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AllMother
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Prophet Forum

Post by AllMother »

This is the official game thread. Please use this for in-game chatter, stories, etc.
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Cobalt
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Post by Cobalt »

Cobalt scratches himself as he strolls down the trail head. The sun is shining,his belly is full and the leather bag over his shoulder is stuffed with choice pieces of stone, perfect to trade in the village square. It was half a day's walk from Cobalt's shanty, standing close to the marble outcrop east of the village, and the man was excited to spend a night in town. If the marble made a strong enough profit, he would have something leftover to trade for company for the night. If not, he would simply find a spot of dense brush and sleep there.

The man wasn't shunned in town, exactly, but his swarthy looks and thick body hair were at odds with the mostly golden-haired populace of Twinrivers. To the majority of the Riverfolk, he was a brute, good only for his strength and the stone he cut. Despite this undercurrent, he had gained a few friends since inheriting his quarry claim from his father and taking over trading the pink and white marble in the village. One Twinsriver dweller in particular, named Azver, he'd taken a liking to. The man was an enigma, practitioner of things that the pragmatic Cobalt didn't understand. But the man had a need for the fine pink marble only Cobalt could access, and over the years a friendship of sorts had grown.

It was late afternoon when Cobalt passed the well in the center of town, merely a hole in the ground topped with a wooden tripod for lowering hide buckets. Cobalt made a mental note to measure the well for a stone wall...assuming someone was willing to trade for his services. He hitched the bag higher on his shoulder and made his way towards the collection of high-topped tents and shelters; the market. Hopefully Azver was in, and had some food to swap for the marble. His larder at the shanty was nearly empty, with the large breakfast Cobalt had consumed before leaving for the village. He could also use some fine-grained wood to make a new handle on his stone-cutting saw. As he passed one villagers hut, he heard two old women gossiping about a murder in town, some chicken-farmer's brother who had been killed by a drifter. Cobalt would have to be careful on his return trip, although he was confident he would be able to defend himself against any single man.
“A stone is heavy and the sand is weighty; but a fool's wrath is heavier than them both.”
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Bela Gin
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Post by Bela Gin »

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Brand
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Post by Brand »

Brand Redbeard, the Grim Blacksmith

All the world started from the Spark. Everything in the world has a Spark. Brand can see it, every time he hammers on his anvil. He knows in his soul that the art of creation belong to everyone, but he also knows that not everyone is able to understand and use it. The gods made the world, to the men the gift to be able to shape it. Under the might of his arms ore becomes metal and metal becomes art.

Weapons, Armors and Tools, whatever is needed by the village, Brand supplies. Strive for perfection in his creation, Brand often goes outside the village, searching the right material for is work.

He's famous to be offish, unsociable, but also with a great hearth, if left alone when he's working on a creation. In spite of his behavior sometime people go to him, asking to become apprentice. He then test his or her skills, to understand if he or she is worth to become a good follower of the god of metallurgy. His red beard is famous, as famous is his strength. No one seems to be able to beat him in arm wrestling. Furthermore only a few person is able to look him directly in his eyes, because he's about 6 feet and half tall. He's a good drinker, but never goes drunk.

Last night he had a vision, he saw his mission clearly as the sun. The god spoke to him by the mighty vision of the Great Forge, the name that he gave to a place where many maybe hundreds forges work together to build the perfect Creation. The black metal that composes the building was unknown to Brand, and he was able to see that other strange materials were melted in the structure itself. A wonderful project was born from his mind: lines, arches and pillars, stones, marbles and metals, all together to create such a wonderful place. He felt that building will be his home!
When he woke up, the first thing in his mind was to call his apprentices to start the construction of the building!
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Krinn
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Post by Krinn »

Oh wow. Last night was intense. Awesome. Blurry. But I'm pretty sure it was great.

Okay, it's really blurry. But, there's this one moment. Crystal clear. There was this girl. Woman, really. She knew what she was doing, if you know what I mean. I don't remember where we were, but she was dancing against me.

Image

Damn. What was her name?
Follower of Azver, friend to all in Twinsriver, and person who can get stuff done.
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Bela Gin
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Post by Bela Gin »

The annual tournament began exactly one year after Li's victory over the Hoto at the mountain pass Damur. That year, it was very informal. Impromptu, even. A few men came out of the mountains, wanting to test themselves against the man who had done the impossible.

