[centre][h2][color=800080]Torn Envelopes;[/color][color=4B0082] Runic Letters[/color][/h2][/centre]

[color=FFF0F5][b]Synopsis:[/b] You are one of the infamous 'Torn Envelopes' of the Runic Letters delivery service guild. In a world rife with war, where toxic war machines obliterate entire cities and mutate the land, you are one of the brave few who still navigate this land to pick-up and deliver letters and parcels for the denizens of the remaining holds. Tasked with delivering important intelligence to various parties of the on going war campaigns from time to time, the guild has even drawn the ire of certain military figures.

With twisted creatures nesting in your path, covert military agents trying to steal letters in the hopes for important information and dark magics corrupting the land, only the strong excel in the world of mail delivery. Do you have what it takes to survive in this world? More importantly, do you have what it takes to deliver the mail?

[centre][h3][b]Tera[/b][/h3]
[img]http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2011/328/f/7/world_map_1_by_thirteenth_capricorn-d4h5qk7.jpg[/img][/centre]
[i]Dubbed 'Tera' by her peoples, this land was once a peaceful bastion of wealth and growth, however, religious tensions, diplomatic grudges and powerful artefacts served as the fuse to a series of horrific events that started Tera's first world war and removed entire civilizations from the face of Tera, leaving in it's place scarred land twisted and warped by foul magics and cruel science, this terrible period of history will eventually come to be known as the 'Tera-Bane War', however, our gaze is locked on a much smaller series of events, events that appear as a mere drop in the ocean compared to the heroic and cruel campaigns that rage across the land and yet, the impact and significance of these events will drive the strumming of lutes and songs of bards for centuries to come. The events I speak of are those of the Torn Envelopes, a diverse bunch of powerful denizens of Tera who've abandoned the notation of belonging to any one nation or race, in the hopes to serve Tera equally and without prejudice. Forming the Runic Letters Guild, they kept the hopes and hearts of citizens high all while stirring ambition in the youth of this world by navigating all the lands and remaining loyal to their promise to deliver the mail.[/i]

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[h2][b]Basic Info[/b][/h2]
[hider=Why the emphasis on Mail?]The idea is that in Tera mail was once a very prominent aspect of day to day life and was treated as a very worth while luxury that made a lot of people happy, many guilds existed that were focused on sharing specific types of letters and parcels pertaining to any new information in various aspects of Tera, for example, there were guilds that would document and share new archaeological and cultural information gained from explorers and travellers, there were guilds that would consult ambassadors about political situations and share it, the mail served to provide unity and happiness to the people of Tera.

For this reason, letters and parcels also carry an important sentimental value to many of the citizens of Tera, however, most mail now is a lot more personal, usually a simple exchange between friends and family. But there still exists those who try to gather the knowledge of the land and share it with all they can and the Runic Letters guild has proved invaluable to people like this. Not to mention the importance of delivering rare and exotic medicines to those afflicted with diseases from foreign lands, often carried over during invasions.[/hider]
[hider=Races of Tera]All races in Tera stem from a common ancestry, thus in regards to height and build, there is very little diversity. Many of the differences stem from specific physical features and skin colour. However, the most prominent difference between two sub-groups of the races are split between the races from the East and the races from the West.

All races from the Eastern continent are generally smaller than those from the West, but not by much. Eastern races also have a higher affinity to magic and are able to grasp basic magic concepts and tasks quite easily. While Western races tend to be somewhat stronger with slightly more muscle mass, they also tend to be more resistant to disease. These traits are considered to be somewhat minor as an Eastern denizen who is healthy can fend of disease quite easily, and a Western denizen who has a passion for magic can pick up basic concepts with ease.

Western Races:
[hider=Snow Elves]Most notable are their rather large eyes, pointed ears(a feature of all elf race types) and their soft, pale skin. A beautiful race that calls the northern tundra of the west continent their home. They're a diverse people and can be found all across the western continent, however, they're somewhat of a rarer sight in the eastern regions of the world as the tropical heat and glaring sun doesn't bode well for their pale skin.[/hider]
[hider=Marsh Elves]Considered least pleasing to the eye of all the races, the Marsh Elves populate the far west of the continent as well as the southern islands. Some of the best engineers and tactical minds have come from this race and they wear that history proudly. Their facial features are often more pointed and longer than that of the other races, they're a somewhat fair-skinned race, however, Marsh Elves hailing from the southern islands are often tan.[/hider]
[hider=West Terrans]Populating the mainland of the West continent, they're assumed to have deep rooted ancestry from the Eastern continent, however, whatever magical affinity that may have once flowed through their veins is gone now. You can consider them to be your general 'human' race, sharing predominantly features of the northern Scandinavian races of Europe including fair skin.[/hider]

