The Turning of the Tide

[Garoten Reklor]

Jarrow's small head with its too-large glasses popped up out of the white-tiled floor and looked around the mansion's large center hall before dropping down again. A few seconds later, he scrambled up and onto the floor, then turned around and pulled his wife up behind him. One by one Varon, then Nosira, then each of the now fugitive warriors of time would emerge behind them, followed at last by the other members of the Underground. Once everyone was clear, Varon hefted the large marble floor tile that hid the entrance and slid it back into place. The tunnel that led from Jarrow's house in the University district to Nosira's house in Avalon had taken years to build, but it had been meant for just such a time as this. Now they were far enough from the Knights and their searching to speak freely. Nosira was viewed by the Council as a leader and humanitarian in Warden, and thus far her home had always been the safest place to meet. If she were ever discovered among the members of the resistance, the consequesnces would surely be dire. The women excused themselves rather suddenly while Jarrow was still getting the group of warriors situated in the enormous parlor of the home.

"Please, please, take a seat and settle down. I am so very sorry to have absconded with you like this, but you see the Knights would have discovered us most surely if we had stayed put. A few feet of earth isn't nearly enough to fool them, not really!"

He stood in the front of the room, bounding on the heels of his feet while he waited for compliance. His comrades assembled quietly behind him, and Varon stood to one side with his arms crossed, quietly taking in the scene.

"Now we have time for a full explanation, don't we! I am Jarrow, and these brave souls" he waved at the group behind him "are the lead members of the Resistance. One from each district of Warden, and several other from Ithoria's various cities and districts. Each will introduce himself in his or her time. For now, suffice to say we all bid you a fond welcome. Furthermore, we wish to apologize for the way you were treated by the Council. When word reached us that you had been imprisoned immediately upon awakening...well, we knew something had to be done. I hope you will not judge the whole of Noria's population on so few rude and self-serving leaders."

He looked around at the warriors, his eyes alight with excitement.

"I'm sure the council gave you a semblance of the history since you were discovered. There isn't time to correct every error to which you were doubtless exposed, only to communicate our current situation. YOU have awakened into a world where freedom, justice, hope...the things for which you once famously stood...are on the brink of extinction. Ithoria has extended its influence over the nations of the world by gaining control over all use of magic, supposedly to prevent the anarchy and tryanny they claimed you represent. In turn, the Council rules Ithoria under the same premise"

jarrow was pacing now, one hand behind his back and the other gesturing wildly as he spoke. There was a passion in his voice and demeanor that demanded the utmost attention of the listener. This, not his physical appearance or his magical prowess, was how he had built the resistance movement.

"Of course the vast majority opposes such a situation, but the combined might of all Ithoria's magicians would only begin to compare with that of Ser-Nyskel, to say nothing of the entire council. We are a growing movement, spread now across the entire planet in little cells much like this one. Even so, we have been able only to harrass and disrupt the Council's plans thus far, and were thus unable to prevent the accomplishment of their utmost goal."

He stopped and raised his head to look somberly at the group.

"Your awakening. The nations have been becoming restless under Ithoria's thumb, and the Council has seen that if they should cooperate, the world would change in a moment. So they had determined to find a way to unlock your powers and use you to reaffirm their absolute authority. Of course" he chuckled softly "you caught them a little off guard. The timing isn't right, in their eyes, for you to emerge. Our informants believe they were planning on keeping you for several months."

Varon twirled a finger in the air, a private gesture that Jarrow picked up on immediately.

"But all this may or may not matter to you, of course. You are, after all, the Warriors of Time. We realize you are men and women in your own right, as entitled to freedom and self-governance as the best among us. We know of no way to return you to your own time, but we would not think of restricting your moevements in ours. That said, I humbly implore for your assistance. Without you, we are a movement doomed to be a desperate, futile struggle."

There was a murmuring from the group behind him...evidently the use of such dismal terms from their leader was a new development. Jarrow dropped to his knees and bowed before the group.

"If even one of you would lend us your aid, we could hope to live in a world that is free once more..."

