The World of Layonara
Character Development => Development Journals and Discussion => Topic started by: Willowraine on June 15, 2006, 05:16:42 PM
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History:
On the day of his birth the Shaman raised the flap of his families tent to look out across the plains of southern Alibor to see a fox watching the tent and so he became Curious Fox, son of Standing Bear. Curious Fox grew up in the normal fashion of his tribe as they moved across the plains from the Southern penninsula to the lake ,known to his people as the lake of plenty as it was after the great spring rain that they would reach it and food was abundant.
Each year they would make the trip back and forth following the game and making sure to avoid many of the terrible creatures that roamed the lands, and each year it seemed to get harder and harder. Something was happening to the lands and the shaman had no answers though he tried to commune with the Great Spirits that his people worshipped, the Earthmother(Katia), Mother of Magics(Lucinda), She who roams the oceans(Mist), and even The Watcher(Toran), who's eyes roamed the skies day and night, so large was he that only one eye could be seen at a time, one burning with fire the other dull and gray, surely he saw what was going on but he would not tell. The shaman even dared seek out the unnamed ones but they are full of lies and deceit and left the shaman sick for almost an entire season.
Curious Fox grew to love the songs of his people, most of all the songs of war. He would watch mesmerized as the warriors danced when preparing for a battle, the sound of the drums and most of all the voice of Howling Wolf, war chanter of the tribe. He was heard above all the others and Curious Fox wanted to see for himself the tales he'd heard of how Howling Wolf's voice could harm an enemy during battle were true.
Curious Fox's people had to fight more and more to survive but he was too young to fight with the warriors. He practiced with his spear more than anything else, singing as he did so, waiting for the day he could join them. One day as he practiced, Howling Wolf approched him and sang along with him, correcting him when he made a mistake in both voice and spear. Curious Fox couldnt believe it and listened to every word Howling Wolf told him. Howling Wolf himself had no son, only daughters, and hey had a different role in the tribe, so Howling Wolf took a liking to Curious Fox. As was the way of his people Standing Bear did not mind, all took care of all, and his son would have a better standing in the tribe if he learned this new skill.
The seasons passed and the time came for Curious Fox to become a warrior, a man among his people, he had been in the hunting parties for a few cycles and now he was ready. The ceremony began as The Watchers blazing eye set and the drums pounded while his people sang. The shaman entered the spirit world searching for a mans name, a warriors name. The moments passed and the shaman opened his eyes looking upwards ready to listen to the spirits and there on top of the tent an eagle, its eyes staring intently down at the loudest voice in the tribe. Curious Fox had become a man, a warrior, he was now Eagle Who Watches Over The Song, and ready to defend his tribe, and he would have to soon.
They broke camp and moved on the next day headed north almost to the lake of plenty and Eagle Who Watches Over The Song could not stop smiling and saying it in his head. It was a good name and he liked it very much. Mid-day had come and they stopped to eat and rest a bit when suddenly they were attacked. Eagle Who Watches Over The Song did not know what they were and everyone else seemed surprised by more than just thier sudden appearance. The warriors tried to surround the women and children as the large creatures tore through them, long enourmous blades swinging cutting down any in the way, large wings behind them moving the air, everyone screaming when suddenly a large shout from behind Eagle Who Watches Over The Song and he turned to see Howling Wolf, suddenly his body felt strange as he rushed over to help Howling Wolf both of them seeming to move faster than they should have been as Eagle Who Watches Over The Song crashed into the beast attacking Howling Wolf his spear a blur, as well as his mind, where was his father and mother? Were they alright? Suddenly then a flash of light and stars filled his vision, was he dead wondered as the darkness came and the rest of the battle went on as he lay unconcious, dreaming. A strong loud voice was in his head and slowly he realized it wasn't Howling Wolf's. Who was it he wondered as a vision entered his mind, a battle, but they werent his people. Some were men, others were something else, small men with wide bodies and with much hair on thier faces, some that looked a few seasons too young to be in a battle with pointed ears, others that looked like overfed children and a few he found it hard to describe. Over them all was the voice, was it his singing he began wondering as the vision slowly started to fade and above him a great creature came into view speaking of destiny.
For the rest of the day he lay there unconscious and bleeding awaking sometime during the night in a daze still unaware of what was going on and still unable to move, slipping in and out of consciousness during the next day he kept thinking that they were waiting for him, but he didnt quite know who was, he just knew he had to go but still he couldnt move. The third day came and he began to move, slowly and unsteady, the blood loss robbing him of most of his strength. Still locked in a daze everything blurry he began to stumble away from the scene of the battle not even seeing it as he headed towards the lake where 'they' were waiting.
What should have been another two days turned into four as he kept going falling to the ground passed out various times during his trip. The wound on his head was infected now and it was getting worse keeping him from getting better. His head burned as the fever set in but still he pushed onward to the lake finally seeing it in the distance before passing out a final time. The day went on and he lay there dying until finally he was found by a group of explorers. Once they realized he was still alive, if only barely, they tried thier best to heal him but could only do so much. They put him on a stretcher and carried him with them trying hard to keep him alive finally reaching a port in the north. They tried to find someone to care for Eagle Who Watches Over The Song but noone wanted to care for a plainsman that would surely die in the next few days. The explorers had to leave, they had no choice, and decided to take him with them across the sea.
