After the War

WARNING: NOT FOR LITTLE KIDS!

Great clouds of black smoke rise into the night sky as raging fires light up the dark like beacons of hope. A full moon watches over the dying chaos like a blind eye, every-now-and-then obscured by a cloud or billow of smoke. A thundering crash is heard, spanning several seconds, as a building falls to the ground, spilling rubble over the blood-soaked ground.

You scan the darkness, your vision made worse by the flickering flames of a nearby fire, but you think it’s clear. As quietly as you can, you creep from your hiding place and out into the world. You’re not sure what went wrong, why everything suddenly turned upside down, but you’re determined not to be another victim. You run, your feet pounding over the asphalt, your heart racing in fear. You need to find somewhere safe, but there is nowhere to go that they can’t find you. You know this, and this fact nearly sends you falling to the ground in tears, but in denial you keep running, searching for somewhere to hide. If you can just get somewhere to rest for just a moment, you might make it.

You slow to a cautious walk when you hear a growl from somewhere nearby. There are more noises, and something flickers in the back of your mind, like you know of something that sounds like it. You debate for a moment whether to continue on or change course, but it’s best not to stay in the open for too long. They’re tracking down any survivors, and your distinct smell is hard to confuse and easy to find. You settle on continuing on, seeing as the growls aren’t coming any closer. As you come up to the entrance to a dark alley, you spot a broken bottle laying in the gutter. It’s not much, but any weapon is better than none. You back up against the building beside you, then carefully peek into the dark alley. Luckily, you don’t have to wait long for you eyes to adjust as there are pools of light everywhere, thanks to the fires. What you see nearly stops your heart. A group of five dogs, varying in size from a small Pomeranian to a large Rottweiler, are fighting with each other over a carcass. As your eyes adjust better, and one dog moves, your stomach heaves. The dogs are feasting on a man, long dead. What makes it worse is that a woman and small child are nearby, also exhibiting signs of being chewed on, and all but two of the dogs have collars.

You quietly lurch away, trying to keep your stomach calm, and now you know what that flicker was: it sounded like a pack of wolves feasting on an elk or something, fighting with each other for every scrap of meat. No doubt that was happening somewhere, only the elk would be replaced by another human.

After a few minutes of ducking, dodging, and avoiding dark areas where you can’t see, you finally come across a house that hasn’t had its door broken down or windows shattered. You find this odd, but decide that, if by some chance, the door or windows are unlocked, you’ll slip in. You try the door, only to find it locked. You sigh inwardly, then decide to try the windows. They’re also locked. You’re about to leave, disheartened, when you notice one last window, hidden behind a maple tree. You try it, not really thinking it would be unlocked, but it is. You slide it up, cringing at the almost imperceptible noise it makes, afraid something will have somehow heard you and spring. When nothing does, you heft yourself through, quietly stepping into the house. The house is warm, though there’s a slight draft. You attribute this to the newly opened window and creep forward. The lingering smell of a barbecue wafts to your nose, and your stomach growls angrily. You haven’t eaten for hours, but it wasn’t like you had time to. Again you reflect on how quickly things changed.

You quietly walk through the house, inspecting every room, every corner and crevice, but it seems untouched. After grabbing a knife and hunkering down, you wait for an hour, listening to every sound, no matter how minute. When still nothing comes after you, you decide that maybe you’ve found your place. You then go around and lock the doors and windows, place patches of cardboard over said windows, check for any holes or cracks that you can plug up, and go upstairs to the bedroom. There you lock the door, shove the nightstand over against the door, and lay down, the knife clutched to your chest. You lay there for another half hour, fighting sleep, terrified that something will find you, but eventually you succumb.

