((!!WARNING!! Incoming Wall of text!))
You were told by a rather shifty figure, Arion Rose, The Black Rose's Apprentice, to attend to a certain pub at a certain hour. You decide to go, and once you arrive, he takes the floor and begins telling a tale:
"Back in the days of Old, when the world had not yet settled down, monsters roamed the lands, bandits where everywhere, and chaos had rule of the world, two cities, huge ones at that, were in conflict. Vampires against Paladins, Darkness against Light. However, in that time of dispair, there were two lovers. My mother, of RisingSun descent, my father, a fierce and brave fighter of the east, in the great castle-keep city of Stormblade. They were sworn enemies, and therefore were not allowed to even speak to each other, infact, they were supposed to kill each other on sight. Alas, love is a force which none can stop. And so, they found a way. They met in secret, using special cloaks they designed that allowed them to blend into their surroundings, becoming nearly indetectable. This they continued, until the day that one of the citizens of RisingSun discovered their relationship, and threatened to betray it to the Emperor. That night, my mother fled to Stormblade and took the guise of a normal human. A vampire in a holy city. During that span of time, I was born."
He pauses a moment, and takes a breath, before continuing.
"Things happened the day I was kidnapped, things I was not aware of until recently. The vampires were from RisingSun, and strangely enough, this day, Stasia (later my mentor) had chosen to attempt to kidnap me, as nothing escaped her ears, and she had caught wind of a halfblooded, something which was not supposed to happen. In the confusion, she crept in and took me, but that's a different story."
"Back to my parents... On this day, the vampires of Risingsun had come to recollect my mother, and take her back to be tried for treason. In the chaos, the Stormblade warriors realized she was infact a vampire, and they proceeded to help Risingsun in her capture. Both of their homes now enemies, my father took my mother through Wolfbane Cave, a secret meeting place for the other vampires in Stormblade, and out a back exit. They were almost in the clear, when the inevitable happened: One of the vampires caught up with them. My father barely had time to react, as the vampire dropped from a tree, digging his claws into his back. He managed to twist and do a roll forward, throwing the vampire off. Unfortunately, this left him in no condition to fight, and the vampire simply got up and pounced again, aiming to kill. Thank the Fates, my mother had brought her bow, thinking if things got rough she might need it. My mother was no warrior, but her skills with a bow were legendary. As the vampire's feet left the ground, the bow was already off her back, and in one smooth motion, she took an arrow from her quiver, knocked and fired, the arrow passing straight through the vampire's chest. The vampire never hit the ground, a shriek and ashes in the air all that was left of him. She helped up my father and together they fled, off into the desert."
He takes a drink of the bottle on his belt, red liquid, and coughs a little, then proceeds with the story.
"In the desert, living would have been nearly impossible, but they found a small village, a library, a few houses, a farm and a church, recently abandoned. This they were quick to take advantage of, and it probably saved them from being eaten by a sand crawler or dying of hunger. They resided there for several years, taking shelter in the buildings, using the farm for food."
"Time passed, and eventually, Risingsun found them. They took refuge in the house they had been living in, as vampires surrounded the building. They tried to escape, my father in the lead, hacking and slashing, but they were overwhelmed; there were too many vampires. Just as they were about to be captured, my father, knowing their fate if they were taken back, raised his sword in the air, glowing golden. He looked my mother in the eye, a look that said one thing: Run. He brought his blade straight down into the ground, and a sound similar to a jet engine was heard, and then an explosion, a supernova of light erupting from where my father stood, burning all the vampires instantly, and throwing my mother clear of the explosion, winded but unharmed. A beam of light flew into the air like a million torches, a beacon that could be seen from miles away, and my mother looked back for the last time, sadly, knowing my father had killed himself in saving her and destroying the vampires. She turned and ran, through the length of the desert, until she reached the edge of the forest, where she stopped, dead tired, and fell asleep in the trees, trusting her cloak to keep her unseen."
"She awoke to an Elf standing over her. 'Are you alright?' He said. 'You looked awful pale, so we brought you back here.' He gestured around, showing her where she was: an underground, yet nice little room, quite like an infirmary, but instead of medicine on the walls, there was herbs. Other than her and the Elf, the room was empty. 'Welcome to our main base of operations.' He took a little bow. 'Alorian Ranger Alex, at your service'."
