Young Writers Society

Plot
Long ago there were two Kingdoms. The Kingdom in the east was ruled by the The Phoenix. The Kingdom in the west was ruled by a greater dragon known as Eridz.

In the east under the Phoenix’s domain were the elves, humans, and gryphon’s. In the west under Eridz's control were the dwarves and lesser dragons.

The peace was shattered when the Eridz had his dragon army descend on the dwarves, destroying their mines and burning their mountains. Those that survived escaped using their tunnels to the east where they became nomads within in the eastern kingdom. The war spread into the east as the dragons attacked the elves forests, and various human settlements.

The Phoenix organized a pact between the races and the gryphon’s in light of the dragon threat. Now on the backs of gryphon’s the races could engage in aerial combat with the dragons. A group of elite warriors, riding on the backs of gryphons, are at the tip of the spear. These are the Rangers of Evandor.

After years of this war, it was discovered that a a dark force has poisoned King Eridz's mind. A small group is sent to discover what dark magic has enslaved the once peaceful royal dragon. With The Phoenix’s help they plan to reverse the dark magic.

The Story
You are part of the team that is meant to protect The Phoenix and discover the dark secret of the Dragon Lord. You can either be a human, elf, or dwarf. No matter what, you’ll have a gryphon partner.

You have the option of creating your own teams by one author playing a gryphon, while the other plays the rider. As long as they are paired up, it's fine.

Races.

Elves-Exceptional in combat and have strong healing abilities. They specialize in water magic.

Dwarves-Are great at creating things and can enchant objects. Their weapons or unbreakable and often have magical properties. They specialize in earth magic.

Humans- Are able to use all forms of magic. However, they aren't able to do any of them very well. They dabble in all of the elements.

Gryphon’s- Are highly intelligent creatures and can communicate through speech or through a mind connection with their partner. They specialize in wind magic.



Character Profile


Gryphon Profile


Rules:

-Usual YWS/SB rules.
-ALL posts must be readable, co-relate to previous posts and have correct spelling. That means no chat speak.
-Swearing; it's allowed just don't overdo it.
-Romance is allowed but no sex scenes; No one needs to read about details.
-Don't God-mod. .
-If you wish to drop, then pm me or Griffin
-All questions/request go in the DT.
-There is no word count, but be sensible. Don’t have two sentence of fluff.
- Griffinkeeper is co-modding this story-book with me. Listen to him as much as you do me. If he tells you to do something, do it.

Phoenix claimed by me

Brought to you by Griffinkeeper and PhoenixBishop

Profile-under construction

Name
Gender
Age
Race
Appearance
Skills
Weapons
Personality
History

Gryphon~
Name
Gender
Age
Appearance
Skills
Personality
History

*I'll finish it sooner or later*

Name: Fae

Gender: Female

Age: 23

Race: Elven

Appearance: She 's not all that tall, and doesn't weigh in at very much, but the girl packs a punch. She's over all slender. Her hair stops at around her waist, usually she has it up in a loose bun. She loves her eyes, and believes they are the best part of her. Now, don't get her wrong. She is not superficial, she considers herself average.

Skills: Her skills in healing are limited, but she is excellent with water magic. She's a expert range shooter, and has been practicing with bows and arrows most of her life. She has some experience with daggers and hand at hand combat, but she cannot handle a sword. Handing her a sword is like asking a person to lob around a large branch.

Weapons: Bow and arrows, dagger. Her bow and arrows are always close at hand, and if she is going out to fight her dagger is strapped somewhere on her person. Since they are in the middle of a war, she now almost always has her dagger with her.

Personality: Fae is a normally quiet girl, focused on what needs to be done and what needs to be done alone. When she has time to think she thinks aloud, and to others it's a long moment of babbling and confusion, to her... it's the birth of a plan. She will do whatever is necessary to complete a job, mission, task... whatever she's up too and is usually first to jump into danger. When it comes to socializing, she usually sits back. Not because she's cold and doesn't enjoy company, but because she's afraid to embarrass herself. She doesn't like being seen as immature or foolish. When she's close to someone she will always be there for them, and lay her life on the line to protect them.

