Swords of a Master

[Gisk]

EDIT: I still need people to fill out our ranks. The IC/OOC thread is here.

I was putting a lot of work into this world right before the site went down. While it was down, my mind kept churning, and I've been making vast improvements on what I had originally. I have it all on a google doc, but here's the very basic gist.

A master craftsman, long ago, made eight swords that were so perfect, the gods recognized their skill and blessed them each with their own power. With two of them, the Warlord Octavius Tharas began his conquest of the rest of the known world. Generations later, the world is mostly at peace, with the exception of the one country that the Tharans failed to conquer. They have become restless as of late.

Google doc is right here:

Right here, y'all.

Three of the swords(Seeker, Earthshaker and Witchblade) are off limits, one(Seer) is already claimed by one of my collaborators.

Bear in mind that there is no magic in this world, other than that of the gods.

A lot of GMs will put in secret codes and junk to make sure that people read everything. I'm not going to do that, but I will be ruthless to anyone who makes a mistake.

[Gisk]

The thunder of marching feet filled the air, as a great wave of yellow cloaked men ascended the mountain. Not one man looked back toward the ship that was anchored nearly a leagues below them already, unable to fly any higher. At the head of the formation was a tall and proud man, carrying a helmet under his arm that was crested with yellow dyed horse hair. At his side was a pair of swords that shared a scabbard. A famous pair of swords, whose prophecies had won him smaller victories already, and bolstered both his confidence and the trust that Emperor Caelus had in him.

In their reflections, he had seen many things. He had seen the Rhee's camp, which lay in a drunken stupor over the loot and plunder that had been carried up the mountain from a sacked city. He saw himself, and his battalion, only the first wave of men to take to the mountain, slaying the barbarians before they could mount a defense. But he had made a mistake by telling these things to his men. For one of them was not truly his.

The first indication that something was wrong was a stirring around them, and by then it was already too late. Men and women bearing swords, axes and spears, rose from the loose earth at either side of them, and struck. The outer side of the formation fell before the men on the inside were aware that they were under attack. Yllicus threw his helmet on, pulling his swords out to defend himself. He looked into their reflections as he fought. He saw each attack seconds before it came, and parried and dodged without fail. But he was already cut off from his men, as the ambushers surrounded him. There were piles of dead already, but the soldiers behind him had raised their shields in a much practiced phalanx to keep the attackers at bay. The attack was compromised, he knew it now. The left hand blade of Seer told him what happened. He saw which one had betrayed his trust, and he saw who to, and why. Yllicus gave an order he hadn't spoken in five years. "Retreat! Back down the mountain," he called to his men over the din, "Regroup at the ship!"

The phalanx started moving down the mountain, harassed on all sides by the barbarians, but Yllicus couldn't move. Every inch of ground he moved back was taken instantly away from him. He was locked in combat with a vast hoard, only surviving because every move he made was guided by prophecy. Before long, he couldn't even see his men in the distance, and his limbs grew tired from the never ending melee. Countless lay dead at his feet, and he knew he would collapse soon, but was determined to kill as many as possible.

