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 Posted: Mon Dec 09, 2013 8:05 pm
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Posted: Mon Dec 09, 2013 8:05 pm
---- chosen
name kade stendahl.
age 36.
gender male.
occupation editor, ex-soldier
living in palisade.
height 6' 0"
build muscular, but not enormous
eyes striking blue
hair dirty blonde, just beyond shoulder length
other well-groomed beard, sharp nose, small scar across bridge, no left arm to speak of, sometimes has a watered-down foreign accent
parents christopher stendahl (deceased) x iris stendahl nee ziefeltz (deceased)
sister elsabeth stendahl (27)
wife lexa stendahl? (32)
children abigail (8f), william (6m), madelin (1f)
abigail - honey blonde hair beyond her shoulder blades, a few beauty marks on face, blue eyes
william - curly, pale blonde hair, grey eyes
madeline - soft, dark brown curls, golden hazel eyes
Kade was born to a soldier and his loyal wife in the town of Ozslana in Feoulor. He dreamed to be a great warrior like his father, and followed every active endeavor while growing up. He fell for a milkmaid from a farmstead nearby the training grounds and courted her on and off for two years before they were married. The elder Selby was killed in combat soon after.
Kade was not present when his eldest daughter was born, but he was able to receive his son into the world. Unfortunately, war took him for a fair amount of time not long ago, and he was met with grievous wound, amputation, infection, and infection. His illness sent him to Palisade, for his sister to assist in his care. Imagine his surprise, though, when he returned home to find his wife pregnant! The couple decided to stay together for the sake of the children, but as soon as Lexa recovered from Madelin's birth, she was gone with a note on the kitchen counter.
Since then, he has been learning to live without his arm, without his wife, and without his career.
His children come first and foremost. Their safety and comfort matter well beyond his own, and his determination is unmatched. There are times, while alone, when he mourns the loss of the life he knew, but his children must never see and must never know. To them, he is just Daddy, who sometimes has to use his legs or teeth to do the things he has to do. Necessity causes him to be rather inventive, as well as form a thick skin against those who offer strange looks at either his appearance or his parenting. He is not a man of many words to strangers, but will start the occasional conversation. His friends and loved ones see the best of him, though; his grin, his laughter, his dramatic flair in storytelling. It takes a lot to ruffle Kade, but any real threat feels the brunt of a one-armed man's pent-up rage. He can still fight, and will when he has to, although he'd prefer it not be in front of the babies.
[ art by lexleggy ]
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Posted: Mon Dec 09, 2013 8:05 pm
---- the guardian
name kanina.
named for rabbit.
stage totem.
gender female.
generation three.
personality She is sweet and gentle, but not quite skittish. Her preference lies in the shade, but nighttime sees her less active than the day. She is often seen lingering around the Stendahl children.
other She appears to be an albino, or else her parents were white?
[ totem ] [ fawn ]
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Posted: Mon Dec 09, 2013 8:05 pm
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Posted: Tue Dec 10, 2013 3:49 pm
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Posted: Sat Jan 11, 2014 11:27 am
[ the choosing ]
It had begun as a soft longing to leave. Kade had been horrified at himself at first; yes, life had been difficult in these past couple years and there were days that he wished it all had gone differently, but to actually desire escape was unusual.
He could not name the place to which he was drawn. It was somewhere green and somewhere safe, where the sun filtered down through the leaves and dappled the ground with shimmering warmth. It almost felt like home. Feoulor, so far away, with its sky of blue and fields of dulcet green; with its rivers running crystal clear, unless they ran with red. This place did not seem at such a distance, however. His desired escape was close, not requiring a trip across the sea in the belly of a rat-filled vessel. There would be no feverish sweat and no stench of filth, only calm and joy. Having lived in Sunderland only a year, he had no hint as to where this might be. He had traveled only a short distance through to Palisade and saw no reason to wander. What he knew of the rest of the country was in its language and the stories he heard.
He knew vaguely of the wolves. He had seen a domesticated deer or two with strange patterns up and down their hides.
The urge to leave was ignored. He was a family man, and his family needed him. Whatever bug had gotten into his brain was not going to make him abandon them. He fought the tension to no avail, and in time it had taken to his dreams as well. He slipped through this place even while unconscious, vividly feeling each breath of wind and rough trunk. There came soft growls that never showed their maker, nonthreatening, and gentle footsteps followed him. Each time he turned to look, he was alone.
