Light. Shadow. One cannot exist without the other. They were once the greatest gods of Mankind. Noble, benevolent, powerful. It was their influence that turned the fledgling tribes of Man into the great nations of the world. It was their hand that guided Men, like nurturing parents, until we were at last ready to stand strong on our own. They stepped away to let us grow, and they slipped from memory.
This was Man's sin. We forgot our gods, and watched as they were reborn as demons.
Light was content to be forgotten to Time, but Shadow was not his brother. Without the praise and worship that kept him strong, he turned to the fears of Man to feed his strength. Hate, sorrow, greed, despair. These are the things he took into himself. He gorged upon the darker side of Men and found a new kind of power there. If Men would not worship him, they would fear him. He would take from them all he'd helped them to build and leave them to ruin.
With one hand, he stayed the rain. Under the sun, the ground blistered and cracked. Crops and animals alike withered and died. A starving belly became a catalyst for war. Men fought amongst themselves for scraps, believing their neighbors all had more than they. With his other hand, Shadow let loose a pestilence. Sickness spread like wildfire, claiming any and all in its path. They could only watch as disease stole life after life, and do nothing but mourn the dead. And Shadow fed.
With the power he took from Man, he stepped into our world again. He took his form from our very nightmares, great hordes of creatures ripped from the darkest corners of our imaginations, and a single general as a vessel for his very essence. A fiend, cloaked in the very darkness he was born from, emerged into this world with no name until Men gave one to him. Sharakkor. The Black General.
Weakened by war and death, Men could offer no force to stand against Shadow's Incarnate. The demon swept through what force could be mustered against him, his hordes ravaging the land at every turn. Great nations were reduced to naught but smoldering memories, with only bones to mark the place where life was once so vibrant. He would send Men to oblivion, just as they had tried to send him.
All that remained of Men rallied against him, a last stand against their own demise in the face of such overwhelming power. They fought with abandon, knowing death waited no matter the outcome. In the face of annihilation, they fought back as those who still remembered prayed to the last forgotten god of old.
Man received no great army for their prayers. No tireless soldiers to push back the hordes that swept more and more of them away with each passing moment. No. For Light had been content to slumber. He had grown weaker while Shadow flourished. But he was far from powerless. He could not match the endless horde of his brother that spread across the land. But in his haste to wipe Men from the world, in his hubris to make an army unlike any other before it, Shadow had spread himself thin. And so, Light did not send an army. He split himself into seven champions to stand between Mankind and Shadow's wrath.
Danek, the Strong. Jarten, the Quick. Latsu, the Clever. Tenaei, the Kind. Reysena, the Bold. Semato, the Silent. Kyron, the Healer.
These were the names Men gave to their saviors in song and praise as the hordes of Shadow broke against their might like water on the shore. These great beings pushed back. They took back the world from Shadow's terrible general, inch by inch.
But even without his armies, Sharakkor was not weak. He had fed from Men far longer than these newborn protectors. He clashed against the Seven with all the power he could call to him, and found they could not stand against his strength. They did not fall, but neither could they fell the Black General as they had his hordes. For Light cannot exist without Shadow, and they could not destroy a part of themselves. But neither could they allow Shadow's wrath to continue to spread.
And so, a stone was plucked from the earth, so the strength of the Seven could become one again. Together, they scoured Shadow from the world and sealed him in a domain of his own where his influence might not touch Mankind again. Such magics did not come without a price, and the Seven sacrificed their physical forms to create the Barrier that now kept Shadow at bay. The stone used to create the seal shattered, with their very spirits bound to the shards. It was to the greatest heroes of Men that these stones were entrusted, so that they may forever hold vigil over the Barrier and the Seven. They became the Watchers. Keepers...
Guardians.
Ok, so this RP is going to start at the end of the Sixth Generation of Guardians. At least one Initiate has already been identified. Which means depending on what sort of characters people want to play, we may be looking for the remaining ones, or dealing with some other... more sinister stuff I have in mind.
This is obviously an advanced roleplay, so I will be expecting posts that fill that requirement. Do your best to check grammar (Mine's not the best, but I do try), spelling, and make sure you offer something to help the plot move forward. Additional rules are:
While I'll be prodding the plot with a sharp stick to keep things moving and interesting, I tend to look at roleplay as a chance for people to write an incredible story together. So that’s what we will be doing.
People can play any number of characters they'd like, however, I will limit it to one Guardian/Initiate pair (aka: One stone's lineage) for the time being. If you want to play one of the remnants of the Shadow Horde? Go for it (evil characters are fun). You want to play a corrupted Guardian? Do it! Want to be an airship pilot, a sorceress, a career soldier- Ok, so you get the picture. The world is big enough that while the Guardians are regarded as the pinnacle of combat prowess, there are still plenty of niches to make some pretty neat characters.
I think that covers everything. Obviously this is an interest check, so if it sounds at all like it could be fun, you have ideas to add, need to point out things I missed or need to clarify, please let me know below!
