Building New Heroes (Open)

[Valcrist]

It's been months now, months and the wound dealt by Hargus was only now beginning to heal. Still raw and fresh, staying strongly in the memories of all those devastated by him. The warriors of the city of heroes won, but only if you could call what happened a victory. While in the end they were the ones left standing, it came at the cost of countless life. The land itself remained putrid and vile, cursed by the poisonous blood of undead monsters seeping into the earth itself. While the damage done to the city itself could be rebuilt, the damage done to the life around it took much longer to fix.

That was where Valcrist now spend his days and nights, in the City of Heroes. It wasn't as if he planned it to happen, it just sort of became a thing over time. After the death of Hargus, there was a call for the remaining fighters to stay and help rebuild the damages done. Valcrist couldn't just up and leave, not without being racked with soul crushing guilt, and it wasn't as if he was doing anything important anyways. Until that point all he'd done is aimlessly wander the land looking for a place to peddle his wares, so it he could afford to take a break to offer some help for a few days. Only a few days stretched into a few weeks, and now into a few months. In honesty, he hasn't left the village since he's arrive and he's never been short on work to do once he's arrived.

There was a lot of call for blacksmithing, though it was not what one would expect. Most people think blacksmithing involved makings swords, armors, weapons, that sort of thing. They don't realize all the little things that require metal that needs to be forged: Horseshoes, nails, hinges, locks, keys, fittings, and all the tools these folk were using to do this work. He never had nothing to do, while it wasn't the most exciting of jobs, it made him feel useful. Something he's missed for quite some time. He had fallen bitter, disillusioned with the world in his travels, and that had made him apathetic and lethargic. Now he could see his work pay off, people came to him for help and when he helped them, they thanked him and he could see them use that work to build the new building and walls. While it lacked the challenge of enchanted weapons, or working with siderite, maybe a break from all that stuff will make him appreciate it more?

At first he just sort of roomed with a lot of the other displaced mercenaries who decided to stick around, but somewhere along the line he was given a home in the city to live in. It was... odd. The home was damaged by the attacks, and slowly rebuilt. The ones who lived there before they... well it was better not to think about. It was a gesture of thanks, of good will. Valcrist wasn't alone, as many of the now empty homes found new owners in the warriors that fought for this town. Anyone who devoted their time to repairing the damages done to this city were accepted as a part of it, given a home and a family in the Sacaens that remained. After the repairs on the homes damaged was done, plans to build new homes were being put forth. Most of the damage done was in the south, and the crater created by the enraged bandit king.

The palisade in the south had completely crumbled, but it remained strong elsewhere. It brought forth an idea to replace the temporary wood with permanent stone, so that such a situation would never occur again. Of course such a plan would take some time before it was put into action, perhaps after the rebuilding has finished. After the expansions to the town planned by the new homes of the victorious mercenaries. After the land stopped being so weakened and poisoned by the monsters and dark magic. Scars in the earth were gouged out in the form of trenches, and those would take some time to fill. Months have passed and there was still months of work still ahead of them.

Though the buildings could be rebuilt, the damage done to the people would take much longer to fix.

Valcrist was at the forge again today. The heat of the flaming stove made his brow sweat as he worked at the small things in life. It was well in the morning, nearing midday by this point, and the sun wasn't really helping the situation. Of course Elias was closed into the small stone workshop along with another smith. His name being Derek, an older man in his fifties. With a big bushy beard, the edges of which ends in small burnt twists. He was a nice enough, if brusque, man. While Valcrist had more skill in details and finishing work, hallmarks of a Korodan blacksmith, Derek was much older and much more experienced. He worked faster then Valcrist, doing such work as this his entire life. He was not a specialized smith such as Valcrist, but he had been smithing his entire life. He worked for the army in a Lycian territory years ago, Val isn't sure which one and Derek wasn't keen on sharing. There were so many territories in Lycia, so it could basically be anywhere.

The sound of hammer filled the small stone room, pounding some nails into shape. Easy, but boring work. The sort of work he's been doing much of lately. "Valcrist." A gruff voice caught his attention, Val turned his head to the older man hammer at some length of iron for some reason or another. "You've been working all morning. Take a break, stop by and see Lana. See if there's anything she needs, pick up some lunch while you're out will you?" Derek asked, but frankly it was less of a request and more of a demand.

"Don't worry, I can keep working if yo-"

"No. Do what I said." Well then.

