Young Writers Society

As you might have already guessed, this storybook is the sequel to the recent storybook, VG Rumble. In the previous storybook I implemented a "level-up" system that gave characters certain skills and magic after winning a battle. I've improved on the idea since then and have come up with a new system involving "skill trees". After that one thing led to another and I came up with too many ideas to record in this post. So, to help prevent confusion I created a site that has all the information you need to know about character classes, skill trees, magic, special items and equipment, etc. All our characters' progress will also be recorded at that site. That way, everyone can keep track of what level their character is, their progression on the skill tree, equipment, etc. The site can be found in the link provided:

www.vgrumble2.piczo.com

In addition to all of this, there will be instances when your characters will be able to use something called Overdrive and Unity. Overdrive is when your characters are granted a sudden boost of power to use to finish off their enemies, and Unity is when two characters that have an established friendship can fuse together into one being. But there's a catch. The only time either of these powers can be used is when I say a certain character(s) can.

Onto the actual storyline. The story takes place in a kingdom known as Arcadia, eighteen years after VG Rumble 1. During the course of the story, the king and his three sons are assassinated by an evil cult, leaving no heir to the throne. With the throne empty, the barriers protecting this world shatter and demonic gates begin to appear all over the land. But, unknown to the kingdom, there is a forth son, the king's bastard child. He alone can bring order back to the throne and stop the upcoming invasion of the forces of darkness, and it is your job to find him.

The character outline goes as follows:

Name:
Gender:
Age:
Class: (Warrior, Mage, Thief, Healer, Shapeshifter, Dark Mage)
Appearance:
Personality:
History:

For those of you who participated in VG Rumble 1, be advised that you cannot use your old characters. However, if you were one of the few that saw the storybook all the way to the end you have the option of making your new character the child of your old one. As of now, that privilege is granted to me, AyumiGosu17, and kitty15.

If I forgot to mention anything, I'll be sure to add it in later.

Name: Eingreil-Kai (Kai)
Gender: male
Age: 17
Class: Warrior
Appearance: tall and moderately built, looks human aside from slightly pointed ears (representing the 1/4 elf in him); has thick red hair long enough to be pulled back into a ponytail and dark blue eyes
Personality: He is just like his mother, cunning and compassionate with a streak of a temper. He will not hesitate to defend those he loves and cares about.
History: He is Karana and Ilum's first child. Unlike his sister, Enya, he has always had an interest in military life and has awaited his chance to show his skills in battle. He has a background in small swords, knives, and fist fighting.

***This second one can be deleted, if you don't want me to have her, too. I thought it would just be interesting to have both of Karana and Ilum's children involved, one way or another.***

Name: Enya
Gender: female
Age: 14
Class: Healer
Appearance: of moderate height and build, looks human aside from slightly pointed ears (representing the 1/4 elf in her); has long, wavy red-blonde hair and bold blue eyes
Personality: She is just like her father, calm and caring with a strong mature side to her. She tends to act like an adult more often than her brother.
History: She is Karana and Ilum's second child. Unlike her brother, Kai, she likes books and music, but she does have a soft spot and passion: she likes to take care of things. She has no intention of getting involved in battle, though.

Name: Reon Betmith
Gender: male
Age: 15
Class: Mage
Appearance: he is slender but well built with a good build that is not very visible. He is 5 foot 8 with longish dirty blond hair and blue green eyes. He is very handsome.
Personality: he is a bright cheery person for the most part but when he is depressed or mad or any other feeling it takes over him making and changes his look
History:He was raised in a family of 7 brothers and 9 sisters and he was the middle child. He was never given that much attention and so turned to mischief instead trying to get it but that failed because is stunts never worked or he was never accused for it. When he 13 he ran away tried of being ignored and made his way to the kingdom that you mentioned (sorry forgot) and there he meet a wise old man who took him in and there he learned the arts of the Mage. The man a year after taking in Reon and he was left to own his shop that sold spell books and other magic items which he knows very well.

