"Hm...you want to know about that old legend again? Well, alright! Lets see...where did we leave off last time?"
"Oh, oh, just after the king finished his training!"
"Right right..." His father cleared his throat, motioning with his hands as he'd start speaking, the warmth of the campfire warming the cold Albion night as his mother began cooking dinner. "Well. After the Wise Sage saw to the kings training and teaching, and that he was fit for ruler ship...he gifted the King with a blade. A very, very special blade. A gleaming gold hilt, with a blade that shone with moonlight and could repel the lands curse...but in doing so, the sage left, their job done."
"Now that he was trained and possessed a blade that repels evil - he had to make the land itself recognize him." The woman responded with a kind tone as she'd hand her son and husband freshly cooked meat. "He first ventured to Mt. Sliabh, to earn the blessings of the Tuatha and to seek out some clue from our druids as to what he should, or could do."
"So they told him, "The land already recognizes thee. It is the 'demons within peoples hearts which does not'". So they sent with him their youngest druid, and the king went out into the land - determined to make people recognize him. Along the way, many, many knights would eventually flock under him. Sigurd, the dragon slayer. Gerainth the valiant, the saint of the sword...many other would come and go from his side in these years, but eventually, after gaining the respect, admiration, and acknowledgement of the people - they built a massive castle of gleaming white."
"Alright, alright, that's enough. Your foods going to get cold you two..."
@A Lowly Wretch@VitaVitaAR@Crimson Paladin@Guy0fV4lor@Pyromania99
Slowly, the sun rose over the sea, its glistening early morning rays bringing light upon the coastal village, nay, the now coastal town of Airedale. The bustle and sounds of humans waking and starting their day was slowly starting to build. Hammer on steel as the blacksmith set about working. The shouts of woodcutters and loggers as they got to work just outside the towns new walls, cutting trees and carrying them to the sawmill for further expansion. Farmers, land now untouched by the lingering curse of the Betrayed God, getting to work to provide. Guards, recently trained by her majesty starting their patrol of the quickly growing town and the outskirts of it.
The village, this same time last year, was barely getting by. When the Fomorians ransacked it under the command of a terrible half humanoid, half equine beast? There were only a handful of survivors. If it had not been for the queens timely intervention, it'd have been quite literally, wiped off the face of the map. Many people in the northern and eastern lands of Albion, hearing of this, soon came flocking and seeking protection.
Another king might have turned them away, but the Queen? She refused none that sought sanctuary.
Of course, keeping the village safe was no easy task. While within the walls were safe...the outside of it? Well...bandits, Fomorians, Unseelie that sought to be actively malicious. The recently trained militia and knights however, did their best to ensure safety and people were kept alive. Didn't stop an occasional Unseelie from slipping past the cracks, though...
"...so this is the the city that queen's supposed to be in, huh? Looks like a pile of dirt to me, ahaha!" Skirting around the edges of the town, was one such troublemaker. Really, this was probably bad. A single Unseelie by themselves could cause some pretty devastating trouble if they put their minds to it. Usually they didn't go near extremely active towns, but...there were some exceptions.
"Heheheh, lets see...what dumbass can I mess with today." The fey, small as they could be were oft difficult to see unless they themselves wanted to be seen, and this troublemaker was no exception. Flitting behind houses, away from people, across the ground and garden, she was doing a good job of being unseen. For a few seconds, her eyes would linger on what was obviously the largest building - a recent construction. A wooden and stone castle - not the most defensive or glamorous construction, but the queen had demanded it be as such.
She could go there, but something was telling her that it would be a very bad idea.
"Jeez, what in the feywildes are that place-weh!" Just as she had let her attention wander, a feline made an attempt to pounce on what it thought was a flying little pest, causing the fey to spiral off her flight path and slam into the bottom of a lookout tower. "HEY YOU DUMB FELINE! YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHO I AM!? Guh, whatever I don't have time for you. Laters stupid!" The fairy would instead, focus on the lookout tower and the lookout stationed there. She'd quietly fly up, peering over the wall of the lookout tower.
A single human was standing watch, lazily gazing out over the northern plains for any signs of trouble.
"Heheh, a lone human. Peeerfect. Lets see...what curse am I gonna give you. You're life's gonna be miserable from, kehehehe!" Raising her hand, the Fairy would start chanting in an otherworldly, long forgotten language speaking in words that were incomprehensible to human ears. Eyes, glowing emerald. An ominous breeze would blow.
The human's face would scrunch, as if uncomfortable. He'd wiggle his nose, rubbing it a bit as if trying to scratch some invisible itch.
"Ah...AH-CHOO!"