"...Alright." Valcrist said with a sigh, putting the steel he was working with into a bucket of water, the steam sizzling loudly. He'd let the iron cool before working with it again. So instead of continuing on his merry way, he stood up and pressed his hands into his lower back. Bending a bit backward and hearing his back making the small pops of tired muscles. He still wore his apron, and his face was still probably sweaty and greasy from the kiln, but he wiped his hands off on a small cloth nearby. Formerly white, not it looks like an oil soaked rag from all the grease and soot on it. He'd wipe off his face but, eh, it was just Lana he was meeting. She didn't care, and he was coming right back anyways. "I'll be back with lunch." He told Derek, who merely grunted in reply. Valcrist shrugged, oh well.

He left into the streets, the forge was near the southern end of town where most of the reconstruction was taking place. The nice Sacaen breeze felt nice as he wore a small grin, walking through the roads and alleys of the town. The rubble in the streets had mostly been cleaned, but it remained piled up in large deposits on the sides of the roads. It would take some time to clear all the stone out, and really making the city livable again just took priority at the moment.

[Midori]

When word reached the Chaklai that the city of Hero's was being rebuilt. The Elders went into a frenzy trying to find volunteers to help with he relief effort. They saw this as an opportunity to help their brother tribes and to possibly secure a small branch village closer to the eastern shores. Midori had returned to her village with the refugees of one of their branch villages. After a few days of rest the tribe had gathered about a hundred people who would make their north-east towards the city of Heroes. Together the people banded what food they could and loaded it into wagons. These wagons brought food mainly in the form rice, soy, grain, and a small bit of fruit. More importantly they brought with them seeds and livestock which they could use to start a farm.

It took them a few weeks but eventually the Chaklai tribe had arrived in the City of Heroes. Together the 100 man band began to work their way through the city doing what they could to provide aid. Some folks helped to rebuild buildings. They worked to repair walls. A vast majority of other's worked to repair the farmlands. They tilled the soil and planted what they had. Midori and the ten or so healers that came with her worked o help mend the spirits of the people. Together they helped to heal those who were hurt, those who had lost their way, preform funeral rites, and slowly purify and bless the lands that had been tainted by the monsters.

Although a novice Midori could do only the basic of healing but to some people that was enough. She had been healing people most of the morning and felt as if she needed a break. She had just finished healing a man who had hurt himself while nailing together a board. Although it was a minor use of her healing abilities it was still something that only she could do. The man thanked her and went on his way. And With that Midori dismissed herself from the healing tent and went off to check on her horse. The poor thing had been left in one of the stables while she was off doing her job.

[Bee]

Bee had heard rumors about the City of Heroes. Despite it having such a fancy name the place was said to look like crap. Probably due to the fact that a war was fought in it not too long ago. Though she did hear word that the place was being reconstructed. That was enough for her to go and see what it looked like. To go through life and never see a place called The City Of Heroes that would be a shame. Actually there where many places Bee wanted to see. The capital of Bern, Ostia, what was left of it that is, Delfia, and of course the Great Desert of Nabata. Bee still remembers the sands and the cold nights while she was being taken away. Still bad memories did not stop her from pushing forward. She needed to see all the glorious places in the world, if she did not she would regret it in her old age. So firm about her new found goal Bee set off back to the plains.

"So this is the City of Heroes", spoke Bee as she walked through the city streets. Everyone was even crappier than she imagined. When she first heard the name City of Heroes she expected much better. Even after the war she expected to see at the very least giant statues of the great heroes of the world. They should have stood twelve feet high and lined the streets like watchful guardians. Or maybe a series of elegant blades that lined the way into town. Each one marking the grave of a fallen champion. Instead she found a regularly looking town. Sure it had a alright wall, but it was nothing you would not see in a city in Lycia. Most of everything was made out of clay bricks. There was no great white limestone or fancy roads marked with names of legends.

"Well this was a downer", spoke Bee as she began to walk through the streets like a ghost. The maiden began to wonder if there was a inn in this town. The southern section seemed to be still under repair. Bee could help out, she knew her way around a forge, but at the moment she had no aspiration to do anything. Her heart was crushed by the lack of grand charm presented by the name. At the very least she expected to see the twelve foot tall demon king that ruled over the place, but no even he was not here. Or maybe he was. The rest of the place did not defy her imagination. Maybe the legendary Kenshin did not either. For all she knew she could have passed him on the street and never noticed. "Why is nothing here grand", she shouted! Her outburst got her a few weird looks, but everybody had better things to do and they all went back to there work.

