[OOC] Help! My Whole Town is Stuck in Another World!

[Aleranicus]

Help! My Whole Town Is Trapped in a Fantasy World!

Crossville, MN is a quiet town. Founded in 1897 as a crossroads for logging companies south of the Canadian border, this small town has been in a perpetual boom and bust cycle for a while now. When the timber trade dried up, it became a railroad town and a bootlegger's pit stop. During The War its old timber mills helped produce wooden rifle stocks for the army. It settled into a long and slow decline until the discovery of oil in the fields surrounding town in 2009.

Mayor Harry Rawlins found the night of September 19th, 2019 to be a quiet one for a Friday. He had vague recollections of a weird, purple aurora borealis in the sky on his way back from Larry's Bar and Grille that night- he figured it was either the tequila or the fumes from the oil wells. The morning of September 20th was less quiet.

He tried to call his brother in New York to wish him a happy birthday, but the line went dead. Cell service was out too. So was internet. Power was still on, which meant the solar farm the power company installed wasn't affected by the weird aurora. People were starting to realize the horror of a world without internet when the crazy stuff started to happen.

John Michaels came driving into town, raving like a loon about a battle happening on the Interstate outside town. Knights, archers, catapults, and other raving craziness. Harry thought John was back on the angel dust and was about to have him thrown in the sherrif's cell to cool off when the horsemen came riding in. Honest to God Knights with swords. And pointed eared foot-soldiers straight out of that weird Comic-Con he'd seen on the news before.

The Knights introduced themselves as servants of League of Princes, fighting against the cruelty of King Braspian IV.

It only got weirder from there.

Two weeks have gone by since then. Wizards, cat-people, and diplomats have come to Crossville to look at the wonders of Earth technology. The Crossvillers don't know how they got to the nation of Braspian or whose side they should take in the civil war. They just know that nothing is the same anymore...

- - - -

Welcome to a little RP I like to call "Help! My Whole Town is Stuck in Another World!"

This RP draws a lot of inspiration from two sources:

- Eric Flint's "1632" series
- Log Horizon

It's about a whole group of people with wildly different life experiences, ideas, skills, and dreams being plucked from time and space by powers they will never understand and making the best of their new reality. You will never find out why or how you've been transported to the nation of Braspian.

The Primary thread will have to do with the civil war being waged between the League of Princes and King Braspian IV, and how the town of Crossville will navigate the, er, crossroads it finds itself in.

Secondary threads and short stories, one-off posts, and other ideas are accepted and encouraged. If you want to stretch your writing chops by having a phone technician pairing with a Wizard to create a telegraph? Go for it.

Prototype CS

Name:
Age:
Race: Human (Earth- Crossville, MN), Human (Braspian), Fantasy (Use best judgement, but Generic Fantasy Races are all on the table)
Appearance: (Anime image is permitted)
Personality:
Brief Backstory:
Equipment: (Any unique items on your person)
Profession:

Shared Worldbuilding

This is where I'll be placing 60% of the Accept/Decline. Write an introductory post about some factor in the world of Braspian. Its religions, rulers, schools of magic (no timey-wimey stuff), or history (the only things off the table here are the Dark Lord of the Ashlands and the current Braspian Civil War).

Other than this, go ham. Write a short story, or a fact based report, or a newspaper article. Get as creative as you want. Answer questions that haven't been asked. Ask questions that haven't been proposed.



Crossville has been transported to the rebellious Greywik Marshlands, roughly 20 km North of So'lin.

- - - -

Sample CS: Mayor Harry Rawlins

Name: Harry Jonathan Rawlins

Age: 66

Race: Human (Earth)

Appearance:


Personality: Pragmatic, too old for this nonsense, but calm in a crazy situation.

Brief Backstory: Born and raised in Crossville during the Baby Boom, Harry Rawlins lived a quiet life as a middle manager of the local lumber mill until its closing in the 80s. He has been Mayor of Crossville for 24 years now, a perpetual gig that no one seems eager to take from him. Harry's the perfect punching bag for the town's troubles- competent enough to keep Crossville from becoming a ghost town, but never able to get all the ducks in a row to stop

Equipment: (Any unique items on your person)

Profession: Mayor, previously a line manager in a lumber mill.

