb, most trainees try to skip straight to the advanced magic...I always send those fools straight out the door, you have a perfect foundation, and I can work with you", *Despite Natasha STILL squirming between Ravas tremendous thighs, the gilded dragoness began to snack on a grilled Azuros fore leg, Anakis being served the oposite leg, claw and all, she was also given a bowl of beef stew on the side and a clear pressed glass goblet filled with hot tea, the glass goblet baring several beautiful patterns that wrapped all the way around the goblet, it was simply gorgeous.*

[Darian]

Anakis yelped and threw herself into the tests when Ravaria's tail smashed into the ground. It seemed that she wasn't TOO unfamiliar with the drill instructor tactics of combat mages: she performed admirably in direct combat against... appropriate numbers of foes. She could sneak, given her small size, but wasn't given to distractions. And for all the charm given a Teiflings... Anakis wasn't all that good at diplomacy or deception. (Sure I can-OH GODS WHAT IS THAT!?)

The tests, while generating some amusing explosions and wearing out the girl, merely showed that her instructors had taught and graded her well.

Anakis was panting at the end of the test, but still squawked and struggled weakly as the dragoness carried her off and bathed her like a troublesome pupper. By the end of it all, she was flushing darker red than normal, fully embarrassed, and quite sullen about it. Most of her sulleness faded with the presentation of food... the girl was suitably impressed by the size of the beast before her. But still, even the tastiness of the food doesn't keep Anakis from frowning at the Dragoness' attitude.

"You know, you're kinda pushy and arrogant." Anakis narrows her eyes at Rava. "You're lucky I'm slightly interested in being your apprentice, because most mages don't GET more than that official paper before they take on an apprentice or test them."
The tiefling awkwardly tears a strip of the leg in front of her... it's clear she's not a practiced vore, though with her skinny frame, that's not a surprise.

"Besides, I know I'm good with the basics: you don't last long in the field if you aren't. But this Aramancy... it looks like fancy, complicated stuff. Like, grad-student stuff. Why haven't you taught one of those apprentices or students. I mean, if they're doing advanced studies, they should be able to learn stuff, right?"

"I mean, and they'd be more suited to... all this fancy stuff." Anakis guestures around at the fancy goblets and servants set aside JUST for Ravaria. "I mean, what do YOU do with your Aramancy? I don't even know who you are, other than pushy and golden and powerful..." Anakis leans over to look at the squirming bulge in Ravaria's gut. It seems Natasha is trying and failing to wriggle through her intestines...
"And hungry..." she mumbles awkwardly. It seems Anakis isn't completely suicidal... she's almost polite now, if suspicious.

[SakuraHanaryuu]

"The Mages guild practically throws would-be apprentices my way, they want an Aramancer that they can control and force to teach others the secrets I know...as we told you before, it is a highly coveted ability, not just by mages, but by every country in the world." *Ravaria took her time eating the Azuros leg, actually chewing her food rather than inhailing it whole like she did with Natasha and the Jaggi*, "...as for my job, I am a Countess, I rule the little hamlet of Altradburg, things are still underway but I'm attempting to build the little burg up into a world class trade center." *Ravaria washed her latest monch down with a sip of tea in a similar but larger glass than Anakis'*, "We only recently removed three tribes of Sahagin from the territory...all packed away into the grand golden belly that rests between my hips...also the one that is currently adding this scoundrel Natasha to its ample girth...with a side of grilled Azuros bicep" *Ravaria gave her big belly a firm series of pats and rubs.* "...yes, I am pushy and commanding, Golden and beautiful, Powerful and mighty, and especially I am Hungry and oh so FAT" *Ravaria slapped her grand belly with both claws at the last note, a huge wicked smile on her face*, "Mhmm, and for my Aramancy, I use it to raise funds to further the rise of my Altradburg, though I do possess a ludicrous fortune, it takes time to move my fortune, so I can only plant my millions into the burg in monthly bursts, in the meantime I raise funds the old fashioned way, with Galleons and Trade, of course there are dangers that come with the territory." *Ravaria wasn't sure but one eye was left slightly open as she sipped her tea to catch Anakis' reaction...she wasn't dissapointed and discerned the girl was an Adventure nut. They were uncommon, but ocasionaly a person would be born with the courage to chase thrills and wild fantasies of glory and loot, it seemed that this girl was just such a person.*

*Rava smiled to herself for just a moment*, "would you like to hear about my campaign against the Sahagin? I told you I ate their tribes...but it wasn't as easy as marching up and just gobbling them down, it took a good deal of preperation and strategy, a full military campaign in fact, I had to make a deal with a duchess, and I had gotten myself eaten by a goddess in the process....she tore me to pieces.....it was awful." *Ravarias face became that of a person who remembered a nightmare.* "Care to hear about it?"