Looking around Bee soon became tired of the place. "Maybe there is something to do on the south end of town", spoke Bee as she began to make her way there. Bee had to make something of her trip here. She did not get to see this romantic city of her dreams, but at the very least she could make a quick buck smiting nails or helping somebody do something. Shoot they may even let her run a forge. Now that picked things up for the maiden.

"I can see the sparks now", she spoke as she began to imagine them. There was always something magical about the sparks that shot off a blade. The little light was like stars in the sky. It would flair up and illuminate the darkness of the room. Each bolt of smoldering metal. Though now the maiden had her mind on sparks she wondered what exactly where they. In her mind she always thought they where small flakes of metal that was super hot. However when she thought about it there where other objects that sparked and where not made up of metal. They where not even particularly hot. So what exactly was sparks. "Hmm", spoke Bee as she touched her chin and took a moment to think about it. She found another question to look up once she reached a suitable library. No wonder mages spent so much time with there nose in the books, thought Bee.

As the young maiden came out her train of thought she found herself in the southern district. Unknown to her she had walked right past a forge when she was thinking about the make up of sparks. Still there was a lot going on and a lot of people working. Bee did not know where to begin.

[Valcrist]

The streets were busy this morning. Then again the streets were busy every morning. He weaved through the crowds of people, laborers and merchants, volunteers and farmers, people from all over Elibe. People that still worked on trying to fix the damages done by the bandits and other assorted nasties. Even though months had passed, the damages were still visible. It was a bit funny really, it only lasted about a week and yet that week would take months and months of work to undo.

Destroying something has always been easier then making something. Taking was easier, quicker, then earning it. That's what bandits are, people who destroy and steal with brute force because they cannot make anything themselves. Cowards, really. While they thankfully vanished for now, every time Valcrist saw the city he couldn't help but get a little indignant. Riled up. Upset at someone who wasn't there, not any more. They were gone now, from what Valcrist had been told they were transformed into monstrous beasts by their commander. Hargus. Someone who should be dead.

Oh man. What was wrong with you these days Elibe?

He tried to put the thought out of his mind, as it benefited no one. He instead continued on his way to Lana's. Lana being the... how to put this? She was like an innkeeper, a mother, she wasn't in charge of anything but she always seemed to know what was going on. What people needed, generally if anyone had a request they'd leave it with Lana instead of coming to the forge themselves. Maybe Derek scared them off. Or maybe Valcrist did. (Valcrist being intimidating? Well maybe if you're afraid of death by laughter) Or maybe it was just easier this way, in the end it didn't quite matter so much. The system made things simple for him.

She stayed at the newly rebuilt inn down the road from the forge, in the market square of the southern city of heroes. Though it was just one of several inns in this town, it was probably the nicest one. Mostly because the people of the town just fixed it up. In the attack the building had collapsed into itself after the southern wall was obliterated, stone and wood went crashing through and seriously damaged the place. Only just recently had it been deemed 'fixed' but already it was seeing much use. It was the closest to all the 'action' so to speak. While several of the empty homes were converted into a sort of... community home, a lot of the travelers passing through the city to stand and gawk at the damage stayed at the inn. Merchants trying to make money, or travelers willing to pitch in a helping hand. It seems that being the site of a small war is great for tourism.

[Midori]

SHe strolled down the busy streets and out towards one of the make shift stables that had been set up. This "stable" was a former house with a large fenced in property that could effectively house about four horses. But due to the sheer number of volunteers and the fact that it was Sacae this "stable" was currently housing about ten horses. Midori sighed softly as she approached the bit of fence that divided the property from the rest of the city. She could see that there were troughs set up that were full of waer. And various hay stacks set up so that the animals could eat. While she could not see her spotted grey horse she knew the creature was around here somewhere. So she put her thumb and index finger in her mouth and let out a whistle. There was a neigh in the distance and she could see the figure of her horse running down the yard. It stopped just short of crashing into the small wooden fence. She gave her horse a few pets on the head before rubbing her forehead on it's forehead.

She gave her horse a once over. She didn't see any obvious signs of abuse. No signs that she had been starved or cut in places. From her bag she pulled out a red apple and fed it to the grey mare. She spoke to it things that had happened through out her day. And while she wasn't sure if the horse fully understood all of the words coming out of her mouth, it was content to just stand there and kept on getting pampered.

"Alright now.. Ashes. I've got to go. I need to grab lunch." She patted the horse lightly on it's rump before sending it off to go the nearest hay stack. She wiped her hands clean with a wet rag and went off to find the nearest inn. An Inn in the southern section of the city of heroes.

