Fall Of Ortul

[TiedInBone]

The sky was dark at the turn of the new year, it had finally come to an end. Humanity
had dominated the last 9 years, growing its vast empire, spreading its tendrils throughout
the world, all those that had led an opposition had fallen. Entire races brought to the brink
of extinction, the humans were never a great threat before the turn of the last age, when
they began their campaign to extend and expand. Under King Gawain the fourth, the humans had
developed their thriving metropolis into a fortress, behind which they advanced far beyond
the other races in both the study of magic and construction of war machines. The king reined
over a population that dwarfed that of all other races, but from that rise, came poverty,
many were forced onto the streets or into the ranks of the King's armies. It did not take
long for the seeds of rebellion to blossom and soon enough, there was an uprising.

The rebellion was led by Captain Laurence Stoneworth, an experienced veteran of the
King's army whom in recent years had seen many innocents fall beneath the might of Humanity's
siege weapons, friends and foes alike had fallen before his eyes and were held up to the
masses as a spectacle of the Gawain's strength. He led the uprising from within the great
city, Ortul its streets blazed and its people mourned but he could not accomplish what he
needed to, he could not reach the the Noble gardens; a place of great beauty in the center of
the metropolis where all human nobility lived, surrounding the Six Horned Palace (home to the
King). After seven months of failure the Captain was left defeated, he had lost almost all
support within the capital, those who followed him were bribed or threatened. He was
presented to the King, sure of his demise, but when he heard the King's judgement he felt
nothing but surprise. "Exile".

Laurence was banished from Ortul and warned never to enter its walls again, he
believed the King had shown him leniency. He soon learned it was quite the opposite, six
months outside the city, the captain saw what his people had done to a once beautiful world.
Entire forests harvested, plains burned away, waters thick with pollution, inhabitable. So he
ventured further and as he did, the atrocities he saw grew in severity. Villages some human,
some not claimed as outposts, their people forced into slavery and labor, with each village
he passed through, he learned new tales of humanity's crimes. Tortured creatures and acts of
racism, genocide these were the stories he was subjected to, with each one, more guilt placed
on his shoulders and then, he came to the Crystalline Mountain. Once the proud home of the
stone golems, it now served as a prison of the King's enemies or those humanity saw as
unworthy of freedom. Laurence could take no more and so devised a plan, he would seek out
whomever he could, to stand against the King and fight. The time had come for humanity to
fall.

Meanwhile, far beyond the reach of Ortul, a young faerie named Glo awoke from a most
wonderful dream. She dreamed of the world she had long forgotten, where forests bloomed in
spring and the mountains sang with the voice of a thousand songbirds. A world taken from the
magical races and replaced by the cruel world of industry and subjugation. In her dream she
saw a man dressed in gold with hundreds behind him (no two the same, all races stood together
in unison), she saw a star fall from the sky and crash into the walls of Ortul and she heard
the singing of a thousand songbirds, crying out from the Crystalline Mountain. Glo was a
night faerie, it had been her job to guide any lost creatures through the forest. Her forest
was one of the last and it was home to the most diverse group that still remained free, eight
different races worked together to protect each other and the forest in a small town within
the trees called Pinegrove.

This is where are story begins, Captain Laurence heads for Pinegrove to build an
army. You as willing recruits have been selected by the celestial envoy; a shooting star and
guardian of the magical world who as watched over all those that seek the fall of the Ortul
and the King. She has found each of you and told you to meet in the port town of Washwater,
the last of the selkie outposts that has not been taken over by Humanity. It will be your
quest to join the Captain in Pinegrove. You will have four months to make it there and i'm
sure you can make all sorts of trouble on the way.

In your first post, I would like you to explain how you got to Washwater from wherever you
were when the envoy found you, feel free to provide backstory or details of something that
happened on your trip, just make sure to end it, with your arrival in Washwater.

 

[Jae- The nonexistant]

Violet sat down in the booth, letting out a relieved sigh as she went over her trip.

