[Riverfall Activity] Weekly Contest Results - June 18th!

[Gossamer]

❖ Legend * Fairytale * Myth For The Week Of 6/18/2012! Feel free to tell us about this Image! It will have to be completely and utterly creative to explain this image by a legend, fairytale, myth. This one is creative and will go right into the wiki and become part of RF's folklore! Post your entries below!

[Rykanis Dakshata]

The Tale of Tenvar Ret-Shunna This tale is of an Akalak who lived and died long ago, on the isle of Valkalah. -Tenvar grew as a young boy, to be an average Akalak man in many ways. He was of average height, not even 7 foot tall. He was of average skill with fighting, and hunting, which was the profession that he chose to follow. his skin was of a normal blue hue, if a bit lighter than average. What he was not average in, was in his interests. For while most Akalak's followed the gods Wysar and Akajia, these gods were of little interest to him. The one thing Tenvar loved above all else, was pranks. He loved to pull pranks on his friends, pranks on random passerby, pranks on anyone he could. In this regard, he preferred the gods Ionu and Kelwyn. Ionu, in his playful, nature, his great sense of humor, and his love of pranks and teasing. In Kelwyn, he was a man of great risks in his pranks. Often they would backfire, he would get caught, or they would go horribly wrong, and he never gave up or stopped. In that, in his daring, and willingness to risk, he loved those twin gods. Eventually, he drew both of these gods attention, and gained there gnosis, which only enhanced his boldness and his pranking abilities. However, one day, he angered a fellow hunter who he had pranked. He had switched out his arrows for tightly rolled scrolls that he had illusioned. The hunter was supposed to be in an archery contest, and Tenvar thought it would be great fun to see as he shot the arrows, only for them to fall short, and watch as they turned back into paper. But what he could not predict, was this hunter deciding to go out hunting before the contest, and running into a dangerous beast. Thanks to Tenvar's prank, his weapon was useless, and his fellow akalak nearly died. -Many said this was enough, and so a group of 6 akalaks set out to kill Tenvar, in there anger for his unstopping pranks, and for nearly causing the death of there kinsmen. They cornered him alone, and came at him, with the intent to kill him and end his threat to peace forever. However, in these dire straights, Tenvar had no choice but to activate his gnosis from Kelwyn. And when he did, something unheard of happened. The magic affected all of the men present. But in an odd way. It affected there size and height, and they all changed size, there entire bodies proportionately! Two of the akalaks shrunk, until one was but 2 foot tall, and another was 3 foot tall. Another two had little change, one growing an inch, another shrinking an inch. The two remaining Akalaks grew to 8 foot tall, and 9 foot tall... But Tenvar... He grew the largest, and grew to 12 foot tall! With his new size and strength, he slew all but one of the men who had attacked him, the smallest, the one of 2 feet, who escaped by his small size. By this he made sure that no one would ever challenge his pranking again. -However, the magic had unseen consequences. One day, as men do, Tenvar fell in love with a woman. Through some miracle, they were able to conceive, and he was able to impregnate her. But after the long wait, when the child did come, he was the smallest anyone had seen. He could fit in the hand of his father Tenvar! He would be doomed to spend his entire life as tiny, growing no more than 3 foot tall. In his desire for a proper son, Tenvar tried again. But the next son was even smaller, he could fit on Tenvars finger, and he grew no more than 2 foot tall! -By this time, many years had passed since the events of the change in Tenvars size. Unbeknownst to him, the last man of the group that had tried to kill him survived. Not only that, he had also propagated, and had children. But the reverse effect had happened to his children. For when he finally bore a son, he was huge, and killed the mother in child birth. He also grew at a phenomenal rate, and when he was full grown, was 13 feet tall, even taller than Tenvar! Once he had trained and was strong and confident, he challenged Tenvar to a fight. With his youthful energy, and larger size, he bested him, and slew Tenvar. -But this was not the end of the story. As Tenvars smallest child, Lentar, wanted revenge. He used his small size, and snuck into the huge mans home... He laid in wait, and when he returned, poisoned and killed him. But in his haste for revenge, he did not see were he was, and when the giant fell dead, he fell and crushed Lenvar... - There are several theories as to the moral of the story. Some say it is that only evil can be made by trying to kill there kinsmen, and that by doing so, they were all doomed from the start. Others say it is that filling your heart with hate and malice was what killed them, and that if they had left things be, they could have lived a happy long life. Still others blame Tenvar, for not being a more productive person, and for calling down this problem by wasting his time with frivolous pranks. -It is unknown what the true moral of the story is, or if the story is in fact truth, or a legend passed down over the ages, and embellished over time to its current state. Regardless, much can be learned by seeing the many wrong acts done by these various akalaks, any of which could have stopped this tragedy before it began.