It was several days after the incursion of these invasive thoughts that he and the children made a trip to the shops in an attempt to burn some energy and find some relief. Abigail skipped happily down the cobbled road, free of her father's hands as William's age called more for help. Madelin was still at home, coming down from a bit of a cold under the temporary care of Auntie Elsabeth. The children were likely intent on leading him to a toy store or a sweets shop, as children were prone to do, and for once he wasn't going to fight. A new toy or two couldn't hurt, and these desires of abandonment made him feel just a bit guilty.
To their left was a small book shop that smelled slightly of incense. It was a small wooden structure and one that Kade would never have noticed were it not for the voice.
It was just a whisper, wordless, but it caressed his ear and made him turn. He stopped just beyond the doorway, and Abigail peered back curiously.
"Daddy, what is it?"
"Nothing," Kade answered not unkindly, but his head tilted. Had someone called his name? He admittedly didn't know many people outside his regular haunts, and he couldn't say for sure that it had been a call for him, but didn't it feel as such? It wouldn't do anyone harm to check.
"Hey, maybe you'd like to find a new bedtime story?" he asked then, turning to the little blonde girl craning her neck around the door frame. Her father's curiosity was not lost on her. A grin spread across her face, though, at the offer of a new story. She had plenty, and many she was able to read herself. Another was never denied, however.
"Come on, Will!" Abby called, taking her brother's hand and disappearing into the shop and down one of the aisles. Kade heard her gently wandering, touching books and reading synopsis. At some point she would choose a few and find a place to sit down and try them out, as was her way.
As he entered himself, the one-armed man made a point to notice the clerk. He was a young bespectacled man, currently pulled away from his desk to rearrange books on a shelf. He was not paying any attention to his new customers, until Kade passed him and offered a friendly smile. He got one in return, and the clerk turned again to his work. There did not seem to be anyone else within the shop, so who had he heard?
Kade's feet worked upon their own will, guiding him through aisles without much interest in any particular volume. That did not keep him from stopping, however, when he had reached a shelf along the back wall. The man paused a moment, looking the cleanly-stacked books over. None were particularly remarkable in color or gilded, but did not stop him from reaching out and pulling a small volume from the row.
He stood there a moment, turning it over. It was only a small book, bound in cloth and filled with soft paper. The title was not one that held Kade's attention, but it didn't seem to matter. Like a man possessed, he laid the book upon the edge of the shelf and began to flip through the pages toward a destination he did not recognize. What was this, he wondered? Some will of the gods?
The whisper came again, this time much clearer although seeming to echo from within the man's mind itself. Even stranger, it seemed to speak Feoul. Kade had yet to meet another Feoulan in his time in Palisade. Were it not for his sister might not have ever come here himself. He peered around and found himself, again, utterly alone.
Kommed ki meg...
Kade's attention turned again to the book. He had stopped on a page depicting some forest, a proud stag standing at its cusp.
fig. 6 the Wardwood
Kommed ki meg...
Come to me...
There was a heavy strike of dread in the man's chest, and he slammed the book closed before squirreling it away on the shelf. Will of the gods or not, it was not a good sign when you began to hear voices. A few aisles away, Abigail could be heard reading softly to her brother. Kade swallowed hard and went to find her with intent to rush their excursion. He wanted to get out of this place.
With his children's glee at pair of new books and a trip to the bakery following this upsetting event, Kade had nearly forgotten about the whisper. He was smiling when they made it home and Madelin threw herself into his arm. While the desire to escape subsisted throughout the night, there were too many laughs to be had and too much work to do to worry too much. He would forget these whispers. He would move on in his life and resist the temptation set before him.
At least, that had been the plan.
Apparently fed-up at Kade's persistence, his dreams took on a darker tone. The Wardwood screamed for him, and when he clapped his hands over his ears, Wolves threw themselves at the doors. As hard as he tried, he could not bar them out. A beast lunged in through the kitchen window and chased little Abigail up the stairs while she cried for her mother. Although he did not see what followed, he was a man who knew well screams of agony and the sound of rending flesh. He awoke with a swell of nausea and a roiling gag. Perhaps this was not the will of the gods, but it seemed to be a warning for certain.
