Marcus
Manakete
Dragon Reborn
Hell and back is a long way to go, but my journey's only begun.
Posts: 176
Profession: Wanderer
Affinity: Dark
Dragon Element: Lightning
Profile: Marcus
OoC Alias: Marc
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Post by Marcus on Aug 21, 2016 11:51:14 GMT -6
Fresh air was a dream. The open road a greater freedom than any he had ever been granter before. As he traveled south, the frigid chill of Ilia melted into the comforting warmth of Sacae. It echoed the familiar weight that had returned to his neck, clearing the fog that had clouded his mind for so long. And yet, a sense of melancholy lingered in his mind. After learning of Richter’s imprisonment, Marcus had gone to free his comrade, but had been stopped before he could even reach the prison. In another time, he would have forced his way in, allowing no man to stand in his way. But that was the kind of thinking that had gotten him killed, and so, he had resigned himself to the fact that he would not be seeing his best friend again any time soon. On his way out the city, Delia had caught up with him, bringing with her a special gift: his dragonstone. Now he was back in control, back on the road, and once again truly lost. Not that he didn’t know where he was going. Truly he had no destination in mind. Rather, Marcus had no idea what to do with himself. He had relied on the guidance of Richter for so long and no he had no one to turn to.
“It’s been some time since we’ve been in this position, hasn’t it?” The voice of an old friend, of a mentor he had long since ignored. “You haven’t listened to my council in many moons, Marchamut. Perhaps now is the time for second chances. You have been given a second chance at life. Is it such a stretch to extend your closest confidant the same luxury?”
“Hassan,” Marcus breathed, side-eying the wolf who had joined him on the road, “I was wondering when you would return.”
“I never left you, young hatchling. It was you who stopped listening. And then you died. I wonder, perhaps, if there is any relation between the two.”
A heavy sigh escaped Marcus’s lips. He slumped to the ground just off the side of the road. Perhaps, he thought, there was some truth to the wolf’s words. Though his decisions had led to him meeting Richter, ever since he had begun ignoring Hassan’s guidance, he had stumbled from one blunder to the next, all the way to the decision that had ultimately cost him his life. Hassan had never led him astray, even if his words often came with quite the sharp edge. He ran his hand through his tangled mess of blonde hair, then turned to meet the wolf’s gaze. “What, then, would you have me do? My companions have all left, my home is long gone, my very existence spurns hate in the hearts of men.”
“Forget all of it. This is a new day, Marchamut. Don’t squander this opportunity. Be a new man.”
A new man, Marcus pondered, laying back in the grass. Perhaps I should live as a man and not as a dragon.
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Selibas
Hero
The Little Wolf
My Word is Iron.
Posts: 455
Etruria Fame: -1
Bern Fame: 4
Illia Fame: -3
Profession: Khan
Guild: Tribe of Sacae
Affinity: Ice
OoC Alias: Selibas
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Post by Selibas on Aug 30, 2016 11:44:48 GMT -6
There were five of them, Sacaens riding their horses hard across the plain in the early morning, the hooves of their horses kicking up the dew on each blade of grass as the green sea crumbled beneath their weight. The smallest among them rode the smallest horse, a short half breed on a short half breed. He was Selibas Sacae, and he rode with a sword at his hip, one that he was unaccustomed to, but at least it was a sword. The recurve bow in his hands was far more problematic. They'd been practicing for the last hour and a half, with one of the short Khan's blood rider's riding ahead and planting a spear in the ground. When Selibas rode past it, he was meant to time his shot so that he fired the arrow when all of his little horse's hooves were off the ground. Neither he nor Lightning had quite found the way to communicate when that would occur. So far, in his lesson to become more Sacaen by way of learning to fight like he should have as a boy, he had only managed to get about four of the thirteen arrows he fire to do anything but spin away from the bowstring to the ground, and only one of them was within forty feet of his intended target, that one being about thirty nine feet away, his most impressive feat yet.
All of his blood riders were being extremely accommodating, none said a word of advice unless he asked for it, and the Khan appreciated that. It was much harder for him to manage the bow than it was the curved sword at his hip, at least with a sword he knew you could take the tip or the sharpened side and ram it into something until it cut. The bow was a mystery, and firing it off of Lightning's back only intensified the problem, though his attempts on foot hadn't gone much better. He'd not be attempting to use a bow anytime soon he wagered, but he was going to keep practicing until he could use it in battle at least without hitting his own men by mistake.