Li was willing enough, even if he didn't see the point. He had defeated the best the mountain people had to offer at the battle, killing most of them. "You think you can do better than them?"

But they wanted to test themselves, regardless. Pride. Honor. Challenge.

So they fought. Li defeated them all. None lasted more than a single minute, in fact. He didn't kill any this time.

In the following years, they kept coming back. Always on the anniversary of the battle. Within several years, challengers were coming from all over the region. Mountain people from tribes other than the Hoto. People from the plains north and south. People from the shore. At the tenth tournament, there were twenty challengers of respectable skill. There were another thirty of average skill. It was then that they decided to make the tournament an official thing, with rounds and schedules.

There were so many participants at the twentieth tournament that it lasted two days.

Li won every match at every tournament. In truth, he never came close to defeat, though he was tested a bit from time to time. Amusingly, those who managed to actually hurt him, or to whom he gave his deepest bow after the match, became somewhat famous themselves. But Li was the eternal Champion.

Far from being bored, and farther from being arrogant, Li loved the tournament. Fighting was his true calling. He fought naturally, and with joy. He killed when he had to, as he had at Damur. But he had no desire to kill. He just loved the fight. The tournament gave him the best the region had to offer, and he was grateful. He also loved seeing the joy that other fighters felt. The dedication and discipline. And he formed many friendships throughout the decades. Even with some Hoto.

Li loved the tournament and the spirit if fighting so much that he did the unthinkable. He offered his glorious sword, Vitarus - the very sword he has used to kill so many at Damur - as the prize every year. The Champion of the tournament would get Vitarus, to keep as long as he could. The only condition being that he would either fight in the next tournament, or send Vitarus if he did not fight.

Of course, Li kept his sword until the day he died.

Days before the thirty fifth tournament, Li went into the mountains with some hunters to try to track down and stop the tiger than had killed so much livestock, and had now killed two people. Li stopped the tiger. And the tiger stopped Li. Which made sense. No human could stop him.

All knew how Li felt about the tournament, and that he would have been the first and loudest to say it should go on so soon after his death. The participants honored Li by fighting as they had never fought before. And it was Gren of, ironically, the Hoto took Vitarus home with him.

Gren lost Vitarus to a fisherman named Ari the next year, then won it back and held it for two more years. Vitarus switched hands many times over the next sixty-odd years. There were a few notable Champions. A plainsman named Caine held Vitarus for ten years, and the crowds shouted "Li Li" when he fought. And a woman named Kari, the only woman to become Champion, held the sword for three years in a row.

And now, for the first time in twenty years, Vitarus was back in Twinsriver. I'm the first descendant of Li's to hold it. The tournament isn't what it was at its height, but it still lasted three days. I was the favorite. I've been growing into my strength the last few years, and was runner up last year. And now, on my twenty-first birthday, I achieved my dream.
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Bela Gin
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Post by Bela Gin »

I stand in the market, looking at the villagers go about buying and selling their goods. I have not seen any significant portion of the world, but I have seen enough to know that it is filled with wonders and beauty beyond description. Still, nothing surpasses my home. The people of the world are the most important part, and there are none better than in Twinsriver. I stand watching them for several minutes.

I go to the center of the market and draw Vitarus, holding it high.


"People of Twinsriver."

There's a hush, and all eyes are on me. I have to admit, it feels good to be something of an idol since winning the tournament. <grin>

"Sorry. That sounds a bit formal, considering I've known all of you my whole life. I just wanted to tell you my plans. You've all heard about Li's feats just as often as I have. But I doubt he's meant as much to anybody else as he has to me. I've felt a kinship with him that goes beyond my shared blood. He's been the inspiration of my entire life. I've tried to be worthy of him, and to honor him.

"I believe I made a bit of progress along those lines the other day." Nice of them to humor me with a bit of laughter. "But that was just an event. One moment in a life. I have something far greater in mind.

"For the first nine years, before it outgrew the spot, the tournament was held just west of the rivers, between the clay and sand. I'm going to build a dojo on that spot. I'll start with an altar. One small room, just big enough for one person to meditate, and to open your heart to Li. The dojo will be attached to that room, and the room will be the soul of the dojo.

