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"... and, with the blessing of heaven, may our sins be forgiven in our final hour, for every pauper and noble are judged alike in death. Amen."
"Amen." Responded the congregation, their heads held low, and their hands clapsed together in prayer.
Finished with their morning prayers, the gathering of religious worshipers of the Church slowly departed to their own endeavors, whether it was relaxing in the square, to another day's labor, or to discuss theology with those of the Church.
Stepping outside into the morning sun, the nearby sea-breeze from the harbor offered a type of coolness, with the notable smell of salt. The sky was clear, save for a few clouds, and it was looking to be another relatively peaceful day in the commercial and religious town of Westhaven.
Leaving the safety of the Church, a raven-haired woman walked slowly toward the docks, the sailors and merchants unloading their cargo, while fishermen prepared to set off for their livelihoods. It was amongst these seamen and foreigners that Adrienne Schwartzkopf felt at home, her naturally black hair an exotic rarity within the Duchy of Hetz, but also serving as a convenient identifier for another infamous status in Westhaven.
Pausing to observe the several wooden ships docked at harbor, Adrienne was caught off-guard as a small girl ran into her, the youth fumbling over at the minute of contact, saved only by the swift hand of the woman.
"Careful now." Adrienne warned, grasping the child upward back onto her feet, sending them off no worse for wear. Smiling warily as the child ran off, Adrienne tried to recall her own childhood, how several years had passed since she held the innocence of youth, careless about the state of the world. Where exactly did all that time go?
Coming back into the world of the present, Adrienne stared as the small child ran into another person, once again fumbling before she was saved by another kind stranger. It was an embarrassing reminder of how clumsy youth were, distracted in their own daydreams, but alas, there were few that could fault them for their indifference to the world.
How startling was it, then, that the stranger immediately threw the child to the pavement, several coins spewing forth from the girl, who looked at the towering man before her.
"Ah, what have we here? A common thief making away with coin purses?" The man mused, "Experienced, too, you would have made away with mine if I were not accustomed with your ilk."
Realizing that her game had been revealed, the young girl tried to scamper away in retreat, only to be kicked down by a heavy boot, and a blade brought down upon her throat.
"The punishment for thieves upon this earth is the severing of their limbs, but that would be unnecessarily cruel for a lady of your youth." The man stated, "I shall offer you the chance of judgement in death, to allow the heavens to weigh upon your sins, rather than a lifetime of suffering."
"That is enough." Adrienne interjected, addressing the man, "The Heavens will weigh upon her sins, but only when her time comes. This is a warning, let this be a chance for redemption."
The man stared at the black-haired woman, before gazing upon the girl at his heel, nodding only once as he sheaved his sword, and lifted his leg away.
"Rejoice, thief, for our sister believes there might be hope for you yet. If I catch you picking purses again, though, I'll have your head." The man instructed, lightly kicking the child as she made her way off in a panicked sprint.
Sighing, the two knelt over and begun to pick up the scattered coins, busily sorting out the contents of their pilfered purses.
"You know, sister, I was not really going to slay her." The man quipped, smiling slightly as he placed a coin within his purse, "I've been away several years, fighting within the crusades, and I am not about to come home and lay waste to my own countrymen."
"Well, you would not need to." Adrienne replied, idly counting coins, "Our countrymen have done a fine job laying waste to themselves. What is one more?"
The man smirked at the comment, tying his purse, and putting it away underneath his robe.
"What a surprisingly bleak outlook you have on life, sister...?"
"Adrienne." She replied, briefly looking at the man as she organized her own purse, and placed it aside upon her person, "Apologies, friend, but you were away upon the crusades, and if you knew about what occured since you left..."
"Well, I have all the time in the world, and if a beautiful lady such as yourself would oblige, we can discuss it over beer and a meal." The man grinned with blatant flattery, "My name is Adrian Leopold, by the way, but given our similarities, you may address me as Leopold."
Adrienne sighed. Despite being wary of strangers, she could not feign the excuse of having something better to do, and given that Leopold had helped recover her purse, she was almost morally compelled to accept his invitation. Dining with a crusader while discussing politics was not a particularly attractive offer, but at the very least, she would enjoy the luxury of decent food.
"Fine." Adrienne muttered, "... but don't expect some sweet embrace of a woman."
"Understood! Understood!" Leopold chuckled, "I only expect her sweet company."
"Amen." Responded the congregation, their heads held low, and their hands clapsed together in prayer.
Finished with their morning prayers, the gathering of religious worshipers of the Church slowly departed to their own endeavors, whether it was relaxing in the square, to another day's labor, or to discuss theology with those of the Church.
Stepping outside into the morning sun, the nearby sea-breeze from the harbor offered a type of coolness, with the notable smell of salt. The sky was clear, save for a few clouds, and it was looking to be another relatively peaceful day in the commercial and religious town of Westhaven.
Leaving the safety of the Church, a raven-haired woman walked slowly toward the docks, the sailors and merchants unloading their cargo, while fishermen prepared to set off for their livelihoods. It was amongst these seamen and foreigners that Adrienne Schwartzkopf felt at home, her naturally black hair an exotic rarity within the Duchy of Hetz, but also serving as a convenient identifier for another infamous status in Westhaven.
Pausing to observe the several wooden ships docked at harbor, Adrienne was caught off-guard as a small girl ran into her, the youth fumbling over at the minute of contact, saved only by the swift hand of the woman.
