A World of Winter [IC]

[Soulserenity20]

Link to the OOC​

INTRO MAP AND PLOT RULES PLAYERS DICE SYSTEM GM DICE EVENT SKELETONS

• [dash=white]It has been winter for far too long now. The world was not built for stagnancy. Without change, there can be no future.
  You are that change.
  You must bring about the shifting of the seasons. [/dash]
• 
  Current Map in Spoiler
  [spoili]
  You've discovered Murn's Shack, where a mysterious Ice Man told you to head south along the glowing trails of the Tormarr to a warm, purple field called the Whispering Wilds. Once you get through, head West to reach a city called Dohmara to find the next steps in your fate.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [/spoili]
  Cabin Map
  [spoili]
  
  
  
  [/spoili]
  
  
  
  
  You never knew this world. It was always just a part of a story you heard as a child: a world where the seasons no longer changed and for an eternity, Winter maintained its hold on the land. This world was said to be beautiful, but dangerous, for it loomed in a delicate balance, like a set of scales, ever-nearing its tipping point. Stagnancy is not the stuff of life. A world can only stay frozen for so long.
  
  You awake from a dream in a world you never knew. The cold air swirls around you and silently, snowflakes drift down from the sky, kissing your chilled skin before melting away. The sky is dark but for the dancing lights that dazzle the skyscape. The stars are outshone by these lights of blue and purple. The beauty is entangling, but something within you demands you look away. All around, you see a white blanket of snow and hear nothing but the gently breeze. Where are you? You do not know this world of Winter.
  
  It becomes quickly apparent that you are far from home. Are you alone? With some searching, you come to discover there are others, more like you that are lost, unsure of this strange, beautiful place. You come together, one of you noticing a strange creature leaping about in the distance. It looks to be a deer of sorts, but it is larger than any you've ever seen and its coat is white as the snowy landscape, its antlers are made of ice, and its eyes are a cool, purple.
  
  Together with the others, you decide teamwork is the best chance at survival. But none of you are sure how you got here or where you must go. And so, as a team, you venture out into this wintry world, seeking answers and seeking shelter. If you can survive, you may find yourself caught up in a magical adventure.
  
  Welcome, to the World of Winter.
  
  
  
  
  
• 
  
  
  
  SURVIVAL
  This roleplay will be an unpredictable adventure filled with curious opportunities driven by chance. I will be rolling dice consistently throughout to determine encounters and sub-adventures you will come across in the main plot. Your characters will be your own, but I will be giving you situations where your character fails or succeeds at certain actions and you must react accordingly. Like survival in the real world wilds, nothing is certain, you will face a number of difficult decisions; this is all a part of the survival experience.
  
  MAGICK AND COMPANIONS
  Two key features in this roleplay will be the bestowal of a magical ability and a companion or familiar from the world of Winter. You will not be able to choose either of these. They will be given out at various times as the plot progresses. If you are not mature enough to be okay with the unexpected and extended equailty (not everyone will have a power at the exact same time, not everyone will get a companion at the same time, but everyone will get one) then I fear this roleplay is not for you. A key aspect of any great adventure is the unexpected. This roleplay will be based around how your characters respond to the world and you will not have the same OOC power you would have in other roleplays. That is the point of this RP.
  
  FORMAL RULES
  +Do not complain about your ability or companion. I will take generic requests at the start of the RP but the surprise is the nature of the roleplay.+
  +Be mature, communicate, and be kind.+
  +Posting requirement is once per week, sometimes once per two weeks. My roleplays are long term. We all have vastly different schedules and so a week to two week long window helps ensure everyone has ample time to post. We'll aim for movement in the plot once a week.+
  +COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR GM. I'm patient as hell but I do expect effort.+
  +I EXPECT GOOD WRITING. You'll be PM'd by me if I don't accept your writing level. Poor writing makes it harder for your GM's and harder for your fellow players. I'm sorry but that's just the way it is.+
• 
  1. Greenie playing Kirn
  2. Akashi playing Robert
  3. Cait playing Adeana
  4. Bitterblue playing Amalia
  5. Bitterblue Temporarily playing Arthur
  6. Soulserenity20 (GM) playing Sophia
  7. Soulserenity20 (GM) playing Jingim
  7. Reverend of Steel playing Olafur
  
• 
  BASIC SYSTEM:
  Severity Roll followed by a success or failure roll.
  
