Gunther

New Dawn of Civilizations

@TheyraI love this idea. How will the presence of an immortal impact the course a society progresses along? Oh what fun. :)

New Dawn of Civilizations

Philip Beaulieu
Time: Arrival
Location: Unknown

Philip slowly drifted into consciousness. He was cold and not at all alert, but sensed that someone was watching him. More alarming, he was not lying in his warm bed next to his wife in their home in Massachusetts, but in a pine forest. The sun was on the horizon, and the cool morning air let him know he was not wearing any clothing.

“Did I have a whiskey before bed?” He muttered to himself. “No, I did not drink anything other than a cup of tea before bed.” Philip shot up quickly to a seated position. Upon recognizing the fact that he was lying naked in a forest near a lake somewhere in the world, his reaction was one of confusion. He spat out, “What the Hell!?”

The sensation that someone was watching him slowly morphed into three young men standing before him. They could have been in their late teens or early twenties. All three had black hair and brown eyes, as he did. They wore an outfit that resembled the clothing worn by Native Americans in the documentary he watched before going to sleep last night. A breechcloth that wove through a cord around their waist and between their legs. It draped down about two feet in front and behind. Two wore animal skins wrapped around their legs, and a light slipper or moccasin adorned their feet. Neither of the three wore a shirt, and two had eagle feathers attached to strands in their hair. The third wore a hat constructed of wood and decorated with several feathers, giving it a distinctive flair.

“Who are you?” the young man with the hat asked.

“Philip Beulieu,” he responded, “Where am I?”

“That is an unusual name, my lost friend. You are in a forest alongside a lake we call Ganeasos or Berry Place.” The man stated matter-of-factly. “I am called Koyengquahtah (Young King). These are Donehogawa and Otetiani, my brothers. Our village is just north of here. Come with us, we can find clothing for you. Philip Bowlier.”

Philip stood up. The youngest of the three bent over and picked up a pile of leaves that happened to be stuck together by pine sap. He handed them to Philip and giggled audibly. “You may want to cover your wiggly worm. The women in the village will be watching.” The other two laughed heartily at Otetiani’s comment.

The four men approached the village near the north end of the lake. Philip took in the scenery, commenting on how beautiful the valley was.

“Genesee Valley,” Koyengquahtah stated. “Genesee is an old word meaning beautiful. You are correct, Philip Bowlier.”

As they neared the village, Philip recognized the long houses covered in wood bark. He recognized the house and spoke its name, “Wetu!”

“That is correct,” Koyengquahtah responded. “That is what we call our homes. You can stay at mine for now.”

Donehogawa asked, “Where are you from?”

“Massachusetts,” Philip answered.

“I’ve heard of them from a Mohawk man. They live far to the east near the large pond.” The three native men were very curious about Philip. “How did you get here?” A tribe known as the Masschuseuk lived in an area of the Baystate around Boston and in the Blue Hills south of the city.

“Honestly, I do not know. I was asleep in my bed at home last night and woke up here. Are you guys re-enactors?” Philip asked.

“What is this word?” one of the three asked him.

“About twenty years ago, I participated in World War Two re-enacting. I portrayed a soldier in the 101st Airborne Division.” Philip had not considered he actually traveled back in time. He still believed it was 2026. “Your costumes are amazing by the way. Who makes these for you?”

“We make these. These are made from the best quality deer hides, and they are not called costumes; they are simply clothes.” Donehogawa answered this question. There were more questions he wanted to ask. The interloper used words he’d never heard of. He is a very curious fellow to the natives of the Great Hill People.

“Leave the man alone, brother. He came here by Magic!” Otetiani exclaimed with a grin. “The spirits have set this to happen. We should ask the seer to find out why.”

“But why?” Koyengquahtah asked. “We must ask Sagoyewatha, the great seer, for knowledge. What purpose is Philip to our people here in the Long Lakes?”

The three brothers and the lost interloper wander into the village. As people see the men arrive, they gather around their homes watching in curiosity. The naked man with pale skin and hairy face carrying leaves in front of his genitals catches the eye of everyone. The young men take him to the Great Seer's house, where Koyengquahtah confers with the elder man in privacy before inviting Philip to enter his house.

“Grandfather, where does this man come from?” Otetiani asks.

“That is what we aim to find out, my son.” Sagoyewatha stands about 5’ 6” tall, with a head of grey hair. His skin has become wrinkled, and his eyes appear as liquid pools of wisdom. A great robe from a black bear was draped across his shoulders. Beads, bear claws, and feathers adorn his clothing. He invites Philip inside to have a conversation. Philip is seated on the ground by a fire pit. Sagoyewatha retrieves a stick and places one end in the fire. Soon, it catches fire, emitting a pungent but sweet smelling odor. Sagoyewatha begins walking around the inside of his lodge, waving the burning incense in the air. He chants unintelligible words and dances in an irregular pattern. Once he feels the smell has permeated the air sufficiently, he sits opposite the pale-skinned man.

