User blog:Annacaza/Rise of a Kindgom

Author’s Note
I’ve taken a long enough break after NaNo ended in November, and now I’m planning to revisit the wiki again after a hectic last couple of months. As a sort of New Year gift, here’s a brand new plot. This story will likely be shorter than most, as I didn’t have much inspiration when I started writing it, and since I’ve written a ton of stories based on this game, I’m breaking out of it and basing it in Into The Frost (because I love that game so much), though the beginning will be set in 303. I am trying to break out of the way that I write my survival stories, and this looks more into the involvement of skill and buildings that the survival games promote.

Feedback and constructive criticism is welcomed, as well as theories because I love to hear what my readers think about my themes.

First draft (as always), ignore glaring mistakes.

Prologue
The Plateau tribe was one of great luxury and power. Never had anyone remembered a time when the island was not harbouring one of the greatest powers. The tribe was one of the most noticeable in the entire set of islands, and was always known for its great combat and warfare ability. Many tribes had fallen since the Plateau tribe had first been established, and the ability for the tribe and its members to persevere through the tough times of war and the hardships that came with survival could only occur with a tribe full of people dedicated enough to surviving, and leader with sharp leadership skills.

However, the time of power was slowly starting to dwindle with the population in the islands decreasing. It was hard to maintain the level of luxury that so many had become accustomed to. The tribe was large and accommodated many people, and because of the sheer size of the tribe, it was even harder to keep everyone happy. Resources were still plentiful, but the manpower was slowly starting to drop off. Everyone in the tribe knew that there would be a point when Plateau fell, but they were trying to prolong the life of the tribe as long as they could. However, as of recent, their efforts were becoming futile.

It wasn’t just Plateau that was facing this fate. Many of the other islands were as well, and some of them had been deserted completely, leaving behind abandoned settlements that told all who passed them the stories of the days when the tribe had been flourishing, and now, nothing was left except the store structures that refused to give in.

The leader of the Plateau tribe sat in her house, looking out at the ocean that surrounded the high cliffs that Plateau was known for. She knew that the glory days were coming to an end, and it saddened her greatly. She had been in the tribe for as long as she could remember, and she had never thought that it would be her to see the fall of Plateau come. It wouldn’t even be a fall in war, it would be a fall due to the lack of manpower, and that loss seemed to hurt her much more than if it would have been a battle. She had spent so long in the islands that she didn’t know if she could return to the real world again. It seemed as though all hope was lost for her tribe, and she wasn’t ignorant in saying it either. She knew that the end was looming over her, and even though it was a tough realization to come to, she had accepted it.

She stood up off of her couch and walked over to the door of her house, but first paused to look around the large room. Her house was huge, as it was the house that all of the leaders were offered to live in, and nothing had changed since it was built. It was one of the biggest buildings on the island, and all of it was luxurious to live in. She wanted nothing more than to stay with Plateau and believe that one day it might be revived, but the trends spoke for themselves, and she knew that it would be incredibly hard to break from the tradition of the steadily-declining population within the islands. She sighed as she turned her head to look at one of the old maps of the area that contained many different island groups. She had thought about relocating the tribe to one of the more populated areas of island groups, but she knew how dangerous it was. She had never been to one of the other island groups, and having to start from scratch again would rip her to shreds. She knew that her tribe members would understand and would happily help her rebuild, but after the glory of Plateau, she felt as though everything would be a shadow of what had once existed.

Her eyes trailed over to one of the areas that had yet to be marked down as colonized or not colonized. It was a large island that had not even been explored yet. She had no idea what it was, as not much was known about it and confirmed. There was no doubt that she was curious about the island, but she didn’t want to leave her tribe. Still, she would be lying if she said that she hadn’t considered that island as a place for her tribe to relocated. It would be one of the most difficult, but she had watched her tribe go through the tough times and emerge out of it victorious.

She sighed as she thought about the little information known about the large island. She knew that it was the largest in the entire area, and was not inhabited. She that it was definitely harder to survive on due to its uneven terrain, and she didn’t know if the island would have a good place to settle down. Her tribe was large and after living in luxury for so long, space would be a valuable commodity.

She knew that a decision would have to be made, and it would have to be made soon. She knew that it was possible to leave Plateau, but the choice on where to go would be difficult. Each one had almost equal pros and cons to it, but there was one choice in her mind that would always stand out; Frost.

Chapter One
Frost was the most difficult place to survive in the entire area, but as it was with most places, the greater the risk, the greater the reward. That’s what it was like when Plateau was in its glory days, but now, the fall was imminent. Even though Andromeda had a clear vision in her mind, she needed to know that they agreed with her, and would come with her in the planned relocated.

She had called her tribe members together in her house. As much success that the tribe had, it had been built by specialized people, and they all worked extremely hard to get it to the point that it had been, and was currently. There were fifteen of them that had done all the work, and now they were all thinking the exact same thing.

Andromeda watched as they began to settle down at the table before she began. “We cannot maintain the level of luxury here anymore,” she said. “I have come to the realization that Plateau is falling, and I know that it’s a question on everyone’s mind right now. I have a suggestion, but I want to know if everyone is comfortable with it first. No matter what path we take, the beginning will dictate how long we survive. If we are able to establish ourselves quickly, then luxury shall come after hard work and perseverance.

"The first option is to move to one of the previously-colonized islands in the area. I don’t mean move to Mainland, I mean move out of this group. I don’t know exactly where we would live there, and the previous tribes that have and currently live within the other groups might be hostile to us. There are five others that we can go to, with some being more popular than others, but there are large tribes, just like this one used to be, in every group.

"Then there is the more drastic measure of colonizing the island that no one knows much about; Frost. It is larger than the area that this island group owns, and is also the most dangerous. But, when we colonized this island, we knew that it was a difficult task.”

