Post by Eldrin/Vai on Aug 2, 2013 13:58:21 GMT -6
(So, I couldn't think of any good storyline for this thread, so I decided to try something new... in medias res. The first part of this post is going to set up an aftermath of the events of this thread, then I'm going to jump back to the past and we'll start the thread up. Basically, we can do whatever we want, just so long as the end result is what was shown in the beginning. Then once we get there, we'll continue on.)
The crowds packed in from all across the city. Throngs of unruly spectators, all pushing and shoving to watch the show. To see the end of an era. Long had General d'Asitra waged a silent war on the criminal underworld that plagued the good peoples of Hyrule, long had he failed. Many a petty pickpocket had hanged in ill substitute for the criminal overlords and famous outlaws that d'Asitra wished to apprehend. But justice was inevitable, as thousands would witness this day.
The summer sun beat down hot upon the crowds, but they cared little, they had come to see justice... or maybe just death... and some even to pay respects. It was that few that made the fewest sounds, for they knew that they themselves could be the next. They were, after all, his ilk.
In the middle of the castle courtyard, an enormous wooden platform had been converted into a gallows. From either side of the upper frame were banners displaying the Royal Crest of Hyrule, and a matching cloth skirted the platform to cover the foundations. The accused stood on a raised section head bowed in shame. General d'Asitra himself stood foremost on structure, facing the crowd. To either side of him were guards in full armor, the Royal Crest displayed proudly upon their breastplate. The visors of their helms showed it as well, with the wings of the crest sprouting out from the sides of the forehead. They held their spears out in a firm resting position' the butts firmly planted, as if daring any fool to attempt interruption. That wasn't even to mention the guards that patrolled the crowd, the archers lurking on the surrounding walls and towers, the undercover agents posing as spectators, or the gatekeepers watching the only entrance and exit.
"CITIZENS OF HYRULE!" the general roared in his deep bass of a voice. The hush fell over the masses almost immediately. All eyes turned on the general. "WE STAND, THIS DAY, ON THE THRESHOLD OF A NEW WORLD! THE EVE OF A NEW AGE! A WORLD WHERE NO GOOD FOLK MUST SUFFER THE FILTH OF CRUEL STREET URCHINS! AN AGE WHEN ONE EARNS THEIR WORTH, AND NEEDS NOT FEAR IT BE TAKEN AWAY! THIS DAY WE HANG A THIEF, AND ON THE MORROW, WE STRING UP A SOCIETY! A CULTURE OF PARASITES! AN ARMY OF CUTTHROATS! THIS IS THE END! THE END OF CRIME! THE END OF EVIL! AND FOREMOST, THE END OF ELDRIN!"
At that the crowd exploded into cheers. Men and women were screaming their throats hoarse, jumping up and down wildly, even some tried to rush the stage (likely to get at the thief themselves).
Eldrin flashed a grotesque smile, all pearly white teeth but for one oversized golden fang* where his bottom left canine should have been. The scar spanning his face stretched and wrinkled with the contortions of his face. His eyes glared out from this happy face, the left burned scarlet like the wildest of flames, the right glowed yellow like molten gold**, both entirely unsettling. His coarse hair seemed even more ragged than usual, still drastically uneven and terribly unkempt. No one could really say he was particularly handsome in any traditional way. Appealing in an odd sort of way, perhaps, but not exactly good looking. His body, barely covered by the rags his captors had provided him, was hard and lean, a little too bulky for a really good thief, but not big enough to make a decent fighter. He was bleeding again from the gash at his hip, and the dingy bandages had already soaked red.
He stood overlooking the crowd of people ravenously calling for his demise wondering exactly what he had done to deserve their hate. "Oh yeah, that..." he chuckled. He peered over at the burned remains of the tower, still smoldering slightly. It stood grim next to the other, more pristine towers, a burned out shell. Only blackened stones remained, he knew, the entire interior was gutted. He wondered if Thell was ok. He worried for the others as well (especially Ross, who had taken at least two crossbow bolts) but Thell had been in the worst shape ever since the fire had started. Thinking back to that night made his stomach clench. How had it all gone so wrong? The night had started so simply... so happily...
Ross belched loudly, slamming his empty mug down. Eldrin in response, burped louder and smacked the mug off the table. It crashed to the floor, smashing at the feet of the barmaid just as she was about to hand a customer his ale. Both men laughed uproariously.
