So, you might be thinking that it's strange I'm not updating my College of Jewels quest and am...
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Who will you be?
Lexica
Persevere
- Pronouns
- She/Her
So, you might be thinking that it's strange I'm not updating my College of Jewels quest and am starting something new instead. The reason is basically that we've hit a point where there's a bit of a heavy load for me in terms of getting the next update out and with school starting up again for me, I just don't have the time. I do enjoy writing however, so I wanted to start something with very minimal load that I can update while I wait for my schedule to clear out a bit.
The Ashes of Victory
The rebellion was victorious. The Evil Queen was cast down by a band of brave heroes, her schemes for dominion foiled by the daring and bravery of men and women willing to risk their lives to fight for what they knew was right. But in the doing, all but one of the heroes was slain, and the army they led is left splintered and battered with no clear leader. The Queen's schemes may have been foiled, but who knows what dark things may yet lurk in her tainted capital, and with the country shattered by the fires of revolution, who knows what the circling vultures may yet do.
Will these ashes fertilize the soil or choke what life yet remains? The fates of many hang in the balance.
The rebellion was victorious. The Evil Queen was cast down by a band of brave heroes, her schemes for dominion foiled by the daring and bravery of men and women willing to risk their lives to fight for what they knew was right. But in the doing, all but one of the heroes was slain, and the army they led is left splintered and battered with no clear leader. The Queen's schemes may have been foiled, but who knows what dark things may yet lurk in her tainted capital, and with the country shattered by the fires of revolution, who knows what the circling vultures may yet do.
Will these ashes fertilize the soil or choke what life yet remains? The fates of many hang in the balance.
[] The Silver Paladin - It's a cruel irony that you were the one to survive. You were always the first to run into danger- not like Sasha with her careful planning and tricky spellwork. You were always the the one throwing yourself headlong into the enemy- not like Tam with his longbow who could turn the outcome of a battle from three hundred yards away. You're skill with the blade could only be called above average- not like Alvar, with his peerless, flawless technique. Still, if you live, it is because there is still yet good left for you to do in this world. Only, it seems the Queen's self destruction was not complete. She yet lingers, little more than a husk with no memory of who she was. She is helpless and, though it rankles, it is ever the duty of a paladin to safeguard the helpless. And she may yet do good if what fragments of her memory remain lead you to the places of evil she created that still fester.
[] Ash - You are... The thought trails, half a sentence that had somehow become the whole. The paladin tells you your name was Bridgette. You suppose you believe her. You have little reason to doubt her and even less to care if she is lying. Whatever you were before was burnt on the pyre of ambition and hatred. You can feel it inside you still, that fire of rage and spite that scorched the world. You can see what it did, the city covered in the ash of a palace now less than a ruin, in the blackened stones you walk upon. You wonder why you chose to burn it all away like that. You wonder what would drive a person to sacrifice themselves so totally in the name of spite. You wonder if you should burn what little of yourself is left and take the paladin by surprise, carried on only by the echoes of rage. You wonder a lot of things. Ultimately, you follow quietly. That was the place of ash after all. It didn't do much. But maybe a passing wind would stoke that fire once again.
[] Ash - You are... The thought trails, half a sentence that had somehow become the whole. The paladin tells you your name was Bridgette. You suppose you believe her. You have little reason to doubt her and even less to care if she is lying. Whatever you were before was burnt on the pyre of ambition and hatred. You can feel it inside you still, that fire of rage and spite that scorched the world. You can see what it did, the city covered in the ash of a palace now less than a ruin, in the blackened stones you walk upon. You wonder why you chose to burn it all away like that. You wonder what would drive a person to sacrifice themselves so totally in the name of spite. You wonder if you should burn what little of yourself is left and take the paladin by surprise, carried on only by the echoes of rage. You wonder a lot of things. Ultimately, you follow quietly. That was the place of ash after all. It didn't do much. But maybe a passing wind would stoke that fire once again.
I like to think that I've learned my lesson about adding a million character creation options. Doing too many just leads to a bunch of orphaned plot hooks when only one is chosen. Here, the two options start in roughly the same narrative location, and I have a clear idea of where things will go.
