Post by Richard Loh on Jun 16, 2016 14:31:42 GMT 8
Just a little background story on Aventyr, and the kingdom in which you are in, Klavek Kingdom.
Klavek Kingdom is the most populous country in the world of Aventyr & consists of people of widely economically disparate means. Those that call themselves Klavekians are a hearty, steadfast folk that have found ways to cope with the near-impossible hand dealt to them by the harsh northern lands. Most of the year (& in some places, all year round), the climate of the region is sub-arctic & after thousands of years of enduring the cold (often going without food or water for days at a time) has led to the "weak" dying out to leave only the "strong" behind. This refers to adaptability as much as physicality. While wilderness travel is rarer for those living in the big cities, every Klavekian has braved the wilds for overland journeys at one time or another & these trials reinforce what it means to be raised in these unforgiving lands.
King Tokolvor Klavek XIII maintains a massive military presence that dominates the known world, protecting the boundaries of the kingdom from the northern tip of the continent all the way to the southern edge of the Silent Forest. Every single Klavek citizen - man or woman - is required to be trained in the use of the sword, & their fierce fiery spirits quickly rise up when push comes to shove. However, the demanding experience of the desolate region leaves many of their citizens slightly paranoid, fearful of that which they do not understand which quickly relates to racism, especially on the likes of elves & their strange magics & by association, half-elves as well as the extremely cruel & violent orcs & their kin (half-orcs).
Klavekians are generally pale skin, with blonde or light brunette a common colour & greenish or bluish eyes. (Think Scandinavians)
The capital of Klavekian is Mohkba & from here, all of you have enrolled into the Adventurer's Guild. To some, the Adventurer's Guild of Klavek is a source of amusement for dandy & foppish nobles' sons to while their time away, for others, these contracts offered by the Adventurer's Guild is their very livelihood.
It has been understood that many years ago, the tribal raiders from the vast disjointed country of Vikmordere conducted so many raids on the northern borders of Klavek Kingdom that King Tokolvor Klavek XIII ordered troops into the mountains to oust the Vikmordere from their lands. They have been using the village of Rybalka, a village of tribal fishermen & woodworkers, as an operations base for their attacks on the Three Sisters along the Serpent Tail river. A nearby iron mine manned by the Rybalkans became an important source of ore for the Vikmordere weapons & shipbuilding tools.
A prolonged counterattack by the King eventually led to the deaths of every Vikmordere in a 15 mile radius from the village of Rybalka which helped the Klavekians secured the iron mines for their own use. Most of the Vikmordere still thrive in the mountains & deep recesses of the winding Serpent Tail river, waiting for the day a great champion rises among them. Legend foretell that this warrior will lead their people to victory, reclaiming their ancestral lands & the village of Rybalka.
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There are very few elves who leave the cool shades of the Silent Forest. A source of great magic, the elves isolated themselves from the rest of Aventyr as their long gestation periods & early encroachment of their territories by the numerous humans have greatly dwindled their population as to be almost unsustainable. It is only through fear of their unpredictable magic that the Klavekians have stopped their expansion plans & an uneasy truce had lasted for the past 500 years. If any elves are seen outside of the Silent Forest, it is mostly young elves who have stepped out into the world to see what it has to offer.
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Amongst the population of dwarves are a subrace of dwarves known as the dweorg. They most commonly enjoyed mining & smithing in the Underworld & though rarely seen in the Upperworld, early legends tell of the first two humans, Askr & Embla were actually forged by the ancient dweorg themselves & this simple legend is enough to warm even the cold hearts of the Klavekians. These dweorgs most commonly worship Balir, the Burning Hero & Master of the First Forge, whose teachings call for practicality & humble magnificence, traits embodied by both his temples & followers.
