Loretta
Levi Cortez
Araedia

Levi stumbled backwards as one of the stranger's blows caught him across the jaw. He could taste iron, a metallic taste that only reminded him that he was now bleeding. He had bitten his tongue. 

"You piss me off. Fight back, oh *Mighty Levi*" One of the men sneered, before laughing. 

"Or are the stories of the Cortezial family true? That you are all scared little children that tuck their tails between their legs when grown men come out to play. Your father sure did!" The other said, before Levi clenched his jaw as his fist tightened. 

"I think you made him angry with that one! Tell him again how much of a bawling infant he is." The man on Levi's right seemed timid, almost begging the other man to do most of the talking.

"Two against one? It seems like you two are the cowards. What? Too scared to take me on? Or too scared to fight without guaranteed victory? You thought that if you took me on together you would win, no? Pitiful." Levi stated, pulling back his hood and unlatching the thick cloak from his back. It fell to the ground, settling in a pile behind him. Levi looked up just as first man began to approach him, frowning as the man began to lift his hands into a fighting position. 

It was over almost before it began. The man didn't see Levi's fist coming at his jaw, and as Levi's fist connected with the man in front of him he grabbed a plate and threw it at the man who was now approaching him, and Levi quickly moved to him before he could recover. 

"Who the fuck do you think you are? You know who I am, so why would you even do any of this?" Levi asked, maintaining pressure on the guy's bent arm. 

The man's gasps overruled his voice, and couldn't speak. Levi noticed a small piece of parchment in the pocket of his shirt and pulled it out, before his eyes widened. 

"Break it up!" A strong voice roared above the tavern's general noise, before everything silenced. 

"Up you go, you are going with us." The source of the voice placed an arm on Levi's shoulder, but before Levi could retaliate the man laughed. 

"Don't." He said, before shoving Levi outside. Levi caught his cloak and hood as he was pushed, and clasped them onto his shoulders. 

The bright sun exploded into Levi's vision as the guard shoved him out of the tavern. The guard huffed, exhaling quickly as he let Levi go. 

"Come and start shit like that again and I will personally see to it that Lord Delekou has another name to deal with." The guard said before Levi turned and yawned.
Karen
***Harlow Trueman***
***Delekou, Araedia***

It felt like years since Harlow had left his small village. But in truth, he couldn't have been on the main road for a few weeks. He cursed himself. *I should've been counting the days.* He thought to himself. He made a mental note to make sure to start doing that. He should've known from the start to count the days, but this was all new to him. It was an adventure, and everyday was something new. He had quickly ate through his rations, and had to resort to the forests for his food and water. Occasionally he'd sell some of his game to villages he came across for oats and nutrients for his horse.

He had followed the Elders directions as best as he could. He had come across a few cities, but he didn't stick around them very long. Every time he came across a city, it still didn't feel right. *I'm not far enough* He had kept thinking. None the less, the more beautiful cities he had stayed at for a few days, exploring the city and what it has offers. But he didn't stick around for long. The cities relied too much on coin and trade to survive, and Harlow didn't have much of either. 

It didn't take long after he went through his rations that Harlow started to get nervous. *What if I fail? What if I can't make it on my own? What if I run out of food and coin and I starve? Or worse, I have to face my mentor after crawling back from my failures.* Doubt after doubt raced through his brain. It wasn't until a few days after Harlow began having these doubts that he began to pray and meditate every night after setting up camp. He found himself craving the loving sensation that he felt after performing his graduation ritual. He decided if he ever came across the fungi again, he'd save them and perform the ritual again. He craved Cenjas embracing love that he had felt. He wanted to feel closer to his Goddess. For now, he was determined to stay strong and not sway from Cenja's plan.

After maybe, four weeks of traveling, a week after he had started counting the days, he came across something massive. His eyes opened wide as he saw it in the distance, miles of grassland, and the biggest city he's yet to come across. Excitement rushed through his veins. He was about to see something new, and great. And even better, he's had a lucky few days with his hunts. Strapped to either side of his horse was several small game. A couple of squirrels, a few rabbits, a couple of large birds, and even a snake. Cenja had been watching over him. His hand was scarred from him giving back to Cenja, and was still red from where it had been cut. He decided he'd have to use a different part of his body if he wants to keep using his bow effectively. 

After traveling a few more miles, he came across the city entrance. It wasn't long until he came across a run down inn with a makeshift stable. He gave some coin to the stablehand to take his horse, and grabbed the sacks from his horse and a couple of rabbits. Carrying them inside, he showed the inn keeper.

"Got some fresh game here for sale," Harlow said, showing off the rabbits. "I've also got a snake, some squirrels, and some birds." He said.

The inn keeper eyed him, before eyeing the rabbits. "I don't know what you take me for, but I'm not buying no damn snake. I'll buy those rabbits though." The keeper said, laying some coin on the table.

"Sounds good," Harlow said, grabbing some of the coin before hesitating. "And how much for a room?"

The inn keeper grabbed a few of the coin from Harlows pile. "We're even." He grumbled. "Last room on the left."

Harlow followed his directions and opened the door. He laid his sacks on the bed. Opening the sacks, he pulled out a cleaner but not clean black and green cloak, the colors of his Goddess. He prayed it brought him Cenjas blessings. He headed back out and grabbed his horse by the reins before leading him down the road. He was determined to sell the rest of his meat before calling it a night, plus it gave him the chance to explore the city. He had just started craving some mead when he came across a tavern, and was debating whether or not to spend some of his coin in there and possibly even make some coin when he saw a man being thrown out of it. 


