The Champions of Mara [IC|Closed]

by **Prusslandia** » Sat Jan 18, 2014 9:06 am

I search the immediate area for some edibles. I am beginning to hate hunger. Rage is a more suitable form of annoyance. I set the rock beside me so I can search with the hands.

by **G-Tech Corporation** » Sat Jan 18, 2014 9:31 am

With an alacrity brought on by the craving in your flesh, you set down your rock and then stoop down and survey the immediate area for anything resembling food. [5] You are unfamiliar with the forms of vegetation here, and aren't really sure what food there is that would be non-poisonous, [9] but you eventually find a small low bush resplendent in dull red berries. You strip them all from the plant, stuffing handfuls into your mouth and devouring them as the rich tangy flavor suffuses your senses. Your stomach quiets, though you are beginning to feel tired. Food is delicious, though an irksome need for one such as yourself.

You are fed, Kulbathos. What do you want to do?

by **Prusslandia** » Sat Jan 18, 2014 9:46 am

As my strength returns, I grab the rock and go back to the ditch. Go back a few steps, I bend my legs, and jump in an attempt to clear the ditch.

by **The Great Warrior Rivers** » Sat Jan 18, 2014 10:21 am

G-Tech Corporation wrote:The Hall of Asagal, Godshome

Maerios nodded, and turned towards the human on the other side of the ditch, even as the sun came over the eastern horizon. He spoke, not with words Zaro could comprehend, but with the way of a deity addressing their follower by heart and intuition. The watchman called out to another man, who emerged shortly from the longhouse, and the two took up a long length of wooden branches bound together. They placed it across the ditch carefully; it looked sturdy enough, but only wide enough for one man to cross at a time. Then the man called out to Zaro.

"I am Sindvar, wandering man. My heart speaks to me of you, called Zaro. Please, come in. You must be hungry, for my lord told me of the cravings of those as yet newly come to flesh and blood. We are about to have the morning meal." He gestured broadly towards the Hall, and a smile of white teeth split his face tanned from laboring in the sun of Mara.

The Smith-Lord smiled at the words of his follower, who could not see him as easily as the Champion, who bore in his chest more of the light of the spark than did any mortal man.

"You may enter my halls, Nicholas Zaro, son of the spark. There you will find one like yourself, a being of the spark, but do not be afraid; she is of good heart and a quick mind, and will not harm you. Go in peace." Maerios turned, stepping out over the deep ditch, and in a moment his form dissolved, as if blown away by a strong wind across the plains. Before Zaro the bridge to cross the ditch lay, and the two men that followed Maerios waited across it, and beyond the smell of cooking grain suffused the dawn air.

Zaro walk across the bridge with quick haste, trying not to fall. His stomach rumbled again, reminding him of his hunger. He checked to make sure he was going into the correct building and entered to see what was inside.

by **G-Tech Corporation** » Sat Jan 18, 2014 10:31 am

With a hop and a hope you rise up in the air, powerful leg muscles straining as they propel your body up and through the sky, [14] and you land on the far side of the ditch, winded, but having successfully cleared the gap. Assuredly that will have impressed the puny human here, for the ditch was nearly four meters across, far too far for any mortal man to have cleared without extensive training and peak physical performance. Weariness fills your limbs; the price of being more powerful than the humans is apparent, for your body requires sleep and food far more often than theirs.

Nice jump, Kulbathos. What do you want to do?

Zaro crosses the bed quickly, and it proves sturdy enough, as evinced by the wear on the wood of many passings. The men raise the bridge back up once he is across, and place it back next to the building. As he enters the low hall he notices a butchered moose carcass to his left, where a young woman sits with a sharp piece of bone, but that is of little interest to him. Above the fire suspended by a platform of logs is a large hollowed out stone bowl, wherein water and some delicious brew are bubbling, stirred by a woman who sits before it. As he enters many eyes turn to him, and Zaro's ears buzz with the sound of their greetings, but soon the pot reclaims the attention of the people. The woman ladles out a bit of the concoction with a wooden spoon, tastes it, and declares the meal ready in a loud voice. From the folds of tunics, next to bed mats, and stone shelves bowls come forth with eager hands, and she fills each with some of the porridge, before filling a bowl and handing it to Zaro. It is a crude bowl, simply a bit of wood worn down with a rock to make a container, but as it steams in his hands delicious scents come forth from it. A thick cereal composed of wheat and boiled water fills the bowl, and it looks like a veritable banquet to the hungry Champion.

