» Lᴏᴠᴇ ᴀɴᴅ Wᴀʀ // [started]

[paria.]

E L I A S__T H O R N E
t h e __ s o l d i e r
{Gender} Male {Age} Twenty-three {Word count} 405 {Location} Camp {Tags} NPCs, Open!

The sorrowful goodbyes to the departing soldiers were common just about everywhere in Eleyah due to the draft. The draft caused many tears to be shed for the sons and fathers of Eleyah. Although, some men left without remorse, and without any tears shed in their wake. Those were the soliders with either no family or a harsh family. Many had no families, but they still left their quaint homes to fight in the war. The few whom had harsh families were slightly resentful to their fathers for saying it was an "honor" fighting in the war when their family needed them at home.

Elias had a harsh father and a good family. At a young age his father trained him mercilessly to be the perfect soldier, but he could never be the perfect son. He held his father in low regards because he used to beat Elias when he'd go out and play with the other boys instead of working or training. "There is work to be done, boy! You will not become a weakling like those pampered brats. You will be one of the best soldiers in the king's army!" Elias's father would say before he landed a hard smack upon his face.

As the years went by, Elias grew to be taller and stronger than his father ever was. He also grew large enough to make his father think twice about laying a hand on Elias. His father also became too old to be drafted, so when the time came for the men to rounded up and ushered to the army camp Elias went with them. Elias's younger brother, Felix, would take over his duties and take care of the family while he was away fighting in the war. Elias bid his mother, brother, and father goodbye before leaving for the camp. The only tears shed for him was his mother's, although he had experience as a military soldier so he reassured her that if he can survive two years in the Army he could surely survive a few more.

The soft hoofbeats of his grey dapple Friesian along the dirt path was indistinguishable among the crowd of riders entering the camp. Elias entered the camp and dismounted his horse at his assigned tent. He quickly unpacked his gear into the tent, but his broad sword stayed sheathed at his waist. He looked around, studying the various soldiers and archers unpacking like him. Elias thought they could win the war if they wanted it bad enough. But the question was: will the soldiers put in the effort to win the war?

[CorvusSchnee]

For some, there was never a need to be drafted into the army. Some were born into it, trained by their fathers to become good soldiers. They may not have been perfect by any stretch of the word, but they were good men with good hearts. Men willing to give their lives protecting the kingdom they called home. Brannon, or Bran as many had taken to calling him, was one such man.

As soon as he was old enough to hold a bow, Bran was trained by his father to follow in his footsteps and become an archer in the king's army. The two had a good relationship, which was why the older man's eventual death struck such a powerful chord in his son's heart, and his father taught Bran to live by a simple philosophy.

"It's not enough to fight simply for the sake of protecting the kingdom," he would say with a gentle and contemplative look on his face. "You need a reason to fight that is all your own. Until you can find that reason, you're just holding a weapon in you hands. Find it, and that weapon becomes an extension of yourself."

Those words remained with Bran into his older years, and that was perhaps the reason he chose to answer the king's call to arms when it came to him. He remembered the tears that threatened to burst forth in rivers from his mother's eyes as she handed him the black bow that ran in the family. Dubhiúr they had called it, black yew. It had run in his family for generations, always surrounded by the same myth. Perhaps it was because the bow had been made from yew wood that they persisted through time. Some called it a blessed bow, claiming that nobody who wielded it would ever miss their mark. Some called it cursed, citing the sudden and mysterious deaths that had visited its previous owners, including Bran's father. Bran himself had never put faith in any of these rumors. It was just a bow, he would say, that bore no mystical properties. For his mother to give it to him, however, meant that she feared for him. She had always believed in the positive rumors surrounding the family's bow.

