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Lakevale

Started by Necora, October 02, 2017, 08:00:52 AM

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Necora

Lakevale - Chapter 1 - A Cruel Twist of Fate.

QuoteApril 1st 1702

The gentle breeze shifted through the sales and ruffled my cap. As I stood beside the rail, watching the rugged coastline drift by, I could only image what wonders lay in the interior awaiting us. A new start for a new life, and my fellow people can for once be prosperous and free. Such dreams often turn to horror in the dark of night, and this brisk morning was no exception. BOOOM! The crack of a cannon shattered the image before me and the crackle of musket fire lit the air with the smell of burnt powder. My thoughts of a prosperous future crumbled, as the enemy frigate laid down upon us. To arms!

The year is 1702, and on a calm spring morning the settlers aboard The Endeavor awoke to the thundering realization of life at sea during times of war. The Endeavor, a cargo ship laden with supplies and settlers destined for Louisbourg, started its voyage with the allure of promised fortunes in the new land across the ocean. Now less than two days sail from their destination, the war finally caught up to them as it spread its dark reach across the new colonies. What started as a petty dispute grew to all out warfare between two of the largest empires of the time, and the new world became an important staging ground. Skirmishes and battles erupted around most new colonies, as the two powers grappled for the rich resources that the land had to offer, that may very well tip the scales of war into the victors lap. As The Endeavor and its escort, The Astute, and 18 gun man of war, slowly passed the rugged shores of New France, the enemy ship bared down upon them. A mammoth 32 gun ship of the line, the battle was always one sided. With the orders to leave no enemy ships floating, the ending would sure be a watery grave for our settlers. As the two warships began their deadly dance on the waves, the settlers slipped towards shore. An opening, an estuary, with a sand bar wrapped around its mouth, pored through a crack in the rugged coastline. The settlers knew their only hope of survival was to land and disappear to the interior, and weather the enveloping storm.

After an hour of fierce fighting The Astute was done, it was forced too close to shore under the unrelenting barrage of cannon and floundered on the sand bars. The crew, exhausted and broken, fought every man to the last and were soon extinguished. As for the enemy, the destruction of the war ship seemed victory enough, or new orders sent them pressing on, as they ignored the settlers who were scurrying up river.

As the cannon fire faded, the embers blew through the wind, and the acrid smell of burnt powder lifted, the settlers beheld before them a welcome sight. A lush valley lay just inland of the jagged coastal cliffs, with rivers winding and lakes teeming with fish. They chose a fertile spot nestled at the foothills next to a lake, and began their lives hidden from the raging wars around them.

The town of Lakevale was established on this date, as no more than a forest outpost and some farming. Two settlements grew up near to one another, one with fertile fields of beans and wheat, and the other on the edge of a dense forest. The farming community grew and a crude meeting hall and school house were established, while some light industry was built around the forest center. Not knowing how long they would have to stay, or how long they would survive, our settlers busily prepared for the coming winter.

Abandoned

 :) Good luck new settlement.

Necora

#2
Lakevale - Chapter 2 - The Strive for a Humble Existance

QuoteJune 21st 1703

Snap. A twig, broken in the woods. The shuffle of hoofs, a deer is close at hand. One more inch, just one small step forward. Crack! The rifle sounds, and I listen for the thump. There, not far off from where I shot it, the doe falls. This will sure feed my family for the winter, although despite how rich and fertile these lands are they are not without their costs. Today a deer, yesterday a man. It seems this war that swirls around us has brought out the dregs of the human condition. Groups roam the country, stealing our food, ransacking our houses and stores, burning our villages. Some no more than mere pirates, reveling in the anarchy of war. Others privateers, under orders from this king or the other to disrupt lines and generally make lives hell for their enemy. We have declared no side, yet that makes us easy pickings. Oh, the desires of a humble existence, is that not all we came here for?

Three years after the wrecking of The Endeavor and her companion The Astute and our settlers are finding life tough in the interior. The lands are rich and fertile, the forests dense and full of game, and the lakes shimmer with fish. But, as war rages on around them, lawlessness and privateering abounds. The people of Lakevale are not safe, and have become too thinly dispersed though the valley to adequately defend themselves. The leader, if you can call him that, for he is well learned and respected among the people, and thus leaned upon for decision making, as tough choices ahead for the continuing existence of the people. One evening, on news of more raids by privateers from both armies, he makes the decision.

Fortify.

If they stick together, they will survive. If they remain as thinly spread out as they are, surely the end is neigh. So with all due haste, every man, woman, and child was ordered to finish their harvest and set to work on building a new fortress within which they could live in relative safety. They bridged the river to the East, and struck the new Fort Anne in memory of the late Lady of Lakevale who succumbed just a year prior to illnesses she carried from the sea.