[FFH2] History of the Horselords

[Optical]

Chapter 1 . Part 1

Garhus the war leader stood on the hill east of Altheriol-ta-Mealthiel. Downhill, and to the north, he could see the sea.
But that would have to wait. Tasunke had called all warbands in the Hippus-held lands to the plains. Rumour said there were momentous events afoot - that was quite enough of a draw for most Hippus. Their number, of course, included Garhus.
‘Come with me! Aldrich! Dezten! Get the men moving!’

Two weeks later...
So this is Tasunke, thought Garhus. He’s less... imposing than I’d thought.
In fact, the Hippus leader was below average in height, verging on short. Garhus, along with the rest of the camp, had of course heard of Tasunke’s legendary charisma. He shivered in the crisp spring air. To be honest, he thought, I’m taking quite a liking to him. Huh. Rubbing shoulders with royalty...

‘So I need somebody to lead the garrison I’m going to have patrol Altheriol-ta-Mealthiel. And I’ve chosen you. You’ve been leading our largest warband, besides the main camp, for years, and you’ve recruited over fifty men to our banner. Because of this, I deem you to be the most suitable man for the job. I hope I am not mistaken?’
‘I will not let you down. Sir.’
‘Welcome to the job! Sadly, your first duty will be a sorrowful one. You are required to attend the funeral of one Theo, my chief chronicler. He has been with us for many years.’
‘I’ll be there.’ Garhus tried to think of something more adequate to say, but came up short. In his younger days, he’d known Theo. He’d been a good man.

Then...

Then, Tasunke motioned for the taller man to bend down slightly, so the king could whisper in his ear.
‘It’s a cover-up. Theo’s disappeared. Where, we don’t know, but it seems likely he’s gone off to look for the Amurites... to see if they survived the end of Mulcarn’s Winter. I want you to send a man to join our scouting party. Make sure he finds Theo. I need your man to help him. If we can find the Amurites, we might have some hope.’
Garhus replied in the same sotto voce.
‘I’ll send Aldrich. He’s been my right-hand man for years, he has a sharp mind... and he’s dependable. He’s the perfect man for the job.’

 

[Yoshiegg737]

This must be one of the best stories I have ever read! Everything else that comes after this must be terrific!

 

[Mosher]

Yoshi and I will post ours in a couple days.

 

[Yoshiegg737]

I'm gonna finish my part before you!

 

[Mosher]

Lies! Lies and slander!

 

[Yoshiegg737]

Chapter 1. Part 2

Tusunke stood on the hilltop, watching the ocean in the distance. In one hand, a blank map. In the other, a walking staff. There was no magic of any sort's inside the staff, it was just a staff. A stick if you want to call it that. He would head out into the unknown, without any weapons of any sort.

"Hey, don't worry, it will be alright." A voice beside him said. The voice belonged to Jadranko, an energetic young man with fiery red hair. Of course, Tusunke wouldn't be going out alone. A bunch of young kids, 3 of them to be exact, were picked to follow Tusunke on his scouting journey.

"Why young kids? They are good at running, and you'll be doing a lot of that, Tusunke," Garhus had told him before he left the village. Jadranko was just one of the four, and he had already established himself as the "talkative" one.

"Hey, what's taking Aldrich so long? We be off by now!" Jadranko complained.

"Calm down, he won't be much longer, I'm sure." Said Zaria, the third member of the scouting party. She was Jadranko's sister, and shared his fiery red hair, but nothing else. She was actually the most silent member of the group most of the time.

"Well he had better hurry up! I can't wait to get exploring!" Jadranko said, sounding more impatient by the minute. Jadranko stomped around a bit when the fourth member, Arianna, spoke up.

"Hey, isn't that Garhus coming our way?" She said. Arianna was raised as an orphan as she was found outside of the village one day as a baby. She had long, black hair, which makes some villager's call her Raven. And indeed, she was correct. Garhus was seen in the distance, walking in their direction.

"Great! He's coming! Maybe I can give him a piece of my mind for keeping us in the dark for so long!" Jadranko complained, starting to walk towards Garhus.

"Most likely, he will snap you like a twig." Zaria responded.
"Pfft! I hear most War Leader's are wimps! That's why they are leaders! They don't do anything!

