Exthalion
2015-07-18, 08:52 PM
OOC Thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?426600-Against-a-Sea-of-Troubles-Atlantis-the-Second-Age-OOC&p=19509199)
This ruined city was not on any map. It had been carved out of stone tablets, burned out of paper, cut out of speech with the tongues of those who spoke its name. No one had ever lived in this city, and it was not meant for the living. Long rows of dark granite arches made up the skeletal roofs of half-finished tombs. The construction ends at the edge of even longer mounds, no doubt buried when their occupants were ready for them. You stand at the edge of the sunless valley, about to pass through a similar arch and take the winding road down. The stain of old fires marks the fallen stones. Old bones lie unburied. Twisted ivy had grown up as though to hide the shame of this place. They had a long way to go if so. Steeling yourself you step through, feeling something like the pulse of Bersheba though miles from the city.
…
You are looking down at a road and valley of a far different sort. Rivers flow through canals of green stone, turning the waters the same color. A line of green trees, each carved from a different stone in the likeness of a different species, separate you from it. Their branches reach from the bare wall beside you and out over the drop. They cast green shadows. Bridges, some large enough to support buildings of their own, span the gap. The air is dry despite the nearby water.
There are no people, no animals, no wind. The wavering light of the canal is the only thing moving.
An echo comes to your ears, the clatter of stone on stone. It came from behind you, from a deep shaft. At the bottom is an open courtyard around another large stone tree. It is the first sound you have heard that you didn’t cause.
This is not Sheba. What will you do?
The sweat runs down your forehead, down your back, down your shoulders... The falling ash of the burned dead sticks to your skin. The stink of sweat and blood and unwashed flesh are so common you cannot smell them anymore. There is another scent that comes to your nostrils now, fear. It comes from the Andaman on her back before you. The fight had been almost too easy, jagged cuts from the masters’ knives marked her shorn fur. She is going to die. The cold eyes of the masters look down on you, the burning gaze of their wicked god falls on you, the heat of the sun and the poison they have put in your blood burns you…
When it is over you are walked back into the cool dark. A flash of color draws your eye to thorny weeds that have broken through the cracks between the stones of the tunnel. As you cross the threshold there is a silent sound, like the ringing of some vast and distant bell. Your step falls not on black stone but green sand. You are in a courtyard. The shade of a tree of solid jade tunes the light to a soft viridian. It smells like… nothing. You smell yourself for the first time and it is not pleasant. Above you wraps a covered balcony, to your left is a high opening leading to a long street. You cannot see the sun or sky, only more stone trees, roofs of thick glass, and bridges of various kind thrust across each open span. All are shades of green.
There is no living thing anywhere in sight or hearing. This is not Yallok.
There is a sound, like boots on stone, out in the street. What will you do?
We are starting with a short prelude to help the characters get to know each other and to get a feel for things like combat and magic use in a fairly controlled setting. This is going somewhere I promise. Use your stats complete stats and don't worry about matching up timelines.
If I took any improper liberties with your backstories please let me know and I will edit the description.
Your are not only allowed but encouraged to read the part of the other character(s) and to add descriptive elements. See page 276 of the Core if you have it for an example.
This ruined city was not on any map. It had been carved out of stone tablets, burned out of paper, cut out of speech with the tongues of those who spoke its name. No one had ever lived in this city, and it was not meant for the living. Long rows of dark granite arches made up the skeletal roofs of half-finished tombs. The construction ends at the edge of even longer mounds, no doubt buried when their occupants were ready for them. You stand at the edge of the sunless valley, about to pass through a similar arch and take the winding road down. The stain of old fires marks the fallen stones. Old bones lie unburied. Twisted ivy had grown up as though to hide the shame of this place. They had a long way to go if so. Steeling yourself you step through, feeling something like the pulse of Bersheba though miles from the city.
…
You are looking down at a road and valley of a far different sort. Rivers flow through canals of green stone, turning the waters the same color. A line of green trees, each carved from a different stone in the likeness of a different species, separate you from it. Their branches reach from the bare wall beside you and out over the drop. They cast green shadows. Bridges, some large enough to support buildings of their own, span the gap. The air is dry despite the nearby water.
There are no people, no animals, no wind. The wavering light of the canal is the only thing moving.
An echo comes to your ears, the clatter of stone on stone. It came from behind you, from a deep shaft. At the bottom is an open courtyard around another large stone tree. It is the first sound you have heard that you didn’t cause.
This is not Sheba. What will you do?
The sweat runs down your forehead, down your back, down your shoulders... The falling ash of the burned dead sticks to your skin. The stink of sweat and blood and unwashed flesh are so common you cannot smell them anymore. There is another scent that comes to your nostrils now, fear. It comes from the Andaman on her back before you. The fight had been almost too easy, jagged cuts from the masters’ knives marked her shorn fur. She is going to die. The cold eyes of the masters look down on you, the burning gaze of their wicked god falls on you, the heat of the sun and the poison they have put in your blood burns you…
When it is over you are walked back into the cool dark. A flash of color draws your eye to thorny weeds that have broken through the cracks between the stones of the tunnel. As you cross the threshold there is a silent sound, like the ringing of some vast and distant bell. Your step falls not on black stone but green sand. You are in a courtyard. The shade of a tree of solid jade tunes the light to a soft viridian. It smells like… nothing. You smell yourself for the first time and it is not pleasant. Above you wraps a covered balcony, to your left is a high opening leading to a long street. You cannot see the sun or sky, only more stone trees, roofs of thick glass, and bridges of various kind thrust across each open span. All are shades of green.
There is no living thing anywhere in sight or hearing. This is not Yallok.
There is a sound, like boots on stone, out in the street. What will you do?
We are starting with a short prelude to help the characters get to know each other and to get a feel for things like combat and magic use in a fairly controlled setting. This is going somewhere I promise. Use your stats complete stats and don't worry about matching up timelines.
If I took any improper liberties with your backstories please let me know and I will edit the description.
Your are not only allowed but encouraged to read the part of the other character(s) and to add descriptive elements. See page 276 of the Core if you have it for an example.