<div class="floatleft">(http://th04.deviantart.net/fs23/150/i/2008/003/9/c/Son_Goten_AF_normal_by_BK_81.jpg)</div><strong>Name</strong>: Cress<br/><strong>Location:</strong>West City<br/><br/><hr/><br/>It was a time of uncertainty in the world; rumors of an emerging military force in the West known as the Red Ribbon Army were spreading despite the King's vocal attempts to quell civil unrest. A great and terrible famine had struck several smaller, poorer villages in the South, leaving many without water to sustain themselves, or to grow crops. A seemingly uncureable plaque was beginning to sweep through the East, leaving medical practitioners strained and stretched to their limits as they struggled to stem the tide of the ill, and even rumors of visitors from other planets had caught the ear of those attuned to such things.<br/><br/>However, it wasn't all doom and gloom on planet Earth. Stories of a set of seven magical orbs that could grant wishes had set the treasure-hunting world ablaze with curiosity, and even though there was no discernable way to track them, there were still those who sought them out. Some even sought the aid of another story in the attempt, traveling to a palace in the west, where it was said that there was a fortune teller who could find anything with her crystal ball...if you were willing to pay her price. And curiously enough, Martial Arts had seemed to sweep the world in recent months. The World Martial Arts Tournament drew in bigger and bigger crowds with each passing year, and even that didn't seem to be enough to sate the interest of some, leading to smaller tournaments popping up in some of the larger cities around the globe.<br/><br/>It was one such tournament that was drawing the attention of much foot traffic in West City today, including one person in particular. Cress was wandering down a crowded street in the city, traveling pack slung over his shoulder as he weaved his way through the people, and sighed to himself in exasperation. He disliked crowds. It was too loud, too cramped, too jam-packed for someone like him, who had grown up in different circumstances. But he endured it for the sake of the upcoming contest, eager to test his fighting skills in the tournament.<br/><br/>Hopefully it would provide him with an outlet with which to distract himself from his conflicting and confusing thoughts about the Earth and his place among it's people...<br/>