Nari-Lanreth

Nari felt the scream echoing in her ears as she continued to slash at the dragon, hovering in the air before her. She could hear herself screaming words of hatred towards the dragon before her, and it took the soft nipping of Yuki to draw Nari out of her frenzied rage. She glanced about, clearing her vision and realising that the dragon was gone – the humanoid of Nemo laying on the ground, his expression one of tiredness as he spoke to her. "..You can come back, if you want." Nari felt the rage growing inside her as the words reached her ears, suddenly recognising that he was passing off

Nari felt herself begin to growl as she managed to land yet another strike against the dragon, this time managing to dodge its own return strike entirely. She spun on her heels, turning to face the creature as it again swung past and around, landing a few paces away. She could hear the anger in its breathing as it huffed, the wounds clearly taking a toll against the creature. She knew that the fight was coming to its closure – whether that would happen with the next strike or not, she wasn’t certain of though. She glared at the dragon, the growl growing louder in her throat – and suddenly

Nari felt herself scream as she swung her blade up, catching the dragon on the side of its thigh, as the other leg attempt to grab onto her – the claws raking across her body but not managing to maintain a grip. She felt herself spin from the momentum as the dragon’s flight took it beyond her current position, forcing her to face it once more. Smiling to herself, she pulled back into her stance – the sword levelled against the top of the shield in preparation. She felt her mouth open and the words spill out before she could even consider the fact that she had wanted to shout them. “

She was ready this time as the dragon rushed towards her, the claws raking forward in another attempt to slam into her. At the last second, Nari spun on her heels, twisting around the side and out of reach of the dragon – but also managing to miss the connection with her own backswing as she did so. Unphased – sometimes things just didn’t work out – she returned herself to a ready position, tracking the beast as it moved through the sky, before landing several paces away. “Is that the best you’ve got? If so, this is going to end very quickly, and not in your favour. I’m coming for you.” H

Nari’s form hesitated as she stared up at the large dragon descending on her – too late, she remembered to strike out with her blade, attempting to slash across the dragon’s feet as it lowered itself for an attack. She felt the blade slide across the hard scales, catching on a toe nail before bouncing off harmlessly. She felt herself brace against the attack she knew was coming, bringing her shield up in a play to put it between herself and the claws that were descending towards her. She felt the impact as the dragon lashed out against her – tossing her backwards into the dirt, the impact

Nari watched in horror as the man before her began to morph and change, his shape shifting away from the humanoid male whom had stood before her just a moment ago. As the light faded away, Nari took in Nemo’s true form – seeing the creature before her glimmering against the sunlight above. She felt her throat catch – not in fear, but in awe of the thing before her. Green scales covered an immense body, the wings unfurling along what would likely be its arms. Nari almost failed to notice the sudden change in health and details that appeared above the head of what she had just known as Nemo.

Storing away the materials she had gathered, Nari dusted herself off – patting her hands against her body to wipe away the dirt and grime that she had managed to collect in her slow search throughout the garden. She felt the smile spread across her face as she realised just how successful she’d been – she would certainly have to return here with the Gardener one day, once she was able to find him again. Turning, she made her way back towards the teleporter pad, glancing about as she went just in case anything else stood out to her. The closer she got, the greater the view of Nemo’s face s

Turning her face to the sky – basking in the artificial light that sprawled down upon her face, Nari couldn’t help but beam. Her trip was turning out to be a large success, far greater than she had ever expected – and she was almost content with what she had found so far. Laying her head against Yuki’s small frame on her shoulders, she decided that she would give one final push for anything that could be found, before thanking Nemo and making her way back towards civilisation once more. At the thought of the NPC, Nari’s gaze shifted across the garden, back to where the man stood near the

