border | walkers - open!

[phoenix kiss]

Who has what it takes to see what lies under the sands?

A tribe of kimeti located in the harsh and unforgiving borderlands: within days' travel of the sheltering, damp confines of the swamp, but located on water-scarce, windswept territory that makes living harsh. Why would anyone choose to live here, on the fringes, when they could run back to the swamp's embrace?

Because this is the land of dreams. Started with one buck's desire to see what lies underneath the sands, it has grown ... and all are welcome, if they can survive.



This tribe is based heavily on the mythology of the Dune series by Frank *********, knowledge of the books is not necessary to join.

 

[phoenix kiss]

THE PLACE Surely the place holds some appeal, but no - not to most. Only to those who enjoy a stark, sere landscape painted in yellows, blues and browns.

The borderlands are a rough place: not quite the flourishing sea of grass of the kiokote plans, nor the damp embrace of the swamp, they are a mixture of loam and sand, grass and sere dirt, and are riddled with caves made out of sandstone. Rain is scarce here, though the borderlands were inundated with the last Great Flood. Though the swamp is a days' journey, water is hard to come by, except from small salty streams that make their meager way from the wetness of the swamp to the east.

THE FOUNDING The Borderwalkers - though he would never ascribe to having come up with such a flashy name - were founded by a buck named Walks Without Rhythm and his lifemate, Meets-the-Sea. The tribe began as just the two kimeti living in a small cave, accompanied by their small motley of pets (a mongoose, a tortoise, and a foxbun).

THE CURRENT DAY The tribe has grown. No longer just buck and doe living in a cave, ascended stag and mare now make their home in a cave system that has expanded to make room for the small family the tribe now boasts. Most of the tribe members come and go as they please, making regular trips to the borders of the swamp for food and for the all-important water, but some remain to guard the cave system's mouth.

THE WAY OF LIFE Each member of the Borderwalkers is expected to pull their own weight. There are no assigned duties, no true rank and file; each member is simply expected to help replenish the food stores, make sure there is enough water in the boulder cistern, and not be a nuisance. Older members are expected to look after younger members. Loyalty is a character trait made paramount.

There is no distinction made between blood children of Slide and Meets and those that come from other joinings: all are family here, chosen family. The final say in everything comes from the relatively humorless Walks Without Rhythm or the understanding Meets-the-Sea; however, Meets has a tendency to wander, and it's hard to find Slide sometimes...  

[phoenix kiss]

THE FOUNDERS
Walks Without Rhythm and Meets-the-Sea
The Patriarch and the Wandering Mother


THE FAMILY

The Usurper and the Conspirator
One can only wonder what the twins of the tribe, Terrible Purpose and his sister Fallen Moon, experienced while still in their sacs; with their mother having undergone the process of Ascension with the twins still unborn, it is rumored that Fate and his sister have knowledge that other kimeti do not. They seem to share the bond that connects all twins, but it is somehow different, strange; and if Fallen Moon denies that Fate sometimes stares out over the horizon, planning for the future ... well. Whose word is to be believed?


The Prodigal Daughter and the Troubled One
Desert Spring and her sister, Many Voices, come from Slide's first union with another doe. However, both does returned to the desert to seek out their father. Desert Spring did so uncomplainingly, adapting easily and joyously to the hardships of desert life; however, authoritative but capable Many Voices is troubled by the other voice in her head, which plagues her endlessly.


The Watcher
The delicate-seeming (but haughty and intelligent) Set Apart holds herself at one remove from the rest of the tribe, seemingly more interested in chronicling their progress (and her own) than much else. However, she has never once been known to let a complaint fall past her lips: her control over her body and mind is second only to Meets-the-Sea's.


The Visionary
Distant and solitary, Shortened Way spends most of his time away from the cave system that the rest of the tribe calls home. He is a wanderer like his mother, but is less interested in exploration and more in simply following the familiar paths he has carved through the borderlands day after day, ruminating. When he does occasionally show his face back at the caves, it is usually to share some cryptic idea that he has seen in the sands, most of which seem intended to warn his ambitious brother Terrible Purpose of things to come.

 

[phoenix kiss]

THE TRIBE It is not hard to join the tribe: what is hardest is braving the first steps out of the nurturing embrace of the swamp and into the rough borderlands. Then kin must merely follow instinct and well-worn trails into the wilderness to find the cave system the Borderwalkers call home.

Usually newcomers are accepted and given hospitality for a night or two before being sent on their way. Walks Without Rhythm is well-known for such grudging hospitality. However, those that show promise are usually given a task: a watch, a food-gathering or water-gathering run, marking the borders, or a day simply spent among the tribe, before the final decision is made.

It is ultimately up to the two founders whether or not a kin will be accepted into the ever-growing family. The decisions, at time, seem fickle. But the founders are two Legendaries, life-mated, whose stories have spread from the small cave system, and so Swamp-touched, they know things that others do not.


THE INITIATION After joining, the chosen kin spends a day on watch with Walks Without Rhythm or Meets-the-Sea; if neither are available, one of the twins will take the newcomer on their ceremonial first journey around the borderlands. The features of the space are explained: the borders, the dangers, where to find food and water ... but most importantly, the purpose. The Borderwalkers were founded on one concept: the driving, pressing need to find your dreams and follow them to their source. Dreams are an important part of Borderwalker life, a flimsy and ephemeral mirror to the harsh and often trying existence in the borderlands.

