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An Airborne Odyssey, Chapter 1, The Great Crossing

A bus rolled along the scenic countryside near the Academy. Aboard were the noble children who were coming to attend this school for their first year, on there way to their dorms. While on the face of the school boasts of mixing the social classes, one only needed to look a little closer to see how people were subverting that system. The commoner students were mostly forced to walk or find their own means of transportation, but a "private" bus service "offers" noble children a ride to the school from their homes and estates. That's why most children of nobles don't live in the dormitories, but rather just take their own personal transportation to and from the school, should the distance allow. Of course, not all noble children live close enough, so here they were, on their way to the dorms of the Avalian National Air Academy.

One such student of Ava Falke, daughter of Alex Falke, and currently too excited for her own good about today. Unlike nearly all her peers, she willingly chose to live on campus, taking this opportunity of independence as soon as she had gotten it. This was the beginning of her adventure, and it seemed almost childish to her to return home every night after going to the Academy. The bus arrived in front of the dorm building, almost just as the commoner students began to trickle in. Some showed signs of exhaustion, carrying their own luggage and personal items on foot, while some fared only slightly better. The noble children filled out of the bus, and followed by a few servants who began unloading the luggage for the "unfortunate" nobles who had to move into these sub par accommodations.

However, earning some stares from both the noble children and commoners alike, Ava walked off the bus duffel bag and suit case in hand. While the nobles sneered, they made no attempts at directing confronting her, as even they knew better then to go after the daughter of one the most famous heroes of the country. She confidently strides into the commons of the dorm, various students already mingling and checking the bulletin board for their room assignment, and then stood their blankly.

"Erm... shit, where was I supposed to go?" Ava thought to herself, glancing around confused.

An Airborne Odyssey, Chapter 1, The Great Crossing

Sure sure, I'll be posting fairly soon!

An Airborne Odyssey, Chapter 1, The Great Crossing

No problem, take your time, no pressure!

An Airborne Odyssey, Chapter 1, The Great Crossing

Feel free to post now if you want!

An Airborne Odyssey, Chapter 1, The Great Crossing

I was gonna start with the beginning of class, introductions with characters and such. Feel free to arrive at class and size some people up.

An Airborne Odyssey, Chapter 1, The Great Crossing

Ava Falke

Age:
20
Height:
5'6
Weight:
120lbs
Nationality:
Avalian, daughter of the Admiral of the 2nd Grand Airborne Fleet

Appearance (fully body)

Bio:
During the 88th crossing of the West Ocean, Avalia faced a fearsome enemy it had never before seen. For the first time in over a hundred years, another island nearly crossed paths with Avalia. This island was home to a group of people known as the "Sky Clan". They were a group of fanatical religious warriors, who often shoot down anyone who makes any attempt to get near them, let alone talk. Avalia had known of their crossing paths ahead of time, and had thought nothing of it. Why should they? Sure the Sky Clan was calling the presence of the Avalian Kingdom and its current dynasty an affront to their religion for occupying what they considered "holy land", but in the Generals and Admirals had assured the King that they were nothing but barbarians in wooden bi-planes and ships.

As it turned out, they were very, very wrong. The Sky Clan was actually superior to them in both technology, doctrine, and strategy. As the islands grew near each other, the "barbarians" unleashed their airborne fleets of carriers, battleships, and destroyers as well as massive "Super bomber" type aircraft. In those first months of the war, Avalia burned. But rising stars took this terrible advantage, and turned it into an advantage. One such star was Ava's father, Alex Falke, at the time, captain of the RAS Arkillia, a battle-cruiser type ship. He first distinguished himself during the Fourth Battle of Firebase 8. It was an artillery bunker that constantly bore the brunt of the Sky Clan's fleet. He successfully sunk two Sky Clan Dreadnoughts, and one Sky Clan Destroyer, all on his own. He held his position, despite his command essentially placing him there for a sacrifice to buy time for the Airborne Knights to scramble torpedo bombers. During the Grand Battle of the Royal Estate, where the Avalian Fleet made a last stand just outside the capital, his ship was one of the last remaining ships afloat in the sky by the end of it all. As the Sky Clan drifted away, finally out of range for both fleets, Avalia underwent some serious internal changes. For the first time nearly a century, the entire chain of command was shaken and reshuffled up and down.

As a result, Alex Falke was given leadership of the 2nd Fleet along with the rank of Admiral. This made him and his family the same level as 2nd class nobles in the eyes of society, making him and his offspring practically royalty to some degree. For such a hero, he was a surprisingly soft spoken, mild manner man who often favored studying up on philosophy and religion than studying weather reports. In fact, in private, he was known to call his talent for naval strategy a "curse" that saved the home he loved, and more importantly, the daughter he loved.

Ava was born eight years before the war with the Sky Clan. She had grown up like so many with the air raid sirens blaring, hiding in the bunkers and shelters they could live in. Her family was originally that of a upper middle class commoner, so while they had the privilege of accessing actual bunkers instead of just cowering under whatever shelter of sewer they could get too, Ava still has very real, terrifying memories of the war. Because of her father's heavy involvement in the war, she was mostly raised by her mother, Gertrude Falke. Gertrude and Alex were an odd pair to say the least. The soft spoken captain now admiral was a stark contrast to the brash, thrill seeking pilot he had married. Gertrude past much of herself on to Ava, particularly her love for flying. During those nights when they coward under the bunker, shuddering every time a bomb detonated near them, her mother would have Ava imagine herself, flying through the clouds, seeing and exploring the world from a place few people get to see.

