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Post by MacDac on Mar 9, 2008 20:39:35 GMT
Name MacDac Gender, Species and Appearance (fur colour, etc.) Male, Squirrel, Brown Fur, Blue Eyes, Black Tunic Weapon LongBow n' Arrows, Dirk Age (dibbun, teen, adult, elder, etc.) Teen(16) Personality (quirks, faults, skills) MacDac is rather good with his bow, being a great shooter. He is very protective of his belongings. He'll always help out a friend in need, though that's his fault, as he'll put the safety of his friends before his. As to his dirk, he normally throws it a vermin, then races to pick it up, and fights with it, though only when he has no more arrows. He lives in the trees. History When MacDac was only 3, he was living with his parents out in Mossflower. He was a good child, and all ready training with a bow. Then some foxes came along. They killed his parent's, but MacDac hid. After the foxes left, he walked around Mossflower, until he came upon Redwall. He was brought in, and raised as a Redwaller. He joined DAB, and met up with Smasher, a badger. When they turned 15, they left Redwall, and hunted down the foxes who killed MacDac's parents. We all know what happen's next. Smasher returned to Redwall after, but MacDac felt Mossflower calling him, so he stayed is the forest. He soon came upon Terralux, and joined up. Short (3 - 15 paragraphs) RP Example
**MacDac was just sitting on a branch in his tree when he heard some noises coming from below him. He looked down, and saw some vermin looking up at him. One of them said:** Come on down squirrel! An' well make your death far more quicker than normal! **MacDac glared at the vermin.** Scum! **He strung his bow, and notched a arrow to it. He drew back the string, and let loose the arrow at a vermin.** Take that! And this! And that, this! **Soon, only one vermin remained. The vermin(fox)said** I'll kill ya for dat, squirrel! **MacDac drew his dirk, and jumped down. After all his shooting, he was panting lightly.** Let's see if you can carry out that threat **MacDac and the fox ran toward each other, swinging there weapon. MacDac, at the last second, jumped up, and slashed at Fox's head. Fox countered with a parry, and thrusted up at MacDac's unprotected back, drawing blood.** Ha you squirrel! I'll cook you very slowly! **They charged each other again, but this time MacDac drew blood.** We'll see fox, we'll see. **They continued to fight for 30 min. After that, they were both panting like crazy. Then, MacDac raced to Fox, and thrusted at his head.** THUNK! **The head fell to the ground.** Well, fox. Your not as good as you said!
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Post by Stoakly Centurio on Mar 10, 2008 21:38:33 GMT
Tamar - The grammar is off. Don't start every sentence with she, and join sentences. Like this:
It should be:
She has officially sworn off romantic love, but that doesn't mean a certain male squirrel couldn't get to her if he really tried.
Grade 2.
Reema - I have to be honest, it's great! There are a few things you could work on, like not being the completely stereotypical mole. Cheerful, has a huffy temper, et cetera. I have no problems with anything else. Grade 1.
Oakrose - There's no such thing as a white otter. Maybe there's one in America or some related area, but Redwall has European animals. The writing and such are good, but you can't have a white otter. o.o Grade 3.
MacDac - Nothing was too bad -- aside from the grammar -- until the history. Orphans are immediately suish, and revenge is also... something a sue would do. MacDac was three when the foxes came. How would be find those foxes seasons later when he wouldn't even remember what they look like? Besides, they're vermin. Vermin have short lifespan because they're usually unintelligent and fight people all the time. Heck, the same group that did it may even had an argument and left each other. Heh, like the Beatles... Grade 3.
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Post by Tinsy Stormsight on Mar 10, 2008 21:38:58 GMT
Reema, I give you a Grade 1. Good job. Oakrose, I personally would give that a Grade 2, but I think you're already 2 anyway so it doesn't matter. MacDac, Grade 3. I'll let Stoakly go to town on you, since I'm too lazy today. Stoakly, agreed?...yeah, I see you are.
Oh, and I forgot..yeah, Grade 2 for Tamar.
