[OOC] Spiritum

[Hexaflexagon]

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_{F A S T F A C T S
▲ Futuristic Fantasy setting
▲ Action, adventure, drama, romance, and mystery.
▲ Magic, airships, magitek, eldritch abominations and one hell of a road trip.
▲ Story shaped by the players. World-building encouraged
▲ The RP itself will most likely progress at a lax pace, as people have other commitments that of course must come first.}

_{T A L E}

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And cometh the swallowing darkness.
A blighted destiny by sinners south,
leaving only tragedy by powers wrought.
By hands of Lyssa and the touch of her lips,
those brought pure will face the tide.
Despair not for those lost in the darkness
but look towards the peace of the new dawn.
Canticle of Fajjar 17:1

The story of Spiritum is about a world known as Yerin, a world where magic and technology have mixed and flowed together for centuries. Long before man had conquered the world, creating massive metropolises, machines that could soar among the very heavens, and highways that stretched seemingly endless across the horizon, before it all a pact was made with the Gods. In exchange for our eternal reverence they taught us the secrets of magic, the ability to draw from the Astral Mist to bend and shape reality in ways thought to be unimaginable. The Gods also gave them a final gift in the form of the Bonding Crystals which breathed life into the still blossoming world. These crystals would form the centers upon which great civilizations would form around.

It would be these crystals which would nearly plunge the world into ruin due to greed and malice in equal parts. One of the original kingdoms that had formed around one of the crystals would one day become the sprawling Vangar Empire. Over time the Vangar evolved into a strong military and industrial powerhouse. They used the power of their Bonding Crystal to fuel their army and industry and over time the crystal slowly began to wane in power. To ensure their continued prosperity, Vangar began to invade the many lesser kingdoms around them to secure their crystals for their own use.

This cycle has lead to the current state affairs with the Vangar-Rassvet conflict. The small Kingdom of Rassvet was a small but influential land with a storied history dating back to when the Pact was made. Rassvet followed a policy of strict isolation and neutrality for most of its existence, preferring to keep out of major conflicts whenever they could. Careful guarding and use of their own crystal has preserved it in a state of power unmatched in all of Yerin. Seeing an opportunity to secure a massive boon to their Empire, the Vangar marched into Rassvet with the intent to annex the kingdom and secure their crystal.

Leading the charge against the Vangar invasion is a special branch of the Rassvet military known as WARDEN. Selected from a very young age based upon their aptitude to draw upon the Mist, these warriors possessing both martial and magical skill far above the standard soldier. With the help of these warriors, the Rassvet army has managed to hold the much larger Vangar Excursionary Force at bay for a little over six months now. Though day by day the Vangar continue to gain ground and casualties mount in the thousands on both sides.

All the while the coming darkness as foretold by the Oracles themselves approaches. Many believe it is a product of the war and the dead. The corpses and the smell of blood driving the monsters from their hiding places mad with a ravenous lust for blood. The crystals which once protected the world know being drained of their power allowing the darkness to slip into the cracks.

Among all of this, the story of Spiritum focus upon a group of freshly graduated WARDENS intent on going on one last road trip as a sort of collective 'family' before they are shipped out to the front lines. Par for the course things don't go as planned. One series of unforeseen events later eventually leads to this group coming to escort a young child with a mysterious necklace connected to the coming darkness and hunted by both Rassvet and Vangar on a world spanning journey to save it all.

_{C O M P E N D I U M}

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General world-building stuff for your reading pleasure. More will be added as we go on.

Y E R I N

Yerin is a planet roughly the size of Earth with an orbital period of 400 days. There is one unified supercontinent roughly the size of Pangea surrounded by a smattering of islands almost 25,000 in number, the largest of which is roughly the size of Alaska. As is expected temperatures are warmest near the equator and gradually become cooler as you approach the extreme north and south. The geography is varied from seemingly endless deserts to soaring mountains that stretch far into the sky. Civilization has left its mark upon this geography. Highways snake across the land connecting cities, forests are cleared to make perfectly calculated crop fields and land is torn upon to access the precious minerals beneath.

Though it would be foolish to say that man has conquered Yerin. The planet's wild spirit roars loudly. Beasts of all kinds roam the lands, many large enough to destroy most with nought but a flick of there claws. Large wyvrns and other flying creatures rule the skies harrassimg airships that dare to fly through thier territory. The seas are no better home to leviathans that would glady drag an unsuspecting sailor to an early watery grave. Due to the general ferocity of much of the local fauna, the people of Yerin have come to a cautious respect of the living world around them in most things.

All in all 10/10 would visit again.

