Private Valley of the Sun The Sun and Shine

[Elizabeth Lixshine]

Elizabeth ran through the plains of the Hylands. It was perhaps her beastkin traits, but it gave her the amazing stamina of the animal she chose to be part beast of. The horse was an animal she was intimately familiar with, having grown up around them and learnt everything there is to the equine family. Her time as a vet allowed her to explain her knowledge to a scientific degree too. While humans don't have all the things that a horse needs to maintain their stamina and speed, it was nonetheless possible thanks to the power of video games.

Like a horse's mane in the wind, her golden ponytail trailing behind her as she ran through the beautiful scenic flats of the Hylands. It was weird to think that right now, she's running through the place considered to be one of the ancestral homes of the Beastkin, the race she chose. She was only doing this for exercise. The biggest track and field just happened to be this place. Elizabeth continues her dash through the grass before coming to a slow stop by a water hole.

Panting, she stands around and stares into the horizon. Her starting location was so far now, civilization is just a tiny speck in the distance now. In real life she would have to take a car or ride the bus to get anywhere close to being this far by herself. Hopefully being this far out does not mean she'll begin to encounter monsters and the like.

@Solaria

 

[Solaria]

It was her first time in a region so far from Honeyhome in Falderen. She'd found herself there looking for medicinal herbs- a key part in her quest to become a reputable alchemist. Solaria was growing tired of mixing the same simple potions she knew how to make with the vast ingredients in East Brisshal. She'd even travelled to other parts of Falderen, seeking herbs and fights alike. But for the elf, even knowing how dangerous this game could be, adventure was an important component to this game world.

And so, she was in the Hylands- slaying the beasts she felt able to handle and looking for plants with alchemic properties she could use.

While searching by a watering hole, she'd noticed a beastkin flying by at record speed. It was a woman with a blond mane of hair flying behind her. When the woman stopped, Solaria ran towards her, certain she wasn't noticed by the now restful woman. "You're incredibly fast!" She chimed the words with a smile on her face. "I wish I had the stamina for that! I bet I could get a lot more sword practice in."

Her sword grumbled in its sheath, a side effect of her Weapon Arts. She hit the handle lightly with a fist. "A hundred swings a day isn't really enough. I just get so tired at that point. Any tips on increasing your stamina to be able to do more things efficiently?"

@Elizabeth Lixshine

 

[Elizabeth Lixshine]

Elizabeth stretched before her ears rotated towards a slight noise. Turning to face a shorter blonde individual, she first noticed the pointed ears. An Elf, so far far out. From the way the person is dressed, she had to assume a player and not an NPC about to give her a quest. Still, her admirer seemed to have a question in mind.

Stamina. Elizabeth definitely did not have the fitness she has in Terrasphere but she understood enough about keeping in shape. She has a figure to keep after all, Thinking for a moment, Elizabeth rubbed her chin and her horse ears flick as if it was an loading indicator for a video game. A thought finally springs into existence and her ears stick straight up.

"Perhaps you should try dancing? Maybe like boxercise or Zumba?" Elizabeth recalled the information told to her by women's magazines. Perhaps the same can be applied for the MMORPG VR experience that is Terrasphere. "Get your whole body moving is my way of getting stamina at least." Elizabeth then turns away from Solaria for a short moment. The beastkin swear she saw something move. However, she frowns as she doesn't see anything again.

@Solaria

 

[Solaria]

Solaria pondered the answer she got rather quickly. She didn't have a gym membership- kendo lessons were already expensive for her family, but she would not give up on that no matter what. So, classes like Zumba were a definite no. But dancing? She could do that at home. Heck, she sometimes danced around the house while doing chores! Solaria didn't look it, but she was a neat freak in reality and spent a lot of time cleaning. She also had a little brother to tend to...

"I wonder if I can get my baby brother to dance with me?"

Shrugging off the idea, she held a hand out to the woman with a smile. "Sorry for bugging you all the sudden. I'm Solaria. You're starcalled too, I take it? From your knowledge of real world exercise options, I mean." The Elf was grinning ear to ear. "I'll have to try dancing, both here and at home. I don't know many dance moves though... Do you know any you can teach me?"

@Elizabeth Lixshine

 

[Elizabeth Lixshine]

"It's okay, it isn't a bother. Just glad to offer an angle," A starcalled named Solaria, what a fitting name. Next thing she might find herself talking to a person named Norman and they were an NPC.

Dance moves however, was something outside her expertise. Elizabeth did not dance much, in fact most of her physical workouts involved the fact she worked with farms, so there was plenty of walking around. The dilemma was if she should tell Solaria the truth or not.

Luckily, a break from the topic was just what she needed. Elizabeth readies her spear and points across the lake. A Gnoll scout had spotted them.

"Maybe we can discuss this another time, I'm afraid if we don't move we might find an entire Gnoll hunting party on us," Elizabeth however was not exactly sure why Gnolls are this far out, but regardless it is an issue they aren't equipped to deal with directly.