Days and weeks passed and he got no better but he stayed alive, fading in and out through the sickness that had gotten hold of him. The ship made port after port the crew changing, the passengers changing and the care of Eagle Who Watches Over The Song changing along with it, and soon where he came from was forgotten as he was put ashore in Lielon under the care of some clerics where he finally was able to begin recovering in full. The clerics had no answers for his questions and over the next couple of weeks he regained his strength. Here he was now in a new land, his people and his family lost to him, his only advice was head to a town called Hlint where there were many travelers.
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A Strange New Land
Eagle Who Watches Over The Song made his way to the place called Hlint his skin a bit cool from the different climate. He saw no others as he went along his eyes darting taking in the land as well as watching for danger. The battle that nearly killed him was still fresh in his mind even though it had been nearly three months since it occured and so his mind still raced with thoughts of it. Mainly wondering what had happened, if his family, his people, were still alive. He hurried along faster hoping that someone he met would know of his people and his home so he could get back to them.
Finally he made it to Hlint and made his way around carefully, asking the merchants many questions. They had no answers but were more than happy to remind Eagle Who Watches Over The Song that he would need many supplies to make his journey. He had little to trade and was a little discouraged hearing that the merchants would take nothing but gold in the form of disks that they called coins. He wandered town more asking more questions here and there and found out he could aquire these coins by performing tasks for some of the people in the town and so he accepted a few jobs making sure to gather many things along the way so that he could trade them for the coins. His people knew what gold was but he had never seen a people with so much of it and especially to use it exclusively for trade. It seemed to him to be an extra step that was not needed, why not just trade for what you need and be done with it.
He stayed to himself mainly as he completed his tasks the main thing on his mind returning home and somewhere behind those thoughts what the great beast had said to him lingered..... Destiny..... His family.... His tribe..... It raced through his mind pushing him onward never stopping to comtemplate any of it, simply driven by the emotion surrounding it.
Days passed and he found that he had to store all these coins he was gathering. He had spoken with the man at the thing called a bank but did entirely trust such an arrangement, but with his pouches becoming increasingly full and jingling noisily he decided to keep a little bit in the bank a few days to see what would happen, eventually trusting the man and keeping all of his coins there.
Eagle Who Watches Over The Song hardly stopped to rest as the days passed, each new one bringing more urgency as he completed task after task. His skills were growing quickly, more quickly than he thought possible until finally his body could take it no longer and he had to slow down. He began to wander around inside of Hlint watching and listening to the travelers that constantly came through, unable to keep from staring at the strange beings that he had seen in his vision, and soon he gained the confidence to begin speaking to some of the people. He tried not to stare at the beings that werent men but it was hard and found himself being very apologetic, though they seemed to understand, and he soon realized they were much like men in many ways. He found help with a couple of his tasks and the generousity of the people he met made him feel even more at ease. Still though home was always on his mind, that and.... Destiny.
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Time to think
After a long rest Eagle Who Watches Over The Song awoke late in the day and felt worn out and run down even though he had slept quite a while. He sat up and put his head in his hands a few tears running down his cheeks, thoughts of the battle still running through his mind, what little he could remember anyway. Hours passed and the watchers blazing eye disappeared over the horizon closely followed by the dull gray eye and Eagle Who Watches Over The Song got up heading to the small pond in Hlint to wash his face. A few fish swam through the water as he leaned down reminding him of how hungry he was. Earthmother had provided once more however and he watched the school of fish swim as he pulled out his bow, and the arrows for fishing he had purchased with the coins. He pulled back on the bow concentrating as he watched them swim remebering how the water made the fish seem in a different place than they really were, taking a deep breath and holding it he let the arrow fly....... and missed. He sighed and pulled back his arrow with the attached line and tried again. Slowly his mind began to calm as he concentrated on the fish and eventually he started to hit a few.
Time passed, his body and mind slowly regained some strength, and he decided he must take things a little slower and not let his emotions rule his actions. His father and Howling Wolf would not be happy that he let his desperation take him over these past few days. He must be calm and think, or he will fail. He gathered a few fish and made his way to a few other spots he had seen so far catching a few here and there.
He made his way back to Hlint with a string of fish and cooked them over the fire taking his time even though now he was very, very hungry. He ate, and slept well that night awaking early and feeling alot more refreshed than the day before. He had plenty of food and decided he would not rush into this new day and take some time to think. Eagle Who Watches Over The Song bought some axes from a merchant and began thinking that maybe these coins did have use in such a large society. You could hold on to them for as long as you wanted and go and get whatever you needed at any moment. Perhaps these peoples werent as rediculous as he had thought.
He made his way out the gate to the north where he had seen the trees that reminded him of those he was used to and began chopping, after defending himself against the creatures there, and soon had almost more than he could carry. He went to the building that was used to store many tools and things and began working with the wood. It was a bit different and he realized that the grain and texture wasnt at all what he was used to working with. It seems he would have to learn all over again, but it was relaxing and calmed his mind, which is what he wanted, and he began to think more clearly. He would get home, whatever there was to find there when he returned.