Name: Adam Scotch
Gender: Male
Age: 22
Class: Thief
Appearance: He's average height with a slim build. His hair is dark brown and curly, kept short while his eyes are a slightly lighter shade. His complexion is mildly tanned with a scattering of freckles and he dresses in average clothing.
Personality: Adam is a rogue but a trustworthy one. He steals for the fun of it, his favourite tale being the one about how he got his name, and he's quick on his feet and quick with his mind. Adam isn't the type to let anyone walk over him and he sometimes gets carried away when flirting with girls.
History: Adam was brought up by his father who taught him the ways of the streets and everything he knew about how to get women. Adam's father is a man who's fond of drinking and not used to taking responsibility for his actions so he was surprised and very frightened when one of the many women he slept with turned up on his doorstep with a small boy and screamed that she couldn't cope anymore. Neither Adam nor his father have seen the woman since but this doesn't bother Adam who has had a very happy life. He found fun in cutting purses, stealing wallets and chasing girls. And thus I come to the story of how he got his name. Adam's mother let him one thing and that was the name Tyson. Adam didn't like it and neither did he want to have any ties to his Mother so he decided to find himself a new name. It was like a game to him and he stole wallet after wallet after wallet in search of a name that fit. He came across Adam Scotch at the age of eight when he had almost given up and immediately decided he wanted it. So he took it. Of course, there was the trouble of there then being two people with the same name but that's all in the past now and a detail that Adam glosses over.

*Edit*

(Since I know you're responsible, Ayumi, you are allowed to control two characters at once. Same with you, kitty15, if you felt like it. I'm going to make two characters of my own as well. One is going to be Luke and Raven's son, and the other is going to be the main catalyst of the story. Everyone else writing the storybook can only have one character, though. I'll tell you why, I've heard time and time again that a person would stay in the storybook until the end, but before the story even starts they decide to give up. If they're only controlling one character then it makes my job [s]harder[/s] easier. So it's not about picking favorites, it's a matter of trust.)

(I'd like to wait a bit longer to see if anyone else decides to join. I'm hoping that the last two classes will be chosen. If not, I'll just have my two characters use them. I don't want my work to go to waste. )

I'm considering a second character. She would be a mage or dark mage if I decide to add her ^^

Name: Balaes Raan (Bal)
Gender: Male
Age: 16
Class: Dark Mage
Appearance: He stands at roughly five-foot-nine, and is very thin, the result of his father starving him every time he refused to obey his wishes. He wears his dark brown hair long, down to his shoulders. He has bright green eyes.
Personality: Bal is skittish, taking a long time to trust most, a direct result of his upbringing. He hates getting himself into any kind of trouble he can't handle, and almost always looks for the 'quick and easy' way out of a difficult situation. He despises magic - especially his own.
History: Bal's father was a Dark Mage, and wanted nothing more than for his firstborn son to follow in his footsteps and become a great and powerful sorcerer. Bal, on the other hand, only wanted an ordinary life - the kind that his father would allow his siblings to lead. Anuron Raan would have none of it, and forced Bal to learn the Dark Arts, beating and starving him if he tried to get out of a lesson. Eventually, Bal used his meager grip on his powers to escape his father and made his way to a city, where he now runs odd jobs for a minor underground boss, who believes him to be nothing more than an average teenage runaway.

(I'll make my two characters now. We'll wait one more day to see if anyone else wants to join. After that, what's say we get this started?)

Name: Edgar Whitebane
Gender: Male
Age: 27
Class: Shapeshifter
Appearance: Brown hair, green eyes, 5-foot-10, wears raggy clothing.
Personality: As a man of nature, Edgar spends his time in the wilderness away from any major towns or cities. At times he can seem nonchalant, he doesn't care much about most things and not much catches him by surprise. He does, however, have a great respect for nature and all her creatures. Because of this, he sometimes reacts irrationally when he sees a tree being cut down or a deer being hunted for sport.
History: As a child he always looked up to his father, who was a powerful Geomancer within the Mage's Guild. During the crisis eighteen years ago with the black sun, Edgar's father left the guild to find a way to cure the forests from their corruption. This was before they knew what was causing it. Edgar's father was slain by Ethric Vanheil's forces during his mission, leaving Edgar with only his mother. A few years later, Edgar decided to follow in his father's footsteps on the path of becoming a powerful Geomancer like him. Recently, Edgar entered the capitol city of Arcadia and was arrested for unknown charges.