@Solaria

 

[Solaria]

Solaria hadn't known about the 'starcalled' when she first began playing and setting up her character. She wasn't the type to read all the information about a game before she started it. She liked learning from experience- but she had to admit, it still felt funny that her name had sun in it considering the situation.

When Elizabeth pointed out the Gnoll scout, Solaria drew her sword and pointed it towards them. It glimmered in the sunlight, showing its beautifully sharpened edge. "I'll take the vanguard if you take the rear. And by that, I mean I'll stay behind you to take them on first. You start making some distance. If they shoot at you, yell for me and I'll send some health your way."

She had a plan in mind, but it was a risky one. Rather than chance being chased further than they could handle, she just wanted to get the fight over with as easily as possible- preferably on her own, to avoid Elizabeth getting harmed. She knew how dangerous death could be, but not if the other woman had any already taken from her. "Unless you have a plan you'd like to share?"

@Elizabeth Lixshine

 

[Elizabeth Lixshine]

The Gnoll Scout howls in a maniacal laugh, like a war cry or perhaps a rallying cry. Elizabeth knew that they might have to fight their way out.

"Save your heroics for another time, we move together or we'll die apart," Elizabeth grabs the sword user before picking her up and forcing her into a piggyback. Despite the extra weight, Elizabeth felt like she could carry Solaria for miles. The beastkin begun to run, using her spear like a lance, ensuring that whatever is in front of her, will be skewered on its end.

The Gnolls were however, hot on their heel. Like a pack of hyenas, they cackled and laughed as more begun to break into visible range. They chased after Elizabeth in a coordinated hunting party, aiming to flank her and force her into a certain direction.

However, Elizabeth would charge like a knight, crashing into the first Gnoll and its fur armor like a nail through wood. Another Gnoll would rise up, pulling upon its bowstring and firing an arrow right towards the blonde horse woman.

@Solaria

 

[Solaria]

"H-Huh!?" She was alarmed, to say the least, when the woman lifted her off the ground and into a piggyback hold. Having not gotten a piggyback ride since she was fourteen from her family friend, Solaria felt as flustered as could be. The kicker was she couldn't easily defend them from this angle. At least, not normally. As her sword whispered to her in her mind, she smirked slightly.

Hugging her arms around Elizabeth's neck for stability, Solaria began to chant one of the few spells she had memorized. In her frantic daze before, she couldn't think of what to do- her sword had to calm her and remind her she was a warrior, even when it came to magic. Divine Magic could attack too!

With her chant, a ray of light crashed down on the Gnoll readying its bow, as if from the heavens. It was stunned more than injured, but that was enough to keep it from aiming well, at least for now. The already fired arrow grazed her shoulder, but the pain didn't really kick in as much as the adrenaline rush.

"Fate may be testing us, but the Gods are always on our side." She said with a smirk. Her sword tried to warn her she'd been hit. She glared at the hilt. "Hawnell, shush. Miss, are you alright? You're not hurt anywhere, are you?"

@Elizabeth Lixshine

 

[Elizabeth Lixshine]

Elizabeth continues her sprint through the plains. Dirt clouds trial behind her as she charges forwarded. The nearest settlement should be close by, all Elizabeth needed to do was run. Thankfully, an obstacle was dealt with by a divine light. Elizabeth glanced up at her companion.

"Never mind me, you've been grazed," Elizabeth sees a Gnoll jump at her, trying to get her and disorient her balance. However, the woman was sharper. As divine light coated her spear, she thrusts right through the Gnoll that had gotten in her way. The spear's light travels up to Solaria, granting her a healing thanks to the powers of Mend.

"We should be-" Elizabeth felt the ground give way. Elizabeth quickly tosses Solaria up as she finds herself grabbing the dirt walls. Below her, spiked stakes. The Gnolls have had her running into the trap the whole time? Elizabeth admired the sneakiness and intelligence. Truly pack animals with human tools. As an animal enthusiast, she can't help but be a little joyful.

Her predicament had to be solved quickly. The suspense of the Gnolls catching up was not a very good idea. The beastkin did not manage to even count how many there are in a single hunting party. The loud cackles however did not help. Right now, she was suspended over a pitfall with her only support the dirt that surrounded her soon to be new tomb.

@Solaria

 

[Solaria]

Seeing the divine light and feeling the warmth melt into her injured flesh, Solaria wondered if she was dealing with a fellow magic user. She smiled a bit. To her, it had been just a scratch- but scratches could get infected, and that would be bad. She murmured a thank you in the woman's ear while still on her back.

Then, suddenly, she was thrown to the far edge of a precipice. A trap that had laid waiting for them. Drawing her sword, she let it transform into a human with their strong connection in holy light. "Hawnell, dig into the ground. We don't have rope, so we'll use me to pull her out."