It had been difficult to grow accustomed to his new life at the camp at first as Bran recognized few of these individuals. Yet he had come to find a kindred soul in his commander, someone who had made his life there all the easier by giving him someone he could confide in. Someone that he could understand quite well and could understand him just as well. Perhaps it was because they shared the pain of losing someone so dear to them, someone whose philosophy or dream had been passed to them. For Bran, that person was his father. For Vaxas, it was his younger brother. Their shared pain was enough to bring the men together as friends not long after they met.

At the moment, Bran was patrolling the road coming from the kingdom, waiting for the new recruits that were said to be coming soon. He and his horse, Raven, had done this since arriving, always waiting to be the first to greet the recruits. It was, perhaps, not the best idea considering all the black he was clad in and the black coat of his horse. It didn't seem like it was the most welcoming sight so much as it could be the most intimidating sight. That's what he had heard from a few of the newer arrivals, though the reaction was not extremely common.

[razzberry]

𝐌ａｃｅｙ 𝐌ａｄｄｏｘ
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﴾ alias ━ mace maddox ) ( sex ━ female ) ( role ━ archer trainee ) ( age ━ twenty two ) ( location ━ home > road > camp ) ( tagged ━ family, charlotte )

knelt at the side of her bed, macey finished folding up the last of her clothes - well technically her older brother's clothes - into the small, cowhide saddle bag. her fingers shook as they held the clothing that her older brother, terrence, had worn when he had been drafted awhile back. terrence was killed in battle years ago, but the sound of her other's weeping and the news from two sergeants was still fresh in her mind. now, she was taking her brother's place. since he was no longer around to be drafted, someone needed to go in order to care for the family, and macey decided that person would be her.for terrence, and for the family she reminded herself, so she would always remember what she was fighting for. pushing off the ground, the brunette stood upright with her eyes trained on the bag for a couple seconds before she turned and surveyed herself in the small mirror on the wall of the faded beige walls of her bedroom. she had cut her hair short a few years ago so fixing it hadn't been a problem for macey. her chest was freshly wrapped with bandages to hide any hints of her breasts that might give away her true identity. what macey was worried most about was her face. she possessed very feminine looking features and knew that hiding them would prove to be her biggest challenge. she opted for going for the excuse that she got her features from her mother instead of her father, but even then she knew she would have to be very careful if and when questions about her feminine face arose.

rolling up the sleeves of the faded green fitted jacket, macey straightened up and faced herself in the mirror one last time. lifting her chin up she repeated "mace maddox. mace maddox. that's your name now". obviously she couldn't be drafted with a name like macey, that was like waving a red flag right in front of an enraged bull. not smart. releasing a heavy breath, mace turned and gathered the saddle bag in her arms before leaving her room for what could be the last time. she descended the creaky stairs and padded out the front door and over to the small stables that housed the family's two horses and mace's own stallion named basil. the black percheron was already tacked up with his reins wrapped around one of the horizontal posts of the fence and as the sandy haired woman finished strapping the saddle bag to basil's saddle, she heard the front door of her old house close. she didn't need to look over her shoulder to know that her family were standing on the front porch, watching her with eyes that swam with sorrow. mace braced herself against basil for a minute, closing her eyes and taking a few deep breaths. no tears mace. no tears. don't give them a reason to worry about you her subconscious reminded her. mace turned around a was met with three pairs of eyes. her father, mother and younger sister of nineteen watched her carefully as she strode towards them with basil in tow. "krysia, don't give mom and dad a hard time. and try not to move into my room too quickly" she approached her sister first, her tone easing into a humorous voice near the end of her comment. when she noticed the tears welling up in krys' eyes she quickly wrapped her arms around her sister and drew her in for a tight hug. "i love you krys. never forget that" she kissed her sister's head and then moved towards her parents. they both tugged her to their chests in individual hugs before kissing her forehead in turn. "try not to worry too much. i will be back. i promise" she assured them with a gentle smile. before it grew any harder for her to leave, mace turned and mounted her large stallion patting his neck and adjusting herself in the saddle. a chorus of i love you's and be careful followed her as she rode down the dirt road that led to her house.

