The Coffee House

This is my entry for our recently-opened RPG Contest. It's the third instalment of the 'Wulfric' series, following on from: 

Wulfric Academy, AD 2330
Wulfric Castle, AD 2344

Now, not everyone was in those RPGs, and I don't expect you to read the whole thing - so, before continuing, I'll take a few moments to re-establish the setting :

In the 24th century, humanity has scattered throughout the solar system - where it has thrived and prospered. Almost unlimited free energy is available; the economy is largely automated; and technology has advanced to such a point that it has become indistinguishable from magic. The settlers of Jupiter's largest moon, Ganymede, opted to take full advantage of this state of affairs, living out their childhood fantasies of knights and wizards and fairies in Medieval-style castles. Their most impressive master work was Wulfric Castle: a titanium-reinforced fortress which stands monument to the culture of yesteryear and the science of today. 

That's not to say all is well in this seemingly-utopic land, however. In AD 2344, a catastrophic reactor explosion deprived Wulfric Castle of its normally-boundless reserves of energy. Shortly afterwards, the king lost his life to an unidentified disease, leaving his teenage son Kyle to pick up the mantle. Sadly, Kyle proved to be woefully underprepared - and, after facing numerous challenges himself, he decided his responsibilities were too much to handle, and stormed out of the castle. This left a wise old fire mage, by the name of Gwynwald, to take over as King, and pick up the pieces.

Under Gwynwald's leadership, the widespread damage from the reactor was fully repaired, and the castle's inhabitants prospered once again. Unfortunately, he was never able to cure the malaise and discontent that had resulted from the fiasco with Kyle. First, Kyle's former love interest, Fiona, became stricken with guilt at Kyle's departure, and opted to freeze herself to avoid causing any more damage. A year later, the castle also lost its head chef, Lucy - who left Wulfric Castle because "they're all freaks there". Then came the most horrific incident of all: Fynrir and Ruby, a happily-married couple with two children, were both killed in their sleep. Their son, Randall, was utterly distraught: he fled the castle immediately, leaving his sister Roxy to fend for herself. Of course, Randall had never been well-behaved - and, while nobody had any proof, many suspected that he had orchestrated the murder of his parents....

After this double tragedy, Gwynwald was never quite the same again - and, on 22nd March, AD 2370, he passed away from severe stress, at the relatively young age of 101. This threw the castle into total turmoil: it was desperate for a strong leader, but nobody seemed to want to step up to the plate. Nobody, that is, except Randall - who was busy amassing an army of mercenaries to seize the castle by force. For once, many of the people who had hated Kyle in his youth were beginning to wish he would return and show his face. But, he hadn't been seen for a quarter of a century - so, this idea that he would suddenly come back was pure fantasy. Or was it? 

Here are some bios of NPCs who will be showing up in this RPG. I'm starting out with only three, but I'll probably add more along the way : 


Now, my two characters: 

Name: Fiona Lewis
Species: Human (though with an elf as one of her distant ancestors)
Gender: Female
Age: Biologically 33; Chronologically 53
Appearance: Has untidy black hair, and became overweight after sinking into depression. Has been frozen in cryogenic fluid for the past 20 years. 
Personality: Fiona has a bad temper and doesn't suffer fools lightly. She does have a caring side to her - but, unfortunately, this had turned her into an emotional wreck prior to her freezing. 
Title/Rank: None (Formerly a nurse)
Weapons/Powers: None (her only role in a battle would be as a medic)

Name: Roxanne 'Roxy' Montague
Species: Human 
Gender: Female
Age: 21
Appearance: Is fairly short and lightly-built - and has long, fiery red hair. She has quite an extensive wardrobe, ranging from a short red skirt to a bizarre yellow onesie. 
Personality: Despite the hardship of losing her parents at the age of 16, Roxy remains very upbeat and goofy: she reasons that these aspects of her personality helped her through her trauma. She's also very tough and independent - and equally at home in a large crowd or alone in her study area.  
Title/Rank: Student
Weapons/Powers: Rudimentary fire magic

I'll be accepting sign-ups for a week, or until we have four people (whichever is sooner). Enjoy !

