< atton revisited > The information page for Atton has been fully revised and updated with the new map!
< updated calendar > The Fortuna calendar has been updated in the "Other" lore section! This includes a document which displays the calendar for you to see, making it much easier to understand.
< moving map > The first functional map has been released in the News section! This map is also interactive, allowing you to drag and drop between points in order to determine distances. This is the first iteration, and there's more and better to come!
< first annual awards > The results for the First Annual Fortuna Year-End Awards have been posted! Go and take a look at who the finalists were, and who took home the big prizes!
< new default skin > Our new skin has passed the beta test, and is now the new Default for the forums! If you have any issues with this skin, send a PM or Discord to Mellie.
< human lore update > Humans have been updated with TWENTY-FIVE subraces/subcultures which add numerous options, and a little extra lore and flavour.
< magic lore update > Magical Lore has been enhanced with the addition of a post on Magical Education. From Beginner to Expert, this is how you learn the spells.
< a change to member groups > Member groups are now based on storyline! You can change your displayed storyline by editing the settings in your profile.
Welcome to the world of Fortuna, a land of fantastic proportions. This is an original fantasy roleplay that takes place in a world developed over nearly a decade of work and collaboration. We aim to encourage all participants to have a hand in the stories of the characters here, and the world around them. Your choices are key - so make them with pride. You decide who wins the wars, you decide who becomes King, the world is ours, and together we will bring it to life!
4th of The Scales of Judgement, 5152. Morning. Xanthe's tribal village.
Xanthe awoke in the morning before Ellis did, which didn't surprise her considering how tired he had been the night before. She slipped out of bed quietly and immediately missed the warm softness of the furs, but knew she had more important things to do than lay around in bed all morning. Inside the chest that didn't house her weapons and shields Xanthe pulled out a dress of soft, flowing fabric that was dyed the deep blue/grey of a stormcloud and slipped it on over her bare skin. She looked over to ensure Ellis was undisturbed, then left the tent to speak to her people.
Outside the tent the village which had been quiet the night before was bustling with activity. People were cooking food over fires, washing clothes, praying at the shrine, and going about their daily business easily. Happily. As though there wasn't a war on their country just outside their protected walls. Xanthe liked it that way - she did everything in her power to keep her people safe and while all of them would be ready at a moment's notice to defend themselves and their village she was so happy she could allow them the safety to go about their life without constant fear of attack.
Whenever someone saw her, they nodded their head respectfully and she smiled softly back at them, like a mother overlooking all of her children. She began gathering her people up so she could speak to them all at once, and once they were gathered near the god tree in the makeshift town square she began her announcement. She explained what had happened the day previous and that she had found someone trustworthy who was willing to teach the invader's language, and also to learn their own. She explained that she had brought him back to the camp and that he was under her protection, and would not be a danger to anyone. Some of her people looked worried at the idea of an invader in the camp, but they all knew to trust Xanthe unquestioningly and if she trusted this man then they should too. "Sa tsenthe v'nesaqs," she ended her speech with. Everyone gathered repeated it back to her and then they were dismissed.
Some looked back toward Xanthe's tent with curiosity and she knew that as soon as he left it they would all surely want to see this newcomer. In the meantime, while hopefully he was still asleep, she began to gather a breakfast of cooked meat and berries which she brought back to the tent and placed on the desk for when he awoke, then went outside to begin cleaning her armour from the night before while she waited for Ellis to awaken.
Post by Ellis Danton on Nov 13, 2016 11:57:21 GMT -7
Ellis' dreams had been fitful. At times he was dreaming of home, sitting before his grandfather's willow and pretending it could truly speak to him and give some masculine advice. At others, he was on the ship to Atton, his stomach in knots from the sea and the nerves. In the dream they all treated him as an enemy, and he couldn't summon the words to defend himself. When they closed in on him, the dream had changed. This one featured Xanthe in a space bright white like that which he had seen when she moved them through the God Tree. She stood silently before him, a part of her judging him, another part seeming to offer refuge. When he took steps to follow her, though, he had found his feet bound by tree roots, unable to step towards her. Each time he attempted to take a step, the roots reached up higher, held tighter, prevented him from going with her... And then Lord Pelagia appeared. He had never spoken to her before, but knew her face and the strength in her voice. She appeared behind Xanthe, and she appeared ready to kill his friend. He tried to cry out and explain that Xanthe was a friend to Aurcaele, but when he opened his mouth the roots reached over his head and pulled him into them.
He woke up in a sweat, panting. It took him too long to realise where he was, and when he did find the answer, he worried that Xanthe would be able to see and hear his panic. He sat up and turned to the bed, but she was absent from it. He gave a sigh of relief and laid back down on the furs. He placed his hands on his face and felt the heat and moisture of intensity -- but his hands were cold and soothing.