A banging sound awakens you. You sit up quickly, any signs that you’d been asleep instantly flashing away, in time to see the nightstand fly back as the door is broken in by a powerful force. You leap up, ready to do battle, expecting a pack of dogs, a horse, or something else of the nature to come barreling through the door. What you see stuns you for a fatal second. It’s one of those strange cat things that is standing in the doorway, exposing razor canines in a snarl. You realize that there is no hope for you, that these things are almost impossible to kill, but you take a battle stance anyway. If you’re going to die, you’re going to die fighting. The beast wastes no time in attacking, mouth open, claws extended, tail lashing, and you raise your pitiful weapon in one last stand.

Muahahahaha! I warned you. So, if you can’t guess, the “you” in the introduction does die. Here’s the basic plot: The day is July 6, 2012, the location Turner, Oregon. A typical small town only a few miles from the state capital, Turner is mostly just a place people pass through on their way to somewhere else. But on July 6, as soon as night fell, everything changed. Not just in Turner, but the world over. Seemingly without warning, every single animal in the entire world, even the pets, attacked the humans. Those caged or trapped were set free by an invisible force, all man-made objects that required more than the person holding it or simple construction suddenly stopped working (such as guns, cars, planes, boats, TVs and other electronics, bombs, missiles, etc.). The attack basically died down once dawn came, though there are those who are still hunting for any stragglers. Four new species appeared out of the blue: Rothen Clar (War Cat), Mataka (Fire Bird), Silca Doro (Skittish Deer), and Panatec (Peaceful Warrior).

The Rothen Clar are a large cat that can run at amazing speeds (100 mph), are incredibly strong and smart, have prehensile tails that can lift something their own weight (average of 600 lbs), have an unrivaled hatred of mankind, and, as their name says, were created for war, among other traits.

The Mataka are a large Phoenix-like bird that resemble both haws and eagles. They’re very skilled flyers, the best of which can fly upside down, and look like balls of fire shooting across the sky.

The Silca Doro are the most normal looking of the new creatures, looking like your average whitetail deer. The only difference is that they’re the size of the average moose, and their antlers are always sharp, no matter the season. The average buck’s rack also spans an average of 63 inches, like that of a bull moose.

The Panatec look similar to giraffes with their basic body structure. Instead of hooves, they have claws, with the males having an extra on their hind legs. Instead of ossicones (the horn-like things on a giraffe’s head), they have large, cone-like protrusions on each side of their head. They are also heavily armored and have spikes along their neck and back.

Exactly 30 days before these creatures appeared, bringing with them an all-out war against all of mankind, a very strange and unexpected thing had happened. A dragon of all things had appeared out of nowhere at midnight, Pacific time. It was absolutely huge, bigger than anybody could ever imagine. One tooth alone was as tall as a man. Worse than its sudden appearance was that the dragon instantly began to wreck everything in site, burning down houses, smashing through buildings, tearing up the roads, snatching up every human it found, and generally destroying everything and everyone, save for any animals or plants. The dragon destroyed an entire city before it finally disappeared after being wounded, never to be seen again. All stops had been pulled by the country to try and stop the beast, but nothing could pierce its armored body. Eventually the army found a weak spot, and the wounded creature flew off somewhere unknown. They tried to track it, but the beast was fast, even while dying. Oddly enough, they never found any remains, even though the search lasted for weeks, and still isn’t technically closed.

Then the war started. A signal had been given, and every animal attacked at once, killing every human that crossed their paths and hunting down those who fled. When dawn came in the Western Hemisphere, the attack slowed, then basically came to a stop. In the few short hours night had ruled, the world population of over seven billion humans had dropped to under a thousand. Now the search is on for those last survivors, and nothing will stop the army of animals, lead by Natsala (Mother Nature), from eliminating them.

Extremely condensed version: A dragon suddenly appeared on June 6, 2012, destroying everything it could and killing any humans it could. It soon disappeared after being wounded, and hasn’t been found. Exactly one month later, every animal on Earth suddenly attacked mankind. Mythical creatures reappeared as well, taking part in the war. Four new species also came on the scene, one of them being specifically designed for war and is one of the deadliest animals ever created. The frontal attack stopped at approximately six am Pacific time, and the RP takes place in the hours directly after the sudden lessening of attacks. There are only around 1,000 humans left on Earth, and in a small town called Turner in the state of Oregon is where we meet up with a small group of survivors (you), who are trying to stay alive by avoiding any and all animals (especially the Rothen Clar), figure out what’s going on, and find the rest.

