Fetzen

Realms of Sun & Shadow

Wenyr Targath

The prince! Of all individuals, Wenyr had deemed the odds of the royal couple in charge of this colony being here to be the lowest. Yet there Flynn was and Wenyr could steel feel the remnants of the man's reassuring squeeze on his shoulder. If only there would be a way to preserve it, just to make it a little easier for his mind to remember this nice little moment in life. Flynn's words echoed in his ears and made him happy, a meeting would be a good thing for multiple reasons.

The prince's footsteps had barely dissipated when another sound entered his ears. The far less pleasing, because kinda irritated if not outright angry voice of... Sunni ? Yeah, that had to be right. While still somewhat unfamiliar with the average person, the few days since Wenyr's arrival had been enough to at least get to know some of them and having some sort of connection with a merchant could only be a good thing. The tone didn't fit this time though, he had never witnessed Sunni in such an emotional state yet. Had his day not been so bright this time ? For a brief moment, Wenyr considered whether he should go upstairs where the voice had emanated from and have a look, but then he remembered one of his childhood friends who had reacted to this kind of approach not so well -- sometimes people just wanted to be alone no matter whether those coming did so for the sake of aiding or not. Not adhering to that kind of insight ? Dangerous territory!

Wenyr did not feel like stepping into dangerous territory right now. Trying to troubleshoot somebody else's problems from time to time was important to keep a community together, but not in such a forced manner. Also maybe it just wasn't as bad as it sounded ? There was more action going on upstairs and Wenyr remembered some young people who apparently were the merchant's assistants. Maybe it was them ?

"Lord Coswain and knightly party, such an honour. My name is Na'Ri,"

The girl's words made Wenyr turn his head almost in an instant. He had completely missed the fact that Lord Coswain was here as well ? What a shame... on himself! The blacksmith's eyes rested on the Lord just long enough to judge that the latter was busy and thus maybe might not have noticed him either. And if they had not been busy before, now they certainly where. From what Wenyr could hear over the general chatter from the patrons here, Na'ri not only whizzed around like a bee that'd been stung by three wasps at least, but also went pretty much all-in when it came to upselling her guests. Whether she would try the same on him ? Wenyr made a mental note of being cautious while his hand, half unconsciously, slipped into the depths of his pockets to check how much coin he had actually left to deal with such a vicious attack.

The table he choose was situated close to one of the main hall's corners. It was good to have a wall behind one's back even if just for the realm of subtle feelings in the back of one's head. Wenyr would have traded the wall for another chair at any time though for the one he sat down on creaked loudly as if very well outside its original design limits.

Realms of Sun & Shadow

Wenyr

Wenyr's parents had always told him that the first impression was the most important one, but they had never told him what to do if the most important thing was highly ambiguous. So was the case with Dawnhaven. On one side there was no arguing about whether what had been achieved so far was impressive given the time taken or not -- it just was. On the other side Wenyr couldn't help but find the location far less preferable. Back home he could probably still have strolled around the growing winter crops with hardly more than a linen shirt for cover and here, he could already feel the first snow touching his skin. Casually, he brushed through his hair in order to get rid of any snowflakes that might already have accumulated there without him noticing.

It dawned upon the blacksmith what might be coming: First, the melting snow would soften the roads and passes and make them, well, less passable. Then, with some luck, things would freeze over at some point and become solid again. With bad luck however it would start snowing more and at least some of the mountain passes would need to be closed for the sake of not everyone needing a rescue.

Who would rescue his business then, though ? Usually, the heavier and more difficult to transport goods whose lack wouldn't leave anybody starving yet would be delayed first or at least so he expected. What would he have left to work with then but scrap metal and bare wood to make a fire ? And the entire settlement would be put to its first real test when conditions turned for the more harsh...

As Wenyr strolled around Dawnhaven's streets a bit aimlessly for the lack of better knowledge, he honestly contemplated about whether it would be better to try and open a workshop in spring, but -- what should he do until then ? Also the nobleman who effectively was his employer would likely not accept that kind of thinking. He had to get going no matter whether the sun was shining or not and for this he needed to know the place a lot better and probably also get some permits. Yes, permits! Wenyr silently, but no less truly assumed that a closer proximity to the kingdom of Lunaris did not necessarily correlate with a reduction in bureaucracy, or law and order as it was sometimes called slightly euphemistically as well.

