[i]Loud footsteps echoed throughout the long, highly decorated hallway. They were rushed footsteps and the man running toward the twin doors cared little for the rich tapestries of long forgotten places, portraits of grumpy old men, and the myriad of artifacts carefully arranged for full display. Such privilege flaunted so carelessly might have been tempting to take, if it wasn't for the person who owned them. The man, perhaps in his late twenties, was sweating profusely and his cheeks were flushed. Upon his body was a black uniform lined with silver and had a blazing yellow symbol of the sun a top his right breast. It signified his position as a commanding officer in the Sol Protectorate, but that company was supposed to be on the front lines...
Behind the doors, a small number of men stood around a table, looking over a war map. At the head of this table stood a man wearing a small crown, he too wore a simple black uniform except his symbol was an ornate owl of silver. His grave expression and cold steel eyes were worrisome. And then the doors burst open, all eyes at the table turned to the newcomer as a few cautious guards glanced wearily with their hands upon their hilts. The man's breathing was ragged and he spoke out of breath.
"Mi'lords... Westgate has fallen. Commander Tyberius held out for as long as he could but the enemy is too great. I.. I am sorry."
The man then collapsed before them, and a few aids rushed to his side. The crowned man sighed, bowing his head as if in defeat for a moment before looking up at the others surrounding him. They were generals and lords and he was their Emperor of a land besieged. They looked to him for guidance and authority but the war was straining the stability of the Empire and he had ignored them for far too long.
He spoke, his voice commanding respect but held a hint of shame, "Give out the word then, tell them Emperor Janus calls for champions. Tell them they are to strike at the heart, the Ebony Mountain of Kazath." He sighed and gritted his teeth, "And tell them they'll be rewarded handsomely."
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Plot - Two years ago, in the far western reaches of the Empire, a seed sprouted in the womb of the Ebony Mountain. What came next was horrific. Great tendrils of a dark green shot up from the ground in the immediate area surrounding the mountains in pestilence and decay. From the vines, as people called them, came the Scorned. So the war began, between the peoples of the Empire and the new threat that unified them even more so, then the bonds of old. In the two short years of the war, the Empire has been steadily loosing ground as the Vines grew from the mountain. The fall of Westgate finally prompted Emperor Janus to call for outside help as his military forces were only useful as defense for the empire. Now, it's time to strike the heart of the Scorn itself, one desperate attempt to stop the Scorned from advancing any further. And you won't be doing it without help.
World Lore- The Empire of Caldania has long since stood as the pinnacle of cultural achievement and prosperity on the continent of Eon. There was no need for petty wars or rivalry between other kingdoms, because they all bent the knee centuries ago in the Age of Strife to Dramoria Caldan, first Emperor of a united Eon. He was a a scholar first and warrior second only out of necessity. However, the means of his unification have been a topic of importance as of late. He had used the fabled artifacts of Dran'Kurath, weapons of power and jewelry that bestowed great gifts, as means of pacifying the people. Those artifacts were held back by Janus himself, as they were to valuable and a symbol of power. Now, with his Empire collapsing, what little choice is there but to use them?
Humans; Self explanatory. Dominant people of the Empire and found everywhere but primarily towards the center. (Humans are talented at many things but never the best. They are however, quite determined when in the right mindset.)
Elves;
Wood Elves- Once found in the lush forests of the North, where their people lived a top the great Evertrees. Now virtually extinct due to the Navorus Plague. However, there a rumors of a small band that travel the land, never to return to their homes for fear of the plague. Pictures indicate that they were a fair people, above average in appearances and well skilled in hunting. (Wood elves are incredibly nimble on their feet and are well accustomed to vanishing among trees. Their skill with a bow made them the best archers throughout Eon but that was before the plague. They aren't very strong compared to the other races and prefer to keep a distance from enemies. Magic isn't well documented within their race.)
High Elves- Found in the tropics of the South. Their rich culture traces themselves well back before the founding of the Empire. They are renown for their ship building and abilities with martial weapons. They are fairly dark in appearance, with a slight point on their ears. (They are dexterous on their feet and even quicker with a blade. However, there ore those who do wield magic in their race, but they are outcasts because the High Elves see magic as a weakness and dishonorable.)
Dwarves; A forgotten race. They retreated deep inside their mountains before the founding of the Empire. Some books talk of small bearded men with a knack for mining, others talk of vile creatures that inhabit the dark places of the world, always seeking a way to find and eat children. If anything is agreed upon, it is that they are gone.