Rules:

1. Obey all of FOG’s rules.
2. This is a literate RP, meaning I want correct grammar, spelling, etc. This also means no one-liners or the like. I want well-written sentences that move the story along. I know writer’s block happens, so a couple times where the preferred post length isn’t met is okay, but it can’t be a regular thing. This also means I want posts written in standard form. Everyone should know what this is, but I’ll give a basic description: Write in third person (unless it’s obvious who your character is), don’t bold narration except to emphasize something (possible exceptions), use double quotation marks when speaking, single for thoughts as well as italicization (unless it’s obvious the sentence is a thought without the single quotes), use paragraphs when there is a new speaker or separating scenes within that post, among other things that aren’t very specific.
3. No Power Playing (PP) or God Modeling (GM). PP is when you control someone else’s character or make it so they can’t react. GM is when your character is perfect, invincible, etc. Everyone has a weakness, even if it does take a while to exploit it or it’s just emotional.
4. No killing off characters just to do so. If you leave the RP, are kicked out, or it will actually contribute to the story, then it’s allowed. Keep in mind that, if I decide to keep the RP in line with my book, all humans will die. This is not set in stone, however, as Natsala can be reasoned and bargained with.
5. You can have as many characters as you want, and they may like each other, but that doesn’t mean you can just RP with yourself.
6. No leaving people behind!
7. Keep to the form. You can add some things or mess with it a bit, but I want the basics in how you set it up. Paragraphs to introduce your character are allowed, as long as they have all the information.
8. Characters must be accepted before they can be played. This also means you may not just walk in and post something random without having joined the ranks.
9. If you wish to play one of the four new creatures, you must have my permission. Message me with the creature you want to play, and I’ll send you information on them to get a better look at what your character will be like. Warning: This list of information will probably be lengthy, unless you choose a Silca Doro.
10. All of my characters, creatures, odd words, the plot, and book and all involved with this RP are copyright to me. This means that if you steal, I will personally hunt you down and make you pay. Not kidding at all.
11. Note: Since the revolt, awareness of supernatural beings has also increased, though they still prefer to remain hidden. As such, I’ll not tolerate a ton of vampires, werewolves, etc. A few are accepted. They’re also being killed, though.
12. Anything else I forgot, I’ll add later.
13. Have fun

Form:

Person~

Name:
Age:
Gender:
Species: (Remember, I won’t allow more than a couple supernatural beings unless the group grows)
Physical Description: (Hair, Eyes, Skin, Height, Weight, Clothes, Etc.)
Personality:
History:
How They Got Here:
Anything Else: (Pictures, Pets, Etc.)

Animal~

Name:
Age:
Gender:
Species/Breed:
Physical Description: (Fur/Scales/Feathers, Eyes, Size, Weight, Etc.)
Personality:
History:
Anything Else: (Pet, Wild, Zoo, Circus, Etc.)

Code:

Person~

[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Age:[/b]
[b]Gender:[/b]
[b]Species:[/b]
[b]Physical Description:[/b]
[b]Personality: [/b]
[b]History:[/b]
[b]How They Got Here:[/b]
[b]Anything Else:[/b]

Animal~

[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Age:[/b]
[b]Gender:[/b]
[b]Species/Breed:[/b]
[b]Physical Description:[/b]
[b]Personality:[/b]
[b]History:[/b]
[b]Anything Else:[/b]

