rules:
1. normal rules apply.
2. your nation will have to either be on the continent or at least a island close to it.
3. Might add more rules if I remember what the other planned ones are.
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The night was calm, the nightly watch was few as they watched they peaceful surroundings around the city, that was until a ship was spotted. Soon enough an entire armada showed up, shrouded in the night. The air turned from peaceful to tense as the guards lined the walls and watched, looking at the flags flying over the ships, showing off that these ships belonged to unknowns. Soon enough deafening bangs were heard from them as the wall was hit multiple times. The guards retaliated quickly, but they didn't last long when one of the guards felt something staring at them from behind and turned around. He came face to face to an unknown knight who wasn't there a second ago, his position causing his helmet to cast a shadow across their face, making the only known feature being the dragon like armor they were wearing, and somehow, he just knew that they were with the invaders. But before he could react everything went dark as the knight pierced his light armor with blades, the other guard's looking over to see one of their comrades falling to their knees in front of a knight for one second and then the knight missing for the next second, only to show up at the other side, repeating the process. Soon enough a bell started to ring throughout the city as more of the knights started appearing. Only for another cannonball to hit a bell tower, causing it to collapse and echo throughout the entire city as the skies went up in smoke. But soon enough a more terrifying sight was seen approaching from behind the armada. Dragons started showing up, lighting the city on fire, the once peaceful and beautiful city that functioned as the alliance capital was quickly light ablaze, its smoke and flames being seen from far off kingdoms, but they said only one thing, this is only the beginning...
Outside the walls of The Silver Castle fresh snow had started to fall. The night was as dark and as cold as it usually was, on a night without fog one could look up and gaze into the void filled with stars that was the night sky. However tonight fog had already started to gather on the ground. Inside the castle, King Peter sat in his throne facing the fireplace in which fuel burned filling the room with warmth. He stared into the space above the fireplace, lost in thought. Suddenly a door opened and a feminine voice sounded, "Peter, it is late. Why are you still awake?" The voice belonged to Queen Jane, the wife of Peter. He turned to face her, "I have not heard anything from the alliance capital for a while, I worry that something may have happened" he said, his voice was flat and filled with concern. Jane replied in her usual calm voice, "You are just being paranoid, tomorrow we can send a messenger to the capital then we will find out that nothing has happend to cause concern." King Peter smiled, "Yes, that would be a good idea." He stood up and left the throne room, a servant appearing to put out the fire, and fell asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow on the bed. Jane smiled as he passed her, happy to be able to get some rest. Outside the snow began to fall harder, coating the castle in a thin layer of snow.
The room was dark, swaying from the waves of the sea and shrouded in darkness from the storm outside over the armada. The room was light only by the few candles on the table, two figures standing on opposite sides overlooking a map next to different tombs and other stuff. The one facing away from the window looked up and said, "Are you sure we should be doing this?"
"Of course Admiral, the high priestess said it was the will of the gatekeeper that we go on crusade and destroy all who stand in our way to the ruins. Or do you doubt the words of the high priestess? The one who has served the royal family before even your grandfather was born?" Responded a female voice from the other person present in the room.
"N-No, of course not, but why are we resorting to attacking without even meeting who they are?"
"Because the others fear the youngest of the gods will do once she imprisons the others again, the goddess has even given us the use of the knights of the gates, the most elite of our order. We will crush all of those who stand in our way, this city was just the beginning of our divine war! Now come, you don't want to miss what comes next." The priestess then stood up, a bolt of lightning lighting up her face when it brightened the room. Her face was painted in areas to resemble a dragon the shadows cased on her made its image seem to come to life. The two left the room, stepping out onto the deck of the ship. Out in the distance the ground seemed to shift as the large number of soldiers marched into different the skies above them also getting steadily dark as both the storm and dragons continued to move out until it all seemed to stop, and everything went quiet. All of a sudden everyone started to bow and the dragons made their best attempt to do so in the sky while remaining in the air. Over the center of the now destroyed city a dragon larger then any of the other dragons and seeming to be wearing armor flew down out from above the storm and landed. It looked out over the continent it rose up and released a roar that seemed to only echo off of everything, propelling its voice over the entire army and possibly beyond, signalling them all to continue to move out. The armored dragon then took off, flying above the storm again and flew off somewhere.
The sun still hid behind the mountains but it still painted the surrounding landscape a soft grey as is slowly rose. It shone through the ramins of the nightly fog to illuminate the fresh snow that had fallen overnight. Most people were still inside at this hour but the king of Winter's Fortress was not. He stood outside his castle with a small group of frost guards and a messenger. The messenger was clearly still tired depite how much he tried to hide it. As for the frost guards it was impossible to tell behind their helmets. Everyone was wrapped up in thick cloaks to keep out the cold, except for the frost guards who were used to the cold. The king stood infront of the group, a serious expression on his face. It was a few moments before King Peter spoke, glancing back to the castle at Queen Jane who watched from the window just before he did so. "There has been no word from the allience capital and I am concerned. I am sending you to investigate. If everything is alright then come back, likewise if something terrible has happened come back. I want to know exactly what happened" he said never moving his steely gaze. At this point he gave the messenger a scroll with the instructions on it to the messenger and the guards saluted. The messenger party would have to go on foot, the mountains were too cold and too steep to use horses. The messenger party began walking to the gate of the castle. "I hope nothing has gone wrong" King Peter said to himself.
