Eryn astonished at the sight of the place gave a sort-of curtsie to Eruditis and walked behind Landen.

Silvryn executed a flawless and sinuously graceful bow, neither one degree lower nor one higher than was expected of her in deference to this Master of Zheariv. She was royalty and Exalted, and as such very little deference was technically expected. "My Lord Eruditis," she greeted him, pushing back her thick black locks to survey him with her violet-eyed gaze - a gaze uncannily devoid of emotion, as though one had run abruptly into a stone wall and had no opportunity to go further. Another art the Princess had perfected over the years.

"Your hospitality is greatly appreciated, both by the royalty of Irvanhri and by these individuals, I am sure," she continued with a gesture at the troop of Gifted and Exalted.

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The moonlight glinted off Eruditis's bald head and tanned skin as he offered a reverent bow at the elven princess. "If you will follow me," he murmured in a voice that carried over the visitors.

With that, he swept up the grand stairway to the doors of the pyramid. The twelve Gifted escorts fell into line around the honored visitors. Eruditis spoke a word, and the vast doors opened to a vaulted sconce-lit entrance hall.

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eryn followed him up the stairs and through the big doors.

Yay. You guys are alive.

----

Tal bent to one knee as he saw Eruditis, noticing that Yrudit did the same thing, but he certainly did not feel many pleasant emotions at the sight of the chief Exalted. It wasn't that they had parted on bad terms, but they certainly hadn't parted on good ones, either. That was the reason that Tal proceeded to ignore the Exalted as they entered, though he was careful to avoid doing anything that could insult the man.

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Landen, now seeing everyone else bow and curtsie to the tall exalted, felt a sour pang of guild shoot through his mind. He just had to do these kinds of things, didn't he? With a slight wince, he followed the head Exalted out of the room, behind several others, including Princess Silvryn.

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You may (or may not) know me elsewhere as Elfpen

Silvryn, outwardly airily and loftily confident as always, breathed an inward sigh of relief as they entered the expansive pyramid. The journey had been grating on all their nerves, to say the least, and eventually even the slightest annoyance made the Princess want to scream - though of course she retained her cool demeanor.

Hurrying her footsteps slightly, Silvryn caught up to the stately Eruditis and spoke to him in an undertone. "My lord, I fear we will not be sojourning here as long as we had hoped. Word has reached us of increasing evil in the north - though you are likely aware of that."

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Eruditis seemed lost in thought. At length he nodded somberly. "I know of the evil, my lady. Its origins lie in the Wasteland, as we are all aware." He sighed. Though middle-aged, he suddenly appeared a man of sixty. "Our numbers are dwindling. Only a score of our Gifted occupy these halls. I am the only Exalted. It will take more than Gifted to defeat this evil that has conquered both the north and the Wasteland."

Two marble doors were opened before them, revealing a moonlit great hall furnished with an elegant table that could seat at least two dozen. The Lord of Zheariv motioned for the others to sit before he took a seat at the table's head. A spot had been reserved at his right hand side for Princess Silvryn.

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Pendfire, as always, stood at Silvryn's side. He had bowed a little lower than the princess, being lower in rank. The elf kept an emotionless face, and strait back the whole while, not impressed by it's beauty, since little impressed him. He took the seat next to Silvryn at the table...

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Darnel remained aloof, but bowed low. He trailed behind the group, feeling like the outcast. He stared at the pyramid, fasinated with it. At the table, Darnel hesitated, not sure were to sit, but decided to take a seat near the end of one of the tables...

~~~~~

Alistina bowed when Eruditis came out, acknolaging he was of high rank by his everchanging cloths and how the princess addressed him. She listened to every word said, wanting to learn more about this evil than the little she already knew. She took a seat near the middle of the table, enjoying to be indoors and in a furnished room after traveling...

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(}--{)Imagination Inspires Ideas -Zandain(}--{)
Married Cloud Strife 9/17/08

Silvryn smiled as they seated themselves - a rare occurence. "There are not a few Exalted among us," she murmured sotto voce. "Their increasing numbers could mean several things, not the least of which the fact that their services will be essential in driving back this northern evil. Hope is not altogether lost, by any means."

Kiarryn stared about her in awe, a little intimidated by the towering grandeur of the place. She was only moderately Gifted, and these august surrounds made her painfully aware of it.

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Tal slid into the chair next to Kiarryn. Her top emotion was plain on her face--she felt out of place. He didn't smile, though. He himself felt a little out of place, but also very confused. There should be more Gifted here, yet it seemed that besides the twelve who had greeted them, only six others were in residence. And where were those still training? All he had seen were fully-trained Gifted, and Eruditis. He would have to ask someone about it later.

"Do not worry about whether or not you are strong compared to those here, Kiarryn," Tal cautioned the girl. "Among the Gifted, we have ranks according to capabilities, not strength. If you prove yourself capable of doing more than someone stronger than you, you will be elevated faster than they."

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eryn felt out of place she enjoyed being away from people and in the woods. She took a seat next to Penfire feeling like he was the closest person she knew sinse the time of when her parents...... she trailed off in thought when she heard Silvryn talking.

Kjiro, whom had traveled many, if not all of the dwellings of the gifted, sat down quickly and quietly, only pausing for a few seconds to admire the unusuall architechture(sp?).

Landen, on the other hand, slowed his fast walking to more of a very slow stroll, his head bent so that he could look at the many archways that seemed to melt up into a large dome, speckled with several murals. With what, he could not tell, but they were obviously very old, and painted with extreme skill. Having a seat across from Rylin and his sister, Landen cast a glance at Raina, attempting to read her expression. Which, over the time he had traveled with her, he found was rather like trying recustruct a broken vase.

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You may (or may not) know me elsewhere as Elfpen

Slightly alarmed that her intimidation had shown so obviously, Kiarryn shot him a glance and a quick smile to prove she wasn't completely cowed. "No doubt," she murmured in reply. "Though somehow I think little attention may be paid to elevation in ranks, with so little time to accomplish so much."

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Heads bent close together, the two siblings seemed to be oblivious to anything going on around them..until Raina felt someone's gaze on her, and lifted her head slightly. It was then she saw Landen..and oddly enough, smiled briefly in his direction, before continuing the quiet conversation with her brother.

Varna, in contrast with the siblings, sat down the table from them, looking and feeling very out of place, to say the least. To compensate for this, the young man kept glancing about the room, just to have something to give his attention over to.

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Landen smiled back at Raina, nodding his head quickly, and then turning his attention back to sifting out all of the noise that he could hear not far off in the distance, and mabye identify a word or two of the whispered conversation going on across the table.. Whatever he was listening to, he seemed quite perplexed as the sounds reverbrated off the walls, magnifying their volume. This is odd.. he thought, I've never seen any building that has such acustics! I do wonder who designed it...

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You may (or may not) know me elsewhere as Elfpen