"Stop!" a voice called out from above. It was a woman's voice, strong and confident. The second she spoke, the hoard around Yllicus froze, as if they were statues. Could the gods have come to his rescue? he wondered. Was this the very voice of Lithis? No, he saw. Up the mointain, there was a woman of black hair and austere beauty. She was draped in furs to fight off the cold, and Yllicus could see a sword at her hip. He fell to the ground, looking up, wondering if this was a rescuer or another fiend.
As she drew the wicked, curved blade, he knew which.

~~~~

The base camp was abuzz and lively. The airshipmen of the Mountaintaker were reloading ballast to account for the lighter weight that the ship would have, while the wounded soldiers were being attended to by physicians. Those who had stayed behind, and those still strong enough to fight, were forming a perimeter to keep the barbarians away. They had come in high spirits, but they were taking not chances now. They were leaderless, the ranking officers were in a tent somewhere, determining their next move. Should the press on with the campaign? A smaller ship had been dispatched to inform the Emperor, but they couldn't wait for word back to make a decision.

But then, all at once, the men at the perimeter gave cries, some of alarm, some of freight, and a few of joy. The Mountaintaker's captain, Vern, rushed forward to see what the commotion was. He was met with a crowd of almost every single soldier and sailor, gathered around to see something. They parted, and let through a battered, exhausted Yllicus. His helmet was missing, his cloak was torn and his armor battered, and he had a rag tied tightly around his right thigh. But he was alive, and he still held Seer in its scabbard.

The only words he spoke were to the Captain, "Pack up, we leave now," before he disappeared into his personal cabin.

[Imperfectionist]

^-^ Well, I'm definitely still down for this, and I'll be watching out for more posts (considering there's no subscription system yet).

[Ekirei]

Well count me in for this

[Dblade26]

Would it be possible to be a wielder of one of the swords, or do all of them have PCs or NPCs in mind already? I'd be interested in Whisper, Vultus or Water Dragon. Or Stormbringer if there's an opening for another Tharan General.

[Hoef]

I'm down for this..

[Bigg Slamm]

i believe id like to join as well. id be interested in using Whisper above all the others.

[Dblade26]

Having had time to consider I'd very much like to be a Tharan general wielding Stormbringer. Or a wanderer with Vultus?

[Ekirei]

If we are calling our preferences for swords, I'm just gunning for Water Dragon

[Prankster]

Yo.

[Gisk]

Okay, I have three collaborators on this, one I know is taking Seer. One I believe is taking Vultus(I'm going to go check on that) and the third I think might take Water Dragon, but I honestly don't know.

I'll tell you this, I personally will not be using any swords other than the NPC wielded ones. Those that I know are open are Whisper, and Stormbringer... wait... is that it?

Now I feel selfish for making so bloody many off limits, but now that the world is made those ones are important to the plot. Oh what to do, especially since there's so much new interest in addition to my collaborators.

I'll think on whether I want to add any more or not, because I already added more than I originally meant to have. I don't want people left out, but at the same time I don't want to dilute the importance of the ones that I have. Characters don't have to have them, mind.

[Dblade26]

Um, I'd be very interested in playing a Tharan wielding Stormbringer

[Arthanus]

I thought Stormbringer was wielded by the Tharan Emperor himself or at least originally was when the sword was made.

[Dblade26]

It also said that it's sometimes given to generals for use in battle. If that's not possible It's fine though

[Ekirei]

Wait, so there's only 8 swords. And you are restricting 6? What? I don't understand that. If these blades are meant to drive the plot, why are only 2 PCs going to be able to use one? That leaves like, 5 or 6 people automatically weaker than the others

[Imperfectionist]

-shakes head- The swords are literally ancient divine artifacts. A random drifter isn't going to have one. Besides, the entire story is not about the blades or straight combat, but the mystery of the Witchblade, the Witch, and the long-dead Master.

Basically, the entire Fellowship didn't have Rings of Power when they left Rivendell, but that lessened neither the Rings' nor the Fellowship's importance to the story.

[Ekirei]

That's not what I'm talking about. There are going to be people that will have to work harder right off the bat just to get the same amount of power that others just start with. There's like 7 people that expressed interest in this, so it seems unfair that they are handicapped from the start

[Imperfectionist]

I believe you are missing the point of the Fellowship analogy. Just because the swords exist and are important to the world doesn't mean that every single character in the party should have one.

EDIT: You can still be an absolute badass without a Blade, if that's what you're worried about.

[Ekirei]

Are you even reading my posts? I'm not talking about the logic of people having those swords, I'm talking about the logic of handicapping players. There's 8 swords, there's 7 people who expressed interest, the OP, and his 3 collaborators. Just seems unfair. Why would I want to roleplay with someone who is just stronger than me right off the bat? Like, if this were an LOTR roleplay, it would make sense if there was only one ring. If there were 8 rings, it wouldnt be making sense. Fuck Imp, first the Harry Potter roleplay, now your going to argue with me on this?

[Imperfectionist]

The HP argument was and remains entirely separate from this, but I do believe I understand what you're saying better now. The only answer I have is that combat isn't everything. I know for a fact that my character will not have a Blade, but I'm okay with that, because I know that Blade or no she will still have an impact on the story.