Even in a universe where everything is possible, you still need someone to do all the dirty work. There’s always someone that needs something illegal smuggled, or delivered, or found, or stolen. The powerful and ambitious can always use another gun to kill, or keep from getting killed. There’s tombs to plunder, monsters to kill, planets to claim. Fame and fortune await those with the will to claim it, but Elysia is a dangerous place. Then again why risk your own life when you can get someone else to do it.
And that’s where the Marauders come in.
No matter the danger, no matter the job, they’ll get it done. For the right price.
Who are the Maurauders?
To the common man, they are no more distinguishable then space pirates. Their ships sail the Trade Routes, the Hyperlanes, the Currents attacking the unguarded and unwary, carrying off cargo and crew to sell them to pirate stations on the Outer Rim of Elysia. No better than bandits.
But the uninitiated are quite wrong about them. Its not a single ship, or even a group of them. There's an entire fleet of them! Thousands of ships! And they do much much more than just piracy.
To be more specific, the Marauders are an independent faction of mercenary crews. They have no governments, no empires to rule, only a loose conclave of the most powerful captains deciding the guidelines and who has the right to fly their flag, and thus become part of the largest mercenary fleet in Elysia. Each ship has its own captain. Its own rules. Its own crews. Each ship is encouraged to team up on particular jobs, or engage in not so friendly competition. So long as the Guidelines are followed, its their own damn business.
The Guidelines are usually simple to follow:
Don't cheat a client.
Do the job you agreed on.
Don't bring war to the Marauders.
Other than that, its a life of the purist freedom. You make or break your fortunes on your own skills, and all of Elysia, of Creation is your jurisdiction. They can call on other ships for assist, for defense. A loose and flexible barter and favor system that keeps the mercenary fleets thriving. Sometimes all you need is a favor to get yourself a really big gun.
And that is who makes up the crew of these ships. Most of them are criminals in their prospective homes, or refugees, or exiles, or runaways. Some are visionaries whose talents were squandered. Soldiers who were abandoned. Slaves who fought for their freedom. Some have nothing more to lose. Thousand empires, a thousand races, a thousand different stories, all bringing their knowledge, equipment, and skills to where they can be utilized at their fullest. A captain worth her seat will surround herself with the best crew she can find and afford.
But with a crew comes the need to pay them, and thats where the jobs come in, and there's always jobs. There are job postings, contacts, operators, distress calls, and recruitment demands. There's always a war that needs soldiers. A landing party that needs fire support. A forbidden ruin that needs spelunking. Goods and people to be smuggled. Some demon or monster to be hunted. Artifact to be stolen. Sorceror's tower to raid. Ship hulk to clear out. Company property to steal. Xeno Prince to kidnap. Dominion Patrols to harass. Slaves to take or free. Disenfranchised to kid around. Revolution to start. Noble to protect. Transport to rob. Bounty to hunt. Crime to solve.
If it pays, there's a crew ready to take it.
Its a great time to be a Marauder.
The Molotov
Capabilities
Size Class: Light Freighter
Crew Size: 18 (Skeleton 6)
Armament:
Manned Plasma Flame Caster (Even burns in space) Forward Short Range Mining Laser X 2 105 mm Broadside Cannon Battery X 6 Point Defense Lazer Turret, one at each direction.
Armor: MK II Deflectors (Primary). Ceramite Plates to Protect Key Systems.
Propulsion: Class 3 Impulse Engine Thrusters. FTL : Hyperspace (Requires to be near the Hyperlane Network) Reactor: Nuclear
Ammenities:
Notes: This Tythyanki Scrapper Ship has been modified mostly by using up cargo space to include a launcher bay, engineering station, armaments, and other personnel stations. While the Molotov is capable of defending itself, all of its weapons are short range and it carries less weapon systems than a dedicated assault Light Cruiser. Additionally, its engines are only slightly superior to that of a dedicated cargo freighter but less than smaller, faster attack craft. The Molotov’s defense is primarily reliant on the crew’s ingenuity and their fighter craft.
The Crew
Captain
Pilot
Navigator
Engineer
Computer
Mage
Chaplain
Enforcer
Communicator
Doctor
Analyst
Laborer
Fighter/Mech/Drone Pilot
A member can take multiple positions and there can be some overlap. For instance, Enginseers and Artificers are those specializing in Magitech, with some overlap into a specialized Engineer or Mage position.
Themes, Rules, and Play-styles
Think Peter Quill of the Guardians of the Galaxy. He's a rogue member of the Ravishers that travels the Galaxy fighting monsters for money and occasionally doing something heroic if its not too out of the way.
Think Han Solo of Star Wars. A smuggler at the behest of alien criminal overlords dodging Imperial patrols and slipping in and out of enemy lines to steal cargo or a kidnapped Princess.
Think Malcolm Reynolds of Firefly. Once an idealistic war hero, he's forced to use his ship, hire a loyal crew, and take on mercenary work, bringing him to places both embellished in technological wonders and back water ranching planets.
