[center][color=orange][h1][b]Embers in the Grass[/b][/h1][/color][/center]
[center] The artwork I used was done by http://blakez.deviantart.com/[/center]

[center][color=orange][h2][b]Premise[/b][/h2][/color][/center]This is a Young people-pocalypse as I like to call it, of the Shade's children, Between sort of vibe, with elements from The Last of Us, The Walking Dead etc: The modern world has ended and the only people left are young adults. 
The characters will have to learn new skills to adapt to the new world. While dealing with challenges from both the old and new worlds. There'll be tension, fear, hope and love, certainly being 18+, while also sticking to the guild's rules and guidelines.
I intend on having this Rp take place with a general plotline. While at the same time have a sandbox feel to it. I'm going to allow participants to have extensive creative freedom, while at the same time insert events and situations over the course of the RP.

[center][color=orange][h2][b]Timeline[/b][/h2][/color][/center]
The timeline is what the current in game date is. As the RP progresses, time jumps will have to take place to advance the various plots. Therefore the timeline offers a quick summary of events that have happened each step of the way.
[hider=Early Fall,2016] The Ashing Pandemic has wiped out the greater majority of the human race. Leaving only small numbers of people left all over the world. Buren County has been quiet for a week now. There has been no news from the government and electricity is temperamental and blackouts are common.[/hider]

[center][color=orange][h2][b]Plot[/b][/h2][/color][/center]
[img]http://pre00.deviantart.net/f72e/th/pre/i/2015/245/2/8/3_9_15_the_rock_by_blakez-d986uy8.jpg[/img]
Buren County is a quiet county. No more out of the ordinary than any other county in the US. The Baptiste river is the focal point of the towns and settlements of the county. First inhabited by bears, elk and other varied wildlife. 
Then the native americans, who learnt and roamed the trails all over the county, before the europeans and later americans molded the valley in their modern image. 
Away from the lights of Portland and the activity of the Willamette Valley, Buren is nestled into the mountains of Eastern Oregon, popular with vacationers looking for untapped wilderness and would-be residents looking for rural charm. 
2016 was going to be no different, the summer tourist season was booming as it did every year and the festivals and farmers markets were packed as they always were.
At least until people started dying.

[img]http://pre13.deviantart.net/4bc1/th/pre/i/2015/021/c/d/22_1_15_the_search_by_blakez-d8eutqh.jpg[/img]
A fungal infection was loose across the world. Starting slow and appearing in rare isolated cases. It was called the Ashing. The infection affected the internal organs, specifically the lungs but also the heart and other organs too. 
It's transmittion was mostly though close proximity to individuals breathe and bodily fluids. The Ashing effectively disintergrates your internal organs slowly, turning them into an ash like powder that can for a short time infect other individuals as they are coughed, vomited etc: out of the body. 
It's success had been put down to going unnoticed for so long that some people speculated that it started all they way back in 2015. Of course, it was too late now.

[img]http://pre12.deviantart.net/ba16/th/pre/i/2014/305/a/7/2_11_14_sydney_opera_house_by_blakez-d84z4us.jpg[/img]
All over the world, the Ashing Pandemic wiped cities clean of people. Governments tried to contain the plague, but from the onset it was difficult to determine who was infected unti lit was too late. Soon the lacking numbers of people led to breakdowns of essential services and the worser side in people was shown with acts of violence. 
A phenomena was occuring though, if a person was in the age bracket between seventeen and twenty three, they had a significantly higher chance of resisting the effects of the Ashing to the point of immunity. Not every person in that age bracket could survive infection, but a significant amount did. 
They could care for their relatives and friends, then watch them all die.

