Why had I chosen to follow Jack? I berated myself after I went off alone to let off some steam. I understood that he was joking, most of the time. But Jack was far better a liar than I had given him credit for initially. I thought he had been serious and to top it off..!

I swung my axe furiously, trying to calm down. The poor bush in front of my was starting to look more like kindling than a living bush. It's good that Zakhon isn't around, he'd probably yell at me for the harm to a living creature or something. I wasn't in the mood for any one at the moment. I heard foot steps behind me and spun around raising my axe. Lyra raised her hands, I lowered the weapon.

"Hi Lyra." I greeted her. "Where's Zakhon?" She shrugged, moving closer to me now that I wasn't brandishing a blade at her. I put the axe back in it's holder on my back.

"Zakhon is off in the woods somewhere, I think he was tired of being in town." Lyra mused. I nodded, uncaring. Lyra examined me closely.

"What did he do?" She asked. I feigned ignorance, cringing internally.

"What?"

"I know you went off with Jack, and we all know how he gets. Did he finally do something to you?"Lyra pried.

I nodded, but said nothing. Lyra asked a few more questions, but i didn't answer any of them. Tired of thinking about it, and unwilling to say anything, I stood, taking out my axe again.

"Lyra, if you don't mind I have a couple of drills to do." I swung my axe a bit. "Gotta stay sharp!" I said with a grin. I held the grin until she disappeared, then let it slip back into a scowl and turned back to the tattered bush.

******

I came back to the village, my temper had finally fought it self out and I felt more comfortable and ready to talk when I saw Lyra screaming her head off, looking very, very drunk. Coming closer I saw Jack laughing nearby and a piece of bread in Lyra's hand. Lyra suddenly crumpled to the ground. I stepped forward more quickly but Lyra stood up, shaking and thrust her knife, literally, into Jack's nose. The quick healing of his face made the knife stay, protruding from his face like some strange horn.

"Nasty." I heard Lyra say.

"I think it's an improvement." I sauntered up, enjoying the look of complete astonishment on Jack's face. He was going cross-eyed looking at the knife. Lyra and I giggled. Jack's face broke into a wolfish grin.

"You like it eh?" He mused. "Then I may as well keep it in." He stroked the knife hilt. "I'm sure Lyra wont miss her trusty little blade." Lyra stopped laughing suddenly, and reached for the handle. Jack backed up, dodging her attempts at the knife, laughing all the while. I joined in, enjoying the game and together Lyra and I backed Jack into a corner between two shops.

"Don't worry ladies, there's plenty to go around." He winked. I pushed him against the wall, my hands on his shoulders, grateful the the knife kept his face away from mine.

"Now Lyra!" I shouted and Lyra tore the knife out of the cartilage. I leaped back from the spurt of blood as it came out.

"Dmm! tht hrts!" Jack held onto his nose as it healed, his voice muffled by his palms. Lyra and I backed away into the square. "That's what you get for giving me sugar!" Lyra shouted at him, and we both ran down the street. Our hour was up and it was time to meet the others.

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Author guidance for This exercise

An Encyclopedia to help you through Fantandein: http://www.protagonize.com/work/fantandein-an-encyclopedia
The Map: http://art4stargazer.deviantart.com/art/Map-of-Fantandein-278000344

Characters:

Name: Destran
Race: Human
Description: Dark hair and bright blue eyes, straight nose. kinda big, but it looks good on him, he's a bit of a stiff, (at least in the beginning) it comes from all those leadership lessons and the fact he's gonna have to rule someday. He usually wears stuff in navy blue and silver. When he was younger he was best friends with Yara, but they've grown apart a bit since then.
Weapon: Trained in all kinds of weapons, prefers swords and knives.
JSimmons

Name: Yara
Race: Sievere
Description: She has waist length silvery blonde hair that falls in waves, and blue eyes which change shade depending on her mood. Her ears are slightly pointed at the tips, and she has pale skin which is unblemished. She is 5"8, seemingly delicate and speaks softly as though her voice were the breaking of waves on pebbles. Her lips are light with a slight coral tinge and she loves the water, although she has always had a desire for the land. She is calm and thoughtful, but when presented with an enemy her eyes turn stormy, her hair becomes more silvery and she attacks with all the strength she has and without mercy. As a little girl she wandered out of the nursery caves and met the Prince, who was playing on the beach. From then on they met to play, then to talk as often as possible.
Weapon: A small ¾ blade with intricate markings from the handle. Silver and studded with blue gems in the hilt.
Stargazer

