Open Your Eyes

The marketplace bustled, the busy people never seemed to stop moving. The chatter of the crowds never ceased, and the loud voices of the anxious, weary merchants called out to customers. A bawl broke out here, a cry broke out there - it was an endless cycle of chaos at the marketplace.

This particular merchant had grown up here, and the noise was his lullaby. It didn't phase him the least and he could weave his way around a marketplace with such ease, he'd gained the nickname "Ferret" among some of the regulars. His stall was bright and colorful and he sold just about anything depending on the time. Sometimes he sold good weapons, sometimes he sold clothes, furniture, and he had fresh fruit all year around. He knew how to bargain and make a good profit at the same time, since his father had been in the business and was a marketplace master. This boys name was Jeytsu.

Having changed into his simple outfit and out of the extravagant salesman costume that was once his fathers, he wiped the sweat of his brow, closing his stall for the time. With the stool he used at his stall under his arm, he looked around at all of the people. He sat it in the middle of the flurry and got onto the unsteady piece of furniture - which moaned and groaned in protest. Once he steadied himself, he looked around, eyes smoothly skimming over the people.

"PEOPLE, LISTEN TO ME! DON'T LET MY WORDS FALL ON DEAF EARS!" he called. "IF YOU VALUE YOUR LIVES, LISTEN TO ME!" he shouted. A few of the people stopped what they were doing to lend him their ears, hoping he'd say something worth while.

"What are you doing with your lives?! You're wandering around, but where are you getting? NOWHERE! Your feet are moving but you're not going forward. XELVETH IS A LIE! We spend every day of our lives serving him, working for his people, to gain what? NOTHING! Another day of disappointment, another day where we have missed the light of the upper earth! It's been far too long since he promised us a better life." he shouted, more people listening now, others walking away. Inhaling, he open his mouth, "Has it ever hit any of you that maybe, it was all a lie? That maybe Xelveth isn't the man we think him to be? What have you gained from following him? NOTHING! Yet you follow him like a flock of blind cattle. Where are in the grand scheme of things? What is our place?" he stopped, looking at a woman holding a young child. "You." he pointed to her, and she paused, looking up at the boy. "What would be the greatest thing for your child?" he asked. "Well, to see the Upper Earth..." she stuttered nervously, feeling curious eyes laid on her. "It's not going to happen." he muttered briskly, looking over the crowd.

"Your children, your childrens children, they may never see true light again! They'll be like you, wandering around aimlessly, wondering when they'll once again see the day of the Upper Earth. If you keep following Xelveth, nothing good will come! REBEL! It's time for a new era of reign, one that will give us what we so rightly deserve!" he shouted.

"The naysayers never make it. That's because Xelveth is a coward, afraid that they'll rub off on everyone. But what will he do if we ALL rebel? Kill us all? Then so be it, but from fire comes NOTHING! You can destroy whole cities but in the end, what do you gain? Ashes." tired now, he decided to wrap it up.

"Go ahead and kill me, Xelveth. Just like you did my sister! You're gaining nothing, you'll only be proving my point!" he snarled.

Murky eyes blinked as Val'Thaeiv meandered his way through the bustling streets of the Marketplace on his usual rounds. The fights had lessened, which was certainly a good thing for the merchants, as they did not have to repair their booths all of the time, but there were still other unknown factors. Attacks on the city for one, or a specific boy for another...

Shouted words reached his ears, and the Archer turned his head towards the raised voice. Not wanting to chance leaving it, he wandered over, pausing in the outer edges of a mulling crowd that was listening to a certain Moon Elf preach about how "Xelveth is a lie!" While the Drow was one of his God's faithful, he didn't raise objections towards the other's opinion, nor did he feel any resentment. He believed as he wished, and Val'Thaeiv was not going to try and forcibly change his opnion, as others might.

The teen snarled at the stone sky, shouting at Xelveth to smite him, but Val'Thaeiv knew that the God wouldn't. The Moon Elf hadn't raised a single hand against any of the faithful; he was not a threat, he did not have to be extinguished.