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As there is a dearth of contracts in Mohbka, the Guild Administrator gladly points you out to the town of Rybalka now, a population of about 350 for possible new contracts. It is said that the town's high priest, Juriendor is the youngest High Priest ever, of any deity at the age of 18. As you near the town, the day gets shorter & shorter until nearing the town, you have only on average about 6 hours of daylight each & every traveller you encountered out of Rybalka reminded you to make sure that you are in the cathedral for the long dark night in the "Vigil for Light".
Further conversation reveals that your safety isn't guaranteed if you remain outside the cathedral when this Vigil starts... As you get nearer to the town of Rybalka, you see that already there are many townsfolk slowly filtering into the cathedral which is at the edge of town.
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Reylynn - Walking along the woman, making sure to keep my cloak up. I ask her, why is everyone is heading to the cathedral?
Woman - "Make haste, we'll talk when we've gained the comfort of the cathedral" as she moves along.
The woman could not see your elven features clearly as your hood obscured most of your fine elven features.
Rand - I follow her, keen to experience the foreign culture
Reylynn - I give a sound of assent as we move quickly towards the cathedral. As we approach, I look around and take in the cathedral, looking for convenient exits and entrances to the cathedral.
A cursory glance at the solid stone church building indicates that besides the double doors of the cathedral, there seem to be one side entrance on the southern side of the building. It's tall multi-storey bell tower is rather prominent though at this late hour, with light snow drifting down & overcast skies, you have no idea what time it is.
And other than the warmth & the crowd within the main halls, the building is otherwise unattractive.
Gudan - He walks towards the cathedral.
Slowly but surely he does so though he keeps well away from the crowds. It offered Warmth and Shelter, things he was sparse of besides a down on his luck begger like him couldn't afford anything else.
The old woman must mean well but once people catch sight of him they tend to avoid him, something he very much prefered. If they knew of his reputation, he might get thrown out or worse. It was fine, he survived in worse conditions, he would find a way.
At most, there would be just a body to be buried or food for the rats.
Reylynn looks down at her dark brown nondescript cloak, which covers the slender shape of her elven body and her assorted traveller's and sorcerer's items in her backpack. All that remains to be seen are a pair of practical leather boots. Feeling confident that she can remain in the shadows, she enters the cathedral together with the woman.
----------
Klavek Kingdom is the most populous country in the world of Aventyr & consists of people of widely economically disparate means. Those that call themselves Klavekians are a hearty, steadfast folk that have found ways to cope with the near-impossible hand dealt to them by the harsh northern lands. Most of the year (& in some places, all year round), the climate of the region is sub-arctic & after thousands of years of enduring the cold (often going without food or water for days at a time) has led to the "weak" dying out to leave only the "strong" behind. This refers to adaptability as much as physicality. While wilderness travel is rarer for those living in the big cities, every Klavekian has braved the wilds for overland journeys at one time or another & these trials reinforce what it means to be raised in these unforgiving lands.
King Tokolvor Klavek XIII maintains a massive military presence that dominates the known world, protecting the boundaries of the kingdom from the northern tip of the continent all the way to the southern edge of the Silent Forest. Every single Klavek citizen - man or woman - is required to be trained in the use of the sword, & their fierce fiery spirits quickly rise up when push comes to shove. However, the demanding experience of the desolate region leaves many of their citizens slightly paranoid, fearful of that which they do not understand which quickly relates to racism, especially on the likes of elves & their strange magics & by association, half-elves as well as the extremely cruel & violent orcs & their kin (half-orcs).
Klavekians are generally pale skin, with blonde or light brunette a common colour & greenish or bluish eyes. (Think Scandinavians)
The capital of Klavekian is Mohkba & from here, all of you have enrolled into the Adventurer's Guild. To some, the Adventurer's Guild of Klavek is a source of amusement for dandy & foppish nobles' sons to while their time away, for others, these contracts offered by the Adventurer's Guild is their very livelihood.