Eastern Races:
[hider=Dune Terrans]Calling the Eastern, South-Eastern deserts as well as the Southern woodland of the continent their home, the Dune Terrans are a very diverse race. They come in many shades of tan while Terrans from the central desert are a deep bronze. Considered a physically diverse race, some of Tera's most beautiful citizens are of Dune Terran origin.[/hider]
[hider=Tundra Terrans]Hailing from the northern tundra of the eastern continent, they're a hardy fair skinned race with deep rooted traditions in shamanistic and primal magics. Housing a unique and somewhat xenophobic culture, the Tundra Terrans of the eastern continent are a proud and stubborn people. While the other races are quite open minded culturally and adaptable, the Tundra Terrans are not and have been known to have a disdain for elves.[/hider]
[hider=Night Elves]Housing the largest population of all the elf races, the Night elves call the western regions of the east continent their home. A civilized people, Tera's most learned mages have come from the homelands of the Night Elves. They come in many hues of pale purple, which helps them to blend in with the rare flora of their homeland. Housing the most unusual colouring in regards to their natural skin, eye and hair colour it is assumed that their environment and common use of magic has shaped them into what they are now. Often described as regal in appearance, the Night Elves house straight and smooth physical features that appear to almost compliment their usual accent.[/hider][/hider]
[hider=Era and Setting]The civilizations of Tera exist in a high-fantasy medieval type era that borrows certain and specific features from a Victorian steam-punk type setting. The aspects and influences of the steam-punk setting are rather exclusive and minor, nothing that would warrant the entire RP being cashed under a steam-punk tag. Cobblestone brick and timber log are the primary building materials of the western continent while the eastern continent also uses these materials, they have somewhat more variety in brick colour/type, the desert villages of the eastern continent use primarily sandstone and marble as their building material of choice.

The use of steam-punk influences is primarily found in machinery, which as a whole, is extremely rare and unrefined. This influence is entirely exclusive to a single nation in Tera and often makes appearances as war machines, that are, and I stress this point, not at all abundant. No proper form of automation exists yet, so every component of these machines are crafted and put together by hand, making them scarce, however, they are still very effective albeit, somewhat inefficient and resource demanding.

[hider=Technology]
[hider=Weaponry]
Melee is the dominant form of resolving heated confrontation, so there is an emphasis and abundance of various melee weaponry. However, ranged combat is also not uncommon and several weapon exist to compliment this as well, this includes casting mediums like wands, staves and totems. Early era rifles and pistols also exist as extremely rare artefacts, however, they are by no means used how our history dictates, instead they are also considered casting mediums, they're very inefficient, using large amounts of mana and often being quite inaccurate, but they have the potential to cause devastating amounts of damage to a target.[/hider]
[hider=Utility]
Along with traditional medieval era furniture and tools, there is also an emphasis on magical furniture and tools, primarily in this regard are various magical furniture designed for illumination of an area. Magical lamps, lanterns and torches that store other forms of light and re-use it later. The primary tool used to see in the dark is a 'Light Crystal', a small hand-held crystal that emits a small amount of light, best used for reading in the dark or to observe your immediate surroundings. These types of tools and furniture can be 'turned on/off' by pushing a very small amount of mana into them.[/hider][/hider]
[hider=Race/Nation Specific]
Generally speaking technology is not regulated or funded by the kingdoms, and so new technologies are past around as a commodity. This means you're likely to find the same type of technology through-out all of Tera, with a few exceptions. The first being that the steam-punk influenced tech is reserved to a specific nation. Experimental siege weaponry such as any variants of catapults and battering rams are far more prevalent in the western continent, while experimental magic based weaponry are more prevalent in the eastern continent. This divide of more engineering type weaponry to the west and magic oriented weaponry to the east is growing thicker and thicker as more inventions are created during the war.[/hider][/hider]
[hider=Diplomacy]
[i]Current W.I.P.[/i]
There are eight nations that exist, previously there were eleven, however, particular events have resulted in the total break down and assimilation of three nations into their surrounding neighbours.[/hider]
[hider=Magic]
Magic in Tera is a pretty simple and versatile system, in the context of the world of Tera, combat oriented magic is a relatively new thing. Very basic damaging spells have always existed, however, they are hardly fatal and there was never a necessity for them as there is in Tera now. For this reason, nearly all combat oriented magic was designed to be used with a casting medium, it seemed impractical to dedicate yourself to mastering a basic fireball or cutting blast without the use of a casting medium. Combat mages are considered to be somewhat rare and very valuable as a military asset, often being given higher ranks for merely knowing combat magic. There are three magic systems that exist in Tera.
[hider=Systems]
A magic system is centred more on the means of how a spell is cast rather than the final product, the first and most common system is the mana pool magic system. A Mage's mana pool is somewhat like a muscle, use and mastery of magic expands a persons mana pool, allowing them to cast more powerful spells. The next system is commonly found in the Tundra Terrans and is extremely hard to master, it draws a different form of mana from the world around you thus, these spells can be used endlessly. However, strength and power of a spell is subject to ones environment and only elemental spells can be cast through this means, if there is no body of water around you, a water or ice spell will draw on moisture in the atmosphere and be quite weak, ect. magic used with this system is considered to be crude and unrefined. The final system makes use of a persons stamina rather than their mana, the type of magic used through this system is very raw and often uses the entire body itself as a medium, this is the most dangerous form of magic as a mistake can cause severe damage to a persons body. Magic used through this system is often inaccurate and it is extremely hard to control just how much power a spell will have.[/hider]
[hider=Casting Medium]
Thinking of a casting medium as a bow and your spell as the arrow, using a casting medium it is a lot easier to refine, control and direct magic as mana becomes unstable when bought into the real world. A casting medium also ensures no damage is done to your body if a spell should back-fire or suddenly fluctuate out of control. Certain types of casting mediums, such as wands or staffs made out of specific minerals, can add an additional affect to spells as well.[/hider][/hider]
[hider=Artefacts]
Artefacts are the subject of much debate in Tera and have been known to exist as long as recorded history itself. They come in many shapes and sizes, with different uses. Some are quite bland in nature, capable of only simple convinces, while others have the power to destroy entire civilizations. Extremely rare, artefacts are often confiscated by the military when found, but if you are able to get your hands on one, there exists those willing to pay mass amounts of wealth for them.[/hider]