At the end of the first night, the kin is told to sleep outside, underneath the stars; where they do so does not matter, as long as they do so outside. The next morning Slide, or Meets are told of their dream. No one else is privy to this information, not even the twins.

It is not about what they dreamed -- it why they dreamed it.


THE JOURNEY Once accepted into the tribe, the kin is treated as family. There is no true ladder of leadership: despite most of the tribe being blood relations all are expected to pull their own weight. All are expected to go on watch, collect food and water, and not overtax themselves or the tribe as a whole.

Disputes are handled either one-on-one, face-to-face, or especially pressing matters are overseen by Walks Without Rhythm or Meets-the-Sea. Excessive problems or problems of a severe nature are grounds for expulsion.


THE VIEW FROM THE EDGE The Borderwalkers welcome all kin: the native kiokote, the acha -- who Walks Without Rhythm is especially interested in -- and certainly kimeti. Their pets and familiars are welcome as well, since Slide himself has collected a small menagerie. The tribe is home to some of the rare wolves of the swamp.

Anyone is welcome to join at any time. Travelers may enjoy hospitality for a night or two before being sent on their way.  

[phoenix kiss]

RANK AND FILE Tribal hierarchy

• Meets & Slide are in charge. However, they're not always around. When that happens, then...
  
• Terrible Purpose & Fallen Moon take over whenever their parents aren't around. Although their half-sisters Desert Spring and Many Voices (who are more like aunts really) are older, they defer to the almost overbearing authority of Fate and the unwavering support he gets from his sister Moon.
  
• That said, Desert Spring & Many Voices still possess some semblance of authority and serve as sort of advisers and teachers to the twins and the rest of the tribe.

After that everyone is pretty much equal.  

[phoenix kiss]

THE STORIES
Roleplay Tracker

BEFORE THE TRIBE
Inhospitable (Meets & Walks Without Rhythm)
The Games (ORP)
Back to the Borderlands (Meets & Slide)
Home Sweet Home (Meets, Slide, & Fix)
More Mouths to Feed (Meets, Knows No Better, Seafoam)
Fighting the Ache (Meets, Slide, & Longstride)
Borderland Blues (Slide & Twilight)
Finding a(nother) Legendary (Slide & Spring Peeper)

THE TRIBE'S BEGINNINGS
The Journey Home (Meets, Slide, Desert Spring, & Many Voices)
Preparations (Slide & Knows No Better)
Hidden? Found! (Slide, Many Voices, Twilight & co.)
Return (Meets & Slide)
How the Desert was Made (Slide & Rhythmless Sea clutch)

THE PRESENT DAY
Rebuilding the Mound (Borderwalkers delegation: Meets, Slide, Sandwalker, Seafoam Voices)
Far From Home (Meets & Flint)
Unawares (Meets & Little Island)  

[phoenix kiss]

JOIN US

APPLICATION The Borderwalkers are a roleplay-heavy tribe and call to a certain type of kin. THERE WILL BE PLOT. Please keep that in mind when reviewing this thread. All entries will be approved by either phoenix kiss or les vagues, so please take care to fill out the applicant form completely so we can get an overall feel for your kin.

To apply, please fill out the form and paste it in this thread. phoenix or vagues will get back to you with either acceptance or feedback. There are no true right or answers, merely a sense of whether or not your kin will fit within the personalities of the tribe at large.

[b]Your username:[/b]
[b]Your Kin (please link name to cert):[/b]
[b]Why your Kin would fit:[/b]
[b]Why your Kin might have trouble:[/b]
[b]Please write a brief RP entry on one of the following topics: how your kin came to hear of the Borderwalkers, the journey to the borderlands, the first meeting with the Legendaries, the first night spent on watch.[/b]

 

[phoenix kiss]

RESERVED

 

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OTHER TRIBE MEMBERS

Water of Life
The Illuminated
Mysterious and charming, Water of Life splits his time between the caves and the sand, and along the way if he meets someone he speaks in a voice that is like the coolest water touched with the most exquisite spice. He speaks in intoxicating turns of phrase and his words charm all those that meet him. He hands out his time, his words, his attention, in small doses and then he leaves, only to come back when he feels that you need him again. When he is not carefully measuring out his words for your benefit, he is silent, a wavering figure of blue, life giving water that fills your senses and the darkest mud, completely saturated in his being, standing in the sand or in the shade with knowledge that burns bright blue in his eyes. Sometimes he will speak longer and during those times, some of that knowledge will bleed and burn into you and it seems his silence and spice laden words hide a well of knowledge that could drive many madness.

Sandwalker
The Adventurer
While Sandwalker lacks the elegance and gracefulness of some of her siblings, she possesses within her a quiet fearlessness and a hunger to discover the unknown. Her long-seeing eye is cast out over the dry ocean before her and she thirsts to delve into its secrets. Pragmatism and idealism form an oil and water mix within her, but she is devoted to her tribe above all else.

Seafoam Voices
 

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RPs

that I can't put up in the official 'RP tracker' post bc I am not guild staff anymore lol (phoe u can move stuff if u want)

While Were Away (Slide, Shortened Way, Set Apart)
Not So Solitary (Shortened Way & Seafoam Voices)
Children of Sea & Sand (Meets-the-Sea & Seafoam Voices)  

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