These short scenes are intended to be an easy introduction to a huge fantasy world I created over the course of the last year.
I've built this dark fantasy world with the intention of writing a book and yet a year past and all I have is a huge world filled with an enormous amount of detail. Lately I've been thinking it could be fun to share it with other people in a form of an RP in which the world will unfold little by little as the RP progresses. And believe me there is so much mystery to be revealed I could play this for a month and still not scratch the surface.
There are so many possible choices for characters and settings in this world (among them more politically oriented, combat oriented, mystery/magic oriented etc.) I'd really prefer to talk personally with whomever is interested and I'm sure together we would find an interesting setting for all parties involved.
Anyone interested?
It would be nice if anyone whose interested would also provide a general preference (for playing style) that would most interest him. Then I could find a more specific suggestion for a setting within the world.
After the church was burned all the townsfolk were afraid an investigation sanctioned by the Bahlic church would ensue. It was common knowledge that the methods of the church were brutal, especially when it came to dealing with "The Needles". Anything involving these heretics or so called "freedom fighters" would bring about a sudden collaborative spirit that would unify the usually conflicting authorities of the Kingdom of Darjun and the Bahlic church, all to the misfortune of the common man.
There was no one in town more fire obsessed then Gale Larson, yet it wasn't she who torched the holy building. She didn't know exactly how it was done but she saw those who did it come out of the sewers next to the crime scene a couple of minutes before it went ablaze. Unfortunately she only caught a glimpse of the burning church before the criminals took her hostage. She was merely 15 years old but she wasn't naive and understood they only took her so that she couldn't tell anyone she saw them. It didn't make her less afraid though. After all they were already outlaws and didn't stand to lose a lot by killing her, or even worse.
Wet leaves brushed against the bare skin of Gale's face and arms as she followed her captors in the jungle. Her hands were strongly tied with braided rope and her eyes were covered with a piece of cloth. She couldn't see where she was stepping and that frequently caused her to lose balance and even fall. Whenever she did she'd hear the whole band laugh at her supposed clumsiness. It was raining in the jungle most of the day this time of year yet Gale, who was used to this type of weather, wasn't cold at all. Being soaked with rainwater though, did make her feel heavier than usual. She could tell it was getting late, both from the sudden drop in temperature and from the fact that no light managed to slip past the cloth that covered her eyes anymore. Not long after she made that observation the band's leader ordered everyone to look for a good place to camp for the night. A couple of moments later someone found a cave not far to the north and he proceeded to lead the party to the place.
After they arrived at the cave one of the men took Gale inside. He untied her hands and removed her eye cloth. She could probably see clearer in the dimly moonlit cave than the man who was still adjusting to the darkness, yet dilated pupils could only get one so far. The face of the man was blurred and his eyes were black holes. Gale was afraid that talking to him might get her into more trouble, yet she summoned her courage and proceeded.
"Where are you taking me?"
The man was startled by the little girl's words. Perhaps he didn't even consider the possibility that she might be able to speak. To hide his confusion he looked back, where the rest of the band were standing in a circle mumbling, pretending he heard someone call his name. The men were most likely praying to their strange gods; nothing that could excuse this sudden shift of attention.
"Where – are– you– taking– me?" She asked again, this time separating the words as if the man in front her was an infant. Where did this sudden audacity come from? Gale surprised herself. Maybe it was the fact she hadn't spoke to anyone for a whole day and had more than enough stress to unload.
The slap came to her as a total surprise. It wasn't that strong but it was delivered with such callous she instantly burst into tears.
"You better not talk like that to anyone else here, unless you desperately want to get in trouble"
The man whispered with a voice so calm and soft, he made the words sound more like a fatherly advice than a genuine threat. Even if he meant to advise her it didn't matter. He couldn't really do anything to help her. She wanted to be miles away from here, back home with her mother. That thought made her gasp.
The man drew the piece of cloth that covered her eyes earlier and handed to her as a napkin as if it could console her. Although it was a useless gesture Gale was convinced of its genuineness and it helped her feel marginally less miserable.
"As for your question, we're taking you to a secret hideout. There it will be decided if you are to join us or die"
Upon hearing those words she couldn't hold herself any longer and a desperate cry escaped her throat coordinated with a sudden flow of tears. She immediately regretted her sudden breakdown but deep down she knew none of it mattered anymore. Her fate was already in their hands. All she could do was pray and she wasn't even sure to which gods.
Gared had been arrested and was awaiting trial. There was nothing he could do about it. His life as a pirate had probably come to an end. It could well be the end of his life as a free man too. No! Gared shook off that horrifying thought. He would sooner die then live as a slave to Darjunic masters. Not long ago he was a free spirit; now, a broken man. Shackled to the wall in his hands and legs, around him, the cell's metal bars felt like teeth clenching him, chewing what was left of his life out of him.