[Valcrist]

"Ah Valcrist, good morning." Victor was always the first one to catch him when he ventured from his little den. Val was a bit away from the inn when the large and intimidating man stopped him in his tracks. Figuratively of course. Though once or twice literally. Victor was formerly a bloodthirsty and cruel mercenary (his words) however he's since laid down his axe to help rebuild the city. To be honest, Valcrist suspected Victor be a former bandit who defected from Hargus' side. Still in either case he no longer fought. Not by choice actually, since the battle left him maimed and missing his left arm. A bandit chopped it clean off, he was fortunate to have gotten through the siege in one piece (or, well, two) since many of the injured had troubles when the gargoyles attacked. So to be only crippled for life was a step up. Or, well, more like a half-step. Was there quarter steps? Still it was hard to miss how the battle impacted him.

His arm it just sort of... ended. A rounded lump where an arm was supposed to be, at first Valcrist was always afraid to even talk to him. Didn't want to be rude and just stare, or be rude and not even look at him, he's gotten over it though. Not entirely by choice, the gregarious man just would let him. He waved that stump of an arm in Val's face, demanding that he looked at it. Which was an awkward situation, but few situations involving Valcrist are anything but awkward, so it was par for the course really. "Looks like you just stepped out of an oven. Derek working you hard?"

"Eh, no more then usual. How about you, you doing alright?" Valcrist asked as he stopped for a little small talk. While he only had one arm, he was still very strong physically and managed to do a great deal of raw physical labor. Things that didn't require a whole lot of physical dexterity, there was a lot someone could offer to help, even someone injured like him.

"About as well as could be expected." He shrugged. "Lana was looking for you earlier. You should hurry."

Valcrist nodded. "Oh, well have a nice day then." He bade the man farewell and went on his way. It was a short little exchange that amounted to nothing, but it happened often. Not just Victor, but others. Rebuilding the city has caused radically different people to get to know one another, some of these people seemed odd to Valcrist but the thing was Val was just as weird to these people. A Nabatan blacksmith is odd enough as it is, seeing as Nabatans are rare to begin with, but he was also a swordsman who fought with what was clearly a Sacaen swordsmaster style. Then he had his bow, which he fired like a Lycian sharpshooter. He was also a merchant, and he also had his magic blades, in fact at first people assumed he just carried those weapons to look intimidating. It wasn't until the actual battle when people started to take him a bit more seriously. Really Valcrist was a strange mashing of a million different things into one person, and none of it felt consistent. Yet here he was, trying his darndest to help.

Tribes from all over Sacae sort of flooded into the area to try and help, and it wasn't just the 'flip around and stab you' tribes filled with warriors. Hunters, farmers, even clerics all came is Sacaen garb to help their brothers and sisters. The Chaklai tribe, for example, was not always the most welcome of tribes in Sacae. They had a policy of integration with outsiders and close relationship with Bern which some of the more traditional tribes of Sacae found distasteful, their noses in the air looking down upon them, but they still came to offer their aid and no one turned it away. Valcrist wasn't Sacaen, in fact he was about as far from Sacaen as it gets, but he had a certain affinity with the nation. He was happy they were putting aside difference for the good of each other. With rumors of Etruria building up their numbers for an invasion... they sort of have to. Unfounded rumors, hopefully.

[Midori]

Midori didn't see it at first. She didn't see the small frowns and light scorn of the people around her. She had forgotten that many tribes did not appreciate the Chaklai due to their connections with Bern and that the tribe welcomed outsiders. The Chaklai learned long ago that they needed to trust and assimilate outsiders of the tribe if they were to survive. She put her red hood up and continued walking. She ignored the glares of the people and the whisperers among the tribe. She knew her clan's creed. She knew how hard they strive to be great supporters so that they can scatter out among Sacae to help people. Despite the scorn of the other tribes Midori was happy she was here. She shook her head lightly and continued on her way towards the inn.

Once there she took off her hood and pulled up a seat. She ordered a simple meal of bread and stew. She spotted a few other members o her tribe and waved at them. They were enjoying a nice meal in their little corner of the inn. The tribe was known for wearing something that was red or purple on them. These garments of color were usually simple things like gloves, scarves, shirts and sometimes pants. Most of the medics got red cloaks to go on top of their predominately white robes. She was given her meal. Before heating she raised her hand up close to her chest. Her fingers pointed upwards. And she gave a small prayer in thanks for the meal. Then she dug in.


Afterwards the young healer went off to attend to other business.

(Exits Thread)