Young Writers Society

Welcome to Camelot!

This is a historical fantasy storybook, set a little bit before Arthur pulls Caliburn from the stone. The king is directing the war with the Saxons; there are knights but no round table; Merlin is alive and spellcasting; civilization is thriving.

Ambrosius has no heir, and the sword in the stone has not yet been found. The highest up people are all trying to do Ambrusius favors, in hope that he'll name them as his heir, but so far he has shown no interest in any of them.

There is magic, but it is a mysterious thing: only Merlin knows all of its secrets. Many people have minor abilities, (mending, lifting, illusions, etc.,) and a few have more major talents, like conjuring. Some creatures of fantasy exist, but they are savage, and untamable. There aren't elves, dwarfs, or any humanoid creatures, but there have been sightings of dragons, griffins, nymphs, and the occasional phoenix.

Feel free to be a legendary character: it would be awesome if people played Merlin, young Arthur or a sister of his, Morgan, young Guinevere (Arthur's future wife,) or anyone like that. Or, just make someone up!

God-moding is allowed, but try to keep other people's characters in character. No killing PCs.

You don't have to stay true to the legends, though you can if you want. This doesn't have to be historically accurate either, though we can use history as a guideline. Once a few people sign up, I'll make a DT. This is my first time starting a storybook, so if there's anything in here that you think I should change, let me know.


This is an open storybook: anyone can join at any time. Just fill out your character profile survey, and jump in.

Name and title:
Lady Claire of Camelot

Class:
High, but far from top.

Age:
29

Appearance:
Tall and regal, with stern features. She has wavy dark brown hair, which she ties back in a braided bun. Her eyes appear black but are dark green. She has light wrinkles on her thin face, around her mouth and eyes. Her body is thin and wiry, with almost no bust and hips.

Clothing:
Tightly laced velvet dresses in the traditional style, and metal jewelry. She has been reprimanded for wearing the clothes of someone higher in status.

Family:
Agnes: her sister. They aren't good friends, and rarely contact eachother.
Lance: her husband. When she first married him, he was more powerful than she was. Now, she has surpassed him. At best, it is a marriage of friendship. At worst, it was of greed.

Education:
High.

Magical abilities?
None, actually. Many people believe she does.

Talents:
Claire has quite a talent for sniffing out potential in others. (Think Slughorn.) Through out the years, she's built up a network of spies, which she uses to track the people she has an eye on. When she finds someone suitable, she takes them in and gives them whatever they need: training, education, money, contacts, etc. In return, they are loyal, and offer her whatever they can. This is how she makes a living.

Because of the accuracy of the spies, some people believe she has magic powers. She encourages this rumor.

Weaknesses (Haha, yes.)
Greed. She would be easily tempted, or bribed. She also forgets that she has no extreme talents herself: she depends entirely on other people, from her spies to her potentials and ex-potentials. Without the support of others, she'd have nothing.

Other stuff:
She has an aire of a woman much older and more powerful than herself: not quite an arrogance, but a proud dignity like that of high royalty.

She always has one eye on the throne, though she knows it is almost impossible for her to ever get it. Her more realistic hope is that one of her potentials will.

King Arthur, who has not yet been discovered at the time the storybook starts, would be her jackpot.

Relationship to other characters:
Hehe, because I am first, I don't have to do this. However, it would be great if you relate your character to someone else's, even vaguely. For example: if you wanted to relate to Claire, you could be one of her spies, one of her potentials, a friend or enemy of her, a neighbor, the person whose position she's jealous of, extremely rich/talented/beautiful and thus someone she'd want to associate with... lots of stuff. Use your imagination, lol!

(Haha, wow. That got long.)

This looks awesome!

Name= Samuel Fawkes

Gender= Female

Real name= Eleanor Fawkes

Age= 16

Position= A squire. Probably the only female squire.

Appearance= Eleanor is a thin, scrawny girl with short, blond hair cut in a boyish manner and pale, blue eyes. Her skin is naturally pale but often covered in dirt as is her hair and her clothes are usually baggy and scruffy. She appears to be of a reasonable weight because she binds her chest to make herself less feminine so she does actually pass for a boy.

Clothing= Generally a white shirt and either dark brown or black trousers. She is not yet permitted to wear armour constantly but she wears it when at practice. Her boots are old and black.

