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The Marked Men - School Of The Stag.


Achilles
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16th of Malin's Welcome, 1523

A group of four Marked Men, accompanied by an old human knight and a dwarven alchemist, creep into the Leshen's wood during the early hours of the morning, moving between the cover of bushes and tree trunks while scanning the space for their prey. Two of the men eventually make their way out into the clearing, inhabited by three strange animal-skull totems and the corpses of two men suspended by vines. The men cut down a totem each while third man makes his way into the open, shooting the last totem with his crossbow. The vines retract into the ground as the last totem falls, the corpses seeming to disintegrate as they are dropped, becoming no more than a pile of unrecognizable meat. The cawing of crows overhead becomes gradually louder, and suddenly a swarm of the birds swoop down and manifest into a horrific creature. Two of the Marked open up on the creature with torrents of fire shooting from their palms, but it dissipates as quickly as it had appeared, only to form again behind the men. The creature digs it's arms down into the soil, vines shooting up around it and grabbing at the legs of it's attackers. One man tries to advance on the creature from the rear, but his sweeping blow does little to harm it. A vial of flametongue is hurled at the beast by the leader of the hunters, exploding on it's back and causing it to erupt into a black cloud of squawks once again. A giant hive hung high in the trees above them begins to shake and then releases a swarm of hornets, but the Marked move decisively and one man quickly dispatches the hive with a torrent of fire, destroying the hive before the insects can hinder them. The creature reappears and goes to attack the fire-evoker, grabbing him and flinging him against a tree, but not before having a bowie knife stabbed into it's arm. The ashen-haired hunter arced his run as his comrade was thrown, as two other Marked hacked at it he propelled himself off the corpse of a dead deer, raising his sword above his head. He soared through the air before cleaving straight down on the beast's skull, splitting it clean in half. The beast fell to the ground and was reduced to no more than a smoldering husk on the forest floor. With he Lord of the Wood defeated, the Marked Men added another successful contract to their resume.

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14th of The Amber Cold, 1523

Two Marked Men stood on the bloody battlefield, looking down at the old Savoyard camp, now cloaked in a strangely thick layer of fog considering the otherwise clear-weathered day. Heading down into the fog, they took up a back-to-back formation, aurum blades raised defensively, scanning around for the creature they knew lurked within the cloud. Coming to stand in the centre of the the ruined encampment, the monster hunters stopped, looking for any sign of the hideous 'boggen'. A blood-curdling scream and the sound of rending flesh came from one of the tents and the duo slowly began edging towards it. Before they could reach the source of the cries, the tent collapsed and suddenly a hideous necrophage-like beast appeared to their right-flank, slashing at the pair with it's gnarled claws. The older hunter slashed at the beast's arms with his blade, causing it to dissipate into a cloud of fog and revealing it to be no more than an illusion. Able to regain themselves momentarily, another identical beast emerged in front of the pair, but was dispatched just as quickly, again by the older Marked, who dropped onto a knee and slashed across the creature's abdomen with his blade. Before he could pull himself back up another creature sprung out of the fog on the opposite side of the duo, charging with it's claws outstretched. The younger hunter hurled a small pouch at it's chest, erupting into a cloud of dust with some vague magical properties, however this failed to prevent the monster from lashing out at the older Marked, who narrowly escaped the creature's claws by rolling back over his shoulder. The younger of the pair then raised his blade and sent it in a left-to-right slash towards the creature, cleaving into the beast's torso without causing it to dissipate, revealing it to be the true boggen. However this attack failed to deter the creature, which slashed across the younger hunter's face with it's clawed digits, along with the forearm he had raised in his defense. The older man dived to the creature's right and slashed across it's thigh with his blade, hamstringing the beast in the process and sending it shambling backwards to disappear into a cloud of fog. The hunters quickly recovered and brought themselves back-to-back once more, scanning around for signs of the creature and noticing a trail of blood to their right. The younger man took the lead, rushing after the wounded beast, his sword raised. As they pursued the creature out of the camp and into the woods, two more beasts leaped out at the leading hunter, one from either side, one managing to sink it's teeth into his shoulder. The older man bounded forward from behind, cleaving off the arm of the second beast, it's lack of disappearance again revealing it to be the true boggen and causing the illusion biting the younger Marked to dissipate. The boggen tried to disappear and flee once again, but the blood spewing from it's wounds gave it away, and the hunters quickly chased it down. As the younger Marked pierced the monster's side with his blade, the elder cleaved through it's torso, sending blood and guts spewing out onto the forest floor and felling the beast in two halves. The old Marked finished the creature off by raising his sword and piercing it through the chest, then beheading the creature and setting off to claim the bounty.  