This is what this RP seeks to be. Your characters are members of this crew. You might be new, you might be in the game for a while. Through adversity or dreams of fortune, you sought out a place among the stars. You call no man king, and live on your wits alone. You risk your life for profit. You're treasure hunters of lost tombs. You're outlaws and brigands and mysterious gunmen bringing your own law to the lawless.
This is a Space Western. A Sci Fantasy.
Now for the rules!
Your character must be able to 'play well with others'
For lore reasons, you cannot be a demon or undead, such things are not of Elysia.
The only things your characters cannot do or be. NO TIME TRAVELING, and if you are DEAD, you stay DEAD, there is no way to bring back the dead. Reroll characters. So don't be silly and charge the army alone or get blown off an airship.
Likewise, you CANNOT DO ANYTHING WITH MORTAL SOULS that is the purview of demons and demons only. There is a very important lore reason for this. If you want your character to do so, we need to discuss. AKA NO NECROMANCY (as it applies in other medias)
Humor, flaws, and character arcs are great sources of fun interactions and plots
NO GOD MODDING or AUTO HITTING of your fellow players and Certain BOSS Level NPCS. Minion NPCs can be killed without consequence. Go ahead and look cool.
COLLABs are encouraged and we can do so through Google Docs for 1X1 or group scenes or even inter player fights.
Once invited, you'll receive our Discord Link.
You are given express permission to modify the scene to suit your post. Making up lore, NPCs, etc in minor ways for the sake of your post is completely allowed. Ask another player if it involves them.
Its SUBSTANCE over SIZE when it comes to post length! But please make sure you are making an attempt to be coherent.
Let us know if you are going to be away for a while, GMs will make sure your character is included so you can play catch up.
Can I love an alien? Sure, Why not?
GMs have final say over posts and events. We will do our best to validate everything you contribute.
PICTURES, MUSIC, MEDIA ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED!
Have Fun Together!
This is a Sci-Fi RP that holds elements of High Fantasy. I wanted to have a unique setting that follows aspects of Star Wars, Treasure Planet, Studio Ghibli Movies, Stellaris, Exalted Table Top Games, and numerous other sources. The theme is adventure, exploration, and danger. The Setting is designed so that a million dramas can occur, from Romance of Royals, the Swash-buckling Sky Pirates, to Military Companies meant to dispatch planet eating behemoths. Elysia is not a static or safe place. Chaos and change are ever present, almost as if the fate of the billions living within were at the whims of the gods that lord over them.
The RP is to not only give you the introduction to the setting and offer information about Elysia, but to see who would be interested in playing a story in this world. We wont be using systems to determine pass or fail, but it is my hope that those who join this RP will engage in collaboration and work together to discuss the most entertaining end. I picked a steam punk theme because I wanted a universe where EVERYTHING IS VIABLE. An arrow harms just as well as a gun, and a gun just as well as a lazer/ plasma/ whatever. While each type of technology is uniquely different, its aesthetic choices and themes that should be focused on rather than raw fire power. Additionally, magic is something that is ever present. It is a force in Elysia, a force that can be harassed in a thousand thousand different ways to power artifacts that allow a million ton ships to fly, or teleport across Elysia. Those that have a way to do, use magic throughout their lives, those that do not make do with whatever science, grit, or reason they can come up with. And in all other cases, where magic fails, technology takes up the slack. While a mage and scientist have their differences in philosophy, neither can deny that magic can perform what science can’t, and science offers an easier alternative when it can.
Science and magic uplift each other in Elysia. Sailships that ride the currents between planets fly next to rocket powered cruisers. It all just 'works' in Elysia.
Additionally, you do not have to play humans. There are hundreds of species in Elysia, and all of them different in form, function, or culture. Some of them are purists, others federation builders, others still are raiders. Elysia is designed to be a place lived in with discoveries around every corner. One species was once a race of mouse like creatures, whom have decided to surgically implant their brains into robot bodies. Another aquatic species wears suits filled with water, so they walk on land. Another species are merely walking piles of fungus, detecting the world only through smells. Dragons wearing power-armor. Hive-mind entities whose individuals all think as one. They live, fight, love, conquer, enslave, enlighten, entertain, and exist with each other. I'd like to see how different races would react to each other.
A final note. Flying is going to be a major theme. Flying to other planets, flying over continents, dog fights, civilizations in massive city ships, flying is the way to travel in Elysia, and you will have that freedom too. No doubt the story will start on an airship or will quickly do so. Additionally you can have your own if you so desire, and this could be anything. Even mecha robots are fair game. But bare in mind, something that advanced is no doubt quite expensive to maintain. Again, the world has to feel lived in, and bigger ships require more crew.
There is two things that ARE NOT allowed in any form in this universe.
TIME TRAVEL! There could be powers involving time, looking into the past or trying to predict the future, but this is sketchy and unreliable at the best of times.
DEAD IS DEAD! There is no way to bring anyone back from the dead. Once they are gone, that's it. Legendary Heroes have tried, and it's considered a capital offense and the gravest of acts to try and do so.
Elysia is a place of gods. Not just humanity’s gods, but all of them. They created a pocket universe where they themselves might mold and play with creations. They’ve stolen worlds, entire civilizations in order to fill their playground with more. More planets to craft into their image. More mortals to accept worship. They’ve been doing this a long time. Hundreds of species. Thousands of worlds, all impossibly compact in a universe limited by a roiling mass of inescapable void. There is no escape, and over time, people stopped trying.