  COMBAT
  1-5= Easy (one man can handle it) 1 hit required for defeat
  6-10=Average (Requires at least 2 chars) 2 hits required for defeat
  11-15=Hard (Requires at least 4 chars to beat) 4 hits required for defeat
  16-20=Impossible (Escape necessary)
  NOTE: Hits can be done by multiple chars or all by one, but the char requirement remains the same. You cannot face a 2 person foe alone, but you can be the only one of the two to hit it and effectively kill it.
  
  1-10=Success/Unharmed Escape
  11-20=Failure/Harmed Escape
  
  Success roll determines A: defeat or failure (rolls of 1-15) or B: whether you are damaged in your escape or not. If you do not meet the requirements, you MUST roll for flee damage. The battle ends when you are successful at defeating the foe or when you flee. Damage must be taken with each failure, but you may keep rolling to win or you may roll for retreat.
  
  
  WEATHER
  1-5=Mild Harm
  6-10=Moderate harm
  11-15= Severe harm
  15-20=Not survivable, flee.
  
  1-10=Unharmed
  11-20=Harmed
  Success roll determines if you are damaged or not in your survival.
  
  DISCOVERY
  1-5=Useless
  6-10=Mildly Useful
  11-15=Very Useful
  16-20=Life Changing
  
  1-10=Beneficial
  11-20=Detrimental
  
  No success roll required.
  
• 
  COMBAT EVENT
  ROLL:
  IDENTITY:
  SCENARIO:
  
  NATURAL DISASTER
  ROLL:
  IDENTITY:
  SCENARIO:
  
  DISCOVERY EVENT
  ROLL:
  EFFECT:
  IDENTITY:
  SCENARIO:
  
  
  Roller Site for Convenience
  

 

[Bitterblue]

Amalia thanked Murn for the blanket turned into a coat, and wrapped it around herself. She set out near the front of the group, staying close to Sophia and Jingim. She smiled shortly as Sophia formally introduced herself as being from Russia, and raised an eyebrow as she said she was a tour guide. Amalia wouldn't have guessed that, not from the way Sophia had acted when they had first woken up in the snow. Sophia knew what needed to be done, she didn't panic. She reacted calmly, and intelligently. Not many prospects you would see in a tour guide. But she smiled anyways, and listened to Becca follow in introducing herself before replying.

"I was---am a police officer in a good sized town in Germany--" she trailed off as Jingim hushed everyone. Damn it. She heard it too, the sound of a stampede. She moved quickly, but her foot caught in a branch, and she tripped and twisted her ankle. Damn it, move. She tried to get the branch loose, but it was stuck tight. Her foot was effectively stuck. She tore the knife from her ankle, and quickly worked the branch off. Diving quickly to the side, Amalia missed being trampled by mere seconds, coming to a stop by Jingim and Sophia. "That was close-" She said as she moved to a crouching position, wincing at the pain her ankle caused. It was probably just twisted, possibly a sprain, but she couldn't worry about that now, she was to transfixed with what was going on before her. These creatures were like none she'd ever seen...they were beautiful.

She froze at the sound of wolves...she was no stranger to wolves, but this was obviously a hunting cry. She noticed the straggling calf and mother, and finally....Woah. They were like ghosts, but not. Beautiful... her trance was broken as Sophia burst forth to stop what was going to happen. "Damn it, Sophia." she murmured as she also grabbed a large branch and hurried to the duo's side despite the ankle, forcing herself not to limp. "Well that wasn't your smartest move, Sophia." she remarked as she jabbed the large stick towards another wolf with a loud shout. These creatures were intriguing, their fur was like white flames that whispped from their coat. Another wolf came snarling towards her, and she snarled back ferociously and swung the stick to keep it at bay. "We can't keep this up forever guys. Ideas?"

