something strange hung in the air, the morning mist rolling across the landscape like a frozen tide, burnt orange swept briefly against a canvas of blues and greys. the air, lavender at sunrise, felt eerie and still - and both nazonal and his mother had slunk away, as though in possession of some knowledge just barely out of beetle's grasp. so he had done what any sane eight month old would do; he followed them.

instinctively, he kept his body pressed low, comically flat to the ground, obvious he had no idea what he was doing. but there were so many here, stalking the shadows, and eyes like silver saucers glanced around in quiet confusion. with every quiet step he took, he swept his tail carefully over his tracks, tension growing in the air around him - and you couldn't be too cautious when the ground was quaking like that, right? was that normal? he gulped, sinking his tummy to the ground, ears low, and waited.

- attempting to remain hidden -

+5 leave a trail of confusing tracks
+5 follow a character without getting caught
+5 scout a neutral territory
+20 extreme difficulty mammoth hunt 2022

- 8 months, no bonus -

2 years, no trade bonus

Cirilla had found herself to be an early riser as of late. The bitter winter mornings had forced her to get up earlier and move to keep warm, and it seemed as though this habit had not been broken as the milder spring mornings rolled in. The Sigrún moved effortlessly through the neutral lands, arriving at the badlands and dipping into the rocky terrain.

She spots quite the crowd gathering around something big, and the woman cannot help but be pulled in by the wonder and awe of what the crowd had come to see. Dipping into the gorge and making her way to the crowd, Cirilla breaks through and sees the mammoth... well, mammoth standing in front of them. It's overly large tusks, overly large ears... overly large everything was quite overwhelming. Eyes look to those that had gathered, looking specifically to @Myrkvi briefly before looking back to the beast.

How exactly were they going to bring this down?

2 years, +1 dice to hunt rolls

She had taken a morning trot in the drylands, eventually making it as far as the badlands. The cloud that hung overhead blocked out the sun, and for once, it made this part of Amaryllis not suffocatingly hot. The Rike princess allowed her paws to lead, feeling the muscles ripple within her body as she pushed herself harder and harder. She had fallen lazy over the past few months - distracted with plans and politics. Now, though, after having put on a few pounds, Valaine was intent on losing them.

She hadn't noticed the tremor at first, galloping and disturbing the lands in her own right. However, as it drew closer and the tremors became a bit stronger did she realize... something was off.

She noticed a few other lions gathered in the area, first. Then she realized why they had stopped what they were doing to gaze past in awe at the magnificent beast that stood before them. Huge and hairy, Valaine had never seen anything like it - not even in the cold lands where she hailed from. Giant, curved tusks protected its face and limp and large trunk, and each step the beast took sent the ground trembling. By now, the creature realized it drew the attention of several predators and began to bellow a warning.

Potential XP
pathfinder
+5 Study a dangerous animal

assassin
+20 Assassin XP (if successful)
+5 Practice speed or stealth
+5 Participate in a hunt using the rolled hunt system

GOT ME FEELIN LIKE I'M IN GODMODE

code x art

5 years, no bonus

Wherever @Alexander ♔ went, Celestia usually followed. She couldn’t help but stay close to her husband, attached to him now that they were together once again. Perhaps it was a bit strange of her to spy like that, but she didn’t really care. Especially in a mysterious place like this, a new land that she had never stepped foot on before. It gave off an eerie aura, especially with the particularly thick mist. She continued to follow the scent of her husband, and it continued to grow stronger. She was getting closer to him, which meant that he must have stopped somewhere. Finally she found him beside plenty of other lions. Her tail twitched nervously and she stalked towards him, stopping right beside him. “Alexander…” she whispered, but before she could inquire about the situation she saw it. A giant creature with intimidating tusks, her ears flattened against her head and she unsheathed her claws. A low growl left her lungs, ready to take down the new threat before her.

+5 Participate in a hunt using the rolled hunt system
+5 Track someone through a neutral territory
+20 bonus experience from holiday hunt

code by corvus

4 years, no perks
It was not deep enough into the spring months for the badlands to be so unbearably hot yet. Fog held the morning sun at bay as he climbed a rocky outcrop, leaping from rock to rock as he stretched and pulled his muscles, dragging himself to the top of the structure. His legs burned with the work, but he knew with each movement that the burn was just a sign that he was working them ever stronger. Adalwolf had never been to the badlands before, so as he climbed his eyes skimmed the ground below, analyzing the features with keen eyes.

The ground was dry and cracked with little vegetation to hold things together. The only interesting thing to see was the jagged mountains and rocky formations, like the one he climbed. It was a desolate place, but if he were to get to know Amaryllis better then he needed to explore all of it, even the wastelands.

In the distance, he spotted something...unusual. It was large, and from this distance, it looked somewhat like an elephant, even though it was the wrong color and perhaps larger than normal. His curiosity piqued, he picked his way back down the formation he had just climbed to strengthen his legs, quickly making his way down to the dusty earth below. And then he headed in a steady trot towards the strange creature he had spotted on the horizon.

As he approached he noticed other lions gathering, and before long he could see why so many had flocked to the creature like flies. It was massive - larger than any elephant - and covered in brown shaggy fur. Its trunk rested between two large, curled tusks that were sure to be deadly if used against a mere lion. Whatever this beast was, it did not belong in Amaryllis.

It took him a few moments to spot his sister among the throngs of lions that had gathered. He passed little @Caillen on his way to @Valaine and brushed against the small girl's pelt while giving her a dangerous smirk before he stepped up beside his sister. A white lion caught his eye for a brief moment. His mane hung long and Adalwolf was briefly curious from the familiar feeling he got before he lowered his head and spoke to Valaine. "Now just vhat haffe you found here, liebe Schwester?" Perhaps @András would catch the family's language if he was sitting close enough.