The messenger party left The Silver Castle, the messenger turning back for a moment to get one last glimpse of his home before he left. "Everything will be fine" he told himself, "The king is just being careful." The party walked down the winding trail to the base of the mountain, if nothing happened befpre the party made their way to the base of the mountain they would reach it in a few hours and the edge of the nation in a few days. The messenger knew that the guards were there to protect him in case anything went wrong, there was four of them in total. But what could go wrong on this journey? There was a small chance that they could encounter bandits but the messenger couldn't think of many other things. They would pass by a few other nations on the way there, perhaps they would know something.
The surroundings were peaceful, the commotion outside being blocked out by the tent's material, casting the inside into a darkness pierced by the lantern hanging in the middle. A man wearing armor looked over at the map as two others wearing cloaks were adding details to it. They were going back and forth between reports the scouts have sent. He just smiled as he grabbed a few scrolls from a nearby chest and went out. He walked over to two groups of three, each containing two lancers with Dragon Gate's flag hanging on it and a more lightly armored archer. The two archers who acted as the two team's leaders immediately stood at attention and said at the same time, "Commander!"
"At ease soldiers. The other messengers and scouts have already left or have yet to actually arrive, but we cant exactly wait for them to return so I'm sending your teams out to deliver a message to some kingdoms or whatever that are either in the way, or could cause some problems. All hail the Gatekeeper!"
"All Hail the Gatekeeper!"
The commander handed them both one of the letters and saluted. The two captains saluted back and headed to their respective teams and headed out.
King Peter paced back and forth in the castle, a concerned Queen Jane watched him and a frost guard stood silently, ready to relay orders from the royal couple. Peter still worried about the allience captial, what could have happened to it? He thought that he could perhaps contact the other nations, see what they knew. His mind was filled with thoughts of what could have happened. The thoughts ranged from their messenger becoming lost in the mountains to the city itself was under attack. Perhaps the messenger would find out. Queen Jane worried too, but her calm nature diminshed the feeling. "Peter stop worrying so much, the messenger will be back with news of the city and then you will see that you have been worrying for nothing" she said in a calm tone.
"How can I? There hasn't been word from the allience captial, what if it was attacked?" he replied.
"I cannot know if the city was attacked or not until the messenger returns, if we made some preparations would that stop your worrying?" she said, as calm as ever.
"Yes, that is a good idea" he said turning to the guard, "Increase the watch but make sure that it doesn't seem threatening. I don't want any of the other nations to think that we are preparing for a war or that we do not trust them"
With that the guard saluted and left the room, heading straight for the barracks to tell the other gaurds the king's orders. What the guard thought of all this a mystery, his face hidden behind his helmet. He arrived at the barracks shortly after and commanded the guards in his rough voice, relaying exactly what the king had said.
Meanwhile the messenger party had been walking for a time now, the sun just reaching the midday point. The endless snow had started to thin and patches of ground could be seen. They had almost reached the base of the mountain, if they continued at this rate they would reach the edge of nation soon than expected. Bordering Winter's Fortress were a few other nations, perhaps one of them would have the answers that the messenger sought. He wanted to bring home good news, news that said that everything was alright. It did sometimes occur that the messenger of another nation became lost on their way to the Silver Castle. Messengers from Winter's fortress could navigate the endless snow and sometimes they got lost as well.
"We will reach the border soon"
The voice came as a surprise to the messenger who was lost in his own thoughts, but it was only one of the guards speaking.
"Yes we will, then we will ask one of the other nations if they know anything about the allience capital."
The usual serenity and peace of the magical gardens was interrupted by an messenger boy, nearly exhausted from the running. The boy looked tired, injured, even. High Lord Hawthorne asked the boy to come closer for a better inspection, and after a close look, it would seem the boy has multiple slash marks and burns. With some further observation, it would seem that the boy is not even carrying a letter. The Lord was slightly confused at his guards for letting such a strange guest into the royal gardens. Regardless, the High Lord sent for some chambermaids to tend to the boy. Lord Hawthorne would have to talk to him when the boy was not so... traumatized.
***
The next morning, Lord Hawthorne came to the healer's tent where the boy had temporarily took his lodgings. After a quick exchange of formalities, the High Lord asked the boy for information. "Tell me your story", the lord said with a slightly grim tone. The boy responded with whimpers, but did his best to correct himself, "Our village... m'lord... attacked by... demons..." the boy said softly.
Lord Hawthorne was somewhat affected, but he gestured the boy to go on.
"Dragons... the creatures I thought only existed in storybooks..." the boy continued, doing his best to suppress his tears.
"Do you have anybody I can call on?" Hawthorne asked inquisitively.
