Royal Peasant

Father Circle Trial Beginning The trial, much like the last one, began with all possessions being left behind. Though this time I wasn’t blind, and it wasn’t just a trial of survival. But a trial of a hunt against another entity that was stronger than myself. Something to truly test me. Deciding to take a bit of a trip with the previous trials in mind he stepped into the woods and just…walked. Walked until he felt there was something I had found that needed to be hunted, or something that challenged me themselves. Stepping over the bridge and walking back into the deep woods and walking. Ruins that were being reclaimed by nature took hold of sight on the horizon, the sound of thriving nature, of bird song and critters echoed out from all around. The soft touch of grass and soil brushed against bare toes as the sound of nature slowly dimmed, growing quieter due to the unfamiliar predator that was stalking the woods. The grounds soon gave way to a thicker, heavier mud and a gathering of berry bushes. Along with a half buried branch that seems to have fallen and pierced into the ground. I gathered up the branch from the ground and gave it a few testing swings to see if it was balanced at first. And then some jagged stones and a larger, rounder stone as I moved to take a seat and slowly began to grind them, and sharpen them in the hidden shade of a tree. Grinding stone. It echoed out and danced through the air as the feeling of curiosity flowed from the tree line. Soon revealing a squirrel that skittered closer. Observing. A smile traded before a rustle in the leaves has it fleeing into the bushes. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. With the smooth stone, the pointed edges of the sharpened stone pierced into the branch. A crude, stone axe was born. A flash of orange appeared after the axe had been made and the squirrel had fled. But I took a moment to gather up some of the berries. Crushing them with the mood to make it even more sticky while grabbing some fallen leaves. Filling a ‘nest’ of leaves with the sticky residue and thorns before curling it up and sealing it. Effectively making two projectiles before I moved to investigate what the bloom of orange was. Caution bled through the music. In the voice. A fox. Blood soaking its jaws and looking up to the predator that looked upon it. No interest was shown to the beast, but it noticed him. It dragged the carcass. The rabbit. Before abandoning it and fleeing out of sight and view. Leaving its bleeding remains. The rabbit had some potential to be used as bait so I took it and hooked it on my belt. Though in the end I never got a chance to use it as nothing more than a meal as it wasn’t long after this that I discovered something that was…luring me, attempting to have me drop my guard by flashing its horned antlers. A flash of black slinking out of sight drawing attention and drawing me further and further away from the path I was on. Its form slowly revealed itself with a soothing, calming song. A black, sleek and large stallion of a horse. With a beautiful mane flowing and hanging down its form. Walking towards a small lake before looking back with obsidian eyes. The song beckoned…guiding towards the edge of a hill. Beckoning. Then…the horse stepped upon the waters. And realisation shot through like a wave of ice chilling the spine. Realising just what this creature was, and what it was attempting to lure me into doing, tension had risen. One of the balls was grasped in my hand that I had created. Not planning to become the prey like I had seen another be to one of these creatures before. And then, it was launched. The sticky mud and thorns impacted against its head and blinded one of its eyes as the thorns sank in and caused it to bleed. Right as the battle truly began. Something new. Shocking. Came from the creature as a blade of water rose up and whipped through the air. Pain spiked while a body tumbled down the hill closer to the waters that it had made its den. More waves, heavy, bruising, battering waters descended. The old tactic. Duck, roll. Evade. Rinse and repeat. A second orb hurled. Blocked. Defended. Inching closer. Caught! And hammered, locked against a hill being battered again and again by the heavy waters. Being battered, attacked, bruised and beaten, a free hand of mine grasped one of the sugar canes and broke it, leaving a jagged tip at the bottom while ducking behind the canes for some cover. The fae horse was enraged, sending water everywhere after losing sight of me as I climbed up the hill. Making sure I stayed low and patiently waiting for the prime time to send the makeshift javelin of sugar fly through the air. Successfully piercing it into the neck of the beast. But it barely seemed phased at the moment. And the battle raged on. Stone axe in hand and round stone in the other. Weapons diminishing. Intatitive couldn’t be lost. Rushing feet hammered over the shoreline and the axe swung. It rose up, evading, defending. Standing upon the surface of the water itself as the axe sank deep into its front leg. And with a surge of water the predator that was fighting the other predator was pulled into the waters and began to be dragged down. Only a firm grip on the axe, and the searing heat of retained breath kept darkness from claiming the man under its hooves. I was unable to get the arm strength to get the axe out of the limb while the waters raged, battered, and attempted to drag me into the depths as hooves moved to hammer down upon me. Especially as it was the only anchor I had to the surface. Reducing me to using my stone to try and hammer the javelin deeper into its neck. Almost losing my hand to those sharp canines of razor fangs before the pain had the beast whip its head back as the javelin was knocked deeper within. But…a price was paid for the exchange. Crunk. The hand that was working to anchor him was caught, and crumbled under the heavy impact of the hoof. Pain of both beasts echoed through the air. An intake of water, seizing and choking the lungs. Falling back to primal instinct another ape swing of a stone was bashed down. Rooting the cane that was soaked in black ichor that was starting to taint the water. And piercing it through. Pain, rage, gleams of predators' emotions shined in both of their eyes. And waters surged. Propelling its form directly at me using its powers to enhance the roll its entire being crashed, and crushed my chest as I was flung from the water to the shoreline. By the crack and shortness of breath I was sure some of my ribs had been crushed in that act. No doubt getting even worse as the fae horse came crashing down upon my own, crushing me under its weight as I was pinned against its frame. For several moments the legs kicked, and the jaw moved with the creatures intent to keep fighting. Even as the black ichor poured from its neck, soaking my form underneath it…and then. We locked eyes. Pain echoed through the song. Horrid, deep pain. Obsidian eyes met Aqua, emotionless, but glistening as if they were ready to shed tears. A song of respect, and an echo of the land of fae, of eternal flowed back as words in prayer began to be spoken as a soothing hand moved to brush through the thick, matted hair of the beast. Attempting to sooth in the final moments…The eyes closely closed before his own. And down came the stone, a firm, final strike. Giving it the sweet release of pain and the gentle melody of silence once more. I gave my prayers. And with a tortuous moment I lingered under the crushing weight before wiggling free like a worm. The next part was tricky, with only my non-dominant hand working, no tools, no containers. I had to skin, feast, and gather the remains of the kill. Thankfully I had the rabbit and bones. Along with the sharp stones that came from the makeshift axe when it was broken to do the cutting. Blood was gathered. The hide, recovered as best as it could be. Flesh gathered for the long journey home. What couldn't be reclaimed returned to nature. And with that…the hunt was complete. Covered head to two in black, and purple bruises. Three ribs broken, but thankfully not puncturing my lungs. A hand crumpled beyond use. Exhausted from the hunt, and head ringing from being battered around like a toy by the waters for so long. But a successful hunt, it was. And those antlers turned out to be nothing more than branches tangled to the mane.

