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Post by Aric Summers on Jul 31, 2007 18:48:47 GMT -5
Aric sat at a giant rectangle-shaped table in a very tall wooden chair. He waited for the other races to show up for the reason he had called them. Aric needed to know who was going to aid the Human race in battle if needed. He also needed to know who were his enemies. As men entered the room, they put food and wine on the table in front of him. The plates set in front of the chairs consisted of a small chicken, mashed potatoes, sweet peas, and carrots. Aric waited for the other race leaders to arrive as he took a sip of his wine.
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Post by Shanette on Jul 31, 2007 22:31:23 GMT -5
There came a soft striking noise upon the hardened floor. It was silent enough to be overheard by a whisper and and yet, it was loud enough to echo off the walls. From the door way, a doe swung her head around to stare at the hall and the human sitting alone near a hard wood table. She took a tentetive step into the hall and then broke into a gallop, her black tainted legs a blur as she rushed towards the human, only to suddenly change for and alight softly to the ground as a human, for the doe was no ordinary deer. In fact, she was a herana- a human who could take the form of a deer when ever they so wished. The only thing was that the person or the deer had to be running to change form. The person that changed from the deer had long, slightly curled black hair that rode past her shoulders. Here cloths were tinted earthly colors of green and tan. She walked up to the human leader, a clear look of distaste and distrust in her eyes, but all the same, filled with wonder. She stood at the end of the table and starerd at him with her dark and thoughtful eyes. This human seemed different from so many others who suppressed her kind and thought them no more than mindless native beasts. She felt slightly honored to be called for alliegence by a human, but it would take more than that to convince here to for a bond between humans and her Kin. When she spoke her voice was soft like a brush of the wind, for it was spoke with the softess and shyness that a doe often showed.
"My name is Shannette. I am the Clan Leader of the Herana. You spoke of alliances?" She asked.
Personally she had a great distaste for such things and would rather be amoung the deer and their laws, but this was necceassy.
OOC: It does not look like I gave you your money. Let me try again....
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Post by Ceriden on Aug 1, 2007 1:45:44 GMT -5
Ceriden strode across the hall, a little wary of all the humans around her. She felt slightly clausterphobic in the hall, even though it was collossal. She could barely smell the sea here, and she was getting slightly land-sick. Her seal pelt was hidden in the deep folds of a light shirt, and she did not bother to carry her swords in, she rarly took them anywhere.
As she aproached the table, she saw Shannette, and a wide grin split across her face. "Shannette! It is good to see you again. I hope the winters have not been to harsh, and your summers plentiful..." Then she saw the human, already sitting in his chair. She did not bow, but inclined her head. This was not a sign of respect in her culture, but she knew it was what humans did.
"I am Ceriden, Chiefteness of the Selkies." Her eyes were deep black pools, and she stared at the human king with curiosity.
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Post by Shanette on Aug 1, 2007 2:10:52 GMT -5
Shannette turned her head to see her close friend approach the table. Shhe suppossed that others would be joining them soon. She smiled back at Ceriden, but did not speak. She did not mind the wide halls of man, but she felt uncomfortable. The rolling fields, and wooded forests under an open sky were where she belonged.
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Post by Ceriden on Aug 1, 2007 9:45:24 GMT -5
Ceriden sat down next to her Herana friend. The two had known each other a long time, and it seemd that Shanette was as restless as she was. Under the open sky was where they belonged, and even though she was of the sea, and Shanette was of the land, they both had the same ache in their hearts.
Ceriden was slouched slightly in the chair, going for comfort rather than formality. She lounged slightly, looking from the door to the King, wondering which would be the more exciting one in the moments to come.
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Lord Commander De Montford
Men
Lord Commander of the Royal Guard[M:5600]
Because your heart is open. You hold nothing back
Posts: 157
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Post by Lord Commander De Montford on Aug 2, 2007 2:36:04 GMT -5
High Lord de Montford strode into the hall, opening a large oak door in his entrance. He already saw the small assembly at the high table and cursed himself for not being swifter. He turned to close the doors behind him and walked up the long ailse towards the high table, far above the others. He was wearing his finest formal armour, as was befitting for a meeting of such prestige. The armour he wore was of the usual human design, but it was heavily embellished and pure white in colour with dark edging, and a cloak to match. A thick gold chain was connected to his shoulder to show his elevated status. He loved wearing it, because it made him better, and stronger than he was. It was a shame he hardly ever did.
