From times immemorial, magic has caused the greatest atrocities the island continent of Altea has ever seen. Those with the gift of magic, eventually turn to exploit it for their own ends, regardless of their previous intentions. But finally, peace was restored, when the Paladins were formed. Armed with brilliant white power of the light, they were capable to negate the powers of the mages and bring order and prosperity to Altea. In the end, mages were still being born. Some turned themselves in for purification, a ritual that robs them of magic and leaves the person with everlasting pain. Others flee and hide. But the society at large were at peace. Altea was united under the banner of Meldiniar, and to crown was given to the founder of Paladins, Grand Master Grinoc, as the king relinquished his throne. 

And so, Meldiniar flourished, but the hunt for users of magic still continued. But this delicate "balance" was broken by the Azure Covenant, a group of mages who kill and destroy everyone in their path, including other mages. After so many years, the Paladins finally get to truly fight their old enemy, not just hunt for runaways. But is all magic evil? Are all mages evil? Is the power of the Paladins truly divine?

Essentially, this is a Mages vs Paladins scenario, but without any good/evil morality nonsense. And there is more to this old conflict than meets the eye. However, this RP is meant to be mainly player driven. While there is a planned ending, the planned plot revelations, they are very flexible, all depending on how the story plays out. Feel free to suggest your own races, nations, events, and so on. All within reason, of course. [u]And as such, the following lists are the base, and more can be added, as long as it fits the world.[/u]

[hider=Races]
[list]

[*][b]Humans[/b] - The most numerous race in Altea, Meldiniar houses the majority of humanity. While the common man lives relatively peacefully, The Witch Hunt mercilessly hunts down anyone who displays any signs of magical capabilities, unless they turn themselves in for Purification.[/*]
[*][b]Elves[/b] - the secluded, pointy-eared race, living in the dark forests to the south. Though they practice magic, Paladins tolerate them as their magic is connected deeply to nature, and Elves never misused their power. Elves retain little interest in human affairs, and rarely deal with them. Though usually they accept the runaway mages into their isolated society, provided they accept their teachings. Though far more numerous, humans do not dare to enforce The Witch Hunt in Elven territory.[/*]
[*][b]Dwarves[/b] - the bulky, short, bearded cave-dwellers originate on a cavernous plateau west of the mainland. Though they keep to themselves, they trade and interact with humans, some even join the ranks of Paladins. There are very few cases of dwarven mages, and they are quickly turned in. It is with dwarf help that the Fort of Inquisitors was built.[/*]
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[hider=Important Characters]
[list]
[*][b]Grand Master Grinoc[/b] - the founder of the Paladins, King of Meldiniar. Any who doubted his divine power were soon proven wrong, as the man has not aged at all since the founding of Paladins. But there are still some that question his divinity.[/*]

[*][b]Azure[/b] - His real name is not known, but he is the leader of the Azure Covenant. Not much is known about him, since very few faced him and lived - the only survivors were the one who ran away. He is named Azure because of the distinct color of his magic, as well as azure crystal formations left in his wake.[/*]

[*][b]Witch of the Black Forest[/b] - Considered a legend by some, a very powerful mage by others, the are called The Black Forest is considered to be her home. A gloomy forest near the elven borders, no search parties have ever returned from there. Not even the Azure Covenant dare to set their foot there, though some argue they are not being afraid of the forest - they are protecting it.[/*]

[*][b]Count Deliah Eternus[/b] - Heir to the kingdom that was annexed during the unification led by Paladins, Deliah's grandfather avoided a rather gruesome fate by relinquishing his domain and not resisting the annexion. Though an exemplary, if not cowardly noble by all accounts, Deliah is not the one to give up on the land and identity his family lost. There are silly rumors of Count Deliah supporting the mages in some way, but those are dismissed even by the Inquisition.[/*]
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[hider=Terminology]
[list]
[*][b]The legend of the Wandering Nation[/b] - It was said that, long ago, a group of outcasts came together as one, traveling as a caravan through a world that wouldn't accept them. They were witches, wizards, run away slaves, paladins who quit the job; all sorts. They slowly grew in numbers, picking up others along the way. Soon, people began to seek them out. Rumor spread that if you could find this caravan, you could find acceptance. No matter your past or affiliation, they didn't discriminate. Over the years, their numbers grew so large that they held the population of a small nation, hence the name. The Wandering Nation traveled the lands; vagabonds in the wind, gypsies with freedom, rebels without a cause. As several members of royalty, those who fled the crown, joined, the caravan grew rich. It was said that they had more gold and jewels than a man may ever see in a lifetime. However, it seems that the caravan is quite elusive. Some report having seen it, but most assume that it's just a fairy tale.[/*]

[*][b]Covenant[/b] - A group of a related people by trade or occupation. Belonging in a covenant is required to have a citizenship. A covenant looks after it's own interests, which involves teaching their own, recruiting new members and other organizational functions. Though usually named after an occupation or trade, it is not rare for soldiers, paladins and people of any other occupation to join them, or receive training in such.[/*]