"My mother followed Alex as he gave her a tour about the campus: A mid-sized underground set of rooms and caverns, serving all sorts of different purposes, a larger cavern with an archery range, and even a small underground river, complete with fish in it. 'This place is amazing... is it just you here?' My mother asked in wonder. Alex replied, after a moment: 'No, no, most are simply in the field right now, they'll be back by dusk unless they find something to attend to.'
'Something to... attend to?'
'Such as bandits, or the like... We keep the road safe from those who even the guards fear.'
'Interesting... so you... snuff out evil?'
'Pretty much.'
At this, my mother's eyes widened .
'Like... vampires?'
'No, no... vampires are dark, misunderstood... not all of them are evil. Just many of them.'
She sighed in relief.
'Well, that's relieving to hear...' She bore her fangs in a smile. 'I'd be a shame if you'd have to kill me.'
Alex laughed. And so a friendship was born, the like of which is rather uncommon. She learned the ways of the Alorian Rangers, and trained with them in the arts of archery, and also showing them her cloak she had created to blend in with the environment. She was the whisper of a willow, Alex would say. Unseen until she would strike, her shots accurate and deadly."
"Now, you may ask, why am I here, in a tavern, telling you this, these old tales? Because, my friends... my mother created a branch of the Alorian Rangers, known as the 'Whispering Willows', or 'WillowWhispers' for short... and you know what?" He reaches over and takes his mottled green cloak from the wall, and for the first time, it makes sense why he seems to wear it all the time. "We're still around. So...." His eyes sweep the room with intent. "Who here thinks they're up for it?"
(/RP)
So, basically, I've created a guild of sorts... Not a faction, mind you, this isn't anything official, simply more of a group than anything. But I'm sending out a call to all the archers who seem to land that arrow a bit closer than everyone else, that archer who gets three arrows in the air before the first lands, when everyone else gets two. I'm sending out a call to the stealthy movers out there, the bandit who creeps past ALL the guards, not just most of them, the assassin who nobody knows is there until it's too late:
There are others out there like you. And we're looking for you, mate. Come talk to me. You might be surprised.
You were told by a rather shifty figure, Arion Rose, The Black Rose's Apprentice, to attend to a certain pub at a certain hour. You decide to go, and once you arrive, he takes the floor and begins telling a tale:
"Back in the days of Old, when the world had not yet settled down, monsters roamed the lands, bandits where everywhere, and chaos had rule of the world, two cities, huge ones at that, were in conflict. Vampires against Paladins, Darkness against Light. However, in that time of dispair, there were two lovers. My mother, of RisingSun descent, my father, a fierce and brave fighter of the east, in the great castle-keep city of Stormblade. They were sworn enemies, and therefore were not allowed to even speak to each other, infact, they were supposed to kill each other on sight. Alas, love is a force which none can stop. And so, they found a way. They met in secret, using special cloaks they designed that allowed them to blend into their surroundings, becoming nearly indetectable. This they continued, until the day that one of the citizens of RisingSun discovered their relationship, and threatened to betray it to the Emperor. That night, my mother fled to Stormblade and took the guise of a normal human. A vampire in a holy city. During that span of time, I was born."
He pauses a moment, and takes a breath, before continuing.
"Things happened the day I was kidnapped, things I was not aware of until recently. The vampires were from RisingSun, and strangely enough, this day, Stasia (later my mentor) had chosen to attempt to kidnap me, as nothing escaped her ears, and she had caught wind of a halfblooded, something which was not supposed to happen. In the confusion, she crept in and took me, but that's a different story."
"Back to my parents... On this day, the vampires of Risingsun had come to recollect my mother, and take her back to be tried for treason. In the chaos, the Stormblade warriors realized she was infact a vampire, and they proceeded to help Risingsun in her capture. Both of their homes now enemies, my father took my mother through Wolfbane Cave, a secret meeting place for the other vampires in Stormblade, and out a back exit. They were almost in the clear, when the inevitable happened: One of the vampires caught up with them. My father barely had time to react, as the vampire dropped from a tree, digging his claws into his back. He managed to twist and do a roll forward, throwing the vampire off. Unfortunately, this left him in no condition to fight, and the vampire simply got up and pounced again, aiming to kill. Thank the Fates, my mother had brought her bow, thinking if things got rough she might need it. My mother was no warrior, but her skills with a bow were legendary. As the vampire's feet left the ground, the bow was already off her back, and in one smooth motion, she took an arrow from her quiver, knocked and fired, the arrow passing straight through the vampire's chest. The vampire never hit the ground, a shriek and ashes in the air all that was left of him. She helped up my father and together they fled, off into the desert."
