Graceling

[Cara]

Kasta galloped back to the castle as fast as she could. The guards quickly waved her though. She didn't even nod to the stable boy as she sprinted off.
Lorn was sitting in the library, looking over various book. He looked up to see Kasta enter.
"Any luck?"
"Come on, we have a job to do," Kasta said. "I'll explain along the way."

[Galadas]

Elliot knocked on the door, he hoped they would open up. It took him 10 minutes to run for the one side of the city to the other, in order for him to warn two good friends. He knocked again, losing hope by every knock.
Then a young man opened up, looking very disturbed. "Elliot, what are you doing here?"
"Isaac, can I come in?" Elliot asked, laying his hand on Isaac's shoulder. He was a Graceling, one of the few that Elliot had met during years of running around. Isaac and his lover Peter had been in the group that he and Dedelean sometimes lead.
The young man nodded, he had short brown hair and clear blue eyes. The way he looked at Elliot always got him to be... friendly. "What's up?" he asked while leading him into the home.
"Trouble."
"And why would you come to us?"
"Because..." Elliot said, before seeing Peter appear in front of him.
"Elliot, what a surprise. I already heard the story about The Master. Sources." Peter said, a tall young man, with light blond hair and as thin as a twig.
"Good. Well, you guys going to help me?"
Peter and Isaac had been together for years, they were Elliot's best friends in the day. Peter was graced with Immortality, though he could suffer from wounds. Isaac was graced with an ability to control fire, he couldn't get close to many people, because the fire he created was untamable and jumped up at the strangest moments. This was why they were together, Peter could heal from any wound Isaac made him suffer through. Even after years they still felt like they had to help their friends from back in the day, Elliot was the person that showed up the most.
"Do we have a choice?"
Elliot grinned and shook his head. "Lets go hunting!"

[Cara]

(haha, I forgot my other character! I'll have to squeeze him in... Have to think how though. >.> )

[Galadas]

(owh, the boy? good luck :3 )

[Cara]

Kasta stopped by a small house on the outskirts of the town. She knew she could count on one friend she had here... She dismounted. She stopped as she saw a crow sitting in a tree to her left. It cawed once before taking off.
The only thing that was disconcerting about Seaten's was that he saw everything. Almost everything. The best spy too...
The door opened even before she and Lorn had stepped onto the stoop.
"I thought I saw you coming," Seaten said with a smile, his pale blind white eyes staring past Kasta. He was Graced with a special Sight. Physically blind, his power was to be able to see through the eyes of animals.
"So has your Sight expanded any?" Kasta asked.
"A full mile now!" Seaten said with a grin. "Come on in. I see that you're in a rush. Remember not to be so rash, Kasta..." he said. "Lorn... Long time no see... Still apprenticed to the Weapons Master?"
"A few more years... He's thinking about retiring soon..." Lorn said grinning back.
Kasta was looking around. "Seaten, I know you've been reporting back to Lorn with the information, but recently have you seen anything unusual?"
"How so?"
"There's a man, the Master, who is collecting Gracelings of various abilities... He can control people."
"I haven't noticed anything imparticular, but I have noticed that reports of missing persons have increased. Didn't think it was too much. But you want something else, and I don't need eyes to see that," he said.
"Will you come with us? I'm calling a full meeting of the Order. I need as many people as possible..."

[Galadas]

Peter walked up front, whilst Elliot was talking to Isaac, sometimes giving Peter different directions. He leaded them back to the place where The Master and his group had vanished, hoping to find some trail there. As soon as they would be out of the city he could change his shape to a wolf or a mountain lion.
"How many are there? Does the Order know about them?" Isaac asked.
Elliot looked startled. "How do you know about the Order?" He responded, and stopped in the alley they had been passing.
"Who doesn't know about the Order." Isaac made a grinning face and lay his hand on Elliot's shoulder. Peter had also stopped and watched the two with his arms over each other. "You didn't?"
"Not until late." He sighed. "But lets continue."
Peter and Isaac nodded, both on the same way, there were a lot alike.
"Why are we hunting that master?" Isaac asked, who had not heard what Peter was aware off.
"Dedi." Elliot said, and after that he explained everything. Until they had reached the gates, there they watched with open eyes to see the gates closed and guards standing along the walls. What was happening?
Peter continued walking, he stopped in front of a guard and looked past him. "What is going on?" He asked, so Elliot and Isaac could hear him.
The guard rose an eyebrow. "The city is in lockdown, unknown Gracelings have been seen coming in. The King gave the commands."
Peter nodded, stepping back and walking over to Isaac and Elliot. "What now?"
Elliot sighed. "Well, I see no other thing that trying to find Kasta and joining her."
"What is her plan?"
"I have no idea." Elliot complained, while walking back into the crowds of the city.