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Fragment of memory 1
Lexica
Persevere
- Pronouns
- She/Her
She was more monster than woman now. Skin had flaked off like ash long ago and underneath was only a blackened mass, like burnt wood or charred stone, radiating immense heat but not a speck of light. Her hands had twisted themselves into wicked claws, talons sharp as swords. Her face was a twisted ruin, hardly distinguishable from the rest of her body except for the glittering eyes and the mouth that had long been reduced to vicious, senseless howls of rage. Sasha and Tam lay on their backs beside her, gutted and charred by flame respectively. She called upon the gods, and they answered her prayer with healing. Slowly though, too slowly. She was never good enough at channeling this power, never fast enough.
Alvar had goaded the monster away to buy her time, but obviously it still had enough intelligence left to recognize his taunts and distractions for what they were. He stood between the monster and the three of them now, stalwart and calm, stance unwavering. The monster's glittering eyes regarded them for a moment, before it suddenly howled and burst upwards another three feet in size, claws growing to become more spears than swords, and eyes losing just a bit more luster as the heat pouring off it intensified.
It charged, and it was all she could do to watch and try to channel the power just a little bit faster, a little bit better. Alvar stood defiant, thin blade held out before him in challenge, glittering with the faint light of Sasha's lingering enchantment. The monster reached him, and common sense demanded that he be bowled over like so much nothing. But he stepped, and swung his sword, and it was the monster that moved. It fell to all fours and tried to bound past him with feral grace and speed, but there he was again in it's way sword flashing. The monster reared back and moved to swat him aside with its claws, but the sword moved seemingly of its own accord, and they were swept aside effortlessly.
That was only the beginning. Her eyes could barely follow what happened. It was a blur of monstrous howling and flashing steel that seemed to last for minutes. Flawless skill stood against impossible strength and perfect grace fought searing heat. For a moment, it seemed to her that Alvar might actually defeat it as he stood his ground and forced the monster back. Then it screeched, the sound all too human, and it was over. The monster stood impaled through where a human's heart would have been. Alvar stood likewise, claws like spears jutting out his back. He made no sound. The monster kept screeching.
Finally, after an eternity it pulled itself back, off the sword. It screeched all the while. Alvar collapsed. The monster charged again, now unimpeded.
-Fragment of Memory 1
Alvar had goaded the monster away to buy her time, but obviously it still had enough intelligence left to recognize his taunts and distractions for what they were. He stood between the monster and the three of them now, stalwart and calm, stance unwavering. The monster's glittering eyes regarded them for a moment, before it suddenly howled and burst upwards another three feet in size, claws growing to become more spears than swords, and eyes losing just a bit more luster as the heat pouring off it intensified.
It charged, and it was all she could do to watch and try to channel the power just a little bit faster, a little bit better. Alvar stood defiant, thin blade held out before him in challenge, glittering with the faint light of Sasha's lingering enchantment. The monster reached him, and common sense demanded that he be bowled over like so much nothing. But he stepped, and swung his sword, and it was the monster that moved. It fell to all fours and tried to bound past him with feral grace and speed, but there he was again in it's way sword flashing. The monster reared back and moved to swat him aside with its claws, but the sword moved seemingly of its own accord, and they were swept aside effortlessly.
That was only the beginning. Her eyes could barely follow what happened. It was a blur of monstrous howling and flashing steel that seemed to last for minutes. Flawless skill stood against impossible strength and perfect grace fought searing heat. For a moment, it seemed to her that Alvar might actually defeat it as he stood his ground and forced the monster back. Then it screeched, the sound all too human, and it was over. The monster stood impaled through where a human's heart would have been. Alvar stood likewise, claws like spears jutting out his back. He made no sound. The monster kept screeching.
Finally, after an eternity it pulled itself back, off the sword. It screeched all the while. Alvar collapsed. The monster charged again, now unimpeded.
