4D II – Project #2, Soundscape

Background story:

There are two men in the room, one of which is awakened by the sound of a helicopter flying over the old, wooden house. The house is found in the middle of spacious land, near a forested area, and there are very few houses in the area as most of them are sporadically placed. It is at night, and only the rather strong wind and insects can be heard.

The man who wakes up creeps around the room, rummaging for the keys. He opens the bedroom door, and walks down the corridor, coming to a creaky flight of stairs. He descends, feeling nervous, and takes a deep breath before opening the heavy front door, looking out to see where the helicopter is.


Visual representation:

Rebecca Yang_G3_4D Project #2



Soundscape:

LORE 3 – CLYRIA (ARCHITECTURE)

GILDFORD:

One of the farming provinces in Clyria, Gildford is mostly home to labourers who toil day and night on the plantation, putting in effort to plant, cultivate, and harvest crops that are eventually distributed to the other villages in Clyria. Because of the little population and sparse amounts of land (of which only certain areas are suitable for growing crops), houses and farms are sporadically situated. Most farmhouses are made of wood, and have shabby glass windows that can be open and shut to block out rain. Unfortunately, because resources are limited, the houses are susceptible to wear and tear, but cannot be fixed immediately, giving the exterior a rather run-down and dilapidated look. There are also fenced up plots of land that are used to house livestock such as cows and chickens. Houses are isolated, some found in extremely remote areas, and are not easily seen due to the irregularly formed hilly environment.

THE FORCE’S HEADQUARTERS – MYRA, UTHAD:

A more advanced part of Clyria, it houses people like soldiers who are tasked to scavenge and protect, as well as current leaders and politicians. The best materials go into constructing this area, and the most money is pumped into developing the city. Walls are high, made of a Linel, a silver-grey material that resembles concrete, made using natural stone dug out from the deep grounds of Clyria. The army base is a restricted zone, and Linel walls tower solemnly over the camp, obstructing and outsider from looking in. Palm sized square holes are cut out high on the walls so that soldiers have an almost aerial view of the exterior. Thick, sturdy steel doors guard the entrances and exits to the base.

The politicians houses, though, are perhaps the grandest in all of Clyria. They’re constructed from Linel as well, but have been painted a creamy white using organic tree sap. Soldiers guard these houses on rotational duty, for 24 hours.Ornate steel gates that spiral up to at least four metres begin the walk from the first entrances to front doors of the houses. Each house is about 2 to 3 storeys high, proudly showcasing pristine marble-ish looking staircases and intricate decorations on both the inside and outside of the establishment.

CLYRIA – CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 3: THE TOWN

After evading the rock slide, Sgt. Fabian and Veggie head towards the village, eager to get to civilisation, seeing that they were running low on supplies like food and water.

When they arrived at the village, they were shocked to find the townspeople severely malnourished and sick. You knew that the village had never been exactly as advanced as Gildford, but you never expected this. Both of you wandered on, looking for anyone who looked healthy, but you found none.

Veggie marched up to an lady who looked older than she probably was, given the unfortunate circumstances of the village.

He asked, “Hello, we’re passing through this village to get somewhere else. What happened here? Is there anywhere we can get supplies?”

The woman slowly shook her head, her eyes glazing over as though she was in a trance, “No. Almost everything here is ruined,” and went on to tell the story.

——–

Budsworth was once a lovely, quaint town – one that was not excessively wealthy or flourishing with an abundance of resources, but it had just enough for the people to get by. Its inhabitants were simple, with little knowledge about the outside world, as they were content with the basic items they had. About three months ago, crops started failing, and the water supply was consistently yellowed and unsanitary. The villagers panicked, but believed there would be an improvement. The town was almost spent – they had come to the last few grains they had in storage, and if things didn’t turn around by the next month, they could only expect the worst. They beseeched the leaders of Uthad, but received no replies. Anyone who travelled to Myra was turned away after being repeatedly assured that the situation would be taken care of.

It never was.

——-

The both of you find something amiss, and decide to stay the night at a cheap inn. Anyway, you had to rest to prepare for another arduous day ahead that consisted of more hiking. During the night, the faint sound of propellers woke Sgt. Fabian up as he could distinctly recognise what a helicopter sounded like, given his military background.

He woke Veggie up, surprised that no one else had risen due to the sound. After some deliberation, he was positive that it was because they probably thought it was some sort of meteor passing by, which was a pretty common occurrence.

What was a helicopter doing so far from The Force’s base at 3am in the morning?

CLYRIA – CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 2: THE JOURNEY CONTINUES

After the close encounter with The Rogues, the both of you rested for the rest of the night on the treetops, in case others attacked as well.

By morning, you two set off again, heading towards Myra, the capital of Uthad, where The Force’s headquarters was at. After hiking for hours, you realise the path you had intended to take to enter through the back door of the headquarters is blocked off by a rock slide, and hugh rocks were now obstructing your path. The ground and area were completely unstable, and the grappling hook or other tools could not be used in the situation because the rocks would tumble and it was life threatening. You could potentially fall off the cliff that is on the right of the rock slide.

However, you are not sure exactly which route you can take now.

There is a small city to the left, about 10 kilometres away, that deviates from your original path. Veggie proposes going to the village to ask for directions and find another road.

Do you attempt to cross the rock slide or go to the village?

CLYRIA – CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 1: VENTURING INTO THE UNKNOWN

Sgt. Fabian has convinced Veggie that there has been some sort of secrecy between the country leaders and high ranking officials in The Force. He had reason to believe that Justius Lowell, nation head of Uthad, where Gildford was based in, was hiding critical information from the soldiers and civilians – information that pertained to the recent genocides.

