The Land of Blades [Inkidu & Bella90]
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		<h2 id="linktree">Play-By-Post: Bondage, D/s, S&amp;M =&gt; Bondage: Human Solos =&gt; Topic started by: Inkidu on 23-07-2010, 01:53:34</h2>
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				Title: <strong>The Land of Blades [Inkidu &amp; Bella90]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Inkidu</strong> on <strong>23-07-2010, 01:53:34</strong>
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				Lone walked through the manicured streets of Xerist-Shi, the capital of the mighty Xeristi Empire. His eyes were not the same though. He'd been gone too long. Lone had left long ago to seek his fame in the lands of barbarians and horse-lords. He'd come back with a new soul, he was walking blasphemy. The perfectly positioned cobblestones were level and the gardens crisp and fresh in the mild winter sunlight. It was good to be home nonetheless.<br><br>Lone was a tall man. Not overtly-muscular he took on the shape of many Xeristi males. He looked like he was made of thick ropes. A stark contrast to the beautiful women of the Land of Blades. The stone bases of the buildings were as neat as the streets an they rose until they created a tier on which sat wooden frames with thick layers of rice paper. He wore fur lined boots and baggy un-pleated pants of a mercenary. His sleeveless tunic flapped but was held down by his thick leather overcoat. It was a heavy piece with metal woven into it at points. <br><br>He wore a scarf to protect his face and the traditional straw hat of the warrior. A few quick glances of the men and women around him said that he wasn't horribly out of fashion though red was in style these days and not his stormy gray. His hair was short but he had a foot-long warriors braid that blew out with the sharp wind. The only thing about his appearance that would cause any alarm would be the large sword across his back. It was a curved thing like the old Xeristi blades but that's where the similarities ended. It was a two-handed thing with a smooth blade on the outside and a serrated one on the inside. It shimmered even though he kept it in rags. It was meteora. <br><br>He crossed the square to the large government building and shrine to the celestial bureaucracy where he was accosted by a prince. Oh yes Lone could tell he was one of the many princes of the Empress Willow Blade. He probably had a wife and was at least second in line for the throne. It wasn't hard to tell clothes in Xerist meant almost as much as swords. It was tradition and in Xerist things moved slower than anywhere else. <br><br>"Stop that sword it's not yours!" The prince cried, "You're a thief, I name you soul stealer."<br>"I assure you my lord, it is mine." Lone said bowing low.<br>"It is obviously meteora! And you're not the Empress or legend come alive!"<br><br>There was a collective gasp from all the women in the courtyard. Lone couldn't help but notice how wonderful his native women looked. They wore embroidered kimono's of think winter-silk with black or red corsets forcing their shapes into even more pleasing views. <br><br>"The gods saw fit to bless me with a new soul, my lord." Lone said bowing again, "My name is Lone of the West..."<br>"You're a liar, and a blasphemer. Most likely a grave robber too." the princeling shouted back drawing his own short straight blade. "You will die for your crimes against the gods, for I'm Sun-Sword Blessed Prince of Xerist. <br><br>It was too late, the souls, the swords were laid bare. The princeling moved to strike at Lone's head but the wanderer shifted his weight spun to the inside of the attack drawing the long blade of his in the move and stabbing the prince through the chest by going under his own arm. "Mistress Lotus-Catcher's fifth move of her seventh kata." Lone informed the dying prince. <br><br>Despite the death of royalty and the wander walking away casually with his long blade in his hand. The scene went on. Surely if the soul stealer had been meant to die the gods would have let him and if it had been some divine oversight they would correct it promptly enough. Who would go looking for trouble anymore today? Still the page-girl was tasked with finding the prince's widow. Such was Xerist.&nbsp; 
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				Title: <strong>Re: The Land of Blades [Inkidu &amp; Bella90]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Bella90</strong> on <strong>23-07-2010, 13:20:42</strong>
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				&nbsp;<br>&nbsp; &nbsp;Belle woke in the morning of her sixteenth birthday, excited, anxious and restless. She wanted so badly to have her own blade, wondering how it would look like, how it would feel? Would it make her any different? Or would it merely be a symbol? <br><br>&nbsp;She put her Kimono, it was a light yellow dress, with white floral patterns, but the white corset with the bright yellow ribbons to tie usually broke the sharpness of the color. Her dark brown hair was braided to the back with a ribbon, this look made her look older, made her feel braver, not only, but also it made her feel like a warrior.