"...wait that's not right-Yeeeek!" Before the fairy could attempt further shenanigans other than giving someone a mildly uncomfortable sneeze, something whizzed through the air, right where the humans head had just been and embedded itself into one of the walls, right where the Fairy's head had just been. A sharp, extremely deadly, arrow. "Nope nope dangerous I'm out not happening bye village of deaaaaaath!"
The man, was similarly sweating bullets.
If he hadn't just sneezed, his head would have been the recipient of that arrow. His face would contort into a frown, scanning the area it had come from. Whoever had done it, must have been an extremely good shot - wait...there! Just over the northern fields!
"...bandits!" He'd shout. His hand would immediately go towards the bell that had been installed on the tower. Almost instantly the other lookout towers situated within the town and on its walls would take up the alarm, too. The militia moved instantly upon hearing the bells and receiving confirmation from one of the Knights that were on duty. Civilians would all rush out of the streets, towards the large keep as the Militia directed them. Shouts of urgency would fill the air as warning beacons were lit with fire.
A white haired young man would calmly walk up the ramparts along with a Tuatha child. In all, the response had gone as well as they could have hoped. It had barely taken five minutes to get the major streets clean of civilians, the western gate closed and the northern gate secured. Some were being stubborn and remaining in their homes, but there was little they could do about that for now.
"How many?" He'd ask simply, eyes scanning the horizon.
"H-hard to say, sir!" A nearby soldier would shakily respond. "We counted at least twenty, but they're moving fast and there's more of them coming over the hills and out of the forests!"
"Hm..." The silver haired boy would narrow his eyes. "...fifty. Fifty and whoever leading them. A simple raiding party? Or organized assault?" He'd exhale, a small smile appearing on his face. "Well, we can figure that out later. The peoples and village's safety comes first. Lugh!"
"Y-yes?!" The Tuatha youth would stand at attention.
"The other knights should have heard that - go make sure they have. Tell them to Assemble at the North Gate quickly if they're not on their way here already. We only have a few minutes before the bandits make their likely assault. Also, tell Lady Fio or lady Lightsword to check on the Queen. I've not seen her up this morning. I get the feeling she'll want to be here for this."
"R-right! On it Vyrell!" The young Tuatha would bolt off, electing not to take the stairs but to vault off the ramparts with surprising skill and dexterity as he'd run through to the most visible spot in the street, hoping to catch the other Knights if they still needed direction and to catch Lunalel or Fio before they headed there themselves.
"Oh, oh, just after the king finished his training!"
"Right right..." His father cleared his throat, motioning with his hands as he'd start speaking, the warmth of the campfire warming the cold Albion night as his mother began cooking dinner. "Well. After the Wise Sage saw to the kings training and teaching, and that he was fit for ruler ship...he gifted the King with a blade. A very, very special blade. A gleaming gold hilt, with a blade that shone with moonlight and could repel the lands curse...but in doing so, the sage left, their job done."
"Now that he was trained and possessed a blade that repels evil - he had to make the land itself recognize him." The woman responded with a kind tone as she'd hand her son and husband freshly cooked meat. "He first ventured to Mt. Sliabh, to earn the blessings of the Tuatha and to seek out some clue from our druids as to what he should, or could do."
"So they told him, "The land already recognizes thee. It is the 'demons within peoples hearts which does not'". So they sent with him their youngest druid, and the king went out into the land - determined to make people recognize him. Along the way, many, many knights would eventually flock under him. Sigurd, the dragon slayer. Gerainth the valiant, the saint of the sword...many other would come and go from his side in these years, but eventually, after gaining the respect, admiration, and acknowledgement of the people - they built a massive castle of gleaming white."
"Alright, alright, that's enough. Your foods going to get cold you two..."
@A Lowly Wretch@VitaVitaAR@Crimson Paladin@Guy0fV4lor@Pyromania99
-The First Cycle: Reclamation-
Slowly, the sun rose over the sea, its glistening early morning rays bringing light upon the coastal village, nay, the now coastal town of Airedale. The bustle and sounds of humans waking and starting their day was slowly starting to build. Hammer on steel as the blacksmith set about working. The shouts of woodcutters and loggers as they got to work just outside the towns new walls, cutting trees and carrying them to the sawmill for further expansion. Farmers, land now untouched by the lingering curse of the Betrayed God, getting to work to provide. Guards, recently trained by her majesty starting their patrol of the quickly growing town and the outskirts of it.
The village, this same time last year, was barely getting by. When the Fomorians ransacked it under the command of a terrible half humanoid, half equine beast? There were only a handful of survivors. If it had not been for the queens timely intervention, it'd have been quite literally, wiped off the face of the map. Many people in the northern and eastern lands of Albion, hearing of this, soon came flocking and seeking protection.
