AGE OF DAWN: The current age, currently in its 56th year. It is a time of adventure and strife, when every man is a warrior, and every warrior is a king.

AGE OF MYTH: The earliest known age, when the Old Gods were said to have ruled the world, and magic last reigned supreme. Legend holds that it came to an end as Atlantis sunk into the sea, and the Old Gods vanished among the stars.

AGE OF STEEL: The previous age, when great and mighty empires dominated the world, and men fought ceaseless wars for gold and glory.

ALCHEMY: The Divine Craft. Through the practice of alchemy, one can create many wondrous and miraculous substances and materials. A difficult and exclusive trade, the Alchemist Guilds of the Age of Steel guarded their secrets jealously and kept their ranks exclusive. In the Age of Dawn, with so much knowledge lost and so many masters dead, alchemy is a dying practice. The few remaining practitioners are desperate to keep their knowledge from being lost. Of the major powers in the Iron Kingdoms during the Age of Steel, the Kingdom of Thule's alchemists were masters of fire and lightning, crafting great artifices of explosive warfare. Atlantean alchemists were metallurgists without compare, the only known crafters of Orichalcum. The alchemists of Iiram were chemists foremost, crafts of balms and poisons alike.

ATLANTEAN EMPIRE: Once the mightiest nation in Borea, the Sons of Atlantis were already well into decline before the Years of Dusk. A proud race of scientists, artists and philosophers, they claim their ancestry from the Dragon-Kingdom of Atlantis, which sank into the sea at the end of the Age of Myth. In the early years of the Age of Steel, the Atlanteans conquered vast swaths of Borea, seeding their culture into the indigenous peoples of the land. For thousands of years thereafter, the Atlantean Empire waxed and waned with the moon; its borders grew and receded against the barbarous lands of Hyperborea and Lemura, the hellish landscape of Kush, and the mighty empire of Iiram. However, five centuries ago, a great insurrection took place as the Borean peoples of the North rebelled against their oppressive conquerors. The Atlanteans, grown soft from political corruption and complacency, were unable to quell the rebellion, and so the Kingdom of Thule wrenched free from the grasp of their empire.

In the Years of Dusk, the Atlantean Empire collapsed utterly from a series of assassinations against its royal family and nobility, as well as numerous simultaneous insurrections within its ancient poleis. It is believed that a radical political group or cult of some means was responsible for this, possibly wielding the power of dark sorcery to accomplish its goals. The truth lies with the bones of the Wise Kings of Atlantis.

ATLANTEAN OCEAN: The great body of water to the West of Borea. Across it lie the Obsidian Kingdoms, from which no Borean explorer has ever returned. It is said that the ruins of Atlantis rest somewhere along the ocean's floor.

BOREA: Also known as the Iron Kingdoms, these are the civilized lands of the West. Ancient forests, fertile riverlands and sloping mountain ranges cover the temperate land. Its peoples range from the tanned and dark-haired men of the coast, to the fair-haired and blue-eyed men of the mountains, to the red-haired and pale men of the islands and the far north.

Ravaged by war, plague and corruption during the Years of Dusk, Borea is a dangerous place in the Age of Dawn. However, those who stand with strength against adversity are masters of their own destiny as they never were before.

CLAY KINGDOMS: A distant land of hot sand the color of blood, and dark-skinned men that paint themselves bone white. Known mostly through the lies and boasts of explorers and pirates, the Clay Kingdoms are home to strange peoples and even stranger creatures. It is said that the Clay Kingdoms never stay in one place, and that the island they lie on drifts through the sea like an impossibly massive beast.

HYPERBOREA: The land north of Borea, a harsh place of ice and stone, where great mountains loom beyond the clouds. The peoples of Hyperborea are cruel barbarians, known to the people of Borea only as raiders, rapers, thieves and pirates. Their dark sails and mighty longships are the bane of many Boreans; even a peaceful Northman is distrusted as a rule. The fiery red hair of the Hyperboreans is a mark often left on the villages they raid, and Boreans born with it are said to be unlucky or cursed, "Touched by the North."

In the Age of Dawn, numerous Hyperborean enclaves are left behind throughout Thule and Atlantis following their invasion in the Years of Dusk. The Scourge of Nemedia seems to affect the Northmen even more strongly than most, as there are many mutants among their number. Even so, those tainted by the Scourge are brought into battle as terrible beasts of destruction. Hyperborean shamans wield dark and disturbing magics, and pray to strange powers. It is said that at certain hours of twilight, mysterious lights can be seen dancing in the skies over Hyperborea.