"Xelveth will not strike you down, no matter how much you rage at him." he stated quietly as the younger got down from his stool and headed back to his booth. The Drow followed, examining the fruit. A sound from behind him made him look up, in time to see a large Drow about to attack a younger Aranetil, who seemed to agree with Jeytsu. The male roared and swiped at her, but she ducked out of the way. Unfortunately, he caught her foot and flung her at Val'Thaeiv and the vendor stand behind him. Huffing, he caught the girl with a slight grunt, resting her on the ground gently before moving to stand in front of her.

"Opinions are made to be expressed, not judged." he mumbled, watching the angry Drow stalk over to him and glare down at his greyed eyes. Val'Thaeiv's runes pulsed as he readied himself to activate his bow, but the larger man huffed and walked away. Turning, the marked Drow tried to help the Aranetil up, but she spat a 'Faithful bastard!' at him and darted away into the crowd. He only watched her go with a sigh.

Jeytsu paid little attention to the man following behind him. Setting the stool down in it's usual spot behind the stand. He went through and arranged the produce so the worst of the bunch was on to and could be sold before it went bad. He checked the weapons to make sure they were all there, and then as he was arranging the clothes, he paused. Looking to Val'Thaiev, a chilling sensation ran up his spine. He wasn't sure what caused the feeling but his subconscious was. His brow twitched. "Hey! W-what are you doing?! Some kind of voodoo magic?" he snarled. "... what is this?" moving closer, the chilling sensation filled his body and a certain passion sparked in him.

Xeii walked through the streets, the sound of the bustle causing his ears to ring. He visited only when he absolutely had to. He was making a mental shopping list when something else caught his attention. Turning his head to the source that was beckoning to him, he contemplated what it could be, coming to one probable cause. Silently, he made his way over the Drow. "That energy you possess, that comes from the moon, correct?" he whispered silently. Rarely was Xeii one to ask out of line questions. His eyes briefly glazed over the runs that traced Val'thaeiv's skin.

Nelonik watched from the roof of a building. "Risky, very risky. though I guess you are lucky you can't fight. Xelveth would have wiped you off otherwise." She said to no one. She crossed her arms watching the scenery, keeping coming back to the man. 'why do I keep watching? That man Derris might see me....'

Val'Thaeiv looked up at the new Moon Elf with blank eyes, wondering how he knew what the moon's magic felt like if they had been imprisoned for millenia. Eyes flicking warily between the two, the Archer took on a defensive stance when he noted they were beginning to corner him.

Hearing the question, Val'Thaeiv paused, nodding slowly. "The magic that make up these runes is the same type as the kind that comes from the moon." he replied warily, wondering if this would happen to all Moon Elves when they approached him. Another thought struck him, and he wondered if either of the two knew about the experimentation that had gone on, though he did not ask, instead waiting for a response.

Just as I studied. he thought, backing up a tad. "Excuse me." he muttered inaudibly, turning sharply and walking away, vanishing in the crowd. He had no further questions for the drow. He hit himself mentally for being unprepared. He would have to train his mind to avoid a scenario like that. He wondered if anybody else possessed that power, and if so, what they could do with it. He didn't like that he could be rendered helpless with just a little bit of moon energy.

Jeytsu backed up and gripped his head. The once soft, enriching and intoxicating feel of the energy shifted rapidly, the effect it had on his mind changing. It felt like hundreds of needles prodding and pushing their way through his mind. "Agghh... what are you doing?!" he snarled, glaring at Val'Thaeiv through constricted pupils. A blueish energy began to emit from his hands and his body shivered violently.

Nelonik watched closely. 'Interesting, that archer possesses a passive ability that draws moon elves to him. Is it possible he controls power from the moon in Upper Earth....or the power of Upper Earth itself?' She thought to herself. 'Either he was born with that, or he obtained it in some way after his birth. Either way it's effecting the moon elves.' She wanted answers, and she knew the best way was to ask Xelveth. But Xelveth wasn't exactly trust worthy in her mind. So she decided to go about another way. She sat down watching the scene unfold while thinking of alternatives.

Tainted eyes widened as a glow surfaced from Jeytsu's skin, and Val'Thaeiv almost took a step back in surprise. Instead, he remained in his place, a frown overtaking his facial expression. He opened his mouth to say something, when movement above their heads caught his eye and he glanced up, eyes narrowing when he spotted the girl from before. Though she kept his attention for moments, he eventually looked away and back at the boy.