---

She'd started out towards the Western direction after meeting the envoy. She started by going across the wastelands that used to be cities, the ashy ruins littered with dead people or the starving, but she had to walk past. She did not have the means to help these people, no matter how much she wanted to. She had pulled the hood of her jacket over her head once she'd reached the lake. It was very windy, so she made a sail with some fabric she'd gotten to use as bandages. She tied them to sticks and created a raft, starting across the lake. This, however, turned out a lot harder than expected. The inhabitants of the lake didn't accept the idea of a trespasser and attacked her raft. She barely made it away from one croc that had pulled her raft almost horizontal. When she shot it in the eye, it slid off and her raft rocked dangerously. She made it to the other side and jumped off, tearing the sail away from the ship and sprinting away from the edge as fast as she could. Thinking it was over, she ended up by a large ravine. Carefully crossing the rope bridge, she ended up being attacked by large birds, using her sword this time, she ended up killing two of the four before making it across, where she sliced the third's wing. The last one flew back down into the ravine and she continued on. Washwater was now in sight and she stumbled in.

---

She rested her head in her palm, now clearing her mind from the past few months.[/hr]

 

[WolfNightV4X1]

Pyral bowed his head, the crowned feathers of his neck fluffed up as he stood before the looming dead treant, who had lost it's leaves and became a tall hollow tower. The eldest tree had finally passed not too long ago. It was the tree that had sheltered him as an orphan, and since then he had repaid the favor by guarding the forest. He raised his head, and with a final whispered farewell unfurled his wings, they immediately flared up as he took off into the sky, his ashen feathers being consumed by fire. An illuminated circle of light around him as he flew into the sparkling blanket of night sky.

He stared down at the forest he'd sworn to protect, he'd faced many struggles keeping it a thriving land. He had heard that the humans had destroyed many forests, and he'd had to ward them off from his own homelands many times. The trials he'd faced had paid off though, and he'd been able to keep his forest strong and alive.

But now as he flew he faced his glowing ember eyes to one destination, his keen eyesight focused on the town of Washwater nestled many miles in the distance. He sighed, he'd been reluctant to leave his home undefended.Yet when the celestial envoy had contacted him, it had told him that his loyalties were needed elsewhere, it promised him that his forest would be left unharmed in his absence.

The fiery avian flapped into the night, leaving trails of flame licking behind him as he flew and a trail of smoke left in his wake. Pyral extended his talons, landing on a branch. Immediately his fiery form dissipated, leaving just his dark feathered body with a few flickering tendrils of flame coming from his surface. The branch he had stood on became blackened with ash.

Below he saw the bustling activity of different species as they gathered in a tavern, he flew down to a windowsill, ignoring a few startled faces and the mumblings of others as they noticed him. It was here he waited, observing and watching.

------

The rag-garbed skeleton stumbled through the brush, a giddy permanent smile on his expression. Normally this smile would mean nothing, because he didn't feel anything anymore. But now the skeleton had a goal, a purpose.

Before now he'd been a wandering, souless being. He assumed it was years ago he was alive, though he couldn't be sure because he didn't remember. He didn't even remember if he was actually a male, but he assumed that is what he was.

It was when the shooting star had contacted him, it was the closest feeling he had to being alive. The star gave him a goal, which was something he had lacked. Now his years of wandering had turned into months of traveling, going in a direction of a town he'd learned of from the envoy.

His chalky white fingers pushed a leafy branch away, revealing a tavern, the very tavern he was supposed to find. He grinned, with purpose, and his jaw clicked as he spoke, "I have made it!" He shouted, as he stumbled out in plain sight, bones clinking. He adjusted the rags and the sheathed sword, trying to blend in with the locals, even as impossible as it was being that he was dead. In fact, he wasn't even sure why he had clothes still, if he didn't know better he'd say he was being sentimental, but he was dead, he didn't have feelings.

Dead made his way to the doors, clumsily pushing them open. He made his way to a barstool, sitting there as indifferently as possible, which wasn't hard because he was an unfeeling dead corpse. His fingers tapped the wooden surface of a table impatiently.

 

[Glazer]

"So, you think it's fate or what?"

"Hm?"

Collem North had been lost in thought, staring out over the water at Washwater as they drifted into port. His comrade, Mal, persisted, "Fate. This envoy, this shooting star, falls outta the sky and tells YOU to show up HERE. What do you make of that? You think it's fate or what?"

Collem mulled it over, "Can't say I much believe in fate," he grunted in response, "It just is."

Mal gave a wry grin, "Aye, I'm with ya on that. You want my opinion, North?"