IIRAM: A vast and ancient empire, Iiram traces its history back well before the Age of Steel. The supposed founders of Iiram were god-kings that wielded power unimaginable, commanded vast armies of slaves and built towering monuments to their own magnificence. Many thousands of years have passed since this allegedly divine founding, after after many regime changes, the nation barely resembles its original form. Though it was one of the largest empires during the Age of Steel, the majority of its territory was empty desert. Its borders stretched from the Iron Kingdoms, across the Sand Kingdoms, edged into the Ivory Kingdoms, and ended in the East in the Jade Kingdoms. Iiram accrued vast wealth from the ownership of trade routes across the deserts of the Sand Kingdoms, which was then put to forming vast armies of slaves and mercenaries to protect its borders and cities from opportunists such as Lemurians and Atlanteans. Its alchemists mastered the arts of transmutation and medicine, culminating in their creation of the Philosopher's Stone, a relic now lost to the Years of Dusk.

In the Years of Dusk, the "silk and spice" armies of Iiram finally failed it, as their hordes of eunuchs and prisoners could not stand against the fury of the united Lemurian tribes. Its peoples were slaughtered and its cities were sacked, their ancient civilization destroyed in a just a few short years. Before the Lemurians could continue their campaign of destruction into Borea, the mighty warlord that united them fell ill and died, and the united tribes dissolved from infighting.

IRON KINGDOMS: These are the lands North-East of the Sand Kingdoms, comprised of fields, mountains and forests in such regions as Borea, Hyperborea and Lemuria. Its people are fair in color and known for their love of warfare and quest to build ever greater and more dominant empires.

IVORY KINGDOMS: The lands south of the Iron Kingdoms and the Sand Kingdoms, called Kush by the Atlanteans. A tropical land of desert, grassland and jungle, its people are dark of skin and hair and are fierce warriors. Many hundreds of tribes and peoples inhabit the Ivory Kingdoms, most bearing ancient grudges and rivalries with their neighbors. Though they clash often, conflicts between competing tribes shed little blood, as they prefer to trade goods or servitude over lives. Mighty and fearsome beasts stalk the land, and the peoples of the Ivory Kingdoms have grown fearsome by surviving in their harsh homeland and hunting these terrible creatures.

JADE KINGDOMS: The lands at the Easternmost end of the world, known for their secrecy and strange customs. The people of the Jade Kingdoms are golden-skinned and dark-haired, having ruled over their land of misty mountains and steamy jungles for time immemorial. Little is known about the Jade Kingdoms, as their secretive and distrustful of outsiders. However, they trade frequently with the Iron Kingdoms, offering such goods as silk, rare herbs and spices, and even austere mercenaries brandishing long, curved blades. It is said that the people of the Jade Kingdoms practice strange alchemies, and that the secrets of magic were never lost to them.

KINGDOM OF THULE: The youngest nation in the Iron Kingdoms, Thule occupies the central and Northern lands of Borea, and is comprised mostly of the ethnic Borean people. After seceding from the Atlantean Empire, the Thule established their own system of governance, preferring an oligarchy of noble electorates and a constitutionally-appointed king over the authoritarian monarchy of Atlantis. The kingdom embraced the ancient cultures of its peoples, which had for so long been trodden upon by the imperialistic Atlanteans. No longer constrained by the empire, their artists and scientists made great strides forward, as they discovered explosive black powder through alchemy, and incorporated it into their mighty armies. However, as Thule grew in power and population, and came to clash against the barbarians of the north, many of the freedoms it had fought to attain were sacrificed to better defend their homeland. By the Years of Dusk, the king of Thule had assumed direct control over his electorates, and so the kingdom had become just as harsh a regime as the masters it once fought against.

In the Years of Dusk, Thule was ravaged by a plague known as the Scourge of Nemedia, named after the capital province of the kingdom from whence it originated. Corpses filled the streets and the stench of death floated over the entire nation. The Scourge brought a fate worse than death to some, twisting them into insane, animalistic monstrosities. With so many dead, the kingdom's powerful armies were too thinly spread to fend off the following invasion of Hyperboreans, whose marauders put the final nail in the coffin of the nation. Rather than totally dissolve, Thule fragmented between its provinces and noble electorates, thus breaking down into numerous small, weak kingdoms that in the Age of Dawn are constant, bitter rivals.

LEMURIA: The vast and cold steppes and grasslands to the North-East of Borea, Lemuria is home to yet more savage and fearsome barbarians. As the soil is much too poor for agriculture, most Lemurians took up lives as nomads, herding sheep and goats across the plains and bluffs or hunting the great elk and wild ponies of the land from horseback. Many tribes made up the disparate Lemurian people, from the mounted Kozaki raiders to the wolfmen of Hyrkania.

Some years before the outset of the Years of Dusk, a mighty warrior rose among the Lemurians, of such power and reverence that his name is not spoken among them to this day. He met with many other tribes, and either impressed them with his skill in battle, or destroyed them with that same prowess. In time, he amassed the greatest army that the Iron Kingdoms had ever seen, uniting the Lemurian tribes like no man before or since. As the Years of Dusk began, he took his mighty army and brought ruin to Iiram, crushing its armies of slaves and sellswords, and stealing the fathomless wealth of the Sand Kingdoms for himself. However, the conquest of the Lemurians ended before their could bring the same fate to Borea as the warlord caught the Scourge of Nemedia and perished. His sons and generals fought over who would succeed him, and his army quickly fell apart and dispersed across the Iron Kingdoms.