she hadn't gone far down the road before a familiar dark brown horse came into view, and the blonde haired rider seated in the saddle atop it's back was someone whom mace would never forget, not for a long time. she slowed basil down as the pair reached the horse and rider, giving her best friend a tight lipped smile, afraid that if she actually opened her mouth the pent up tears and sadness would erupt in a sobbing fit. "ready when you are" she managed to say, and with that she urged basil into a canter alongside charlotte and her stallion storm. it was reassuring that charlotte was going to be drafted as well, they both had the same instinct - to care for their families - and this was the best way they knew how at the moment. she was sure that their families would help each other if needed since the kinsey's and maddox's had been quite close over the years.

hours passed and soon, the quaint camp fell into view and the nerves instantly jumped up into her throat. her fingers tightened on the reins and basil flicked an ear back, sensing her nervousness, and gave a gentle nicker as if to comfort her. she gave the percheron's thick ebony neck a hearty pat, silently thanking him for caring for her. glancing at charlotte who sat atop storm, she let out a heavy breath before shrugging her shoulders. "home sweet home" she joked, attempting to ease the tension that was gathered in both of them. she tapped basil again and rode towards the camp, slowing once the tents grew nearer. mace wasn't sure where they were supposed to go, and her legs had grown stiff from riding for hours.

[passione]

( ✞ ) — ❝ ＶＡＸＡＳ ＴＡＶＲＩＮＴＨ ❞
══════════════════════════════════════════════════
║ age twenty-six ║ gender male ║ role commander ║ location camp ║ tags open ║ form relations ║

Soon enough, the commander sheathed his katana and slung the black holster over his shoulder. His gaze returned to his surroundings, occasionally burning holes into the backs of certain soldiers he knew the names and characteristics of. Troublemakers in the army weren't scarce, but they knew how to take punishments and redeem themselves with extra training when they were caught. Vaxas was praised a few times for doing his job, but there was always an unsettling feeling in his heart that whispered to him that the job wasn't actually his. It really wasn't.

Other than the quiet bustle of soldiers murmuring to each other here and there, noise was practically nonexistent. Not a single person was being emphatic. The new recruits poured in rather quietly, wordless. Vaxas understood them, resonating with their thoughts. For the most part, everyone was going to be missing their families. No amount of the army's expenses could replace a mother or a father, not a brother or a sister. Vaxas knew all too well.

Cupping his hands around his mouth, Vaxas takes a deep breath. All recruits, gather! He boomed, his voice echoing over the area, making it loud and clear to everyone that he was about to give them a first address. There were several older soldiers nearby, and if those listened to the commander and crowded him, others would be sure to follow suit. Vaxas thought for a moment whether or not he would need a small incline of some sort so everybody would be able to watch him speak. Eye contact was essential in delivering a speech, after all.

Vaxas decided against it, seeing as he was already one of the tallest men out here, standing at 6'4". Of course, there was one in then that stood an inch or two taller, and it agitated him a little, but that was no big deal. Vaxas placed his hands on his hips, simply waiting for everybody to gather.

[Λlpha]

Bella "Eric" Everwind

Female | 21yrs | Soldier-in-training | Weapons: Curved dagger & Bastard Sword | Mounts: Thowra (Preferred), Gauge | Tags: Open

Bella listened to the increasing volume of her family's snoring. She could easily distinguish the soft sounds of her mother's snores against the loud rumbling of her father's and younger brother's. A warm tear ran across her cheek and fell onto the pillow, expanding upon the wet patch which was already there. This would probably be the last time she ever heard the familiar nighttime sounds of her home. With a deep, sad sigh, Bella got out of bed, careful not to step on any wooden planks which she knew would creak. Silently, she bound her breasts and got changed into the clothes which she had stolen from her brother prior. She grabbed her bundle of necessities which was lying next to her bed, then snuck out of the house and made her way to the barn. Within half an hour, she was gone, riding away on Thowra, her trusty steed. She had left a note on her door, explaining that she was going into town for a few days, which was a lie.

