The Trauma of History OOC

[Aufidius]

IC is up.

I wrote it during beer and NFL time... coz I can.

[Rethel34]

Haha that's awesome. Time to go check it out.

EDIT: HOLY LANDSCAPE! That is one beautiful picture, and partially unexpected.

[Calvin]

A nice start, Aufidius. Shall we head directly to the hall after our opening posts, or have a little adventure getting there? Perhaps meeting other members of the alliance on our way?

[Mammoth]

I'm still debating how, if at all, Mammoth will be able to get by the wall. They're not exactly going to just open the gate for him... I shot a couple ideas Aufidius's way to get around that to ensure they didn't goof his plans.

[Calvin]

I'm still debating how, if at all, Mammoth will be able to get by the wall. They're not exactly going to just open the gate for him... I shot a couple ideas Aufidius's way to get around that to ensure they didn't goof his plans.

Don't suppose they have a lift?

[Aufidius]

Mammoth, I've replied to your message. Sounds good, with a few tweaks. The plot has flexibility, so I won't ever mind bending it a bit - its your (plural) RP after all.

Calvin, you can write your own backstory in, but don't take too long getting there. That's going to leave Mammoth stranded for a bit too long. You might do a main post where he's in a city (or wherever) doing this thing, gets the message, and sets off. You might then do a 'four days later', and write a short paragraph arriving at the dwarven city. Up to you.

Cheers Rethel, thought it would be nice to include something visual.

[Fantasyfan28]

Name: Crale Darkclaw

Age: 76 (approximately 35 in human years)

Race: Half-Elf

Brief Description: Crale shares traits from both parents, he has his mother's almond shaped elven eyes which are a rich honeyed brown, his hair is a darker shade of brown lightening to a reddish hue at the tips. He wears it long in tradition to the elven way as well but never has it bound, it is used to cover his slightly pointed ears that often betray his mixed heritage to those who favour neither race. Crale's father was a tall man with heavy muscles and broad shoulders. Whilst the elven blood has thinned Crale somewhat he is still thicker of waist than a true elf. Crale tops 6ft in height with a good few inches to spare. His broad shoulders hold his supple chain and leather armour, padded tunic and regular clothing with ease. Almost all of Crale's clothing has some type of elven design embroidered or attached to it, but instead of the rich hues of a vibrant forest, the colouring of said clothing is always a muted black or gray.

History/Background: Crale speaks little of his past, if only because he does not know much of it. But there is pain reflected in his eyes if anyone were to look as the subject was broached. His birth was a shock and a pleasant surprise to both parents. They had not long been wed (in a ceremony that had said to cause no small amount of disgust, anger and open hostility on both sides of his parent's families. His mother was a noble elven lady, known as Larissa N'are. Her voice was said to have been able to charm the birds from the sky and the fish from the seas. Crale's father was a well respected ranger from the elite group known as the Wolves of the Wild. His splendid sword Efreet.
was said to have been a gift from the Northmen, and if that was true then he must have been an exceptional warrior in his own right.
Crale's life was not easy, neither belonging to one race or the other, he matured faster than the elven boys and brought strange looks from the elven and human girls as they began to notice these changes. He studied elven lore as well as human history, swordplay and horseriding from his father, music and elven spellsong from his mother.
Life was not easy, but neither was it boring. Crale was happy and content. Unfortunately as is the way with things that was shattered when his parents were attacked on journey to Crale's father's homeland of Sharn.

Crale was about 25 (human equivalent of roughly 16) at the time and was riding ahead with one of the men-at-arms his father had asked along. There was a cry from the tree lines like that of a hunting hawk and then chaos erupted. Men dressed in motley arrays of armour all dulled to a grey or black swarmed out of the trees. Crale's father drew his sword and the men-at-arms did likewise. An arrow sprouted from the man-at-arm next to Crale's throat in a shower of blood which drenched Crale and caused his vision to take on a reddish hue. He could not see well enough to draw his own blade and as such was dragged from his horse without a struggle. As he felt himself being bound, he managed to turn his head and see a ring of men surrounding his father, Crale's mother was already on the floor, a nasty looking gash in her head the only clue as to why she had not released any of her elven magic. It might not have been the powerful stuff of legends, but surely calling a swarm of bee's or a cloud of dust to obscure the attacker's vision would have helped.
Crale cried out as a huge bear of a man swung a net at Crale's father, then everything went black as a hard thump connected with his head and he knew no more.