"Nobody left... only I... m'lord" the boy spoke morosely as he broke into tears, unable to keep his grief contained any longer.
Lord Hawthorne solemnly nodded and left the boy to his breakfast. He was unsure if what the boy said was true, but he could not risk the danger. The High Lord ordered several scouts to bring him some reports on cities and villages that had suddenly disappeared. Hawthorne begins writing letters to the other nations, perhaps they know what had happened, for it was best to not push the boy any further than needed. Lord Hawthorne then gathers his inner circle of scryers, sages, and magi to attempt another reading of the monolith.
"Perhaps the monolith has something we can learn" the High Lord spoke, ordering the initiation of the ritual.
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The two teams sent out with a message continued on their way, their names being Winter Frost and Shadow Moon. The first team was slowly approaching another nation's border stopping at the first sign of the temperature decreasing. The three got off of their horses and opened up one of their packs, pulling a large light blue and black hooded cloak, the captain also taking out a scarf. They then put on the items over their current gear, hiding their armor and weapons from view before they got back on their horses. They then continued on their way, only the flags on the lances telling were their from. They rode more slowly to their destination then before, keeping an eye out for anything of interest. It wasn't long until they noticed something. The captain just smiled as he spotted a messenger party from somewhere and signaled for the two lancers to follow. They then walked up to the group and the captain immediately started to talk, "Hello, you look like the type who could help us. You see we were sent to bring a message to your ruler, but it would seem that we might have a bit of trouble since we weren't given much to help navigate through here.
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Shadow Moon, the other team, was making decent progress by their guess and decided to stop and put on their cloaks. These were thinner then the others, but served the same purpose. But one difference was that they were going to stop at villages instead of heading strait to the capital, another being the small, feathery and light purple dragon acting like a cat that was staying near the Captain. The Captain just sighed as he raised his hood, the dragon immediately flying into his cloak to hide as they approached a village. They then started walking through, noticing how any nearby animals were becoming quiet and attempting to back away or hide from them.
A group approached the messenger party, as they did so the guards places their hands on the handles of their swords, unsure about who they were and why they were here. The messenger hadn't expected to see people so soon, Winter's Fortress was quite a remote place. They wore hooded cloaks, but instead of seeming suspicious they seemed sensible. The mountains were a cold place. However there was one strange thing about these people, neither the messenger nor the guards could identify where they were from. One of them spoke to the party, explaining that they were here to speak to their ruler. That was strange thing number two. Why would they need to see King Peter and Queen Jane? Why did they refer to them as 'your ruler'? If they were indeed taking a message wouldn't they knew who it was for? Instead of voicing his concerns, the messenger instead decided to keep them hidden. If they didn't know what he was thinking then they wouldn't know that he didn't trust them. The messenger turned to the guards, "Stand down" he said. The guards took their hands off the handles of their swords, their helmets masking any expression they had. The messenger then turned to the stranger that spoke, "The mountains can be dangerous to those not used to its steep, icy terrain, we can guide you" he said diplomatically. He glanced up at the sky, it was clear. "You're in luck, it seems that the weather will be kind to us" he added. He began walking back towards the mountain that the messenger party had already traversed, the guards soon following him.
The team of scouts had been resting at a small, unnamed village for some time to replenish their supplies. Just when they were about to move out to investigate the other villages, several strange men had arrived. They carried a strange banner containing the insignia of a dragon, which piqued the interest of the scouts. Upon closer inspection, they find that the newcomers seem to be scaring the animals. Could the animals be sensing something that they couldn't? The scouts decide to lie in wait, watching the strange men before doing anything rash. The team heads to the tavern, if they're lucky, they might gain some information.
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Winter Frost's captain looked at his two guards and followed the scouts. He just smiled in a friendly manner until one of the Lancer guards spoke up in a strange accent, "Sir, are you sure this is wise?"
"Of course it is, we need to deliver this message as fast as we can, so the best option is to follow those who know the land. Besides, I rather not face anyone at top with news that we failed. They could think of thousands of ways to torture or kill us, besides, were only delivering a message to them and only truly vileness and evil people will kill the messenger."
"I guess your right sir, but not all of them are bad though."
They then continue talking to each other to pass the time.
Shadow Moon continued on their way until they decided to stop at the local tavern. They got off and tied their horses to a nearby fence and walked in, the lancers having to carefully lower their lances and step in to more easily enter. They then walked over to a table and sit down, they captain leaning his chair against the wall before speaking, "All right you two, go get yourselves whatever you want, I'll have some bread and water. Once we're done here we should get on our way again to deliver this message."
"Yes sir!" The two lancers then went off to the bar to get what they want, leaving the captain to be by himself at the corner table. He just smiled as a light purple feathered creature managed to stick its head out of the top of his cloak and started to lick his face. It didn't take long for it to eventually climb out and go onto the table. It smiled up at the captain as he started to pet it, making a sound resembling a purr despite technically being a dragon.
