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[Generally me]

You grab the sword by its worn handle and lift it with both hands. Goddamn that is heavy. With a low growl the wolves creep closer.

Michael starts trying to fend them off, by prodding them with the bow and screaming and shouting. While you shout for help and swing at any wolves that get close.

You hear your father shout back and the flickering light moves closer.

One of the wolves snarls and leaps at Michael, landing on him and snapping at his throat. Michael managed to hold the wolf off long enough, for you to swing the sword over your shoulder and cut deeply into its back. The wounded wolf starts whining and try's to crawl away. Before giving up and just lying there. You're pretty certain its back is broken

Soon the whole scene is illuminated in warm, orange light.

Your father runs towards you, holding his pitchfork in one hand and a torch in the other. The wolves seeing the cause is lost scatter back into the night.

Father quickly stabs the wounded wolf in the chest, finishing it off. Before grabbing both of you off the ground, silently and dragging you towards the village.

Father drops Michael off at his hut (still clutching his bow). While he brings me into our hut. My mother is standing there, worried looking. When she sees me, she quickly grabs me up into her arms before trying to contain her happiness enough at seeing me alive to tell me off. My father moves behind us and lays down on their bed, quickly falling asleep, while my mother continues berating me on my recklessness.

I find my father in the morning, my sword in his hand as he polishes the blade and sharpens it on a grindstone. He turns round at me as he hears my bare feet padding on the soft earth. He smiles at me.

"Now let's seem if you can hold this up" as he hands me the now sharpened sword.

The sword is very tall I now realize, just a head taller than my own height. As I admire it, my father tells me it's a "steel, single handed sword". I look up at my father, worried by his kindness "why didn't you punish for what I did last night?".

"Because Im Pretty sure you learned your lesson" he says as he smiles. "Now that you have a sword, I may as well train you to use it".

Later on in the day I find Michael with his father. Shooting trees with his new found bow.

The next 6 years you practice everyday with your father to use that sword. You become pretty good if you may so yourself.


Intro Part 3

Today is the harvest festival. You and everyone else in the village have worked hard in the fields, under the unforgiving sun to collect enough food for the coming winter. This is a day of celebration, of rest, food and dancing.

Since you are now 12 years old, you may now join in the dancing with the adults and older children.

As you sit on the beaten earth and look across the unlit bonfire to the faces on the other side you see The person you are going to ask to dance.

Ria: small, full, deep red hair and grey/blue eyes. A lot of other boys have their eye on her, including the lords son.

Geli: Same height as you, thin, dirty blonde hair and piercing blue eyes .You're good friends with her and she's a bit of a tomboy.

Some one else?


Character sheet

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Year: 1216

Born: 1200
Age: 16
Name: Joachim Steinmetz
Gender: Male

Can speak Rodian
Can speak eastern

Can write Rodian

Skilled Swordsman

Also. sorry I couldn't finish the second part before I had to leave.

Also also. I know I keep on switching from 1st and 2nd person. I'll try to stop doing that.

Also also also. thanks for clearing up the time difference thing

4 also's. If you want to know a bit about the geography and capital of Rodian(where you are now) just ask.

[Mlamlah]

What sort of work is there for a young man trained to fight with no trade skills? Think about becoming a caravan guard or mercenary. Ask your fathers opinion on what you might do with your life.

[Hawk132]

What sort of work is there for a young man trained to fight with no trade skills? Think about becoming a caravan guard or mercenary. Ask your fathers opinion on what you might do with your life.

+1.

[Detoxicated]

Sounds like a good idea, even though we should pick up accounting somewhere too, so we can eventually form a mercenary band and be its leader

[Cheesecake]

^+1

Also, you changed from second person to first, then back to second.

[Generally me]

What sort of work is there for a young man trained to fight with no trade skills? Think about becoming a caravan guard or mercenary. Ask your fathers opinion on what you might do with your life.

There is a lot of work. Your father told you, that if you wanted to find mercenary work you would probably have to go to one of the Dukes or kings towns. Your father tells you that there are a number of wars in the west between Christian kingdoms that are always looking for mercenary groups no matter how small. The kingdoms to the east probably wouldn't accept you.

There would be definitely work for anyone who could read or write in the army as a scribe for a Lord.