Orcs; The orcish people are found in Eastern parts of the Empire. They are well known for their great works of art within their cities of alabaster stone. Whether it be with stone, paint or clay Orcish art has a primal beauty to it that is well admired and sought after in throughout the Empire. They use to be a brutal, warlike society but Emperor Dramoria changed their ways for the better and they are now respected throughout Imperial Society. They range in appearances and usually try to match the trends set by their nobility. (Orcs pride themselves on being strong and cunning on the battlefield and their strength is legendary. They are not very fast however and the vast majority lack magical abilities)
Semper Fae; The Fae are on odd race, not restrained down by normal cultural customs or the ever changing political structure of the Empire. They never truly die, but at the end of their long lives, are instead reborn in their gardens of Yold. They despise conflict and actively shy away from war. They much prefer to give then take, and wouldn't hesitate to help those in need. The Semper Fae are well known across Eon for their magnificent gardens and their ability to wield an assortment of magics. Their land and its beauty or currently under siege by the Scorned and they are loosing badly.
The exotic looking Semper Fae have roots that go well before recorded history and perhaps even beyond the first days of man. They come in many different appearances, and can change from Rebirth to Rebirth. The most basic of the Fae take on looks that mimic plant life, and their dazzling colors are a thing of beauty. As a Fae lives, and relives again and again, they can add to their design and become ornate, with some older Fae looking like gnarled trees or flowers as radiant as the sun. One thing is known for sure, the Semper Fae defy mortal logic.
Once grown from the Yold tree, the Fae nurture and tend to the offspring. Gender is fluid among them, and a new Fae can switch at each Rebirth if they choose too. The Semper Fae don't really die in the terms that other mortals use. To them, it's all about renewing themselves, much like plants do every season. Except the Fae can go for years without needing to be reborn, it's all a matter of prospective to them and a whole lot of patience. Their very life force is draws from magic and it provides them much needed energy. They don't have to eat, but sleep is a necessity and allows a little magic to seep back into them. During the time outside of the Garden Wombs, their energy will slowly dwindle away as they use it up and they will grow older in appearance. If a Semper Fae does not rebirth itself after having spent all of it's energy, it turns to dust in the wind. They can still die by normal means, but it would take a very cruel man to kill a Fae or, monsters...
(Focuses on Magic and ranged abilities, not very good with swords and other melee weapons)
Dramon- Capital City of the Empire, located in the very center of Eos. Populations estimates are well over a million inhabitants. Well known for its monuments to Dramoria and architecture feats.
The Ebony Mountain- It's located in the Kazath mountains range in the far western fringes of the Empire. Well known for being black as night amidst its brothers of grey. Also known as the source for the corruption known as Scorn.
Cidanol- It's best known for being the ancestral home of the High Elves, located on the coast of the Sea of Etheriel.
Crepix- What use to be simple tents made from animal hides, is now a rapidly growing city of stone. The orcs have been steadily building Crepix for centuries, and its architectural beauty almost beats Dramon.
Yoldanland- The Fae don't really have a home city, but a land they call homage to their God. Within it lays the fabled Gardens of Yold and the secret to the Fae's immortality. It is currently under siege by the Scorned, and they are slowly turning it into a mockery of life.
Evermore- Once home to the Wood Elves, now only the trees remain. Quiet and uncaring.
Northgate- The first gate founded by Dramoria following the Age of Strife. He chose all of his gates to be built on highground and warded by powerful enchantments. The gates act as a base of operations for the Imperial army and they keep a close watch on the areas that the other races call home. Ever since the Wood Elves died out, Northgate has been understaffed, mainly to keep the areas free of bandits and occasionally watch over some towns in the area.
Eastgate- The second gate to be founded by Dramoria to keep a watch on the orcs who call Crepix home.
Southgate- The third gate to be founded by Dramoria to watch the Sea's of Etherial and the High Elves.
Westgate- The final gate to be founded by Dramoria to keep note of the Fae. Emperor Dramoria knew that they would never rise up against his rule, or anyone for that matter. It was also understaffed before the Scorned hit, but once the threat was known it was completely filled to capacity but now lays overrun.
Magic is a loose term used by scholars and those who practice it to give voice to their inner nature. Magical abilities come in many different assortments but you have to be born with the innate ability to practice it, otherwise you would never be able too. Once found to have the ability to practice magic, a person is whisked away for training in the Imperial Academy of Magicks or IAM. There, students are given a choice to practice their abilities for military use or for less strenuous activities. Those found to have exceptional magical abilities, are given over to the Templar Order of Arcanum and seldom seen again. It usually takes a lifetime of practice and study to be able to use magic effectively, but the option to leave IAM, is given to students after ten years of study. Most are pressured into joining the military.