 

[Soulserenity20]

[Dash=#9e232b]

Sophia clenched her jaw, realizing just how stupid she had been. What kind of behaviour was this from a wilderness guide? She would never have done something to reckless if she had been out with tourists, so why did she decided today was the day to have a major breakdown and put her own life, and the lives of her companion, at risk? She wouldn't think of it then, but she wouldn't soon forgive herself for the mistake she made. "I-I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me!" But that was a lie. What came over her was a wave of confidence, as if the challenge of facing down a pack of wolves was somehow a desirable encounter. She had felt a rush of desire to defend that little animal and she had felt... confident. Feeling utterly insane, she kept this to herself.

"But what now? We've challenged the pack. We, if we back down now they'll come after us!" She growled in frustration. "I am so sorry, but we have to fend them off. I'm sorry." She was struggling to maintain her composure, harnessing her self-control to remain disciplined. Break down later. You started this, now finish it.

But her resolve shuttered as the pack neared, but not at all from fear: from awe. They were beautiful, no -- more than that. They were... perfection. Perfect hunters with perfect form, perfect coats to blend into the wilds, and perfect ethereal beauty to dazzle anyone foolish enough to get close enough.

One of them stood out, she met its eyes almost immediately, unable to stop herself from making the foolish decision. Knowing she couldn't afford to stand down now, she unzipped her coat to make herself look bigger and readied her weapon, locking her gaze with its. The massive wolf kept its head high, snarling, unblinking. It neared her slowly, its fur fading into the wind in long wisps. Clenching her fists around the stick she now held, Sophia struggled between her natural, sane fear and her unnatural, insane confidence against the beast.

The wolf lunged and dipped around her, going in for the calf. Sophia cried out and leaped towards it, adrenaline now driving her forward. "Leave him alone!" She swung her stick around heavily and landed a sharp hit on the beast's side before it swiftly retaliated by snapping the branch with its powerful jaws and lashing out at her. She stumbled back but never fell. She held the broken stick, her hands shaking, but she never backed down.

Behind the wolf, Sophia caught Jingim's gaze, watching as he slowly approached from behind. She knew he'd need a distraction to land a good hit and so she threw away her stick and raised her arms up, waving them up and down at her sides as she stepped forward towards the creature. The wold responded with deep snarls and several others began to surround her from behind. She kept up the distraction as best she could but Jingim was taking too long and the wolf took its opportunity to strike.

Leaping forward, its massive paws met her chest and toppled her to the ground where the wolf pinned her into the snow. She reacted and leaned forward, hugging the wolf tightly around the neck, preventing it from closing its jaws around her face, head, or throat. She clung tightly and when the moment came, she lurched sideways, twisting the animal's powerful neck and bringing it to the ground. Screaming as they went over, she prepared for her imminent death but no pain came. No violent jaws met her flesh, no blood flowed from wounds that never came. Instead, she opened her eyes and calmed to the sound of the massive being panting quietly at her side. Slowly, as if stunned, she released her hold. The wolf didn't move. It lay there on its side, staring at her as she leaned back, her right side on the ground, the cold snow on her cheek.

~Few can challenge a Vanarek and live to tell the tale, Outsider.~ Her breath stopped and she stared into pale blue eyes with a fear based in ignorance. What was this thing? What it talking?

"I-I . . . Who . . . A Vanarek? Is that . . . you?"

~I am one of many. I am Iskora, and the Vanarek of these lands answer to my calls. But I have decided now, to answer to yours. You are an Outsider, but unlike countless others, you have shown your worth, your integrity, and your strength. You put yourself before a meek prey and defended it. A foolish act, and yet, your pack followed. There is much for you to become. I will help you to become it.~

The Vanarek rose carefully from the ground, standing nearly 4 1/2 feet at its head, and bowed to offer Sophia a support to get up. She carefully grasped Iskora's scruff and pulled herself up. Turning to look at her companions, she shrugged uncomfortably. "Er, this . . . is Iskora. He's, well, a Vanarek. They all are. And. He, well . . . spoke to me, like the cat spoke to Amalia." She sounded insane.

Looking around, the saw that the wolves of the pack had sat down in a semi-circle and calmly observed while the foal and its mother escaped in the distance.