Right now, the blacksmith was dressed in an attire a bit more suited for the low temperatures. A thick fur cloak made his shoulders look even more obscenely broad than they already were and he had put on the warmest piece of linen cloth he had been able to find in the mess that was his current 'home'. Wenyr had barely arrived a few days prior and his dwelling place equaled a chaotic looking heap of halfway opened, wooden crates with a large piece of fabric on wooden poles serving as a makeshift roof. A lot of work would be required, but for that he first needed to know where it was possible to deploy. And maybe he'd not ask the same people again to do him a favor and help lifting the damn anvil of the carriage. Their grudge against him would probably last longer than the various aches acquired in the process.

Squinting his eyes slightly, Wenyr deciphered the letters on a sign that gently waved in the wind: Eye Of The Beholder. The building looked as if being given priority in terms of construction effort, but if this was as much of an inn as it seemed to be, it was clear why. Who didn't need a warm place to stay ? And frankly so did he. It took a bit of courage to open the main hall's entrace for a dense crowd of people had never really appealed to Wenyr, but it was a small price he was more than willing to pay.

And just how little he knew the place still! From the many people now in his sight, he could hardly pick anybody he was already familiar with. Don't keep standing around like an idiot! Don't stare at everybody, especially not the women! Trying not to behave like a stalagmite that had just popped up out of nowhere and now blocked everybody's way, Wenyr stepped forward towards what looked like the bar. Maybe somebody would be able to give him some guidance there.

The Land of Skara: and the Songtale of the Breaking

Vodilic

Being out in the wilderness felt rather relaxing as a beast, but not so much as a human. From a purely logical point of view it probably was a weird thing for he should have known the place and its lack of dangers all too well, but the increasing darkness around him triggered an almost discomfording level of alertness. Was there a big bear hiding in the shadows ? A boar who could try to run him over in a panic or an act of aggression ? The fact that there was still some morning haze left surviving in between the tree trunks didn't make things any better.

It's just a dense forest... Vodilic tried to calm himself, but his senses, partly animalistic still, kept pushing their findings into his mind: a suspicious cracking here, the smell of a small creek there, and hadn't he just trampled over some animal trails ? Part of him wished to swap places with his horse at this point. It was commonly said that these were runaway animals, right ? Then why was it perfectly relaxed and he was the one on alert then ? Okay, maybe it was just happy about the break as well.

Yet there was absolutely noone to blame than Vodilic himself. He had made it his very own choice to keep of the proper roads in order to take this 'shortcut', but the more he ventured on the more it dawned upon the lycanthrope that sheer distance alone might not be the most appropriate metric to judge how far away a certain destination was. He'd return to some more beaten path as soon as possible, that was for sure!

Carefully, Vodilic wrapped his padded fur cloak tighter around him. It felt rather frigid and it also was. Good thing he had taken his good boots for this, otherwise he'd already have ended up with wet feet and a cold. Part of him hoped to find some company while another part of him hoped for the opposite. Both had their pros and cos and he just couldn't decide yet. Maybe this would change once having seen another soul again, but maybe he should just try and turn and move forward on four paws instead of two feet ? Could make things a lot more efficient, but also more dangerous in some way...

Realms of Sun & Shadow

Valthyr

Valthyr Naffron

Age: 38

Race: Human

Build: A quite imposing 6'8 with moderate muscle and a slight bit too much weight around his waistline.

Kingdom: Lunaris

Role: Scout, Guard, Gardener maybe ? A bit multi-purpose.

Short bio:

Valthyr is the youngest of three childs of his caring parents, Hadriel and Gandr. They are members of a rather elusive subset of Lunarian society, a group of people who might best be described as sort of 'druids' if one's looking for the briefest of explanations. While they stand loyal to the nation's cause, their allegiance with those in control of it is highly flexible: it depends on whether the ruler in question does what they think is appropriate, not on whom he or she is and where he or she comes from. The idea of inheriting a throne, coming to power by sheer descendancy, is frowned upon.

They don't usually live anywhere near major towns, but tend to either merge into preexisting small villages or create their own, sometimes going as far as actually adopting a nomadic lifestyle. While the place Valthyr stems from is stationary, it still is quite secluded higher up in the mountains to the East of the kingdom. No nobility is going to reach them there and make any claims or at least so they think and, with the right attitude and set of abilities, it is less inhospitable there as it might seem at first.

