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From the darkest depths of the curse-ridden storm that surrounds the city to the gracious lights of the heavens upon the central tower, where do you find yourself? The once beautiful city is flooded with chaos from the populous and tension from the royals and the council of the Great King. Each Regia, the physical vessel of the god of light, has been passing earlier and earlier. The last Regia known passed away at a mere glance of fifty.
The city is centuries old, and the storm is older than that. Once the city was proud with seven rings and valleys and foundations past the seventh wall. Now the city finds the encroaching darkness from the storm past the wall that separated the fifth and fourth rings. Roughly ten years ago a storm surge that was seen like no other consumed the fifth and shadowed beats, storm beasts, rampaged through the Wardana and Regia Guard’s defenses. A handful of Wardana were lost. The population of the fifth was immense though the fourth’s population only increased by double if that.
Everyone in the kingdom, especially the outer two rings, the fourth and the third pray to the Great King. The god of light. The savior of the city is to protect them from the storm surges and to keep them safe from the storm's touch. After the last major storm surge took over the fifth ring, prayers were not enough for people, and a revolution blossomed like a beautiful lotus flower. A flower of fiery power. A power that the royals and the council fear. A threat that the first and second rings want to squash out like the butt of a finished cigarette. It leaves a sour taste in their mouths.
Where does your story begin?
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🆃🅷🅴 🆂🅴🆅🅴🅽 🆁🅸🅽🅶🆂
Each ring of the city is an ancient stone wall that was built before anyone in any part of the city was born. They are hundreds of feet high and about a few hundred feet thick. Starting from the central ring and going to the outer rings, you have to pass through large iron-enforced gates that spiral down cracked stone stairs. Riddled with guards that will pull you aside and question you at any moment if you are unlucky.
All seven rings stood strongly and miles upon miles away from the storm but each year the storm encroaches. No one ever thought that it was an issue. That they needed a solution till the seventh ring itself was consumed by the storm beasts and darkness.
There were seven rings, and each ring had a purpose. The seventh was the ring that allowed protected farmlands and waterways to develop around the city. The ring supplied the most food and safe drinking water while holding the most livestock and animals of the nameless city.
The sixth ring was a production ring, everything from the seventh ring was sent to this ring to go through protection by specialized ikonomancers. The industrial ring they called it. It had the second-largest population out of all the rings.
As the storm consumed the seventh and the sixth, everyone that survived each consumption was forced into the rings that were closer to the center ring. The central ring or the first ring, is the home of the Regia, the beautiful leader of the city. The leader sacrifices their body for the Great King to have a physical vessel. The leader that most look up to. They pray to.
🆃🅷🅴 🅵🅾🆄🆁🆃🅷 🆁🅸🅽🅶
is the most current outer ring and holds survivors from the fifth ring. Everyone from the seventh and sixth ring surges has passed over the decades, yet the storm seems to consume even quicker in current times. As the surviving population was forced into the fourth ring, the living, and morale decreased. A semi-beautiful smaller ring that was used for finer productions, rationing, and finer statues of the Great King for prayer, and leisure. This ring is now threatened without its outer wall of stone and has an outer wall of darkness. A storm that is miles high. That blocks the sun from shining in.
The storm is encroaching into the fourth ring and will continue to spread fear throughout the population and taunt the inhabitants of the fourth ring with the sugary metallic taste that the storm supplies. The quaking earth is caused by storm surges. The beasts run rampant and destroy buildings. Those buildings are being consumed with thick yellow moss. That yellow moss grows thicker the closer you are to the storm and the darkness that threatens your life and the lives around you.
The yellow moss is a multi-purpose material that is used by the fourth ringers and on occasion by the third ringers. As the moss has been discovered to be harmless and overgrows, people have used it for many reasons. A few being clothes, beds, bed coverings, pillows, bandages, washcloths for dishes, and so much more.
Clothes being made out of the moss tend to be very heavy and unkempt looking and it might not help that the access to water is very troublesome in the outer ring. Clothes being washed is rare and being bathed yourself is something that only happens every few months unless you go out of your way to work or find a hidden bathtub that no one is making you pay for or broken or has a usable ikon.
Being in the fourth ring is a more difficult life than the others, individuals are always the last for everything that comes from the first and second rings. Access to necessities is lacking in the fourth ring and beginning to lack in the third ring as well. Rations are given weekly, and fourth ringers are given items that are edible, yet they are not pleasant items, per se. The typical environment in the fourth ring is not comfortable. The beds are stiff and hard. Usually, cots are made out of moss that is not very flexible to one's weight or a board with a moss-filled pouch to lay on.
The fourth ring is home to the most storm-touched individuals as well.
The atmosphere in the fourth ring is thick with moisture because of the storm. Everything is constantly damp and there are always puddles in the street because of the darkness and the clouds it brings. The reason is that thicker clothes are more reasonable and that moss is used to make such clothes. It helps keep the dampness out of your lungs and away from your body. It gets cold, especially at night. One does not want to be caught outside at night for their own safety as well.
🅿🅻🅰🅲🅴🆂 🅸🅽 🆃🅷🅴 🅵🅾🆄🆁🆃🅷 🆁🅸🅽🅶 ° 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔾𝕣𝕒𝕪 𝕄𝕒𝕣𝕜𝕖𝕥 is a place that hides from the Wardana and the Regia Guard. A place that most do not know about and if one does, they know the specific three-finger hand sign that gets you in. The gray market never is in the same place though the same few people help guide you to the entrance each time. If you want to get into the Gray Market, you better know someone who knows the hand sign or know the hand sign yourself. Plus, the signs you need to spot to find the people to guide you.
