~+^ Prologue ^+~ -
Sunday, March 20, 2011 -
The HeartStrong clan are known to be all about love. Their economy is based on jewellery, chocolates, flowers, little trinkets, potions and anything that has to do with love. It isn't only their income that's tied to love; their rite of passage to being accepted as a man within the clan is also about love.
And it is during one of these rites, held at the end of every year, where this story begins..

"Will Lucius, Son of Lucian, step forth?"
A crowd of hundreds of people watched solemnly as a slim man with long, black hair walked up a stage carpeted in romantic-red and adorned with gold and silver ornaments. It looked more like a wedding than a ceremony to mark one's coming of age.

When the slim man finally stopped, he was in front of the town's Chief Priest who was garbed in a royal purple robe. The chief priest eyed him with a look of disapproval before asking quietly, "This.. This is what you wear for your rite of passage, Lucius?"
"What are you talking about, Garrow?" Lucius' face gave off an exaggerated look of puzzlement, "I always dress like this!"
"Yes, like a man who just got out of bed," Garrow looked up at nothing in particular as he bemoaned, "Your mother got you some formal wear, if I recall. Where are they?"
Lucius shrugged in reply and the chief priest decided to let the matter rest.

As he raised his voice, Garrow announced, "As is the clan's tradition, Lucius has reached the age where he must prove himself a worthy member of our solidarity. He is to leave this place and return only when he finds himself a wife!"

The crowd roared with approval, "[Aye!]"

Reaching for a small, leather sack, the chief priest proclaimed, "Take this small fortune, venture out into the world and find a woman to love for life, Lucius, son of Lucian!" He handed the sack to Lucius who accepted it with two hands, bowed to the crowd and walked off quietly.

"Will, Ulysses, Son of Laertes, step forth?"

The ceremony continued for the many other men who had just turned sixteen. They would all be given the same small fortune, 50 gold coins (Think: free-food for 5years), and they would all be cast out from this town for one purpose; to find a suitable life-partner.
Harsh?
Maybe but the men of the HeartStrong clan believe that love is what granted them immense wealth and happiness.

After the ceremony, everyone roamed about to visit the many wooden booths that had been set up all over the town; each booth would be giving out free food and drinks of all sorts. This was, after all, an annual event and the HeartStrong were certainly wealthy enough to be spreading their riches. The atmosphere was merry with bards and buskers scattered all over. Walk from one end of the town to the other and you would hear the melodies change fluidly without awkwardness of any sort.

Lucius grabbed an armful of strawberry danishes from a wandering waiter and stuffed his mouth with one of them.
"Very elegant," a woman was laughing at him. She was slightly shorter than Lucius with shoulder-length hair dyed brown, "That's my son, always the gentleman!"
Lucius turned around, "Ugh, why must you do this to me?"
"But this might be the last time I get to make you blush!" the woman took a danish from Lucius' carefully balanced stack and took a bite out of it, "Dahlia makes such wonderful pastries, wouldn't you agree?"
"All right, what are you here for?" he knew his mother well; she would not engage in idle chatter unless there was a pressing need.
"Why, I just came here to talk to my son before he leaves!"
"No, you came here to nag at me."
"Well, yes and no," the woman took a step back with her hands to her back and looked down, "You do know how important this is, right? The woman you bring back home will be with you till you die. Literally." It was not a joke. Amongst the HeartStrong clan, the price of divorce is death to both parties. This is how strong their belief in '[Till death do us part]' was.

"I know, mother. I know," Lucius shoved another danish into his mouth. For now, this was a festive occasion. But he would soon be thrown (Well, not exactly 'thrown' but it felt that way to him) out of town and be forced to find a wife.. At the age of 16.

He would have to leave without any belongings save the very clothes on his back and that small fortune..
This post was made @ 5:36 AM

~+^ Cain && Azelia ^+~ - -
In the Bible, Cain killed his brother out of jealousy.
The name 'Azelia' is Hebrew in origin with Greek influence and means 'Not jealous'.

See the irony here?
Heh.

Labels: trivia

This post was made @ 5:25 AM

~+^ Meaning of Alexis ^+~ - -
The name 'Alexis' is Greek in origin and means 'Defender'.
'Alexis StrongShield' kinda' sounds funny now, doesn't it?

'Alexis' means 'Defender'..
'StrongShield' relates to 'Defending'..

Yeah, trust the author to think up such a name =P

Labels: trivia

This post was made @ 5:18 AM

~+^ Character Profiles - Cain ^+~ - -
Cain is a 5th year student at the [Azelia FireBrand Academy] of Advanced Pyro-Magic. He is to take the National Gramarye Proficiency Examination by the end of the year.

He's hopelessly in love with Quinn but doesn't ever know what to do to please her. As a result, they end up arguing most of the time. He turns to Lucius for advice often as he appears to understand her well.

Cain's views on love and Quinn's seem to clash with him being the shy, slow-moving type and her being the bold and passionate one.

He is currently in a relationship with Quinn.

Labels: profile cain

This post was made @ 5:05 AM

~+^ Character Profiles - Quinn ^+~ - -
Quinn is a 3rd year student at the [Alexis StrongShield Academy] where students are trained in the art of defense and healing magic. She's a hopeless romantic who reacts very negatively to any imperfections in her relationships. She has been known to be obsessive, controlling, jealous and suffocating of her boyfriends and her mood has been known to swing at extremes.

Despite all that, she's admired by guys and popularity [always] comes at a price. Rumors are always circulating about and she gets betrayed fairly often. However, she almost always forgives the people that hurt her as she values friendship highly.

She is currently in a relationship with Cain.

Labels: profile quinn

This post was made @ 4:45 AM

~+^ Character Profiles - Lucius ^+~ - -
Lucius is a member of the HeartStrong clan.
As per tradition, he is sent off to find a life-long partner as his rite of passage to becoming a man.
He cannot return to his hometown until he finds a wife.

However, as he isn't ready for such a commitment, he decides to be a soldier-for-hire; a mercenary. He is put through all kinds of life-threatening and downright inhumane situations as a result.

Lucius has two little brothers and a mother back home.
He feels no strong attachment to family or relatives.

He is slim, of average height with longer-than-average, black hair (The hair is more of a bane, really) and is not particularly muscular. He's always low on money but doesn't appear that way to everyone.

He is currently single.

Labels: profile lucius

This post was made @ 4:21 AM