[Cara]

Lorn pulled his horse next to Kasta to talk as they made their way.
"Where are we going to meet? The Archives?"
"Yup."
"You know the King has put the city into lockdown."
Kasta frowned. "There's more than one way into the city," she replied. "Besides, the Archives aren’t technically in the city..." she said with a smile. Her smile faltered. "Before I left the king called me," she said.
"Another task..." Lorn said with an inward sigh.
"Yes!" Kasta hissed. "I'm tired of being his task master, his personal enforcer, killer."
"You don't have to do it."
"Stop telling me that! It always comes back to that, but you don't get it. I have no choice..." Kasta snapped.
“You always have a choice,” Lorn insisted, before spurring his horse past her’s to chat with Seaten. Kasta rubbed her temples. Lorn didn’t understand. Only those of the Order followed her and knew her for who she really was. Elsewhere she was feared as a killer, a torturess of Rada. She’d heard all her names and titles and then some.
Perhaps she really deserved their hatred and resentment. Perhaps her uncle, the king, was right. That she really was only born to kill. She’d killed her mother in birth and killed her father. Kasta remembered that day. She cringed, blinking back tears. She slowed so if Lorn looked back he wouldn’t see her face. She looked at the pendant that hung hidden beneath her shirt. The symbol, her symbol. She squeezed it so hard that the metal cut into her palm, but even then it didn’t hurt enough.

[Galadas]

Peter and Isaac were no following Elliot who'd taken the shape of a large dog, in order to track down Kasta's scent. He walked in the direction of the castle, to the surprise of the two friends.
"Elliot, is it such a good idea to go there?" Isaac asked, knowing Elliot would hear him but not answer.
The large dog continued it's way.
"I mean... I don't like the castle." Isaac muttered, making the dog stop and Peter laugh pleasantly.
"Elliot will find us a way in, Kasta is with the order right? She won't mind us hanging around." Peter explained to Isaac, not completely what Elliot wanted to say, but it did get close. He had no idea if Kasta would mind him bringing in two other Gracelings. He could scent Kasta being still on the move, she had to stop somewhere, if he knew her well enough she would be calling up a meeting.
"I probably have a way to get into the castle unnoticed!" Isaac said, his voice down.
Peter shook his head. "Who says we're going into the castle, maybe this Kasta decided upon an other place."
"Is she the Kasta... that killer?" Isaac asked, his questions and suggestions were beginning to annoy Elliot.
No one answered him, some things he had to figure out on his own.

[Cara]

There were many ways into the archives if you knew how to find them. Since the Order had been created they'd used the Archives as refuge and meetings. Kasta found that even when she wasn't the one calling the Order, they still came, carrying out duties that the Order might do without her encouragement. It was good to see. At one point she knew all the members of the order, but it was growing beyond her control.
Lorn had reported last week that various events had been tracked back to the Order, even though Kasta had never gave the ok. People were using the name of the Order. As long as it was for what the Order stood for, Kasta had no qualms with it. It made her life easier. The Order had been like her child, but now it was maturing into something that Kasta wasn't quite sure. Almost everyone knew of the Order, but most people didn't know what it was or who was in it, let alone if it really existed. Even most who did know didn't all realize that she was at the head.
Kasta left her horse with Lorn's and Seaten's at the local stable. One way in was through an old tomb. They walked through the grave stones. Most of the names had long since faded. Kasta took out her key and opened the tomb. For a moment everyone was surrounded in darkness as she re-locked the entrance.
Seaten was the only one who wasn't blind in this utter darkness. Lorn lit a torch. They opened the false vault and made their way into the Archives. The Archives were tunnles that routed under most of Rada. It was said that Rada was the true Capitol when all the seven kingdoms were one thousands of years ago. These Archives had been built them and still existed, practically unchanged. One could get easily lost, but Kasta and Lorn had used these routed before. Even still she only knew a fraction of these tunnels. No one had ever mapped the entire Archives and many of the entrances had long since vanished...

[Galadas]