Name: Adrian Arakor
Gender: Male
Age: 16
Class: Warrior
Appearance: Gray-blue eyes, black hair, 5-foot-7, doesn't like to wear expensive clothing.
Personality: Adrian has a strong faith in justice and always stays true to his word, a traite he picked up from his father. He is a very brave person, except when it comes to girls. Even when he's just talking to one he suddenly becomes very nervous. He is very kind and stands up for what he believes in.
History: As the son of the king's General and the master of the Mage's guild, growing up was different. He lived most of his life with his mother, Raven, in the Arcane University, which was established by his mother soon after she was asked to become the new master of the Mage's Guild. The Arcane University is located within the capitol city of Arcadia. He was home schooled by his mother. She had originaly wanted to teach him magic so he would become a great mage, but he never grasped any of the concepts and never learned a thing. His father, Lucas Arakor, taught him everything he knows about battle and self defence. Lucas hopes Adrian will become strong enough to join The Blades, the royal guards of the king himself.

(For those who are new to the story, Ethric Vanheil was the bad guy in VG Rumble 1. He's dead now.)


(I've recorded everyone's characters in the VG Rumble II site. If you go through the link on that site at the bottom marked "Characters" you'll see what level your character is, how many experience points is needed until the next level, how many skill points you have left, and all the abilities you've purchased on the skill tree thus far. I'll be recording all that information as we go on, so if you ever need to check anything about your character, it's all there.)

(All right. It's been a day and no one else has joined. Let's get this story started. So, based on the character bios you've all given me, I've come up with where they will all start. Ayumi, your two characters are living with their parents in a small town called Kvatch, located south-west from the capitol city past a slightly larger town called Skingrad. Boltage, your character will start in the same town, tending to his recently deceased master's magic shop. Kitty15 and Billy's characters willstart off in the capitol city along with my character, Adrian. Finally, Edgar will, of course, start off in the city dungeon.)

(I'd like everyone to start off by showing what a normal day in your character's life is like. That way, we can all get a better grasp on everyone's characters' personalities before the story heats up. Any questions?)

(One last thing. I just realized the "www" button attached to all my posts. I made it a link to this storybook's website a while ago and forgot about it. So now, instead of having to go back to the first post everytime you need to check something, just click on the "www" button at the bottom of all my posts, right beside "profile" and "PM me".)

***Yay! So then...we're doing a prologue, almost? Better than the last one, on that part. ***

Kai panted, parrying and countering his friend's blows. Their sparring was a daily, two- or three-hour long adventure. Every day, something new happened. Every split second, they had a new twist in their progress. Whenever Kai was certain he was the victor, Ian threw him off guard with a new move.

Dusk was beginning to set over the city of Kvatch, casting long shadows once again. The day was over, meaning Enya would probably be sticking her head out the door and shouting out into the field for them...

Kai rolled his eyes, Silly little girl. He held up a hand, stepping away from Ian and "sheathing" his practice sword. "Let's call it square. I'm wiped out." Even as he said it, he wiped sweat off his brow.

"All right," Ian nodded, "sheathing" his own "blade."

"Kai! Come inside!" Enya shouted from the door. Kai and Ian both laughed as they turned to look at the young girl, her red-gold hair hanging delicately about her shoulders. "You, too, Ian! Dinner's ready!"

They shook their heads, still chuckling, as they walked across the field and toward the house.