[Darian]

Indeed, Anakis seems a bit un-impressed by the fact that Ravaria is a Countess... though perhaps this isn't too odd. The Mages Guild has made some efforts to remain apart from the nobility, focusing on merit and study rather than purely noble blood for their magics. Not that there aren't donations and stuffy rich kids, but overall, the Mage's guild and their academies are open in their acceptance and teaching of students.

After all, in a Mage's Guild, magical power has more clout than money.

But as Anakis bit into her azuros leg to hide the lower half of her face, the disdain for such titles would be clear in her eyes, if nothing else. And as the dragon described her riches and the trades that brought her town to power, it was clear that Anakis was bored as she chewed the leg in front of her mouth, trying to watch Ravaria's own expressions. Her precociousness was almost endearing...

... and all her disdain and suspicion vanished when Ravaria offered to tell her a story.

"you took out three tribes of Sahagin? Those crazy nasty fishmen?" Anakis perks right up, her tail beginning to twitch behind her hat. Still, she peers closely at the dragoness. "That sounds like it might be true, but three tribes is a BIG deal! if they end up uniting like goblins do, you got an army marching on your town!"

Her smile only grins when Ravaria talks about getting eaten by a minor goddess and how painful it was. "Please tell me more! Goddesses hate letting anything they eat go, I gotta know how you got into THAT mess."

Ravaria APPEARED to have read Anakis well... for the moment.

(Don't make Ravaria TOO invincible. I'm a bit curious as to how she managed to survive getting torn to pieces without revealing her godlike nature.)

[SakuraHanaryuu]

(Big Post here so putting it all in spoilers to make it easier to read)

Spoiler: show

"Well I ate the Sahagin, and participated quite significantly in the battle. You see, my goal of creating Altrad was to produce a perfect super-city, one that unified all four of the great guilds and nations to a single location, a place where war could not happen...the task is greater than any quest ever conceived in history, the closest location to this dream in our modern age is Gras Aurora, the trade capitol, its actually to the south of us on this great continent of Numen, and the home base of the Merchants Guild of which I am most closely associated with...it may also interest you that I was not born into nobility, I earned it through a massive power play involving an actual Wishing Stone."

*Ravaria took a large bite out of her great bear paw, and gulped it down to satisfy her to get ready for an extensive story session*, "It all started in the island of Isla Terissa, a solid trade location in the sky islands, there I met three friends who were paramount in the founding of Altradburg...and one who was so enamored with me, that she remains a part of me to this day" *Ravaria gave her ample buns a pat*, "First I was immediately swindled by the wyvern who provided me passage to the island in his stomach, wyvern taxi being a very popular mode of transport but I got myself a thief of one, I originally intended to pay him with one of my gilded swords, at the time they weren't full Kjarr armaments like this one", *Ravaria withdrew that amazing greatsword again, but this time hit it with a cantrip that made it float, and handed it to Anakis by the handle*, "by the by, if you like I can gild your staff, it even improves those cute little novice staves, the little wooden ones with the animal heads carved in as the...OH I actually have my own, these little lovelies are excellent backup staves, I recommend keeping the starter one you get, they may not be particularly powerful but their light and dependable for the more subtle techniques." *Ravaria withdrew an ebony black staff with wide golden lines carved into its body, the figurehead was a Rams head with large golden spiraled horns, several average sized rubies set around one large one made for the focus on the rams forehead.*