History: She grew up in a average village with an average family. From a first glance there was really nothing special about Fae, until you see her wander off for hours on end during the day. She spends a lot of time near the river, practicing.

~~~~~~~~~

Name: Xander

Gender: Male

Age: 14

Appearance:

Skills: Better with ground combat, has moderately good flying skills.

Personality: Easily annoyed, when he is annoyed he will shake his head and ruffle his feathers to show his disapproval. When he's in a good mood he seems to be skipping as he walks, it's indeed a weird sight. He's a comforter, if he sees someone upset he'll usually hang around them and try to make them feel better.

History:

Name: Lady Ria Pliara
Gender: Female
Age: 20
Race: Human
Appearance:
Skills:
-General magic, all low level. She could heal a cut, send out a small fireball, give herself invisibility for a short period of time (say, three seconds?)
-Parachutist. All Rangers have a chute, just in case. In practice though, you have to open your chute near the ground, otherwise the dragon eats you on the way down.
Weapons: Ranger's blade. Specially enchanted to pierce through dragon hide. It does a fairly good job on just about everything else.
Personality: Rangers in general have to be a certain kind of crazy. Ria is definitely crazy enough to jump onto a flying dragon, in order to kill it so that she could fall towards the ground, with the idea that her gryphon would grab her before she reaches it. She is very optimistic and always has a can-do attitude. She's not the best ranger, but she's got heart.
History: Originally a peasant's daughter, she was chosen by Alden to be her pilot. This elevated her to her current rank. She completed her apprenticeship and became a full fledged ranger.

Name: Alden
Gender: Male
Age: 12
Appearance:
Skills: He is skilled flier. He uses air magic to assist him in long range flights, or in performing split second changes in direction. With more concentration, he can form an air-shield, which can help block dragons fire, for a moment.
-Also has good vision.
Weapons: Enchanted claws. In order to pierce dragon skin, dwarves have developed claws which can be attached to gryphon claws. They extend the reach of a gryphon, making them better at air to air combat.
Personality: Alden is only twelve, but Gryphons tend to age quicker. He is much more cautious than Ria and very protective of her.
History: A student of the legendary teacher, Sal'sen Reth'sa, he learned at an early age how to fly and fight. At age six, he chose Ria as his pilot. Six years later, they have finished their training and have taken down three dragons, with six assists.

Name: Phoenix

Age: 925( this cycle)

Race: Phoenix one and only.

Appearance: She has taken on the form of a human girl.



Skills: Her tears have healing qualities and she has a mastery over fire magic. She is also capable of self propelled flight. In her human form her other powers are muted or nonexistent, although she can still see through enchantments. She can create small illusions for a short period of time. This requires eye contact first.

Weapons: She carries pouch of her own feathers that when unleashed can perform greater tasks of magic she is incapable of in her human form.

Personality: She is always calm and collected. While she shows compassion for her people she lacks true emotions and while she has examined mortals over the ages she still does not understand emotions. She understands the concept, but she fail in relating. She believes all life is sacred, but she is not above violence. In a instant she will turn into her fiery self when need be.

History: She has lived for thousands of years, her current life cycle is reaching its end. Her current life cycle witnessed the fall of her once companion Eridz. She confronted him in her Phoenix form, but he and his minions overpowered her and she was forced to retreat. In the short time she was in his kingdom she noticed he was indeed not himself and she offered to go on the expedition in order to protect her kingdom and save her long time friend.

I'm in... With an Elf.

Edit: Profile.

Character:

Name: Lóriel Tindómë.

Gender: Female.

Age: 21.

Race: Elf.

Appearance: Lóriel is about 5'9 in height, with long, blonde hair and pale green eyes. Her skins is a creamy-golden colour, lightly tanned and smooth. She wears light Elven armour over pants and a peasant top and always carries her sword, bow and a quiver full of arrows.

Skills: Lóriel is skilled with the bow and the sword. Strong in water magic, and a little weaker but still fairly strong in healing. Highly dislikes close-quarters combat, preferring long-range as she's more skilled with the bow than the sword.