Another king might have turned them away, but the Queen? She refused none that sought sanctuary.
Of course, keeping the village safe was no easy task. While within the walls were safe...the outside of it? Well...bandits, Fomorians, Unseelie that sought to be actively malicious. The recently trained militia and knights however, did their best to ensure safety and people were kept alive. Didn't stop an occasional Unseelie from slipping past the cracks, though...
"...so this is the the city that queen's supposed to be in, huh? Looks like a pile of dirt to me, ahaha!" Skirting around the edges of the town, was one such troublemaker. Really, this was probably bad. A single Unseelie by themselves could cause some pretty devastating trouble if they put their minds to it. Usually they didn't go near extremely active towns, but...there were some exceptions.
"Heheheh, lets see...what dumbass can I mess with today." The fey, small as they could be were oft difficult to see unless they themselves wanted to be seen, and this troublemaker was no exception. Flitting behind houses, away from people, across the ground and garden, she was doing a good job of being unseen. For a few seconds, her eyes would linger on what was obviously the largest building - a recent construction. A wooden and stone castle - not the most defensive or glamorous construction, but the queen had demanded it be as such.
She could go there, but something was telling her that it would be a very bad idea.
"Jeez, what in the feywildes are that place-weh!" Just as she had let her attention wander, a feline made an attempt to pounce on what it thought was a flying little pest, causing the fey to spiral off her flight path and slam into the bottom of a lookout tower. "HEY YOU DUMB FELINE! YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHO I AM!? Guh, whatever I don't have time for you. Laters stupid!" The fairy would instead, focus on the lookout tower and the lookout stationed there. She'd quietly fly up, peering over the wall of the lookout tower.
A single human was standing watch, lazily gazing out over the northern plains for any signs of trouble.
"Heheh, a lone human. Peeerfect. Lets see...what curse am I gonna give you. You're life's gonna be miserable from, kehehehe!" Raising her hand, the Fairy would start chanting in an otherworldly, long forgotten language speaking in words that were incomprehensible to human ears. Eyes, glowing emerald. An ominous breeze would blow.
The human's face would scrunch, as if uncomfortable. He'd wiggle his nose, rubbing it a bit as if trying to scratch some invisible itch.
"Ah...AH-CHOO!"
"...wait that's not right-Yeeeek!" Before the fairy could attempt further shenanigans other than giving someone a mildly uncomfortable sneeze, something whizzed through the air, right where the humans head had just been and embedded itself into one of the walls, right where the Fairy's head had just been. A sharp, extremely deadly, arrow. "Nope nope dangerous I'm out not happening bye village of deaaaaaath!"
The man, was similarly sweating bullets.
If he hadn't just sneezed, his head would have been the recipient of that arrow. His face would contort into a frown, scanning the area it had come from. Whoever had done it, must have been an extremely good shot - wait...there! Just over the northern fields!
"...bandits!" He'd shout. His hand would immediately go towards the bell that had been installed on the tower. Almost instantly the other lookout towers situated within the town and on its walls would take up the alarm, too. The militia moved instantly upon hearing the bells and receiving confirmation from one of the Knights that were on duty. Civilians would all rush out of the streets, towards the large keep as the Militia directed them. Shouts of urgency would fill the air as warning beacons were lit with fire.
A white haired young man would calmly walk up the ramparts along with a Tuatha child. In all, the response had gone as well as they could have hoped. It had barely taken five minutes to get the major streets clean of civilians, the western gate closed and the northern gate secured. Some were being stubborn and remaining in their homes, but there was little they could do about that for now.
"How many?" He'd ask simply, eyes scanning the horizon.
"H-hard to say, sir!" A nearby soldier would shakily respond. "We counted at least twenty, but they're moving fast and there's more of them coming over the hills and out of the forests!"
"Hm..." The silver haired boy would narrow his eyes. "...fifty. Fifty and whoever leading them. A simple raiding party? Or organized assault?" He'd exhale, a small smile appearing on his face. "Well, we can figure that out later. The peoples and village's safety comes first. Lugh!"
"Y-yes?!" The Tuatha youth would stand at attention.
"The other knights should have heard that - go make sure they have. Tell them to Assemble at the North Gate quickly if they're not on their way here already. We only have a few minutes before the bandits make their likely assault. Also, tell Lady Fio or lady Lightsword to check on the Queen. I've not seen her up this morning. I get the feeling she'll want to be here for this."
"R-right! On it Vyrell!" The young Tuatha would bolt off, electing not to take the stairs but to vault off the ramparts with surprising skill and dexterity as he'd run through to the most visible spot in the street, hoping to catch the other Knights if they still needed direction and to catch Lunalel or Fio before they headed there themselves.