Oh this looks like a cute little thing. I'd give a 10/10 for above as well. Awesome hat, awesome art~

A aging highlander suddenly hears news of the..sheer amount of wealth that was being rained down upon a single soul. More than many nations had as a collective! It was enough to tickle the aging man as he laughed at the news. And then began to write a message to this stranger. Dear @bloomtiara You don't know me, consider me a old geezer of the woods if ya will. And yes aye be writing in me accent to help ya understand me character! Aye heard aye amusing tale that ya get to experience the rare existence of being aye dragon, without being one! With ya own hoard and everything. Remember to set ya traps, tighten ya breeches and get ya fires lit. For adventurers are going to be after those pretty pennies. Good luck to ya! And Merry Yule~ May the winds carry you forth, the skies watch over you, and the earth hold ya steady. Signed - Ser Bismuth, Ser Bucket, and Ser knight of the Wild. Ya'll know me if we ever meet. Good seasons to ya!

I'm British! Hope that's funny enough~

The depictions of the horned lord brought a intrigued look as the man under the crown of straw began to rummage through his old artworks and sketches as he went over what he envisioned the horned lord to look like. The embodiment of the primal as he pulled them out and compared them to the several artistic renditions that were shown of the lord within this new entry of the world. A few of the pieces inspired certain markings for the flesh as he turned over to the images shown and began to set down parchment and grabbed some charcoal as he began to scribble new ideas. Inspired by these pieces.

How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

As the token 'Honourable Ame' here I welcome you to vale and hope you have been enjoying your time here so far! Remember, round yellows and berries are the token treat of vale. So enjoy them~

Oh did Roylan get skipped over?

Roylan Grant Sirame - Highlander nomad turned druid, and then bard after leaving the rimveld and escaping recruitment into the military of several nations. A chill and wholesome lad with his strawhat decorated with crackadonk teeth, loves to get creative in painting, tattoo's, crafts, and much more. Starting to grow white with age and gives off uncle vibes.

Bagworm beetles must be protected.

Expedition Log Four As it was starting to become the norm now, a new team of people for this expedition outside of the few returning, and ever curious bloom joined in. Though I’m admittingly starting to feel the change of time as my hair was slowly growing white now, even the tan didn’t help to make me feel any younger from the time in the south. Almost didn’t recognize myself in the reflection of water by this point. We set off to the strider and after a bumpy, almost sickening ride for several days we headed up to our camp and took a little moment to prepare ourselves by the stream. Checking supplies, armours, weapons and other equipment to make sure we were ready for as much as we could. We had brought goods that we believed we could trade with the tribe that had settled up within the land and was living among the nature there, not hunting, but more surviving with them. Something we could approve of. And as we were discussing how we would go to encounter them and what we had brought to offer in trade a familiar figure in the form of the same child we spoke too before showed themselves. Starting to believe this kid is somehow the scout and negotiator with outsiders of the island. Of course the fourth fleet also gave us a little bit of information as well, though it was only enough to let us know that the people of the island were hoping for a new meeting. We began to discuss it there, and she brought up how they weren’t open to seeing us right now. But they were considering us and needed our aid to show sincerity. Giving information of a deadly cloud that left behind medical residue that they could use, but they didn’t have the manpower to investigate closer and scout out from what was said. We discussed it with our group, and offered them alternatives such as getting herbs from the homeland and raising them, and growing them, but there was no way of knowing how that might turn out in this strange new land. Nor were they able to get enough medical supplies from the fleet to tend to their needs. Eventually the group decided in whisper to aid, and with the girl's guidance we reached the mountaintop that the creature was spotted landing as one of their own shot an arrow towards the cloud to see what would happen. Honestly the young lad that did it was luckily it didn’t fall on them with how deadly the fumes seem to be from what was said. Thankfully the path there we were not bothered by the many dangerous creatures of this island. We prepared ourselves, with only one among our numbers that had a breathing contraption that would allow them to take in clear air within the fumes they took the front while the rest of us gathered cloth, leather, and other forms of masks and tightened them around our heads to block the fumes from reaching us and holding them back for as long as we could. Then we waited til nightfall to try and limit the sight that would fall upon us The moon is truly a breathtaking sight on this island. But that is for another time. With the hint of the black mist slowly beginning to flow from the gap of a tree that hinted the direction we needed to go we slowly crept up. Keeping as high to the crevice walls as we could to avoid breathing in this mist ourselves as we heard the sound of movement before us. Rain began to fall, and the land itself became even more difficult to see with the shadow of the smog that was before us. So we moved slowly, cautiously. Not wanting to alert the entity that had landed that we were there as we moved to investigate it. And heard it slowly moving further and further away as he tracked it. A wailing call to the skies came with several echoes in response, that had us consider retreating if they began to descend. But thankfully its pack remained in the skies and didn’t follow. While barely being able to catch the sight before us. But soon enough there was a break in the crevice, a lift up that flowed over some bushes where the majority of the mist seemed to be gathering. With careful steps the majority of us hunt back, as the shifting figure of the creature's form seemed to be sighted. As our main member with the safety of the mask that allowed them to breathe cleanly moved closer to investigate. The mists began to give way as the creature appeared to be eating mushrooms, mushrooms that were growing from a gathering of corpses that were set upon a pile. Allowing us to see a scale tailed, four limbed and winged creature that reminded us of a bat. With many more noses on its face than you would expect and long wings. Which one appeared to be injured by a hole that was through it. Likely from the young lads arrow. When it noticed our ally that had moved forward and began to collect some of the mushrooms for samples it wasn’t hostile. In fact it was curious. Sniffing at them and taking in the scent and looking almost like they were nervous, and afraid of them. But also curious. The moment they spoke to warn us to keep our distance the creature showed a quick, and potentially dangerous agility with how swiftly it sprank back and clawed itself to the walls. The caution and tension continued to grow as the samples were taken until the creature's neck began to bulge much like that of a frog as the mists covered and hid their form from view once more. With a cry to retreat we began to head back the way we came as those dangerous fumes flowed like a cloud of shadow behind us. By the time we had reached out of the crevice the morning sun had begun to rise to greet us. And the youngest to join us and their friend hugged each other in relief as the others caught up to us on the mountain top. And of course. The girl that had shown a skill to vanish out of sight and return at all appeared and the information and samplings that were discovered were spoken on. We had gained favour, and information of another creature of this island while giving the locals a potential source of medicine through the mushrooms that they can gather if they are cautious. Now we just needed to speak to one of their elders. One potentially being a bit intense and will dig into us to get as much information as they can. Knowing our luck, that is the elder we were going to encounter and have to deal with. Let's hope she’s like the majority of vale’s own slightly mad crew and likes to drink as well. Overall, it's been a relatively nice, and informative expedition once more. And with the Siru' iheiuher adding its name to our own personal bestiary.