As expected, things work differently in Elysia. This realm of the gods. Spirits are a very real thing and have helped shaped cultures. They are composed of Essence, an element of dynamic energy that permeates all the corners of creation. Mortals have long since learned to attune themselves to this substance that defies scientific laws and have been able to harbor magic as a result. But this is a gift not given equally. Some species and empires grow to become arcanotechnological powerhouses, performing wonders unimagined, with ships capable of sailing from planet to planet on the currents of a star’s light. Others still beat rocks together and widdle spears, knowing very little of the spirits that extort their worship. A long time has passed, and can happen to knowledge over time.
Elysia though, is not a safe place. The Star Gods are titanic creatures, too huge and too alien to even notice the mortals that stare in awe at their magnificence. Their lesser gods and spirits all have motivations and personalities that run the spectrum of benign to terrible. Less spiritual threats, is Elysia itself. Filled with life, and strange worlds, many of them are innately hostile and still people find reasons to fight one another, for profit, resource, or ideology. Finally, is the great enemy, the universally feared Demons. Monsters not of Elysia that can creep in from the shadows, anywhere, anytime. Their forms are beyond measure, each more fearsome than the last. They want nothing more than to tear Elysia apart and feast on the souls of people.
That is the main things every civilized member of Elysia knows. Other than that, each world is different. Different histories, rules, technology, culture, flora, fauna, features, or magical connection.
Technology
Elysia is a universe of technological wonders. Artificial planets, star siphoning megastructures, and Airships that can carry entire civilizations can be found in the oldest and most powerful empires. However this is more the exception than the rule. Technology and knowledge is jealously guarded by those that have it and so, for every world that has all of its needs met with automatons and colossal 3D printers, there’s fifty or so other worlds that have to do things the hard way with technological levels ranging from futuristic to before stone age. Elysia has it’s dangers and the universe is by no means united. Even the gods themselves have their petty squabbles, with entire worlds ending up as lifeless husks as collateral damage, great civilizations dead, their knowledge lost.
The main sources of travel are airship. The most basic are more like sailboats than proper spaceships but once again Elysia gets strange. Even portion of space has atmosphere and there is a river of wind simply called, the current or the breath that connects many of the worlds. The more expensive use chemical fuel, then plasma drives, Essence Sails or even FTL Drives, capable of crossing Elysia in minutes rather than weeks. Armor and armament also range greatly as well with different pros and cons for each.
If you are a fan of Star Wars, you know that some worlds are Metropolis trading hubs for entire sectors while other worlds, though inhabited are pretty much nonexistent when it comes to ships, laser weaponry, or self sustaining cities.
In a civilized portion of the universe, most folks will at least have a universal translator and smart phone.
Magic
Magic is the effect of Essence, a type of dynamic energy that permeate all of Elysia. It is directly related to the gods, as they themselves are just solidified patterns of Essence. Essence can be focused to do pretty much anything, as it carries a bit of that divine spark to create and thus whenever something wishes to go against the designs of physics and reality, magic is generally required. Magic is most commonly found as part of technology, using arcane components and magical materials to accumulate, channel, and focus the Essence into magic. All of these ‘Artifacts’ require a source of Essence, which is typically from another type of Artifact made for that purpose.
Magic can be shaped on a personal level but invariably involve an individual ‘awakening’ themselves to feel the essence within and around them. This can be done in a myriad of ways and all of them require dedication and discipline. The most common is through spiritual devotion. Mediation, communing with spirits, or purifying ones self through acts of faith usually attract minor gods and spirits which share their powers. Other ways are through intense study, learning about the metaphysical theories and applications and attempting to apply those theories through dangerous experimentation. Others are through sheer force of physical will, pushing their bodies beyond limits until they break through their own thresholds and awaken themselves. Most are incapable of putting in the effort required to Awaken themselves and then undertaking the study or practice needed to implement the Essence into magical effects such as spells, pranas, techniques, or charms. Like everything else, the more one practices, the better ones gets at controlling their Essence, and the more they can call upon for greater effects
Below are an example of some of the more prominent mortal Entities in Elysia
The Tiger Dominion
An Example of Tiger Dominion technology and theme, James NG Art Primary Race: Human The Tiger Dominion survived the calamity a thousand years ago, and survivors clinging to what remains of South East Asia. The landmass would not have been able to support life were it not for the quick actions of the god Father and his pantheon of spirits. The humans here became dependent on the spirits to keep them alive, and thus the populations broke apart into dozens of tiny cults, each praying to their own god. These were the ancestors that eventually formed the Noble Houses, the ruling body of the Tiger Dominion.