My Forms~

Person~

Name: Shadow Hunter (Shadow)
Age: 23
Gender: Female
Species: Half Human, Half Devil (Only daughter of the Devil)
Physical Description: Shadow stands 5’ 5” and weighs 120 lbs, but it’s all lithe muscle. Her hair is obsidian, thick, and goes down to her waist. Her eyes are dark emerald green with a blood red band around each iris that stretches depending on how angry or wild she is. Her skin is very pale, enhanced by makeup she wears to hide a nasty scar. Her ears and teeth and longer and more pointed, especially her top canines. She’s usually seen in a black cat suit, black gloves, and black boots with steel on the toes and soles, but she occasionally changes into a black, long-sleeved shirt and black jeans to better blend in. Her back is covered in horrible whip marks, and her nails are more like claws, their obsidian color completely natural.
Personality: Shadow is usually reserved and quiet, but just beneath the surface lays an immense amount of rage just waiting to unleash itself on the nearest life form. She loathes humans with every molecule in her body, but the complete opposite is said for her feelings toward animals. She’s extremely intelligent and loves to read and learn, as well as play the piano. She also has a thing for blood and fire and is vicious little monster with a ton of problems.
History: Shadow was kidnapped at age six, both parents killed a few feet from her when they tried to get her back, and thrust into an underground organization known simply as The Facility. For ten long years she was subject to every experiment and test they could think up, save for the breeding program. She only escaped this because she killed anyone put in the same room with her. During an aerial transfer that was meant to take her to another base for more training, Shadow managed to cause the plane to catch on fire and crash, killing both pilots. Thanks to her suit and the binding armor over it, she survived, then spent the night figuring out how to get the armor off. Since then, she’s lived in hiding until the war.
How They Got Here: Not here yet.
Anything Else: Tons, but here’s a few: Because of her heritage and what the Facility did to her, she has a multitude of powers, including but not limited to: Pyrokenesis, Mind powers that span a whole range, Animal shape shifting, Heightened senses and physical abilities, and a sixth sense borrowed from the Rothen Clar that uses vibrations to see. She is also the Queen of The Kingdom (all living creatures except humans) and is leading the war.

Name: Ice
Age: 23
Gender: Male
Species: Elemental
Physical Description: Ice stands 6’ 3” and weighs 160 lbs, but it’s mostly lithe muscle. His hair is snow white and loosely spiked, but it goes to his chin when not gelled. His eyes are a stunning crystal blue. His skin is also very pale, giving him an almost albino look. He’s usually seen in a white long coat, white shirt, black pants, and black boots with steel on the toes and soles. He’s well built, but not overly so to the point where it’s disgusting.
Personality: Ice is generally laid back and fun loving, always looking for a way to entertain himself. He’s often referred to as an overgrown child because of his antics and attitude, but it doesn’t bother him. Though a handsome man, Ice tends to stay away from the non-platonic side of relationships with females, though he’s more than willing to be their friend. Although it’s very hard to get him angry, once this has been accomplished, there is no going back. True to his natural nature, Ice enjoys activities involving animals, nature, water, and his guitar.
History: Much of his past is similar to Shadow’s. On his eighth birthday, Christmas Eve, both his parents were killed…by Shadow. She spared him only because she was told to, and he vowed revenge against her. After being transferred from foster home to foster home for a year, he ran away and was found by a man who offered to train him. Ice agreed, thrusting himself into the bowels of The Facility. For eight years, he was also tested upon and put through horrible training programs. After Shadow escaped, however, he simply walked away while allowed outside for a rare moment. He then tracked her down and spent years trying to win her over, succeeding. The biggest break came after Shadow was destroyed to let Draklata through, intended to be her final death. He followed the dying dragon, hoping that somehow Shadow would appear. He then met Elren and Natsala, convincing her to give Shadow one last freebie, now that Draklata’s soul was not within her. After tricking him into thinking she was going to trade his life for Shadow’s, Natsala brought the girl back to life and wished them happiness. He is now trying to find at least one human that is truly good to save them.
How They Got Here: Not here yet.
Anything Else: Tons, but here’s a few: His main power, and what labels him as an Elemental, is his ability to control any form of water, even the weather and seasons to a degree. He also has a hidden power not yet discovered. This is the ability to shift into any animal, called a Complete Shifter, like Shadow. Another, talent of his is the ability to mimic any sound or person perfectly.