Weapons: Bow & Arrow, Sword.

Personality: Lóriel is loyal, kind and caring--to a degree. She doesn't like to see those she cares about harmed, and if you do harm them--or even threaten them--she will not be happy. She's bold, blunt and is not afraid to start yelling if someone pisses her off. She's not shy at all and will not hesitate to slap someone--and this will mostly likely get her in trouble. Lóriel also seems unafraid, but she's just hiding her fear well--one can tell if he or she checks Lóriel's eyes as she tends to flick them away from the person if they're getting to her--fear, anger, etc. She was once told that her eyes were a window into her soul and she isn't sure if she should believe that or not. Unafraid to cause trouble if and when she can, Lóriel's sure to be a handful.

History: Lóriel was born to a pair of High Elves. Being their only child, she was treasured. But all children grow up and so Lóriel set out on her own. Not much is known about how she ended up a Ranger, but she did. Today, she's a Ranger of Evandor and riding into war.


Gryphon:

Name: Súlion.

Gender: Male.

Age: 17.
Appearance:

Skills: Súlion is a skilled flyer, swift and almost uncatchable. He is also a skilled fighter, but dislikes death, even if it's needed to bring peace (He takes no pleasure in killing). Surprisingly, he isn't that skilled in Air magic but can use it to lift stones and throw them at the enemy or help Lóriel's arrows fly true.

Personality: Súlion is loyal and fierce, yet kind and caring to those he likes. He can have quite the temper, but rarely loses said temper. When he does get angry, it's fiery. He only wants to keep the peace, even if that means riding into battle. Highly dislikes death and destruction but knows it's sometimes needed to bring peace.

History: Súlion was born and grew up within the Phoenix's kingdom. As a young Gryphon, Súlion was talents in almost everything he did and as he grew up, he almost perfected his talents. He lacked strong skill in Air magic. He can use air to help him fly further and could sometimes produce a faulty air shield. As he got older, he learned how to keep the shield up for longer, but it's still faulty--it has a weakness (right between his eyes or aim for his front left leg/arm) that he doesn't tell anyone about. Despite it all, he was paired with Lóriel as they both preferred long-range combat.

Name-Shaeras Silvenlight "Shae"
Gender-Female
Age-16
Race-elf
Appearance
Skills - Shaeras is very skilled in archery and sword fighting. She is also a very smooth talker and can manipulate words into something completely different.
Weapons bow and arrows, swords, herself
Personality- Shaeras is somewhat shy but she isn't afraid to speak her mind. She is rough and dangerous on the outside but once you get to know her, she is sweet and protective.
History- She lived with her grandma who usually made her do everything. Every chance she got, she escaped to the outdoors with her friend Gwen. Gwen told Shaeras everything and Shaeras did the same in return until Gwen got mad, and spread her deepest secrets and burned her song book. Now she thinks everyone hates her and has nowhere to escape to because they're cutting down the strong trees and she needs a new song book.

Name-Zarrish
Gender-male
Age-12
Appearance-
Skills since Zarrish is a hybrid of the Razorfoot Gryphon and the Unyaro Gryphon he is made to kill. He has razor sharp feet. He has very good nightvision and can sense other creatures like himself and other magical creatures. Zarrish can also understand up to 3 languages.
Personality- Zarrish is stubborn but loyal to his Rider and VERY protective.
History-Zarrish, since he was little, has been declining offers from possible gryphon riders. If Zarrish wouldn't have found Shaeras himself, she would not have a gryphon.

Name- Alistair
Gender- Male
Age- 25
Race- Human
Appearance- Average height, weight. Short black hair, with a slight beard, like this.
Skills- he's mediocre at best in all areas of magic, except for fire magic, which he's a little better at.
Weapons- This sword (also enchanted to slice through dragon hide)
And this throwing axe.
He also carries this shield around on his back when not in combat.
Personality- Alistair is often cracking jokes to lighten the mod. He can unfortunately be abrasive (if angered) and is often clueless as to what's going on. He is also much more adept at fighting on the ground than air-to-air combat. This leads to a lot of the other Rangers disliking him and viewing him as an inferior fighter.
