Adventures of Naletia: The Second Dragon War

by Zerifachias Wed Jun 12, 2013 12:59 pm

394 A.S.
Her Great Nation of Ermith
The second day of Oct
2100 hours

"...and during the final night of freedom, the hardened warriors of man stepped forward to confront the last dragon. To defeat this last dragon was to set their race free, and so with unimaginable strength and determination, one man led the charge against mankind's final foe, his blade Dragonslayer sending a torrent of raging fire to cut down and destroy the mighty beast.

"With the final blow, the great beast let out a final, blood-curling roar as it felt it's own life draining away by the mighty man and weapon. Their future secured, the man was brought back to the king and hailed as the hero of all the lands of all nations. The people wept with joy, for they could finally see an end to the terrible Dragon-Man War. Peace and prosperity could return, and with it, songs of the final battle sprung up. One of the most famous bards sung of the land of the slaves, brought to freedom by a single man of common blood. But the people knew the true story. It was the hard work of all men that made this peace possible."

Thud. The closing of a dusty old book ended the story, just like that. No longer were they in a dark cavern, fighting dragons in the dark. No longer were they in the skies, on the backs of dragons, fighting for their freedom and safety. No longer were they outside the capital city, celebrating within the walls with great happiness and relief. No, they were left in a small cabin room, stone walls and wooden floors and ceilings surrounding them. A bed of cotton and silk held a small girl, no older than eight years, with flaming red hair and beautiful green eyes. On the side of the bed sat an older man of around thirty years, his age accented by wizened gold eyes and a gray-speckled black beard and hair. His large frame was covered by a farmer's cloth, though it did little to hide the bulging muscles.

"Daddy, I want another story," the girl in the bed said, her bright eyes yearning for more tales of brave knights and beastly dragons.

"It's time for you to sleep, dear," the older man replied soothingly, his voice soft and deep. He reached over and ruffled the girl's head, messing up her red locks just a little bit. "I'll tell you another story tomorrow night, I promise."

"Okay," the girl sighed, her emerald orbs turning downward, dejected. "I'll try to sleep, Daddy."

"Goodnight, my little princess."

~---~
404 A.S.
Her Great Nation of Ermith
The eighteenth day of Mae
1300 hours

"Work in the fields was hard enough with Father here," the young woman said, rubbing sweat from her brow with one hand as the other picked and pulled at weeds around the freshly-planted potato crops. Her tanned skin showed how many long hours she spent in the fields, tending to the farm. Emerald green eyes became distracted in thought, the red head gazing longingly past the field and to the hills just beyond, towards the capital city.

The woman placed her hand on her hips, leaning back to stretch out her aching bones and muscles. She didn't realize how long she had been hunched over, weeding. Her legs groaned in protest as she stood to stretch them out. The young woman grew much since she was younger, now standing at a good, average height. Muscles formed from working in the fields, and adolescence brought on many other changes to her body. She was truly a woman beloved by all in the little village she lived. Even at such a young age, older men would try and court her. But she was still Daddy's little girl in her Father's eyes. He would never allow her to marry at such a young age.

"Ever since Mother left, he's been like this," she muttered, her eyes drifting back down to the potatoes. "Going off to the capital for some important errand." Well, whatever the errand was, it had to be important to leave her out in the fields like this. He would never leave her alone on the farm without good reason. That's what she hoped, anyway.

Just as the young woman was about to resume her work in the potato fields, she heard her name, shouted from a great distance. Her ears, surprisingly pointy, perked up ever so slightly from the sound. Again, she heard her name, "Silvia!" It was her father's voice shouting her name. She was certain of it. Moments later, his horse appeared in the distance, the older man speeding the horse in a gallop, as if he was rushing to return home. The young woman, Silvia, never before knew the sight of her father in a hurry. He was always calm and controlled. And if he was like this, then what happened to cause it? Was the king in danger? An old relative condemned?

Silvia's father stopped his horse right by Silvia, who had rushed back to the small cottage where they lived. He immediately dismounted his horse and grabbed his daughter, embracing her tightly. Before her bones broke from the pressure, the old man pulled her away and held onto her shoulders. "Listen to me, my daughter, there is not much time left."

"Daddy, what's wrong? What has you in such a frenzy?" Silvia asked, her eyes wide with worry and fear.

"There's no time to explain," her father replied, taking her into the cottage and rushing to his resting place. The old man knelt down next to a large chest, breaking the lock with the hammer he always kept at his side. He opened the chest, dust spreading and latching onto nearby surfaces. Silvia's father dug until he found a cloth-wrapped item, which was thin and long. The old man immediately turned around and pressed the cloth into Silvia's arms. When he let go, Silvia could only gasp at the weight of the thing, despite it being so small. She could hold it and easily move despite the weight, but the heaviness was surprising to her. "Take this and my horse and leave at once. It's no longer safe here."