The next morning, Elsabeth wrung her hands together as the children played, unaware of the danger their father may be in. Yes, his sister knew of the Wardwood. She knew of Oldcastle, and of the woods. Still, Kade's dream seemed to disturb her. He would be gone for five days at most, and his work would be coming with him. He would return with a sign from the gods.
Unfortunately, the driver agreed only to take him so far as an Oldcastle stable. The wolves could attack at any moment, he was certain, and the musk of his horses would be the death of them all. Kade was forced to rent a horse and travel the rest of the way on his own, wishing that he had brought something larger than a knife.
The horse did not spook. There came no warning growls. The unlikely pair made their way through the wood at the will of some outside force until they reached an enormous tree with mystic air. The stones nearby watched them passively, emotionless eyes glowing in the dim light.
Kade's eyes were drawn up into the limbs of the great tree. He offered no more resistance to the will of the gods. To climb was difficult with only one arm, often requiring a good leap or lunge and a prayer to catch a further branch. The man's arm ached by the time he reached it. It was a white figurine, the same as all of the others and yet entirely different. They were all shaped like deer and they all boasted a strange swirl, but this one... it called to him. He could almost her it whisper.
He perched upon a limb and tucked the figurine into his bag. There was a sense of wholeness. Of completion.
What this sign meant, he had no idea. What he was meant to do with it was beyond him. Answers would come in time.
- - -
The children greeted their father with a cacophony of happy shouts and a flurry of hugs. Elsabeth seemed content with the fact that Kade was alive and not missing any more limbs. When he pulled the small figurine from his bag, she could only tilt her head.
"I have such a story to share with you..."
Six small eyes had also turned to the little deer. Madeline was the first to raise her hands.
"Mine?" she half asked, half demanded.
Kade crouched, meeting the level of his children. The youngest seemed disappointed that she did not immediately receive what was, to her, only a new toy. Instead, he turned the tiny treasure in his hand.
"This," he said, "Is a gift from the gods. You must keep it close. It will protect you." Could he be certain of what he was saying? No. He wanted the children to understand the importance of this artifact, even if his heart told him that his work was complete. No longer did he wish to wander.
William and Abigail seemed to be in awe of the figurine, and the eldest gently took it in her hands and rolled it over and over. She looked to her father with wide eyes. Kade kissed each little forehead in turn and hefted up his pouting toddler.
"Go put it by your bed and wash up for dinner. I've come a long way today, and I'm sure your aunt is just exhausted."
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Posted: Sun Jan 12, 2014 7:05 pm
[ thirteen days later ]
Abigail was in the kitchen with her father, and her brother was playing quietly in the next room. It stood to reason then that the sudden rattling upstairs was the baby waking up from her nap. It seemed just a bit early for that, but perhaps the cold in her chest was not quite gone. Kade excused himself from the bowl of veggies he had been tending, wiped his hand on his apron, and headed up the stairs. As he approached the girls' room, he couldn't help but notice that the noise was rising from the door itself. The wood shuddered under some force.
Madelin had never escaped her crib before, but he supposed that anything was possible. She wasn't wailing, though. That was a bit odd.
He turned the knob, and found a little white face peering up at him. Madelin still lay asleep, snoring softly, but a little fawn had appeared in the doorway and apparently attempting to escape. There was silence as the pair stared at each other, until Abigail made it up the final step.
"Kanina!" she yelped, and rushed to the little creature. Any normal deer would have flinched and run, but this one did not even react as Abigail wrapped her arms around her furry neck and scratched her cheek. "William, come look!"
Madelin whined slightly in her crib, waking from the sound of her sister's shouting. Kade's eyes trailed to the dresser, which the tiny white figurine had stood atop since he had brought it home. Once or twice it had been found on the floor, likely used in some fantastical play, but it was nowhere to be seen.
William appeared and laughed with delight before approaching the deer and rubbing her back. Kanina, as the children had deemed the totem, nibbled affectionately at his hair. Madelin's voice turned to a wail, and Kade approached the crib to heft her out. She rubbed her eyes and quieted as she turned to the scene in the doorway, and Kade felt the same shock.
He was going to have to ask someone about this.
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