By midday, Bella had arrived at the nearby town and had tethered Thowra to a post alongside a number of other horses. Leaving him, she ventured into the markets, searching for something which she could use. Aha! She exclaimed internally when she spotted the gleam of weaponry underneath the midday sun. Making her ay over, Bella examined the weapons on display, comparing the weight and size of each. The old man who quite obviously ran the store gestured to a section of the display. Bella moved over to get a better look at the weapons, then smiled. The man had known exactly what she was after. She paid him the coins and took the curved dagger and bastard sword which she had chosen. She walked down an alleyway and took out the dagger. She chopped her hair off, leaving it lying in the alley whilst she strapped the dagger to her right hip and the bastard sword to her left so that she could easily grab either weapon without delay. Once finished, she went to buy a new, more soldier-like horse. Bella searched and searched for the perfect horse and eventually found one that would do. It was a big, black Percheron with a white star upon its' forehead. She asked the owner and he said it stood at 19 hands, perfect for a war-horse. She didn't particularly like the horse. She much preferred her palomino thoroughbred, Thowra, but she would have to get used to him. Within the hour, Bella was riding out of the town on the big black (which she had named Gauge) leading Thowra.

By the time the sun was going down and she was beginning to get saddle sores, the soldier camp came into view. She discreetly entered the camp and tethered both horses, then awaited instructions. When she heard someone call out to 'all recruits', she quickly came closer and stood nearby.

((I'm so sorry this is so late. I've been unusually busy the past few days, which is why I haven't been able to post. Also, I would have done more at the end, but I have to go to bed. Goodnight!))

[200765]

Male Name » Charlie James Kinsey
Age » 22
Role » Scout
Relationship » Future crush on Elias
Location » Road, Camp
Mentioned » Kublai, Brannon, Vaxas
Tagged » Macey

Charlotte Julianne Kinsey

As Charlotte rode alongside Macey to the camp, she noticed another rider following them from far away. It didn't worry her though. She figured it probably was another new recruit heading to the camp on the same route as she and Macey were going on.

Her suspicions proved to be true when hours later, the first white tents came into view, and the rider was still behind them. The sound of quiet voices—all male—brought Charlotte's attention away from the rider and focused on the camp. She urged Storm to carry her further towards the camp, passing a serious looking man dressed all in black. A curious glance was thrown his way, but quickly turned to look at the camp.

It was a little unnerving, how most people were quiet with only a few groups of men having conversation. But she understood that they were preparing for war, and after leaving her family, she wasn't feeling very talkative herself. From what she could see, new people continued to arrive, many of them on horse like she was. Those new people chose a spot around a large clearing to set up their own tents. She noticed that the larger tents were closer towards the center of the circles of tents—probably for the higher ranking officers and soldiers. The circles of tents was kind of like a superiority system. All the better for us, Charlotte thought, If we're on the outer edge we'll have a smaller chance of getting found out. Being at the edge of the camp would also make it easier to sneak away to bathe and shower when everyone else was asleep to avoid getting caught.

Storm shifted a bit, growing restless. Charlotte shared the restlessness, her legs were numb and sore and she wanted to get off Storm to stretch. She was sure Storm was tired from the few hours long ride; carrying her clothes, tent, and a few personal belongings would feel heavy after a while in addition to her own, 109 pound weight.

She realized that she had been still for a while, receiving odd glances from passing soldiers. Blinking quickly to clear her mind, she took a deep breath before letting it out with a whoosh. She ignored the way her heart was pounding against her chest and bindings. Looking over at her closest friend, she smiled and let her 'masculine side' take over. "Let's do this," she said, making sure her voice dropped a bit like she had practiced with Macey back at home. Tilting her head towards the outskirts of the camp, Charlotte asked, "Do you want to set up there?" There weren't many tents up near that area since most people seemed to set up closer to the clearing.

