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Post by Mirshaan on Jan 30, 2008 13:23:04 GMT -5
OOC: As I'm new here, I thought it best to start my own RP than butt in on an established one. I can only hope you like it and join in.- - - - Dragon. A word so small, so innocent in its existence. Or was it a name, it certainly had that air to it, a name with powerful meaning, for something of great presence. But still just a word. The sort of word that rolled around so easily in the mind, conjuring images of things that could only be dreamed of. It was not a word that Arden knew, and not of any language he had heard before, not that he had heard many, yet here it was. The word had been written on a rather large bag. A red bag in fact, made of a delicately woven material. On closer inspection there appeared to be something inside. He looked, curious, for he was a very curious creature. He looked, and he found. It took him several moments to realize what he had found. He wasn't particularly knowledgeable about such things, but as he sat down it came to him. Atop a small knoll he sat for quite some time, pondering the existence of the curious mystery before him. He could not imagine where the egg had come from, had it simply appeared or had someone lost it?. It had caused him to stop, and it had caused him to sit. He liked sitting, it was more comfortable than standing and lying usually meant sleep. He didn't mean to sleep, not yet anyway. He needed to figure out the meaning of this word first, and it's relevance to the egg, so he remained sitting. Time however was against him, as was his stomach which had begun to rumble again. Food had it's uses, and of course there were the delicacies that could make a day worth while. But when he came to think of it, there was still a lot of effort involved. Never the less, food was the sustenance of more than just a happy stomach. Food was his job, his source of income. Well bread anyway. Bread was easy, he could understand bread. Useful for a creature of so very little understanding. Arden though longed for more. As much as he liked the warmth and safety of his rather small bakery in his village, it seemed to him that there should be more and he had decided that he should find it. Arden sat a while longer. The egg was warm in his hands, it's soft blue shell so beautiful. He was captivated by it. It was growing dark though and he needed to eat. Carefully he placed the egg back inside it's bag and carried it in his arms back to the village, all the way pondering his luck at finding something of such value. Naturally Arden had heard of such things as eggs. All manner of creatures hatched from eggs of one sort or another. The elders spoke of great beasts with wings and long tails that breathed fire. Not that he had ever seen one, perhaps this egg belonged to such a beast. The thought excited him. He could ride on the back of such a beast, fly up to the tree tops and see the far edges of the world. He knew of course wouldn't be allowed to keep it if anyone found out. The elders had rules about such beasts, they were considered a nuisance. Stories had been told of beasts of old that had attacked their village, and even eaten people. Arden didn't like the sound of that much, but he couldn't imagine a creature with such a beautiful egg as this one had ever being harmful. Never the less, he knew he would have to keep it secret, at least until he was ready to start out on his adventure.
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Post by Crow on Jan 30, 2008 13:46:36 GMT -5
(hope you don't mind if I put in a bit of a back story. If you do you can just tell me to delete it so I can start something else. Sounds really interesting. I hope this works out alright. By the way, what kind of setting are we in here?)
The man stood in the center of the large room, a pillar of Ebon armor. An underling was in front of him on one knee, bowing and shaking like a leaf before the man. When the man spoke his voice echoed through the room. "Where is my egg?" The servant quaked in fear for a moment before replying, "There was a trap....The silver lance appeared and killed the one holding it. We almost retrieved it when one of the fools clipped the wing of his dragon with a spear...." He said, his voice seeming tiny compared to that of the man in front of him. "Well? spit it out you worm!" The man cringed, "H-he fell through the c-clouds your greatness......we searched all day, we never found him.....never found the e-e-egg....." He stammered as the black clad man drew his hand and a half sword and ended his life.
Several years later, the stolen egg was found by a young boy in a small village, far below that battle those years ago....
An unusual man stumbled into the village. He wore a black cloak and a cowl laying on his shoulders. A backpack was seen under the cloak as the man walked around the town looking for something. On his belt laid a sword that looked as if it hadn't seen combat in many years, as it was covered in a fine layer of dust. He searched around the village for a moment and continued walking in search of whatever it was.