Ser Roylan Grant Sirame

Ooooh, I like the song! It sounds so much like my cousin that I had to double check to make sure this wasn't one of their own tracks. Very good choice my friend.

Lets see what you come up with for myself.

Father Circle Trial Summer guided the sightless Through the biting chill of night Only darkness greeted the directed Sound, scent, soul. All that was felt in the newfound world A world untouched. Untamed senses outstretched. Hindering, humbling, and heavy. Suns Sightless Summer. It was a strange experience, to be blind; to have the eternal night brushing one’s senses. Where not even the outline of structure in the night can guide one's hand or steps forward, reliant on the hands and guidance of a mentor to mount a steed for the ahead while the only senses that he found was sound, rippling through the dark like a droplet on a river. Trot, Trot, Trot. Ruffle of fabric. Dance of leaves and a tickle of cold on the skin. “Are we in the north?” His voice felt consuming. “No. We are not.” Her voice felt distant. They arrived, and with an unsure step he carefully brought his feet down upon the unseen ground. Grass was felt, banishing the idea that they were in the north. As his mentor's voice danced in the air and he turned, trying to keep focus on the sound as insects buzzed loudly within his ears. Final words were given, the earth feeling coarse, and dry. He didn’t know this land. The ruffle of feathers echoed in his ears and the sound of the retreating trots of a horse grew distant. He was alone. Dry earth. Ticklish grass. Caution driving the man on all fours like a beast. Pushing forward, he crawled. Like an ape. Drawn deeper. It was getting…warmer? But wasn’t it already the day? It began to burn on pale skin. Scorching. Hot. Darkness revealed naught. The heat of the night had hidden the truth from his senses, making him believe that night was day, and day was night. Something that he became painfully aware of as the travel he made bared the heat on his skin as night began to turn to day. Not able to find shelter the heat bared down, suffocating his senses. Drawn by the sound of insects he found bark, wood. A tree. Grasping blindly. Insects grasped and crunched between jaws. Nourishment. Nectar. Refreshing in the burning drought. The sun scorched blindly on flesh. Fingers dug between roots. Digging out a hole. A burrow. Hiding from the heat. For several days hiding within that burrow when the air began to grow hot, and scavenging insects from the tree, clamouring up the branches and swinging upon them while being lured in by the sounds of fluttering wings, buzzing, and the feeling of carapace against skin. Yet it couldn’t last. The insects began to learn. Growing distant. Retreating from the tree he had made a burrow under. He needed to keep moving. Food is scarce. Hunger gripped and thirst clung. Braving the heat again. Only to slip. What was thought to be even ground revealed a slope. Gravity claimed away and tumbled the vessel down. Impacting against earth, ground, and then scorching sands. He stumbled down the side of what could have only been a cliff, a hill, perhaps even the side of a mountain. He could not know in the darkness. Earth and stone scratched and bruised flesh as he fell down, slipping further and further down the slope while protecting his head until the soft, but scorching heat of sand greeted him. And the sound of splashing waves - the shoreside? The heat bore down and the need for shelter had him pushing to the waterside, dipping in the salt and cooling off from the scorching rays. Salt surrounded the sense of smell. Waves echoed in the ears, drawing out all. Warm waters cooled and protected from the scorching heat. A moment of reprieve followed by the sting of a claw. Crabs are cruel demons, he decided then, when one latched upon his toe and soon became his dinner. Cracked under fist and bone then eaten raw. It was delightful compared to the crunch of insects he had been reduced to eating for the last few days. The shell of the crab had been kept and tucked into his pants for use later as thirst tugged on his dry lips and tongue. The juices of his prey could only sustain him so far. But what was that…smell? Flowery aroma. He knew that smell. Or something similar. Drawn to it, the touch of an oily petal touched his fingers. Then the texture of a fruit. Plucked. Feasted. Thirst quenched. The world swam. Diddyfunkle. While the fruit were refreshing, and likely saved him the aftereffects, it cost the time he needed to train his senses to stretch even further. He began to hear sounds where there wasn’t any, the scorching sun felt strange and tingly on his skin. Everything was different, soothing. He was hallucinating. No colours to see, only the world began to swim and dance all around. Passing out and awakening, unsure of where he was. Only feeling the scorching itch, and burn of blistered flesh from the sun he had laid within under the effect of the diddyfunkle. Pain spiked with every movement. Shaking the limbs. Aching the flesh. But he needed to.To move. Lost, lonely, light headed. Wings followed. He was starting to notice that the sound of wings seemed to circle him ever since he arrived here. The weight that birds were likely waiting for him to perish so that they could scavenge his corpse filled his mind in that moment. Doubt almost consumed his mind before he focused, calmed himself with a moment of meditation in a form that screamed with scorched flesh. And then the buzzing sound of insects returned. And he found an edge to a mountain side. Though If it was the same or another he had no clue. Fingers dug, scraped, and grasped at soil and stone. Tugging, biting painfully at an already abused form. Pushing through limits. Away from sands. Stone. Fingers finding grass, earth. Shade of a tree sheltering flesh. It was a different tree he had found this time, and he could only assume that he had found a different mountain. Or a hill that he had scaled on all fours. The leaf span of this tree was able to cover him, reducing the need for him to dig under the roots, so he instead pulled himself into a nook within the trees and began to rest. Taking a solid day of rest just to recover before his senses stretched out. Insects surrounded him from all around, but also…birds, and what sounded like a trickle of water? Water on a mountain. A lake? An oasis? Movement fled him as he moved to the edge. Finding nectar of sweet, cool waters. Flowing waters through a current. For the first time in what felt like weeks, he had fully tamed his thirst and had coverage from the sun of the scorching day. The scent of flowers, of flora, filled his breath and the crisp cool water. Life was around him. And if there was a lake? That meant one thing. Fish. He pushed into the water and attempted to catch fish as he felt the ripples of their movements against his skin. It took time. Practice. Eating the flora like a herbivore and drinking from the water until finally his fingers clenched around the scaled body of a fish. It was delicious. All was consumed. Head, eye, flesh, guts. It all went down. Nourishment. Sharp fangs tearing into flesh. A fish a day kept the hunger away. Time passed like this uncounted, the shift from scorching heat to warm summer being his only clue of the passing time. Soon followed by him getting used to the shifting sound of nature around him. The insects were quiet during what he felt was the ‘day’, yet the fish were louder, splashing and feeding. At night the song of the insects grew more vibrant, making it easier for them to be hunted. And so he existed for a while, catching fish, hunting insects, occasionally eating a flower when a day of hunting was sparse. Until one day he made a strange discovery on the lake…a boat. Tied up and bound at the bottom of it with a stone. Perplexed. Confused. Bamboozled. A boat in the middle of nowhere? It made no sense. Was there descendant life nearby? Here!? Confusion leads to curiosity. To blind