Winged Knight
Still just a crazy man with a wolf on his head
- Location
- Texas
And the votes are locked! Someone tally up the score so we can see which character has been chosen.
Glory of the Emerald Empire (Legend of the 5 Rings Quest)
- Thread starter Winged Knight
- Start date
- Fantasy
GilliamYaeger
M'crazy.
7-6 in favour of gman's build, last I checked. Gman and Zechstein were even when I made my vote, but someone ought to double check that just in case.
- Location
- Third planet from the star named Sol
- Pronouns
- He/They
looks like, although Crawling Chaos voted for Zechstein 2, but I don't see why that'd be counted to Zech's first character.
Winged Knight
Still just a crazy man with a wolf on his head
- Location
- Texas
Now that I have wrapped my head around Firn's technosorcery, I have determined the winner! Praise the Blood Moon!
Wait… No. The Maho-tsukai didn't win. Whoops. Anyway, it appears Gman's build is the winner. The first post will be up in a few hours.
Vote tally:
##### 3.17
[x]Gman391
No. of votes: 7
Sightedjt, Dirtnap, leap, Ephemeral_Dreamer, Ugolino, EtchedSteel, GilliamYaeger
[x]Zechstein
No. of votes: 6
NotAlwaysFanfic, Jiven, Reklaw, Ewiglebende, AntarcticM, Hydroplatypus
[X] Zechstein 2
No. of votes: 1
CrawlingChaos74
Wait… No. The Maho-tsukai didn't win. Whoops. Anyway, it appears Gman's build is the winner. The first post will be up in a few hours.
Vote tally:
##### 3.17
[x]Gman391
No. of votes: 7
Sightedjt, Dirtnap, leap, Ephemeral_Dreamer, Ugolino, EtchedSteel, GilliamYaeger
[x]Zechstein
No. of votes: 6
NotAlwaysFanfic, Jiven, Reklaw, Ewiglebende, AntarcticM, Hydroplatypus
[X] Zechstein 2
No. of votes: 1
CrawlingChaos74
Last edited:
Gempukku - 1.1
Winged Knight
Still just a crazy man with a wolf on his head
- Location
- Texas
You are Hiruma Sosuke, and your life is one of duty and self-sacrifice.
You know this to be true. It's what you've been told ever since you were born, what you've lived every day so close to the Shadowlands. The Realm of Evil touches everything, even beyond the Great Carpenter Wall. It would consume everything, Taint everything and destroy all that is good and pure. And it would, save that you and your people are there.
You are one of the Crab Clan, and it is the strength of your Clan that protects Rokugan from all the forces of Hell itself. Jigoku thirsts for the blood of the innocent, and you must stand to bar its way. Only the Crab can do this. Only the Crab are strong enough. That is why Hantei, the first Emperor, gave this task to Hida, your Clan's founder. No one else in Rokugan can shoulder this burden. They would be crushed under its weight.
But you've never truly appreciated it until this moment.
You stand before the gates of Shiro Hiruma, your Family's ancestral lands. The land before the castle is dead, barren. Such has always been the case, for to cleanse the Taint from your lands all vitality was stricken from it. Nothing will ever grow here, and even if it could it would only be corrupted. But it is your land, reclaimed after so long from what the Great Oni, the Maw, had done to it. It will never be taken from your family again.
Your Mother and Father stand beside you, along with your Sensei, gazing out into the depths of the wasteland and into the evil that lies beyond. You can feel that vileness, that corrosion deep within your soul. It hungers for you, for everything you've ever loved. It would take all you hold sacred and blacken it to better reflect its filth. You are not a coward, but your bones shudder at the thought of it, and you grip the finger of Jade around your neck for comfort.
"It is time, my son," your mother says. You look at her, and see no emotion in her face. She's normally quite expressive, alarmingly so for a Samurai, but there is none of that now. "Your Gempukku is upon you."
"You are strong, Sosuke," your father says. You turn to him. His expression is just as stoic as your mother's. You're just a tall a he is, though you're not even sixteen years old. "And it is because you are strong that you will succeed and come back to us."