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[h2][b]Runic Letters[/b][/h2]
Welcome to Runic Letters, your bread and butter in Tera's current chaotic state. After the series of events that killed millions and destroyed the nations of Ru'uk, Val and Terinthia, the Runic Letters guild served as an extremely important means of establishing contact between warring nations to form an agreement that would ensure that such devastating weapons would not be used again without swift and dire circumstances. It was also at this time that the Runic Letters guild started to make a name for itself on a global scale, this drew in members from all over Tera big and small, weak and strong and the guild master found a place for them all, establishing safe local mail routes within cities and towns all over the world. However, Runic Letters most recent fame has come from the elite members tasked with international and long distance deliveries and pick-ups, these members are known only as 'Torn Envelopes', a title given to them to signify both the importance of their job as letter carriers and the danger that their job entails.

As a Torn Envelope(colloquially referred to as T.E.) whether or not you can handle yourself in a battle isn't even a question that warrants an answer. The legend of a T.E.'s strength, although quite embellished, is what has primarily drawn such fame the Runic Letters. But they are by no means the worlds strongest, and there is a lot of room to grow. Recently three T.E. each on separate missions, were found dead and their belongings stolen, because of this the guild master as started to group members up for their missions while encouraging an emphasis on teamwork. This new work ethic hasn't garnered much favour but it's a rule that the guild master refuses to budge on.

[b]Stamps & Delivery Tiers[/b]
TBA

[b][h2]Character Sheet[/h2][/b]
[code][b]Name:[/b]
[b]Age:[/b] (Try and keep it above 16 unless you can justify any younger with your background and/or abilities/skills)
[b]Gender:[/b]
[b]Race:[/b]
[b]Height/Weight:[/b] (Use your own preferred units, the average height of western race is roughly 188cm(~6'), average height of eastern race is roughly 165cm(~5'5"). Weight is more subjective.)
[b]Appearance>Physical:[/b] (Specific details about your body, including scars and markings.)
[b]Appearance>Attire:[/b] (Currently there is no Runic Letters uniform, only a silver badge. So plan your own attire and ensure the badge is somewhere visible.)
[b]Abilities/Capabilities:[/b] (If you have a unique ability, such as something you gained through a blood-line or event, list it here. Or/also list your level of use with magic in general.)
[b]Preferred Weapon/s:[/b] (What do you know how to use?)
[b]Owned Weapon/s:[/b]
[b]Magic:[/b] (Just jot down what magic system you use, if any at all. The different systems are; 'Mana', 'Primal' and 'Stamina'.)
[b]Fighting Style:[/b] (How do you use the information above in battle? Primarily ranged combat? Do you prefer melee? ect.)
[b]Guild Standing:[/b] (How long have you been with the guild? What is your standing with the guild? e.g. are you distant from the other members or perhaps a popular figure/idol for the guild.)
[b]Bio:[/b]
[b]History:[/b]
[b]Other:[/b] (Anything else you feel may be worth mentioning.)[/code]
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