If you are trying to find something or someone, the Gray Market has someone with the information. Sometimes when one is digging for something that is touchy, they might not answer for any payment, especially when it comes to the whereabouts of where the Wardana or Regia Guard take people.
One can find anything from simple knickknacks to actual ikons to learn ikonomancy depending on if you know the right people for the right price type of deal. Most are swindlers. Ikons usually don’t work very well. Most items are not as valuable as what they are sold for.
There are people who know Ikonomancy and specialize in such practices as face changers. They are rare though they love to do their work. They can change the way you look which is a painful procedure. Do you want to look like a third ringer? A second ringer? Maybe trick someone into loving you. Your face can change with the right price though you have to have the willpower to not allow your face to change into the original one.
Do you want to learn ikons and get better at ikonomancy without signing yourself away from the Wardana? That’s possible. Unauthorized usage of ikonomancy gets the Wardana’s attention and the Regia Guard’s attention so be careful!
° 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕖𝕖𝕥𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕙𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕤 belong to everyone. No home is truly owned by anyone in the fourth ring. Everything is overflowing with capacity and multi-family and people's homes are pretty much what you get. The streets are sometimes full of people sleeping on the edges or in the alleys. It’s too cold to do that without layers upon layers of clothing. People get sick when not sleeping inside the safety of a building.
Buildings that are frowned upon are ones with storm-touched individuals. Regular people try to stay away from the curse in fear that being around them or touched by them will cause misfortune. It's fifty-fifty if someone will accept you into their home as a storm touch or want to seek safety in your home if you are a storm touch. Some people rather be eaten by the storm beasts during a surge than find safety beside the cursed.
Ikon-lanterns are the only accessible light that the fourth ringers get. These are used during the night and days, especially after storm surges.
🆃🅷🅴 🆃🅷🅸🆁🅳 🆁🅸🅽🅶
Fourth ringers can only access the third ring during certain days of the year or once a week during rations. Rations are when everyone that is eligible goes to a third ring access point (everyone that is included in the fourth and third ring) and they have rations given to them. It’s a hierarchy system meaning that the first ringers get the best items to the fourth ringers getting the scraps. Everyone in between gets everything else.
There are levels to the third ring and the three shifts in the third ring are indicators for the fourth ringers. They are not allowed up to the second shift. The Wardana will stop them and possibly remove them from the third to the fourth ring. It is possible that causes the individual to miss rations for the week.
Along with being the home of the ration location for two rings, the third ring is home to the Wardana Academy. The Wardana Academy is on the highest level closest to the second wall of the city. Anyone can attempt to go to the academy to learn ikonomancy and more about ikons in general along with being trained to be a future Wardana or possibly a future Regia Guard. This causes the third ring to be the most protected ring along with the ring with the highest authority figures per populous.
Individuals that go to the academy are usually found in white and black clothing that is softer than most third and fourth-ringer wear. Nicer in creation as well. The Wardana themselves can be found in multiple different types of armor that are created to fit the form. Heavy when first put on but once the ikon is activated, it becomes skin-tight in a comfortable way, and as light as a feather. Almost similar to someone giving you a hug. There are plenty of different versions of the Wardana armor, yet they are all in the Wardana red color. From the tip of the gloves and ikon-enforced gauntlet that brings out the chosen weapon (such as a spear, bow, etc…) to help the Wardana fight against the storm beats to the boots. There is padding all around the hips and thighs of the pants along with padding that is all around the torso and shoulders. Some Wardana can be seen wearing helmets as well.
Unlike the fourth ringers, third ringers have scarce vegetation and no moss. The vegetation that the third ringers have supplied some fruit in the spring months and the autumn months called Eyota and Surocouri. Eyota is a fruit that is produced in the springtime and is almost flavorless with a tinge of sweetness. Usually, a soft-skinned heart-shaped fruit that comes in coral colors — leaning from orange to pink in color. Surocouri tends to be very vibrant reddish pink in color and is produced in the autumn months, Surocouri tends to be robust in flavor and quite sour. The plants that these fruits are produced on are vines that crawl up the sides of buildings and all around the balconies of second stories.
The third ring is an upgrade from the fourth ring's living situation. More necessities are accessed in this ring and the usage of ikons increases tenfold. People have ikons for everything in these rings. Tying shoes. Running bath water and heating it up. Straightening clothes. Having sugar doves fly, a dessert you can get from bakeries around the third and second rings. There is an ikon for everything and people continue to make more!
A big difference is that other materials are used in the third ring for clothes that are not as long as the fourth ring and are not as heavy. Blankets and beds are softer as well though they are not as soft as the second or the first ringer's beds and clothes.
Along with things being upgraded the streets themselves are cleaner and brighter. People from the third ring know what sunlight feels like even if it is shadier sunlight compared to the higher rings. With each ring people's skin becomes darker. This is because of the access to sunshine which the fourth ringers have none of and are pale in comparison to the other ring’s inhabitants.
🆃🅷🅴 🆂🅴🅲🅾🅽🅳 🆁🅸🅽🅶
inhabitants themselves, merchants from the third ring, people from the first ring, the authorities, or the individuals attending the Wardana Academy. The Wardana Academy students get a card that shows their identification, knowledge of ikonomancy and ikons, and who they are apprenticing under, and this allows them to access the second ring all day and the first ring once a day.