A long silence hung in the air before he raised his head and looked quickly from warrior to warrior. Then he asked in a tone so businesslike it was comically different from the pleading he had just given.

"So who's your leader?"

[Aion]

"That's enough, Jarrow. Get off your knees." The Nenian scoffed at the resistance leader. His tone was calm, but held an such a high amount of disdain that it would easily be picked up by each person within the room. Commanders weren't supposed to act this way, they weren't allowed to beg. They were individuals of great confidence, devoid of all known fear; inspiring to their followers in even the most desperate of times, never once allowing words such as "futile" and "failure" enter their thoughts. And they damn sure wouldn't get on their knees begging a bunch of strangers for help. It was an insult to those who have died for their cause.

The Nenian could easily see what Jarrow was. Before all of this, this man was probably a normal citizen, he'd be surprised if Jarrow had seen any real battles outside of minor training. However disgusted he was with this man's leadership, Aion knew not to bring it up in the presence of the other resistance memebers; their morale had taken enough damage, criticizing their leader wouldn't help.

"To be honest, we're independent of each other. Some of us have only recently met." As he finished, his crimson eyes scanned the room. From what he could gather, other than himself and Seth, Garoten and Tidus had been the only ones to reach this place; and though it goes unsaid, this worried him. They had lost a decent amount of firepower, and considering that the leader of this resistance was so easily reduced to begging, whatever this group had on their side obviously wasn't enough. Could they even hope to go against the council with such support?

"Since that misconception is cleared up, I'd like to hear more about your groups situation. Though, I do ask one favor..."Aion was interested in the group, and their help could be valuable, but It was painfully obvious there was more to this than explained. "Ask your group to leave this room; this conversation should stay between us five." The Nanian's request wasn't meant to demean the other members, but after seeing their reaction to Jarrow's words, he thought it'd be better if they left the room.

[Kaworu - Horatio]

[OOC - Sorry I haven't been around guys I've been having computer problems and one of which is that I have no working mouse and this forum doesn't allow me to tab at all so I've only recently been able to get on using another computer]

During the distraction Kaworu had lead Shannon and his friends to the house letting them run into it for safety like the others but the angel and deamon had also tried to return to help Aion and the prince which proved fruitless as they had already left, and seeing that the knights were recalled Kaworu thought it prudent to play down his look and adorn some clothes thus allowing him to sneak into the house that they'd let his friends enter earlier. Seeing the place empty Kaworu followed the trial his friends had left due to their unique powers and went about going the same way opening every door with ease or slight of hand or power, once near a marble tile he noticed that's where they had gone and proceeded to follow hoping not to scare any of the citizens with his and Shannon's sudden and delayed appearance.

Once there he noticed a group of people he guessed was this resistance the healer was talking about and excused himself and Shannon as they walked through a cleared path to Aion and the rest, "bloody hell that took long enough, thanks the gods that Augury and the twins were quick enough to get in blurted out the Angel noticing his friends in the back of where the group was. Looking around he wasn't sure what to say but noticed there wasn't as many as he hoped but figured the rest would be able to take care of themselves, "So seems we have some survivors, I'm guessing the rest went other ways and I'll put money on that the citizens are asking for help" commented Kaworu as he and Shannon took off their coats they'd picked up to blend in.

[Garoten Reklor]

Garoten listened to Jarrow's speech with interest. The man's mannerisms and passion were impressive - it was easy to see how he had become influential, in spite of his seeming lack of any real power. As the diminuitive revolutionary described the state of the world at large, the council, and the resistance, he felt himself being caught up the ideals. Then Jarrow did something that it appeared nobody expected. He dropped to his knees and bowed to them as he appealed for their help.

"That's enough, Jarrow. Get off your knees."

Aion came off as a little more disrespectful than Garoten liked, so he attempted to counteract it.

"Please, it's not necessary to bow, Mr. Jarrow. We're just like anyone else."

However, the disdain in the man's voice didn't seem to affect Jarrow in the slightest. He practically leaped to his feet, a smile still on his face. Evidently the first Warrior had taken the sign of respect as something more akin to begging, and it was understandable. Of course the Warriors couldn't be expected to completely understand the culture of the day. It was just unfortunate that their leader would jump to a conclusion so easily.

