Welcome to Zauberei in the northern reaches of the continent of Talamh. Zauberei is a magocracy where only those with the powers of the arcane have any control over their fate. The extremes between those who have magic and those without do not stop there. Even if you were born to conjure outside of the seven high magic families of Zauberei you will find yourself at a disadvantage. For if you are not in their favor it's impossible to get ahead or...at most times keep your head.

We open our campaign on the morning of the games. The Contest of Champions is a yearly contest held in the capital city of Kaars that the masses from the neighboring cities and towns of Zauberei give tribute to the seven houses that keep Zauberei safe from outsiders. Kaars are known as 'the city of spires' for the tower fortresses of the seven and those in their favor set most simple folk on edge. These great pureblood magical families have constructed elaborate towers that litter the skyline for hundreds of miles and bear down on anyone who would oppose them.

How you find yourself in the games is your own story. We open with a team chosen by one of the seven great houses, House Visser is your sponsor, has assembled teams of casters, fighters, and cunning cutthroats to pit against one another sponsored by the seven. All of you and the other teams have your own reasons for the pursuit of the public and private prize awarded to the victors.

The Contest had been announced and the city of Kaars in the magocracy of Zauberei. As hundreds of thousands of mages and their vast entourages filled the city beyond capacity the champions of the seven houses of Zauberei gather in the center spire to await the beginning of the games. These champions come from all walks of life. They will spend the next weeks in a controlled environment advancing in a contest of survival through combat and conquering other obstacles.

Our champions for house Visser have assembled in the families sponsored contestant housing amongst those of the other houses. They wake to find themselves in the lap of luxury. Everything they could ever want within arm's reach.

Seamus the Firbolg opens his eyes, and strives to remember where he is.  This is yet another building of dead stone walls, albeit a little cleaner than those he has recently been housed in.  He has spent the last several years in and out of forced labor camps, ever since the secluded forest he called home was overrun by soldiers of the magocracy.  At first, he greeted them and treated them as guests in his home of living earth and wood, but they slapped him in chains, burned his home and razed the forest for lumber.  Every so often he would be released as he spent more time escaping and being recaptured than doing real work, but he never kept his freedom long.  Finally, agents of house Visser spotted him among the laborers, and heard of his talent for shapeshifting and fighting, and offered him a deal: bring glory to house Visser, and if he survived, permanent freedom to find a new forest far from Zauberei.

Seamus peers at his surroundings, searching for some living thing to give him comfort.  There are a few small plants in pots, but the green energy of life is faint in this dwelling.  He takes no interest in the trappings of wealth displayed before him.  Remembering his purpose in coming here, he does begin to search around for appropriate weapons and armor for the coming combat.

Erryl comes back to his senses in his room, and for a moment does nothing but stare upwards. Soon it will begin. Soon he'll have a chance. Soon everything he's worked for will either pay off, or it will all be for naught. Either way, it's better than what he endures right now. He was made an outcast, but now no matter what he will go down as a warrior regardless of whether he lives or dies.

He pulls himself off of the bed, joints whining in protest. He locates his many bandages, tossed to the side of the bed before he rested, and slowly wraps himself in them. Each arm, each leg, hidden from the outside world. Next, he locates his thick clothes, draping himself in layer after layer of fabric. Finally, he retrieves his mask from the bedside table, running his thumb across its features. Perfectly sculpted features, round cheeks, smooth lips. The face he wishes he could have. He stands in front of the mirror, looking at his own face, which seems to him almost fake, almost like another mask. And then, he covers it up, sealing it away from the world that would look upon it and judge him for it.

His outfit thus prepared, he looks to the door. Taking a short moment to close his eyes, briefly preparing himself mentally for the day to come, he then grasps the knob with his wrapped hand and opens it up, exposing himself to the world outside, and it to him.

The monk, Li, arises with the dawn, full of anticipation and excitement. Finally, he thinks, I have the chance to win my parents' freedom.  It has been so long... I wonder if they remember me?  I wonder how they have changed...

Li goes through his morning meditation and exercises, mostly to calm himself by the routine actions.  I must succeed, my family depends on me.  After completing his morning ritual, he exits into the common room, eager to meet his teammates and plan a strategy. 

"Greetings," he bows to the others in the room. "I am Li, at your service." He bows deeply, his right fist pressed against the open palm of his left hand.

Camellia wakes up. No chains, no bars. She could probably escape if she wanted to. No, that wouldn't work, probably. She can't be the first to be offered this deal. She'll have to see it through. Probably. 
The small girl stands up. She was told she'll work with others. Honestly, she's not particularly good at that, but they may be useful as a distraction. Either way, she should probably check on them, get to know who she'll be teamed with. From what she knows about these games, they'll be both very similar and very different from what she knows. She shouldn't arrive unprepared.
She flies up to the door. Putting all her strength and weight onto the doorknob, she manages to turn it enough for the door to open slightly.