"ELDRIN! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" The barmaid shrieked, chucking the ale at the thief's head, leaving the customer she had been serving in slack-jawed disappointment.
Eldrin ducked nimbly under the ale as he gave his reply, "Ogling you, my dear. Quite a fine set of assets you've got there, if I may say. And also stopping my friend here from drinking... he's quite stupid, you can imagine the harm this vile liquid is doing to his brain." The ale smashed against the wall behind him, showering a table full of customers with broken glass and alcohol.
Ross didn't even seem to notice the insult, which of course just made it better... Rather, he seemed ashamed. "Eldrin, maybe we should leave..." the bodyguard proposed, rising from the table.
"Don't be ridiculous, sit back dow-" Eldrin stopped mid-sentence upon seeing the barmaid's face and thus learning a new definition of rage.
"Get... The fuck... Out... Of my... BAR!"
Eldrin hopped to his feet, smile suddenly faded. "Well, come on Ross! I don't know why you're still standing around... Get a move on!" he said, already headed for the door and of course, nabbing a bottle from the lips of some poor sod, on his way out. Ross followed close at his heels, eager to be away from the angry woman.
The night air was shockingly refreshing in replacement to the stink of the bar. The thief and the bodyguard strolled down the dark street side by side. Eldrin was a bit unsteady on his feet, but Ross (who had drank far more than the thief) seemed entirely unaffected. It was no surprise, really, he was a freaking huge guy after all...
Eldrin was taking a swing from his bottle when he ran smack-dab into a... something...
His bottle shattered on the cobblestones, soaking his feet, but Eldrin hardly noticed. He was too busy trying to feel whatever he had hit. It was covered in some odd, but skin-like substance. Rougher than normal skin though... it almost reminded him of the skin of the burn on his shoulder. And then, hair? A fluttering of wooden wings told him his answer.
"Oh, hello Thell... How's it goin'?" he asked, still stroking her face as one might do to an interesting seashell.
(So I decided to throw in a couple of updates to Eldrin's character that haven't actually come about yet. Here's some brief explanations:
*The golden fang will happen at the end of All of the Stars in the Night Sky. Eldrin get's his tooth knocked out, so he steals one of Cointooth's.
**The golden eye will happen at the end of Stained Scarlet. I'm not telling how though.
Neither of those threads are moving fast enough to keep up with my busy schedule of Eldrin's development... so for now I'm just skipping them and throwing in the results.)
The crowds packed in from all across the city. Throngs of unruly spectators, all pushing and shoving to watch the show. To see the end of an era. Long had General d'Asitra waged a silent war on the criminal underworld that plagued the good peoples of Hyrule, long had he failed. Many a petty pickpocket had hanged in ill substitute for the criminal overlords and famous outlaws that d'Asitra wished to apprehend. But justice was inevitable, as thousands would witness this day.
The summer sun beat down hot upon the crowds, but they cared little, they had come to see justice... or maybe just death... and some even to pay respects. It was that few that made the fewest sounds, for they knew that they themselves could be the next. They were, after all, his ilk.
In the middle of the castle courtyard, an enormous wooden platform had been converted into a gallows. From either side of the upper frame were banners displaying the Royal Crest of Hyrule, and a matching cloth skirted the platform to cover the foundations. The accused stood on a raised section head bowed in shame. General d'Asitra himself stood foremost on structure, facing the crowd. To either side of him were guards in full armor, the Royal Crest displayed proudly upon their breastplate. The visors of their helms showed it as well, with the wings of the crest sprouting out from the sides of the forehead. They held their spears out in a firm resting position' the butts firmly planted, as if daring any fool to attempt interruption. That wasn't even to mention the guards that patrolled the crowd, the archers lurking on the surrounding walls and towers, the undercover agents posing as spectators, or the gatekeepers watching the only entrance and exit.
"CITIZENS OF HYRULE!" the general roared in his deep bass of a voice. The hush fell over the masses almost immediately. All eyes turned on the general. "WE STAND, THIS DAY, ON THE THRESHOLD OF A NEW WORLD! THE EVE OF A NEW AGE! A WORLD WHERE NO GOOD FOLK MUST SUFFER THE FILTH OF CRUEL STREET URCHINS! AN AGE WHEN ONE EARNS THEIR WORTH, AND NEEDS NOT FEAR IT BE TAKEN AWAY! THIS DAY WE HANG A THIEF, AND ON THE MORROW, WE STRING UP A SOCIETY! A CULTURE OF PARASITES! AN ARMY OF CUTTHROATS! THIS IS THE END! THE END OF CRIME! THE END OF EVIL! AND FOREMOST, THE END OF ELDRIN!"
