In a place shielded heavily by magickal wards lies a vast series of buildings nestled deep in the mountains. This place is known as Silverspell University. It is the place where supernatural beings go to learn the final stages of control of their before they being their adult lives. Humans also attend the University though they are few and far between. The school also serves as a place of sanctuary to those newly inducted into the supernatural world, this mostly serves newly created vampires or humans who had unwittingly stumbled into a world they never knew existed. Some of the students here are from powerful supernatural bloodlines, others are here seeking asylum from persecuters, others still are students on scholarship or that have been taken into the custody of the university.
The university also serves as the home of the Council, the governing body of the supernatural. This is partially the reason its location is such a closely guarded secret. The university can only be reached by a vortex portal constructed along the ley lines of the Earth. Thus there are many points from which to reach the university all the while keeping its location a secret. Each student is given an advisor of sorts in a familiar. Gaining a familiar is how each student learns to travel through the ley line portals and get to the university in the first place.
Familiars are creatures of unknown origin, they remain with the students through the duration of their stay at the university. They come in many shapes and forms, always animals, and act as a conduit for powers. They can communicate telepathically with their charge and help them navigate through university life and politics as well as helping them adapt to their new home. They are quite often the opposite of the student and yet somehow a perfect match. They teach the students control and how to use their powers and gifts in the most effective manner possible.
The idea is that this will be centered around a University for the supernatural (not the Sam and Dean kind) as well as humans. It will mostly be about the characters free time that they spend in the co-ed dorms. I will assign roommates randomly via random.org just before the roleplay begins for the sake of fairness. If there is interest we can have some interaction during class time but for the most part, it will be outside of class for simplicity's sake.
The dorms are more or less very super nice apartments. They are 3 bedrooms and each bedroom has its own en-suite bathroom, there is also a small kitchen and living area. These apartments are pre-furnished with different levels of luxury items. They come in 3 tiers moderate, luxury, and premium. There is, of course, wi-fi in all of the rooms. The building that houses the dorms also has a gym, pool, hot tubs, spa, ballroom, indoor tennis, basketball, and racketball courts as well as an indoor track and sand volleyball court.
Students here can be creatures of your own making or one of the species I've accumulated lore for. Those include but are not limited to vampires, lycanthropes (werewolves), shape-shifters, witches, and elves. If you wish to do so you may propose new elements to the lore I've already accumulated either here in the OOC or by PM. Some of the students come from wealthy high powered families while others are orphans in the custody of the University itself and others still are scholarship students with families who cannot afford the fees of the university.
This roleplay will be pretty casual though I would like to see posts at least every other day and for them to be at minimum one paragraph, preferably two. If you are to be gone for an extended period of time please let me know either in the OOC or by PM so that we can make a plan to freeze your character. I will do my best to be on every day though I'm about to be moving twice in less than a month so there may be a day or so that I'm absent.
[*b]Appearance[/b]: (photographs please if at all possible, otherwise realistic artwork) [*b]In-Depth Appearance[/b]: (Several sentences detailing what cannot be ascertained from the picture above) [*b]Brief Personality[/b]: (just the essentials)
[*b]Familiar Name[/b]: [*b]Familiar Form[/b]: (what kind of animal)
Species
Females- 38 to 44” tall, 7’ to 8’ nose to tail, 140 to 176 lb Generally more refined looking in their canine form, thinner and less bulky than males. Males- 48 to 55” tall, 8.5 to 9.5’ nose to tail, 210 to 253 lb Heavier built, less refined, broader chest and shoulders than females, larger heads, usually much larger than females. The higher ranking the male within the pack the larger they generally are. Bachelor males or males without a pack tend to be in the middle of the body scale range.
Lycans are a full genetically diverse species, they have may different coat colors though the most common are variations of gray or brown though black and white wolves do occur they are extremely rare. They also have a variety of eye colors while phased into their canine form. In order from most the least common they are; brown, orange, yellow, amber, gray, green, and blue. For every 350 brown-eyed wolves, there will be one with blue or green eyes. Their upright or "human" form appears to be mostly the same as a human though Lycans are much faster and stronger than a human would be. Their vision, hearing, and sense of smell are also enhanced compared to a human though not as strong as when in their canine form. A Lycan in their upright form is roughly 1.5X as strong as a human of equal stature and health and just a little less than twice as fast as their human counterpart.