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Post by Mirshaan on Jan 30, 2008 17:51:11 GMT -5
OOC: Not at all Crow, please continue. The setting could be almost anywhere, though pre-industrial, and somewhat fantasy. Beyond that the setting is open to interpretation.- - - - By the time Arden had made his way back to the village he was tired. He had strayed some distance from his home as he often did when he had things on his mind. He had allowed his short legs to carry his body as far as it could, occupying his mind with the fanciful nothingness of thoughts, which were more wild than usual considering his discovery. He was in fact so engrossed that he barely noticed the commotion coming from the village in front of him. It was almost dark, but as he pulled himself to his senses he could clearly make out the head of a creature the likes of which he had only seen books and ancient drawings. The beast for all intents and purposes looked very much like a big version of Arden himself. Or any other Salin for that mater, but big was an understatement. This being stood, at least Arden hoped it was standing, over twice the hight of a normal Salin. It was known that the people of Salin were not particularly large by comparison to other creatures of the woods, but they were intelligent. For instance it had been Arden's own father who had discovered how to control the wind. He knew of no other creature that had achieved such a feat. Arden entered the village cautiously. The streets and the village center were empty, the people keeping themselves hidden away in their homes. Danger was afoot and the best policy was to stay out of its way. The cloaked creature stood tall amongst the roof tops, back against the dark sky above. The only light, a dull reflection from the sword at it's side. Arden held the bag containing the egg close to his chest and edged his way through the village heading for home and trying not to be spotted. The beast was looking for something, food perhaps. He could not tell. He was bad enough at reading the expressions of his master, let alone this unknown stranger. Arden stood, hidden in the shadows, his green cloak typically drenched in mud from his walk. He was a typical Salin, if such a thing was possible. Young, but fully grown. At about three foot tall he was neither tall nor short for his people. Some would consider him average, but for some reason Arden had chosen to think of himself as perfect. Though when he came to think of it, he was rather lacking around the middle. Eventually the beast started to move off, and Arden took the opportunity to slip the remaining distance to his doorway. When he arrived he paused a moment, thanking each lucky light that shone in the dark sky above for guiding him home safely. The world seemed to be a dangerous place. Only then did he step through the doorway, and into the warmth of home. Tomorrow, he thought to himself as he carefully rested the egg on his bed, I will leave here and begin my adventure. Soon though his thoughts and fears were forgotten as he drifted off to sleep, the egg held tight in his arms.
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Post by Crow on Jan 30, 2008 18:01:30 GMT -5
The man muttered to himself as he wandered through the town, "Where the hell is it? I know I felt somthing......and so did sabre, so it can't be my imagination....unless that over grown lizard was lying to me again....No, he knows what not to joke about...." He shrugged and moved out of the town, walking about a mile away and sitting next to a fire his companion had made. The thing was huge with black scales glistening in the light of the campfire. A true black dragon. It went through a series of low, rasping growls before his friend responded, "no, I didn't find it.....hey, isn't it a bit too late for insults? Tch, never too late for you, is it?" He found a spot on the ground and laid down, "Keep watch, I'm going to sleep....." Better to get a good nights sleep, rather than stumble around in the dark for the night he figured.