Most families that occupy the second ring are established in this ring by centuries of ancestors. It is hard for any lower-ring individual to access the second ring, especially in the sense of living there. The people of this ring tend to be the darkest and most beautiful, yet it is not odd for light-skinned individuals to be in the ring as well, genetics, and personal tastes about being in or outside. Individuals with this ring tend to wear their hair longer than third ringers or fourth ringers. Third ringers tend to wear their hair shoulder length or shorter while second ringers, male or female, are known to wear their hair past their shoulders. It is said to be an elegant look that most second-ringers strive for. Elegance. Beauty. Grace.
In this ring everything is better and only dreams of fourth and third ringers. The streets are cleaner. The average individual is more educated in ikons and ikonomancy along with other subjects. They get to learn history that is centuries old and participate in the most leisurely activities of arts and crafts.
The beds would be considered too soft for all fourth ringers and even the majority of third ringers would consider the clothes and beds too soft as well. Second ringers are higher on the food chain. Pampered compared to the other rings. The typical behavior of a second ringer is not to care about anyone but yourself or your family crest. How can you make yourself and your family's name better? Not worrying about the lower lives of the third and fourth ring. Typically, you will find that they have rude and negative outlooks to anyone that does not derive from the second or first ring. They are the individuals who have fought for storm touch to not be considered humans or eligible for the weekly rations.
Elegance and beauty are what come from the second ring along with the majority of food.
🆃🅷🅴 🅵🅸🆁🆂🆃 🆁🅸🅽🅶
is where the royals, the extended family, and a select few are allowed to live. The best of the best in ikonomancy. Healers. The Regia themselves. The Regia Guard. The Regia Guard’s close family. Very few are allowed to visit from the outer rings. Second ringers are allowed to frequent more than third ringers and anyone from the Wardana academy is allowed to frequent more than third ringers themselves.
The first ring is home to the Regia, the physical vessel of the Great King, and is home to the access points to the Forgotten City. A city that has tunnelways and access points all around the nameless city. It is very unlikely to access the Forgotten City from anywhere else and the first ring seems to have the most secretive rooms, especially in the tower that is the center and heart of the once great kingdom of seven rings.
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🆃🅷🅴 🅼🅰🅶🅸🅲 🅾🅵 🆃🅷🅴 🆆🅾🆁🅻🅳
ɪᴋᴏɴᴏᴍᴀɴᴄʏ & ɪᴋᴏɴs
The magic of this world comes from what is known as Ikons. These are basic geometric symbols to complex multi-symboled systems to fix, create, build, heal, and destroy. Most people specialize in certain ikons and practice harnessing the abilities of ikonomancy from the Wardana Academy in the third ring. The majority of individuals do not know how to actually form ikons or create new ones but they are easy for non-ikon-influenced individuals to use.
Unauthorized ikonomancy especially in the lower rings is frowned upon and can get one in trouble with the Wardana or the Regia guard themselves. Third ringers and above are allowed to use ikons and ikonomancy for leisure, unlike the lowest ring inhabitants. They are able to use ikons in bakeries and other areas to help improve morale and create new beautiful works.
First and second-ringers automatically begin learning about ikons and attempting ikonomancy in their younger years because of the education they receive. Third-ringers do not get that as much but they have access depending on how wealthy their family is. Fourth ringers are only able to get their ikons from the gray market or unauthorized learnings such as generational hammy downs.
There are ikons for almost everything and if they do not have them, someone is trying to figure out a new one, and so on. There are ikons used in bakeries to make pastries like sugar doves fly and edible roses to form when a cookie is broken with that specific jelly and ikon carved into it.
An ikon to tie shoes when you put them on.
To run bath water and heat it up instead of doing it manually on the stove.
Ikons for battle. Offensive and defensive.
Fourth ringers are only allowed to use ikons that are already established and even sometimes are not allowed to do that. Depending on if they are secret passages into other rings and so on. Not all passages are known. It’s only a problem when you are caught!
Ikonomancy is a very versatile magic and is quite hard to master. People who are naturally born with the understanding or seem to have an easier time learning tend to be herded into the Wardana Academy though can choose to not go and not learn about Ikons. Most would see that as a foolish thing especially if you come from the lower rings. Anyone from any ring is allowed to go to the Wardana Academy even if it is harder for fourth ringers to present their case or have already established Wardana take them as apprentices.
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𝔗𝔥𝔢 ℜ𝔢𝔳𝔬𝔩𝔲𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫𝔦𝔰𝔱𝔰 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔱𝔥𝔢 ℜ𝔢𝔳𝔬𝔩𝔲𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫
The revolution was brought to light before the sixth ring fell victim to the storm and has continued to have stragglers stay a part of it till current times. In the past decade, it seems to have become a rising threat to the higher rings, especially towards the first ring that holds the Regia, the Regia guard, and the third ring that houses the Wardana.
Most of the revolutionists come from the fifth, fourth, and third rings. After the surge that took the fifth ring happened over a decade ago, the revolution seemed to gather more followers. More people believe that the “Great King” is the god to blame for their suffering, their loss, and everything evil that happens in the world. If he was so great, why wouldn’t he stop the storm? Why wouldn’t he change things for the better? The Great King in their eyes is a failure who has allowed suffering to go on too long because of his selfishness.
