Story Time for Wyldess
DATE: 06/20/2011
BACKGROUND: Katrana, the Wyldess, had been transformed into a child. Vale, one of her Wyld Hunt, was surprisingly patient and kind to his Child-Goddess, and oftentimes told her stories to distract her. This was told late one evening, after Aoide's bard council performance.
l katrana A slight pull on your hand causes you to look down. "Do you want to play?! I'll be the Hunter!", the petite gnome asks you. She giggles and pulls your hand harder trying to bring you to eye level. As you resist, the wind stirs bringing the scent of a spring rain. She starts to growl, as things are obviously not going as she wishes. Thunder crashes and rain starts to fall. The rain glistens off of the gnome's black mane, and dried roses braided within burst into full bloom. Curious, you kneel to her. She giggles in success, and the skies brighten. She locks her eyes with yours for just a fleeting second. In that single moment a flood of emotion overtakes you...love, sorrow, hate, passion, anger, more than your thoughts can process. As your mind clears, you notice her eyes are never the same color twice, they constantly shift from hue to hue. The Wyldess looks to you and then to the bloody shears in her hands. They were not there a moment ago. "No, it is not your time yet. We'll play when it is!" She skips off into the distance, leaving a trail of crimson splatters. Your vision fades for a moment, the splatters, the dampness of the rain, the shears are gone. Only the giggling gnome child with the unsettling eyes remains. Katrana is bathed in the essence of charisma. Katrana is in perfect health. Katrana is using: <used as light> (Glowing) a lifestone <worn on finger> (Moderate magic) a golden seal ring bearing the Sigil Odegra <worn on finger> (Moderate magic) the brilliant chrysoprase ring <worn around neck> (Moderate magic) a light torque of gold and blood-red rubies <worn around neck> (Potent magic) the pulsating adamantite amulet <worn on body> (Potent magic) a heavy cloth vest <worn on head> (Artifact magic) a quilted cloth bonnet <worn on legs> (Potent magic) a pair of scale mail leggings <worn on feet> (Potent magic) a pair of leaf mail boots <worn on hands> (Potent magic) a pair of leaf mail gauntlets <worn on arms> (Potent magic) (Growing) tangled briars with dripping thorns <worn as shield> (Potent magic) an iron buckler <worn about body> (Artifact magic) a waterfall cloak <worn about waist> (Powerful magic) a banded mail girth <worn around wrist> (Moderate magic) a steel bracer <worn around wrist> (Potent magic) the glinting moonstone bracelet <wielded> (Powerful magic) (Blooded) razor-sharp golden cutting shears <wielded off-hand> (Moderate magic) a gnarled walking staff of black briar wood <held> (Moderate magic) some spun glass <worn with pride> (Artifact magic) (Glowing) (Humming) the Medallion of Godhood <worn with pride> (Moderate magic) a diamond brooch
Vale gently picks through the nest of curls and briars that is Katrana's hair.
Vale says (in common), 'what would you like to hear of, Goddess?'.
Katrana sits down and thinks deeply.
Katrana says, 'The princess!!'.
Vale smiles and inclines his head.
Aoide smiles happily.
Vale says (in common), 'I should say...my goddess'.
Vale nods in Cordir's direction subtley.
Rosemark stands up.
Rosemark smiles happily.
Vale says (in common), 'ahhh...you want to hear the tale I told you once more, or a different one?'.
Vale casually produces a long blade of grass from Katrana's tangled hair.
Katrana says, 'Hmmm...'.
Katrana says, 'A new one!'.
Vale furrows his brow and the piece of grass disappears in a small puff of flame.
The guardian spider stands up.
Vale wrinkles his nose in thought, his long lean face a mask of concentration.
Vale says (in common), 'a story of a happy time or a sad one?'.
Katrana sits down and thinks deeply.
Katrana says, 'I want happy! Last time was sad.'.
Katrana sniffs.
Vale nods his head solemnly and produces a daisy from between his smudged fingertips for Katrana.
Katrana giggles.
Katrana shows her approval by clapping her hands together.
Vale says (in common), 'I know of a place, and a time'.