[Syrah Steele]

The First Akontaks Courtesy of Sojourn Like the original story of Valkalah goes, Akalaks were able to reproduce more easily back before the Valterrian. Now it is much more rare to have a child born. No one knows why and we still don't. But one thing that resulted with the Valterrian besides the poor reproduction rate of the Akalaks. This time it was a good thing. A new race popped up, a race to perfectly fill the Akalaks missing women role. Konti, they called themselves, a race made completely of women who made children just like the Akalaks did. Mating with any other race to ultimately make a Konti, no matter the male input. Most thought that breeding a Konti and an Akalaks would result in a stillborn of either race or no pregnancy at all. In fact it was quite the opposite. With the combination of the races either an Akalak or a Konti could be bred and Konti became the number one choice for a partner by the Akalaks for their high success rate at their pregnancy and most did not result in death like most humans. To the Akalaks, Konti became a gift from the Gods and it only got better when a strange child was born. About 200 years after the Valterrian a Konti gave birth to a baby girl with white hair and lovely scales and gills. Except there was something wrong with this one, she had blue skin like that of her father Akalak. She was instantly regard with the up-most care and, for most of her young life, she stayed safely in Mura where her father moved to care for her as well. As she grew she developed her second personality, the dark one, and she battled with it like any regular Akalak would. She overcame her dark side eventually, earning more love and trust from her Konti and Akalak brothers and sisters. It became clear as she grew and developed a love for magic that she was more entwined with the Gods and kept a larger Djed pool than most. She excled quickly at her studies of magic and other things and she was regarded as the best of both races. It wasn't until another strange child was born about 20 years after the girl. This child had a rough birth and almost killed his mother but the outcome, they thought, was worth the risk. This boy looked like an Akalak, he was male, blue skin, infravision. But, like his Konti mother, he had white hair and scales and gills. He became the second known mix of the two races and they finally produced a name for them. They called the mixed children Akontak, a mix of Konti and Akalak, like the children were themselves. The boy was raised in Riverfall and as he grew he developed his dark side, which eventually overcame him. his love for magic turned dark and many thought they had lost a precious being. As a last resort, the boys father went to the first Akontak for help. He thought that maybe she could help his son as they were the same. She agreed and went to see the boy in his confinement. She spent many days with him inside his confinement, earning his trust and love. Although in the end her time with him did not fully banish his dark side, it did help and his light side became more apparent and took control over his body. The boy continued to have violent outbursts, but they were few and far between. Both the Konti and Akalaks had wondered what would happen if they put the two together. Would they recive a regular Konti or Akalak, or a prized Akontak? After the two Akontaks meeting, they didn't have to wait long. During his confinement the boy fell in love with his fellow Akontak and they were married when his dark side grew quiet. In their lifetime they produced three children, a wonderful number, and they never failed to produce an Akontak. It was quite a sight, their family. Five Akontaks, unknown before the females birth. They had two sons and a daughter. One of the sons fell completely into the dark side and was unable climb back out. The daughter, like her mother, was fully in the light and she grew to be a priest, spouting the words of the Gods for all to hear. She was marked with all four parenting Gods of the Akalak an Konti, Wysar, Akajia, Avalis, and Laviku. With two marks from each God and three from Wysar. She was revered in both Mura and Riverfall for her closeness to the father and mother Gods. The second son wound up like his father, a constant battle between his dark and light side. He was very skilled in magic, more so that his parents and was marked with Akajia, Avalis and Zulrav. he did both great good when preventing storms and great bad when he caused them when his dark side took over. After the first two Akontaks produced nothing but more Akontaks, thoughts started to run through peoples minds. They began to believe that the Akontak was the true race of the Akalak and that Konti and Akalak were only one apart of a whole. Two half spheres to make one. It was clear that Akontaks were a more superior race than the Konti and Akalaks themselves, it only made sense that this is what the Gods had intended. And thus the Legend of the Akontak was born. Although extremely rare, Akontaks are respected and when one is born it is care for like no other child before.