---

+20 holiday hunt - Barbarian
+5 Exercise to gain strength (excluding spars) - Barbarian
+5 Participate in a hunt using the rolled hunt system - Barbarian

+5 Explore a new territory and find something useful (Mammoth) - Outlaw

so the question i ask is

where the fuck is your god now?

image by rabbit, code by anyu

1 year old, no bonus

The vibrations beneath his paw pads were impossible to miss, and Luther's curiosity got the better of him - he needs to know what the hell that was. And so the pale Heir moved across the Badlands, the heavy scents of many pride lions suddenly caused him to perk up, eyes narrowing in thing slits towards a curtain of fog. Dare he step through?

Fuck it. He needs to see for himself. It's just fog, right?

The moment he breaks through the mist, a strange image appears before him - lions, many of them, surrounding a giant... hairy... creature. The sheer size of the thing made the Heir take a step back, then the queerness of its features made him do a double-take. Was he dreaming? He'd never seen this type of elephant. By the looks on everybody's faces, neither have they. Instinctively, his eyes fall on @Bruno ♔, only to see a new Ecrosian woman stand before him in a protective stance. He makes a beeline for @Dobromira and his brother, coping with the fear inside his heart the only way he could: "Brother dearest," he slinks beside his shocked sibling with a shit-eating grin. "How sweet of your girlfriend to protect you." His voice is kept low, his attention primarily on the giant thing before them and his little brother. For now, he doesn't notice Cirilla among everyone else.

4 years, no bonus

The tracks would intrigue him, but the scents of many lions would both excite and worry him. Particularly because there were several scents that he registered as familiar- particularly that of his daughter @Caillen and that of Adalwolf. His fur would bristle, wounds still healing, the beast would follow to the crowd. Mismatched gaze catching sight of Adalwolf brushing into his daughter, it would incite a growl from the beast, his pace quickening protectively until he came to stand next to the small warrior.

Lips would curl back into a silent warning to @Adalwolf, leave his children alone. Or else. Ronin did not fear war with the Mire, he had fought a good many of its members already- and won…but he also did not want war with a pride that held his children- that was not wise….war with Adalwolf sounded nice though…if he could get Caillen and Iona away from the Mire. Are you okay? He would ask, turning to his adopted daughter. Ronin would shake off the tension that coiled his muscles, offering an encouraging nod towards the beast in the distance. Want to show me what you’ve learned? He asked, tones quiet as he looked from her to the elephant-like beast.

In public situations, Ember always assumed that she would be on the outskirts looking in. That no one would see her as anything more than just a stranger to be estranged. So when she is given a nod by a stranger (@Cassandra) and then flanked by not one but two lions, maybe even three, she feels a strange feeling. One that she hadn't felt in nearly two years time. The first to physically come near to her was a large male, perhaps twice her age and yet she was bulkier though stood at the same height. A normal lioness would've been appalled being larger weight-wise but Ember reveled in it. @Alexander ♔ didn't say anything but to Ember, he didn't have to. A lion that she had met only a few days or so ago (@Nazonal) was on the other side and she offered as faint nod of her head, a grimace at the edge of her lips.

By the time she looked up again to look at the giant behemoth monster-prey thing, many others had arrived which only made her feel more threatened. Even if they were all oogling the mammoth, it had been a very ridiculous amount of time since she had been in the presence of this many strangers.

ART BY NOVI, CODE BY LARS

(1/2) +10 Pair up with other lions in a random event hunt
(1/2) +5 Participate in a hunt using the rolled hunt system
+20 extreme difficulty mammoth hunt 2022
2 yr., no bonus
Hunger was what drove her to be placed with many other lions. The scent of prey was what caught her attention first, and then the vibrations turned shaking of the ground. Fear and pure curiousness made Leilani creep forward, her ears twisting as she listened, an intense stare in her pink eyes. She watched the gigantic creature in shock and awe, noticing how it was just like an elephant but much larger and also seeming to be covered in fur. She had many questions but she knew this was not the time to ask them. No, they all needed to focus on figuring out how to take this enormous thing down. Dropping into a hunter's crouch would Leilani feel her muscles tense and bunch up, ready and waiting, her heart beating faster and faster as the seconds ticked on by.

ART»CODE»BG»LION

5 years // no bonus
There was something strangely inviting about the aptly named 'badlands.' The plum man was intrigued by the wasteland, content to expect its less numerous population. Maybe it was just his own mind that convinced him this was where he deserved to live, in a barren expanse of lands. The earth crumbled beneath his feet, dry to the touch, even as spring edged upon the lands. At least the mist that clung to the early morning air provided a bit of comfort against the dry and dusty terrain. The dog simply padded along, taking in the sights, perhaps even looking for a sparse bone or two from any discarded carcasses or unfortunate souls to have ended up baked in the high noon sun.

The morning fog was thick, however, almost too thick to see through. Was this land always like this? Sunlight barely pierced through the veil as the mongrel continued to explore. Amber gaze studied the ground beneath him, looking for any tracks that might alert him to the population around him. Before he could make many assumptions, though, the cracked earth seemed to tremble beneath his paws. Something was rumbling nearby, somewhere deep into the thickest realms of the mist, and he was not the only one curious enough to investigate. The dog no longer thought this place uninhabited for he was quickly faced with a multitude of lions of every size, shape, and color. Not a soul familiar save for that red man from the sandbar, but he was of no interest at the moment when the mutt laid his sights on the gargantuan beast that had drawn them all in. A creature like no other, and they all seemed intent to take it down. Well that sounds like fun.

+5 Complete a hunt in neutral territory using the hunt system
+5 Participate in a hunt using the rolled hunt system
+5 Scout a neutral territory
+20 Bonus exp

table | bg | base