Tusunke knew Garhus like the back of his hand. The man had a sharp sense of hearing and could probably hear Jadranko despite how far away he was. Perhaps he should stop Garhus from pounding him into the ground when he gets here. Jadranko was needed for the journey, after all. Garhus The Warlord walked up to Jadranko when he reached the group.

"So I hear you think I'm a wimp?" Garhus asked, interestedly.
"Wimp? No! No! I would never say that!" Jadranko replied.
"Of course you wouldn't." Garhus said, ready to give Jadranko a punch to the face. Tusunke, of course, stepped forward.

"Me and my men are wondering where is Aldrich." Began Tusunke.
"Ah, Aldrich! He told me he would be waiting for you by the ocean, my lord." Garhus responded.
"Why did he stray from the meeting place?"
"I do not know. He told me that he wanted to test the map."
"The map?"
"Yes, sir, the map. It was said that the map had magic that allowed it to automatically record your findings to be instantly received by whoever is the current ruler."
"Very well! Come, everybody, let's go meet Aldrich."

The four of them stood up to meet Aldrich by the ocean. The ocean was far away, and was never explored before. Tusunke hoped that Aldrich wasn't eaten by a wild scorpion after daring to leave alone merely to "test the map." If this man was truly as great as Garhus had told him, he should be fine. To be honest, Tusunke had never met Garhus's right-hand man before.

"You intending to come home alone, Tusunke?" Garhus shouted at them.
"I intend to bring all four of us home with Aldrich." Tusunke replied.
"Very well, Tusunke! Your empire will be in good hands."

 

[Mosher]

Chapter 1, Part 3

Jippu bustled into Rhoanna's study, a simple, spartan affair; a desk, chair, and fireplace. The walls were sturdy, made of solid oak. The only piece of decoration was a stained blade that hung from the back wall, Rhoanna's own blade.

"Sir, Altheriol-ta-Maelthial is finally completing construction. Our scouts have gone out into the wilderness, and our best warbands are safeguarding our settlement."

Rhoanna looked up, grinning. "Good... our people shall ride again, soon." Rhoanna looked off, down the hall, before speaking again. "Recruit as many able-bodied men for warbands as you can, Jippu, my loyal servant. There are a great many people who roam our world, and very few of them respect borders."

Jippu nodded. "Yes, sir... And, my lord, there is one other thing - something our shaman have called the Open Tome has moved into prominence; they say that it will help us capture the wild horses nearby sooner."

* * *
"Rhoanna!" cried Jippu, as he raced into the eternal study, where Rhoanna sat, polishing his blade. Rhoanna looked up, cocking an eyebrow at Jippu. "What are you yelling about, my servant?" questioned Rhoanna. Jippu nearly yelled again; "We've finally captured the horses to the west! Once we set up a camp out there, our soldiers will ride again!"

Rhoanna nodded, smiling. "Make it a priority to get a camp close enough to the horses to exert out control over them. Recruit more warbands if you must. Dismissed."

Jippu nodded, turning out of his office, closing the wooden door behind him.

***

 

[strijder20]

Great!

 

[Mosher]

So, uh, who's playing next?

 

[Optical]

I am, but I still have the other part of my bit of the story to write.

 

[Mosher]

Okay, sounds good.

 

[LockerStalker]

Good story. Doesn't the Hippus Palace give horses, though?

 

[Mosher]

I have no idea.

 

[mayor]

Great story so far guys!

just one question and two remarks.
1. There will be a moment when there is nothing to explore.... you explored all the land your on and can't sail or you explored the whole map.... does it mean that Yoshi's storylines stops or will he continue with an other?

I thought Rhoanna would be a girl xD
and Mosher, did Yoshi update before you???

 

[Mosher]

The Rhoanna thing was a quick patch up actually... I derped and named our scout Tasunke, but our leader is, too, Tasunke!

Once all the land is explored, the "empire" portion of this will be massive and I think Yoshi and I will split it.

 

[SouthernKing]

Perhaps you should include Super SK?

 

[Red_Spy]

Or a R.E.D Spy.

 

[Mosher]

I'll leave it up to Olaf (who writes the military) if he wants to include you two, but in the planning thread I believe we agreed not to use any CFC members. That could change, but I wouldn't get your hopes up...

 

[Red_Spy]

It was a joke, or atleast mine was.

 

[Yoshiegg737]

and Mosher, did Yoshi update before you???

After Olaf finished, we agreed that which ever the two of us finished our part first, we would post it first. And yes, I actually wrote mine faster than Mosher