The messenger overheard some of what one of the strangers was saying. One seemed worried that what they were doing was unwise, what about their message would cause such worry? Another replied, saying that not delivering their message would result in severe punishment should they fail. Was the message really so important? Another question arose when they mentioned something about killing the messenger. Perhaps their message was bad news, but even then he doubted that either the cautious King Peter or the level-headed Queen Jane would resort to such an action. What could the message be that would serve to create such a worry? He could ask but they may only wish to speak to the royal couple. He didn't know where they were from, perhaps if he knew this then he could come up with an idea of what the message could be. The messenger couldn't figure out where they were from and after a few moments he decided to ask, "Where do you come from?" he asked polietly, "I don't seem to be able to recognise which nation you might be from." Meanwhile the steady pace of the messenger party drew them ever closer to their home, and much sooner than they had initially expected when they set off originally. One of the frost guards spoke up, "If the weather remains as it is now we may be able to see the castle in the distance from the summit of the mountain. With any luck we will reach the summit soon" the guard informed.
The leader of the scouting team motioned one of his scouts to head back to the Citadel. It was probably nothing, and the scout has nothing much to report back with, but the leader had a strange feeling about them. With a quick exchange of words, the scout began his trek to return to the Citadel, The leader himself, decided to try something riskier: to sit down with the man. He walked forward, then sat at the table the man was eating at.
"Pardon me stranger, the tavern's full, and I don't see an empty table anywhere. I hope it's fine I stay awhile." the scout leader spoke.
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The Captain smiled as he motioned to the two lancers and looked at the one who spoke, the lancers continuing to talk to each other. He just looked at them all before saying, "We come from a land far to the north, hidden in the vast ocean, protected by a near endless mass of ice, and capable of life from the many volcanoes. We shall do what ever it is that the king or high priestess want us to do. It is by the will of the keeper that we deliver this message, and the enchantments placed on it will ensure that only we can give this message. All we do is in the name of our protector, savior, and physical goddess, the gatekeeper. Us and our ancestors owe her our lives, and nothing will stop us from accomplishing our divine mission to her. Oh, and if your interested, it would seem that have been some animals and strange people following us, most likely some bandits." He then started to laugh, his nice appearance being replaced some what with a look that seemed off.
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Shadow Moon's leader just looked up at the person who approached and kept a more neutral expression. He stopped petting the small dragon, who then flew up and landed on his head, he then sighed before responding, "Fine, fine, fine might as well allow you all to enjoy yourself's here before it ends up like those other villages. Once me and my guards are done here we must deliver this message to the capital. Besides, this smell of this place is horrible, it'll be great to have something to distract me from it. Really, how can you people stand the smell and taste of of some of the things the taverns in this nation serve? In fact, all of the nations I've been to so far are the same, I prefer the ones were I'm from. Were less is better and we use so much to ensure our messages are secure. Which reminds me." He slowly puts his hand into one of pockets and pulled out a letter. He sat it onto the table, showing that it had a royal stamp on it. He continued to keep up his neutral appearance and tone as he continued, "I found this letter on the dead body of a messenger near one of the towns we visited, I was wondering if its important. If you want feel free to read it yourself." He then pushed the letter to the person, giving off the impression that he wants them to read it.
The messenger thought about what they said, a place far to the north surrounded by ice. The messenger was used to the cold, living in Winter's Fortress meant it was cold all year. But the volcanoes made the place where the strangers were from different from his home. There was not a single volcano in all of Winter's Fortress. He had only heard about volcanoes from other messengers who came to deliver messages to King Peter and Queen Jane. The stranger went on to say that they did the will of their king or high priestess, and that they did it in the name of the gatekeeper. Neither the messenger nor the guards with him had ever heard of the gatekeeper. The stranger went on to say that he saw some strange animals and people following them and suggest that they were bandits. In responce the messenger chuckled quietly, "Bandits? Here? That seems unlikely, it is often too cold for bandits to roam. The freezing temperature often acts as a deterrent. We will be able to see the castle soon, as soon as we get closer they might stop. Anyway they would probably leave when night comes, it will be even colder and it might start snowing again." The messenger party reached the top of the ridge that they were climbing, in the distance, through a thin mist, a castle was visible. "There it is, there is the Silver Castle. You can meet our leaders there" the messenger said.
"Well stranger, you get what you can", the scout leader spoke as he drank from a flask of ale. The leader was unable to read him, as if he was hiding something. He was surprised when he saw the small dragon. The leader could remember something about dragons and burnt villages, but he could not know for sure. Nonetheless, the leader's supposed 'passive interrogation' was deemed unnecessary. The man had already revealed himself, and even offered him a letter. It bore the royal seal, the capital's seal. The leader looked at the letter, then at the man suspiciously before opening it himself.
The leader's eyes widened as he read it.
((I don't know what's on the letter, so I don't know what to put. Unless I'm supposed to fill in the blanks, could you tell me what's in it?))