History- Alistair was born on a small farm in the north. Once, on a trip to the city, the Rangers were recruiting. They had a newly hatched Gryphon, and, when Alistair approached them, the Gryphon immediately grew attached to him and he entered the training program. He's only just managed to become a full fledged Ranger and is eager to prove himself. He has not killed a single dragon yet.

Name- Alejandro
Gender- Male
Age- 9
Appearance- Like picture, but ruddy brown and with a helmet and harness.
Skills- Alejandro is extremely gifted at flight. He is a midair acrobat and is extremely agile and fast. Also, because he is smaller than average, he is a difficult target to hit.
Personality- Being young, Alejandro is extremely eager to fight. He is very serious when it comes to fighting, and tends to rush into combat without thinking about the consequences of his actions. This often exasperates Alistair. Unfortuntely, due to being ignored due to his small size, he never developed the ability to speak, and can only mentally communicate with Alistair.
History- Alejandro was the runt of his litter, and was expected to not become a combat gryphon. When he found Alistair, he was glad he was going to get to see action like his brothers and sisters, and is therefore extremely loyal and friendly to Alistair.

Thanks a whole lot, Phoenix!!!

Name: Veriladiane (Daine for short)

Gender: Female

Age: In human years...? about 19?

Race: Gryphon

Appearance:

Skills: An amazing flier, Diane has more aerial maneuverability then most. She is not the best fighter, though she can if she needs to. She will risk her life for her rider. She loves the humans and elves, though the humans are not so good for her. While she can be sneaky, her coat often gives her away. She has very recognizable features. Her 'necklace' serves as an amplifier for her mostly uncontrolled wind-magic. The feathers on it are from her ancestor's bodies for good luck, and they tend to work. She cannot run on land. She is a cripple as well, with a missing front-left hand-thing(Ignore the picture). She limps on land. But she has a surprisingly high pain threshold.

Weapons- She is not a good fighter, but she has very sharp claws. Her magic is wild and uncontrolled, and amplified by her opal stone. She can only use it with much of concentration. She is mostly built for a flee-situation, where she can outrace everyone.

Personality: Diane is carefree and giddy. She doesn't mind being controlled by someone. She does not like or appreciate or respect the human race and makes her opinions about them clear. Other then that, she is open to all races. With the exception of dragons and dwarfs, of course! Wile Diane is a care-free, wild spirit, she can be contained and sophisticated when commanded. She can make herself look much bigger, and has a big pride that can seemingly never be touched. She is terrible at concealing her emotions. She adores flying, and leading her owner on wild goose chases for no reason. She can be tricky and not so nice if someone hurts someone she cares for. Even though she is a gryphon, she adores music and athletics like racing. She can't run on land. But in the sky, she is the best of her flock. Diane is a cripple, but that does not stop her from trying to become the best. She can walk little without limping before her arm gives her severe pains. She has a big heart and never looses hope. If you hurt someone close to her, she will get her revenge.

History: Her mother was the gryphon of a great commander of the Phoenix's armies. She tells Diane repeatedly of her owner, who was killed before her eyes trying to protect the dwarfs. She also tells Diane of when she met the Phoenix, telling of the opal-stone that she gave generously to Diane's mother as a show of remorse for her rider. She had amazing blood in her lines, which was passed down to Diane when she was bred with another commanding chief's gryphon in hopes of creating an amazing offspring.

Diane was born a cripple, though. Her front left hand- missing. Just not there. The bottom of her arm is closed over with skin. She was a disgrace to her mother, though the commander did not lose hope. She could fly tremendously when she turned five, better then most of the ten-year old gryphons. She slowly got over her injury to rise to the top. She is still riderless and hopes one will look past her hand and choose her for her heart.

When she was a seven year old, her mother passed. Her father left for war and never came back shortly after. She was alone, living only in the bleak field and even worse stall. She hopes a rider will chose her an mend her heart.

May be back.

Name: Madge Violet
Gender:Female.
Age: 17
Race: Elven