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Post by Da Pwny on Jan 30, 2008 21:20:20 GMT -5
(shouldn't we have profiles for this somewhere? and I remember this one ) Muldreina'Dryad sat lazily in her lillypad bed; sometimes, being a spirit of the forest was totally a bishy b****. She yawned, then hiccuped, snorting unladylike as she pulled a grass root from her mouth. "Now how'd you get in there, ya silly thang?" she inquired, tossing it to the slight breeze that blew through her serene paradise. She watched wide-eyed in wonder as it drifted along carelessly, weaving around trees and between branches until it was out of her sight. Sighing, she returned to her nap, and was rudely interrupted when she heard heavy footsteps coming her way. Fleeing behind a nearby tree, she closed her eyes and opened her mind, communicating with the forest around her as she searched for the source of the disruption... Some distance away, a young Valkyrie stumble into the forest, clutching a spot on her chest below the left breast where blood flowed freely. Other wounds covered her body, having penetrated through the tough armor she wore and leaking blood themselves. Hyldra knew she was dying, and it wouldn't be long before precious death took her to the beyond, where she should have been already. Running from battle was disgraceful, and something she could not come back from; if she returned home, she would surely be ridiculed and spat upon. She'd left too many of her friends behind, all of them dead, dying, or fighting for their lives... Forced to her knees by her injuries, she found herself in front of a small pond, no bigger than twelve feet in any direction and probably not very deep. Hyldra's vision was starting to fade, but not even she could miss the sight in front of her; a small figure, a foot or two at the most tall, stood in front of her, looking wide-eyed at her like a child. But even simple-minded Hyldra knew that this was no child; it was a spirit, and a fairly powerful one at that. "Forest spirit..." she coughed out, trying hard not to kill herself before she was done, "Please... take my life... all I ask in exchange is... safe passage to Valhalla... Please, take my life... I have disgraced... myself beyond forgiveness... At least I can die in the... presence... of a..." Too exhausted to continue, she passed on, letting herself go as she faced her own death with more courage than she thought she'd ever have... Or so she thought... Hyldra suddenly felt warmth filling her body; she was in Valhalla, heaven... Opening her eyes, however, she was hit with a very different reality; a brown thatched roof sat over her head, and a rather oddly familiar face stared back down at her. Awakening with a jolt, the young Valkyrie realized the truth, and she groaned... "Well I never... ain't that's a fine way of sayin' 'thaynk yew fer savin' mah haide'!" Muldreina fumed in a high-pitched squeal as she turned around, annoyance festering in her voice. "Mahybe I shoulda just left ya out thar t' rot, an' not have brought yer stinkin' arse in here! Bloody lil' prick yew are..." She shuffled on over, having changed herself into her human child form in the presence of a guest. It'd become her custom, although unnecessary; Muldreina had learned early on that people, especially humans, tended to stare at those who looked fairly off-beat to them, as if it were a huge deal or something. Now about three feet tall, she used this form whenever she made trips to other places, as a child wandering about was apparently less likely to attract attention than a rabbit or a fox, although there were more of those in the forests than human kids. She could be all of those, and more, if she wanted to. Coming back with a brownish watery mix, she set it over an open flame next to the lying Valkyrie, then went back to cooking herself and this new one a meal. Mulri had seen some weird folks come through, but not many of them were wearing armor or toting about openly with a sword. And certainly she'd never met someone so desperate to die. She looked over at the armor that laid by the bed, and realized just how messy it all was. Maybe I can get those little people in the town nearby to fix this mess up... they're always willing to help and rarely overcharge me... but its all just so... big! Took me half the night just to get it off of her, so how am I supposed to carry it all? Moreover, how are they going to fix it, being as small as them-all are?? Oh, what a dilemma! What a dilemma indeed!!(gotta love that Southern twang ;D!)
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Post by Mirshaan on Jan 31, 2008 8:16:57 GMT -5
Morn light broke through the curtains of Arden's small abode filling the room with a rich golden glow that cast shadows from even the smallest of ornaments. His home was sparse, with what little decoration he had was restricted to a few stones and shells he'd collected from the lakeside. Arden woke to the sound of birds singing nearby, it was the dawn of a new day and a wisp of anticipation filled the air. Arden sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and yawned, his small mouth opening so wide he could have swallowed a whole grape in one go. The thought of grapes though made his stomach rumble, and he hoped he had a couple left, enough for breakfast at least.
As he stood up to reach for his clothes he noticed the large red bag sat at the end of his bed. It wasn't that he had forgotten about it, or how he had found it the afternoon before, but at the sight of it a flood of memory rushed into his head, and he had to sit back on his bed so as not to topple over. He picked up the bag and opened it gently so he could examine the egg within. In the golden hew the large egg seemed to glow, its blue shell reflecting the contrasting light in a magnificent spectrum of warm colours. Slowly he forced himself to close the bag and stand up. Mostly because the air was still cool, and he was beginning to shiver.
