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Post by Devvyn on Apr 21, 2004 0:24:06 GMT -5
Just in case it's my turn to post....
I'm still eating on the hill...
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RabbitDawg
Commander
I'm moron... the stupid side...
Posts: 193
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Post by RabbitDawg on Apr 21, 2004 0:55:58 GMT -5
I sat down apprehensively... the best that saurians could, especially in new surroundings. "Me? I... I've been doing well. I've been spending these last years travelling around Sig and learning about... like, basically more of our culture. One can only notice so much when they travel through the world as a juvenile trying to make a living, you know? Like I did. Now that.... I've attained a respected role in most parts of Sig, I can travel with ease and really spend time learning what else our planet has to offer, as well as what it lacks..."
Everyone in the ring was looking at me. I was getting more nervous. So I decided to mention something they might consider a more practical use of the last three years.
"I've also worked closely with Biria -- remember her? -- to help rebuild Ginnad and Kace... and..."
No reaction from them. Back to the learning part...
"Well, anyway, I want to learn even more. About other cultures, not just that of Sig. So... here I am on Noga. This is the first planet I've bee-- I've had the privilege of learning more about... but really, I've not been here long. This is my first night here... -- it gets surprisingly dark here -- And.... also, you know how Sig is, right? It's all.... arid, and dry.... all desert. I... was hoping maybe I could.... bring just a tiny sample of some of the vegetation here and bring it to Sig so we can attempt to lure the God of Plants back to Si-- I mean, so that we can grow some vegetation there that we might be able to use to help... develop our people..."
Silence. I guess they htought I had more to say, but I didn't. Not at the moment. "And how have you been Razi, if I may inquire?"
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DigiDayDreamer
Commander
Why divide when you can conquer everything?
Posts: 210
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Post by DigiDayDreamer on Apr 21, 2004 22:50:36 GMT -5
After I eagerly listened to Ziela's story, I found myself happy for her that she had some good times after our adventure, though I wasn't sure what "Biria" she was talking about.
Then she finished at the part about getting vegetation back on Sig and asked about me.
I was finishing my fifth bread when she did, forcing myself to chew faster while I gestured for her to wait. "Gulp, me? To be honest, I've given up on my traveling days and spent the last three years here in Yon. Sure, I may have sacrificed the excitement of going to other planets, but I learned a good deal of Noga as well in my rare journeys out of Yon.
"Yes, and other than that, I pretty much led a humble life here, though I can't say I've regretted every moment of it. Work can be very satisfying, especially one does it for the Spirits."
I concluded, giving everyone a smile, which I hadn't done for a while.
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Post by Devvyn on Apr 22, 2004 0:35:40 GMT -5
Chomp, chomp, chomp...belch...chomp, chomp, chomp...belch...chomp...belch...chomp...belch...chomp, chomp, chomp...belch....
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Post by Dragonfly on Apr 23, 2004 12:43:42 GMT -5
After running for a few erker, I sit down on a place in the grass, and I close my eyes. I work through my mind all of the different skills and exercises that I'd learned throughout my life dealing with hand to hand combat. Once I feel focused, I stand up and go through all of the drills that I'd learned for exercising in melee fighting. My knowledge of melee fighting skills wasn't very good, but I do exercise what I know. I simply want to increase my strength in the basic skills that I've already learned.
Once I finish my drilling, I take a dive in a nearby river, swim against the flow for about an erka, and then I climb back out onto the shore. I take a light jog back to the longhouse, hoping to maybe overhear any of the slightest news that might be going around.
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Post by TiJiL on Apr 26, 2004 22:04:35 GMT -5
Zalae listens intently as Ziela and Raizi speak. Her eyes are vibrant and blue. They seem to convey the fury of an ocean storm (though neither of you have ever seen one, you just get the feeling that's what her eyes are like). After you speak, she politely stands.
"I think I see my father. He was going to give me a ride tonight, and..." she leans down a bit, "he's an impatient old geezer. Gotto go" With that, she stands upright, lifts her hand in respect and tradition, then turns to meet with Gan'Jenk.
"Sorry father. I had forgotten again. I did not mean to delay you, of course." She has with her several tools and a bag of seeds for her own property. "Ready when you are"
The dinner appears to be wrapping up a bit. What the nogan haven't yet eaten is being fast consumed by greedy Hurks. As the food dwindles the nogan lay about the town again to digest for a moment. Several more crowd around the fire, hoping, presumably, for a tale from Lekjaw.