MacDac, I would add that you need to work on your personality..it's rather..faultless. I can understand helping a friend in need despite your own safety, but that's not usually considered a fault. Faults would be having a temper, being lazy and/or shiftless, having a superiority complex and acting high-and-mighty all the time. Willingness to throw yourself in front of a bullet for someone isn't a fault. (Unless, of course, you're suicidal.)
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Reema
Canopy Cadet
Spontaneously combusting coconuts. :3
Posts: 15
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Post by Reema on Mar 10, 2008 22:19:14 GMT
Awee, yay!
I'll try to work upon that, Stoakly, thanks for telling me.
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Post by Oakrose & Crew on Mar 10, 2008 22:36:40 GMT
You mean..... there's no..... no white otters in..... in the Redwalliverse? Whoops, never knew that. Sorry. Um.... I guess he'll be light brown then. Hm, very odd. Never realized that it was so. Okay, I'll keep that in the back of my noggin.
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Post by MacDac on Mar 11, 2008 12:33:15 GMT
Ouch, I'm rather bad at RPing. Guess I'd better brush up on it. Um, yeah, I know the grammer is bad.(I still can't remember the difference between there and their!)
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Navi
Canopy Cadet
Avie by Moonpaw from DAB. It's so cute!
Posts: 7
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Post by Navi on Mar 18, 2008 13:12:57 GMT
Before reading this, have pity on me. The history segment sounds a bit suish , what with the 'orphanesque' thing. I'll try my best to fix certain parts if it is too unbearable. Name: Navi Ragine Gender: Femine' Species: otter Aparrel: Slight darkish brown fur, brown cheerful eyes. She wears a green habit/dress from Redwall, 'cept it's been altered a bit so it's easier to trudge through the wood with and has a thick belt instead of a rope girdle. Her hand are kinda' worn and rough and she wears another belt diagonaly over her back that holds her oar in place when Navi isn't using it. Wepons: Three turquoise hilted throwing daggers and a hard oak oar. Age: 20... ish... it varries, but right now she's 20. Adult. Personality: Has a deep smile and a full laugh which she likes to use. Socialable and an all around sipleton who won't back down from a fight but isn't exactly described aggressive. A little on the short side, but still pretty big when it comes to credence and girth, though somtimes a bit awkward. History: Navi Ragine, was born to a river otter couple that was part of a traveling entertainment group. When she was very young, it rained hard and she and her parents were separated from the main group. They wandered around the woods for awhile as it stormed until they made camp and spent the night in the woods. But during the night a small band of about three weasles snuck up and stole the supplies. Navi was curled up in a haversack, fast asleep, so when the vermin came, she was tugged off along with the food. When the gang of vermin found Navi they just sort of dumped her in the bushes and moved on. She was found by a crowded family of squirrels that sent her off to Redwall because their home was too cramped. She joined DAB and later on became a member of LOB and currently resides there. Finally, she decided to journey away from Brockhall and try to track down her parents. She never did find them but instead discovered Terralux and is sort of suspended from here. RP: Chop! Chop! *The axe dug wood chips out of the thick trunk of an old cedar tree and spewed the splintery bits into the damp face of a rugged, squinting ottermaid. They stuck to her green sleeves and habit dress as she heaved the axe over her shoulder, gritted her teeth and swung sideways at the large hole she had labored on for the past hours. She was almost there, just a few more whacks! *Navi pulled her axe from the tree with an exhausted sigh. She mopped her brow and shook the chips from her fur with a swift shake of her head. The poor old cedar was at the end of its rope anyway; no use in wasting useful wood which was needed during the winter. *This was the usual toil the ottermaid enjoyed. The kind you did with bare paws and simple tools, working nature’s elements until it was to her liking. She liked carving especially; staves, arrows and bows(even if she never actually used them herself), walking sticks, and small figurines for the little ones to play with. She was also learning to master the craft of metal working and glass blowing, but that would have to wait until the tree was put down. *Navi jerked the axe to her shoulder, aimed, and swung until it made a resounding thud into the cedar. It stood still for a few seconds until the otter gave it a good shove with her shoulder and it began collapsing outwardly, making loud snapping and cracking noises until it hit the forest floor. She patted the severed trunk with gritty paw as she began hacking away at its branches.* Sorry ol’ fella’, this is life.