"To be honest, we're independent of each other. Some of us have only recently met. Since that misconception is cleared up, I'd like to hear more about your groups situation. Though, I do ask one favor...Ask your group to leave this room; this conversation should stay between us five."

Not sure if he was glad or relieved that this man wasn't their leader, Jarrow's face darkened at his suggestion.

"I'm afraid you don't understand, Aion Zakiya." How would the fact that he knew their names affect the warriors? It was a matter of history for him and others with the means and desire to find them out, but he supposed they would be surprised anyway. "These are not my subordinates. I may be the mouthpiece, but the resistance makes no move without the approval of all of us. See, one man may be able to effectively fight five or six, but only a true genius can out think as many on his own. I am no true genius. Only a Council can defeat a Council on matters like these. I have no desire to be contrary, especially given our grave need and your great power, but you must speak with all of us, or none of us."

Garoten intervened again. Aion was a General, and from what he knew of him a darn good one. His frustration with Jarrow's leadership style was understandable, but the fact was they were in as bad a spot as Jarrow and Company. The need was nowhere near one-sided.

"Perhaps everyone would be more comfortable if we knew who we were dealing with. You seem to know at least a little about us, but who are your co-councilors?"

He noticed the arrival of Kaworu and his friends behind them and motioned for them to join the group. Kaworu was an unstable element so far, and it seemed wise to Garoten to try and keep him and Tidus close by where he could try to keep them somewhat controlled.

Jarrow smiled at the younger Warrior - Garoten Reklor, if memory served correctly - and his conciliatory mannerisms.

"Of course, of course. I, as you know, am Jarrow, representing the Univeristy District. Nosira, who has gone with my wife to see to some refreshment, represents the Avalon District. My other associates may introduce themselves, obviously."

One by one, the others stepped forward and spoke:

A chubby, red-faced man with thinning hair spoke first. "I am Alder, from the Myura District."

"Varon," Jarrow's powerfully built friend by the door murmured. "Kinrath District."

A younger woman with bright red hair and a calm voice that didn't seem to match stepped forward from the group and curtsied graceully. "Flaey, representing the Pashoda District."

The last to speak was another woman, tall and demure, but with eyes that flashed with life. "And I am J'fiel, from the Eldritch District."

Jarrow grinned at the Warriors, but spoke apologetically.

"Your awakening was too sudden to gather everyone, I'm afraid, so the representatives from Outer Ithoria haven't arrived yet. You will meet them all in due time. Now then, let's talk. I'm sure we can come to an agreement of some mutual benefit!"

[Kaworu - Horatio]

Kaworu had noticed the motioning that Garoten did for him to go to the group but the angel was more interested in sitting with those he knew like Augury and the twins so he found himself a spot near them and listened in to what the Jarrow had to say, he also listened to the introductions and the speech the man made noticing that Jarrow was nervous but that was more related to his emotive abilities but was understandable due to them being the said warriors of time.

"Well I hope so because if it was just me and Shannon then I wouldn't really worry about needing help from your resistance not that I'm saying I don't care or anything like that, but I have other people to protect that don't deserve this crap that said council has been dealing to us. And I don't know how those idiots learned anything about me because I only appeared at that cave late in the battle, and no one knew me at all in till I introduced myself and that goes for the rest of the world as well being the fact I'd not been there long and was in my house with my people during another strange calamity.

So I'd like to know how those figure head mages knew anything about me and I don't like the way they treated us, some were alright and almost reasonable but I could see that their system was tyrannical to say the least and they have quite the superiority complex. I'll offer my services if need be but only if my friends can be brought somewhere safe and I already know a place, that I know is still around thou I'm not starting a full scale war because I've seen enough worlds literally destroyed because of it.

So if you have an actual plan or goal in mind then speak it otherwise we'll wait for your people but I'm sure that Ryan well play nice with the council, by saying he'll bring us back or some other retarded shit so I don't think we have all the time in the world, so I suggest you make your decision" explained Kaworu trying to sound as nice as possible without incurring the wrath of Aion or Garoten.