R A S S V E T

A small kingdom surrounded on three sides by the outerlaying Vangar provinces and on one side by the ocean. Once a small collection of loosely united city states under the protective aura of the Rassvet Bonding Crystal, united close to 1,000 years ago by King Tyrol after centuries of infighting. Ever since then Rassvet has prided itself as an intellectual and cultural powerhouse among the nations of Yerin. Birthplace of the Industrial Revolution which propelled the world into modern era, many come flocking to its lands to pursue intellectual and business endeavors. Nevee less, the real power that the kingdom possess is not in its people but upon the natural bounty they live upon. Rassvet materials are shipped around all of Yerin to be used in everything from cellular devices to tanks and ensures the continued prosperity of the kingdom.

Following a small and almost bloodless civil war, between nationalist and royalist parties almost 200 years ago Rassvet became a constitutional monarchy. Most of the power these days is held by the Royal Assembly. The Assembly is composed of 51 individuals, fifty of which are voted on by the citzenery and one of which is appointed by the King. The Assembly is generally considered a rather corrupt establishment run by bribes and the will of the donors. Never the less, it gets its job done and the people are generally willing to overlook said corruption. Having a general directive to keep trade flowing and insure businesses continue to invest in thier lands the assembly follows a strick neutrality policy in any and all conflicts.

When Vangar invaded, the military was blindsided despite its stronger defensive position. Vangar armor rolled across farmland, airships bombed military aerodomes and infantary stormed underprepared border forts. The defenders were shattered and crushing blow after crushing blow pushed the Rassvet line to a stone's throw of the capital Orestia. Artillery smashed into the city that historians called the 'shining flame of progress', skyscrapers were turned to heaps of rubble and even the Royal Palace was partly damaged in the shelling that commenced. Morale weakened by the day and Vangar higher ups expected the Royal Assembly to offer a peace deal within the month.

The siege would only be broken by none other then Prince Fenris, eldest son of King Balthazar and a career military man. Fenris was promoted to General of the Armies to take on a job that five other men with twice his experience could not. Willing to take the drastict numerical losses needed to break the Vangar siege he give the Rassvet military its first victory it had seen in weeks. Slowly the Vangar have been pushed back to the border that they once easily took control of after a disastrous campaign by Rassvet to push deep into Imperial territory.

V A N G A R

The mightiest sovereign state in Yerin. Originally a republic governed by a sprawling senate, the rise of the military brought about the shift to an imperial system 400 years ago. With the change in governance, Vangar began invading its neighboring lands, securing their land and crystals quickly becoming the largest realm in Yerin. While in the past the emperor was traditionally of military extraction, a purge of key figures in the military by emperor's long past lead to a brutal civil war making Vangar into an absolute monarchy.

While Rassvet may have been the birthplace of industrialization it was Vangar that harnessed it to its full potential. Using the power of factories and the assembly line they were able to supply there military at staggering speeds to fuel thier almost constant war economy. It was Vangar that perfected the magitek equipment that almost all modern infantry uses in combat. Though because of this Vangar is trapped in a endless cycle. They harvest resources, those resources are used to supply the army, supplies run low so they invade other nations and the cycle continues.

The current one in charge of perpetuating this cycle is High General Zalser Auckwaeld. The current head of the Imperial Excursionary Force, Zalser is of a different make than most Vangar Generals. Born in a lower middle class family rather than the auspices of the nobility, he worked his way to the top through hard work and dedication. At thirty three years of he is one of the youngest generals in the history of the Empire. Young, charismatic, loyal, and a tactical prodigy he serves as the face of a land whose capital is thousands of miles away.

F A I T H

There is one major religion in Yerin, the Order of Dawn. The Order is one of the oldest continually operating organizations in the world. Taking dominance after several religious wars about several hundred years prior the Order can be found almost everywhere. Independent of any government cathedrals and shrines can be found in almost every major city. While they technically hold no political sway outside of the border of Fazra, the floating city (the holy seat of the order) many governments cast edicts that favor the Order. The general idea being that it is easier to keep them appeased than have them declaring religious war against you.

The public are familiar with two major faces of the Order, the inquisitors and the maidens. The madiens tend to the day to day operations of the Order's many buildings. They offer guidance, spiritual healing and the occasional if rare exorcism. Generally there numbers are made up of orphaned young girls that are taken in and raised by the Order. They are taught how to harness magical power to perform a variety of miracles. The inquisitors on the other hand are the martial branch of the Order. Most serve as the police and defenders of Fazra from those that would wish to harm the holy city. Some though are seen throughout Yerin hunting down heretics per ancient accords signed generations ago. These inquisitors are more like special forces than any religious group rooting out those that would spread unpure words across the land.