Remember, it doens't have to be a novel. There will be things that come up in the course of roleplaying and characters can grow and change!
This was Man's sin. We forgot our gods, and watched as they were reborn as demons.
Light was content to be forgotten to Time, but Shadow was not his brother. Without the praise and worship that kept him strong, he turned to the fears of Man to feed his strength. Hate, sorrow, greed, despair. These are the things he took into himself. He gorged upon the darker side of Men and found a new kind of power there. If Men would not worship him, they would fear him. He would take from them all he'd helped them to build and leave them to ruin.
With one hand, he stayed the rain. Under the sun, the ground blistered and cracked. Crops and animals alike withered and died. A starving belly became a catalyst for war. Men fought amongst themselves for scraps, believing their neighbors all had more than they. With his other hand, Shadow let loose a pestilence. Sickness spread like wildfire, claiming any and all in its path. They could only watch as disease stole life after life, and do nothing but mourn the dead. And Shadow fed.
With the power he took from Man, he stepped into our world again. He took his form from our very nightmares, great hordes of creatures ripped from the darkest corners of our imaginations, and a single general as a vessel for his very essence. A fiend, cloaked in the very darkness he was born from, emerged into this world with no name until Men gave one to him. Sharakkor. The Black General.
Weakened by war and death, Men could offer no force to stand against Shadow's Incarnate. The demon swept through what force could be mustered against him, his hordes ravaging the land at every turn. Great nations were reduced to naught but smoldering memories, with only bones to mark the place where life was once so vibrant. He would send Men to oblivion, just as they had tried to send him.
All that remained of Men rallied against him, a last stand against their own demise in the face of such overwhelming power. They fought with abandon, knowing death waited no matter the outcome. In the face of annihilation, they fought back as those who still remembered prayed to the last forgotten god of old.
Man received no great army for their prayers. No tireless soldiers to push back the hordes that swept more and more of them away with each passing moment. No. For Light had been content to slumber. He had grown weaker while Shadow flourished. But he was far from powerless. He could not match the endless horde of his brother that spread across the land. But in his haste to wipe Men from the world, in his hubris to make an army unlike any other before it, Shadow had spread himself thin. And so, Light did not send an army. He split himself into seven champions to stand between Mankind and Shadow's wrath.
Danek, the Strong. Jarten, the Quick. Latsu, the Clever. Tenaei, the Kind. Reysena, the Bold. Semato, the Silent. Kyron, the Healer.
These were the names Men gave to their saviors in song and praise as the hordes of Shadow broke against their might like water on the shore. These great beings pushed back. They took back the world from Shadow's terrible general, inch by inch.
But even without his armies, Sharakkor was not weak. He had fed from Men far longer than these newborn protectors. He clashed against the Seven with all the power he could call to him, and found they could not stand against his strength. They did not fall, but neither could they fell the Black General as they had his hordes. For Light cannot exist without Shadow, and they could not destroy a part of themselves. But neither could they allow Shadow's wrath to continue to spread.
And so, a stone was plucked from the earth, so the strength of the Seven could become one again. Together, they scoured Shadow from the world and sealed him in a domain of his own where his influence might not touch Mankind again. Such magics did not come without a price, and the Seven sacrificed their physical forms to create the Barrier that now kept Shadow at bay. The stone used to create the seal shattered, with their very spirits bound to the shards. It was to the greatest heroes of Men that these stones were entrusted, so that they may forever hold vigil over the Barrier and the Seven. They became the Watchers. Keepers...
Guardians.
The World
The Guardians
Altaria
Horyn Empire
Orzel
Other Locations
Creatures
Ok, so this RP is going to start at the end of the Sixth Generation of Guardians. At least one Initiate has already been identified. Which means depending on what sort of characters people want to play, we may be looking for the remaining ones, or dealing with some other... more sinister stuff I have in mind.
This is obviously an advanced roleplay, so I will be expecting posts that fill that requirement. Do your best to check grammar (Mine's not the best, but I do try), spelling, and make sure you offer something to help the plot move forward. Additional rules are:
While I'll be prodding the plot with a sharp stick to keep things moving and interesting, I tend to look at roleplay as a chance for people to write an incredible story together. So that’s what we will be doing.
People can play any number of characters they'd like, however, I will limit it to one Guardian/Initiate pair (aka: One stone's lineage) for the time being. If you want to play one of the remnants of the Shadow Horde? Go for it (evil characters are fun). You want to play a corrupted Guardian? Do it! Want to be an airship pilot, a sorceress, a career soldier- Ok, so you get the picture. The world is big enough that while the Guardians are regarded as the pinnacle of combat prowess, there are still plenty of niches to make some pretty neat characters.
I think that covers everything. Obviously this is an interest check, so if it sounds at all like it could be fun, you have ideas to add, need to point out things I missed or need to clarify, please let me know below!
Character Sheet
Remember, it doens't have to be a novel. There will be things that come up in the course of roleplaying and characters can grow and change!