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Fireclaw
Canopy Cadet
Dark Times Lie Ahead.... For The Lazy
Posts: 31
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Post by Fireclaw on Apr 4, 2008 20:41:15 GMT
Ok you guys I forced it on me I will try better next time.
Fireclaw
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Fireclaw
Canopy Cadet
Dark Times Lie Ahead.... For The Lazy
Posts: 31
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Post by Fireclaw on Apr 11, 2008 1:23:32 GMT
OCC Maybe its not worth it. here is my last shot to please you beasts Name My name is Fireclaw Gender, Male Species and Appearance Here is what I looked like last I time I saw myself in a lake. My fur is red, Blue eyes, I think I am an agile sturdy squirrel. OK I don't always were this but most of the time . green tunic with a belt and a different things on the belt.This is also what I carry a bow strung over his back and a dagger in his belt. What else do you want to know about me? . Weapon I love my dear weapons they are all I have. Bow/Dirk/blowpipe Age I am a Teen so live with it. Personality OK I think a skill for building things and can scout decently. I love questing but is a little to sure of myself. I am shy sometime headstrong. I remember my mother always saying. Fireclaw you need to keep an eye on your temper. Yeah what ever.Fun loving, kind, brave, History Intro *a mole in a habit says*."Its a sad sad tale. Fireclaw's I will tell it to you beasts but don't get too chocked up." *the mole starts the tale.* Dibbun I don't remember much but my parents were killed when I was young. My mate next to me when I was chained to the oars was a good friend of my family. He said by family had been farmers poor but happy beasts. After a hard year of harvest when slasher attacked they were to weak to defend. Novice All I remember was the whip and rowing. Slasher Silvereyes the evil ferret worked me for hours before I could sleep. But I knew that sometime I would escape from the dreaded ship Wolf Blood. I have tried many times to escape and finally did it. But I swore one day I will come back and serve justice to Slasher. Teen This is were I am Currently I have visited other tribe and villages. Yes I hope to make this place my home and make new friends.
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Post by Tinsy Stormsight on Apr 11, 2008 10:30:27 GMT
Fireclaw, Grade 3..you'll get an rping assignment when things pick up again.
Navi, Grade 1..looks good. The orphanesque thing isn't bad..I, personally, have never particularly minded orphans, so long as they're not stus/sues and have correct grammar and spelling. Beside, you've got a newish twist on it. I don't think it matters that much.
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Post by Shale August on Apr 12, 2008 21:43:29 GMT
((I had too many characters for one post, so I split it into two.))
Part 1
Name: Shale August, born Agurne Kastuva Gender: Female Species: Pine Marten
Appearance:
Shale, or simply August as she is known to some, is built like a typical pine marten - sleek, sinewy and nimble. She is of average size for her species, roughly as tall as a small hare, but like most pine martens, a great deal larger than her distant relatives, the weasels, ferrets and stoats, the other "vermin" mustelids. She is slender, lithe and quite unmuscled, preferring to fight and compete with her speed, agility and flexibility; even where she has developed muscle tissue, it adds very little bulk to her overall figure. She is graceful in movement, to the point of almost seeming fluid, due to obsessive training for her acrobatics and martial arts.
Shale's fur is sleek chocolate brown all over, with the exception of her creamy yellow ears and "bib", which extends from the underside of her chin to a point in the middle of her chest, like a ragged baby's bib. In winter, her fur, which grows longer and silkier, appears lighter, though only slightly. Her eyes are set evenly, with dark brown irises often shadowed under dark brown or black lashes, seemingly calm when at rest, yet when alert her eyes are very quick to move, darting to and fro. She has very fine, black whiskers set by her small black nose, which twitches sometimes when she is particularly emotional.
Shale wears a simple black outfit with no unnecessary accessories to alleviate her fighting style (which is in fact only a component of her philosophy and lifestyle), composed of a tunic/jacket, sash and trousers, all created of cotton canvas. The top, a cross between a jacket and a tunic, is completely black, cut with a collar that extends the entire length of the jacket, to the knee, or at least the mid-thigh, as the hems, so that when closed, the edges cross across the torso lightly diagonally and split to create front and back halves between the hips and the knees. Over this, Shale wears a sash at the waist to secure the jacket, and the marten possesses an entire collection of sashes, each a different color. Her trousers are also black and of the same material, but are loose, straight and ankle-length, tied at the top with a strap threaded through the waistband.
