(It's a terrible name, but OH WELL) For as long as people have been writing words, scrawling them into clay tablets, painting them on walls, carving them into stone, or writing them with ink on a page, there have been people living on the hill. For almost as long, the City has been there. It has had many names, enough that most people don’t bother with them anymore. It’s just The City. Within the walls, the people of the City prosper, without the city the Wilderness encroaches, strange beasts in the deep forests, wild barbarians ranging the hills, wilder magic in the places of the old world. The fields beyond the walls feed the City, the forts at its gates shelter the farmers and their people from the worst the Wilderness can throw at it. You have known these facts your whole life, you’ve lived with the shadow of the City looming over you, in fear of the dark nights where things howl in the darkness beyond the walls. Where did you begin? Spoiler: The Spire The Spire You grew up wandering the halls of the Spire, the highest point in the City, accustomed to luxury even if you were the child of servants. The Spire contains knowledge, its lowest floors host grand libraries and lecture halls, it uppermost the cloistered mages, between the two it has housed the City’s most benevolent leaders and its greatest tyrants. Spoiler: The Streets The Streets You grew up the child of common citizens, or an orphan, the streets of the City your playground, its alleys and secret places your kingdom. No one knows every inch of the City, but you know it better than most. Spoiler: The Gates The Gates You grew up inside one of the forts that guard the Gates to the City. Your childhood was one of carefully regimented routine, nothing disrupts the orderly functioning of the Guard, not even the merriment of children. Spoiler: Beyond The Walls Beyond the Walls You were raised with the City always on the horizon, its glittering Spire a constant landmark, never moving. Whether you were a barbarian staring at the accomplishments of the city, or the children of farmers that tithe to the City for protection, reaching the City and its safety has been a lifelong goal. Spoiler: What The Hell Author? So this is a chan-style Forum Quest. For those unfamiliar with the format, one person (that'd be me) is acting as a sort of Gamemaster/Narrator for the events of the story. You, the audience, get to collectively steer the actions of our hapless, helpless protagonist through the world by the long and respected tradition of raising hands. I'll provide options to choose from in each post, but suggestions are welcome, particularly if you can think of something that I've forgotten as an option or a more interesting approach to a problem. At the end of an arbitrary period, suggestion or option with the most votes is selected as the next choice that moves the story forward. All of that voting should go on in the OOC Thread, rather than here, which I'd like to reserve for the actual story/game. It's tidier like that. N.B. Some of these forum quests use hacks or watered down versions of Tabletop mechanics. This one certainly is going to do that, but it's mostly in a behind the scenes sense, just to help avoid potential pitfalls of the protagonist always winning when it counts. For those interested, things will loosely be informed by FATE Accelerated Edition. If people want more concrete/in the foreground mechanics, we can do that but otherwise it'll mostly be a set of guidelines for me to work by, rather than the underlying framework of the universe. Let the game begin!
[Winner (3 Votes): The Spire] You grew up roaming the Spire's halls and passageways, though some levels have always been off-limits to you. The Spire is a glittering, shining spike that extends skyward from the highest point of the City. It has stood longer than any other structure, a relic of the old world and its magic. No tool or art known have been able to mark its stone, and even the most violent storms and catclysms have not seem to have unseated its foundation. Cloistered high within it, the few remaining mages are secluded, kept safe from the rabble in the City, as the inhabitants below are kept safe from the threat of magic gone awry. In its base, the greatest store of knowledge since the old world, a school for the edification and improvement of the world around you, a beacon of understanding and learning in otherwise dark times. Between the two, the rulers of the City live and rule, safe behind the walls of the single most impregnable structure known to exist. So what are you doing inside such a magnificent and important structure? Spoiler: Reading You are nose deep in a particularly interesting text right now. Your love of knowledge and books is second to none, and here you are inside a giant library! Who cares whether or not you're supposed to be here right now, you'd have found a way in here even if you weren't allowed. Character Select: Scholar Spoiler: Ruling You are presently overseeing petitioners to the Spire, listening to their grievances and dispensing what passes for judgement or justice as neccessary. You never expect to ascend to the throne, but this is a requirement of your education, just in case. (After a few disastrous incidents where someone particularly unprepared to rule has happened to be crowned by a combination of accident or plain bad luck, a certain degree of preparation is required for anyone who could wind up settling their ass in the throne.) For whatever reason, excuse or accident of order of birth, you're not first, or even second in line to rule, but the City is still your problem to deal with. Character Select: Heir-in-Waiting Spoiler: Lurking, Skulking You are presently a slightly deeper patch of shadow, in a patch of shadow, observing the comings and goings within the Spire. At some point, you’ll have to move, but for now you’re content with your near invisibility. You were born to servants in the Spire but you’ve risen beyond that. You were recruited young into the ranks of the Whisperers, secret advisers and hands of the throne. Your life since has been that of a ghost, protecting the City from itself. Character Select: Spy