-Fragment of Memory 1
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Numbness
Lexica
Persevere
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[X] Ash
You feel numb. Like all the feeling had been drained out of your body. Your head felt like it had been wrapped in a quilt and your vision; you blinked, was all fuzzy. You blinked again, but still no better. Idly, you started to move a hand up from your side to rub at your eyes.
"Don't move."
Slowly, your vision focused on what had to be the point of a sword now thrust in front of your face. You blinked, and then tilted your head upwards. Ah. You seemed to be kneeling going by the woman with blonde hair and silver armor standing above her. The woman's expression was set with a terrible determination. You turned your head to the side, heedless of the woman and the sword. Your vision was less fuzzy than you had thought it seemed. You had been fooled by the thick coat of ash that covered everything around the two of you. It was like being in a blizzard with snow already piled up two feet.
"Do you surrender?"
The woman was speaking again. At you? She must be. You supposed you should say something. That seemed reasonable.
"Ah, I'm sorry, but I seem to be a bit confused. Do you know where we are? I think I'm lost."
It was the woman above hers' turn to blink it seemed. You couldn't help but giggle a little at the confused expression on her face, before feeling embarrassed at your own rudeness.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I shouldn't be laughing. It's just, heh, the expression you're making right now strikes me as a bit silly. I'm terribly sorry for how rude I'm being."
This only seemed to make the woman above her even more confused, as she opened her mouth as if to say something before closing it again. Finally, she lowered her sword, with a strange expression on her face before muttering something to herself.
"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that?"
"I said, 'You're telling the truth.'"
The woman opened her mouth to speak more before hesitating, then seemed to push past whatever doubts she had and spoke regardless.
"What in the world did you do to yourself Bridgette?"
Bridgette… That had to be a name. Had to be your name if the woman was addressing you by it. So. Bridgette was 'you' then. You are Bridgette. How strange that you didn't know your own name a moment ago. You're startled from your reverie by the woman waving a gauntleted hand in front of your face.
"Oh, my apologies again. I was just startled by the fact that I didn't notice I couldn't remember my own name until just a second ago. That's strange, isn't it?"
You turned the statement into a question. Truthfully, you weren't sure if it was strange or not. Maybe people did go around forgetting their own names all the time. Before you can think more, the woman interrupts me once again, her voice carrying a strange pressure with it this time.
"You truly remember nothing?"
"Nothing from before a few seconds ago, no."
The words come out almost before you think them, like something in the woman's voice compelled you to answer. She frowns deeply at your response, before speaking abruptly.
"Follow me, we need to go somewhere safe."
[] Obey. You suppose that you have nothing better to do. (+2 Silver Paladin relationship. No penalty to Fuel. Ash cannot become less than it is.)
[] Demand answers, but follow. (+1 Silver Paladin relationship. +1 Fuel.)
[] Demand answers, refuse to follow. (-2 Silver Paladin relationship. +5 Fuel)
[] Write-in. (I'll assign how it effects your relationship with the Silver Paladin and how much Fuel it gets you. More extreme responses means more fuel.)
Edit: Okay, what the fuck SV, way to just randomly not post a few hundred words on mechanics for some reason. I'll write them up again later I guess.
Super fast cliff notes, main mechanic for your character is 'Fuel' which is their personality, emotions, skills, memories, ect. You'll be given the option to spend some of it when it's relevant, giving you lots of temporary power at the cost of losing what you burn.
You feel numb. Like all the feeling had been drained out of your body. Your head felt like it had been wrapped in a quilt and your vision; you blinked, was all fuzzy. You blinked again, but still no better. Idly, you started to move a hand up from your side to rub at your eyes.
"Don't move."
Slowly, your vision focused on what had to be the point of a sword now thrust in front of your face. You blinked, and then tilted your head upwards. Ah. You seemed to be kneeling going by the woman with blonde hair and silver armor standing above her. The woman's expression was set with a terrible determination. You turned your head to the side, heedless of the woman and the sword. Your vision was less fuzzy than you had thought it seemed. You had been fooled by the thick coat of ash that covered everything around the two of you. It was like being in a blizzard with snow already piled up two feet.
"Do you surrender?"
The woman was speaking again. At you? She must be. You supposed you should say something. That seemed reasonable.
