[Zaniah]

A E S T H E T I C       A R T

The group had travelled out of the forest and out across the plains. They stood strong as a group of six so far: the holy woman of the light Filianore, her husband, the knight Templar, and Cain, the child they cared for. There was Zach, a fellow golden warrior, and finally Elowen, the poor tortured soul he had stumbled across. He trusted all of them, as foolish as it may have been with wolves who he had just met. Filianore's Lord of Light had actually protected him against the abomination they had put down, and now Zaniah would have to stick to his word; he would dedicate himself to her God.

It was difficult, but he couldn't deny the past few events of his life.

Zaniah was intent on putting this epidemic to an end, but in their days of travelling they had begun to realise how widespread the issue had become. The stench never left them, it lingered everywhere in puddles of silver, black or white blood. The prey had fled far beyond the horizon, and anything that was left had become tainted. Their faces bled black and they screamed as if in pain, and they attacked anyone that they came into contact with. Even harmless rabbits were trying to strike down those that they would naturally run from.

The golden man realised then, that they needed any help they could get.

The group stayed within the grasslands, once vibrant with yellow sunflowers but they had begun to collapse and rot away. They were settled for the moment but Zaniah had told them his plan. That he would try and gather what remained of the packless wolves and see if they would help them in their quest. So, he threw back his head and howled.

"I call upon any who would stand up against the curse that plagues these lands!"

Dawn was fading, and the sun continued to rise in it's glory. Within the field of ruined sunflowers, the loners would find the group that the Lord shined his light on. They were glowing, they were his warriors.

They would be the ones to stop this nightmare.

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This thread is a recruitment for the monster plot - Info here - including a link to the discord.
This is a neutral group that will visit a pack or two during the plot before reaching their own conclusion in the neutrals. The purpose of this group is to try and find the source of the monsters.

Please only post in here if you want to join in on the plot, this isnt a random neutral thread for your character to pop up in and derail for no reason.

[Cain]

When Zaniah had told them of his plan, Cain was, admittedly, skeptical. Skeptical that anyone would join them.

Well, skeptical that anyone trustworthy would join them.

Still, if the end of the world didn’t spurn creatures of the neutral lands to rally together and fight for a common cause, then nothing would, he supposed. Following the golden wolf, he joined in the howl, its echoes lingering through the sky long after they were done.

“Ser Zaniah …” he began softly, unsure of how to approach the subject delicately. 

“… what if nobody shows up?”

They had to, right? I mean … this was for them.

[Kazmiere]

ooc: I'm assuming that your whole group is here - let me know if that is incorrect and I can edit my post!

Well, things had certainly gotten interesting around the Dire Straits lately. Kaz liked to ignore the fact that he got his ass handed to him by a bunny rabbit, because that just … frankly … wasn’t important. That was a minor detail and he planned to completely erase that from his memory as time pressed on.

BUT BESIDES THAT, strange things seemed to be happening more and more. Each day meant finding more black or white slime, and each day Kaz would stupidly bend down to give it a good sniff, regretting the decision immediately after he made it. Every time.

It seemed to be escalating, too. Wandering used to be boring, but now it was instilling a thick sense of fear within him. He’d seen a few different creatures running around with black, droopy eyes, noses and mouths oozing a thick black sludge as they mindlessly attacked anything in their path.

Considering the fact that Kaz couldn’t hold his ground against a normal rabbit, he made the executive decision to steer clear of the ones who seemed to be the victims of some sort of plague. Which was probably one of the smarter things he’d chosen to do in quite some time.

He walked with cautious steps now, tiptoeing across the ground that was once lush with vegetation but now desolate and depressing. Flowers gave way to the plague that crashed through the forest, wilting under the weight of the stink slime, giving up the fight and simply dying. Same for the grass and even some larger plants – even some trees started to turn gray and shed their leaves as they were overcome by this disgusting gunk.

As much as Kaz wanted to laugh off all of these strange occurrences, he would be lying if he said he wasn’t even a little bit afraid.

Being that he was on edge, he couldn’t help but jump when he heard a howl coming from nearby. The call was for anyone wanting to join some sort of gang, call to anyone wanting to band together to fight off this … thing that was taking over the forests, the plains, the mountains.

Pausing briefly, Kaz considered. Could be a trick, no? Maybe that dude was infected and he just wanted to spread his nasty disease. Orrrr, maybe this was legit, and Kaz should check it out so he didn’t die at the hands of a rabid rodent.

Shrugging to himself, he turned and carefully trotted toward the call.

The group wasn’t too far away from him, so he came upon them not too long after the howl was delivered. Eyeing the group carefully, he saw that they were not, in fact, oozing from their mouths or noses, and their eyes did not look like the vultures had had their way with them.

Mentally, he noted that these strangers seemed to be okay.

He approached them slowly, catching the words of a younger kid, worried that no one will show up.

“Weeeeeeeeeeeell, fear not, short stop! Here I am. A blessing, right?” He blurted, his voice probably a little too loud. Perhaps he was incapable of pushing down his regular annoying personality, or perhaps this was just his way of covering up the fact that he was feeling weary about all of the gunk and the crazed animals in the forest. No one could really be sure.  

Kaz looked around at the group again, wondering who it was that called to the outsiders. “So uh, what the hell is actually going on, anyway?” He hoped they had answers, but that was wishful thinking.

A E S T H E T I C

[Templar]

They had traveled, not in the way Templar had expected. At first it had been the three of them, but in the midst of these strange infected wildlife, Zaniah had been a certain calling. Filianore had brought him in and at first the Knight had been slightly suspicious. With his blossoming romance with the graceful woman and a child among them, there were certain feelings mixing around within, but he soon realized that this golden wolf was possibly sent by the Maker for He had reasons for everything. Andraste would protect them with the flames of faith and guidance.