MAGIC: The Power of the Gods. A force not seen in the world since it supposedly vanished at the end of the Age of Myths, magic is poorly understood by the people of the Iron Kingdoms. Those who wield it in the Age of Dawn vary wildly, from naturally-talented sorcerers, to wizards that have studied ancient relics of arcane knowledge, to mad warlocks of some dark inspiration. Regardless, the reality-bending, otherworldly power of magic is not to be trifled with. It is an unpredictable and generally dangerous force, and few who come to wield its power do so with any restraint or responsibility. As such, mages in Borea are usually distrusted at best, and killed on sight at worst.

MUTANT: Those afflicted by the Scourge of Nemedia in the worst manner possible come to be known as Mutants, the Tainted or Beastmen. The plague has twisted their flesh into obscene and unnatural shapes, and stripped them of their sanity. Mutants often take on the traits of animals, such as horns, claws, fur or hooves, and some grow to tremendous sizes and unnatural strength. Most roam Borea in barely-cohesive packs, venting their primal furies on any bastions of civilization they come across and consuming human flesh whenever possible. Hyperboreans pride any Mutants among their ranks, wielding them like war-beasts and sending them into battle.

OBSIDIAN KINGDOMS: The distant lands across the Atlantean Sea, very little is known about the Obsidian Kingdoms, as no explorer has ever made land there and returned. From what can be observed from the coast, the land is highly volcanic, with ash clouds turning the sky a ruddy orange, and thick jungle dominates the landscape. Strange creatures can be seen prowling the treeline, and some maddened explorers have even claimed to have seen feathered serpents sailing through the sky. Whatever people may lurk in the Obsidian Kingdoms, they are either inhumanly fearsome, or uncannily cunning.

OLD GODS: The Old Gods were said to have ruled the world in the Age of Myths, and wielded such power that no mortal man could ever stand against them. Even so, legend holds that they had great adversaries in their kingdom in the stars, whose great evil sank Atlantis and split apart the kingdoms of the world to float on the seas. The Old Gods disappeared among the stars as the Age of Myths ended, vanishing with them the power of magic from the world. Their individual identities have been forgotten by the millennia, and their worship has been supplanted in every corner of the known world. Even so, rumor holds that as the Age of Dawn grows, the Gods regain their strength and will return to their starry kingdom.

SAND KINGDOMS: The land between the Iron Kingdoms and the Jade Kingdoms, North of the Ivory Kingdoms. The Sand Kingdoms are a vast expanse of dust, stone and sand, buffeted by wind and scorched by the sun. The people of the Sand Kingdoms are swarthy of skin and dark of hair, wear great robes to protect themselves from the sun and sand, and live along the fertile banks of the region's rivers or along its cliffs and caves. For thousands of years the desert peoples have studied alchemy, astronomy and mathematics, and have erected mystifying structures in the sands of their homelands. Though they are a genial people, eager to trade and share with outsiders, a region with such a long history leads to many grudges held. Bitter, bloody war of centuries-old transgressions is common among the Sand Kingdoms; the insurmountable pride of its people only worsening the harsh conditions of living in such a barren land.

SCOURGE OF NEMEDIA: A mysterious plague the emerged in the capital province of Nemedia in the Kingdom of Thule. It spread through the land like wildfire, killing a fifth of the population with rapidly-developing, cancerous growths. Another fifth of the population suffered a worse fate than painful death. Their bodies and minds were twisted until they were no longer human, but instead beastial, blood-crazed Mutants. During the Years of Dusk, families would quickly kill the infected to avoid the risk of mutation, and then promptly burn the bodies. In the Age of Dawn, only the vestiges of the Scourge remain, as Mutants carrying the disease can spread the foul miasma to the uninfected, enforcing the vitality of burning the bodies of slain Beastmen.

ULTIMA THULE: A relatively large island off the coast of Borea, in the first centuries of the Age of Steel the Atlanteans settled the land and built great fortresses and cities in its hilly forests and rugged highlands. The Atlanteans claim that the island was already inhabited when they arrived, by Giants no less, which they slew until none remained. After the Rebellion of Thule, the armies of the Kingdom of Thule took over the garrisons and cities of Ultima Thule, incorporating it into their newfound empire.

Following the Years of Dusk, there has been no contact from the inhabitants of Ultima Thule, and those who have made land there have not returned. Boats near the coast sometimes report great, stone structures that had not been present previously being visible, but these claims are rumor at best.

YEARS OF DUSK: The end of the Age of Steel. Ten years of war, plague and corruption that began with the first reported contraction of the Scourge of Nemedia, and ended with the assassination of the King of Atlantis. In merely ten years, the three seemingly-immortal empires of Altantis, Iiram and Thule were crushed, never to rise again. However, as night is darkest just before the dawn, and so the Age of Dawn has risen.