While she waited for Macey's reply, Charlotte dismounted her horse. She sighed in relief as she bent over, stretching out her hamstrings by touching her toes. As she straightened up and took a few steps, she winced in discomfort as the odd shape of the small knife pressed against her ankle inside her boots. Her fingers worked their way into her right shoe and pulled out the sheathed knife. Worrying her lower lip between her teeth, she thought for a few long moments about what to do with it. She finally decided that she probably wouldn't be needing it anytime soon and tucked it into a satchel on Storm. Besides, if she did need a weapon, a pair of twin daggers rested against her hips, attached to the belt that was slightly loose on her.

A loud voice called for all recruits to gather at the center of the camp. Looking over at her best friend, she made her way to the center of the camp, making sure Storm stayed right behind her. When she got there, a scowl formed on her face. Being just over five feet tall, nearly all the men were taller than her so she couldn't see who was speaking. Sighing, she resigned herself to listening to the faceless speaker.

[Butter Dragon]

♕ Ｍａｔｔｈｉａｓ Ｒｅｅｓｅ Ｆａｕｌｋ ♕

ｔａｇｓ；；Vaxasｌｏｃａｔｉｏｎ；；clearing

Ealdun's curly mane caught the wind as it hit his pelt and gave resistance to his rapid pace. His hooves carried his and the weight of his rider through the forest as Matthias leaned forward, holding the reins to keep full control as they made their way back to camp. Mathias pulled on the rope, signaling Ealdun slow as they reached the top of the hill. From there they could see the entire camp, and those roads that were giving way to new arrivals. Coming up one of the paths were two new soldiers, their horses trotting along side by side, within the clearing men were starting to gather as the commander called out through the camp for the troops to gather.

Everything seemed to be fine, as fine as it could be given the circumstances in any case, at least until Matthias caught site of who it was standing in the middle of the clearing. Their commander. Matthias old friend, Vaxas. He didn't know how to handle it. He hadn't seen Vaxas since... Since Mallius' death. Just the thought of those events from the past put a lump in his throat but he tried to push them away. He'd never gotten to grieve with Vaxas. In fact he'd never gotten to grieve at all, and he had no idea how he'd handled the news while in the army. There were so many emotions he didn't want to mix up, but with Vaxas as his new commander there was surely no way that these past memories would not go un conjured.

After unsaddling his horse Matthias made his way to the clearing as slowly as he could. He'd have to focus on the task at hand, the battle, the army, anything but Mallius. Matthias stood at attention but he stayed at the back of the crowd, trying to avoid eye contact with his commander while still listening to every word he spit from his mouth.

[paria.]

E L I A S__T H O R N E
t h e __ s o l d i e r
{Gender} Male {Age} Twenty-three {Word count} 405 {Location} Camp Clearing {Tags} Vaxas, Matthias

Elias had stationed his tent closer to the center of camp, signifying that he wasn't a new recruit. He also finished unpacking his supplies into the tent, although it wasn't much. Eli had been sitting down in front of his tent when Vaxas called for the new recruits. Elias sighed softly and stood up, reaching his full height of 6'5. He would undoubtedly be training at least one of the new soldiers so he might as well join in on the gathering.

"Morning, Vaxas," he greeted. Elias stood a little ways off Vaxas, so he'd have enough space for the new recruits. Elias stood with his arms crossed as he watched the recruits stream into the clearing. He definately saw potential in them, but they'd have to survive training first. His eyes then found Matthias. He looked a bit troubled. "Matthias, are you alright?" Elias asked as he took a few steps towards him.