Arden pulled on his clothes in a great hurry, though the loose fitting clothes were not that difficult to slip into so he was able to make sure everything was the right way round as he made his way into his kitchen. Arden lived alone, for the most part. There was occasions where he would have visitors stay. He was quite proud in fact to have once had a young Robin stay in his humble home for several days. The poor creature had injured its wing and he had nursed it back to health. Today however he was alone. A good thing he considered, as it would have been the hight of rudeness for him to begin his planned adventure if it meant leaving a guest behind.
Soon the young Salin had started making his breakfast, and what a breakfast it was. Breads and jams galore, and of course he did indeed have two fresh grapes left over, which he pealed and sliced, squeezing the excess juice into a cup for a drink to go with. He smiled warmly as he sat and tucked in to his meal. It might he considered be his last proper meal in quite some time, so he took his time and savored every last mouth full. His mind drifting freely to all the wonderful things he hoped to see on his great adventure.
Exploring ran in his family you see. His great grandfather had been a famous explorer, with many adventures. He had heard stories of great beasts with scales and no legs that could eat a Salin whole. When he was younger his father had taken Arden to the edge of the Great Forrest at the far end of the lake, where the water met the horizon and flowed on to the edge of the world. There his father had introduced the young Arden to the Forrest Spirits. Tiny creatures that possessed great magical powers and in the years that followed Arden had stayed friends with one Spirit in particular. She had told the most fascinating stories of all.
Excitement boiled inside him as he finished off the last slices of toast and cleaned the stray jam from around his mouth. At least he thought it was just excitement, though he realized that he had eaten rather a lot. He collected the dishes and washed them each with care, placing each one back in its proper place, making sure everything was left exactly how it was meant to be before he went away. Neatness was a common trait amongst the Salin, nothing was ever left out of place if it could be helped and they were very good at fixing things.
When he was done, Arden set about gathering all that he thought he might need for his journey. There was the old map of the world his father had given him, it had belonged to his great grandfather and showed everywhere he had been, right up to the far edge of the world. Arden had never been near the far edge of the world, and hoped that he would soon see it for himself. He had always wondered what it would look like. He made sure to pack enough food, and two bottles of his favorite grape wine, then piled it all into his wheelbarrow. Last he placed the red bag containing the egg neatly on top, making sure it was supported on all sides so it wouldn't fall out. He stood back for a second, admiring his work with a smile. Then with one last look at his perfect little home, he closed the front door and set off on his adventure.
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Post by Crow on Jan 31, 2008 11:53:32 GMT -5
The cloaked man sat up sometime later in the morning hearing a strange noise in the distance. He stretched and stood up, yawning. He got up thinking that it was Sabre trying to mess with him as usual, but the dragon was nowhere to be seen. "Bloody dragon....why can't he just sleep, like all the other creatures of the natural world?" He mumbled, quietly walking the fifty feet or so to the path and seeing another of the unusual short people rolling a wheel barrow......with the red bag on top! "hey, you! can you hold up for a second?"
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Post by Mirshaan on Jan 31, 2008 13:39:12 GMT -5
With his Grandfathers old sword strapped to his side, and his favorite wheelbarrow grasped firmly in his hands, Arden made his way through the village with his head held high. He looked quite a sight in his long walking cloak, still covered in mud from the day before. The sword shone in the morning light and he smiled politely to the people he passed by. Many were friends or customers, he liked to think he knew most if not all of them, and many stopped to watch as he walked by. It filled him with confidence to see people stopping just to wish him luck on his journey. At least he was sure that was what they were doing, with their broad smiles and waves as he passed.
