⊰• BEYOND THE MOUNTAINS •⊱ A Fantasy/Adventure RP

[LoveThatChick]

will be followed and that I have read and understood the Role Play Rules that are in a sticky at the top of the Games forum.

B) I promise that all content is to be rated G and suitable for all ages.
C) I promise that there will be no swearing, cursing (including censoring by using symbols) or inappropriate adult sexual activity or innuendo. This extends to mating, breeding or innuendo in non-human characters as well.
D) I promise to treat others with respect and kindness as is the BYC way.
E) I promise not to post any material that is a violation of copyright. Basically this means: if you didn't create the content (like an image / picture) and don't have direct permission from the content creator to post it, then don't.

The story has a roughly medieval feel, and we'll make it up as we go along. It begins in a fictional village named Enden, in the Lowlands, by the base of the mountains that separate two regions that couldn't be more different.

The Lowlands are made up of green rolling hills and forests, with rivers running throughout it, all coming from the mountains to the north. It is a land without magic, where humans live alongside animals, and there is little war. But they are unaware of the dangers that lay on the other side of the mountains.

On the other side of the mountains, the Highlands are a land of ancient forests, marshes, lakes, rushing rivers, waterfalls, rocky hills, deep valleys, and snow covered peaks, that is prone to violent storms. It is a land of magic, where humans fight fantastical creatures, beings and spirits for control; the ruling kingdoms always at war, very aware of the plentiful Lowlands to the south.


⊰• The Rules •⊱

• All BYC rules apply.
• There are no character sheets. Once you have PMed me and have been accepted, simply read the story thus far and describe the basics of your character in your post. Not every detail of your PC needs to be worked out up front. If you'd like some help with ideas on how to work a character into the story, feel free to PM me!
• Do not play other peoples' characters without their permission, and run it by me.
• No vampires, werewolves, fairies, unicorns or the like. Characters will encounter fantastical creatures along their journey, but these should not be PCs.
• Elves, dwarves, and some types of Shapeshifter are aloud, but they are rare and only in the Highlands.
• No magic or magical characters in the Lowlands without my consent.
• No perfect characters, everyone has faults, and so should they.
• If a situation arises that may involve a PC death or injury, please be considerate and PM the player of that character to work it out.
• You may introduce multiple characters, just keep track of them.
• Please use correct spelling and decent grammar.

• Don't make a habit of one-liners! Not every post needs to be the length of a novel. But posts like "Sally watched" really don't help contribute to the story.
• Feel free to contribute details to the world.

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

It was raining, hard. A cold, miserable, and windy day in Enden, a lowland town near the base of the highland mountains. The muddy streets were deserted, not even a stray cat dared to venture out into the nearly horizontal downpour. A man's head appeared for a moment from behind a curtain hanging in a lit window in a house at the end of the street. His brow furrowed as he bit his lower lip, unable to see across the street to his neighbor's residence.

"Looks like a doozy eh' Argo?"

A hushed whine was the only reply, and it came from a large black dog pacing anxiously near the door.

The man coughed and spat on the floor while reaching into his pocket for a cigar, which he lit in a candle flame. "Ole man winter ain't givin' up that easy..." He said, referring to the season. Spring often brought torrential rain for the lowlands, which was largely believed to be the backlash of winter as the snow was forced to melt into water. "That river'll be swollen tomorrow."

 

[LoveThatChick]

Lightning streaked across the sky on the other side of the mountains from the lowland town of Enden, and thunder drowned out the sounds of the battle raging in the highlands. The rain hammered on the backs of the reinforcement soldiers as they marched swiftly from the high, gray walls of the city of Gaoithe, and the thick mud caked their feet and splashed up to meet them.

Faolan was near the back of the unit of thirty or so men, and to his left, he could just make out the forms of Randel, Bogdan, Elis, Sture, and Dalibor though the rain, he didn't know them well, but they had been trained in the same group as he, and they were well known for their brutish, and pack like fighting. He could even hear their war cries already, and he shuddered, they wanted to fight, but didn't care who they were fighting.

The reinforcement reached the rear of the battle, Faolan's blond hair plastered to his head with mud and rain, spear held tight in hand as he followed his comrades towards the front line. His heart was racing, wars cries and wails filling the air with hate and fear. The opposing army was gaining ground, and Faolan's youthful features paled as the front of his unit reached the back of the front line, bodies hitting bodies as they forced their way through to the front.

Faolan was jostled as the men in front of him met the enemy with sword, spear and shield and the men behind him surged forward to join the fray. He gripped the spear firmly, trying to prepare himself for what he knew was soon to come, when the man in front of him was slain, falling to the ground as Faolan's hazel eyes met the brilliant silver eyes of the man who had killed him. Faolan's first instinct was to run, but there was nowhere to run, so he had to fight, and surged with forward with the rest of them, a cry of hate arising from the lines as thunder boomed overhead.

The battle and the storm raged on through the day and into the twilight, the opposing army forcing the other to retreat towards the swollen river, none as Maith, that wound through the mountains.

Faolan had gained a large round shield, but had lost his spear in the fray and blood trickled down his right arm from a large gash he had received when confronting the silver eyed worrier, who had received no such injuries in return. Faolan tripped, exhausted as he raised his shield to block an ax aimed for his head, and the blade of the ax stuck in the shield, splinters of wood flying as he fell to the ground, the raging river only a few feet away.

