The Gate of Lords

Greg nodded.

Breathe. Breathe.

Greg rose, trying to calm himself down once more. His heart was beating away uncontrollably, like water flowing from a tap with no handle. He walked over to the entrance door down the hall, observing the other people who were already there. What could their powers be? More importantly, what did they have to do?

edited 10th Jun '12 11:46:01 AM by Collen

Carwyn nonchalantly stood up and checked his stuff, which equated to straightening his trechcoat, securing his gauntlets and confirming his orb, which weirdly seemed to contain a beating heart, was still secure, before walking out of the room and towards the Trials.

Lionel quickly retrieved his to from his dessert, and bolted upright nervously, gathering all his little green army men.

"I... I... Um... I gotta go do trials now, but it was nice meeting you!"

And with that, he bolted into the hallway.

"Man, it is too early in the morning to work. Or afternoon. Whatever." Hopping off of the table Billie shook her coat, various items inside it making a cacophony of noises in response. She paused for a moment, then reached into one of the pockets on the inside and pulled out her crystal clear orb. With that she followed the rest of the students towards the entrance door.

"Awesome" said Megan as she sat down... thought she barely could get a spoonful of lunch on her mouth before the Masters called everyone up to face the challenges.

"Oh Curses, me too" said the young mage as she chugged down as much of her lunch as she was able before standing up and following the young boy she sat with to go where they were instructed.

Lionel blinked. The girl seemed to have followed him.

He blushed, just a little.

"Oh, um... Hi again..."

"Hi there. I do believe we didn't get a chance to introduce ourself. I'm Megan, Wilder. Just your run-of-the-mill friendly mage and genius. So, who are you little fellow?" said Megan as she walked besides Lionel.

daltar, you can kill me later for ruining your exchange with Lionel. Anyways, here we go...

"I... don't realize that I'm that enthusiastic about the Trial." Vann thought. He had walked in a very quick pace akin to running. As a result, he left Billie and Greg behind. In front of him are two Orbkeepers, a boy and a girl, both of which Vann were not acquaintances of.

He still remembered the black-haired girl's mood-breaking actions back in the dining hall, though. "Really, I can't stand her, people like her definitely can't read the atmosphere." Vann said out loud.

"Uh... Incoming problem?" He speculated. Vann regretted having said that accidentally, especially remembering the person in question is standing two meters ahead of him.

edited 10th Jun '12 2:20:11 PM by LimitRemoval

"Hmm?" Hearing the comment and somewhat recognizing the voice as the one of the person who told her earlier to mind her manners, Megan turned back to look at Vann. She then started walking backwards to keep pace with Lionel while still looking at Vann.

As she started to speak she brought both of her hands to rest on the back of her head, an amused smile on her lips as she said "Heh, sorry for ruining the gloom and doom atmosphere. Were you building the mood up to get in the right state of mind to write on your blog later or do you just do better on examinations when under pressure and stress?"

Khaine was about to introduce himself when the masters entered and proclaimed that the Trials were about to start. When the two at the table got up and left Khaine quickly followed. He tapped the two war axes at his sides a few times, less out of making sure they were still there and more out of nervous habit. He then took his Orb out of his pocket and clutched it firmly in his hand, the blood inside acting as if it was in the middle of a storm.

Eventually he found himself following behind Andel. He hurried up a bit until he was next to the archer and said "Hi again. Sorry for not introducing myself earlier. My names Khaine."

Lionel blinked, tilting his head, confused.

"Um... Lionel Kenner... Should I leave you two alone?"

Greg turned around to the other people entering the Trials. "Oh, I suppose I should tell you all my name, just in case. I'm Greg Nabbitz... some of you already know me... others, not so much. Alright? Alright." He turned back around.

Maelt awoke with a start when he remembered that he had to be at the Trials, to learn to critique the styles. He bolted out of bed, quickly pulled on some clothes, and ran quickly to the trials arena only to discover it had already started. He hurried up to his position beside and slightly behind his master and muttered an apology.

"I wonder who the recruits are this time around," Maelt whispered to his master, only to get a list of participants, with a brief bio. "A bit more detailed than I needed, but that works. Do you want me to tell them the rules as you taught me?"

edited 10th Jun '12 4:44:35 PM by Rockonman

Master Gregory smiled. "It is best that they know before they enter." he said. "Go ahead, tell them the rules of the Trial by Light."

While he said this, the door began to open inward, though nothing appeared to have opened it. Light poured into the room, revealing a square metal-floored room with stone walls, the floor divided into nine sections, each bordered by etched runes. There were eight triangular sections and one round one in the middle. "Everyone inside, please."

Greg wandered inside aimlessly, not knowing where exactly to go.

Maelt grinned, said "Here goes nothing...", grabbed a sandwich laying on a nearby table while powering his orb, and nonchalantly jumped off the arena wall and floated down to land in front of the students.