Lycans are highly social creatures operating within a pack family structure generally run by a very dominant mated pair referred to as the Alpha Pair. They have the ability to communicate telepathically at all times with their pack and link all the other members together. If they were to leave for and extended period of time, over a month or so, the pack’s mental link would dissolve and the pack would either disperse or find a new Alpha through and Ordeal. They are the central bonding force between pack members. They generally have an enforcer who is known as the Beta he is usually the second largest male. There are female Betas but generally, they are mated to a male who already had the rank. Alpha is generally a hereditary rank and is usually the strongest male and his male offspring. The eldest offspring is considered to be the Heir regardless of sex. The Heir of the pack is highly respected and has some of the ability of the Alpha though not the full power. They are taught from a young age how to fight to defend their title and keep the pack together and organized. Alphas have the ability to locate members of their pack at will and also force them from one form to another. Males are very volatile and aggressive when they are unmated so many packs require the previous Alpha’s heir to be mated before they take the position. Males and females are very Yin and Yang, they balance each other out and mated Lycans are much less volatile than unmated ones. If the Alpha dies with no heir there will be an ordeal held two full moons after their death and burial and any male may fight in the ordeal to win the spot of Alpha. Afterwards, females may fight to become his mate. An Alpha may also be challenged for his title by a rival male who believes he is better capable of running the pack. They must have at least three other wolves who will stand with them in support of the challenge. Occasionally there will be a small male or female, generally an orphan that will be the Omega of the pack, they tend to get a lot of pack aggression thrown at them but they are gifted with a calming effect on the other pack members and some can turn out to be mild healers as well.
Lycan blood always breeds true, the genes that cause the ability to shift forms and cause accelerated healing among other things are genetically dominate over human blood and nearly every other species type. Lycan males are allowed to take human wives because of the low number of Lycans and the need for fresh bloodlines. Human women do not handle the carriage of offspring as well as a Lycan female would. However, there have been significant leaps in the care for pregnant human wives. A member of the pack must always be present with the woman as the pups can shift forms from the 6-month point on and doing so can cause significant damage internally. They are also vastly stronger than human babies and can break ribs, which is very common. During the last months, rest is very important and the pups are now large enough to do serious damage if the woman is left unattended. Multiples in Lycans are very common, usually, twins and mostly male though a few will be one male and one female and even fewer will produce two females.
Pups less than the age of twelve can be forced between forms by adults in the pack which is how they prevent them from changing in the womb. The younger the pup the easier it is to force between forms, they can also be soothed by adults. Lycans are considered to be grown and an adult at the age of 20. However, because of their place in the ecosystem much like other predators, their growth from birth to adulthood is very rapid body wise. They age in much the same fashion as a puppy though slightly slower. By one they are walking and talking and potty trained, by 2 they are the size of a three and a half-year-old, by 4 they appear to be 6, by 6 they look as if they are 10, by the time they are 10 they appear to be 15. It is believed this may also be a defense function so that pups are vulnerable for a shorter amount of time that human babies are. A 2-year-old pup can outrun the average adult human in their canine form. Once the pup is fully grown, around 16 or so the rapid growth slows continuously until they age at an extremely low rate. They will appear twenty or so until they are nearly 45 years old.
Lycanthropes, much to the dismay of the general public, seem to have mostly bred out the allergy to silver. Pure silver most often leaves a red itchy spot and as long as there is not prolonged exposer of the blood to pure silver there is minimal damage done. Only beheading or severing the spinal column will kill a Lycanthrope as will puncturing the heart for an extended period of time. Due to their accelerated rate of healing Lycans are very hard to kill. It is believed now that this is due to an increased speed and efficiency in the cycle of cells, this speed also contributes to their speed and strength. This also seems to be the reason behind their extended life span. Lycanthropes seem to be immortal though many die in accidents or in fights with other Lycans and some are killed by hunters. There is a single disease that haunts the population, it is known as ICED or Interrupted Cell Efficiency Disorder and this results in a slowed cell process that leads to death eventually though it may take up to 40 years. This still significantly reduces the lifespan of any Lycan. Lycans with ICED are often kicked out of the pack as the disease is selectively contagious. The susceptibility to ICED is thought to be genetic, only those with certain genes are capable of contracting the disease but no one is sure what genes those are or how to remove them to eliminate the disease.