He takes a drink of the bottle on his belt, red liquid, and coughs a little, then proceeds with the story.
"In the desert, living would have been nearly impossible, but they found a small village, a library, a few houses, a farm and a church, recently abandoned. This they were quick to take advantage of, and it probably saved them from being eaten by a sand crawler or dying of hunger. They resided there for several years, taking shelter in the buildings, using the farm for food."
"Time passed, and eventually, Risingsun found them. They took refuge in the house they had been living in, as vampires surrounded the building. They tried to escape, my father in the lead, hacking and slashing, but they were overwhelmed; there were too many vampires. Just as they were about to be captured, my father, knowing their fate if they were taken back, raised his sword in the air, glowing golden. He looked my mother in the eye, a look that said one thing: Run. He brought his blade straight down into the ground, and a sound similar to a jet engine was heard, and then an explosion, a supernova of light erupting from where my father stood, burning all the vampires instantly, and throwing my mother clear of the explosion, winded but unharmed. A beam of light flew into the air like a million torches, a beacon that could be seen from miles away, and my mother looked back for the last time, sadly, knowing my father had killed himself in saving her and destroying the vampires. She turned and ran, through the length of the desert, until she reached the edge of the forest, where she stopped, dead tired, and fell asleep in the trees, trusting her cloak to keep her unseen."
"She awoke to an Elf standing over her. 'Are you alright?' He said. 'You looked awful pale, so we brought you back here.' He gestured around, showing her where she was: an underground, yet nice little room, quite like an infirmary, but instead of medicine on the walls, there was herbs. Other than her and the Elf, the room was empty. 'Welcome to our main base of operations.' He took a little bow. 'Alorian Ranger Alex, at your service'."
"My mother followed Alex as he gave her a tour about the campus: A mid-sized underground set of rooms and caverns, serving all sorts of different purposes, a larger cavern with an archery range, and even a small underground river, complete with fish in it. 'This place is amazing... is it just you here?' My mother asked in wonder. Alex replied, after a moment: 'No, no, most are simply in the field right now, they'll be back by dusk unless they find something to attend to.'
'Something to... attend to?'
'Such as bandits, or the like... We keep the road safe from those who even the guards fear.'
'Interesting... so you... snuff out evil?'
'Pretty much.'
At this, my mother's eyes widened .
'Like... vampires?'
'No, no... vampires are dark, misunderstood... not all of them are evil. Just many of them.'
She sighed in relief.
'Well, that's relieving to hear...' She bore her fangs in a smile. 'I'd be a shame if you'd have to kill me.'
Alex laughed. And so a friendship was born, the like of which is rather uncommon. She learned the ways of the Alorian Rangers, and trained with them in the arts of archery, and also showing them her cloak she had created to blend in with the environment. She was the whisper of a willow, Alex would say. Unseen until she would strike, her shots accurate and deadly."
"Now, you may ask, why am I here, in a tavern, telling you this, these old tales? Because, my friends... my mother created a branch of the Alorian Rangers, known as the 'Whispering Willows', or 'WillowWhispers' for short... and you know what?" He reaches over and takes his mottled green cloak from the wall, and for the first time, it makes sense why he seems to wear it all the time. "We're still around. So...." His eyes sweep the room with intent. "Who here thinks they're up for it?"
(/RP)
So, basically, I've created a guild of sorts... Not a faction, mind you, this isn't anything official, simply more of a group than anything. But I'm sending out a call to all the archers who seem to land that arrow a bit closer than everyone else, that archer who gets three arrows in the air before the first lands, when everyone else gets two. I'm sending out a call to the stealthy movers out there, the bandit who creeps past ALL the guards, not just most of them, the assassin who nobody knows is there until it's too late:
There are others out there like you. And we're looking for you, mate. Come talk to me. You might be surprised.
