Can you guys just quickly skim through this and let me know if I'm onto something? A map will follow if what I've written is favorable. [@Leslie Hall], I've cast the Queen as a kind of "hand behind the throne" type, who either manipulates or empowers an impotent king. This is subject to change, with what you may have in mind on your part. I thought I'd better get something up though, to stir conversation if nothing else. EDIT: I've left things vague as to not suffocate the dark side characters - basically the ruling class of Celakor have allowed the evil camp to gain followers, which has in turn allowed them to sow their rebellion. [center][u][h1]The Kingdom of Celakor[/h1][/u][/center] [center][u][h2]Prelude to War[/h2][/u][/center] Oh my sweet Celakor! Long have you prospered; long have you existed under the umbrella of social cohesion and military prowess! Alas, all great things, no matter how big, and no matter how small, must come to their end. Years of unchecked bureaucracy and corruption have robbed the country of its honour. Decades of deceit and injustice have bankrupted its moral coffers. A thousand years of regional dominance threatened by the continuity of incompetent rulers. The world trembles at the darkness that such negligence has allowed to arise. Celakor's soldiers number in the tens of thousands. Her cities are large and productive; her rural communities fat and bountiful. However, under her gleaming skin there lurks dark innards made plump by the blood of the innocent. Men of strength hold all the power, and those who abide by the law are often left at the mercy of he who wields a sword, rather than the local magistrate. This is a practice that has evolved over centuries, and such injustices are now boiling into open revolt. King Oakenshield IV, distant offspring of Ferof Oakenshield - the Raider from Across the Red Ocean - has finally laid his scepter to rest, after the Gods cursed his heart to stillness one fateful Summer's night. His son? An impotent but well mannered boy of a mere 18 years, married to a woman who commands over him both in years and in wisdom. Their union was one of political convenience, but together, they are both wiser and kinder than any ruling king and Queen that has graced the throne in over the century. Alas, their arrival was too late to stem the tide of civil revolution! Villagers, townsfolk, slaves, bandits and beasts have unified in a loosely knitted alliance of common evil. Already the borderlands have fallen, gorged and rented by the hands of those who would murder to proclaim justice. Little does this alliance know, that it is being guided by greater beings who have arisen to prominance in Celakor's darkest hour. These beings are vile, disgusting creatures, long banished to the history tomes - but no longer! They now marshal themselves against the Kingdom, daring to undo a thousand years of peace! But perhaps, they should? The folk of Celakor barely fared well under the firm and corrupted rule of their own kind. Yes, better perhaps that another hand take the helm.... But no! Such evil cannot be tamed or reasoned with - it cannot be contained with petty victories or promises of compromise. The revolution taking place in Celakor is but a match light compared to the great fire that will ravage the entire world should it be left to flourish. And so, in their ascension to the throne, King Furlong the Unread and his Iron Queen [Name?], enter the fray at a pivotal moment in the world's history. The task falls to them to repair the injustice of a millennium, and also to quell the resurgence of an evil not seen in an age. ================== [b]Name:[/b] king Furlong the Unread [b]Age:[/b] 18 [b]Gender:[/b] Male [b]Race:[/b] Human [b]Side:[/b] Light, King of Celakor. [b]Weapons(s):[/b] [hider=The Sword of Celakor] An ancestral bastard sword capable of slicing through any material - no matter its magical components, divine blessings or otherwise. Originally called The Corrector, the Sword of Celakor gained life at the hands of the Elven smith Garandril Stormhammer, who crafted it during the Great Sky War eons ago. The Great Sky War was a battle between the children of the Gods, and their first born creations - the Elves. The Corrector was made from the bones of Impoter, the Demi-God of Destruction, and smelted in the fires of a now non-existent Mount Hellfire. Through a long winded combination of conveniences, it fell into the hands of Ferof Oakenshield, who used it smote the Necromancer Kings of the Far West - which then enabled him to mount his assault on the Kingdom of Celakor, resulting in his ascension to the throne some five centuries previous to the RP's start.[/hider] [b]Abilities/Powers:[/b] Divine Empathy; is able to see through the eyes of those he faces, as if he lived their lives. This is family trait of all those tied to the Oakenshield bloodline, and allows the user to understand without bias the view point of any person who cannot actively mask themselves from this power. It is the key to Celakor's longevity, allowing the Kings and Queens of her history to skillfully navigate diplomacy throughout the ages. [b]Talent(s):[/b] Expert orator, moderate swordsmen. [b]Personality:[/b] Fearful of death, strong of spirit, unusually wise for one so young but lacking the iron gut required to act upon it. [b]Biography:[/b] King Furlong the Unread began his life as Oliver Oakenshield, Crown Prince to the Kingdom of Celakor. Smothered by his mother's love, and spited by his father's iron, he lived his earlier years in a permenant state of inner conflict. Whilst his mother might praise him for reading half a library and making himself fluent in several languages, his father would punish him for holding an improper fighting stance. Where he would kill a criminal in place of the executioner, his father would cheer him on gleefully, but his mother would weep. As a result, King Furlong the Unread grew to be an indecisive, yet well intentioned individual. His ascent to the throne could not have come at a worse time however; for a weak hand on the Scepter of Celakor would certainly spell doom for a Kingdom fraught with the ghosts of its long living incompetence. Luckily, the Queen of Celakor is not so weak - and though she lacks the formal powers of the Crown, it is said that it is she who really leads the Kingdom, and she has many supporters amongst the commonfolk. However, the nobility frown upon this notion, and act to sabotage her at every turn. Therefore, King Furlong is constantly torn between listening to his beautiful queen, and his vassals. It is a political struggle that threatens to immobilize the country in its darkest hour. [b]Other Info:[/b] The King and Queen have no children; a fact often turned into insult by the King's critics regarding his sexual preferences or potency. Therefore, senior royal positions are taken by his step-brothers and uncles (or the female equivalents) - or high ranking nobles.