nysalogs | [ OPEN ]

Who: Ardyn Izunia (

daemonized) & YOU!
When: Event things! All throughout October.
Where: All around.
Warning(s): None... yet. Will add if necessary.

i. market district;

[He wasn’t nearby when the explosion had shook the market district, though panic spreads quickly, and the aftermath of such an event is impossible to ignore. Even more so for Ardyn, being part of the royal guard — being delegated orders to provide aid and investigate, it is his own curiosities that truly drive him farther into the area to assist. Granted, his form of “assistance” might be lacking compared to those who are rushing to and fro, enveloped in a frantic need of wanting to help. Instead, it’s easier for him remain calm, more unaffected, eyes taking in the area with a sense of detachment that’s perhaps less than appropriate for the situation at hand. If you need to talk to him, he’s easy enough to spot in the crowd. More specifically, a few things that take place are:

A.) An elderly man, a vendor whose wares had been toppled over completely in the explosion, requires help retrieving his goods now strewn all about the street. Textiles and clothing of various colors, one of which seems to hang high up, caught on the corner of a rooftop of a nearby building. It billows, not unlike a flag flying in the breeze. Ardyn cranes his head up to look at it. Then he says, to the person closest to him:]

Be so kind as to retrieve that for me, will you? I’ve already my hands full.

[And so it seems he does, various unravelled yards of cloth hanging over his arm.

B.) There are, of course, looters. As to be expected, people who would take advantage of tragedy for their own benefit, and the ironic part is that Ardyn generally would not care. And yet there are a couple of young men who are being so bold as to do so right in front of him — only down the street, where they appear to be scrounging around another vendor’s (not currently present) property: an array of decorative items, small enough to be thrown into a bag and carried off nonchalantly. Covered in filigree and adorned with precious gems. Certainly possessing high enough market value to sell for a quick profit.

It’s easy enough for Ardyn to close the distance, of course. A flash of magic, sword in his hand, and suddenly he’s warped from where he was standing to directly in front of one of the men — blade pressed up against his throat. The other looter freezes in shock, mid-crouch, in the midst of picking up a shiny bauble to steal.

The smile Ardyn gives them is… amused, but a little disconcerting.]

At least wait until the cover of night like proper thieves.

[If the second man is slowly reaching for a dagger at his hip, there’s zero indication of Ardyn either noticing or caring. What do you do, passerby?]

ii. red light district;

[Now it’s time for an investigation proper, and who says that all manner of secrets and rumors do not eventually make their way to the red light district? This is where you can find Ardyn tonight, skulking through alleyways and hovering near the edges of crowds, sometimes asking around, sometimes not. He is, of course, dressed in plain clothes, a hundred times more subdued than his usual tastes. No guard uniform, no outfit from Eos to turn any heads. Only Ardyn, looking like a commoner, hair tied back. His only indulgence is a maroon scarf, hanging loosely around his neck.

He is absolutely drawn to the sight of individuals speaking in hushed whispers, for often times they are not being as discreet as they believe. This time, it’s two women, huddled in an darkened alleyway, and Ardyn eyes them from where he stands. He catches something about “Wyver”, but will have to draw closer to hear anything more.

Are you a fellow refugee wanting to unravel this mystery further? Join him in figuring out a creative way to move closer without drawing any unwanted attentions. The women do seem to be on the lookout for anyone snooping around. Alternately, he may speak to you first, muttering:]

Just how inconspicuous can you be?

iii. wildcard;

[Open for future threads, or any prompts that you’d prefer to play out if none of these work! I can be found at aurajen to plot further if you’d like!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Are you on different sides of the war?

[She can see how that would be difficult and why he'd know of them more than he'd personally know them.]

We are. A long and weary war, one that we should all be glad to be free of... but.

[Ah, he shrugs.]

Such things are never so simple.

[She nods. It's unfortunate, and she feels bad for him, but there's not much that can be done about it.]

It's easier to persuade people to have a cease fire and to avoid contact with their old enemies than it is to make people get along before they're ready.