He bowed his head towards King Aric before taking his seat on his right-hand side, "I apologize for my tardiness my liege. The guard's stations are changing and I had to see them finalised."
He sat down as formally as he could. He felt at home in these meetings of sorts, in a great stone fortress, almost as much as he did on the battlefield. He nodded his head towards their guests, the leaders of their respective races. "Greetings my ladies, I am High Lord Arthur de Montford."
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Post by Aric Summers on Aug 2, 2007 12:06:52 GMT -5
Aric turned his head to the large oak door as his High Lord walked in. He looked at his armor and smiled slightly. He then bowed his head to the man that spoke to him. "It is fine. I am guessing that they a doing well in the stations then." He said looking the man in the eyes.
Aric waved his hand toward Arthur in a greetingful way "This is my High Lord of the Human race." He said introducing the man. "But, now to matters a hand. As such a large race, us Humans need to know who our enemies and allies are."
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Lord Commander De Montford
Men
Lord Commander of the Royal Guard[M:5600]
Because your heart is open. You hold nothing back
Posts: 157
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Post by Lord Commander De Montford on Aug 3, 2007 2:36:35 GMT -5
"Yes, they are in excellent order," he replied to the King. He sat down and listened as the leaders spoke on. He was only here for military interjecture, for that was his area of expertise. He had to know who's armies he could trust, and who's he couldn't.
But off the record, he was just a curious person, and he wanted to see how strong the other races of the world were compared Aric's. "Friends are a hard asset to come by these days my queens," he added to his King's words. "That is why they are so valuable in times of hardship. That is why they are so essential."
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Post by Ceriden on Aug 9, 2007 10:40:31 GMT -5
Ceriden turned slightly to Shanette at the mention off friends. She knew she could count on the Herana to be there for the Selkies. The humans however....
"Friends are difficult to come by, but the Selkies are devoted. We do not readily abandon those who are kind to us." Her eyebrow was raised slightly, and her black seal eyes were now fixed unwavering on both men.
"Things are not easy for us though, and nor, I believe, for the Herana. My kin are being hunted for waterproof skin and..." She choked slightly, but continued on, "...meat. I hardly thing a friend would kill and eat his buddy. I do realize that you humans need to eat, as do we, but it is hard for me to trust and befriend you when my seals detest you so much." She was not just speaking of selkies, but of all the seals, who were as much a family and friend as she could wish for.
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Lord Commander De Montford
Men
Lord Commander of the Royal Guard[M:5600]
Because your heart is open. You hold nothing back
Posts: 157
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Post by Lord Commander De Montford on Aug 11, 2007 2:26:00 GMT -5
Arthur was lost for words at that. The Selkie's speech was such that he couldn't truly understand. Although human rangers and peasents hunted deer, or foul, or rabbits and foxes for their meals, he had hardly ever heard of someone killing a seal. At least he knew that he had never killed a seal. Although he could defend the humans slightly in that they were killing seals, but he had no rebuttal against killing Herena, or Selkie's by mistake.
It was so difficult to tell the difference between a shapeshifter and the real thing, unless you'd spent your entire life around them. Arthur searched his mind for words, "I must defend my kinsmen, in that they would never willingly murder a Herena or Selkie for meat. That I can assure you." But how could he tell them that they didn't mean to kill deer and seals. They would easily see through that, and Arthur wasn't about to insult their intelligence by saying it.
He was eager to change the topic, "The armies of man are at their peak of power, but our rangers have been hearing rumours of another, larger army forming somewhere just out of our reach. One that would crush our kingdoms into nothingness. If these rumours are true, then we will need as many friends as possible. We all will."
ooc: I don't know if I'm out of line with the whole, 'rumours about an unknown evil army' thing. I'm not sure what you had planned for this site later on...
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Post by Ceriden on Aug 11, 2007 2:47:26 GMT -5
OOC: No, thats good, we didnt really have any plot ideas going, so suggestions would be very welcome. We can just play of this if you want, so just write whatever comes to mind, even if the idea seems complicated or far-fetched. We really need a plot and this could be it (whatever it is)
Ceriden looked at the man, her eyes narrowed just barely. She could not say anything back about her looking like the seals, because she did; but even so, it was hard to trust someone whos people hunted her friends and family.
"I have heard nothing of this 'army'; my people spend their lives at the sea, we have no need to scout inland. How could they so easily crush you? You are not a weak army." She said in her soft voice, gazing curiously as the Lord. She wanted to know if the army posed any threat to her in the Sea, because the Selkies could live quite comfterably there for years without setting foot on the Mainland.