The Tiger Dominion is an Ogliarchy, with the heads of the Noble Houses all having a say in how the Dominion conducts itself. The Emperor acts as mediator when the Noble Houses cannot agree on matters of policy. Outside of these acts of governments, the Noble Houses have set up a system where they obtain a monopoly on all aspects of life for its citizens. One cannot get two separate things without negotiating with the merchants and suppliers of two houses. The actual Nobles are almost above the laws, and will flaunt their wealth often by creating custom robots, altering their bodies with cybernetic enhancements or getting mutations that show aspects of Earth's old animals. Those that are not sponsored or adopted into the Noble Houses are barely considered citizens with very little of their own rights. The create a culture of competition and efficiency so that those that are talented rise above those that are meant to wallow in the dirt. Aliens are also considered outsiders until they can prove their usefulness.
The Tiger Dominion are opportunist and expansionist. The recent power vacuum of Elysia has put the Dominion on a path of conquest. Anything to benefit the Houses.
The Lunar Confederation
An Example of a Confederation City (Inspiration is Very similar to Mass Effect) Primary Race: N/A Earth's Moon actually survived the calamity, being taken by Father moments after the Demon weapons devastated the Earth. The Moon was set adrift, it's hab blocks and hub cities actually supporting the population as it floated on the currents of Elysia before it was set to orbit over a gas giant. Materials for survival were mined from nearby asteroids and bartered for by sympathetic spirits. Religion was never as important as industry and survival since resources to maintain the old systems were always in critical supply. And then the refugees of the Castian Seven Currents War reached their door step.
Their first contact with xenos came in the form of Frigates filled with refugees, fleeing the conquering armada of the Castian, a militaristic race seeking to become an empire. After some time to learn how to speak to the other, the Lunar Humans learned of the coming problem. They were instrumental in the counter attack and defeat of the Castians as it was their leader (possibly one of the first human Exalted) that managed to gather and create an alliance with six other smaller empires and coordinate them to become a fighting force. Since that day, the Lunar Confederation was born, and the fates between the Lunar Humans and those aliens have been entwined ever since.
Lunar Confederation Space is a combination of a number of different species and acts as a council Democracy, with each representative acting in the 'best' interest of their species or planet. There stations and cities are crowded and homogeneous as different needs require different facilities. Bureaucracy's are in place to establish order and regulation, but it takes a long time and things do get lost. Its an inefficient system, but all are welcome in their space.
Merico Industries
A Merico Exo-Mobility Suit Design Primary Race: Merico Autonomous Employee (scrolling down and you can see some other potential models for sale, whether they are Employees or Customers. (The surgery and digital spiritual upload costs extra) Merico Industries is a Mega-Corp, a stellar empire in its own right, that functions more as a buisness entity than any kind of governmental system. They are the current leading producer of Vehicles, Robotics, Communications, and Computer systems. Their friendly Super AI, KI-75 or Kits, is the most well known being in all of Elysia as she is the operating system for many networks and computers throughout the civilized and Advanced planets of Elysia. Her smiling friendly face and cute (consumer tested) visages are plastered on every Merico product and she is the star of many a hologram advertisement and commercial. While customer service and a facade of family friendliness epitomizes all of Merico Industries public standing, the reach and power the company has is almost unfathomably vast and tabloid articles abound of dirty dealings, back room deals, and crimes against sentient life. Merico Industries is a buisness first, and a race second, and it runs with an almost cold robotic fluidity past the smiling faces.
While Merico Industries employs across all non hostile races, the founding race itself is all presently synthetic and save a rare few dissidents, are all considered employees of the company. Merico had developed a way for codifying and digitizing brain and soul and thus the race has long since discarded their frail forms for more fashionable and functional automaton chassis'. Fads, upgrades, and advertisement campaigns focus and target the Merico as much as they do other races, and having a shiny new body is just as socially important as position within the company. Not properly representing the companies newer models shows unsatisfactory faith and commitment in the company's products and is grounds for warnings, suspension, demotion, or worse. Unlike droids, a Merico chasis is designed to hold a mortal soul, and thus are more alive than a truly synthetic being, even if the same benefits and limitations apply.
The Fae'Rin Ascendancy
A moderately intact Fae'Rin Observation Post Primary Race: Fae'Rin The Fae'Rin are one of the first races to have inhabited Elysia. They have been involved in every major conflict, and were the favored species of a particular potent Star God. They had a culture of rigid order and discipline, with portions of the population born into specific tasks and purposes and meant to fulfill that purpose. Their technology was incredible, almost to the point that it can not be replicated. Their magitech can almost be considered alive, buildings and skyships almost grown rather than made. Their legions of intricate golems and awakened intelligence automatons fulfilled all the purposes of labor, meaning that the Fae'Rin could focus on artistic pursuits. There is very little in Elysia that has not been touched by these curious and enigmatic peoples.
Then Oblivion happened, all of the gods of Fae'Rin's pantheon were killed, and the civilization was brought to near extinction leaving only their cities and tech behind. Only a handful survived the initial battle and the race will soon be extinct
Empires pick through their achievements like vultures on a corpse while the survivors struggle to cope with their loss and keep their shattered culture together. The cities and stations however are not entirely uninhabited. Fae'Rin Automaton still patrol and defend these places of wonders untold- and where Oblivion had touched, it left its taint behind in the form of terrifying Void Walkers. Tomb Raiders beware.