None yet!

Short and simple here.

Respect your fellow players, both IC and OOC.

Understand that the GM's word is final, though I'm willing to compromise where I can.

Communicate and cooperate with everyone in the RP to the best of your ability.

Be creative, and make an effort at crafting a quality story.

Maintain a standard of posting frequency, or let us know if you're having difficulty keeping up or if issues arise.

Feel free to ask questions, share ideas or voice your concerns.

Have fun!

Name: Fantastic is fine, but try not to make it too outlandish. Use some basic etymology here.

Age: 66 at the very oldest. This is important. Use your common sense for the lower limit.

Gender: ヽ༼ຈل͜ຈ༽ﾉ

Appearance: What do they look like? A description is fine, but if you want to supply an image, I do not want photographs, or artwork that is overly stylized.

Personality: Give me a general idea. A paragraph or two, I don't need a super-deep psychoanalysis. Again, try to maintain a general level of realism and logic here.

History: Where are they from? What have they done in life? Why are they such a crazy badass? This is an important section, and probably requires some worldbuilding. Discuss things with me so we can make sure everything fits in with the setting!

Journey: Here's where things get interesting. Your character has an agenda: what is it? Where are they going in life?

Ideals: What concepts does your character value or embody? Feel free to get somewhat abstract here.

Holdings: What does your character have to their name? A sword? A horse? A homestead? A manservant? A kingdom? Tell me about it, but don't give me an inventory list. Give me a general idea.

Feel free to add on whatever else you want, and stylistically format as necessary.

Name: Desmond

Age: 15

Gender: Male

Appearance:

Personality: Desmond is sociopath with no understanding of human emotion, and lacks any feeling of empathy. He would double cross and lie to anyone for his own selfish gain. Desmond feels superior to almost all around him, and those his considers a threat to him he harbors a vast hatred for.

He has very adept intelligence and is capable of outwitting almost every opponent he faces, hatching plans within plans to seal their fate with death's embrace. If he cared to do so he would make a brilliant strategist or general though he lacks leadership qualities.

History: Desmond was only a baby when his village was torn apart and burned to the ground by a large group of marauders, resulting in him being taken to refugee camp during infancy. From the time it took for a newborn child to mature into a four year old, the group of refugees had transformed their lowly camp into small collection of straw houses that could loosely be called a settlement. Around fifty people resided in the houses all together, and they were about as closely knit as you could get. Desmond was friends with few other small children in the settlement; but in particular a boy named Edward. Desmond and Edward had alot in common, they were both among the strongest and fastest out of the children, they both enjoyed the same games, they got along quite well; even if Desmond was a little rough sometimes.

Edward and Desmond developed into something you might call partners in crime as they got a little older, they'd always be the perpetrators of minor crime around the now small hamlet, The two ten year old boys became rather infamous around the village as troublemakers.

Things began to change though, the boys were always told never to leave farther than eye sight of the village by the Elders; who knew what was beyond the treeline of the village was nothing good. But Desmond didn't care much for the orders of some old man, and he snuck out of the village during the late hours of night to explore the small forest just beyond the village. The sights he saw were strange and exciting, and he lost track of time. He had to rush back inn order to climb into bed before first light.

He got better at doing these nighttime trips, which was basically a necessity for a habit he had developed; killing small animals. He didn't really know how to explain it, even to himself. But he had a need for control and power, and with no other way to feel that; this was his solution. It got to a point where he was daring the trips during the day, all the while lying about where he was going. Desmond had gotten very good at lying after a few tries at it, it just came very easily to him. He even managed to keep this a secret from Edward, managing very convincing lies to cover his tracks.

This continued on for a number of years, and Desmond began to notice that he was different than all the other people in his village. He would see them smile or laugh, and wonder how it might feel to experience that. Whenever he was put into a situation where he was supposed to be happy or sad, he would just fake the feeling for appearances. He concluded that something must be wrong with the villagers, because he was obviously superior to them. Desmond felt that he was smarter than anyone in the settlement, and that he was capable of far more. He began killing bigger animals in the forest, sometimes things as big as a deer. He had been given a small blade by an elder on his fourteenth birthday which was a tradition within the village walls, and that's what he used to satisfy his urge to feel control and superiority.

Edward began to feel suspicious of Desmond's behavior around the time they were fifteen, Desmond would often leave his responsibilities to take a trip outside the village. Few seemed to notice or care, but Edward decided to follow him on one of his departures.

Desmond walked through the forest, looking for something to kill. He stalked around for a few minutes, letting his keen senses search for something worthy of him. Finally he saw the fur of a doe through the foliage and set his sights on it, Edward watching from behind a nearby tree. Once Desmond caught the doe, he struggled to tie it down and keep it secure before pulling out his blade from inside his cloak. To Edwards horror, Desmond began torturing the animal. It didn't take long for Edward to reveal himself to stop the animals suffering.