Valthyr didn't embark on the long journey to Dawnhaven hoping to snatch a cure against the blight. His primary interest is to see whether this might be the first, albeit small bridge built to end the pointless war with the Aurelians. His people have been suffering from that conflict for as long as they can think, too. Coming back with the news that they all might stand down their guard a little for no army might come and shed their blood anymore would be nice. That being said -- some remedy against this disease would be good nontheless and Valthyr has been given authority to offer his assistance should it be needed.

Magic: Illusion & Earth

The Human

While shifting into different kinds of animals is fun, it comes with the drawback that he can't use any other magic while shifted for maintaining a different kind of physical existence is too taxing to do anything else simultaneously.

As a human, he has access to some abilities associated with nature. Some of these are merely based on profound knowledge and training like, for example, mixing potions and ointments that can soothe wounds, cure illnesses or just send you on a nice little trip. Others are truly magic such as accelerating the growth of plants to the degree where it becomes actually visible with the naked eye or to speed up the rate at which something like wood or a corpse rots away.

The Wild Hunt

Valthyr can shapeshift into a gray wolf, meaning that his senses, movement capabilities and vulnerabilities turn into representations of the real thing while internally, he retains his human intellect. This is arguably the most dangerous way one can encounter him for 'his' wolf is a lot bigger and stronger than the ordinary animal that tends to be rather skittish when confronted with humans.

The Third Dimension

Valthyr's second shape is that of a raven. It is probably much easier to kill him in this form, but only if he allows himself to be caught. From the looks alone it is pretty much impossible to distinguish him from the standard animal, but those having fine enough magical senses could pick up that something is odd about him.

The Commanding Presence

One might consider this the least dangerous of Valthyr's many shapes, but combine human intellect with a cat's ability to make people do what he or she wants and you end up with a pretty powerful combination. Also a cat might be far less suspicious than a giant wolf or a black raven flying around in the room. He has some control over the feline scents he emits so that other cats won't necessarily turn hostile towards him instantly, even though the more attentive ones might. Also he can purr of course and hunt down mice and other rodents.

The Land of Skara: and the Songtale of the Breaking

Additions to the lore:

The lunar syndicate

While today the vast majority of species appears to live in peace and harmony with one another, the way leading to this state was harsh and littered with obstacles to overcome. For some species such as humans, overcoming their alleged greed and tendency for superstition was difficult enough, but others had entirely different inner beasts to deal with. In case of lycanthropes, it was their nack for... hunting and happily eating away at other people among many other beings. How does one replace what is not a process of thought, but a part of the foodchain ?

While the lunar syndicate is most likely not the perfect answer to this question, it is definitely better at it then its name might suggest. The syndicate is not an organisation of crime, but more of a collective attempt at preventing those from happening. It is a honorary collective of people who try to provide advice and other assistance to those lycanthropes struggling with their inner beast, trying to prevent the worst from happening while also serving at a listening post and public representation for their kind of people as a whole. Branches can be found in several of the major cities and smaller, more mobile agents travel the countryside frequently in order to stay in contact or advertise the syndicate's existence.

That being said, of course there are those who still deem the syndicate to be more of a shady business. Accusations are rather frequent, but solid proof so far was nowhere to be found.

Character played:

Vodilic

Vodilic

Shapeshifted

Race: Lycanthrope (werewolf), once ordinary human
Age: 25
Height: 5'9 (in human form)
Weight: He looks like maybe 180 lbs given that he slightly overweight, but that number is quite a bit away from reality.
Gender: Male

Vodilic is the 'offspring' of a not so fortunate event happening in a small village called 'Mavaughal' that normally hardly anybody would care about. That day however and with him still being a far too young boy to fully grasp what actually happened, things were different. Peasants and merchants fled the streets into their houses as a beast with long, scraggly hair seemed to stop for... pretty much everyone. To bite them, to rip parts off them, to kill. Vodilic was a tad too slow to ram the door shut behind him and felt a pair of far too large teeth dig into his foot.