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"Ah, figures. Were we are from we don't have to worry much about things such as bandits, though if anyone does break the law you are punished by having these abominations have at you. Its a gruesome procedure, imagine having your bones and muscles removed and being aware the entire time, they even make it possible for you to stay alive. Its very horrifying to watch really, were those creatures come from I'll never know. But anyways, it's about time we reach there, This message must not be delayed much longer." The captain and his guards then continued on their way following them.
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((You can put whatever you want for the letter, I'll wait for you two to post agian now.))
The messenger listened to what the stranger had to say. They came from a place where there were no bandits and criminals were punished in a horrifying way. He was certainly he didn't live somewhere so strict, somewhere being a bandit led to being ripped apart. The strangers seemed impatient to get to the castle. What could the message contain? Maybe they were impatient because they were worried what would happen if they failed. The punishment for being a bandit seemed horrific, what punishment would there be if they failed? Surely it wouldn't be as severe. As the messenger was lost in thought the castle grew closer. It was a fairly strict looking building made of large, grey bricks made of stone mined in the mountians. The windows were fairly small and about five chimneys graced the roof of the castle. The building itself was also quite large and enclosed in walls with covered walkways on their tops. The covered walkways stopped them filling up with snow. The entire building was laced with a fine layer of pure white snow. Figures walked along the walkways, as the messenger party got closer the figures were revealed to be mostly other guards along with a few servants, aristocrats, farmers, merchants and whoever else had business at the castle. The messenger party neared the gate to the castle, one of the guards at the gate stopped them. But not in a hostile way, they just walked in front of the party and spoke. "You are back early, very early. What happened? Who are they? Where are they from?" the guard asked.
"They claim to be here with a message for our leaders. We had to lead them to the castle. I don't know exactly where they are from, they say a volcanic island to the north" the messenger replied.
"You may enter but they will be watched" the guard said before turning to the side to let them pass.
((Pardon my lack of activity, my studies took priority.))
The leader kept looking at the letter's contents, as if in disbelief. His expression was mixed with fear, anger, and grief. The leader just leaned back on his chair and laid the letter on the table. It was unknown whether the man had read the letter or not, but frankly, the leader didn't care. The content of the letter was a lot to take in. The letter itself was bloodied, and contained a message to the figures of power of the other nations.
To whom it may concern,
Forgive my tactlessness, for I had to create this letter with time constraints in mind. This letter serves as a warning, an omen of war has broken out, and I fear the city will fall soon. Invaders from another land have come, and they are numerous, well-armed, and well-trained. The worst of all, however, they come with the fabled beasts of lore: the dragons. They are ruthless, and I fear they may already brutalizing the surrounding villages. I fear that they will not stop until we bend the knee, or until we have all crumbled to dust. Heed this warning, my friends, for if we do not band together, we may not come out of this alive.
I IMPLORE you to prepare your forces. Always fear the worst.
King _______.
There appears to be some sort of demographics here. Rough estimates of enemy size and strength. The most disturbing part of the letter contains a body count of the capital and the surrounding villages. The writing here seems to be of military origin, and of a different hand. The legibility of this part is crude or hastily made, but readable nonetheless. It must have been written by a scoutmaster of some sort. The letter was dated to be sent several days ago.
When the leader had regained his composure, he stood up, taking the letter as he did so. He gestured his men to prepare for departure. He turned to leave, but then remember the man who had given him the letter in the first place.
"Thank you for showing me this, but I must return to Atheron. My duty to my nation must be fulfilled" the leader spoke breathlessly, making a small bow to the man as he did so.
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The leader simply smiled as him and his two guards rode past the guards and continued to follow. He looked up at the buildings and smiled as he said to no one in particular, "So this is your land's architecture? The last major city I've been to also had a different style, though it wasn't a nice sight when everything had holes in them, was covered in blood, and smelled like charred flesh. Now that I think about it, even my own nation's past wasn't that peaceful, mostly before we became united. I remember one ancient kingdom used shadow magic, but most of that knowledge was lost after...Well actually I have no ideal what happened, most of our history around that time draws a blank, only one building that was built underground some how and on a island surrounded by lava remained of them, but records inside wasn't much. It was mostly records involving summoning demons, infusing ones self with powers from some shadow realm, some mention of a great war, and some story or whatever that some bards decided to turn into songs. Really only a few practice the shadow magic we used to use and they all take orders from the high priestess. But I tell you, they can be scary, never talking, always wearing their armor and never sleeping. I'm not sure if their even alive, or human. But I don't really care even more, lets hope you never have to see one." He then looked further up, at the sky and seemed to be in a trance. He then looked forward as his smile was replaced by an emotionless look as re started to remember something. As he stared forward, unblinking he started to recite something, "A creature of shadow born in the void between worlds, rival to all and obsessed with its self proclaimed mission. She called herself a warden and constructed a fortress to separate worlds. She took control of the native beings and turned them into her guards and soon rivaled all as she marched her army across the divided realms but made a mistake, her forces pushed back to her fortress. The divided realms for the first time was united and marched against the fortress. What came next would change our world forever, the fortress was pushed into the mortal real, chains of an unknown substance holding it as it was destroyed, but for some reason it destruction only fused everything. She was weakened greatly as the gods and demons gained more power and hid from them to gain more power, becoming obsessed and corrupted by her own power as she took on the form of a dragon far larger then I have ever seen. We soon found our kingdom under attack, we refused to bow down, but despite our great power we were no match and..." The captain slowly looked back at the people who have been guiding them as he started to to look confused matching the expression of his guards before starting, "I-I'm sorry, I think I blanked out there for a minute. Um, if I may ask was I saying something? I-I feel like I was but it seems that I c-can't remember." He was now looking back at his guards, who seemed uncertain if they should do something after their leader for some reason just told out loud one of the ancient writings found.