Everyone that is a part of the revolution and is caught stands trial. The majority of individuals who go through the trials do not live yet there are a few. Mainly stories. Folk tales. Living through the trials is a rarity. They have not had a trial going on in about half a decade though the Regia Guard are trying their best to find the leader(s) of the revolution and put them to trial.
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𝔽𝕠𝕔𝕦𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 ℝ𝕠𝕝𝕖-ℙ𝕝𝕒𝕪
I use the term “sandbox” role-play very loosely since this is not a choose-your-own story but is to a point. There are things happening in the bigger picture for this whole idea. Some character(s) will have more influence than others. No matter what you are, fourth ringer to first ringer, your character(s) decisions will influence the story in some way. Somehow. Decisions have consequences no matter how small they are.
Character-wise, you have the freedom to go for whatever you want. Currently, there are no restrictions though there are recommendations for some character(s) who will have more difficulties because of rings and so on. It creates difficulties and causes people to have creative ways of jumping over those hoops and hopefully not getting caught by the Regia Guard or Wardana!
At the beginning of this role-play, everything is in chaos or at least everything to do with the royal family, Regia, Regia Guard, and the royal council is in chaos. The higher-ups in the kingdom are trying to figure out solutions because the storm surge past the fourth wall has shaken everyone.
ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕀𝕟𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟
The slots that have an unlimited amount of access to anyone are inhabitants of the fourth - second ring and apprentices or academic students of the Wardana Academy. There is no cap on characters for an individual player as well. I will probably have quite a few character(s) that are not NPCs running around.
Character(s) positions that are capped are the Royal family, the Regia, the Regia Guard, and the Wardana.
- No character under the age of twenty-five will be allowed to be a Regia Guard. - Characters that are apprentices of the Regia guard have to have at least two to four years of the academy under their belt and be the highest in their ranks - No character under the age of fourteen can apply and participate in the Wardana Academy - Wardana leaders typically are late teens to late forties in age
- Regia is a position that will most likely be filled by an NPC unless an individual makes a great claim as to why they want this position for it is not very active. The Regia is a lifeless husk because the Great King (who is an NPC) speaks through them and uses their physical form which makes it very difficult to write and I will not allow this to be anything above a secondary character for anyone. - Regia Guard are individuals that protect the Regia and step on the bounds of morals when it comes to protecting the city and hushing the revolutionists and not caring for the storm touched. There are only six slots opened for the Regia Guard including the leader. These are individuals who have excelled during their academics, were Wardana (leaders or not), and were able to become apprentices to the Regia Guard. The Regia Guard are only allowed to take on one apprentice to replace them except for the leader who is able to take on two.
[0/6] Regia Guard slots are taken.
- Wardana Leaders are a part of the Wardana Academy and tend to work as trainers. Wardana leaders are able to have up to five apprentices under them. There are eight slots for Wardana leaders in the symbolization of cardinal and intermediate directions. One for each to protect the city and the people against storm surges and storm beasts.
[0/8] Wardana Leaders slots are taken.
Wardana leaders have to have at least one apprentice under them at all times.
- Storm Touch character(s) are individuals who are touched by the storm. Storm beasts however do not cause curses to happen. The storm herself causes curses to befall individuals and generational curses happen as well. If a character is touched by the storm, they will develop a curse. That curse can be practically anything. Snakes for hair. Owl characteristics. Rock skin that slowly consumes the body. Cat-like features. Anything. Nothing is considered fortunate when touched by the storm. The individual becomes ineligible for rations and the majority of people fear them.
You can decorate this however you please but you have to have the included list down below:
• Name (not everyone has middle or last names, especially fourth ringers) • Age or age range. Age ranges that are not allowed are anything going from minor to adult. For example: Age ranges that are appropriate: 12-14. 25-30. Age ranges that are inappropriate: 16-20. 17-19. Your character either has to be a minor or an adult. Not an in-between for obvious reasons. • Description or/and character reference. References will not be anime or real photography.
• Is your character cursed? Were they storm touched or generational storm touched? It is more likely that you are a fourth ringer or come from the fifth ring destruction as a storm-touched or genetically based character. If your character is a third to central ringer that is storm touched or generational-cursed, you will have to explain. The reason, why this could be, is that the character themselves were Wardana and got touched by the storm. They could end up living in secret buildings in the third ring or second ring. The same goes for generational storm touched if your character resides in an upper ring but is a generational storm touched. They are currently a Wardana. Maybe they were adopted? Who knows. Give a good reason to explain how they got from the outer ring(s) to the inner ring(s) by being cursed. • What ring does your character come from? The last storm surge that took over the fifth ring was roughly a decade ago meaning they could have been fifth ringers. Meaning they see life as an upgraded tragedy. They live in a better place but only from the loss of loved ones and their birth home and so on. They are part of the royal or aristocratic families? How do they view the world? How do they view the people of the lower rings? • Active Role. Explain! Are they active or inactive Wardana? Are they a part of the Regia guard? Are they average day third-ringer citizens or are they signing themselves up for the Wardana academy to learn more about Ikons and figure out if they can harness ikonomancy? Are they a revolutionist? Explain the whys and how they got there. Did they join the revolutionists or were they born into it? Influenced by parents? • Biography. Write about their family members and where they come from. What got them from point A to point B and if they trying to get to point C or D?
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This Role-play is inspired by the "Darkening" book by Sunya Mara. There will be no canon character(s) apart from this role-play. All original character(s).