The story could have ended there. Crale might have wished it had. However, he awoke, bound and gagged in a dripping cave that stank of unwashed bodies and other foul odours. His father was suspended by his arms in front of Crale, his feet barely touching the ground. The men who had attacked had stripped the man of everything, leaving him clad in just a loincloth. Sweat and blood matted his father, new wounds and old scars stood out on the man's muscled form as he smiled at his son and gave Crale the look that usually meant they were in trouble but it was not that serious. Crale never understood that particular moment, his father seemed happy, secure in some faith that Crale couldn't and has not yet found. But their reunion was interrupted by the man Crale had seen throw the net, he was extremely ugly and looked like his parents had orc or possibly ogre blood somewhere in their family. The man had a scar running across his left eye and down to his top lip, he was bald with a messy black beard and clad in furs that did not look to have been treated.
He looked at the captives and smiled. Called something out in a strange guttural tongue then repeated it in broken common.
"Father and son, let us see how strong this bond is." He turned to Crale and smiled, showing a mouth filled with broken, yellowed teeth. "If you love yer pa then you will do anything to save him, am I right."
Crale eyed the man with open hatred in his eyes but he nodded his response and the man turned away, apparently satisfied with his answer.

"And you father, oh mighty warrior, I am going to grant you the chance to prove how much of a man yer boy be"
He stopped and raised a huge meaty paw of a hand to Crale's father's face. Almost stroking it in a mockery of Larissa's tender gestures. Suddenly his hand shot out and slapped Crale's father hard, then he balled it into a fist and drove it into the unprotected stomach. Heavy punches followed by grunts were the only sounds in the cave for several minutes. Crale wished he could aid his father, or at the very least cover his ears.

After the beating stopped, the Bear called out to someone, there was a scraping noise and then a squeaking of an iron gate, Crale heard another man walking towards them. The newcomer carried Crale's father's sword and a length of chain which looked like it had been wrapped in spikes. Crale looked at the hilt of his father's blade, the inticately carved patterns that had been painstakingly etched into the metal were a comforting sight, his hands ached to grab the blade, cut the men down and free his father, together they would then go and rescue his mother. He stopped suddenly, that thought rebounding in his skull, where was his mother? The Bear had made no mention of her and as such Crale had not thought about her due to the circumstances he faced. But now he was and the thoughts were not pleasant.

A slap to his head caused him to turn sharply. The Bear gave a snort and spoke again, apparently not happy at having to repeat himself.

"You boy, will have the chance to win freedom for you and your pa, I will give you the sword to cut him free, but you must do it before the chains wrap too tightly, oh and one other thing. The sword will be hot."

As he said this a blazing light flared into existence, Crale could feel the heat almost immediately. He did not understand what was happening, not fully anyway. Yet he knew he had to win his father's freedom if he himself wanted to survive. After a few minutes, the fire was allowed to die down, but Crale could see the fiercely glowing coals. The Bear walked over and pushed the sword into these, leaving just enough of the hilt sticking out for Crale to see.

When he returned to Crale's father, the other man walked forward and began wrapping the chains around the captive man. Crale winced as he saw little hooks embedded in the chain catch and tear at his father's skin. The Bear watched in grim silence and nodded his satisfaction when the man had finished. He waited a moment and then spoke one single word in the same guttural tongue that Crale had heard him mutter before. Almost immediately the chains began to constrict, like some monsterous metal snake. Now Crale did hear his father cry out.

The Bear was at his side and was cutting the bindings loose. He whispered into Crale's ear. "Go save yer Pa"

The rest of this documentation has been held back by request of Crale Darkclaw's recent employee's. The information within can be disclosed at any time by Crale himself however, it may be some time coming.