Masses of people had been killed, with reasons like virus outbreaks and sparks of sporadic violent sprees committed by seemingly harmless individuals being cited. No one knew the causes, and leaders covered it up by claiming that they were looking into things, and that the new atmosphere was the most likely cause.

However, a month ago, Sgt. Fabian had stumbled upon strange letters being transferred between his Warrant Officer, Vira Tamara, and Lowell. He had managed to scan the letters, and found that they were collaborating to get rid of the weaker humans in preparation for ‘them’ to come.

Naturally, Sgt. Fabian was disgusted knowing that humans would plot against their own species, and wanted to confront Tamara for an explanation. After much consideration, he decided he was treading on dangerous grounds, and should not cause suspicion or let anyone know about the information he did. Therefore, he went to the one person he could trust – Veggie.

———-

Presently, both of you are on their way to The Force’s headquarters to dig for more data regarding this incident. You know the journey ahead is a tough one, but you are determined to crack the case, for it concerns humanity’s (what’s left of it) future.

After travelling by foot over arduous conditions like torrid heat, heavy downpour, and lack of money and weapons, you two have come to rest at a forested area about 73 kilometres away from Gildford. Upon resting, you hear rustling of leaves to your left. Immediately on guard, you scan the area and your eyes settle on a band of Rogues coming your direction. Rogues are known to be vicious and manipulative humans who are infamous for looting homes and robbing other people for their benefit.

What do you do?

LORE 2 – CLYRIA

Introduction to Gildford, Clyria:

 

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In the town of Gildford, one of the poorer provinces of Clyria, people there had no choice but to be hardworking. They worked hard to feed themselves, and more often than not, many still went to sleep hungry at night.

The people were small in stature, with tanned skin due to spending long hours in the scorching heat of the new star that orbited the planet, and provided the same energy the old sun did. This new star was called ‘Helios’, Greek for ‘sun’.

With regards to garments, the farming and construction class wore mostly denim, cotton and jersey – practical materials in practical, non- vibrant colours. The soldiers, however, the ones tasked with foraging new, foreign areas and trained in combat should there be a need for battle, wore leather. They needed the thick hide for its tough and hardy nature in their line of work in The Force.

On the other hand, the working class, probably the wealthiest of the lot, wore materials made of chiffon or crepe. They consisted of merchants, thinkers and businessmen, and spent a large bulk of their time being at the top of the budding economy, planning infrastructure, transport, and trade.

And of course, there are the Rogues – the deviators from societal norms. The ones who dress in dark clothing so they blend into the night, which makes it easier for them to go unnoticed and steal precious things.

Means of transport was limited. People had managed to recreate bicycles, which was the main form of getting around for the farmers. Other methods would be on animals, as beasts like horses and cows had been brought over from the previous Earth. There were cars, but very few.

Fabian, who was now a sergeant in the The Force, and Veggie, were childhood friends who grew up together on the rural farms of Gildford. When Fabian was 16, he enlisted to become a soldier, while Veggie continued to work in his family farm, under the guidance of his father. Both of them had never experienced life on Earth, and only had a muddled inkling of what it was like before based on their imagination, and tales told to them by their grandparents.

One day, Sgt. Fabian unexpectedly returns home from his base camp, and approaches Veggie for help.

LORE 1 – CLYRIA

Previously, in 2316:

In the year 2316, global warming, drastic climate changes and waste disposal has rendered Earth an unsustainable planet for mankind. To top that off, Earth’s inhabitants were also facing overpopulation and an alarming depletion of natural resources. There was a lack of basic necessities, like food and water, and chaos threatened to break loose.

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Knowing that man could no longer continue living on a planet that was going to waste, and that there was no feasible cure to the situation, religious leaders and politicians came together during a summit to discuss possible solutions that could turn the impending extinction of all living creatures on Earth around. Times were desperate, and they were forced to come to a hasty conclusion.

Currently, in 2396:

80 years later, mankind is now living on Planet Clyria, billions of miles away from the desolated remains of Earth. Out of all the planets, Clyria had the most similar, optimum living conditions as Earth did, and was therefore, the best alternative. After the summit that took place decades ago, countries all over the world pooled together money and manpower, and efficiently built a shuttle device that had the ability to within hours, carry thousands of people at once to go to Clyria.

Planet-Earth

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Country leaders had tried transporting as many people as they could with the little resources left before Earth perished, but millions were left behind to die. A third of those who were brought to Clyria, however, did not survive along the way, due to the stress, starvation and dehydration, and their unfortunate bodily inability to adapt and cope with the change in atmosphere. This brought the human population to approximately 1 billion. This also meant that only the toughest and strongest were left alive, through method of natural elimination.

Cities in Clyria were no where near Earth’s former glory, but humans had to make do. The lavish lifestyles were gone, where people spent exorbitantly and could afford food wastage. Instead, everyone knew the importance of rationing and self preservation, turning the culture into one that was rather harsh and unyielding.

In a particular town named Gildford, identical to the rest of the population, people fell into pockets that included the working class, farmers and soldiers. Life was tough, but orderly. Soon enough though, things were about to take a turn.

———-

Please indicate the following:
  1. Name of character
  2. Skill set (Intelligence, Strength, Agility = 8 points)
  3. Gender
  4. Age
  5. Weapon of choice
  6. Character’s occupation (Working class, farmer or soldier)