• Name: Ceren • Age: Twenty-three • Description: Standing at a small five-foot-one, Ceren is petite and stature and appears extremely fragile and doll-like. Her skin is as pale as porcelain, her eyes as dark as the fading moon, and her hair as bright as the pure fallen snow. She has a lean build and not muscular at all. She has a few places on her body that resemble spider veins, the lines black and jaded.
• Is your character cursed? Were they storm touched or generational storm touched? Ceren has been storm touched and cursed to resemble a porcelain doll. Her skin is as pale, but not exactly as tough as porcelain. Any rough touch results in spider veins lanced about her body circling a small dark patch of skin.
• What ring does your character come from? Ceren comes from the lost fifth ring, but has been outcasted and shamed due to being storm cursed.
• Active Role: While she has lived a life of solitude and poverty, she has a strong yearning to rage against the current goings on in the world. She wishes to be a part of the revolution, but as she is feared by many, she has a very strong feeling that she will be outcasted by the group as well. Yet they will not stop her from standing up for what she believes is right.
• Biography: Born to Destiny and Myrel, Ceren grew up a normal only child in the fifth ring. Her parents were part of the revolution from almost the very beginning, and always pushed their daughter to believe in the underdogs and to always stand up for what was right. That urge was instilled in her from a very young age and it carries with her to this very day. When the storm came for their ring, her parents died trying to protect her. Her mother shielded her, protecting her child's life. But, that didn't stop the storm from laying a curse on the young girl. From the very moment her curse took it's hold, she has been an outcast and living alone and on scraps that she has been able to find. She believes in the work her parents put into the revolution, and is bound and determined to live out their legacy.
Question though, would a Regia Guard player-character know much Iknomancy considering they wouldn't have studied at the Academy, due to them being two different career paths? You've described Ikonomancy as being pretty commonly used by all kinds of folks in the city, so I'm imagining they could at least have picked up some pretty frequently used symbols if not anything advanced like a trainee is learning to use
Question though, would a Regia Guard player-character know much Iknomancy considering they wouldn't have studied at the Academy, due to them being two different career paths? You've described Ikonomancy as being pretty commonly used by all kinds of folks in the city, so I'm imagining they could at least have picked up some pretty frequently used symbols if not anything advanced like a trainee is learning to use
Everyone starts out in the Wardana Academy in the third if they are Wardana, apprentices, or Regia Guard. If individuals want to legally practice ikonomancy, they have to do it under the eyes of the government, the Regia. That doesn't mean people don't practice it outside of those boundaries but the Wardana and Redia Guard work to stop that.
NAME Callina venenum publicly. Matriarch / Void mistresses her cultists.
AGE 28
RING 3rd / 4th
ROLE Matriarch to the cult of shadows.
The Cult of shadows is a death cult, assasins ply their trade and its members can be found to bring death in all forms. She is its leader. And its influence is rising higher and extending their tendrils…slowly.
On surface she is a mistress of a web of establishments who deal in the vices of men and women. They do not have Judge as long as you have the coin to pay for it.
DESCRIPTION White haired, slender, and lithe. Her skin is pale yet also full of life and a strong hint of danger. In her public persona she is seen as a mistress of a wide number of less morally reputable establishments that serve the desires of those with the coin to pay for them. Dressed in garments that would scandalise an upper ring she presents a rather hedonistic front.
Her cult attire is no less provocative, though her face is always masked. One near albino is quite like another in the lower tiers. The leather mask artfully merges the bones of its predecessor as a warning to those who may think to repeat it. Make no mistake, however she dresses to distract and detract… She is deadly.
The rumour of her drinking blood and vampirism is potentially not always a rumour. Men and women have not returned from her bed or bath chambers.
Her choice of attire can be interesting….but is pragmatic. Whatever works. Works.
PERSONALITY Ruthless, you do not rise to lead a death cult by being nice. A lady who can charm one minute and flirt but also kill you 30 seconds later without mercy.
Her front is not a lie, she has no shame, no qualms and her hedonistic rumours are often somewhat true if later exaggerated. Very few things phase her.
Her loyalty to gold. Herself and own interests thus her cult. They may have ties to rebels. But that's far from their only customers.
SKILLS Assassin Knife fighting Poisoning and trickery Charm…when needed Matriarch at centre of a spider's Web. Can heal herself / feed by drinking blood. Charismatic cult leader.
BACKGROUND Her true parentage is unknown, maybe 5th ring refugees, maybe an upper rings bastad or an unwanted child of nobility. No one knows.
An orphan was left on the cults doorstep and found, taking her in, she was raised slowly by them becoming her twisted but also loyal family as much as they could be.
Callina was trained by the cult along with other found children who wandered their way into its clutches. Toys were wooden daggers, play was combat training, the cult was no such easy childhood. Most had killed before they reached their teens and already taken their first contracts before their 15th name day. The cult was brutal, darwinian, many died or failed but those few who survived were some of the best killers in the group.
Trained from a young age, they could Infiltrate, evade, and specialise in all manner of weapons. Some from a distance, some up close, others in their own beds, kitchens and more. There was many ways and the cult brought death to every flavour.
Callina was ambitious, dangerously so but also dangerously smart. Gathering allies and slowly cultivating her position by expanding their surface interests to hide and fund their activities even into the 3rd ring. Having footholds in 4th and 3rd rings of the nameless city.