Name: Kyle
Species: Human 
Gender: Male
Age: 44
Appearance: Is tall with a slight musclel build, but very little. He has brown hair which is tied back in a ponytail, and deep blue eyes. His clothes are rather worn, the same clothes he had left the castle in, since he apparently refused to get new ones (though he at least patched them and cleaned them). He often also wears a cloak in case he has to hide his appearance.
Personality: Is still a bit immature, but has matured much more then he was since he left. He's extremely sensitive and rather prone to tears when he's upset. He does however, have a bad temper. These days he's very quiet and usually seems just sad.
Title/Rank: Prince (was to be king, but was never crowned)
Weapons/Powers: Earth magic

OOC: Accepted ! 

Still waiting for 6 days until we can start this.

OOC: Okay, time to start!

BIC: The bell tolled, signalling the commencement of the memorial service. Dozens upon dozens of mourners had attended in order to pay their last respects to Gwynwald - the venerable, erstwhile king of Wulfric Castle, who had passed away at a mere 101 years old: the severe stresses of his occupation had claimed his life at a significantly earlier age than was typical in 24th-century Ganymede. At once, the mourners stood up in unison from their wooden benches - and turned reverently towards the central aisle. A pair of elderly, yet steady and athletic, dwarfs strutted in with their heads bowed, and an ornately-decorated coffin rested upon their backs. These were Manwyn and Gulgard: two brothers who had been among Gwynwald's most trusted advisers in life, and who had been chosen to carry him on his final journey. 

The mourners looked on in their identical black robes, many of them shedding tears. However, a young woman by the name of Roxy had bucked the trend, and simply let out a sigh of resignation. After the departure of her older brother Randall, and the untimely loss of her beloved parents, Fynrir and Ruby, her heart had hardened to these sombre occasions. She was simply getting used to it by now.

Lorna who had been standing not far from Roxy sighed. “I don’t know what we’ll do now without him...”  Meanwhile, far from the castle a man sat outside under a tree, writing in a book. He had paused thinking. He had heard about the death of Gwynwald. He sighed feeling a little sad of this. He had considered going to the funeral, but decided he couldn’t risk being spotted.

"Nor do I...." Roxy whispered forlornly. "I take it your husband isn't interested?" she asked, referring to military commander James. "I mean, with his years of service on the council, I would have thought he would be one of the prime candidates...." 

As Manwyn and Gulgard placed the coffin down on the central altar, the priest raised his hand in order to signal that everyone was to sit down and fall silent once again. Dutifully, Roxy sat down on the wooden bench, and listened to a droning eulogy which lasted for a full twenty minutes. She was irritated by the fact that at least half of it was untrue; however, she respectfully chose to keep quiet and avoid creating a scene.

Lorna sat as well with a sigh. This wasn't the first time she wished Kyle hadn't left. The castle hadn't been the same since. Plus Kyle should be here for this...

Finally the eulogy seemed to be at its end...

Once the eulogy eventually reached its conclusion, Manwyn respectfully lowered a branch of pinewood into the eternal flame at the back of the hall. He then passed it across to Gulgard - who placed it down by the side of Gwynwald's coffin. Within seconds, the fire had spread to the wooden exterior of the coffin itself - which soon exploded into a dazzling and kaleidoscopic array of bangs and flashes. This fireworks show was Gwynwald's final gift: he had spent the final week of his life preparing for coffin for this very moment. It certainly entertained the crowd - and played its part to lift their spirits after an otherwise-sombre occasion. 

Finally, as the embers of these colourful flames receded into thin air, and the plumes of smoke dissipated, they revealed a bare stone altar, occupied only by a small pile of ash atop what had been the baseboard of the coffin.

Lorna’s eyes went wide. “Wow..I certainly didn’t expect that! It was lovely!” She exclaimed smiling a little. She then sighed. “Ruby would of loved it...Kyle would
pf too probably...”

Roxy nodded slowly, with a tear in her eye. "Yes. Gwynwald did the fireworks for Ruby's coffin too....that was beautiful, and it really helped me to raise my head up and moved on with my life. I'm just sad that Kyle never got to see either of them...I still hope he's still around somewhere, and he comes back some time ...." 

In the final phase of the ceremony, Manwyn and Gulgard scooped up the ashes and placed them into a small clay urn, which they then picked up and carried out of the hall. It would be interred in the Chamber of Kings, alongside the remains of Kyle's ancestors and their own families. Of course, if Kyle had indeed passed away, then his remains should rightfully belong here too....