[Bob Barton]

Horaimin (ho-rey-meen); noun A despicable person who should meet an equally fitting end There are words far worse than the usual Akalak terms of Jakri and Helioc although they were not always that way. One of them is Horaimin. What was once a name for a gifted Akalak now a term to describe the lowest of the low to the point that no self respecting Akalak would allow it to come from their lips. The name would have been long forgotten if the story surrounding it was now known to almost everyone even today, Horaimin was a one of the outcasts for good reason. Although all Akalaks needed women for the good of the race, Horaimin went further and wanted them for himself. A night, two or longer did not matter to him. It did not help that he was a narcissist and why wouldn't he be? He was like the women who fell in love with him at first sight and if not they would eventually as the Akalak had a talent in drawing out those feelings from those he wanted. Many interpretations has been provided for what really happened after given its rather unbelievable nature. Some say it was because his talents has perverted what Cheva stood for to the point that she could no longer ignore it. Others think that it had something to do with that other god across the ocean whose feelings Horaimin toyed with instead. The most strangest one of all was compliments that Lhex finally did something good for once in his mischief. Any one of those or the many others still would not change the fact of what happened while Horaimin was admiring his reflection on his lakan one day. The lakan in his hands suddenly changed into a child. Because he was small enough to fit on his "father's" hand, he would not be seen as an Akalak child but he had the unmistakable dark purple skin that Horaimin so loved about himself. Mixed arguments came about why Horaimin became attached enough to the child to call him son, Horaimin (junior), but the most popular of those came back to his narcissism. All Akalaks knew that the lakan had a part of their soul in it. This seemed more true when the child grew to be bigger. Although he was still relatively smaller from the unnatural way he was conceived, he was in Riverfall and made big enemies. Mostly they were children, fortunately for the boy and settled their problem the only way they knew how. At the only bridge that crossed the Bluevein River. Because he was smaller than the average Akalak child he had the advantage when they competed with their closet forms and because of his vain nature inherited from his father, he never yielded even when the other children rocked the bridge as hard as they could. So they had to think about something else. Thinking that Horaimin or maybe his dark brother had more brains, they challenged him to jump off the bridge. Though it will never be referred to the first execution there as the Elders would prefer to think it was an unwanted accident while the children went about on their horseplay, the event still had its effect on the history of the bridge. It was because of the incident that the Council of Elders deemed the bridge dangerous for any children but that never stopped some of the more brave ones from testing themselves there thinking of it as a rite before their rite. "What horaimin can do, I can do better!" they will declare right before an adult comes. The senior Horaimin did not know what actually happened but he could sense his child in trouble and went to the bridge that very same day. The akalak tried to look over the bridge and in what his brethren would call his undisciplined state fell over. In the end Horaimin was reunited with his child possibly because of vengeance but by which one of those he had wronged, no one would really care to find out. What they did care about was that it made a good example for Akalaks to tell their children the importance of discipline. "You don't want to end up a horaimin do you?" But Horaimin chose to not reincarnate thinking that the world would be at a loss without him. As a result of his prolonged existence, the ghost soon after being alone for so long after losing the only other love of his life yearned for another. According to those three Akalaks that turned Cerulean there was another which instigated the execution of the Nakivak by tossing her over the bridge. The injustice of it allowed her to stay on with him right until, like all his past companions, she realized that he was not worth it being the horaimin he was and met with Lhex to continue her cycle. The ghost at the bridge patiently waited only appearing to those women he deemed worthy for his companionship every few years to tempt them into jumping over and joining him but none were stupid or desperate enough to do so. Finally the Council gave him a gift in another Nakivak named Christina Alvelis. Horaimin did not need to convince her much to stay with him other than the prospect of revenge to those who wronged her. Now with a new ally it would be easier for Horaimin to draw in more to him. Most of those who chose to join them as ghosts eventually reincarnate for a new beginning but Christina for her own reasons remains with her partner. While the Akalaks would still be a problem that the two would avoid there would be the occasional passing woman for him to seduce or an Akalak child yet to be in the company of his dark brother that she cannot resist harming, or both. As Never Chivan has said "If one lacks discipline, then one is naught but prey for the forces of chaos" but those at least are relatively safe because the Akalaks watching it are all but without discipline. Name: Horaimin Race: Ghost (Akalak) Gender: Male Date of Birth (age): 44th day of Winter 400 AV, 112 years Place of Birth: Riverfall Skills: Materialization 67 Seduction 54 Lakan 22 Unarmed 44 Mandolin 18 Gnosis: None Additional Information: In life Horaimin only wanted to satisfy himself by taking anything he wanted into his arms especially the women. Those who were more prudent needed a lot more convincing and the Akalak soon learned that music was something that worked well in his efforts. However in death, the Akalak who only cared for his appearance never held his instrument again but he never lost his charm. He will appear to those lonely women who make their way to the bridge and its beautiful view to charm them with promises of a better life before dropping them into reality. While one of the reasons of the lack of his appearances is because he has no interest most of the Riverfall population, he is reminded that he does not need to work to hard to get more company each time the Council chooses the bridge for an execution, perhaps as a way to appease the spirit. Most of the womenfolk should find themselves more lucky that they never meet the mysterious Akalak at the bridge than those who are never able to reenact their meeting.

