The world is not as it once was. Empires have fallen, cities lie in ruins, danger stalks the land. Centuries of warfare have taken their toll on the kingdoms of the world, and the people suffer. For over a hundred years, the lands have remained in turmoil, and the situation isn't getting any better. Hordes of barbarian tribes pillage at will. Petty lords rule over their serfs with an iron fist, dragons extort what little wealth remains from the once great metropolises while arts and learning die a slow, painful death.

In all the lands, there is but one place of sure safety: the Agate Tower. Situated on an island off the coast of the mainland of this world's supercontinent, it was founded centuries ago by the eternally young sorceress Vysantha. Long ago, she foresaw a day when someone would be needed to guide those who would save the world, a teacher, a leader, a mother to the future. At long last, that day has come. Vysantha's tower is itself an untouched relic, a masterpiece of ancient magic crafted by knowledge long since forgotten by those outside its walls. Standing over 1,000 feet tall, the tower is like unto a town in itself, a sanctuary from the world. But one cannot remain in a sanctuary forever, nor can one hide from the world if one wishes to save it.

Powerful though she is, Vysantha knew that she couldn't save the world alone. Great heroes and leaders would be needed for that, yet with the world in such ruins, no one could come forth to save the realms. The sorceress watched in horror as hero after hero fell, time and again, yet she dared not intervene directly, for fear that she would perish with the heroes, and leave none left to preserve what was lost. With direct intervention out of the question, Vysantha took a different route: if she couldn't go to the world to save it, she'd have to bring the world to her. If she couldn't help heroes, she'd have to train them herself.

To that end, Vysantha set up an orphanage in the Agate Tower, a place where the most likely young could be raised away from the world in the hopes that they could return to save it one day. The endless wars and sufferings produce no shortage of orphans, so finding them wasn't a problem. But this alone wasn't enough. Magic itself has begun to grow rare in the world, apart from that possessed by dragons and the undead. Many ancient bloodlines of sorcerers have died off, and wizard studies have dwindled near to nonexistence. To preserve and harness the world's magic, Vysantha has called in her friends, several of the world's other sorceresses to her and discussed the situation. It was decided that they would seek out the most powerful male mages remaining in the world for the purposes of breeding a new line of sorcerers, hoping to bring them into the Agate Tower itself, or at least stay with them long enough to conceive a magically-gifted child [but keep the content clean enough for public display!]

The children, both adopted and bred, would train in the tower with the finest instructors Vysantha and her allies could muster, learn from ancient tomes containing powerful and long-forgotten magics, and learn the arts of combat and stealth in hopes of putting those gifts to use one day in the wider world.

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To put it simply, this will be a sort of school/orphanage RP in a magic setting with some romance. It will be PG-13, so keep gore and adult content out of it. It will mostly be set in the Agate Tower on an island, but some scenes can take place in the hellish mess that is the main continent, such as scenes where orphans are rescued. The emphasis will be on how the children come of age, how their abilities develop, and what kind of hero they will eventually become.

You can play multiple characters if you want to, but keep it limited to what you can handle. Personally, I will play an orphan and may play Vysantha herself if no one else is interested. The children can be of any age until they are 21, at which time they are expected to leave the Agate Tower and become heroes. They can leave as early as 18, though. This will enable us to cycle through characters, put some on hold, or start over without ruining the RP. Vysantha is ageless, as are her sorceress friends, so the RP could go on for centuries without causing problems in the narrative.

The characters can be of any race, any species. I haven't even specified a race for Vysantha. As long as they are humanoid and not obviously OP, they can be played.

Each child will be trained in at least some magic, some combat, and some stealth, although how much of each is up to the player to determine. Any resources the tower needs can be provided by magic, although there are limits to how many people the tower can hold. It is a tall structure, but not very wide for its height, and the island is small enough that the tower is always visible from any point on it. Climate-wise, the island is tropical, with sandy beaches making up most of its surface area, although the Agate Tower is surrounded by a large pond.

Most young characters will be adopted when they are old enough to walk and talk, but a handful will be born at the tower. Vysantha and her sorceress friends occasionally go into the world, seeking a magically-gifted male to have a child with. Sometimes, the man returns to the tower with her to become a magic instructor. Mostly, she doesn't like him, as she only was interested in him for the magic potential in his bloodline, so she will have the child alone. Said sorceress-children aren't given any special treatment, although they may be reminded of their potential and may even meet their father on the mainland one day.