Family= Eleanor comes from a poor background. Her mother died giving birth to a baby boy when Eleanor was two and her brother, Samuel, was a sickly child and perished at the age of seven. Eleanor's father was paid very little for his job as a shoe maker and so he could not afford to feed Eleanor well and together they devised a plan - she would pretend to be her brother and request a placement as a squire. The plan was successful and now she is pretending to be fourteen year old Samuel Fawkes.

Education= Low.

Magical abilities= She has some power with illusions but she does not know of it though it has aided her disguise for many years.

Talents= Eleanor is a natural at fencing and jousting. She also seems to be very good at doing knight's laundry and fetching and carrying their armour for them. She has a reasonable amount of skill at riding horses.

Weaknesses= Eleanor is not as strong as most squires. Though she is sixteen, she can't even match the fourteen year old boys for their strength and is greatly slowed by heavy armour. She is also very reliant on her position as a squire because without it she would have little food and poor shelter.

Other stuff= Eleanor is hoping to one year become a knight and go adventuring and enter jousting contests.

Relationships with other characters= I'm not sure how I could bring her in unless Lance or one of Claire's spies is a knight and then she could be there personal squire.

Name and title:
Guinevere, Princess of Cameliard

Class:
awfully high. ^_^

Age:
15

Appearance:
Short for her age, appears to be several years younger; she has wavy/curly, mostly unmanageable auburn hair, and a lot of it. Gray eyes, a fair complexion that freckles when she's in the sun too much, and relatively pretty features.

Clothing:
She's too messy and fond of mud and dirt and grass to wear very expensive fabrics, but everything's always of the finest quality and cut to the newest styles. Generally wears dresses with boots, her hair braided down her back (usually escaping in elflocks).

Family:
Leodegan: King of Cameliard, her father.
Gwenwyfach: her younger sister.

Education:
Incomplete, but of an exceptional quality.

Magical abilities?
Has a good deal of ability with illusions and handy little tricks, nothing showy but things like picking locks, making small (but embarrassing) things happen to people she doesn't like... handy things for a mischeivous child.

Talents:
She's a relatively good judge of character, though she does occasionally slip up. She's also very active, an accomplished equestrienne, and is training in archery and falconry, as befits a noblewoman. Very clever with her words and has a quick mind.

Weaknesses:
Even though she's basically goodhearted, she's still got a good bit of that inborn arrogance; she's also very restless and never has the patience to sit still for long. Very short-tempered.

Other stuff:
She's very mercurial; she can be having a screaming tantrum one moment, and the next be sharing a sweet with the person who angered her in the first place. She's also very capricious in giving her favor, even at such a young age, and the only real loyalties she has are to her father.

Relationship to other characters:
Pretty obvious, lol. Well, she'd probably have heard of Lady Claire. Marries Arthur, has some sort of sordid interaction with Lancelot (whether or not it was really an affair or just a big mistake is yet to be determined). Probably not very well liked by Merlin, but that doesn't necessarily have to be the case.


Gwen looks rather like Thora Birch, a la Jimmy Kimmel Live:

Those look great! ^_^ Thanks for joining.

Kitty, about Eleanor's connection, Claire would have her eye on her, especially because of her natural fencing talent.

Any other takers?

La! This is turning into a chick storybook. >_> Give me a sec to put up a profile.

Name and title:
Aubrey the Lost


Class:
Lower-middle

Age: 24


Appearance:
A weedy-looking chap with curly mouse-colored hair and grey-blue eyes. Has laugh-crinkles around eyes and a straight nose, thin lips. Very slight and frail-looking.

Clothing: Commoner's clothing -- brown and plain. Wears a jaunty hat with a ridiculous peacock plume when not cooking.


Family:
Eileen -- his mother (though not by birth); a governess for nobility's children.
Piers -- his uncle (not by blood, Eileen's brother): the man who had found him in a burned house. Is a skilled cook.


Education:
Middling; he knows how to read but his handwriting is simply atrocious.


Magical abilities?
None!

Talents: Trained under his uncle's stern eye, he has a knack for throwing together unlikely combinations of ingredients and turning it into something delicious. He's also good at making people laugh and enjoys being the center of attention.


Weaknesses:
In spite of his usual good-natured self, Aubrey is easily provoked and enjoys a good fight, though he does have a cowardly streak. His deadly sins are Pride, Wraith and Gluttony; he's easily bribed by food.


Other stuff:
His name comes from the fact that he's very easily lost; he'll turn a corner and have no idea where he is. This endears him to most people and his natural charm and humor tend to keep people on his side. Currently he's working as a cook in one of your guyses' estates. (?)