"Right. I'm called Maelt, I'm supposed to tell you the rules of the first Trial. But first, let me eat this sandwich. Cheese, lettuice, bacon, homemade bread. Really good, you guys should try it sometime. If you pass."

-munch munch-

edited 10th Jun '12 5:55:41 PM by Rockonman

"Really? I think your priorities are skewered. Or maybe the sandwich is vital to the Trials?" Greg asked dryly. "Get to the point."

"Mmm, ah yes. Sorry, someone stole my lunch, just kinda hungry, hasty one.

Anyways, on to the rules. The rules for the first Trial are as follows: The arena is divided into nine zones, the first eight belonging to teams and the ninth belonging to nobody and impossible to claim. Each team starts with two zones, but when nobody is touching a zone the next person to touch it claims it for their own team. If you are in a zone of the arena owned by another team, then you must leave the arena. The team that has all the zones in the end, counting ones nobody is in but they've still touched last, wins, and all of the members of that team, disqualified or not, move on to the next trial. Don't want any injuries this year, so umm..., yea, please try to avoid that.Questions?

Oh yea, teams of 4. You've got two minutes. Please pick wisely."

edited 10th Jun '12 6:42:15 PM by Rockonman

Lionel raised his hand.

"Why is it called the trial by light? It... Seems more like a trial by positioning..."

He paused.

"Are there any other rules? Rules about... for example... the use of proxies?"

He had Bumblebee and a few green army men in his pocket. Even if nothing in the room was made of plastic, he had a few pieces he could put on the board... And they were close enough to the cafeteria that, if given a bit of time, he could probably pull in some sporks to give himself more plastic to work with.

Still, he knew he'd be picked last. Biding his time, he pulled out his orb and looked around, trying to locate any plastic any of his potential opponents might have on their person. Hopefully he wouldn't have to resort to tying their shoelaces together using the aglets. (And if you've ever wondered what the little plastic things on the end of your shoelaces are, that'd be them; aglets.)

He really hoped he wouldn't have to turn his army men into a green plastic shiv. The guy said they didn't want any injuries. But some of these people seemed like the really angry sort, and while Lionel didn't want to hurt anyone, he wanted to be the one who got hurt even less.

edited 10th Jun '12 8:31:06 PM by Scrounge

"Nice to meet ya Khaine" Andel replied before listening intently to the Trial's proctor. So a team challenge, absolutely perfect. This would be Andel's time to shine if he could pick the right teammates. He held his Orb out and felt the simple joy that accompanied his sixth sense. The life forces of those gathered here were, by and large, rather good. He needed to find a group of complimentary people or at least people who could work together rather than against one another.

His Orb glowed a brilliant emerald and he simply looked. He knew that Phoebus was Fire but he needed to know more than just one person's element if he was going to make an informed decision. He needed to be quick though. What a conundrum.

"To answer your first question, the first Trial is the one to show how your work ... works in a group to set aside your differences and overcome the problems at hand and produce something that far outshines something an individual may achieve.

As for your second question, yes, proxies may be used.

Any more questions before I start the timer for getting groups together?"

edited 10th Jun '12 8:49:39 PM by Rockonman

After the proctor had finished answering the question about proxies, Khaine decided to speak up as well. He said "If two people from two different teams try to claim an unclaimed area at the same time, how should it be resolved?"

"That's where your training comes in. Use your tactics, negotiating skills, teamwork, and if those fail, your skills. Remember, though, that we are trying to avoid unnessicary injuries and deaths, so do try to avoid that. We - or at least I will - step in if things get too out of hand, but it is up to you to avoid such things."

edited 10th Jun '12 9:24:59 PM by Rockonman

"The latter, it is. I'm just that kind of person whose true potential cannot be drawn unless in the direst of circumstances." Vann spoke calmly, going along with Megan's pace. "And I suppose you are the polar opposite."

Then another Orbkeeper entered the fray, he seemed to be a sub-judge of some sorts, one that doesn't look like he's up for the job. Hearing the word 'Trial by Light', Vann couldn't help but think about Greg, whose element matches the trial's name. Also, Vann was pretty sure he'll fight him at some point, "Must be divine intervention." Vann said in amusement.

A territorial battle akin to 'capture the flag'. While several of his abilities are useful for this kind of mission, he was more of a strategic fighter. The limitation on ability lethality also worked against him, as his trump card have to be controlled more carefully so as not to outright injure the others.

Then the 'sub-judge' mumbled about getting into a group of four before entering that door. That's when Vann began scanning the room, he doubted that either Megan or Lionel would be eager to accept him, remembering his transformed appearance. The only one he could really 'feel comfortable with' at this moment was Billie, but nowhere in Vann's sight did he appear.

Faced between a rock and a hard place, Vann asked Megan, "I really hope you don't mind me becoming a part of your group."

edited 10th Jun '12 10:59:59 PM by LimitRemoval

Carwyn listened to the rules of the trial, and although it didn't seem the best of ideas for testing people, that was for the masters and this other guy to decide. He guessed he would just wait around until everyone else was picked.