"Careful now." Adrienne warned, grasping the child upward back onto her feet, sending them off no worse for wear. Smiling warily as the child ran off, Adrienne tried to recall her own childhood, how several years had passed since she held the innocence of youth, careless about the state of the world. Where exactly did all that time go?
Coming back into the world of the present, Adrienne stared as the small child ran into another person, once again fumbling before she was saved by another kind stranger. It was an embarrassing reminder of how clumsy youth were, distracted in their own daydreams, but alas, there were few that could fault them for their indifference to the world.
How startling was it, then, that the stranger immediately threw the child to the pavement, several coins spewing forth from the girl, who looked at the towering man before her.
"Ah, what have we here? A common thief making away with coin purses?" The man mused, "Experienced, too, you would have made away with mine if I were not accustomed with your ilk."
Realizing that her game had been revealed, the young girl tried to scamper away in retreat, only to be kicked down by a heavy boot, and a blade brought down upon her throat.
"The punishment for thieves upon this earth is the severing of their limbs, but that would be unnecessarily cruel for a lady of your youth." The man stated, "I shall offer you the chance of judgement in death, to allow the heavens to weigh upon your sins, rather than a lifetime of suffering."
"That is enough." Adrienne interjected, addressing the man, "The Heavens will weigh upon her sins, but only when her time comes. This is a warning, let this be a chance for redemption."
The man stared at the black-haired woman, before gazing upon the girl at his heel, nodding only once as he sheaved his sword, and lifted his leg away.
"Rejoice, thief, for our sister believes there might be hope for you yet. If I catch you picking purses again, though, I'll have your head." The man instructed, lightly kicking the child as she made her way off in a panicked sprint.
Sighing, the two knelt over and begun to pick up the scattered coins, busily sorting out the contents of their pilfered purses.
"You know, sister, I was not really going to slay her." The man quipped, smiling slightly as he placed a coin within his purse, "I've been away several years, fighting within the crusades, and I am not about to come home and lay waste to my own countrymen."
"Well, you would not need to." Adrienne replied, idly counting coins, "Our countrymen have done a fine job laying waste to themselves. What is one more?"
The man smirked at the comment, tying his purse, and putting it away underneath his robe.
"What a surprisingly bleak outlook you have on life, sister...?"
"Adrienne." She replied, briefly looking at the man as she organized her own purse, and placed it aside upon her person, "Apologies, friend, but you were away upon the crusades, and if you knew about what occured since you left..."
"Well, I have all the time in the world, and if a beautiful lady such as yourself would oblige, we can discuss it over beer and a meal." The man grinned with blatant flattery, "My name is Adrian Leopold, by the way, but given our similarities, you may address me as Leopold."
Adrienne sighed. Despite being wary of strangers, she could not feign the excuse of having something better to do, and given that Leopold had helped recover her purse, she was almost morally compelled to accept his invitation. Dining with a crusader while discussing politics was not a particularly attractive offer, but at the very least, she would enjoy the luxury of decent food.
"Fine." Adrienne muttered, "... but don't expect some sweet embrace of a woman."
"Understood! Understood!" Leopold chuckled, "I only expect her sweet company."
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That doujin project I was working on that is now also a short light novel project. Jeez.
[Prologue] [Chapter I]
So, as you may or may not know, Congregate initially began as a type of concept in September, and has since gone through considerable changes. The most notable is that it was originally - more or less - a story about a group of peasants overthrowing a tyrannical king, and now is a story about a group of religious followers now overthrowing a group of tyrannical witches that run the country. It is not exactly the most straight-forward plot, but at the very least, the setting has been fleshed out adequately, so we can work out most of the smaller details later - by which I mean, alot.
Granted, I am not a writer in any sense of the word, and although I can string together a bunch of pretty words and phrases, it does not really come naturally to me as it does with other people. The reason I am writing it out as a type of light novel rather than a doujin manga, is because it helps establish the storyline better than visuals might, and also because with my current time constraints make writing a whole lot easier than drawing. It also helps to have a story as words on paper, rather than a number of vague concepts floating around in your head. Of course, the entire point of Congregate is that it is a project, and thus is subject to change. Who knows, given another three months, it might be an entirely different story again.
At the very least, the title of Congregate makes some sense now?
[Prologue] [Chapter I]
So, as you may or may not know, Congregate initially began as a type of concept in September, and has since gone through considerable changes. The most notable is that it was originally - more or less - a story about a group of peasants overthrowing a tyrannical king, and now is a story about a group of religious followers now overthrowing a group of tyrannical witches that run the country. It is not exactly the most straight-forward plot, but at the very least, the setting has been fleshed out adequately, so we can work out most of the smaller details later - by which I mean, alot.
Granted, I am not a writer in any sense of the word, and although I can string together a bunch of pretty words and phrases, it does not really come naturally to me as it does with other people. The reason I am writing it out as a type of light novel rather than a doujin manga, is because it helps establish the storyline better than visuals might, and also because with my current time constraints make writing a whole lot easier than drawing. It also helps to have a story as words on paper, rather than a number of vague concepts floating around in your head. Of course, the entire point of Congregate is that it is a project, and thus is subject to change. Who knows, given another three months, it might be an entirely different story again.
At the very least, the title of Congregate makes some sense now?
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