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Seeing the daunting slopes ahead, Aranik fears lest her strength fail her. She beseeches the stellar forces to extend their attraction and pull her up the slope. Bits of gravel, moss and bark already break loose from the bonds of the earth and float up alongside her as she climbs.
Skipping from her perch on the rock Aranik lands on the ground, sending a small wave of dust and twigs into orbit about her. She rushes up to join the others. Normally we would always cull the herd by taking the wounded? Is that not the custom?
As the hunting party musters, Aranik spots the men as they find the trail of their prey. Quickly she picks out one of the many erratic boulders that sprinkle the valley floor. She scrambles up for a better view of the landscape. What lands are the hunters pointing to? Has she learned any wisdom about the country that lies in that direction?
The hunting party ventures further into the wilderness. Aranik revels in the beauty of the landscape and the freedom of the open country. Even as she gazes at the glint of the sunlight on the river and breathes the fragrance of the woods, the the thrill of the hunt begins to set in. The sunlight grows stronger and the pull of the distant stars are dimmed in the glare. Aranik begins to feel more like a vulnerable child. Surely her father will be upset that she tagged along with the hunters today. Aranik speaks to herself: Here we are at the tall stone overlooking the riverbend. I remember this place...it is familiar to me. Many times I have come to this place to look down at the galaxies reflected in the eddying waters. This is home. Yet my heart is beating so. Silly girl, you have nothing to fear! Spirits of the firmament, do not forsake me!
She then approaches each of her colleagues as they march, bestowing the blessing on each of them with a whisper.
Aranik breezes through the woodland, searching along the forest floor for constellations of tender, young fiddlehead ferns and other young shoots.
A whirlwind of pine needles kicks up and drifts to the ground. ugh! Well, I don't plan to "rub" any man. Least of all that brute!
Young Aranik looks up from the line of hanging fish by Narrati's tent and she perks up when she hears word that there may be a hunt. The line of fish drifts eerily in the morning light and then falls back down with jerky bounces after Aranik rushes off to join the others. "Do take me, Gremm! You know I can find my way in the forest as well as anyone!"
Maybe she WAS dissing her sister! hehe. I'll leave it open to interpretation....perhaps the sisters don't always see eye to eye. Actually, I imagined that her sister had a fresh set of tattoos branded onto her face etc. for the occasion of her marriage. Sometimes ad libbing things yields unusual results.
Scattered pine needles float gently skyward past Aranik's face as the last star in heaven dwindles in the brightening sky. She sighs as she watches her sister's procession marching off, then turns and heads back to Narrati's wigwam. She calls in, "Was that the glint of fresh trout I saw there? Come on you old witch, you can't hide those from me! Recana's gone and it has left me feeling empty. Let me help you clean and roast them....You know, I can see whu Jushem and the others would be upset about her leaving. I do not envy her. She may be off to the Lynx country, but there she will stay and abide to serve her husband and his dreary folk. At least here we are in new country...with new horizons."
A young lady of scarcely sixteen summers approaches. It is Aranik, Recana's strange and beautiful, dark-eyed sister. The dust in the air scatters and some of you feel your hairs standing on end. She comes with a small bundle in one hand and a small gourd container in the other. She looks at her sister meaningfully, and struggles to hold back the tears. She hands the bundle to Recana. It is a gift from the weavers of the tribe, a fine rebozo shawl woven from the dyed fibers of the Huaca vine. Stitched into the fabric is a familiar constellation made out of tiny sparkling shells "You can see Reca, it is the "Heron". I asked them to stitch it in for you - and here - the Shaman bade me give you this..he says if you use it liberally - the scabs will be gone by the time you arrive at your new home". Aranik then pulls out the gourd vessel, and fumbles as she tries to lift off the lid. When the lid slips from her hand it suddenly careens away swiftly in a skewed trajectory. Paying no heed, Aranik gently scoops out little dabs of greasy salve. She reaches for her sister's face and applies the balm to the fresh scars of her her recent tatoos and piercings.
I like bears.