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Lord Commander De Montford
Men
Lord Commander of the Royal Guard[M:5600]
Because your heart is open. You hold nothing back
Posts: 157
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Post by Lord Commander De Montford on Aug 11, 2007 3:16:50 GMT -5
ooc: *cracks fingers* O.K., lets see what I can do.
Arthur motioned to one of the guards by the door, and he walked up beside the table carrying what looked like a heavy sack. "This is a report from one of our most highly-trained scouts," he explained to the Selkie, handing her a new piece of parchment, with a short couple of paragraphs written across it in a hurried hand.
"Basically all it details is that he was ranging near the edges of map, almost beyond known regions of the Ice Plains." He let her skim over the words before he continued. "As you can see, it is a contact report. One that the soldiers make when they encounter military resistance. He wrote that, because he ran into this!"
At the world 'this' he dropped a heavy, massive object out of the sack and onto the table. The thud of it hitting the wood was thunderous in the stone chamber, and it's echo completely drowned out the small tones of their voices.
"Have you ever seen something like this before?" he asked, as everyone's attention was drawn to the massive, iron helmet now sitting on the table. It was charred to almost a complete black and it was three times as large as a normal man's head. It had two large cheek plates that extended from a bowl shaped top, and a nose-guard. But the most intimidating feature of it were the two large horns sticking out of the front of it, either side of the forehead, and another from the back of the head.
"Because it alone wiped out half of that party before they managed to bring it down. If you ever had fear of the army of man, then welcome a species that overpowers us tenfold..."
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Post by Ceriden on Aug 11, 2007 13:59:05 GMT -5
Ceriden's heart sunk. This was something she had seen before, but it was not exactly like this.
"I have seen it once before, when I was barely out of puphood." She began in a slightly weakened voice. "I was eager to explore the waters around me, and I dove deep below in a place near the shore. I saw a rusted rock, but it did not look like any rock I had ever seen. It had looked like this, but I could not believe it was a helm because of its size. Whatever these beasts are, they must have been here before." She paused, thoughtful for a second. "I know humans and dragons have a deep loathing for each other, but they do not mind the selkies so much, as long as we are in seal form. I could find there eldest one and see if he remembers anything of this. Or, we could ask the merchant. He knows the tales of this land better than anyone, and either he or thedragon are sure to know something." She sat back, wondering if the humans would turn for help from either.
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Lord Commander De Montford
Men
Lord Commander of the Royal Guard[M:5600]
Because your heart is open. You hold nothing back
Posts: 157
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Post by Lord Commander De Montford on Aug 11, 2007 17:41:56 GMT -5
"The Armies of Man will never turn to a mere merchant for the assistance of war, I'm afraid Selkie." Arthur didn't like bringing peasants into war. War was a job for the soldiers, not a merchant. "Not all humans hate the dragons actually, there are men and women in the cities of Man who idolise dragons day and night. It is more or less the dragon's hatred for our soldiers that has kept us apart."
De Montford thought about what they could do, peering into the eye-slits of the massive helmet, "If you would have it my lady, would you be able to find the elder dragon perhaps and uncover the history of these..." He didn't have a word for this creature, whatever it was, "...these things?" He waved a hand over the helmet in indication.
"But the most pressing matter is still upon us my queens. Against an enemy of such power, would you allow the allied armies of our species to march?"
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Faolan Lupus
Men
[M:0]
A single withered tree, if set aflame, causes a whole forest to burn
Posts: 31
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Post by Faolan Lupus on Aug 11, 2007 18:31:56 GMT -5
Faolan pushed open the heavy doors and walked into the room. He had only just then managed to escape the medics. Through he was limping and swaying a little, he didn't look too bad, save the healing gash across his right cheek. He should probably wear a helmet in the future.
Faolan bowed as much as he could to the King and the Selkie Chieftainess and Herena Clan Leader both of whom he had only ever met sparingly before. He gave a slight nod of the head to the High Lord, but he wasn't going to bow again. He wasn't sure he could have.
"That beast," Faolan said, waving his hand in the direction of the helm, "Was not a beast I have ever encountered in my travels. I have fair connections with the army of beasts and never once have a seen one of those. I cannot be sure where its loyalties lay."
Faolan wished his leg was fixed properly so he could leave again. He never felt comfortable in the city.
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