With him was his cousin Dale, the sisters Chambui and Degasi who were able of hitting any target in the same manner again and again, Bekter a man who seemed capable of using anything in his hands as a weapon as effectively as Selibas used a straight-forward blade, and Tugtom a heavy man for a Sacaen on a slower and heavier horse, who was only along for their morning ride because he'd asked.
As they rode back towards their camp, Selibas saw a figure, lying near a road. He smiled, he'd managed to see him before Dale di- "Selibas Khan, there is-" "I see. Ride around him, see if he moves, I think he might be dead." With that, the Sacaens began to ride in a line, and circled the sleeping man.
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Marcus
Manakete
Dragon Reborn
Hell and back is a long way to go, but my journey's only begun.
Posts: 176
Profession: Wanderer
Affinity: Dark
Dragon Element: Lightning
Profile: Marcus
OoC Alias: Marc
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Post by Marcus on Aug 31, 2016 19:25:02 GMT -6
The grass beneath him was soft and with the gentle caress of the warm Sacaen wind playing at his face, Marcus soon felt himself drifting off to sleep. His dreams, which had recently been confusing nightmares of sound and sensation, now gave way to blissful peace. Memories of his friends flashed before him, memories of better times. Of nights spent around a campfire with Richter and Clair. Of a chance meeting with a new friend in his secluded forest grove. Of running to embrace a friend he had not seen in years. Of finally feeling cool wind on his face after an impossibly long stretch of nothing. The dreams changed and shifted. No longer were they happy-go-lucky dreams of days gone by. Now they were returning to the bizarre existential nightmares that had plagued him since his turn to the living. Incomprehensible sights and sounds assailed him, passing by too quickly to even process. The visual assault on his mind finally came too merciful end when a clear, harsh voice broke through the the madness.
"Marchamut, you fool, wake up!”
Marcus jolted up from where he had been sleeping on the ground. When he had picked the spot to rest there had not been been a soul in sight for miles around. Now, however, that was no longer the case. On all sides, he was surrounded by mounted Sacaens. In his haste in surprise, Marcus had brandished his axe as he had risen and now, he noticed, the newcomers had their arrows trained on him. If he made the slightest inclination that he would attack, the men would make a pincushion out of him. He let go of his grip on the axe, dropping it to the ground, and slowly began to raise his hand above his head. “Hell of a way to wake a man up, don't you think?” Marcus joked, chuckling uneasily. “I apologize if I frightened any of you. It's not often that I get woken by a band of armed men on horseback. I am Marcha-” He stopped short of giving his real name. He needed to put that behind him now. He was just Marcus. “Marcus. My name is Marcus. And you gentlemen are?”
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Selibas
Hero
The Little Wolf
My Word is Iron.
Posts: 455
Etruria Fame: -1
Bern Fame: 4
Illia Fame: -3
Profession: Khan
Guild: Tribe of Sacae
Affinity: Ice
OoC Alias: Selibas
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Post by Selibas on Aug 31, 2016 23:25:36 GMT -6
It was at just the same time that the man laying in the grass popped up to prove that he was alive that the wheel of horsemen pulled their reins and bent their knees, calling a halt to their mounts. When the man rose, he produced from what had seemed like a lifeless form an axe. Dale's arrow was nocked first, and pointed straight on at the man's face, though immediately after him, almost too close to tell Bekter had his own pointed down at the man. Then it was the sisters. Tugtom sat in his saddle, menacingly.
The little wolf left his bow without an arrow to the string, and set it across his knees. He crossed his arms over his chest, and listened with a raised right eyebrow as the man began to speak. When he finished, Selibas grinned down at him, and said, "Good morning." He made a dismissive face along with a quick hand wave, and his bloodriders lowered their weapons but did nothing to imply they were unwilling to raise them. Tugtom continued to sit menacingly.
Selibas continued, "Sorry, we couldn't tell if you were sleepin, or dead. We're not in the business of wake up calls, but we happened upon you on our mornin' ride, and I'm a curious man. I'm Selibas Sacae, these are," he pointed as he spoke, "Dale, Bekter, Chambui, Degasi, and Tugtom. All of them, Sacae as well." As Selibas felt a degree of pride at the fact that he and his bloodriders would return to a camp, where many would answer to the same name, he looked over his bloodriders, all on edge with bow in hand. Except Tugtom, who saw his saddle, slightly less menacingly, but willing to sit it more menacingly again.
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Marcus
Manakete
Dragon Reborn
Hell and back is a long way to go, but my journey's only begun.