Vale says (in common), 'on a certain rock, tilted upon a unique plane'.
Katrana takes the daisy and places it behind her ear.
Katrana blinks.
Vale says (in common), 'where a girl became a princess'.
Vale says (in common), 'not by virtue of her blood'.
Vale says (in common), 'or the sword'.
Katrana gasps in astonishment.
Katrana says, 'But how?!'.
Vale says (in common), 'but through her steely determination and iron devotion to her people'.
Vale twists his face into a mask of displeasure.
Vale says (in common), 'iron is the wrong word...'.
Katrana says, 'Oooooh'.
Vale says (in common), 'imagine silk, wrapped among other strands of silk'.
Vale says (in common), 'it is immensly strong'.
Vale waves his hand in the air dismissively.
Vale says (in common), 'I digress, I apologize for straying'.
Katrana stops using a quilted cloth bonnet.
Katrana gives you a quilted cloth bonnet.
You give a daisy worn tucked behind one ear to Katrana.
Vale says (in common), 'on this rock, in this plane lived a girl'.
Ink whistles at the sight of Aoide.
Katrana wears a daisy worn tucked behind one ear on her head.
Vale says (in common), 'she was the daughter of a fisherman'.
Vale says (in common), 'and lived on a rocky coast, which happened to be an excellent spot for fishing '.
Vale says (in common), 'she was young, and learned the trade from her father'.
Vale says (in common), 'she was beautiful, and she was the light of her parents life'.
Katrana says, 'Was she really really pretty?!'.
Vale peers down at the diminutive being of frightening power poised on his lap.
Vale says (in common), 'indeed she was goddess'.
Katrana giggles.
Katrana shows her approval by clapping her hands together.
Vale casually begins to deftly braid a long twist of Katrana's hair as he continues.
Vale says (in common), 'one day this happy life came to an end'.
Katrana gasps in astonishment.
Vale says (in common), 'because this small family was visited by a group of men'.
Thunder crashes outside and rain starts to fall.
Katrana says, 'But you said it was happy!'.
Vale smiles happily.
Vale says (in common), 'be patient'.
Katrana pushes back tears, trying to be brave.
Vale says (in common), 'these men asked too much...and strife took the household'.
Vale says (in common), 'the men had not the heart, even caught in the fire of emotion, to slay the girl'.
Aoide frowns at what Vale did.
Vale says (in common), 'and so left her for dead'.
Vale says (in common), 'the young girl cried, and mourned over the bodies of her two slain parents'.
Vale says (in common), 'but she did not have hate in her heart for the men who had caused her this great ill'.
Tears streak the face of the tiny gnome child.
Vale says (in common), 'after some time, she became hungry, and began to wander'.
Vale says (in common), 'the coast was rocky, and she had never ventured inland, but she had naught to lose and much to learn, so she made for the great forests of the center contin'.
Vale says (in common), '*continent'.
Aoide settles down to listen to the tale as well.
Katrana listens intently.
Vale says (in common), 'cold, hungry, alone, the girl began to despair'.
Vale says (in common), 'but soon she met a man'.
Vale says (in common), 'a wanderer, alone in the forest'.
Vale says (in common), 'he was tall, and lean, and he wore nothing but white'.
Vale says (in common), 'the traveller took pity on the girl, and fed her'.
Vale says (in common), 'the girl told her tale, and the traveller took pity'.
Katrana nods slowly.
Katrana says, 'So he was nice!'.
Vale smiles happily.
Vale says (in common), 'the traveler decided that he would allow the girl to accompany him, and so she did'.
Katrana shows her approval by clapping her hands together.
Katrana says, 'Where did they go!?'.
Vale says (in common), 'the little girl had naught a clue as to where the pair were going, but it turns out the man was of some import'.
Katrana says, 'Ooooh'.
Vale says (in common), 'and was headed to the keep of a noble who held dominion over the forest'.
Katrana gasps in astonishment.
Vale says (in common), 'upon entering the keep, and treating with its lord, the traveler bid the girl to tell her story'.
Vale says (in common), 'because it was a sad story yet he detected no hint of venom or spite in her tone'.
Vale says (in common), 'and this was truly a special thing'.