Weapons:
Shale is a talented practitioner of a particular artistic paw-to-paw combat style, which blends acrobatics, gymnastics, boxing and philosophy into one, highly dangerous form, called Zorian Nere (literally "unique path to happiness"). Though young, she is very capable at unarmed combat, having been instructed in the Way of Zorian from an early age, utilizing her natural gifts of speed and agility, along with her attained flexibility to cause great damage to opponents, particularly with her semi-retractable claws.
When Zorian Nere is too slow and too precise, Shale uses a pair of laguiole-style navaja knives, small, slender, folding knives that open with the push of a button. The shapely, slender handle is of maple wood, with mechanisms and end caps of silver, containing a fatally sharp blade of Damascus steel. The maple is highly figured, with the rich swirls and stripes of polished, varnished wood, very smooth to the touch, and the caps are plain silver, though the locking spine, also of silver, is engraved with the word "August" in fine, calligraphic font. The blade is pattern welded, with Andalusian relief etching on half of each side of the blade, following the line of the blunt edge. These she keeps strapped to the underside of her forearms in special sheathes, so that they slide into her palms if she forcefully flicks her wrist downwards.
Age:
Between 18-20 years old, when she arrives in Terralux.
Personality (quirks, faults, skills)
The defining characteristic of Shale is her laziness. She does not attempt to do or think beyond what she needs to do or think to live, and she does not bother to stray out of what is routine for her. She exercises regularly, of course, with a five mile run/climb in the woods every morning, and a further hour of Zorian Nere, which she always seeks to improve, yet she only occasionally bothers to do anything particularly strenuous outside of her routine. The laziness extends to her attitude as well, and she only ever does what is necessary for herself - when she can, she steals or purchases food rather than forage for it herself, she wears clothes that need very little care, and the like. Her neutral stance also reflects her laziness, as she is only ever neutral because it hardly ever matters whether a certain person is goodbeast or vermin, especially if she is a) stealing from them, b) trading with them, or c) being attacked by them. However, while she dislikes having to do extra work, she does tend to make exceptions for fighting, which she enjoys, and never steps down from a fight as she knows she is completely capable. Also, whatever is routine for her, no matter how tiring, she will do, as long as she has to do nothing to break that routine.
When she is forced, or asked to do something out of routine, that is likely not to become routine, she does not waste breath on complaining - instead, she simply does not do whatever it is she has to do. However, anything that is normal, that is routine for her, that she has to do to survive, she will do without any qualms and as a result she has almost no sense of morality or ethics. This mercenary attitude comes from her former companion, Fray, but unlike him she will not work solely for money, though she happily accepts it for anything she is willing to do anyway. Though she does not have much morality, she does not do anything unless she has to, and this applies to sinning as well; for example, if it is easier to purchase food than to steal it, she will wholeheartedly give away money to eat. However, because she has no ethics, she also has no need to justify anything, and simply refuses to think that what she might be doing is wrong, as she just attributes that to "survival necessities".
Shale's laziness makes her seem detached and also very reclusive, as she finds socializing useless and tiring, unless it is necessary for her. However, when she does attempt to communicate with others to a greater depth than is customary, she is brutally honest and makes no attempt to hide her feelings, making her supercilious, insensitive and sarcastic. This does have the effect of isolating her further, yet she bears the loneliness with the same stoic nonchalance that was impounded in her as a young kit. Pine martens are generally solitary creatures, and she does not mind the solitude as much as a more sociable species would, yet it is definitely true that she does seek companionship sometimes. Those who can see the playful, curious kit buried beneath the years of training, can see her insecurities and fears bound down by her ambition and her desire for attention, both of which come from when her mother had no time to look after her (because of her brothers) and she had to compete with patients for her healer father's attentions. It is then obvious that she forsook the affection and company of others for personal achievement, which she has in a way achieved.