“Who are you?” was his first question. “The people are very curious.”

“My name is Philip Beaulieu.” He responded to the seer. “My first name comes from an ancient language meaning Lover of horses. My last name comes from the French meaning beautiful place, which I believe is reflective of this land you call home.”

“Genesee is our word for your name. I do not know what a horse is.”

“A beautiful four-legged beast used for transportation or carrying heavy loads over long distances.” Philip was starting to realize something bizarre had happened. These people are not acting. They are truly who they say they are. He is the one out of place. He came to accept he was the oddity in their village. Then he thought of Pam and the kids. How would he ever get back to them? Who would take over his classes on Monday?

Sagoyewatha and Philip had a conversation that lasted for several hours. Both men learned much about each other. With each revelation, it only seemed to unearth several more questions. Sagoyewatha was quite fascinated by the Massachusett man and Philip learned much from the elder leader of their village.

New Dawn of Civilizations

Technically, since it's 2700 BC, it's actually 4726 years ago. I don't know how recognizable the Seneca and others would be at this point in time.

@Wernher

I considered that. I have done some research. They did not form the Iroquois Confederation until the 12th century. The people were there. They called themselves the Onöndowa'ga which means "The Great Hill People". The name "Seneca" is given to the Onöndowa'ga by Dutch explorers based on a pronunciation Mohegans referred to the Iroquoian people originally used for the Oneida. Early Dutch explorers used the word Sennedaas for the four western nations; Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca. As more and more Europeans made contact with them, the Onöndowa'ga ended up with the anglicized term, "Seneca". The French referred to them as Sonontouans.

Thus far, in my writing, I have not used that term, simply their location in Western New York or what they refer to as the Long Lakes (Finger Lakes). Since there is not a lot written about this area of the world before the 16th century, I feel free to take at least some literary creativity. Although Philip Beaulieu is aware of the Seneca from his own past in the 20th and 21st centuries, he has not used the term. Maybe he fears they will not understand it? Since it is based on a European word.

New Dawn of Civilizations

Philip Beaulieu

Philip Beaulieu

Gender

MALE

Age

45

Appearance

Phil is in decent condition. He stands 5’ 11” tall and weighs approximately 190 Lbs. he has greying black hair and brown eyes with a salt and pepper beard and mustache.

Personality

Phil is generally laid back about most things. It takes quite a bit to get him upset. He is adventurous and has a decent sense of humor. He views challenges as personal quests and looks for opportunities to prove to himself that he can do something. With his chronological age creeping up into the 40s, this has become more exaggerated. It is a personal vendetta to stop aging by engaging in physical activity. He spends at least an hour in the gym daily and runs five or six days a week, with the minimum distance at two miles and the maximum around six to eight miles. He ran the Boston Marathon when he was 27 years old. Phil is a gregarious person able to converse with perfect strangers. He has a tendency to leave people feeling good about themselves, even though they just met. Although he is great at meeting new people, his ability to hold onto a long-term relationship is to be desired. Many people have abandoned him in his life for several reasons. Maybe it is an inability to shut up. He could talk paint off the wall.

Nationality

American (USA) with heritage in French (Canadian), British, and Seneca of the Iroquois Confederation

Education

B.A. in Political Science and A.S. in Criminal Justice

Former Occupation

Retired Infantry Officer, HS History Teacher, and Reserve Police Officer

Skills

Knowledgeable of Military History from antiquity up through the 21st century, Trained in the use of small unit operations for squads (~10 men), platoons (30 – 40), companies (100 – 150) and battalions (500 – 1000 men), trained in brigade (1500 – 5000), division (12,000 – 15,000) and corps level (30,000 – 75,000 men) operations. Skills useless in the 7th century BC. During his time in the military, Phil has learned survival skills like making a small cooking fire, building shelter, hunting, trapping small game, and cooking them. He also earned a black belt in Krav Maga, an Israeli martial arts form borrowing techniques from BJJ, Taekwondo, and Muay Thai. He is an NRA certified Rifle, Black powder, and pistol instructor as well as a USA Level I Archery Instructor.

What you were doing last before falling asleep

Phil was watching a documentary on the Iroquois Confederacy that inhabited New York State before the US Revolutionary War.

Where your awakes up at

He wakes up on a moss bed in a forest on the east bank of Conesus Lake in Western New York State (USA).