~~REON~~

Reon sat in the back room flicking through a book of magic potions looking for one for an order he had gotten. "lets see...sleep...dreams enducer...no...pillow sofener...no...black out...ah that's it" Reon walked over to the table in the corner and then read through the instructions. "okay three dove feathers...a hand full of poppy seeds...essence of cloud... head of a rose...hand cup of coco leaves... 2 cups of wine and a cup of milk...... and an eagle claw" Reon looked through the cabinet trying to find the final ingredient unable to find it. he went into the front room and grabbed a thick book and turned to the 5th page which like the rest was blank. he went back into the back room and said "eagle claw' loudly into the book. the book let out a green mist and then to his disappointment the mist turned to red which meant the eagle claw was nowhere found. "great i guess i have to go to the nomad station and hope they have it" Reon threw on his cloak and then he scribbled down a note. He went to the front door and stuck the note on the inside and locked the door leaving the shop behind him. he walked a while till he reached the edge of town and into the nomads shops. he looked around and then found Rajoc a nomad he knew well and strolled over. Rajoc was a very reliable nomad who usually carried what Reon needed.
"hello Rajoc, by any chance do you have any eagle claws cause i am fresh out and i have a special order for them"
"why yes i have a few of them, Reon one moment." Rajoc went to his stall and dug in for a few minutes and then came up with a bottle of orange claws. "here you go that will be one gold piece and 2 silver"
Reon handed over the money "so how long are you going to be here for because i am doing some inventory tonight and might need to come back tomorrow"
"well i should be here for a few more days, my brother just moved here and i will be staying with him while his wife is healing to help out with his kids"
"well that's good to here, i mean about you being here not about the injury" said Reon "tell her i wish her well" and with that Reon left. he wandered back to his shop and opened the door to it. he rushed into the back room and then removed a claw from the jar and sliped it in. he took the bowl and then he took a bottle from the back. he put the bowl over the bottle and the top extended outward to fit the liquid in. He took a cork and then pushed it in the bottle and leaving it in the back. Reon looked at the other orders and then he sighed. So many orders today, he had 6 different stomach illnesses he had to fix, 2 flu remedies, 3 pain killers for different pains and a bunch of others he didn't think he would get to. Reon spent the rest of the morning balancing making potions in the back and either giving out regular potions or taking orders for specially made ones. By lunch time he was whipped and needed to take an energy boost potion to stay awake. while he had lunch he started to realize he was way over head with this stuff. He was 15 and running a shop solo he need to hire some help maybe one or two younger kids looking for a job or to apprentice in the magic arts. But it would have to wait till tomarrow he guessed he could just get most of it done today.
Reon spent the day working hard until 5:00 and he closed the shop down and worked his way to his old masters home which was across town unlike most of the shop owners homes which where on top of the stores.he walked over to a distract of suburbs made up of mostly the rich men. As Reon was about to go in he saw the Mesader twins out side about to go in to and he decided to take his chance.
"hello, Alexender, hello joeoph, i need to ask you about an apprentise offer."
the boys looked up "depends what would we be doing" said Alex.
"Well you would come over to the shop at 6:00 and theni would give you a brief lesson on magic and potions then at 7:30 we would open and you would help me make the potions and help the coustomers. And if you have any questions o the job there is a book that will help you, and you don't have to read it just ask and it will say it or it will do it." said Reon
"well we probably have to ask gather but sounds good, but first what would we make" said Joe with a greedy look
"well depends there will be no fixed amount at first but i will give more of less depending on how well you do the first 2 weeks then set a fair amount for you" Reon answered,
The boys nodded "sure" and then thhey went in side leaving Reon alone. he went in the house and then into the kitchen not even leaving the door way instead just saying "roast chicken and a glass of warm milk." the kithcen then went to work doing everything for him. The man who once lived here hated manual work and so his first night had enchanted it to do it for him with simple comands along with the book in the shop. Repn made his way to the study and then cracked open a spell book trying to put some new ones to memory. he was still on beginier but could manage a intermidiate one with difficulty but for now was just learning some lower ones. After a minute he heard the sound of his milk langing on the table next to him and took a sip. He looked at the book once more and set it aside instead taking out a potion book to study. After about an hour he smelt chicken. he got up and into the dinning room and sat down right before a platter of chicken arrived in front of him. He hate alone and then after studied the book for an hour then went to his room. and pulled out a sleeping bottle and drank 9 tea spoons and then hoped into his bed right before sleep hit.