Appearance: Big violet eyes with long dark lashes. Her skin has a slight green tint to it, because her ancestors go way back. Red hair that goes down to her waist, that she almost always wears down. She stands at maybe 5'5 and is on the lighter side.
Skills: Bow and arrow, Flight fighting, knife fighting, and argueing. Also has good healing skills, but her water magic needs work.
Weapons: Her bow and arrow, simple and black,and a knife.
Personality: She's loud and loves being in charge. Extremely independent. Never afraid to voice her opinion, she loves a good debate. Now don't get be wrong, Madge will admit when she's wrong, but only when she's REALLY wrong. Suprisingly, Madge really doesn't have anger issue's, just enjoy's being caught up in the moment. She's easily a risk taker, and will never turn down a good fight.
History: Her Mom and Dad are tree elves and spend a quiet life in the forest. Madge was out of place from the silent elves of the forest, and as soon as she could, got out of the forest to follow her dream as a ranger. She lived a good and normal childhood, always dreaming of becoming a Ranger. She left home just a year ago and still kinda misses her parents.

Name: Vlorine
Gender: Male
Age: 11
Appearance: Considered handsome amoung many Griffins, he has black wings and a white belly. The rest of his body is a light brown color, shimmering with silver. Hard beak and slitty orange eyes. 34ft wing span. *Hopefully find a pic.*
Skills: Extreme annoyingness, handsomeness, and beak fighting skills.
Personality: Extremely full of hiself and rather hotheaded, Madge and him tend to butt heads. That may be the only reason there rider and Gryphon, just because they like fighting with each other. He can actually be quite funny and talkative.
History: Vlorine never knew his parents so he was raised in the castle as a minor orphan. He ate up the attention but was soon asked to become a Ranger. Of corse, he wanted a beautiful and helpless human. Instead, he caught Madge's gaze. She wanted to ride him, but he denied. They fought for days, finally ending in a great friendship.

When do we start?

I'll be writing the intro post shortly. A couple of things before we get underway.

1. Diversity. There are quite a few elven females wandering around. That's okay, no one has to rewrite their profiles if they don't want to. However, if you are thinking of joining and you are reading this, perhaps you might consider a dwarf character, or a male rider?

2. Participation. Lots of people posted profiles and I would hope all of them are active posters. Experience dictates that there is usually one (sometimes more) author that says they want to join, then we never hear from them ever again.

So, unless their author has posted before, don't include their character in the story. That way we don't have plot lines with people who aren't writing.

3. Plot: There are two layers of plot. There are the plots that deal with the individual characters, then there is the story plot, which deals with the actions of the characters in the big picture. A good post will advance your character plot, a better post will advance your character and the story. The best post is one which helps advance the plots of other characters in addition to your own.

4. Communication is key. If you get stuck, talk to your fellow writers. If you're unsure about a post, talk to your fellow writers. If you want to work on an idea with another writer, talk to them. If you want to talk to someone, talk to your fellow writers.[/list]

Starting post will soon follow.

Things were not going well for Evandor. One only needed to look at the map. The madness of the Dragon King Erdiz was only part of their problems. Orcs, aligned with the Dragons, now pressed down on the weakened forces of Evandor. Elves, Dwarves, and Men fought on the ground, while above them, squadrons of Gryphons took on the Dragons before they could incinerate the Evandor forces below them. Sometimes the Gryphons didn't succeed. Then the Rangers arrived.

The Rangers of Evandor were unusual from the beginning. Most combat units were composed exclusively of males; but the Rangers were mostly female. The reason was simple: females across all species weighed less, so they could be carried easily, with minimal effect to the overall performance of the gryphons that carried them. While male rangers existed, they were rare.

The gryphon rangers were also unusual. Their fledging was six years instead of the usual one. They became masters of aerial combat, air magic, tactics, and most uniquely, the ability to communicate mentally with their partner. When you consider that they performed all these things, all while loaded down with a rider, you begin to understand the physicality and focus of the gryphons rangers. They trained with their partners in warfare and magic.