When he got to the edge of the village he found a rock and settled onto it. It was a convenient place for a morning snack and an opportunity to study his map. He pulled it out of the wheelbarrow and unrolled it. The paper was old and worn, there was a corner missing at the top, and there were rips along the water stained edges. According to the map, which he was sure was accurate, he was currently located in the location marked with a small symbol that was meant he was certain to represent a rock. The self same rock he was in fact sat upon as it happened. Behind him was the village, which of course he had just come from, and in front of him was the right back of the great lake, which stretched away towards the great forest on the horizon.
It all looked very straight forward on the map, though he knew from experience that it would take him a full day to walk all the way to the far end of the lake. But in the forest lived the Spirits, and he planned to pay them a visit. He knew he could rest there for the night in safety before moving on along the forest path in search of the Edge of the World. The stories he had been told of the Edge had spoken of the great vastness of nothingness that lay beyond. His own great grandfather had once looked out across the edge and had said that all he could see was a massive expanse of absolutely nothing. It sounded quite beautiful to Arden, who had never seen nothing before.
He estimated from the map that it would take a good three days walking to reach the Edge from here, and that was without stopping for snacks. Therefore he decided it best to get going and the sooner he got going the sooner he would reach the great forest and the Forest Spirits within. He was glad to have his wheelbarrow with him for this visit. He had taken it once before and remembered how much the tiny beings had enjoyed riding in it. I didn't imagine they could get very far on their own and they were rarely seen outside the forest.
He had barely taken two steps however when he heard a loud voice boom out from some distance away. He looked up and was somewhat astonished to see what stood before him. It was that giant Salin, or what ever form of creature it was that he had seen attacking the village in the dark of the day before. The voice was deep, but sounded strangely pleasant, not exactly menacing at all. Never the less it had startled the young Salin and he cowered behind his wheelbarrow. He had no idea what the beast had said, if indeed it had been saying anything specific at all. A creature of such small mind is not often taken to learning more than one language and Arden was no exception. He hoped however that this beast, what ever it was would have more luck understanding him.
"Erm... er. Hi er...The..rrre" He stammered, his small voice barely audible, the thought of conversing with something so large was rather adverse to him and he was something of a nervous critter at the best of times.
"I.. I am af..f..fraid I don't un..nderstand you. W..ww.what is it you want?" He could only hope his words were clear enough to understand because his lower lip was quivering somewhat and his heart was racing in his throat making it difficult to get the words out.
*Words translated into English for ease of reading*
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Post by Crow on Jan 31, 2008 13:58:55 GMT -5
"Oh, right....they can't speak in....." He stopped to think for a while, he hadn't been in the region for a few years and he was afraid his language skill were lacking a bit, but he tried anyway. "er, can you understand me now?" He said to the thing, wondering why it was so frightened, in comparison he was pretty big, it's not like he was as big as Sabre was.....oh hell, is that bloody dragon really stupid enough to come back so soon? Well, maybe not stupid enough.....but the dragon's arrival could disrupt and complicate things, as he usually does when I do my dealings.....
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Post by Mirshaan on Jan 31, 2008 14:25:33 GMT -5
At the return of the loud voice Arden resisted the temptation to cover his ears. It was even louder this time as the beast had taken several steps closer. This time however he could understand the beasts words, which left Arden with his jaw hanging slightly in a stunned expression. He had never heard of anyone conversing with such a weird looking beast before, though it crossed the Salin's mind that the thing would need to work on its pronunciation if it desired to communicate often with him. The beasts voice seemed to match it's size, but it still did not sound overly threatening, but such things could be misleading and he kept his guard. Caution was generally considered the better course of action when dealing with the unknown, as his father had often told him.
"Yes..." He said as loud as he could. He also tried to keep his words clear, for it was well known that there were very few creatures ever discovered that possessed even half as much intelligence as a Salin.
"I do understand you now. What do you want?"
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Post by Crow on Jan 31, 2008 14:33:04 GMT -5
"To give you a warning. That bag you're carrying is dangerous, and there are others like myself after it." He said, speaking a bit more quietly at this point, realizing why the thing was a bit wierded out, "I just felt I should give a warning to whoever found it." He heard a rustling in the distance and groaned, "Hey, can you promise me something?" He said as the rustling got louder. "Don't run" The thing making the noise was almost there and the man was thinking, well....at least I was able to give the little guy his warning before Sabre frightened him off....
