The seasons change again in Autum. The heat from this year's blazing summer has begun to cool, and already the leaves of the trees begin to paint beautiful shades of gold, red and brown from coast to coast.
But this natural beauty will be tainted. On the eve of summer, the beloved Archrider of the Order, Selra, was taken by disease that had been plaguing her since the start of the year. Bereaved but not shattered, the Order elected the cunning Nelren to replace her, and the way of life in Autum would seem to march on without change, until Nelren -- who quickly climbed to popularity with the people because of his new and fresh ideals -- at his inauguration ceremony delivered a great speech broadcast to many thousands.
A new horizon, he preached ambitiously,
The end to inequality, and the true rule of justice over the land at last.The crowd drew up into a roar, but King Borna, though the official ruler of the land was silent. The Archrider had always held sway over the land, but Nelren like no other.
It was only weeks later that the Order began to fragment. Riders began to lose faith, exiting to all corners of the land to shelter from Nelren's hawkish ideals, which demanded drawing one's blade to fix the land themselves, rather than sitting by as the monarchy did nothing.
It's been months since then. The absence of numerous beloved Riders from the Order has divided public opinion. Some support Nelren as he cuts his path into the land on dragonback with his Riders on his tail, slaying brigands and bandits and giving great speeches, but others still hold faith in Selra's ideas of benevolence...
A great conflict is smoldering for Autum for the first time in a century. As it has always been, there are a handful who will shift the future of the world more than they can imagine:
Sig -
Spoiler (click to show/hide):
The small town of Arborset can be found far east of Autum's capital, Marche at the base of the highlands near the mountains owned by the dwarves. The tall, magnificent forests here are painted beautiful shades of brown, red and gold, and layers of leaves coat the ground in this small hamlet, which is a multi-terraced village located along the edge of a forested hill. It's currently midday, with golden sunlight beaming in through the white clouds. A lukewarm wind blows, rustling the leaves. It's very scenic in this town.
Usually, anyway. The presence of you and your dragon has captured the attention of the locals, most of which are eyeing you curiously from across the quaint tavern you're now sitting in. To your left, a giant open window where your dragon can poke his head in from a small clearing next to the building.
You've been traveling with another Free Dragon Rider, Severin. She's a girl of 19 who you've known since she became a Rider at age 6 and you've been best friends since then, having left the Order in tandem to wander the land aimlessly after deciding against Nelren's ideals, but keeping check on the mounting tensions. Nearby, her dragon, Leiria, pokes her head in through another window to converse with some locals. Her scales are a steely, gleaming silver-cobalt, and her eyes are a deep, pale blue. She's a lithe and slender dragon, only a bit smaller than Orion, but very powerful and majestic looking.
A group of elf and human boys and girls are eyeing you silently, whispering. They're swooning at being in the presence of a revered Dragon Rider, but are too nervous to approach you.
Artemis + Maxwell -
Spoiler (click to show/hide):
Northern Autum isn't the worst place you two can find yourselves at this time of year. It's not winter yet, thankfully, but it's beginning to cool down as summer closes to an end, and as usual, dark gray clouds are painting the sky.
There's almost nothing around you. Indeed, nothing. Sad to say, but you're on the enormous, perfectly flat frozen plains which separates the Order of Skies' headquarters and the North Coast from the rest of the continent. 360 degrees around you, a flat sheet of ice packed in a thin layer of hard snow expands out every direction. It's quite chilly, but not so cold you need to wear heavy snow gear.
For the past few weeks, you've been tracking a lone, infamous wild dragon who has recently emerged from years of dormancy to wreak havoc on the land again. You are not quite sure what his reasoning is, but it's certain he's dangerous. After wounding him once in a surprise attack (and then a battle that nearly killed you both) he fled north towards the icy Northern Coast, whose water is so cold and deep even at the shore those who fall in almost never come out. Kilometres and kilometres to your south, the Order's tower -- the Spire -- can be found sitting among the icy plains. You've avoided it for an obvious reason: the area around it is diligently patrolled for intruders.
But you're not alone! In fact, a little friend of yours -- Rythe, a little bumpkin with an accent whose tribe inhabits these areas -- was more than happy to guide you to the dragon -- Seilan's -- nest.