Upon realizing that someone had been eavesdropping on his private ritual, Desmond felt exposed and infuriated; one of the only times he's really felt anything at all. Desmond slashed at his friend before Edward could even defend himself, and his guts spilled onto the forest floor. Desmond had never felt so alive in his life, the feeling of power that he experienced was thoroughly addictive. He simply left the body in the woods since everyone in the village was too scared to venture much farther than the walls.

Desmond knew it was only a matter of time before someone noticed Edwards disappearance and he was tired of the close minded, primitive attitude of the village elders. That night he gathered all he had and placed it into a rucksack, Donned his cloak, strapped his sword on, and heading back through the woods and past his former friend's corpse. But this time he didn't turn back.

Holdings: Desmond has a shortsword and a black travelers cloak, basic food and water, and a small ring taken from the body of Edward.

Journey: Having just recently left his restricting village, Desmond's current goal is to travel around the land and discover what the real world is really like. Although his first priority is finding somewhere to temporarily stay.

Ideals: Desmond embodies control and greed, he is a self motivating individual who doesn't rely on the values of comradeship or support; in fact he believes in nihilism. His view on life puts its value at almost worthless, it's only use being his plaything.

Name:
Marcus 'the Bastard' Ausarn

Age:
27

Gender:
Male

Appearance:
Marcus is of above-average height and average weight, and reasonably fit. His eyes are a light gray, his hair jet-black and close-cropped. He maintains a short and well-trimmed beard, and a smirk is almost ever-present on his face.

He commonly wears a simple surcoat over a thin, light coat of chain mail. From his belt, an arquebus and shortsword hang side-by-side.

Personality:
Marcus is outgoing and extroverted, with charm and persuasion coming easily to him in a way that blades and bows never truly did. While many favor their sword-arm as their most important skill, and some few their brain, Marcus's greatest skill has always been his tongue -- able to speak his way out of almost any predicament, easy to trust, easy to believe and easy to follow.

That is not to say that eloquent words are the entirety of Marcus's personality. He is somewhat hot-headed at times, easy to anger but just as easy to calm. More pertinently, he is plagued by ambition in the more archaic sense -- greedy, cunning and sometimes immoral. Marcus often tries to maintain a basic moral code, and generally succeeds, but is not above breaking these morals to get what he feels that he needs.

History:
Marcus was born in a perhaps particularly interesting social position -- the acknowledged bastard son of the last constitutionally-appointed King of Thule, in the years just before the great Addam Ausarn was felled in battle by the barbaric northmen, and the throne was seized by a much more pragmatic king -- one who would erode away all that Thule had stood for in the years before the Dusk Age.

Despite the hesitant affirmation of fatherhood that King Ausarn had granted, Marcus's mother was still a relatively impoverished merchant's daughter, and thus his early life was rather dreary -- particularly with the ever-looming threat of a Hyperborean sack of the capital and the first stirrings of some strange plague in the sewers and gutters of the capital. As the barbarian raids grew ever closer food became more and more scarce, until on a few occasions the young Marcus was forced to beg or steal if he wished to eat.

When he finally came of age, Marcus enlisted as a soldier -- primarily to get some food in his stomach and to avoid the plague, but also because it was the rumor that the King was seeking to root out and eliminate his remaining political opponents -- among them, perhaps, the last king's bastard and his claim, however flimsy, to the throne. It was well known in those days that to do so would be something of a death-wish, as the Hyperboreans grew ever more numerous and cunning, but it was a necessity. Marcus proved a decent soldier but a very adept persuader, and with the right combination of flattery, cunning and boot-licking, he rose to a position of moderate renown.

In the end, though, the powerful gunpowder weapons of Thule proved to be too little against the savages from the north, and in a final battle the nation's amassed army -- among them Marcus -- was scattered to the wind. Many small groups were picked off by roaming packs of beast-men, the result of the ever-growing Scourge, but Marcus managed to make his way to a nearby village with a small group of loyal men and find shelter.

In time, he came to learn that mighty Thule had been shattered entirely, its vassals splintered into petty and warring nation-states. It was then that Marcus realized the power he might potentially wield -- under a particularly charismatic face, a face like his but perhaps a bit better-washed, the remaining nobles of the realm might be persuaded to unite once more to reestablish the old constitution and defeat the Hyperboreans.

There were other tasks to be undertaken first, of course. Markus spent several years performing odd-jobs in various villages in order to save up money for the ordeal he must soon undertake. Some of the tasks he undertook required a strong sword-arm, which Markus could do well enough in comparison to your average bandit or beast-man, but often Markus found himself able to persuade or intimidate his human enemies into giving in, whether by promising them a pardon for their crimes or promising the retribution that would soon be coming -- even when, often, there was neither a pardon or any other retribution in sight.