"Giants rarely care for the ants under their feet." Gods and Spirits
Everything in Elysia has its own spirit. Everything. Whether it be the Greatest Dreadnaught to the lowliest spec of sand. The term god and spirit are used interchangeably by the uneducated. Even concepts have gods that claim them. Anything you can think of, there is a spirit for it. Sometimes, multiple spirits. They are immortal and composed entirely as patterns of essence, making all of them inherently magical. All of them have powers that are related to the purview. A god of pain can cause agony with a flick of its bloody wrist. The god of a ship, can be bargained with to help the crew in their journey.
Most of the time a spirit is dormant, coaxed to life only by prayer, sacrifice, magic, or its own duties and ambitions. Most mortals at least mouth a prayer to a deity as part of their occupation, but there are entire cultures formed around being ruled by or worshipping a god or gods, sometimes out of love or fear. They can be powerful allies, or dangerous foes. Some do not need worship at all, as it is their nature to prey on mortals. Indeed gods do not have the same fears or requirements as mortals do, and each are subject to their natures, purview, and the belief of those that pray to them.
Only experts can tell the difference, but spirits exist in a hierarchy called a pantheon, with spirits answering to or working for a more powerful god. There are three types of spirits that the educated know about, but sometimes its difficult to determine by sight alone. Not only can spirits be intangible at will, but they commonly change forms. The beautiful innocent maiden one moment reveals her divine nature and becomes a multi headed hydra. Their forms vary as wildly as the mortals they lord over.
Gods Gods can lay claim over a planet, a moon, a satalite city, a nation, or even a small empire. They are what mortals pray to when they ask for generic common things like good fortune, safe journey, or love. Their prayers whisper in the ears of they massively powerful beings, and they gain motes of essence from it, all the better to power their awesome effects. To ignore or anger a god is quite unwise, even for the Exalted.
Angels They act as agents for the Gods, or are given minor functions. Commonly Angels are city mothers and fathers, or the god of powerful vessels or the Avatar of legions. They all have names, and commonly have magical artifacts to better protect themselves and serve their functions.
Spirits Are varied and numerous, some of them mindless or having no names of their own. They are the most likely spirit a mortal will interact with if they ever do, and a lot of common occupations have minor rituals to propigate these spirits. They are the workforce that keeps the fabric of creation running smoothly.
Sample Angel:
(TSRodriguez)
Joul'Shani, Goddess of Leaves and Transitions, is a wood spirit located on the Garden World of Isleen. She claims all the trees and plants of Isleen as her domain and is commonly busied with the intricate process of changing seasons. She is prayed to for good harvest, short winters, and long springs. Especially devoted worshipers may be taken as lovers as she can change her form. She births demi-god beasts and monsters that sometimes wreck havoc on Isleen's farming villages.
Sample Spirit:
(josearias)
Copper Spiders are a type of machine spirit employed by spirits of technology, discovery, knowledge, and greed to salvage and scrap ruins and crashes. While they ignore mortals while they work, shearing sheets of metal for eventual retrieval, they will attack any that takes their claim with lasers of burning essence. They can be summoned and employed by mortal sorcerers to seek out useful scrap, which these industrious spirits have a nose for.
"There be monsters... Anywhere... Watching... Waiting..." Demons
Nothing brings empires and races together quite like the rumor of a demon and demons are why every empire that wishes to exist through its infancy must find a way to protect itself. Demons are from beyond the Veil, the borders of Elysia. An impenetrable wall of rolling void and chaos. While it is known that there is no escaping Elysia, and a terrible death for all that tries, the prison is not infallible from the outside coming in. Things emerge, appearing anywhere within creation. These are called Demons. They are unnatural, unholy, they shouldn't exist. They bring with them magics and technology that are vile and profane. These are the only beings that have no Essence within them but in their wickedness, they've found out ways to gather and pervert it to their own wicked ends. They come in many forms, from undead monstrosities, machines of terrible manufacture, and monsters with forms that defy biology. There are currently no known demon worlds, but such a den of wickedness would surely cause Elysia to quake into action to purge the unclean with demon and witch hunts in the surrounding worlds for decades to come. Still, the demon is insidious and can strike from anywhere at any time.
Demons with their lack of internal essence can be detected and harmed via 'holy' or strictly divine effects. Additionally particularly strong rituals and spells can inflict effects upon them, as the power of belief and essence force themselves upon their unholy forms. Likewise, they are impossible to predict as even time and destiny spells cannot see the influence a demon would cause. They also bring weapons and powers to bare that sometimes defy understanding, even to demon experts.
Sample Demon:
(Chase Stone)
Lashstalkers are solitary hunters and ambush predators. They seem to have an instinctual sense of targeting those individuals that would cause the most chaos in a particular group, prioritizing healers and leaders. They know guerilla tactics, set traps, and will injure over kill, knowing it would slow a group down. They are also completely silent, save for the sound of leather rubbing against the ground as they move from space to space. Their size would suggest they'd be unable to fit into some places, but yet, cobbards, under beds, closets, even containers can hold a 10 foot tall monsters, bursting forth to lash with whip like fingers, twisting and breaking their victims.