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22nd of The Amber Cold, 1523

A lone Marked Man trudged through the forest north of Felsen, seeking out the troll's cavern, eventually coming to a fallen tree beside a rocky outcrop just before sunrise. Drawing his aurum sword from it's scabbard on his back, the monster hunter descended into the tunnel at the foot of the outcrop, assuming a mid-guard in preparation. Upon reaching the end of the tunnel however, the Marked Man found it empty; scattered rotten meat, broken bones, various foul excrement, but no troll. Realizing he would be cornered if the troll returned, the one-eyed hunter sprinted back up the tunnel, just in time to feel the troll's heavy footsteps approaching. The Marked Man dove down behind the fallen tree at the cave's mouth, clutching his sword close to his body. He peered up through the leaves, his face camouflaged by his dark hair and the green bandanna covering his missing eye. The hunter watched on as the troll wandered out of the woods, a dead sheep slung over it's shoulder, and descended down into his cave. Soon after the sun emerged over the horizon, and the Marked Man began assembling his tools. He lay out his bow and a pre-nocked aurum-tipped arrow beside his blade on the grass, and as the sun rose up into the sky he came back to stand in the cavern's mouth. Rubbing his hands together, he extended his palms outwards and muttered a quiet word, a loud cracking sound being emitted from the space where a torrent of fire proceeded to erupt, filling the mouth of the tunnel and rocketing down into it's depths. As the booming cries of the roasting troll came from below, the hunter cut off his stream and fled back behind the fallen tree, grabbing up his bow and perching himself on top of the trunk. As the troll came charging out of the cavern's mouth, the Marked raised his bow and drew the nock of the arrow back to his cheek, releasing it as soon as he had a clear shot. The arrow whistled through the air and planted itself directly between the troll's eyes, barely a moment before the creature moved out into the sun, and quickly turned to stone. Lowering his bow, the hunter stood on the fallen tree admiring the stone statue with the shaft of an arrow protruding from it's face. Soon enough, he came down, drew his bowie knife, and used the pommel to break off the troll's hand as proof of the kill. After gathering up his weapons once more, the Marked Man set off back towards Felsen to claim his bounty, the stone hand of the troll in his own.

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Application Format

Mc Name: God_King_Sak

 

IC Name: Reeve Iker

 

Age: 20

 

Race: Highlander

 

Minor backstory: Reeve was born on the outskirts of the Oren Empire, when the rock worm attacked he was given to his uncle who raised him until he died from a boil. Reeve was around eighteen when he joined as an initiate in the Order of Saint Lucien. He was then taught how to wield a sword properly and over those two years he helped kill a strykeworm, a frost troll and two harpies. He decided to leave after he was nearly killed during an attack on a vodnik nest and decided to dedicate his life to ridding the world of monsters.

 

 

 

 

 

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A roll of vellum has been tied to the gates of Aardwen, frozen by the Arctic temperature, left to be found by any of the Marked that happen across it. The handwriting is spidery, sloping and written hastily, but familiar to some of the Marked.

MC Name:

Sarcof

IC Name:

Oan Frondson

Age:

35

Race:

Highlander

Minor Backstory:

Oan is the son of a farmer and the village healer. While young, he was taught some of his parent's trades, but he was always really interested in the stories told by the hunters and an old veteran of the wars. He remained in the nameless hamlet that was his home until the age of 20, at which he ventured out, the wanderlust having sank it's claws into him. He joined the town of Sylverport, needing a convenient place to stay, and began finding whatever work he could. He served as a messenger and became skilled at moving, especially through trees which earned him the moniker of "Leaf Monkey", something he used to venture into the School of the Stag, much to the annoyance of it's residents. It wasn't until after the attack of the Dragon on the school, and Oan's meager aid, that he was no longer considered as much of an annoyance and a hindrance as he had been.


Oan, like many other citizens of Athera, found his way to Vailor aboard the ships, working to keep some of the ships free of monsters, and travelling between vessels. In Vailor, he was homeless, the town he had been with struggling to claim land and territory. He was given no quarters amongst them, taking to sleeping where he could. One day, whilst speaking to one of the Marked, Adeon, the Veteran came up with an idea: Why doesn't Oan work at and own the tavern? It'd keep him out of the Marked's hair, and give him a job and a place to live. The Marked man set things up, and soon, Oan was the proud owner of the tavern, no longer poking around with the Marked.

 

Unfortunately, the Lord Steward was not satisfied with Oan's job of running the tavern. He arranged for the building to be given to another, and Oan was evicted. Once more, he slept where he could, the town having gained a foothold, but not having counted Oan as needing a room! Over time, he eventually had a son, and the man became desparate to scrounge what coin he could to put back for the boy when he got older, finding whatever work he could once more, be it as a messenger or laborer. He taught his son some of the skills that he knew, the boy regarding him as a teacher, not a father, and the child eventually left to live with his mother. With that, and a taste of the Marked lifestyle on his tongue, he made a decision. It was time to try and become an Initiate for the Marked.

Edited by Sarcof
Edited because the history was written poorly. Should be better now.
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Notices are posted on the noticeboards of the Marked establishments within Felsen and the Caliphate:

"The School of the Stag is accepting initiates."

