Where No Man Treads | Apocalyptic Dark Fantasy Western
The world of Terrene during the 6th century or as common folk referred to it as the Golden Age of Magic is a world domineered by mages. With their powerful sorcery, mages constructed kingdoms, imposed law and order on the land, and defended the life and liberty of the people residing under their rule. The success of the mages ushered humanity into their role as the dominant race upon Terrene. Unfortunately, the elves saw things differently. They believed humans to be cruel, arrogant creatures that relied on an otherworldly source of power. Magic is taboo to elves who believe that the practitioners of sorcery are dabbling in forces connected to Helheim—the realm of demons and the sinful dead. As guardians of Mydgaar—the Waking Realm or the realm of the living—the elves saw it as their duty to stop humanity's reliance on magic. Thus they declared war on the mages; one that lasted for nearly a century.
At the turn of the 7th century and nearing the war's end, the elves were on the cusp of victory. That is until their greatest fear came to fruition. An organization of mages known as the Umbral Order developed magic that allowed them to form rifts in the dimensional fabric and essentially create portals to Helheim. Using magic to control the minds of demons, mages formed demonic armies to help in their fight against the elves. The demon armies dwarfed those of the elves and their otherworldly might eventually led to the mages—and humanity's—victory. Consequently, the mages then enslaved what was left of the elven race. Even to this day, the elves have yet to be liberated. Humanity was unstoppable thanks to the mages. However, peace did not last and the mages' control over the demons soon faded. While attempts at utilizing magic to once again regain control of the demons were somewhat successful at first, the potency of their magic deteriorated at an alarming rate and the demons could no longer be controlled.
The demonic armies ravaged the lands of Terrene like wild fire, destroying everything in their path with seemingly no end in sight. While mighty indeed, magic proved its limitations when even the combined forces of all mages could only temporarily halt the demons' campaign of destruction. The other races of Terrene and even the normal humans were quick to place the blame on the mages for summoning this unstoppable force. Then came the advent of the Man in White. History tells us that the Man in White is an unclear figure of unknown origins but is seen by many as a messiah with tremendous magical power. He drove the demonic armies back to Helheim accompanied by his seven followers and, then, they disappeared from the world without a trace. Divine intervention one might say or is it something entirely different? Something far more sinister? The world may never find out.
The members of the Umbral Order were shortly thereafter executed for their crime. Terrene would enjoy a brief age of respite. In this quiet age, the invention of firearms seemed a foolish ideal but its popularity became so that conventional weaponry that's been around for millennia such as swords and spears were abandoned in a "day". Even the majority of mages could not compete with the deadly potency of firearms and opted to combine their sorcery with this new kind of weaponry, replacing their tomes for muskets that, while slower, when combined with magic proved uniquely destructive.
Fast forward to today, the 10th century, particularly the year XX16, the world of Terrene looks starkly different than it did before. Half of the world is nearly a desert wasteland; the other half: scorched earth. This half of Terrene is plagued by demons who arrived from random rifts in the dimensional fabric. It seems the lingering magic of the Umbral Order caused a destabilization in space-time which resulted in these random portals. After the demons arrival, half of the planet became uninhabitable with the threat of the complete takeover of Terrene looming in the horizon. The mages are all but gone. Only a few thousand individuals with magical ability remains and they form the Mages Order with each member being identified by a distinctive brand somewhere on their body. Armed with notably a six shooter and their magic, the mages of the Order are committed to right the wrongs of their predecessors by finding a way to defeat the demonic force that threatens the world. Thus they venture off to the lands where no man treads...
The setting of this RP is primarily based on the Old West with elements of dark fantasy taking place during an apocalyptic event. It is mostly a free roam RP but the story of the Mages Order's quest to stopping the advancing demonic forces will be at the forefront of things. There are five races: humans, elves, dwarves, halflings, and the Ancient. Humans are the dominant race and the only ones that can be mages. Most elves are enslaved but some have earned their freedom or are on the run from their slavers. Dwarves are mostly known for their fine firearm craftsmanship and typically live as traders. Halflings are short, feral-looking humans who walk on bare feet and are known to be quite roguish in nature. They are looked down upon as a race but are seen above elves. The Ancient are a sub-race of giants typically ranging from 7 to 9 feet in height who still use old-world weaponry such as swords and spears. They can use magic weapons but, unlike mages, cannot use magic without a weapon. In the past, mages cast their spells through tomes and grimoires but those have now been replaced by firearms, usually a revolver. The number of spells they can cast are limited to the number of bullets they carry but they can cast spells without their firearms. Those spells, however, are drastically less effective.
As a free roam RP, you of course can follow your own stories and such. Optionally, at the start of the RP, your character has been contracted to accompany a band of surveyors into the demonic lands. The story will begin from there. Posting expectations are adaptable, meaning I'm not concern with how lengthy your posts are as long as they follow the standard guidelines for a Casual RP. Adding more to a post is just icing on top. As an aside: I'm open to having Co-GMs if anyone's interested in moderating the OOC and such. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to let me know.