So, Ava group up to become a very tomboyish girl, and seemed to have truly inherited her mother's love and natural skill for flying. Every time she flew with her mother in the sky, she always felt more at home. Every time she got to ride aboard her father's airship during a patrol or a parade, she felt like she could keep flying forever. On the subject of her father, she has immense respect and love for him, despite sometimes being frustrated by his soft spoken, seemingly constantly calm voice that never showed a hint of breaking. With both the love of flying and the desire to prove herself to be just as great as her parents, she applied and was accepted into the Avalian National Air Academy.

Theme Song:

An Airborne Odyssey, Chapter 1, The Great Crossing

Some things to note about the school:

-There are five major Dorms on campus, each holding students of a particular graduation year. The 105th Crossing class (us) is in a Dorm where it has two parallel wings of dorms, one for girls and one for boys, each joined at the middle by a commons area, kitchen, and dining area.

-The classes are "mixed" to encourage comradery and friendship, but don't expect any from either societal class.

-The school uses the AV-12 Trainer "Orange Comet" training aircraft. It is a two seater, single engine aircraft that can be refitted into a cheap fighter if desperate times allow. It's called the "Orange Comet" due to its blaze orange trainer paint job and its fast speed in dives.

Reference Image

-Students are expected to be self sufficient to some degree when it comes to meals and transportation (hence why many common folk live on campus)

I'll put other stuff here, but we're officially ago!

An Airborne Odyssey, Chapter 1, The Great Crossing

Chapter One, The Great Crossing

The World of Parele is a strange one indeed.



Shrouded in mystery and covered in dangerous ancient ruins, floating islands, and ruthless creatures, it is no wonder that humanity has found a way to survive and prospered. There is much to be discovered in this world, many secrets to be unearthed... some wondrous and beautiful,


Others.... are probably better left buried, never to be unearthed to unleash the fury held beneath.


These legends, these secrets, all waiting in the shadows of a long forgotten time that had forever changed the surface of the world. Sought after by both Empires and explores alike. But every great adventure needs a beginning, and the problems that will be faced will seem small in comparison, but very real.

In the low hanging clouds of the West Ocean, a massive shadow is caste over the seas. A huge, floating island of rock lazily drifts through he sky, propelled by massive blades and powerful engines. It is known as the Kingdom of Avalia, a nation state that is situated on this large island. An old kingdom with a long reigning dynasty of royals and nobles. The society is strictly separated into noble class, with very little to no chance of mobility. It has been this way for centuries, yet as the times move on and an era of industry and technology begin to elevate to the next level, so to does winds of history.

Murmurs in the dark corners of the Beggars Quarters of the two cities on this island, whispers in the quiet bars of the Factory District, grumbles in the Mines. All of these talk of a rebellion on the rise, waiting, biding its time for the perfect moment to strike. Air, even among the upper class is tense, though, perhaps not because of these silly commoner rumors. No, they are worried about something seemingly far more threatening, something that everyone knew.

For you see, each year, many of these islands suddenly and naturally drift across the West Ocean. Nobody has been able to explain why, but what is known is that the journey is always hard. Communication and trade with the outside world becomes difficult and these islands become threatened by rival islands, mercenaries, pirates, and rarely... flying monsters and ancient abominations. These threats being ever present, meant that Avalia's military was always of the utmost importance.

The Royal Airborne Fleet is Avalia's true bulwark against the threats of the outside world during this journey. A powerful, modern fleet of airships that have always protected the skies of the kingdom... or so they thought. Roughly twelve years ago, during the 88th Crossing of the West Ocean, they came under attack by a group known as the "Sky Clan". Initially the military command dismissed them as nothing but fanatical, religious barbarians that would pose little threat to the mighty Airborne Fleet. They were horribly mistaken and the resulting war severely damaged the nation and the spirit of the nation as the Sky Clan proved to outclass Avalia in both technology and doctrine.


Dawn breaking on the RAS Arkillia and RAS Falcon after seventy two hours of constant fighting during the final Grand Battle of the Royal Estate, in which eighty percent of the fleet was destroyed.

It was a severe wake up call, and would have lead to the destruction of the nation if it weren't for the heroes of the war such as Captain, now Admiral Alex Falke, Admiral Roger Endoven, Ace Hannah Alborne, or Lieutenant Lawrence Canon as well as the valiant men of the fleet. This resulted in a serious shake down of the military command after the war, allowing gaps for potential conspirators to fill.

Now as the 100th Crossing of the West Ocean begins, everyone is on edge. The Sky Clan has made vows and promises to strike Avalia and there are rumors of a new airborne beast attacking shipping and fleets over the West Ocean. So as the festivities are cleaned up and everyone prepares for the long journey ahead, cracks are beginning to form.

With all this, for some, it is just the beginning of a new school year. The Avalian National Air Academy, an incredibly prestigious school where some of the most famous aces and admirals of the world have come from. This school is unique in Avalian society, as it doesn't strictly separate people by social class while teaching or in class. This stop both parties from ignoring these equality rules or abusing them, but it has allowed at least some intermingling between the groups. As the bell tolls and the students begin to arrive at the school, many are simply looking forward to ignoring the growing sense of dread and tension and focusing on their studies, or girls, or boys, or partying till ya drop dead.

For two particular individuals, this will definitely be a stimulating year... to say the least.

Beyond the Storms

get hype, i accidentally came up with a way to move the story forward while i was half asleep and tapping away

@Mercenary Lord

The best of ways!

Beyond the Storms

Slowly dieing in a field..... Tell my mother... that she was a bitch! *bleh*

(Very busy, but still interested in this.)