Destined to Wander
plot, chat + lore thread
(c)procrastiraptor
A Simple Note ★ plot
I hope this message finds you well, brother.
I've received word from the Governor of Pestil. Remember that place? A pitiful town, and a sorry lot there too. I remember that place in it's glory. Used to be almost as big as the Dominion and with almost as many people. Now it's like walking through a husk. I swear every time I go there I couldn't be disappointed again by it's sight, but I'm wrong each time. Shame what happened.
But I'm not here to discuss history. The Governor mentioned in his message that he's stretched thin. The mutations in the area seem to be growing hungrier and that makes them bold. The people are getting flighty, and most who get caught don't even get to the local Clinic. My concern is that there's something else at work here that has to do with the corruption in the north, which could explain why the mutants are getting more aggressive. I could be wrong, but with all that's happening in over here in the Dominion, I'd hate to see Pestil, and perhaps other towns, fall because we failed to take precautionary steps.
I'd like you to take a trip there and see what's going on. If you're feeling charitable, lend a hand. I don't know what we're looking for here. I wish I had more information for you. Just...go check it out. If you don't find anything, at least we were cautious. I'm continuing my research here. If the people of Pestil are anything like the people here, be careful. I've started getting some complaints, petty things but concerning enough to be brought to both the Syndicate's attention, and though they haven't acted out on it yet, I'm worried it's only a matter of time. You'd think people would want to get rid of these locusts, before we all get swallowed up by some blight.
Safe and speedy travels, pilgrim.
P
The Real Introduction ★ setting
Pestil, formerly known as Aleridian, was once a bustling city of towering buildings surrounded by a beautiful, lush forest. It was the third largest city to the Dominion, until just over a two decades ago, a plague spread through the city and claimed over half the population. Those that were not killed by, or had not contracted the illness, fled the city. For fourteen years, the city fell into ruin, until a party was sent out to scout out the ruins. They found an wild, overgrown crumble. It was determined safe from plague, and though the city had to be taken down, a town was built in it's place. It's reputation turned from shining city to haunted town, and the beautiful forest became dense and wild. Despite the best attempts to resurrect the city, it wore the scar of the plague like a scar, and the town was renamed Pestil (shortened Pestilence).
This is where the story begins.
Tensions are running high in Pestil. The population size hasn't grown in the last decade since it was repopulated, and the Governor is becoming more and more locked away. Supplies from the Dominion are growing thinner when the caravans don't even make it to Pestil. And worst of all, the mutants are growing bolder and more aggressive. The town's guards are doing all they can to keep the city safe at night, the time when the mutants attack, but a few stragglers have even dared strike during the day. The guards have been keeping them at bay, but anyone the mutants have gotten to haven't survived - whereas before, they might have been taken to the town's doctor, Duncan Garcia.
The story starts the day the first caravan in a month is meant to come in, finally, with supplies and aid for Pestil. Early that morning, one of the sunrise patrols discovers something disturbing outside of town.
Your character can be a resident of Pestil, somebody coming in from the caravan (where the character is from is up to you in this case), or someone visiting for something else.
The Beginning ★ setting
The story will begin with two patrolling guards finding a mutilated corpse outside the town, which will be relevant in a moment. Those who have characters that live in Pestil or are already in Pestil for *insert reason here* will be introduced, while anyone on the caravan (if there is?) or coming in to town won't be to Pestil yet (but obviously feel free to do whatever with them).
*short version* The first day is going to be introductions, characters meeting each other (unless they already know each other), the caravan coming into town and the investigation of said mutilated corpse.
*longer version*I imagine the first few posts will be the characters milling about, and then they'll start interacting with each other. The caravan will probably arrive then, and the rest of the characters can meet each other. Whether they stay together or not is determinant on what you want them to be doing. My character will come out when the caravan comes in, and then she will either return or be called back to the Clinic, where the those two patrolling guards from earlier will have brought back that body I mentioned. Anyone can join her if they want, but after they try to figure out what the heck is up with the body, everyone can settle into wherever they are spending the night.
and then event 1 (or when things officially slide downhill) will happen 
we'll worry about the rest when we get there.
I've
always
wondered
why
★
we
don't
need
feathers
to
fly
The Mutants ★ lore
Mutations or Mutants, are living beings that have become 'sick' and monstrous. They were first spotted in Korsaat just shy of a year before the story begins, and have grown at an alarmingly rate. They are described as vicious, hungry and mindless. They are have carnivorous cravings, and become frenzied when they grow hungry. Though they are more docile after a feeding, they are still hostile and will attack anything that gets too close.
