The Tower. One of the twenty-one Major Arcana, the largest mage circles and those that have influence on mage society, located all across the world. The Tower is the biggest Mage Circle in England, located in London. The name is perhaps somewhat misleading at first glance, as the Tower itself is seemingly just a small building of no real significance. However, this is magic at work. The secrecy of the supernatural must be upheld, and as such the Tower is hidden. The tower's location is avoided by those without any magical knowledge, for it is enchanted with spells to make it impossible to consider as significant by them. But those who have entered the Tower are able to see it, a tall, black building seemingly without windows that stretches above and below the earth. It was constructed almost two-hundred years ago, and for all of this time its existence has remained unknown to all but the supernatural community. Within, it is a vast facility for the education of magi and the research of magic. The Tower possesses a vast library of magical tomes, one of the largest even among the twenty-one. However, it would be a mistake to believe this is the Tower's only purpose.

Fundamentally, the Tower's existence is like all mage circles: The continuation and preservation of mage society. Each linked together by a larger organization Mage Circles act as the arms of the organization not only to educate future magi, but to track down and eliminate threats to mage society. Whether they be from without, or from within. Magic must be preserved in secrecy, after all.

Among magi there are numerous aristocratic families, as one might expect from a society that holds family bloodlines to such a high level of importance. The Tower's magi are certainly no exception. Indeed, as one of the oldest circles, predating even the structure itself, there are numerous families considered to be nobility among them.

One such family is the Ar-Rynesarte. A very old family, holding a high position in the Tower, and indeed in mage society as a whole, their words are respected and their craft as magi revered. Due to their place in society, they were able to broker many contracts with other mage families, and enjoyed a position of prestige.

Until recently.

The very sudden deaths of Jakobius Taliervenne Ar-Rynesarte and Giselle Vardin Ar-Rynesarte eight years ago left only their young daughter in line for succession. However, as she was only six years old, it was instead left to branch families and household Servants to attempt to conduct their business.

Slowly, the Ar-Rynesarte family's influence waned. Some of their resources were even snapped up by other, ambitious families. Some of the branch families even claimed long-held family treasures for themselves.

But the Ar-Rynesarte name was not forgotten.

And so, when Arinne Velvet Ar-Rynesarte celebrated her fourteenth birthday, finally able to take a position as the head of her family, her announcement to the magi of the Tower caught attention immediately.

"I will find my parents' murderer."

With that, she activated the remaining contracts held by the Ar-Rynesartes, forcing several mage families to send a representative to work in her service until released, in order to find the one responsible for her parents' deaths.

Arinne will stop at nothing to find their murderer.

But what will be discovered in the process?

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An urban fantasy RP! This will center on the Tower, and the magi who have been forced into Arinne's service via magical contract in order to discover her parents' killer. These contracts are strongly binding, enforcing a geas upon those involved when activated. Even though Arinne only has access to some of them, she's used them to build what she believes is a party capable of tracking down the one responsible for her family's killer.

Of course, it won't be so simple. Along the way, all sorts of strange circumstances and villainous magi will be encountered.

Players will play as the representatives from the families contracted to the Ar-Rynesartes, and I may discuss special circumstances with other players as well. But first, a few things to discuss about the setting:

This RP takes place in my urban fantasy setting. Give that a look over, but since it hasn't been updated in a while be free to ask questions, I'm happy to answer!

As for what will be playable in this RP:

• Magi: Capable of magic, invoked by spells and symbols, sometimes in conjunction with one another. Magical prowess is passed through bloodlines, some families having more or less mana(and higher or lower quality mana) then others. Magi will have an affinity, which can range from things like fire to gravity to numbers. Affinities(which are also passed through bloodlines) are not limited to the affinity itself, but also includes things that are conceptually linked to it. For example, a mage with an affinity for fire would also excel at spells involving "consumption", "ignition", and "destruction". Magi can preform spells outside their affinity, though it is more difficult to learn. Affinities cannot be for anything entirely man-made. Playable!
  