[broken*]

jessica lynn parker || "jasper leon parker"
20 y/o woman || archer in training
ｔａｇｇｅｄ vaxas

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the trail was not necessarily an unfamiliar one; she had ridden this direction before, once at least, although it had been many years ago. when her brother was growing weaker, his life slowly winding down to its end, she had taken this road, passed the camp that is, to find a special doctor who was known for his miraculous healings. not that it ended up helping; she didn't have the amount of money he was requesting for his services, and by the time she returned, she had only minutes with her brother before his passing. so she knew the way to go, and after a decent amount of cantering her horse along the worn and beaten trail, she slowed him down to a trot as she neared the outskirts of the camp, and then slowed down even further to get the stallion walking as she wove her way through the forest, towards the entrance of the camp. as she made her way through the camp, noticing the way that the tents tended to be clumped together according to ranking of the soldiers. she headed to the very back, noticing that practically everyone seemed to already be here, and dismounted smoothly. there were very few tents this far out, although she noticed a pair leaving the one next to her as a man's loud voice rang through the clearing.

she quickly pulled her tent from off the back of her stallion, beginning to unfold it, and she set it up as quickly as she could, although by no means was she rushing. she took her time unpacking her multiple bags, setting her things out in her small tent, and then she closed down the zipper, taking out a small lock that she used to lock up her tent; not many did that, but she believed to keep her secret, she needed to keep her items separate as well. finally, she figured she better go and see what the commander requested; at least she assumed he was in charge, by the way he called out from the middle of the campgrounds. clucking gently to her stallion, she began to walk until she reached, well, as close as she could to the commander. the troops had pretty much all already gathered, and since she was a piddly 5 foot tall, she had no chance of seeing over any of them. her stallion walked behind her the entire time, and although she didn't hold onto his reins, when she stopped he did as well, his head resting over her shoulder gently, a way he often comforted the girl, as she waited for him to speak again.
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[razzberry]

𝐌ａｃｅｙ 𝐌ａｄｄｏｘ
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﴾ alias ━ mace maddox ) ( sex ━ female ) ( role ━ archer trainee ) ( age ━ twenty two ) ( location ━ camp ) ( tagged ━ charlotte, vaxas )

from atop the back of her large draft stallion, macey's eyes droned cautiously around the small vicinity of the camp, observing the soldiers, archers, and scouts that went about setting up their tents or tended to their mounts. her fingers fiddled with the reins in her hands and it took her a moment to realize that charlotte had already dismounted and was looking up at her. the brunette had only just caught the last string of words that left her friends mouth and she nodded in agreement, not trusting her voice just yet. macey swung her leg over basil's back and dismounted, looping the reins over his head to hold them in her hands, ready to lead him to where charlotte and herself would be setting up their tent. she paused once again as more soldiers passed by, casting glances their way that suddenly made macey feel paranoid that they somehow could see through their disguise. no. our disguises are good. we tested them out in the village back home and no one could tell who we really were. it's fine macey, it's fine... she told herself to calm her racing heartbeat.


"yeah, that spot should be fine. the more privacy the better" the brunette answered her friends query about their tent location. as macey moved to undo the straps of her own saddle bag, a loud voice echoed throughout the clearing and her head turned towards the centre where a large man, who was oddly tall, stood with his hands on his hips, awaiting trainees and soldiers to gather. macey cast a glance over at charlotte before she took her lips between her teeth anxiously and left the saddle bag straps alone to lead her large stallion forward towards where the other trainees were gathered, the older and more experienced soldiers on the outside of the group looking in. this fact alone made her feel small, but macey had to remind herself that she was a man now, and as any man would she would have to show she wasn't afraid nor was she without pride.

standing beside basil made her feel a little more comforted. be it because her black percheron was one of the largest mounts in the clearing and his size made her feel protected, or be it because of the reassuring weight of his velvety muzzle pressed into the crook of her neck. as macey stood in wait with her eyes lifted towards the tall man who had called for everyone's attention, her left hand rose to stroke the smooth ebony cheek of her mount, her fingers drawing slow circles that seemed to calm both mount and rider down.