Katrana stops using some spun glass.
Katrana gives you some spun glass.
Katrana says, 'That he couldn't tell?!'.
Vale says (in common), 'upon hearing this the noble was moved.'.
You give a shiny red ball to Katrana.
Katrana gasps in astonishment.
Vale says (in common), 'he believed the girl to be a gift from heaven, for only the gods could imbue such falliable creatures as humans with such divine grace'.
Katrana holds a shiny red ball in her hands.
Vale says (in common), 'he begged the girl to grant him a request '.
Katrana says, 'What did he ask?!'.
Katrana says, 'Tell me, tell me, tell me!'.
Vale says (in common), 'this noble was due to the field shortly, for a civil war gripped the rock upon which this girl lived'.
Katrana gasps in astonishment.
Vale says (in common), 'and a battle was forthcoming'.
Vale says (in common), 'believing the girl to be an omen of good fortune and divine providence, the noble believed her presence would ensure victory for their faction'.
Katrana says, 'Would many Threads be cut?!'.
Katrana gasps in astonishment.
Vale grins slyly and nods his head.
Katrana eyes shift to crimson and nods.
Katrana says, 'Yay!'.
Aoide sneaks away from the shears.
Katrana says, 'What happened though, did she stop something?!'.
Vale says (in common), 'the girl understood little of what the man said, or its politics, but agreed to accompany the batallion regardless'.
Vale says (in common), 'for reasons the traveler understood naught'.
Vale says (in common), 'and that is how a young girl found herself at the van of a great horde on the cusp of a decisive battle'.
Katrana gasps in astonishment.
Vale says (in common), 'oddly enough, the traveler at her side...despite the significant bodily harm that would surely follow'.
Katrana says, 'But what did she do? Was she scared?!'.
Vale thinks for a moment before answering.
Vale says (in common), 'hard to say what she felt'.
Katrana nods slowly in thought.
Vale says (in common), 'but alas, she was betrayed by the noble who had brought her. '.
Katrana gasps in astonishment.
Vale says (in common), 'she was lashed to the horse of the first unit of horse due to engage the enemy'.
Vale says (in common), 'for the noble was not a holy man, but a believer in other darker arts'.
Vale says (in common), 'arts which trust in the power of blood '.
Katrana says, 'So he was going to sacrifice her?!'.
Vale says (in common), 'and she was to be a sacrifice in battle to the gods of war on that plane'.
Katrana gasps in astonishment.
Vale says (in common), 'indeed...she was meant to be skewered in a cavalry charge'.
Vale says (in common), 'her companion could do naught to stop the treachery either'.
Vale says (in common), 'for....'.
Vale says (in common), 'undisclosed reasons'.
Vale smiles slightly.
Katrana arches her eyebrow.
Katrana whines, 'But I wanna know!'
Vale says (in common), 'so here we are, horse charging downhill, men about to do vicious battle, and our heroine lashed tightly in place, about to be run through by lance'.
Vale says (in common), 'and the girl was not afraid'.
Vale says (in common), 'that much is known'.
Vale says (in common), 'for fear has a stench'.
Katrana sits down and thinks deeply.
Vale says (in common), 'the girl was not afraid, and right before the blow was to be stroke through her heart'.
Vale says (in common), 'she called out in a voice'.
Katrana gasps in astonishment.
Vale says (in common), 'not a voice of fear, or agony, or defeat'.
Vale says (in common), 'but a commanding shout'.
Vale says (in common), 'and as I sit here today, a quarter million men stopped where they stood'.
Vale says (in common), 'the silence was eery'.
Katrana says, 'Oh my!'.
Vale says (in common), 'and she began to speak'.
Vale says (in common), 'the battleground stretched for leagues, but every man present heard her voice as clear as a bell'.
Katrana says, 'What did she say!'.
Vale blinks slowly, a tear welling up at the corner of his eye.
Vale closes both eyelids as the tear hangs, frozen at the corner.
Vale inhales sharply, opens his eyes, and his vision is once again clear.
Vale says (in common), 'what was said that day I cannot repeat'.
Vale says (in common), 'not even if I wanted to'.
