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*Courtesy of the Hooded Sage
A Book-
::as you walk into the clan hall, you notice a book on the ground. You pick it up. It's old and dusty, and has the Rough Riders' emblem on the front of it. There are mysterious runes under the emblem. Not knowing where this book came from, you cautiously open it. The first page contains a note.::Greetings Riders, and others that are bound to read this book.
It is important that people remember their ancestors, roots, and history. Enclosed in this book are many things. The beginning, where the Riders are from. It contains victories, losses, and hardships of past generations. It contains the Reigns of your past leaders: Jihad, Miki, and Vorlock.
So read on, and contemplate on it. For this is your past, and your past determines your future.
Your Author of The Book
::you finish reading the note from the Author, and turn the page. You see a sketch of the emblem, and the same runes.::The Emblem:
Here, noble Riders, is your emblem. A representation of your strength, will, and power. Admire it Riders, for this emblem is small representation of what you are.
The Runes:
These Runes are written in an ancient Elvish language. Undecipherable? No. When translated you will find your Motto.
Your Author of The Book
::after reading those two little facts, your turn the page. You furrow your brow, because there is nothing written. It's just a blank page. You flip through the rest of the book, and find nothing but blank pages. You give a frustrated sigh, close the book, and put it down.::
The Beginning-
::As you come into the hall, you once again see the book. You go to grab it, but remember that last time the book was, for the most part, empty. You grab a cool drink and gaze at the book. It seems to beckon you, tempting you to read it. You blink, thinking you saw it glow for a brief moment. Shrugging your shoulders, you grab the book, flip through the first few pages, and come to a new section, that has mysteriously appeared::The Beginning...
He was the first. The first GM, the first Knight, and the first leader of the Rough Riders. Jihad, as the first knight, had a grand vision. That one day younger fighters would follow in his footsteps, and become a grand knight. What he started was more than a mentorship program. Rather then set tasks and wait idly, he would accompany his pupils on those tasks.
After establishing the first charter for the Fighters Guild, Jihad soon resigned from his GM position. Caring not for the burden of that came along with being Guild Master, Jihad set his sights on working with his main audience: Young Fighters.
It was dark times when Jihad became a knight. Morlend and Loki were great essences of evil, invading the town, and commanding great legions of evil. More and more people were turning from all that was pure and noble, and giving into the temptations of power and selfishness. Seeking to keep the younger fighters from slipping into that kind of consciousness, Jihad set out to teach young fighters how to be knights. He would teach these pupils the ways of good, chivalry, nobility, valor, and purity. And he would also teach these pupils how to avoid the temptations that so many others had given into.
One day, Jihad decided to put his vision in motion. He placed a post on the message boards in the Fighters Guild, seeking a pupil to learn the ways of being a knight. After months of the post being up, it was finally answered. It was answered by a young elf, only seven years of age, who had escaped of life of slavery and sought to right the wrongs he had suffered. This young elfs name was Miki...
::No more is written about the Beginning of the Rough Riders. You flip through the book some more, which still contains nothing past that page. You shut the book and place it down on the table::
Then There Were Two...
::You enter the clan hall, and immediately spot the book of the Rough Riders. Knowing full well that there will be a new chapter in it, you open the book. You find the new chapter and begin to read::Then There Were Two...
Before Miki would be chosen as Jihad's first apprentice, he was to be tested. He was given a milestone he had to reach, and then Jihad would accompany him on this test. When Miki achieved the milestone, Jihad took him to the Orc Cavern's that Golgotha had discovered. Jihad gave him this test: Dive into the chaos of battle, and emerge having slain the Orc King. After hours of battle, Miki finally came back from battle, severely wounded, and fatigued, but he had indeed dispatched the Orc King. Jihad escorted Miki back to the guild, and had his wounds tended to. He then awarded Miki with a set of bronze armor, and the weapon of his fallen foe, the Ruby Bladed Sword.
This not only marked the beginning of the Rough Riders, but it also marked the first victory for them. It also brought up two important concepts, unity being the first.
It is was, is, and always will be important for you Riders to stay united. Jihad stayed with Miki through his test, helping him when he needed, and Miki was victorious. While being a hero is always a plus, it is not important. What is important is being a group. You must set your differences and conflicts aside, and become a united clan. Only then, will you be the Rough Riders Jihad had envisioned.
The second concept is that of never quitting. Fight your very best, and you will emerge victorious. Quitters die a thousands deaths, while a winner must only die one. Don't quit, give your all, and you will be victorious.