Skills: Crale has the speed of an elf and the superior strength of a regular human, this combined with his reflexes and natural talent have given him a true swordsman's skill. His talent with the blade has already been counted as amongst the best of the elven swordsmen and the Knights of the Royal guard. A high accolade for anyone but even more so due to his mixed heritage.
Crale has keen eyes and hearing, whilst not as sharp as a full elf they are superior to that of a human.
Even though Crale learnt about the Elfsong from his mother, he has never shown any aptitude for magic, perhaps it is his mixed blood or just the fact that magic has been lost for too long, He can still sing beautifully if in the right frame of mind. However the music and the words seem hollow, as if missing something. An accomplished rider and painter as well, Crale has also a skill that may seem out of place but he found his nimble fingers and quick hands perfectly suited for the task. Crale is a talented thief and most locks he has ever come across have yielded under his touch.

Job/Class: Crale is part of the Elven Elite, an honor bestowed upon him 10 years ago after he single handedly repelled a bandit raiding party. Although it would seem like a place of honor to most, to Crale it seems as if he has been awarded the post as some kind of sick joke, the elves treat him with the respect he deserves but a part of him feels that they are putting him on display to mock him. He is would be considered a master swordsman and an accomplished archer (although by elven standards this is far from perfect).


Alliegance: Crale has ties to both the Elven and Human settlements his parents were from, however he has no true loyalty to either as he feels their petty squabbling and underhand comments do more damage than good for the people of both races. Crale holds to his own ideals, and that of his mother and father, following his heart and head more often than the rules of others. Now this usually gets him into more trouble than would be expected but it has yet to stop Crale from changing his ways.

His current Employee(s) are the Marquis of Sharn (A most made up title if ever there was one in Human lands), A fat noble man with a grasp that exceeds his reach but the money to make things possible, and the Elven military captain Darfin Lasehe. A severe Elven male with the racial prejudices of an entire nation rolled into almost 300 years of life. Crale is currently in Sharn on a request from the Marquis to settle debates between bordering lands (What this has to do with Crale is beyond him), but the true job may lay elsewhere.

Equipment/Belongings: Crale carries the longsword Efreet, a blackwood bow and quiver of arrows, his backpack contains several changes of clothing, trail food and a sewing kit. He has four rolled metres of spidersilk twine and two similar lengths of fishing wire and hooks. A tinderbox, waterskin a his money pouch complete his outfit.
Bringing him into the journey is his elven bred warhorse, a stout travelling companion and a fierce night watchman in her own rights.

[Aufidius]

That history is a story in itself! Massive! Is there some-way in which this bandit/orc connection could tie into his motivations / interests? Since you've taken so much time over it, would be good to make it at least ostensibly connected to the existing plot.

Good stuff though. I'll wait until you've finished it before I accept, but that's just a formality. Just two minor points:

1) Consider, as a half-breed, who he would be in the service of.
2) The elven spellsong. Even the elves possess very little real knowledge of magic. Though it has been possessed by some long ago, it has all but left the world now. It's exceptionally rare, and therefore not likely to be possessed by one of us.

[Aufidius]

A nice first post Hank. A dwarven ale on your way in will fix that scraping sound in your gut!

[Fantasyfan28]

I was actually going to leave it there and let everyone wonder what happened, obviously the rest of the story will be fleshed out within posts and flashbacks or dreams, but its pretty much a given that Crale now is in possession of his father's sword.

As for the Spellsong, I was going to have Crale learn about it but have not said he was able to use it. Not even full-blooded elves have had the magical might of their long dead ancestors so I doubt a Half-Breed would.

The allegiance part I am still figuring out, but I was thinking that maybe Crale has been hired due to his Father's acclaim. That would be another reason why I have not mention the Man's name in the post yet spoke of Crale's mother.

I also hope that Mammoth doe not mind that Efreet is forged from the coldsteel of the North. As it is only the elite of the tribe that get a weapon forged from the precious metal, Crale's father would have to have been either an elite warrior in his prime or somebody extremely important to the Northmen.

Anyways I will hopefully have the time to finish my CS tonight but if not it will definately be sorted by tomorrow.