Through a small gap, into the common room, flies a creature that you've never seen before... most likely. Its form is that of a humanoid woman, but much, much smaller. Her white, wavy hair falls scattered on her back, all the way down to her thighs. Her skin is a very pale shade of green. She wears a simple, dark-green coloured dress, and she's bare-footed. The thing that draws most of the attention about her - other than her pretty fey face - are six translucent wings. Two of them are large, almost her length. They flap constantly, keeping the Fairy in the air. The other four - smaller and slightly different in shape - mostly stay inactive, but occasionally flap momentarily to change directions or boost speed. 
As she enters the room, the Fairy's relatively large, golden eyes scan the room, looking at those around. When she's greeted by the Human, the Fairy responds in her high-pitched yet soft voice: "Good morning, Li." She studies him, tries to determine his strength, or how he could be useful in whatever other way. "You shouldn't dedicate yourself to my service, though. Or, anyone else's, other than yourself. I'm Camellia." She doesn't bow, nor does she offer her hand for a shake or anything like that. She simply flies away to the most comfortable-looking spot she can see, where she slows her wings and descends to standing. Then, folding her wings, she sits down in that spot, waiting to see who else enters the room.

Seamus views the others with some trepidation.  He towers over them, being 7'6", but it is not his height that embarasses him.  Seamus was born with an asymmetric, grossly misshapen head.  His body functions perfectly, and all his senses are normal, but most who look at him turn away in fear or disgust.  This is why he was ostracized from his clan, and lived alone as a hermit in the forest.

He smiles lopsidedly when he sees Camellia, recognizing her as a fey creature, although he has not had direct dealings with the fairy people.  He clears his throat and says simply, "I am Seamus."  He braces himself for the usual negative reaction, and thinks, If I can only get through this, I can go back to living alone in the forest, and not have to deal with other people any more.

Li smiles at Camellia and replies, "Good Morning, Camellia.  With utmost respect and apologies, I must disagree.  The key to happiness in life is to give up selfishness, forget about oneself and personal desires, and strive to increase peace and justice in the world through serving others.  I freely admit that I have not yet achieved this goal, but nevertheless, it is what I strive for.
"Forgive me milady, but you are beautiful and unique, and I look forward to achieving our goal of victory together."

Looking at Seamus with compassion in his eyes, Li says, "I am Li. I see you, Seamus. You are welcome, brother."

He turns to regard the masked, bandaged newcomer with a smile, waiting to address him until he chooses to speak.

"That's paradoxical." Camellia states. "If you give up selfishness to be happy, that's being selfish, in a way. That's your decision, however." Camellia states her opinion, but she doesn't argue, and her voice doesn't sound inviting for an argument either. She won't tell the Human how he should or shouldn't act if he chooses otherwise. 
When he compliments her beauty, Camellia turns her head away in a proud, perhaps arrogant manner, as if saying: "Of course I am." She does blush slightly, however, and her cheeks turn a tiny bit darker shade of green. Or, perhaps it is the way the light reflected off her turned face, she'd claim. 

Then, Camellia turns back studies the other two in the room. One was about five times her height (She's 45 cm tall, which should be ~18" I believe), the other wore a mask. Strange folks have been chosen. Hopefully, they can protect themselves and her during the games. They seem quieter than the third one. 
Camellia looks around. All this luxury reminds her of unpleasant times, though she'd never been able to reach them herself. "Have any of you seen any food around here?" She gets up from the spot she sat at and looks for something to eat. Hopefully some kind of fruit; hopefully a tasty one.

After passing through the doorway, Erryl pauses, taking in all he sees. His expression is entirely unreadable, as his face, along with every inch of his skin, is covered. His frame seems oddly bulky, even under all that cloth, and he is quite large for a human, though not approaching Seamus’ height. He does not speak for a time, instead silently observing the group, but when Li turns and smiles at him he takes his cue.

”Er… hello,” he says, his voice slightly muffled. “I am Erryl. Sir Erryl Lionsmane. I apologize for my silence, I did not expect such a… motley group. I was a little afraid I might stick out, but I see now that such fears were unwarranted.”

Seamus smiles slowly at Li, grateful. 

He then regards the masked man, and feels a connection to him.  While he does not know the reason for the mask and bandages, he can understand the wish to hide one's appearance from the world.  It is one reason he pursued the arcane knowledge of changing shape.   He nods at Erryl, but is too shy to speak.