When a survey crew or explorer comes across the unburied bodies of a battlefield, weapons and trinkets lying half buried in dirt and dried blood, they know to just leave the dead lie. Even spirits ignore these dead places for they've heard the chittering wails of A Spindler. These creatures can stand ten meters tall and move impossibly fast. Whatever they catch, they spear, and then tear apart to add more to their uncountable limbs. Experts who have managed to study a carcass find an intricate network of bio-mechanical lattice work that willows through its form like sinow. An intact carcass is rare, as even blowing these things apart, the limbs will still crawl and still kill.
"Come to my bed said the spider to the fly." Devils
(Yang Mansik)
Beautiful and Terrible. Parents in the center of Elysia will tell their children to behave or they'll call the Devils on them. As one nears the Veil of Elysia, the edge of known space, one keeps their weapons, prays a little harder, double checks to lock their doors, and keeps an eye on that scanner a little more closely, lest the devils get them. Devils are of Elysia and like spirits are composed of Essence, but are invariably hostile to mortals. Devils are beings of chaos, beguilement, corruption, and dreams, each unpredictable, alien, without cause or reason. They can appear as beautiful as the most seductive dream, approaching in robes of gossamer wearing the face of a victim's first love but so lovely they make the eyes bleed. They can also appear as impossible shapes, riding beasts from a child's nightmare, an amalgamation of monsters that would be impossible to exist if reality had any say in the matter. A horde of Devils and their spawn have been known to slaughter one planet, change the colors of another with their chaotic touch, and ignore another, merely because their whims and desires change with but the slightest flicker of inspiration. Their powers cause madness, twist reality, and enwrap those in layers of lies and illusion. Devils most commonly ride into Elysia on raids, stealing mortals and slaughtering with glee. Those they take are ravished of all ambition, willpower, and purpose. These Dream Eaten are perfect slaves, as they will not even eat or drink without being told to do so. Unscrupulous merchants have found ways to trade with these beings, receiving Chaos Artifacts that defy logic, creatures that never even existed, and the Dream Eaten. Often the Devils Price is a fresh new herd of frightened mortals for them to torment and eat.
Like demons, holy magic seems to effect these creatures quite well, and there are rituals and items that can ward them off. Pure Cold Iron effects them as if the metal was red hot to the touch, and can be used as a strong deterrant. Additionally, a Devil is bound by his word, and deals can be struck with them as it has a strange permanent effect on his patterns. Be warned though, these creatures are ageless, and their snake tongues and twisted minds can turn negotiations into a battle of wits even an Exalted would have trouble with. They love to twist deals into their favor, receiving the dealer's life, age, dreams, desires, or sanity as payment.
Sample Devil:
The Piper is a terror on the quiet villages, lonely alleys, and old residential sections of space stations throughout Elysia. Anywhere that children are raised in peace with loving parents who want to protect them from the evils of creation may become targeted by a Piper. The music these devils utter is sweet, melodical, and hypnotic. Children will follow the song which cannot be heard by those past a certain age. The children will disappear while the adults sleep. In the coming days, those that look for them will hear the children, laughing, dancing, playing, but will never actually see or touch them. The laughing will end only when the children are found, their entrails and bodies strung up on trees or in some unused room in some hideous parody of an artist's gallery. As a final insult and stab to the psyche, parents looking at their child's remains will find the display breath-takingly beautiful, even as they wail at their loss.
These are but a few races one can come across in Elysia. Each one of these has greatly varied appearances when it comes to that race, intentionally meant so that one can use a picture and description that encapsulates how they want their character to look.
Delzhan
A race whose culture is centered around the worship through action of a chaotic pantheon of gods. Their horn structure represents the different races among them, and generally their culture. Some are monastic aesthetics, following gods of wisdom, peace, and tranquility. Others are hedonisitc sadists, following gods of vice, pleasure, discord, and domination. Due too ideological issues, their race is very much un-unified.
Saurian
An honorable warrior race whose inner fighting amongst each other had destroyed their world with terrible terrible spells, charms, and magitech weapons. Now rare, they strive to reconnect with each other, salvage their old ways, and forget their bitter history, something these long lived creatures have a problem in doing. Their naturally violent competitive nature leave them to become very physically or magically powerful. Many of those that do not find a cause to fight for end up becoming warlords, champions, or martial specialists for mercenary companies, imperial armies, and retinues of the powerful. Through magical means, breeding with elemental spirits, or by conquest, all kinds of reptilian races claim to be of Saurian Heritage since the name itself means strength.
Harmony
The flower in her head is actually a Harmony Blossom, a type of psychic hive mind parasite that envelopes the central nervous system. Speaking to one petal, speaks to all of them as Harmony herself is a super organism composed of the psychic power of all of its budding flowers and their hosts. Viewed with suspicion, the race is quite cosmopolitan and xenophilic, since the blossoms use other creatures to pollinate. Most races are not able to be hosts and many who can look past what they are find Harmony very helpful. She has all of the knowledge and skills of each one of her petals and they have spread far across Elysia at this point.