"Daddy, what's going on? What do you mean, it isn't safe? What about you? We only have one horse," Silvia protested, despite obeying his orders and scooting out of the cottage, the old man on her heels. Her father picked her up and placed her on the horse, still saddled up from before.

"Don't worry about me. I'll see you soon, okay dear?" Silvia's father spoke soothingly, his hand on his daughter's back to supply comfort. But Silvia knew that voice and that touch. Nothing good can come of this. Something was dreadfully wrong. "Go to the capital city and march straight to the king's castle. When you arrive, ask for Gaiden, the Captain of the Guard. He's an old friend of mine. When you meet him, tell him who you are and give him that," Silvia's father pointed to the cloth-wrap in her arms, "and tell him that your father sent you. Got it? Now go! Before they notice you!" Silvia's father slapped the horse's behind, making it neigh loudly in protest. But the old mare knew exactly what was going on, and even without Silvia's direction, began to gallop away from the cottage, towards the capital city.

When Silvia and her horse were far away from home, Silvia managed to wrestle control over the beast and slow it to a trot. With a firm grip on the saddle, Silvia took a look back towards the cottage. That's when she heard it.

The roar of a dragon. There was one...two...five of them in the sky, circling over the little village. The sky was made of smoke and fire and lightning, the great beasts creating a smog that slowly descended from the sky, currents of electricity and fire dangerously close to the buildings. Those currents would-

Thud. The sound of the very earth trembling in fear vibrated beneath them. Thud. Another quake, stronger this time. THUD. The sound was practically on top of Silvia and her horse. But no, off in the distance, a great mountain began to change and take a different shape. Or no, it was not the mountain at all. It was the great beast on top of the mountain! An enormous dragon, big enough to crush landscapes and destroy farmlands for miles with a single breath. The dragon opened it's maw and breathed flames hotter than their very sun. Right towards the tiny village.

"FATHER!"

~---~

And THAT, my friends, is the beginning of the end of an era in Naletia. As you have read above, the land of Ermith has been one of peace and prosperity ever since the centuries of After Shadows (A.S.) began. However, peace does not last forever. And in this case, it is the return of the mighty dragons that disrupt the peace. Silvia has been tasked with two things. The first is the safe arrival into the capital city, and the second is the delivery of the sword in her hands. Those of you who are into this sort of fantasy story may already know what this sword means to the world, so you also know that Silvia's task is not finished with just this. But more on that later in the story. There is a method to my madness, believe me.

However, in order for this story to progress, I am going to need a few dedicated volunteers. What I want of you is a single character profile, sent directly to my Private Messaging Inbox. Before you begin frantically making a half-assed profile though, you need to know a few things.

Thing #1: You are a part of the Guard, an elite group of warriors and magicians in service to the King of Ermith.

Thing #2: Your leader, the Captain of the Guard, received orders from the king to patrol the streets and clean up the neer-do-wells. This task is an odd undertaking for the Guard, but you must remain loyal to your Captain and obey orders.

Thing #3: Your character knows every other character except for Silvia (obviously). Your relationships to them should be predefined unless you are a new member (plz no). However, we will still have an Affinity system, so keep that in mind.

Thing #4: It would be EXTREMELY helpful to have a healer-type magic-user this game. Especially in the beginning. We will be using my statistical system, so getting used to that might take a bit of time as well.

Thing #5: I will be controlling two characters for this story, as you can tell. Gaiden and Silvia. Be very careful when addressing either of them. The things your character says will have an impact not just on these two characters, but on the story as a whole. Hint: Being patient with Silvia, despite whatever attitude she may have, is highly recommended. Stay in character though. No rule breaking when it comes to personalities.

Thing #6: Even though this is a few hundred years after "The Beads of Light" story, technology has not advanced that much. Magic, swords, and bows are still used in regular combat. However, the catapult has been replaced by the cannon. This becomes an important factor later on in the story, as I'm sure you can imagine.

Final Thing: Some things are not always what they seem to be...

It's been awhile since I had one of these. Should be fun, right?

I will be accepting a number of profiles. Not sure on how many. Just send them in and I'll wait to see how many I get before deciding. Who knows. Could have eight people. Could have six. Could have two. Probably will have more than two. I thing four is a great number though...yeah. Let's go with four. I'll accept four profiles. I will judge based on the quality of the profiles. Having a balanced team will be the most helpful thing here. Some dragons are immune to magic. Some dragons make you immune to magic (healing magic, anyway). It's gonna be a rough ride, but I think we can make the cut.