[img]http://pre09.deviantart.net/adb6/th/pre/i/2015/096/a/2/6_4_15_you_loot_i_shoot_by_blakez-d8omt50.jpg[/img]
Now, the world has quietened down. Somehow even Buren County is quieter than it was before. Houses have been abandoned or ransacked, some buildings have burnt down, others are filled with hazardous dead bodies. What people are left have started scavenging a living across the valley. 
There's been no news of the outside world since the electiricty went out. Just the occaisional lost soul trying to scratch a life out along the Baptiste River. 
What news is ever present is that summer is ending and fall prepares the valley before the grip of winter reaches the valley.

[center][color=orange][h2][b]Baptiste River Valley, Buren County[/b][/h2][/color][/center]
[hider=West][img]http://i.imgur.com/NOZb5B2.jpg[/img][/hider]
[hider=East][img]https://i.imgur.com/ydtjNou.jpg[/img][/hider]

[hider=Points of Interest]
[b]Addisson Salt Mine[/b]
- Salt has been mined from the Addisson's salt mine since the fifties, and has kept going since the Addisson's sold their mine in the nineties. The mine was closed for repair works in the early weeks of the Ashing pandemic and has remained closed ever since.
[b]Atherstone, Pop: 2,181[/b]
- The Town of Atherstone is the largest town on the Baptiste River and second only to New Leipzig in Buren County. Atherstone is the beating heart of the Baptiste Valley. Restaurants, bars, supermarkets, warehouses, hotels, a middle and a high school. All surrounded by sparse houses and suburbs. The main street is home to not only the valley's fire station but also a police station for the county sheriff. The town hall is the oldest building in the town, as it was the only one to survive the fire of 1909.
[b]Asisko Township, Pop 133[/b]
- Asisko Township is a relatively new settlement made up of a swelling of farms along the edge of the river. More of the area that makes up Asisko is farmland rather than actual residences.
[b]Asisko State Park[/b]
- The Asisko State Park is made up of three camping sites tightly knit besides the river. 
[b]Baptiste River[/b]
- The ever flowing force that over thousands of years carved out the Baptiste Valley. The contemporary name comes from french fur trappers who discovered the river. Despite the name, it is known that native americans passed through and lived in the valley for many years before the first europeans. The river itself is a long river that tributaries from the Columbia river and down into Buren County. It is rich with salmon and trout at certain parts of the year and is home to kayakers, canoeists and fishermen respectively. The highway follows along the river, now and then crossing over the river.
[b]Bremner City, Pop 923[/b]
- Bremner City is the eastern most settlement of Buren county, some forty miles away. Bremner city is built along the shore of Bremner Lake, the body of water that the Baptiste finishes it's run. Bremner City is mainly known for it's aging population and even older whiskey distillery. 
[b]Canteen Hills[/b]
- The Canteen Hills denote the end of the Baptiste Valley. Protecting the valley from the thick forests and sparse farms and pastures between Baptiste valley and Bremner Lake.
[b]Connor Ridge[/b]
- Connor Ridge is named after the american outlaw, Connor Dunbarr. Who hid on Connor Ridge for years before being tracked down and hanged in New Leipzig in 1899. The ridge itslef looks over the river and down onto Atherstone.
[b]Doumer Hills[/b]
- The Doumer hills stretch along the southern edge of Elk valley for miles, covered in dense forests.
[b]Elk Valley[/b]
- Elk Valley is a stretch of arable land, large sections of which is divided either by the state or by private farmers.
[b]Eye Patch Stables[/b]
- The stables cater mostly to the tourists that stay in the campgrounds of the valley. Throughout the spring and summer, they organise horse riding lessons and rides up the trails up into the Karl Hills wilderness. The owners of the stables are believed dead, and most of the horses have somehow obtained free-reign of the farm and it's pastures.
[b]Fiber Hill[/b]
-Sitting above McKinley Pass, Fiber hill is popular with UFO spotters. It's sparse tree cover and range of meadows, make for excellant spots for observers and abductees alike.
[b]Giscard Ridge[/b]