"Well now, I was considering going in there, but not if that's how they treat their guests." He joked with a lighthearted smile.
Loretta
Levi Cortez
Araedia

Levi rubbed his head where the guard had slipped and struck him. He looked around, and watched as the two men limped away from the tavern, and laughed slightly. 

"Guess the Cortezial name won't be as weak as it used to be, now that you have those two a good whipping. Those two boys deserved it. Why don't you come back in and have yourself a drink, eh Levi?" The tavern keeper was aging, but Levi could still remember how, as a boy Levi would waste his time here. The man would always have a drink waiting on him. Levi smiled softly, and nodded, before turning to enter. 

"I haven't seen you before." He said suddenly, looking at the man smiling to himself. Levi's sword sat loosely at his side, and Levi wasn't making an attempt at it. He was being friendly. 

"You look out of place. Strange, even. Do you want to come inside?" The tavern keeper wore a welcoming smile, built from years of greeting strangers with a warm welcome. 

"Don't be so quick to welcome people. You never know who is out there." Levi said quietly, before looking at the newcomer. 

"The name is Leviticus. Everyone around here just calls me Levi." Levi said, before a flash of silver caught his eye. A guard was walking past, and the soft glow of the setting sun was bouncing off of it.
Karen
***Harlow Trueman***

***Delekou, Araedia***

Harlow pet the head of his horse, rubbing his nose. He's still yet to name the horse, and he figured if he's to keep him, he'd best have a name for him. Plus, it would be cruel of him not to. If it weren't for the horse, Harlow probably would've collapsed from exhaustion. He considered the horse yet another blessing from Cenja's. Harlow's thoughts wandered towards his other blessing, Whitefoot. He couldn't bring him in the city due to how people would react to him, which was okay by Whitefoot. He preferred the woods anyways. He was never too far, and Harlow had faith he'd manage to stay off the hunters radar.

He had trained Whitefoot himself, and despite his faith in Whitefoots abilities, he still worried for him nonetheless. Whitefoot was Harlow's best friend, and if it wasn't for Whitefoots subpar hunting skills, he probably wouldn't have had the haul he has now. He had trained Whitefoot in the best places to kill a prey, to keep its value and so it has as much meat as possible. 

His face turned to that of confusion when the tavern keeper mentioned his strange appearance, but he couldn't help but chuckle when he realized. All this time he's thought of the others as strange, it didn't occur to him that just maybe they thought of *Him* As strange.

"I suppose to y'all, I must be. But the same is applied vice versa. This whole city is strange to me. I've never seen anything quite like it." He said, eagerness and excitement at the edge of his voice. Every moment of every day, he's full of the same excitement. Every day he's facing new things and new challenges. He couldn't possibly see himself ever hating this lifestyle. "I'd absolutely love to come in for a drink, nonetheless. And perhaps you'd consider buying some fresh game?" He said, patting the back of his horse was a decently sized rabbit, two squirrels, a couple of large birds, and even a snake. "I guarantee you the rabbits would make a great stew, and even the squirrels for those with less coin." He offered. He wasn't the most charismatic, but he had picked up on a few tactics the past few weeks to make his trade seem more appealing.

Harlow seemed somewhat offended by Levi's comment on not trusting some people. Harlow was still naive to the evils in people. Sure, there were bad people in his village. But nothing to the point where you shouldn't trust someone just because you don't know them. Harlow chose to not let it get under his skin, and figured no harm was meant. It was better that way.

"It's nice to meet you, Levi. I'm Harlow, Guardian of Cenja." He said his title with pride, as if the two would know what he was talking about. However, even though there *Were* People outside of the village who worshipped his Goddess, it wasn't as widely known as say, the Southern Pantheon. He walked into the tavern behind Levi, before heading to take a seat at the bar. He didn't quite know what to get, or how much it would cost him... Hell,, could he even afford it? Back in their village, they only had cheap mead. Every now and then they'd host a feast where they may have some cheap wine or something stronger.
John
Tiny Vik
Delekou, Araedia

The ship pulled into the harbor silently, the wind gliding it into port.  Calls came out along the boardwalk, and ropes began to rain down over the sides to be tied off.  When the gangway finally came down, Tiny Vik was waiting at the top, his companion just behind him.  The pair disembarked, sharing a casual observation about the area and people on their journey inland.

"I must say I expected far more security,"  Vik chirped, skipping along, "At least a checkpoint or two once we disembarked."

Tsking, he shook his head, so much for the famed secrecy of this place.  However, critiques aside, the pair needed to find lodging for the night, and Vik being a stranger, approached a deckhand to ask for directions to an alehouse.

"Pardon me, madam, I'm a stranger to your land, and want to sample some fine Azaryan cuisine, as well as find a bed for the night.  Would you be able to help me out?"  He flashed a silver coin, rolling it across his knuckles.  The deckhand gave him a quizzical look, raising an eyebrow, before snatching the coin.

"Down the dock, look for the cauldron sign, Welcome to Araedia."  This sentence caused Vik to pause and furrow his brows.

"What the fuck do you mean, Araedia?"  He asked.