Episode One: An Unexpected Arrival
Dense, dark cloud cover signaled to the rapidly descending Protagonist that he was, according to the memories being pumped into his mind from past lives, approaching the Thundering Plains at terminal velocity. He passed through the turbulent clouds and into a heavy rain storm while he sucked in his first breath, and finally his brain registered that he was approaching solid ground way too fast. Thunder deafened him as lightning fired past to bombard the surface, drowning out his screams as he struck what looked like a road of stone cutting across the landscape.
Darkness enveloped The Protagonist's consciousness, and in this state of nonbeing he was able to better navigate specific memories of past Protagonists - in this case, the brief history of the Thundering Plains. Curiously, some of the memories come from the time between the previous Protagonist's death and the birth of The Last Protagonist.
The scorched grasses of the Thundering Plains make for an extraordinarily frightening land for the unprepared. The surface is constantly battered by permanent roaming lightning storms and tornadoes, providing excellent reason to avoid the area at all costs. Still, even in the face of nature's destructive might, people have found a way to carve out a living. Literally, in this case. Chief Lei Gong was considered an eccentric by his family, who themselves were considered eccentric, but they were known as some of the most potent Geomancers outside of The Great Earth Kingdom and Lei Gong was no exception.
It is said that Lei Gong carved out the covered pits, or "inverted pyramids", that would turn into the Undercities by himself while on a "pilgrimage". He envisioned his people prospering in a land where they could rely on nature to defend them, and he intended to provide. While he didn't think about the fact that his people would be in the dark underground, the earth provided so that he never had to. Large clusters of pink gemstones permeated the rocks in the carved-out Undercities. These stones are sensitive to incoming storms, which are always the case in the Thundering Plains, and emit a soft but bright light. That intensifies as storms get closer. The light shows on the roofs built over the undercities are mesmerizing when a storm strikes them directly.
With the ability to observe how the energy of lightning channeled through everything in their lives around them, it was only a matter of time before the Underdwellers learned how to channel lightning through themselves. Lightning is not an easy thing to tame so Electromancers are very uncommon, but this relatively new Art is a complete unknown on the battlefield.
The largest Undercity, Raijin, was dug out in the center of the region. Trenches cut into the earth and covered not unlike the Undercities connect the Upper Level of Raijin to the other three Lei Gong Undercities; Fujin in the west on the coast of the Outer Sea, and Omoikane and Suijin along the Inner Sea coast to the south and east. The Undercities "benefit" from the fact that they are the only peoples to have never seen war in living memory. Nobody wants to try to invade four underground pits connected by underground roads while the surface is battered by deadly storms, after all. This results in a small military presence.
This does not mean the army is not potent, however. There is an educational facility, Omoikane University, where both military and intellectual minds come together to collaborate and experiment. Rumor has it that they have been attempting to create a means for people without Magical Arts capabilities to be able to utilize the Elements.
The Last Protagonist opened his eyes and felt rain drenching his, he only now realized,
almost naked body. The sky above him closed up, replacing the dark grey sky with stone. And the tip of a spear.
"Where did he come from?"
"It's an Imperial spy!"
"Looks more like a refugee to me."
"MY CABBAGES!"
The speartip got closer, forcing The Protagonist's eyes to cross as it drew his focus.
"He's awake! Don't move!" a more authoritative voice cut through the cacophony of noise being made by bystanders.
Before The Protagonist could ask a question, protest, or really respond in any meaningful way, stone bindings formed and controlled by a Geomancer clasped around his wrists and ankles. A second person with a spear came up, kicking some pieces of a broken cart and loose cabbages aside. They threw a cloak over The Protagonist as the two lifted him up by the armpits and threw him face-first against the rain-slicked wall of the tunnel-road they were on.
"By The Earth and Sky, look at his back," one of them commented, leading the second to pull the blade from the leather scabbard strapped around The Protagonist's torso. The Protagonist felt a sudden great increase in pressure from his captors.
"Qing Luo is going to love this, looks like we caught ourselves an Imperial."
"A naked Imperial this far from their territories though?"
"I'm not an Imperial," The Protagonist attempted to speak, but was largely muffled on account of his face being pressed against stone.
"Why else would he have a sword like
this?"
"Could be a bandit."
"So we bring him to The Cells anyway."
"BUT WHAT ABOUT MY CABBAGES!?"
"Just let us handle this, sir. I'm sure someone will compensate you. Maybe take it up with Emperor Qianlong," the statement was bathed in sarcasm, "I'm sure they have a fund for Imperial-"
"I'm not an Imperial!" The Protagonist protested once more. His captors roughly spun him around. While in motion he utilized Geomancy to crumble his stone shackles and simultaneously kicked up a brief whirlwind that separated the captors and The Protagonist (and accidentally launched a few cabbages into the growing crowd). A couple more blades and spears found themselves leveled at The Protagonist.
"An Aeromancer?!" the person with The Protagonist's blade still in hand called out.
"His shackles! They're gone!" a second noted.
The Protagonist raised his hands in surrender, "I...I'm still trying to get my bearings, I'm sorry for any confusion, but I
promise I'm not an Imperial."
Before he had finished speaking, the crowd had already begun mutterings of his potential status as The Protagonist.