He has a moderate limp from this injury up to the present day, but much more importantly he has cheated death at the cost of the curse. It took some time and help to get some newfound feral instincts and desires under control, but one can say that Vodilic has reached the point of nobody noticing that he's even anything different than a nice looking, medium-sized youngster. Only upon closer inspection one might find his ability for heavy lifting a tad suspicious or the fact that he somehow seems to be much, much heavier than he looks like.

Kings and Killers: A Classical Fantasy Adventure (Chapter 1)

"In our primes ?" Fyr snapped back at Dalious without even any intentional desire to do so. "If that is my prime, then I hope I grow old very quickly!" Old and with gray hair, or without any hair at all. Oh, he didn't even have these on his head anyway! And now he had neither his trusty axe and something to place his butt on either!

"And it wasn't even really my axe!" he released the quintessence of his thoughts loudly for he needed just something to vent the pressure inside him with. This had been his journey to get to know the world and to proove that he could really achieve something, and now it had likely found its end or had it ? Those back at home would cut his head off once they figured out...

"Ask that book where this bandit is going. I want to rip him apart!" Having said this, Fyr smashed another table at the wall. The furniture had already taken some damage in the previous fight and now it shattered into pieces and splinters.

"We can't even pull the wagon without a camel now!" They would need something else... and hopefully none of the others would have the idea of him pulling the damn thing because he was so big. Which he wasn't, at least not in Fyr's own opinion as he still could feel the lack of proper food from back in the mushroom caves.

From the Egg - A Dragon Training Rp

Rothros couldn't help but feel a surge of disgust rise from somewhere beneath the lower end of his fin. Not just the smell, but also the taste of blood touched his senses even though it was merely a psychosomatic reaction, but to the memory of very real events. Having been a soldier, he had had to bathe in other people's blood quite literally. Undine, humans, elves, ... even his own at times. The ocean watered down everything for everybody, but also exposed everybody to everything. The liquid of life had many nuances to its taste not only among different species, but also among different individuals. There were those in the Undine navy who claimed that they could even taste whether somebody had already been sick before his or her violent death, but Rothros had never believed those stories.

There was no need to speculate about either of the two combatants' physical condition though either. Both of them appeared to be formidable fighters, but Rothros silently cast severe shadows onto what of Trevor's attitude had become visible as the man stepped forward. He did not agree with it, but honestly he did not agree with the monk's decision making either. Weren't the dragons supposed to make a choice ? So Dula either had some sort of otherworldly connection to the dragons in spite of them not even having hatched yet, or she had taken things very much into her own hand. The imaginative thought of the dragons, once grown up, lambasting her for eliminating contestants even before any of them had had any chance to make a judgement almost caused Rothros to smirk.

The only good thing about this fight was that the prospect of two individuals constantly bickering at each other while trying to overcome decades of hostility was effectively ruled out. The Undine soldier watched with a scowl and with his arms crossed in front of his breast. Somewhat inadvertently, the gesture also helped to make his giant muscles even more blatantly visible.

Now do me a favor and call in someone to clean this up with dignity!

Rothros had seen too much action to feel much pity for the elf, but the question whether Cova would have started this fight on her own had Dula not called her in still lingered in his mind. Hopefully they would take proper care of her body. What kind of omen would it be if the one adventure to save the world from this war would start with one of its worst traditions, leaving the dead to the crows ?

From the Egg - A Dragon Training Rp

Boats... When had been the last time Rothros had been on board of one of them ? He honestly could not remember. When he had seen a ship or other naval vessel in his past, it had most often been from a perspective no other seaman of the land would have liked to ever witness: keel first. And more often than not this had happened with the firm intention of letting the decks on top of that keel plunge into the sea below indeed. Of all the persons on board, he and another Undine he had spotted previously had all reason to have the least fear of things sinking, but one could never know...

He didn't even know what all of this was for yet. He personally had not even heard of this island before -- which in itself was a bit of a remarkable oddity already. His kind preferred building cities in coral reefs and not just on the bare sea floor for various reasons, the most important ones being ease of construction and finding more food. In times of growing population, scouts were usually sent out to find new reefs or other places of interest and this had happened in the past often enough so they would have stumbled upon any island long ago already, wouldn't they ?

It almost felt a bit like a conspiracy...