This time she found three of the bars buried just beneath the roots of a tall plant that reminded her of an overgrown lily – the petals a soft blue against the otherwise green backdrop. Nari had to admit that the colour was a nice contrast, and truly eye catching. Tempted to pick the flower to retain for later, she reminded herself that likely Nemo would find that truly offensive, and decided against the action – instead focusing on it for a few moments longer to ensure that it was trapped within her memory. Not yet content with her finds, Nari pushed onwards, trying to mimic the movement

As she found yet another collection of items, her grin split the entirety of her face – beaming with joy at the success she was now having. She felt as though that high from her first time out searching with Yuki was returning – that feeling of unsuppressed elation at having so much luck. She knew that she shouldn’t let it consume her – that it would hurt much more when she did eventually fail to find something, yet she couldn’t quite push the feeling away entirely. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Nemo standing off in the distance, his appearance getting more and more angry as she c

Her unconscious searched turn up more of the shiny bars, her collection quickly growing now that she was starting to have some success – it seemed like this trip wouldn’t be a waste after all, at least not entirely. She wondered just how long she could stay here, looking for the materials that were clearly more well hidden than she had originally expected. Glancing about, she took note of the positions of the nearest mobs of creatures, adjusting her own path to stay well away from them. Making sure to stay on the path itself, Nari continued her slow search along the edges, her eyes consta

Nari felt herself beaming at her recent find – she went from absolutely nothing, to well, everything almost all at once. She knew that the foraging skills were helping her beyond anything, but still – it felt great to actually have success. Out of the corner of her eye, however, she could see the growing annoyance of Nemo. His face was slowly becoming darker by the minute as she continued her search, and Nari started to wonder if she was doing something…wrong. ‘I…he brought me here, isn’t this why we’re here…?’ She began playing over everything that had occurred on their trip here. She ha

‘Ha! Found one!’ Nari picked up the shining material, bringing it up to her face to inspect closer. She felt herself smile, it was a small success, but a success nonetheless. Turning to face back towards the pad she had arrived on, she showed the material to Nemo, calling out to him. “Take a look at what I found! It’s…” The words died in her throat as his face turned slightly darker, clearly not sharing her enthusiasm for the materials she had found. She wasn’t sure what to make of the sudden shift in pleasantness on his face, but she knew that something had clearly upset the man. ‘Maybe

She found nothing beneath the plants, which wasn’t too surprising – she hadn’t actually expected it to be that easy, seeing as it had refused to behave for her thus far. Giving a few choice curses towards the Cardinal system itself, Nari collected herself, deciding that there would only be one way to solve this issue. Closing her eyes, she spun on her heels, snapping them open again as she came to a stop, and walking in the direction she faced for sixteen paces. When she reached the point, she turned suddenly, walking to the left for another six paces, before beginning her search once more, ho

She felt the frustration rising within her as her search once again turned up nothing of consequence. Although the areas themselves were truly breathtaking, she was starting to wonder if the rumours about the materials to be found here were just that – rumours, with no truth behind them, no actual worth. She felt herself cursing the words that had sent her upon this path, rushing forwards without any hesitation or insight into their value, their validity. She had been foolish to just rush off. ‘Next time, I’ll scout the situation out better. I promise. I won’t just rush off anymore withou

No matter how much she tried, she couldn’t break the fascination that was overpowering her. She wondered if this is how the Gardener had viewed the plants within his own garden, with such wonder and amazement at everything that was to be found – he certainly had been focused on them with what Nari had almost viewed as a reverence towards the plants. She made a mental note to ask him about it the next time they met, should they ever meet again. Shaking herself, she turned back and realised that she had strayed from the path every so slightly, towards one of the groups of wolflike creatures

Her eyes constantly drawn back to the numerous flora and fauna that roamed across the terrain before her, Nari found herself unable to properly focus on finding anything of value. Her eyes trailed behind some wolflike creatures that seemed to almost...frolic…through the numerous plants a distance away. Engorged in the scenery, she found herself simply standing and watching the environment around her, taking it all in. Eventually – after some time, she knew not how long – she shook herself back to consciousness. She decided that she would continue searching this place, collect as much as s

