KChan

I was wondering who got that! Lucky. I would like to announce that I am hopelessly addicted to cookies.

Leave it running. I dare you.

Wait, you go to Under Construction Forever? My best friend goes there! I'm at FAU, myself; UCF doesn't offer a Linguistics major. Also, I inherited a resonator guitar and an electric fiddle from my Dad. I am now irresistibly compelled to learn how to play both of these things.

SQUISHY!!! CHICKEN!!! EDIT: I'm an idiot.

I did see, and I am ridiculously excited. I am definitely buying that book when it comes out.

So that sentence totally made me imagine your EEE Pad turning into a giant robot. Just saying. Um, yeah. It's summer break. That's squee-worthy enough for me just now. Boy, do I need it.

Pirates of the Carribbean hasn't changed much at all. There are just little cameos, like the dog with the jail keys. Also, I don't have much to say about Star Tours. I tried it once, but got horribly motion sick and had to lie down on a bench outside the ride for a good 5-10 minutes afterward. It's a shame; I enjoyed the ride, but I won't be able to try out the new one.

I have a general Associate's degree and am currently pursuing a Bachelor's in Linguistics, possibly with a minor in Japanese. I absolutely love it, and don't want any other major. Registering for classes is like Christmas for me.

forever. But then

Hey now, Stuff is my job! It's in my title! Anyways, hi there, Chachel! It's nice to meet you! It's always good to see a lurker finally come out of the shadows to join us. I'm one of your friendly neighborhood admins, at least when real life isn't totally destroying me. Feel free to contact me with any questions you may have, or just to chat!

Hi there, pv3Hpv3p! I have to confess, I had to look again before I could spell your name right, so I'll probably call you pv3 for short. You've only just joined and you already have a nickname! Anyways, I'm KChan, and as you can see, I'm one of the Admins around here. Among random Stuff (of which I am the Highprince), I also co-Admin the Mistborn RP with Chaos, do various skinning and coding things for the site, work on random secret projects, and - when real life isn't kicking my butt - admin the Coppermind Wiki. As for reading recommendations, I'd go with Elantris and Wheel of Time. Definitely. When I'm not lurking here, I'm a full-time college student and part-time martial arts instructor. I also cosplay. And write, supposedly, but real life is keeping me from that too at the moment. It's nice to meet you, and I hope you enjoy it here! If you have any questions or concerns, or just want to chat, please don't hesitate to contact me or one of the other staff members.

I suppose there's also Maestra, but that would give us the masculine Maestro as well, which has very strong musical connotations. Or maybe Maestrus. Fun with making up words!

Yeah, for sure. If anything, Mistress/Madame would seem to be a default address (Mistress does appear in some fantasy settings; as long as it's Mistress [NAME], we don't get the issue of the woman sounding like she is of less than ideal moral character, so to speak), perhaps depending on the country, but Master seems best for an Academic setting. I suppose there's also Magister, but that seems to carry the connotation of magic, which isn't appropriate in all cases. Perhaps among the Vhaskari... Hm... Also, welcome, Jay!

"I will present myself as a Healer in the personal service of Highlord Vhaskar's family," Harran explained as they made their way into the inn. "I already have the proper clothes, and that is all anyone will see." "Perhaps we can get you a wig," Kiki joked. Harran said nothing, but he obviously wasn't amused. She just grinned and sought out the inkeeper. They had their lodging sought out in short order, but as they were on their way upstairs, she noticed a pair of voices engaged in a rather curious debate: ". . .The voice of a distinguised Master such as yourself would surely be valued. How can you refuse such an opportunity?" "I suppose you have some sort of official order from the crown in case that stirring speech of yours fails." Kiki said nothing, but glanced in the direction the voices had come from out of the corner of her eye. There was a messenger, obviously in the service of the Prince, speaking to... Was that a Leyari? She had the features, but Kiki had never seen a Leyari woman like this before: her hair was down, rather than tied in the complex knots favored by women of the Cherry Valley, and this one also had foregone both face paint and silks. Her clothes were simple, and she appeared to have been in the middle of some sort of negotiation before being interrupted by the Prince's summons (Kiki wasn't surprised by the interruption). A trader, perhaps? What was a 'distinguished Master' doing acting as a common merchant? She remained silent, though, until the three reached the rooms they would be sharing. Only after she had put her things down and begun sorting through them did she speak up. "Did you notice that little scene downstairs?" she asked.

"It's likely," Kiki confirmed, her mind racing. "But I can't investigate the scene as-is. I'll get better access to everything once we've said hello to the Prince." "Not dressed like that, you aren't," Harran pointed out, "Or it will be extremely difficult for us to leave quietly." "Point taken," Kiki said, looking down at her current outfit. She was dressed like a traveler, if a wealthier one than some, and her hair was still cut short. This was not how the Prince remembered her, and Harran was right: if he saw her like this, it would blow her cover. "We need to change," she announced to the group at large, veering them off toward the first inn she laid eyes on. It looked nice enough on the outside, and they were already in the nicer part of the city, so it was good enough as any. "This place will do, I think."

"There are many unknown phenomena in our world," Kiki remarked absently, already deep in thought at what could be behind this. "Some claim prophecy is real, but so far, any accounts of it that I have encountered are far from substantiated." "A channeler with enough knowledge of how body works could, theoretically, have taken a dead body and made it appear to have been moving on its own," Harran offered, sounding thoughtful. "A rather distasteful act if you ask me, but I think it could be done." "Like a puppeteer?" Kiki asked, curious. "Something like that, yes. It would have to be someone of considerable knowledge and skill, though. An exceptionally rare talent. And that is for only for movement. Speaking, however... Now that would be even more difficult. Extremely so." "Sound manipulation?" Kiki suggested. "They would have to be close, though, I think, to have done this. And that's only if there really is a puppeteer at all. A true mystery..."

