test drive
Firstly, thank you for your interest! Secondly, since the game hasn't begun and therefore characters haven't actually gone to a world yet, this test drive is going to be a little different. It's intended to be presented as a mini-mission of sorts, on a much smaller scale and timeframe than a real mission in-game but with a somewhat similar feel. Because of this, if you join the game, you're allowed to count this as game canon, so make sure you make choices you want to follow your character into the game!
You know how this works, so go forth and have fun, and don't forget to reserve!
BASICSAnwick might have been a beautiful town once. It's hard to tell now, since most of the buildings are scorched and crumbling, but they do resemble some rural modern-day buildings. Likewise, the people don't appear to be living too much in the past; several are carrying intimidating guns. For years, Anwick has been terrorized by dragons, living in fear of the next attack. Not anymore.
The people have just ended a bloody battle. Several people limp towards the outskirts of town, holding their bleeding wounds or new burns. In the center of town lies a slain dragon, the last full-grown one left in the world. To be honest, it looks like they've already taken care of their own problem.
A monotonous voice comes through your communication device to explain. You aren't here to help the townspeople; you're here for the dragons. The one motionless on the ground may have been the last adult, but it certainly wasn't the last dragon. Her children are located in a nearby cave, alone and orphaned. They're the ones you need to protect.
WYRMLINGSThe wyrmlings are still growing up, only the size of a small dog. Each has a slightly different appearance, but all of them have at least a few bright copper scales. They're beautiful, and they look a little bit harmless... at least, until they notice you. These dragons have never been exposed to humans before. Or anyone outside of their family, for that matter. They're small and scared, and they don't know any other way to protect themselves than to attack. Luckily, because of their tiny size, they can't do much more than small burns at a time — but make no mistake, it still hurts like hell.
The cave they're located in is pitch-black and labyrinthine. Every footstep echoes throughout it if you aren't light enough on your feet. It'll be difficult to navigate if you don't MacGyver yourself a torch or other form of lighting. Cell phones will work decently, at least until their battery dies, but you don't want to get stuck deep within the cave with no light.
If you do manage to get through the cave and rescue some without getting burned to a crisp, the trouble's not over yet. You'll have to find a safe place to stash them until they can be relocated; the townspeople aren't done with their dragon-slaying yet, after all. Walk into town with one in tow, and you're putting a target on your back. (Of course, this doesn't mean you can't do it.)
PROMPTSONE ✗ GOING ROGUE
Not feeling too obedient? Maybe you're ignoring the orders and helping the wounded people in town instead... or just coming to gawk. Maybe you're coming to slay the wyrmlings yourself. Whatever it is, at least try to be sneaky about it.
TWO ✗ THE DRAGON'S CAVE
Try to navigate the cave, fail to navigate the cave and get lost, or try to take the wyrmlings without getting barbecued. Somehow, you get the feeling that you aren't alone. Those footsteps are probably just your imagination... or they could be townspeople coming to kill you and the dragons. Of course, they could also be an ally, but you'd better hope you don't find out.
THREE ✗ HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON
You've gotten the dragon(s) to a secure campsite out of town, but the fun's not over yet. They're kind of freaking out a little. Some of them are still spitting fire. Even the less aggressive ones are crying shrilly, bound to attract townspeople or at least annoy everyone nearby. It can't be too hard to calm them down; they're basically scaly, fire-breathing babies, right?
FOUR ✗ NIGHT TIME
It's been a long day, and now it's time for the crew to sleep. Get to know your tentmates, try to ignore them, pray that they don't want to bring along a wyrmling to cuddle... or maybe you've been put on night watch with a few others, in which case you'd better find a way to pass the time until your shift's over.
FIVE ✗ CHIT CHAT
Network option! Maybe you've got a little downtime and you're bored. Or maybe you're frantically asking the rest of the team how bad a dragon bite is. Maybe you're just trying to figure out how the hell this magical jewelry thing works. No matter what, you get one username to identify you and one only — if you don't enter one, it will default to your real name (for example, Voldemort's would be tomriddle.) Choose wisely... or make it assfarts69, if that's your thing. More information on the network is here!
SIX ✗ WILDCARD
Do whatever the hell you want. Explore the ashes of the burned city, try to run as far away from this crap as possible, or try to teach a wyrmling tricks. The world is your oyster. |
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thirstology2015-09-14 06:51 pm
no subject
Their mother hadn't the chance.
[He shouldn't get too attached to them. After they are done here, he might never see this little one again. But he can't help it. Ushahin has forever had a soft spot for the lost ones, those that the rest of the world would ignore or rather seen destroyed.]
The dragons I know always had names that began with C.
no subject
I see.