He took deep breaths and calmed himself, and as he breathed he noticed a smell that made his stomach sing. He grabbed at it and whispered a firm no embarrassed at it's sounds, but he had not eaten since the afternoon of the previous day - and his energy had been so greatly expended. The plan had been to scout out the clearing, hunt for a meal, make camp, eat the food -- but instead so much had happened that a meal had been the least of his thoughts. Now however, it was all he could think about. He pushed himself to rise from the ground, and followed the scent as he stretched out the knot in his back. There was an offering of food on the desk, and Ellis' mouth watered when he saw it. He reached out for it -- but stopped suddenly. What if this was her meal? What if he was going to steal her food away from her? His stomach sung out again and he balled a fist to push into it, thinking that perhaps force could make it silent. Unable to resist, he grabbed a few of the berries, hoping she would not notice or mind if he had taken a few, and ate them one at a time, savouring the juice of each despite his desire to devour them quickly.
The entrance of the tent was what gathered his interest next, and now that berries were offering his stomach a temporary distraction he realised how loud it was beyond the canvas. The village was awake, alive, and bustling. He didn't belong here. Taking a deep breath he peeked through the slit, not moving it, not wanting to gather attention, but also wanting to see if Xanthe was near... Also wanting to see was her Attonja was really like. He was taken aback by how busy it seemed. There was the smells of cooking and crafting, the sights of so many people going about their day as if there was no war in their land. He felt a small pang of guilt -- and then noticed Xanthe nearby cleaning her armor. It was strange to see her lacking a headdress, lacking armor. It seemed out of character - but then again, he had only known her for three days. She looked... Less savage now, her hair and tattoos the only thing confirming her identity.
"Xanthe..." He whispered, hoping it was loud enough to capture her attention, but not loud enough to catch anyone else's. He followed up her name by clearing his throat, and then quickly pulled back from the canvas, not wanting anyone to see his pale skin and know that there was someone Other, someone Wrong, someone Strange invading their village.
The blood on her armour now was not the only blood that had stained its surface before and she was sure it wouldn't be the last. That didn't mean, however, that she shouldn't clean it. Leather had to be taken care of and maintained and that meant cleaning it after battle. It was soothing in its own way and Xanthe got lost in the repetitive movements and simple task at hand. Suddenly she was brought out of her thoughts when she heard her name. Her gaze darted quickly over to her tent where she saw him looking out nervously. She nodded and stood, setting her armour down carefully before making her way back to the tent.
Once inside, she saw the food still sitting on the plate and wondered if he had noticed it when he woke up, or if he had immediately spotted she wasn't there and wanted to make sure she was nearby. She motioned to the food and said "Ellis, aus", then made a motion that depicted eating.
Post by Ellis Danton on Nov 13, 2016 12:23:34 GMT -7
He was relieved the food was for him and nodded, sitting happily and biting into the meat. He tried to look like he wasn't starving, but he wasn't sure he was succeeding. Aus he repeated in his head. That must meant eat, or something like that. When he had managed to swallow his first few bites he remembered his manners and clearing his throat. "Th-thank you," He said once more, wondering if he had taught her it's meaning or not. At least he could teach her eat: "Fa ienji aus," He told her, "My w-w-word 'eat'." He would say more, but the food had stolen his attention, and he deduced he might need the energy if he were to meet with Lord Pelagia Xista any time soon. "D-did... Er, h-have fa... aus?" He wasn't sure if that was the proper tense, but he hoped she understood the words in combination with his pointing and eating motions that he wanted to know whether or not she had eaten.
She hadn't realized how hungry Ellis was, but watching how happily and quickly he ate the food she wondered if she should have brought more? Actually, there was more than enough food around that he could eat afterwards, and she had a sneaking suspicion more than one of her people would bring food and other offerings to him as thanks and welcome gifts.
When he thanked her, she nodded and then when he spoke her language she couldn't stop the smile that came to her face. He explained his word for aus was 'eat' and she nodded again, storing the information for later. Eat. He then asked if she had eaten. She nodded and said "Iat," hoping he could figure out that she was saying yes. "Yi auset."
She sat on the edge of the bed and watched Ellis as he finished the food, then remembered something from the day before that she had forgotten about in the excitement. "Your word, woman di man?" She remembered that he had thought that was what she meant when she had pointed to herself and then to him, and based on that she had an idea of what it may mean but she had to make sure before she could just go around saying it or it could be very embarrassing if she got it wrong. And possibly deadly, as the invaders likely wouldn't take kindly to her messing up their language and calling them the wrong things.
Post by Ellis Danton on Nov 13, 2016 12:42:36 GMT -7
She answered him with something that felt like affirmative when combined with her nod, and then spoke aus again, but this time with a new sound. He assumed this meant ate, or eaten, something that described what she had done already. He nodded his understanding as he worked on the berries, relishing in the taste. There was something unique about them he hadn't noticed in his blind hunger before - something unfamiliar. They weren't something he had ever had before, and they were wonderful. They seemed to almost wake him up, add energy to his nerves.
The two sat in silence as he ate, which Ellis wished she hadn't. He felt awkward eating as she watched, but he was hungry enough that he ignored it. He wondered if he ate in a way that was strange to her. Did savages eat differently that he did? Or perhaps she was noticing how they ate in the same ways. He wondered if she ate gently like the women back home, cutting her food into small pieces and taking delicate bites... He couldn't imagine it. As he pondered this and finished the last of his food, she prompted him with a question on the words he had ruined yesterday.
