The Absent King (Join Status: Full for now, but inquire if interested in waiting.)

The Absent King

The golden kingdom of Areta, shining jewel of the Eretolian deserts.

The Aretan Knights

“The king is missing, sir. He’s just gone.”

“Again?”

Four knights have been dispatched to search for the impudent King Alonso, a man-child who would rather run off and have adventures than rule a nation. Crowned at age 13, Alonso is Areta's beloved idealist leader, although the Court of Magistrates does most of the administration. The knights tracked him along the Neratine River, and have found that he is traveling with the Mummers of Merry Andrew, a troupe of elven actors, singers, and poets who perform from village to village.

Close on the king's trail, the knights have discovered that a hamlet near the Aretan border that has been burnt to the ground. It's the work of elves. Was it the Mummers? Seems likely. And if so, is their king an accomplice? Or a prisoner? 

The Ytharien

"He said the Aretan curs have his brother."

"What did you say?"

"I said we're going to get him back."

"Alan" has recently joined up with the Ytharien, an elven warband that has been moving between the border of Areta and Vicenna, leaving empty, burnt villages in its wake. They first pose as the Mummers of Merry Andrew, and delight a village with their stories and antics. At night, they return as marauders and force the villagers to flee. But even that is an act.

Led by an elf called Lothren, whose brother is currently in the Aretan prison, the Ytharien are on a mission. To ultimately save these villagers, they must be forced to flee into Areta. The Ytharien elves are not innocents, and their mission has been heavy handed. Lives have been lost, but Lothren claims it's for the greater good. Something much worse is on the horizon.

Recent Events

The Knights were camped in a hamlet, resting after some campfire stew, when a sinkhole suddenly opened beneath them. Now they have to run or, uh, die.

The Mummers are presently engaged in a raid on a village, which they're burning to the ground. This group is still active and full.

What I Need

Originally I started the RP with two groups: the knights and the mummers. Two of the Knights have stopped posting, so I need replacements. Your options are open here. Either you can begin as a Knight (Aretans Knights are generally racist, anti-magic, and loyal to the king), and I can retcon you into the party. Or we can discuss other options and figure out a way to ICly get you in on the next post. I'm open to about anything. I'm not trying to shape the parties any further at this point.

Name:
Age:
Gender:
Race:

Appearance: (No pic required. Please, no anime or photos, regular art is fine.)

Brief character concept:

History: (Optional, make it as short or long as you like.)

If you want to arrange anything special, let me know!

Lore Rundown

Nations

Areta

Ruler:
King Alonso vas Aretaeus

Population:
Large, and almost entirely human

Landscape: 
This monarchy dominates the Eretolian deserts, which span across over half of the continent. Most of Areta's civilization is found huddled around the desert's large sources of water, such as oases, rivers, and lakes. Its capital, Marion Bay, is a narrow, elongated city snaking along the oceanside coastline. 

This leaves huge stretches of uninhabited, and unforgiving land: rolling dunes, cracked earth, dusty steppes, and red canyons (which can actually be quite beautiful), with lots of hardy plant and animal life. No king's forests here, no king's deer to poach. Just lots of birds and lizards and maybe a dragon or two in the hundreds of square miles of uncontrolled terrain. It's all-you-can-eat if you can avoid dying from exposure or thirst.

The Eretol: (An addition by JulienJaden)
The Eretol are a nomadic people who wander the Eretolian deserts, largely surviving as facilitators of Aretan trade. Their presence in Eretolia predates the founding of Areta, so they consider themselves independent from the Aretan kingdom. Proficient as hunter-gatherers, they're commonly seen as parts of traveling caravans, especially those that don't follow the river roads.

Despite the Eretol's nationless philosophy, the monarchy considers the Eretol people to be Aretan citizens, and therefore King Alonso's subjects. This sometimes leads to the Eretol being considered rebels, which has historically resulted in violence between Aretan forces and Eretol tribes. If the Eretol are complicit when commanded, they can usually avoid bloodshed.

