The City of Ember

Status
Not open for further replies.

Deoxys55

Deoxys Collector
  • 1,819
    Posts
    21
    Years
    When the city of Ember was just built and not yet inhabited, the chief builder and the assistant builder, both of them weary, sat down to speak of the future.

    ?They must not leave the city for at least two hundred years,? said the chief builder. ?Or perhaps two hundred and twenty.?

    ?Is that long enough?? asked his assistant.

    ?It should be. We can?t know for sure.?

    ?And when the time comes,? said the assistant, ?how will they know what to do??

    We?ll provide them with instructions, of course,? the chief builder replied.

    ?But who will keep these instructions? Who can we trust to keep them safe and secret all that time??

    ?The mayor of the city will keep the instructions,? said the chief builder. ?We?ll put them in a box with a timed lock, set to open on the proper date.?

    ?And will we tell the mayor what?s in the box?? the assistant asked.

    ?No, just that it?s information they won?t need and must not see until the box opens of its own accord.?

    ?So the first mayor will pass the box to the next mayor, and that to the next, and so on down through the years, all of them keeping it secret, all that time??

    ?What else can we do?? asked the chief builder. ?Nothing about this endeavor is certain. There may be no one left in the city by them or no safe place for them to come back to.?

    So the first mayor of Ember was given the box, told to guard it carefully, and solemnly sworn to secrecy. When she grew old, and her time as mayor was up, she explained about the box to her successor, who also kept the secret carefully, as did the next mayor. Things went as planned for many years. But the seventh mayor of Ember was less honorable than the ones who?d come before him, and more desperate. He was ill-- he had the coughing sickness that was common in the city then-- and he thought the box might hold a secret that would save his life. He took it from its hiding place in the basement of the Gathering Hall and brought it home with him, where he attacked it with a hammer.

    But his strength was failing by then. All his managed to do was dent the lid a little. And before he could return the box to its official hiding place or tell his successor about it, he died. The box ended up at the back of a closet, shoved behind some old bags and bundles. There it sat, unnoticed, year after year, until its time arrived, and the lock quietly click open.



    In the city of Ember, the sky was always dark. The only light came from the great flood lamps mounted on the buildings and at the tops of poles in the middle of the larger squares. When the light were on, they cast a yellowish glow over the streets; people walking by threw long shadows that shortened and then stretched out again. When the lights were off, as they were between nine at night and six in the morning, the city was so dark that the people might as well have been wearing blindfolds.

    Sometimes darkness fell in the middle of the day. The city of Ember was old, and everything in it, including the power lines, was in need of repair. So now and then the lights would flicker and go out. These were terrible moments for the people of Ember. As they came to a halt in the middle of the street or stood stock-still in their houses, afraid to move in the utter blackness, they were reminded of something they preferred not to think about: that someday the light of the city might go out and never come back on.

    But most of the time life proceeded as it always had. Grown people did their work, and younger people, until they reached the age of twelve, went to school. On the last day of their final year, which was called Assignment Day, they were given jobs to do.





    Rules and Information:

    • There city and all of it?s buildings are made from stone. There are no grass and trees, and the only plants besides mold grow in the Greenhouses.
    • You are allowed to have as many character as you want.
    • When you receive your job, I will post what you are to do.
    • Yes, you have to be twelve.
    • When you need to say something that doesn?t have to do with your RP post, use ?OOC?
    • This book is ? to Jeanne DuPrau. She wrote the book, and the text above are the first chapter and the first paragraph of the second.
    • Try to use the best grammar. I will too.
    • Don?t SPAM or flame, if you don?t like the RP, don?t join it.
    • I?m not the fastest typer in the world, don?t get mad if I only post a paragraph or two.


    Okay, this is the fourth time I?ve started this RP, and this time I intend to finish it. This is an INVITE ONLY role play. If you are invited, you don?t have to join if you don?t want to. My previous RPs for this had the characters as pok?mon. But in this one, they are people. You can join only as your own characters, unless you?ve read the book yourself. If you?ve read it, you can join as one of the original characters in the book, but I?m already Lina and Doon, so that I can trigger some of the main events. ^_~ If you join as an original character, you have to do your parts in the events that take place just as they did in the book, but besides that, you can have them do whatever they want to, as long as you stick with their personality.



    And there is no sign-up sheet, as different people choose to describe characters in different ways. Just include all the vital information.



    Also, there will be characters in the RP from the book that aren?t main characters, and that you?re characters are free to communicate with and control.



    Oh! I almost forgot. The list of jobs, just so you know what you might get:

    Pipeworks laborer ? You work down underground in the Pipeworks, where the generator is.

    Messenger ? Get to run around a select area of town, carrying messages for people.

    Supply Desk clerk ? Sit behind a desk and take orders from shopkeepers, then send carriers down to the storerooms for the requested items.

    Electrician?s helper ? fixing dead street bulbs and house lights, helping with the generator.

    Greenhouse Helper ? Helps out in the greenhouse.

    Building repair assistant ? Helps repair buildings and structures.

    Trash shifter ? Moves trash from homes to the two giant trash heaps outside of town, at the horizon of the dark world.

    Doctor?s assistant ? Binds up cuts and give medicine.



    One more things I may want to post.

    A link to a map of the city. (I traced it. I know, my handwriting?s bad, but try to bear with me.)

