Realistic or Modern The City in the Trees

[Nudge]

The City In The Trees

​

Long ago, there were no giant wolves, no man-eating deer that were nine feet tall. No threat of extinction, no worrying about your next meal, or how the crops are doing. There were huge buildings made of metal, and everyone had their own huge house. You paid with paper, no trading needed. That was a very, very, long time ago. Now, the predators have become the prey, the world turned against humanity. Skyscrapers fell, houses collapsed. The world was being torn apart, ravines ripping through the earth, huge storms flooding every place that could hold water. Humans were being wiped out; millions perished as they drowned, fell, were crushed, or eaten by the ocean animals that now swim across every bit of the earth since the ocean flooded. The only things left standing was the huge trees that proudly didn’t move an inch, their branches reaching far and wide, strongly they held against Mother Nature’s wrath.


After the storms and earthquakes, the remaining humans looked to those trees and saw shelter. Climbing up, they found that predators couldn’t reach them, and the canopy protected them from the fierce blood thirsty birds that haunted the skies. Those humans made the trees their home, building from driftwood and meager tools for years, discovering ways to travel without ever having to touch the ground, learning how to farm, build, and live far away from ground. They became stronger, experienced hunters as they learned how to survive in a world that seemed to only want them dead.


You are one of the descendants of these tree people. You are a part of an evolved branch of humans, sporting stronger, faster limbs than the humans that survive below on the ground. You have been taught to hunt with the birds that used to try to rip your throat out, swing from the branches of the trees you live in without fear of slipping and falling. Now, you must survive. Fight rival human groups, find food, survive through winter, find new territory; the world is your oyster.
​

 

[AHubbard1]

Joviah sat nestled in the treetops. He gazed down at the billage below him. There was never much happening at this time in a morning. The villagers would be just stirring from their beds, greeting the bright sunny day that they had been gifted. Joviah had left his mother sleeping, he never liked to disturb her. She had trouble sleeping as it was, there was no use in waking her just to say he was leaving.


His bow was stowed over his shoulder, half a dozen hand crafted arrows as ammunition. His own design, made from the hardest wood the village had to offer. The flights made from a couple of the pigeons he'd come across. He only used the pigeons for the feathers. No use eating them, unless he wanted to poison somebody.


He loaded an arrow into the bow and looked across the trees. What could he get for breakfast? And could he get extra that he could sell at market? Not every day was a good hunting day. And this day was just getting started.

 

[vvamavi]

Sorin Bahari
​

Sorin woke up late. She didn't normally do so, but the night prior had been particularly exhausting because she and her father, Richard, had just arrived home from a trip to the Hub. There, Richard had hoped to find another palatable but cost-effective ingredient to add extra variety to his cooking. Unfortunately for them, they didn't find anything very worth the effort and returned home disappointed. Sighing, Sorin sat up and started her dreary morning routine: making her bed, locking up the house, and leaving to look for some fruit around the area. Her father was probably already at work, looking to put together a breakfast food at the canteen.


Once outside her home, Sorin tightened her bag across her torso and started across the rope bridges, heading towards one of her favorite trees. Her father hated it when she went on these silly escapades, going up higher into the canopy in search of something new and possibly valuable. But Sorin always made sure to be careful, and she rarely ever ran into any extremely dangerous animals. When Sorin reached what she liked to call her tree, she started up the branches and slowly made her way to the top, her eyes constantly scanning the area for birds and squirrels.

 

[AHubbard1]

As Fillip had gotten older, he decided it was time to move closer to The Hub to do his business. The journey would be less treacherous and there was less chance of him falling into the water. The last thing he wants (apart from leaving his wife without a husband), is to see what lurks below. He's heard the stories, he's even seen a couple of underwater animals traded down the years. But that was very rare. The last time it happened must have been a good 10 years ago.