This ambition and competitive attitude might seem contrary to her laziness; however, they are actually the very cause of her laziness. Due to her ambition, she is highly focused on what she has to do to attain her goal, which at this point in time is to amass enough experience to be named a master of Zorian Nere, and she dislikes having to do anything that will not contribute to this goal. She recognizes that she cannot predict the future at all, and realizes that some of the things she might be missing out on could be essential to her in the future, yet she believes that it is more likely that walking other paths will only sidetrack her. This tendency developed into something of an obsession, to the point that currently she refuses to do anything which is not completely necessary. On the other hand, her ambition and her excellence in certain areas does inspire her sometimes into doing small, unnecessary actions, often to show off, such as spinning her knives or doing excessive acrobatics while fighting.
(However, now that she has arrived in Terralux, it is likely that her habits will change, as she is here to learn. Her ambition lends her an uncharacteristic eagerness, and she is likely to show a little more of her curiosity, rather than the nonchalance that she has previously shown to most people, with the exception of close friends such as Fray, Elias and Felicia. She will attempt to interact more with others to learn from them, and she may try to educate others on the large amount of unique knowledge that she possesses. She may also begin to resent the fact that she is illiterate, and seek closer contact with others.)
Flaws: Lazy, arrogant, supercilious/condescending, neutral, no sense of honor/morality/ethics, reclusive/unsociable, competitive, sarcastic, reckless. Qualities: Excellent fighter, experienced, self-sufficient, trilingual (Basque, French, English [she has a French accent]).
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Post by Shale August on Apr 12, 2008 21:43:50 GMT
Part 2
History
(Names of people and places invented by myself [Meleam, Najalve, Gutxiar, etc.] are generally all of Basque origin, with the exception of Felicia, Elias (both Spanish) and Fray.)
Agurne Kastuva, later Shale August, was born prematurely one morning in March to Alaia and Zeru Kastuva of Meleam, a village settlement of pine martens in the Basque Pyrenees. Her grandfather, Unai, the Basajaun (Lord of the Woods - a spiritual leader) of Meleam, declared that she was too small to live and would not survive the week. To the pleasant surprise of her parents, Agurne survived her first week, her second week, her third week, her fourth week, her second month, her first year - until the Basajaun stopped counting and finally gave his granddaughter his blessing. In fact, he reluctantly promised her parents to provide for her education in Zorian Nere, the Way of Zorian.
When Agurne was two years old, Alaia Kastuva gave birth to twin sons, named Ekain and Ganix, who proved to be extremely difficult kits and left their mother little to time to look after her daughter, so the little kit spent a lot of time with her father, an avid observer of Zorian Nere and a skilled healer, whose gentle methods of treatment were scorned by the quack doctors of the great towns but were sought throughout the little villages of the Pyrenees. Her father was careful and considerate in looking after his daughter, but he was always busy and usually Agurne was left to her own devices in and around his workplace.
Ekain and Ganix grew up fast into boisterous young lads with a taste for mischief and very little respect for their sister, who was only a little older than them and not much taller. They constantly fought with her, and as a result she took to escaping up the trees, where her superior flexibility and agility allowed her to escape their stupidity. Her potential for great achievements in acrobatic combat became apparent to Zeru, and he requested to his father the Basajaun to begin her education earlier than was considered normal. Therefore, when she was eight, she was sent to a hamlet to the south, to be educated in Zorian Nere by Oroitz of Palava, a master of the art as named by Patxi Itzal himself.
When Agurne first arrived in the little farming community, she was put to work like any other farmhand, working from dawn to dusk to cultivate grapes under the hot, Spanish sun. Worse, she was isolated from all her peers and put to work in a separate field. At first she despaired, believing that she had only been sent there to be used as a worker, yet eventually she took to working without complaint, even when she fainted from dehydration on her hundredth day in Najalve, the hamlet. After recovering, she was quickly back at work without a word, and by the time a year had passed, she had learnt patience, self-reliance, and the rewards of hard work.