    *image removed*





    Remember, this is INVITE ONLY. I will get the invites out ASAP. And if we can get through this RP, we can start on the sequel, ?The People of Sparks?.


    My characters:

    Name: Lina Mayfleet
    Gender: Female
    Personality/Phisical Info: She is slender and fast. She has long, dark hair and has never appeared particularly atractive.But she has a lust to explore, and a wide imagination. The job she wants most is Messenger.

    Name: Doon Harrow
    Gender: Male
    Personality/Phisical Info: His hair is always ruffled a bit, and when he's thinking or angry, his eyebroms come forward to form a line across his forehead. He has a short temper and sometimes acts before thinking, but all in all he is kind. He wants to help fix the genorator, and wants the job of Electrician's Helper.
     
    Since I was invited, I shall post my character. Very interesting storyline...I hope it to be enjoyable!

    Name: Alura Shariken
    Gender: Female
    Age: 13
    Personality/Physical Info: Svelte and very attractive, despite her ripped and baggy clothing. She has amethyst eyes and light brown hair and would savor the life of a Building Repair Assistant, for she is abundant of brutal strength.
     
    Last edited:
    Name: Diana Viante
    Gender: Female
    Personality/Physical Info: Diana has long, red hair that almost looks pink, and the brightest blue eyes. She wears tattered clothing, as she is extremely poor. Her legs were built so she is a good runner, and she loves to exersize.
     
    Thanks for the invite, Deoxys55 ^-^ This looks like fun =D

    Name: Mizuiro Midori (just like all my other characters :P)

    Gender: Female

    Appearance: 5' 7", thin, has short blonde hair and blue eyes, wears a green sweatshirt and baggy blue jeans

    Personality: A bit quiet but friendly once you get to know her.
     
    OO: Wow, I thought no one would join. O_o I'll try and get some more people, but soon we should get this started! ^^ **Goes to poke other invites** XD
     
    Hm, I was in the Pok?mon Edition of this... Wonder if I get an invite? :P I guess i might like this one better if I get invited because this one is to do with Humans and not Pok?mons, I mean, Pok?mon Greenhouse Helper!? O_o
     
    Name: Saphira Moonstream
    Gender: Female
    Personality/Physical Info: Saphira is a loner. She doesnt like being around too many people at once, and hardly ever trust anyone. Although she appears to be cold hearted and mean, but she is acctualy very sweet, if you can get close enough to her. She also has a soft side for animals. Saphira doesnt really care how she looks, unlike most girls. She has dirty blonde hair, and sapphire eyes, and wears torn blue jeans and a black t-shirt thats had the sleeves ripped off.
     
    THEY'RE ALL GIRLS! X.X

    Name- Drew Lee
    Gender- Male
    Description- Charcoal Grey hair, coffee eyes, a White t-shirt with 3 black stripes down the side, a matching pair of pants and white, black, and red basketball shoes.
    Personality- Brave, a coward at times does unexpected things
    Others- He is a very high jumper because he's a basketball player... That was interesting... huh... o_o
     
    Last edited:
    ooc: okay, can we start, and... HA! yes, we're all girls!!! XD hey, i know someone named drew....
     
    OOC; I completely forgot aobut this! XD I'm sorry.

    IC:
    The graduating students occupied Room 8 of the Ember School. On Assignment Day of the year 241, this classroom, usually noisy first thing in the morning, was completely silent. All twenty-four students sat upright and still at the desks. They were waiting. The desks were arranged in four rows of six, one behind the other.
    ***
    In the last row sat a slender girl, Lina. She was winding and unwinding a strand of her long, black hair on her finger, occacionally looking up to their teacher, Miss Thorn. One foot tapped impatiently.
    ***
    In the second row was a boy named Doon. He sat with his eyes closed in deep concentration, making last-minute wishes. His hair was ruffled and his brows furrowed, repeating his wishes over and over, his lips moving slightly.
     
    Akira scribbled on the paper in front of her. She was sitting in the back row in the corner of the room. Finally she put down her pencil and read what she had aleady written. Once she was satisfied she began to draw a picture on the back of the paper.
     
    Drew, in the 2nd row, being one of the only boys hid a copy of a manga behind his textbook. In the corner of his eye, he kept a lookout for Miss Thorn. He looked down on a piece of paper and started to scribble down some pictures of the 'things' in the manga.

    OOC- What are we waiting for? Oh and, I've got The City of Ember on reserve. :D
     
    ooc: I've never even heard of it... Oh well, I'll check it out.

    ic: Saphira sat in the front row, bitting the inside of her cheek. Of course, I get stuck in the front. Happy day... She thought angerly, drawing a sketch of an injured fox she had found, which was why she was late.

    Miss.Thorn took the paper right out from under Saphira's hands. She had no idea what happened to it from there. Sighing, she pulled out another piece of paper and began drawing again, this time making sure Miss.Thorn wouldnt take it.
     
    ooc: Well, sometimes RE disappeares for awhile... its happened before... No offence, Radical! ^^'

    Oh, and, Deo.... Are you gonna reply on fantysta?! Its probly on the second page...
     
    Akira put down her note book as Miss Thorn walked by. She had seen the teacher take the paper from Saphira. Once she had passed she opened the note book again and began drawing again.
     
    Status
    Not open for further replies.
    Back
    Top