M A G I C

Magic is the art of being able to pull from the Astral Mist. The Mist is the surrounding energy that encompass the space around Yerin in its plane of reality. Stars and galaxies are not as we know them but actually points of highly clustered magical energy within the Mist itself. The art of mastering this power comes in two parts. First and arguably the more important of the two is a person's natural aptitude as some are just wired to be more finely tuned to Mist than others. The second is actually learning how to use said magic, the memorization and knowledge of vast sums of knowledge whose complexities and intricacies mean the difference between a successful spell and leveling an entire city block.

The power bound in spell formulae may be used for healing, teleportation, destruction, creating illusions, and altering form. Though the mist also affected by the caster themselves and each magical burst is different from person to person. Magic is considered a danger, a blessing, the future, an art and a science all wrapped into one tight bundle. Despite its dangerous properties and potential for massive abuse, magic is seen as something of a sacred thing. As a gift from the Gods it carries with it a certain amount of weight and wonder that comes from centuries of religious thought. Due to its divine origins, the order has a strong investment in the magical arts and its oracles are some of the best magic users in all of Yerin.

T E C H N O L O G Y

Technology in the world of Yerin has developed alongside and with advancements of magic. This fusion of the unknown and the rational being a fundamental building block in the world. From a technological level the world is futuristic compared to our own but close enough to our own reality as to not be totally distant. People drive cars, take trains and use airships to get around. They have wireless phones and their own form of the internet. It's a place where soldiers with assault rifles can be seen fighting against flying monsters and men that can call down electricity from the sky. They also have other more stranger things like giant walking war machines, matter replicators, floating cities and gunsblades.

In many places technology and the industries around it is seen as the way forward as especially in the Vangar Empire and its provinces where they have had to focuses heavily on technology rather than magics to reduce the stress and drain on their limited Bonding Crystals in an effort to sustain their large and sprawling empire. It's the general rule in all places, that technology general comes first as a military invention before slowly over time being filtered down into the general public's use.

W A R D E N

WARDEN can trace it starts back to the early years of the Rassvet. Following in the lineage of a monastic order of magic wielding knights who protected the kingdom from evils that normal men could not. WARDEN serves in the same general purpose of defense of the Kingdom but now do it as deceive shock troops using combined technological and magic power to shatter enemy lines and go on general suicide missions for most normal people.

Every year the Rassvet Government conducts a grand survey of all children within their lands ten years of age. They run the children through what amounts to a series of aptitude tests of all kinds. Those who were considered possessing desirable traits were then taken to the Capital to be trained in the Citadel. The sprawling complex that is essentially a city sized military base within a bigger city complete with its own security force, power supply and laws would become the children's home for the next ten years. Within they were put through hell through one of the most rigorous training regimes in all of Yerin.

Upon graduating WARDENs are placed into one of three tiers:

First Class are the best that WARDEN has to offer. Operating on a level beyond any member of the Rassvet military including their fellow WARDENs and consisting of barely one hundred individuals at any given time these individuals. 1st class WARDENs are given special privileges and are sent in to deal with the most important of matters and are usually working behind the insure the protection of Rassvet. They generally act as singular walking armies going in alone and without backup.

Second Class WARDENs are generally squadron leaders put in charge of Third Class WARDENs above the average cut and skilled combatants and tacticians. Those that are not in command position are sent in squads to deal with direct concerns that while troubling do not require 1st Class intervention. Only the best of the Second Class have even a chance of being promoted up to 1st Class.

Third Class WARDENs are the general face of WARDEN as they are the most numerous and the most commonly seen by the public. They work alongside the regular forces of the Rassvet military as independent detachments working in tandem to complete operations. There most common use is as shock troops designed to create large holes within enemy positions to be exploited.

_{B E A S T I A R Y}

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The world of Yerin is one full of monsters and animals small to large. They will be documented here as they are encountered.

_{N O T E S}

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8/8/16: Discord Link

_{R U L E S}

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01: I'm not the biggest fan of rules because I like to assume everybody is sane human being so I'll keep this short. If you have to abide by any rules be it these two. Common decency and common sense is something that everybody should strive for. Treat your fellow humans like they are just that your fellow humans and with all the respect that implies. Disputes between players should not be long blown out affairs in the OCC, hell disputes should not happen at all if we are doing this right. If you want to argue have your characters dispute about something mundane like the importance of starch or something.
02: In regards to any roleplay involving the dark depravity of mankind and giant monsters there are mature themes within this story. This is not a very nice world and terrible things happen to good people for no good reason. In that regard I heavily suggest you treat these matters with the weight that they would actually entitle. Romance falls into the same thing, sure it can happen just don't be stupid about it
03: Quality matters people, show me that you care. And remember I'm asking for your best not the best of Shakespeare or the like. I've been doing this shit for about a decade now and I'm still learning things everyday. Just remember Quality over Quantity and always remember Fail Faster.

[ML]

DIBS

[VoiD]

Definitely interested! Mind if I draw up a CS?

