Nobody knew when they had been made to live like this. Perhaps it had always been this way, with the giants among men lurking at the very edges of cities’ borders, the wargs prowling through dark streets and alleyways. As technology advanced, so did mankind’s defences against the world eaters, but the threat always remained. It found ways to fight back against the steel of man, and did so with unmatched vigor.

It remained like this for centuries- an arms race between predators that constantly ebbed and flowed- until, one day, you woke up to something...odd. Somewhere on your body, a symbol had carved itself onto your skin.

You might have had a lifestyle that would allow you to shrug off a sudden, inexplicable tattoo, but even if you did, it was a bit harder to dismiss fireballs launching themselves from your open palms. Or leaving your house to find that the sunflowers you had planted only a day before had become taller than your roof. Regardless of what might have happened, not long after this event, a group of suited men and women would soon come knocking at your door. They explained that you had been blessed by the Allfather himself for a special purpose. You, along with eight others, had been granted holy powers in order to defeat the armies of the damned. To fail, they said, would to mean the destruction of the world itself.

They implored you to come with them, to prepare for the great war ahead.

Of course, you didn’t have a choice, either way.

---

Hello, everyone, I’m Echo, and welcome to The Runes.

This is a fantasy/supernatural RP that takes place in modern day 2017- albeit a modern day 2017 that has seen humans warring with frost giants for generations. As you might have guessed, this is a roleplay loosely based on Norse mythology, where the protagonists are granted abilities based on the symbols of the runic alphabet. They have to master their powers and work together or the world will end, and all that good stuff. Keep in mind that, despite all the warring going on, a lot of the culture and goods from this era still carry on. So if you’d like for your character to go on a date to a coffee shop after they punch a giant wolf monster in the face, it’s up to you.

The characters will be kept in a facility where the Blessed will train and supervise them, and generally make sure that they’re making good progress as the chosen ones. The facility is set up inside a large mansion located at the borders of one of the larger cities, and contains several training halls, a library, a cafeteria, their bedrooms, and whatever else they might require. They are allowed a period of several hours to themselves each day- whether it is to wander the grounds or to take a break in the city- but most of the day is dedicated to fighting and training up.

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(Keep in mind that those Blessed within the same category, when working together, will find their powers strengthened greatly. Freyrs will find themselves boosted when using their powers in combination with that of another Freyr, Heimdalls will be boosted with Heimdalls, and so on. When the nine are not all working together, they will often be paired into these three groups as a result.)

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Uruz
Enhanced physical attributes, including strength, speed, and senses.
@Kuroakuma

Ansuz
Future vision, the power to influence reality through words and naming.
@Magister

Kenaz
Knowledge, the power to weave illusions.
@EchoicChamber

---

Sowlio
The power of flame.
@ScoundrelQueen

Isa
The power of ice.
@VitoftheVoid

Algiz
The power of protection. Can create a shield surrounding themselves and allies.
[CLAIMED]



Tiwaz
The power of wind and air.
[CLAIMED]

Berkano
The power to control flora.
[CLAIMED]

Laguz
The power to heal and rejuvenate the sick and injured.
@GoodLuckTuck

---

Those prophecized to aid in the destruction of this world, and the ushering of a new age via Ragnarok.

Níðhöggr
The wyrm that gnaws on the roots of Yggdrasil, and devours the corpses in Náströnd.
@EchoicChamber

Fenrir
A monstrous wolf fated to one day devour Odin himself. One of Loki's children.
@LorelleQuips

Jormungandr
The Midgard Serpent, whose release of its tail will begin Ragnarok. One of Loki's children.
@Kuroakuma

---

Rules:

- Basic rules apply here, too. Be legible, no PPing, no veering wildly off canon, etc.
- Please ask me if you have an idea for the plot/story-line.
- Be polite. Inside the RP, your characters can be at each other's throats, but outside we're all responsible, mature people(I hope), who should act that way.
- If you plan to leave the roleplay or expect to be caught up for some time, it would help a lot if you could give us an advance notice, so we can work with your leftover character much easier. Thank you!
- Enjoy!

Im interested in joining, may i request taking the Tiwaz power?

@xXSINXx Sure! Lemme put it down as claimed for you. c:

Hm. This is quite interesting indeed. May I take hold of the Berkano power preemptively?

@Cloudburst Of course! I'll put it on hold for you right away.

Full Name:
Silvarae Ailissa Kaizen

Nicknames/Aliases:
Zero

Age:
25

Gender:
Female

Rune/Location
Rune-Algiz
Location – Back of Left hand

Rune Powers:
Shields, the ability to shield oneself or another.