"I apologize if the affects or aura are hurting you, but it is not my own doing. The magic is foreign to my body and while I can harness the bulk of it's energy, I cannot control the entirety of it just yet." he amended, bowing slightly to the boy and backing away from him, hoping the distance would help the other with the apparent pain he was feeling.

Jeytsu watched the boy back away and his mind and body returned to a normal state. His body wanted to give in and lose consciousness but he fought it briefly, then stood, backing up a tad. He wondered how he got the power, and if it was a curse or a blessing. And then the obvious question - how it affected everyone else. The other moon elf seemed to be able to resist it, and it didn't harm him.

"Hey!" he called to Val'Thaeiv, "How did that happen to you?" he asked curiously, keeping his distance. Surely he was the only one with the power, or were there more? He glanced around nervously, as if to check others like Val'Thaeiv were present. Amazingly, his stand hadn't been burnt to the ground yet, but it was probably only a matter of time.

The Archer paused in his retreat, lifting his eyes to stare at the male, analyzing him. Eventually, Val'Thaeiv nodded to himself indiscriminately, keeping an eye on the other.

"It is common knowledge amoung the older generations, but I suppose for someone who is younger, it is not as easily known." he stated quietly, not moving back towards the other. "There was an experiment conducted some time ago, one that involved using the magic from the Upper Earth to try and break the Circle of Binding. In order to harness the magic, they would need to some how fuse it with a physical being. I was one of the chosen, because of my skill in Archery, though I had previously trained to be a Rogue. These," he gestured to the runes coating his arms. "are the result of the force bonding. Needless to say that the experiment did not work." Val'Thaeiv explained, knowing that the runes traced his entire body, only leaving his face untouched except for those few that protuded past his jawline.

Jey nodded slowly. So it wasn't really a curse or a blessing, so much as a... tool of sorts, that didn't exactly work. "Just be careful, yeah? I don't want anybody getting hurt because of that. That's not exactly something to joke about." he remarked. "Anyway." he pulled an apple from the stand and tossed it in Val'Thaeiv's direction, as a thank you token for saving his stand, though he didn't mention it. Thoughts still buzzed around his mind, which was still numb from all that had happened in such a short time. He felt a stare, and glanced up in the direction of the girl that stood atop the building. "Wonder what her deal is.." he whispered, but shrugged it off. "Nosy girl." he huffed.

He hesitated to open the shop again, it'd already been a long day, and he didn't want to get into costume. Instead, he laid his head on a counter with his arms rested beside it. He wondered if his previous speech - which he had almost completely forgotten about in all the chaos - got through to anybody. Before he knew it, he'd dozed off.

Seidra wandered through the streets, watching the people slowly vacate themselves back to their homes, and sighed. People barely cast a glance her way, and when they did, it was because of her awkward build and too-tall height. The stares didn't bother her; she was used to them by now. She had gotten them her entire life, but why should she blame people for staring at something that didn't really belong?

A slight sound jerked her from her thoughts, and the Aranetil looked up, glistening eyes catching on the slumped form of a sleeping Moon Elf. Casting her eyes around, Seidra noticed that every one esle was closing down their booths already, and she didn't want the male to miss any appointments he might've had, or something he may have had planned. She bit her lip out of anxiety and habit, quickly strolling so that she stood above his sleeping form, but didn't awaken him just yet. Worrying her lip a bit longer, the Rogue hesitantly let her hand down to rest on the man's shoulder and shook it gently, hoping that he wasn't too deeply asleep.

Jeytsu, a typically deep sleeper (something that came in handy when you spent most of your day in the marketplace), was fluttering into a half awake state, bordering the line between sleep and consciousness. When he felt a touch on his shoulder, his eyes popped open. He instinctively jerked back quickly and the stool tilted, falling back with a yelp, a crash, and finally a grunt. He quickly got back up, glassy eyes wide in attempt to look awake. "What can I help you with?" he asked quickly. He looked up to the female Arentil, noticing her expression. She didn't seem to be at the shop to buy anything. And then Jeytsu remembered he wasn't even open.

When he looked around, he realized how late it was. He muttered a curse under his breath, kicking himself for missing the evening rush. He must have looked like a lazy idiot, sleeping soundly while all the other merchants sold off their wares.