The Rangers also developed equipment that would allow them to ride their gryphons safely. Harnesses and saddles were developed to allow the rider to hang on to their gryphon, all while maximizing the performance of the gryphon. Another development was that of a parachute, which allowed the rider to land when the gryphon couldn't do so safely. Weapons were also developed that would allow gryphon and rider to take down dragons by themselves. Conventional gryphon squadrons were only capable of doing so in squadrons.

Starting the Rangers was expensive, both in terms of time and money. Ten rangers cost more than it did to equip a battalion. Critics inside the military believed that the resources would be better spent on the battalion of troops. However, criticism died down after Rangers were deployed in combat. At the Battle of Trinity Bridge, Rangers were able to use their unique connection with their partner to coordinate a massive counter-offensive. The combined air and ground operation wiped out five orc battalions, stopping the enemy advance dead in it's tracks.

Further deployments were made and rumors spread about gryphon riders who knew things before they happened and could take down dragons singlehandedly. While many rumors were heavily exaggerated for the purposes of propaganda, their effectiveness was no illusion. Whether individually or in groups, the Rangers of Evandor were turning the tide on the forces of evil.

Our story begins shortly after the victory at Trinity Bridge.

Name:Colista

Gender:Female

Age:22

Race:Human

Appearance:She stands average height and is slender,she let her alburn hair fall to her back she have unusual green eyes that change to diffrenet shades of green with her mood,and at first glance people thinks shes a elf.

Skills:She great with a bow,with wind magic she almost always hits her target and and can use a dagger just as good as the bow doesn't have much experience with a sword but would use one with no other options,she can use all forms of magic she grow healing herb with earth magic.

Weapons: Bow and arrows, dagger.shes learned from experience keeps her dagger at her side at all time.

Personality:Colista is quiet, and has been waiting for a chance to fight and show off her skills,she loves to practice new forms of magic,and don't think twice when it comes to helping her friends.

History:Colista never knew her real family, she was found by an elves so they took her in she know a lot about elves, beening around them for so long she walks and talks like them shes skilled with a bow and have
stronger water magic then most humans.

*********

Name:Keene

Gender:Male

Age:12

Appearance:Small with black feathers and light eyes.

Skills: Great in air combat hes ok with ground combat,but hates it.He has strong wind magic,can use his wind magic to blow back object heading toward him.

Personality:Is playful and child like it gets him trouble half the time likes to tell jokes ready for war hates it when people tell him hes not because hes too playful.

Name: Moolah
Male
Age: 202
race: Dwarf
Appearance: short, 200 lb, drinker, big unruly beard that is red and black from when I burned it
Skills: can out drink anyone, and goes berserk when fighting.
Weapons: 4 foot mace, crossbow, short sword.
Personality: Unruly drunk man who has done his fair share of fighting
History: Town drunk for years but now wants something more exciting

Alistair walked among the dead orcs scattered about. Alejandro followed him, stepping gingerly over the bodies.

Sir, why exactly are we picking them over?

Alistair sighed. He still couldn't find it.

"We are looking through that one abnormally large orc that gave me this."

He pointed to the gash on his cheek.

Ah, yes. I remember that one.

The minute fireball in Alistair's hand flickered out, blanketing the duo in darkness. He snapped his fingers, a few sparks flying. He snapped again, and a third time. On the fourth, the fireball reappeared.

"There we go."

He continued to search the battlefield. Then he saw it. A massive orc, taller than he, lying face down in the mud.

"Come here, you miserable creature."

He grabbed the orc by it's thin hair, its limp body swaying. Alistair drew his sword and lopped of one of the ears. Satisfied, he poked a hole in it and strung his necklace through it. Alejandro grimaced.

Why would you do that?

Alistair looked at his necklace of ears, shadows dancing across them in the weak fire light.

"To remember them. Plus, it makes me look tough for the ladies!"

Alejandro shook his head in disbelief and the two began to make their way back to camp.