The shield was ripped from Faolan's hands as the axman tried to pull his battle out of it, then kicked the remains of the shield off it before advancing on the blond youth. Faolan scrambled away, reaching the rivers edge and releasing, with a heavy heart, that he wasn't going to make it out of this battle alive. Then, a kick from the axman struck Faolan's stomach, sending all the air from his lungs. He gasped, then another kick came, this one in the side of his face, sending him into the roaring river.

Faolan went under, dragged down stream with speed by the strong current. He left as if his lungs would burst from lack of air, then his head broke the surface and he choked in air, struggling to stay above water as bodies of the fallen and storm debris floated all around.

Faolan just able to grab hold of a log as he was dragged downstream, holding onto it as if holding to life itself. Slowly, the sounds of battle faded as the river began its winding course through the mountains, and as the rain continued to fall, exhaustion took Faolan, and he fell unconscious, still clinging to the log as bodies caught on jagged rocks.

Through the night, all the bodies of the fallen would be fished out of the water by the Kerlots, a hairless, bear like creature that live by the mountain rivers, feeding on the slain that floated down the rivers from the battles that almost constantly raged in the highlands. But Faolan just made it passed, floating by the Kerlots as they feasted, and made it out of the mountains by early morning.

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

Shortly after commenting on the rain, the little house fell dark as the man and his dog retired for the night. It wasn't until first light that they reappeared, this time outside heading down the street towards the forest. The man worked there as a logger, using the river as transportation for the massive trees. Suddenly, without warning, the big black dog Argo began barking loudly and tore off into the trees, heading towards the waters edge.

"Argo! Where the blazes do you think you're going?" He stopped and called after the dog, beginning to tread after the crazy animal when it became clear that the dog wasn't listening.

Sensing the presence of something unfamiliar, Argo had caught the blood scent that remained on Faolan even despite being washed in the river. Barking like mad, he emerged from the trees and began pacing alongside the bank as the strange man floated by.

 

[LoveThatChick]

The dog's barks, although sounding distant and indistinct, began to rouse Faolan, and his eyelids fluttered, and opened just a crack. He floated there for a moment, his mind sluggish, but slowly coming around, telling him that he needed to get out of the water. He tried to move, to kick his way to the bank, but his muscles protested, cramped and aching, so he stopped trying.

With a pained, gasping cry, Faolan managed to turn his head just enough so that he could see the trees, and the dog. The site of the large black beast so close made him jurk away, dislodging his injured right arm from the log, which was near enough the bank to catch on roots and rocks there. In Faolan's mind, that meant his death by the black dog, or by the black dogs master, who could be a troll or the like. He had no idea where he was, and would never guess that he ended up in the lowlands, where there were no trolls, nor any type of magical beasts and things.

The log caught on some tree that had fallen, and now lay halfway in the water. Faolan groaned, he was sure to die now, of course, he was also sure to die if he just kept floating down stream, but at least he wouldn't be maled by a dog that way. And here comes the beast's master... He thought dejectedly as he heard something else approaching through the woods.

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

Unfazed by the water, Argo splashed into the shallows and approached Faolan with the fur around his neck raised suspiciously. He stopped about five feet away from Faolan and whined for the man, tail wagging.

"Argo, you bloody beast!" The man shouted as he emerged from the trees, slapping branches away from his face. "What were you--" He finally noticed Faolan and stopped shouting abruptly.

Upon seeing the man Argo ran out of the water and met him on the bank, going quiet but still obviously agitated.

"Hey! Hey you, you in the water!" The man grabbed a long stick and reached out to poke Faolan in the shoulder, not sure if the strange fellow was dead or alive.

 

[LoveThatChick]

Faolan felt the water ripple as the dog splashed into, then out of the river, and felt the poke on his shoulder, trying not to move.

His hearing was still out of sorts, so the mans words sounded slurred and grunted, not at all human. Oh, this is surly a troll... He though, his muddled mind telling him that the poke came from the long, carved claw of the foul creature. Not in fact, from a long stick, wielded by a man who was trying to tell if he was dead or alive.

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

The man poked him a couple more times, each one getting harder than the last. When Faolan still refused to move the man assumed he was dead and grumbled about getting wet before splashing in to grab the back of Faolan's collar. He didn't want a rotting body to spoil the water, as it was not only a source of drinking water for multiple towns downstream, but a method of transportation as well.

As he was grasping the back of Faolan's collar to pull him back out of the water, a female voice called the name "Hannes!". The sound game from a younger girl who was walking towards the trio from the forest. "Hannes! What's going on? Who is that?"

"No idea." The man, named Hannes, grumbled. "Argo found him here."

 

[LoveThatChick]

Faolan groaned inwardly as he felt the tug on the back of his shirt, but then he heard the higher pitched, second voice, and his mind raced. Trolls, even female ones, had deep voices, that wasn't a troll... As the second voice continued, Faolan's ears suddenly popped, his hearing coming back loud and clear, and he knew instantly that the voices were human.

Faolan opened his dry mouth slightly, and tried to speak, but all that came out was a low, weak moan.

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

The noise of the splashing water drowned out the moaning sound as Hannes hauled the soaking man out of the river and onto the grassy bank. Now that Hannes had acknowledged Faolan, Argo seemed more curious than upset about the whole situation. He sniffed the back of Faolan's head dripping some dog drool into his hair while the girl got closer.

"Hannes..." She sounded excited. "I don't think he's dead, look! I can see him breathing!"

"Huh?" Hannes didn't sound relieved, just gruff. "Yeah... guess you're right. Sure looks dead though."

"You," the girl peered down at Faolan. "Can you hear me? What's your name?"