Collem looked over at his friend, "I reckon you'll give it anyway."

A chuckle, "Suppose I will. Come back south with me. We tried fighting Gawain once, and we got nothing for it but suffering. This isn't nothing but a fool's errand, you ask me."

Collem looked away, back to the port. Mal's crew darted around the ship as they prepared to land. Mal had been with him during the rebellion in Ortul, and before. They'd been through a lot together. Used to be things were different. Mal had such optimism about something different, something better than Gawain's tyranny. To hear him talk like this hurt, but Collem would never admit it. So he didn't say anything.

After a while, as the preparations for landing completed, Mal scoffed, "Stubborn as always! Well hell, good luck North, don't say I didn't warn you." He slid the landing board onto the pier himself and clasped arms with his old friend. He watched Collem North walk off of his ship, down the pier and into a lakeside tavern. The last thing Collem heard before his friend's voice was drowned out by the din of the tavern: "And give Captain Stoneworth my regards!"

 

[Akuma]

Death? Blood? Fear? Rise up...Revolt...No stay quiet and know your place, But that's not you is it Skoll? You just don't understand do you fool.

" SHUT UP! SHUT UP! "

He rose from his knee to face a large lycan twice the size as him, the body engraved with many scars and riddled with lost patches of fur. The most notable was the missing eyes which was sealed shut by sowing needle thread and a large gash down past his eyes socket to his cheek. " WHAT DID YOU SAY TO ME SWINE! " " I SAID SHUT UP! " the larger lycan picked the human formed Skoll off the floor with his large clawed hand holding him by the neck " YOU ARE UNDER MY COMMAND DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?! " Skoll spat on his face " Pity me your foolish commands i have better things to do " the larger lycan cocked back and threw skoll into the wall. " Insolent worm! " Skoll punched the rock cave wall that was behind him and made the whole area shake. " YOU WILL LEARN! WHO THE MASTER OF THE RISING MOON CLAN IS, FATHER! " Skolls body began to change and grow the fur bursting through his clothes his body growing the limbs moving in and out of place into the form of his greater self. He arose and let a rumbling growl escape his massive canine jaw. He rushed forward leaping into the air and then blacked out " What? " He sat up in the forest his body bandaged and a fire going infront of him his body against a tree " Must have been dreaming of my win again...heh " He looked up at the sky and something bright was heading towards his way. " What the " The Celestial Envoy had spoke to him about this mission. The king...the Dreadful king who he wished to be brought down...the one man who had single handedly destroyed the Rising moon clan. The whole time he was using us for his sick ploy...his terrible slaughtering, That's why i broke away. and i have a searing vengeance to kill him. But to travel to this meeting place would be worth it, Standing up he rustled his shoulders and chuckled as he began to hunch over and make a groaning noise. His back expanding and his bones once again shifting and moving and lengthening. He cocked back and let a howl go into the night air breathing a bit heavy as he entered his Lycan form, Spinning around he lowered down onto all fours and picked a pack up off the floor with his mouth and took off into an all out sprint on all fours. Grunting noises as he pushed off the floor harder and harder picking up speed, racing through the night towards this tavern he traveled with great speed. Through the night and into the morning he came upon a group of enemies, Humans to be precise. His hulking body came right into the duo causing them to launch to the side. He spun around in one motion and dropped the bag out of his mouth and let it hit the floor and as it did he took off in a high bounced lunge his feet landing on one of the men causing him to scream out in pain as his full weight came down upon the man being crushed in his own armor. Skoll leaned down and grabbed his face pulling it up and taking his whole head off and placing it in his mouth he looked at the other man standing there with his weapon drawn, his jaw snapping down on the head causing it to explode outwards and blood and gushy stuff to flow out of his mouth. He walked forward slowly as the man charged forward with bravery and skoll blocked his down slash with the bracers on his arms, the man looked the lycan in the eyes before taking a massive blow from a headbutt causing him to rattle back. as he did Skoll lifted the man up by the armor and slammed him down on the floor sending a claw straight into his chest and then slowly retracting it letting the man spew blood from his mouth. skoll spoke through wolf tongue " Die in silence " He completely pulled out and the man closed his eyes and died, He spun around again and began rushing picking up the bag in his mouth as he ran again. As nightfall came again he noticed the tavern in sights he had definitely traveled not to long of a distance from his original spot but luckily it was in rushing distance or he would of been in for a hell of a trip. He came to a slow stop and slowly returned to human form and opened the pack pulling out fresh clothing so that he wasn't naked inside the tavern, He walked to the door and pushed himself inside looking around and noticing the group of travelers just like him he went and grabbed a seat relaxing.

