Aenan Pyr
(Favorite Thread)“Why don’t we share stories until it stops, then we’ll get back to clearing the snow, eh?”
Art by Myself
New Caledonia
Another year has come and gone and still, the Realm of New Caledonia continues to grow and flourish.
The year began as the last, with a boisterous Call to Court. The High King and Isiltári extend an invitation to their Salsolan benefactors and prepare to celebrate the changing of the seasons. The night goes by much smoother than the previous winter and is filled with much light and merry-making.
The Realm lay witness to our first official wedding, the union of Councilor Kalypso Savoy and High Lord Toraberā Tanaka. At the reception, a disgruntled Caledonian, Wither Rose Soul, seizes an opportunity to attack Rand Coara, a Lorn Priest who has been manipulating their relationship. This action earns her a place as the Realm's first criminal, and she is held in the Underthing until early summer, wherein she is exiled for refusing to admit guilt or apologize.
Spring was a time for trade and diplomacy. Caledonians travelled to Salsola to offer their wares. Caledonian traders are guarded and escorted by the newly-formed fighters' guild, The Wraith's Teeth.
In summer, the Valar entrusts a caravan of Caledonians with the task of establishing an outpost in Portland; the estate they find and claim for themselves is christened the Citadel, and they begin the arduous task of renovating the space and making connections in the city for the good of the Realm.
Just in time for the annual Founders Day celebration, a building in Haven is renovated and opened as the Realm's new tavern: the Brass Potato. Other projects are initiated in the summer as well, including the construction of a cookhouse in Haven and several corrals in the Rhovanion for livestock and horses to roam safely.
Founders day is celebrated with a feast; and, later in the evening, a special grand opening celebration is hosted at the Brass Potato. The night ends with a stranger slipping into the territory. They cause a scene at the Brass Potato and are driven off by members of The Realm. Though it raises suspicions, the stranger is quickly forgotten, the threat having seemingly been dealt with as soon as it appeared.
Several Caledonians travel to Del Cenere Gang for their first annual Lancaster Stockshow in late Summer, partaking in events, mini-games, and the livestock auction.
Autumn, however, seems forever destined to put the Realm and its people on edge.
In the dead of night, a building is set on fire in the heart of the Square; Caledonians work quickly to douse the flames, but the building is lost. Initially, no one comes forward with any knowledge of the event, but several parties begin their investigations into the matter. It is discovered that the source of the fire was not an accident.
Later in the month and creeping into November, eerie symbols, letters, and medallions are found throughout the Realm. It is uncovered that several young members of New Caledonia have also been lured outside of the territory to a camp in Gaspesia, though it is unclear what exactly transpires when they are gone. Many of the youth are left with nothing but hazy memories — and wooden, tear-shaped medallions enclosed in their palms.
The Valar hold a meeting with the Realm at large and the upper echelon of the Malcrin, but both are uncomfortably terse, a tense energy hanging in the air. The mood is further soured when the High King explosively dismisses a member of the High Court of Dawn, Daisy Parhelion, issuing her a swift demotion under the guise of keeping order.
As the new year dawns on the Sun-and-Moon Kingdom, more bloody symbols and cryptic messages defile the Realm, leaving the Caledonians quite anxious as a shadowy force makes itself known with a bang..
Amon
(Favorite Thread)He was not afraid of Indis. He was not afraid of anything. But he feared her destructive potential nonetheless.
Art by Lin
Baelfire Flynn
(Favorite Thread)"There's nothing wrong with you. You are perfect to someone."
Art by rott-gutt
Daisy Parhelion
(Favorite Thread)Perhaps because she was so blessed, Daisy thought it only natural to share her bounties and her knowledge with others.
Art by San
Dorian Savoy
(Favorite Thread)His face flooded with hot embarrassment -- his second most common emotion and state of existence.
Art by San
Eulalie Savoy
(Favorite Thread)It wasn't their business anyway. Her failings were a private story.
Art by Gen
Fennore
Epitome of the "this is fine" meme
(Favorite Thread)”Basked in the light of Valleui, baptised by the waters of Nín, cradled by the will of Nanin, fanned by the flames of Dúr — we are no longer two separate souls without direction. We are one.” While neither bride nor groom put stock into the power of the Old Gods, Fennore knew how to put on a good show for the sake of such.
Art by Dark
Gwaun Fir-Chlis
(Favorite Thread)”Not quite,” Gwaun began, the warmth of her laughter soothing his nerves, ”but I can follow the north star, and I’m teaching myself to navigate by the moon. A stargazer is someone who studies the stars to learn more about them — I imagine star sailors do that, too.”
Art by Eike
Iomair Nartholiel
Forever in the Friendzone
(Favorite Thread)”Stories are our kinds lifeblood.” He smiled so that it crinkled around his eyes, ”Books and paper are all well and good – but the spoken word is a powerful thing.”