*The wyvern was only supposed to take one of the gilded swords, instead he barfed me up and made off with a second blade, the brute. Soon after my robbery, I ran into a skilled hunter of the oceans, a fish-man named Oswin who was trying to sell some of his catch at the market but was mugged by a pair of wyverns as well, I saw the mugging, and decided to hire him to track the fiends, and he led me right to the whole hideout...naturally we stormed the place, but it had a trick wall, the guard, the same thief who made off with my blades flipped a switch and I found myself face to face with the two bastards who pinched Oswins goods. My main staff here was in the process of gilding at the time, so I instead drew a gilded claymore I had prepared earlier, I'm no swordsman, but even a daft pig finds a truffle now and then...however...I wasn't winning a two on one with a sword, they grabbed me and tossed me down the stairs, and around then I realized despite my superior weapon, I wasn't going to beat them that way...so I shifted to my beastial form and charged maw open, they werent expecting my jaws to open so wide, and I came barreling right back through that fake wall scarfing the two wyverns down...they were each larger than myself......but thats never stopped me from snacking down a fool before." *another patting praise to her belly, prompting Rava to go in for another mighty monch of bear.* "Mph, gulp, mmh gulp...now...ahem while I was behind the fake wall tusseling with the other two, this gigantic Oni woman had busted through one of the walls and just starting buiscut boxing the big bastard, a madwoman named Anyanka her home village isnt too far from here, a different story occured there but lets focus on the first one for now. These dragons had also stolen Anyankas main weapon, this enormous stone club, the thing did terrifying and spectacular things in her hands, Saw her beat a leviathans brains out in a single swing, CRACK! quick as a whip, and the thing was as large as she was! Madness!" *Ravaria sat her claw on her rump again*, "I also met Salinda there, aparently she was some sort of ancient serpent dragon...very rare...but also very 'mine' now, sigh...though involintarily on my part, I tried to get her to reform, but she just enjoyed being my blubber so much she never did...I was sad when she didn't come back, she would have been so helpful to have in the caravan."

"...I announced a payment to whoever fed me the big wyvern, Anyanka held him down and I inhailed the bastard and payed her well, I then called the three to the lot outside the hideout, where as I digested the three thieving brothers, I discussed joining up under me as the leader, and payment once the task of obliterating the Hideout was done...the wyverns had a boss. And that was who stole from me....I ....do not...tolerate.....thieves." *Ravarias expression slowly grew into a terrible rage, for a moment, Anakis saw a dragon of legend guarding their golden hoard...but Ravaria closed her eyes and twin fire streams, moderately controlled ignited on the end of her snout, controlled an nonthreatening, but still a lovely party trick.* "Well, the four of us tore the place apart, and in the bowels of the hideout we faced the boss, a massive Teostra, an elder dragon of fire, and a smart one at that, the moment he saw us he gave the kill sign and jumped me, the bastard was damn heavy, but I'm tougher than I look, he threw me into a wall like a rag doll but Anyankas' club sent him onto his flank, there were a few mercenaries with him, a sturdy Banbaro toting a great hammer, and a dagger wielding Great Jaggi, we had a massive fight, but Anyanka was very strong, and kept the pressure on the big red bastard, I kept back as I usually do until I saw an opening, then plunged my claymore into the Lions heart, his blood exploded when his body was pierced...but I am fire proof my young listener, so the blast was but a hard shove."

"Anyanka turned out to be this Grillmaster from the Oni tribes, and cooked the big red bastard up nicely for us while I went to the market to finally sell my swords and report the assault on the thieves den. Thats where I met Prince Grandus, who is also the Guild Master of the Merchants Guilds Isla Terissa branch. And one of the major people I mentioned before, the ones who helped me found Altradburg. I told him we were grilling the big lion, and invited him and his best mates back for the barbeque, it was delicious with these rare spices Anya brought in, Oni spices are unique because only they can grow them in bulk, if we ever go to the Oni village you'll get to taste it, I'm not unwelcome among a few of their gods, though the chief still sees me as a weakling because I'm covered in gold...again, different story for later."

*Ravaria took another bite of bear, but stopped for now*, "If you want to hear more, you'll need to be patient, its a veritable Saga, a long story that I lived and nearly died on several times, the next part is when we actually arrived in the tiny burg that I would start building Altrad upon...and the Sahagin that haunted the coral reef....Perhapse I should wait to tell you that part until were actually back at Altrad, assuming you pass my tests." *Ravaria smirked after gulping down another ten pound bite of Arzuros paw, doing her damndest to provoke Anakis into further interest in her tests*.

[Darian]

Anakis is practically bouncing as she listens to Ravaria's story. It's got everything so far, a treacherous pirate/thief, a band of brothers getting together to track down the scoundrels... this was good stuff!

She was a bit disturbed when some of Ravaria's rage at the mere memory of theft showed... but Anakis was smart enough to know that dragons, even on other continents, would be fiercely protective of their belongings. Instead, she focused on learning about Ravaria's friends, and relishing in the action of the scenes she was presented. It was clear the girl was really getting into the story... she looks visibly disappointed when Ravaria leaves off and mentions telling her the rest later. She really wanted to hear about how she fought the Sahagin!