After spacing out for a moment, he returned his gaze back to the girl. "I'm sorry, is there uh, anything I can get for you?..." he asked, rubbing his eyes in an attempt to wake himself up. He probably wasn't presenting himself very well.

"U-Uhm..." she replied hesitantly, having been briefly shocked when the boy had crash landed from rocking back on his stool. Her eyes flicked to the various items lining the counter, mind going through the list of things at her grandmother's house and wondering if they needed anything. Eventually, she nodded slightly, gesturing to one of the groups of fruit that lined the man's stall. "Four of these, if you wouldn't mind." she stated, voice slightly more confident as the streets cleared and her heartbeat calmed. "I hope you don't mind that I came over and woke you up..." Seidra tacked on, peering at the Moon Elf from under her shaggy bangs.

"No, no... it's not a problem." he chuckled. "Actually, I'm glad you did it, so thanks." he said, clumsily grabbing at four of the fruits she pointed out. He held them in one arm and looked over to grab a cloth bag, but alas, he was out. He frowned in dismay. He turned around and looked through some of the linens he had for sale. Taking a medium sized square sheet, he placed the fruit on it. He slipped in more produce - including a trio of potatoes, a pair of tomatoes, a handful of fresh strawberries and a few ears of corn - heaviest on bottom and lightest on top. Tying the bag neatly so it'd be easy to carry and nothing would spill out, he passed it over to her with a wink. "It's on the house." he said. It was a time of year when he had more produce coming in then he could handle and enough money to get by, so usually, the last customers of the day would come home with a little extra. They were going through hard times and he knew every little bit helped.

"It's been crazy around here lately hasn't it? I'm amazed you're out so late, I've noticed a trend where women prefer to come here early before things heat up. Of course, it's pretty calm right now." he said, trying to strike up a conversation, though he doubted the woman would engage in it. Even so, he continued. He hated seeing the last customer leave. That would mean it's time for him to creep back to his silent, lifeless home. Putting the small amount of remaining produce into a crate and tucking the crate away under blankets, he mumbled something about wishing how the fighting would stop. Once finished, he looked up and into the girls eyes, as he did whenever he spoke to someone. He believed eyes were the windows to the soul, and that even if a person was hideous, their eyes would say otherwise. He gave no regard to age, gender, or species.

After a moment, he realized he had gotten lost in her eyes and looked away quickly, red lightly staining his face. "Ah, sorry for keeping you... is there anything else I can help you with?" he asked.

Nelonik snapped out of her heavy thinking daze looking down hearing the conversation. "Just an every day conversation..." she mumbled to her self. Jumping down off the building she was on she landed just behind the Aranetil and noticed what the boy was doing. "Another like Monience...." She said to herself outloud before looking around for something to do. 'Not much left to do today. Monience is probably still training out with that warrior.' Stepping away from the shop she looked around for a weapon shop. "Damn it... I spaced out..." She noted as all the shops besides the one she just stepped away from closed down.

Seidra giggled lightly, accepting the full cloth graciously, if not slightly hesitantly. "I'm usually pretty busy during the days; the only reason I ever come through here is to get to another place. Besides training and searching for a trainer, my grandmother has me running around, doing errands. The only time I ever get to the Marketplace is by the time everything starts closing up, and by then, it's too late for me to buy anything. And yeah, the fact that it's so hectic is enough to keep me away until things have calmed down, considering I hate getting up early..." she replied, shrugging helplessly and fiddling with the makeshift bag.

About to respond to the Moon Elf's question, the Aranetil suppressed an 'eep' when someone dropped down behind her, instead spinning where she stood, dagger already in her hand. The other mumbled a name, though Seidra didn't quite catch it, and she hesitated in her stance.

"Who are you?" she asked, adrenaline-induced confidence seeping in her voice as she questioned the stranger.

Nelonik looked back reaching for her weapon. "Don't pull a dagger unless you intend to use it." She stated "Nelonik." She may just be a student, but with her training, she was getting used to fighting fast footed people.