 

[TiedInBone]

Washwater was a large port town, its chorus of voices clashed with the sounds of the sea, the smell of salt filled the air, the very presence of the place seemed to fold beneath the waves of the fast approaching tide. As a selkie hometown during high tide the streets would become partially flooded and the buildings would lift from their supports to float on the tide. High tide was at its peak when the last of the travelers made his way to 'The Maiden in the Moon', it was a renowned watering hole for smugglers and patrons, not the kind of place a young woman like Violet fit in but something about her aura and sense of purpose had everyone taken aback, she was the first to arrive of several unusual guests, something was happening here tonight.

It did not take long for Violet's surprising appearance to be topped as two more unlikely drunkards entered the small, dark interior. The first had flown in through the open window, a sight most rare this far east, a phoenix, he made his perch on top of the large metal furnace that sat in the corner of the room beside the bar, he nestled there and began to study the other carousers. It was soon after that the remaining three arrived, all human at first glance nothing to out of the ordinary but as each of them walked to the bar, the surrounding tavern goers noticed they were not as they seemed. The first while human in shape hidden under rags had naught to his being but bone; an undead, a cursed man forced to walk the world even in death, at his arrival many of the less curious patrons left not waiting to finish their drinks. After him, two men entered together, one older; he had the look of experience to him as if he had seen the way of the world a thousand times over, he did not look weakened by this however, many would say he even looked empowered by it. Stood beside him in the doorway was a man, to the untrained eye but in this dim, candle lit room, he shone with the glow of the moon in his grin, a look many knew did not accompany a mere man.

"Welcome" the man behind the bar seemed unfazed by these strange travelers and greeted them with the same chipper tone, he would use with a friend. "If your heading to Pinegrove, she's in the back" and with that he went back to serving drinks. The back room was darker still than the bar, a small fireplace did its best to illuminate the space but it was to no avail. Placed on a table in the center of the room was a letter, the dim light made it difficult to read but a silver emblem could be seen clearly at the top of the page, a stone wall with a crack splitting it in two, a shard of light piercing in between. It was enchanted to look like this by some kind of light magic nothing too powerful but extremely rare.

'You have be chosen to join the ranks of a rising rebellion.
Should you choose to accept this invitation, seek out
Captain Stoneworth. He travels north as we speak, to
Pinegrove, the road will be dangerous and some of you may
not make it there alive. But your reward will outweigh any
risk, your freedom.'

 

[Jae- The nonexistant]

Violet thought about the words carefully. "I'm going." She said more to herself then the other travelers. She adjusted her bow, making sure the string was tightened. "Who's with me?" She asked, looking around the group. She knew she might not be some decked out fighter, but she was experienced, she had determination, and she was not letting the King go by without reprecussions.

 

[Akuma]

Leaned agaisnt one of the dark walls his red eyes illuminating a bit as he looked up from having his head bowed " Obviously im in...i wouldn't travel all this way just to say fuck it and leave " He scoffed and rubbed his nose with his finger and sniffed the air. " and plus you could probably use a nose " He smirked standing up straight to his full regular human height.

 

[Jae- The nonexistant]

Violet nodded. "I'm sure a nose would be good." She said. She looked at the others, wondering if it was even a good question to ask. Surely the man was right, no one would travel such a distance just to go back? Probably not, at least, no one with determination, or a mind.. She thought silently.

 

[WolfNightV4X1]

Pyral swooped through the doorway, careful not to set anything ablaze, he perched on a wooden chair, were his talons touched the wood's surface turned to a charred black, but nothing more. Dead followed the others in the room, and just as the Phoenix did pondered the writing on the letter.

The last words rang in his head,

" the road will be dangerous and some of you may not make it there alive. But your reward will outweigh any risk, your freedom."