Types of magic vary but their are a few taboo to the Empire. One mainly being dark magic and the other less known, soul magic.
Little is known about the nature of these weapons and trinkets but one thing resides over all of the rumors. They are of power. Dramoria used them to unite the world under his banner and then fear of their capabilities kept the other races in check. After a time, as the first generation of the empire fell to dust, they were mostly forgotten.
Nowadays, they sit in a vault waiting to be used.
Little is known about the origin of the Scorn save where it came from, The Ebony Mountain. It is like nothing the people of Eon have ever seen before, its very presence corrupts and twists life itself. From the great green tendrils came the first of the Scorned. They were vine-like in appearance, with sickly green appendages and a head that resembled something between a flower and a maw of teeth. They showed no emotion and ran down anything that wasn't one of their own, killing without remorse. Their ghastly shrieks put terror into the hearts of men.
Next came the animals. All manners of creatures, once ordinary and as they should have been, now twisted by corruption. Wolves grew larger and deformed, seething tendrils of corruption from their bodies. Bears became lumbering behemoths of twisted fur and leafy hide. Their very presence was enough to make many a man falter. Ever increasing in number, the Scorned animals made a fine addition to the Scorn.
Picture or Description- Name- Gender- Race- Age- Personality(optional)- Backstory- (minimum of two paragraphs, more is definitely welcome.) Magical abilities- (if any list here) Combat abilities- (if any list here) Motive- (Why would you answer the call of the Emperor? Is it for money? Fame? Glory? Or to do the right thing and help the planet survive?)
1. Follow all rules required by the site itself 2. Your characters can be experienced as you want, or not at all. Just don't Godmod and we'll be good. 3. Power levels can also vary, some races are inherently different then others and such have different traits. They also have flaws, plus your own character will have flaws I'm sure. 4. I'd like this to be somewhat mature, and dark themes could be very present but nothing over the top. 5. Romance is encouraged but not being forced, just keep it pg-13 IC. 6. Feel free to ask me questions, I like to be a very accommodating person. 7. Most importantly have fun! That's what this site is for right?
More things to come, just need a break from writing and to see if anyone is interested!
@PsychoNeurosis Okay, Character sheet added and the Rules section. I also updated the races sheet so take a look at those before committing to making a character.
Description- (You never did mention how exactly the Fae look. I think I'll just leave this blank, until that's clarified) Name- Vesanior Gender- Male Race- Semper Fae Age- Biological: 15, Actual: 162, Rebirths:3 (I wasn't sure about this either. Has every Fae existed since the beginning of Eon?) Personality- A trickster and a conman. Loves the feeling of taking advantage of others. Reckless, almost suicidal due to near immortality. Backstory- Every thing Ves had done, he had done for his god. At least, that's what he sometimes half-heartedly told himself. But nobody believed that, perhaps himself least of all. Really, his prime motivation was boredom. A man like he can only live a few lives before the world seems to lose it's splendor. Or perhaps Ves simply lost his. His first life was perhaps his best. He had stayed in the Gardens for its entirety, learned things and trying all the Gardens had to offer. But even the great wonders of the Gardens were finite.
In the middle of his second life, he became bored and went out to explore the world. Then was when he learned his affinity for trickery. At first, he stole well-guarded riches from nobles. This did prove to alleviate his boredom, at least until he was caught and sent to prison. After that, he proved to be much more subtle. Taking to the streets of many small towns, he sold "magic potions" and "lucky amulets". Using illusion, he could easily fake their effects and he made fortunes, leaving each town before his trickery was discovered. Now on his third life, Ves finds himself bored again, searching for something to waste his time. Magical abilities- Skilled in Illusionary and Suggestive magic, also has a bag of 1-use charms containing varied spells. Combat abilities- Skilled with a bow, used in conjunction with magic to confuse his enemies. Motive- A little bit of everything, but mostly boredom.
"Crimson red spill on the ground - adding only to the many marks already on the battlefield."
Name: Elaine Ronswald
Gender: Female
Race: Half-human/Half-Woof Elf
Age: 29
Personality: - Will leave blank for now -
Backstory: Let's start with her parents first. Her mother, Wynona Alvrest, was part of the small group of surviving Wood Elves. While travelling, they were attacked by a group of mercenaries. The tribe fought back, but Wynona was separated after being chased by one of the mores killed mercenaries. She relentlessly fought them off but became gravely injured after one of the mercenaries got a rather deep wound in. Being part of one of the less durable races, she nearly collapsed. It was over for her, and she knew it. She collapsed near a tree and then started heaving, looking at her assailant - giving it her most hateful glare as one final act of defiance.