Name: Astra Balfour
Age: 17
Gender: Female
Species: Human
Physical Description: Astra stands 5’ 3” and weighs around 125 lbs. She has long brown hair that goes to the middle of her back and vibrant brown eyes. She’s wearing a red T-shirt with a pocket on the left breast, black jeans, and black work boots.
Personality: Astra is kind of a mix of personalities. She can be dark and hateful one moment or random and loud the next, depending on what has happened in between. For the most part, she’s down-to-Earth and practical, thinking things out before speaking or acting. While she’s shy at first, and likely to snap at you if you make the wrong move, she’s completely opposite with her best friends. Astra is very critical of people, however, and while she doesn’t like being mean to people she’s befriended, she won’t tolerate a lot of things and won’t continue to hang around people that rub her the wrong way.
History: Astra grew up a fairly normal life, going to school, making friends, dealing with a brother she hated. Her family consisted of a single mom, a twin brother, and two grandparents that she had deemed insane. Life wasn’t the worst, but it wasn’t easy, either. Although she loved animals and they lived out in the country, her mom wouldn’t let them have any animals, even a pet hamster. After a group of burglars were spotted in their area, however, they convinced their mom to get them a dog, which they named Sheba. They loved Sheba and she became one of the best things that had happened to the family. When the war started a few years later, however, they were forced to kill Sheba after she killed their mom and grandparents.
How They Got Here: Lived here whole life.
Anything Else: Twin of Adelphos. Her name means Star in Greek.

Name: Adelphos (Adel) Balfour
Age: 17
Gender: Male
Species: Human
Physical Description: Adelphos stands 6’ 0’ and weighs about 165 lbs. He has dark brown hair cut short and vibrant brown eyes. He’s wearing a black T-shirt, black jeans with a chain, and black tennis shoes.
Personality: Adel is more stable in his personality. He tends to keep to himself, doesn’t make friends easily or keep them, and is overall a loner.
History: Same as Astra’s.
How They Got Here: Lived here whole life.
Anything Else: Twin of Astra. His name means Born of the same womb or Sibling.

Animal~

Name: Mystra Helat
Age: 4
Gender: Queen
Species: Rothen Clar
Physical Description: Mystra stands 4’ at the shoulder and is teen feet long from the tip of her nose to the tip of her tail, her tail measuring half that. She is pure black with blood red around her muzzle, ear tips, paws, and tail tip. Her eyes are a dark emerald green, and she has a scar running from above her left eye, down and around to the bottom of her jaw.
Personality: Like most RC, she’s vicious, very intelligent, and won’t give up. A natural born killer, she knows lots of tricks of how to hunt down and flush-out prey that are determined to get out alive. She also shares the trait of loathing mankind for what they’ve done. On the other paw, she can also be mischievous and sweet. The latter is rarely see as it goes against her nature, but there have been times where she’s acted like a big kitten.
History: She lived on the island of Adariah with the rest of her species for a full year before entering Training with the other Yearlings. She spent a year in Training, finally coming out at the top of her group. She then helped out the rest of the pack for about a month before an opportunity arose. Shadow had come to the island again. After a couple weeks of tension and outright fighting, the two bonded, and Mystra asked to go back with Shadow when she left. She then spent two years among humans, learning more about them than ever before. When the war began, she was right beside Shadow. She’s now leading the hunt for any survivors in this area.
Anything Else: Her name means Shadow Heart, and she’s next in line for the position as leader of the Black Claws.