It has been understood that many years ago, the tribal raiders from the vast disjointed country of Vikmordere conducted so many raids on the northern borders of Klavek Kingdom that King Tokolvor Klavek XIII ordered troops into the mountains to oust the Vikmordere from their lands. They have been using the village of Rybalka, a village of tribal fishermen & woodworkers, as an operations base for their attacks on the Three Sisters along the Serpent Tail river. A nearby iron mine manned by the Rybalkans became an important source of ore for the Vikmordere weapons & shipbuilding tools.
A prolonged counterattack by the King eventually led to the deaths of every Vikmordere in a 15 mile radius from the village of Rybalka which helped the Klavekians secured the iron mines for their own use. Most of the Vikmordere still thrive in the mountains & deep recesses of the winding Serpent Tail river, waiting for the day a great champion rises among them. Legend foretell that this warrior will lead their people to victory, reclaiming their ancestral lands & the village of Rybalka.
----------
There are very few elves who leave the cool shades of the Silent Forest. A source of great magic, the elves isolated themselves from the rest of Aventyr as their long gestation periods & early encroachment of their territories by the numerous humans have greatly dwindled their population as to be almost unsustainable. It is only through fear of their unpredictable magic that the Klavekians have stopped their expansion plans & an uneasy truce had lasted for the past 500 years. If any elves are seen outside of the Silent Forest, it is mostly young elves who have stepped out into the world to see what it has to offer.
----------
Amongst the population of dwarves are a subrace of dwarves known as the dweorg. They most commonly enjoyed mining & smithing in the Underworld & though rarely seen in the Upperworld, early legends tell of the first two humans, Askr & Embla were actually forged by the ancient dweorg themselves & this simple legend is enough to warm even the cold hearts of the Klavekians. These dweorgs most commonly worship Balir, the Burning Hero & Master of the First Forge, whose teachings call for practicality & humble magnificence, traits embodied by both his temples & followers.
----------
As there is a dearth of contracts in Mohbka, the Guild Administrator gladly points you out to the town of Rybalka now, a population of about 350 for possible new contracts. It is said that the town's high priest, Juriendor is the youngest High Priest ever, of any deity at the age of 18. As you near the town, the day gets shorter & shorter until nearing the town, you have only on average about 6 hours of daylight each & every traveller you encountered out of Rybalka reminded you to make sure that you are in the cathedral for the long dark night in the "Vigil for Light".
Further conversation reveals that your safety isn't guaranteed if you remain outside the cathedral when this Vigil starts... As you get nearer to the town of Rybalka, you see that already there are many townsfolk slowly filtering into the cathedral which is at the edge of town.
----------
Reylynn - Walking along the woman, making sure to keep my cloak up. I ask her, why is everyone is heading to the cathedral?
Woman - "Make haste, we'll talk when we've gained the comfort of the cathedral" as she moves along.
The woman could not see your elven features clearly as your hood obscured most of your fine elven features.
Rand - I follow her, keen to experience the foreign culture
Reylynn - I give a sound of assent as we move quickly towards the cathedral. As we approach, I look around and take in the cathedral, looking for convenient exits and entrances to the cathedral.
A cursory glance at the solid stone church building indicates that besides the double doors of the cathedral, there seem to be one side entrance on the southern side of the building. It's tall multi-storey bell tower is rather prominent though at this late hour, with light snow drifting down & overcast skies, you have no idea what time it is.
And other than the warmth & the crowd within the main halls, the building is otherwise unattractive.
Gudan - He walks towards the cathedral.
Slowly but surely he does so though he keeps well away from the crowds. It offered Warmth and Shelter, things he was sparse of besides a down on his luck begger like him couldn't afford anything else.
The old woman must mean well but once people catch sight of him they tend to avoid him, something he very much prefered. If they knew of his reputation, he might get thrown out or worse. It was fine, he survived in worse conditions, he would find a way.
At most, there would be just a body to be buried or food for the rats.
Reylynn looks down at her dark brown nondescript cloak, which covers the slender shape of her elven body and her assorted traveller's and sorcerer's items in her backpack. All that remains to be seen are a pair of practical leather boots. Feeling confident that she can remain in the shadows, she enters the cathedral together with the woman.
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