Surely Dead was the last person to be concerned with not making it out alive, there wasn't much he could care about anymore; not for life. Not for death. But the very last words rang in his skull: Freedom. Freedom from what? He questioned his need for such an ideal, but deep in his ribcage, where once beated a heart, he felt that the journey itself was his freedom.

Just then a young woman's voice broke his trance "I'm going, who's with me?"

Dead faced the girl, his expressionless face covered ever so slightly by a hood, his jaw clicked as he spoke, and a raspy hollow voice emanated from him "I will be going".

Pyral nodded his head "As will I", though he did feel guilt at leaving all he knew behind. Yet at the same time, a sense of duty. For it was he who was chosen; and the fate of not just his forest and all who lived in it, but the land and the kingdom and all who dwelled within in was at risk "A lot is at stake here, I can feel it"

 

[Jae- The nonexistant]

Violet nodded again. That's four. She thought. "Yes, a lot is at stake. Many things." She agreed with Pyral. She glanced at the remaining member, now pretty sure he would agree to come. I wonder who wants to lead the group.. She thought, looking back over them. She wouldn't; she could not lead a thing.

 

[Glazer]

Collem felt uncomfortable, although his stoic demeanor didn't betray that feeling. For 8 years he fought. Plenty of other humans, sure, but more often it was some other race. He wasn't used to sharing a room with them, and certainly not with traveling among them. The young woman, another human at least, was the first to respond to the note. The lycan, Collem recognized a lycan when he saw one regardless of what form it inhabited, was next, then the bones and the phoenix. All of them were prepared for the journey. Was he? Collem grunted and stepped forward, among the party.

"I'll travel with you to Pinegrove. I fought with Stoneworth during the last rebellion, might be he still recognizes me. Might be good to see him. Once we get there… might be I'll stick around. We'll see how this goes."

Even as he said the words, Collem felt doubt. Mal's advice still lingered in the back of his head: "This isn't nothing but a fool's errand."

 

[WolfNightV4X1]

Pyral nodded, everyone was in agreement, he gazed upon each figure, each one soon to be his allies. "Alright, I guess now that this is settled, our next step is to find this Captain Stoneworth as he heads north to Pinegrove"

He unfurled his wings, "Perhaps we should leave now, but I think it would benefit us if we introduced ourselves" He bent his wing so it pointed to his chest "I am Pyral, former guardian of the forest. And the rest of you are?" His eyes fixed on the other travelers.

 

[Jae- The nonexistant]

Violet nodded. "I'm Violet, explorer, wanderer, and fighter." She said simply. She didn't really know if that put her in any place to be here, but there had to be a reason the envoy came to her, even if she wasn't anyone important.

 

[Akuma]

Pushing out a nice thick Russian accent he spoke " The name is skoll former leader of the Rising Moon Clan, Skilled Huntsman, And one of the gate keepers for the underground " He nodded and continued to slum back agaisnt the wall taking in mental notes of what each person could be like.

 

[WolfNightV4X1]

The skeleton studied each of the living beings. He doubted he needed to tell them, but his raspy voice spoke anyways "I'm Dead." He said hollowly, "Just Dead".

 

[TiedInBone]

With the adventurers together it was time for their journey to begin, as they left the city
they looked back to it, little did they know that when next they saw the bustling port, it
would be barely recognizable. Skoll and Pyral led the way; the eyes, ears and snout of the
expedition it would take everybody's skills to overcome the difficulties they would face and
without a guide, the simple act of moving forward was a tribulation. The group moved at good
pace through the vast countryside and hills that nestled between the eastern sea and the
torched mountains.

The torched mountains spread half the width of the continent, they were treacherous to pass
through, the mountains had once stood proud as the homeland of the stone golems, it had been
there battleground and they had remained undefeated. The became arrogant and sought to
expand, it was this very arrogance that they fell to. They believed themselves unbeatable in
their mountain home and would boast such taunts towards any enemy, that is until the phoenix
harpie queen. Queen Whiteash Stormfeather was the first half-breed (phoenix and harpie) and
as such had aspects from both races the pride of the phoenixes and the aggression of the
harpies. While on one of her migratory paths between the harpie capitals she and her guards
were stopped by the stone golems and forced to pay a travelling tax, she laughed and flew on,
within the month a flock returned and with her at the lead they lit the mountains ablaze she
using her natural talents and her followers burning oil. The fires raged for almost two years
and when they finally subsided the once rocky snow-capped peaks were half the size, where once
stood tall the the majestic mountainside now lay hot dust and shattered peaks.