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Post by Mirshaan on Jan 31, 2008 17:21:04 GMT -5
Arden couldn't help but wonder what it was that approached. It sounded big, what ever it was and would soon be upon them. The tall creature however seemed to remain quite calm, and so Arden tried to do as he was told. It was curious to him why the strange creature had spoken about the bag. How could a bag be dangerous, particularly one so nice as the one he had found? Or perhaps it was the egg that it had meant. He knew that creatures hatched from eggs, he supposed as things went that he himself had once hatched from an egg of some shape or size. But surely a hatching couldn't be dangerous, and the egg was so beautiful. At any rate, if it was the bag the creature wanted, then he was willing to trade. It was only polite after all, though he couldn't see how this tall creature could have anything worth trading for.
From the edge of the woods in front of them another large beast appeared. Arden was certain that this one was the cause of all the rustling, it was most definitely big enough standing virtually twice the hight of the other creature, and there was something strangely familiar about this one. The beast before them had a long neck above four large clawed appendages, and wings. Massive wings folded neatly back behind like a bird sitting in the afternoon light. He knew exactly what this beast was. His great grandfather had described ones like it in his stories, though they had been much, much bigger as this one's head was no where near the tree tops. Perhaps this one was still young. It never crossed the young Salin's mind to think his forbearer may have been exaggerating slightly.
"Er Hello?" Arden attempted, curious as to whether this beast could also speak, after all it seemed like it was going to be a good day for strange things happening.
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Post by Crow on Jan 31, 2008 17:33:13 GMT -5
It looked at him curiously before staring at the bag. "wow, you haven't run off....interesting..." He muttered, "He can't talk by the way.... His neck was injured in a bit of a fight he was in. His name is Sabre." He walked over to the dragon and it let out a low growl, "Oh shut up...." It let off another series of low growls and roars before the man replied, "Yes yes, I realize that...." When he noticed the little things quizical look he told him, "I knew enough of his language before his voice was dammaged in the fight. I can get the basic structure of what he's saying but not much more than that." The dragon nodded and started "talking" again, and at that point the man's eyes went wide, "You want me to do what!?" It gave an enthusiastic grunt. "Ugh....nasty old lizard.....any way I could convince you to give up the egg in that bag of yours?"
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Post by Crow on Jan 31, 2008 17:38:35 GMT -5
(hey, it's twelve noon here....almost one....not my fault it's one of my more active periods)
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Post by Da Pwny on Jan 31, 2008 18:15:44 GMT -5
(well its past six here and I work nights, so I have'ta sleep during the day >.>)
"An' jus' who do ya think yew are, harassin' mah friend here?" Muldreina interred, stomping defiantly out from the undergrowth as her natural form and abruptly flying herself to the height of the human. She'd always had a nasty streak in her, but right now, it was exceptionally so, considering that one of her friends was getting henpecked out here.
Muldreina had finally decided that going into town would be the best idea, since she figured that this Valkiy- Valer- thing was another refugee, as well as another guest in her forest. That's when she happened upon the two talking; she recognized the short one, but the big guy she didn't have a clue about. And what was that huge monster that was tromping through her forest?? Oh no, she wasn't about to let this slide. Not one bit...
"And YOU!" She pointed at the large scaly one, flying over to it, "You need to watch yer step around here! I can only regrow a tree SO many times before it becomes impossable, an' ya knocked down THREE of 'em in yer rampage through MAH forest!" Her eyes glared with tiny seething anger, something uncharacteristic for her, as she was usually quite calm and bubbly. However, her forest had been tainted, and she was in no bubbly or outgoing mood.
Turning back to the human, she looked him in the eye defiantly, stating "Ya got somethin' to explain yerself for, mister? Cause if ya don't, I'll kick you and yer scaly friend outta here inna heartbeat!" And she could if she wanted to; spirits were not creatures to be laughed at or trifled with, especially an angry one...
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