Balaes Raan

Balaes ducked under a thug's swinging fist and clutched the book tightly to his chest as he sprinted down yet another alleyway. He was in the wrong part of town to be dealing with this, Boss Flicker's gang had no power here, and as a result, he had no support. On the other hand, most of Boss Arri's nastiest men were out for Bal's blood now. Apparently the book was more valuable than Flicker had let on, and it had become a 'fight or flight' situation where Bal's size elimiated the former option.

Knowing better than to head to the main streets, where the guards were always suspicious of a runner, Bal stuck to the shadows, desperately hoping that some stray agent of his boss might stumble upon him as well. A thug, an assassin. Hell, he'd even accept another runner he could pass the book on to.

He stepped into a shadowed alcove, pressing up against the door and taking his chances that he wouldn't be noticed by the local wildlife. He held his breath, considering an attempt at ambushing the thug with his magic when he came past. But no, that would give away his position, and moreover tell Flicker he could use magic. And that was ignoring the fact that he had little training. A minute later, the thug lumbered past him, cursing his own bad fortune, that he hadn't been able to 'wring that little bastard's throat'. Bal had to suppress a chuckle, as he stepped out, hoping that his luck would hold for the rest of the trip back to the safehouse.

He started back the way he'd come, making for a main street where, now that he'd lost his pursuer, he would be less noticed.

The punch, coming from an alcove much the same as the one he'd sheltered in, sent him reeling to the other wall of the thin street, gasping for breath. The book dropped the cobblestones, kept shut by the lock wrapping around it. A pair of gloved hands retrieved it, turning it over as their owner surveyed the book from within a cowled cloak, searching for signs of damage. Then the head rose a little to regard Bal.

"Flicker is most displeased, Balaes. You're more than two hours overdue. Kvatch is not your playground, you know." The voice wasn't angry, as it implied their boss was. It simply seemed to scold him, as a mentor to a child. Still, that punch had been more than scolding. Balaes knew that his immediate superior hated wasting time, and searching for him fell neatly in to that category.

He held up a hand in apology, still panting, "S-sorry, Shmet. I had a hard time losing Arri's people. I just got rid of the last of them."

"I know that, I was watching you deal with him." Bal smiled a little, believing that his handiwork let him off the hook. Shmet brushed back his hood, revealing that he was still frowning, "I'm not done, Balaes. You're hiding technique was unoriginal, if the fool had any brains he could've found you, regardless that you were holding your breath for an ungodly time. That was your second mistake - you should always keep breathing when you're on the run. If you feel a compelling need to hold it when you hide, only do so when he can hear you. Which he can't do around a corner." The man threw up his hands, "And then you fell for your own trick, you idiot! You should've been checking these spots, you can use them, so can others."

Shmet scowled at Bal, "That's why I hit you. Now let's get moving, we've wasted enough time here, and that oaf shouldn't take long to work out he's missed you."

(Because I'm such a nice guy, I'm going to give everyone 50 experience points, which brings you all up to level two. Now you will all have 5 points to spend on your skill trees. If you know which ability you want to purchase, send me a PM or state it in your next post, whichever you prefer. I'll record the information accordingly for each character.The discription on the left side of the site, above the comments section, will explain how the skill trees work.)

(I'll post in a second, I just wanted to get this out of the way.)

Adrian

That morning was like any other morning for Adrian. He pulled himself out of bed and got dressed. His room was on the top floor of the mage's quarters in the Arcane University. It was always a pain for him to get outside every morning. The two floors underneath were filled with beds for the students of the university, and some of them were still occupied by the time Adrian woke up every morning. If he wasn't quiet, he could end up waking one of the students and get yelled at for it.

Thankfully, he made it outside without waking anyone. He made his way to the tower located in the center of the university. On the top floor was his mother's room. There were no stairs in the tower. Instead, there were glowing platforms that would teleport a person from one floor to another.

His mother, Raven, was filling out some papers at her desk when he came up. He sighed and asked, "Mom, did you stay up all night again?"

She looked over her shoulder at her son. "Oh, is it morning already? I was so busy I guess I just forgot about the time. Maintaining the university takes a lot of work, especially with all these new mages coming in."

"I'll go boil some water for tea," Adrian said as he went over to another desk that held all his mother's alchemy equipment.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Raven said, "your father won't be coming today."