Human-like creatures with an innate relationship to the energies of the earth. Generally, each is very closely aligned with one particular element or craft in which they excel at. This could be healing, herb potions, elemental magicks (no more than one each), and very rarely soothsayers or seers. Some of the magick performed requires “energy words” to give them power and life but not all, these are generally very old magicks that were developed when the relationship between witches and the earth was less understood than it is in modern times. Healing is one of the less common magicks of Witches but there are generally very powerful but their endurance for healing large injuries is not very extensive. Potions, however, is an extremely common magick among witches and nearly all of them can produce basic potions. Potion making is the magick of combining herbs and other things and purifying them and meshing their energies so that the drinker of the potion receives the intended purpose, generally they boost immunity, give energy, though some of the more powerful witches and warlocks are capable of producing invisibility potions and poisons as well as many other complex potions like shape-shifting potions. Elemental magick is one that is not well understood just yet but it seems to be common in babies born near equinoxes and solstices. There are Five main elements as far as witches are concerned and they are Water, Earth, Fire, Air, and Energy. Energy is much less common and even less understood, users of this magick are often volatile and do not live long. Within each of the five elements users may specialize in doing certain things like plants or animals for earth or solid or liquid water. Occasionally there is a witch born precisely at the height of the solstice or equinox. These witches seem to be extremely powerful, far more so than regular witches. This occurs very rarely, births are generally centuries apart. These supernaturals are an off shoot from the human ancestry tree, no one is quite sure when they came about but they are fairly common in numbers and often dwell in large groups amongst one another in groups called Covens or Groves simply for the reason of being around others of their kind. They are generally a very peaceful bunch but there is the occasionally rotten apple every once a hundred years or so. Generally females are more prevalent than males in theses supernaturals. Usually a ratio of 1:2 Witches are taught from a young age to respect nature and to be as in tune with it as possible. Theses supernaturals have an extended life span as well, they can live to be around 200 or so years old. The oldest recorded Witch was around 250 years old when she died, her name was Elise Stone.
Vampires are supernatural beings that came about roughly during the middle ages or the dark times in Old Earth. No one is sure if it is simply a genetic disorder or a virus, when put into a lab setting it mutates quickly and can result in very dangerous beings. They appear human for the most part through many of them appear to be very pretty humans, generally born vampires have a paler complexion than most humans have though they are capable of gaining a slight tan. Unlike many humans believe Vampires can be both born and created. Genetic vampires born with the “disease” so to speak age normally as a human would until puberty when for one reason or another their bodies begin to produce cells at a more rapid rate that a human would. This prevents them from aging as well as catching human born illnesses. This only sets in once the vampire has reached his or her full genetic potential of growth which means the age can vary greatly and females generally change before males. Before the change young vampires function much like humans, they can eat solid foods but require an alarming amount of iron in their diets. After the change occurs they must rely on either animal or donated blood from other supernaturals or humans. The change normally takes two to three days and during this time the body consumes its own blood and the blood is then replaced with some other much more pliable substance very similar to blood but it moves much quicker through the body and thus allows the vampire to move much faster with less exertion than a human. Their brains also undergo changes that are not completely understood that enable them to think and thus react much quicker than a human being would be able to. Born vampires have many advantages that created vampires do not share. Born vampires may build a tolerance level to the sun as they age and grow stronger, many can fully tolerate sunlight with some sunblock or a parasol by the age of 80 or so depending on the genetics involved. They also can start and stop their aging when they reach roughly 40 years of age, this is how born vampires are created the male and female must both enable their aging to take place for the duration of the conception and pregnancy.