Injuries from a Mutant are as concerning as any other injury one could receive. If they are treated properly, the recipient will recover normally, if not a bit sluggishly. Little is known about how one truly becomes Mutated, aside from the knowledge that is has something to do with a sort of virus. There is no known cure for this virus, and no one is quite sure what it is.
Mutants typically only attack at night, and are not often seen in the day. In recent events, however, some Mutations have become bolder, striking now in the day as well as night.
procrastiraptor wrote:as stated before, the mutants are somewhat similar to zombies. they have hunger cravings that are always carnivorous (but it's not just limited to brains or human flesh, it's any kind of meat). unlike zombies, if you get bit/scratched by one you aren't totally screwed. if you clean the wound before you get an infection (literally a normal infection), you'll be fine (unless you're weakened). if you get sick with corruption, however, that's when the real threat strikes. you can fight it if you're healthy and strong, but it's really really draining, and pretty much 9 out of 10 times, you become a mutant. it's a slow process, and most can retain memories/humanity/etc while they're turning (so they aren't like zombies where they just turn into mindless fiends). BUT! like i said before, you get hunger cravings, it's kind of like a werewolf then - if you get hungry enough, you lose whatever mental dominance you have until you're full. the mutations are usually pretty docile when they're full (until now), and usually they just get crazy when they start getting hungry (and no, feeding them snickers will not cure them). most mutants can't talk, but they can recognise people/animals. also, unlike most zombies, they aren't so much shambling creatures who are rotting (well they are still alive, after all), and mutants usually keep whatever strength/speed/resilience/attributes they had before they got sick. they can sometimes do weird, freaky shit like jumping around onto high places and speeding around, but that's more occasional. they don't usually like the daytime so much, so usually they only attack at night (again, until now)
the only things the characters won't know right now is that the corruption is causing people to become sick and turn into mutants. that, and that mutants are aware and remember things.
Locations ★ lore
*undergoing regular updates
The Dominion: the capital city and main hub of most events that happen in Korsaat. The underground empire is located in west, sandwiched between forest and desert. The Dominion is home to the ruler of Korsaat, the Emperor or Empress (currently Empress Elysa), and most of the higher ranking politicians. It the most technologically advanced city, with the most resources in all research fields. Keeping the peace in the city is the Syndicate, highly trained guards folk, following the ruling of the Commander, one of the few positions under direct commands from the Empress.
The people of Dominion are as wild and colourful as the city. Most follow a sort of conjoined high mind - amiable enough, but wary of outsiders. The lower-class is less wary and more openly distrustful of everyone, the middle-class is the most welcoming and the upper-class is more reserved. Of course, you cannot categorise a city full of people into one basket - all have different beliefs and opinions.
Over the past few years, a group known as the Alliance has slowly been rising in reputation. Known for openly opposing the Syndicate and the Empress, the Alliance is what some could call the start of rebellion. They are a very subtle group, however, and despite the Syndicate's best interest, only a few members of the order have been found. Most of the city disagree with the Alliance, and it's dangerous to even mention them, but there are methods in which sympathisers could be granted an audience, if they keep their nose clean and don't go preaching it on the streets.
Pestil: Once known as the city Aleridian, Pestil is a small town to the east, in the middle of a wild and dense forest. What used to be a grand city is now merely a sliver of it's former glory, but the residents have nothing to complain about. If you live in Pestil, you're content. There's no grey area here, for you're either satisfied in the community or you're not. But for all the talk of how disappointing Pestil is, the locals could all describe it as cosy. Despite the dangers of the forest and the unnerving superstitions surrounding the town, Pestil is a close-knit and well-oiled community. They are cautious of outsiders, and typically dislike disruptions or threat to their town, but they try their best to be welcoming.
They have a small unit of guards that protect the village, and many of the citizens know how to wield a weapon. Pestil is ruled over by the Governor (currently Governor Brian Murdock), but there is not much in the way of politicians here. Pestil also lacks most new technology, and has no jobs for those more scientifically inclined. Most people use (motor)bikes for transportation. The Clinic is where anyone sick or injured is taken, but as with much of Pestil, lacks in many practitioners. It is currently under the authority of Duncan Garcia and his two apprentices.
Coisat: Often called the Frozen City, Coisat is far to the north in the snow-covered mountains that overlook the frosty plains below. Coisat is a large, sprawling city, but it's not very technologically advanced. Coisat is filled with researchers, scientists and hunters. Living in Coisat is not for the faint-hearted, as it is cold and snowing most of the year, dipping far into the minuses when winter rolls around. Surrounding the city are rich, mineral-filled caverns and mines, and while Coisat remains well-built and well financed from their materials, the caverns are more often used for research and experiments then they are for actually extracting material.