Relationship to other characters:
Um, Claire has been keeping an eye on him? That or he's working as a cook.

EDIT: Got it. Eileen teaches Guinivere and Aubrey knows her, as he aids her in treks out in the wilderness occasionally and pops up during the lessons to bring in drinks, etc.. Talks to Guinivere about what it's like outside.

EDIT 3: I first posted this profile under the name of Julius. But I changed it. That explains flippin's post.

I have to go to bed, but i just wanted to claim Merlin. I'll post tomorow after school.

Name and title:
Althea, the sole daughter and heir of Calsius, the Ruler of the water nymph kingdom

Class:
Very high (in her society).

Age:
14

Appearance:
Althea is 4'7" and 79 lbs, with light pale blue skin, and long, dark blue hair. She has a few scales on her skin and her eyes are a dark evergreen, trademark of the forest nymphs.

Clothing:
She wears a blue/shear clothes that goes all the way down past her ankles in a toga fashion.

Family:
Calsius: Althea's father and King of the water nymphs. He is a gentle man and cares deeply for his family. He prefers to rule with peace instead of an iron fist, which has made the water nymph kingdom very strong. He tends not to get angry except when a family member is in danger.
Laurali: Althea's mather and wife of Calsius. She is a beautiful woman, and resembles her daughter, minus the green eyes. She cares deeply for the water nymph kingdom and constantly attempts to make peace with the other nymph societies by taking her counsel out and meeting with the nymph rulers.

Education:
High

Magical abilities:
She has the ability to bend and shape water to her will. She has also been known to move earth, though she did it unintentionally. She can also disguise others who enter the water with her.

Talents:
Althea is quite intellegent and agile in the water. She can move swiftly without being noticed and can escape danger in the water with ease. She is very much like this on land, except her ability to blend isn't near as strong. In fact, she often sticks out.

Weaknesses:
Althea is unfamiliar with the ways of the human world, so she is too trusting of people. She befriends those she doesn't know and hangs on their every whim. She also has a hard time breathing after she has been out of the water for a long period of time.

Relationship with other characters:
Often shows herself to anyone that comes near her lake. She also tends to hang around with Aubrey when he is at home and/or visits her by the lake.

Other stuff:
When Althea reaches land, her skin turns a golden brown, her hair black, her eyes grey, and her scales become beauty marks. She grows a foot and gains 40 lbs. Her shear toga becomes a white peasant dress.

It is rumored that Althea's eyes are green because her mother had an affair with a forest nymph.

Name and title:
Izlude Hyral (M)

Class:
Medium. Is a knight for higher. He works for anyone who fits his goals or needs. He tries not to form bonds but sometimes that's difficult.

Age:
31

Appearance:
His hair is black and half way to his shoulders. Dark blue eyes that never seem to show happiness. He wears basic traveling armor brown in color. His build is average though he could most likely out match the strongest man.

Family:
As far as he knows his family is dead. he visits their grave when ever possible.

Education:
Medium

Magical abilities?
He has a strange ability to move leaves and trees at will. Though helpful, he doesn't use it often because manipulating trees to a greater extent takes time and focus.

Talents:
He has three. the first is he uses grace rather than brute force when wielding a sword. The second is the ability to read people. It's hard to hide things from him. His last one is he likes to draw and paint as a hobby.

Weaknesses:
His artistic Belief. He sees thing others can't which can lead him to worry to much.

Other stuff:
His family was killed in a raid. He wishes to avenge there death, that is his goal. if helping others gets him closer he will do it.


Relationship to other characters:
Is currently working for Claire as her personal body guard.

(So, can i begin, or should you?)

((Methinks we should let Jenna start, pie. ^_^))

Ok, Here's Merlin. I went and reshearched a bit about him...and as it turns out theres quite a few legends about him. I'm just gonna use my favorite.

Name and title:
Merlin

Class:
Midle, but well known.

Age:
Around 55-ish.

Appearance:
Blue-Gray eyes and white hair. Has a beard (which is also white) and is relativly tall. Has wrinkles around his eyes and mouth and scowl marks on his forehead.

Clothing:
Wears dark colored robes; usually purple, dark blue, gray, or black. Black boots or goes barefoot.