The slow footsteps coming from the far end of the corridor became gradually louder, waking up Gared from his daydream. Listening more carefully, he noticed they were two people walking in two different paces. The guards in this dungeon, he found out earlier, were always synchronizing their footsteps so as to sound like one person which meant someone was coming to see him, someone who isn't a guard. Who could it be?
When the footsteps came to a halt, the two men were behind. Gared couldn't look at them because he was facing the wall but their torch made shadows of the cell's bars on the wall in front of him.
"Gared?"
The man had a sturdy voice with a touch of a Darjunic accent. He sounded in his late fifties yet with Darjunic people you could never know. He could have been much younger.
"Good evening sir. It's a fine day is it not?"
"Oh please Gared… Save your claptrap for the trial. I've come to offer you a deal"
That was rather unexpected. This man, whoever he was, needed something from him. But what could Gared possibly have to offer? It didn't matter. It was a deal and like any other deal the haggling was already underway.
"I think I'd like to get out of here first. You know… breathe some fresh air; think about it on a clear head. After all neither one of us wants to be too rash about this…"
"Your freedom, Gared. No more, no less"
It was useless to carry on with the act any longer. The man was obviously sharp enough to see past his haggling attempts.
"And in return I…?"
"You'll sail on a single special mission for me. After you do this you're a free man. What'd you say?"
The whole affair was a bit unreal and Gared was skeptical at best.
"One mission you say? What kind?"
"You'd be impersonating an Unactian officer on a Republican Law enforcement ship. Your mission would be to provoke a Medullian trade fleet by insisting on taxing their cargo in Medullian territorial waters"
Now it was clear. The mission was suicide. Even if he would escape the Medullian fleet chances are the Unactian authorities would find out what happened and he would be considered an outlaw in every province of the Republic. Not to mention that by accepting the mission he enters a dangerous political tangle he might not be able to get out of so easily.
Gared arched his back so as to peer behind him. From an upside down perspective he could see that next to an escorting prison guard stood the mysterious man. The man was wearing a hood over his head and Gared was only able to see the tip of his black beard. Asking straightforwardly for his name would most likely not do Gared any good, yet he knew he would have to figure out sooner or later who exactly that man was. His life depended on it, and now that he was so close to the gallows he had a lot more appreciation for it than before. He donned the most daunting smile he could muster and retaliated.
"So... you're giving me back my ship AND my crew? Sounds dreamy…"
"… and so approximately 500 years ago the Kingdom of Darjun finished to occupy the Chiralean peninsula and the people of Chiral were enslaved. Some were transported by slaver ships back to Darjun as cheap working force and some were sold to local lords, barons, and even some wealthy serfs who could afford the cost. Who can tell me what happened next? Karsing Junior perhaps?"
Karsing jumped in his seat. It was getting rather late and he didn't have the longest attention span. Although it wasn't at all unusual for him to be caught drooling in the middle of a history lesson the abashment brought some sudden color to his cheeks.
"Umm… ah… I… the… There was the… what's it called… I know this… I do…".
It was turning out to be a rather embarrassing ordeal. What would his father, Karsing the great Unactian senator say? Undoubtedly he would discipline him. K.J. had no desire for this to happen and yet right when he was about to surrender in hopes that this whole scenario will be forgotten he suddenly remembered.
"ah yes! The Chiralean liberation war!"
Karsing's enthusiasm didn't impress the dreary old teacher in the least bit.
"What can you tell me about it?"
"The Chiralean had an inherent disadvantage in their struggle against Darjunic occupation: their lifespan! A lucky Darjunic would live to his seventies if he's healthy and yet we can live up to a hundred and ten and that won't be surprising"
"How is that a disadvantage?"
"I was just getting to that! Although we have a longer lifespan we reproduce much slower in a way that balances our population with that of Darjun. That is a major disadvantage in long wars since life is much more valuable to us then to them. "
"Good so far. Can you tell me how they handled this disadvantage?"
"The Chiralean liberation Front fought mostly from the shadows - Assassinating barons, starting fires at holdings, and kidnapping key political figures. They almost never met the Darjunic army in open field. Kind of like the way "The Needles" are fighting right now to free Pertinax"
There was an unspoken consent among students and teachers alike that mentioning "The Needles" at school was a taboo. It was an intricate political matter on which there were few agreements. Some call them a cult some a criminal association. Some saw them as freedom fighters and some as religious extremists yet their goal is clearly stated by them. "The Needles" fight to abolish slavery, to liberate Pertinax (Eastern Chiral) from Darjunic occupation and to unite all of it under the Huntu religion, which is a Bahlic (the dominant religion in Chiral) heresy.