[/dash]

 

[PoetLore]

Becca blinked as Sophia tackled a very large wolf-like creature. She stood close to Jingim and frowned watching, not sure what to do, "I'm afraid to attack, because I might hit Sophia instead of..." Her words were cut short when she realized the wolf was not actually attacking Sophia. This was an odd place for sure. It was then, once the danger had passed that she was able to appreciate the beauty of the wolven creatures. She needed to stop making comparisons to creatures at home, she was beginning to realize. The creatures here were nothing like those at home on earth and she needed to remember that.

She looked up at Jingim, "I need to go back and make sure Kirn is ok," she said, "I think she is safe..."

She moved back through the trees as she'd come and knelt in the snow next to Kirn, "So...how are you doing?' she asked, "I hope I didn't push you too hard...I tend to get a bit .... well pushy in dangerous situations." She bit her lip and scrunched up her nose a bit as she looked him over. "I also am sorry I threw you and then abandoned you," she said with a sigh, "Hopefully you aren't taking my measure as a person just now. I don't believe I'd be faring well to this point...I really am a kind person...I promise." she smirked then, "Though I'm sure the word of a seemingly crazed person isn't very reliable...so yeah...just forget I spoke."

She chuckled then and shook her head, "Seriously though...how it your ankle?"

 

[Greenie]

Kirn stumbled as he was pushed away from the incoming herd. His sprained ankle giving way, he fell to the ground, rolling a little before coming to a sudden halt by way of hitting against a tree. Stunned, he remained where he was, feeling a throbbing, stinging sensation to the left side of his face. Well, here we go again. At least the hit hadn't been too bad; he recalled having worse as a child.

He stayed where he was for the moment, not wanting to accidentally wander into the stampede. Meanwhile, he did pull himself to a stand, ignoring the little trickle of blood trailing down the side of his face. His eyes widened as he looked back to the path they were on. Wolves?! Well... something like wolves. Just like the Nixura had been like a cat but not, it seemed almost the same with these wolves. They were, for lack of a better word, beautiful.

Gritting his teeth, he started forward, only to stumble once more. It took all he had not to curse out loud. He really disliked being injured... he felt like a weak link just about now.

That was when he heard Becca. Lifting his head, he looked at her, shaking his head a little. "It would have been worse if I'd just stayed there standing, so thank you. I appreciate whatever help you've offered me, it's more than a stranger should do for another..." He gave a half smile before looking down. "It's as it is. Neither better nor worse. I did get a little bit of a booboo here." He managed a chuckle as he pointed at his temple.

"It's fine," he continued, trying to stand up. "More importantly, what are those creatures? Are they friendly?" His eyes narrowed a hint as he watched Amalia, Sophia and Jingim, seemingly left unharmed.​

 

[PoetLore]

Becca looked at his temple and nodded, "You sure did," she said and then waved off the other comment, "Strangers are just friends you haven't met yet. And friends help one another..so it all translates into be nice to everyone...could be your future best friend you're helping." She smiled and ripped off a piece from the hem of her undershirt, put some snow in it and then dabbed it to his temple. "They are like the other creature, and seem to be attached to Sophia....good thing too because there are too many of them for us to have handled. She says his name is Iskora and that he is a Vanarek. They are beautiful though, aren't they?"

She used the dry end of the strip of material to wipe the blood from his face and then held the snow to his temple hoping to give relief to any headache that might start to form and to keep down any swelling. He was trying to stand up though, so she slipped her arms around his waist to help and offer a bit of stability in case his ankle was worse than he thought. "Be careful putting weight on it," she urged as he did so, "I can beef up the splint a bit if we need, just take it slow."

 

[Greenie]

Kirn couldn't help but smile, even though the stinging remained as Becca cleaned his temple. He was being a liability, but it was all taken in stride. "That's a nice way to put it," he replied, keeping still so that he didn't accidentally make things difficult. "I am grateful that so far everyone is getting along. Being dumped in a strange, cold place is bad enough, but when people don't get along, even the most comfortable environments can become burdensome." A small chuckle escaped him. "As all those reality television shows prove."

For a moment, he wondered if there was such a thing as television or telephones here, but his thoughts were rightly distracted by Becca's voice. "Mhm... they're very beautiful. It seems a dangerous beauty, this Winter Wonderland. I'm glad that they're on our side." For now anyway. The nixura was small so he didn't see her as a threat at all. These wolf-like creatures were much bigger.