Peter and Isaac had to run to keep up with Elliot's speed, who'd sensed Kasta disappearing from his track. He wanted them to run even faster. He leaded them to a cemetery, one that got the creeps out of the three guys.
"Elliot, where are you taking us?"
The dog's nose changed into that of a wolf, followed by his whole body. It stopped sniffing at some tomb, before changing back into his human form, there was no one around.
"Dead end?" Peter asked, looking at the tomb with his hands in his pockets.
"Serious!" Isaac yelled, not even waiting for Elliot's answer, he paused when Peter looked annoyed.
Elliot shook his head. "She went in here, but it's locked." He lay his hand against the door and sighed. "It's a shame we don't have anyone who can bust us in."
Peter nodded. "How about we search for an other entrance?"
"Sure." Elliot was most definiatly annoyed, he wanted to turn when he saw out of nothing a young woman appearing, not like being graced, she just wasn't noticed, walking up to them.
"Did you lost your key?" She asked with a wide smile on her face. She touched Elliot's shoulder and then smiled, shaking the hands of Peter and Isaac. "Well, shapeshifter, immortal, and fire boy, lets get in." She took out a key and opened the door, welcoming the three in, who looked at each other as if a miracle had just happened.
"You.... you're graced with... what?" Peter asked.
The girl smiled warmly and closed the door behind them. Locking it from the inside. "I can tell what someone's grace is, easy as that. What are your names?"
"Peter Bold. And fire boy is Isaac Munford, and our little wolf is called Elliot Williams Junior." Peter said, stopping when the girl stopped and turned to them.
"Elliot Williams?" She asked, confused. "A shapeshifter called Elliot, I've heard that before." She looked like she was thinking, but then rose her shoulders and walked on.

[Cara]

Kasta was glad to see that most people had arrived. They greeted her with smiles and serious eyes. They knew that she wouldn't have called them if it wasn't important. Kasta stood up so she might be heard over all of them. She waited for the talking to die down before speaking...
As she finished, immediately people started shouting. "What need to fight!..." "We have to warn the others..." "What can we do!".... Kasta raised her hand.
"I have come to ask you to do what you can to fight... But we need to understand his Grace, and I have a friend coming tonight that may be able to help. He can control people's minds. That's too dangerous. I took a risk, sending out the call, but these are dangerous times and risks must be taken...." she paused. "I want all eyes and ears open. I want trackers on them. There is much to be planned and much to loose. I need to know if you are with me."

[Galadas]

Elliot looked stunned at the big archive and hid himself behind Peter, while listening to Kasta's voice and together joining the many other Gracelings. They waited for any reaction from the crowd, but it didn't seem to come very fast.
"Yes, lets get that son of a b*tch!" Peter said, trying to get other people to react like him, and it helped. People started screaming, yelling that the guy had to die, and leave them alone.
Isaac looked happy while he lay his arm around Peter.
Elliot ignored Isaac and Peter and waited for Kasta's next turn.

[Cara]

(I had like a freaking page written. great idea! but my computer stupidly shut down and I lost it... all of it -_- and I really don't feel like re-writing it now. so i'll have to re-work/write it for tomorrow. *sigh* *grumbles-stupid computer!*)

[Galadas]

(Mine does that too... all the time. I just make my text in Word, then I paste them here. :3 )

[Cara]

(good idea -_-)

Kasta jumped down from the ledge, landing gracefully among the crowd. People rushed up to her, asking questions, commenting... She could sense the fear and anxiouty. There was just one thing out of place. She felt that someone was here who shouldn't be. She scanned the crowd. There!
In the far corner, a man all in dark robes, leaned against the wall, arms crossed. Kasta started to make her way through the crowd in prominent strides.
As the man caught her fast approach, he turned and ran.
"After him!" Kasta cried. She saw five people break away and give chase. Kasta herself tore through the crowd, leaving a wake of complaints and confusion.
Kasta turned the corner, to see the man suddenly go invisible. The men who had given chase, paused, uncertain.
Kasta took out a throwing knife. She watched from the corner, as one of her men suddenly doubled over by an unseen force. She threw the knife.
There was a scream, as the man appeared almost out of thin air. Two guys grabbed him at once, forcing a knife under his chin. By now many people from the other chamber had followed Kasta in and were trying to see past her to see what was going on.
"Hold him steady..." Kasta said. The man winced in pain as one pushed him to his knees. She'd hit him in the side, right between his ribs.
Kasta knelt down to eye level, trying to ignore all the eyes on her back. She took the knife and yanked it from the man's side. He gave a ear-slitting scream. Kasta could hear the horrified whispers and murmurs behind her.
"Let's get him up and bring him before the others.. I will not have rumors be spreading..." Kasta said. The men pulled him to his feet, while the others parted the crowd. They dragged him into the large room and up the ledge so that everyone could see.
One of the men kicked his knee out, forcing the man to kneel. "Pull down his shirt..." Kasta commanded. Like she suspected, there, in blood red, was the mark. She pulled her lip back in disgust and anger.
"What should we do?" the man asked. Kasta ignored him. Speaking to the crowd, she spoke with a command voice. "This man before you is a servant to the Master!" She could see the uneasiness. She saw Meera among the crowd with her daughter. She nodded to them, telling them to approach.

Elliot saw the girl who had invited them in, turned and glance back at them before walking up with that Meera woman to Kasta.

Kasta smiled at their approach. "Do you think this will work?" she asked.
"What other choice do we have?"
"If nothing, then we kill him. I can't help him," Kasta said regretfully. She hoped it'd work. She didn't want another death on her hands...