  • Note: The most powerful mage(in terms of raw power) in this setting has an affinity for mana. They will not be appearing in this RP, and mana as an affinity is strictly off-limits. Other affinities that are off limits include Death, a totally unique affinity also claimed in this setting and absolutely broken for the purposes of this RP.
  
  
  • Magic Traits: Some magi and onmyouji families possess a special "magic trait", an inherent magical ability connected to their affinity. These are quite uncommon, but they still exist. They require no spellcasting, and usually give some edge in ability. The magic trait "Illusion Break", for example, passively destroys illusions as the mage or onmyouji draws close to them. It also enables them to see through illusions.

As well as a couple things likely to appear:

• Familiar: Familiars are beings created by magi from mana. They are existences brought into being by a sustained donation of mana and a reinforcement of existence. Their abilities and appearance are entirely up to the magi who created them, but they must be sustained with mana in order to continue existing. They also require belief in their existence by their creator. Few familiars survive loss of this belief. Magi can support multiple familiars depending on the amount and quality of their mana and the complexity of their familiars.
• Homunculi: Artificial humans created via a union of raw materials and a soul, homunculi are able to be created to a variety of specifications, from creating an ideal assassin to creating someone with the power to boost abilities. They have personalities and thoughts of their own, and a theoretically infinite lifespan. Most homunculi will hit a predetermined point and cease to age beyond that. Homunculi are NOT common, due to difficulties involved in creating them and the inability to simply create souls meaning some kind of sacrifice must be involved.

I may accept homunculi and familiars as player characters, but please discuss with me before attempting to make one!

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• Name:
• Age:
• Gender:
• Appearance:
• Personality:
• Abilities: Magical abilities. Note that mana quality and quantity determine the strength of a mage's spells as well as how much they can cast them.
• Skills: Mundane things your character can do.
• Assets: Anything from magical tools to equipment.
• Brief Backstory:

I have an idea that I need to figure more out for but still, interest!

Interested.

Do all contracted magi have to be from the Tower, or is it possible that some could be brought in from other Arcana?

@Anza: In theory some families could have moved to different Arcana, though most of them should come from the Tower.

I'm more than interested! I'll probably have a character ready tomorrow :D

Three quick questions:

1. Would warrior-magi exist in this setting? Battle-magi or whatever they are called. I'm thinking of making a Spellbreaker. Warrior trained in magic which have the ability to dispel magic or things similar to that.

2. Is magi-tech a thing?

3. Would golems fall under Homonculi stigma?

@Timemaster:

1. There are various magical items in-setting, some of them are weapons, there's nothing stopping a mage from fighting more directly.

2. Not exactly, though alchemy exists and that blends things that seem technological with things that are not.

3. Golems are not homunculi, as homunculi are actual artificial humans while golems are inorganic.

Yo, I'm interested. Might even be able to stick with it this time! Would it be possible to do something along the lines of Transferal of Concepts, or maybe just Transferal in general? Like, he can transfer metaphysical concepts from one substance to another. For example, he could take a diamond and a rubber glove, and then transfer the concept of 'hard' from the diamond into the rubber glove. The glove will remain flexible, because it still has the concept of flexibility from the rubber, but at the same time, it is extremely hard to break through. I'll need to look into the specific details again, because I'm shamelessly stealing the idea from a Fate/Stay Night fanfic.

Or I'll just use Warp, and really make a mess of things.

@VitaVitaAR Done as promised. How does she look? Tell me if something needs to be changed/optimised. I've got another character in mind if this isn't ok

Color me intrigued...

Actually, would 'Words' count as man made for affinities?

@Rabidporcupine: Something like that would be possible, but it seems more like something for a specific spell or magical item. As for Words as an affinity, I'd be willing to allow it.

@Timemaster: Keep in mind this is urban fantasy, as in it takes place during the present day. ^^;

Anyway, with all this interest, time to post up the OOC!

Here we go!

@Rin@Anza@Aleranicus