Then a band of guards found her and the mercenary and they quickly attacked, making him stumble backward and away from Wynona. They relentlessly attacked the mercenary until he died. They then turned their attention to the dying elf. They quickly patched her up and carried her back to the small village called Galrick near Northgate. The healer who was assigned to her was Earnest Ronswald - a male human who showed great promise in the arts of healing magic.
The Ronswald family quickly warmed up to the Wood Elf, and soon, the whole village did. She lived with the Ronswald family. Wynona knew that she couldn't go back to her tribe yet, not with her injury that would act up every now and then. In the meantime, she and Ernest began forging a friendship. She would often help out with training guards in archery and sometimes even helping with the hunts; even with her injury, she was a good hunter. She became a great addition to Galrick village. A lot of people were interested about her ancestry, considering that they believed the Wood Elves had died out so she would often spend times telling stories of her race and the likes.
As months turned to years, Wynona found herself too attached to leave and find her tribe so she decided to stay. It wasn't soon after she made the decision until Ernest asked her for her hand in marriage and she gladly agreed. The village rejoiced at their newest union - one between a human and a wood elf. It wasn't soon until Elaine was born. The girl had pointed ears, her mother's brown hair and her father's grey eyes. Elaine grew up and showed promise with the healing magic her father wielded. At the young age of eight, she was taken to IAM. Her parents didn't want for her to leave but she had to. She was one of the youngest students there. Of course, it was understandable that in her first year, she was scared and didn't know how to control her powers. But as the months and years passed by, she grew up to learn how to use her magic. She, along with the other students, were told that they had the choice whether to head back home or join the military once they spent ten years at school. Elaine chose to go home.
She lost her whole childhood to training for her magic and she doesn't really remember anyone's faces anymore. She doesn't remember the warm embrace of a mother or a father patting her head to tell her good job. So when she came back home and was immediately greeted by both - she was overwhelmed. Needless to say, she was overjoyed. Since her childhood had been taken by the IAM, they tried to do their best to make it up to her. She began training with her mother to hone her archery skills more, finding it very comfortable in her grip and Wynona gladly took over her training.
At the age of 19, only a year after she came back from IAM, her father was dispatched along with a group of guards to investigate suspicious occurrences in the forest. They never came back. Another group was dispatched, along with Elaine, to find the missing group. They came upon the bloody mess where all of them laid, including her father. Emotional scar? Check. They came back to the village, sad and disgusted but this was a normal occurrence for the other guards but Elaine was in shock. She got over it after a year or two. Now, she is part of the guard and her training still continues, both in magic and in archery.
Magical abilities:
Healing Magic - This was what was given to her when she was born, one she has inherited from her father. She finds it extremely extraneous to heal fatal wounds (internal wounds included). Using healing magic is tiring so she had learned how to dress wounds and the likes.
Combat abilities:
Bow Mastery - Much like her elven ancestors, she had gotten around using the bow and has shown great mastery over it.
Marksmanship - Elaine, to go with her mastery over the bow, is quite good at seeing where a moving object would go, making her shots all the more accurate. This also applies when she's throwing things. Of course, it won't always hit and she absolutely hates unpredictable movements.
Acrobatics - She is nimble on her feet, much like her elven ancestors, and has been training in the forest for many years under the supervision of her mother. She has learned a lot from her.
Sneak - Of course, since Wood Elves were known to vanish in the trees, she had practiced with this too. She wasn't doing it as expertly as her mother, but she was good enough.
Motive: Her father died when she was young, she doesn't want anyone to go through that.
Good to see you again Polaris. We were in an RP last year I believe.
As for your character I have only two concerns. One being that the creatures are called Scorned, not scorched haha. It's an easy fix. As for the second, the Scorned themselves haven't appeared until two years prior to current events. So Wynona couldn't have been attacked by one that long ago. Everything else in your app is good, and I admire the detail put into it already, it just needs those two things to be fixed and you're good.
Gun powder would be very much in its infancy around this time. Probably only learned about through military experiments and trying to get an edge over the Scorned. Flintlock weapons, nothing better then a rifle would be rare throughout the Empire.
At one point in time there was only Elves, but at one point in time they split, becoming the Wood Elves and High Elves respectively. So yes, there is only a variation.
