OOC
Minecraft Username: BlackenedFlower
Are you at least 18 years old?: Yes
Have you read the rules? (Link): I have!
(Optional) How did you hear about Avalore?: I found it on minecraftservers.org after looking for heavy roleplay servers and having no luck for a while.
(Optional) Introduce yourself if you’d like, as well as any creations you want to share (e.g. art, builds, skins): Hello! I'm fine with BlackenedFlower OOC, She/He, though that long name can be shortened to whatever you fancy! I'm new to minecraft roleplay, having really only tested the waters before with Lord of the Craft and not really finding my footing there. I am a writer, though, and play tabletop games exclusively through text online, so I'm well acquainted with writing in-character. I don't have any minecraft creations of any note, though I've edited some skins and played around with Figura! I'm excited to be here, everything's well-written and detailed!
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In-Character
Read the following prompt:
The rhythmic lull of hoofbeats are a marching drum to the small group of pioneers and variety of folk you have found yourself amongst, packed into a wobbling wagon. The rolling plains of the Southern Reach and a clear sky stretch out all around you, the buzz of excited chatter a dull wash in your ears as your mind strays to your former life and what has led you here to new lands.
“Nervous?”
You blink, returning to the present moment. A kindly older woman sat near you is smiling warmly with a crinkle to her eyes.
“I can tell it’s your first time. Still remember mine,” she flashes a grin and leans in.
“Tell me my dear, why have you come to the Reach?”
How do you respond (in character)? (250 word minimum - please make sure to include at least three references to our lore in your response, with two coming from different pages in the Compendium. Two of the three selected should also be in-depth, avoid simply name-dropping lore terms. Tie the terms into your character's backstory. Why are they important to them?)
Pembroke wakes from a quick, easy slumber with no issue at all - a quick inhale and a scant few blinks of his dull blue eyes are all it takes for the elderly man to regain his faculties. It's not the woman beside him that wakes him, but a rather harsh bump in the road. The unsteady wagon's wheels squeak with effort, and the old man gets a fretful look on his face. It's that face that seems to bring attention, and Pembroke looks over with bright eyes and a small smile that adds more wrinkles to his face.
"As perceptive as you are fair, my lady!" He says goodnaturedly, clasping wrinkled hands in his lap and chuckling. "I'm just an old man fretting over whether this wagon's wheels will stay on, I suppose! Perhaps it's merely a distraction, hm?" He shakes his head, not expecting an answer to the rhetorical. His eyes sparkle with kindness and gratefulness in equal measure, brightening up now that he has someone lending an ear. "Oh, my reasons are many, in truth, and I could go on for quite some time if you let me! I'm not Mistan myself, no, raised in a humble village along the same bay as Mariza, but I'm rather fond of their cultural practice around the elderly! You could say it's my emulation of that fascinating Mistan practice that calls me to the Southern Reach! Of course, sailing into the sunset isn't quite what I'm doing, but I doubt the ritual is too particular about the means of transportation!"
Pembroke laughs, a hoarse and muted laugh that is nonetheless joyous. "But ah, if you're curious for why I've chosen the Reach, you may already know more than I about its draw! I was a mere lad of thirty-seven when news of the Aedall disappearing reached my young ears! Hah, back in those days, I was quite the champion, at the peak of my youth! Truth be told, I'd been curious about the Reach and had even parlayed once or twice with them along the coasts before they'd all gone. I was simply too busy to go after the disappearance! A knight, you understand. The Prodigious Honourbound Pembroke they called me, yes, I was quite the gallant knight in those days, and nobles were fond of the long title! I believe it was far, far from home that I first heard the news of their intriguing sudden absence." He pauses, then, looking up in thought. Rather than continuing on the topic, he instead snaps his fingers and nods. "Yes, yes, it was in the Land of the Golden Mountains! A group of Viragos had decided to leave the mountains, finding new and terrible fun in spreading permafrost and hypothermia in those far northern regions. I'd just returned to the coasts after slaying the fey ruffians to return to the east when a sailor informed me!"
He nods, proud of his recollection, then settles back into his story with an easy, hoarse chuckle. "My course had already been set, though, and it was back to slaying beasts and quelling bandits, exploring the North and protecting fair nobles. Few so fair as you, of course! But yes, I'd failed to ever come this way, unfortunately. As I began to lose my edge, I retired in Mariza with my lovely wife, into wealth and comfort. The true dream of any proper Valkian, I suppose. Restfulness didn't quite get along with me, as it wouldn't with any brave and proper oath-sworn, but I was happy for many years. After my wife passed away of a sickness, I decided to pursue more scholarly ends and spent much of my well-earned savings on academics. I'm quite the well-read man these days, you know! 'Twas only my weary bones that drew me away from the grand academies of the Midlands. I'd taught, for a time, and perhaps read every single book that had caught my interest, too! So... I decided to finally live out the rest of my days as I was always meant to. On an adventure!"
He raises an arthritic fist to heroically shake, beaming. "The Spire, and all its mysteries around the Aedall! The patrons of true magic, here in these wild lands! A land nearly untouched by anything but fascinating and mysterious ruins! Yes, any true knight serving the dear Lady of the Lake should come here, even if they have more practical things to do, but it is no time for regrets! I'm far too old for that nonsense! Hah, I could do so much here with the time I have left. I could become a great hero again... Perhaps I'm sounding a bit foolhardy now, eh?"
Pembroke smiles, smug. Like he doesn't seem to think that a bad thing in the least anymore. Then, he snaps his fingers again, smiles, and goes into yet another story from decades past, to spend the wagon ride sharing tales...
—
Character Name: Pembroke
Character Race: Human
Character Age: 86
Brief Physical Description: Pembroke is a smaller human man and clearly quite venerable. He has withered in height, but his silver-white hair has only lengthened, becoming a well-groomed white curtain of curls with a long white beard to match. His skin is fair and his eyes a dull blue, and he's taken care of his skin well enough to keep the worst pockmarks of age away from him. There is a long white mark down the left side of his face from his cheekbone down to his jaw, a scar from many decades ago.