"... I guess you're right..." the tiefling takes another bite of the big leg in front of her... then another, when she realizes that she currently sounds VERY disappointed. After a few minutes of gnawing and swallowing mouthfuls of meat, Anakis looks back up at Ravaria. "I mean, I wouldn't be a smart witch if I didn't take your own advice on the test. You've certainly told a good story, but you did say you were going to tell me something."

[SakuraHanaryuu]

*Ravaria downed a few more chomps of bear claw and replied*, "Well I recommend building up your pain tolerance, two of my tests will simply be endurance based, there's nine tests in total escalating in danger, the last one is utterly deadly as in theirs about an eighty percent chance of death...you'll be revived by the guild mind you but you'll still fail if you die...obviously...but if your still interested after hearing all that. I do have a few hints."

*Ravaria's next chomp of Azuros claw finished off the leg, and she promptly retrieved one of the much larger hind legs over to her plate, her belly 'still' squriming and shuffling about with a very upset Natasha as she took a fat bite from the big bears thigh, licking her lips as she swallowed the meat down.* "The first challenge is simple, its a taste test, if anyone shows up dirty, their out the second they go down my gullet, you'll all be eaten promptly but a single error will see you ousted, the second test is a trick test to figure out how cleaver everyone is, the point is beyond what I will tell you to do, and should weed out the dullards from the toolbox, the third is all about following orders, you'll be given a complex task, anyone can do it but 'you' little one will get to practice before anyone else...mhmm even if a few of the guilds spies find out this bit they still have to make it past the first two just to get their would be apprentices on my radar."

*The next one is about appraisal, telling good weapons from bad ones, and identifying different materials in their natural state ect, there will be some high level evaluation skills, but this one is really just a bit of fun on my part, an excuse to kick out anyone who I don't like. But the fifth test is where things get dangerous, you must nurture a fire with your bare hands, this will test anyone to see if their really fire proof or faking it, because they'll be keeping the fire going for a week straight...thats how long it takes to heat treat gilded weapons, its a long, agonizingly painful task, by day three even fire proof folk tend to be downright exhausted. The last four tasks will involve things like molten gold baths, and how to find gold veins....the eighth challenge is a live dive into a lava vent...you have to go down and bring me up a gleamstone, the core of a Tarothian gold armament, one can make ten gilded weapons, or a single Tarothian weapon, and if you get REALLY good, you can make a Kjarr weapon like that blade." *she pointed to the beautiful greatsword.* "That things worth a million Horns you know." (equivilant to one hundred million dollars).

*Ravaria watched Anakis reaction through sly eyes while chomping down another huge bite of bear thigh*

[Darian]

Anakis's eyes got a bit big when Ravaria mentions DIVING INTO LAVA. The Tiefling might be somewhat fireproof, but she isn't THAT fireproof! That almost seems like it's racist toward fire dragons!

But... well, because she can't do something hasn't ever stopped her from trying. Anakis starts making plans...

"I guess I'll have to take a bath..." The Tiefling mutters under her breath. "Wait..." She blinks and looks up at Ravaria suspiciously. "You mean, keeping a fire going with no magic? for a week? I guess that's exhausting, but... Hrmmm. I hope I brought that book Cheery gave me..."

Anakis barely notices the huge floating greatsword, now that she's thinking about the challenges ahead. Even when Ravaria mentions it's worth millions of Horns.

"Okay... before we start the training for the third task... I wanna know: What's the ninth task?" Anakis looks back up at Ravaria.

(Timeskip soon, I think... I'm planning on having Anakis use a bunch of things she's learned from different traditional DnD races back home, potions, and runecraft to tech her way around most of the difficulties here. It'll be hard, yeah... but she's got the guts for it.)

[SakuraHanaryuu]

*Ravaria ripped out another hunk of bear thigh as she stated*, "the others wont be recieving any information on this, you have more than enough of an edge as it is...but it wont matter, no one ever passes the ninth test, you 'will' fail it regardless of whatever I tell you. So will your competitors. You'll die in the attempt and fail no matter what. I'll warn them about this as well...best of luck." *Ravaria swallowed the hunk of meat and went in for another, chewing the meal and savoring all the delicious fatty juices.*