| Latest Posts | Zaelia - Searching East
The Man continues, his low grating voice harmonized by the symphony of creaks and pops from the ship. The chains at your wrists jingle a bit as your bunk mate stumbles forward, catching the bars to stop his fall. You're jerked sideways before he stands and silently apologizes for tugging at your shared bonds. The Man pays no mind to the disturbance. You either listen and learn, or you get swapped off at the next port for someone who will.
imgur.com/a/q2neaEb , imgur.com/a/5lBkzPK , i.imgur.com/aomZmqh.jpg , i.imgur.com/YL6qzkk.jpg , imgur.com/a/Id8phuG , i.imgur.com/HM9Icij.jpg . . . . . . "What’s a Return?" . "I know, it’s a stupid question. But hey, not everybody has an education these days. Especially not a bunch of misfits in irons on The Rising Dawn. No offense, I just mean if you’re here, you probably fell into a bad way, or crossed paths with somebody who really didn’t like you. But hey, sea air is good for your skin." . "Oh yea, anyway, a Return is basically what it sounds like. You pass, and then you come back, so long as you’re not over thirty years or your body isn’t irrecoverable. You remember the other day when that idiot got clipped by the foremast line and was thrown overboard? I know you do, because I remember the look on your face when he went under the hull! Anyway, Quartermaster harpooned the guy and dragged him back aboard, lifeless obviously, and today that idiot gets a full day off to sleep below deck until he forgets the whole ordeal. That’s a Return." . "You’ll have one. Probably several. Don’t worry, it happens to just about everybody, and that goes double for anybody sailing, and that double goes triple for anybody sailing around Baron’s Chains! Which we are, so I’d expect one or two Returns. Just, hopefully not as lame as being drowned." . "Oh, and before I forget, don’t go getting all cavalier about it. That stuff sticks with you, ya know? Folks might lie and brag about how many they’ve had, but those wounds start to mount up. And let me tell you, they come with plenty more than a neat scar to show off in port." . "Ah, I forgot. One of you had asked, I can’t remember which. I’m thirty-seven. Oldest member of the crew, save the Captain, and damn proud of that. See you topside. We’ll get the chains off so you can get a day's work done." imgur.com/a/1Z99sGz , i.imgur.com/144Q81F.jpg , i.imgur.com/sENs4f8.jpg , i.imgur.com/8pO5hhK.jpg , i.imgur.com/0dbiCMC.jpg Please log in to add a comment. |
Trade Map: i.imgur.com/wDvh8l5.jpg
And since screen resolutions vary, lighter versions of both maps:
Setting (light): imgur.com/a/PflJHn1
Trade (light): i.imgur.com/olihxPm.jpg
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Lore: justpaste.it/74ec2
Character Creation: justpaste.it/2n0ot
Game Mechanics: justpaste.it/4fxxw
Vessels & Stats: justpaste.it/3474f
Shops & Jobs: justpaste.it/3o2o7
Downtime Activities: justpaste.it/3deyx
Wooden planks, black with tar and still somehow dripping water, groan against the waves. Several iron lanterns hang from the crossbeams, swaying along with your bodies at each crest and trough. A Man stands on the other side of the brig's iron bars, smoking a pipe and dangling a large ring of keys. None of you speak. Out of respect, maybe. Fear, probably. And a bit of envy.
imgur.com/a/3fDt9Ly , i.imgur.com/2Y5c4gr.jpg , imgur.com/a/G3oOgY7 , i.imgur.com/c1EE9J7.jpg
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"History is the strangest thing."
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"We hear stories of the three original Races on Zaelia. Fables of Men, Dwarves, and Elves unifying in blood to combat each other for ages. And then, amidst the conflict, new races born. Three became six, and the Gods, or God, or whatever and wherever they are, stopped it there. Half-breeds flourished and bloodlines grew thin with each new generation rebelling from their ancestors."
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"Over time, even the six became muddled. Some say the Deities over our world didn’t mean for it to happen. Others say the bloodlines were never quite as strong as folks thought. Others still claim that “The Three Races” never existed as we think of them; you know, romanticizing small characteristics and exaggerating them endlessly until we’re left with a portrait of these long-eared, tiny creatures wielding lightning, or maybe an impossibly strong blacksmith who lives underground in the fire of a volcano."
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"Whatever truth lies in the stories has been lost for ages. There are creatures in the Unknown Wilds that seem far-fetched. There are objects wielding powers that seem “of the gods”. There are even the occasional wanderers you’ll cross paths with who have ears a bit too pointy or have muscles a bit too large. But we all know the mundane, depressing truth."
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"There are no Dwarves or Elves. There are no Gnomes or Halflings. There are just Men. And Men are rather plain. We wield swords or flintlocks, not elements or mysticism."
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"No. There is no magic in Zaelia. Not today. Maybe there never was."
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"But do you know the strangest thing? The part that most folks don’t understand? The single thing that’s filled more books and stumped more minds? It’s not the existence of exotic races. It’s not the claims of magic or presence of gods."
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"It’s Death. The stories are wild, laughable at times, but they all include the oddest fixation with Death. It’s almost as though, long ago, people on Zaelia could just up and die, even before their thirtieth year. Isn’t that strange? I mean “die” die, too. As in not coming back. There’s not one mention of a Return in any of the history books."
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"That’s what makes me think something happened. At some point, maybe someone figured it out, or maybe they didn’t, but someone did something to make it all change. People went from having only one life, which makes no sense, to having their Returns, which is all we’ve ever known."
i.imgur.com/3pKZYRJ.jpg , imgur.com/a/qP6cP5B , imgur.com/a/RFX8rKR , imgur.com/a/Fh55Ik3