Welcome to Surrender Dawn. Before starting your journey, make sure that you read everything that's on the Beginner's Guide Board:
First, make sure that you get to know the rules by which we manage our site and community.
For this, visit the Guide to Rules.
After that, it's fundamental to read all that there is to know about the world your character will be inserted into.
In order to do so, go to the Guide to Lore.
Lastly, please take a close look at all the mechanics that dictate our roleplay and its characters.
You can do this by checking out the Guide to Mechanics.
When you've done all of the above, you'll most likely be ready to start creating your character:
Create your Application Thread on the Character Creation Board.
To do so, follow the instructions on the Character Application Template Thread.
Once you're done, just copy the link of the thread and head over to the Grading Center.
To submit your application for review, use the General Submissions Thread.
We hope you enjoy your time with us! Happy Roleplaying!
Updates
11/11/19: Open for Beta Testing! Feel free to explore the site and start creating your characters! If you have any doubt feel free to contact a member of the Staff Team.
The fateful week many years ago. It was the moment that changed SYnelle's life for the better at a time when she thought all was lost. Many weeks ago, she was sold away by her aunt. The second family, the young girl had been a part of hated her. She was their trash and their burden. And in an effort to improve their own lives and gain a better position in society for their son, they used her for what little value she had. At the end of the day, Synelle was a person and people were capable of value through slavery. She was sold off to human traffickers and traded away for her cousin's future. Naturally, Synelle didn't know what was going to come of her, but she had many fears. Her biggest one was being killed. If even her family thought of her as worthless, it was entirely possible that the traffickers would as well.
And things people had no use for were disposed of. She also feared being sold for sex as well. She was young, but the rumors of such things happen were around. It was even a threat her aunt mumbled under her breath the few times she was especially annoyed by Synelle. And though the girl didn't know it, the first trip to Haven just narrowly avoided exactly that fate befalling her. So now she was on the way to Vantalux. Along with other children, she was being hauled around in a caravan of traffickers. They had a few wagons, all covered and compacted to keep the children hidden as they rode through checkpoints. They were tucked away behind a wall of other fake goods and kept quiet. Whether this was through beatings, gag, or restraints depended on just how rowdy the child in question was. For Synelle, she was quiet. She didn't speak to her owners, not until she could understand them better and say the right things. She wanted out, but she really didn't know how to do it.
Today it was raining and travel was going to slow down a bit. The worry of monsters was around was an ever-present thing, but the traffickers were as armed as any city guard. So should there be an attack, they would at least be safe from being eaten. That was, unless, of course, the traffickers needed bait while they escaped. The very thought shook Synelle to her core. But today wasn't a complete loss. Today was going to be the day that one more was added to their number. Today was going to be the day that their path to freedom was going to start. And today was going to be the day that Synelle started to make her first real friend. And this unlikely friendship was going to lead Synelle to the family she never got. For now, however, the lead wagon started to slow to a halt. Something was on the side of the road and it was possible that it was a monster. It needed to be inspected before they proceeded, so everything came to a halt. Something was about to be discovered.
Today was the big day. After all her watching and planning, today was the day she was going to follow through with it all. Laez needed to get into Vantalux. But getting into the city wasn't the easiest thing. She didn't have a whole lot of money so a train ride and some forging wasn't going to cut it. And she wasn't sure if the two hunter coins in her possession were going to do anything either. She didn't really understand them at all anyways. That said, there was one surefire way to get in. It was the same way she got into Haven all those years ago. Human trafficking was still a large industry in the country. With the outlands being as dangerous as it was, it was hard to travel anywhere except by train. And when people wanted something, they had to keep to their own cities for the most part.
Some people wanted things that couldn't be transported by train without raising suspicious, so they paid top dollar for the things they wanted. Laez was once one of those things. The crazed people in Haven wanted to taste her flesh. But she survived that encounter and was now using the same idea to get into Vantalux. The girl had spent months tracking down their routes and schedule. Watching the caravans from afar and stalking just how they dealt with the various hardships of the outlands. She had watched them enough to put her plan together and have them sneak her into Vantalux as cargo. Right past the guards! So there she was, being the best bait she could be. See, traffickers picked out people that were easy to snatch up. Those that won't be missed and wee easy to control and push around. And being a girl, Laez could play that part pretty easily. As long as she kept her Vel from better out she could pass as a weak nobody. And girls sold pretty well as far as human trafficking went. So She posted herself up near a tree that sat on the side of the path the caravan was using.
