Archie
Not even my final form
Sometimes I wonder where it all went wrong.
Fifty years ago, there were hundreds of races in the Great Forest, all of whom lived in peace. Elves, Fae Folk, Goblins, Ratkin, Mermen, Nagas, and many others found a home. Their wars were short, and sought to minimize unnecessary deaths. Most respected the Spirit of the Forests, and took only what they needed. Those that rebelled against nature kept to themselves. The dwarves and Uruks competed with one another to mine the mountains, trading with the other clans. The dragons, Valkyries, and Harpies fought wars over the skies and mountain peaks, but kept the groundlings out of their disputes.
When I was just a boy, our homeland of Talor was destroyed in a volcanic eruption. Some believed that our God, Irudin, had brought his wrath upon us, but not Valko Daan of the Karal tribe, who saw it as a blessing. Valko led our people West, into the Great Forest. We were many, and needed to be fed.
We were not the strongest race, we did not outnumber the beings of the forest, and hardly any of us had magic, but we humans had bronze, horses, chariots, and martial arts. More importantly, we could scheme and conspire. For ten years, Valko led us to the Eastern Plain, where we farmed, and sent food to the other races to build goodwill. Soon, they began to rely on us in harsh winters when the game was poor, and came to us when they were hungry.
That was exactly what Valko wanted. A decade after our arrival, Valko had found a disease which affected the animals and other races, and laced it upon our presents. As the disease spread West, our warriors followed closely behind. Mounted on horse, they set fire to the forest, killing and enslaving all they could find. The diseased refugees ran from us, bringing the plague to the next line of tribes, and making them easier for us to conquer. Behind our warriors were humans and their hordes of slaves, planting crops and creating plantations to feed our cities.
In the skies, we needed friends. We made common cause with the harpies, long-resentful at having to occupy the lower parts of the mountains compared to the dragons and Valkyries. They delivered us upon the peaks, where we slaughtered the young among the sky-folk, and smashed the dragons’ eggs. We made forts upon their roosts, so they could not land there, then slew them as they landed on flat ground. Soon, nobody could resist us but the Dwarves and the Orcs, who also knew how to turn stone to swords.
They hated each other, and we used that. We allied with the Orcs, burning the forests around the Dwarves' mountain fortresses, and shooting with our chariot archers anyone coming in or out of the mountains. Faced with starvation, most chose to charge out of the mines and face death with dignity, dying in a hail of our arrows. Then, we broke our treaty with the Orcs, and did the same to them.
The war lasted but five years. Man had conquered all of the forest, except the few who made common cause with us, and who we did not betray.
But so many forest dwellers died, that we could not cultivate the whole land even with all our slaves. Most of the continent remained forested, and the survivors of the war used the woods to hide from us.
Thus began the hunt. The men, the harpies, and all of our allies worked tirelessly to track down, kill, and enslave all who survived.
On the 4th of August, 20 years after our arrival to the forest, our leader Valko passed away. He named me, Irwin of the Karal tribe, to be his successor, but I cannot bear to lead a people who have reaped such desolation.
Tonight, I will die honorably, as commanded by Irudin, running myself through with my own sword. Who knows who will be the leader of our Confederation after. He will preside over the end to all magic, to all diversity, a world where there are none but humans and their slaves. However that comes about, I cannot bear to see it.
Maybe there is hope for the fools that think they can outrun the will of Irudin. According to an elven prophecy, the Great Spirit of the Forest dwells on the Starlit Isle in the continent’s center, but requires her followers to prove their worth before she guides them to victory. What a ridiculous idea, hardly worth my last breaths.
---
In this RP, we play as either as surviving or captive non-humans, or humans and their allies. The main conflict will be about survival, unveiling the mysteries of the Gods, and, for human/harpy/allied players, a power struggle after the death of Valko.
Some more information:
You can definitely create your own races, there’s hundreds that once lived in the forest.
There are safe or hidden zones in the forest, tundra, desert, and mountains that most surviving tribes are unaware of, as these areas keep a low profile for their own protection. It’s possible for non-humans to grow up in an environment that has some semblance of a large society.
The Human government is confederal, with each “tribe” of Humans forming a confederation. The confederation head is as of yet undetermined, but each tribe leader serves as a “minister” or vice minister of a specific function in the government. Allied races (Harpies or player-created races) each have 1 ministry, regardless of how many separate tribes they have, ensuring humans dominate the confederation. Tribes and their specializations are player generated – the only fixed ones are the Great Volcano Tribe (the Priests of Irudin, and generally the most magical humans), and the Engyr (bronzeworkers and gadgeteers).
The Great Spirit aspect of the RP will be mystery that different characters based on their actions will gradually find out. Irudin will also be vague. Player characters with special connections to each God (non-humans from races with connection to the Great Spirit, and human characters from the Ida family of the Great Volcano Tribe) will gradually unveil the mystery behind them and the nature of magic.
---
Let me know if there’s any interest in this and if you have any suggestions!