Dangerous as the terrain was, they still had days until they reached it. By nightfall the
group had made it quite far from Washwater, the group regaled in stories of their pasts as
the hunters searched for suitable prey, they ate and slept well that night. Morning broke
across the hills, the sun pierced through the dark clouds that loomed over the restless
waters of the eastern sea, it would take at least a few days before a storm that big would
reach them, the grass was wet around the campsite, morning dew steamed into a soft mist where
Pyral nested, the fire was a few mere flickers at this point and the travelers were readying
themselves to proceed forwards. When they heard the rattling of chains and moving of wheels.

Just beyond the next hill was a convoy herding non-humans to the nearest town, Johren,
it was a small human outpost mostly comprised of humans but the town was well known in the
area for its sea forged blades created by a selkie blacksmith that founded the place before
the King had it seized. The convoy consisted of ten well equipped human guards called
shepherds, it was there job to gather any unwanted or dangerous creatures to escort them to a
lord or the royal court of Ortul itself, from there they would be collected by a larger,
faster convoy that rode for the Crystalline Mountain. Between the guards, four were mounted,
two archers either end, scouting the hillside and four more stood close to the cart in the
center, the cart itself was a cage on wheels pulled by a pair of large horses. Within the
cage sat but one creature, cloaked and hooded, it was rare that the shepherds would escort
only one prisoner, perhaps it was fate or some divine providence.

In your following posts I would like you to discuss the group's plan for rescue of the
prisoner as well as any removal of the guards remember this is your first act against the
King as a group and any impact it has will affect the later story. Feel free to discuss
details of your journey so far as well as anything you want to add after the rescue, just
make sure not to jump too far ahead. Also Edward Blackwood will be joining the group as the
prisoner you are rescuing.

 

[WolfNightV4X1]

Pyral awoke to the sound of clattering noise, he untucked his head from under his wing and took off, instinctively detecting the origin of the clamor. He controlled his flames so that they were only bare flicker, which was easier in this part of the land with the mist. Just beyond the hill he saw a cart, pulled by chains. He circled around them from above, observing the scene carefully.

Finally, he flew back to the camp, landing in the center of the group "Pardon the disturbance, but there appears to be Shepard's of the king beyond that hill. It appears they are escorting a prisoner to the courts." He bowed is crowned head in contemplation "I don't know what crime is against him, but knowing the royal court, it is something that they deem unlawful, and that probably isn't good for the imprisoned" He stared at the others, waiting for the unanimous course of action.

Dead was aroused from his thoughts, he did not need to sleep, it wasn't necessary anymore. He pondered what the phoenix had said. He shrugged, his bones clattering as he moved "I do not care because I am an unfeeling skeleton. But perhaps we could, it feels like something I would've done" He wondered, Did the others not care as well? Would they risk their lives and their mission to rescue another victim of the kingdom? Maybe it was just him.

Pyral tilted his head, amused by the skeleton's answer. "Anyone else have any thoughts on this?"

 

[Glazer]

Collem had been squating near the dieing fire, smoking from his pipe when the bird landed with the news. He considered it.

"How many shepherds?"

The hunters rarely traveled in small groups, while their own party was only 5 strong, and Collem wasn't sure if he could trust his new companions to have his back in combat. He grunted, spitting into the fire as he rose.

"I say we let them pass. No use risking ourselves before we reach Pinegrove and Stoneworth, not for one unfortunate soul anyway."

He looked to the remainder of his party, eager to see how they would react. The other races would have a little more sympathy for someone in a position like this captive.

 

[WolfNightV4X1]

"I saw ten of them. Quite a challenge if we get involved", Pyral replied to the man's question.

He nodded at his mention that it wasn't worth the risk "You are probably right." He shakes his head, ruffling his feathers "However, I do feel the need to intervene. As a guardian, this is what I stood for" A fire glowed in his eyes "Granted I wouldn't go to risk the team, but it pains me to let it go. It is my job to protect those in need, and I feel this is what we were called for"

He looks at the others "We will have to fight in the future, what difference does now make? Especially since we need to gauge each others strengths and weaknesses".

"But again, it is not my decision to make..."