Adrian looked at his mother with disappointment. "Again?"

"I'm sorry, Adrian. I know you were looking forward to seeing him today, but you know how important his job is. The king needs him at his side right now. Ever since the assassination attempt last month the Guard has been on high alert."

"I know..."

"Don't worry. If you keep working hard you'll be accepted into the Blades in no time. Then you'll be able to see your father more often." Raven got up from her chair and grabbed a book from the bookcase beside her. "Now, let's start today's lesson where we left off yesterday."

Edgar

The cell was small and damp, not to mention dark. The only light source was from a small bared window placed too high to reach. Edgar lay on the hard stone floor in the beam of light. He stared at the ceiling, thinking of what to do.

If he was going to become a powerful Geomancer like his father, he couldn't afford to rot in a prison cell like this. If he could transform into his werewolf form, he would have enough strength to break the barred gate keeping him in. But there was some sort of ward in place that prevented magic of any kind. Maybe when the guards brought him his next meal he could take one of them out and use him as a hostage?

His train of thought was halted by the sound of metal doors opening down the hall. He could hear voices soon after. The first voice was that of a middle-aged man, possibly in his mid-forties. "Lock that door behind us," he said with an authoritative tone.

"Yes, sir," another voice said, this time a younger one.

The third voice was of an old man, and sounded worried. "My sons...they're dead, aren't they...?"

"We don't know that, sire," the first voice said. "The messenger only said they were attacked."

"No, they are dead, and I am next. I know it..."

The people finally came into view. The owner of the first voice was indeed a middle-aged man. He had black hair, silver eyes, and wore white armor with gold trims. The second person was a younger man, clad in regular armor. The third was an old man dressed in expensive robes and jewelry, giving him the look of royalty.

The important looking guard continued, "My job is to get you to safe-" he stopped in mid-sentence when he saw Edgar laying on the floor inside the cell. He turned to the soldier beside him and asked, "What is this prisoner doing here? This cell is supposed to be off limits!"

"A usual mix up with the watch, I'm sure. I-"

"Never mind, get that gate open." He turned to Edgar and said, "Stand back prisoner. We won't hesitate to kill you if you get in our way."

Edgar sighed, "Yeah, yeah, I'm getting up..."

"Stand up against the wall and stay there." Edgar did what he was told and leaned against the far wall. Once the gate was open, the man told the other soldier, "Watch him, make sure he doesn't move from that spot."

"Yes, sir." he said as he went to stand in front of Edgar, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.

"Let's go, sire. We're not out of this yet."

The old man stopped when he saw Edgar's face. "You...I've seen you." He began to walk toward the shapeshifter.

"Sire?" The man in his forties wasn't quite sure what to do.

"Let me have a look at your face," the old man said. Edgar lifted his face and looked the old man straight in the eyes. "You are the one from my dreams. There is no doubt about it, this is the day. Gods, give me strength..."

"So, who are you supposed to be?" Edgar asked, his voice nonchalant.

"I am your king, Uriel Septim. For sixty years I have served the Gods of Arcadia. In time, you will serve them in your own way, as well."

"And what's a king doing down here in the dungeons?"

"Assassins attacked my sons, and I am next. My Blades are leading me out of the city through a secret escape route. By chance, that route leads through your cell."

"I suppose there's some reason as to why I was thrown in here?" Edgar asked.

"I do not know what your charges are. Perhaps the Gods have placed you here so that we would meet? In the end it matters not, for that is not what you will be remembered for."

"So, does this mean you're letting me go?"

"Although we cannot let you leave the way we came, you are free to follow us if you wish. After that, you will find your own path. Take care, there will be blood and death before the end..."

"Are you ready, M'lord?" the older knight asked.

"Yes, Lucas. Let's go."

Lucas, the knight in white and gold armor, pushed one of the stones in the wall. Like a switch, it opened a secret door that led down a staircase. "Better not close this entrance," Lucas said, "there's no way to open it from the other side."

The soldier that was watching Edgar said, "Looks like this is your lucky day, prisoner." He handed him a torch and said, "Hold this and don't get in our way."