Someone had fun planning, I'm guessing.

I would like to announce that I am going stir-crazy. I seriously need to get out of this house.

I love how many of our names use the -i suffix, and seemingly independently of one another. It makes for a pretty interesting naming convention, I think.

Indeed! I'm liking our naming conventions thus far.

History Before the Awakening Long ago, before the Xanethi were called by that name, and mankind wandered the continent in nomadic tribes, many groups began to band together for the sake of mutual safety and protection. The Vhaskari – though of course they did not call themselves that at the time – did not. Recognizing that larger settlements were nothing more than larger, more appetizing targets to the increasingly catastrophic Ohnyrek raids, they decided to seek out the safety of the land instead, and fled high into the mountains. With the harsh and forbidding mountainsides standing between them and the invading Ohnyrek, life began to get a little better for the ancestors of the Vhaskari. Though the raids still came, the mountains proved a challenge even for the mightiest of invaders, giving the outnumbered and overpowered humans the advantage they needed to turn the tide. They began to settle down, developing more effective weapons and planting crops as high up as they would grow. And the longer they stayed in their mountains, the more time they had to get better and better at protecting themselves and their valuable resources. Over time, as they adapted to the harsh mountainous environment and became increasingly proficient in stonework and engineering, the highlanders were able to move farther and farther up into the mountains, making it even harder for the Ohnyrek invaders to reach them. They were still attacked, of course, but by invaders who had already been climbing mountains for a good long while before arriving. Life was good for this humble people. They were happy in their mountains, and wanted nothing more than their safe, peaceful, isolated prosperity. Until a bright light split the night sky. The Awakening and Xaneth The Highlanders, seeing that bright pillar of light shoot up to the Signs above from the distance, were mystified. What could it be? Where was it? Should they investigate? It was strange enough that the Ohnyrek had seemingly abandoned their assaults on the Highlands, but now this? After much deliberation, and after a continued silence from the outside, it was finally decided that a party would be sent to investigate the light and try to discover what might have caused it. A number of their bravest, strongest, and most clever men and women were chosen for the expedition, and they were outfitted to the best of the Highlanders' capability. The leader of the group was a young man named Vhask, who was well-known and well-loved for his charisma, bravery, and keen mind. Despite his age, he had already risen to a position of respect amongst the Highlanders, and they could think of no one better for the task. When the Expedition left the Highlanders' mountain home, it was the first time any of them had set foot outside – into what they called the Flatlands – for centuries. They had no idea what to expect, what would happen to them, or whether they would ever even see their home again, let alone return successfully. But they pressed on, searching for the source of the mysterious light, despite the difficulties navigating unfamiliar lands. They might have had an easier time of it were it not for the language barrier; the Highlanders had spent centuries cut off from the rest of the world, speaking their own tongue, the language of the ancestors who had settled there so long ago. Meanwhile, the rest of the world had moved on, and the members of the Expedition noticed that the farther they went in the direction the light had come from, the more people seemed to be speaking the same language. The Expedition was forced to use various signs, gestures, and even pictures to get it across that they were searching for the source of the light that had split the sky. And though they could not communicate fully, there was one word that they heard over and over again: Xaneth. Now equipped with this word, along with the modest snippets of language the travelers managed to pick up here and there, things began to come together for the Expedition. It didn't take long for them to figure out that saying the word “Xaneth” - whatever it was – and pointing in the direction the light had come from would earn them directions, though of course they only understood the direction the helpful strangers were pointing in. There was much debate over what “Xaneth” was while the Expedition traveled. Many of them thought perhaps it was these people's word for light, but others thought that it was more specific. A name, perhaps. Of who or what, they did not know, but they would soon find out. There was no way they could have prepared themselves for what they found. A huge, thriving city, protected by a massive wall that seemed to have been grown out of the very earth itself. It was filled with not only people, but the most fantastic creations any of the Highlanders had ever seen. And this time, when they asked for “Xaneth,” those they asked merely gestured around them. Xaneth was a city, and they had found it. The locals didn't seem surprised in the least that the Expeditioners didn't speak their language; instead, they merely ushered the group forward, pointing out various objects and naming them as they went, as though trying to teach the visitors their language in its entirety in a few short minutes. They did acquire a few more words, at least, before they reached where they were going, and were brought forward to meet Xan himself. Needless to say, the Expeditioners were in awe of Xan, though a bit apprehensive, and made the decision to remain in Xaneth and continue their search for knowledge. Over time, they came to understand the Xanethi language, while Xan came to understand theirs, and they finally had what they had come for: the story of the light that had split the sky. Little did they know they would end up with much more than they had originally set out to find.

Sure, I don't see why not. Kierra's planning on using her rank to get access to the investigation, so maybe something can be done with that.

Tolvera is the capital of a kingdom of the same name. It is one of the larger kingdoms, located on the southwestern coast of Alteiryn.

Hey, chain-mail is awesome. I'd love to know how to make that kind of stuff. My next project, I think, is going to be costume armor and propmaking - using things like foam, wood, and fiberglass to make good-looking costume pieces.

Matt, Jess and I need to talk to you about Sayuri when we're all online. Namely, if we want to do the caravan thread in flashback or current RP time.