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((Its ok, though it would be nice if you could let me know ahead of time if you'll be unable to post.))
The captain just smiled and nodded his head in understanding as his two guards came back, or more along the lines of one of them supporting the other who had their helmet off, revealing that they were female, which would've been otherwise concealed by their helmet. One feature that was shown was that their skin was extremely pale, their hair messed up from their helmet, and they seemed to have slightly pointed ears, as if they were part elf. They sat down and the one without their helmet spoke, making it known that they weren't well, "I-I'm sorry sir, t-those men insisted that I try something, but I didn't think that it would make me sick like this. The s-scout masters were right, the drinks here are very different, b-but I think I'll be ok." The lancer then slammed their head into the table, passed out as the other lancer started to try and wake her up, this ones voice revealing them to be male. Their captain just sighed as the dragon that was on his head also joined in on the attempt to wake them up. He looked back at the person he was talking to and said, "Well, our conversation has been....enlightening I guess. But now I have to take care of this. Just what we need! This delay will slow us down to the point of, wait. Why am I telling you this?! Its been great and all, perhaps we will see each other again, now what to do about this situation...." He then started to trail off as he started to try and figure out what to do.
rules:
1. normal rules apply.
2. your nation will have to either be on the continent or at least a island close to it.
3. Might add more rules if I remember what the other planned ones are.
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The night was calm, the nightly watch was few as they watched they peaceful surroundings around the city, that was until a ship was spotted. Soon enough an entire armada showed up, shrouded in the night. The air turned from peaceful to tense as the guards lined the walls and watched, looking at the flags flying over the ships, showing off that these ships belonged to unknowns. Soon enough deafening bangs were heard from them as the wall was hit multiple times. The guards retaliated quickly, but they didn't last long when one of the guards felt something staring at them from behind and turned around. He came face to face to an unknown knight who wasn't there a second ago, his position causing his helmet to cast a shadow across their face, making the only known feature being the dragon like armor they were wearing, and somehow, he just knew that they were with the invaders. But before he could react everything went dark as the knight pierced his light armor with blades, the other guard's looking over to see one of their comrades falling to their knees in front of a knight for one second and then the knight missing for the next second, only to show up at the other side, repeating the process. Soon enough a bell started to ring throughout the city as more of the knights started appearing. Only for another cannonball to hit a bell tower, causing it to collapse and echo throughout the entire city as the skies went up in smoke. But soon enough a more terrifying sight was seen approaching from behind the armada. Dragons started showing up, lighting the city on fire, the once peaceful and beautiful city that functioned as the alliance capital was quickly light ablaze, its smoke and flames being seen from far off kingdoms, but they said only one thing, this is only the beginning...
"Of course Admiral, the high priestess said it was the will of the gatekeeper that we go on crusade and destroy all who stand in our way to the ruins. Or do you doubt the words of the high priestess? The one who has served the royal family before even your grandfather was born?" Responded a female voice from the other person present in the room.
"N-No, of course not, but why are we resorting to attacking without even meeting who they are?"
"Because the others fear the youngest of the gods will do once she imprisons the others again, the goddess has even given us the use of the knights of the gates, the most elite of our order. We will crush all of those who stand in our way, this city was just the beginning of our divine war! Now come, you don't want to miss what comes next." The priestess then stood up, a bolt of lightning lighting up her face when it brightened the room. Her face was painted in areas to resemble a dragon the shadows cased on her made its image seem to come to life. The two left the room, stepping out onto the deck of the ship. Out in the distance the ground seemed to shift as the large number of soldiers marched into different the skies above them also getting steadily dark as both the storm and dragons continued to move out until it all seemed to stop, and everything went quiet. All of a sudden everyone started to bow and the dragons made their best attempt to do so in the sky while remaining in the air. Over the center of the now destroyed city a dragon larger then any of the other dragons and seeming to be wearing armor flew down out from above the storm and landed. It looked out over the continent it rose up and released a roar that seemed to only echo off of everything, propelling its voice over the entire army and possibly beyond, signalling them all to continue to move out. The armored dragon then took off, flying above the storm again and flew off somewhere.