Your manage a quick view of the venerable nogan known as Lekjaw. He's really not all that old, being just a bit older than Gan'Jenk. However, he is noble and wise looking, inspiring a sense of honor and respect in those around him. At the present, he is sitting on a rock near the fire smoking a long pipe. His eyes are closed as he blows tiny blue orbs of light from the slender pipe he delicately holds. No smoke comes from the pipe. The material put inside of it is made from a crop grown on Noga. When burnt, it glows with a cool blue aura. It supposedly has mystical properties that enhance one's memory and perception while smoking, but mostly it just looks cool. The fiery bubbles emerging from Lekjaw's pipe float about for a second or two, slowly expanding until they disperse enough to be invisible. Lekjaw steadies his pipe with his left hand. With his right, he strokes his beard. (Quite long by nogan standards, but in actuality only about six inches long). Lekjaw's geocx is nowhere to be seen.
Tokmal: (Keep in mind an erker is about an hour and a half. You've been running for quite a while, and thus are not really on the same time scale as there rest of us. For convenience sake I will declare that you only exercized for about an erker, so that you can remain sychronized with the rest of us) You are getting extremely tired. Twasseccs may be strong, but most (especially pilots) don't make excellent runners. Your neck slits are flaring, trying to release excess heat from your body. By the time you get to the Longhouse the light within it is gone. The giant bonfire still remains, though, and is surrounded by dozens of nogan.
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RabbitDawg
Commander
I'm moron... the stupid side...
Posts: 193
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Post by RabbitDawg on Apr 28, 2004 1:27:16 GMT -5
Not exactly sure what to do here, but.... might as well post. x.x
------------------------------------------------------------------
As soon as Raizi was done speaking, Zalae got up and said she had to go. 'That was sudden...' I thought to myself.
I began to look around and noticed that many of the nogan have finished dining. I looked down at my own plate... I still had quite a bit of food left... probably because Raizi put enough in there for a nogan, but more than enough for a sigwar.
So, I continued to sit and hastened my pace, earning some muffled sounds of amusement from the other nogan in the ring. Embarrassed, I do the nonchalant-look-around technique to avoid their gazes when I saw a peculiar long-bearded nogan smoking a long pipe. The blue aura emitting from his pipe indicated -- and because several nogan were gathering around him, but the blue aura that looked cool indicated it more -- to me that he was someone of importance... so I asked Raizi. "Who's he?"
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Post by Dragonfly on Apr 28, 2004 12:05:08 GMT -5
With lack of anything else to do, I sit down on the outskirts of the gathering around the bon-fire, and I await the old Nogan's story.
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DigiDayDreamer
Commander
Why divide when you can conquer everything?
Posts: 210
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Post by DigiDayDreamer on Apr 28, 2004 20:02:06 GMT -5
I cocked an eye ridge at Ziela before realizing she was just here. Heh, somehow I got the weird feeling that she had been here as long as I have, as though we were still in an adventure that never ended.
Turning my head, I saw what she was asking about. "Oh, that is Lekjaw, a venerable elder. I haven't known him personally, but I've heard he is very wise and noble. And he doesn't have his geocx with him, curious. But he's a good storyteller; we could sit by him in case he starts to tell one. A good crowd might also encourage him."
"That's a fine idea with you, isn't it?"
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Post by Arreck on Apr 28, 2004 22:50:44 GMT -5
Now that Zalae is finally here, we can get going. Suddenly, though, I feel less anxious.
"Your lateness, although habit, has done no harm, daughter. Would you prefer to go back to the farm now, or shall we try to get a tale out of Lekjaw?"
I have left my tractor and all I purchased unguarded, of course, as is custom on Noga. Nobody thieves around here, not even the visiting Hurks. While it seems the Hurks can withstand the berating and anger that other races show them when they take stuff innocently, the shame they suffer in the face of Nogan dissapointment seems to be too much for them. They have taken to forcing the cooks to provide them with lots of food, but they no longer steal it.
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Post by TiJiL on Apr 29, 2004 0:15:54 GMT -5
Zalae stares at you.
"If it's alright with you, then, father, I should like to stay back a bit. You needn't stay around to give me a ride. I'm sure I can get one from someone in the morning or just walk home." She then heads towards the bonfire and sits on a little mound of dirt.
The crowd around the bonfire has grown quite large indeed. Lekjaw seems to delight in keeping people in suspense. However, the group has grown so large now that even he cannot keep up the charade of ignorance. Without a word, he opens his eyes and puts his pipe into a small pouch on his belt. He shifts on his seat, stands, and walks to the storyteller's seat. There, he plops himself down and crosses his legs. The crowd sits, transfixed on his motions. He closes his eyes and bows his head. (Nobody talks. Everyone knows he is simply exercizing one of the nogan values of patience. It is very annoying to the hurks, but the nogan respect it and know not to talk).
