Horror
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Aer – a vital, yet dangerous, magical mist that permeates the air all around us – is a primeval source of power and magic that humans came to use as a fundamental energy. Aer crystallizes into cores, and cores are used as an energy source to power blastia. Using various types of cores and blastia, this technology brought mankind prosperity and the means for survival. Aer wells (also called aer springs) serve as the primary source of this mist, and they're scattered all around the world, usually guarded by a group of sprites; magical creatures born from massive amounts of crystallized aer. They're relatively rare and difficult to find; and the areas around them can be dangerous due to the unstable properties of aer.
One of those springs is hidden deep in a labyrinth of a mine within Starcloud Valley. Guarded by a group of sprites, the Harvest God as well as his Goddess, the aer spring remained well stabilized for countless years. Nearby was a village, not under any nation, that was slowly growing in population. They lived in harmony with the neighboring sprites and the two groups had a mutual relationship.
Time passed, and the nearby kingdom of Crentalene became increasingly aware of their neighbors in the valley. At first, they paid them no mind, but then the king of Crentalene was told about the rumoring sprites in the valley. Sprites could only mean an aer spring, and the king soon became heavily interested in the little town in the valley.
Crentalene had no aer springs of their own, and relied on treaties and alliances with other nations in order to gain any aer cores. The only thing Crentalene could boast about was their military; they had an army comprised of Dragon Riders. These riders were promising individuals of varying ages that forged a bond of trust with one of many dragons hiding in the Crentalene region. But just being friendly with a dragon didn't guarantee immediate entrance into the military; both dragon and rider have to go through a Spirit Pact, a magical, unbreakable, process that binds the life of both the dragon and rider together.
The king himself, along with a respectable entourage of Dragon Riders, approached the Valley to make contact with the villagers. The king offered the valley protection in return for the collectible aer cores in the nearby mines. Initially, the villagers were happy at the prospect, but in the end it was the Harvest God himself who refused the proposal. The aer spring was known – at least to the sprites and the deities – to be fickle, and there was no telling what perilous events could happen if the area around it was tampered with too much. Even though the king was disappointed, he understood; and left shortly afterwards. The meeting wasn't completely futile though, and soon travelers were coming to and from Crentalene. Various people came, stayed and lived in the Valley, while others moved to Crentalene. Both sides also benefited some from the traveling merchants that ran to and fro. Decades peacefully passed, and eventually the king's son took the throne, but he wasn't as benevolent as his father, and began looking for an acceptable excuse to conquer the Valley to make it officially part of Crentalene.
On his way through the forest, the Valley's mayor's son came across an injured young girl with a dragon. Dragons were a rare sight in the Valley, since Dragon riders were employed in the official Crentalene army, valley villagers knew little about the riders and their partners. Misunderstanding the whole situation, he fired his crossbow at the dragon and unwittingly killed the young girl in the process. Like all other dragon riders, her life had been linked with her friend; in that same moment, she and the dragon breathed their last. The incident then spurred on what came to be known as the Dragon Wars. The young girl had been one of the heirs to the Crentalene throne, and was one of the few members of the royal family that was loved by the citizens of the realm (and subsequently the dragon riders). The bloodthirsty king of Crentalene – who had secretly orchestrated the entire scenario – used this "accident" as a justified excuse. The following events came to be known as the Dragon Wars.
Due to the might of the angered Crentalene's dragon riders, it quickly became obvious that Starcloud Valley was going to be destroyed. Of course, the sprites of the Valley immediately intervened, and the war turned into a stalemate. Neither side was winning, and the casualty count was rising. The Dragon Wars dragged on for years, neither side wanting to give in despite their fatigue and numerous losses.
The Shadow Sprite instigated the sudden turn of events. A collector of magic spells, he found an enchantment that would create a specific barrier that prevented the entrance of anyone with ill intentions into the Valley. However, casting such a large spell by himself was a dangerous act, since channeling so much aer could have potentially fatal side effects. The Harvest Goddess stepped in, although it was still a dangerous plan the success rate was significantly higher. It was agreed that while the Shadow Sprite and the Harvest Goddess casted the spell, the others will go on a full out attack to drive the enemy out of the Valley for good.
The plan still went terribly terribly wrong, in order to compensate for the rapidly vanishing aer that was being used for the spell, the well down in the mines immediately gushed out more aer. It triggered a chain reaction that no one was capable of stopping; the Shadow Sprite then fell into a perpetual coma, and the Harvest Goddess was left completely enervated. In spite of their losses, their goal was met, the dragon riders were driven out, and the barrier was in place. The citizens of Starcloud Valley mourned over their losses, but what was done, was done. The Dragon Wars finally came to an end.
Unable to do anything else, the Harvest Goddess fell into hibernation to recover her lost strength as the Valley slowly began rebuilt itself back up again. As the seasons passed, the Harvest God's mortal friends that he once fought alongside passed away. The newer generations, having never really seen the aftermaths of the Dragon Wars, lost their belief in the slumbering Harvest Goddess. Without their faith, the deity was soon crystallized by the aer. Feeling at a loss, the Harvest God secluded himself away from the village and disappeared, leaving his sprites alone to protect the Valley. Yet life is forever changing and never eternal.
After colliding into the weakening barrier, a mysterious stranger on a dragon is sucked in and falls down from the night sky, crashing into the Valley's forest. Suffering from the injuries from the barrier and the lengthy fall, the runaway isn't at all willing to be caught by the villagers, and dragon riders from Crentalene are hot on relocating their lost friend.
It's the start of a new chain of events that can bring peace to both worlds, or start another war.