The messenger party left The Silver Castle, the messenger turning back for a moment to get one last glimpse of his home before he left. "Everything will be fine" he told himself, "The king is just being careful." The party walked down the winding trail to the base of the mountain, if nothing happened befpre the party made their way to the base of the mountain they would reach it in a few hours and the edge of the nation in a few days. The messenger knew that the guards were there to protect him in case anything went wrong, there was four of them in total. But what could go wrong on this journey? There was a small chance that they could encounter bandits but the messenger couldn't think of many other things. They would pass by a few other nations on the way there, perhaps they would know something.
"At ease soldiers. The other messengers and scouts have already left or have yet to actually arrive, but we cant exactly wait for them to return so I'm sending your teams out to deliver a message to some kingdoms or whatever that are either in the way, or could cause some problems. All hail the Gatekeeper!"
"All Hail the Gatekeeper!"
The commander handed them both one of the letters and saluted. The two captains saluted back and headed to their respective teams and headed out.
((Their going to one of you two.))
"How can I? There hasn't been word from the allience captial, what if it was attacked?" he replied.
"I cannot know if the city was attacked or not until the messenger returns, if we made some preparations would that stop your worrying?" she said, as calm as ever.
"Yes, that is a good idea" he said turning to the guard, "Increase the watch but make sure that it doesn't seem threatening. I don't want any of the other nations to think that we are preparing for a war or that we do not trust them"
With that the guard saluted and left the room, heading straight for the barracks to tell the other gaurds the king's orders. What the guard thought of all this a mystery, his face hidden behind his helmet. He arrived at the barracks shortly after and commanded the guards in his rough voice, relaying exactly what the king had said.
Meanwhile the messenger party had been walking for a time now, the sun just reaching the midday point. The endless snow had started to thin and patches of ground could be seen. They had almost reached the base of the mountain, if they continued at this rate they would reach the edge of nation soon than expected. Bordering Winter's Fortress were a few other nations, perhaps one of them would have the answers that the messenger sought. He wanted to bring home good news, news that said that everything was alright. It did sometimes occur that the messenger of another nation became lost on their way to the Silver Castle. Messengers from Winter's fortress could navigate the endless snow and sometimes they got lost as well.
"We will reach the border soon"
The voice came as a surprise to the messenger who was lost in his own thoughts, but it was only one of the guards speaking.
"Yes we will, then we will ask one of the other nations if they know anything about the allience capital."
***
The next morning, Lord Hawthorne came to the healer's tent where the boy had temporarily took his lodgings. After a quick exchange of formalities, the High Lord asked the boy for information. "Tell me your story", the lord said with a slightly grim tone. The boy responded with whimpers, but did his best to correct himself, "Our village... m'lord... attacked by... demons..." the boy said softly.
Lord Hawthorne was somewhat affected, but he gestured the boy to go on.
"Dragons... the creatures I thought only existed in storybooks..." the boy continued, doing his best to suppress his tears.
"Do you have anybody I can call on?" Hawthorne asked inquisitively.
"Nobody left... only I... m'lord" the boy spoke morosely as he broke into tears, unable to keep his grief contained any longer.
Lord Hawthorne solemnly nodded and left the boy to his breakfast. He was unsure if what the boy said was true, but he could not risk the danger. The High Lord ordered several scouts to bring him some reports on cities and villages that had suddenly disappeared. Hawthorne begins writing letters to the other nations, perhaps they know what had happened, for it was best to not push the boy any further than needed. Lord Hawthorne then gathers his inner circle of scryers, sages, and magi to attempt another reading of the monolith.
"Perhaps the monolith has something we can learn" the High Lord spoke, ordering the initiation of the ritual.
If I do not reply to my posts, I either have no internet connection, or am busy with college work. Alternatively, I may be writing up the post now. It all depends on the situation.
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Shadow Moon, the other team, was making decent progress by their guess and decided to stop and put on their cloaks. These were thinner then the others, but served the same purpose. But one difference was that they were going to stop at villages instead of heading strait to the capital, another being the small, feathery and light purple dragon acting like a cat that was staying near the Captain. The Captain just sighed as he raised his hood, the dragon immediately flying into his cloak to hide as they approached a village. They then started walking through, noticing how any nearby animals were becoming quiet and attempting to back away or hide from them.
If I do not reply to my posts, I either have no internet connection, or am busy with college work. Alternatively, I may be writing up the post now. It all depends on the situation.
"Of course it is, we need to deliver this message as fast as we can, so the best option is to follow those who know the land. Besides, I rather not face anyone at top with news that we failed. They could think of thousands of ways to torture or kill us, besides, were only delivering a message to them and only truly vileness and evil people will kill the messenger."
"I guess your right sir, but not all of them are bad though."
They then continue talking to each other to pass the time.
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Shadow Moon continued on their way until they decided to stop at the local tavern. They got off and tied their horses to a nearby fence and walked in, the lancers having to carefully lower their lances and step in to more easily enter. They then walked over to a table and sit down, they captain leaning his chair against the wall before speaking, "All right you two, go get yourselves whatever you want, I'll have some bread and water. Once we're done here we should get on our way again to deliver this message."