<br><br>&nbsp;She put her white cloak on, the cloak was to her feet by inch, it was held to her right shoulder with a golden pendant. The pendant was disk shaped, craved with ancient symbols, it was given to her by her Grandfather who got it from his father, and so on and so forth. It was not only a gift, but a tradition, she knew she had to guard it with her life. <br><br>&nbsp;Belle's curved slender form was barely recognizeable between the women of Xeristi, they were all well built. But what extracted her from those women were her eyes. Thick dark lashes contracted with the color of her eyes, which were a light hazel growing darker as they neared her corners of her irises. <br><br><br>&nbsp;As she walked down the village in hope that her feet wont stumble with her excitement, she reached the sword's men. After hours of forging her soul, she entered the place a young girl, and came out a woman. It was all herself still the same, but changed somehow.<br><br>&nbsp;Her blade was icy blue, with that crystal-like color, there was a small crystal at the point of the blade, sharp and pink, it was the only thing out of place on the blade. It was a light blade, easily carried, but strong and coated with silver. The handle was deep blue with diamonds on the pommel, there was a final touch to the blade. <br><br>&nbsp;The man studied her face, her eyes, peach lips, then her hair, and he paused. Her moved behind her and slid the ribbon out of her hair, and placed it around the pommel, Belle was left aghast, astonished and pleased with the sword that came to be. <br><br>&nbsp;It was light but strong, easy to move, but powerful, forceful. The blade made her heart skip a few beats the moment it was laid on her hand, she couldn't tell a lot from the blade's shape about herself, but she knew that the blade resembled a crescent moon from the handle. <br><br>&nbsp;Moon Belle, she placed the blade in it's sheath, leaving the village. <br><br><br><br><br>-FOUR YEARS LATER-<br><br><br><br>&nbsp;Moon Belle had changed a lot in the past few years, her hair grew longer, with darker highlights, her body became much more flexible, and her curves became much more apparent. Her travels with some warriors taught her a lot. Being back to the capital was something thrilling, or should have been, but the years taught her nothing was that much worth the excitement. Her blade was still the same, a few Emeralds added nothing too much. <br><br><br>&nbsp;Being forced into a marriage she did not approve of, she sat in her room, wearing a satin robe looking out the window, and enjoying the soft breeze, she was the prince's third wife! She couldn't believe her darn luck, apart from hating the man's guts, she was FORCED into this, thus burning her stubborn nature in place, she certainly tried everything possible -within leagal boundaries- to get out of her situation, but she was&nbsp; not able to. <br><br>&nbsp;Depressed, and beyond upset, she pulled her sword out and wiped the crystallized metal, until she heard a scream, alarm shot throughout her system as she rushed down the stairs with her short kimono, light green with light pink floral patterns. bare footed running against the cold white marble of the staircase, she found the prince laying on the cold ground, surrounded by a puddle of crimson liquid. Blood. <br><br>Both happiness and anger burst through her, who could dare kill the prince, must have some harm against others as well -at least in her mind it was- She held her sword up, "step away," she said through gritted teeth.<br><br>&nbsp;Fear strangled her being, but a fierce warrior shot out, she saw the body of her husband crumbled down without a fight, weak. Very, very weak! She thought to herself. <br><br>&nbsp;She still couldn't deny the happiness of her new found freedom -or so she thought. 
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				Title: <strong>Re: The Land of Blades [Inkidu &amp; Bella90]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Inkidu</strong> on <strong>27-07-2010, 21:15:52</strong>
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				Lone saw the half-naked woman and he also saw the pageboy stop... the wife-- or widow more correctly. Brandishing a beautiful sword in the cold noon of the day. Lone smirked, remembered that he'd killed a man, and the smirk became somber once more. "I'm sorry for your loss..." He passed onward sincerely. He pulled a silk rag from inside his robe and wiped down the long shimmering blade though it hardly had any blood on it. Blood always seemed to just slough of of meteora. <br><br>His eyes never left the woman bearing a naked blade in front of him. It was direct challenge and not one to be made lightly. Still he knew it was more out of duty than love no doubt. She was younger than him by a mile. The blade was long and elegant but still could be used with one hand. It fell distinctly into the longsword class of weapons where hers looked a little shorter. That could be an illusion. Lone found himself thinking, his eyes narrowing. Compared to hers his was deceptively plain looking to the untrained. The faint white-gold shimmer denoted meteora, where it was differently colored meteor alloys, and the grip had a glossy sheen that denoted drake skin. <br><br>"I've killed three women in my life." He stated letting the sword dangle back over his wrist held loosely but his thumb and forefinger. Not only was it a possible feint it showed off the blade's balance that he could do it with only two fingers. Lone waited for the barefoot swordswoman to make her move. 