Both these concepts were once again displayed when Miki was ready for his next big milestone, defeating the Three Armed Fiend. While not doing the work for him, Jihad helped Miki do what was needed to get him to this awesome beast. Miki never quit, and was soon victorious over the beast, thus allowing him to further expand his exploring mind.
::You turn the page, and to your surprise, you find more is written::
The Unknown Rider...
It was be noted here that after Miki had defeated the Three Armed Fiend, Jihad welcomed another young apprentice into his group. This is when Jihad officially declared the three ́The RoUgH RiDeRsî. It had been noted (through extensive study) that this unknown Rider was indeed powerful for his young age.
It is important that we remember this Unknown Rider, for though he is unknown, he was still a Rough Rider none the less...
::That is all that was written on the Unknown Rider. You contemplate this Rider for a bit, and then flip the page. You find nothing, as usual, and close the book::
The Reign of Jihad...
::After a hard day of battle, you walk into the hall, sit down, and have a drink. You kick back, then spot the book. Piqued by curiosity of what else is written, you grab the book and open, and once again find a new section::The Reign of Jihad...
As mentioned before, Jihad was the first of many things, and the great leader of your illustrious clan. Founding it, solely to train young knights in his image and give the world a new hope.
He first took in two pupils: Miki and the Unknown Rider. After the Unknown Rider was recruited, he declared the three the Rough Riders. This marked the first controversial action that the Riders did. When declared the Rough Riders Yanqui, the GM at the time, sought to banish the name. Finding it inappropriate he got his wishes, and the name Rough Riders was banned, for a short time, before the three did indeed prove themselves rough riding fighters. As always, the controversy ended in a victory.
During this Reign, Jihad's relationship grew stronger with Miki, becoming more like a father-son relationship. Jihad sought to have a relationship like this, though not as strong, with all his Riders. I mention this because during this Reign, this first Reign of the Rough Riders, Jihad made it clearly important that the Riders were a family, not just a group. During this Reign, the Riders were linked together strongly. Be a family, share your time with one another, it is truly important.
During this Reign, a young man joined the Rough Riders family. He was a young, strong willed fighter: Vorlock.
Tiring of the hassles of city life, and the politics of the guild, Jihad left the city to live in the mountains. Due to the strengthened bonds between the Riders, the Clan visited their leader whenever they could. Either by themselves or in a group.
An invasion by Morlend finally brought Jihad out of the mountains. Banding together, the Riders prevailed over all else, and quelled the invasion, defying the powerful Morlend. After the battle, and celebration, Jihad returned to his life in the mountains. His teachings lived on there, instructing his Riders how to act, what they should and shouldn't do, and spending personal time with them.
::You stop before reading the last of the chapter, thinking of what kind of man Jihad was::
Jihad's Reign ended abruptly and without warning. While it is not exactly known whether it was a sudden decision, or that Jihad put a lot of thoughts in the mountain, he had become a Monk. Severing most of his ties to the Riders, only keeping a few Riders close to him, Jihad passed the Clan onto a young, and not quite experienced Miki.
::You close the book, not even bothering to flip the page. You once again think of the old times of the Riders, and think of Jihad. Then you put the book down and return to your activities::
The Reign of Miki...
::Coming in from a day of good hunting, you quickly seek out the book to further know the history of your clan::The Reign of Miki...
After Jihad had become a monk and stepped down as leader of the Rough Riders, he passed the clan on to his very first pupil, Miki. It should be dually noted here that Miki was both young, and not experienced enough yet.
Being young and experienced, most Riders did not see Miki as a leader. After Jihad had left, many Riders left as well. Unable to control this, Miki's inexperience had shown bright, as he did nothing to keep the Riders there. The only man that kept with it was a fighter named Vorlock.
The only successful victory for the Riders under Miki's rule, came when Loki invaded the city. Reacting quick, Miki called the Riders together, and led them into battle. Once again, the Riders ruled over all, and were a major factor in repelling Loki's forces. After the battle, however, there would be no celebration. The Riders all greeted each other, and then left.
For years this went on, until Miki finally disbanded the clan, or what was left of it. The disbanding was hardly noticed, only noted by a few, and those few thought the Riders were gone forever. They would be proven wrong, however, when many years later the Riders would once again rise up to glory, lead by a fearless Knight named Vorlock.
::You shut the book, a little disheartened by the happenings during Miki's Reign. You think of it a little bit, shut the book slowly, and exit the clan hall::
(Since Miki's reign, there was Clan Leaders: Vorlock, Cynthor, Fitio)
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