Fifty years ago, there were hundreds of races in the Great Forest, all of whom lived in peace. Elves, Fae Folk, Goblins, Ratkin, Mermen, Nagas, and many others found a home. Their wars were short, and sought to minimize unnecessary deaths. Most respected the Spirit of the Forests, and took only what they needed. Those that rebelled against nature kept to themselves. The dwarves and Uruks competed with one another to mine the mountains, trading with the other clans. The dragons, Valkyries, and Harpies fought wars over the skies and mountain peaks, but kept the groundlings out of their disputes.
When I was just a boy, our homeland of Talor was destroyed in a volcanic eruption. Some believed that our God, Irudin, had brought his wrath upon us, but not Valko Daan of the Karal tribe, who saw it as a blessing. Valko led our people West, into the Great Forest. We were many, and needed to be fed.
We were not the strongest race, we did not outnumber the beings of the forest, and hardly any of us had magic, but we humans had bronze, horses, chariots, and martial arts. More importantly, we could scheme and conspire. For ten years, Valko led us to the Eastern Plain, where we farmed, and sent food to the other races to build goodwill. Soon, they began to rely on us in harsh winters when the game was poor, and came to us when they were hungry.
That was exactly what Valko wanted. A decade after our arrival, Valko had found a disease which affected the animals and other races, and laced it upon our presents. As the disease spread West, our warriors followed closely behind. Mounted on horse, they set fire to the forest, killing and enslaving all they could find. The diseased refugees ran from us, bringing the plague to the next line of tribes, and making them easier for us to conquer. Behind our warriors were humans and their hordes of slaves, planting crops and creating plantations to feed our cities.
In the skies, we needed friends. We made common cause with the harpies, long-resentful at having to occupy the lower parts of the mountains compared to the dragons and Valkyries. They delivered us upon the peaks, where we slaughtered the young among the sky-folk, and smashed the dragons’ eggs. We made forts upon their roosts, so they could not land there, then slew them as they landed on flat ground. Soon, nobody could resist us but the Dwarves and the Orcs, who also knew how to turn stone to swords.
They hated each other, and we used that. We allied with the Orcs, burning the forests around the Dwarves' mountain fortresses, and shooting with our chariot archers anyone coming in or out of the mountains. Faced with starvation, most chose to charge out of the mines and face death with dignity, dying in a hail of our arrows. Then, we broke our treaty with the Orcs, and did the same to them.
The war lasted but five years. Man had conquered all of the forest, except the few who made common cause with us, and who we did not betray.
But so many forest dwellers died, that we could not cultivate the whole land even with all our slaves. Most of the continent remained forested, and the survivors of the war used the woods to hide from us.
Thus began the hunt. The men, the harpies, and all of our allies worked tirelessly to track down, kill, and enslave all who survived.
On the 4th of August, 20 years after our arrival to the forest, our leader Valko passed away. He named me, Irwin of the Karal tribe, to be his successor, but I cannot bear to lead a people who have reaped such desolation.
Tonight, I will die honorably, as commanded by Irudin, running myself through with my own sword. Who knows who will be the leader of our Confederation after. He will preside over the end to all magic, to all diversity, a world where there are none but humans and their slaves. However that comes about, I cannot bear to see it.
Maybe there is hope for the fools that think they can outrun the will of Irudin. According to an elven prophecy, the Great Spirit of the Forest dwells on the Starlit Isle in the continent’s center, but requires her followers to prove their worth before she guides them to victory. What a ridiculous idea, hardly worth my last breaths.
---
In this RP, we play as either as surviving or captive non-humans, or humans and their allies. The main conflict will be about survival, unveiling the mysteries of the Gods, and, for human/harpy/allied players, a power struggle after the death of Valko.
Some more information:
You can definitely create your own races, there’s hundreds that once lived in the forest.
There are safe or hidden zones in the forest, tundra, desert, and mountains that most surviving tribes are unaware of, as these areas keep a low profile for their own protection. It’s possible for non-humans to grow up in an environment that has some semblance of a large society.
The Human government is confederal, with each “tribe” of Humans forming a confederation. The confederation head is as of yet undetermined, but each tribe leader serves as a “minister” or vice minister of a specific function in the government. Allied races (Harpies or player-created races) each have 1 ministry, regardless of how many separate tribes they have, ensuring humans dominate the confederation. Tribes and their specializations are player generated – the only fixed ones are the Great Volcano Tribe (the Priests of Irudin, and generally the most magical humans), and the Engyr (bronzeworkers and gadgeteers).
The Great Spirit aspect of the RP will be mystery that different characters based on their actions will gradually find out. Irudin will also be vague. Player characters with special connections to each God (non-humans from races with connection to the Great Spirit, and human characters from the Ida family of the Great Volcano Tribe) will gradually unveil the mystery behind them and the nature of magic.
---
Let me know if there’s any interest in this and if you have any suggestions!
Last edited:
︎⬧︎
︎ ⍓︎
︎□︎◆︎■︎⧫︎ ❍︎
︎■︎