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				Title: <strong>Re: The Land of Blades [Inkidu &amp; Bella90]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Bella90</strong> on <strong>27-07-2010, 23:22:56</strong>
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				&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;Her step forward was more a challenge than revenge for her lost husband -or so called husband. She moved her blade from side to side, as the last rays of the day entered the large court room, that last orange gleam coming in through the colored windows, some made the light turn to blue, others to green, and some window glasses showed the color as it was, rich orange, warm and passionate. <br><br>&nbsp;She put that perfect poker face mask. "you actually count your killings?" someone like her? She counted them not out of pride, but out of respect to the lives lost, no matter how horrible those souls were. "I've taken lives of fifteen soldiers, three men, five women, and might yours be next?" she asked challengingly. Being who she is -a new bride- a princess, a woman; it was not expected of her to fight, but when she moved around the country, and being put in danger called her to kill some, and especially for her age, it was quite impressive. <br><br>&nbsp;"Any last words soldier?" she asked with a smirk on her face, that smirk showed more than she intended, she was young, she needed to learn to control her emotions, but honestly, she couldn't care less. That smile of hers showed a darker side to her, a side that said I can kill mercilessly if I must, but also another side showed, one that echoed forgiveness and purity. <br><br>&nbsp;That simple gesture of his sword boiled her blood, she could have sworn she saw her blood come out of her pores and evaporate up. She glared at him, "What do you want?" she asked with venom in her voice. <br><br>&nbsp;The two other wives had heard the shrikes but slightly too late, they stood at the gate way, instantly guard came to aid them as they saw the man and the third wife stand in what could be called the start of a battle. 
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				Title: <strong>Re: The Land of Blades [Inkidu &amp; Bella90]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Inkidu</strong> on <strong>29-07-2010, 03:10:22</strong>
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				Lone was ever observant, he saw the movement around the courtyard. He saw birds on perches, movements in the tiny manicured trees and flowers, he heard a koi splash in its pond. It was a level of awareness born of hyper-vigilance. You spend enough time in a master's dojo or any amount of time alive on a battlefield and it comes naturally enough. "I've killed more men than I care to admit, most of them barbarians. Even more of them were foolish youths who thought they knew better." <br><br>It was a blatant threat. Lone was not trying to kill but it often turned that way in Xerist. Duels were a daily occurrence and people died everyday, mostly by the hands of women. Any barbarian fool who returns to his homeland after making the mistake of underestimating a Xeristi woman will tell you that the beautiful winter roses have razor-sharp thorns. <br><br>The guards were gathering in number to assail the duel. While the practice was common it was still frowned upon by people who dueled royals even royals by marriage. "Alas, beauteous thorn, I must take my leave." Lone turned and swept down the side entrance to the courtyard, "Advice for next time, mind your surroundings and block the escape points." Lone said turning back bowing swiftly and resuming his run. <br><br>The guards shrugged, it was less paperwork to fill out and the man still had his sword. There was no loss of honor but maybe a little embarrassment for the window, not a lot, just a bit. Mainly because she was outside in freezing weather in a house robe.&nbsp; <br><br>
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				Title: <strong>Re: The Land of Blades [Inkidu &amp; Bella90]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Bella90</strong> on <strong>29-07-2010, 11:53:54</strong>
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				&nbsp;She eyed him, "Don't worry, we'll meet again," she stated. He was the new prince, all this belonged to him, he won't run off like that. Besides, that makes a nice hunt for her. <br><br>&nbsp;"Guards, Clean this room." she said retying the belt of her robe, and next time she won't be lenient, and she will not give him the chance to cower off like a frightened puppy. <br><br>&nbsp;She walked up, she was going to leave, her marriage is canceled, and she prefers to leave before he decides to get back and claim what's his, and she -in no circumstance- wanted to be a part of what ever he wants. <br><br>&nbsp;She placed her blade in it's sheath and tied it to her back, wearing the old suit of her husband, at least she won't be mistaken for a woman, and she covered her face, now it was her turn to run off, never leave an escape patch, and there it was in front of her open too wide for her to leave.&nbsp; And she did so, heading to the village, she probably looked like a stranger, but she couldn't care less about it. 
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