Posts: 176
Profession: Wanderer
Affinity: Dark
Dragon Element: Lightning
Profile: Marcus
OoC Alias: Marc
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Post by Marcus on Sept 8, 2016 9:02:58 GMT -6
As the threat of becoming riddled with arrows for the second time in his life slowly died down, Marcus exhaled an audible sigh of relief and lowered his hands, crossing them at his chest. Most of these men seemed ready to kill him at a moment's notice, especially this Tugtom fellow, who appeared to be attempting to kill him with his eyes. Selibas, however, seemed to have judged him to not be a threat. In fairness, it was not necessarily the wisest decision, given what Marcus actually was. Still, he was glad the Sacaen wasn't a shoot first, ask questions later type of person. Though he was young, the other riders seemed to take their orders from him. For a man of his size and age, he exuded a surprising amount of confidence. And yet, there was a certain wildness to him. In truth, Selibas reminded him of Richter, albeit a young Richter. The thought brought him to laughter.
“Curious people for curious times,” Marcus proffered through his high-pitched, breathy laugh. “Well met, Selibas, and well met men of Sacae,” he added with an anxious nod in the direction of the other riders. “I don't blame you for thinking me a corpse. It's not the first time many have thought me dead, and I doubt it will be the last.” The hidden truth of his statement amused Marcus, and he found himself overcome with another fit of laughter. It took him a few moments before he realized none of the men understood his joke. He stifled his laughter and scratched the back of his head awkwardly. “Sorry, sorry. A little personal joke. You'll have to excuse my behavior. I'm afraid I've been tied up in personal…. issues as of late. The world has passed me by a bit. Would you mind telling me what a group of armed men are doing this far out? You clearly aren't bandits. Otherwise I don't think you would have bothered with waking me.”
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Selibas
Hero
The Little Wolf
My Word is Iron.
Posts: 455
Etruria Fame: -1
Bern Fame: 4
Illia Fame: -3
Profession: Khan
Guild: Tribe of Sacae
Affinity: Ice
OoC Alias: Selibas
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Post by Selibas on Sept 19, 2016 9:35:32 GMT -6
As the mess of cloth and blonde hair used the word men for the group of riders, Chambui and Degasi bristled. Neither was ashamed of her gender, and though they wore breeches and kept their long hair pulled into the tighter braid favored by male warriors over female, they were considered great beauties by their tribe, Degasi in particular, and by most people who had seen them. They were considered feminine in appearance to the point that Selibas' choosing them among his blood riders had been questioned, as to whether he'd chosen them for their skill or for their looks. It had of course been the former, but people would always talk about such things they could twist to convey a scandal. In the time he'd gotten to know them, they'd done nothing to convey that they needed the approval of anyone on their looks, but to be considered men at a glance was not something either seemed to care for. They were warrior women, they had not taken up their bow by casting aside their womanhood. The blonde had not made too great a first impression with the pair of sisters. Or Tugtom for that matter.
He also made a joke about their thinking him dead. Selibas registered it as a joke, but could tell he was missing something. The rest of his party however, likely couldn't even tell that it was meant in jest until the man laughed. Even with his cousin, Selibas rarely had overlapping humor among Sacaens, jokes were something that certainly kept Sacaens divided from the rest of the world. Their humor was sometimes wildly subtle, and sometimes wildly obvious, but never predictable for the short khan who'd been excluded from the comedic traditions of the plains as a child.
When he asked about why they were all so far out, his riders looked to him, and Selibas sought his answer. "We are part of quite a large group of armed Sacaen men and women, if you remain here you'll see them quite shortly. We're out on our own, 'cause I'm learning the bow a bit late in life, and my riders are here to help make sure I don't hurt myself trying to fire the thing, or anyone lying in the grass for that matter. Would you extend me the courtesy of telling me why you're here Marcus?"
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Marcus
Manakete
Dragon Reborn
Hell and back is a long way to go, but my journey's only begun.
Posts: 176
Profession: Wanderer
Affinity: Dark
Dragon Element: Lightning
Profile: Marcus
OoC Alias: Marc
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Post by Marcus on Sept 25, 2016 10:37:23 GMT -6
While his rambling style of speech and self-deprecating humor often worked on some, for this group of Sacaens it seemed to be falling flat. Marcus assumed it was some sort of regional difference, but he found it worrying that it seemed to be having the opposite effect on the riders. The two women, as well as Tugtom, had bristled at something he said, and for the life of him, he couldn’t figure out what. Humans were a curious species in that something you said to one of them could mean something completely different to another one. He counted himself lucky that Selibas at least seemed unphased by any of his comments, even offering a slight chuckle at his joke about death. Or, at least, he thought it was a chuckle. It could have been a cough. Selibas answered his question, but it left Marcus with only more questions. Why were Sacaens gathering en masse? He supposed he would have to tag along with them and see this camp for himself. That is, if one of these Sacaens didn’t put an arrow in him first.