exploration. Fingers searching the surroundings and seeing what they could find. No words were given, for he did not desire to meet anyone. Just understand more of where he was. And understand he soon did. Finding what felt like marks in the earth…of a battle. Old. Ancient. Abandoned camp with a blanket so worn with holes and full of insects that it must have been left here for a very long time. Further exploration found a hot spring that he took a moment to bath within. And felt the presence of other animals joining him in the waters. Soothing the aches and pains that lingered. And finally…what felt like an altar, damaged, destroyed. And a pedestal where a tome should have rested, stripped clean. A cult of some faith lived here. Had lived here. But something dealt with them. In fighting? Rivals? But they were gone. Long gone. Ruins reclaimed by nature. It was a strange relief knowing he was the only ‘descendant’ within the land. Tension he didn’t know had built up eased, and the continued path of survival reclaimed his form. Dead flesh from the scorching heat peeled off and washed away in the flowing hot spring, giving way to flesh that seemed to be able to handle the heat better. Able to bear and adapt to the flame of the land's fury. Time passed, his habit of checking the moon turning to counting the shift of temperature to mark the time that continued on. Until the day the rain came. The rain was heavy. Hammering the land and loosening the soil. The lake grew wild, the currents stronger. It gripped upon him and washed him away through the current. Direction less, breathe lost. Water filled his lungs. Impacting an unknown shore and hacking the current out. He hadn’t been prepared for that. The rhythmic repetition that he was slowly growing used to with his sense of touch, hearing and scent, washed away by the storm of rain and water. He didn’t know how long the waters had pulled him, how far away he was from where he originally was. But he felt he went down, flowing away from the mountain. And once again he was battered and bruised from the descent of the mountain. The rain made it difficult to tell left, to right, or hint in which direction to go as everything echoed its song. He could only rely on his touch. Digging into the ground and pulling forward to find shelter. Sand and earthy grass mixed under touch. The prickle of a cactus stung. Biting skin and clinging. Repulsed and a new direction found. Clear water found upon fingertips, a rocky growth giving shelter. A new nest was found. Rest and slumber came swift. The rain lasted slightly longer than expected, and the thorns from a plant that grew on the rocky walls burned as it cut and dug into flesh. Several pointy plants had wounded his hands now that they were starting to twitch from them. Or perhaps it had been the venom of the plants themselves that were making his hands tremble and twitch. It took a day for the sensation of touch to return to them where he nibbled on the moss that had grown near the water and drank of its source. The shell of the crab finally proved its worth as he scraped the moss from the stone to eat it. Recovered, thankfully no breaks from the slip down the water slide. Then..a cluck. A cluck of a chicken echoed out. Body froze. Stomach rumbled. The blind stalked the sound…waited. Pounced. Neck snapped in jaws. Crimson soaked skin. He went feral for a moment. Or was he just returning to how he was in his youth? He stalked the chicken; or at least he assumed it was a chicken, by its sounds. Lowered his form to be less noticeable, waiting for it to draw close before he launched at it. Sharpened canines biting down a thin neck before he jerked, felt a snap. And the body grew still within his jaws. He ate well that day. The feathers felt pleasant on his skin. He didn’t know where he had ended up but he could feel that the grass here was…softer, cooler. More vibrant in its life. And he couldn’t feel any sand around as the echo of crashing waves filled his senses from the left of him. Waves echoed in his ears. Cool grass under toes and knuckles. Insects were scarce, he couldn’t hear them anymore. But animal sounds tugged his senses. No trees to be found, only brush, green, and animals. An open plain by the sea. He had gotten utterly lost in the darkness and the rain. The origin he had been left at felt so distant, yet it could have been at his back for all he knew. Or even just ahead of him. But with a lack of insects around he began to regress to a..primal, natural state. Hiding in the bush and pouncing upon shifting and moving prey. Finding rabbits caught within jaws, chickens snapped and plucked. Bones and feathers began to decorate his hair and tattered fabrics around his waist as crimson clung and stained his skin until he washed it on the coast side. Berries found by following the trials animals had left with his fingers allowed him to quench his thirst. His mind regressed. Settling on basic needs. Food. Thirst. Shelter. The food cried and fell still under my jaws. Fruits and berries fed nourishment. The sun still burned. But shelter in trees eased the heat. Strangely the wings of the stalking bird still echoed above… The predator he had become was tempted to climb and hunt the bird that he caught circling above him so many times now, the flap of the wings, the ruffle of feathers. Even the cry of a hawk's call. Which increased when he caught the sound of swooping wings as a rabbit, or mouse he had been hunting became the prey of this bird instead of himself. It almost became a competition. Who could catch the prey first, the land bound beast, or the avain in the skies? It soothed a loneliness he didn’t realise he was feeling to humour the idea that it was the same bird each time, despite how unlikely that was. A grunt, a squeal. Something was rushing towards him. He dove out of the way. The feel of something sharp. Cut his flank. A heavy trotted foot. A huff of breath. A boar. He listened for the charge. Waiting. Ducking. Rolling. Evading. Landing kicks to its flank. A leg snapped. The boar tumbled. He pounced. Boar tusks added to the decorations of blood soaked feathers, rabbit toes and scrapes of pelt he hadn’t eaten upon his garb. It was too much to eat alone, eating his full and then trusting on nature to take their own filling. Listening, and agreeing with his senses as he felt wings descend upon the boar, and the brush rustle as other creatures grew near. The carcass was going to be plucked clean. But the wound on his side wasn’t going to deal with itself. The bite of salt water splashed and washed the wound. Leaves were cleansed and laid over the cut, and the vines of a king were bound tight around to apply pressure. The wound burned. Stung. And itched all at the same time. The leaves were packed tight. Nature’s bindings. And he laid still. Feeling the flow of crimson still. But he felt light headed. Tired. Sleep came soon. He, luckily, didn’t bleed out. The binding was tight enough to stall the blood flow. Even luckier that it didn’t get infected without clear, boiled water to cleanse the wound. But as he was healing. he went over his senses through the darkness. He was used to the sense of sound now, enough to catch the movement of beasts to avoid attacks, the sound of movement in the wind. The sense of smell gave him an idea of what was nearby, of what he was stalking, from the scent of pelts, to the markings left in surroundings, and even the aroma of flora. His skin had hardened under the trial and rough treatment. Yet he had honed his sense of touch, to the point where he could trust himself to move through branches within the trees without risking falling. He had returned…to nature. Sightless, Soundless, Boundless. He grew in the flames. Hardened against stones. Held by the grasp of rootes. Scent, Sound, Sensations. Honed, practised and grown. The lack of vision. Of colour. Have a way to a new world. A beauty in the ripple. The pulse of shadow. A canvas of the night. An Ode to the Blind.