[Aion]

A smirk formed on the Nenian's face as soon as Jarrow made mention of his name; his amusement made obvious by a chuckle escaping from his mouth. This man did his homework, but the question on Aion's mind was how he obtained this information, could he be in possession of Lavertia's old records; and if he was, what else could he have? Whatever the case, he could prove to be valuable ally.

"I understand quite clearly, Jarrow." Aion responded. "However, you as the mouthpiece of this resistance also it makes you the face of it; whether you claim to be the leader or not, outsiders...your enemies will see you as such. That's not to say that your co-councilors aren't equally as important; but if this were my war, your head would have the largest bounty." By all means, Jarrow's cooperation with the resistance council was admirable, especially given the fact that it seemed as if he could easily take control of the group at an given moment, but his unwillingness to accept this responsiblity was another bothersome trait. "My problem is wit-"

Garoten seemed to intervene at the correct time. Aion tended to dwell on these things, so much so that he hardly batted an eye as Kaworu and his friends entered the room. What the Nenain currently thought about Jarrow's brand of leadership could wait until another time. What mattered now was obtaining enough information to get by; and though he may not want to cooperate under these conditions, he had to play by their rules."I apologize, don't think of it as disrespect; only concern for your group." Aion spoke out once more, giving a slight bow out of politeness to the council.

Aion remained silent through Kaworu's words. He wanted to stop the angel half way through, he'd said too much; instead the Nenian chuckled again, this was part of Kaworu's charm it seemed. As he finished Aion chimed in."As you already know, I'm Aion Zakiya, ambassador of Lavertia and General of the Lavertian Knights, "Berserker Division"...."He paused, his tone sounding as if he were addressing his former officers. "Though, I suppose I should throw a few "former"s in there now." He continued with a smirk, striking up a rather defeated posture.

"I suppose my first question would be...how exactly would you make use of our talents? I doubt you need us solely as hired muscle."

[Garoten Reklor]

"I suppose my first question would be...how exactly would you make use of our talents? I doubt you need us solely as hired muscle."

Jarrow chuckled and glanced at his much larger friend in the corner.

"No, I'd say we have plenty of muscle. We need something a little more substantial. The reason you are all so valuable is thus: Since your time, the people of Noria have undergone some changes. Nowadays, the only impossible is only done by those who have devoted a lifetime studying magic. Of course the Mekelor and the Pariahim present a complicated exception, considering..."

Varon cleared his throat, and Jarrow seemed to snap back to reality.

"Right, you're probably not ready for politics just yet. Suffice to say the power you possess is very unlike anything else that exists in our world. There is much you can do to aid us without engaging in battle."

He looked out the window at the setting sun and took off his glasses with a sigh.

"But it's been a long day for everyone, especially you all. Please, take some rest while we of the resistance discuss our options. You have free reign of the estate, only please be careful not to show yourselves to anyone you haven't seen here. Of course, I must reiterate, if you wish to leave we will not stop you...however, we will be unable to protect you either."

He turned to the other resistance leaders, and after a few whispered phrases between them the group disappeared into another room, leaving the warriors alone for the first time since they had arrived in this new world...

[Kaworu - Horatio]

"That really didn't give us much in the line of new information" sarcastically commented Kaworu as he sat there wondering what Jarrow was hinting at even though he had an idea, he was sure there was a lot more to it then just the fact they all have strange extinct power within them or that they control.

"So are we going to play the heroes and fight the evil empire or are we going to go about our own business and just find a place to settle down or something similar?" Kaworu posesd to the group, knowing full well he had to think of those still with him before committing to a cause of any sizable degree.

Well I hope this is all worth it because I could've already been on my way home with Augury and the twins by now if I hadn't stopped to help Kaworu thought to himself while he waited for the others in the group to say something.