Created vampires are very different from their genetic counterparts. They are created as a result of a vampire taking the majority of if not all of a human or other creatures blood and then having them drink or ingest vampire blood. These “night children” undergo the same changes genetic vampires go through during puberty but in a much shorter time, usually less than 24 hours and it is extremely painful. Created vampires can be made of nearly any species, the only ones who are incapable of being changed are lycanthropes which die from the vampiric blood and faeries who are seemingly immune. Pixies are also very rarely changed, it is thought that they are not durable enough to survive the harshness of the changes. Unlike born vampires created ones keep their skin tone of the time they died so many of them have diverse backgrounds and thus have various skin tones. These vampires do not adjust well to sunlight and it may take them hundreds of years to reach a tolerance level that would allow them to go outside during the day. They also lack the ability to progress their aging and remain the same as the day they were changed.
Faeries are supernatural beings that are generally humanoids though some have less human characteristics than others. Many have wings though some do not and they are known for their ability to weave complex glamours, a type of magick that conceals their true form from most onlookers. They are unable to be seen by mortal human eyes unless they wish to be. Some of the more powerful Fae are able to conjure other types of magicks, generally those closely related to nature.
The Fae Folk’s governing system involves two Courts, Seelie and Unseelie, otherwise known and light and dark. Each has a monarch, currently, the Seelie King is Keenan and the Unseelie Queen is Moriganne. Faeries were at one time believed to govern the seasons on Earth though no one is quite sure how true this ever was. The perceived imbalances between the courts may have been due to the Earth’s weather patterns, during harsher colder times the Unseelie thrive while during lighter more lush times the Seelie are better off. Whether anyone will ever know if the Courts or the Earth itself rule is unknown. They are generally highly social creatures and there are many types of Fae though some are more prominently found in one court opposed to the other. Seelie Fae generally feed on fruits and natural substances their bodies cannot process foods that have seen too many hands or have been away from their source for very long. Unseelie Fae can eat foods but it is mostly for the pleasure of doings so, their bodies receive its sustenance from dark emotions; fear, jealousy, lust, envy, anger and so on. Neither court can exist without the other. The Seelie Faeries are joyous and lavish in their lives and dance and drink and are merry and sensual beings. The Unseelie seek to balance this, they feed of the jealousy and the lust and encourage bad behavior among each other and among the Seelie Fae and as such their relationship serves as an indication of the world’s workings on a smaller scale. Some Fae walk a fine line between which court they truly belong in. They are very close to nature and are highly allergic to Iron and other metals containing Iron. Only the Monarchs are capable of touching Iron and only the strongest of Fae can be in its presence though generally not for long. They generally live for thousands of years, they are some of the longest living supernaturals. Many however do not look their age and appear to only be in their twenties or thirties. Like many of the stories in human culture lead people to believe Fae cannot tell lies though they are particularly good at twisting the truth and telling half-truths.
Pixies are yet another example of humanoid or human looking supernaturals. They are generally on the smaller side though ranging in height from about 4’ 5” to around 5’ 5” with very angular facial features and tend to be slim, very athletic, and lithe. Often times they have pastel colored skin not the typical pale tan of humans. Pixies also may or may not have wings, their wings tend to be thin and less extravagant than those found on Fae and generally look like something from nature, be it leaves or flower petals and very rarely butterfly wings. They may have as many as three sets of wings, two directed upwards and another set pointed down. These supernaturals are easily identified even when they have a glamour on by their slitted eyes that look very much like a feline’s or a venomous snake depending on who you’re asking. For one reason or another this feature cannot be covered up with a glamour regardless of the rank or power level of the Pixie. Their eyes can be any number of colors, practically any color you could imagine. Heterochromia iridum or having two different colored eyes is also very common in Pixies. They do have a Queen but she is simply referred to as Her Majesty or High Queen, it seems no one is quite sure of her name. These supernaturals are closely related to the Fae Folk but they do not generally associate themselves with the Fae. Pixies are more commonly found in the city as they lack the allergy to Iron that limits Fae in their choice of living spaces. They are quite the little fashion fiends and are particularly skilled in the art of making clothing and new fabric materials. Many of them have chosen to put their magick to use weaving fabrics with magical properties or that are simply beautiful. Besides their passion for clothing Pixies also have a strong love of dance and are widely considered to be the party animals of the mythical creatures. Though these supernaturals have a reputation for being mischief makers they seem to have mellowed out though they can be known to pull a prank or two occasionally. Pixies appear to be rather immortal, there hasn’t truly been a record kept of any deaths. If a Pixie does die they simply turn to dust and are blow away by the winds.
