ANNOUNCEMENTS/NEWS (IMPORTANT)

[Vaden LeMonte]

The view of Gaea spanned out in all directions. The Prima Continena could have been seen towards the east and the south, the Four-Points Islands to the north and finally the dark land of Ghenna to the west. The scenery, for the most part, was nearly pure until one began to look down and away from the horizon. The nexus of the Annon stretched out below the gray, granite-like platform that was suspended in midair above the Annon. It was nothing fancy and only two things rested on the platform: a small airship for transport to the Airship Points that only came into being centuries ago and an equally gray hut.

Inside the hut, there was only one inhabitant: Vaden, the Guardian and Gatekeeper of this place. He sat on his chair inside his petite lounge of the hut. This was his humble abode where many had ventured to in order to gain entry into their origin. Very few had made it out alive and that's when he had come in. Since his creation adventurers hadn't accomplished what they wanted, whether it was going inside or obtaining something of it. Battling with them every so often, it was monotonous but provided a thrill when it swung around.

Sighing, he rose from his chair and concluded that he would probably venture out to the rest of the world to see how it was coming along. The last he left the Annon was a century ago which was only days compared to his present age.

[Vaden LeMonte]

Once he stood up, he went to the left side of his chair looking down on a black, stone trunk. Vaden had carved this out from a boulder at Krog's Peak and brought it back with him; it was one of his many souveniers from the "outside" world. He held a hand over it and muttered a short phrase in Al'hen — a language he had long ago made for his own purposes by combining Elven with a tongue he heard in a temple in Gaea. The steel lock popped open and the lid flew open as a blast of slightly stale air met his nose. Ignoring it, Vaden pulled out its contents: his armor. The helm and body bits only, however; Vaden always wore his amulet and rings on him all day, every day. It took him time and some moving around to get his armor on, fastening the "sleeves" and the torso on tight and the leg guards before slipping on his helm which he kept up until he entered battle. Lastly, his armored shoes slipped on. Grinning as he saw himself in his armor, he walked towards the door of his hut and grabbed his Gunblade, the Mor'Kalina Vayn, from the wall and sheathed it onto his hip.

He inhaled a fresh breath of air and closed the door behind him using the same incantation he had to open his trunk inside. Moving to the edge of the platform he took a knee, bowing his head. "Nostahd," he muttered under his breath, "I wish to take a short leave. It won't be long until my return."

He kept his head bowed as the surface of the Annon raised gently and rippled like water, a whispered, hissing noise coming from it – one of acknowledgement. Rising to his feet, he went towards the Airship at the other end of the platform. Taking three steps into the Airship, a short lady Hume stepped up to him, bowing courteously and yet nervously at the same time. "A-a-are you Sir LeMonte? I heard so much about you from everybody else on the 'Ship.... Purchasing a ticket, sir?"

He nodded and pulled out the money from a pouch he kept on his waist and handed it to her. Vaden was already familiar with how this newly implemented form of transport worked and practically memorized the price for certain destinations. Walking away from her, he let a grin crawl on his face. Women, particularly Hume, fascinated him to an extent. And as much as he might enjoy their company and vice versa, he never had any conditional attachment. Just because he was a Guardian of where the life of Gaea originated from didn't mean he was deprived of simple pleasures entirely.