"Your plan is as stupid as ever..." She heard the sword-turned-man mutter.

"I don't see you coming up with any bright ideas, so put a sock in it!" The man prepared himself as Solaria moved to reach for Elizabeth's hand. "Grab on! We're getting you out of there!"

@Elizabeth Lixshine

 

[Elizabeth Lixshine]

Elizabeth grabbed on and quickly supported herself to help Solaria in getting her out of the pit. Relief washed over her as she was happily back on solid ground and not becoming a pincushion in the ground. However, this momentary break in their pace had allowed the Gnolls to surround them.

Two gnolls on the bow and one with a crude axe. Perhaps their numbers were cut during their run, after all Elizabeth had turned a few of their kind into a shish kebab on the reckless charge towards safety. Whatever notion of safely reaching the city was now out the gate.

Raising her spear, she affirms her stance as she prepares to fight her way to safety.

"Solaria and um... new guy..." Elizabeth had not seen Solaria's blade transform, so the beastkin did not even know who he was. "You take on the archers, I'll work on the axe gnoll."

@Solaria

 

[Solaria]

Solaria nodded when Elizabeth gave her the command (or so she would deem it). Knowing her blade would put her in harm's way, she left Hawnell in human form for the time being, removing her grimoire from her inventory. Opening it up to a chant that worked well on enemies afar that she could never memorize somehow, the woman began to shoot balls of light from an extended hand towards the archers with a smile.

Even without her sword, she could fight.

Unfortunately, Solaria's Divine Magic wasn't as strong as her sword fighting skills. It took a barrage of attacks to take out just one archer- something that both surprised her, but also made the fighter in her feel more competitive. She wasn't able to block the attacks very smoothly, but once in a while, her hunk of human-shaped steel would protect her from the arrows coming her way.

She got shot in the arm, however, and grimaced. "Damnit. These guys have good aim. This'd be a lot easier if I could just slash my way through them..."

@Elizabeth Lixshine

 

[Elizabeth Lixshine]

Thankfully, whatever Elizabeth was doing, it was helping heal Solaria up. The arrow in her arm is disintegrated with divine light and it patches up the wound in her arm.

The axe wielding gnoll was big, matching Elizabeth in height as it swung the axe made from stone and stick. It maybe a crude primitive weapon, but it was a weapon nonetheless. As she channeled divine light through her spear, she swung to strike to strike the gnoll in the arm.

However her opponent was no slouch, watching it block her attack and trying to use its maw of ivory to bite her arm. Elizabeth responds with a kick to its chin, a clean 180 standing split, staggering the gnoll and allowing her to get a hit him, allowing the powers of mend to restore the vitality of her teammate.

However that also left her open to being shot by an arrow in the calf. Wincing, she pulls it out and maintains her focus on the axe gnoll. She trusts that Solaria would handle the remaining archer gnoll so the beastkin had to play her part even if she was experiencing immense pain.

@Solaria

 

[Solaria]

The sudden disintigration of the arrow in her arm surprised her far less than the fact the pain subsided as the light melted into her skin. Still, she turned around to look at her healer, a bit surprised. Not knowing the woman very well to begin with, she had no idea they were both Divine magic users until this moment. That was likely the only thing they had in common right now, though- besides a common enemy, anyway.

Seeing an arrow zoom past her and strike at the Beastkin, Solaria flipped pages in her book and began another chant. She could at least heal the woman back- and, as she did so, Hawnell protected her from arrows being drawn in her direction. When she felt Elizabeth was well healed and hopefully in far less pain, she glared at the archer in the distance.

They were not getting away with that. No siree bob.

"Hawnell!" She yelled, returning her sword to its original form. Raising it high above her head with both hands, she chanted a short spell followed by 'head strike', slicing through the air directly up and down, a ray of light with a long-range falling with it until it sliced through the enemy with a clean cut. A smirk showed on her face. "I should've done that a lot earlier," she spat, looking at the sword in her hands. "What was I thinking? Even from afar, you're a great battle partner, Hawnell."

Turning to look towards Elizabeth, she wondered if the woman was done with the Gnoll behind her. "I'm all done with the archers. Need any help?"

@Elizabeth Lixshine

 

[Elizabeth Lixshine]

Elizabeth maintained her clash with her Gnoll. The brutish size was certainly a factor as simply taking axe blows made it hard for her to maintain a steady stance. A swing here and a stab back. The only thing keeping Elizabeth going through her fatigue was the fact she was protecting someone. Her magic may heal her wounds, but it can't heal her growing weakness.

Then she hears the thing she needed. Elizabeth dodges the gnoll's downward swing and almost collapses next to Solaria, panting as she held herself up with her spear.

"Definitely," Elizabeth pulls herself back onto her feet and raises her spear. Everything felt heavier, but she knew she had to put on a proud display for now. She can sleep till noon once they get out of the plains alive she told herself.

@Solaria