She sat on the ground and wore a torn dress. Something light and with easy access to really sell what they could sell her for. And, of course, she had to dirty herself up a bit. Laez had to look like she was out in the wilderness for a while. The part of the path she was on was close enough to an old village that they could reasonably guess where she had come from without too much suspicious. And to top it all off, she used some berries to imitate claw marks on her arm. A survivor of a monster attack would be the final touch to sell her story. So there she sat, looking down to the ground. Pretending as if she was in some sort of daze and shocked about what had just happened to her. Laez was no actor, but she would do her best to look at helpless as possible. And sure enough, once the lead wagon and the caravan saw her the whole thing stopped. She had snagged her prey.
Synelle didn't dare move. When everything shifted to a stop, she didn't make a sound, and she didn't move at all. She learned pretty quickly that the best way to deal with the people that owned her was to be forgettable. That was a hard thing to do considering she was part of their stock, but as long as she didn't make too much of a fuss and didn't get in the way she was looked over for the more unsavory acts by the group. She wouldn't be monster food or pushed into doing something dangerous because she got the on traffickers' nerves. And this included being nosy. So when everyone in the wagon shook and halted, Synelle didn't move her head. She did, however, make sure to listen to what was going on. And it sounded like a familiar scene she had witnessed during her first trip.
A few traffickers on the wagon mumbled amongst each other. Apparently, something was potted on the road and they were conversing with how to deal with it. But the decision was made pretty quickly. They were proper businessmen after all. Two of them hopped off the wagon and approached the obstruction. The two in question were a pair. A man and a woman of sizable brawn. They were clothed well enough and each of them carried an ax. Just because the obstruction looked helpless didn't mean that it wasn't. Traps of all kinds littered the roadways, whether it was from a monster or human. Once they got into reaching distance of the girl, the man stopped while the woman stepped forward. "Ey! Get up." She called out as she drew her weapon and nudged the girl with the side of her ax. It wasn't to be immediately threatening, but it was meant to be intimidating. Just in case the girl thought it was okay to attack them all of a sudden the woman made sure to brandish her weapon so that they wouldn't be pushovers. As for the rest of the caravan, there was a little bit of movement.
Specifically, Synelle's wagon had one of the traffickers climb into the back. If they were going to get some new cargo, he wanted to make room for her. So he stepped inside and start to push at some of the people inside to make room. "Clear a spot here, you got another one." She yelled out gruffly in an effort to get the group to do what he wanted. Naturally, Synelle scampered over to do what was asked of her and not gain too much attention. Meanwhile, back at the red hair on the side of the path, the woman tapped her ax up against the tree next to the girl before she repeated herself. "Hey! You awake?" She asked again like a second warning shot before she got rough. They didn't want to carry the girl themselves if they had to, but they were fully intent of taking her with them. It was a free product to sell after all.
In order to play her part, Laez had to listen and not look up just yet. She needed to seem out of it so that she seemed like an easy target. If she reacted too quickly or moved around too much she wouldn't be able to trick the traffickers the way she wanted to and all her planning would have gone to waste. As expected, they sent someone out to see what was going on. They weren't going to pass up a free product after all. Just like when she was picked up off the side of the road in her youth, they were going to take the chance to snatch her up from wherever she came from. She heard the mumbling in the distance and tried to make it out as best she could as it came closer. Of what she could hear, it was mostly the traffickers questioning the situation and where they were going to put in within the caravan. She was unplanned attention after all.
Then the footsteps came to a halt. There was a brief moment of silence where Laez stayed still before there were two more. Then there was that unmistakable feel of cold steel on her arm. The tap of a heavy metal weapon. Of course, the traffickers were armed. They were braving the outlands after all. They stuck to the paths and routes to keep things moving. They weren't knowledgeable about how to survive without them at all. And to sell her reaction, the girl twitched a bit when the ax touched her. Almost as if she was pulling her arm away from it but didn't have the energy to do so. The redhead still didn't turn her head toward the traffickers or acknowledge them at all. Was this what was called a catatonic state? It would make her easy to move and around and carry, but Laez felt like they would have preferred it if she could move herself. So when the woman asked her condition a second time, Laez whispered in response. "Mon-sters." It was an easy background to use to explain everything and prevent them from questioning it at all. Of course, it was monsters. What else was out here besides bandits? And bandits would have been smart enough to kidnap her.