[ she stays silent another moment, face solemn over the death of the mother dragon at the hands of the villagers. she hasn't had time to further question anyone on the matter, and thus whether the killing was justified or not still remains a mystery. that doesn't change the fact that these babies are on their own now, like too many children she knows already. life truly is unfair, but she learned that lesson long ago. ]
Why C though? Tradition?
no subject
[He laughs, a lilting, almost musical sound that he's inherited from his Ellyl side. Calanthrag wouldn't have given him a straight answer anyhow. She was cryptic, as all dragons were.]
I was on my way to her swamps when I was pulled from my home. [It was easier to think of it in terms of different homelands rather than different worlds. That was a reality he wasn't prepared to comprehend. He looks over at Riza, the less-damaged eye looking her over.]
What is it like where you come from? Far different, I would think.
no subject
best to tread carefully then, and watch her words. ]
There are no dragons where I come from, for one.
[ that, at least, is something she can say with a hint of a smile, even if it fades immediately afterwards. but—ah, how to describe her world when she knows nothing of his? ]
Otherwise, it's similar to this place. There are many nations, all with their different customs and religions. [ and— ] We do have a practice called alchemy. It's mostly scientific in nature, though with more successful results than can be gained through regular research.
no subject
[There is something both cynical and weary in his tone. Human beings have never been the best at sharing with others who were different from themselves. Hadn't they done all but try to wipe out the other races back in Urulat? One day soon, all that would be left would be Arahila's children, the rest all faded into memory. To be optimistic enough to assume it is different elsewhere is not within the mad one's reach.]
Is alchemy like magic?
[That's the closest equivalent they have in his world. Science was a realm that they had yet to explore. Not hard to see why when the very land could be Shaped with the right tools like chips of the Souma.]
no subject
We're still dealing with the aftereffects of a recent civil war we fought.
[ it shouldn't surprise her that certain things never change no matter where one goes. the need for power and territory runs strong in the veins of most men, exacerbated further by pride and anger. still, it's disappointing, especially since those things happen to be the ones she wants to change the most.
but enough of that. while the events of the ishbal war aren't ones she feels obligated to hide from, they also aren't ones she needs to recount to every person passing by. her expression smooths out some as she returns her focus to alchemy. ]
Alchemy can seem like magic to those unfamiliar with it. You can create mountains out of rock, sculptures and statues out of scrap metal, and [ with a gesture towards the two baby dragons puffing flames at each other ] fire out of a single spark.
[ as she speaks, she's acutely aware of the intricate design across her back, currently hidden by the layers of uniform she wears on a daily basis. ]
no subject
Magic can do many things. What I can do is only a small portion. There is a form of it that can change anything and everything if one only has the knowledge to use it correctly. My master once shaped the fabric of an entire land to create a home when he had been driven from everywhere else.
[Ushahin wonders what Satoris would think of all that had happened to him. Strange new worlds and even stranger companions were now all that was known to him. Urulat was far away, perhaps never to be seen again.]
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she watches the dragons play, circling around one another, and says simply: ]
That's a lot of power for one person to have.
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[There is reverence in his tone and loyalty too. The kind of loyalty that is only built up after a thousand years of serving his master. Then a shadow falls over Ushahin's face and he stares hard at the dragons expending their energy, trying hard not to remember the grief that was still so raw.]
And in the end, his strength failed him, as everything around him crumbled to blood and dust. I could do nothing to stop his death or those of my companions. All those lives snuffed out like candles. I could see them all going out one by one...
[While he's been speaking rationally thus far, he seems to have slipped a little from sanity back into the madness that threads through his thoughts. His gaze becomes unfocused as if he's looking elsewhere, back to the past or somewhere in the future.]
no subject
her lips tighten. despite the pockets of religion scattered across amestris, she's never found any particular solace in believing in a god or an unseen greater good. maybe in her younger days she would have, a naive and scared girl looking for something good to believe in. but she's pretty sure that if there were some god out there, they wouldn't have allowed the atrocities of the war to happen.
then again, maybe not. from the sound of the tale he's telling, gods aren't infallible creatures at all, able to be weakened and die just like anyone else.
she doesn't know this god, doesn't know the circumstances that had brought about his demise - though she's inclined to believe he'd at least had a hand in his own downfall - but she does know that death is something to be saved for when there are no other options left. ]
Sometimes we aren't strong enough to do what needs to be done. [ her voice is quiet but assured, her gaze steady. ] Don't forget them, and they won't have died in vain.
[ she can't help but wonder though, and give the thought voice several seconds later: ] What was it that killed them?
no subject
A war. [His voice turns sardonic and dry.] I was fated to be on the losing side.
[Apropos of nothing, he abruptly changes the subject. It has absolutely nothing to do with not wanting to remember that war in detail, nope.]
I think I have figured out a name for my dragon.
[He's already referring to it as his despite trying not to become attached. Oh dear.]