Background

Born in Greenfield, Massachusetts, the middle child with two sisters. A working-class family, his father worked as a Railroad conductor for the Boston & Maine Railroad. Philip has been interested in military history from a young age, playing war games inside and “guns” with friends outside.

Philip did well in High School, proving an advanced mathematics book wrong in his junior year. His family could not afford to send him to college, so he enlisted in the US Army right out of High School. He attended Basic Combat Training and Advanced Individual Training at Ft. Benning, Georgia. He completed Airborne Training and Ranger School, which were on his initial contract. This allowed him to serve with the 2nd battalion, 75th Regiment (Ranger) at Ft. Lewis, Washington. He then served a tour with a mechanized infantry battalion in Germany.

After completing four years in the Army, he came home to use his Veterans Benefits to go to college, which was his initial reason for going into the military in the first place. He earned an associate’s degree in criminal justice at Greenfield Community College and a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from the University of Massachusetts. While a student in college, he worked as a Reserve Police Officer, first in Greenfield, MA, and later in Northampton, MA. He also joined the Massachusetts Army National Guard shortly after leaving active duty. While a member of the Guard, he attended Officer Candidate School (OCS) and became an infantry officer. He received training at Ft. Benning, GA, in small unit operations at the Infantry Officer Basic Course and higher echelon operations at the Infantry Officer Advanced Course.

While in the Guard, Phil served as a Rifle Platoon Leader, Heavy Mortar Platoon Leader, Company Executive Officer, Company Commander, Battalion Personnel Officer, Supply Officer, Signal Officer, and as a Division Battle Captain in the current operations section during Operations Joint Forge in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Following the deployment to Bosnia, Phil served as Brigade Assistant Supply Officer and finally as Brigade Operations Officer. He retired with 21 years time in service at Age 39.

A few years after graduating from college, Phil discovered he did not want to make a career out of being a police officer and took the Massachusetts Test for Educators Licensure (MTEL). He scored well on the Social Studies test and became a High school Social Studies Teacher in Greenfield, Mass. Eventually, he transferred into the history department.

Shortly after becoming a schoolteacher, he met his wife Pamela who worked in health care at the local hospital. They bought a house in Greenfield and have four children who are now aged 15, 13, 12, and 10.

Goals/Plans

Initially to survive and learn what he can about the people he is living with.

Why you picked your location

The Seneca bloodline courses through my veins, and this is a great opportunity to learn about their history, culture, and way of life. Although the Seneca eventually formed the Iroquois Confederation by joining with other nations, Mohawk, Cayuga, Oneida, Onondaga and Tuscarora, maybe I can help it along.

Character Motivations

Determine how he ended up in Western New York 2700 years ago and find a way to return to his wife and family in the 21st century.

Playing Yourself or Custom Char

I am playing myself with a few modifications. Mr. Beaulieu is slightly younger than me.

New Dawn of Civilizations

Theyra, let me get this right. Our character is based on ourselves, correct? I am a retired Infantry Officer. Military tactics is a skill I was trained in, in my youth and practiced over many years. Although, the small unit operations, I learned in my 20s and applied in my 20s and 30s involve the use of modern firearms, I do know how to organized a group using weapons of the ancient era. It is 700BC? correct. I won't elaborate on leadership, that is something that can be written into a CS.

One last thing, when it comes to what your character skills are. You should not use anything that is too broad, and you should clarify what their skill is. Like if you used historical knowledge as a skill, that would not work and is too broad. More so about the skills that would be too beneficial for a character to have unless your character really knows about one or two of them. The following skills are not allowed unless your character really knows it based on the cs. Historical knowledge, oration, charisma, leadership, and military tactics.

@Theyra

I also have experience in martial arts and survival skills. If I don't join this RP, it would be because I suspect you would doubt my veracity/integrity on this subject. In developing my "character" over the course of my life, I have become something of a Renaissance man. I am no expert in any one subject, but know enough or more about many subjects.

New Dawn of Civilizations

@TheyraThis is a very intriguing idea. May I join?

Post a random fact about yourself.

My 19-year old son walks into the basement where we have our Man Cave, consisting of two gaming PCs and a collection of Warhammer minis. He grunts and makes his way to his seat, "I'm so old," he mutters, then states, "You don't know the half of it." (his humor)

Word association Game!

Hokey

Word association Game!

Feedback

MxM: Slow-Burn, Horror, Mystery, Dark-Comedy, Surrealism, Royalty, Low Fantasy, and More! Looking for Long-Term writing partners! (1x1)

Hey @badfool I could get into any of the ideas you mentioned. Do you have an idea written out? I do tend to fall into military RPs often, but don't need to be pinned down by that genre. Maybe look at my bio and draw an idea from that may tie in with your ideas. Age is not an issue.