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Tiarana rolled 1 20-sided dice:
14
Total: 14 (1-20)
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2015 8:24 am
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"I may have a tale or two left in me to tell," came a bold and cheerful reply. The voice was slightly strange, carrying with it part of the honeyed whistling of a songbird, but was still distinctly kin. It belonged to a spry stag, whose colors echoed the fire before them, and whose eyes were set to look outwards rather than forwards.
He stepped around the fire to get closer to the other speaker, tilting his head sharply this way and that to get a better look at him, and found him familiar. The snake was somehow familiar, too, though perhaps only because of its resemblance to the buck it was halfheartedly attempting to strangle.
With his gaze held steady, taking in both buck and serpent and the hazy revelers on the other side of him, the old storyteller asked, "What manner of story do you seek?"
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2015 8:42 am
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2015 9:37 am
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The stag - with eyes that pointed forward again - nodded his approval at the younger fellow's request, mumbling "Good choice," before launching into the story proper;
IN THE BEGINNING, there was darkness; in the beginning, there was the egg. After long and silent incubation, the egg began to emit a faint tapping sound, began to crack, and at long last, hatched a resplendent white crane, which stood upon the remains of its shell and crushed them into earth; Matope was born.
The crane eventually grew heavy with eggs, and could not find anything with which to make a nest, so Motherfather made soft grasses grow from the soil. There was nothing for their children to eat, so Motherfather made trees which bore sweet fruit. There was nothing to spread the pollen from flower to flower, so Motherfather made the bees and wasps. The trees were not enough for the bees and wasps, so Motherfather made flowers which grew upon the ground.
"I imagine they must have spent quite some time on the flowers," the stag added as an aside, "as there are so many different kinds. They must have been fun to make."
And on it went, Motherfather creating plant after plant and creature after creature as they saw the need for it. Eventually, the swamp was beautiful and full of life - though some important creatures were still missing. Motherfather made their nest at long last, and laid their five wonderful eggs, and rested.
From these eggs hatched kin of all kinds: two hairless Zikwa, with hearts larger than their frames; two broad-shouldered Totoma, brash but cheerful, and fiercely loyal; two limber Acha, all laughter and song and playfulness; two fleet Kiokote, skillful and proud and generous; and two Kimeti, with fewer distinguishing traits than the other four - humble creatures, but wise. From these ten were born everyone you have ever known...
"After a fashion," the stag added with a sniff as he shook his feathers, and began preening them into place. "All that begetting does take some time."
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2015 11:22 am
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2015 11:34 am
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Tiarana rolled 1 20-sided dice:
2
Total: 2 (1-20)
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Posted: Sat May 30, 2015 11:35 am
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Blossoms
"Well, I suppose I can think of something," Murkcrow admitted. "But I don't often tell stories outside of the family. I'm not very practiced..." He stared into the bonfire, hypnotized by its warm glow, and found himself growing sleepier and sleepier...
...he blinked, and just like that, instead of a fire he was gazing into a field of flowers. Blood-red poppies spread endlessly before and behind him, and in every direction from one horizon to the other. "Oh!" said Murkcrow. "That's who that was!" A little late to talk, though. The stag had disappeared.
Vast openness made the swamp native uncomfortable. His strangest dreams happened in the open lands. Just then, though, the snake enthusiastically squeezed a little harder and Murkcrow gasped and fell to his knees. "Would you...stop that..." he muttered uselessly through gritted teeth. If the snake wanted to kill him, it would, just as it had the very first time they had met, and nearly every dream it had appeared in since.
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Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 3:39 pm
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His half-sister, Oathkeeper had a son, Longclaw, who had a daughter that was being spoken of in kimeti circles. Not that Lightbringer herself was the only topic. It seemed the entire lineage, minus himself, seemed to inspire stories. He'd entertain inquiries about his relatives all day long, from all sorts of kin. Was it true Longclaw was raised by a she-wolf (don't know), did Oathkeeper really travel to the desert and back (don't know)? Where was Westfen (don't know), and how could one join (still don't know)? Was Lightbringer single (don't know), would he care to pass on a message to her (no).
His head was full of these thoughts every day. Birchbone rarely had answers to the questions, and he still couldn't figure out a way to get people to stop asking him. Even more, he couldn't figure out why his entire family seemed so damned accomplished.
A buck with a winged serpent wrapped tight around his neck. Well.
"Er," he said, "do you need some help?"
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Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 3:49 pm
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Posted: Fri Jun 12, 2015 8:11 pm
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Tiarana rolled 1 20-sided dice:
16
Total: 16 (1-20)
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Posted: Fri Jun 12, 2015 8:18 pm
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