([SIZE=10.5px]Dragons will be able to assume a human form for 6 hours total every 24 hours. They cannot switch back to their original form at will and will have to wait the entire 6 hours to assume their true form again. They are entirely human and have access to none of their special abilities and can die just as easily as any other human. I am wondering whether people would like it more if both the dragon and rider were played by different people or if one person controlled both their own dragon and their rider character. [/SIZE])
One of those springs is hidden deep in a labyrinth of a mine within Starcloud Valley. Guarded by a group of sprites, the Harvest God as well as his Goddess, the aer spring remained well stabilized for countless years. Nearby was a village, not under any nation, that was slowly growing in population. They lived in harmony with the neighboring sprites and the two groups had a mutual relationship.
Time passed, and the nearby kingdom of Crentalene became increasingly aware of their neighbors in the valley. At first, they paid them no mind, but then the king of Crentalene was told about the rumoring sprites in the valley. Sprites could only mean an aer spring, and the king soon became heavily interested in the little town in the valley.
Crentalene had no aer springs of their own, and relied on treaties and alliances with other nations in order to gain any aer cores. The only thing Crentalene could boast about was their military; they had an army comprised of Dragon Riders. These riders were promising individuals of varying ages that forged a bond of trust with one of many dragons hiding in the Crentalene region. But just being friendly with a dragon didn't guarantee immediate entrance into the military; both dragon and rider have to go through a Spirit Pact, a magical, unbreakable, process that binds the life of both the dragon and rider together.
The king himself, along with a respectable entourage of Dragon Riders, approached the Valley to make contact with the villagers. The king offered the valley protection in return for the collectible aer cores in the nearby mines. Initially, the villagers were happy at the prospect, but in the end it was the Harvest God himself who refused the proposal. The aer spring was known – at least to the sprites and the deities – to be fickle, and there was no telling what perilous events could happen if the area around it was tampered with too much. Even though the king was disappointed, he understood; and left shortly afterwards. The meeting wasn't completely futile though, and soon travelers were coming to and from Crentalene. Various people came, stayed and lived in the Valley, while others moved to Crentalene. Both sides also benefited some from the traveling merchants that ran to and fro. Decades peacefully passed, and eventually the king's son took the throne, but he wasn't as benevolent as his father, and began looking for an acceptable excuse to conquer the Valley to make it officially part of Crentalene.
On his way through the forest, the Valley's mayor's son came across an injured young girl with a dragon. Dragons were a rare sight in the Valley, since Dragon riders were employed in the official Crentalene army, valley villagers knew little about the riders and their partners. Misunderstanding the whole situation, he fired his crossbow at the dragon and unwittingly killed the young girl in the process. Like all other dragon riders, her life had been linked with her friend; in that same moment, she and the dragon breathed their last. The incident then spurred on what came to be known as the Dragon Wars. The young girl had been one of the heirs to the Crentalene throne, and was one of the few members of the royal family that was loved by the citizens of the realm (and subsequently the dragon riders). The bloodthirsty king of Crentalene – who had secretly orchestrated the entire scenario – used this "accident" as a justified excuse. The following events came to be known as the Dragon Wars.
Due to the might of the angered Crentalene's dragon riders, it quickly became obvious that Starcloud Valley was going to be destroyed. Of course, the sprites of the Valley immediately intervened, and the war turned into a stalemate. Neither side was winning, and the casualty count was rising. The Dragon Wars dragged on for years, neither side wanting to give in despite their fatigue and numerous losses.
The Shadow Sprite instigated the sudden turn of events. A collector of magic spells, he found an enchantment that would create a specific barrier that prevented the entrance of anyone with ill intentions into the Valley. However, casting such a large spell by himself was a dangerous act, since channeling so much aer could have potentially fatal side effects. The Harvest Goddess stepped in, although it was still a dangerous plan the success rate was significantly higher. It was agreed that while the Shadow Sprite and the Harvest Goddess casted the spell, the others will go on a full out attack to drive the enemy out of the Valley for good.
The plan still went terribly terribly wrong, in order to compensate for the rapidly vanishing aer that was being used for the spell, the well down in the mines immediately gushed out more aer. It triggered a chain reaction that no one was capable of stopping; the Shadow Sprite then fell into a perpetual coma, and the Harvest Goddess was left completely enervated. In spite of their losses, their goal was met, the dragon riders were driven out, and the barrier was in place. The citizens of Starcloud Valley mourned over their losses, but what was done, was done. The Dragon Wars finally came to an end.
Unable to do anything else, the Harvest Goddess fell into hibernation to recover her lost strength as the Valley slowly began rebuilt itself back up again. As the seasons passed, the Harvest God's mortal friends that he once fought alongside passed away. The newer generations, having never really seen the aftermaths of the Dragon Wars, lost their belief in the slumbering Harvest Goddess. Without their faith, the deity was soon crystallized by the aer. Feeling at a loss, the Harvest God secluded himself away from the village and disappeared, leaving his sprites alone to protect the Valley. Yet life is forever changing and never eternal.
After colliding into the weakening barrier, a mysterious stranger on a dragon is sucked in and falls down from the night sky, crashing into the Valley's forest. Suffering from the injuries from the barrier and the lengthy fall, the runaway isn't at all willing to be caught by the villagers, and dragon riders from Crentalene are hot on relocating their lost friend.
It's the start of a new chain of events that can bring peace to both worlds, or start another war.
([SIZE=10.5px]Dragons will be able to assume a human form for 6 hours total every 24 hours. They cannot switch back to their original form at will and will have to wait the entire 6 hours to assume their true form again. They are entirely human and have access to none of their special abilities and can die just as easily as any other human. I am wondering whether people would like it more if both the dragon and rider were played by different people or if one person controlled both their own dragon and their rider character. [/SIZE])
