Co-Saga: Hilde, the Rain Forest
Mar 16, 2006 20:36:48 GMT
Post by barnibusquentin on Mar 16, 2006 20:36:48 GMT
Over the endless green expanses the journey would take the warriors of Eden. They would pass above rolling hills that looked like green cloth. It would eventually fade into a thick jungle that was only visible through punched holes in the clouds. Every so often the cloud cover would break and Eternia, the forest of the Eternal Dragon would be visible. Thin plumes of smoke rose up from under the canopy, probably belonging to monasteries or villages. But, all was not peaceful. The scars of great battles could be seen, craters with the first creepers and plants still just beginning to snake back into them: hiding the death. There was one section where the jungle died away entirely, revealing the city of Cao Cao. It’s centre rising up around the ruins of some great stone building –a temple- that was once a holy place, now it was little more than a smattering of pathetic stones that barely echoed its former greatness.
To the east and slightly north of here there was a river that cut a wide gouge through the jungle. At its head was a great dam, controlling the flow of water. The leaders of Hilde decided it best to divert this river closer to the city as an outflow for sewage and other waste. In a short time it had completely changed the landscape. At one point along it there was a massive cliff, nearly a thousand feet tall. At its peak was a clearing; the ground was scorched and dead from some fire long ago. No trees grew in a three hundred foot radius around here. It was as if the dense jungle just suddenly stopped. Lightning flashed in the sky and illuminated the insides of crumbled building husks that were the main feature of the cliff top. One or two dirt streets were still barely visible. This was probably once a village of some sort, though it hadn’t been home to anything other than rats for many years. The tallest of the walls were slightly taller than a large man and most of the buildings couldn’t have been more than a few dozen feet long. There were eight of them in total, arranged in a rough square, spaced evenly apart enough to fit a wide cart through. At the very edge of the precipice was a smooth stone block. Intricate designs were carved into its sides: perhaps it was an altar.
As the rain came down even harder slicks of nearly black mud melted into life. Over the edge rain ran in tiny muddy streams to the ground below: like lemmings. It was slippery to say the least. One wrong foot near the edge and it would be a fall long enough to contemplate every second of one’s life before finally hitting the ground.
Somewhere near this muddy mess was the artifact the warriors of Eden were looking for. But they weren’t the only ones…
To the east and slightly north of here there was a river that cut a wide gouge through the jungle. At its head was a great dam, controlling the flow of water. The leaders of Hilde decided it best to divert this river closer to the city as an outflow for sewage and other waste. In a short time it had completely changed the landscape. At one point along it there was a massive cliff, nearly a thousand feet tall. At its peak was a clearing; the ground was scorched and dead from some fire long ago. No trees grew in a three hundred foot radius around here. It was as if the dense jungle just suddenly stopped. Lightning flashed in the sky and illuminated the insides of crumbled building husks that were the main feature of the cliff top. One or two dirt streets were still barely visible. This was probably once a village of some sort, though it hadn’t been home to anything other than rats for many years. The tallest of the walls were slightly taller than a large man and most of the buildings couldn’t have been more than a few dozen feet long. There were eight of them in total, arranged in a rough square, spaced evenly apart enough to fit a wide cart through. At the very edge of the precipice was a smooth stone block. Intricate designs were carved into its sides: perhaps it was an altar.
As the rain came down even harder slicks of nearly black mud melted into life. Over the edge rain ran in tiny muddy streams to the ground below: like lemmings. It was slippery to say the least. One wrong foot near the edge and it would be a fall long enough to contemplate every second of one’s life before finally hitting the ground.
Somewhere near this muddy mess was the artifact the warriors of Eden were looking for. But they weren’t the only ones…