He descended down towards The Hub. The village was just about coming to life. People were standing by their stalls, getting themselves ready for the day ahead. If there was one thing that really pleased Fillip it was that no children were allowed in The Hub. It made life so much easier. Dealing with adults that knew what they wanted, and how much they were willing to pay. Plus if Fillip had wanted to deal with children all day every day, he would have had them himself. But, he and his wife Angelique remained childless. A decision that they made long ago. They couldn't see themselves carrying a small child at such heights. Small children like to wander, and they didn't want to feel on edge every time they left the house.

 

[Nudge]

Minda


Minda woke to the ear-splitting shrieks of the new falcon she had caught yesterday. Raising her head from the desk she was slumped over, she realized she had fallen asleep. Groaning, she realized that she could have gotten herself killed by falling asleep next to such a dangerous creature, not to mention that they were still young and blood-thirsty. Glancing down, she examined the... thing in her hands. Seems that she was working on a harness last night. She really should stop doing that, since all the straps were wrong and would do more harm than good for hunting. Hauling herself to her feet, she felt the urge to clamp her hands over her ears. The falcon had noticed her and the shrieks become deafening wails. Definitely time to feed the rascal.


Minda ran a hand through her knotted hair as she stumbled through the messes left by Prose in the mews. She really needed a brush... And meat, fish, and leather. Time for a trip to the Hub. After Minda had gathered up the last of the feed and distributed it to the falcons contained in the mews, she hopped down the rope ladder to her home, which was located right underneath the place they kept all the animals. After getting ready for the day and changing out of her day old clothes, she noticed Prose was out. Slapping a hand to her forehead, she cursed to herself. Prose's favorite falcon was gone, too. She forgot that they weren't in the freeloft mew. Groaning to herself for the second time that day, she tied up her boots, grabbed her satchel, and was out the door.


Stepping onto the pulley platform, Minda marveled at how high she was compared to everyone else. Since she had raptors around, it was a good idea to keep them away from the rest of the village, seeing as how they liked to eat humans. As she worked with the rope, she watched the houses pass by. People were just starting to wake up, and she saw some people already out on the rope bridges. Waving to anyone she passed, she glanced down and sighed as she realized just how far she had left to go.
​

 

[SivOmega]

Ewert Chernigan




It was a very early when Ewert woke up. He didn't wake up that early without a reason. He had to find a certain flower before the sunrise. To be exact, he had to pick it while it's blooming and that's only when the sun is down. The flower's called Dutchman's Pipe Cactus.Ewert found out that it had a special wound-healing effect about a month ago, but the flower can be picked for around two days every year, so he wasn't able to get it earlier. He was very exited to try it out in different remedies.


Ewert packed his things and head out of the house. Before going after the flower, he was supposed to go and wake up Oli. Luckily his house was quite close, so he didn't have to walk too much for reaching it. Ewert banged on the door, but he didn't get a response. Silence was everything he got. "I wonder if he's out?" Ewert asked himself, even though he knew he was just getting ignored."I guess I'll go pick the Dutchman's Pipe Cactus myself.." he said slightly louder than usual. You could now hear rummaging and moving inside the house. After a few minutes the doctor was outside of the house, ready to go out. "Sorry, couldn't hear you the first time!" Ewert nodded, walking ahead with the doctor following him. After around a hour of non-stop walking, they finally reached the destination. The flower was incredibly beautiful, blooming right at the root of a tree.


"It's quite hard to find rare flowers like this, isn't it?" Ewert asked.


"They didn't use to be this rare. Not before the world's destruction," the doctor sighed.


Ewert took a look around him, before jumping down to try and get the flower. It was quite hard to get down, since the trees are very tall after all. Doctor Oli stayed up, because climbing trees at the age of seventy isn't exactly the easiest thing to do. You could hear him shout from the top of the tree: "Don't forget that you have to cut them at the roots!" Ewert ignored him, because he clearly knew what he was doing. He grabbed a box and a knife from his backpack and cut every single flower with utter care. He slowly put the flowers inside the wooden box and climbed back up after gathering a bunch. They started heading back home.