"There's no Protagonist!" one of the captors called out to silence the crowd, "Someone else is here working with them!"
Stone clasped around The Protagonist's wrists and ankles once more, and another stone "strap" wrapped around his head to fix his jaw into place and keep him from speaking.
"I don't care
who you are," a woman pushed her way out of the crowd, drawing salutes from the various armed individuals facing down The Protagonist. She took The Blade of Empires and inspected it a hair's width from The Protagonist's nose, "The fact of the matter is you blew through the roof, naked save for this
very clearly Imperial weapon. I, frankly, could not care less if you are a King, Emperor, or the damned Protagonist themself," she scoffed, "You've damaged Undercities property, caused financial loss for an Undercities businessman, and just resisted arrest while assaulting two Undercity Lawmen. You
will be held accountable."
She gestured to a few of the Lawmen, "Load him onto a cart and watch him closely. We're only a day from Raijin. Once we're there," the woman practically touched her nose to The Protagonist's and locked her eyes to his, "Then we can find someone that cares about who you are."
"And where he came from!" one of the Lawmen tried to add on helpfully, drawing an intense but momentary glare from his superior that cowed him back into silence before she looked back at The Protagonist.
"And if you try to escape or pull anything even remotely suspicious I'll personally make sure it's your blood that satisfies this blade."
A cart pulled by a buffalobear came to a stop and the Lawmen unceremoniously tossed The Protagonist into the cart. The woman in charge still held The Blade of Empires. Light began to shine through an opening between the ceiling and the surface, reflecting off of the blade and into The Protagonist's eyes.
The Dragon King, blessed by the great creature within the volcano, had been...uniting the tribes who failed to fall in line. At the head of the King's army stood his most trusted general, The Protagonist. The Protagonist looked down to see a reflection different from their own before realizing he was experiencing a memory from a past life. In their hand was The Blade of Empires. With no actual control over his actions, The Protagonist simply observed from within as the King's army was ordered to charge. The Protagonist led the way, utilizing Hydromancy to split a creek separating the King's army from the gathered opposing tribes. Both forces clashed in the now-dried creekbed, but none of the fighting was anywhere near the intensity of the combat around The Protagonist. This incarnation was clearly a master swordsman, parrying and deflecting blade and arrow and cutting through all who came into reach. The Protagonist was untouchable and broke through the tribal lines with ease, leading to a larger breach and rapid rout. As The Protagonist finished off a foe he'd grounded he got to experience the unique sensation of instant death as an archer who had stayed behind took a lucky and skillful shot that went through the back of his head.
The Protagonist was back on the cart in the same moment he felt like he'd left.
Plot Hook Engaged: An Unexpected ArrivalThe Protagonist has landed in a heavily trafficked area and has been taken into custody. Based on what he saw while falling from the sky, The Protagonist can figure that he landed in the Raijin-Suijin road in the Thundering Plains, and from the sound of it he's headed toward Raijin. Two law enforcers, including the woman who currently holds The Blade of Empires, sit at the front of the cart, while another two are walking behind it.
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It's Turn 2! You have another Tactical and Asset Action to propose and vote on. Plans can be proposed for your Tactical Action that can either progress or break away from an engaged Plot Hook. Any plan consisting of escaping should include details such as the importance of recovering the sword, level of lethality, and general direction being fled into. I'll give some more examples of ways to utilize Tactical Actions for Plot Hooks for a couple turns or until the team seems to get the gist of 'em.
An Unexpected Arrival
The Protagonist has landed in a heavily trafficked area and has been taken into custody. Based on what he saw while falling from the sky, The Protagonist can figure that he landed in the Raijin-Suijin road in the Thundering Plains, and from the sound of it he's headed toward Raijin. Two law enforcers, including the woman who currently holds The Blade of Empires, sit at the front of the cart, while another two are walking behind it.
Fish Head Bog: The Swamp on the southern part of the Continental Ring.
The Eight Passes: The grey Mountain Range north of the Occupied Territories in red.
Shan Hai Tundra: The icy wastelands on the western section of the Continental Ring.
Thundering Plains: The storm-battered plains to the north-west. Three subterranean cities, Fujin in the west on the coast of the Outer Sea, Omoikane and Suijin along the Inner Sea coast to the south and east, connect to the centralized capital of Raijin via stone-covered roads. The roads and cities are lit by the soft glow of electrosensitive gemstones common in the area. Omoikane is notable for the University there. Electromancy is an uncommon practice that originated in the region. The Protagonist is currently on the Raijin-Suijin Road heading toward Raijin.
The Fenghuang Expanse: The deserts cutting through the middle of the eastern portion of the Continental Ring.
The Shark's Teeth: Islands covered in dense jungles in the northeast of the Inner Sea.
The Four Fingers: Four large islands spread across the southern split in the Continental Ring.
The Last Protagonist: The Main Character.
Novice Aeromancer
Novice Geomancer
Novice Hydromancer
Novice Pyromancer
Skilled Swordsman
Peasant Cloak: A basic cloak that provides minimal coverage.
Author
Topic: The Last Protagonist - Protagonist Thread - Turn 2 (Read 817 times)