As time passed, then, Markus became better and better at the bluffs and deceiving truths and persuasions. He found that he had a natural skill for inspiring courage -- or fear -- and convincing people to do what he said, perhaps inherited from the lordly father that he idolized but had never met. In addition, he accumulated more and more gold -- enough, eventually, to trim his beard, purchase a suit of chain-mail and a surcoat and a destrier, and ride boldly up to the portcullis of the nearest lord to introduce himself as the acclaimed Bastard of Ausarn, rightful heir and only son of the last good king of Thule.

Journey:
Markus's rather lofty goals are to unite the people of Thule, cleanse the nation from savages and plague, and reestablish the old constitution -- under his own benevolent rule, of course.

Ideals:
Markus perhaps embodies the quintessential robber-knight, though he is neither robber nor knight -- a bit unkempt and rough around the edges, perhaps lacking in morals, but with a certain amount of charm and eloquence that allows him to rise high in the world.

A part of Markus also idolizes the potentially-exaggerated view of his father, often seen as the last great king of Thule -- chivalrous, fearless, and honorable. Markus, of course, is none of those, but he often compares his own actions, many of them out of necessity or simple greed, to that of this idealized king and parent that he never knew. Another part, of course, wishes to step out from the shadow of his long-late father and build glory of his own.

Holdings:
On his person, Markus owns a coat of chainmail armor, a well-cleaned if old and battered full helm with visor, an arquebus, a shortsword, and a number of small purses of gold -- as well as a few coins sewn about in his boots and the lining of his clothing. He is also in the possession of an impatient and ill-tempered jet-black war horse and various minor personal affects.

Name:Over-Tyrant Khalaevna, Tradequeen of Mourslev.

Age: 23

Gender: Female



Appearance: Before becoming Tradequeen, Khalaevna was a relatively small girl, with a slightly stocky frame and messy tangles of chocolate brown hair. Having over-indulged on a life of wealth and splendour, the young woman has gained a softer, more broad form. She has a noticeable fleshiness to her, with wide hips and a large stomach. Hair dark tresses are intertwined with gold braids, and expensive jewelry coats her body.

Personality: Fueled by rage, desire, hatred, and a temper without bounds, Khalaevna is a force to be reckoned with. She revokes the traditions and conventions of old, and has no care for out-dated principles. Her motivation is her own personal gain, and nothing else. takes priority over it.

History:

Stretching out over the frozen plains which ran between Hyperborea and Lemuria, The Thalzamarian Empire extended across the north east provinces, and was wrought of some of the fiercest warriors and sorcerers to ever walk the realm. A broken Imperial kingdom, in its final years the Empire was ruled over by Tsar Viktar Ozlevskiy, the supposedly god-appointed emperor of all Thalzamaria.

The Empire traced its roots back to the northernmost reaches of the Kingdom of Thule, when the long dead Prince Grigorian adopted the faith of Mortaroth, much to the chagrin of the other nobles. In order to prevent a potential civil war, Grigorian and his followers succeeded from Thule, heading northwards into the frozen wastes beyond.

Thalzamaria developed a rich culture over the years, which suffered immensely at the hands of bloody wars and conflicts. The Empire endured, but in a much more weakened and barbarous state than its first incarnation. What little structure remained was but a poor imitation of the principles upon which the Empire was founded.



The dominant faith was that of Mortaroth, the Bear of the Night. The order of the Cleritari payed homage to Mortaroth, in vast palace-like churches all across Thalzamaria, and was composed of several different chapters.

The Red Cleritari- The High Priests and Priestesses of Mortaorth.

The Blue Cleritari- Occult sorcerers, and the royal order of magic users.

The Purple Cleritari- The lore masters, and keepers of ancient records.

The Black Cleritari- The solemn tenders of the dead.



The Thalzamarian military was composed of three chapters, each serving a different purpose.

The Inperiskiy- The rank-and-file soldiers, the Inperiskiy are built of conscripts, peasants, and lower ranking nobles.

The Voyagorodyen- Military-nobles, The Voyagorodyen are elite warriors who practice the ancient military code of Nytvoia, and value honour and loyalty above all else.The Voyagorodyen serve as generals within the Thalzamarian military, and comprise the Tsar and Tsarina’s personal bodyguard.

The Krovajhal- The covert branch of the Thalzamarian military, the Krovajhal are the elite spies and assassins who pledge their loyalty to the Tsar. A private mercenary order at the disposal of Thalzamarian nobility, these graceful killers are divided into several cults, each competing against one another.



Vicious barbarians from the desolate plains beneath Thalzamaria, the Konagu Horde was comprised of seasoned marauders from the inhospitable wastes of Olum.

The Konagu united beneath a single Qagan (the bloodthirsty warchief of the Horde), after the chosen champion of each Konagu tribe underwent a shamanistic ritual to determine who would be appointed leader. After the ritual, the Qagan and his or her blood relatives were imbued with the blessings of the Konagu Pantheon, and gained mastery of the Four Warrior Graces; Rage, desire, valor, and passion.