A mind in a blindfold heard the whisper in the wind of a creature travelling through the waters and heading to the shore. It took him a moment to ponder the words as he was digging a burrow to hold up in to hide from the scorching suns before before a delirious mumble escaped his lips as he began to wriggle into the dirt burrow he had dug out. "Are the creatures from the wild island escaping to see the rest of the world?..." He would need to investigate this...later...when he can see.

I would say that I'm a bit of a introvert myself, yet when it comes to me having friends it usually worked by us having a common interest. Something we both liked and could bond over. For example, where we are right now! Lotc. I have made several friends since I ended up joining this place that have been a delight to interact with. Another common interest I have made friends with over the last ten years would be d&d, or dungeons and dragons for those not aware. My oldest and closet friends I met through the game and have been close with them for over ten years now. At the very least, having a common interest serves as a ice breaker even if you both aren't in the same games, hobbies, or interests when it comes to discussions and conversations. Not sure if this advise will assist at all but I do wish you luck in gaining a few life long friends!

Expedition Log 3 As usual we started our journey by travelling along the rocky shores towards the strider to head on out on the expedition, this time it was a new team entirely. All besides a trusty lass with a pair of goggles that had been around for each and every expedition. Curious to see how this expedition went as each one had given us new insight. Like all the previous first encounters the group were awed by the sheer size of the strider, and eager for those that were part of the seed that used these striders to take such a long journey with them. The journey took several relaxed days and we clambered down the strider's legs and splashed into the waters before swimming to shore. And that was when we spotted that we weren’t the only group on the beach this time, another group had arrived from another strider and had landed on the island to explore. A few familiar faces spotted. A word to keep a distance from each other was said for our own explorations and we took the right side of a furrowed trail that led deeper in land while they took the left. We began to travel, armoured up and helmets slid on our heads to be sure. Keeping a cautious eye on the figure as we followed the path and slowly began to see the sight of something like tail feathers within the dark that it had reached in our preparations and caution of the other group to continue on this path. We waited for a moment as the morning sun began to rise up to get a closer look, and then we began to see the glistening shine of some feathers that were peeking from behind trees that hid most of its full form for a moment. But by the sound of tearing flesh we had an idea what was going on. They were truly beautiful feathers, but to our surprise we found a child that was hiding next to a tree and spoke up to us, calling the creature the feathered sun and advised caution to not disturb them as they were feeding. So we kept our position out of sight by the tree and didn’t move forward. Though we had tried to keep a conversation going with the youth and ask questions. But the moment that the bird had begun to raise its head up, detecting the approach of the other group and soon finding us as well the girl had vanished from view and into the tree line. This was the second time that we had discovered a creature that fed upon crocodile-like reptiles, when we finally saw what it was tearing up and feeding upon. Unlike most places where this creature would be the natural predator with its sheer size it seems like there were tons of other beasts that were its predator within these lands, even enchanting birds that were truly massive, though on closer inspection it seemed to be a mix of reptile and bird. With sharp talons like the spitting reptiles we had previously encountered before. And that was when the ground had begun to shake, and the locals from the trees advised that we retreat and turn our gaze unless we were brave. Now I wasn’t about to risk our group over the child’s challenge of bravery and had us retreat over the thundering ground as the bird itself grew nervous from their position. Two of our members of course didn’t turn their head as the birds feathers burst into a bright light as something from below launched up and bit down upon them, dragging them into the depths. Leaving naught but two feathers. We took a moment to check the other group and saw that the majority of them had blinded themselves by taking the challenge, though they were also growing in number and appeared to have grown in size. Back up most likely. And while we were tending to the two that had been blinded from our group, thankfully only temporarily, we moved towards the child that had moved to the edge and questioned them about what had just risen from the ground and see if we could glean any more information. From what we discovered it appears that those creatures are considered the ‘Apex’ here, and are seen as the ‘god-creatures’ by the locals of the island. Her clan in particular was going to keep an eye on us to make sure we aren’t poachers before they were willing to give anymore information to us. Collecting a feather, only one to examine and investigate to not risk a challenge of arms from the other group, we began to head back with a final word to the child that we hoped to speak to them again in the future. A few of our members had grown a little panicked, considering the size of the bird and the size of the massive maw that reminded us of a giant sand worm, but we continued on. Heading back to the strider and beginning to return home with our newest discoveries, and worries. With a warm heart we settled down, and began to discuss resources, and plans for the next expedition. And the concerns that might be brought forth from them…

Expedition Log 2 This was our second venture now into the unknown land brought to us by the strider. With an entirely different group, yet still with the same connections to the guild as previously before. With one muscular lad from the last group joining in with us again. Who knew had a desire to etch the markings of one rather towering, and impressive creature we had discovered this time. The expedition was a little shorter than our previous one, as we experienced first hand the prowess of the predators hunting within these lands. But I will get to that later. First off we gathered together to make sure we had all the equipment we needed, weapons, armour, food, and equipment. And then designated roles for everyone that was going to take part. Guard, Scout, and researchers. With our team of six set up and ready we headed back to the strider once more and began the process of travelling through the lands. Its a real bonding experience being cooped up in the giant carapass with your comrades for days on end. I'll tell you this. You learn things you never knew before. Like how moss can be rather giggly, the competitive spirit of cooks between a ame and a goblin, and the relaxed nature of the crew when we begin to make up games of word association to help pass the time. We landed back upon the island but found ourselves in a new