[Hexaflexagon]

@VoiD
I see no issue with it!

Note for all of you folks. There is no real need to rush your CS, I'm look more for quality than I do anything else. Meaning very simply that if you make a good character and have a good CS the answer is I'm probably going to accept it. If you rushed the damn thing and I can see you put no real thought into it? Well we might have a problem then. Though I trust that we won't have any problems round here.

[ML]

So are all the characters expected to be third level WARDEN?

[Hexaflexagon]

@Mercenary Lord
Mostly they will be a smattering of Third Class and Second Class. For example Setzer is second class. Use your better judgement to decide where they place on that spectrum. Nobody 'should' be First Class but if you make want to go for it and make a CS that will blow my socks off then sure go for it! I'll just judge it much harsher than the rest.

In the end their class don't really matter though due to the nature of the plot they never really end up going to fight in the front lines anyway. They are too busy trying to save the world and stuff to worry about things like politics.

[VoiD]

@Hexaflexagon So how do Wardens use magic? Are there mages? Specializations/combat roles?

[HeySeuss]

@VoiD
I see no issue with it!

Note for all of you folks. There is no real need to rush your CS, I'm look more for quality than I do anything else. Meaning very simply that if you make a good character and have a good CS the answer is I'm probably going to accept it. If you rushed the damn thing and I can see you put no real thought into it? Well we might have a problem then. Though I trust that we won't have any problems round here.

@Hexaflexagon

Character is PM'ed. We had a discussion and I had time to think through what I'd write, so yeah, I had stuff ready to go.

[Hexaflexagon]

@VoiD
WARDENs mostly use magic alongside there own physical combat abilities be either sword, gunblade, straight up gun or even a bow and arrow. (Though some will specialize in straight up magic.) Your sword now is a fire sword, your gun shoots lighting bullets et cetra. They can also use it to supplement the battlefield by creating stuff like fog and such. Generally though the rule is combat training and magic both require time lots and lots of time. Meaning that WARDENS that specialize more in magic will be less incline with their weapons and vice versa. A WARDEN that specializes in magic will be able to do much more impressive things like call down lighting or fireballs and the such but will be much more squishier than the guy that has trained to swing his sword and use his magic to make him into a walking tank like Setzer. It's all a matter of preference for what you want to do of course.

Mages exist in the world and are other found and many serve within military capacities.

Combat roles the best I can explain it is like when you start to dive into specializations within your major at college. Let's say that somebody shows a strong aptitude towards healing, they will be put down a track at the Citadel that involves many more advance medical classess. You do really good in your demolition class maybe they put you down a bomb disposal course. But in general WARDENs are trained as specialized light infantry they can do fine in most combat roles and are trained above all else to be adaptable and deal with a whole manner of situations.

[VoiD]

@Hexaflexagon Thanks for the info!

[vietmyke]

Hmm, I doubt that they are, but are non-human races available(for players?)

[Hexaflexagon]

@vietmyke
Non-human races do exist.... but as you have already guessed Myke at the moment no they are not available for players. Down the line, once you meet said races? Maybeeee

@VoiD
No problem.

[vietmyke]

Alrighty then, working me out some genius mage type character

[ML]

I will begin work on a guy when I awake tomorrow. Hopefully it'll be rockin'.

I'm thinking of either a magically-enhanced supporter, a long-range sniper, or a generic run of the mill soldier with no particular specialty...or something else entirely, I have no idea.

[Mike73]

Just read everything and it all looks really interesting! I checked the site on a whim after being gone for a while, and I'm glad I did because I definitely want to join this. I have a character planned, but I have a couple questions first.

Do you have to use a picture in the CS? I've never been good at trying to match a picture to the idea in my head, and would prefer just writing out the appearance if that's ok.

And are multiple characters per person allowed? I'm not necessarily saying I want to create a second character right now, but if I get inspired at some point later down the road is it ok to make another?

[vietmyke]

@Mike73 from past experience, hex prefers well written detail above all, so I imagine you can omit a picture in lieu of a good description.

As far as multiple characters go, I think hex generally prefers single characters

[Hexaflexagon]

@vietmyke@Mike73
Myke is right about that one.

You can substitute the picture for a good description if you prefe.

And yeah generally I prefer single characters at least at the start. Later on though if you show that you can handle it I'm open for another character down the line.

[Mike73]

I see, thank you. I've been looking through some pictures but couldn't really find anything, so it's good to know I don't have to use one. I'll probably have my character finished by sometime tonight, so I'll send it in once I'm happy with it.

[AlexStarsion]

Hoi! It's me, A Place Holder. >:D

Don't Open Yet!

Fooled ya good didn't I!? I told ya it's a place holder!!!

[ML]

Are the colors mandatory? I'm not a huge fan of colored text in my posts tbh