----

At least it was no Phospholite conspiracy it seemed, so much Rothros could tell rather quickly after their arrival on shore. The thought of jumping back into the ocean and making a run for it should things turn out of for the worse had crossed his mind, too. It could only be pulled off reasonably well while not having ventured further inland however, so the Undine male remained extra cautious for the time being. At which point his mind actually transitioned from distrust and caution to believing the words of those welcoming them -- he couldn't tell himself after the fact anymore. Maybe the revelation of humans having royally screwed up and quite literally so had shaken his thoughts to their foundations enough for them to just topple over onto the other side ?

And somewhere deep inside, Rothros felt angry. So there had been dragon eggs around all the time. A power that could have been used for all kinds of things like, for example, eliminating those in the ruling class that wanted this pointless war to drag on and on. Or just to give everyone back that tiny bit of humbleness that they might not actually be the pinnacle of beings on this world ? Oh what a foolish set of thoughts that was! By now the trenches between the various factions were far too deep and it would need many more bodies to fill them. It wouldn't work that easy way he imagined and, last but not least, it was the dragons chosing them and not the other way round...

But just what had King Rosmund done exactly ? Rothros would have really liked to hammer just about everyone that hadn't been on board the ship about this, but at the same time he felt like already not liking any of the potential answers. It had to be something powerful, something rather unknown or others before him would have done it already ? Or something that had become possible just recently ? Like dragons suddenly willing to bond with more mortal beings, for example -- an eerie similarity between their situation and that of the king, wasn't it ?

Did at least somebody here have any real idea about what they were fiddling with ? Or did everybody just want to keep going, but not being the one accidentally pulling the plug ? *

*Pulling the plug

Aside from the rather obvious issues with metallurgy, there have been some other reservations in the far past about submarine mining operations as well. While it is commonly regarded as nothing more as a superstition to scare children with by now, back in the day many Undine believed in the possibility that there could be something very different beneath the ocean floor that just more solid earth. Digging large holes into it could crack this something open and, if it would turn out to be a vast void or just thin air again, potentially drain all the water away. Contacts with dwarves who could have laughed at them and told a very different story were seldom enough for this line of thought to survive the passage of time for a surprisingly long span.

'Not wanting to be the one pulling the plug' is a common, somewhat humorous metaphor born out of this supersitition. It refers to an experimenter who is not ready, or not willing, to face the potential consequences of his experiments.

From the Egg - A Dragon Training Rp

A little busy the next two days. I will have my fist post up on Saturday.

I heard there's a Discord ? :)

From the Egg - A Dragon Training Rp

Rothros

Name: Rothros

Race: Undine

Age: 49

Text color: Yellow

Special skill:
Toughness. Rothros is a hardened farmer, miner and soldier who has seen both the bitter cold of water and the fiery heat of the earth, the world below the water's surface and also a bit above. He can absorb unusual punishment and a dragon bonded to him would probably exhibit the same ability. A 'go anywhere' creature that has not much trouble transitioning in and out of the water. Also, if one combines water and fire, the result could be a breath of steam that can be just as damaging.

Ambition/dream:
There is nothing specific Rothros craves for not yet knowing about an invention prior to inventing it lies in the very nature of the thing. Imaginations there are many: An armor more robust than simple seashells, yet light enough to carry while swimming. A projectile than can be launched from below the surface just like an archer does with his arrow on the battlefield, yet is strong enough to cripple a ship that would otherwise need to be intercepted by Undine warriors at the risk of their lives... But how to propel it ? How to aim it and how to give it enough oomph upon impact ?

Childhood:
Rothros stems from a place that is commonly referred to as Hetrop, although not many people outside of Undine society know it actually exists. That cannot come as much of a surprise though as a certain level of daringness can be considered a prerequisite for any desire to live there. It is a place where the hot innards of the world boil close underneath the surface, yet above that surface is an immense layer of water that allows one to stay cool.

The white and black smokers caused by ocean water seeping through cracks and touching molten stone spew out a constant stream of sulphur and other minerals considered valuable. Mining those is hard and also dangerous work, but still the Undine seek out the opportunity for there is another thing to be found there: food. There is a competition for fish and other sea fauna from humans and elves, but nobody cares about seaworms that thrive in this kind of environment at the ocean floor.

Rothros' parents are farmers who maintain, harvest and post-process the worm colonies and mineral deposits so it was only natural for their son to follow their footsteps as soon as he could. Workers in this area are usually free to take comparably long leaves in one of the coral reef settlements where living conditions are a lot more hospitable though.