spot that we haven’t been before. And saw the markings of a battle on the shores with dried blood and what appeared to be the scraping of some large beast against a tree. One of our members had issues waking up so we left them on the strider for their own safety as we reached the shore and began to advance after checking the blood. Intending to try and find our old camp to help us map the island, but just as we were doing that a powerful roar rippled through the land that for a moment made us think there was a dragon on this very land. Cautious now, but with our goal of research in mind we began to venture forward to investigate the source. Not surprisingly then the travel was long, the light flowed in and out as the roar seemed to stretch further and further away. Something was happening on the island that was causing the beasts of the land to scatter and move about as birds flew high to avoid the cause. During our trip we managed to discover our old camp that we had vacated with our supplies when returning home previously. With that discovery we knew where we were in the land and could plan ahead for that. But first! We needed to find the source of that noise and document it. And discover it we did, a creature I would later document to be ‘Crimson Spite’, with red scales with a slight purple shine to them that appeared to be standing over the remains of a beast they had been hunting and had slain. One of the creatures was acting as look out, watching the lands around it while the other feasted on the meat they had. We dove into the bush and began to hide to not draw attention to ourselves, but it did appear that some of the noise we made attracted its attention as the scout looked upon our direction. Though thankfully we didn’t disturb them enough to break the path of nature they were trodding. They appeared to have powerful, but small jaws compared to their body, and a strong tail that looked capable of striking with small claws resting under the top of their body to grab hold of things. Wandering a closer inspection of what was going on we slowly crept closer within the bush. Gathering our wits about us and attempting to conceal our forms and our approach as much as possible as we clung to the flora that was acting as a rather impressive coverage for us. Allowing us to go undetected to our advantage. It was in this advantage that we were able to get a closer inspection of the creatures, seeing the gleam of their scales, and the hint of their prowess that they would fight with. Not entirely sure on what use the spokes that appeared to be on their back might have, but a guess was held that they were a form of protection from attack themselves. A thought of what nature of creatures would hunt such large beasts we couldn’t imagine at the moment. In the peaceful moment we began to sketch their forms and discuss the potential of the creatures and what traits they might have that we have yet to witness. It was of course, at this point that a powerful roar, the true source of the call we had felt piercing through the entire land, revealed itself as a massive titan of a beast began to charge across the land. Massive jaws of powerful fangs out stretched and small claws ready to grasp and rake through flesh as it charged with a frenzied hunger towards the predators. We were shocked for a moment and the young adventurous lad of our group was struck with awe and wanted to mark himself with the appearance of its form. It was here that our missing member of our crew had caught up to us, soaking wet but we didn’t have time to question why that was as they drew up their shield upon their arm and lined up against one of our green members. Hood and goggles observing them and allowing them to blend in rather well. Though I think she was more awed by what we had discovered, or perhaps a little frightened with how quickly she dove into cover at our mossy girl's word. But I can’t say I would have done any different. It didn’t take the beast long to reach the others with its powerful legs and talons dragging it through the earth with speed. If that creature had been chasing us we would have had no chance to escape without using the flora, and trees to slow down its charge with its single minded rush. At this point creatures that were hiding in the bush around us began to flee, creatures we didn’t even notice. A practical stampede of smaller creatures running by us to escape the area of what appeared to be a forming battle between titans. We witnessed the large creature that I named Ravaging Stalker with its sheer furious primal nature, but also its black scales that would no doubt allow it to slip out of focus and ambush predators if its size and own quick fury didn’t reveal itself. It took only a few breathes of awe before it spread across the valley that we were in and were upon them. Jaws latching upon the throat, yet the creature didn’t appear to use its talons. Preferring to use its jaws entirely for the attack. It tore into the throat of the beast that had just been feasting and quickly brought it low to the ground with an impact that almost shook the ground with the strength of it. The downed and pained beast let out a wail, and that was when the battle switched. As smaller creatures with the same scales as the larger two dove out of the bush and began to clammer upon the ravaging beast's body, clawing at its flesh and rendering into its form as they mounted its side and back and the beast wasn’t able to shake them off. Letting out the roar we heard before. But this time we were close enough to feel its full force against it, bursting our eardrums and leaving us deaf for a moment as a ringing rattled through our heads. With a quick order by the motion of hands we began to retreat from the brush to the cover of the trees as this battle continued to wage on, not wanting to be in direct view of the many creatures should they decide that we too were a threat. Especially with the numbers that we were witnessing among them and the solo predator that was having difficulty dealing with their numbers. They were making surprisingly quick work and the larger beast was growing rapidly weaker as we documented the battle. It was at that point we realised that we shouldn’t linger on, and began to retreat from the battle we were witnessing. But long enough to witness the standing large beast of the creatures spitting out a crimson ichor upon the wound of its pack's neck, which either had some kind of healing property or stopped the wound from bleeding. We did not remain to witness which. As we pulled back another ear piercing roar shook our heads with ringing, but that didn’t stop us from feeling the earth tremble or hear the triumph of the creatures that had downed what had appeared to be an apex predator. Truly a reminder that packs are much more dangerous than one powerful beast, by number alone they are able to overwhelm even a creature of that magnitude. Checking over the information we had all gathered as the rain began to fall over us once more. Making us just as wet as the lass that had rejoined us we decided to head back to camp and gather everything we had before we would return home. Especially with most creatures having already fled the land, there wasn’t much we were going to discover in a barren surrounding where everything had gone to cover. But truly… This land was showing itself to be a truly beautiful, yet fearsome land of nature.