"Yes sir!" The two lancers then went off to the bar to get what they want, leaving the captain to be by himself at the corner table. He just smiled as a light purple feathered creature managed to stick its head out of the top of his cloak and started to lick his face. It didn't take long for it to eventually climb out and go onto the table. It smiled up at the captain as he started to pet it, making a sound resembling a purr despite technically being a dragon.
"Pardon me stranger, the tavern's full, and I don't see an empty table anywhere. I hope it's fine I stay awhile." the scout leader spoke.
If I do not reply to my posts, I either have no internet connection, or am busy with college work. Alternatively, I may be writing up the post now. It all depends on the situation.
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Shadow Moon's leader just looked up at the person who approached and kept a more neutral expression. He stopped petting the small dragon, who then flew up and landed on his head, he then sighed before responding, "Fine, fine, fine might as well allow you all to enjoy yourself's here before it ends up like those other villages. Once me and my guards are done here we must deliver this message to the capital. Besides, this smell of this place is horrible, it'll be great to have something to distract me from it. Really, how can you people stand the smell and taste of of some of the things the taverns in this nation serve? In fact, all of the nations I've been to so far are the same, I prefer the ones were I'm from. Were less is better and we use so much to ensure our messages are secure. Which reminds me." He slowly puts his hand into one of pockets and pulled out a letter. He sat it onto the table, showing that it had a royal stamp on it. He continued to keep up his neutral appearance and tone as he continued, "I found this letter on the dead body of a messenger near one of the towns we visited, I was wondering if its important. If you want feel free to read it yourself." He then pushed the letter to the person, giving off the impression that he wants them to read it.
The leader's eyes widened as he read it.
((I don't know what's on the letter, so I don't know what to put. Unless I'm supposed to fill in the blanks, could you tell me what's in it?))
If I do not reply to my posts, I either have no internet connection, or am busy with college work. Alternatively, I may be writing up the post now. It all depends on the situation.
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((You can put whatever you want for the letter, I'll wait for you two to post agian now.))
"They claim to be here with a message for our leaders. We had to lead them to the castle. I don't know exactly where they are from, they say a volcanic island to the north" the messenger replied.
"You may enter but they will be watched" the guard said before turning to the side to let them pass.
The leader kept looking at the letter's contents, as if in disbelief. His expression was mixed with fear, anger, and grief. The leader just leaned back on his chair and laid the letter on the table. It was unknown whether the man had read the letter or not, but frankly, the leader didn't care. The content of the letter was a lot to take in. The letter itself was bloodied, and contained a message to the figures of power of the other nations.
To whom it may concern,
Forgive my tactlessness, for I had to create this letter with time constraints in mind. This letter serves as a warning, an omen of war has broken out, and I fear the city will fall soon. Invaders from another land have come, and they are numerous, well-armed, and well-trained. The worst of all, however, they come with the fabled beasts of lore: the dragons. They are ruthless, and I fear they may already brutalizing the surrounding villages. I fear that they will not stop until we bend the knee, or until we have all crumbled to dust. Heed this warning, my friends, for if we do not band together, we may not come out of this alive.
I IMPLORE you to prepare your forces. Always fear the worst.
King _______.
There appears to be some sort of demographics here. Rough estimates of enemy size and strength. The most disturbing part of the letter contains a body count of the capital and the surrounding villages. The writing here seems to be of military origin, and of a different hand. The legibility of this part is crude or hastily made, but readable nonetheless. It must have been written by a scoutmaster of some sort. The letter was dated to be sent several days ago.
When the leader had regained his composure, he stood up, taking the letter as he did so. He gestured his men to prepare for departure. He turned to leave, but then remember the man who had given him the letter in the first place.
"Thank you for showing me this, but I must return to Atheron. My duty to my nation must be fulfilled" the leader spoke breathlessly, making a small bow to the man as he did so.
If I do not reply to my posts, I either have no internet connection, or am busy with college work. Alternatively, I may be writing up the post now. It all depends on the situation.
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((Its ok, though it would be nice if you could let me know ahead of time if you'll be unable to post.))
The captain just smiled and nodded his head in understanding as his two guards came back, or more along the lines of one of them supporting the other who had their helmet off, revealing that they were female, which would've been otherwise concealed by their helmet. One feature that was shown was that their skin was extremely pale, their hair messed up from their helmet, and they seemed to have slightly pointed ears, as if they were part elf. They sat down and the one without their helmet spoke, making it known that they weren't well, "I-I'm sorry sir, t-those men insisted that I try something, but I didn't think that it would make me sick like this. The s-scout masters were right, the drinks here are very different, b-but I think I'll be ok." The lancer then slammed their head into the table, passed out as the other lancer started to try and wake her up, this ones voice revealing them to be male. Their captain just sighed as the dragon that was on his head also joined in on the attempt to wake them up. He looked back at the person he was talking to and said, "Well, our conversation has been....enlightening I guess. But now I have to take care of this. Just what we need! This delay will slow us down to the point of, wait. Why am I telling you this?! Its been great and all, perhaps we will see each other again, now what to do about this situation...." He then started to trail off as he started to try and figure out what to do.