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[b]Currently [color=red]CLOSED![/color] Check back another time![/b][/center]
[color=lightgray][justify]The King of these lands left eight years ago, called away to join a holy war across the sea. His army went with him, full of the kingdom's most noble, dutiful, and skilled warriors. What was meant to be a year-long campaign with the promise of glory and riches has turned into nearly a decade of brutal war, and at this point it isn't clear when or even [i]if[/i] the king and his army will return.

A Duke has ruled in his stead, and while there was stability for the first year, with each passing season his appetite for power and control have only grown. With so many of the nobility and their military forces having sailed off to war, the Duke has steadily filled the power vacuum in their absence. His household guard have grown into his own private army, full of young men he lifted from poverty and gifted with power. They were left behind as children when their fathers were called to war, but now they are men grown, and eager to carve out their own place in the world. They are fiercely loyal to their liege, willing to break anyone that threatens his ever growing rule.

Life was hardly perfect before, but under the Duke, the people suffer. He uses the fear of outside invasion to justify throttling them of their livelihoods, demanding more and more every year, and yet the growing threats of monsters and vicious, dark creatures in the wilds go unchecked. None have the strength or courage to stand up to the Duke, and many choose to support his cause instead to save their own skins.[/justify]
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[justify]One young noblewoman, Estelle Lucroy, dared to condemn the Duke in court. A child when her father and older brother left for war, it took her years to understand the extent of the Duke's tyranny. Now an adult, she felt she couldn't stand by and allow this regime change to occur without a fight.

She vastly overestimated her own position and influence, and within a few nights her family estate was seized by forces under the Duke's command, her father's holdings handed over to her uncle instead. Estelle was able to escape with her life, a few supplies, and her father's old blade, vanishing into the wooded wilderness of the rural country.

She is determined to take back what is rightfully hers, and eventually see her uncle and the Duke brought to justice, but at this point that's a distant dream. Many of the common people either don't know of her, don't trust her, or believe her struggle to be a lost cause.

If Estelle can prove herself capable, she could find allies. With allies, she can show that the Duke's hold on the kingdom is not absolute. And if the people see that, a true rebellion could be on the horizon. Of course, she could just as easily end up dead in any number of ways, as her enemies are numerous and powerful, and she is no great warrior nor hero. Not yet, at least.[/justify]
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[justify]That's the gist of the plot, but what am I looking for from my partner? A GM role, first and foremost. I'm happy to collaborate to a great extent OOC on worldbuilding and the direction of the plot, but I'm looking for someone willing to take on the role of the world, both Estelle's allies and enemies. If you have a character you feel fits the plot well, that's great, but I would ultimately like for Estelle to be the central character of the story, and I will make every effort to write her compellingly enough to be worthy of that.

If that first paragraph didn't lose you, great! I want to tell a fairly slow burn story, a gritty fantasy tale of a young woman first finding her feet as an adventurer, a warrior, and later a leader, if she's able to prove herself to those she wants to lead. From there I would hope to write a decently mature take on a rebellion, with all of its ugly moral questions and dilemmas, and all of its dramatic victories and setbacks.

Ideally I'd like both combat and decision-making to be difficult and dangerous, with no guarantee of success, leaving potential for the story to evolve in any number of ways. This shouldn't be the kind of fantasy tale where the hero is cutting down dozens of minions left and right without a second thought. If you feel like some kind of light mechanics would help with that, I'm on board, otherwise we can keep it freeform.

A lot of the worldbuilding I left intentionally vague, as I wouldn't want to force an entire pre-built world of my own onto a partner that I then ask to GM it. That said, I'd like to keep things relatively low-fantasy, and have some ideas that can get us started. We can work on the rest together, or if you feel this story fits a setting you already have, I'm more than willing to consider it.

If this sounds like fun to you, send me a PM and we can chat about it more![/justify][/color][/hider]