RE: Winds of Time - PokéBeach CYOA
The people have spoken, and the final tally is in!
Mia (8): PMJ, SF, Spoons, Triangleman, QS, IA, Luis, OS
Nikolas (4): Drohn, stevenk, Muffins, L_R
Eirik (1): IE
And so, prepare yourselves for...
Chapter 1
You are Mia, a 15-year-old girl from the northern wastelands. You have long, ice blue hair usually braided and coiled at the back of your head to keep it out of your way, and a lithe but sturdy build. Your skin is pale from the lack of sunlight near your home, and you are dressed in an assortment of leathers and furs from old kills. You have been hunting since you were old enough to draw a bow or throw a spear, and you began to live on your own and care for yourself as soon as you were proficient enough to do so. Life in the north is harsh, but knowing nothing else, you never sought to complain.
As a child you once heard a neighbor reminiscing about living down in the south, where flowers blossomed in the sun, and some days it was so warm you could take your clothes off and dance about in your smallclothes. You asked your dad if you could take a trip with the sled to visit down south and see the flowers and the half-naked people, but he just shook his head sadly. “Down south is where the bad people live, people who would take your food and burn your sled and laugh. That is why we live up here now.”
Later, of course, you learned more. You learned of the Shining White City, a paradise for the more fortunate, led by a great ruler, the White Lord. You learned of the gangs of “bad people” who roamed what was left of the land, preying on the weak. Of course, not everyone outside the City could be bad or there would be no one to prey on, but it still didn’t seem like a desirable place to visit. At least not if you had a choice about the matter.
Sadly, that choice was taken from you a week ago when the storms started. You and Piplup had been working on digging out and building a shelter to protect you from the worst of the ice and wind, but the storms had blown up much earlier than usual, and with a ferocious intensity. Your home was demolished, entire trees were uprooted and tossed about you. You managed to find an emergency shelter in a small rocky cavern with Piplup, but when you emerged the following day, the entire settlement was gone. No dwellings, no signs of life at all. Not even a corpse or a blood stain, just the thick autumn snow covered by a hard layer of ice. But above the clouds were swirling, and you knew your respite wouldn’t last long.
With few other choices left, you and Piplup decided to make your way south. The cavern you hid in together was barely large enough to fit the both of you, and there was not enough time left for you to construct something new, at least not anything that would last through another storm even half as bad. You would need to get to warmer climates if you had any chance of surviving the winter, gangs or not.
With nothing more than the clothes on your back and the Pokémon at your side, you began to make the trek south, following old hunting trails. Above, a flock of Noctowl flit past overhead and your hand itched for a bow as your belly rumbled with hunger. The snow had just started to fall again when you reached the ruins of the abandoned temple near the lake. Figuring that if the ruins were unstable they would have already collapsed, you said a quick prayer and ducked inside, huddling together with Piplup for warmth for a long, uncomfortable night.
The next day, you made your way to the lakefront in hopes of finding some good branches to make a bow. After all, there was no point in trekking southwards if you would die of starvation on the way. With the tools and spare sinew in your pouch, you managed to make a serviceable bow and a few arrows, and shot down some lunch for yourself and Piplup before turning back to the south and continuing on your way.
You’ve now spent five days traveling since you left the ruins of the temple. Snow falls constantly, through the trees around you mask the worst of the wind. The tall peak of Mt. Coronet keeps you heading south, and you’re sure the worst of the weather will begin to clear up soon. During this whole time, you’ve never seen another human and very few Pokémon. The occasional Noctowl or Swinub are enough to keep your belly from hurting, but the cold and constant movement saps your strength and energy, and even a fire at the end of the day is never enough to make you feel anything close to warm.
Finally at the end of the fifth day, the snow has cleared and the forest is thinning, so you can see a bit of your surroundings. Mt. Coronet is still ahead to the south, but the mountains are already climbing to the west. Wind blowing from the east brings the scent of salt on the wind reminding you that the sea is there, even though you can’t see it yet. Directly ahead of you is the most interesting sight, however: a village. Not much of one, to be sure, just a few buildings clustered together at the edge of the forest, but it’s the first time you’ve seen any sign of civilization since the first ice storm. Would these people be peaceful, or would they be a part of the gangs you’ve heard about? There’s no good way to judge from a distance, and your mouth puckers slightly as you debate which way to go.
Well, where
are you going to go?
A) Walk up to the village
B) Go west into the mountains
C) Head east to the shore
Cast your votes!
Since it seems most people were able to read and post their choices within 3 days, this time voting will be open until
Sunday, September 7th, though don’t expect the update to be posted quite as quickly. After all, I did have time to prepare this chapter over the last couple days.