"I hope to teach and learn there, in equal measures. I hope to honor Li there, so that his spirit will return to us in a very real way, and protect Twinsriver.

"Although my greatest talent lies where Li's did, if to a lesser degree, I'm a competent enough carpenter. But I'm asking for your help. Any and all of you who want to take part in this. I envision this as a thing for everyone, and for Li."
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Brand
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Post by Brand »

Heading to te mountain to search for rare materials to fuel his work, Brand stepped to a glade where a man seems to meditate in the middle of it. He approached him carefully, untill he recognize Azver!

"Greetings noble warrior! I heard you announce the Tournament in the market, it seems that I'll have something interesting to watch when I take a break from my work." Suddenly he thought that roaming on the mountain without the proper protection could be really dangerous even for a huge man like him.
"It seems that we meet for a reason after all, maybe The God of Metallurgy is smiling at me ... What about be my body guard for the duration of my trip I'm doing? I have to go to the mountains, it won't take a long time ..."
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Bela Gin
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Post by Bela Gin »

"Brand! Good to see you, smith. I'd be happy to accompany you. But I have some work to do first. I'm building an altar and dojo/temple to Li. How about a trade of services? Help me build the altar, then we'll head into the mountains for you. Deal?"
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Brand
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Post by Brand »

"mmm... I think that is a good deal! I'll do a great work in the name of the God of Metallurgy! It will be a great altar to honor Li! Many people will come to visit your dojo, and i'm sure they will find the altar worth of your honorable ancestor! Let's go back to the village and start our work!"
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Gener
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Post by Gener »

Yes, Mrs. Hayfield, I understand. We are all a little afraid in these times. Even the stalwart Brand is afraid to travel to the mountains alone. We have come a long ways since the days of Kimer, certainly, where a housewife now cannot visit her neighbor after sunset for fear of being waylaid by these itinerant travelers, like the coward who stabbed Shoner. Where children and small animals must be watched constantly lest they are taken from us.

What is that, Mr. Alehouse? ... No, I understand. We cannot all be great fighters or constantly have the protection of one. That is why I say that if we want a return to the old days, where we could feel safe in or near our village, we need the protection of the old ones. That is why I have created the shrine to Kimer outside my modest home. I do not fear for myself much, but for the people like my dear mother, who even now grieves for her lost son. I pray for Kimer to watch over us, to reveal the shadows on the hearts of outsiders and blind them, keeping their covetous eyes away from our little town.

... You are too kind, Ms. Riverford. I will pass along your condolences to Mama, and Kimer will surely bless you for whatever you can offer to his shrine.
"When it is not necessary to change, it is necessary not to change."
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Bela Gin
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Post by Bela Gin »

Again, I go to the marketplace. It's easy to talk to many people at once. And word will quickly spread to the rest of the village. As before, I go to the center. Many see me standing there, waiting, and are polite enough to stop and see what I have to say.

"Hello again everyone. I'm sure you've all heard about the temple. Many of you helped me build it, and I'm extremely grateful. It is truly a work of the entire village. Those of you who haven't seen it should stop by. It's beautiful! Brand and Tomas created a remarkable altar on their forge. The sturdy construction and decoration of the building are a perfect reflection of the spirit of Twinsriver.

"I will be accompanying Brand and Tomas into the mountains for a couple weeks. When we return, I'll be spending most of my time at the dojo. Any who want to practice with me, to meditate, to learn about Li, are welcome at any time.

"And I hope some of you will want to learn martial arts. It's not just for fighting, although, from what I've heard, there may be a growing need for this. It's about discipline and dedication. It's about exercise. It's about being with each other. So come see me if you're curious."

I walk off. As I say Hi to various people, I keep my eye out for someone in particular.

There he is, talking to various people.


"Hello Gener. I'm so sorry about Shoner."
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Bela Gin
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Post by Bela Gin »

A month later, I return from the mountains. After spending a couple days in the dojo, making sure all is as ready as possible, I return to the market.

"People of Twinsriver. I am now ready to open the dojo; my temple to Li. All who want to study are welcome. Also, all who are already skilled, and there are several of you, whether you chose to compete this year or not, are welcome to come spar. We all need to keep in practice, and test each other. Meditation alone does not a good martial artist make, eh?