One day. It all boiled down to one day. A poisoned dagger to the heart. Years of secret planning…was over in seconds. Callina became the matriarch.
MISC Mostly concentrated near the 3rd and 4th ring gate and making inroads into the 3rd. The cult's influence has bled over the borders.
CURSE Vampirism. The curse is not entirely obvious physically unlike some though one who pays particularly close may find something amiss. It has affected her mind more than body.
Drinks blood, her restraint and such are reduced. Retractable fangs and blood lust if deprived.
Prefers the night but can function in the sunlight. It's just uncomfortable and harsher.
Wardina / MAGIC Taught in the underground by the cult in basic magic. The education was haphazard but functional.
Mostly practical skills and those to hide, survive, evade and such skills. They were heavy on practical and not academic
Notable NPC
Janus
Janus is someone who she trained with, worked, plotted and slipped the very knife she used to slay the previous matriarch.
As close to a … lover, friend, lieutenant and almost family at same time. In both forms. Callina is not fussy or hung up on such issues or labels. One watches the light, the other the shadow.
Janus is a fairly normal looking person, until you take into the corruption they possess, the one that saw them orphaned and abandoned to the Shadow cult. Janus is many people.
Possessing the ability to shift from male to female on demand, to change their very face and voice. They were very much hunted as anyone who would master that would be dangerous indeed. Their identity is… curiously unknown as it's genuinely unsure if they ever have had a default form. Just a form they prefer. Janus is flux…a constant changing chaos of a person.
And Callina is only too happy to have such a person at her back.
Active Role: Prince of the Nameless City, fated to be the next Regia Currently a Wardana, protector of the people and fighter of revolutionaries
Physical Description: Fit and toned, slender and agile, the epitome of a young man in his prime. His face, however, belies a man who has endured more than he should for his age, the gaunt features and slightly sunken eyes both a telltale sign. Yet despite his features, he stands tall and walks with pride, never falters or shows weakness in front of another, his piercing yellow eyes often seeming cold or distant.
Inception:
From the moment since his conception, Zavala has been fed the tale of his destiny. How he is to lead his people and shelter them from the encroaching storm, to be the light in the dark and a shining beacon of hope for them all. It was his father’s belief in him to shepherd the lost, that drove Zavala to become a paragon for the nameless city, to be the best of the best. To that end, he was given the best tutors, advisors and instructors available in the city to teach him the skills necessary to develop his mind into a ruler and his body into that of a warrior.
Wardana Training:
As soon as he came of age he enlisted into the Wardana Academy; his previous instructions flourishing his education ever further. Though he doesn’t have a natural affinity for the full destructive power that Ikonomancy can possess, he does have a propensity to create makeshift weaponry and barriers from earth ikons. When his cousin Ergen joined the academy not two years after, not only did Zavala finally have a friend he could rely on, but a powerful rival to push his limits against. The two dueled often, served on the streets together and saved one another during fights on more than one occasion. They were an inseparable team, but perhaps he should have listened to the words his cousin often spoke, rather than the ambitions and ideals he strived towards. Perhaps if life had gone different, it would have been anyone else under that hood but Ergen that night. For the first time that night, Zavala felt he was not in control of his destiny, his eyes showing confusion, his voice betraying anguish; weakness.
“Ergen.”
“Don’t take this personally…”
Those words were more biting than the explosive wind and though the Regia captain was quick to act, the deed had already been done. Ergen was gone, his body never recovered, believed to have been torn to shreds from the destructive power of his misguided ikons. Zavala lost a friend, and a comrade, not just family that day.
Heir for the Future:
As the years ticked on and the fires of rebellion began to stir, talks of the future and who would rule after became a common occurrence. His mother, Rehana was ever insistent for him to have an heir and arranged for a multitude of bachelorettes to be brought before him; all of them denied. In his pursuit to be the best, he also wanted the best match, not just in superficial traits or for political or financial gain. He desired another who matched his zeal, who desired not only to save the people from the coming storm, but to do what they do best to achieve that goal.
He found that desire amongst a lowborn woman, one who would not reveal her name to him, one he would frequent often and converse with. Despite her upbringing she was intelligent, and far too kind, but that kindness was met in return. He knows not where she is now, even if he did, the crown would never acknowledge whomever she birthed. If he was right though, that child would find a way to strive to ever greater heights and mayhaps one day, be the true beacon after he is gone.
Destiny Awaits:
Now years later, his father, the new host Regia, Zavala must take his rightful place . Yet the rebellion wears heavy on his mind, every day is a challenge and there are those that would bring down the monarchy as a whole. Enemies within and enemies without, allies to the storm that would bring their doom. He will meet them all on the battlefield if he must, for he will lead the people to a brighter dawn.
Active Role: Prince of the Nameless City, fated to be the next Regia Currently a Wardana, protector of the people and fighter of revolutionaries
Physical Description: Fit and toned, slender and agile, the epitome of a young man in his prime. His face, however, belies a man who has endured more than he should for his age, the gaunt features and slightly sunken eyes both a telltale sign. Yet despite his features, he stands tall and walks with pride, never falters or shows weakness in front of another, his piercing yellow eyes often seeming cold or distant.
Inception:
From the moment since his conception, Zavala has been fed the tale of his destiny. How he is to lead his people and shelter them from the encroaching storm, to be the light in the dark and a shining beacon of hope for them all. It was his father’s belief in him to shepherd the lost, that drove Zavala to become a paragon for the nameless city, to be the best of the best. To that end, he was given the best tutors, advisors and instructors available in the city to teach him the skills necessary to develop his mind into a ruler and his body into that of a warrior.
