Home of the Brave

Post date: Aug 05, 2013 6:47:8 PM

[That title's probably too cliche.]

Rivertownians, the villagers of Rivertown, are a people guided by honor. I've always been fascinated by honorbound societies. Not sure if that says more about me or more about the society I live in. However, I do know that I wanted the village of Rivertown to have an ancient heritage to go along with their honor; not just serving honor for the sake of honor. They needed to know their lineage and strive to live up to the past deeds of heroes. They are men and women who seek to create their own legends and live forever alongside the epics of heroes. They want bards to sing tales about them, not out of vanity, but out of a desire to gain honor.

They keep their oaths. They seek to defend the weak. They strive for justice. But they are not perfect. The men and women of Rivertown are only human with the same foibles, flaws, and failings as everyone. They just seek a better path for themselves. They strive to be better.

That is why they chose Names. Within the village, a Name is known, it is a term of respect. When someone chooses their Name, they spend much of their time discerning how a Name might affect destiny; but destiny, fickle thing it is, is hard to pin down. In the end, their choice, and reasoning behind it, will have more meaning than they can see at the present moment. (Obviously)

But, if ever a villager leaves Rivertown, he or she must earn their Name. They cannot divulge it to outsiders or even outside the bounds of their village. To do so would be a serious breach of honor.

So what happens when someone does just that?

Fred Castille seeks to make a name for himself among the Army's recruits. He brandishes his Name like a mark of honor, though he has done little to earn it, yet. If the village found out, they'd disown him. It's a risk he's willing to take in order to gain notice from the illustrious Monarch Guard. Unfortunately for Fred, Steven deGaul is also from Rivertown and a strict adherent to tradition.