He remains like this for about an erkan. While you wait for him to continue, you can see a shape lurking in the shadows behind him. Suddenly, Lekjaw opens his eyes and stands. "Long ago...", he begins. He lifts his left arm high into the air and holds it aloft. In an instant, his Geocx has flown to it and perched delicately on his hand. The geocx is a long, slender bird, about six feet long. Its enormous tail sticks straight out from behind it. It cranes its short, slender neck about and observes the crowd with glistening eyes. As the crowd stares at his pet, Lekjaw pulls a powder from his hands and hurls it into the fire. The enormous bonfire immediately abates, receding down to a smoldering pile of wood. Its light is still visible, but only barely.
"Long ago", he says again "Noga was covered in cache empires of great size. Their fortresses graced the mountains and plains like great tusks." The geocx jumps from his shoulder, flaps its wings once, and lands in front of the fire.
Suddenly, an image fills your head. The light from the fire dwindles completely away as the Geocx floods your mind with Lekjaw's mental imagery. You watch in a sort of dream state as you travel at great speed over the ancient Nogan plains. The fields whisk by at huge velocity as you approach one of the mountain ranges. The image slows down and rotates for a few erk around a giant pinnacle of white stone jutting from the cliffside. You can see that the pinnacle is a great castle, with nogan bustling about on wooden bridges and platforms around it. The colors in this hallucination of yours are amazingly vibrant. Surprisingly enough, you begin to smell, to taste, to hear, to feel the mountain wind around that fortress, so long ago. As quickly as it began, the image drains away from you and you see the fire again.
(No need to post yet. I will continue the story. It's just quite late right now and I wish to sleep)
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Post by TiJiL on Apr 30, 2004 0:18:08 GMT -5
"The emperors kept up a great lineage and the people of Noga lived in great peace. There came a day that the shamans foresaw would hold great happening. Hundreds and hundreds of nogan flocked to the Basin to commune and consider their futures."
At this, there is a swirl of blue color in your mind and once again, a vivid picture takes over. You are looking from above at a body of water. The water ripples only slightly and is absolutely clear. From the light of nearby fires you can see hundreds of feet down the Basin. Several caravans are parked around its edges, with many rings of nogan celebrating around the bonfires. Your view slowly lowers down to the Nogans' level and veers upwards, looking at the dark sky. Suddenly, there arises a collective gasp as the area is lit.
"The caravans stayed there three days without having any revelations, until late on the third night, there came a shower of light. The nogan looked in awe up at these peculiar green streaks of light shooting past their sky."
Hundreds of green lights appear and begin to migrate across the sky. These hundreds quickly become thousands. Then tens of thousands. The entire sky is alight with these fast moving green streaks, which quickly fly by and pass out of vision. The streaks stop appearing after about an erkan. The image in your mind then fades out again.
"The nogan did not understand what the lights meant, but the shamans did predict that they would bring great trouble. True to their predictions, only two days later the Empe..." Lekjaw paused and looked up into the sky...
Up above, a great purplish streak was forming. It burnt with bright fire that lit up the whole night. Bolts of electricity seemed to course up the trail as the burning head plummetted towards Noga. A loud noise began, piercing the silence with a rumble of amazing volume. As the object neared it was soon recognizeable as a falling ship of Ure make. It showed no signs of decelerating, and flecks of flaming metal stripped from its sides with the great air friction. With a sudden boom, it struck the ground a few miles south of Yon. There was a deafening blast followed by a faint tremor. Everyone shuddered as the wave of moving air struck them.
The sound of falling pieces persisted for several erk later, then all was silent and dark again. Lekjaw pulled a handful of another substance from his pouch and hurtled it into the fire. In an erk, the fire roared to its full glory and power, greatly illuminating the surrounding area. The old storyteller then immediately rose from his seat and walked off.
All was silent for a moment, then a voice rose about the village. While quiet by a nogan's standards, Rotun's voice carried surprisingly well for a creature so small. As soon as his commanding voice was heard, though, the crowd burst into confusion. Everyone whispered to their neighbors about the sight they had just seen. Rotun could still be heard, trying to establish order, but the murmur of curiosity, confusion, and fear simply grew louder. A few erk later, a great, booming voice sounded.
"ROTUN SAY... QUIET!". The noise was so loud it rattled the entire village. In the ensuing silence, it could be heard echoing off of the mesas in the distance. With that, everyone turned their attention back to the bonfire. Rotun and a massive hurk step into the light.
Rotun is an average looking twassecc. His armor glistens in the fire light and his various weapons glint menacingly around his belt. Whlie a mere six feet tall and 200ish pounds, (Making him tied with Tokmal for the smallest being in the village), he's arguably one of the most frightening. While normally friendly and agreeable (or as friendly and agreeable as twasseccs get), his current facial expression sent a chill of fear and respect into the hearts of those who beheld it.