Wardana Training:
As soon as he came of age he enlisted into the Wardana Academy; his previous instructions flourishing his education ever further. Though he doesn’t have a natural affinity for the full destructive power that Ikonomancy can possess, he does have a propensity to create makeshift weaponry and barriers from earth ikons. When his cousin Ergen joined the academy not two years after, not only did Zavala finally have a friend he could rely on, but a powerful rival to push his limits against. The two dueled often, served on the streets together and saved one another during fights on more than one occasion. They were an inseparable team, but perhaps he should have listened to the words his cousin often spoke, rather than the ambitions and ideals he strived towards. Perhaps if life had gone different, it would have been anyone else under that hood but Ergen that night. For the first time that night, Zavala felt he was not in control of his destiny, his eyes showing confusion, his voice betraying anguish; weakness.
“Ergen.”
“Don’t take this personally…”
Those words were more biting than the explosive wind and though the Regia captain was quick to act, the deed had already been done. Ergen was gone, his body never recovered, believed to have been torn to shreds from the destructive power of his misguided ikons. Zavala lost a friend, and a comrade, not just family that day.
Heir for the Future:
As the years ticked on and the fires of rebellion began to stir, talks of the future and who would rule after became a common occurrence. His mother, Rehana was ever insistent for him to have an heir and arranged for a multitude of bachelorettes to be brought before him; all of them denied. In his pursuit to be the best, he also wanted the best match, not just in superficial traits or for political or financial gain. He desired another who matched his zeal, who desired not only to save the people from the coming storm, but to do what they do best to achieve that goal.
He found that desire amongst a lowborn woman, one who would not reveal her name to him, one he would frequent often and converse with. Despite her upbringing she was intelligent, and far too kind, but that kindness was met in return. He knows not where she is now, even if he did, the crown would never acknowledge whomever she birthed. If he was right though, that child would find a way to strive to ever greater heights and mayhaps one day, be the true beacon after he is gone.
Destiny Awaits:
Now years later, his father, the new host Regia, Zavala must take his rightful place . Yet the rebellion wears heavy on his mind, every day is a challenge and there are those that would bring down the monarchy as a whole. Enemies within and enemies without, allies to the storm that would bring their doom. He will meet them all on the battlefield if he must, for he will lead the people to a brighter dawn.
Accepted! Move him to the character tab. We are glad to finally have our unwavering prince!
Description: She stands at a tall 5’10” with slender proportions and an angelic grace about her. Most amongst the populace would describe Jaina as protective, dedicated, and courageous (except if you’re Stormtouched), but those who know her well know that she is a bit flirty, stubborn, and haughty. She respects authority and will only challenge her superiors if she knows she is in the right.
Biography: Jaina hails from a once great family of ikonomancers in the 3rd Ring. Her family had been pioneers of ikonomancy in its infancy all those years ago, but stagnation and ineptness had plagued generations of Vanns, robbing them of their prestige and wealth bit by bit. By the time of Jaina’s birth, her parents, Syrun and Dawn, were just barely surviving in their rundown estate, kept only intact by runes drawn by their forerunners. Jaina was expected to be as talentless and unbecoming as her parents and as all the recent generations of Vanns, but her youthful curiosity and keen intelligence would be the Vann’s saving grace. Dirty tomes and hidden recipes for ikons were a feast for Jaina’s young eyes, devouring them bit by bit in their firelit study. Her parents would witness a momentous rise back to the top, their daughter a fledgling paragon amongst this city.
Or at least, they should’ve witnessed it.
Syrun was an eager fool of a man, and his wife, Dawn, only served to enable his scheming. His “friends” were seedy at best, Stormtouched rogues and brigands that he would occasionally harbor under the noses of the Wardana for “business purposes”. Jaina was rarely privy to any conversations that her father had with these individuals, nor would she ever know what he was really up to.
One night, a 12 year old Jaina woke up to screaming and shouting. She snuck downstairs to find the source of the noise, only to find her father being flayed by a pale woman with ghastly features: her yellow eyes were much too wide, her lips black as night, and her skin glinted with reptilian scales. Her mother, Dawn, laid on the ground, her skull already shattered against a stone wall. A few other Stormtouched individuals were looting her home, while the pale woman jeered at Syrun for “failing his end of the bargain”. In a fright, Jaina managed to escape the estate without being detected, flagging down the Wardana with tears in her eyes. By the time the Wardana arrived on the scene, Syrun was a bloody husk of a corpse, but the Stormtouched criminals were likewise taken care of.
Jaina would never know what criminal enterprise her father had aligned himself with nor would she ever know who the Stormtouched were. Nonetheless, the Wardana had avenged her parents, and so she felt she knew where she had to go next, especially now that she was an orphan: She would go to the Academy and become just like them. Her trauma sparked a wildfire and a need to protect this city and drive the Storm back, and with it, all of the Cursed individuals. The miscreants and fell beings would perish so that no one else would have to endure what she had.
And so she did exactly what she set out to do: Jaina showcased her proficiency of ikonomancy upon joining the Wardana Academy, one that would only blossom with each passing year. She was a natural, a manifestation of the past glory of the Vann name. By the time she was 19, she had become a Wardana Leader and fought numerous skirmishes against storm beasts. There have been some rumors that she purposefully caught Stormtouched in the crossfire of her battles, but it has never been a point of contention amongst her peers. As for the general, non-Cursed population, Jaina has been a saint to those in need, a true hero fighting valiantly against the Storm.