Expedition Log 1 Plans had been made since the news of a large expedition force venturing out to seek out new lands, where three other expeditions had already failed, had reached the ears of the guild. Plans to make sure that nature wasn’t being harmed, that the balance wasn't twisted by unknown means, and threats were not in place. That had been our main purpose, but there was also a general interest in exploration and research of the unknown flora and fauna that we didn’t know about resting on our shoulders. Gathering up our team, formed from friends of our adventure guild Taelu’Avernan and our members. It was a nice, solid team of nine members. Gathering up on our horses, direwolves, and various mounts we began the journey to the strider that would be acting as our transportation to the destination. It was interesting to see the striders that we saw from the seed of Norvayn outside of the forest, it truly gave an impressive sight and an imposing impression to their towering size. Climbing the ladder up to reach the top of its carpass had been nerve racking, I ain’t going to lie about that. Nothing like a tree where you have multiple branches to reach out to to begin to scale. Just an endless drop everywhere around with only the wobbly, ricket ladder balanced to the side of its form to scale up with. I would have been more comfortable climbing the creature's legs! But we managed to get up there. And I’m not going to pretend that I was happy when we had gotten inside of the carapace where a little dwelling had been set up for long travel. A travel that took many days longer than I had expected, especially with the sheer scale of the striders movements, night falling over our group and the light of the moon glistening down into the carpass that we had formed our nest in . When we eventually made it the destination, eating and growing the melons that were growing on the back of the shell and having some sugar cane water to keep us energised, we descended down the creatures legs to the green fields below us. Checking that we had everything with us and that everyone was ready for what we might encounter before the heavily armoured folks were sent to the front on my order to act as a guard for our more research inclined individuals as we began to step forward. Again it was impressive to see how long we were able to keep the strider in our vision as we grew further and further away. The crew began to head towards the mountain to get an eagle view of the surroundings, to try and spot anything unusual within these lands. As heavy rain began to descend upon the crew as the sun began to rise up within the heavens and spread over the group. It was a slog pushing through the mud that was starting to gather around their feet through the plains that were open before them as they began to reach the bottom of the mountain and begin to scale. Slowly, but surely, up the mountain surface itself. It was a difficult climb, with several slipping as we tried to find a right path to get up upon the cliff itself. The original group we had started with slipping away as we aided each other, scaling up the mountain one by one through the thick downpour of rain until we all had safely reached the horizon of the mountain. One by one, each and every one of us arrived and took a moment to take stock, and breathe. Ensuring that everyone had made it safely. We took shelter, allowing the rain to pass us under the shelter of the trees that made up the mountain top before we continued on. The light of the day having passed as the creep of darkness having once more began to enshroud us as a unearthly cry of pain rippled through us as we found, not a end to the mountain. But a thick foliage that covered the mountain top. And a deer, tall in stature that it towered over us, with a strange green mist that seemed to surround it. Its quick retreat came to a stop as it found us within its path. Focusing upon us. The front line moved to keep a protective stance while the drui reached out towards it, trying to speak…only to be met with an unnerving silence. The glistening colour of shamrock surrounded it, and we tried to figure out what to do. But they didn’t appear to be hostile, nor did we feel anything unnatural about them which was even more confusing. But before we could make a move of action the beast leaped back into the foliage. And after a moment of discussion we continued on, trying to see if we could find their tracks that would lead them to them. And indeed, we followed their tracks. But ended up following where they had been, not where they were going. As the night began to pass and the thick foliage of the jungle we had stepped into that was on the back of the mountainside itself filled its view before us. Having lost their tracks, and not wishing to backtrack for anymore hours, we continued on the path we were on. Finding the edge of the mountain and allowing us to peer down to find the source of the screeching wails. We could only see the thick tail of the large croc-like creature as it lashed out within the foliage, appearing to be hiding its form as it screamed. The group had discussed and planned to move on, and let nature take its course on what appeared to be a wounded creature when one of our members broke rank and ran down the mountain. Lighting up their sword in a glowing blaze of light as they called to arms. While ignoring the cries of the rest of the expedition to call the halt. The vanguard began to move after them and the rest of us began to follow suit once we realised the danger. Reaching the bottom of the mountain we began to see the true state of the creature. Its front legs appeared to be no more, the strange glowing green aura of the deer dancing on the remains of the stumps while their eyes had appeared to be burned. Making the beast blind. There was no saving them at that state even if we wished too. The charging warrior of our group was knocked to the side and onto their butt by the massive creature, thankfully unharmed, and there we were able to convince them to leave the poor beast before its cries called its brethren and we would be attacked by the protective kin of theirs. The fact that we were not able to speak to the animals here, proved again when tested, and even the paladin arts could not reach out to calm the creatures here left more of a perplexed feeling of the nature of this place as we moved on. We continued on. And found the jungle suddenly…stopped. As if the land had cut off. Not making any sense as we found a dirt covered wasteland before us and three large, horned slugs turning to face us within the land stretch of land. And a single fallen structure that we moved towards to investigate. Because. Wood. When nothing was found on the odd structure that was sitting alone in this wasteland, besides what appeared to be the hint of a dirt home that was starting to be built by someone, we moved to investigate the slugs that we would soon name Thill, by the shroom of our groups own lips after a moment of discussion over the name. The dry slugs appeared to be passive in nature, gentle in spirit. With no eyes to see they senses the air through two large noses that they sniffed our researching crew with and inspected them. When offered a potato they sniffed it, and changed to the colour of green. And when sniffing meat they changed to the colour of purple. Sniffing out a black ichor upon the ground around the food that went tested proved to be a powerful acid that melted it. We suspected that was what they did with their food. Their pack members also appeared to be protective of the slug we were checking. A passive, close nit and colourful creature. But with a powerful digestive acid that melted everything it touched by star steel. Not wishing to bother the creatures too much. We moved to walk over the edge of a crevice that split the land after taking notes and continued on our path. Finding an abandoned camp with a few animals that were around it. Perhaps a remnant of one of the previous expeditions that had been here. But there were no notes or anything to investigate at the camp. So we moved on. After taking a breath break at the camp. Resting our weary legs and having a breather. Feeding on one of the animals that were dwelling near the camp by our green skinned moss companion we began to trek down the mountain we had found ourselves on once more. And low and behold…we found ourselves spotting what appeared to be a mages tower sitting on the middle of a lake when we were climbing down the hill! We headed down to take a closer look. And found no entrance into the tower that we could pass safely with a unknown threat within, and the tents that scattered around that showed a hint of a dwelling to this place were left empty. We continued on, making a note of this location to investigate at a closer depth at a later date. Marking down in a sketch the structure and its surroundings so we could find them. But by this point, our forms were growing weary. Several of our members had already laid their heads down to rest and fell into a slumber and were being carried on our backs. It was time for us to get a proper rest. We found that by the sound of a trickling brook, a water source that flowed with a slow stream through the land. Setting down those already sleeping we set up our tents, and laid ourselves down to rest. Under the soft warm glow of the sun.