As to what he was doing out here, Marcus didn’t have much of answer. He wasn’t so sure why he had even wandered into Sacae. Perhaps it was because it had been the only option when he left Ilia. He certainly wasn’t going to go back to Etruria, but he had no desire to linger in the frozen north and remember all that he was missing. But as to where he was going or what his purpose was, he hadn’t the slightest clue. Perhaps some part of him hoped he would find it here in Sacae. “To tell you the truth, Selibas,” Marcus started, turning his gaze to the ground, “I’m not quite sure. I was in Ilia a short time ago looking for a friend, but he has since been lost to me. He was… something of a leader to me and without him, I’m afraid I don’t have much purpose anymore. Staying in Ilia felt wrong, and I have no love for Etruria, so Sacae seems to be my only option. Except, now that I’m here, I really don’t know what to do with myself.”
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Selibas
Hero
The Little Wolf
My Word is Iron.
Posts: 455
Etruria Fame: -1
Bern Fame: 4
Illia Fame: -3
Profession: Khan
Guild: Tribe of Sacae
Affinity: Ice
OoC Alias: Selibas
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Post by Selibas on Nov 6, 2016 15:37:42 GMT -6
Hmm. Ilia. Any mention of the snowy land pierced his mind. In Bern he had dreamed, or rather had nightmares, of his eventual fight with the Winter Lion. It had become clear not long after his joining the Rebellion that he would be the one facing Ilia's frosted heart, with Curtana in his hand. The wolf then would not have survived long against the Winter Lion. However, the man had turned back, and the Rebellion had ended. Still, the word Ilia hung in his mind with an air of a threat more personal to his own fears than even Etruria. Still the man's leader was lost, and he had no purpose. That was certainly interesting.
Beside the short Khan, Dale pressed his knees into Uyeel's sides. With a pull at his reins, the horse came to stand just beside Lightning, so that Dale could lean over to Selibas in the saddle. "I can tell what you're thinking. Don't." Selibas let a small smile reach his lips before turning back to the blonde haired ruffian. "If you don't have love for Etruria, then you're among friends. We ride to war." Dale slowly allowed Uyeel to step back to the spot he had held a moment before, while the other Sacaens save Bekter all beamed with pride. They were the Bloodriders to the Khan who led the defense of Sacae. There's was a place of honor, and to hear their Khan speak of that place was not a happiness they shunned.
"Tell me Marcus, can you fight? Cook? Carry things?"
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Marcus
Manakete
Dragon Reborn
Hell and back is a long way to go, but my journey's only begun.
Posts: 176
Profession: Wanderer
Affinity: Dark
Dragon Element: Lightning
Profile: Marcus
OoC Alias: Marc
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Post by Marcus on Jan 9, 2017 14:50:28 GMT -6
“We ride to war.” The finality of the statement sent a chill down his spine. It seemed the situation with Etruria had only worsened since his death. Not that it surprised Marcus. He knew Etrurian cruelty quite well. He had experienced what their leaders were capable of. But some small part of him had hoped it would not come to this. That the people of the holy nation would rise against their tyrannical ruler. That they would realize the extent of their transgressions. Yet, that did not seem to be the case. Marcus doubted that the Sacaens had started the war. They were an insular people, rarely interacting with the other nations of Elibe. It had to be the machinations of the Prophet.
As Selibas continued to speak, his intentions became clear. He meant to recruit Marcus, to have him join the war. “I know what you’re thinking, Marchamut,” a voice behind him growled, “Do not get drawn back into this struggle. The men of Etruria have already killed you once. They will not hesitate to do it again. Don’t be a hero, Marchamut. Turn down his offer and let us continue on our way.”
Marcus, however, was not listening. Something about Selibas had rekindled a fire inside of him. He would no longer be content to hide in the shadows and let the world rage around him. He would fight, and help restore peace. “I’m not much of a cook,” he admitted, taking a step towards the young Sacaen, “but that axe isn’t just for show. And I’m stronger than I look. If you’re asking me to join the fight, then…” He hesitated, just for a moment. Hassan’s words echoed in the back of his mind. He swallowed his fear and anxiety and extended a hand to Selibas. “I’m in.”
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