"The other clans have their own rituals for Gempukku," your Sensei, a mountain of a man, says. "Some create art, or memorize the deeds of their ancestors such that they know the past by heart." He grins. "But we are the Crab, and we have more practical traditions."
"You have been trained in the Hida School because you have shown aptitude for it," your mother says. "And for the Hida, to complete your Gempukku you must go out into the Shadowlands and kill one of the enemy. Bring back its head, and you will be considered an adult."
"But you are also of the Hiruma," your father says. "And it is our way to scout, to attack from the flanks and from the rear. For us, familiarity with these blighted lands is of the utmost importance. You would be given a week's worth of food and water, with Jade to protect them, and make your way to the village of Shinsei's Last Hope alone. If you make it there alive, you will be considered an adult."
"We decided that you should be given a choice," your Sensei says. "Do either of these tasks, and your Gempukku is complete."
"We turn our backs on you now," your mother says, turning away. Your father and Sensei do likewise. "For you are past childhood, but not yet a man. You are somewhere between, and must find your own way. No longer can family or teachers guide you. This path is yours and yours alone."
"Come back victorious, or do not come back at all," your father says. "For against the enemy defeat cannot be afforded. We are the Wall, my son. And the Wall must remain strong lest the Empire perish."
"May the Heavens watch over you," your Sensei says. "And the Fortune Bishamon guide your hand."
And with that, they step back inside the castle. The gates close with a quiet boom, and you can hear the heavy locks and bars being set into place. The wind blows by, bringing a faint scent of rot. You look back toward the Shadowlands.
And you know that now, more than ever before in your short life, you are alone.
It's time to become a man.
[] Find a native of this damned place and kill it.
[] Make your way to Shinsei's Last Hope.
[] Write in
You know this to be true. It's what you've been told ever since you were born, what you've lived every day so close to the Shadowlands. The Realm of Evil touches everything, even beyond the Great Carpenter Wall. It would consume everything, Taint everything and destroy all that is good and pure. And it would, save that you and your people are there.
You are one of the Crab Clan, and it is the strength of your Clan that protects Rokugan from all the forces of Hell itself. Jigoku thirsts for the blood of the innocent, and you must stand to bar its way. Only the Crab can do this. Only the Crab are strong enough. That is why Hantei, the first Emperor, gave this task to Hida, your Clan's founder. No one else in Rokugan can shoulder this burden. They would be crushed under its weight.
But you've never truly appreciated it until this moment.
You stand before the gates of Shiro Hiruma, your Family's ancestral lands. The land before the castle is dead, barren. Such has always been the case, for to cleanse the Taint from your lands all vitality was stricken from it. Nothing will ever grow here, and even if it could it would only be corrupted. But it is your land, reclaimed after so long from what the Great Oni, the Maw, had done to it. It will never be taken from your family again.
Your Mother and Father stand beside you, along with your Sensei, gazing out into the depths of the wasteland and into the evil that lies beyond. You can feel that vileness, that corrosion deep within your soul. It hungers for you, for everything you've ever loved. It would take all you hold sacred and blacken it to better reflect its filth. You are not a coward, but your bones shudder at the thought of it, and you grip the finger of Jade around your neck for comfort.
"It is time, my son," your mother says. You look at her, and see no emotion in her face. She's normally quite expressive, alarmingly so for a Samurai, but there is none of that now. "Your Gempukku is upon you."
"You are strong, Sosuke," your father says. You turn to him. His expression is just as stoic as your mother's. You're just a tall a he is, though you're not even sixteen years old. "And it is because you are strong that you will succeed and come back to us."
"The other clans have their own rituals for Gempukku," your Sensei, a mountain of a man, says. "Some create art, or memorize the deeds of their ancestors such that they know the past by heart." He grins. "But we are the Crab, and we have more practical traditions."
"You have been trained in the Hida School because you have shown aptitude for it," your mother says. "And for the Hida, to complete your Gempukku you must go out into the Shadowlands and kill one of the enemy. Bring back its head, and you will be considered an adult."
"But you are also of the Hiruma," your father says. "And it is our way to scout, to attack from the flanks and from the rear. For us, familiarity with these blighted lands is of the utmost importance. You would be given a week's worth of food and water, with Jade to protect them, and make your way to the village of Shinsei's Last Hope alone. If you make it there alive, you will be considered an adult."