Description:
Silvarae is considered to be of average size and build when compared to others of her age, standing in at approximately 5’6 and weighing in at 65kilograms. She is quick on her feet and extremely agile. Her eyes are a steel blue and she has long blonde hair that she keeps pulled back in a ponytail. She has the appearance of a woman that could blend into a crowed should she desire it, or stand out in that same token.
A smile rarely crosses her face though some have noted that in the heat of battle she wears a facsimile of a smile while her eyes shine with the purity of her hatred and blood lust. She is often seen wearing a form fitting body suit. While she is not preparing to battle or training she may be seen wearing a long shirt as her only clothing, the color of the shirt never matters seemingly to be chosen completely at random.
She carries herself with an air of superiority as if she knows she is better than most and thus she appears to most people to be unapproachable or indifferent. She keeps herself impassive to those around her and this shows not only on her face and it’s lack of emotions but in her body language as well.

Personality:
Quiet and withdrawn Silvarae prefers to keep her own company to that of others, she appears to believe that most others are inferior to her and so to spend time with them would be to lower herself. She rarely speaks to others, however when she does it’s usually to bark an order or something. Most of her time is spent in combat training, even when given spare time she spends that in the training room pushing herself to greater heights.
The official stance on Silvarae Ailissa Kaizen is that she suffers from a severe inferiority complex and so lashes out at anyone who could possibly get close to her and is putting up an air of superiority as a way of guarding against the crippling feelings of inferiority she suffers. Due to this she is driven to prove herself more so than any others. She has been described as reckless if it means achieving her own goals, once having trained for 3 days straight without taking a break because someone had managed to achieve a goal that she had not been able to prior.

Skills:
Silvarae is trained in many forms of hand to hand combat along with numerous forms of weapons.
Her main skills lay with in her agility and dexterity, she closes the distance between her and her enemies and uses a close combat style developed with a berserker in mind. She favours one of two different weapons for this,
Fenrirs Fangs; A pair of Daggers honed to within microns of an edge making them one of the sharpest pair of blades on the planet. The blades carry runic inscriptions along their lengths which read “The Bite Shall Rival the roar!” When she is surrounded and alone she will often resort to these short-ranged weapons in a hurricane fighting style.
Jormungandr; A two handed bastard sword which she will use if she requires something that hits a little harder in close combat. She has learned to use this in a defensive stance, and is used more when she has someone she has to protect.
Artemis; A high powered sniper rifle, .50 cal, this is used very rarely as it is counter intuitive to her chosen fighting styles and the profession she was trained in. She has mastered it’s usage however thanks to many years spent learning the weapon and its usages.
Valhala; A small calibre SMG, this weapon only comes out if she is unable to use Ferirs Fangs or Jormungandr in battle. A kind of last resort capable of spreading bullets quickly if not terribly powerful.
Barrier; her rune ability to create shields

Weaknesses:
Emotional attack; her insecurities and Inferiority complex leave her open, and vulnerable to any emotional type attack on her,
Close Combat fighter; She must be in close combat to fight her targets, even owning the Artemis she finds it very difficult and disturbing to use it.
Isolation; she keeps herself isolated from others not truly forming bonds and thus when she fights alone instead of fighting beside others.
Berserker Rage; While fighting she loses track of friend and foe, any that stand before her as a threat will be targeted.