@ Gremm: Perhaps the beginnings of a priestly tradition are just starting to emerge...centered perhaps around the cult of an ancestor... @Manak & Narrati: How can we avoid hackneyed cliches in a Swords and Sorcery fantasy game? :-P. But your points are all well taken. I would be delighted to explore magical-spiritual ideas in a way which is unique to this setting. btw...Bear Cults were wide spread all over the world in the old old times. We could find plenty of historical material to inspire us there. All of the characters here - casters in particular - approach magic in very different ways - or converse with different spiritual entities. Raventhorn hinted that we would be different from the other folk of the tribe - that our magic might even be shunned. Anyway. I am not sure where this is going. All of your comments have been provocative. Here:s another idea. A cult surrounding an artifact - or collection of artifacts - like a cargo cult.
What about an ancestral god for the tribe. A heroic warrior of old? Domains: Repose (Ancestors), Community, War, Nobility Sarenrae might be worshipped in the aspect of a fire goddess. A goddess of the hearth. Keeping the home fires burning may have been a sacred trust in the Stone Age - a matter of survival for the tribe. Or an animal totem. Clan of the...... Since we have a good number of clever casters...we might be from a clan known for its wisdom. Raven Clan, Owl Clan...
The young girl in a brutal, stone-age society. I dig it.
You asked for our thoughts, Narrati. I think the skills you picked already seem quite fitting for Narrati. If you really wish to make a substitution - I think UMD fits with Narrati's witch-crafty interests and activities. Climb would make her even better at getting around. I might pick one of those in place of Knowledge: Arcana. I'm not sure how Arcane Knowledge fits in the Stone Age setting. I don't see a particular reason for Narrati to favour Intimidate - but you know her better...
I am trying to figure out how Aranik will fit in and what kind of role she will play in a party full of casters. I changed to a new image, which I think depicts her heathen nobility. Firstly, she is the young daughter of the chieftain - so she should command some respect among the people of the tribes.
Her powers are significantly augmented under night skies. I think this will be a challenge. I don't know what Raventhorn is going to throw at us...but we have a lot of casters and not much muscle. No barbarians :-). If it comes to battle situations I think Aranik can be tough - but she will definitely play a more defensive role, avoiding bloody confrontations. She will likely prefer to stay back and defend with a longspear - buffing-debuffing and healing with spells as needed. I wonder what to select for her second language. Without knowing the setting yet I picked Celestial as a possible option- it seemed to fit. Perhaps angelic spirits whispered to her in her sleep as a child.
Delighted to be here with my Oracle - the Breath of Heaven - Aranik. Thanks Raventhorn. All she needs is a few tweaks, perhaps a few corrections and the right equipment. I'm eager to find out more about her tribe!...
I will recalculate my equipment list. I missed it some where above. Can someone tell us hoe much gold we start with again? Thanks The costing is not complete, but to ensure that I meet the deadline please assume that Aranik is carrying an ornamental cloak, a rudimentary adventuring kit, a longspear, a dagger, sling and the best light/medium armour she can afford. Surely she can afford that, no?
Thaks for spotting that error. Switched to Longspear. Dropped the shield.
Made the adjustments. This young woman is now a human. I gave her some different feats. Can she be the local chieftain's daughter?
So Aranik is a human now. I took away the mountaineering traits. She keeps endurance and gets blind fighting....she loves being outside at night...that`s when she shines. I hope its ok for her to keep keen senses.
I have no problem switching out Aranik's race to human. I just felt that low light vision would have been nice for a character who is so at home under the stars. As for tribe. OK. She comes from the same tribe, not from the mountains. She is obsessed with astronomy. I'll make some adjustments and she'll be even more interesting... ...be back soon...
Well. I just got here, and I'm looking to play. I never played a stone age setting. I am submitting here an Oracle of the Heavens, which I once created for a campaign a while ago. She would be a beautiful mountain lass from the upper reaches of the valley where the crags rise up to the heavens, the air is thinner and the stars are bright. Cold gusts and eddies from the interstellar void seem to swirl about her. Her eyes are piercing. She borrows from the Half-Elf template. Perhaps her tribe is accustomed to living and working in twilight. The profile is still being worked on. I need sometime to iron out the errors. I hope it is not too late for consideration. I hope you like her. |