Art by Alaine
Jonk
(Favorite Thread)”We do mostly talk,” he insisted, ”and in truth, it’s what I look forward to most. I’m enamored by the way her mind works, and while she doesn’t have the same words for it, it’s clear she sees the world as we do.”
Art by Eike
Kalypso Savoy
(Favorite Thread)An old anger found its way into her that had been gone so long. Anger. A familiar weapon.
Art by Despi
Kule Pana
(Favorite Thread)"I am needing to survive. I am needing to feed. To feel and think, yes, that too. But I do not need think of you. I do not need feel for you."
Art by Nic
Lossë Fir-Chlis
(Favorite Thread)What have I done? What have I done? What have I done?!
Art by despi
Makoto Ridley
(Favorite Thread)“I wonder sometimes, what it would have been like to meet you when you were her age.”
Art by Songbird
Merlin Knight
(Favorite Thread)The complexion of her father's smile shifted and Sólveig was reminded of those early months of her life, after she and Inga had been turned over full-time into Merlin's care. There was a bittersweet quality to it, as though he wanted nothing more than for Thyri to be returned, healthy and hale, from the halls of Valhalla while simultaneously feeling the happiest he had ever been for his daughters' lives in this big, cruel, beautiful world.
Percival Parhelion
(Favorite Thread)The ferocity of the monstrous flames, its forked tongues licking at the onyx sky, its scalding body writhing across the building's skeleton, made him stagger to a halt outside of the King's Bastion. Somewhere nearby, he heard a wail and the shouts were becoming chants in his head and suddenly he was just a Guppy again and he was watching Fiskebyn burn.
Rand Coara
Biggest Ego
(Favorite Thread)The Priest had a keen desire to conquer — there had been far easier minds to sway in the past, lost souls melting under his touch that he could mold like a potter to clay. But Vodeva was fiercely rigid and unyielding... She fought against him, fought for control. Still, he would play with fire. It was oh so tempting not to.
Art by Despi
Reblin
(Favorite Thread)Reblin released a shrill and decidedly unbecoming scream when the dark woman materialized from the surrounding woods. "Gods, woman! he yelped, breathing as though his heart had leapt out of his chest and taken a lap around the world before returning to him again. "What th' hell. Creepy much? Fuhhh."
Rohan Heartsong
(Favorite Thread)Rohan blinked once, twice, before stuffing his face into the bed of flowers and snorting sharply and violently. Then he sat back on his haunches, his amethyst eyes wide, as he digested this new information. "Oooooh, yeh! Good! Smell good?" He looked to her for approval, and Fennore gave a small chuckle, nodding in affirmation.
Art by San
Ronin Solberg
(Favorite Thread)“< I guess my fatass weight works for something, >” Ronin replied sarcastically as he grinned down at her.
Art by Songbird
Serafina Amaranthe
It struck her that nature had no linearity—mountains shattered distances like errant waves from a boat, and striations of green rippled counter to flowery rivers and low-lying marshes, dried and half-burnt by an unrelenting sun. If she ever felt capitulated to the notion of progress, she needed only recall that the world did not exist in terms of forward and backward motions, but as an ever present sprawl. Growth happened without attention, without permission, without their knowledge at all.
Art by San
Smokecloud Ulrich
(Favorite Thread)“Even if the clouds pour out all their water on us, I can sit up here with you.”
Art by Eike
Sólveig Dawnrunner
Most Perfectest Bean
2021 OTP (With Azalea)
(Favorite Thread)Oh, but what a terrible way to live! She didn't want to see the world in that way. When she saw someone for the first time, it was their positive qualities that she wanted instilled within her. So what if it made her naive! She wasn't naive enough to believe in perfection or that there was only good or that people weren't flawed. Everyone was flawed. Maybe this was one of her flaws, but she refused to believe that there was inherent bad in the world and that those people were incapable of kindness or love.
Teagan Stryder
(Favorite Thread)“If you are unsure of your own intentions, perhaps you should come back once you’ve figured them out.”
Art by Songbird
Vegard Huxley-Eternity
(Favorite Thread)My path always guides me, there's nothing to fear Then why do I feel so immensely alone This can't be the end of my story Onward I go once again Fighting my way to my final breath
Art by Nandolicious
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Vodeva Nartholiel
(Favorite Thread)”She gives and takes in equal measure – but it all means something.”
Art by Alaine
Woodsmoke
(Favorite Thread)“Life is full of cycles, always returning to the beginning, never stopping. I know that for sure, I have partook in creation, and in death. I am a force in these matters, as I’m sure you see yourself as a force for your goddess, no?”
Art by Drawing by Eike, background photo by MTSOfan on Flickr
Yuki Tanaka
(Favorite Thread)Yuki explained, glancing up to the trees to find his avian friend. "Before I met Keikai, I would wander the night aimless, sometimes even lost... but now that I have Keikai to fly nearby it's like... I can see properly, as if I wasn't actually looking around before."
Art by Nat