The bridge in the whole thing is Christina's Remorse because it looks like a totally swell place

[Gossamer]

You guys are going to make this incredibly hard. They are all so good!

[Dex]

Not that long ago, a rumor was perpetuated throughout Riverfall of an old eccentric mage living on the outskirts of the city, and what he did. The mage was one of the best, but had slowly dropped into senility, making crazier and crazier magical experiments, that sometimes escaped. Eventually the mage died, and the city council seized his experimental data. Some conspiracy theories state that the city council is still using that data, trying to make it better. But that's besides the point. One of the supposed experiments that the mage, Rakis Evredagh, attempted, was to creature a pycon with akalak characteristics. Supposing that a combination of morphing, animation, and alchemy, could create it, Rakis set out to create one. When he did, by using alchemy with akalak blood and animation, he got more then he bargined for. The akalak, who also took the name of Rakis from his creator, immediately set out to prove that he was a true akalak. Leaving immediately to create his very own mini sized lakan, and to preform the rite of passage, he left Riverfall for a length of time to accomplish this. When he returned, and got an audience with the city council, he was laughed out of the room. Determined for revenge, he set out on a raid of terror upon the city. Surprising to them all, he did manage to achieve it. Never seen, and rarely heard, Rakis would sneak in bedrooms at night and slit the council members throats with his tiny lakan, managing to kill 7 of them. He was eventually hunted down and killed, leaving 5 of the original members safe. Just before they killed him, he cursed the city to suffer his return for their arrogance. Luckily the city has been safe from his unlikely return ... so far. oocNot much, but wanted to write out that little idea for later maybe.

[Leigo]