Vale says (in common), 'but I will tell you this'.
Katrana pouts.
Vale says (in common), 'the girl spoke....and every man hung on every word she said'.
Katrana says, 'I know! Did she say 'Listen Weasels!' '.
Vale says (in common), 'hoping only that she would continue to speak to their hearts, bypassing folly and politics and striking straight to the soul'.
Katrana says, 'Oh...'.
Katrana says, 'They do not listen like my weasels...'.
Aoide laughs.
Vale says (in common), 'and even the hardest man there was bound by her words'.
Aoide says (in common), 'no, your weasels are far less obedient'.
Vale says (in common), 'and when she was finished speaking, the spell was broken'.
Katrana sits down and thinks deeply.
Vale says (in common), 'and every man there dropped to their knee and swore an oath to the girl'.
Vale says (in common), 'who became the Princess of the Legion Undying'.
Katrana utters the words, 'cure blindness'.
Vale says (in common), 'an army that cannot die'.
Vale says (in common), 'and an army that made her a Queen'.
Katrana gasps in astonishment.
Aoide says (in common), 'sounds formidable'.
Katrana says, 'She wasn't a princess first?!'.
Vale shakes his head wearily a bit, and looks down at Katrana.
Aoide can't spell tonight.
Aoide grumbles under her breath.
Katrana says, 'And she didn't cut any Threads...'.
Katrana blinks in shock.
Vale says (in common), 'many threads were cut....but that is a story for another time'.
Vale smiles happily.
Katrana mumbles about needing to learn what she said.
Katrana continues, 'weasels...listen.'
Katrana grumbles.
Vale's left hand drops the now fully braided strand of Katrana's hair
Katrana says, 'Thank you Chronomancer.'.
Vale says (in common), 'the moral of the story my goddess '.
Vale says (in common), 'is that princesses are not made such by their blood'.
Vale says (in common), 'or by the fist'.
Vale says (in common), 'but by their actions'.
Katrana sits down and thinks deeply.
Vale says (in common), 'and their ability to wield their will in such a way'.
Vale says (in common), 'that the people ask for more'.
Katrana nods.
Vale says (in common), 'this is the mark of any true leader'.
Katrana gasps in astonishment.
Vale says (in common), 'but we shall call them all princesses for now'.
Vale smiles and gives Katrana a squeeze on her knee.
Katrana giggles.
Aoide smiles happily.
Katrana says, 'So any leader is a princess!'.
Aoide sits down and thinks deeply.
Vale smiles happily.
Katrana says, 'Princess Wyldess!'.
Katrana giggles.
Vale says (in common), 'I should have known the can of worms I would open with that one...'.
Aoide laughs.
Katrana jumps down and skips about the room, her braids flying behind her.
Briars, and Roses spring to life where she steps, then decay within seconds.
Vale chuckles a bit and shakes his head. He looks older.
who 13 players. Sah [ Bard: 17 9 9 ] Gheorghe the Sahuagin, Seer of the Sea Elf [ Th:12 Wa:15 Ma:15 ] Kaizen, Kurenai Senkensha *Hunt* *CS* Aar [ Th:30 Sh:30 ] Pharuin, the Necromancing Seraphim Hum [ Wa:28 Cl:30 ] Lambert the sheepish Lion. *Wyld* Hum [ Greater God ] Tokugawa. Hel [ Ra:30 Th:30 Ma:30 ] Vale, the Chronomancer. Acolyte of the Wyrm Dwa [ Th:30 Wa:30 Cl:30 ] Ink evaLUAtes Nati's vaLUAbles at a LUAu Dwa [ Founder ] Tynian. Elf [ Bard: 27 27 21 ] Aoide the Ebon Bardling. Weaver's Acolyte. (HUNT) Hum [ Triat Weaver ] Cordir: Ebon Goddess, Patroness of Bards. [Abe] Hum [ Bestest IDer! ] Rosemark, Lady-Champion Veteran Complainer of Gheorghe Hum [ Ambassador ] Cecil the Crusader. Newbie Helper of the Realm. <Inv 70> Gno [ Princess Wyldess ] Katrana is Wyldly Hunting! Wheee!