Brief History:
Being born into a family of overzealous mercenaries Silvarae had to learn from a very young age how to fight and defend herself or die trying. Her father taught her the necessary skills of fighting and honed them to a fine edge. However, he always told her she was not good enough, using his own impressive feats as a scale to belittle her. Her young age lead to her believing that nothing she could ever do would dwarf that of her father, and that everyone else was better off than she was. She slowly developed a strong dislike for others whom she would never be able to catch up to.
On the day, she turned 11 she fought against her first ever Warg, Her family had captured it with much skill and risk to test everything she had learned in what would be her first ever live combat. For the battle, she was given the choice of one weapon to take with her, being small and agile she chose to take a dagger, to an adult the weapon would have been little more than a letter opener.
The time had come and she faced off against a hungry and tormented Warg, that wanted nothing more than to sink it’s fangs into her neck. The warg charged at her, and with movements as fluid as water she would move, if others hadn’t watched they would not have believed how fast it was. Her eyes at this age already dull looking out at a world with the view of a jaded adult, were alight with fire. As the beast leaped to take down it’s pray her subtle movement placing her to the inside of the beast and the dagger quickly biting into the chest of it.
A Growl and then nothing as the Warg hit the ground dead, she would look up to her father with the blood of the strike still covering her hand. A smile, one that any other might have said was disturbing on her face, the first life she had taken and it empowered her. It gave her training, her very existence in her mind a reason for being. She brought the hand to her lips that was covered in blood and licked it, ‘still warm’ the only words that went through her mind as she tasted the coppery essence that rand down her hand.
Witnessing this her father began to hire her out to people who required escorts out of the city or even to hunt down wargs that had found their way into town. Her graduation gift for passing all her training was the pair of daggers which would become known as Fenrir’s fangs. Becoming known as such thanks to the savagery with which their master fought.
Many years passed with her running these hired jobs and she had never lost a single person to an attack. She garnered herself the title of Zero, meaning no one dies under her guard. She would become brusque and quiet. Seeming to stare down at people because of her talent.
That is until she was discovered by the institution for her unique skill which had been granted to her not too long ago.
Other:
Her Discovery:
The night was young and the group she had been hired to escort seemed to be a group of businessmen that were heading out of town for a week or so, nothing unusual about that in and of itself. What was though was the location they were heading to, she had heard reports of heavy Warg activity, and rumours of other monsters that lurk in the shadows. She mentioned that it was a bad place to go but they were adamant on their location and her father had already received payment for this mission. She informed them that they will do exactly as she says when she says, or else they will die.
They travelled the two days to the location which passed with little to no incidents, a couple of stray wargs which were terminated with haste. Arriving they set up camp and she set about securing a perimeter. Spell slingers may have helped in this however they only had her to guard them so she set trip wires and the likes around.
It was midnight on the first night at camp when they heard the first signs of something being up. A solitary Warg howl breaking the otherwise serene silence of the night. Silvarae was up and preparing for anything at the first notes of the sombre tone when she heard a second howl from the south, her mind checking quickly the first had come from the north. Moments later a third joined in from the east. The party of men became nervous and began to chatter about heading to the west to try escape the danger of three different Wargs.
Silvarae told the not to move at all, she knew what this meant, the hunting wargs were trying to channel them into a location where no doubt their pack would be waiting. A trap, she pulled out the Bastard Sword, Jormungandr and lowered herself into a combat position north of the men as she closed her eyes and listened. A slight jingle of a bell to the west, she was right, something had tripped her wire in that direction.
An Alpha Warg stepped into the light from the shadows it’s eyes glowing red and saliva dripping from it’s up curled lips, as if annoyed with the Humans who dared to stay put instead of running dead into their trap. It charged at the group growling as it did and jumping at them. Silvarae acting with a precision long since practiced caught the beast with her bastard sword flicking it back.
A fierce battle would ensue between her and this alpha predator as she caught it’s attack with Jormungandr and parried them throwing the beast off balance several times and tacking any attack of opportunity. It wasn’t until she heard another bell to the east jingle that she switched to the Fenrir’s Fangs daggers dropping her sword. She would dispatch the new comer as he attempted to leap onto her with a backwards swipe of the dagger while the alpha stood back avoiding the worst of her attack.
Three more Wargs would approach from the shadows in attempt to surround her, they seemed to ignore the men for now as they were less of a concern and easy to kill at their leisure. The combined attacks against her were beginning to wear down her Defences with the daggers and the hurricane fighting style had its own drawbacks in that if it were to become prolonged as the Wargs were making it, she would become dizzy.
When the Wargs sensed weakness they launched in for a killing blow, at this moment she took a deep breath and readied herself for the inevitability of death, crossing the daggers to at least take down the alpha something happened. A flash of light on the back of her left hand and a rune appeared there, the daggers bit into the alpha however a barrier of force appeared around her blocking the other two from harming her. As the Alpha fell to the ground drawing his last breath the other wargs fled. The rest of the trip went with little incident, though the rune on her hand she did not recognize she did learn that it gave her the ability to produce a barrier like shield.

@Daemanis Approved!

I'll take Uruz, since it's the only one left. Who do all the other runes belong to?

@HeroicSociopath Cool! I'll put down your claim in a bit. c: As for the current claims...

Ansuz belongs to Magister.
Kenaz belongs to me.
Sowlio belongs to ScoundrelQueen.
Isa belongs to VitoftheVoid
Algiz belongs to Daemanis
Tiwaz belongs to xXSINXx
Berkano belongs to Cloudburst.
Laguz belongs to GoodLuckTuck.

