dedicated to new friends, and new dynamics, the kids from grace cove were a riot to get to explore, i loved the friendships, the ships, the drama and the spooks we had together. getting to explore jd, especially who was a brand new muse at the time, and developing him over the course of interacting with you guys, was honestly so much fun, and i’ll always cherish that.
i saw you standing in the shadows and your eyes were blue
you put your hand out, opened the door
you said, come with me, boy, you'll live another day more
IN A LAND FAR AWAY, as all good stories begin, the taverns rang with merriment. cups of ale and wine lifted as the patrons sang of the songs brought to their towns by a traveling bard. It spun a perilous adventure, a fellowship of heroes come together through blood, steel and magic. The would-be king and his knight, slaying creatures, saving villages, rewarded with women and gold. The barmaids sang the one of the powerful mage who took revenge a lord, willful and just, narrowly escaping her fate. The fae folk carried the ballad of the tragic elven hero who spoke out against injustice for his people and avenged his fathers death. But you see, you cant always believe the songs of a bard.
Marquis Caedmon Byrone was not a hero nor was his knight. He had spent his life gazing out of his gold cage, the scars of his stubborn will marred his flesh. his only friends were a whip, a sword and his guardsman, Ser William. The boy had become friends out of circumstance, brothers over time. When Duke Byrone decided that it was time for his son to marry, Caedmon had to make a choice. He had escaped out the window of his wealth and title, denouncing his place as heir—and offered his knight the same choice.
stay and keep your honor or come with me and leave it all behind
For Ser William, it was never a choice. He had nothing to go back to except a violent father and a lonely oath. He was raised to protect the boy so he would keep that vow. He would follow him to the ends of earth. With nothing left to lose, the two men set off to write their own destiny. Despite the tales, they were not heroes but mercenaries for the highest bidders. They turned the tides of war and government, chased down bounties and vendettas, slayed creatures for kingdoms so long as they were paid handsomely. Their deeds not from the goodness of their hearts but the weight of their coin purses.
Edward Munson hadnt been what they had in mind. A lower class man born into a family barely scraping by as blacksmiths. His father was a criminal, his uncle tried to keep the boy out of trouble but trouble had found him in the form of beautiful maiden. Edward found her body mangled, broken and all eyes were on him. To escape the gallows, he left his home and took up his dream of being a bard. As fate would have it, his paths crossed with the two sellswords who saved him from bandits. And much to their dismay, Edward decided that they would be his muses—and protection from the world he had yet to know.
Along the way, they would come across the feisty mage who tried to take control of her own destiny as well. While there was lord who wanted to wed Lady Annette, the song had omitted several truths. It had not spoken of her capture by the mercenaries who would return her to her ill-gotten fate for gold. It did not speak of the shackles and minced words, the sudden change of heart and the bodies of men left in their wake. After all, the bard spoke of heroes and the mage knew them as captors. She had no where to go and despite the mens objections, she joined their party.
The tales of their travels had become songs and songs became whispers. Echoes had reached the ears of an elf, tragically the only one left of his bloodline. The elven had fallen from grace as humans started their wars, the Harringtons had been the last of the high elven nobles left on the continent. His parents spoke out against injustice, wanting better lives for their people. It made them targets for those who benefited from keeping the status quo. Unfortunately his family was murdered in cold blood and his wealth meant nothing if he had no one to share it with. In an act of vengeance, Lord Stephan set out to find the infamous mercenaries and pay them to aid in slaying the one responsible for his family's demise.
The oracle was much the same, though songs of her were not so merry. You see, the woman had a dark secret she kept close to her chest, a darkness that resided within her very soul. A daughter was born into a noble family of great renown and a suitor made himself known quickly. Her father turned the man away, refusing to make such a choice for his daughter who had just been born. With his pride injured, the man found a sorcerer to curse their daughter and she took the name 'woes-day'. Lady Wednesdays curse would only be lifted upon the death of the one who cursed her. Keeping her plight a secret, she offered riches to the mercenaries to deliver her safely to a new land, leaving them unaware of the dangers that lie ahead.
and so the saga of their adventures begin where they started, traveling an unknown path made of blood, magic and steel. The bard carries their legacy across the land and oceans, bringing tales of hope and escape to those who may never cross their paths. Yet the truth is that all of them seek to change their fates, none of them know what lies ahead.
now chant the tales and legends told
strengthened by the hymns of old
weathered as this winding road is long
so we sing our traveler's song
THE FELLOWSHIP SO FAR:
CAEDMON BYRONE, the king. @prettybrawler
SER WILLIAM HARGROVE, the soldier. @kinghaargrove
EDWARD MUNSON, the poet. @eddie
LADY ANNETTE WHEELER, the mage. @wheelrisms
LORD STEPHAN HARRINGTON, the elf. @bbysttr
LADY WEDNESDAY ADDAMS, the oracle. @woednesdayaddams
pinterest board. playlist (coming soon).
this is an open verse for anyone to interact with these characters in this plot, feel free to follow and reach out if you have muses or verses in D&D, game of thrones, the witcher or any high fantasy worlds. all characters are 30+ in age, some with older face claims. new characters can be added, all additions are welcome as side quests and will be added to this lore post.
this is not a gv, its just a shared plot. no plot drops, just a fantasy verse.
Billy could only hope that maybe they were indeed in different cities, that she wasn’t she girl he’d been talking to and revealing things to that he hadn’t really revealed to anyone. He wasn’t ready to actually meet the other just yet. Not now at least. They hadn’t even talked about that yet. And then, she turned around and he saw that familiar face looking at him from across the room. His heart dropped, his hands stilling for a moment before he gathered himself to type again.