The old teacher was a bit uneasy after hearing a Karsing mention "The Needles" yet he did his best not to show it.
"I wouldn't say it's the same situation as with "The Needles" in Pertinax but apart from that good job. The Chiralean Liberation Front indeed avoided battle by any means possible and after long years of struggle the west was liberated from darjunic control and 300 years ago the Freemen's Republic of Unactus was formed. I'm sure you're all familiar with the famous quote by Larsen, the first speaker of the Unactian senate:
The seed of our freedom has been planted today. Let it grow wise and tall, so that one day we can climb it and see ourselves "
It's safe to say that not one of the students recognized the quote and yet when he finished there was a gaping silence in the classroom. It was as if all the students suddenly became philosophers pondering the meaning of their existence as reflected from those two short sentences. All the students apart from one. Karsing held his hand high up, his eyes glaring with fiery curiosity.
"Yes Karsing, what is it?"
"What about the magic people from the jungle who helped in the war? Some say Larsen was one, was he?"
The teacher did his best to contain his obvious amusement with the immature question.
"Don't embarrass yourself Karsing. Bawajanian people aren't "Magical". They just live very deep in the jungle and so we know little about them. When you have a serious question I'll be happy to answer..."
The heavy rain was barely heard from within the senate walls. All it did was distort the voices of those who spoke. Right now it was senator Fellirio who stood at the center of the hall addressing the house's barely open ears with regard to the currency issue.
"…and as you all know, the Medullian trade federation has fulfilled the promise to purify their silver coins which places it as the most reliable silver coin in all of western Chiral. I anticipate a 40 percent shift in silver trades towards Medullian currency in the next 5 years."
There was a sudden clamor at the house and random accusations started to fly across the hall like darts. Karsing, who was the current debate's manager, didn't even bother to lift his wooden hammer. He got up of his chair and stood at his high podium facing the forum, his daunting facial features shining with the last lights of day. A few moments past until all the senators understood the gesture and sat quietly back on their benches. Although there was still a hissing in the back he knew nothing could be done about that.
Pollian, who sat at the back, understood better than most how sensitive this issue is. It was far from being a mere disagreement on economical policy. Bredin, his new personal assistant, was much less informed then he was apparently.
"How come everyone got so heated up just now?" Bredin whispered quietly so as not to be heard.
"There's more to this than meets the eye young one" Pollian turned to face Bredin while covering his mouth with the palm of his hand to muffle his voice.
"Some think the Darjunic mechant guild are pulling the strings behind all of this. 7 years ago the Federation was almost bankrupt with their silver coin being one of the least reliable in the region. Suddenly they tripled the purity and are producing at a rate which is impossible to compete with. Some external force is at work here.That's certain"
Bredin was baffled by this yet it was apparent he didn't quite understand the issue. I might need to look for a new assistant after all . Pollian thought to himself.
"But, what interest is Chiraean currency to the Darjunic merchant guild?" Bredin asked.
"The Chiraean city-states who are not under our control, Unactian control that is, don't have a unified currency as you know. Moreover there is a league of money changers that makes trading in Chiral really costly, especially for Darjunic traders, for which the rates are often doubled and tripled. The Darjunic traders would love to see Chiral Unite under a single currency putting an end to all the money wasted in trading with money changers."
Bredin seemed to have arrived at an interesting insight. Pollian wasn't terribly optimistic as to what that insight might be.
"Ah! I see now. On the one hand we should be I favor of converting our currency to Medullian coins since it's a step towards the unification of Chiralean currency which is in itself a step towards unification of Chiral. But on the other hand by doing so we might be strengthening the power of Darjunic merchants in Chiral which would not only bring more slave trafficking to our territories but would also in turn strengthen the Drajunian control on the Chiralean city-states… a real conundrum…"
Pollian was deeply disappointed by the young fellow, and yet a cheerful thought came to his mind. Either he really is stupid or he's just trying to be fired. Either way he couldn't be a spy which meant he could be trusted and that must count for something.
The moment Fellirio ended his speech and returned to his bench the senate turned once again into a heated shouting contest. Pollian wasn't impressed by the ruckus and instead turned to address Bredin, now with his full, unmuffled voice, unafraid of being overheard in the loud noise that surrounded him.
"Have you any idea, dear Bredin, how much money in bribes we are looking at right now?"
Bredin looked around him as if he was searching for evidence of the crime in the faces of the raging senators. 'He isn't terribly bright that much is certain but he's what I have and that'll have to do' Thought Pollian.
"The Darjunic merchant guild, Medullian trade Federation, money changers league… I'm willing to bet anyone who's involved have already bought at least 5 senators here"
Bredin Looked at Pollian straight in the white of his eye.
"And what about you sir?"
Finally! A real question; thought Pollian. The lad might be useful after all…