Through the forests and now to the plains, they paused for a small break and possibly to scope their next move. They had to do something about this, Zaniah made it clear that he would get to the bottom of this. Templar was hesitant to aide him, but now that they were bolstered by a young golden boy and a reserved woman who usually kept to herself.

The howl for help sounded and ricocheted throughout the valley. If anyone had been affected, they would surely come if not out of fear, then curiosity. Amber eyes shifted to the boy who cautiously approached the notion that anyone may not show themselves. This was true, but they had to have faith. Faith was the light in the darkest of times. Templar shifted, the metal of his armor clanking together softly. "Have faith, my boy. If it is His will, they will come. Andraste will guide them." he said sternly, and just as he mentioned this, he noticed a body lumber toward them.

Her hand will lead them here.

As loud as this one was, they seemed willing enough. Templar nodded to their first statement. "A blessing indeed." He'd then glance to Cain as if to reaffirm his statement that faith was important. The Knight would allow Zaniah to explain the events though, he was the leader after all. He was sure more would join them soon enough.

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[Mirage]

"Something tried to eat me the other day," a loud voice harrumphed.

In the midst of giants, a small figure emerged, walking on silent paw pads over rotting soil and wilted sunflower stalks, the cresting sunrise dimly illuminating their silver coat.

Joining the group of canines without preamble, Mirage took a seat, making himself comfortable. "Don't know what the hell it was, but it sure looked and smelled something awful." The memory of it followed the feline now like a persistent itch, making him lash his tail back and forth. "Ugly bugger ran me up a tree and kept me there for two days straight before it finally left me alone!" Just thinking about it made his fur bristle. He harrumphed again. 

With sharp eyes, he carefully studied the large group, the healer in him unable to stop from scanning their bodies for any signs of malady. The youngest was the first to fall under his intense scrutiny, followed by the armoured goliath. Next was the timid golden eyed woman, and then the black bellied loudmouth. After them were the two golden males, possibly related, though Mirage couldn't be sure.

(The one with the long hair scowled at him fiercely when he caught the old feline staring at the scars on his face.)

The blue eyed woman was the last for his gaze to fall upon, and he visibly startled at the sight of her, inhaling sharply, a myriad of emotions flashing across his face. Like the others, she too was a stranger to him by all accounts, and yet he knew her. Oh, he knew. Physical traits aside, that pretty collar fastened around her neck was a dead giveaway. There was no mistaking her lineage. Mirage would bet all his nine lives on that.

He could feel it crawling up his throat, the barrage of questions, the disbelief, the grief, but he ruthlessly quashed them, reigning them in tightly in several carefully drawn in breathes. Later, he firmly told himself. He'd speak with her later, when there weren't other important matters at hand, or people around to eavesdrop.

His evaluation of them all done — perhaps they would mistaken his intense staring for caution (HA!) — Mirage huffed, reluctantly tearing his gaze away. In the end, his attention focused on the lighter coloured golden wolf, sizing him up.

"Would this so called curse have anything to do with that?" he spat.

Mirage had had his fair share of curses; something like this couldn't be worse than what he'd already endured.

coding © vixxie's codes

[Kiefer]

The thunderstorms had shifted elsewhere, toward the wall of mountains he knew as the Fringe. It was a reference point, knowing Saboro was close to those edges and if he had come across any thick vegetation, he would immediately shift a direction. Traveling was difficult however, the boy not knowing if his surroundings were real or not. Sometimes there were times he knew — when his hungry belly was full and there was no pain. When he could smell the stench of rot and it eased into a headache. Kiefer knew that stench as well, a familiar rot that boiled in his mind, simmering on the edge of madness as he nearly panicked at the thought of the monster in his dreams becoming real.

They were just dreams. Death was not trailing him.

And yet the black ooze that blotched the Earth and the crying of diseased animals filled his being with dread. He had seen them crying streaks of dark blood, their lungs gurgling and teeth gnashing. Their brains decaying obvious by their wild and hollow eyes staring at nothing. Kiefer had been chased multiple times across the valley and into the slope of mountains and darting back into the forest. Various animals had been drunk on this plague, the boy growing wary of anything whether it be dream or not. In both worlds, he had to keep moving, had to avoid any living thing in fear of it biting him and infecting his blood. Death would not claim him.

Kiefer made haste through the small valley, not wanting to stay long in the open, the plains expansive and once brilliant with life. It was now rotten with overturned and dried sunflowers, the grass brown and brittle. The boy was uncomfortable with the noise he made with each step, but his haste lessened the anxiety growing. A single orange eye would watch his surroundings, bouncing in every direction quickly, making sure there was nothing chasing him.

The calling howl forced the boy to a halt, his head raising high and his heart pounding against his ribs. The single orange eye wide enough, nearly popping from it's socket as he strained to listen. There were others here. Who and what did they want? A curse, a plague, those to stand up against it!

To stand up against the curse?

No one could defeat Death himself.

Kiefer hesitated on heeding the call, not sure if they were friendly or a ploy. He would cautiously approach from the side of them, grabbing at words here and there. There were at least seven, no... eight? He could not see the small feline from his vantage point, rather only the wolves that surrounded the golden male. One large wolf was wearing something odd, it glistened in the pale sunlight and another a yellow patterned neck decoration. There was a young boy there too. Curiosity grew within and Kiefer slowly made his way toward the group. He wouldn't come close, but enough at least that they could see and hear him.

"What... do you know about it?"

Do you know of Death?

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