Name: Wind Racer
Age: 4
Gender: Mare
Species/Breed: Horse/Arabian
Physical Description: Wind stands 15.1 hands high and is pure black with dark emerald green eyes. She also has a brand on her left hip with the letters FSR inside a circle and a scar that runs from above her left eye, down and around to the bottom of her jaw. Although she appears to be a four-year-old, and tests would confirm this, she is actually over 4,500 years old.
Personality: Wind is one of the wildest creatures you’ll ever meet. She hates humans for what they’ve done not just to the world but to her and only trusts Shadow. She has a particular fear and hatred of tack or equipment used on horses, even ropes. When she’s not beating up an attacker or lunging at a threat, she acts like a normal horse for the most part. She’s very intelligent, as well.
History: Wind Racer is the first modern Arabian to ever evolve. She learned early on that humans were cruel, though she did meet one that she ended up befriending. This woman, Hanara, turned out to be the most powerful sorceress in history, as well as a messenger of Natsala and Shadow’s ancestor. Natsala decided that Wind would make a good messenger, and so asked Hanara to cast a spell giving the horse everlasting life unless she was killed. Her wounds would also heal faster, and she was given the powers of both the Wind element and Fire. Years later, she met up with Shadow after being told she was to find this person, and they’ve been friends ever since. She’s also involved in hunting down survivors.
Anything Else: She can run as fast as the fastest wind speeds and fires, and her mane, tail, hooves, and even eyes burst into flames when she’s angry or riled up.

Name: Shadow Heart
Age: 4
Gender: Female
Species: Grey Wolf
Physical Description: Shadow stands 3’ 2” at the shoulder and weighs about 80 lbs. She is pure black with blood red around her muzzle, ear tips, paws, and tail tip. She also has dark emerald green eyes and a scar that runs from above her left eye, down and around to the bottom of her jaw.
Personality: Shadow is usually reserved and quiet, but just beneath the surface lays an immense amount of rage just waiting to unleash itself on the nearest life form. She’s vicious, cruel, harsh, cold, and unforgiving. She can’t stand pups, and she prefers to be on her own rather than in a pack or even near one other wolf. Despite her prickly shell, however, she can be nice.
History: Shadow was born to the Alphas of her pack. When she was still a pup, however, a group of hunters surprised them. As far as she knows, she’s the only survivor of the massacre. She’s lived on her own since then, having to teach herself everything about surviving in the wild. She came upon Shadow Hunter while trying to bring down Wind for food. Since then, she’s been by their side and is helping them find any remaining humans.
Anything Else: Nope

Name: Elren
Age: 1609
Gender: Drake
Species: Dragon
Physical Description: Elren’s true measurements are unknown, but it’s thought that he’s roughly 100’ tall at the shoulder with a wingspan of twice that. He’s a beautiful emerald green, even his eyes, with fin-like protrusions on his head and back.
Personality: Elren still retains the calm, nonjudgmental personality all dragons were given when they were created. Most rejected this when the humans, the very creatures they were made to protect, turned on them, but he knew that they couldn’t all be bad. He is more cautious and quick to intimidate now, but he trusts humans more than any other will. The rest of his clan scorn him for this, but his judge of character has never been wrong before.
History: Elren was hatched sometime at the beginning of the Middle Ages. He had a twin sister, Draklata, who was the dragon that appeared in 2012. Draklata was twice his size, but he loved her dearly. He was still a baby when the humans’ revolt took place, the assault leaving him orphaned and an only child. He was wounded badly, but a relative helped him escape into the alternate dimension Natsala had opened for them and any other mythical creatures that wished to follow. All the dragons fled, but some of the others stayed behind, a spell cast over them to make them invisible to humans and all like them. He has since watched over the world, morning his family but enjoying the strange sights of Earth as time passed. When he discovered that his sister’s soul had found a host, he watched this person intently throughout her life, again morning his sister’s second death. He was allowed back to Earth for a few precious moments when Draklata was dying for the second time, then went back when her body quickly decomposed and vanished. He also met Ice and watched happily from the other side as Shadow Hunter was brought back for the last time as a reward for the pair’s loyalty to Natsala. He didn’t really want to take part in the war, but he obeyed his orders and destroyed what he could. Now he’s scouting out survivors, trying to find a few truly good ones. He hopes that he can bargain with Natsala to let them live out their lives.
Anything Else: He can see directly into someone’s soul, able to tell what kind of person they were, are, and likely will be.