Of course, if the rune owners go missing for a long period of time or decide to quit, their rune will open up, but for now that's the current list.

Also, this note goes out to everyone:
If you'd like, feel free to apply for members in the Blessed or as a villain, too! The chosen ones aren't the only characters that you can play. c:

Full Name: Volkir Moons

Nicknames/Aliases: Shade

Age: 21

Gender: Male

Rune/Location
- Back of neck

Rune Powers: Tiwaz

Description: Volkir stands about 5'6' and weighs about 170 lbs, he has long ebony hair that drapes over his shoulders. He is usually spotted wearing his black t- shirt with a red dragon on it and his black slim fit jeans. Volkir always has his hair in his face and slouches as he walks. Instead of sitting he's found crouched in chairs or couches. There is a darkness around his lifeless, grey eyes from lack of sleep.
His skin is as pale of a ghost, and he tends to keep a blank expression on his face. There is always a black katana strapped to his back and a dagger with a chain to his hip, along with long sharpened nails for ripping and tearing at his foes. When he gets angered, his eyes not only widen, but they blacken as and evil snake like grin emerges on his face.

Personality:
"Your brain is the deadliest weapon." Volkir uses his knowledge to his advantage, he is one to study the situation, plans a million different, considers the outcomes, and attacks. Some would say his moves are bold and risky, well that's because he's already three steps ahead the competition. He lacks social skills but not because he's shy, he just likes solitude and cake. He also suffers from a split personality disorder, when he gets pissed, run. In this state he intends death, even if he has to act like a animal to eliminate his foes. Volkir also rarely sleeps, he needs to consume sugar in every meal to stay awake, that's why every meal is sweets for him.


Skills: His range and sneak is high. He had also been trained in the Japanese art of swordplay, even his hand to hand style is very dangerous. With how is brain in, his deduction skill almost seems like a power. He's trained himself with the power he had been gifted with. He can create huge, powerful gusts and wind funnels that cane easily hurt his foes by slinging them.

Weaknesses: Lack of sweets will cause him to feint, and the use of too much energy ( Usually after a good battle, or personality switch.)


Brief History: Volkir grew up as a Dark child. He had been used to life in the forest, having grown up in it until he murdered his parents at the age of sixteen. That's when he discovered his powers, Volkir had been mentally and physically abused by his parents, thus making him the way he is. He was able to pass the murder off as suicides, which led him to spending the next few years in an Orphanage until he turned eighteen. Hes been living on his own ever since.

Other: N/A Single i guess

@xXSINXx Looks good! I did find two problems that clash with the plot, though.
The problems are just that he's an elf, whereas all the other rune carriers are human, and that he was apparently born with his powers. If you could change these two, I'd appreciate it a lot. Sorry for the trouble!

hi hello yes i was brought here to bring my Magnificent Chaos to the table and i'm looking forward to breaking everyone's characters and hopes and dreams <3

@Kuroakuma
oh, now this i want to see, I hate to see what happens when you try! rofl

@EchoicChamber Edited!! Also could He be Neutral? As in he does both good and bad based upon the personality split he has.

Full Name: Makorai Saika

Nicknames/Aliases: One Hit Wonder, Lucky, "Where's my money?", "You still haven't paid off your tab."

Age: 26

Gender: Male

Rune/Location: Forehead, where the third eye is said to sit. It's often covered by his hair.

Rune Powers: The vision beyond sight, the ability to divine the future and see between the lines in the present. The ability to influence reality, and people through speech, and to ascribe special power to words, spoken or written.

Description: Makorai is a slim, but muscular male, standing at 5'9, with a near permanent flush around his nose and cheeks, due to the near constant consumption of alcohol. His hair is brown, and medium length at the top. This is function rather than fashion, as it serves the purpose of hiding his rune. Usually, he can be found wearing a v-neck t shirt, slim jeans, and slip on shoes, with an interchangeable coat. All things that are easy to put on and take off, as he enjoys. Beyond his clothes, his eyes carry mirth and sarcasm, and his mouth is quite capable of conveying either.

Personality: Hedonism is a word that best describes Makorai. His life is ruled by earthly pleasures. The buzz of a drink, the warm flesh of a woman, the thrill gambling, and the culture that surrounds all of it. On the surface, he seems like an entertaining, but ultimately self interested individual. Beneath all of the bravado is a man who regrets taking life, and one who values friendship far more than he would and could, articulate.