Adolencence/training:
Joining the military was pretty much set in stone for Rothros, just like many others of his kind do. The Undine marine forces are faced with a few challenges that could be considered rather unusual and which always require people to act and risk their lives in order to safeguard them, their families and all the others. The war is fought on the sea as fiercely as it is on land and the remains of this pointless carnage tend not to stay on the wind-whipped surface for very long. Instead, they sometimes literally fall onto Undine people's heads or at least their cities.

The military has sort of a special branch that is occupied with cleaning up wreckages and, more importantly, disposing of any dangerous cargo that might damage the coral reefs. Salvaging precious goods or returning the bodies of deceased seamen to their human families also poses a significant source of foreign currency and bolsters relationships with the coastal settlements. On top of that, there have been several attempts of Phospholite vessels to cause deliberate damage to Undine settlements by polluting the shallow waters with oil or dragging anchor-like structures and nets over the ocean floor.

Rothros spent his base training with such tasks before becoming involved in sneak attacks upon hostile vessels. Coming from below and damaging a ship's hull from outside sounds like a rather safe thing compared to surface-based approaches, but the Phospholites keep learning in terms of how to dodge or escape such things. A thin layer of copper or bronze on top of a wooden structure can pose quite the barrier to overcome already.

Adulthood/After Completing Training:
Rothros has seen how dangerous the 'job' can be. It served as motivation to try something different, to become an apprentice in one of the several workgroups who try to develop new techniques of defending Undine territory. Many of these involve digging deeper into a discipline that so far, for the rather obvious reason of being underwater, has not exactly been any Undine's forte: blacksmithing.

The challenges are unique for it doesn't suffice to just find a facility on land, but one also can't count on the experience of human masters alone. They work with steel and steel is both too heavy and too prone to corrosion in salt water. Bronze doesn't rust, but is even heavier. Undine have started to mess around with other metals, but there is a lot of new knowledge to build up from scratch when it comes to combining and processing them. Rothros' new job involved a lot of learning, experimenting and trial and error, but also getting to know humans much more closely for everything happened on land.

The information provided to him about this 'expedition' to the remote island has not been very specific, mostly that his employers would keep the spot open for him even if it would take very long for him to return...

Notable family:
His parents are still alive, but they still work in the Hetrop mining and farming colony. It is therefore not very likely to encounter them unless perhaps they are forced to leave the ocean. Rothros has no siblings yet.

Notable figures:
William is the master human blacksmith he worked for in a rather small human town at the coastline. There are also several other apprentices Rothros has worked with prior to his sudden, new assignment.

Character Themes:
Experimenting, discovery, fighting, brutal raw strength.

Character Tragedy:
Rothros has once misjudged the jets of hot water in Hetrop, causing significant damage to the left side of his body. More importantly however he was the foreman of an entire party of seaworm gatherers and still feels somewhat responsible for two of his followers also having been injured very severelyin this incident. This is in spite of the fact that common consensus is that nobody could have foreseen this sudden outburst.

Character flaws:
The accident in Hetrop has left him with a slight limp and impaired vision on his left eye. Rothros is not exactly stubborn, but at times a bit imprudent and prone to jump into action before thinking all too extensively. Also, while his body is perfectly adapted to swimming, at land he's rather sluggish. That certainly isn't helped by the fact that he's just a damn heavyweight individual.

Hobbies:
Deep-diving (sort of a competitive sport that involves testing each other's limits while roping down the continental shelf into the deep sea), archery, wrestling (both in and out of the water).

Appearance:
Rothros exhibits a skin typical to his kind. Adapted to efficient movement underwater, it is very smooth and tight to minimise resistance. Its color is mostly blue-ish, but with hues of silvery gray mixed in almost like a shark. There is some significant scarring running along his left thigh and also a bit on his head, but at least on land most of that is rendered invisible by clothing. As one could expect he has neither hair nor beard, but can definitely brag with a large fin running down from the back of his head almost to the level of his hips. He also has smaller fins running along his elbows and legs and some webbing between his toes and fingers.

At 5'6 he's average for his people, but more on the short side from many others' point of view. A combination of great natural disposition, his time in the military and hard work helping in the forges have caused him to bulk up immensely however. He's well fed and bristling with muscle from top to bottom.