Nieszka

Blood on the Sands: Azoth at War (Open!)

Hmmmmm.... I'll think on that.

Blood on the Sands: Azoth at War (Open!)

The Unbroken

Name: Cerys of the Arakkai, Voice of the Messenger and Defender of the Unbroken
Description: Much smaller than reputation paints her, Cerys stands at 5’4, 118 pounds. She is lithe and fit with long, silver hair, pale skin, and dark eyes.
Race: Human
Faction/Unit: The Unbroken
Location: The Broken Lands
Synopsis of Role: Leader-Priestess of The Unbroken

Name: The Wanderer, The Traveller, Messenger of the Red Gods or simply The Messenger
Type: Red God
Description: This powerful, if incorporeal, spirit makes the whole world his shrine. He cannot stay in one place for long. He is unique among the Red Gods for not being in opposition with any other gods, and those that worship all of the great spirits venerate him as the voice of the Pantheon, while others consider his presence as a sign of ill fortune. The Wanderer speaks to few, but those he chooses are marked for either greatness or great failure.

Name: The Unbroken
Description: Currently, this is a small group composed mainly of Arakkai survivors. Over time, they will (hopefully) grow into a powerful army.
Race: Mixed
Faction/Unit: Independent
Location: The Broken Lands
Synopsis of Role: The Followers of Cerys

Name: The Arakkai
Description: A Clan of the Broken Lands, now destroyed.
Race: Human
Faction/Unit: Independent, but allied to the Einor (a neighboring tribe)
Location: The Broken Lands
Synopsis of Role: The tribe of Cerys’s birth, the remainder of which formed the first Unbroken.

Blood on the Sands: Azoth at War (Open!)

Yay!!!! I'll work on it tonight when I'm not supposed to be doing real-world things.

Blood on the Sands: Azoth at War (Open!)

So I've been really uncertain about exactly what I wanted to add to this world. I love the dark fantasy aspects, the gritty, unforgiving setting, but at first ideas eluded me. This is the concept I finally came up with:

The Priestess

The Priestess character concept is of a female shaman or magic-wielding spiritual leader of one of the Clans of the Broken Lands. She is young for her position, but devout and incredibly charismatic in her worship of her clan's god (who I will be inventing if you like this concept). After her people are raided by a Dratha war party (slaves or mercenaries) they are all killed or scattered. From this tragedy, the Priestess enters a sort of insanity fueled by intelligence and religious fervor and fronted by her skills as a speaker and leader. She sets off to gather her people, unite as many of the Clans of the Broken Lands as possible as well as any other men or creatures that she can convince to join her cause. The ultimate goal of this long campaign: war against the Dratha.

Please excuse any typos. I'm working from my phone because the idea hit me while away from my computer.

Knights & Nightmares: A Classic Dark Fantasy Adventure

Blood. Sickly sweet and cloying. The oily blackness of it filled Rhiannon’s nose, forcing her to breathe through her mouth as she ran. It was drying on her arm as she flung herself forward, binding her soaked hand to the black-coated knife still clasped within it, a foul-smelling adhesive. It clung to her face in blotchy droplets and soaked into the fabric of her carefully woven tunic. More still mingled with the deep, healthy red pumping from her damaged side as her free hand pressed against the four ragged claw marks in a desperate attempt to stay alive. Alive! She hadn’t even lived yet.

Trees whipped by, black monoliths, each one hiding a thousand more tainted wolves, or so it seemed. Within Rhiannon’s mind, she still felt the slimy presence of them as she had reached out with her thoughts, her essence to touch these creatures, the first she had met after several long days and nights in this cursed forest. Their eager howls had first sounded joyful to her lonely ears, but if they had been, it had only been the joy of bloodlust, of taint and destruction.

A sudden sharp pain, tiny next to the ragged openings in her side, jerked Rhiannon forcibly back to the present. It was a high root against her ankle and she was falling down into a pool of swamp muck, her already strained leggings acquiring a new coat. Grimly, she pushed herself up again, coaxed on by flashing images of a heavy body falling towards her, spiked jaws open, eager.

Eventually, the demonkin woman began to slow, her clumsy footfalls coming at longer and longer intervals, her heartbeats softer against the drums of her ears. Adrenaline was seeping out of her pores like sap out of an old maple, taking strength and fear with it. She began to bargain with herself, to cajole:

“A few more steps… That's it, past that tree to sleep… Just until there’s some dry ground…”

When the trees began to thin, Rhiannon didn’t quite believe it at first. What place did fresh air have in nightmares? She shook her head; it remained. She blinked. It was still there. With a last animal effort, she surged forward, breaking out from the dark trees at last near a lone house set alongside a dirt road.

“Its dry,” she said, stupid with fatigue and blood loss, and collapsed in a heap.

Azoth: the Red Desert (Fantasy War/Character/Faction RP, Mercenaries)

Interested!

Knights & Nightmares: A Classic Dark Fantasy Adventure

While we wait for Void to voice his thoughts, I think I'll write up Rhia's arrival to this scene. She collapses before Mortimer finds her outside and before Vox sees either of them, so it'll give us somewhere to start.

Knights & Nightmares: A Classic Dark Fantasy Adventure

Hahahaha, we're both replying just a little too quickly. Alright! She's collapsed but hasn't passed out or anything like that. Have any of you ever used Pirate Pad? This may be easier to write if we do it collaboratively.

Knights & Nightmares: A Classic Dark Fantasy Adventure

That makes a lot of sense. She wouldn't have encountered something like that before and wouldn't have known to be wary. Well, friends, I can't do a whole lot in the next scene, but I vote for any option that doesn't involve trying to hide from scary undead creeps who may have powers of perception we don't yet know about.

Edit: Very cool, @Dynamo Frokane! I really like the concept, I'm just a newbie in your world.

Knights & Nightmares: A Classic Dark Fantasy Adventure

Why would Rhiannon fight a wolf? She can communicate with animals, she has the power of suggestion over them. Brigands, maybe or some other men up to no good, but Rhiannon wouldn't have any reason to fight an animal.

Edit: I'm sorry if I responded too bluntly, @Dynamo Frokane. I'd just like to know your reasoning.