*Some concepts based on the Malazan Book of the Fallen. The story is unrelated, however.
This is a WIP
The Continent and Story
WIP Assail is a medium sized continent in which powerful tyrants bring destruction to everything. War is a game to these tyrants and any who try to fight back are killed without mercy. Entire kingdoms have been slaughtered. Invasions from far away empires have been laughably turned back. Even immortal beings, such as the skeleton-like Crux, a civilization of beings who became immortal through a ritual of Death, have been broken upon the shores of Assail.
The roleplay will be fixed on a group of individuals attempting to bring order to the continent, either by making the tyrants bring each other down or by facing them one on one. The roleplay will not have to be done as an entire group. Subplots are more than welcome. Feel free to drop into Assail with your own plot and I'll try to make it work!
WIP
Nations
Pale is a single city nation located in Assail. The city is located on and encompasses the top of a mountain chain. It is ruled by the only "fair" leader in all of Assail. The nation once had several cities, but after a long and costly war, the nation was reduced to just Pale, the city the nation's name derives from. Pale is ruled by the Eldi, but has many human citizens.
Azra is a strictly human city, ruled by a feared tyrant who has ravaged all of Western Assail.
Races
Skin as black as midnight, the Eldi worship the Realm of Shadow. They stand a head taller than the average height of a human male. Their hair is usually white or red, other wise their appearance is much like a human.
The most numerous race by far. The appearance and size of humans vary greatly.
Tall and stocky, the Grell have pale green skin and tusks. They are as tall as an average human male, ut much, much stronger.
Feel free to introduce your own race. I'll fit them into the RP.
Magic, Ascendants, and Realms
Magic is not in the world naturally, rather, it exists in realms. Practitioners of the arcane arts use gates to pull magic directly from their realm of choice. Magic is destructive to the body, and because there is not a "mana" limit, it becomes possible for magic to destroy a body if it is overused. Likewise, a gate can destroy a person if the person accessing said gate does not know how to control the gate’s magic flow. A being is usually born with an affinity towards magic, although wielding magic can be learned. For visual reference, a gate used by a mage to pull power cannot be seen, but it can be felt e.g., a gate to the realm of Ice would bring a chill to the air. A gate to a realm that is meant to be used to travel can be seen, though.
Three of the most important things that an arcane user builds on are arcane endurance, or their ability to maintain the use of mana without damaging their body, gate control, or their ability to open a gate that varies in size, and the number of realms that can be accessed. Note that most mages will only ever learn to use one or two realms - the realm they are born with an affinity to, and another realm they learn to use.
It was previously mentioned that magic does not exist in the world. However, it is more complex than that. Magic is life, and life is magic. Specifically, the lifeblood of a being is cited to be the life of magic. If an enormous battle is fought, the blood spilled could attract spirits, shapeshifters, ascendants, and even gods in what is called a convergence. Some beings can grow off of the shedding of blood. More about this will be mentioned about this in the talk of ascendants. The main point is that a mage cannot use this natural magic found in everything.
Realms are separate planes of existence from the world. They are full of magic as well as creatures that compliment a realm’s affinity. There are many types of realms, but the most well known are Realm of Death, Realm of Fire, Realm of the Sea, Realm of Ice, Realm of Demons, Realm of Shadows, Realm of the Mind, and the Realm of Light. Each realm has a throne which may be claimed by an ascendant or god, giving the being control of the realm and its creatures. They cannot, however, restrict the magic of a realm from another being, specifically a mage.
Not all realms have a master, as it takes a lot of power to control a realm. The ruler of a realm will have claimed the realm’s throne. In this world, thrones have a lot of power, specifically in realms. Whoever sits the throne commands a realm. It is that simple. The issue most run into is how much a realm will resist the being who tries to take the throne, even resisting the being once they claim a throne. In this way, realms challenge whoever may try to claim the realm.
Ascendants are not gods in the typical sense. They are beings who have, through some great power, managed to become immortal. The way this can be done varies. There are great generals who have ascended due to their knowledge of tactics, victories, and the blood on their hands. Likewise, some great warriors have ascended after spilling the blood of thousands. There is another path to ascension that many have never heard of, the Kirath. Ascending through the Kirath is extremely rare due to the nature of the Kirath, but can be done, as the Kirath is believed to have access to everything.
The Kirath are hardly understood forces of nature. They are balanced creators and will appear at random times, capturing even the strongest beings. Kirath appears as trees with nigh invulnerable roots that will grab beings of power, pulling them into the earth, imprisoning them until the Kirath dies. When a Kirath appears, it appears as a massive oak-like tree. The tree will be in the middle of a yard, the yard walls being the Kirath’s roots mixed with foliage and other trees that the Kirath may bring with it. A Kirath yard varies in size. Some are the size of a mansion while some may be the size of a couple of blocks. The smaller Kirath yards have a single gate which leads to the center tree. The larger yards appear to be mazes, usually growing as more beings are imprisoned.
The center tree can conjure an oval like, dark green portal for those who it allows. The portal will transfer the user to the Kirath Halls, a place of infinite knowledge and access to everything. Of course, such a place usually leads to many lost souls and is highly dangerous.
Character Sheet and Other Information
Name: (First and last, or a single name/title your character goes by. Age: Appearance: (Pictures, or text-based descriptions are both fine) Personality: (Optional) Height: Race: (One of the primary races, or one of your own creation.) Home Nation: (One of the four primary nations, or a nation of your own creation.) Magical Capabilities: (Realms, specific speciatlities etc) History: (Your backstory.)
