Hey guys, I’ve written this story to begin exploring the martial arts of stonehearth. Most likely this would not effect the gameplay at all. But it would be nice for the fan lore of the game. Because of the nature of this post I decided not to post it in my [time machine post][1]
I have chosen these names, but they are subject to change at the communities suggestion.
Raya’s Children – Way of Cid (art of following the footsteps of Cid)
Northmen Alliance – Arc Cadun (Break Fight, or fight to break)
The Ascendancy - Kand Iyk (Art of Hitting)
And here is my first (uncompleted) short story about the Martial Arts. I hit a writer’s block towards the end, so it probably won’t be continued. However it is good ground work for my future short stories. In a way it leaves the rest of the story to the imagination of the reader.
Enjoy and please leave feedback. These short stories take a lot of work, and it really is tough doing them if you don’t get support.
The sun shone bright over the city. Its roads were busy, its marketplaces bustling. Horses carefully picked their way through the crowds. Their riders gently nudging them left or right. Yet among the flow of human activity there was a surprising lack of noise. Anything that had to be said was enunciated with hand motions or with writing. For this was Highrock. The center of arts and artisans. In the very air you could feel the influence and motivation of the culture.
The carpenters and coopers worked right near the gate of Highrock. Past them were the masons and copper smiths. Then the main street split in two directions. One way went to the blacksmiths and forges, and then finally to the sculptors. The other way went to the gold and silver smiths and then onto the painters and writers. Of course there were many other arts in Highrock, but none of them deserved a whole portion dedicated to them.
In the corner of Highrock, between the eastern and southern walls, a few wooden buildings stood. They were light in construction and looked as if a strong wind could blow them away. Each had its own flag and motif above its door. They represented the martial artists of Highrock, and they were few.
“Sean, put more of your back into it.” Master Boltoose called from the end of the matted room.
Sean scowled but complied. He had grown impatient of this punch, why did he need to perfect his form. A punch was a punch as far as he was concerned, and he wanted to get into the more advance moves already.
The Afternoon wore on. The logs that they dragged in that morning were being worn down. By the end of the day about ¼ of the log had been turned into wood chips and now lay on the ground in a mess. The twelve boys had to sweep up the chips and then drag the log to the fire pit, were they would be stored for the winter, or sold to the artisans by the gate. Only then could they leave.
Sean and his friends Mer and Jo walked together to the blacksmith’s home with whom they were staying. Their hands were bruised and bent from the hours of punching hard wood. They exchanged their normal anger about the waste of time, shouldn’t they be learning hundreds of techniques a day? They asked each other.
Master Boltoose sighed as he slid the wood panel back into its proper place. He was about to meet with the other masters from the other dojos. He knew this meeting was going to be the same as always. They would mourn the lack of motivation of the younger generation. Next they would speak grandly of the old days when martial artists had a portion of the city. Then they would discuss one or two techniques they had developed. Finally they would complain one last time about their stubborn students, and then close the meeting. For this is what had happened the past few meetings, and Master Boltoose was tired of it.
Master Boltoose walked to the Central Cadunsi Palace where the meeting was going to be held. Upon arrival he was greeted by Master Gwarin who taught a freestyle form of Arc Cadun.
“Ah, Boltoose it is good to see you. I imagine you have grown tired of these meetings?” Gwarin said, cutting straight to the point as he usually did.
“Yes indeed we are getting nothing done. Maybe it is time to change our ways?” Boltoose lowered his voice when he said this, they were dangerous words to be saying.
“Ha, if we could get the old Masters to do that we truly deserve our titles” Gwarin said in an equally low voice. He and Boltoose were two of the younger masters and they shared similar opinions.
From inside they heard their names being called. They hurried in, not wanting to be late. Both of them bowed low in front of their seniors. Their seniors matched with a low nod of the head, and then they opened the meeting. And the meeting began exactly as Boltoose predicted.
“Hey Sean, there are some lights on at the Palace. I wonder what is going on there.” Jo called from the window in the loft.
“Maybe it’s a fight.” Mer said excitedly.
“Come let’s check it out” Sean said, he had an adventurous look in his eye.
“What!? Are you crazy the masters would never forgive us.” Jo said with certainty.
“Oh come now, the masters don’t own us. We can do what we want. They don’t teach us anything important anyways. Are you coming with us or not? Sean responded.
“I guess I’ll come, but let’s be careful.” Jo said, a hint of fear in his voice.
Together the trio snuck out of the blacksmith’s house and made their way down the road. They took care to stay in the shadows and avoid the eyes of strangers. As they got closer to the Cadunsi Palace they began to hear voices.
“Maybe it is a fight” Jo whispered.
So building up their courage, they entered the Palace for the first time. The voices could be heard louder than ever. They were talking about the days of old.
“It’s the masters.” Mer whispered, even he sounded fearful.
“Let’s listen.” Sean whispered back.
“Well… well… well… what have we hear?” A voice said from behind them.
“Master Boltoose” they all said at once as they turned around. They were caught.
“Please master we thought there was a fight so we came.” Sean managed to say.
The Master just looked at them for a few moments and then smiled, but the smile never reached his eyes.
“Come with me” He said in an ominous tone. In his mind he knew that the turning point had just came.
[1]: http://discourse.stonehearth.net/t/turtlesquishs-stonehearth-time-machine/8869