"We decided that you should be given a choice," your Sensei says. "Do either of these tasks, and your Gempukku is complete."
"We turn our backs on you now," your mother says, turning away. Your father and Sensei do likewise. "For you are past childhood, but not yet a man. You are somewhere between, and must find your own way. No longer can family or teachers guide you. This path is yours and yours alone."
"Come back victorious, or do not come back at all," your father says. "For against the enemy defeat cannot be afforded. We are the Wall, my son. And the Wall must remain strong lest the Empire perish."
"May the Heavens watch over you," your Sensei says. "And the Fortune Bishamon guide your hand."
And with that, they step back inside the castle. The gates close with a quiet boom, and you can hear the heavy locks and bars being set into place. The wind blows by, bringing a faint scent of rot. You look back toward the Shadowlands.
And you know that now, more than ever before in your short life, you are alone.
It's time to become a man.
[] Find a native of this damned place and kill it.
[] Make your way to Shinsei's Last Hope.
[] Write in
Last edited:
- Location
- Canada
Out of curiosity, would doing both tasks impress people? Move most of the way to the village, and kill something near there, bringing its head with us? Or would that just come off as arrogant?
[X] Make your way to Shinsei's Last Hope.
On an unrelated note, I've never understood how Crablings sometimes mistake nezumi for goblins, ogres, and Fu Leng knows what else. It can't be that difficult to beat "This rat is your friend; he fights for freedom" into their heads.
On an unrelated note, I've never understood how Crablings sometimes mistake nezumi for goblins, ogres, and Fu Leng knows what else. It can't be that difficult to beat "This rat is your friend; he fights for freedom" into their heads.
Last edited:
I'm curious about this too.
What happens if we make our way to this place, while looking for/hoping for something to jump out and for us to kill it?
1.2
Winged Knight
Still just a crazy man with a wolf on his head
- Location
- Texas
If something jumps you and you kill it, all you need to do is take its head back. You can certainly do both, and frankly your initiative would be applauded.
[X] Make your way to Shinsei's Last Hope.
You shake off your unease and growl. You are a Crab Clan Samurai! You aren't going to let the mere presence of the Shadowlands defeat you before you've even truly ventured out.
You set forth at once to the South, heading for Shinsei's Last Hope. You've never been there, but you've seen it on several maps. It's about a day's ride from Shiro Hiruma, which means about four days of walking. You figure it will be hard to miss, considering its location near the shores of Umi Yakamo. There's really nothing else around in the area beside the village itself.
As you step past the barren soil of the Hiruma and into the Shadowlands proper, you can appreciate why such a seemingly simple task would be given for a Gempukku. That rotten smell that was underlying everything has come to the fore with devastating force, and you only just keep yourself from covering your nose at the foulness of it. The reek is like spoiled blood and rotten flesh, and other things you can't identify.
Dark clouds move to cover the sky, blocking much of the sun's light and covering the land in gloom. You can still see clearly, but the day could easily be mistaken for late afternoon instead of early morning. Those clouds moved in faster than you would have thought possible, and you can't help a faint feeling of claustrophobia even with the wide-open space around you. The contradiction makes you slightly nauseated, but you grit your teeth and keep on walking. Soon enough, your queasiness fades.
The feeling of claustrophobia, however, remains.
There are things growing out here past your family's lands, for a certain definition of growing. There are little bushes trying vainly to get some nutrients from the rocky ground, but their vines are covered in far more thorns than leaves. Scraggly, bleached white trees shoot up toward the sky, the leafless branches looking like so much bone. They look as if they should break apart with the gentlest wind, but tapping one with your tetsubo reveals them to be surprisingly solid. The trees shudder from your presence, their branches twitching like they desire to snatch you up, and you quickly get back on your way.
Sometimes, near small streams whose water looked red as blood, these trees would have faces on them. You give these trees a wide berth. Best not come close to test whatever those things are.