Skills: Makorai is a sharpshooter of considerable, near peerless skill. He is able to employ the use of both eyes, as his master eyes, meaning he can both shoot, and look for new targets simultaneously, removing the need for a spotter of any kind. He has a strong, unconscious understand of mathematics, which allows him to calculate the distance, speed, and drop off of the bullets he fires, relative to his target. This ability had been supercharged by his rune, which influences his cognitive ability. Future vision allows him to place is shots not only where is target is, but where they are going to be. Aside from his sniper skills, he's an accomplished brawler, and is quite capable in using his rifle, plus bayonet, in close quarters engagements. He's agile, well versed in parkour, and uses his agility to traverse obstacles with ease. He often mixes his acrobatics in with his shooting, and can pull off shots from frankly absurd angles.

Weapons: Makorai favours a high caliber rifle, but prefers to use iron sights on shots a mile and under, citing 'easier to move around and whatever' as his reasoning behind it. Over a mile, he'll attach his scope, depending on conditions and terrain. On the front of his sniper is a mounted knife, with enough length to easily pierce a vital organ. For closer combat under a mile, he uses a Mauser style pistol with a rifle stock.

Weaknesses: His lack of discipline, and adherence to his base desires can be exploited by the right person.

Brief History: Makorai's life was marred with tragedy, much like a few of his comrades His parents were killed when he was still a toddler, leaving his memories of them faint, mostly smells and colours. They had fallen victim, along with the rest of his town, to opportunistic beasts after a storm had laid waste to their wards and defenses. He, and a few others were found among the wreckage of the town. Found by a group of roving mercs, they took him, and what they could salvage of his parents belongings, and dropped him off in a nearby settlement, offering the belongings as payment to a woman.

The woman took him in, and cared for him for a while, but ultimately sold his parents things, and promptly dropped him off at a nearby orphanage.

It was here that Makorai spent most of his early days under the oppressive, but well meant thumb of the orphanage tenders. He often found himself at odds with the strict rule of the faculty, and at the age of 15, decided to strike out on his own, where he felt he'd be able to live by his own rules.

He found friendship in those darker places where people existed. What he lacked in education and drive, he supplimente3d with experience and cunning, two things that were a priceless commodity in the society he had chosen to exist in.

At the age of 18, he enlisted in a town watch of sorts, and was issued a rifle. It was nothing spectacular, a worn standard issue with none of the trappings, but for him, it was the most important gun of his life. It was important because it showed him where his true skill lay. After a week with the force, he absconded with a rifle, and took his life on the road again.

He found that through creature bounties, often found on town and city notice boards, he could eek out a living. A few jobs, and he could relax a few weeks, maybe highlighting as a waiter or a bartender if he needed the extra cash in a pinch, or if he just felt like meeting people and getting some free liquor. His life was relatively simple before the incident.

He had been atop a grassy knoll, checking the planes for any sign of life, pretty standard recon gig for a town, when a young woman caught his eye. She was short, blonde, and seemingly oblivious to the world around her, but, she had caught his eye, which meant Makorai was going to take a moment to study her. Maybe see what she liked, use that if he decided to walk down and talk to her. Before he really got his chance to see, he was overtaken by a vision of the girl being grabbed, and crushed by a giant.

He was so profoundly disturbed by this vision, all ideas of romance had left his mind, and he no longer watched her with the eyes of a womanizer, but the eyes of a sniper.

A moment later, a head emerged from the trees.

Another moment, the trees were still once again.

He had left the area without a word, surprised blonde girl forgotten, pondering on what had just transpired. The rune that had burned itself onto his forehead was step one in finding an answer to his question.

Other: Probably wont pay you back if he borrows money.

@Daemanis
It all depends on if people push my little Kana-chan's buttons, really. Hopefully she doesn't have to play her usual games too much. She wants to be nice and friendly with everyone if possible.
@Magister
Makorai looks neat! Is his last name a throw to Magoichi Saika by any chance? I thought I recognized the surname but couldn't remember where from for like ages.

@EchoicChamber

Are there any age restrictions to who can be accepted as a character, or is anything within reason acceptable for a Blessed?

@xXSINXx All characters will probably wind up being technically neutral due to the events of the roleplay, but I don't see why he can't start out as a neutral figure.

@Magister Approved!

@Cloudburst I'd say that as long as you aren't wanting a five year old character or anything like that, then I'm fine with most ages. c:

Hello, hello! My name is Lorelle and I will shortly be posting a character application for the figure of Fenrisúlfr. For this canon, a semi-recently escaped Fenrir as a shapeshifter who has taken the name Spire. (:

Just wanted to introduce myself first. Nice to meet you all.