Quick History:
Marion Bay was named after Queen Marion, the first crowned monarch of Areta. King Alonso was preceded by his father, King Leonard, who was preceded by his father, King Hubrach.

Hubrach was a tyrannical dictator. Those close to him could see he was a lunatic, but dared not say so. Hubrach's father was an effective, but hard ruler as well, but it seemed as though he tried to surpass him in every wicked, conceivable way. Even now, decades after his death, his name remains a shadow in Aretan history. He died before his grandson was born, much to the relief of his subjects. There are stories abound of his atrocities. This was when the conflicts with Vicenna arose. Hubrach threatened invasion, but lacked the military force to see it through.

His son Leonard was a startlingly gentle man, which many attribute to his nurturing mother. He healed Areta's unrest and became much loved by his people. Despite this, he was still an awful king, terrible at administration. This was when the Court of Magistrates began to shine, serving their king by applying their talents where he could not. Under the Court, they repaired foreign relations and restored much needed trade to the desert regions, utilizing the Eretol people (some would say exploiting them).

The country wept along with Alonso when Leonard died relatively young, like his father before him. Alonso is much like Leonard was, and has become the heart and soul of Areta. Still a lousy, irresponsible ruler, but admiringly honest and good. To a fault, many would say.

Vicenna

Ruler:
Prime Minister Canden Solus and the Viceni Ministry

Population:
Moderately populated, mostly human, some dwarves in the mountainous areas. The dwarves are self ruling.

Landscape: 
Sandy borders give way into cooler, rockier terrain as the land spreads north. Beyond deciduous forests and open farmland forests lies the mountainous terrain famous for housing the Viceni dwarves. Probably lots of huge lakes too, why not. I’m sure it’s gorgeous.

Viceni Dwarves:
A predictably boisterous people who coexist peacefully with the Viceni humans. The mountains are considered their territory, and the dwarven guard protect their own subterranean cities.

Quick History:
Developed along a shared timeline with Areta. Became noted for its powerful mages, and thus feared. They have a savage history of incredibly destructive wars, but with strict governance the nation brought itself under some measure of control.

Vicenna and Areta have been flirting with the idea of war for decades. It’s either going to come to a head or, hopefully, a peace treaty. If the king can get his freaking act together.

People

Humans:
Basic, standard humans. Come in all flavors. Lots of human nations around the world, with many different government types.

Elves:
Basic, standard elves. Light of build, graceful features, long-lived (let's say around 300-500 years). Age at the same rate as humans until about 20, and then they sort of plateau and age slowly over decades and centuries. Unlike humans, they tend not to gather in large nations, but in smaller, self-contained groups rarely surpassing a few hundred.

Fairly uncommon in Areta, as the desert is not their preferred terrain. 

Dwarves:
Basic, standard dwarves. Make them scottish if you want, or french if that's your fancy, I'm not picky. Almost never seen in Areta because they usually just live in the far off mountains. 

Other races:
More exist, but less is known about them. They'll be described as they appear.

Magic
Banned in Areta, for a number of reasons. Some consider it a perversion of nature, others blasphemy against god, and still others would compare it to juggling chainsaws if they knew what chainsaws were. It's dangerous, unnecessary, and difficult to control. It can give anyone absolute power over you, anyone. It's frightening and wrong.

If it bothers you, go ahead and pick a reason why. It would depend on how superstitious or practical you are. If it doesn't bother you, there are lots of reasons for that too. I'll let you decide what they are.

Magic is not taboo in Vicenna, but mostly because they're immoral, power-hungry reprobates. Elves can and do practice magic, but not to the same level of Viceni mages. For them it's supplementary, a convenience, and not a way of life.

OOC note: As for how magic casting works, for now that's up to whoever wants to use it. Be fair and reasonable, no godmodding. Avoid cliches like flying and mind control, and anything else that seems in poor taste or prone to creating plot holes.

Religion
Since I've mentioned god several times, I should say something about it.