oocHopefully I'm not late. I didn't have time to try and write around this idea earlier. Also, the game was just an afterthought but I would like to hear your opinions on it. Once upon a time there was a creature of great valiance and discipline. His future followers would soon hear his name whispered here and there. They would all soon yell Wysar as a synonym for honor and integrity. None could match up to his godly picture, not the mighty Izurdin and not even the truthful Tyveth. Then he was just a silhouette of his current godliness, but it remained evident that he was drifting. Mortals just couldn’t understand him and he slowly retreated further within himself. No matter how much they tried, his faithful couldn’t help him. Conviction started to fall apart among the worshipers and anarchy ensued soon after. As if completely unfazed by the meaningless ruckus, Wysar told his companions off with few curt words and nods. Needless to say, rumors began to spread about their great savior losing his mind. It was soon after that neighboring tribes felt wounds oozing with promise of fame and pillage. Wysar would always stop them and send them back on their way, but his very nature denied sending them to Dira and so they persisted. Each time he would push them back only to see they returned anew. Somewhere in the middle of this mess, an intruder snuck into their midst. Nights soon became darker and thieves more wary of shadowy covers. Rumors dared to speak yet again of a living shadow in their community, one so dark and vile it threatened everything Wysar ever stood for. These self proclaimed prophets soon found a woman tinted as the darkest night. Their zealous quest had come to an end. After bringing their deity this traitor, the apprehenders expected respect and praise beyond measure. Yet all they got in return was a godly hand pointing at the door after having received only a half-hearted thank you. The god’s recluse self wasn’t much of a talker, yet he rose to welcome the said intruder. “I am…” the god began “Wysar” but the intruder finished for him. Seemingly looking as if he was in pain, the god turned away from the woman’s arrogance. Something inside him wanted to hurt her in so many ways that words failed to describe, yet he couldn’t for he was honor incarnate as well. And honor and bloodshed had never fared well with each other before. The god wanted to send the woman back on her way, but he never got to do that, because she spoke words that bound him in place. “You have a secret, mighty Wysar” she said, her voice echoing through the hall “and I am here to ease your mind.” Giggling, she continued “I am here to take it from you…” without much cares that she was in fact speaking to a god, the intruder crept closer. She needed to examine him better after all. The god had other plans it would seem as he kept retreating further into the shadows, foolishly accepting their shelter as if they weren’t her allies. “Are you scared?” no longer respectful of his distance, the woman quickly gained on him, and he had nowhere more to run. Like a cornered dog, the god lashed out. Only it was no longer him that wanted the woman gone, in his place there was another wielding all the might of their joined container. Surprisingly enough, this woman stopped his assault without breaking a sweat. He might have been the mighty Wysar, but his power lay in conviction and discipline and all this other soul remained with was murderous intent. Humming in a language the god couldn’t discern, she commanded his former compatriots, the shadows, to bind his arms. Leaving all corners and hideouts, the woman’s servants quickly obliged. Shackled for the first time since birth the discipline in god’s gaze came back as he finally realized, for those out there he might have been a god, but for her, here, he was just a man. Opening his clasped hands, he was submitting to her whims. Strangely enough she turned the shadows away as soon as the rage had subsided. “Secrets!” the newly realized man pronounced. Without waiting for him to add something, the bold woman repeated his word(s) as if to denote a question. “You wanted my secret, but what if I have many?” the man gazed at her in docile submission. “Then this shall make for an excellent conversation.” She smiled “No one can interrupt” she yelled at the shadows, but before they made their wake, Wysar had something to say. “No” he began as the woman’s brow quirked unexpectedly “They are my people and I should be the one to keep them locked away. Besides, there should be someone watching over them while we remain secluded.” There was something sad in the pain that followed. Gripping firmly around his left thumb, Wysar needed just one pull to desecrate his container. Before his finder could ever reach ground, a small version of him emerged from it. “You are the thumb of Wysar” the man instructed “in here that might not mean much, but out there it should be enough.” Waving his wounded hand towards the door, he finished “watch over them until my return.” As if terribly amused by this chain of events, the woman mimicked Wysar’s folly and tore her own left thumb. The creature that emerged from its flesh looked just like the one Wysar had created the only difference remaining was the tint of their skin. One representing honor, conviction and discipline remained so pale that he resembled an albino almost, the other however remained blackest than the darkest night. Much like the man, the woman too instructed the creature she’d just birthed to watch over the people outside. When the two emerged outside, chaos ensued immediately. Still, the incredible duo got around to handling it quite easily. The thumb of Wysar kept conviction, integrity, honor and discipline at their peak while the one representing Akajia, the mother of shadows as they would soon call her, made sure that no stone remained unturned and no mystery went unsolved. Unclear how long the two inside remained conversing, evident changes could be seen on their tiny representatives over time. The one representing Wysar became darker as the one holding Akajia’s grace slowly paled. The changes were not purely physical either; as the white one darkened it took on some of its opposite’s traits and vice versa. Talk soon ensued about how for each secret the two exchanged, their spawns changed. For each of the woman’s secrets, the man’s thumb darkened, and for each of his words, her child whitened. One day the thumbs could no longer be discerned as a pair, but in their place stood a fearsome individual, human sized and with dusky skin – all quickly accepted it as a union from their absent leaders. Soon after, the deities emerged from their refuge. Evident changes on both, they stood behind their newest creation and each laid an equally dusky hand onto the creature’s matching shoulders. No one knows for sure what happened next, but none debate that this was in fact the birth of the Akalak race. Why were their male or why were they even mortal remained a mystery. One thing was clear however. In the irony of it all a wild Akajia had managed to tame the pacifistic Wysar, and from that holy merger the Bluevian race spawned. To this day the story has been retold many times and many take it for just a myth, but there are some who remain confident in its truthfulness and the message it relates. Even the thumbs remained famous among the adolescent’s of Riverfall as a game would soon come for them. In this game, a couple would head inside a room and guard would be posted outside. This sentry would in fact represent the joined blood of Akajia and Wysar as well as the protector of their privacy. And if only for a chime or two, the pair would be left alone inside to carry on their own business. The guard would then take the hardest part of the game on his shoulders as he would try and keep the intruders out of the deities’ haven for as long as he could. Once he has failed, he and the pair would all meet outside to take turns as to who would be the pair and the guard again. The game itself has had some notoriety to it among the elder Akalak, as fights would break out over who gets the girl in the end. Since then and unwritten rule has been put in place. There would always have to be at least as many women as there were men, else riots would ensue. Given Riverfall’s demographics, the game quickly caught on as an exotic exploit.

[Gossamer]

Hi Guys! This week was beyond tough. You guys have so many good entries. Those that did not win I urge you to submit edited versions of your stories to the regular Submission Desk for credit for legends because they all could be really good. I actually had to go to outside sources to get additional opinions on this one to choose a winner. And while you guys were all fantastic, ultimately we decided to go with Bob Barton's version because it included so many elements of Riverfall and an already existing location. He also managed to spin an NPC ghost into the fray too. Grats Bob! You get your choice of goodies. Let me know what you want or I'll just credit you points.

[Syrah Steele]

One day, I will win. But for now, congratz Mr. Bob!