Her second year in Najalve was spent in a similar way, yet every day, before and after a long eight hours of backbreaking work, she was sent on a three mile run through the woods to check her teacher's beehives. In the mornings she had to run on the ground, and in the evenings she had to run through the treetops, along a set route, and memorize the conditions of each of the ten beehives. However, if she turned up late for work or dinner, she was heavily scolded, and in the case of the latter, had no food to eat that night; as a result she had to learn to run the course in less than half an hour. Over the course of the year, she had to take increasingly longer routes through the woods, to increase her stamina and speed.
Her third year finally began her formal training, and Agurne was finally able to meet with Oroitz, her teacher, more than once a week, yet she still had to work at least four hours a day in the fields and go fur two runs a day in the woods. The rest of the time she spent indoors, studying the anatomy of many species, both through oral teaching and the copying of diagrams from her master's books, which she couldn't read. As a ten year old, the routine of each day was still extremely strenuous and tiring, and later she would remember the first three years of her teaching as the worst of her childhood.
Her fourth year was a continuation of the third; boring, tiring repetition with nothing of the combat skills that Agurne had been promised. However, when her fifth year began, when she was twelve, all farmyard duties were removed from her and Oroitz began to teach her the martial art of Zorian Nere. This she excelled in, all the training of the past four years putting her at an advantage. She was highly flexible, speedy, nimble and enduring, with a thorough knowledge of the body. Oroitz showed her the basic moves of the art throughout her fifth year in Najalve, and began to allow her to socialize to a greater extent with others of her own age.
Her sixth year began when she was thirteen, and introduced her to improvisation and creativity in fighting. She traveled with Oroitz from Najalve to Gutxiar, the birthplace of Patxi Itzal, a large town in the southern Pyrenees, where she met with many other practitioners of Zorian Nere, most of who were not pine martens, to her surprise. There Oroitz took two more students, a Broom Hare named Felicia, and a pine marten named Elias, both of Agurne's age. The three immediately had a fierce academic rivalry, yet eventually they also developed close friendships. Agurne still excelled over her peers, and enrolled in many tournaments to gain practical experience, obtaining her share of medals but also rivals.
Her seventh year with Oroitz was spent mostly in the company of Felicia and Elias, the latter of whom she had her first romantic relationship with, later in the year. They spent much time practicing Zorian Nere on one another, while their teacher found them opponents to fight against, as he firmly believed that experience was the key to fighting creatively and being able to improvise and compromise. They still lived in the busy Gutxiar, where Agurne was exposed to more people than ever before, which allowed her to look around her and think about what her unique path of Zorian would be. At the end of her seventh year, Oroitz and his students moved back to Najalve after two years.
By then Agurne was fifteen years old. In a year, she would have to leave the Pyrenees to seek her fortune, as was dictated by Zorian Nere, and Oroitz gave her the option of returning home to her family in Meleam after seven years, or to stay in Najalve to complete her education. Torn between her past and her present, and forced to decide for the first time, she eventually chose to attempt to finish her education in the first half year, and then return home. Oroitz told her that such a decision was not an option, but with stubbornness and obstinacy, she refused to choose. She stayed with Oroitz, Felicia and Elias for the first half year, learning about meditation, inner peace, and freedom of the soul.
When the half year had passed, and it was time for Agurne to return home, Oroitz announced that he would teach his students the secret at the heart of Zorian Nere during their last half year in his tutelage, yet bid his first student to leave, as she had decided. Eager to learn the secret, she told her mentor that she had changed her mind, and would be staying on, yet Oroitz commanded her to return home to Meleam. Angry and resentful, she bid farewell to Felicia and Elias, and returned to Meleam, ten miles away, where she was greeted lovingly by her aging parents and teenaged brothers. However, she refused to admit defeat, and every morning at dawn, she walked the ten miles from Meleam to Najalve to listen in on the lessons Oroitz was giving to her former peers.
In this way she spent her last six months mostly alone, finding no time to be with her family as she remained hidden from her old classmates and teacher, and at the end of it all, she learned that the secret of Zorian Nere was, in fact, simply decisiveness. She learned that deciding and choosing one's own path and remaining faithful to the decision was really what Zorian Nere was all about. Then, a week before her sixteenth birthday, Oroitz, who had all along known she was eavesdropping, told her that she would be a master of the art, if only she could learn to be decisive, and instructed her to travel the continent, to gain experience, before she returned to the Pyrenees to be named a master. She then bid Oroitz, Elias and Felicia farewell, returned to Meleam, and spent her last week entirely in her family's company, then left alone with her head held high.
