Multiple authors story - write one paragraph each

[Rodion Romanovich]

I don't know if this is for the frontroom or for mead hall, sorry if it's in the wrong place. I know there's the "one word story" thread in the frontroom, but I think this is a very different concept though, a more serious attempt at making a story - if you write an entire paragraph rather than a single word it's easier to get it to make more sense and keep the context etc. It's supposed to be like a mead hall story but with the extra flavor of having different authors to get a more varied language and it's also IMO fun to see if we can tie together the story in a way that makes sense. Plus I think it's a good way for people with too little time to be able to write an entire story alone to still be able to write something...

Here are the suggested rules:
- when posting a paragraph, put the number of the paragraph first. The number should be the number of the paragraph above plus one. If two post a paragraph with the same number at the same time, the first one posted will be part of the story and the other ignored. This rule is to ensure it doesn't get messed up if two post at the same time
- try to take it seriously and when writing a paragraph try to make it a plausible continuation of the previous paragraphs
- feel free to start a new chapter when you think it's appropriate
- IMPORTANT CLARIFICATION: you can contribute with more than 1 paragraph to the entire story, it's just that you aren't supposed to write two or more paragraphs in a row (the "write one paragraph each" title might have confused some...)

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CHAPTER 1

1
The snowfall was getting more intense every minute. It was now difficult to see more than a few meters ahead, and it was impossible to tell if they were still walking on the road, or if they were heading further away from the civilization and would end up lost somewhere on the unforgiveable steppes. If they got lost out there in this cold, with so few supplies left, nothing but death could be expected. As if they sensed the tension of the men, the horses let out a miserable neighing, but the sound was torn into shreds by the heavy wind.

[Franconicus]

CHAPTER 1

1
The snowfall was getting more intense every minute. It was now difficult to see more than a few meters ahead, and it was impossible to tell if they were still walking on the road, or if they were heading further away from the civilization and would end up lost somewhere on the unforgiveable steppes. If they got lost out there in this cold, with so few supplies left, nothing but death could be expected. As if they sensed the tension of the men, the horses let out a miserable neighing, but the sound was torn into shreds by the heavy wind.
2
One more time I asked myself what I was doing here. Was it a caprice of destiny? Or a cheap trick of some unfriendly god? Did he decide to throw me into this hell to gloat over my pain? Or was my odyssey part of a twisted and mysterious plan? I shook my head. I had thought about it repeatedly but I never found an answer.

[Rodion Romanovich]

3
Not much was left of the footwear by now. I could vaguely feel the remnants of it scrape my already sore, soaked feet. As I looked forward I dogmatically hoped it was only a dream, a nightmare. Soon I would wake up at home, sitting by the fire, having gone dozy in it's pleasant heat. I smiled at the thought. Would I ever have realized how wonderful that fire could be if I hadn't been here? On the other hand, it struck me, would I have needed such wonderful things if there hadn't been such pain that needed to be compensated? I was awaken from my thoughts by a distant light, that penetrated the whirling snow. It flickered once, then disappeared. I wondered if it had been a hallucination, or if it really was a sign of other human beings. I was thankful that the captains were already leading us in it's direction - my cheekbones were aching too much from the cold for me to be able to tell them about what I had seen. If it had been a real light, then we would soon all see it.

[Kraxis]

4
The winds increased once more, the snowflakes striking like razors. The breathing got heavier and the walking got slower.
The column of men and animals streching both back and ahead, all staggering forward as if some sort of automatons. All the faces sagging and the eyes near dead.
From behind a yell was followed by the sounds of thundering hoofs... "No... not again..." was the wearied thought that blanketed my mind.

[SwordsMaster]

Ok, why not?

5

I thought about the stupid repetition of the same movements over and over. The futility of the operation, evident more than ever in that particular moment: kill to stay alive. A ritual men have been performing through the ages and the generations without it never becoming obsolete. I knew there was no choice. In the place I occupied in the universe, this was my duty. And there was no point asking yourself why.

[Rodion Romanovich]

6
The thundering sound of hooves drew closer, I readied my weapon in preparation for what was to come. Parts of the column had already reacted by halting, forming smaller line segments facing the incoming cavalry, while others had still not heard the sounds. Luckily enough, the incoming cavalrymen turned out to be our own, which meant we hadn't been taken completely by surprise, caught in disarray. However, there were stains of blood on their shirts, the men were barely conscious, many of them in strange distorted poses, heads and chest resting on the necks of their horses, barely keeping them on the horseback. I suspected some of them must be dead, their horses having simply followed the other horses when their masters had died, and they had no longer received any orders. "They're coming! They're coming!" yelled one of the few cavalrymen who hadn't got any blood on his shirt, and still seemed alert despite the long march. He was pointing in the direction he had come from. In the distance, I heard one of the captains calling for the cavalryman. It sounded as if he was asking about the strength of the enemy, but the wind kept me from hearing the details. I carefully patted the tip of my weapon, touched it's simple, yet lethal, principle in my, by the cold almost petrified, hands. And then the thundering sound of hooves began once again, but this time it was a hundred times more powerful than last time. This time it was the enemy coming. I felt my pulse quickening, my petrified hands awakening and grasping the weapon firmer than was my intention. The ground was shaking, literally. This enemy is far beyond our capabilities I thought. It was the last thing I remember thinking before my instincts took control over me, mechanically making me react to the orders, preparing to kill to survive. And then I saw the first black silhouettes of cavalrymen.