With just that they were satisfied enough. They had a schedule to keep and were ready to move on. So the woman waved over her partner and the two of them picked Laez up. She had to release any tension in her body so that she didn't have them catching on to the fact that she was faking it all. They dragged the girl around to one of the wagons and put her inside. There, another one of the traffickers inspected the redhead a bit. Again, Laez didn't respond. And the reason for all the silence was about to pay off. See, with a catatonic product, less restraint was needed. And with all the cargo they already had, they were surely pressed for resources. So Laez was fashioned a single ankle shackle, rather than the whole four-limb ordeal some of the rowdier ones got. Either way, Laez was in!
After the clamoring and the movement, there was silence again. And after a moment, a few mumbled words and sighs. Everyone was interested in what was happening, but no one dared to speak a word. They all knew what would happen if they were heard. And while they kept quiet and listened they could hear the faint whispers of the traffickers trying to speak with the person that was in their way and make heads or tails of what to do with her. In the end, the answer was obvious. They were going to just take her and sell her off just like they were going to do with the rest of the cargo. The girl in question was just about Synelles age, which means at the very least they could sell her to a brothel if there were no private buyers.
The traffickers were still upset that their buyer in Haven flaked out on them. But Synelle was happy about that. After all, she was about to be sold there. And sure enough, the girl was tossed into the back of the wagon with the rest of them. Everyone else stared, looking at the redhead to see who it was that joined them. And just from seeing here there was already a sinking feeling in everyone's heart. They knew exactly what fate awaited her. She was young and she wasn't scarred facially. The look on their faces was the same as when Synelle was taken. That look of pity for her future. And though none of them knew it, this girl was different. This girl was here on purpose. With her loaded, the caravan was back on track. With was a quick double-check of all the cargo in each of the wagons and then everyone boarded their ride again. And just like that, they were off. Everyone went back to minding their own business and everyone hushed up. They were curious, of course, but not enough to elicit ire from their owners. Synelle was right next to the girl.
She was worried about her, mostly because she didn't see to respond that much. She looked like she was injured but aside from that there wasn't much she could glean from her. Her hair was messy, and her clothes were in tatters, but aside from that, she looked healthy. Was she part of a family? Where were the rest of them? None of it really mattered now, but Synelle couldn't help but feel bad. At the very least, Synelle could make sure the girl was comfortable. At least for the bumpy trip. She placed her hands on the girl's side, doing so slowly to not frighten her or cause a reaction and tried to sit her up. If she needed support, Synelle would offer her own shoulder so that she wasn't resting her head in a weird way and her neck wasn't bending downward. At least from here, she could weather the trip in decent condition because the traffickers didn't care at all about that.
Her handling was a bit rough, but it wasn't anything Laez hadn't felt before. As long as she didn't have any reach cuts or breaches on her skin everything would be okay. That said, she had to play her part and didn't respond to her new companions just yet. There were more in here than she expected. It could just be that she remembered things differently when she was young. As the small girl, she was the first time she encounters traffickers everyone else seemed much bigger and there seemed to be much more space. This wagon was far more cramped. Sure, she was older and more developed now, but it felt like the other people in the back of the wagon were just packed in like farm animals. That said, it did make things easier for Laez. With more cargo to keep track of; she could easily slip by the attention of the traffickers that had taken them all.
What was unexpected, however, was that she was going to be helped right away. While the others murmured and whispered just barely enough for even Laez to hear, the girl next to her started to touch her right away. Laez wasn't sure what to expect, but her touch was oft and careful. Being another prisoner seemed to elicit some kindness and the girl tried to make Laez more comfortable. And in order to act naturally, Laez went along with it. She even moved a little bit so that it was easier for the girl to move her. It was a good thing too since once the wagons started up again the wheels started to plow through the bumps in the path. The outlands were barely used anymore, so the paths and roads weren't kept up well at all. They were old, shoddy, and raggedy. And the people traveling them felt each and every bump that could possibly exist on such a thing.
Once they were a good ways into the trip, Laez finally rose her head. She wanted to get a better look at what was around her without panicking the others in the wagon. Sure, they could see her and probably weren't going to mention that she was moving on her own, but reducing the probability of alarming the others was the best option. And with the way she was posted up against the girl that helped her, it looked as if she was coming out of a sleep. That worked for Laez. She needed to take stock of who was back here and how she was going to be able to handle her escape once she was in the city. From the looks of it, none of the traffickers were back here keeping watch. It wasn't like they had to worry about escapes. It was a caravan with each wagon keeping watch on the other. And if someone did escape, where would they go? The outlands were far more dangerous than the path they were on. But these people looked broken and that meant they were easy to control but also easy to inspire. They wanted out of their situation after all. So, for now, Laez closed her eyes again and tried to listen out for how many wagons there were and general voices and conversation of the others. It was time to gather information.