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Would resubmit his application after hearing they're accepting innitiaties

Mc Name: God_King_Sak

 

IC Name: Reeve Iker

 

Age: 20

 

Race: Highlander

 

Minor backstory: Reeve was born on the outskirts of the Oren Empire, when the rock worm attacked he was given to his uncle who raised him until he died from a boil. Reeve was around eighteen when he joined as an initiate in the Order of Saint Lucien. He was then taught how to wield a sword properly and over those two years he helped kill a strykeworm, a frost troll and two harpies. He decided to leave after he was nearly killed during an attack on a vodnik nest and decided to dedicate his life to ridding the world of monsters.

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MC Name:ChesGod

 

IC Name: Kaleo

 

Age:20

 

Race: Wood Elf

Minor Backstory: Grew up in Lauren'lhn until the age of 7, before leaving due to not seeing anything fun, Kaleo then took up the role to try to find something meaningful in his life he found training to be a Druid somewhat fun, but not what he was looking for, then he tried to become a Monk at the Cloud Temple, once again, nothing he was looking for, he searched around at the library in Cloud Temple to try to learn about magic, alchemy, but seeing it wasn't working, and that did he only notice to see that he was instead learning on how to deal with them, so it was at this age, twenty, did he decide to become a hunter, to hopefully find interest in his life

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Oan returns to the Office in Felsen, bearing a new piece of paper, shaking off the ash that gathers at his shoulders, in the folds of his clothes. He tacks it to the notice board along with the other two initiates' papers, reading similarly to his previous attempt.

MC Name:

Sarcof

IC Name:

Oan Frondson

Age:

35

Race:

Highlander

Minor Backstory:

When Oan was young, his favorite past time in the hamlet he grew up in, asides from playing with the other kids, was to listen to the stories the hunters would tell whilst they were drinking, fueling his desire to join their ranks. As he grew older, the wanderlust dulled his desire to become a hunter, but it was still present. As he left the hamlet, he became a drifter, moving between towns for work. He found good pay as a messenger and even better pay later as a mercenary. The company he was with trained him, gave him a grounding in sword-fighting and knifework.

In Vailor, this trend continued. He was the owner of the Seven Cats for a short while, a job set up by a friend to keep Oan out of his hair and to provide him with information. Eventually, he lost ownership of the tavern, and so he became a nomad, falling back on the same skills that had kept him fed in Athera, those and a loose membership with a town by Felsen. Finally, the opportunity came and he found himself assisting several of the Marked men in a contract, first as a healer, then as a marksman. The desire to be a hunter surfaced in full once more, with a realization that had been making itself known. It was time to join the Marked.

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MC Name: radeoactivesoup

IC Name: Fahim Nasur

Age: 21

Race: Farfolk

Backstory: Exiled from her some and separated from her lover when she was framed for murder, she now travels armed to the teeth trying to help people in anyway she can

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MC Name: GMRO

 

IC Name: Brandon 

 

Age:  23

Race: Highlander

 

Minor Backstory: A son to farmers, Brandon had thought to live a calm life tending to grain, however the local lord had chose the wrong side in a civil war, the Ducal coalition. By the end of the war, he had nothing left; his father's land burnt and salted, his father lay with it and his mother taken by some soldier looking for a prize. 

the 

After order was restored by the Crown, Brandon traveled to the capital, overcome with grief, he drank with the money he had left, trying to forget the faces of those he had once lived with. After running out of coin, he found himself homeless and in need of a job. He felt the need to help others, though also wanting to leave the life of having to be under the politics and fight in wars, he found this with the marked men.

 

 

 
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Oan leaves another notice, a fresher one, pinned to the notice board of the Capital office.

MC Name: Sarcof

 

IC Name: Oan Frondson

 

Age: 36

 

Race: Highlander Human

 

Minor Backstory:

When Oan was young, he wanted nothing more than to grow up to be a hunter. As he ventured out into the world, this desire was gotten, other things taking focus. He struggled to acquire food and minae, finding work amongst a mercenary company. During this time, he found a ruined fort within the Flotsam Woods. The gates were down, but some searching found him a way into the trees and over the walls. He drifted about the School, not able to access the inner holds, but content to wait, intrigued by the structure. When life once again showed it's hold, he began to venture into the School, dropping from a very specific limb that, although sworn to be cut away a hundred times, remained a reliable way into Kaer Caed and a good point to sleep. He was intrigued by the men within the School, his fascination drawing him back but he never made the decision to join.

In Vailor, Oan continued to dog the Marked, his fascination still present, disrupted by other happenings in his life, including the acquiring of a tavern with the help of one of the Marked. He worked the tavern, feeding whatever rumors he heard to the Marked man, who would in turn pass it along to the others. Life was good, until he lost the tavern. With nothing tying him down, he decided that it was time to join the Marked. Once more, life made this decision less than feasible, and he held off. Now, however, with no more duties tying him down and getting in the way, he has a decision to make. Now it's time to commit.

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