If there was one creature there even more frightening than Rotun it was Ukon, behind him. He is the largest hurk in the village, standing at just short of fifteen feet. He's one of the older individuals, and verifiably so. His body is covered in deep scars inflicted by claws, weapons, bites, and infections. One of his horns has grown in a slightly twisted manner. His most obvious malady, though, is that his entire right leg seems to be made of stone. Closer inspection reveals it to be jet black skinbone that has overgrown his leg and made it difficult for him to bend. He stands now, his arms folded menacingly, behind Rotun.
"Listen up!" Rotun shouts. "I don't know exactly what that was, but it was clearly a ship made by one of our enemies! It was of some size and moving at an extreme speed, which leads me to believe it might have been trying to move something out of twassecc-controlled space without being captured. I have issued a message to the circular, but due to the relatively low satellite coverage on this planet it might be a while before it is read. We need to send a party to investigate as soon as possible... We will need at least twenty strong backs. I also want all of the offworlders present. Anyone else who wants to come may. We don't know what we'll find there, so bring anything and everything that may aid us if worst comes to worst. That is all. We will congregate when ready." With that, Rotun turned and headed back to the Bunker, presumeably to prepare. Ukon breathes a sigh of releif and sits down for a quick nap. The ground seems to shake as his huge body hits the ground. The murmur starts up again.
(The overgrown skinbone, as you may or may not know, is from use of mokele. Presumably, Ukon had a major injury earlier in life that necessitated extremely rapid growth. The Mokele mushroom can save lives, regrow limbs, and massively increase the strength of the user IF the user can withstand the side effects. Many that employ it don't survive. One of the more inconvenient side effects is extremely rapid, uneven, and excessive growth of the bones. This is often fatal or permanently crippling in smaller beings, but hurks usually just have their skinbone expand so much that it is visible externally. Ukon can barely move his leg, but his Mokele use contributes to the fact of why he is so big. Mokele massively increases growth speed. If Tokmal, for instance, were to use it he might double in weight and triple in age in a few days. (Providing he doesn't die from the possible side effects). Obviously, with that much growth and muscle gain, he would be insatiably hungry for the duration. Also in great pain.)
(Sorry for crappyish story. It's late again and I'm just making it up as I go. It's not too bad, but it's moving slowly, so I decided to initiate the action.)
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Post by Devvyn on Apr 30, 2004 23:10:01 GMT -5
"Molthor want help!" I roar...I then rush to Ukon... "How Molthor help? I want help Twassecc."
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RabbitDawg
Commander
I'm moron... the stupid side...
Posts: 193
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Post by RabbitDawg on May 1, 2004 23:30:08 GMT -5
I was still too busy trying to figure out how this Lekjaw person was able to put the visions in all of our minds when his story-telling abruptly stopped. I opened my eyes then and saw something; not a vision in my mind, but something real -- a ship maybe? -- crashing somewhere in the distance.
A state of confusion then swept over everyone until order was restored by... a twassecc? Though I had no grudge against the Twasseccs, I was surprised to see one of their kind taking the leadership role here on Noga... well, not really that, but... the fact that nobody objected or even raised a few a eyebrows since they actually had eyebrows to raise. Everyone took it in stride. He was pretty intimidating, but... Whatever. It wasn't my concern.
My concern was the fact that he just ordered all the offworlders to accompany the party that was to investigate what just crashed. I wasn't sure of what inspired him to make that command, but... nobody objected, so neither did I.
"I... I guess I'm going to the crash site then..." I said to nobody in particular, though Raizi heard. But another plague of temporary confusion swept over me: What exactly was I supposed to do now? Do I just wait? He said we'd congregate when ready, so... well, ready as I'll ever be.... I think. All I had was my Whip of Zeal and my SILP... and of course my wind charm, but... what if something happens and...
Then I decided: with at least 20 other creatures there, would I really need other weapons? I highly doubted it. So I stood there and waited.
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Post by Arreck on May 2, 2004 0:43:35 GMT -5
"Aww, by the Spirits, it figures this would happen. Gan'Jenk doesn't have enough problems... Gotto go and dump some uninvited guests right on my land!" I say, noticing that the damned thing crashed somewhere on my farm ...probably right in my kaluup orchard...
I call out to the twassecc.
"Looks like your enemy ship's crashed on my property. I'll be comin' with, you hear? I'll bet the damned thing plowed right through all my beautiful kaluup trees..." I moan, just thinking about it.
"I got a tractor, if anybody wants to pile in," I add.
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