"Yeah, talk about it." Jeytsu laughed at her mention of getting up early. He was standing outside of his stand now, preparing to close the heavy black curtains, when he heard the thump and whipped his head around to see a girl. She looked like the same one that had been atop the roof earlier, peering down on him and Val'Thaeiv. "Hey!" he snapped, swiftly putting himself between the girls and holding his arms out, facing Nelonik. "No fighting, alright? There's no use for that." he said, looking at Nelonik, then glancing at Seidra through the corner of his eye.

"Nelonik, is it? Since I'm the last shop open, any last minute things you need?" he asked, now returned to a regular stance, letting his arms fall at his side.

Nelonik look towards the shop. "I don't suppose you sell weapons do you?" She kept her hand on the hilt of the sword on her back. Just then someone called her name and looking in the direction of the call, Nelonik saw Monience. "Speak of the devil....." Nelonik stated taking off in the opposite direction.

Monience got to the two Nelonik was standing by. Breathing heavily she checked out the shop suddenly remembering why she came to the market place. "Please tell me you're selling Produce and you're not closing up!" She immediately asked the two not really knowing or caring who the shop owner was.

"I do have some in stock right now." he said, going over and getting a large wooden case out from behind the stand. He unlatched the heavy iron lock and laid it on the ground. There was a short sword, two daggers and a bow. The sword had a black and silver serpent hilt and had a diamond shaped point. The daggers were both crafted in a crescent shape. Each had a glistening silver hilt, and one had a star shape in the pommel, the other had a moon. A spiral of jade swirled up along one, and with the other, onyx crept around the hilt. The guards on both was a dark metal, formed in the shape of leaves. The last was a bamboo bow. It was light, durable, and flexible. It had a green hue to the mostly blond wood, and intricate designs were carved into it. It came with quiver of three dozen arrows.

It wasn't long after he got the case of weapons out that the other girl came up. "I guess I'm here already. What do you need?" he asked, heading behind the stall once more and preparing another blanket.

Monience looked towards the direction where Nelonik ran off to and thought for a moment. Shaking her head she went about looking at the weapons laid out while telling the boy what she needed. "Couple of apples, some corn, oh! lettuce if you have it, a loaf of bread...and a tomato or two." She listed off, looking at the short sword and daggers. "Wow...these are really well made." She said shifting through her gold pouch. "Would love to find a similarly made sword as this one...Can I ask who your provider is?" She laid out the money for the food on the counter of the stall and picked up the short sword judging it's weight and balance.

Seidra lowered her dagger, re-sheathing it easily and eyeing the new girl that had just run up, already feeling uncomfortable in the presence of more than one person. Eventually, she turned to Jeytsu and bowed, refusing to use Xelveth's sign to salute him.

"Well, you're busy with another customer now, so I'll be leaving. Thank you for the produce, my grandmother will appreciate my actually coming home with food for once." she stated, smiling lightly and nodding at Monience before turning to leave.

"Hey, where'd she go?" he looked around for the girl who was originally going to purchase a weapon. "Well, anyway.." taking note of all of the food items she requested, he began to pull them out of crates, laying them on a makeshift sack. "I don't sell baked goods, unfortunately." he said, slipping a little extra into her knapsack, like he'd done with Seidra.

The sword was probably the perfect weight and well balanced. "Unfortunately, I can't tell you that either. I trade with many merchants to buy certain weapons. I believe the one who sold me those is a blacksmith, I remember her mentioning she works a lot building those bows and does swords and daggers like those every now and then." he shrugged, handing her the bag. He refused the money though.

He watched Seidra begin to leave, and glanced at Monience anxiously, ready to close up his shop. "How about you take that and test it out? You can swing by my shop tomorrow evening and give it back if it doesn't suit you." he grinned, slamming the weapons case close and putting it in a semi secure spot behind his stand. He grabbed an apple from one of the crates. "Thank you, goodbye!" he called, waving to Monience before she had a chance to respond.

Running up beside Seidra, he slowed his pace. Since she was walking in the same direction his house was in, he figured he'd tag along for just a little bit. "You didn't give me a chance to say goodbye!" he huffed, biting into his apple.

Monience looked off where the boy ran off to. "Are people avoiding me today? and...did I just...get this for free?" Monience was confused. Though Monience figured if she told Xen, Xen would probably say her gain. Sheathing the weapon she grabbed her stuff and headed for the gate to head home.