[*][b]Power of the Light[/b] - The bright white light wielded by the Paladins. One must undergo special training to survive the initiation ritual, which allows the Paladin to wield Light. Though it can be molded into any shape or form, it cannot change it's own properties, unlike magic. Though the light sears anyone it touches, it has far more devastating effect on magic, as it nullifies and ignites it, no matter it's shape or form. However, the Light is also destroyed in the process, so to null a spell a Paladin has to unleash similar or greater energy of the light. Since the power of magic is coursing through a mage's body, any contact with Light will ignite those energies, usually burning the mage alive using their own power as fuel. Also, Light has a very similar effect to energies of The Beyond and The Deadlands.[/*]

[*][b]Magic[/b] - the mystical energy that can be shaped into any form, and used to do nearly anything, given sufficient power and skill. Creating something from nothing, healing and harming, animating a corpse, even bringing someone from the brink of death - magic can do it all. It is not known what causes one to have magic powers, as non-mage parents can have a child with the gift/curse of magic. Removal of magic via the Purification ritual leaves an everlasting pain on a person, incurable by any known means.[/*]

[*][b]The Beyond[/b] - An alien, unknown realm of existence, lingering somewhere beyond our own, hence the name. Only mages have the power to tamper, and call the power The Beyond, and with that power the greatest atrocities have been performed. Mishandling the power of The Beyond was one of the main reasons Paladins were formed. Now a taboo even amongst mages. Amongst the most dangerous of acts done by mages were to summon creatures from the Beyond, usually far more powerful than they could control. The monstrous creatures seemed to relish in destruction they have caused, and the simple folk nicknamed them Demons. The energy of The Beyond. however, is very similar to magic, as it can be shaped into anything, though prolonged use of it always starts to change it's user, physically and usually mentally. For all intents and purposes, the knowledge of Beyond and it's manipulation is lost.[/*]

[*][b]The Deadlands[/b] - The realm of the dead, where all the spirits go after death of their physical body. Though far more known than The Beyond, Deadlands is still an obscure myth. Unlike The Beyond, mages usually opened tears in the veil separating the worlds of dead and the living, unleashing the atmosphere of that world which was not meant for living beings, or physical world altogether. Some more sinister ones even utilized the mass of lingering spirits within that realm. [/*]
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[hider=Character Sheet]
Appearance: (An image is preferable, though a brief description is fine too)
Name: 
Gender:

Alignment: [i](Mage, Paladin or Neutral. Neutral can include Elves, non-paladin and non-mage humans, or maybe something else entirely.)[/i]
Covenant/Affiliation: [i](A faction or a covenant one belongs, if any. The Azure and The Inquisitorial covenants do not accept any player characters. Mages can also belong to some sort of group, or be lone wolves. Note that in case of Paladins, they may belong in any covenant, but still receive Paladin training for one reason or another.)[/i]

Personality: [i](A description of what your character is like, how he/she would interact with others, etc.)[/i]
Biography: [i](A description of how your character came to be what he/she is now, major points in his/her life, their goals.)[/i]

Power Description: [i](A brief description on how your character's unique magic/light manipulation work, as a whole. Potential patterns, combos, tactics. For example, your Paladin could prefer cover himself with a layer of Light energy, acting as an anti-magic armor, sheath his weapon in Light, and charge. The other paladin would prefer to throw bolts of light from a distance.)[/i]

Spells/Abilities: [i](Up to [b]5[/b] initial spells/abilities at their weakest form. Keep a lot of room for improvement, because power development will be a big thing in this RP. Keep in mind, however, this section is subject to balance changes, as we all want to keep the playing field relatively even.)[/i]

Other skills: [i](Anything else your character is skilled at.)[/i]
Other: [i](Any other notable things about your character which don't fit into other categories.)[/i]
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[url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/32422/posts/ooc?page=1#post-951954]Character list is here.[/url] Once a character is accepted, they will appear there.

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[hider=The story so far]
[list]
[*]A powerful spell is cast to call all mages to the infamous Black Forest, promising change and hope.[/*]
[*]A great number of Paladins are called to rally at Meldiniar's capital.[/*]
[*]An influential nobleman, Count Deliah Eternus, cooperating with The Witch of The Black Forest, offers mages a home of their own as well as citizenship that would allow them to travel across Meldiniar unhindered, in exchange for their support in his uprising. [/*]
[*]The paladins have orders to march towards the Black Forest, as it is suspected to be the home base for the latest menace - The Azure Covenant. Tipped off by Count Deliah Eternus, none of them know it is a trap, except his daughter - his agent within the Paladin ranks.[/*]
[*]The mages start to settle in in their new home. Vast libraries of ancient knowledge can point them to many powerful and lost artifacts and secrets. Some decide to cause dissent amongst the land.[/*]
[*]The paladins are utterly annihilated by Azure and his lieutenant Mimel. The very few survivors flee to report their catastrophic loss.[/*]
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