The Valley (Open)

(Yeah, this is open, so if you wanna join just post.)
Imagine the harshest place in the world. It is not a desert. Nor is it a rainforest. It is, in fact, an icy wasteland, uninhabited by life, unspoiled by Man and his machines. It is a desolate mountain range, miles wide, empty save for snow, ice, and rock. But, in the middle of this waste, lies the Valley. A haven for life, this small valley is inhabited by a large variety of it, including men. They are a breed apart from their cousins outside of the Valley, and have learned to live with the surrounding nature. Also found here are the neko, kitsune, and every other form of intelligent life found beyond the craggy walls of the Valley. They all shared a common religion, with two deities equal in power and worship. But recently, individuals have begun to worship a single deity exclusively. Religious arguments over which of the two gods is more superior, Kalkon of the earth or Caelum of the sky, soon broke out. The arguments grew in intensity until deadly faction fighting began to break out betwixt the two religious groups. Now, the valley is threatened by a civil war that could destroy it and all who live there. Its only hope is that someone or something will reunite the two groups and restore peace...
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Ardigan had been told all his life about the evil ways of the followers of Kalkon. Caelumist priests had told him about it at seminary, and his parents told him about it at home. Now he was a Gateguard for the Polis, a self-governing city inhabited mostly by Caelumists. He stood on the wall surrounding the Polis, looking down at the forests beneath. The only sound was the noise of the steel shortsword sheathed at his side clinking against his grieves. It was a boring job thus far, but the pay was reasonable and you got a place to stay. His morning had been uneventful. But they were all uneventful. What did he expect? Kalkonist soldiers to burst from the bushes and scale the wall? No, if there where enemy soldiers they would have been stopped by the Patrol before
they got this far. Ardigan sighed, and passed his spear from one hand to the other. Fifteen minutes until his watch ended, and then he could go back to the barracks and sleep.

Something moved in the forest. Ardigan gripped the spear tightly, anxious to see what it was. Could it be a troop of Kalkonists? Ardigan told himself it was probably just a returning Patrol or some foragers, but prayed to Caelum for safety just in case.

Aiko had never enjoyed growing up in the town with the other Kalkon followers. Kalkon this, Kalkon that. That's all she heard day in and day out at school, church and at home. Her parents would have beat it into her if they could have. Still, she dealt with their demands and learned all she had to about the evil Caelumist people and her own religion. After she reached the age of around eleven, she began to train with the guards in her town. Their training caught on to her quickly and she was soon being called the neko rogue by the guards. Her cat like skills made her very good at this.

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For years after she used her knowledge and cat skills to break into simple things in her village. After years of this practice, she saw it as a good chance to try something a bit...bigger. There was a village of the Caelumist not far from her own town so she decided to drop by for a visit.

It didn't take her long to reach the village, she chose to find a place in the wall where no one would notice her. The tail was curled around her thigh, cat ears resting at either side of her head as she tried to keep silent. Moving on all fours, she almost crawled through the bushes. Stopping as she made a sound, she bit at her lip and looked up at the wall hoping that no one had noticed it. Seeing one of the guards, she bit into her lip even more.

This whole thing was supposed to be simple, not getting caught and possibly killed for being here. But if the guards found her, that's what may happen. She was starting to rethink her idea.

Ardigan passed the spear back to his right hand, and then grabbed the shaft with his left, positioning it in a threatening position.
"Who goes there?" He shouted, as was protocol.
He swore he had seen something...but now he was less worried. Perhaps it had been an animal. Caelum knows how many of those there where wandering around. But he kept the defensive position, again as protocol demanded. Issue a challenge, then wait for a response. Five minutes later, ask again. If, in ten minutes, there was no response, the Gateguard could then relax again. Ardigan wasn't quite there yet, so he maintained his stance. He was glad the spear was light. Ardigan felt sorry for the Gateguards who carried broadswords.

Still nothing. He called out the second time.
"Who goes there?"
Ardigan began thanking Caelum for his generosity.

Aiko sat as still as she possibly could in the bushes. The shouting made her wince slightly, it being loud to her sensitive ears. If she waited long enough he would finally relax and go back to his post. All she had to do was wait it out and hope that more soldiers didn't come to check out what the guard was shouting at.

Staying very still, she simply sat there and watched the guard, careful of how long she looked up at him and even how she looked at him. If he noticed any kind of something in the bushes, he was sure to investigate.

When he shouted a second time, she winced again. By now she was becoming stiff and shifted very slightly and slowly as to not make noise. Her foot brushed the leaves, a slight sound coming from them and she hoped that the guard wouldn't notice.

Ardigan ceased his silent prayers. Something had moved again. Now, according to protocol, he had to sound the alarm. But Ardigan wasn't going to be made a fool of. Imagine the humiliation of waking hundreds of sleeping people, bringing the entire Gateguard to the walls for nothing. He walked to a stairway that descended adjacent to the large iron portcullis that was kept closed after dark. Ardigan held the spear in front of him as he walked toward the foliage where he had seen the movement. He stopped, and called out again, "Who goes there?"

Aiko silently cursed herself. She moved and made noise and now the guard was coming. Great, just great, she thought silently. Watching him very closely as he headed to the stairs and took the moment to move farther into the bush to try and hide. After a moment she sat perfectly still.

Once he began to move toward her, she sat very still. When he stopped, she hoped he hadn't noticed her. She flinched again at the shouting but stayed as still as she could. If he didn't notice her, he would leave and so could she.

Ardigan scanned the surrounding landscape. He had sworn he had seen something...maybe he was just tired. Anyway, he had better get back before his watch changed; it would not be good to be reported missing. Ardigan took one last glance at the forest, turned and stopped. He turned around again. There was something. Ardigan passed his spear to his left hand again, and drew his shortsword. "I see you. Who are you, and why are you hiding?" he asked, lowering the point of his spear defensively. Ardigan wished he had raised the alarm when he saw the second movement. For this is what he saw: a humanoid silhouette, the only variations being the tail and the ears. A neko.

Ardigan did not look forward to fighting this neko, if it came to that; they were fast and strong. He had sparred with several neko Gateguards during training and did not like the idea of actually fighting one of them.

Aiko watched him silently as he stood there. He hadn't noticed her, maybe he would give up soon and she could go home without issue. When the guard turned, she let out a slow sigh. She seemed safe enough now. Her breath caught in her throat as he turned back toward her. Biting at her lip, she blinked at the sight of the sword. He saw her, perfect. Well it surely wasn't safe to stay in the small space under the bush but if she got out, others may see her. She had to take the risk.

Sliding from her place under the brush, she stood and watched him carefully as she did. The tail uncurled from her leg and rested behind her, the ears raising from where they placed against her head to stand straight. "I'm a neko." She left her hands at her waist, near the weapons, just in case.