Jadana: Another one of the larger city, Jadana is the smaller attempt at the Dominion. Jadana is ruled by Count Kane. Almost all the citizens of Jadana are cold to outsiders and even to the lower classes in their own city, as most of the citizens are decked out and enjoy flaunting their wealth and accomplishments. They have the most up to date technology, as they would not settle for less. Jadana is located to the south, on the border of the mountains and meadow region, and next to Lake Nazari. This city also has a good portion of Korsaat's army, but it is said that the soldiers' powers are sometimes abused for Jadana's own advancement and protection.
Lake Nazari: The largest lake in Korsaat, located in the south. Lake Nazari is surrounded by desert, mountains and meadow.
Miscellaneous ★ *shrug*
*undergoing regular updates
*stolen from sar
how technologically advanced are they?
-depends on where you are. Pestil is really behind on technology. they have a lot of basic stuff like tablets, computers, and all the normal stuff like that, but they have very little medical stuff and nothing in terms of sciencey stuff (there are no science related jobs in Pestil, so they don't need it), and usually they use bikes for transportation. but in the whole scale of technology, they're pretty far behind. The Dominion is what you'd imagine a futuristic city to be like, it has a little of the fantasy, medievalishness everything else has, but they have good, advanced technology. they have their 'internet' stuff, with pretty much anything you can imagine would be on there, they have really good medical, science, chemistry, etc etc stuff there, they have a lot of cool vehicles (sadly no hover-things yet, but they have 'flying' carriers, which are essentially trams attached to the ceiling that zip people around to their destination). otherwise, it just depends on where you are. a general rule of thumb is most of the cities have better technology, while the more remote or smaller villages/towns/communities/etc are a little more behind.
is there magic?
-there isn't anything like you'd find in high fantasy like 'i'm a wizard' or spells or anything like that, but you could call the corruption some sort of magic. if there is any, it's very small traces of it that could be natural phenomenons, but have no explanation and just happen. (so yes, but you can't go fireballing people or making love potions)
what sort of role does the Dominion play?/do people generally like the higher-ups in the Dominion?
-The Dominion is the capital city in Korsaat, and it's where the Empress lives. it's a huge underground city and has just about everything imaginable there. it's the main hub of nearly everything. in terms of higher ups, obviously you have the Empress who is exactly what the title describes. she's the ruler of Korsaat, and the current one is a damn good one. most people like her (whether this is because she is, as stated, doing a damn good job or because the last Emperor was a complete flop or both is up for discussion), obviously she has enemies and/or people who don't approve of her views of things, but that's kind of to be expected (obviously). as for all the politicians it's pretty much what you'd expect. right now, it's just a lot of people disagreeing over their opinions and so on and so forth. it has escalated in the past, and there's been fighting, but right now, it's fairly relaxed. so depends on who you talk to and what their political opinions are (can you tell i'm making random crap up because i don't know a thing about politics?)
npcs and side characters that will be mentioned or interacted with
Brian Murdock: The Governor of Pestil. A well reputable leader and a good man, but has recently become reclusive in the City Hall as the mutants become more deadly and has been struggling to make ends meet and keep the citizens safe and happy.
Duncan Garcia: Pestil's only qualified doctor, owner of The Clinic.
Alastair Peters: One of the two apprentices to Duncan at the Clinic.
Konnor Price: One of Pestil's guards.
Catharine MacCarrick: One of Pestil's best guards.
Empress Elysa: The Empress of Korsaat, residing in the Dominion.
Teddy + Robin Silveira: Savannah and Milo's parents. Teddy is working on the guard.
*things that will be mentioned
The Syndicate: The organisation tasked with protecting and keeping the peace in Korsaat, stationed in the Dominion. They have a mixed reputation, some good and some bad. Usually, their ways are ethical and cautious, but after the last Emperor (Emperor Oren), some people remain suspicious of them. The Syndicate takes direct orders from the Commander, one of the closest positions to the Empress. (Oren had very inhumane methods of keeping the citizens in line). Their numbers are slowly regrowing after it suffered heavy damage from Emperor Oren's rule when many of the members left or were killed.
The Alliance: The Dominion's largest underground ('underground' I say, when the city is already underground) organisation. Some could say they are the opposing the Syndicate and trying to take over the capital, but nobody really knows what the Alliance's goals are. A tight-knit, low profile group who only recruits the best (in their eyes). Many people are scared to even mention the Alliance, as assassins have been issued to take out even those who would breathe their name.
Santiago's School for Medical Practice: A college in the Dominion, tailored for students studying anything medicine or science related. Ranges from researchers, to practitioners, to nurses, to alchemists, to anything in between.