Family:
Ganieda (Gwenddydd): Merlin's sister.
King Rodarch: Merlin's Brother in Law
Gwendoloena (Gwendoleu): Merlin's supposed wife. (Or ex-wife, if you prefer)


Education:
High.

Magical abilities?:
Is one of the VERY VERY few people who know just about every secret of magc, maybe the only one who knows them all. He is a powerful magician, but only uses it for good.

Talents:
Can also speak to animals and is a prophet.

Weaknesses:
Is slightly mad...but still has a strong heart. If he sees someone being treated unjustly, he will step in. Usually this is only a problem for the unjust person, but sometimes it can pose a slight problem on Merlin's behalf.

Other stuff:
Merlin lives in the forest of Calidon...and he's a bit loopy. The legend i chose had him living in the forest and talking to the animals. He is summoned numerous times by his brother in law to either fortell an event or just because. So...at the moment, he's living in the forest of Calidon...talking to animals...and mad.

Relationship to other characters:
Doesn't really know any of the characters at the moment, seeing as he's living in a forest like he has been for the past two years.

*Someone post!!!*

Name and title:
Senna (Known as the Forest Keeper to very few)

Class:
Upper Middle, but she has left the town and lives in the woods

Age:
21

Appearance:
Blue eyes, brown hair, tan skin, skinny built frame

Clothing:
Leather Clothes, hooded robes sometimes, knife or two. In town you wouldn't be able to tell her from a high up lady

Family:
None

Education:
High

Magical abilities?:
healing

Talents:
Can also speak to animals

Weaknesses:
Is afraid of strangers but wont show it

Other stuff:
Lives alone, wants friends, a relationship anything but doesn't have it

Relationship to other characters:
She knows Merlin

Lady Claire cleared her throat. "What of the knights?"

Bayard looked at the scroll in his hand. He was dressed almost entirely in black, and seemed to shimmer in the candlelight. Claire found her eyes sliding off him: it was almost as if he weren't entirely there. He'd been a good find.

"No new knights, my lady."

"What of the squires?"

"Stewart is doing well in his jousting..." The spy studied his notes. "And the small one, Fawkes, is improving faster than normal."

"Stewart is big and stupid. The other boys are afraid of him: that's the only reason he's winning. Tell me more about Fawkes. What's his first name? Simon?"

"Samuel, my lady."

Claire frowned. She should not have guessed.

As if nothing had happened, Bayard continued. "He's an orphan, I believe. The knights are impressed, but he still seems distant from the other boys."

"Have him watched more completely tomorrow, then report back. If I like what you see, I will have him over for dinner."

"Very good."

"Now, tell me of the royal family. Are they-- what is it?"

Bayard had held up his hand, to stop her. He tilted his head to the side, standing perfectly still. A second later Claire heard it too: there were footsteps on the stairs.

"Lance," Claire spat. "Go, quickly."

"Should I return?" whispered the spy.

"No. I fear I shall be tied up all night. Visit me tomorrow, with news of Fawkes. And pass the message on, to Izude."

He smiled, then bowed out, his cloak fluttering behind him. Seconds later, Lance appeared at the chamber door, his coat and hat in hand.

"Evening, my love."

"Yes," Claire said, turning away. She heard Lance sigh, and walk away, then glanced into her mirror. She pulled the ribbon from her hair, and let it fall, loose, down her back. It was wild, and wavy from the braid.

Claire gazed at herself. She tilted her head and ran her fingers across her jaw line, staring vacantly into her own eyes. Finally, she returned her hair to its bun, and left the chamber.

If she were having a guest tomorrow, there were preparations to be made.

Eleanor Fawkes

As usual I was one of the first to awake and I took my time washing my face and body with a damp flannel. In fact, this was the reason for my early start - the squires all shared a single wash room with twelve sinks and most of the boys washed at the same time.

Once I was relatively clean, I ran a comb through my hair, wound the usual piece of cloth around my chest and then pulled my clothes over the top, all before anyone else in my dorm had opened their eyes.
"Nick," I shook the dark haired boy in the bed beside me. "Hey Nick, it's time to get up." He groaned and rolled over, his deep, green eyes fluttering open.
"Already?" He moaned. With a sigh, he dragged himself up and dragged himself out of the room. With a fond smile, I tidied both our beds so we wouldn't get in trouble and headed downstairs.

Breakfast was a meagre bowl of porridge and a crust of bread but I ate mine without complaint and talked little to the other squires who were huddled around the table. After that, I followed Richard and Nicholas to our fencing class.