Next to the fire someone whispers to another man- Zaro identifies the first as one of the men who helped with the bridge- and the second man turns towards him. He is tanned and weathered, with dark black hair, and he speaks.

"Welcome to the Hall, Nicholas Zaro. I am Abrim, lord of the Hall. Please, share our fire. We have spare mats, if you need a place to sleep. My liege Maerios has spoken to me of your recent arrival upon Mara."

You are within the Hall, Nicholas Zaro. What do you want to do?

by **Prusslandia** » Sat Jan 18, 2014 10:46 am

I walk through the village, and find a bare and empty hut. Sprawling on the makeshift bed, I dream dreams if destruction and slaughter, My hand tightening around my weapon.

by **The Great Warrior Rivers** » Sat Jan 18, 2014 12:32 pm

G-Tech Corporation wrote:With a hop and a hope you rise up in the air, powerful leg muscles straining as they propel your body up and through the sky, [14] and you land on the far side of the ditch, winded, but having successfully cleared the gap. Assuredly that will have impressed the puny human here, for the ditch was nearly four meters across, far too far for any mortal man to have cleared without extensive training and peak physical performance. Weariness fills your limbs; the price of being more powerful than the humans is apparent, for your body requires sleep and food far more often than theirs.

Nice jump, Kulbathos. What do you want to do?

Attributes: Can carry two objects, 17+ to do damage on a hit, 19+ to wound, Movespeed 1, 2 Wounds, -10 on damage, 18+ resist, Re D3|5, Re W6|10
E2/3, S0/5, R0/1, Followers 0/2
Strong, Normal Agility, Normal Durability, Normal Endurance, Normal Recuperation, Normal Willpower, Normal Creativity, Normal Intuition, Normal Charisma, Special
Skills:
Forager [1/5]
Observer [1/5]
Novice Fighter [0/15]
Dabbling Striker [0/10]
Dabbling Beater [0/10]
Scavenger [1/5]
Perks
Bow, Mortal: +4 on attempts to gain Followers

Zaro crosses the bed quickly, and it proves sturdy enough, as evinced by the wear on the wood of many passings. The men raise the bridge back up once he is across, and place it back next to the building. As he enters the low hall he notices a butchered moose carcass to his left, where a young woman sits with a sharp piece of bone, but that is of little interest to him. Above the fire suspended by a platform of logs is a large hollowed out stone bowl, wherein water and some delicious brew are bubbling, stirred by a woman who sits before it. As he enters many eyes turn to him, and Zaro's ears buzz with the sound of their greetings, but soon the pot reclaims the attention of the people. The woman ladles out a bit of the concoction with a wooden spoon, tastes it, and declares the meal ready in a loud voice. From the folds of tunics, next to bed mats, and stone shelves bowls come forth with eager hands, and she fills each with some of the porridge, before filling a bowl and handing it to Zaro. It is a crude bowl, simply a bit of wood worn down with a rock to make a container, but as it steams in his hands delicious scents come forth from it. A thick cereal composed of wheat and boiled water fills the bowl, and it looks like a veritable banquet to the hungry Champion.

Next to the fire someone whispers to another man- Zaro identifies the first as one of the men who helped with the bridge- and the second man turns towards him. He is tanned and weathered, with dark black hair, and he speaks.

"Welcome to the Hall, Nicholas Zaro. I am Abrim, lord of the Hall. Please, share our fire. We have spare mats, if you need a place to sleep. My liege Maerios has spoken to me of your recent arrival upon Mara."

You are within the Hall, Nicholas Zaro. What do you want to do?

