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[center][i]An Original Role-Play

The hills rolled off into lapping arrays of the most decadent greens, glistening with the crisp morning dew. The cherry blossoms and apple orchards were in full bloom, and seemed to whisper between one another as the valley breeze nestled its way through the sparing woodland. This scene was a welcomed sight to the people of the village, whose children were taking great delight in running free through the soft grass with their feet bare, laughing and frolicking between one another as though nothing in the world mattered but that morning. The parents, smiling one and all, took the distraction of the children as a moment to ready themselves for the festivities that lay ahead that day; it was the final night of spring, and summer was soon to be upon them. Old Mr Radsharll gave a warm smile and a hearty handshake as he shared the freshest of apples from his orchards, and none could protest his insistence on them being the best in town; a gentle crunch, followed by the most pleasing trickle of exquisite juices. Perfection. His wife, of course, just rolled her eyes and laughed, readying her mare for rides that children would undoubtedly be demanding once the feast was done, and the young and charmingly handsome Jeremy Gloom was even going to be lighting his spectacular fireworks when night fell, of which all were excited to gaze upon. It would be a day and night to remember, that was certain. 

The figures appeared two by two, atop horses that trod harsh metal hooves into the grassland. Stoic to the last man, and lugging and creaking cart behind that groined under the weight of the several boys and girls riding upon it, they seemed to steal the sun as they descended from the hilltop, casting stretched and lasting shadows upon the village. Smiles soon faded, as parents gathered their children one by one and began to scuttle towards their homes, all the laughter sucked from the air like a vacuum. All knew what the man, shrouded in their robes of black, had come for, but none wanted to give it willingly; the Sentinels had arrived, three days earlier than expected. They were not men and women of menace, but rather, a hollow reminder to the people of that gleeful little village of the cost all had to pay, but only a few suffered. They did not smile or laugh or exchange small-talk, simply because they knew the pain they would be inflicting upon this small town, a pain they too had been inflicted with themselves once upon a time. 

They left with two boys, a girl barely of age, and Jeremy Gloom, whose handsome face was lost to the pale visage of dread that replaced it.

They would become Sentinels, desire had nothing to do with it. All families had to pay this shared price to protect this, and none took pleasure in the act. One conscription per family, with volunteers always welcome, as unlikely a prospect as that was. With their carts a little heavier, the Sentinels would return to the Wall that rested so far away, but never would a soul return. This is the price of the Sentinels, the unwilling protectors of our land, from the horrors that lay beyond the Wall.

This is a pain we all suffer. This is a price we all share.

This is Sentinels Watch.
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You are a Sentinel. Conscripted, or volunteered, it is your sworn duty to guard the Wall, and hold back the evil that permeates the land beyond it. You will die a Sentinel. There is nothing else for you now. We all came from families from the endless stretch of lush valleys, littered with villages and towns a plenty, but those families are mere memories that drive us on-wards. You were beaten like a dog. You were trained like a soldier. You are a Sentinel of the Wall. You will stare fear and death in the face and you will not blink, because we're all that stands between the savagery of beyond those grand, stone bricks. 

This role-play takes place in a post-apocalyptic version of our world, set hundreds of years in the future. Like a plague, an evil engulfed our world that turned men feral, causing them to feast upon their families as though they were naught but a meal. With a morbid brutality, they butchered all they came across, forcing the last refuge of mankind to construct the Wall; stretching from one horizon to the next, the Wall is the only protection we have from the apocalypse that awaits outside, in a world of ruin and decay. Cities crumbled, skyscrapers stand as unrecognized monuments to a time gone by, and any hope of advancement seems idiotic. All we can do is hold the Wall, and live what lives we can. This is our duty, as Sentinels of the Wall. 

Every year, the Sentinels travel outwards to the villages and towns of our safe haven to conscript a small portion of its population; that is the cost of our safety. One from every family. Taken from their homes, they are moved to the Wall, where they are trained mercilessly to be the best they can possibly be. Once trained, a Sentinels duty is to hold the wall night and day, as well as scavenging outwards into the world in search of anything to help our haven. Those whom travel outwards rarely survive, and those that do often wish they hadn't. The beasts beyond the wall, many centuries old with necrotic flesh and maddened minds seek nothing but to mutilate, murder and feast. They are intelligent, and they are many. Malicious, nauseously sinister, the Sentinels battle them night and day to save what little humanity we have left. 

You are a Sentinel. However long you have been a Sentinel, your history and your story to come, these are all your decisions. Only one thing is certain; you live as a Sentinel, and you will die as a Sentinel. This is the price we pay. This is the burden we carry. 
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[hider=A Field Report][center][i]

[b]The transcript report of a Sentinel, sent forth from the Wall to gather medical supplies in the remnants of the city. Our reports suggest that the group was ambushed, a brought to a leader of sorts. We can only speculate as to the authenticity of this statement; the subject in question was discovered five days after being dispatched by another scouting group. He was gravely injured and alone, and was brought back to the Wall for medical attention. [/b]

"We arrived four days after deployment. We were taken to a large, destitute hall, with industrial walls adorned with most macabre decorations; the remnants of bodies hung like chandeliers, and blood coated surfaces with a thick sludge. Despite our protests, her faithful followers forced us inwards with spears crafted from pipe and scraped steel. We were outnumbered vastly, and exhausted from the days of travel; it was all we could do but to follow them. When they presented us to her, whom sat atop her morbid tapestry of a throne with steam bellowing from the broken pipes and vents that surrounded this rusted place, I knew that our prayers for sanctuary would not be answered. Whatever beauty she might have held once was hidden behind self-mutilation and scorn, and she looked down upon us as though our mere existence was a grand displeasure. I tried to reason with her, which is why I think she made me watch as she committed an untold amount of unthinkable atrocities to the men under my command, men whom I had led to that forsaken place. Bones were pulverized and bent, fingers torn from hands and tongues cut wiggling from bloodied mouths. This was only the beginning; I will never put to word the horrors that below my men in front of my eyes at the hands of this ashen Queen. Those she didn’t kill, or those whom simply survived the hellish afflictions placed upon them, were dragged away in chains cutting through flesh, screaming and begging for death as they vanished. I still prey that they found death, for the thought of them still being alive in this place is too much for my guilt-ridden soul to bear. The last atrocity she committed befell myself; with a boiled, rusted spoon, she plucked my eyes from my head, and cut the nerves holding them with her teeth. The last thing I saw, and still see to this day, is her pitiless, merciless gaze upon me. Beyond the wall is a lost cause, and is no place for a sane man. The Sentinels will fall."[/i][/center]

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[hider=Conscription]
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[i][b]A transcript of an unknown Sentinel commander, commenting on the forces 'conscription' method.[/b]

"Regarding our implemented ‘conscription’ system in place for all the colonies, it can be explained thusly; the Wall must hold. Without manpower, the wall would crumble within days, and the terrors that exist beyond it would be unleashed upon us. Is it not right to have a few face the pain so that more may live freely? This is the burden the Sentinels carry. My conscripting one from each family every decade, as well as accepting any and all volunteers (as rare as they are), we establish a shared effort amongst our people in the defense of our land; those taken have families to defend, and will fight all the harder knowing so. Were things beyond the Wall to grow worse, we’d have to consider… a wider resource pool."[/i]

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[center]If you have any questions, feel free to ask below. There is still more to come, this is just me testing the waters. I'm looking to make this role play character driven, based around the relationships that develop and grow between our characters, and the emotions that come with that, so I'm looking for people who can develop their characters. There is no character sheet, so feel free to get creative; including things like name, age, appearance, history, personality... you guys know all of this by now. I hope this develops some interest![/center]