-Giscard Ridge seperates Tardieu valley from Elk valley and New Kiev. It is noted amongst locals for being almost untouched for decades and perhaps centuries by forest fires. Ironically named after the french fur trapper, who was struck by lightening on the ridge and inadvertently prevented a fire.
[b]Halkirk Campsite[/b]
- The campsite is privately owned by the Halkirk family for two decades, it rather optimistically stayed open throughout the Ashing pandemic. Though is still just as empty as it was then.
[b]Hansson Valley[/b]
- Hansson Valley is where a lot of upper class houses of Atherstone are built. Mostly vacation homes of wealthy families from Portland and Seattle.
[b]Howser Farms[/b]
- Howser Farms is one of many corporate farms owned by Jan and sons florists. The fields of Howser were filled with daffodils and tulips throughout the warmer months although harvest this year was postponed by the ashing pandemic.
[b]Marston Campgrounds[/b]
- The Marston campgrounds are owned and run by the state parks service who also regulate the Vand Wilderness. The rangers and employees of the parks service had long abandoned the site almost as soon as the pandemic started dominating headlines.
[b]McKinley Pass, Pop 1,356[/b]
- McKinley Pass is the town at the eastern end of the Baptiste valley. It is the last major settlement before reaching Bremner City. It is home to an elementary school, some bars and restaurants along the highstreet. Unlike Atherstone however, the only government building in town is the post office and the community center.
[b]New Kiev, Pop 149[/b]
- New Kiev is a small township on the edge of Elk Valley, a very spread out settlement with a post office that was already abandoned before the pandemic was even a thing.
[b]New Leipzig, Pop 6,771[/b]
- New Leipzig is the seat of the county court and the most populated town in the county. Despite being over thirty miles away, New Leipzig is the center of the county government. The people of New Leipzig are mostly either in timber or farming industries. Although the town itself is close to the interstate and is where the recognisable brands and stores are probably going to be found. 
[b]Revelstoke Quarry[/b]
- The slate quarry of Revelstoke is a relatively new mine that was protested against throughout the nineties by locals and activists from across the state. It was abandoned a few months prior to the pandemic and was later used by CDC to deposit the early surcomers of the pandemic. Most of the bodies have been left out under the sun and has since been abandoned. The best clue to getting close to the quarry is the smell of the bodies and the sounds of scavenger birds.
[b]Skagway Commons[/b]
- Skagway Commons is a lower class trailer park that has a reputation for until recently, illegal medicinal marijuana production. It was partly burnt down in a fight between residences and has since been abandoned.
[b]Silversson Golf and Country Club[/b]
- A popular spot amongst the residences of New Bremner and Hansson Valley. The golf and country club was established to cater to more classier tastes of the elite of Buren County. It was one of the first spots in the Baptiste Valley to be looted.
[b]Sum River[/b]
- The Sum river is more of a stream that pulls through Hansson valley and Atherstone to feed into the Baptiste River.
[b]Tango Estate Trailer Park[/b]
- Tango Estate is a trailer that caters more for vacationers to the valley rather than for permanent residents.
[b]Tardieu Valley[/b]
- Tardieu Valley is a thin valley between Giscard Ridge and the Vand Wilderness. It is mainly filled with small farms and pastures wedged between private residences.
[b]Tenakee Springs, Pop 108[/b]
- Tenakee Springs is a stretch of houses along the river that main features are the gas station and diner beside the highway. Most of the houses are middle class residences that pay more for the riverside properties than the convenient commute. Tenakee Springs was where the last murder occured in Baptiste Valley before the pandemic, in 2005.
[b]Vand Wilderness[/b]
- The Vand wilderness is a large stretch of wilderness that dominates it's chunk of the valley. The hiking trails leave much to be desired and is a noted refuge for the many forms of oregon wildlife.[/hider]

[center][color=orange][h2][b]Characters[/b][/h2][/color][/center]
[hider=Character Sheet Template]
[center]**Picture here if you want**[/center]

[center][b]Physical description[/b][/center]
[center]What does your character look like that the picture can't tell us.[/center]