The view that greeted her was beyond what she had expected – lush gardens roaming as far as the eye could see. Animals of various designs roamed, none similar to anything she had seen before. She felt herself transfixed by the visage before her, and only shook herself free at the sudden sound of Nemo’s voice before her. “Welcome, to my garden. Little Eden. The beauty and splendor here is...something I have come to adore, and love – with all of my being.” His voice carried that odd tone again, and Nari wondered once more what about him was so comforting and alarming at the same time. She c

Nemo seemed content with the answer, and nodded as the words left her mouth and reached his ears. A small, sad smile appeared on his face – as if he knew the feelings that were running through her heart at that very moment. And perhaps he did, Nari couldn’t very well say for sure – but for the briefest of moments, she felt a connection with this man she had never before met. A connection bonded between a willingness to die for what you loved. “Come, it is not much farther now, and then you will see the gardens of Little Eden. I believe it will fill your heart with joy, and take away the s

Nari jumped at the sudden sound of Bismuth’s voice – she had been lost in her thoughts, trying to arrange and determine not only what had just occurred, but how it affected everything going forwards. She wasn’t sure what to make of NIGHT’s reaction – whether Nari had somehow overstepped some boundaries that she wasn’t aware of, or if everything truly was going to be okay between them. Realising she was getting lost in thought again, she gave a weak reply to Bismuth, her words showing that she wasn’t entirely in the conversation at hand. “I…yeah, I think – I mean, yeah…I’ll be fine. Event

The wind seemed to pick up slightly as Nari and the NPC eyed each other, neither moving. The tingling feeling in her spine, near her lower back, had begun to spread throughout her body as the entire frozen scenario continued – something about the whole setting off her internal alarms. She knew that some of the NPCs acted different from the typical ones you came across constantly, but everything about this Nemo character was far beyond what she had expected – even from something as advanced as the Cardinal system. Eventually, Nemo seemed to break from his trance as he turned back towards

The two walked a few moments in silence as Nari tried imagining the land around her lush and beautiful once more – something that proved far harder than she had ever expected. Although she tried, she could only see the corrupted slime that covered everything, the broke and jagged rocks that appeared within the split ground. None of the beauty of natural growth appeared before her nor in her mind’s eye, and she felt a pang of regret. She wished that she too, could imagine such a nice place, but it just wasn’t to be. “I…think that’s a beautiful ideal, Nemo. I’ll admit I can’t envision it my

Nemo seemed to look at the area around him, as if not sure whether or not he was ready to lead Nari, before suddenly nodding and turning in a more northward direction. He called back to her as he began heading off, casting his voice over his shoulder as he went. “Come, it’s this way. It’s a bit of a journey, though. I hope you don’t mind walking a bit.” Nari quickly followed after him, hopping from rock to rock where the ground itself was less than passable for her nimble feet. She admired the way that he moved so fluidly through the area, obviously not limited by its broken and tor

Leaving the small settlement of Breath of Life had been far easier than Nari had expected. Her first arrival had been met with a collection of NPCs warning her against breaking any rules – the typical guard response to a newcomer arriving at their doorstep. She had expected some sort of final words on her way out – but as she left the main area, and ventured into the wilds beyond, most of the NPCs had simply ignored her. Which was, of course, fine with her. The less she had to stumble through words, the better. She had breathed a sigh of relief as she cleared the last line of militia that

Nari smiled in response to the girl’s enthusiasm at their sudden confirmation of friendship. She knew it likely didn’t mean as much to Astreya as it did to Nari herself – but, well, life is funny like that sometimes. She had just perked up at hearing the name Raidou – it was so familiar, and yet Nari couldn’t think of where she had heard it before – when two newcomers had turned the corner in front of them. Her moment of panic was quelled when she suddenly recognised the red cloak, everything else around her going distant. Stepping forward, she bowed slightly at the man in the cloa