Zion - A Reader Driven Story (roughdraft)
(A reader-driven character-based story for Fur Affinity and so Furry)
Based on initial votes over the course of five days it has become readily apparent that reader preference is most heavily in favor of Zion - Light of the New Moon and Zion - Final Memories.
At the end of the initial votes LotNM was ahead with 19 and FM was at 11. As such, going into this, the final voting period, we will continue with those numbers. Anyone who has voted is perfectly welcome to change their votes based on the write-ups to follow.
Right now I would like to take up some pages with an overview of each of the remaining two options, briefly discuss the worlds, provide a description of how reader guidance will take place, the 'game mechanics' of the contributions, and information about what to expect (such as survival rates, etc). So please review the following overviews, descriptions, and exerpts to get a feel for what is to come and then make sure you show your support for whichever story idea you like best! And now, without further ado, your options:
Option 1
Zion - Light of the New Moon
Dark High Fantasy theme, medieval/fantastic action-adventure genre
The Great Moon Goddess Tah'aveen created the world so that all of her children might live in prosperity and happiness. She was worshipped as much as a cycle of change as she was a singular entity. Like the moon, she had many faces, but all were revered and sought out in their own way. A vast empire flourished under her watchful, ever-changing gaze and five great holy cities rose up, each in service to one of her phases. Within the very center of the grand civilization there arose a sixth city, far greater than the rest: the city of Zion.
While each of the other holy cities worshipped an aspect of Tah'aveen, the city of Zion accepted all of her many faces and acknowledged that no one piece of the Moon Goddess was greater than any other. The clergy of Zion worked endlessly to keep the holy cities united in common purpose but, after many centuries, even the great city of Zion lost its grip on a rapidly deteriorating piece and, all at once, the empire came to a swift and violent sundering. That was over two hundred years ago.
Two centuries of war have reduced the once great empire to ruins. While the six city states fought to bring their dogma to their 'unenlightened' brethren every other portion of the world suffered for it. The powerful priesthood in each city succeeded in maintaining order within the walls of their grand citadels but, slowly, the lands slowly spiraled away from the blessings of the Moon Goddess. They became wild... dangerous... foreboding. They were the stuff of nightmares, for truly it was as if the land had been abandoned and the Moon Goddess rarely shone through the dark clouds.
Finally, however, less than twenty years ago, the great City State of Zion finally succeeded in creating a fragile peace accord. The war finally over, it was thought that the lands would once again be able to receive the favor of the Moon Goddess and, given time, the beauty and majesty of her creation would once again return. Every year on the anniversary of the peace accord, representatives from each of the five Temple Cities would travel to Zion to renew their pact for peace and swear fealty to the Moon Goddess in all her phases. Each year that passed the lands became less inhospitable... less tainted... less maligned. All of that changed, however-- last month no representative returned from their pilgrimage. Now, once again on the brink of war, each city sends a second group to Zion... what happens next will surely shape the fate of the lands for centuries to come.
This storyline will run in many ways like a heavy-handed roleplaying game. Characters will have a 'class' of sorts and a listing of abilities that can be activated by their contributing reader. Many decisions made by the characters will be based on their archtype and pre-supplied character quirks (minor story components and basic dialogue) although plenty of decisions will also be made by their contributing reader (major story decisions and important character actions). Submitted characters from both Fur Affinity and So Furry will be placed in Five separate groups-- one from each of the five holy cities. Each group will consist of one or more author contributed characters and rounded off with between 3-4 reader supplied characters.
The story will define characters on the basis of their aptitude to do combat, their intelligence/wits, their affinity for magic, their connection to the Moon Goddess, and their ability to interact with others. Skills, talents, and special abilities will be derived from those traits as well as from what city they call home. This storyline will be far more 'number-crunching' and 'character based' than Option 2. It will also provide a greater amount of control over contributed characters and offers the best chance for characters to survive.
Option 2
Zion - Final Memories
medieval warfare action/drama with fantasy/magical elements
The great kingdom of the Elves had covered the lands from the great western shores to the massive eastern mountains for generations by the time most other race were born. The Elves lived in harmony with the natural world, venerating the spirits embodied by all things and paying homage to the powerful elements. They practiced great rituals of incredible magic and brought peace and fellowship to the many lesser races who called the world their home. Their kingdom was one of respect-- they respected nature; they respected consistency; they respected tradition.
The grand nations of the Humans arose with all the brightness and fury of a bonfire brought to life out of a cold pit of sticks. Changing, learning, creating, and mastering, the Humans placed themselves above the natural world and took every step to claim and conquor what once dared to hold them back. They quickly developed laws, bureaucracy, alchemy, chemestry, science, and their own systematic method for controlling, shaping, and harnessing the magic that their neighbors the Elves considered beyond mastery. The Humans spread like wildfire, taking what they desired and assimilating lesser cultures into the amalgamation that became their empire.
Although their visions differed greatly and their lifestyles were nearly incompatable, the Elves and the Humans managed to coexist. The Elves maintained their old ways and sought no more than they already had; the Humans were content to seek other, more easily claimed lands. This sense of mutual apathy was occasionally tested by border skirmishes, call for reparations, and occasional crimes by one side or the other but, for the most part, there was peace. This status changed, however, when the status quo was altered by the appearance of a long-forgotten city... a city that belonged to an ancient race far older than any alive-- gone before the elves even set foot in the forest or the mighty dragons took wing.
The Elves, protectors of the land and worshipers of the natural order, saw this ancient city as an opportunity to protect ancient history and as a way to bring their people closer with the old ways. The Humans, ever-eager for a chance to learn, to understand, and to take posssession, saw this as an opportunity to increase their holdings and gain a greater level of knowledge. The Elves sought to preserve the ancient city and the Humans made plans to occupy it. Now, at long last, a conflict that had been brewing for generations has come to a head. The Elves are unwilling to let the Humans and their destructive lust for power anywhere near the ruins while the humans see the Elven resistance as a direct challenge to their rights to growth, enlightenment, and understanding.
This story will follow the lives of numerous individuals involved in an extended war between the Humans and the Elves over the fabled city of the ancients known as Zion. It will be presented from many points of view as the tale is told through many different sets of eyes on both sides of the battlefield. The Human empire and their many allies (numerous anthromorphic races, dwarves, gnomes, and magically enhanced constructs) will fight against the combined forces of nature (sentient animals, dragons, elementals, etc) as lead by the Elves. Characters will be conceptually crafted only with a basic outline of who they are and what they are responsible for within the story. Submitted characters from both Fur Affinity and So Furry will be placed throughout the world and will be present on both sides of the conflict. There will be somewhere close to 50 characters, though many will not survive any length of time to receive specific attention-- this is war, after all.
This story will be defined by the characters and the characters will be defined based on how long they survive. The characters that survive longer will receive larger parts as more and more of the 'lesser' characters die off. A character's survival will be based on the favor shown to them by readers and their importance to the overall storyline. This storyline will be much more hands-off than the first option as contributing readers get to provide only basic guidance once they let their character loose into the story. Most characters in this story are expected to die, hence the title "Final Memories", but it should provide some very emotionally charged reading.
And with that, you now have the outline of both of the two most popular plots. If you have questions, I'll be happy to take them. Please post here in comments so everyone can see what questions have been asked/answered. By all means feel free to start some conversations and begin contemplating what character you would like to submit. On Sunday I will announce the winning plot line and present some even more indepth information so readers can start solidifying the character concepts and learn more about the world/events of the chosen storyline. As always, thanks for reading and contributing-- you guys rock!
comidacomida