Attributes: Can carry one object, 18+ to do damage on a hit, 20+ to wound, Movespeed 2, 2 Wounds, -10 on damage, 18+ resist, +2 Crafting, -5% CCost, Re D3|5, Re W6|10
E1/3, S3/5, R0/1, Followers 0/2
Normal Strength, Agile, Normal Durability, Normal Endurance, Normal Recuperation, Normal Willpower, Creative, Normal Intuition, Normal Charisma, Normal Divinity
Skills:
Ambusher [1/5]
Novice Engineer [0/15]
Dabbling Builder [0/10]
Dabbling Observer [0/10]
Perks
Intellectual: Double XP on a 20+

Zaro takes Abrim's offer with generosity. He sits on one of the extra mats and starts eating the food provided to him.

by **Konariona** » Sat Jan 18, 2014 1:26 pm

Gal'Duls
Gal'Duls smiles as his champion dreams dreams of slaughter and death, and sends him a message.
"YOU. YOU DO NOT BELONG HERE, AMONG THE WARRIORS OF THE GOD OF CHIVALRY. THEY ARE NOT OF YOUR KIND."
HE appeared in the champion's dream (and yes, it was a capital he) as a firey, wrathful being, and his mouth was bloodied, shreds of flesh hanging from it. He casually ripped them from it, tossing the mortal flesh on the ground, and then looking directly into the champion's eyes.

"COME TO ME. MY WARRIORS WILL HELP YOU AND TELL YOU WHAT DUTIES YOU MUST PERFORM."

And then the god was gone.

by **Prusslandia** » Sat Jan 18, 2014 3:11 pm

Images of a great being, it's rage and thirst for slaughter like my own, flit through my mind. Images of the strong butchering the weak like animals. Directions are given, and one phrase goes through my head as my eyes snap open.

Blood.....for the Blood God

Getting up, I set out towards my lords land, my blood boiling with the need for slaughter.

by **Pragia** » Sat Jan 18, 2014 3:35 pm

The bone weapon was excellent, however Rena knew she could improve it. Using her dexterous fingers, she tried tying the sharp bone to another perpendicular to the other. She hoped to maximize swinging efficiency.

by **The Inritus Extraho** » Sat Jan 18, 2014 4:05 pm

Prusslandia wrote:Images of a great being, it's rage and thirst for slaughter like my own, flit through my mind. Images of the strong butchering the weak like animals. Directions are given, and one phrase goes through my head as my eyes snap open.

Blood.....for the Blood God

Getting up, I set out towards my lords land, my blood boiling with the need for slaughter.

Following the prodding in your mind, you meet up with the eight followers of the Bloody-Handed God, and lead them into battle, as you know you were meant to. You are far superior to these... mortals... after all, and brutally crush in the skull of another mortal in the ensuing battle. You are victorious, Kulbathos.

What do you want to do?

by **Prusslandia** » Sat Jan 18, 2014 4:11 pm

I follow these warriors back to their village, my form covered with blood. The skull of the one I killed is in my hands, a the weaklings life sacrificed to my leige.

by **G-Tech Corporation** » Sat Jan 18, 2014 4:48 pm

With a clever use of the sinew from the moose and another bone, Rena being making some bizarre swinging bone axe of doom. [8] She fumbles around with the two parts for quite some time, trying to get them to go together properly. [4] Unfortunately, her hand slips, smacking the tied object together and smashing the third bone in half. It will be of no use as a handle now, and the sinew too was broken. It was unfortunate, but as Rena sat a battle raged around the Hall, and eventually the people that lived there returned, bearing two wounded men that they laid upon cots. One bore the signs of a fearsome beating, whilst the other seemed to be coughing with some plague.

You almost had it, Rena Essex. What do you want to do?

Zaro, the tanned engineer, settles down with a bowl of porridge. He happily munches it down as the heat fills his body, and he smiles in pleasure at the delicious nutty taste. So this was food. It was definently better than being hungry, by a long long shot.

You are no longer hungry, Nicholas Zaro. What do you want to do?