He accepted Becca's aid in standing, nodding in agreement. "I better be more careful," he said with a small sigh. "This is getting a little embarrassing; I'm normally not this clumsy." He looked down at his foot. "I think your earlier splint should be fine, however, I didn't hurt my ankle this time around.​

 

[Bitterblue]

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[dash=white]

Amalia yelled loudly as she saw Sophia go down. "Sophia!" After swinging her stick to scare off the Vanarek in front of her, she whirled and rose the stick above her head, prepared to strike it on the head before it ripped Sophia's throat out. -Easy there, Amalia.- Calia landed on Amalia's shoulder, and a sense of...softness overcame her. Her heart stopped racing, her eyes lost that look of dreadful look of determination...and she watched the scene before her go down. As Sophia wrestled the beast to the ground, the creature stopped and looked at her. -Might want to lower your weapon, he won't hurt you.- Realizing that she did, in fact, still have the stick above her head, she lowered it to her side, still alert to the creatures around them in case they did decide to attack again.

"Er, this . . . is Iskora. He's, well, a Vanarek. They all are. And. He, well . . . spoke to me, like the cat spoke to Amalia." Amalia looked at Iskora and back to Calia... -Nice to see you, Iskora. These humans are...intriguing, aren't they. They barged into Murns house while he wasn't home, they're lucky he didn't kick them out into the storm, or they'd all be icicles.- "Well, this just keeps getting more interesting." She murmured under her breath. Tenderness flowed from the feline on her shoulders, and Amalia's hand reached up and absentmindedly scratched her ears.

"I-Iskora, is it?" Amalia stumbled over the foreign name. "Does he know anything about the legends that Calia and Murn spoke of?" The group didn't have time to gawk and wonder, they had to keep moving before another storm hit. She looked over her shoulder at Bekka and Kirn, she wondered how they fared, but didn't take the time to ask, yet. She'd do a head and injury count later. What mattered now was they get some shelter. "We do need to keep moving, or start to build a shelter before it gets dark, or it'll be a very cold night that some of us may not make it through."[/dash]

[/dash]

 

[Soulserenity20]

As the party pressed southward through the frozen grounds, eventually the land seemed to warm, if only just a little. They came across a region that smelled of flowers and fruit and a thick grass pushed through the cold earth where only a little snow now lay. It was a curious sight in any regard but what was most curious was the color of the grasses. They were rich hues of periwinkle, lavender, and some hints of tangerine. The Vanarek seemed bothered by the overwhelming scent but everyone else was pleased and felt a calm sweep over them.

Sophia was fascinated by the world that surrounded them. The trees here were not like the ones from the forest they had walked through. Where those had been deciduous-like trees with strange blue-teal hues to them, the trees here looked like birches with a pale white bark and shimmering silver leaves that danced about. All about the fields there were white and cream flowers. The entire scene looked very much like a fairy meadow and Sophia was brought back to the days when her father read her children's books about fairies and toadstool villages filled with magical creatures invisible to the eyes of humans. This entire world reminded her of the tales.

They pressed on, largely in silence for their awe, but as they reached a place where the bubbling river flowed through the meadow and met them again, they heard the sound of nearby chatter. Curious, they pressed on down to the riverbank and saw a large encampment had been set up. Smoke drifted up, the sound of light-hearted music and cheerful conversation filled the air. Curious, the group wandered down and were met by a most curious people.

Each of the humanoids stood about 7 ft tall and could most easily be described as. . . plant people. They looked much like trees, their skins in tones of browns and creams with vibrant swirls of color dancing across their figures. It was like they had been tattooed with the whimsical tones of the natural world and decorated to look even more a part of nature than they already appeared to be. Their hair was not hair at all, rather growths of what seemed like. . . leaves? They certainly appeared to be leaves but the texture was different, more like fur. Each had a wild and unique style of hair, some appearing like willows, some with braided locks that looked like vines, others with manes of thick, cascading broadleaves. They wore primitive clothing, but because of the velveteen appearance of their skin, Sophia assumed they were more along the lines of the anthropomorphic races of the fantasy stories of her own world, those without concern for the modesties of humankind. Their attire was all in natural tones of greens, browns, greys, blacks. The more masculine gender, which she could only have assumed were the males, all seemed to be thicker and bore noticeable growths that appeared like armor on their shoulders, down their backs, and one their forearms. It looked a bit like tree bark but Sophia didn't dare stare or wonder for too long.