Li shrugs at Camellia with a smile, "A wise man once said, '"Happiness is like a butterfly, the more you chase it, the more it will elude, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder."

He slowly approaches Erryl, and bows deeply before him.  "Only the strongest are given such burdens by the gods.  It is an honor to know you."

Camilla is able to find food. There's a lavish spread of all kinds of food, wines, and ales to be enjoyed. The room in which the party sits has large plush furniture and is softly lit by glowing orbs of warm arcane lights. In this communal room the party is not on their own nor have they been their entire time since being shown into the Visser rooms within the tower of champions. The party is attended by two servants that flank either side of the door. This door the party knows is the only entrance snd exit to the room. The servants do not speak to the party. Two tall figures stare ahead standing at attention wearing the black, silver, and white colors of the Visser house.

Despite the banquet set out before them, Erryl does not remove his mask to eat, though he does not necessarily appear terribly hungry. He returns both Li's and Seamus' acknowledgment with a slight nod, and a sort of sideways tip of the head that might be meant to represent a smile or other such expression that would ordinarily be hidden. He remains standing, but if the others sit he follows suit, the chair straining under his large frame, perhaps more than it should for even one of his size.

"You may be curious," he begins, "about the reasons for my... unusual clothing choices. As some of you may have guessed, it seems our friend Li has, I possess a rather rare and unfortunate condition, called leprosy. It is rather disfiguring, hence the mask and bandages. Do not be afraid of it spreading, I have taken... special precautions to avoid that. Besides, I am not sure how human diseases affect those of fey blood, like the two of you. Still, I will keep my distance for the most part, to keep both you and myself comfortable."

Camellia scouts the options, picks a good-looking fruit and flies back to the same spot where she sat before, where she sits and begins to eat. "So," she starts to talk with a half-full mouth, "I suppose that, if you're here, you must have some fighting capabilities, right? We should probably know at least that about each other, so we know what to expect during the games. Personally, my favourite weapon is a crossbow. One small enough for me to use, at least. I'm used to shooting in close quarters, but I prefer not to get to that situation if I can avoid it." She then stops, waiting for the others to speak.

The Firbolg looks over the food, choosing fruits, nuts, roots and berries to ease his hunger.  He chews slowly as he ponders Camellia's words.  After an uncomfortably long silence, he says in a rumbling voice, "I have some skill with nature magic, healing and such.  But when it comes to up-close fighting, I usually shape-change into a bear or a dire wolf.  I only have the skill to do so twice before I require a rest, however."

Erryl makes to speak for a moment, then pauses. He thinks for a moment before talking again, sounding a little uncomfortable with his words.

“I’ve… ah, only got some training with the blade. I know my way around a sword, but I’ve nothing as fleshy as turning into a bear.”

Li shares, "I have been trained to use my body and my ki as a weapon.  I am most effective when I have a longsword or a longbow, but they are not absolute requirements for me.  I can provide cover fire from a distance, or engage the enemy face to face."

Camellia considers the others' answers. She speaks to herself, but her soft voice is loud enough to be heard by the others. "So one has magic and can turn into bears. Another was trained with a sword. Third has... Ki, he called it? Can use both swords and bows. Lastly me, with some magic and skilled with crossbows." She stops and thinks for a while, occasionally running her index finger on the surface below her, as if drawing or writing something. Eventually, she raises her head and looks at the others, one by one. "I think I figured it out, tell me what you think. Assuming a combat scenario where we each has their preferred gear, our strategy should probably be something like so: I will stay at the back, or in the air, providing cover fire or supporting magic. You, uh, Erryl? In the front. Cut them down with your sword, and make sure they don't run back to us. Then, you two," she indicates Seamus and Li, "will alternate front and back. I guess it should be more dependant on each scenario, but if there's no reason to go differently, one of you at the back while the other in the front. I suppose you... Seamus, would determine which of you goes where. As a bear, come to the front. Otherwise, stay back. Li should go the opposite of that." She finishes, looking satisfied with her plan. The tiny woman smiles triumphantly. "Anyone has a better idea?"

"Does anyone understand the rules of this competition?" asks Li. "It seems I heard somewhere that the weapons will be located in a central location, and that all teams will be converging there to equip themselves, and likely slaughter each other in the process. If this is true, any thoughts on how we should begin, and if we do not join the fracas, how we will find what we need?"

"If we need to move swiftly at the beginning, I believe I could summon one warhorse, and transform myself into another, to carry you, Li, and you, Erryl.  Camellia could presumably catch up rapidly through the air", says Seamus.
"I am concerned because I have heard that some teams form temporary alliances during these games.  However, those partnerships must unavoidably end in betrayal sooner or later, so I think we should avoid them."