[Text]: Wheeler?
This couldn’t be happening. The person he’d been saying all those things to, that he had literally revealed to that his father was abusive, that he struggled and that he had ... recently found something that might become important in his life. He didn’t even want to consider her being the person he’d told that to. And yet, he could tell from her reaction that it wasn’t good.
[Received]: Billy?!
[Text]: ... I did not see that coming ...
She turned and headed to the door and he felt himself break a little. This wasn’t real .. this was a nightmare or something. He was going to wake up and find himself in bed, safely ... But he didn’t, nor did the ground open up from underneath him and swallow him whole. It was ... it was real.
[Text]: Wheeler, don’t you dare ghost me
He was headed outside too, his heart pounding as he tried his best not to just black out.
[Text]: Wheeler
Shit ... He stepped onto the street, looking around in confusion as he tried to make sense of things, tried to figure out how this had happened. How he had ended up spilling all those secrets to Nancy freaking Wheeler! She hated him! ... Hell, he hated her ... God, why was it so warm all of a sudden?
BEING TALL AND ATTRACTIVE HAD IT PERKS. the best of them was that everyone thought he was older than he was. he got into bars and music venues far more often than he should. of course, it helped that he hung around the scum of hawkins who had some kind of pull when it came the more seedy places. he was well liked among the college kids, even the cougars. he didnt dwell on the implications of that but rather counted his blessings. so when someone from his class through a rager in their parent-free mansion on the rich side of town, it wasnt exactly his first rodeo.
the house was filled with kids from all different grades, some freshmen meandered around though most were siblings of the older kids. sophomores were a little bit starstruck with the juniors and seniors. tables of beer, liquor and solo cups filled the kitchen counters in a free for all. he had popped some pills before he got there to take the edge off, a couple of joints tucked into his partly empty cigarette pack in his back pocket. he leaned against a far wall in the living room a solo cup in his hand as a pretty brunette regaled him a story while she played with the zipper of his leather jacket.
that was until he had glanced up over her head at the sound of shouting. its was an excited beer pong team of basketball players but his gaze shifted to a familiar face in the crowd. nancy wheeler, his new project partner. now he was not an expert when it came to what made wheeler tick but she had the eyes of a cartoon lamb and anyone within ten feet of her could tell that she was not comfortable. he could only see the back of the guys head who was talking to her, getting into her personal space more than necessary. it was that hunched posture like cornering an animal with a cage.
the blonde kept his gaze on her until their eyes met. he raised his brow, giving a slight motion of his head.
Monster hunting was never on his bucket list. In fact, when the nephew of the former chief moved here, he never believed in the monsters that apparently dwelled here—not until he had seen it for himself, and though he didn’t want to deal with any of this shit, it was better then being lost in his own thoughts.
Vance wouldn’t have expected a girl like Nancy to know how to use a gun. He stood next to her in the field, ignoring the others around them, more intrigued by the fact some perfect princess could use a rifle. He didn’t know any other girl who could use a gun; it was…surprising. Interesting, even. His switchblade idly twirled in his hand—he would just try and kill these creatures with this—but if she could teach him how to use a firearm…
There is a slight smirk tugging at his lips as he looks at Nancy, “So, a little birdy,” Mike and Dustin, “told me, that you my dear, once played our famed and beloved game of Dungeons and Dragons,” Eddie is a little amused at the thought of her ever playing the game, but he wants to hear it from her mouth, not that of her brother and his friend.
There wasn’t any surprise that strange things were still happening in this shithole of a town. Billy hadn’t been awake for more then a month now; talk of him being back at school to redo his senior year, and being awake in the first place when most didn’t think he was going to make it—he had been the talk of the town as of late. Did it stroke his ego? Absolutely. Even after everything that happened—even though he was trying to be better then he was—old habits die hard; and it seemed as though they hadn’t died yet.
But now, Billy was no longer the main thought in the towns mind. No—Chrissy Cunningham was murdered next door in the Munson trailer; not more then ten feet from the trailer that Billy & the Mayfields resided in. The guy was always a freak—but…he wasn’t sure he believed that he did something like this. Eddie was an annoying piece of shit—overly eccentric and an absolute pest—but he wasn’t capable of murder. Billy believed that. This was…not the works of a human individual. After what Billy went through? He didn’t doubt it for a second; and the fact he could feel a cold burn in his chest around his scar when it happened proved that to him.
Blue eyes flickered across the trailer park, glancing over each police officer and vehicle; each reporter until his gaze fell onto Nancy. He hadn’t seen her since he woke up and a sneer left him as he lit the cigarette that dangled in his mouth, walking down the steps and taking a drag as he sauntered over towards her, jeans snug around his legs and his white tank tight around his torso. “𝐍𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐫.” His tone was smooth, a smirk on his face as he towered over her, head tilting slightly as he took another drag, exhaling the smoke and not caring if it was right in her face or not. The look of disgust wouldn’t have bothered him.
𝑯𝑬 𝑪𝑶𝑼𝑳𝑫𝑵'𝑻 𝑯𝑬𝑳𝑷 but be protective of her, something that came second nature to him, regardless of whether they were dating or not. When it came down to it, he cared about her, always would, wanting nothing more than to see her happy- no matter who she chose. Still, he couldn’t help but chime in in his own thoughts and opinions, only fair seeing how she played the same game with him.
“Listen Nance- I know I’m not the best when it comes to, y’know, the whole dating thing but- I’m just gonna be honest here. Out of all of Hawkins- you pick Caed? Caed, the dude who throws more punches in an interaction than an actual conversation? The dude can’t help but comment on how he’d love to deck me in the face whenever we see each other- and you think that’s normal? C’mon-”