The Ku
A type of slave race. They form warrens and are heavily loyal to their families, and it was discovered that taking one hostage renders the rest obdient. Small, weak, but capable in number with a keen technical mindset, and prehensile tails they are capable technicians. Free Ku often become freedom fighters, forming their own liberty swarms that kill anything to steal back captive Ku.
Animae Homis, Caris, Feris
Two or three centuries ago, the Tiger Dominion went through a phase where it was considered fashionable to polymorph ones body to become more akin to the animals of ancient earth that are symbols of the Noble Houses. Nobles spent exuberant amount of money to become more and more animal like, taking full on hybrid forms. The process went rampant. More extreme measures were developed. Cheaper knock off versions were available to commoners. The ideas spread. Someone used it to impersonate a noble, there was a time of paranoia and the process of Avatarizing fell out of favor. However, damage done and the genes were found to be viable. Animae refers to catch all term for beastmen. There is very little in terms of collective cultural identity. Many band together just because of prejudices elsewhere, though they do benefit from the mutations. Non earth animals have also been created, and in some, there is a merging of two beasts to create something entirely new.
Homis - the beast qualities are minor; changing of ears, eyes, fur, skin pattern, presence of a tail. The person can pass for human or minor mutant. Caris - the beast qualities are extensive; full skeletal modification, full body fur, scales, additional abilities such as venom, sticky tongue, quills, wings, etc Feris - the beast qualities are so extreme, the mind is actually affected, giving them an unpredictable and savage disposition. This can stem from incompatible breeding, environmental stressors, or magic or medical techniques gone wrong.
Merico M-PLO-E
While not every Merican is part of Merico Industries, there is nothing left of the species the Merico were before their synthetic age. All Mericans are automatons, meaning semi-magitechnical bodies meant to house a living soul. They are alive, but their entire physical bodies are completely synthetic, meaning that their bodies are completely customizable. Those that can build and afford it, have multiple bodies they can be inserted into that serve different functions, from crafting, to social interaction, to even giant mech sized construction or war machines.
Currency – Currency is generally specific to a planet and culture, but the Galactic stage of Elysia has several commodities that are universally recognized and can be traded, each with differing values and personal level of importance and status.
Barter – Particularly for low tech worlds where resources are limited or for voidborne races and career caravan merchants, pirates, mercenaries, or isolated colonies, trade in supplies or services are quite common. One trade company may trade in ice and water which it mines from an Air or Water Planet to a sandy Fire Planet in return for rare and beautiful textiles made from farmed lizard scales, which in turn gets traded to the nobility on a Wood World for time spent in their hookah parlors. Favors are also a respected and useful form of currency.
Gold – Chips of molded gold stamped with a ruler’s icon make a widely accepted alternative for when there is only buying and selling. Their weight and purity mark their worth. Gold is still rare enough and treated as a luxury metal as its sheen and color are viewed favorably by notable sun gods and their pantheons. Still formed into jewelry, or used as conductors for electronics, or as acceptable sacrificial offerings, Gold and to a lesser extent silver, still lines the pockets of many a merchant and is kept in copious amounts in the vaults throughout Elysia.
Credits – The most common and universal form of currency from civilized stellar empires like the Lunar Confederation, credits are completely fiat and digital, tied to an individual or organization’s digital finance records. They represent access to the planetary or stationary power grid and since everything is essentially powered in some way, there is little risk of inflation, as even power needs a physical component, namely in the city sized batteries that form their grids. A credit is akin to a kilowatt per hour of power and a single credit can buy a snack or bottle of water. Rather than being anything tangible, transfer is often electronically from account to account or through encrypted cards and chips.
Jade – One of the Magical Materials that hold the power of the primary elemental forces, Jade is incredibly important for construction of magitech devices, artifacts, or completion of magical rituals, so a kingdom never has enough. When Credits are inadequate or insignificant, small coins, bars, wafers, tabs, tokens, bricks, and slabs of jade are generally what is traded between the heads of state, the governmental bodies, or nobility. The other magical materials are generally too rare to be used effectively as currency.
Favor – In Elysia, even prayer is part of an economy and even primitive spiritualists can be rich in wealth. Favor is created after a significant amount of prayer is issues to the spirits, their angels, and their gods. Prayer and sacrifice creates Essence, and spirits have to offer up some of the essence from their worship to their superiors. When a significant amount of devotion is raised, the gods must take notice lest their believer pray to a rival. The spirits, gods, etc can offer assistance, boons, gifts, and curses to their worshippers and most do following a particular ritual. But gods are greedy things, and always want worship, even if their exact benedictions are not required. And so Favor was bestowed. An unbreakable crystal orb of swirling light is granted, a congealed mass of essence containing tens of thousands of wishes, prayers, and desires. A physical IOU from a divine being. Someone can use this favor to essentially grant themselves a wish that the god must grant, and if it cannot, it generally beseeches one who can. The favor powers the wish and the god sees it done, and there is little that the gods cannot do. Reality itself has been changed with the right amount of favor. Favor can be given as immense rewards or traded away, but never stolen. A god immediately knows if a wisher is not deserving of the prayer they hold in their hands.