She pointed at herself and said woman, and he nodded; then to him and said man and he nodded. He didn't really know how else to describe the difference. He thought on it for a moment, and then realized what he could do. He nodded as he straightened up, gathering a couple of furs, which he didn't use quite yet. "Man," He stood profile to her to show her himself, the default position -- then he said the next word with a bit of hesitation, hoping not to offend, "W-woman," And he balled up the furs against his stomach, and made a motion with his hands of a pregnant belly, the one thing he knew women were capable of that men were not - without magic, anyways. "Fa ienji, Xanthe?"
Ah, so it was as she suspected. Ellis described himself as 'man' and then using some balled-up furs made an approximation of a pregnant stomach when he said 'woman'. She understood, but for a moment an almost pained expression crossed her face as she looked at the belly, without realizing it bringing her hand to her own stomach. In a moment the cloudy look passed and she stood up, nodded her understanding. She pointed to herself and said, "Woman. Yi ienji lefux." She pointed to Ellis and said, "Man. Yi ienji fux."
She then thought of something which she really should have thought of earlier - if she was going to introduce him to her tribe, maybe she should teach him some greetings! She pointed to herself and said "Yi xufa Xanthe," before pointing to him and saying "Fa xufa Ellis. You know?"
Post by Ellis Danton on Nov 13, 2016 13:06:07 GMT -7
He was actually quite interested by the fact that, like the common language, Attonian - Attonja-ian? - built upon man to make woman. He was more interested by the expression on her face and the way she touched her own belly. He moved to sit beside her and comfort her, but stopped himself, not wanting to intrude on her space. He wondered: Had she lost a child? He looked around her tent to see a sign of a man - a fux living with her and worried what he would think of Ellis. He looked for any clue that Xanthe was partnered in some way, but he couldn't discern the fact from the decor. He wondered if Attonians were monogamous.
She was teaching him something else now, something that erased the brief pain from her face. It made him relax a bit -- he didn't like the fact that something he had said had brought up anything negative. He listened carefully to her and nodding, thinking he had the right of it. He repeated it back to her, using yi for himself and fa for her, and then said his own words with the same motions -- "I-i am Ellis. You a-are..." In a moment several complimentary words came to mind that weren't her name, and he smiled. He had quite a bit of respect for her. "Y-you are Xanthe."
He noticed something out of the corner of his eye and turned toward's the tent's entrance. A pair of feet could be seen just below the coverings over the entrance, and when Ellis turned his head they quickly moved away, and Ellis was reminded about the savages outside. The savages who had likely lost someone to invaders - people who came from a world like his, but people who weren't him. They had no reason to believe Ellis wasn't a threat - and that made Ellis think of them as a threat.
"Xanthe... I-i..." He tried to think of how to describe his fear, but couldn't come up with words. His stomach was knots, and as he looked down at his hands in his lap he realized how torn apart his clothes were. The leg of his pants were torn apart where the bear had bitten him, and the length of it was covered in his blood. One of the arm's had the blood from Xanthe's wound, from when he carried her. The back was singed from when he fired a crossbow bolt into the God Tree. "I l-look scary," He tried to communicate was scary meant by making an ugly face and baring his teeth, but he wasn't sure the concept would get across.
Ellis seemed to understand what she was getting across, which meant that now he could introduce himself to her people and they could do the same and he would understand. And now she could do it as well. "I am Xanthe?" she asked, wanting to make sure she got it right for the times she would have to introduce herself to the invaders. "You are Ellis."
It was then that she spotted his attention moving to the entrance to her tent, but when she looked she didn't see what he had. She had a sneaking suspicion what it had been though, because the children of her tribe were even more curious than the adults and they had far less self control. Ellis spoke then and he looked incredibly nervous, looking down at his clothes and then back at her where he said something and made a face. She knew it probably wasn't a great time, but she chuckled at that. She cupped his face in her own hands and said. "Ellis, you look v'nasi. You look xoqa. You look th'nuba. I no know your word.. You no look scary."
Post by Ellis Danton on Nov 13, 2016 13:29:46 GMT -7
Her hands were on him again, and the tingling was clear. He had thought last night perhaps it was being close to the God Tree that made her touch electric, but now it he was certain it was just her. His nerves felt alive, and warm where she touched him. He didn't know what she said, but it didn't seem critical. It didn't seem like she had told him he looked ugly, and mean, and like a bloodied up coward who had lost a fight too many -- the words felt as warm as her hands, as warm as the reassuring smile on her face. It seemed like compliments, and it was enough to make him smile, and the smile - well, the smile, and her hands, and her words - were enough to colour his cheeks.
"Have th-they... D-do... Er..." He pointed to the entrance to the tent and then to himself, "Fa kn-know a-about yi?"
Last Edit: Nov 13, 2016 13:43:52 GMT -7 by Ellis Danton
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