After the fierce battle you feel your lust for blood kindled within you yet more, Kulbathos. Martial prowess is yours, and in your hand death and maimery for all who stand against you. You are happy, and play with the bloody skull tossing it from hand to hand as you return to the village of Gal'Duls. That pathetic weakling who joined the forces of Maerios, oh how you hate him. Soon he will perish too. But now, with food and sleep in your system, perhaps it is time to find a more bloodthirsty use for your talents than merely tossing a skull to and fro. There are more powerful warriors to be slain, worthy opponents to exterminate from the face of Mara.

You have fought, Kulbathos. What do you want to do?

by **Pragia** » Sat Jan 18, 2014 5:12 pm

Infuriated at the loss of another bone and the sinew, Rena decided to stop her project. The weapon would do fine, but she needed a way to carry more. She was beginning to fiddle with the furs, but then heard the wounded come in. She felt pity for the mortals, and she tried using her abilities to heal the wounded man, hoping to maybe at least stop his pain.

by **The Great Warrior Rivers** » Sat Jan 18, 2014 7:21 pm

Zaro sits down, as to craft.

"Do you have any clay I can use?"

He uses the clay to mold a figurine, which he proudly displayed to the others. He yawned.

"Do you have any beds here?"

by **G-Tech Corporation** » Sun Jan 19, 2014 7:21 am

Rena walks over to the pallet upon which the wounded man has been laid, and looks down at him. His face is a mass of bruises, and he is missing several teeth. His body is covered in cuts, and it appears his ankle has been broken; she's not sure, but her foot definently doesn't twist that way. Who can be sure with these mortals though? She lays her hands on the man and summons up the arcane energies she can feel around her at all times, thrusting them into the man and bidding them heal what had been severed, broken, injured. [5] Her grasp of her powers is rudimentary though, now that she has to channel them through a mortal form, and she can feel the winds of power spluttering and edding, not doing her bidding as they ought. The wounded man moans softly, and his skin begins to steam white, the magic glowing in his skin. The few other humans that had been soothing his skin with wet boiled rags backed away from him, staring with wide eyes at Rena. They were not used to such displays of divine power coming from someone who looked so much like them. The magic fluxed and [9] gently ran through the man, finally obeying Rena's will in at least some measure. The ankle twisted with a grinding noise that made the Champion grit her teeth, back in the direction it should be pointed, and some of the bruises faded, but the man did not open his eyes. It was not a complete healing, but as the man drifted off into a deep sleep and began snoring, the Champion knew he was much farther along the road to recovery. She felt tired after her altruistic act, but her knowledge of her own arcane powers was growing.

You have minorly healed the man, Rena Essex. What do you want to do?

The people in the hut look at him in incomprehension; clearly "clay" is not a word they understand. When Zaro describes the thick soil though one of them nods and grins, and leaves for a minute. He returns holding a chunk of the reddish soil, which Zaro then [11] molds into a very crude figure, more like a lump of clay slightly elongated than anything. An artist, he wasn't, but the people all seemed suitably impressed, and passed the figurine from person to person trying to puzzle out what it was supposed to be. When he asked about a place to sleep, a young woman that had just started filling another pot over the fire with water smiled at him.

"You are sitting on a pallet; that is where we sleep, for it is far more comfortable than the raw earth of Mara. There are furs hanging on the wall if you wish for a blanket."

You are tired, Nicholas Zaro. What do you want to do?

by **The Great Warrior Rivers** » Sun Jan 19, 2014 8:48 am

Zaro slowly walked to the wall and took a pelt. He then took the bed he was on to take a nap.

by **Prusslandia** » Sun Jan 19, 2014 8:54 am

I attempt to convince one of the warriors to join my warband and, to slaughter in the bloody handed one's name. There is a fire in my eyes, one similar to the fire that fills my whole body at the prospect of war.

by **G-Tech Corporation** » Sun Jan 19, 2014 9:50 am

You cover yourself in the warm furs, Nicholas Zaro, and drift off to a sleep full of dreams. In it you see a great stone figure rising like a finger from the grassy plains that you recognize as Godshome, and beckoning you forward towards something, though you know not what. Eventually you awaken to a nearly empty hut, with only the wounded and a few other people of the Hall puttering about. You wipe cold sweat from your brow, but feel quite refreshed from your sleep. The pot above the fire bubbles as the same young woman stirs it, and again the smell of the porridge suffuses your nostrils, though you still feel quite full.