[Aion]

The Nenian remained attentive as always throughout Jarrow response, his crimson eyes scanning each member of the resistance group for even the slightest hint of abnormal activity; anything that would go against the speakers words. He found nothing, other than the obvious mention of the Mekelor and the Pariahim...that he was actually interested in. Either this man, along with the group, was being truthful thus far, or the were trained in hiding any body language that would give them away.

"They won't need us to battle...?" Aion thought silently, letting out a small sigh as he lost himself in thought. His mind could only come up with a few plausible theories, but nothing even close to being concrete. Even still his mind kept returning to Jarrow's first statement, it's something the mage's council had hinted at: the fact that their source of power was "different". It vanishing into oblivion wouldn't make sense, considering that they all had full access to their abilities; rather, it seemed as if this source was unusable by the recent generations of the planet.

His attention was then caught by Kaworu's words. "No, they gave us something new, minuscule but still useful." He mumbled, still lost in the possibilities of what this could mean. Aion slowly turned back to the group, giving them his full attention. "Splitting up could place us in more danger, we should stick together for now. As for playing hero, maybe a little roleplaying would be a good idea." The Nenian said with mischievous smirk. "We should use this time to gather information on the people and land. Maybe sneak out for some interaction with the local population."

"Just one warning, my friends." His smirk vanished, replaced by a look of concern. "Give them no information on your abilities, use as little of them as possible. Whatever's going on here, it's best we don't show them too many of our secrets."

[Ryan - Loki]

(OOC: I’m just trying to link you guys to the saga right now people. Try to go with the flow )

Just then Jarrow appeared through the doorway he had left through no more than a few moments ago, however this time his face showed an expression that he hadn’t been seen to wear up until this point; an expression of deep thought with a hint of worry. He slowly moved into the centre of the room, his hand held upon his chin as he clearly pondered something within the depths of his mind. After a few moments of silence he removed his hand from his chin and looked up at the warriors of time, the look of deep thought never leaving his worn face.

“I have just been informed of something warriors of time, something grave.” he paused. It was almost as if he didn’t wish to say what he was about to, though the pause could have easily been down to his losing his words due to his trail of thought. “We have heard rumour of a man who is searching for something magical related. A man who isn’t part of the magic order.” silence followed his words and Jarrow quickly realised that he would have to explain himself a little further.

“Forgive my ignorance,” he apologised, bowing his head ever so slightly. “I forget that you have only just arrived in this time and do not understand the situation as most do.” He took a deep breath and looked around the group to make sure that they were all listening. They were. “Anyone within the world who shows magical potential at a young age is taken to the academy to train to become a mage. It has always been the way since the magic order was established. However, this man is tied to magic yet not part of the academy, which either means he was taught outside of the order, self taught or he deserted the mages. Either way, he could be a value asset for our course if persuaded to join us.”

“And you want us to persuade him?” Seth spoke up for the first time since joining Aion within the building. He was not a warrior like the rest of the people there, and he had come to the conclusion that the less attention he brought on himself the better.

Jarrow nodded. “Forgive me for asking this of you, or saying what I am about to, but there will be, there ARE some within the resistance who believe that you’ve been released to infiltrate us.” He waved his arm. “Of course, this is absurd, but if you were to help us with this, it would be an excellent show of your intentions.” Jarrow sighed. “I know it’s terrible to drag you into our affairs like this, but you’re wanted men now. If past experiences are anything to go by then the order wont stop searching for you until they have you within their grasps again. We can be a lot of help to each other, in this time of need.”

Everything fell silent after that, Jarrow waiting for a form of response from within the group. He waited for several minutes until finally, though it wasn’t directed towards him, someone spoke and broke the silence. It was Seth again. “General,” Seth had turned to face Aion at this point. “I think we should help them, that we should search for this man.” Seth looked down at the floor while he chose his words within his head, returning his view back to Aion once he had done so. “I know I cannot speak for everyone here, but gaining allies cannot be a bad thing…can it? Plus, the journey would allow us to gain some knowle-, I mean, information on this new planet.”

