You let out a yell of surprise as you tumble through a void darker than anything you have seen before. You gasp, feeling yourself sliding suddenly. Colors flash around you and you quickly recognise your suroundings as a castle hallway, but at the moment you don't much care about that. You only care that you're sliding down that hallway and there's a suit of armor holding a nasty-looking mace up ahead of you and you're aimed right for it.

You pull your arms over your head, ready for impact, when you suddenly feel yourself lifted from the ground. You blink, looking up to see what appeared to be an elf girl of some sort. She smiles and sets you down on your feet. You look up at her a second time, this time much more easily able to tell that she's no elf, but a fairy...with a definate taste in gothic or punk attire.

The fairy touches down next to you, brushing out her skirt before turning once more to you. She shrugs. "Sorry, just finished up cleaning the place. If I'd have known we were going to get a visitor I would have held off on mopping the floor." She grins, shruging again for lack of something else to do. She holds out her hand, and you take it almost hesitantly, still shaken. "My name is Salik. I was a gift to the CCF at The Crystal Palace way back in 2001. I'm pretty much the main guide around here now, for The World of Saya creatures, at least."

You smile at Salik, glancing around the hallway. Your guide nods for you to follow. "Come on this way. At this time most everyone's in or around the courtyard somewhere. It's this way." You watch her head down another hallway and scamper after. "Sorry if the castle's a little...damp," your punk-fairy guide says over her shoulder to you as you come up behind. You snap back to attention, having been admiring the hall's artwork and tapestries and such. "We've been trying to fix the thing up a bit, but it's really slow goings right now. Ah, here we are!"

You and Salik emerge into what appears to be a medieval kitchen of some sort. Off to the side, in the shadows, you see a figure sitting. Salik smiles at the sight and starts over. You tag along, looking confused, squinting to see the humanoid being. You see a pair of eyes look up at you. Salik sits at the table the other is already seated at, and you follow suit.

Once sitting and in the shadows yourself, your eyes start to adjust. You blink, looking at the woman across the table from you and your guide. She takes a sip of what looks to be wine from her glass before setting it down, licking her lips, and gazing at the two of you. "Hello," she half whispers, smiling. You spot her fangs and your eyes instantly move back down to that half-filled glass of hers. Now that you really look, the liquid looks a bit too thick to be wine, that's for certain. Your eyes flicker back up to the violet clad woman and you watch her suspiciously.

"Don't worry, I don't bite visitors," the woman says softly, knowing what must be running through your mind. "My name is Desdemona and, yes, I am the resident vampire of this portal...but you're safe." You smile weakly, embarassed at how she must view you at the moment. Desdemona does not seem to either notice or care; you are unsure which.

"I am from Ego Castle in the World of Saya," the vampiress continues absently, taking another sip from her glass. "It was a relief to get away from so many other vampires and have a castle all my own," she said with a happy sigh. She looked to Salik. "Okay, so not to myself, but void of other vampires," she corrected, smiling at her friend. "Some of them get so...territorial. It's awful just being around them all the time." She sighs, shaking her head at the memories.

You both quickly emerge into a lush, green, open garden. You look around at all the flowers, bushes, trees, stone pathways, and the few fountains you have in your view. The sight is absolutely amazing, and is made all the more wonderful by the perfect weather and temperature outside today. Salik smiles, patting your shoulder gently and walking out along the little pathway.

You follow along behind her, still amazed by all of the sights and sounds and smells of the courtyward. Hearing only birds and fountain water for the next few minutes, your mind whips back to attention and reality when your ears pick up the temporarily alien sounds of laughter and a horse whinny. You jog for a few steps, having fallen behind Salik somewhere along the way. She is now sitting on a little stone bench at the intersection of a few paths and you have to catch up.

She looks up at you and smiles, lifting an arm and pointing off to the side. You frown in wonder and look up to see what she is pointing at. You blink, watching what appears to be a young unicorn prancing about not far off. Salik watches the little one as well. "That is Perpit. She and Mari are both from The Valley of Ego in The World of Saya. That little one is a bundle of energy, she is. Mari always has to be the one to keep her under control."

You open your mouth to ask who on earth Mari might be when you hear that unfarmiliar laughter again. You look up to see a lady centaur run up alongside and then around the little Perpit. The young unicorn jumps happily, chasing its best friend about the courtyard's flowerbeds. You figure pretty quickly that you have your answer as to who 'Mari' might be.

The redhaired centaur looks up and smiles when seeing you. She waves warmly in greeting, but you can see she certainly has her hands full with the little budle of blue fluff and energy dashing around over there. You laugh, watching little Perpit snipping playfully at Mari's tail. Salik smiles. "I told you they'd be out here!" she laughs. "Sorry that Mari's a bit busy to say hello, though. She's a very nice person, loves to tell jokes to visitors...when Perpit's settled down a bit at least."