Aretans are generally deists. Most people believe, some people don't. Some are crazy, some aren't, some are spiteful. It runs a predictable gamut. And we'll just leave it at that. I have no religious structure planned out, nor do I tend to create one.

The only reason for this is that I just want to be able to use familiar vernacular, like 'oh my god' or 'to hell with you' or like in the intro, 'for god's sake'—which is one of my favorites. This is purely so that story dialogue will have more organic and more genuine impact when I start shattering your characters' lives and destroying everything they love.

"Oh my gods" and "gods know" just don't sound the same, you know what I mean?

Primary NPCs

Name: King Alonso vas Aretaeus (alias Alan Moraby)
Age: 22 
Gender: Male
Race: Human

Appearance:
Sandy haired fellow of about medium height, not quite six feet. He’s pale for an Aretan and burns easily if he’s in the open sun too long. He wears an impeccably kempt, achor-style goatee because he thinks it makes him look older, but it mostly makes him seem a bit sketchy. His eyes are somewhere between gray and blue.

Since he’s been away from the castle for an impressive few weeks, his hair has grown a slightly long, enough to create irksome tufts near his ears, but honestly it kind of works for him. 

Even away from his royal throne, Alonso dresses in fine fabrics and looks every inch like nobility. But since he’s calling himself a mummer lately, it’s easier to overlook.

Brief character concept:
His list of virtues is easily as long as his list of flaws. Alonso is bursting with virtuous intentions, but doesn’t always see them through. He’s passionate, but flighty. Idealistic, but naive. Fearless, but supremely unwise. Above all, he believes in being true to himself, though  his sense of perspective could use a bit of correcting.

Alonso’s grandfather was a horrible man who grossly misused his power, but Alonso himself is a good man with all the same power, and no idea how to use it. His father was attentive and loving, but passed away too soon, leaving his son imbalanced and undisciplined. The potential is there for him to become a great man one day, but he has yet to outgrow his childish ways. 

He does dream of improving his country and serving his people. More than anything, he yearns to be a great king. Some day, he swears he’ll find out how to solve all of Areta’s worst problems and bring his country into an age of peace and prosperity, but he’s got a long way to go.

The Absent King is also known to be a bit of a rascal, with a preference for supremely expensive prostitutes from all over the world. Following a trail of suddenly wealthy whores is a sure way to track him down, if you know, you happen to be looking for him.

History:
I’ve pretty much explained enough, but I’ll reserve this section for past involvement with player characters.

Name: Captain Amon Serona
Age: 43
Gender: Male
Race: Human

Appearance:
The sort of man who would look alarmingly thin and average when seen out of his armor. Serona can wear a ferocious scowl when he chooses to, but he’s never far from a wry smirk. His features are sharp and intelligent, having become more pronounced and distinguished as his dark hairline has receded. 

Serona’s dark brown eyes have seen a little too much, and it shows, but retain a fatherly warmth instilled by his children and the love of a generous woman.

Brief character concept:
Serona has earned his position not only for his martial talents and leadership ability, but for his intuition. The Captain is a highly intelligent man who loves his king, and will do nearly anything to preserve order in Areta. He governs his men through displays of both power and respect—a sort of leader they seek to impress, but don’t want to waste his time.

Despite his sense of mercy and honor, Serona is not prevented from delegating to other Knights known for their extreme prejudices. As long as the Knights are effective without causing much of a mess, they’ll earn his favor.

History:
Amon was the fifth child of six, born into nobility. He and two of his brothers joined the Royal Knights upon reaching eligible age. One brother died in a Viceni incursion, and the other was crippled in a non-combat incident.

Serona achieved his rank shortly before the death of King Leonard. As a Knight, he has watched over Alonso since infancy. At one point, he was close personal friends with High Magistrate Harking, but that seems to have iced over in recent years.
The Absent King (Join Status: Full for now, but inquire if interested in waiting.)

Life in Stasis pretentious jerk

Errant Son Keep talking like it's a 미장원

Life in Stasis pretentious jerk

Life in Stasis pretentious jerk