Shared Worldbuilding

September 20th, Crossville Town Council Meeting Minutes
Emergency Session
4:59 PM

Mayor Rawlins Calls meeting to order, advises those waiting outside the town hall will be given copies of the transcript as it is standing room only within the hall. Individuals in attendance continue speaking, screaming, loudly proclaiming the end of days. Rawlins calls meeting to order again. No response from crowd.

Mayor lowers gavel, asks to borrow sword from Sir/Lady Jeneviv Moltara. Sword is offered. Mayor tells assembled crowd he will use said sword to remove the middle finger from the next person who speaks. Old Lady Josie says he can't do that, rule against Cruel and Unusual Punishment in U.S. Constitution. Mayor remarks that we are no longer in the United States, as is plainly clear by the dragon that flew over Jeff Higgins' corn field two hours ago.

Murmurs die down.

Mayor Rawlins invites Lady Jeneviv Moltara to the speaker's dais, asking her to explain the current political situation Crossville finds itself in, and to "please keep it simple."

Lady Jeneviv proclaims that she is a Knight in the service of the League of Princes in Rebellion. She is interrupted by a speaker from crowd, asking how she speaks English. Lady Jeneviv shrugs and asks how we have come to speak the Common Language.

Crowd murmurs, Mayor Rawlins raises sword toward offending questioner. Silence. Lady Jeneviv continues.

The League of Princes is currently engaged in open rebellion against King Braspian IV, who rules from the capital city to the south-west some many miles. Braspian killed his older brother Magnus by poisoning at a dinner celebration (according to the League) and usurped the throne, claiming that his elder brother Magnus II was engaged in a plot to sell the nation to the Ash-Tyrant across the sea, a great and wicked sorcerer who rules an entire continent through fear and torture, with an army of Shadow-Fiends to do his bidding.

Mention is made of "Sauron" from the crowd. Mayor Rawlins brandishes sword again. Jeneviv is allowed to continue.

The League of Princes believe it is Braspian who is in league with the Ash-Tyrant, as he was never a friend of the northern provinces and Magnus promised them favorable treatment. When Braspian seized the League's emissaries and demanded hostages for loyalty, the League raised their banners and called their armies together to overthrow Braspian, seeking to establish a new confederation of cities rather than a supreme Kingdom.

Individual fiefdoms answered the call, armies were raised, and the war has been ongoing for three years now. The latest battle outside Crossville was a rare victory for the League, and Lady Jeneviv hopes to continue her campaign once her soldiers are rested and healed, potentially moving on a fortress called "The Mud Keep" that overlooks the marshlands to the west.

Harry opens the floor to questions at this time.

Q1: Is there magic in this world?
A1: Yes, there are many schools of sorcery. Jeneviv indicates she employs several magi to heal her grievously injured and throw fireballs as some kind of artillery, though mages are valuable and easily tire.

Q2: Has she ever met an orc?
A1: They reside over the eastern mountains. Are apparently very reasonable if brutish folk.
Q2: What about Elves? Dwarves? Lizardfolk? Tabaxi?
A1: Yes- she employs a company of Wood Elves as archers. Dwarves tend to keep to the Vaults on the island, an industrious folk and not given to care for the mainland's politics. Much is being done to win them over to the Princes' side- or at least keep them from taking the King's. Lizardfolk are common in the southlands. Tabaxi she is unfamiliar with.
Q2: What about Bigfoot?
(a description of bigfoot is provided)
A1: That is a foolish question. Those are goliaths and they live in the highland woods.
(Q2 is handed a number of dollar bills by others in the crowd)

Q3: Are we going to fight?
A1: Against me? No. You're on my land, though there was no village here the day before today. We will need to come to some understanding, but I consider you under my protection as the Lady of these lands.
(loud disagreement about "Property taxes" and which banks own which mortgages; eventually settles down)

Q4: Can we get a copy of the civil and criminal legal codes?
(Crowd member yells "You would, Larry! Ambulance chaser!")
A1: I don't see why not.

Q5: What can we do to get home?
A1: I'm not certain how you got here in the first place. But if you require anything of me to return to your world, know that I will be happy to provide it.