[center][b]Age[/b][/center]
[center]Preferably between 17 and 23.[/center]

[center][b]Occupation[/b][/center] 
[center]We have one in some shape or form.[/center]

[center][b]Background[/b][/center]
[center]Where has your character been and what have they done? How'd they end up in Baptiste Valley anyway?[/center]

[center][b]Skills and Talents[/b][/center]
[center]We all have them, some more useful than others.[/center]

[center][b]Weaknesses and Faults[/b][/center]
[center]We all have them, some not as bad as others though.[/center]

[center][b]Personality[/b][/center]
[center]What's your character like?[/center] [/hider]

[center][color=orange][h2][b]NPCs[/b][/h2][/color][/center]
[center] NPCs are characters not controlled by the players (except the GM) though are necessary for the various plots and sub-plots of the RP.[/center]

[hider=Adam Davies]
[center][img]http://orig00.deviantart.net/9121/f/2009/241/5/7/canoe_by_toothless_dentists.jpg[/img][/center]
[center][b]Name[/b][/center]
[center]Adam Davies[/center]
[center][b]Physical description[/b][/center]
[center]Standing at 5'11", Adam Davies is a rather average young man. His hair is usually dishevelled, though he doesn't like going without a clean shaven face. His time as an athlete in high school and volunteering with his father meant that he has developed to be rather strong and a good runner. Looking at Adam Davies more closely, you'd spot his broken nose that he got in an accident when he was in middle school. [/center]
[center][b]Age[/b][/center]
[center]19[/center]
[center][b]Occupation[/b][/center] 
[center]Student[/center]
[center][b]Background[/b][/center]
Adam is an Atherstone resident, born and bred. His parents worked for the emergency services, his mother was a deputy and his father was a firefighter. He went to the local high school, local middle school and local elementary school. 
He was on the track team and was generally popular with both students and staff throughout his schooling. It was also during his late teens that Adam started volunteering with his father in the fire station, accumulating more and more responsibility the older he got. Adam returned from university out west for the summer when the ashing pandemic started. 
Adam started helping at the Atherstone community centre, which had been set up as an emergency clinic in town. Generally helping maintain the clinic's equipment and helping move patients from around Baptiste Valley to the clinic. The clinic also allowed him to dive into work as his parents became patients and then passed on. Despite the dead starting to outnumber the living, Adam still kept working, until there was less than a handful of people left. Then Adam along with others just hung around the clinic, waiting for some sort of word from the government. If there is even one out there.
[center][b]Skills and Talents[/b][/center]
[color=PaleGreen][b]Athletic:[/b][/color] Being on the track team and volunteering as a firefighter has given Adam high endurance and a lot of physical strength.
[color=PaleGreen][b]Natural Leader:[/b][/color] Adam can quickly grasp a situation and take control. Adam sees the best way to do this is to get people organised and plan out tasks to accomplish an objective.
[color=PaleGreen][b]Firefighter:[/b][/color] Volunteering with his father at the fire station has given Adam a good understanding of both man-made and natural fires. He has learnt skills and techniques utilised to stop fires of all sorts and has had practical experience with the forest fires that plague Oregon summers. He knows how to operate firefighting equipment, including Atherstone's small fire engine (really a pickup truck with a hose and tank on the back).
[b]Weaknesses and Faults[/b]
[color=Crimson][b]Bossy:[/b][/color] His instinct to take control of a situation can often put him at odds with people. Especially the sort who don't like to be bossed around or 
[color=Crimson][b]Laura Palmeresque:[/b][/color] People who have grown up with Adam have noticed a few things about him. Stints of time where he'd not been around, suspiciously clean social media, mood swings. There's something off about this guy, people just aren't entirely sure what exactly. Some people have suspected drugs, others that he's got some weird fetishes. Though no one's really sure.
[color=Crimson][b]?:[/b][/color] (The thing wrong about Adam Davies)
[center][b]Personality[/b][/center]
Adam Davies is just like most, if not any old teenager. At least the sort that normal parents like to have. Good grades, an athlete who's also creative and helpful. He's popular and well liked around town for a reason. He's grown up with most of the town and gets along well with most of them. Adam knows that he's well-liked and responds with even more kindness and helpfulness.
If you could say anything bad about Adam Davies is that he does have his suspicious moments, and people who know him well, will say that he doesn't like people who don't participate and help out. Apart from that, Adam's just like any regular guy. Right? [/hider]
[hider=Beth Nilsson]
[center][img]http://img01.deviantart.net/2e12/i/2011/017/1/0/one_of_those_hiking_times_by_soessan-d37e1aj.jpg[/img][/center]