"...and that's why I hate West Autum, ya." the scruffy looking kid of about 17 -- brown hair tied back into a ponytail, a bit of dirt smearing his face and dressed up in traditional snow garb -- finishes explaining why he hates hot weather. A piece of straw hangs from his mouth, and a stick with a bag tied on one end hangs over a shoulder.
"So what're ya gonna do ta that dragon when ya find 'em, eh? Give him the one-two? One-three? All of that's good and the like, but ya, you should talk to 'em first, is what my mom would suggest to ya..." he suddenly changes the subject as he leads you on in a seemingly random direction, towards the North Coast. His accent is quite thick.
Reaver -
Spoiler (click to show/hide):
Indeed, North Autum is usually boring as all hell for most people. But you, being a Dragon Rider, are permitted to enter the great tower that has been the Order's home for millennia.
You're thousands of feet above the icy plains, wind whipping at your face as you return on dragonback to the Spire, as it's called. After suppressing a petty riot in a town way to the south, you were called back by one of the strongest Great Riders, Lira, to address a request from her. A mission, in fact. She was vague about it, but it didn't take you more than a sec to decide that her order was urgent enough to warrant flying back with great haste.
The Spire came into view pretty quickly. It's hard to miss on the flat ice plains: it was simply a colossal, giant gray spire of rock coated in ice that stretched up seemingly endlessly into the sky, tapering off into a point above the clouds. Its size is indeterminate, but there are countless hundreds of openings of various sides cut into its rough and uneven structure: bays in which Riders and their dragons of varying size may fly into. They are normally sealed from the weather and camoflauged with magic, but for easy in and out access, the countless little bays (all of which have entrances inside them leading into the vast and elaborate tower) are now mostly uncovered.
As you approach the tower, you see one of the bays light up orange with a small Light magic spell to guide your arrival into the open cave. Looks like someone saw you coming.
Lixia -
Spoiler (click to show/hide):
Nice, dark caves. Very dark. Your favorite, as most of the folk around here say. Central Autum, for many dragons not with the Order, isn't the safest place to be as there is so much military and Rider activity around here, but you've been stealthy enough that only a few very separated hamlets and unfortunate hunters and trackers know of your existence. There's plenty of hills, tall forests and rock faces with caves for you to hide and hunt in.
Your current cave of choice is nothing special. It's built into a gigantic mass of rock underneath a hill nestled in a small forest, with a mid-sized opening at the base of the cave big enough to fit through. You didn't actually choose it. It was pointed out to you by another wild dragon who you met and bonded with some time ago: a fierce but naive young male with flame red scales and equally intense firebreath.
Today has been boring. There's a few scraps of fresh kills in the cave, but not much else. Nearby about ten minutes flight away, there's a small village that's alight with activity after learning of your presence from a local tracker. And hours away, there's the heavily defended capital city, Marche.
Sortaix -
Spoiler (click to show/hide):
West Autum is quite beautiful this time of year. The golden fields of wheat and other crops are now being harvested by the locals to be shipped off to places around the continent, and even though it's only early autumn, the locals are already buckling down for the coming winter, which was predicted by some magicians to be one of the coldest -- but most scenic and beautiful -- in recent memory.
It's only midday, but the scenery makes it look more like dusk as the dark orange sun looks lazy and tired in the sky, shining across the colorful crop fields divided by small rows of trees. The view from the sky (in which you're circling above a small village) right now is so breathtaking, you almost want to paint a picture of it! Too bad you don't have hands. Hm.
You've been very popular with the locals. Thanks to your assistance and a few bursts of magic, you've ironed out the many problems plaguing their harvest this year. Seems like Selra's death ignited a slew of misfortune.
It's been a slow day today. Not much has happened, but you're aware that the small hamlet below you is gearing up for the 19th birthday of one of the local peasant girls and a small party will be thrown in a nearby empty field. Below, you can see tables, casks of ale and ovens being set up in a large grass clearing by a handful of guys and gals to prepare for the celebration, which is scheduled to start in the next hour or so. You made no promise to attend, but it's likely having a dragon present would really spice up the celebration...