Or you could try sign up for work as a career soldier. your father tells you that you would almost certainly get in as you can read and write as well.

There may be opportunities to become a member of the Templars, as a squire to one of their Knight Templars. You would eventually become a sergeant and be assigned to a Templar as a retinue. This would probably bring you very far away from home.

Then of course you could get any number of apprenticeships to blacksmiths, tailors, cobblers and fletcher and join one of their guilds. But only if you proved you had the talent and could work hard. You could probably only get something like this in one of the smaller towns. And you might have to give a substantial upfront fee, but that could be worked out.

You could latch on to one of the caravans as a guard, maybe learn a bit of the trade while you're at it.

Then you could just wander around and try find odd jobs to do.

Or you could just stay in this village and build a house and a farm.



Here is a bit about the geography. There are for Dukedoms. Two controlled by King Geza. One controlled by Duke Giomar. The last and the smallest Dukedom controlled by Duke Aurick.

Each Dukedom has around 3 to 5 Baronies in it. Each Barony has a number of landowners, lords and knights who depending on the size of their holding could be called Counts.

Duke Aurick has the most eastern Dukedom and is well known for being a noble leader. Your village from what you are told, is quite far from his capital and to get there it may take at most 5 months.

To get to King Geza's capital will probably take a year and a bit.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Added more to last update

If you have any suggestions or anything, feel free to tell me, especially if you want me to speed up or slow down the story or just let you decide more things.

[evilcherry]

I think we are to decide which lady who we are to dance with?

................

How about that duke's illegitimate son's daughter?

[Mlamlah]

My vote is for Geli.

[Generally me]

I think we are to decide which lady who we are to dance with?

................

How about that duke's illegitimate son's daughter?

Sure. but she'll probably call you a peasant before impaling you on a sharpened stick. If that's your thing then...

[Generally me]

End of Intro

After your dance at the harvest festival, you and Geli start spending a lot more time with each other. By the time you're 16 you and Geli know each other better than you know your selfs.

People even start believing that you and her will get married, but both of you know that won't happen. Geli herself has told you about her wanderlust. About how she wants to travel and find places no one from this village has ever been.



Turn 1
The last harvest festival before you turn 16. Before your father will allow you to leave home and make your own way.

Michael sits on the log stump next you, slouched and watching as adults and children dance next to the bonfire.

You relax as the heat from the fire warms your feet and legs. Then open your eyes when it abruptly stops, interrupted by a figure in the way.

It's Geli, her long blonde, braided and falling down to her waist. Ringlets of wood painted red, wrap around her braid. She herself is in a simple, clean woollen dress that goes to her ankles, and sweeps behind her as she moves. Her blue eyes show a hint of amusement as she looks at you.

"Get up." She says holding her hand out. "Lets go find something else to do" She says, smiling at you. Michael deciding he didn't want to be bored, got up as well and wrapped his arms round our shoulder, exclaiming loudly "let us go then!" Before dragging us both onwards towards the stream.

It's very dark at the stream but the moon is bright and ripples across the streams surface, illuminating, If only a little bit. You and the others sit down legs dangling over the raised bank, feet skimming the surface.

Your conversation carries on for what must have been hours, non stop. But after Michael finishes telling his latest story, everything goes abruptly silent. The only sound, the gurgling of the brook.

Before long you decide to interrupt the peaceful silence with a question.

"So I know that you want to leave the village" you say pointing at Geli, "but what about you Michael. What do you want to do?" You ask curiously.

"Don't know I'm probably going to leave as well. Nothing much here." Michael says shrugging. Then continues "what about you?".

What are your plans for the future?
Are you going to leave?
If so where too?

[Playergamer]

We'll go see the world. Maybe we can wander with Geli and Michael.

[Mlamlah]

"Everything here is small... let's go somewhere where it is all big. Big towns, big lands, big lords and big aspirations." Go to Duke Aurick's Dukedom, in attraction to his lofty ideals.

[Hawk132]

How about we go the career soldier -> Templar route?

[Detoxicated]

"I'll follow you two wherever you may go, as you wouldn't live a minute without my guidance "

[Generally me]

Soooo... Heading to Duke Auricks capital to become a career soldier with Michael and Geli.

Is this alright.

Also Templars are a separate organisation to normal soldiers. They take part in crusades and in general protection of pilgrims all across the western kingdoms.