[She may not have personal experience with helping with negotiations, but she's heard enough from her elders to learn a little from their experiences.]

That is true, of course. But we often cross paths more than they'd like, I'm certain of it.

[By no means is Ardyn giving the full story. If he did, perhaps she'd be less inclined to feel sorry for him.]

One of them is a royal guard, just like myself. I see him almost daily.

I guess all you can try to do is be polite and keep your distance.

[It's not as if they have the option of being too far from one another, under their current circumstances.]

I...um. I was thinking about joining the guard. What did you have to do to get the job?

[Because she wants to do something to earn money and she's pretty sure that she never wants to stand around in a bikini and talk to people for money again, even if it paid 400 silver for a single day.]

[Being polite and keeping his distance... if only... such a thing were possible for a man like Ardyn Izunia. Ah well.]

Oh? I responded to a posting, first and foremost; basically a wanted ad, calling for more members of the royal guard.

After that, I had to prove I was able to fight proficiently enough. Are you much of a fighter yourself?

[There was a time when Kale would have told him no, she's just pathetic. But she's been trying to work on being more confident, and she's come to realize that Saiyan level strength isn't actually that common.]

Mmhmm. I don't know about how to use weapons, but I know martial arts. Sis taught me and she's amazing, and I got picked to fight in a tournament between universes along with her so...I'm strong enough to be picked, at least?

Then there must be some skill that you possess, if you were chosen to be in a tournament between universes.

[Interesting.]

So this whole idea of multiple universes is nothing new to you, I take it?

Well...I can turn into a super saiyan. Sis and our teammate Cabba are the only other two on our planet who can do that. So...maybe because of that?

[It's uncommon and it's powerful, so reminding herself that she can do that does help her self-esteem a lot. Same with reminding herself that her people use their strength to protect others. It's motivating.]

Yes. I knew of twelve before, and there were eight universes in the tournament, but it seems there's even more than I could have imagined.

[There's a lot he could ask about there, but first and foremost:]

You'll have to explain to me what a "super saiyan" is. Forgive my ignorance.

Um...well. My people are a warrior race called the saiyans. Super saiyan is a transformation that temporarily makes a saiyan about fifty times more powerful than they normally are.

[Then there's all the other kinds of transformations but she's got no idea how to explain the differences between all of them, beyond "some of them are more powerful than others".]

Hair and eye colour change with the transformation and there's glowing energy around the saiyan, at least at first.

[She hopes that's a good enough explanation. If not, she can always show him. She's practiced a few times now and probably won't turn into her scarier form by accident.]

[It’s explanation enough; enough for Ardyn to get a gist of the idea, and while he has no point of reference to draw from, it does make her sound like a rather strong fighter.]

Regarding the guard, it sounds to me as if you might not have any trouble proving yourself. If you so desire, seek an audience with Ashti, and maybe she’ll consider letting you join.

[He can redirect her, but in the end, it’s up to her whether or not she wishes to follow through.]

How did the tournament go, by the way?

[She's glad to have the commander's name, and files that information away for later. At least she'll sound a little less awkward if she shows up knowing who she wants to speak to.]

Oh...um. The storm came right in the middle of it, so we never got to see who won.

[Which is actually just fine by her, because it means she doesn't have to worry about more universes being erased.]

Oh, now that's a shame.

[He does sound a little disappointed, even if he has no relationship or investment in a tournament that he had nothing to do with.]

It must be bothersome, having left with something unresolved like that. I do know the feeling.

Were you in the middle of something before you got here?

[She's perfectly okay with the tournament being disrupted, really, but she doesn't want to be rude by explaining that she's fine with this particular thing being left unresolved forever.]

Yes.

[TO SAY THE LEAST....]

The world was in tatters, you know. It was... hopefully, I would say, in the process of sorting itself out. But now I'll never know, will I?

Oh...I'm sorry to hear that. Maybe if there's ever a chance to restore all the damage that the storm did over time, people will be too focused on the rebuilding efforts to be at war?

[She's trying to say something that might be of some comfort.]

Then there would be a chance for peace.

[ OPEN ]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject