The Empire is the jewel of progress. Magic pushes the Imperial City forward, leads its people into a golden era. It was the very definition of glory.
For those on top.
In the Imperial City of the Empire, those who use magic are the ones who rule. The better you can use magic, the stronger your abilities, the higher in society you stood. It was even more impressive of your skill and your rank if you lived outside the main city walls, to own land of your own and be confident in protecting it. Even if your family before you had not been so talented, you were able to climb the social ladder simply by demonstrating you had more potential than they. It does not matter if you're human, elf, shapeshifter, or fae, though it is rare to find anything more than humans on this side of the crag. The nobility is highly competitive, constantly trying to improve their skills and show them off, determined to climb higher and higher, to one day grace the Grand Sage who ruled their city, but thus far, none could beat the guards, much less get close to the Sage.
But if you were unfortunate enough to have no abilities at all, you lived in the street or in servitude- unless you were related to those who did have magic, and then you could hide in their mercy if they let you. Many did not get the luxury as their families would not have their names tarnished by someone so useless to society.
But those with power always seek more. Hence the need for this journey. Those with magic seek to control the beings that are impervious to even their strongest spells- dragons. The beasts were sentient, strong, and batted off magic as if it were a flea. They were the only things that could threaten the safety of the Empire. None had, as of yet, because it would force them to cross a dangerous crag. The crag spanned far enough that you could not stand one side and see the other at its widest. It took nearly a century to get a bridge across, and not just because of the width. The crag itself is the source of magic, as the eldest in the Empire believe. However, around the crag, at its source, magic is evil. It is dark and twisted, and nothing that lives close to it is safe from its evils. There are beasts in the dead woods that surround it that have been twisted and deformed by the energies surrounding the gap. The Empire and its closest neighbor, Waylox, have distanced themselves, or at least their capitals, from the crag until it was clear their residents would not be affected by its evils. The sages within the Empire have come to believe that one of the beings that formed the world was punished for their destructive nature and was placed inside the world where they could not affect those who lived on the surface. The crag was the place where that being had been forced inside and the energies that pour from the crag come from the being. They are malicious and destructive in nature at the source due to the beings rage at its imprisonment.
The dragons, the beasts that could destroy the world of mortals should they see fit, had not come for them, had not terrorized them because they dare not chance getting close to that energy. But the mages of the Empire will take the chance. They will cross the crag, they will cross the war-torn country of Waylox, and they will go into the mountainous regions that surround the far country of Caradia in search of a dragon pearl that research has led them to believe can be found- a pearl that would allow them to control one of the original dragons, the strongest of their kind. It will be a perilous journey, and death is not a stretch of a possibility, but those with power will always seek more.
The nobles of the Empire will pay top dollar to those who make it back with the pearl. Though the Grand Sage that is currently the head of the Empire, the strongest magic wielder- unchallenged in their claim-, has decided that they will accept some from each class and there will be a lottery choosing from the lower classes for each noble that joins so that there will not civil unrest because they were not “given a chance.” Any peasant that makes it back alive will be given the status of nobility regardless of their magical capabilities.
All that remains is for those chosen to prepare themselves for what lies outside the walls of their glorious domain....
I'm going to try and keep this to the point (If you're going to use a picture, I'd prefer you put it first, looks more clean) [b]Name[/b]: [b]Age[/b]: [b]Gender[/b]: [b]Rank[/b]: (Noble, high town, middle class, peasant, servent) [b]Species[/b]: (this will most likely be human, but PM me if you have something you want to try) [b]Appearance[/b]: (Even if you give a picture, give us a basic understanding of what your character looks like, height, build, scars, tattoos, etc, etc) [b]Personality[/b]: (I'm going to require a paragraph here because I want you to be thorough. What inspires them, what makes them cry, what makes them want to run in fear, so on and so forth) [b]History[/b] (Two paragraph minimum, though I would like more. I really want to see what makes your character who they are and what drives them) [b]Extra[/b]: (Anything you think it might be good we know about your character going in, like if they're ambidextrous or something.)
You are all welcome to join, I will have my CS up after I finish some errands I've put off for 2 snow days blaming it on not being able to dig my little Fiesta out of the snow.
How do you mean? As in to the high society or for joining the group leaving?
As you said the more powerful a person is with magic the higher in society they go. How does a shapeshifter go higher in society? They can't really do much beyond changing their appearance.
Well, they would be high enough that they would be over the mages who don't have the spells or ability to shift their shape. If they were to learn any other skills, even if it were the basics, they could go higher in that regards. But they would be respected as a member of the higher society because of that born skill for them.
Would an alchemist fit your story? Wanting to make a wandering alchemist that combines natural chemistry with a hint of magic to create unique potions and extracts that could alter someone's mental, physical, and even magical capabilities as well as create some sort of alchemical weapons such as poisons, bombs, ect. :)
Hmmmm, that would certainly be unique and interesting *nods* Depending on his skill with magic though, he might be one of the poverty picks, or at least lower class picks, shop keepers might be in better positions than non shop keepers lol. I'll have my CS up in a little bit if people are waiting to see mine to make theirs. I might go ahead and move to the actual RP area if everyone who expressed interest wants to
I guess it honestly depends on how many characters each person makes, but I'd say the smallest we'd want is about 6 or 7 people total, but try to limit the group in the story size to try not get beyond like a dozen cause then it gets confusing, but I know I make two characters and I don't want to limit people to only one. Basically we need a good sized group, but not an army XD
Name: Miral Valtoris Age: 20 Gender: Female Rank: Noble Species: Human Appearance: Miral stands at about five foot nine without heels on and is of a rather slender build, though there are muscles in those slender arms. She has tanned skin from spending a good amount of time outside training with her cousin. She had a few scars on her arms and a couple of her thighs from her getting too cocky, and him reminding her of her place as far as fighting goes. She has long blonde hair and she keeps it in a wrap of sorts to keep it out of the way. She is of high breeding though so she has smooth skin, aside from her scars, and typically has on at least a little powder to try and reign in her tan. Her eyes are typically hazel, but they turn a fiery orange whenever she's casting magic. Personality: Miral is a "take no crap" kind of gal. She knows what she wants, and she takes it. She is a fierce competitor that will never surrender in a fight or a challenge, even if she's losing- you're going to have to knock her out or completely obliterate her chances of victory before she'll stop. She's also more of an ask forgiveness, not permission person; she doesn't have time for you to decide if she's allowed to do it, but she can stand and listen to a lecture when she's finished if she wasn't supposed to. She's always been high-born, her parents pampering her and honing her magic skills so that she can stay in the high society, so she's got an inherent over developed sense of self-worth, but she also has a strong drive to improve herself and continue learning new magicks so that she can climb the ladder. She isn't satisfied with "enough" if there is more to be had. She's stubborn, willful, and passionate, though aside from her cousin, she hasn't learned how to have a sense of camaraderie with others. History: Miral, as previously mentioned, was born with a silver spoon. From the moment she first showed her ability to use magic, she had the best tutors that the city had to offer. Her parents were pleased with where they were in society. They were high enough to be pratically nobles, but not high enough that they had to deal with the inner politics of the castle. For Miral, it was like listening to crazy people when they talked about where they were being "good enough." She quickly outgrew her tutors and began getting books from the university- the place where scholars honed and created new magicks for people to learn, a sort of high society of their own as people understood they were the reason for the city's advancement. She would study and study and hone her skills until she herself was worthy of competing for her own place in society. Her parents couldn't argue with her determination, even if they hadn't wanted an elevated position. They had to move up with her as her skills outgrew their rank, but with this mission, she is proving herself an adult ready of being free from her parents watch, which will allow them to thankfully move back down in society. When they moved up in the world, they decided that Miral would need some sort of protection to watch her back against those who would play dirty to get ahead (Black magic and blood magic are forbidden taboos, but that doesn't mean people don't still try to use them), and so they hired someone they knew they could trust. They hired her cousin Ryfon. Ryfon had zero magical capabilities, but he was more than capable with just about any weapon. He and Miral would train together, and she became increasingly frustrated that while she excelled in magic beyond most adults capabilities, he would school her with his sword skills. So she decided she too would learn to use a weapon, though Ryfon insisted since his whole purpose was to protect her that she would use something that would allow her to keep some distance between her and her enemy. With Ryfon's guidance and her own wild determination, she became rather proficient with a heavy ended pike. She discovered spells that could help back the weapon lighter in her hands and also some that could set the thing ablaze. She and Ryfon became quite close through their training so when Miral heard of this venture and that the lower class could accompany them, one for each noble, she signed Ryfon up with her, not really asking if she was allowed to as she would have no one else watching her back. Extra: Her main spell set, though she knows a good deal more, is creating an area that burns anything that enters it, using fire as sort of a booster to move her forward (a launcher so to speak), her two main weapons spell, creating a hot air vortex that can essentially cook an opponent if they stay in it long enough, and if she can get her hand on someone/something, she can set it on fire from the inside (Not a spell she uses often, but she uses it more than others).
Name: Ryfon Valtoris Age: 25 Gender: Male Rank: Servant/Guard Species: Human Appearance: Ryf, as he goes by for short, stands at exactly six foot out of armor. He typically has a tan when he's been training a lot, though he doesn't tan as easily as his cousin. He keeps his dirty blonde hair at about mid-length and short on the side. He almost always has a little bit of stubble, but his face hair grows slow so he just tends to trim it so he doesn't look like a child with it completely gone. He has an 'x' scar over his right eye, though he will never say how he got it. He is fairly muscular from training and just in general preferring to be in shape. Personality: Ryfon is the definition of the silent type. Through his military training, the idea was beaten into his head that you only speak when spoken to. His family was not one of the ones willing to risk their reputations for a nonmagic child and so he was basically disowned at a young age, handed off to some other nonmagic relative, so he doesn't really form attachments with people easily. He keeps his head down, but stays alert always to what's around him, both physically with what people are doing, but also to what they're saying and he can sometimes even pick up on what people are feeling, just through observation. He plays on the fact that people treating him like he's invisible to serve a purpose. That being said, he is fiercely loyal to anyone he does form a connection to and would lay down his life to save someone he cares for. He's a little more upbeat and just a tad bit more talkative when he's in his cousin's company since she has allowed him to open up so much in their time together, but when there are other people around or it's a serious moment, his stern, stone cold expression returns. History: Ryfon lived with his parents for about five years. At that point, his parents decided he would never use magic as he had shown no potential to thus far. They sent him with a servant to their family in the slums and never contacted him again. He was young and for the first year, he was terribly depressed even with everything his new family did to try and cheer him up. But in the slums, getting help from a healer, or even a merchant that sells poultices and potions is difficult and costly, so his family didn't last him long here either. He was eight when the last member of the family he'd been sent to died. He didn't tell anyone that he was alone once their bodies had been removed (all bodies of the poor are cremated to prevent the temptation of necromancy, the rich have warded graves and sarcophagi to keep that sort of stuff from happening), and spent two years lived through thievery and being a pickpocket. Just as he was getting good at it, the guards in the slums caught him. Upon learning he had no family to send him to with a scolding, the guards decided to give him a better way of life- an option at being better than he had been. He didn't argue, he got food and a bed, why should he? They didn't push him hard while he was still considered a child, but they did push him, helped him get a leg up now so that as he got older, he could finish his training with ease. He spent his entire teenage life in those barracks, training day in and day out, occasionally going on patrols to get the idea of what to expect while out himself. However, he could not officially call himself a guard of the Empire until he was 20. He spent five years as a guard, honing his skills further and become a weapon's master's apprentice once he'd shown skill and knowledge of all the different weapon types. However, just as he was about to take up the apprenticeship, his uncle came calling on him. He couldn't turn it down as much as he wanted to, you just didn't do that kind of thing. He answered the call and wanted to groan aloud when he was told he was guarding his cousin, who looked as snooty and uptight as they came. Just as things were finally going his way. But his cousin proved to be better than he expected. She was horrible at first, demanding him to do this and that, but he got her back when they trained. He was better at something than the mage, imagine that- and oh how it riled her. She made a demand that this time he was glad to follow through with. He came to enjoy his cousin's company as she did not treat him like some servant anymore- she finally respected him and his abilities in their own right, though she could never admit that in front of company without her reputation going to shambles. And he didn't want that for her because he couldn't deny she had worked hard to get to her place. He did not argue when she signed up for this life or death journey, gladly willing to go with her and make sure she made it back to keep showing those "stodgy old sages" that she was as strong as any mage in their crystal and steel tower. Extra: He is ambidextrous in the sense he can wield a weapon in both hands, he can't really write much at all, much less with his left. He prefers a greatsword or a broadsword to any other weapon, though the greatsword allows for slightly faster swinging in a pinch.
