The Crimson Falcon

[Locklathlan 41]

The Crimson Falcon

 

 

A family of battle worshipping duellists’; trained to perfection, these warriors don brilliant red garbs, with a distinct feather cloak, dyed a sickening red.

 

 

Formation

After the turbulent events of both the Fringe and Thales, knights from many kingdoms had returned to their homelands. In Athera, this war seemed as though it would continue forever; many soldiers of the great kingdoms rid themselves of their ties to the various companies’ that controlled them, and set out as sell swords. As a matter of course, these new mercenaries found themselves in conversation with each other, across all of the taverns and bars in the land, sharing quiet conversations, on delicate subjects.

One particular group, spoke of how each battle that they had ever fought in, was preceded by a letter, carried by a messenger falcon. Each time, the same claw tattered sheet, bearing the same news of anger and hatred; that soon, a great force would be mustered to attack their respective homes. They spoke of how they felt the need to defend their lands, even though they had never held any interest in the army before. They spoke, of how they had trained rigorously for combat, and how they had said their goodbyes to their families before trudging off to terrible war. Finally, they spoke of the blood soaked fields, of the nightmares that gripped them still, of the horrible, horrible screams that haunted their every waking moment.

A strange folk tale sprang from these conversations; that, these falcons carried with them not only their letters, but a battle-fuelling courage; that nudged the men and women of every land to rally to the side of their lords, and take up arms to defend their homelands. These falcons not only preceded the blood that was to be shed, but also instigated much of the blood shedding.

As a result of these myths, many men began to dream anew; of a lone falcon, flying above a red field, the sun just setting on the horizon. And for each, this field was that of the final battle that they had fought. The most terrible battle they had fought, that had destroyed their courage, and shattered their loyalty to their sovereignties. When these men did meet again, they spoke of these dreams, of the crimson, and of the lone falcon, strangely resolute in its course. Many of the men forgot of their dreams, disregarding them as silly thoughts brought on by their thinking on past events. However, not all of them disregarded these dreams.

A small few, felt a new found power well within them; a… desire, a desire to be as that falcon. Resolute in its course, its eyes scanning the field of crimson below, talons at the ready to swoop down onto the plains to rend some small creature from the ground, and feast upon it. To have the power to fall whenever they did please, fall on their prey and take their flesh for themselves. To live as a stark reminder of what it was to be a true warrior; a warrior who lived for battle, and would take it wherever it was found. And, to be as a great family; to share the great victory of battle with those who can truly appreciate the art that is combat.

 

Thusly, was The Crimson Falcon born; born of the dreams of shattered men, who bound their shattered pieces together, to form an unbreakable force.

Culture

The Crimson Falcon live an almost entirely isolated life; within the high walls of their Keep, each member will spend much of their time training solemnly. Small groups are rarely sent outside, normally for aid in situations that cannot be handled from within. The little time they do spend gathered, is generally spent discussing battle tactics, and past victories; or, in the case of the young children born within the walls, practicing with the older warriors.

On the subject of training, once a member has reached the age of 15, it is unusual to continue receiving basic weapons training. Most members will begin to develop their own style, either by themselves, or in groups of two or three. Even within these groups, there is no real tutelage, more of a quiet observation of the technique of your peers. Due to this style of learning, to outsiders these men and women seem mysteriously silent giving only quick glances to their associates. The little they do say, is stern and sensible, with a trained efficiency at “getting to the point”.

Having spent much time observing falcons, and learning of their behaviour and overall presence, the Crimson Falcon is influenced by a strange psychological phenomenon. It is very normal for members to be visited by dreams, pertaining to decisions, and even romance (more on that later). It is common to find members discussing the falcons “ideas”, as if they were capable of sentient thought. (No, the falcons are not sentient, magical or godly in any way. This is, as stated, psychological. The player can use this come up with whatever role play they choose to. If their character is struggling to make a decision, they can choose to have the falcon come to them, as long as the decision does not in any way give them a meta gaming advantage i.e.” I shouldn’t go in that room cause the falcon has told me there’s a bad guy in the closet”.)

 

 

 

The Roceoustüng (pronounce roh – shush – stoong)

The main form of communication between members; the Roceoustüng is a collection of subtle movements that allow members to confer battle strategy, signals and ideas in an almost completely undetectable fashion. The movements and signals can be anything from a shift of the eyes, a twitch of a finger or a change in breathing; these movements and changes are normally so small, that outsiders disregard them as nothing more than nervousness. This “language” has many different dialects, some developed entirely by the small training groups mentioned above, secret even to the bulk of the Crimson Falcon.

 

 

 

Combat

Combat is (of course) treated very seriously.

Once a child has reached the age of five, they immediately begin training with a wooden weapon; this weapon is determined by the parents of the child. Having been the two who have spent most time with them, they are the best to gauge what type of weapon would best suit the child (at least, at this early stage). A master of that weapon is then found to teach the child; this training then continues for another five years. Upon the completion of this five years, the child is then allowed to choose another weapon to learn, and they are handed to another master. Once another five years has passed, the armoury is opened to them, and they are allowed to learn of whatever weapon they wish.