The Thalzamarians and the Konagu waged war on each other for many generations, with the warriors of Olum constantly launching invasion after invasion upon Thalzamaria. The Konagu’s divided nature and lack of proper tactics proved to be their undoing every time, as the Thalzamarians ultimately drove them back into their wasteland home.

It was when the Tsar Viktar came to power that the Konagu met its end, as the warrior emperor pressed the assault, and pursued the barbarian horde back into Olum itself, massacring man woman and child without the faintest hint of mercy.

The Tsar’s army stormed the Konagu capital, taking Qagan Ghal and his family prisoner, at Viktar’s command.

The public believed the Qagan and his kin to be dead, but Viktar had other plans, and kept them alive in secret. Having heard stories of the Four Warrior Graces, and the gifts that they imbued within their chosen, Viktar planned to breed with the Qagan’s wife, and create a Olevsky child with these blessings. He forced himself upon her, then, once she had bore him a daughter, had the whole family put to the sword.

In doing so, Viktar had evoked the wrath of the Konagu Pantheon, who bestowed the Tsar’s daughter with powers beyond that which he had bargained for.

The child princess Khalaevna was cursed with four malicious blights upon her soul. Her rage was wild and unruly, her desire uncontrollable. In valor’s stead was a zealous hatred, and in passions’ stead was a temper which knew no bounds.

The royal family, and a whole cohort of guards and tutors tried to control Khalaevna as she grew up, but soon it became apparent that all was for naught.

Abandoning her in the Shagora mountain range on her thirteenth birthday, the Tsar expected his daughter to perish in the snowy peaks. She survived, perhaps just to spite him.

After years of scavenging and scrounging just to stay alive, Khalaevna stumbled, weak and malnourished, upon the lair of the Trogoikos.

The Trogoikos were a species of gremlin-like cave-dwellers, exclusive to network of underground passages and tunnels inside the Shagora mountains. The rodents tried to swarm upon the weakened Khalaevna, but her rage and cruelty proved to be more deadly a weapon than their unmeasurable numbers.

Khalaevna carved through the Trogoikos nest, until she emerged out of the mountain, and wandered straight into a city-like camp which housed the remains of the Lemurian peoples, having settled in the northern peaks after their failed invasion of southern Borea.

The clansman set upon Khalaevna, but their leader, a chieftain named Carthain, intervened. He questioned the young woman, wanting to know how she had managed to somehow sneak past his guards and make her way into the camp undetected.

Khalaevna told Carthain about the Trogoikos tunnel network, and how it led out into the mountain passes beyond. Carthain explained to Khalaevna that the Trogoikos had been leading night-time raids on the Lumerian people since they migrated this far north, but that they had been unable to track them.

The young woman led Carthain and his barbarians through the underground passages, where they wiped out the Trogoikos with ease. Impressed by the young woman’s skill and cunning, Carthain offered Khalaevna a deal; guide the marauders of Lumeria through the mountain passes, help them take Thalzamaria by surprise, and Carthain would take her as his queen.

Khalaevna accepted.

The barbarian host slunk through the mountains, making their way through long forgotten passages and tunnels, until they were ready and poised for a full on invasion. They spent months toiling away within the comfort of their mountain home, crafting weapons, training soldiers, and building machines of war.

When the time was right, the Lumerians swept out right on top of Thalzamaria, and a bloody war broke out between the clansman of Lumeria and the Thalzamarian Empire.

The Thalzamarian military was spread too thinly across Thalzamaria, and by the time enough troughs had been recalled, the Hyperboreians had already reached the Empire’s capital of Razigram.

The Lumerians sacked the city, butchered the remaining royals, and pillaged the Imperial Palace.

The remaining might of the Thalzamarian Empire arrived at the city's gates, and it seemed as though chaos would ensue. Without a ruler, The Voyagorodyen requested to meet with Khalaevna, who was the only remaining heir to the throne.

With the fate of the empire up in the air, and the Lumerians destruction at the hands of the Thalzamarian military imminent, Khalaevna and the most prestigious members of the Voyagorodyen brokered an agreement.

Out of the ashes of both Thalzamaria and Lumeria came the Kingdoms of Mourslev; a fractured commonwealth of raider tribes and pirate fraternities. A fragile bond holds the Mourslevians in check, united by their mutual hatred of the rest of the world, and their lust for conquest. Elements of Thalzamarian and Lumerian culture survived the dissolution, coming together to form a semi-organized host of savage clans.

Once Khalaevna was wed to Carthain, she murdered him and proclaimed herself as the undisputed sovereign of her new people. Forsaking any kind of facade of nobility, Khalaevna name herself Over-Tyrant of all Mourslev, a title she still holds to this day, and has earned a hundred thousand times over with each wicked misdeed she commits.

Journey: Khalaevna has her eyes set firmly on the south, planning to march her newly assembled hordes down into the lands below, seizing as much loot as she can. The Over-Tyrant wishes to smash the southern kingdoms, and reforge the world in an image of her design. If the Age of Dawn is upon us, then Khalaevna would see it followed by an age of moral perversion.