"I want you all to understand my motivations. Certainly, I want to become a teacher. Throughout my life, as I've studied martial arts, I've worked at various jobs, for many of you. But I've been waiting until now, when I've honored my great grandfather by bringing Vitarus back to Twinsriver and my family, to take on students. That time has come, and I hope to help our village carry on a tradition of excellence and discipline.

"But there's more to it than that. Trying to begin life as a teacher isn't the only thing I would not start until I won Vitarus. That was also the point when I knew I would feel worthy to at least seek Grandfather Li's attention. I've always revered him. Always looked to him for inspiration, and as a model of how to be a man. But after the tournament, I began trying to contact my ancestor. Asking for his guidance. Asking him to send me teachers, or for whatever he thought was appropriate for me. I am honored to say Li has spoken to me.

"What Li told me is that Twinsriver is vulnerable. He did not say anything more specific than that. I have no idea what specific danger he is aware of. Gener can certainly tell us of one.

"But I know my strength, and that is what I will turn to to help protect us. That is another reason I want to find students, to help others hone themselves, and to have others help me hone myself. Let us be a force that is far from vulnerable."
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Brand
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Post by Brand »

Coming back from the mountains, Brand starts to work again in his Furnace. At the end of a day of work:

"Listen to me Tomas, this is what we'll do from now on: at the beginning of each day, when the Holy Sphere of Hot Metal rises from the Great Furnace of the Universe, we'll pray to the God of Metallurgy for guidance. We'll pray to have the gift to see the Life Spark and to have the ability to shape things in the way He likes most."

He takes a pause, looking the boy in the eyes

"Tomas, when we were on the mountains our God appeared to me when i was dreaming . He said we are doing well, and that he's pleased from our work! We are blessed my boy! we are blessed!"

A large smile appeared on Brand's grim face, for some seconds, then he turned again serious as always.

"Now back to work! we have many things to do, many things ..."
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Laurel
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Post by Laurel »

The journeyman Harper was nearing the end of a market day and noticed smoke rising from the smithy. Ah, the smith has returned! Time to make his acquaintance and see if he will grant me access to his forge.

Packing up her few drums, shofars, reeds, and wooden flutes, the only instruments she could create without access to heat to bend wood and metal to shape, she made her way over to the smithy and quietly waited until such a time as the smith should take notice. She knew from her own small exposure to smithing while creating metal horns at the Hall that ore can be tricky to work.

When he did look up and glanced enquiringly at her, she responded, "Greetings, master smith. I am Laurel, newly arrived back in my home after training in the Harper Hall since I was a child. I would like to discuss the possibility of having access to your forge to create instruments I am unable to make without an intense heat source. As well as discussing the possibility of making horns and woodwinds from what local ore there may be available."
~Close your eyes girl
Look inside girl
Let the sound take you away...
~
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Brand
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Post by Brand »

without stop working on his metal, Brand looked to the new customer entered the forge.

He listened to her, then his attention came back to his anvil and his hammer. Without looking to her he responded "nice to meet you, Laurel, I'm Brand. As you can see I'm quite busy at the moment, give me some minutes ..."
He took the tongs to better hold a slab of metal on the anvil. His hammer hit the metal slab surface hard, for a lot of time, until Brand seemed satisfied by his work.
Then he put the slab in a bucket full of water. the water boiled when the hot metal touched its surface.

Ended his work Brand looked to the new comer.
"So Laurel, do you want to make some instruments. Very interesting, i never tried to create such items, and I will be more than happy to help you and learn how to shape them. When do you think we should start?"
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Laurel
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Post by Laurel »

Smiling happily at this answer, Laurel replies, "the sooner, the better, as far as I'm concerned. I guess the first thing to determine would be what sort of raw stock is available around here? For the wooden instruments, some spruce and maple would be ideal. For the horns we would want to have brass or another alloy containing copper or silver. Is such available around here? The horn makers at the Harper Hall teach that using anything else can tend to make the players ill."
~Close your eyes girl
Look inside girl
Let the sound take you away...
~
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Krinn
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Post by Krinn »

Krinn looks up from his table in the town's square. There's Azver, standing around giving speeches again, he thinks. For a great fighter, he sure talks a lot. He pours another drink for... whatever her name is. The one to his right. Her cup looks empty, and a good host can't allow that to happen for too long. The girl smiles and takes another gulp.

