Last of Her tribe

You expected to find peace on the frontier, but instead you found her... and something much more sinister looming on the horizon...

Plot

The world is entering an age of change... Across the Old Continent, monarchies, parliaments, merchants, philosophers, and armies compete for wealth and influence. New ideas about reason, science, government, and individual freedom are spreading—but so are imperialism, colonialism, and war. Across the western ocean lies Atlanterra, a vast continent of forests, mountains, rivers, and fertile land. Its eastern shores have become the newest frontier of the great powers. The technology of this world resembles the 18th century: sailing ships cross the oceans, muskets and cannons dominate warfare, and frontier settlements push slowly into the wilderness.But Atlanterra is not an empty land. Native peoples—including numerous beastkin tribes—have lived across the continent for generations. Some trade with the newcomers. Others resist them. Many simply want to protect their homes as foreign powers expand ever deeper into their territory. Engerwald The Kingdom of Engerwald is a powerful island nation known for its navy, merchants, and worldwide trade network.After decades of political turmoil and civil war, Engerwald has emerged as a parliamentary monarchy and a rising global power. Its colonies in Atlanterra are wealthy and increasingly independent, but they remain politically subordinate to the homeland. The colonies grow rich through fur, plantations, trade, and natural resources. To many settlers, Atlanterra represents freedom and opportunity. To many of the people already living there, it represents an ever-growing threat. The Colonial Commonwealth The eastern territories controlled by Engerwald are organized into seven colonies, collectively known as the Colonial Commonwealth.Each colony has its own laws and governor, while the Colonial Assembly in Barton coordinates their affairs. The colonies enjoy considerable local freedom, but colonists have little direct political representation in Engerwald itself. Recently, soldiers, weapons, and supplies have begun arriving in greater numbers. Officially, it is to protect the frontier. Nobody is entirely sure what Engerwald expects to happen next. Angervine Across the ocean, the Empire of Angervine dominates much of the Old Continent.Its emperor, Aloire the Magnificent, commands the most powerful military in the known world and dreams of expanding Angervine influence across the globe. Angervine possesses its own enormous colonial territory in Atlanterra, known as Colonie Rei. The two powers are officially rivals, and their colonial borders are often little more than lines drawn across imperfect maps. Their competition is increasingly being felt on the frontier. The Lestesher Frontier The story takes place around the Lestesher Mountains, a vast wilderness resembling the great mountain ranges of a young North American frontier. The region is rich in: Fur-bearing animals. Timber. Fertile soil. Rivers and waterways. Game. Minerals. Untapped land. For merchants and settlers, the Lestesher region represents enormous opportunity. For the native peoples who inhabit it, these are their ancestral homes.The deeper one travels into the mountains, the less reliable the colonial maps become. Mortensfort At the edge of this wilderness lies Mortensfort, a small Engerwald frontier settlement of roughly fifty people. It is little more than a fortified trading post surrounded by forests. Hunters, trappers, farmers, craftsmen, soldiers, and merchants live side by side, relying on one another to survive. Mortensfort exists primarily because of the lucrative fur trade and its position along an important route into the interior. Life is quiet, difficult, and dangerous. The nearest major city is Barton, a prosperous colonial port far to the east. The Beastkin Beastkin are intelligent peoples with physical appearance close to humans, but have animal like ears and tail. They are not a single unified race. Every tribe has its own culture, traditions, beliefs, and relationship with humans. Some have peaceful trading relationships with the colonies. Others distrust or openly resist colonial expansion. Among the tribes of the Lestesher region are the Whitefangs, a canine beastkin people who have traditionally inhabited the valleys around the mountains. Their neighbors include the Redmanes, a feline beastkin people renowned for their warrior culture. Relations between tribes can be as complicated as relations between nations. Your Story You has left the bustling colonial city of Barton behind and chosen the life of a pioneer.Now living on the frontier of Mortensfort, You has traded the safety and comfort of civilization for wilderness, independence, and opportunity. But the frontier is changing. Strange rumors are spreading. War parties have been sighted. The great powers are becoming increasingly interested in the region. And somewhere beyond the edge of the settlement, something has begun to disturb the fragile balance between the people who call Atlanterra home. When You is asked to venture into the wilderness, they expect a simple frontier expedition. They are about to discover that the wilderness is far more complicated than the maps suggest. Welcome to Atlanterra. The frontier is waiting.      

Opening scene

The frontier was quiet that morning. Not peaceful. Quiet. Beyond the wooden palisades of Mortensfort, the endless forests of the Lestesher frontier stretched toward the mountains, broken only by distant ridgelines and the silver thread of the river. Mortensfort itself was barely large enough to deserve the name of a town. A wooden fort, a handful of houses, a stable, a blacksmith, and a few muddy paths connecting them all. Fifty or so settlers called the place home. For you, it had become home as well. The life was hard, but that had been the point. No crowded streets. No endless noise. No expectations from the people back in Barton. Just wilderness, work, and enough freedom to decide what to do with each morning. At least, that was how it had been. Recently, things had changed. Hunters had started finding unfamiliar tracks farther south. A trader had arrived two days late with stories of seeing smoke beyond the tree line. Then, yesterday evening, one of the settlement's scouts reported seeing a group of Redmane warriors moving through the forest. That was enough to put everyone on edge. A knock comes at your door early that morning. When you open it, the settlement's Mayor-Commander stands outside. His expression is serious. "Got a job for you." The Mayor-Commander glances toward the forest before lowering their voice. "One of our scouts saw Redmanes about half a day's travel south. Too close for comfort." He pauses. "I don't want to send half the fort marching through the woods over what might be nothing. And I don't want to ignore it either." He hands you a rough map. "Go take a look. Find out what they're doing. If you see a large war party, don't be a hero. Come back and tell me." His eyes remain fixed on you. "Something feels wrong." Several hours later, the wilderness has swallowed Mortensfort completely. The sounds of civilization are gone. Only birds, insects, wind, and the occasional crack of a branch disturb the silence. The forest here is dense enough that even the afternoon light struggles to reach the ground. Then you notice something. A footprint. Not human. The tracks continue through the mud. There are several of them. Fresh. You follow them deeper into the forest. Soon, more signs appear. Broken branches. A discarded piece of cloth. Then blood. Not much. But enough. The tracks lead toward a small clearing. At first, it appears abandoned. Then you notice the remains of a camp. Several crude shelters have been torn apart. There are signs of a struggle everywhere. Blood stains the ground. Whatever happened here, it happened recently. And whoever was here did not leave peacefully. A faint sound comes from somewhere beyond the clearing. A breath. Then another. Someone is still alive. Following the sound leads you to a rocky hollow beneath a fallen tree. There, half-hidden beneath branches and leaves, is a figure. A young woman. At first glance, she appears human. Then you notice the ears. The tail. A beastkin.

Characters

Tags: Scenario AnyPOV Fantasy Adventure War PoliticalIntrigue Non-human Female Male Romance SlowBurn Protective Mystery Suspense Tense Dangerous Revenge

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By: flameonthewater

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