With the betrayal of Ergen Ilkin, Jaina’s pedigree and skill has earned herself a position as the newfound apprentice of Leonhart Astaros, someone she has idolized for her prowess and heroic status. Suddenly, her prospective future looks even brighter.
Description: She stands at a tall 5’10” with slender proportions and an angelic grace about her. Most amongst the populace would describe Jaina as protective, dedicated, and courageous (except if you’re Stormtouched), but those who know her well know that she is a bit flirty, stubborn, and haughty. She respects authority and will only challenge her superiors if she knows she is in the right.
Biography: Jaina hails from a once great family of ikonomancers in the 3rd Ring. Her family had been pioneers of ikonomancy in its infancy all those years ago, but stagnation and ineptness had plagued generations of Vanns, robbing them of their prestige and wealth bit by bit. By the time of Jaina’s birth, her parents, Syrun and Dawn, were just barely surviving in their rundown estate, kept only intact by runes drawn by their forerunners. Jaina was expected to be as talentless and unbecoming as her parents and as all the recent generations of Vanns, but her youthful curiosity and keen intelligence would be the Vann’s saving grace. Dirty tomes and hidden recipes for ikons were a feast for Jaina’s young eyes, devouring them bit by bit in their firelit study. Her parents would witness a momentous rise back to the top, their daughter a fledgling paragon amongst this city.
Or at least, they should’ve witnessed it.
Syrun was an eager fool of a man, and his wife, Dawn, only served to enable his scheming. His “friends” were seedy at best, Stormtouched rogues and brigands that he would occasionally harbor under the noses of the Wardana for “business purposes”. Jaina was rarely privy to any conversations that her father had with these individuals, nor would she ever know what he was really up to.
One night, a 12 year old Jaina woke up to screaming and shouting. She snuck downstairs to find the source of the noise, only to find her father being flayed by a pale woman with ghastly features: her yellow eyes were much too wide, her lips black as night, and her skin glinted with reptilian scales. Her mother, Dawn, laid on the ground, her skull already shattered against a stone wall. A few other Stormtouched individuals were looting her home, while the pale woman jeered at Syrun for “failing his end of the bargain”. In a fright, Jaina managed to escape the estate without being detected, flagging down the Wardana with tears in her eyes. By the time the Wardana arrived on the scene, Syrun was a bloody husk of a corpse, but the Stormtouched criminals were likewise taken care of.
Jaina would never know what criminal enterprise her father had aligned himself with nor would she ever know who the Stormtouched were. Nonetheless, the Wardana had avenged her parents, and so she felt she knew where she had to go next, especially now that she was an orphan: She would go to the Academy and become just like them. Her trauma sparked a wildfire and a need to protect this city and drive the Storm back, and with it, all of the Cursed individuals. The miscreants and fell beings would perish so that no one else would have to endure what she had.
And so she did exactly what she set out to do: Jaina showcased her proficiency of ikonomancy upon joining the Wardana Academy, one that would only blossom with each passing year. She was a natural, a manifestation of the past glory of the Vann name. By the time she was 19, she had become a Wardana Leader and fought numerous skirmishes against storm beasts. There have been some rumors that she purposefully caught Stormtouched in the crossfire of her battles, but it has never been a point of contention amongst her peers. As for the general, non-Cursed population, Jaina has been a saint to those in need, a true hero fighting valiantly against the Storm.
With the betrayal of Ergen Ilkin, Jaina’s pedigree and skill has earned herself a position as the newfound apprentice of Leonhart Astaros, someone she has idolized for her prowess and heroic status. Suddenly, her prospective future looks even brighter.
Name Malcer Aliases The Wraith; Doctor. Age 50+ Physical Description Standing at 6'4", Malcer is a looming figure, swathed in thick, dark layers, complete with gloves and a hooded cloak. Not a single inch of skin is exposed... not that there is anything to find. Beneath his swathes of garments, Malcer is quite literally nothing but bones, a living skeleton, who bulks up his form with underlayers to disguise his nature from discovery through visual observation or physical contact. A complicated network of belts and straps runs throughout his attire, arranged to help keep everything oriented correctly, rather than sagging limply on his body. The final result is someone that looks far more physically inclined than they are, sporting a deep baritone voice and -with rare exception- wearing a blank, alabaster-white mask with some resemblance to a skull. Storm-touched Malcer's condition is one of the more extreme amongst his kind. When he first contracted it, his flesh began to rapidly rot, no longer intaking sustenance. For all intents and purposes, as far as doctors could tell, he was simply a literal dead man walking, and soon enough, his flesh simply sloughed off his bones. Instead of leaving him collapsed in a fate worse than death, however, Malcer's skeleton remained animated in spite of his state, fueled seemingly solely by mystical energies. Over the decades, he's learned to deal with this, and it has had its pros and cons. While it has robbed him of many valuable human experiences like being able to eat and sleep, it has also left him free of sickness and aging. While he has been deprived of rations like many of his fellows, he doesn't need them and continues to persist, doing what he can to aid his fellow man. Despite his fleshless state, he still has no trouble uses the senses that should be lost to him with the exception of taste, able to see, hear, touch and smell as well as he could before. He can even still speak... somehow. Ring Third Ring