Four days alone in the Shadowlands, with no one to rely on but yourself. It is a harsh journey, even if it is only toward a place so relatively close. But as you steadily make your way toward your destination, you can understand why it is necessary. The rest of Rokugan may avoid the topic of the Shadowlands and consider it rude to speak of, but the Crab do not have that luxury. You must know this place, endure its torments, or you cannot do your duty.
Death would be preferable to such dishonor.
Eventually the sun begins to dip past the horizon, and what light you had begins to fade away. You can still walk as of yet, but perhaps it would be a good idea to stop for the day?
[] Find a defensible position and stop for the night.
[] Keep going.
[] Write in.
[X] Make your way to Shinsei's Last Hope.
You shake off your unease and growl. You are a Crab Clan Samurai! You aren't going to let the mere presence of the Shadowlands defeat you before you've even truly ventured out.
You set forth at once to the South, heading for Shinsei's Last Hope. You've never been there, but you've seen it on several maps. It's about a day's ride from Shiro Hiruma, which means about four days of walking. You figure it will be hard to miss, considering its location near the shores of Umi Yakamo. There's really nothing else around in the area beside the village itself.
As you step past the barren soil of the Hiruma and into the Shadowlands proper, you can appreciate why such a seemingly simple task would be given for a Gempukku. That rotten smell that was underlying everything has come to the fore with devastating force, and you only just keep yourself from covering your nose at the foulness of it. The reek is like spoiled blood and rotten flesh, and other things you can't identify.
Dark clouds move to cover the sky, blocking much of the sun's light and covering the land in gloom. You can still see clearly, but the day could easily be mistaken for late afternoon instead of early morning. Those clouds moved in faster than you would have thought possible, and you can't help a faint feeling of claustrophobia even with the wide-open space around you. The contradiction makes you slightly nauseated, but you grit your teeth and keep on walking. Soon enough, your queasiness fades.
The feeling of claustrophobia, however, remains.
There are things growing out here past your family's lands, for a certain definition of growing. There are little bushes trying vainly to get some nutrients from the rocky ground, but their vines are covered in far more thorns than leaves. Scraggly, bleached white trees shoot up toward the sky, the leafless branches looking like so much bone. They look as if they should break apart with the gentlest wind, but tapping one with your tetsubo reveals them to be surprisingly solid. The trees shudder from your presence, their branches twitching like they desire to snatch you up, and you quickly get back on your way.
Sometimes, near small streams whose water looked red as blood, these trees would have faces on them. You give these trees a wide berth. Best not come close to test whatever those things are.
Four days alone in the Shadowlands, with no one to rely on but yourself. It is a harsh journey, even if it is only toward a place so relatively close. But as you steadily make your way toward your destination, you can understand why it is necessary. The rest of Rokugan may avoid the topic of the Shadowlands and consider it rude to speak of, but the Crab do not have that luxury. You must know this place, endure its torments, or you cannot do your duty.
Death would be preferable to such dishonor.
Eventually the sun begins to dip past the horizon, and what light you had begins to fade away. You can still walk as of yet, but perhaps it would be a good idea to stop for the day?
[] Find a defensible position and stop for the night.
[] Keep going.
[] Write in.
Last edited:
[X] Find a defensible position and stop for the night.
- Location
- Third planet from the star named Sol
- Pronouns
- He/They
[X] Find a defensible position and stop for the night.
[X] Find a defensible position and stop for the night.
We can't stay awake for four days, which means we will need to rest, and walking around in the Shadowlands after dark is a profusely stupid idea.
[X] Find a defensible position and stop for the night.
One nitpick, though: The village of Shinsei's Last Hope doesn't border on Earthquake Fish Bay, but on the wider sea of Amaterasu. The mouth of Earthquake Fish Bay marks the southernmost end of the Kaiu Wall.
[X] Find a defensible position and stop for the night.
One nitpick, though: The village of Shinsei's Last Hope doesn't border on Earthquake Fish Bay, but on the wider sea of Amaterasu. The mouth of Earthquake Fish Bay marks the southernmost end of the Kaiu Wall.
- Location
- Canada
[X] Find a defensible position and stop for the night.
Winged Knight
Still just a crazy man with a wolf on his head
- Location
- Texas
Whoops. Apparently I can't read a map properly. Fixing.
Last edited: