ROLEPLAY

[OOC] This story was written for fun and posted in the hopes that more people will become interested in casual roleplay. Personally I'm not too into politics and faction stuff, and I just can't get into all those complex discussions enough to participate.. I want to do rp that is just fun and simple that anyone can do without too much effort. This story will be updated periodically with Halie's ongoing adventure as it is played out in game...If you happen to see Halie around, feel free to say hello to her! She has had a rough start to life and could use some friends. I hope you enjoy the story :) [/OOC]


Halie awoke with her face pressed into hot, dry sand. The sun blazed down on her tiny body, and she felt pain everywhere. Her head throbbed as she slowly sat up, wiping sand from her cheeks and crunching grains in her teeth. Everything ached, especially her hip where the handle of a small dagger had been pressing into her side, but she didn’t seem to have any real injuries. Looking around, she saw nothing but dunes, a cloudless blue sky, and a small herd of four-legged, horned creatures wandering over a hill in the distance. She tried to spit out the sand from her mouth, but her mouth was too dry.

A large travel bag laid a few meters away, its contents scattered about in the sun. She tried to stand, but the pain in her head was too great, and dizziness brought her back down to her knees. She took a few deep breaths and slowly crawled over to the bag to examine its contents.

Scattered across the sand were pieces of clothing and armour, a number of small packages wrapped in rough brown leaf paper labelled “Exc. Gen. Raw. x999”, and a long staff with a rounded hook at the end. Inside the bag she found a small axe, a few more armour pieces, some tools, a large bodoc horn, and a package of dried rendor meat. Halie immediately grabbed the bodoc horn and opened it up, spilling cool water down her chin as she drank eagerly. She wiped her face with the back of her hand, spreading the precious spilled water across her burning cheeks and forehead. The water helped calm her pounding head and clear her whirling thoughts.

She couldn’t remember what had happened, where she came from, or even her own name. Tears welled in her eyes as panic rose up and threatened to overwhelm her, but she fought them back, taking deep, shaky breaths.

As she capped the horn and put it back in the bag, she noticed a small leather bound book tucked inside. She reached for the book, but the sound of clinking armour signalled the approach of guards from over one of the dunes. Her heart raced as she stuffed everything back inside the bag and closed it. She stood up shakily and lifted the heavy bag onto her shoulders. The guards marched closer but were not walking directly toward her. They were enormous in their full suits of heavy, intimidating red armour with angry full-faced helmets, and they carried menacing weapons.

“Where am I?” she whispered to herself, her heart still racing.

She stood frozen in place while the guards marched past without even glancing at her, and disappeared over a dune. It was only after the last one vanished over the sandy hill that she realized she could see a pillar of smoke rising from somewhere over that hill, distorted by shimmering waves of heat.

The hot sand was soft under her feet, making it difficult to walk up the hill. Every step forward was half a step back. She used her hands almost as much as her feet, and the effort was almost too much. When she finally rose to the top she fell back down to her knees and stared in awe. A city sprawled under the burning sun, enclosed by massive, impenetrable walls. Squinting, she could just make out a path leading up to a heavily guarded entrance, and a small building just outside the city gates. She stood up again and began walking towards the city. Maybe someone there would know who she was and where she had come from.

As she approached, she could see that the small building outside the gates had a corral and what looked like stacks of feed bales piled up behind it. A few large animals with long trunks and small, intelligent eyes were tied to posts near a front window.

“Mektoub,” she mumbled to herself with a small jolt as the memory surfaced. She knew she had seen these creatures before, but it felt like it had been in a past life.

Just as she reached the path, Halie looked towards the gates of this huge city and saw that the entrance was surrounded by guards and blazing fire. She started toward them, but fear overcame her and she fled to the stable instead and hid in the shade between feed bales, desperately hoping nobody had seen her run.

How could she enter the city without knowing her own name? Who would listen to her plea for help? She would be considered a homeless beggar and thrown out like vermin, or worse. She shrugged off the travel bag and opened it up, rummaging until she found the book again. It was a diary.

Scrawled on the inside of the front cover in smooth handwriting she read the words: “Happy birthday, Halie! We are so proud of you. Fill this journal with stories of your adventures! With love from Mom and Dad.”

“Halie,” she whispered quietly to herself. The name, like the mektoub, gave her a jarring sensation as a memory snapped back in place. “ My name is Halie, and I am 12 years old.”

She began to read.

To be continued...