The types of weapons used are as follows –

-          The Long sword

-          The Rapier

-          The Spear

-          The Halberd

-          The Axe

-          The Claymore

(I hope to add more weapons here, as the group expands, and RP takes place.)

Once another five years of self-training has passed, the member may choose to leave the walls for a time. This pilgrimage, is to see the world outside the walls, and learn of the conflicts and political stances of the time. This, in turn, illuminates to the member, the possible wars to befall the world. This pilgrimage will last another five years; upon its ending, the member will return to the walls, and fall into the daily routine of survival, and learning of battle.

One important custom exists within the Crimson Falcon;

That, if blood be spilled willingly, a Falcon may choose to fall, fall upon the spiller of blood, and take their blood for themselves.

This proverb is held in a somewhat sacred status amongst Falcons, and many a fight has ensued, in many a bar or tavern across the land. However, as a side effect, a Falcon will not act if blood is not spilled; meaning, that a Falcon cannot, and will not fight unless combat escalates to a serious level.

Falconry

A task held sacred amongst Falcons; the caring for, and nurturing of the falcons kept within the Keep. These falcons are kept symbolically, as a sign of respect to the bird that first granted them their courage. Young people (normally, between the ages of five and ten) are selected, based upon their past interactions with falcons, to look after and maintain the birds. They abstain from combat, and instead learn hunting techniques. As a result, they spend most time outside the walls, and most groups sent outside the walls are generally selected from hunters, so that they may also send word back to the Keep, if anything were to go wrong, or if assistance was needed.

(Falcons (capital “F”) refer to members of the Crimson Falcon, whereas falcons (lower case “f”) refer to the actual bird, a falcon.)

 

 

 

 

Cloaks

Those that wear cloaks, belong to the guard of the Keep; due to the fact that no real “army” exists, this group protect the Keep from threats within, and without, being sent to faraway places to do battle. These battles are normally to aid other factions that have been deemed worthy by the Vigil, or who have promised aid in return for support in battle.

The cloaks themselves, are made from the feathers of deceased falcons, dyed crimson; the taking of the feathers may appear to be a disrespect, when in fact it is a way of honouring them. To allow their brilliant feathers to simply rot away, would be both wasteful and blind. These brilliant feathers must be cherished, displayed for all the world to see, for we are the Crimson Falcons.

 

 

Romance

Marriage is based upon waiting; spending time with the possible bride/husband, and learning of their many flaws, and perfections. When the marriage is truly ready, the two will be visited by a dream; a dream of a falcon falling, not upon fresh meat, but upon another falcon. Not to attack, but to comfort and nurture. The two then have the option to tell each other, and appear before the Vigil. From this point onwards, they are considered engaged. A simple ceremony will take place in around another years’ time (from the visitation of the dream), to confirm the joining of the couple.

Divorce is not something that is done; once the two are joined, it is not allowed for them to part. A parting is both troublesome, and sorrowful and not something that is needed within the walls of the Keep.

 

 

 

The Vigil

The body that makes decisions upon the sending of parties into the outside world, and the handling of political issues. They sit upon the thirteen thrones that sit atop the Great Roost, a huge tower built at the centre of the Keep. These thrones are symbolically left open to the sky, so that the thirteen may see all within the Keep. The Vigil are highly respected, and are normally elderly, as they are considered to have the worldliest knowledge.

The Vigil communicate nearly entirely, through their use of the Roceoustüng; their particular variant is unknown to all but themselves, and is imperceptible to even the most perceptive onlooker.

(I’m hoping to use the Vigil as the “sender of dreams” to the various members, so the dreams can seem truly random.)

 

 

((First things first; hi! Many of you here on the forums probably don’t know me, seeing as I’m a boring, simple, sometimes annoying and relatively new role player. So, again to everyone who reads, what’s up!

This guild was created by one of my numerous “pictures”; an image of a man standing in a red field, the sun setting painting the sky a violent red as the dark of night began to set in. This man is swathed in a cloak of crimson feather, and a lone falcons sits on his shoulder eyeing the horizon, and the many fallen warriors that litter the battlefield. This image blossomed into what you see above, and I hope that it will continue to blossom into something fun, and maybe lasting.

An important point to note; I hope for the guild to be a /serious/ role play environment. Sure, some of the OOC jokes I see around in the cities are great, but I envision this guild to be a haven for some deeper role play than what I have seen in the cities. I’m not saying that there is /no/ serious RP out there, cause my god the mali’aheral aciding people is some real serious ****; I just want to add another haven to the list. Somewhere for people to join up when they’re really in the zone for some in-depth discussion, role play fights and (just maybe) IC (and OOC!) friendships.

Well, if you just read all this, then you may be interested in joining up. Instead of the normal applications system, I’m going to be handling everything over Skype. Message me here on the forums, and we can set up a time for a call. The call won’t so much be an interview or application, as much as a chat about the character that you will be playing as, what you hope to develop them into etc. There won’t be any set questions, and it’ll basically devolve into whether or not I like you (god, that sounds so condescending).

Well, happy LoTC-ing, everyone! Please, do contact me if you decide this looks like the right thing for you!))

[Glyc 234]

This current Guild has been deemed inactive and has hereby been moved.

If you wish to appeal this decision you must present evidence to myself proving the guild is still active.