She left with her old name, Agurne Kastuva, yet took to introducing herself as Shale Agurne as she traveled, until she met Adrien Dion in northern France. Adrien Auguste Dion was a mercenary otter from the French-speaking area of Switzerland ((is Switzerland part of this world?)) and Agurne first encountered him when she got caught in one of his traps after successfully knocking him out from behind and stealing his supplies. Adrien was surprised that such a slender, seemingly unremarkable female could have knocked him out, and offered her his companionship on her travels. Agurne, or Shale, as she introduced herself, accepted happily, welcoming the company and the protection the experienced mercenary's skill could offer.
Though at first the otter had presented himself as Adrien Auguste Dion, of French Switzerland, 28 years of age, it soon became apparent to Shale that he was not, in fact, any of these things. When they arrived in English Calais, Shale found that he introduced himself with his old persona to the French, and as Thomas John Philips, of Dover, 30 years old, to the English. Confronting her companion, she demanded that the otter tell her who he really was, and he responded that each of his personas were all really him, just under different names, though he was born as Edmund Friday in Scotland, and was, at that point in time, 29 years old. He allowed his young companion to call him "Fray", his childhood nickname, and explained that he needed the two personas to get him around mainland Europe, due to political tensions.
Inspired by this, Shale took the name Shale August, her last name a play on her original first name, and Fray's middle name as Adrien. They continued to travel around the continent, often stealing from both goodbeast and vermin encampments and passing from city to city. Meanwhile, Fray taught Shale how to use and fight against bladed weapons, going so far as to enlist the help of some Swiss mercenaries, acquaintances of Adrien's, to train her while they were in Switzerland. They eventually crossed the Alps and headed to Italy, from where they sailed to Corsica, then Andalusia. Shale and Fray had been together for almost two years by then, and had completed a long journey across Europe.
At this point Fray decided it was time they parted ways, and offered his services to the Spanish forces crossing the Strait of Gibraltar to fight in Morocco, leaving Shale alone in southern Spain. However, before he left for his first trip to Africa, he presented her with the two handmade laguiole-style navajas that she began to use as her primary weapons. After Fray left, she spent sometime in the area, before it got too hot and she took to sea, traveling north to Holland, then Britain. She eventually discovered Mossflower Woods, a highly rural environment quite unlike what she was used to, yet apparently home to some great warriors, and decided to settle and remain there until she had learnt what was so remarkable about the fighters there. In this way she found Terralux, and chose to reside there.
Short (3 - 15 paragraphs) RP Example
((This is actually the post I made on the "Guarding the Walls" thread, and it's not the best quality, but I don't really have time to write anything better... so. Yeah. XP))
Shale August was in no hurry, even as the great mass of cloud in the sky crept up on the sun, for she had no fear of rain, or storms. There was no need, there was never any need, for her to rush and exert herself, and so she never did. She always walked at the same pace, with a hint of a swagger in her casual, lazy gait, as she wandered over hill and vale.
Today was no different. The pine marten had lunched only a short while before, on a hill overlooking the big red mountain by the sea, on stolen food as usual. This time, she had stolen from a rather uncooperative rat, whose corpse was now decaying in a quiet copse two hour’s walk from the place they called Redwall, in the depths of Mossflower Wood. He had possessed some cheese, a loaf of bread, and a cask of wine, as well as an impertinent attitude. Shale had taken the cheese and bread, and eaten both for lunch, while she had left the cask of wine with the dead rat. She had no use for anything that could possibly cloud her mind.
She had finished the last of the cheese and bread for lunch, and she did not know when her next meal would come along, but for now she was content. Her stomach purred contentedly as she swaggered along, sharpening her black claws with the Damascus steel of the navaja in her right paw. It was something of a habit, something to distract the marten from the constant toil of walking all day long, but something that would have to cease as soon as it began to rain. Which it would very soon.