Sleep has rejuvenated you, Nicholas Zaro. What do you want to do?

You speak to the Warrior of the great slaughter and battle that could be his, your voice full of passion and sincerity. [11->15] He seems unconvinced that you can lead him to greater glory than his Divine though, and though he appreciates your fervor, he continues walking back towards the village of Gal'Duls. The plain about you is flat and warm as the sun rises towards noonday, and [20] you can make out a low figure skulking away from the passing band of Gal'Duls towards the west. It is moving quickly, but you think you might be able to catch up to it if you hurry. It appears human-like, but wrong in some manner. None of the other people with you seem to see it. Hunger kindles in your belly though, your mortal form requiring sustenance.

The figure walks quickly towards the west, away from you, Kulbathos. What do you want to do?

by **Prusslandia** » Sun Jan 19, 2014 9:57 am

I see the figure, and wonder. Perhaps this shall be an opponent worthy of my skills. With my blood burning and my muscles wanting, I jog after the figure.

by **The Great Warrior Rivers** » Sun Jan 19, 2014 10:07 am

With his rest, Zaro asks whoever was in charge if he could lower the bridge for Zaro to go out. He needed to find things out for himself.

by **G-Tech Corporation** » Sun Jan 19, 2014 12:44 pm

You take after the figure, jogging after it, but it keeps pace with you, always just ahead. You pass westward rapidly, your strides eating up the distance, but the figure eventually pulls away, becoming a mere speck on the westward horizon. Your body is complaining of hunger severely now, and you feel faint with the weakness of your mortal form, cursing its inability to function without more fuel to sustain it.

The figure vanishes over the westward horizon, but you can see something tall and grey near where it was, Kulbathos. What do you want to do?

After Zaro spoke to one of the men, two of them happily took up the bridge and allowed him over.

"Go in peace, bright shiner." Those were the only words they said as he left, and the sun is rising towards noon overhead.

A new adventure awaits, Nicholas Zaro. What do you want to do?

by **Prusslandia** » Sun Jan 19, 2014 1:10 pm

I roar with rage, beating the ground with my fists until my knuckles are split. After several, the fire of rage inside me dies down to a minimum, and clarity returns to me. Bowing to my knees, my knuckles still raw and slightly bleeding, I pray. " Gal'Duls, Lord of skulls, bring me sustenance and I shAll reap for you a thousand skulls. "

by **The Great Warrior Rivers** » Sun Jan 19, 2014 1:52 pm

Zaro goes South, to the place where he had awaken. He gathered sticks and twigs for a small fire and a lean-to.

by **G-Tech Corporation** » Sun Jan 19, 2014 2:26 pm

Your prayer, it seems is answered. Only a few short minutes after your last words leave your lips, a dusty follower of Gal'Duls comes running up out of the east as if the Divine himself chased him. He carries on his back a large sheaf of wheat, which you take from him with a menacing glare, and break the heads from one stalk to consume. It fills the empty hole in your belly, and you grunt in satisfaction, before gesturing at the Warrior. He takes off in the way he had come from, doubtless on some other errand of misery and woe for the enemies of the Bloody-Handed One. You sling the sheaf of wheat over your back, using the strap the Warrior used to carry it, still holding your skull. Prayer, apparently, was a viable method of getting yourself fed.

Now that you are no longer starving you can continue with life, Kulbathos. What do you want to do?

As the sun beats down on his back and skull, the wetness of the night and storm dissipating under its ferocious rays, Zaro makes his way south, back to the place of his emergence. After the walk of almost an hour, he arrives at his destination, and begins to gather up sticks about him with the intent to find enough for a fire. [13] [8] He has quite a hard time finding anything at all save dirt and wet grass, [7] and eventually gives up in frustration, having collected only a few green sticks that are still wet with the soaking of the night before.

Your fire-making efforts are thwarted, Nicholas Zaro. What do you want to do?

The Champions of Mara [IC|Closed]

Who is online