At that the crowd exploded into cheers. Men and women were screaming their throats hoarse, jumping up and down wildly, even some tried to rush the stage (likely to get at the thief themselves).
Eldrin flashed a grotesque smile, all pearly white teeth but for one oversized golden fang* where his bottom left canine should have been. The scar spanning his face stretched and wrinkled with the contortions of his face. His eyes glared out from this happy face, the left burned scarlet like the wildest of flames, the right glowed yellow like molten gold**, both entirely unsettling. His coarse hair seemed even more ragged than usual, still drastically uneven and terribly unkempt. No one could really say he was particularly handsome in any traditional way. Appealing in an odd sort of way, perhaps, but not exactly good looking. His body, barely covered by the rags his captors had provided him, was hard and lean, a little too bulky for a really good thief, but not big enough to make a decent fighter. He was bleeding again from the gash at his hip, and the dingy bandages had already soaked red.
He stood overlooking the crowd of people ravenously calling for his demise wondering exactly what he had done to deserve their hate. "Oh yeah, that..." he chuckled. He peered over at the burned remains of the tower, still smoldering slightly. It stood grim next to the other, more pristine towers, a burned out shell. Only blackened stones remained, he knew, the entire interior was gutted. He wondered if Thell was ok. He worried for the others as well (especially Ross, who had taken at least two crossbow bolts) but Thell had been in the worst shape ever since the fire had started. Thinking back to that night made his stomach clench. How had it all gone so wrong? The night had started so simply... so happily...
______________________________________________________________
Ross belched loudly, slamming his empty mug down. Eldrin in response, burped louder and smacked the mug off the table. It crashed to the floor, smashing at the feet of the barmaid just as she was about to hand a customer his ale. Both men laughed uproariously.
"ELDRIN! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" The barmaid shrieked, chucking the ale at the thief's head, leaving the customer she had been serving in slack-jawed disappointment.
Eldrin ducked nimbly under the ale as he gave his reply, "Ogling you, my dear. Quite a fine set of assets you've got there, if I may say. And also stopping my friend here from drinking... he's quite stupid, you can imagine the harm this vile liquid is doing to his brain." The ale smashed against the wall behind him, showering a table full of customers with broken glass and alcohol.
Ross didn't even seem to notice the insult, which of course just made it better... Rather, he seemed ashamed. "Eldrin, maybe we should leave..." the bodyguard proposed, rising from the table.
"Don't be ridiculous, sit back dow-" Eldrin stopped mid-sentence upon seeing the barmaid's face and thus learning a new definition of rage.
"Get... The fuck... Out... Of my... BAR!"
Eldrin hopped to his feet, smile suddenly faded. "Well, come on Ross! I don't know why you're still standing around... Get a move on!" he said, already headed for the door and of course, nabbing a bottle from the lips of some poor sod, on his way out. Ross followed close at his heels, eager to be away from the angry woman.
The night air was shockingly refreshing in replacement to the stink of the bar. The thief and the bodyguard strolled down the dark street side by side. Eldrin was a bit unsteady on his feet, but Ross (who had drank far more than the thief) seemed entirely unaffected. It was no surprise, really, he was a freaking huge guy after all...
Eldrin was taking a swing from his bottle when he ran smack-dab into a... something...
His bottle shattered on the cobblestones, soaking his feet, but Eldrin hardly noticed. He was too busy trying to feel whatever he had hit. It was covered in some odd, but skin-like substance. Rougher than normal skin though... it almost reminded him of the skin of the burn on his shoulder. And then, hair? A fluttering of wooden wings told him his answer.
"Oh, hello Thell... How's it goin'?" he asked, still stroking her face as one might do to an interesting seashell.
(So I decided to throw in a couple of updates to Eldrin's character that haven't actually come about yet. Here's some brief explanations:
*The golden fang will happen at the end of All of the Stars in the Night Sky. Eldrin get's his tooth knocked out, so he steals one of Cointooth's.
**The golden eye will happen at the end of Stained Scarlet. I'm not telling how though.
Neither of those threads are moving fast enough to keep up with my busy schedule of Eldrin's development... so for now I'm just skipping them and throwing in the results.)