In response, the one to his left gulps her whole cup down, and holds it out to him for a refill as well. He smiles as he contemplates the two of them escalating their competition for him.
Azver wrote:"What Li told me is that Twinsriver is vulnerable. He did not say anything more specific than that. I have no idea what specific danger he is aware of. Gener can certainly tell us of one.

"But I know my strength, and that is what I will turn to to help protect us. That is another reason I want to find students, to help others hone themselves, and to have others help me hone myself. Let us be a force that is far from vulnerable."
Vulnerable, eh? Then my quest is more important still.

Krinn makes a decision. Quickly, he waves the innkeeper over and hands him some coin. Enough for the afternoon's wine and food, plus a hefty tip. "Let the girls stay as long as they want, but I must go." he tells the man.

Then he stands and walks over to Azver.

"My friend. I have heard your words, and they have moved me. You and I have trained together in the past, and I know your skill is greater than mine. I also know your discipline is much more solid than mine, which is why I know you will be a stern but fair master in training the people of our town. However, I swear now while I am in your training, I will give up my drinking and my ladies and devote myself to protecting this village. If you will have me." Krinn holds out his hand to Azver.
Follower of Azver, friend to all in Twinsriver, and person who can get stuff done.
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Krinn
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Post by Krinn »

[Sorry for the out-of sequence posts. This conversation is actually meant to happen maybe a couple days after the above with Azver, but I didn't want to wait for Azver to get home and post replies to me before I can post this one, so I'm just putting it all out there now.]

A couple days after Krinn's talk with Azver, he finds himself visiting Brand's furnace.

"Brand, I was wondering if I could ask you a favor on behalf of the village. Now that Azver has returned Li's sword to the village, I've been talking to some of the village elders, and we're hoping to pour the resources of the village into next year's tournament. I understand that the harper, Laurel, will be involved with organizing the event itself, or at least the entertainment for it. The task I've set myself is maybe a bit more subtle."

"I'm working with the merchants of the town, and especially the hospitality people... innkeepers, public houses, and those kinds of places... to build up their capacity. Not only will there be great fighters from far and wide showing up to this tournament, but there could be lords and merchants from far and wide come with them. Those lords will need to stay in fine suits, and they'll need to eat fine foods. Those merchants will want to form trading relationships with each other or our merchants, since there will be things here that can't be found in their homes."

"But, the whole thing only works if it works. If we can convince those Lords that all the other lords will be here, they'll show up too. If we can convince all the great fighters that they can't afford not to show up, that's a bigger event all around. Once it starts to happen, it can't be stopped. And Twinsriver will reap the coin for every part of that. But first, we need to get the ball rolling, so to speak."

"So, I'm planning a trip next month, to cordially invite some of the great fighters I can find to join the tournament. I'll be training with Azver during this month, so that my invitation won't be seen as an insult to them. And, I'll be going with some members of the town's merchant class and a few of our elders, to invite the merchants and lords of those other places."

"For all of that, I will need to impress them. I would like to give them gifts. We'll call them tokens of our town's hospitality, but really they'll need to be ways of demonstrating our extravagant wealth and power. And, strangely enough, more than riding up with a wagon full of gold coin, the best way to really impress a wealthy man is to give him a single small thing of incomparable value. Maybe just a simple set of plates, but of such amazing craftmanship that one is struck dumb simply by the sight of them."

"And for the fighters, I would like to give them weapons, of course. Li's sword is full of tradition, and something like that can only be earned through combat. But, if I wanted to get on Azver's good side, I would offer him a simple sword, but of the strongest steal and perfectly balanced. He would be much more moved by such a gift than the aforementioned wagonload of gold coin."

"So, for the good of the town, in the hopes of bringing much commerce to our town, and with an eye towards spreading word of your own skills far and wide across the face of the world, can I convince you to donate some of your best works to me, so that I may gift them to distant lands?"
Follower of Azver, friend to all in Twinsriver, and person who can get stuff done.
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Bela Gin
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Post by Bela Gin »

Hello, Krinn. You are as welcome at the temple as anyone. Glad to have you. Your skills will be a great addition to the place.

And I wish I could go with you to new lands to look for great fighters. I'd love to test my skills against people from outside our little corner of the world. But the safety of Twinsriver is my priority. There are some wolves that need to be hunted down.
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