"Ah, I'm sorry, but I seem to be a bit confused. Do you know where we are? I think I'm lost."
It was the woman above hers' turn to blink it seemed. You couldn't help but giggle a little at the confused expression on her face, before feeling embarrassed at your own rudeness.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I shouldn't be laughing. It's just, heh, the expression you're making right now strikes me as a bit silly. I'm terribly sorry for how rude I'm being."
This only seemed to make the woman above her even more confused, as she opened her mouth as if to say something before closing it again. Finally, she lowered her sword, with a strange expression on her face before muttering something to herself.
"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that?"
"I said, 'You're telling the truth.'"
The woman opened her mouth to speak more before hesitating, then seemed to push past whatever doubts she had and spoke regardless.
"What in the world did you do to yourself Bridgette?"
Bridgette… That had to be a name. Had to be your name if the woman was addressing you by it. So. Bridgette was 'you' then. You are Bridgette. How strange that you didn't know your own name a moment ago. You're startled from your reverie by the woman waving a gauntleted hand in front of your face.
"Oh, my apologies again. I was just startled by the fact that I didn't notice I couldn't remember my own name until just a second ago. That's strange, isn't it?"
You turned the statement into a question. Truthfully, you weren't sure if it was strange or not. Maybe people did go around forgetting their own names all the time. Before you can think more, the woman interrupts me once again, her voice carrying a strange pressure with it this time.
"You truly remember nothing?"
"Nothing from before a few seconds ago, no."
The words come out almost before you think them, like something in the woman's voice compelled you to answer. She frowns deeply at your response, before speaking abruptly.
"Follow me, we need to go somewhere safe."
[] Obey. You suppose that you have nothing better to do. (+2 Silver Paladin relationship. No penalty to Fuel. Ash cannot become less than it is.)
[] Demand answers, but follow. (+1 Silver Paladin relationship. +1 Fuel.)
[] Demand answers, refuse to follow. (-2 Silver Paladin relationship. +5 Fuel)
[] Write-in. (I'll assign how it effects your relationship with the Silver Paladin and how much Fuel it gets you. More extreme responses means more fuel.)
Edit: Okay, what the fuck SV, way to just randomly not post a few hundred words on mechanics for some reason. I'll write them up again later I guess.
Super fast cliff notes, main mechanic for your character is 'Fuel' which is their personality, emotions, skills, memories, ect. You'll be given the option to spend some of it when it's relevant, giving you lots of temporary power at the cost of losing what you burn.
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Dromeosaur
Feathery Raptor of snowy planes and frozen sea
- Location
- The land of Trees and Squirrels
[X] Demand answers, but follow. (+1 Silver Paladin relationship. +1 Fuel.)
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LucidProp
Pocky Eating MafiaDoka
[X] Obey. You suppose that you have nothing better to do. (+2 Silver Paladin relationship. No penalty to Fuel. Ash cannot become less than it is.)
She'll explain things later on once we're in a safer place. I trust a Paladin to do that much. No need to add Fuel to the fire.
She'll explain things later on once we're in a safer place. I trust a Paladin to do that much. No need to add Fuel to the fire.
- Location
- The Great Beyond
- Pronouns
- He/She/They
[X] Obey. You suppose that you have nothing better to do. (+2 Silver Paladin relationship. No penalty to Fuel. Ash cannot become less than it is.)
[X] Obey. You suppose that you have nothing better to do. (+2 Silver Paladin relationship. No penalty to Fuel. Ash cannot become less than it is.)
[X] Obey. You suppose that you have nothing better to do. (+2 Silver Paladin relationship. No penalty to Fuel. Ash cannot become less than it is.)
You need to put an "[X]" in front of your vote for it to count.
Ralyx
Seeking Balance
- Location
- The Realm Between
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Ignore her. You do not know why, but you are angry. You are angry that you are angry and do not know why, and do not know why. This makes you angry. The lingering embers of your rage turn inwards, consuming themselves in a brief flash, until they too are no more. All that is left is Ash. All that is left is Empty. All that is left is Cold.