Q6: Can we still hold the town Oktoberfest even if Germany doesn't exist here?
A1: The what?
(A description of the planned festivities is provided by the Mayor)
A1: I would hope to be there for such a festival. I will bring some beer from my own castle.
(A cheer goes up from the crowd)

Q7: What are we going to do about protection? We don't have no army base, and the good lady is in her own war!
A2 (Mayor): I'll be working with city hall to set up an emergency committee. I want everyone to come by to the library at 9AM sharp tomorrow and fill out a form regarding past experience- every job you've had, every skill. We may need to do some reorganizing to make sure we make it through this mess. Whatever caused it.

Q8: Do we still have to pay the electric bills? What about the water? We got it from the lake and the lake ain't there no more!
A2: The electricity is safe for now. The solar farm paid off- and I know half of ya'll didn't want it installed in the first place! I've got two deputies there at all times to make sure it ain't tampered with. Unplug all unnecessary electronics, mind your usage. We've gotta make them last as long as possible. As for water, that is a dangerous shortage. I'll have Doc White look at our options
A1: Excuse me. Water purification is a standard spell for most mages. I'll be happy to send a few of my castle's student mages to assist with that.

[This Space will be added to as a kind of ongoing FAQ for the story]

[AwesomeZero5]

[redacted]

[Lugubrious]

Sorry, but I may not end up joining after all if things don't pan out. If that ends up being the case, I wish you well.

[Metronome]

Name: Zinzie Searoby, The Witch King of the Wandering Nation
Age: 29
Race: Witch

Appearance: He is very tall and lanky. Zinzie is 6'5", and had long limbs and knobby joints. His skin is a fair olive complexion, and his eyes are a rich brown. His hair, constantly in a state of disaster, is curly and brown. Zinzie's fashion of choice is flowy, loose clothing. Shirts of light, sheer fabric, pants with a drawstring, shoes (if any) made of soft hide. He hates winter, or being forced to bundle up. He can often be seen using a warming potion just so that he doesn't have to. His overall waifish appearance often has him underestimated, but don't let him fool you. Zinzie is an extraordinarily gifted witch.

Personality: Not what you may think of when thinking of a powerful king; Zinzie marches to the beat of his own drums. He's friendly, maybe a bit goofy, maybe a bit scatterbrained, and a little bit cryptic. Zinzie is very intelligent, but you certainly wouldn't think it at first; he loves nothing more than to play dumb. His sense of humor and unassuming nature leads people, somewhat intentionally, into underestimating his ability as a king. However, having successfully led a caravan of five hundred thousand since teenagerhood, Zinzie is anything but incompetent.

Equipment:

Zinzie is never caught without his set of potions. These include:

Healing potion x3
Sleeping draught x2
A very lethal poison x1
Truth serum x1
Draught of confusion x3

Potion making supplies

An enchanted pan pipe - bestills peace on those who hear it

His familiar - A small, shaggy black dog that never leaves his side

Shire:

Shire is Zinzie's familiar. He takes the form of a small, black dog with wiry hair. While not initially concerning, a witch's familiar is far more than just a pet. Shire is very intelligent, and has the ability to commune with Zinzie, and even has a little magic of his own. His best and most useful trick is changing shape. Zinzie can hit Shire with a transfiguration spell to turn him into another animal that would prove useful at the time. Ultimately, Shire chooses the animal. The limitations of this being that Shire must be close to Zinzie to transform.

It's also rumored that Shire and Zinzie can transform together into one, very formidable form. What this form is has yet to be discovered, as Zinzie hasn't shared it with his people.

Profession: King of the Wandering Nation

Backstory:

The Wandering Nation is a massive caravan of nomads that travel through the land, self sustained by wagons that grow food, herds of their own cattle, and a little magic. Word has it that it's numbers are over half a million. It all began when the tyrannical King Braspian IV targeted a small, peaceful nation that just so happened to sit upon a large iron deposit. His army all but flattened the nation, and he intended on rounding up the citizens, whom he saw as filthy witches and thieves, and selling them all into slavery. Fortunately, the current king, Zinzie's great grandfather, evacuated the land and took the last of his army to meet King Braspian at the border to earn them enough time to escape. All of them were brutally slaughtered, but the nation survived, in spirit at least.

That was the birth of the Wandering Nation: a whole population of people without a land. Zinzie's great grandmother lead it as queen, then passed it down to his grandfather, and his father, who died in battled with a caravan of thieves when Zinzie was 17, thus passing the crown to him. Since then, it has only grown in numbers, gathering those who Braspian has forced from their homes, those who seek refuge.

As one can imaging, the Wandering Nation isn't on the best terms with King Braspian, as they exist solely to spite him. The idea of an opposing king vexes him. To further gall, this king is a witch! The citizens of the old country were well known to dabble in magic, and the royal family were known witches, and powerful ones at that. Zinzie is no exception. The Wandering Nation has an unusually high population of witches, mages, and wizards, all of whom make it more of a threat to the tyrant king they oppose. He's avoided tangling with them thus far, as he fears the magic they wield.

Recently, Zinzie has been mingling with the League of Princes, toying with the idea of going to war to finally overthrow the evil king. Doing so would give his people the freedom to finally claim a land again.

Shared Worldbuilding: An audience with the King

Hider

Prince Rubio was in utter awe. They said it was massive; they said it stretched for miles. But the sheer sight of the caravan, slithering across the valley like an enormous snake, was both incredible and terrifying. He had heard rumors of the king, wily and enigmatic, while very powerful. The very king he had tracked for months; the king he intended on having an audience with.

He clicked his tongue softly, urging his horse to descend the embankment and begin the gallop into the valley below. As he approached the caravan, three scouts rode out to meet him. He was alone, posing no threat, but he still felt his heart pump rapidly at the thought of having to defend himself against these men.

"What brings you here, traveler?" One of the rider asked as they cut him off.

"Please, I need to speak to the king, I-"

"Outsiders don't speak to the king," The man cut him off. "If you come in peace, you are welcome to stay, but the King doesn't make appointments with strangers."

"Please, I come with word from the League of Princes. We ask that king Zinzie hears us out."

The men exchanged glances among themselves. They seemed to be silently debating whether the prince told the truth, or perhaps if he was worth their king's time.

"You can join our nation," One spoke, "But you can not have audience with the king. We will inform him of your presence, and he can decide whether he wishes to meet you."

"It's about the war, it's very important."

The three scouts turned their horses around and rode back in the direction of the caravan. Prince Rubio, defeated, rode after them.

[Manzanilla]

I might be able to have a CS by tonight! This sounds very interesting.

Edit: Here it is

Seon-mi Kyoh

---

_{"NEVER KNEW I WOULD LIVE THROUGH A LORD OF THE RINGS MOVIE.
MIGHT AS WELL TAKE MY CAMERA AND CAPTURE THIS SHIT."}

---

» NAME
Seon-min Kyoh

» AGE
24

» RACE
Human - Earth

» APPERANCE
Seon-mi stands at 6'0 feet tall and weighs around 160 lbs. While she looks rather slender from all the baggy clothes she wears, her muscles are toned and well defined from her workouts and equipment she has to carry. She often wears her hair loose around her shoulders and has a pair of sunglasses on her most of the time. Her clothing mostly consists of gym clothes, loose-fitting shirts, and jeans, and lost of jackets or sweaters.

» PERSONALITY
CREATIVE | STUBBORN | PERFECTIONIST | CALM | CYNICAL | HARD WORKER

Seon-mi has been long enough to believe that people are always doing what they can to benefit one's self. With that said, she tries to relieve some of that cynicism by surrounding herself with creative things and other knick-knacks that make her creative juices flowing. Caring very little what people have to say about her, she just does what she pleases when she pleases and where. She loves nature, which is one of the reasons she moved from New York to Crossville, where she was closer to nature without being away from technology.

Seon-min is a proud woman who takes pride in her work. She has been producing indie films for a while, ever since she was in college. Even when people around her told her to give up her dreams, she continued to pursue her dream to become a director and producer one day. She was so close.

» BIO
Seon-mi was born to the Kyoh family who migrated to the States five years before she was born. She was the youngest child of the four children Mrs. and Mr. Kyoh had. Being the last gave her the chance to be more layback. She was a good student growing up, which convinced her parents to let her pursue film and photography in college.

After college Seon-mi continued to film and produce small films that would make it to some indie festivals in New York. Most were received quite nicely by the critics that attended those festivals, but nothing came from them. That was until the winter festival of film in NY that scored her a director job for a Warner Bros film. A film she was going to direct: Seon-Mi, the director. Of course, her parents were proud of her accomplishment and her friends too. Hell, she was willing to move to LA just for that job. Everything was planned. Seon-mi was set to leave a day before the whole town was teleported to fantasy land. Then all her dreams were shattered.

At least she was glad she had bought her own solar panels for home. At least she still had her computers and her cameras. At least she could still capture the craziness and the swords and the elves. At least she would be able to tell a story if she ever got back.

A documentary!

» EQUIPMENT
Seon-mi usually carried a photography bag where ever she goes. In the bag:

• DLSR and Film Camera
• iPad
• Pepper Spray
• Snacks
• Water Flask
• Phone
• Portable Charger - solar charged
• Box Cutter
• Two new daggers she traded with an elf woman for a pair of jeans and a wool sweater.

» PROFESSION
Phothgrapher/Film Producer

Shared Worldbuilding

» SHARED WORLD BUILDING
Seon-mi cleared her throat and checked the cables before she turned to the elf woman standing awkwardly in front of the camera mounted on a tripod. The elf woman kept looking between the weirdly shaped box and the weirdly dressed woman that was Seon-mi.

"Tell us, Miss Yary, who are you and where do you come from?" Seon-mi stood behind the camera with her iPad in one hand at a handheld mic on the other.

"U-Us? It's just you here. And what is that?" Yary pointed at the camera before leaning in closer.

"Miss, please stand where I marked and look at me while you answer the question." Seon-mi didn't look up from her iPad where she had written all of the questions she would ask the elf woman.

"Um, okay... I'm Yary. A wood elf. I come from the Kyhen Forest. My tribe was a small one, but we were wiped out by a dragon a few years ago. The few that survived joined a company, and now we are employed by Lady Jeneviv Moltara."

"How long was the dragon attack?" Seon-mi finally looked up from the iPad to Yary.

"About 50 years ago."

"50? How old are you? You don't look a day over 20!"

"I'm 75 years old. Wood elves live longer than humans do." Yary explained with a small amused smile.

"I-I see." Seon-mi cleared her throat and looked down again to her iPad. "The war. Do you agree with it? Do you think it will be worth it?"

"Yes." Smile vanishing from her face, Yary nodded sternly. "While it is not a war we were first involved, we all believe that Braspian is not the rightful king and what he did was disgraceful. With that, we also think that the country needs to move on from Kings and Queens."

"What dangers have you faced as an archer of the Wood Elves Company?"

"Many. While we are not in the front lines, we have lost many battles. The one just outside of your town was a much-needed win. The footmen broke through our defenses, and many of the archers were forced to fight without swords and daggers. I managed to kill a few before the enemy was forced to fall back with the few soldiers they had left..." Yary's fingers brushed over the scars on her tanned arms. "We are all grateful for the healers in our army. Without them, many of us would have died from injuries."

"Do you think you will win the war?"

"I'm not certain. We never will be until our last breaths, but we do believe in what we are fighting for. All of the bloodshed will not be for nothing. Even if we do not win, it will show others that Braspian could be doubted, that he could be brought to justice."

Seon-mi nodded at Yary and looked at her again with a small smile. "Thank you for the interview, Yary. I know it must have been strange standing here with me with a crazy looking box, but I assure you that this will be shared. People will see this."

Yary, unsure, nodded, and looked at the box called a camera. "If you want people to see, why not follow us? If that thing captures scenes as a painting does, why not bring it to the war? You said you wanted to get everyone's experience. Why not come? It may be dangerous, but you will not get to see what we go through. What we live. What we have to do for what we believe in."

Seon-mi stared at the elf woman with a blank stare. She hadn't thought about that. She could capture everything. Make a story. Tell the story of their war.

"You don't have to decide now, but know that you will be welcomed." Yary gave Seon-mi a stern nod before she turned around to leave. Just when she was at the door of Seon-mi's home, she stopped and turned to her with a flustered face. "Would you be willing to trade some of your clothing for weapons? You will need them while you stay here, weather you decide to go or stay."

Seon-mi blinked at the question before she smiled and nodded. "Sure, would you like to see what I have?" With that, they walked into Seon-mi's walk-in closet. She spent the next few hours with Yary trying out her clothes while she recorded the whole ordeal with her phone. Oh, how Seon-mi wished the internet was still up. Twitter would have loved this.

[AwesomeZero5]

@Aleranicus Are you okay?

[AwesomeZero5]

Best of luck in the future