Trials had been completed, and the uncle of a straw hat drinker, former nomad and captain of a pirate ship, once a adventurous spirit regained the spark of his youth as he joined folks of a similar mindset. Easing himself into the situation and getting quite comfortable and content as tales were regaled, stories were told and ideas of adventure and exploration was done together. But there was one thing he realized about this guild... "We need more booze stat. Oy niece! Do we have any back lock? Need to help these lads and lasses loosen up aye bit!"

Nice little homely post! But I would advise on changing the texture colour. Pretty difficult to read with the current black text with the forum colours.

Completely oblivious to any of this going on, one uncle, just down the river way with a bunch of elves was attempting to get people drunk off their tushes with an ancient brew he had recovered from some runes. Sneakily laughing with a rumbling voice at all the people that found themselves laid on their butts when they take a swig of his notorious Rotwater. Laughter was had. Drunks were singing. New brews were made and had! All while, only a small walk away, drowned out by song, laughter, and music. A battle raged of light and darkness, pushing their believes and natures against each other. All seeking victory over the other.

A aging man and friend of those that live and thrive with nature looks at the message with a perplexed expression resting on his features as he looked from the words upon it...and then down, down to the tongue of a cow. That had been severed from the beast and was still dripping ichor, blacked with some substance and then cut in a way that framed the tongue as something else. "Aye have ne idea who this lass is, but for someone talking about caring for the path of nature, its aye bit odd for them to torment aye animal and butcher their tongue just for aye message....what is this tongue meant to be anyway?" Still perplexed on whatever all of this was he grabbed his bottle of Taynei breathe brew, pouring another thick glass as he removed his apron from his work at the tavern and began to enjoy the smooth beverage. Just - perplexed. But enjoying a nice drink like the rising alcoholic that he was becoming more and more. Its all his nieces fault.