With a sigh she snapped the folding knife shut and tossed it in the air, spinning it with her thumb and index finger. The figured maple grip landed lightly in Shale’s open paw, only to be slid over the heel of the hand and into the waiting sheath half-concealed in the chocolate-colored fur of the underside of her forearms. Knitting her fingers together and stretching, she slowly began to resume walking, along the muddy path. Less and less light from the shadowed sun filtered through the canopy to lighten the forest, and this suited the naturally nocturnal marten fine.
Yet what was this? In the distance, less than three minutes walk along the woodland road, in an obvious clearing, stood some kind of fort. If it could even be called that – Shale had seen far more impressive constructions even in her rural homeland. Her thoughts flitted back to her past for a split second, dwelling on the pleasant memory of the first time she had looked upon the castle of Gutxiar, before she looked back up at the settlement at the end of the path. There were gates there, and she guessed there was some kind of lettering on the arch above it, yet she did not bother to read it.
In fact, she couldn’t. She was completely illiterate, she admitted with bitterness, but it didn’t matter. She knew where this place was. She had heard one of the associates of the rat from the day before talking of a fort, at the end of “the fat muddy road to that damned lake”, a fort by the name of Terralux. She had decided to follow the road only through curiosity, yet as she grew nearer, she gradually began to feel a long-unfelt emotion rising within her – anticipation. She could see foxes, ferrets, rats and squirrels all alongside each other, a welcome sight to her eyes, and she had reason to believe that perhaps she would not have to do quite as much work as she had done the previous day to obtain some dinner.
Her leisurely pace did not change, and neither did her expression, but still she tucked her clenched paws in her jacket pockets as she walked. The wind was picking up, yet Shale knew that at this rate she had a chance of having a roof over her head before it began to rain. While she didn’t mind if it rained on her, it was still preferable not to have that happen, she reasoned, as her curiosity overcame her. From the increasingly closer distance, she could see the arms carried by some of the beasts waiting by the gate – perhaps these were among the legendary warriors of Mossflower?
A grin tugged lightly at the corners of the marten’s mouth as she neared the gates. Ten paces, nine paces, eight paces… Her light, swaggering gait slowly carried her towards the construction, which she could now see was not quite complete. That didn’t matter, and neither did the workers or the guards there. Yet there was one beast there that caught her eye – a squirrel, standing on the threshold of the fort alone, and more importantly, doing nothing. He looked important enough.
As she reached the gates and the squirrel, she paused and looked down very swiftly to check the condition of her black, cotton canvas outfit. It was fine, except for the splatters of mud on the bottom edges of her loose pants, and the frayed edges of her black sash. More things that didn’t matter, not to her. Flicking her right wrist, she let the navaja strapped to her arm slide partway into her paw, ready to be opened as soon as she needed it. With a slight smirk on her otherwise impassive face, she walked forward with the same laziness that characterized every aspect of her life. And now, she thought, for my grand entrance.
“So, zis eez Terralux?”
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Post by Tinsy Stormsight on Apr 14, 2008 22:51:05 GMT
Very good! Grade 1, and points for actually knowing something about medieval Europe and not being English. Most countries are part of this world, including Switzerland. The only real difference is bits and pieces of history, mostly worked around to make it easier to explain the existence of Mossflower Count(r)y. Oh, and also it doesn't appear that the Americas exist. Still, since Columbus hasn't gone a-sailing, and doesn't for another fifteen years or so, it doesn't matter. Mossflower is in or near England, probably an island near Great Britian that is about the size of..well, of Britain itself. It's not clear yet how exactly that all works. Obviously this island doesn't exist in our world. Safe to say that Mossflower is a colony of England and is mostly, by now, under control of Tervin Blackstar. Tervin pays respects directly to the King of England. Mossflower itself is not at war with anything but itself, although Tervin sends part of his taxes to England to support various wars (France, mostly, but also occasional battles with Spain and other countries.)
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Fireclaw
Canopy Cadet
Dark Times Lie Ahead.... For The Lazy
Posts: 31
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Post by Fireclaw on Aug 18, 2008 21:50:18 GMT
Have things picked up?
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Post by Terragon Scrufftail on Aug 19, 2008 8:07:48 GMT
Fireclaw, that's a question for the General board and, yes, things are picking up here. Good to see you back.
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