Aside from Witches, Elves are the most closely related species to Humans. These supernaturals do not have very high numbers in modern times, there are two varieties of Elf and they have a long-standing feud though this has settled down in recent years. There are Light Elves which tend to be tall and thin with angular features and fair or pastel skin and hair, they have classically pointed ears some of the higher ranking Elves have the ability to manipulate light. Then there are Dark Elves, they are still tall but more broad shouldered and tend to be of a heavier build. They have darker colored skin and hair which varies widely in color. The high ranking officials can often control shadows or darkness. The one thing all elves have in common is their elongated, pointed ears and their gemstone colored eyes. Elves are some of the best craftsmen in the known worlds. They can craft almost anything and it is of superb quality. Each family or line of elves tends to specialize in a certain craft be it certain types of foods, furniture, weapons, and clothing. Their clothing is often times more basic than what is produced by Pixies which is usually more fashion oriented. Elves also have the ability to put “wishes” on the items they craft though these items take extensive time to make and very few are produced because they take so long and the art of producing items with Wishes takes so long to learn. They are worth a lot of money but are well worth it. Wishes are exactly what they sound like, when producing the item the Elf concentrates on what he wants the item to be able to do. If it is a bow one can wish that it always shoots straight and true. There is a catch to items with wishes though. The wish only works for the intended person, sometimes the wish works for someone the Elf does not even know yet. Some items simply have people destined to have them. If someone other than the person the who the wish works for has the object it will only work as well as whoever has it can work it, as if there is nothing special about it at all. If the item is destined for a certain being it will often find its way to their hands through any means necessary.
Closely related to Lycans or werewolves Shape-shifters are just as common on Erellon. They appear to be human most of the time but they always have at least one more form and occasionally have two. It’s always an animal and they are always either a prey animal or a predatory animal, never both if they have two animal forms. If they do have two-forms they will almost always have a wild and a domestic version of their animal form. If they have a wolf then their third form would be that of a medium or large sized dog. Occasionally though, someone will come along and they have two different animals completely, say a badger and a mountain lion. Male Shape-shifters are easily identified by their mating marks. When males reach maturity, generally around 20 years old or so, they gain what is referred to as a mating mark. It generally runs from just under their ear and jawline over their shoulder and either down their arm or onto their chest and then ribs. The stronger the male the more intricate the mating mark, no one mating mark is the same as another. Some are smaller while others may reach all the way up onto the male’s jaw and to their temple. These are generally higher ranking males within their social groups and tend to be very dominate in their behavior. Females are a little less easy to identify, it is thought that they do not gain mating marks until they are mated to give males insight as to who is and who isn’t very thoroughly guarded. It reduced fights among males which prevented injuries and fatalities that could have been avoided. This was also thought to protect the precious few females that were present on old earth from being harassed by other races when they didn’t have mates to protect them as they tend to be very slender and delicate. All Shape-shifters are much stronger than they appear to be and have accelerated healing rates and are rarely sick but males tend to be much stronger than females and much larger. Most males are well over six feet tall while females tend to be around 5’ 6” though rarely taller than 5’ 10”. Shape-shifters are born with a destined mate, when they meet this mate the attraction is almost instant and the closer they become the more visible and prominent the mating mark will be on the female. It will solidify when the mating ceremony is preformed and often becomes brilliantly colored and almost metallic looking and the male’s will color to match allowing other females to know he is taken. Shape-shifters do not have the ability to reproduce with any other beings than their destined mates. Unlike Lycans, Shape-shifters do not have to “phase” or change forms on the full moon though many of them do because of tradition.
@SepticGentleman That would be a tough stretch as the roleplay will mostly center around dorm life so a teacher wouldn't have much cause to be in the dorms. Perhaps a dorm matron or patron of some sort would work though. There to keep order of sorts, the university takes a very hands off sort of management of students. In the real world they will have to fend for themselves and learn to navigate social politics.