Ideals: The young woman is motivated by wealth primarily, as well as the four curses which blacken her soul. Her desire knows no limits, and she’ll stop at nothing to get what she wants. The "blessings" bestowed upon her by the Pantheon imbue Khalaevna with an innate desire to spread hedonism and debauchery wherever she goes. She despises the values of polite society, and wants nothing more than to twist Borea into an image of decadent corruption.

Holdings: Khalaevna rules over the warring tribes of Mourslev, and has control over all trade routes running through her land. As Trade Queen, she’s privy to a vast horde of wealth and riches, and has the combined armies of the North Eastern clans at her disposal.

In battle, Khalaevna garbs herself in an imposing regalia of splendid metals, woven together with expensive furs. Her face is covered by a cold iron mask, carved in her own likeness, with sculpted steel hair cast over her shoulders, it's solid features firmly etched into the very helmet itself.

She wields the magic sword Zalewylch, a one-handed saber of blessed stone and arcane charms. Light and extremely durable, Zalewylch was forged from the prized minerals given to Khalaevna by her tribes in tribute.

Name: Emily Gehrman

Age: 22

Gender: Female

Personality: Emily is tough, sarcastic, and straightforward - at least when she's working. She has a sweeter, more compassionate side that she generally reserves for people she cares very much about, of whom there are few. To most people, she appears to care about only one thing - her job, which she pursues with ruthless efficiency. Emily is a hunter of monsters, primarily mutants, and there's pretty much no quarry she won't go after, however big or numerous, and she never gives up on a hunt. Overall, she's a fairly quiet, reserved person, her occasional bouts of anger whenever she perceives someone as being incompetent / willfully stupid or unhelpful notwithstanding.

History: Emily was born in a small village in the north of Borea - a town so beneath notice it barely had a name, being referred to by residents as 'the village' and by non-residents as 'where?'; though on a few maps it could be identified as being called 'Scahburg'. The soil wasn't great for agriculture, so the people of the village survived on woodscraft - hunting, foraging, fishing, and trading pelts or lumber with the occasional passing merchant. Emily was born the only child of the finest ranger in the village, heir to a legacy of woodsmen that stretched back for generations. Because he had no son to pass his teachings on to, her father taught her instead, and she learned from him how to hunt, track, travel, forage, and many other useful arts. All was quiet, for a time.

Then the plague came. The village had survived the Dusk Years largely intact, being by and large beneath the notice of any marching army. That changed, however, when a woodsman returned infected from a fateful encounter with a mutant. Isolated as they were, the folk of the village had little knowledge of how to combat a large outbreak, and as a result the plague spread like wildfire through the small town, mutating the townsfolk and making them savage one another. In barely a week, Scahburg went from a sleeply little village to a blood-stained ghost town haunted by monsters. The last two left alive were Emily and her father, who'd been able to barricade themselves in their home early on and so survive the onslaught - but when Emily's father began to feel the telltale signs of the Scourge, he left their haven and set himself ablaze rather than risk infecting his daughter. Emily was left alone.

She was deliberate, and methodical; she took her time. Over the next two weeks, Emily purged every mutant from the husk of her town, every monster that had once been a friend. She tangled them in nets, impaled them on fishing spears, she chopped them up with axes or cast them into firepits or shot them with her father's rifle. When it was done, she lit the entire village ablaze, and to this day only ashes remain.

Since then, she has wandered, sticking mainly in Borea where her prey runs thickest. She hunts the remnants of the Scourge, the mutant packs that still rampage in Borea - and she's gotten quite good at it, having refined her tactics and expanded her arsenal. Word has spread of her deeds, more tall tales than actual stories, of the girl with the crossbow and the hair like fire, who marches into the darkness to slay the monsters.

Journey: Emily's out to kill every single mutant she can find - she'd probably branch out into other supernatural horrors as well, if any came up. Her final goal is a world without monsters, though privately, she has no idea how she'd fit into such a world.

Ideals: Hunters, Independence, Courage, Cleverness, Determination, Humanity's inherent will to punch back against the darkness.

Holdings: Emily possesses an enormous arsenal of 'tools' for use in her hunts - various contraptions, potions, snares, traps, and anything else she thinks she might need, ever - miraculously, she manages to keep it all more or less organized and can find just about anything in a minute or two of rummaging. Her two main weapons are her father's large rifle, which she's had a variety of gunsmiths tinker with to improve its reload speed and firing power, as well as the springloaded blades she keeps in her right sleeve and on her left boot-heel; think Hidden Blades from Assassin's Creed, but slightly longer. She also has a horse, several saddlebags to carry everything, and a modest amount of money to her name that she's gained from reward money on particularly troublesome mutants. It's enough that she could live comfortably for a time, but it's no fortune, given how much of her income goes to purchasing the abovementioned hunting supplies.