“It seems you’ve already made up your mind, Andromeda,” one of them said, the blacksmith of the tribe.

She just nodded. “I’ve been thinking about Frost for a long time,” she said. “It would be repeating our hard work again to establish ourselves and our luxurious standards, but it would be the same either way. On Frost, we wouldn’t have to deal with the wars.”

“You’re assuming no one else has reached it first,” another said, the farmer.

“Because everyone else is adapting within their own tribe,” she said. “I’m not about to open the tribe up to anyone who wants to join. First, there aren’t many that are coming back to the islands, and those that are do not come to this tribe because of how menacing it looks. I’d be surprised if anyone knocked on our gate and asked to come in.

"Second, everyone who is left here is within a tribe already. No one wants to leave their tribes in any group, as they are facing a similar situation. However, tribes are merging together to keep their standards alive, something we don’t have the option of because of our name. Plateau is known for its warfare tactics, and we are seen as one of the most powerful settlements in the area, with Coal Island in one of the other groups and Snowpeak to the group directly east of us being the only two that may be strong enough to take us down, but I seriously doubt that they would be able to do it. Also, we have no space to move new tribes in, while others might be able to. When this place was built, we didn’t see the end; we always assumed that Plateau would be a superpower.”

“You’ve basically called us here to approve of your choice to move to Frost,” the blacksmith said, and Andromeda nodded.

“All of you need to come with me,” she said. “This will not work if none of you come with me. I need all the help I can get. We built Plateau, and we can build another on Frost.”

“It would definitely be a well-needed change of scenery,” the cook said, her small voice hardly audible from across the table. “I think we should go to Frost, but what if there are others there?”

“Remember what we are known for,” Andromeda said. “If there are others and they are hostile, we fight.”

Everyone sat in silence for a few seconds, as if they were debating on what to say. The choice to leave their home behind would be tough, and Andromeda felt the same way, but if they could start again in Frost, she wouldn’t feel as though she was losing everything.

“Show us what your plans are,” the blacksmith said, and Andromeda smiled.

Chapter Two
''Just a note, updating will slow down considerably due to large class assessments coming up, doubling the time I spend at work, and other things that have priority over this story. Please do not pester me to update; I said on the poll that it would take about a week to update. Comments that pester me to update will be ignored, just be patient.''

The decision was to leave in a week from the day that the meeting was called. Not everyone was thrilled with the idea of starting over, but with traffic to the islands starting to slow down, they all knew that it was for the best. What good was an empire when it only reined over a few tribes?

Life resumed as usual in the tribe, and everyone was busying themselves preparing for the move into the wilderness once again. The move would have been easier if tensions between the others tribes were not on the rise.

The other tribes were not amused by the fact that Plateau would cease to exist. It was a major trading line for most of the tribes, and now, that lifeline would be taken away from them. They had been getting used to the life of having everything brought to them, and now, they were going to be jerked back into the really of core survival. Because of this, hearing one of the crossbows firing at those on the beach below was starting to become routine. It wasn’t pleasant, but they still lived on the island, and they would defend it as long as it was their home.

Andromeda was walking through the farmland one afternoon, surveying everything. Until the morning of the move came, it was still the regular routine. There was a definite change in the aura around the tribe, and it wasn’t one that was pleasant. No one really wanted to leave, but they knew that it would be for the best, especially now that tensions around the area were rising after the move was announced. Everyone in the tribe seemed to be making the last few days on the island count.

It was odd to see everything moving at the same pace, but at half of the effort that it usually had. Andromeda also had the mixed feelings about leaving Plateau, and she was starting to feel more saddened by her decision. She had watched the tribe grow and saw the battles that the island had gone through. She had fought in some of them herself, and she was no slacker when it came to defending her land. As soon as the tribe left, she knew that the island would the raided for everything that it had left, and she had already come up with a plan. Although it would hurt her terribly, she didn’t want anyone to have the island for themselves.

The farmer was out in the field, tending to the last of the crops that he was growing, boxing them to take to the last tribes that needed the food. His eyes were down, and didn’t see her as she walked over to him, yet he still sensed that she was there.

“This is the last yield I’m doing,” he said as she approached him.

“That’s not what I’m here to talk to you about,” she said. “I need to talk to you about something much more drastic. I’ve told everyone else, and they all gave me the uneasy go-ahead.”

Already, the look on the farmer’s face crossed with uncertainty.

“And what do you need to ask?”

Andromeda took a deep breath before she began. “I don’t want anyone to have this island after we leave,” she said. “I want it to always be ours, no matter if we are here or not. It was once the most feared empire in the area, and I don't want anyone ruining that reputation. Therefore, I’ve said that we need to torch this place, and make it completely uninhabitable. No one should be able to set foot here after we leave.”

The farmer seemed to be taken aback by her suggestion, but he shared the same feelings toward anyone else taking the island as their own and ruining the high reputation that it once had. Yet, he struggled with the idea of burning down the island that had been his home for so long. It made sense in his mind, but the emotions that lived within him that were tied to the island were feelings that he could not replicate, and didn’t know how.

“It definitely drastic,” he said. “But with the tensions around these islands toward us, I think it would be for the best. After all, we won’t be coming back here once we leave for Frost, will we?”

Andromeda shook her head. “Not that I know of,” she said. “Once we’re in Frost, I want us to stay there and establish ourselves, and to not dwell on the past. We can use it as motivation, but we won’t let it bother us in our new home.”

The farmer winced slightly at her use of “home”. Plateau would always be home for him, and it seemed that she had already let go of the island as her former home.

“Once everything is ready to go, we’ll torch the place,” she said. “We’ll sail away as it burns; I don’t want to watch it.”

The farmer nodded. “I don’t think anyone in this tribe would argue with you,” he said.