Name: Lyra
Race: Sievere
Description: Waist length pin straight blonde hair and blue eyes which turn black when she is upset or angry or discontented in any way. She has a long temper and keeps her cool but when enraged people fear her wrath. 5"8 in height, has a warm heart and likes to see the best in everyone even if that means that she is sometimes naive.
Has been very good friends Yara since she was very little and comes from coral reef by castle Hava
Weapon: 3/4 blade which was owned by her mother and her grandmother and her greatgrandmother and has been pasted down from mother to daughter for generations. Engraved on the blade is Lyra's name and on the handle is an intricate design of flowers interwining into each other. This blade is one of a kind and is recognisable as Lyras and she carries it wherever she goes.
Imprinted Heart

Name: Valak Ru'um
Gender: Male
Race: Vaan
Weapon: Double Bladed Spear (http://www.edgeimport.com/images/7348173649659.jpg), Bow
Description: Around 4 foot 10 inches tall, his hair is medium length, black and is all over the place. His eyes are completely black, and his teeth are sharp and yellow. Ruthless in battle, and just plain evil at any other given time. He is respected by his people, regardless of how he doesnt respect them. He wouldn't help anyone who isn't of his kind, unless paid to do so. He doesn't find his race superior, however he doesn't find any of the others any better than his. He can get violent, but most of the time he avoids unnecessary fights. His size and speed make him a hard target to hit in battle, and his ugly appearance can scare even the bravest of warriors. Just as proficient with his bow than he is with his spear. His alliances lie on the side with the most money. Used to be a general in the Vaan army before getting bored and going freelance because the ending of the Great War of Fantandein left him bored, and he wanted to kill. He is from the Lost Marshes.
Mr.Fisherman

Name: Zahkon
Race: Falath'Nakan
Place: Forest of Illumini
Gender: Male
Markings: Blue
He is 6ft tall. He has a well-built body, very strong and fit. He has very high stamina levels.
He has jet black hair, which is shoulder length and is tied in a neat pony tail with Juju veins. His eyes are completely white. This allows him to see at all times with no problems. He has an amazing sense of smell developed from years of living in the forest. no top.
brown soft leather shoes that come up to the top of the calf-make running quietly very easy and also sneaking.
soft leather trousers. mixtures of browns, blues and greens-camouflage
brown leather belt-holds his knife. holds his quiver of arrows.
*he holds his bow when running. if hunting or fighting and he has the bow strung he can just put it over his back to let him to use his hands or his knife.
Weapon of choice: Bow
He is unbeatable with a bow. He only misses if he wants to intimidate and scare off rather than kill. Also carries a small blade in his belt.
He has an ice cold personality due to being abandoned as soon as he was able to fend for himself for fear that he would follow the path of the previous person with blue markings. He is bitterly determined not to turn out like his predecessor. Unaware that he has a gift for magic.
Wolfe

Name: Jack Valenstar
Race: Human
Description: 6 feet tall, dark brown hair and a small scar on the bridge of his straight nose. Blue eyes and a stiff mouth, has his hair combed back but would usually be quite long, long enough to cover his eyes. Bit of a dick to be honest, he antagonizes people for amusement, not a bad guy but is quite selfish and lazy. He is loyal and has a morally correct view of things, not seeing any difference between any of the races. Wouldn't do anything bad but wouldn't go out of his way to do something good, he would rather stay on the sidelines and sarcastically cheer his friends on, but a ferocious and near unbeatable fighter when he is forced into it.
Weapon: Primary is a simple double-bladed sword, secondary is a boomarang (for annoying purposes only)
Maximillius

Name:Brena
Race:Human
Description: Long curly brown hair, green eyes, wears brown pants tucked into black boots, a black corset over a white puffy-sleeved shirt.
Weapon: Hunting bow, and small axe.
Mycayla

Other humans:
King Stephan: Destran's father
Queen Sophia: Destran's mother
Princess Aria: Destran's sister
Sethos: Destran's evil uncle.
Desdemonda: Destran's cousin
Villagers
Other Sievere:
The Sea Lady/Una:Priestess type leader of Sievere. Yara's mother.
Levina: Sievere who drowns humans.

updated Jan 27 by Stargazer