[center][b]Name[/b][/center]
[center]Beth Nilsson[/center]

[center][b]Physical description[/b][/center]
[center]Beth is 5'9" in height. Though this is often accentuated by how she ties her hair up on day to day business. Beth has struck a careful balance when it comes to her figure, being athletic whilst also retaining a feminine telling to her. It's not uncommon to spot Beth Nilsson in a jumper and jeans.[/center]

[center][b]Age[/b][/center]
[center]19[/center]

[center][b]Occupation[/b][/center] 
[center]Student[/center]

[center][b]Background[/b][/center]
[center]Beth was born in New Leipzig along with her twin brother Greg Nilsson. They grew up in the more up market Hansson Valley though as their parents took up management jobs in businesses around the valley. Together they went to the same elementary school, however were split up into different classes. Beth grew up more socialised and outgoing than her brother. It was during high school that the two started really being driven apart. Beth was a popular girl at school, while Greg was ostracised and kept to a small group of friends, most from out of town. Beth joined the swimming team and excelled in her studies, eventually securing a scholarship in an Ivy league school. 
When Beth returned to Baptiste Valley for the summer, she yearned to re-connect with her brother, who hadn't gone to university and worked for their mother at the Silversson Golf and Country Club. She got what she wanted, like she usually did, though at the expense of losing her parents to the ashing pandemic. Together they'd worked together at the clinic in Atherstone's community centre. 
As usual, Beth excelled at her work with the patients, while Greg could only do his best. As the number of patients started winding down, Beth butted heads with Adam Davies, who wanted to wait for a government that wasn't coming.
Together with Greg, the two left the community centre, much to the displeasure of Davies and hauled up down at the Asisko State Park.[/center]

[center][b]Skills and Talents[/b][/center]
[color=PaleGreen][b]Strong Swimmer:[/b][/color] Always a good swimmer, Beth practiced every day in the family pool and for the high school's swim team, before competing in state championships and joining her university's team too. No lake or river is a challenge to her.

[color=PaleGreen][b]Determined:[/b][/color] Beth will do almost anything she can to get what she wants and doesn't forget easily. It's lucky for most people then that Beth didn't have to ask for much, considering her wealthy background.

[color=PaleGreen][b]?:[/b][/color] (Something to find out later)

[color=PaleGreen][b]?:[/b][/color] (Something else to find out later)

[center][b]Weaknesses and Faults[/b][/center]
[color=Crimson][b]Unpractical Upbringing:[/b][/color] Despite her intelligence and physical prowess, Beth has little to no practical survival skills. She tries to make up for it with a strong work ethic, but nature doesn't care how hard you try.

[color=Crimson][b]?:[/b][/color] (Something to find out later)

[color=Crimson][b]?:[/b][/color] (Something else to find out later)

[center][b]Personality[/b][/center]
[center]Beth Nilsson is deep down a loving and caring person. Never one to say a bad word about someone and always willing to help. Beth is however rather suspicious and nosy, especially to those who have a poor regard for her friends and loved ones. Only recently has Beth rekindled her relationship with her twin brother Greg Nilsson. Despite a cold patch during their high school lives, due to social and interest differences. Beth is a much more calmer and optimistic person since reconnecting with her brother.[/center] [/hider]