[Aion]

As he listened to Jarrow's words all that raced through the Nenian's mind was how incredibly vague these details were. It was clear enough that the mouthpiece of the resistance was worried, but for what reason? Other than the explanation of the magic order's practices, Jarrow hadn't mentioned a clue as to what kind of item this man sought; other than it was magical. And though it goes without saying, the resistance wouldn't be the first to hear of these rumors; meaning that whoever the council sent, be it simple mercenaries or knights, they'd eventually run into each other along the way.

It didn't take much to see that something was amiss on Noria. Whether Aion trusted the group or not didn't matter, a majority of his qualms would be answered once he reached the source of this conundrum. The only decision to make is whether they'd go about this task alone, or with the aid of the resistance.

"I agree." Aion broke his silence, responding to Seth with a nod. "Any other information you can give us? A general description of our target would be appreciated; or perhaps the region of this rumor originated from?"

[Ryan - Loki]

(OOC: I know things have pretty much died, but I’m going to end this thread and start a new one for the resistance, just in case people return and wish to continue to post! From there you can either continue on with the story of break from the group and do your own thing.)

“Of course, how foolish of me to forget. Forgive me.” Jarrow quickly bowed his head in apology, despite it not being necessary to do so. After quite some time Jarrow finally raised his head. “The location of this man is apparently Steffson, or so rumour has it.” Jarrow could immediately tell that just naming the place wouldn’t nearly be enough. He laughed nervously, realising that he had once again not really explained himself nearly well enough considering his audience.

“My apologies again Warriors of Time, I forget who I am speaking to - if that is believable.” Turning from the group Jarrow rushed over to some shelves and started moving things aside, strange artefacts, bottles of mysterious liquids, but mainly scrolls of paper and parchment. This continued on until he had shuffled through everything on the shelves, then he moved on to another set of shelves and began to do the exact same.

Eventually Jarrow had several scrolls tucked under his arms and had clearly found what he had been looking for and returned back to the middle of the room. In a hump he dropped everything on to the floor and looked around the group, counting everyone with a nod of his head for each of them. After he had finished he looked down at the pile of scrolls at his feet and seemed to do the same; at the end he didn’t looked entirely pleased with his results.

“It would be easier to give you all maps,” Jarrow suddenly said, looking up at them all. “Than it would to try and explain a location on a planet you no longer know.” his smile was understanding. Bending down he began grabbing different scrolls and softly tossing them to different members of the Warriors of Time who were within the room. Once all of them had been passed out, it seemed that both Garoten and Seth had been left without, while the others had two each. “I have given you each two different maps. One is a world map, as best we know our world, and the other a much more local map of Steffson. We don’t seem to have enough maps for everyone though I’m afraid, so you may need to share.” he honestly seemed embarrassed by this fact, and he even turned a slight shade of red.

“If you are all ready we have a secret set of tunnels that travel underneath the city. We can guide you to an exit that is far beyond the walls of the city and deep into the forest of Albinur. From there you will safe from the council, for a short while, but you will be on your own.” Without waiting for any answers Jarrow turned and moved towards a corner of the room, turning back only to gesture for the rest of them to follow him. As he reached the corner he pushed aside a chest of sorts and lifted a cellar door, revealing a ladder into a darkened tunnel. Grabbing a lit lantern off of the wall he began to move down the ladder, only stopping to look up at the gathered warriors.

“Have no fears or worries brave warriors, follow me.”

(OOC2: You can post in this thread if you like, but i'm going to start up the continuation thread for this one that you can all post in.)

[Kaworu - Horatio]

Kaworu stood up and stretched knowing the road ahead was going to be a cramped one but he just wasn't sure he was up for this quest, because frankly it sounded a little too vague for him and as much as he likes a challenge he had better and more important things to worry about.

Just the Augury came up beside him and tapped him on the shoulder "I know you're worried about us Kaworu but we're fine and I think we should help these people see what this is about, we might even gain some useful information along the way or this person could have something useful as well" expressed Augury.

Turning to the maji girl Kaworu gave a slight smirk "I guess we may as well join the fun" comments Kaworu as he makes sure he and the others have all their stuff with them, then they look towards the rest of the group wondering if they'd be joining them either way their minds were set and it was time to go.