@Conscripts I'm resistant to the idea because physically the creature would have no way of communication as it has no vocal chords. It would be entirely reliant on whatever magick that keeps it animated to give it some way to communicate. Also, you would be extensively lacking in not just audible communications but physical means as well due to no facial expressions. How are you proposing it will communicate with others? If you're more comfortable we can discuss this via PM or here. It does not matter to me. I'm happy to work with you to make your idea work.
I put a character up, would you like me to submit a lore type thing for dragons as well? I figure they're pretty standard but I could make up something.
@SepticGentleman That would be a tough stretch as the roleplay will mostly center around dorm life so a teacher wouldn't have much cause to be in the dorms. Perhaps a dorm matron or patron of some sort would work though. There to keep order of sorts, the university takes a very hands off sort of management of students. In the real world they will have to fend for themselves and learn to navigate social politics.
I think I can pull off a dorm patron. Would a uhhhhh, humanoid-owl-demon kind of thing work as a species?
@Rhiannon Well for communication they could do sign language or write whatever they need to say down on a note or similar program for the vocally impaired. For physical communication without facial features they could just exaggerate their movements, like if they want to convey incredulity they could swing their head towards the person and stare at them.
Also you are kinda vague on the powers of witches, you say they can do things but a couple of examples would be helpful especially with Energy magic because all I know is that the tend to be unstable individuals.
@SepticGentleman So a demon with a humanoid/owl combo form. Sounds acceptable. It would just be a type of demon that happens to have that physical configuration. Just keep the powers within reason.
@Vrrak I think that would be beneficial for the other players so that everyone has a clear understanding of what your character is. It doesn't have to be as extensive as some of mine but do give lifespan, possible powers/gifts, cultural notes, methods of death, quirks and such.
Given Name: Ashley (Ash) Jens Gender: Male Age: 25 Species: Lycanthrope
Appearance: Human
Wolf
In-Depth Appearance: in his human form, Ash stands six feet tall with medium length brown hair, he is of a moderate build. Ash has a faint scar that runs under his left eye, seemingly from a claw of some sort, his voice has a deeper tone and he speaks as though he is suppressing an accent. His wolf form shares his scar on the eye, and is also of a quite moderate build, his fur is a dark and muddy brown with a light fawn underside and undercoat. Brief Personality: Ash is a very happy person, he loves the life he has and has never once regretted being what he is. He has a love for taking everyday for everything it is worth, even if it means getting into some trouble to have the most fun. One of the biggest traits however is a love of cooking, with his enhanced senses he has found it to be an extremely pleasurable experience.
Familiar Name: Krasis Familiar Form: A bright yellow canary
@Pathfinder I think that would make everyone's life a bit difficult.
As for energy magick in witches think Vampire Diaries spirit users. They can see and touch magick that is otherwise unavailable to other witches. The premise behind magick is that witches can feel it and how objects and living things interact with one another and manipulate this interaction to create what is called magick. Energy magick revolves around the magick or energy that keeps living things alive. They manipulate this magick and because most of that comes from their own life source it weakens their immune system and their minds. Most of these witches fall ill or lose their mind rather early in life. They rarely live to be 50.
Other elemental users are what you might consider to be more or less humans with elemental gifts; fire, air, water, and earth. Their magick allows them to touch, create, and manipulate these elements. Solstice and equinox witches are so powerful because they have a culmination of elemental magicks in relation to their solstice/equinox. Hopefully this helps. If not I can certainly work up a more detailed explanation given a bit of time.
Given Name: Kantus Gender: Male Age: 472 Species: Unspecified humanoid-owl type demon
Appearance:
In-Depth Appearance: Kantus stands at approximately 6'5 feet tall. Unclothed, he possesses a gaunt, elongated, pale human body. His legs distend into bird-like feet, and he possesses four upper limbs - two long humanoid arms, and two large, non-functional wings. Brief Personality: Kantus is an aged demon, exhibiting an aura of wisdom, understanding, and some would say 'decay'. He is relatively slow in his movements, though his speech is not the same. He is highly eloquent, manner-minded, and collected when interacting with others. Some have described him as being 'unsettling', but that is primarily due to his appearance.
Familiar Name: Kantus does not possess/no longer possesses a familiar. Familiar Form: N/A