Three of the creatures had left their gathering to approach and possibly welcome or send away the newcomers. One was very dark, with even darker patterns across its body and masculine in appearance with thick, dark green vine-like hair wrapped into a neat bun on the top of his head. The other two were females, or so Sophia assumed, and each bore soft brown tones about their skin. One of the two females had pale green markings and hair that resembled long field-grass while the other had deep green markings that stood out sharply from her very subtle skin and hair tone. This one's hair was like a weeping willow and flowed down to the ground in dark green tones.

"Mahakaraan isshiim mura." Spoke the one with the willow hair.

"Er. . ." Was all she could manage in response. "I. . . we. . ." she turned to her companions then, as if to ask for help, but before she could ask, the three beings laughed lightly.

"The Ascended. Harn tagapya. You are not of our world. It has been much time from when we saw your people the last time. I almost didn't remember who you are." Her Russian was broken, but Sophia could make sense of it. She noticed the others seemed to understand the words as well and the recurring puzzle of how they all understood each other's words returned to her.

"It is a surprise you are alive. Did the ice bakren aid you? His heart is not so cold as he." Another bout of laughter shared between the three. She motioned to the dark male and the other female, respectively. "I am Mihira, this is Ohkorm and Eferil. Come, you need to be hungry, yes? Rest, yes?" All Sophia could do was nod and dip her head into a bow. She was so shocked and amazed by these mystical and non-human beings that she found herself at a loss for words. Mihira motioned, the party following carefully into the camp, and they were brought food, drink, and a large collection of fabrics to create tents out of. The trio sat with them and joined them in their meal, very kind and welcome to the humans all the while.

 

[Bitterblue]

As Amalia walked with the silent group, she pulled the cloak a little tighter around her shoulders. It was a bit warmer earlier, but with the sun going down, the temperature was starting to drop. She was alert to her surroundings, just in case something happened. She gazed at the trees around them, awed by the subtle, and not so subtle differences in the color scheme, the landscapes, and the smells. This world was astounding; from the blues in the trees, to the new smells assaulting her nostrils.

The sound of flowing water broke through her thoughts; and as she listened more intently, she heard chattering further down the stream. While cautious, she followed the group through the brush and came upon creatures she could only compare to the Ent in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. As two approached them, she tensed. Who knew if they meant them harm or not?

They started speaking gibberish, and she smiled politely. When they recognized them as offworlders, they expressed their surprise at their survival. She remained silent, but was grateful when they offered them shelter, food and drink. They saved the group a ton of time to set up camp...get food and all that.

As they entered the camp, she sat next to Jingim, curious about who he was. He seemed to know what he was doing, and it was always good to know people who knew their way around survival.

"How are you, Jingim? Holding up alright?"

 

[PoetLore]

Becca stayed close to Kirn in case he needed any help. She was something of a mother hen when people or animals were injured. There was no turning off doctor mode, or if there was, she had yet to discover that switch. She was trying to divert her attention from him a bit, so as not to appear to smother the moor man, but even that was difficult.

By sheer force of will she was not asking him how he was feeling, but she had no idea how long she would be able to do even that much. She wasn't sure if she was happy or not about the turn to warmer climate. She had a feeling his pain would be much more acute in the absence of the snow. She had to admit though, that this place was beautiful. The snow was lovely, and now this was as well. Everything about this place was a delight to the senses. It almost seemed like a paradise. But then, if it is paradise, why were they brought here?

They heard the chatter and she was just as curious as everyone else. They neared and saw the large 'people' towering over them. She looked up and was shocked that she understood them. "the ascended?" she asked wondering at the term. So humans had been here before, but why? It hadn't been recently by these people's account. She was very glad for the mention of food and rest though. "Food would be wonderful, thank you." she replied with a smile. "Rest as well....but food definitely."