Barely half a solar year ago, the most terrible demon that has ever entered Elysia... Oblivion... A whirling mass of darkness. Of nothing, deeper than the void. A hungering cloud that slowly eats worlds down to the Essence of their rocks, and leaves them as lifeless husks only filled with the screaming souls of the lives stolen. Angry, dead, unnatural things spring out from its mass, seeking more to drag into the ever ravenous mass.
It is only Demons that will have the empires of Elysia forget their differences and join together in the defense of their homes. Even the Star Gods gather with their pantheons, ready to defend themselves against the only things that threaten their immortality. The combined mortal armadas formed The Celestial Fleet and with the deities of their planets and peoples, gathered in defense of the Kalfka System and its Twelve Billion Souls.
It failed.
Three Star Gods, a million ships, and an entire civilization of one of the oldest races; wiped out against an endless tide of undeath and other horrors that lurked in Elysia, waiting for their time to strike. Oblivion feasted, the Sector was lost, and each empire weakened to the point of fear and paranoia. Faith and trust fractured, the alliances dissolved, and the Empires returned to defend their space, hoping against hope that their end will come later rather than sooner. All seemed lost.
And then another Star God, Karis'Anya, The Spear that Sparked the Dawn finally revealed herself, an immense dragon made of starlight. Her purview of Justice, Light, Protection, and Righteous Battles; she claimed the system next on Oblivion's Path, bringing with her the remaining mortal might of a dozen races. Her priests spoke that she had a way to fight the darkness, and she beseeched her brethren to join her in a final push, but even they the gods above gods turned away, afraid to meet the same fate as their brave siblings. The other empires were called to join in the cause, but like their divine masters, none can see the point of this. If the greatest armada in all of Elysia, even the gods themselves couldn't stop Oblivion, what hope is there for one and her rag tag defenders?
Outside of the conflict, with the major empires fleet's having been diminished and word spread of the coming darkness, Elysia itself is at the point of panic. Planets close to the fight are evacuating, trade routes lie undefended, military outposts smolder in ruin. The Empires cannot defend all of their territories. Pirates and criminals had swelled in arrogance and audacity. Demons have appeared across the expanse, making every world a possible target.
Its a time of fear, chaos, and fights for survival.
Is necromancy a thing in Elysia? You said people can't be brought back to life, but you never said their corpses couldn't be reanimated as foul creatures of the undead.
For various lore reasons, namely that bringing back those as part of the slavering undead is something that the enemies of Elysia do, demons, which I havent had the chance of extrapolating upon.
Demon is the foulest curse someone can be called, and anything having to do with them is illegal to the point of being universally punished by death, and hunted down. Raising the dead is considered demonic, and thus is severely frowned upon for various reasons.
To be caught using necromancy is a death sentence for not only the practionee but those around them. Not a smart idea for a captain to keep them around.
I'm going to add this information when I can.
Short answer yes, but it's rare to the point that people dont think it even exists. Even reasoning it's super science or the corpse is just a golem is a stretch.
Race: Hominus Margo Sigasmarandum (Sigasmarandi Rim Dweller); colloquially: "Sig-Mar(s)"
Racial Features:
"Hominus Margo Sigasmarandum" is a species of Old Rim Human, found originally in an area of the southern hemisphere of the Elysian Mega-Cluster, in a region of low light reception from the inner worlds, a region called Sigasmarand. As such the species has had to adapt to the effects of stellar darkness as a result of Cosmic Fog, evolving eyes capable of high degrees of low light vision and slight ability to detect heat signatures. And due to the colds of their extreme climate, the species has adapted an internal metabolic rate running at approximately double the median temperature of Human species originating from the more habitable Old Worlds (not only does this mean they need to eat far more, but it means that narcotics and alcohol have a weaker effect). However, as a closely derived successor species, they share almost complete genetic parity with the 'typical' human, though no offspring of the pair is known to have survived the third trimester of pregnancy. Notable physical differences that can be made from a cursory surface glance include: The inclusion of a sixth, fully functional finger on both hands (leading to maths being done primarily in base 12); noses that vary in length and pointiness, having a range of anywhere from two inches of extension past the nostrils to one foot, allowing for similar olfactory levels as 'typical' humans with the added thermosensory properties; similarly, longer ears are present across the species as a means of heat radiation and audiosensory increase. All this meaning, they've grown to have more reliance on their other senses, each adaptation allowing them better functionality in their homeworlds.
Culture:
The Sigasmarandis are scattered across a system of stellar debris of varying sizes, on the very edge of Elysia, Sigasmarand. They are the successors to an original group of colonists who settled the area long before the race had evolved/engineered its defining characteristics. Sometime during the collapse of the Outbound Tykassian League, the colonists took advantage of the situation and declared independence, not expecting the Senate Loyalists to retake control of the unruly Retainer States as soon as they had. After a succession of successful defensive battles, Sigasmarandi sovereignty was won, despite them having had to face off against a numerically and materially superior force. As such Sigasmarand earned a reputation for being the home of stalwart fighters, of excellent skill and unyielding nature, to an extent that the coming centuries saw the proliferation of mercenaries to far-flung systems.
However, as the loose confederacy invaded and defended against its neighbours, a deep resentment grew towards their cold isolated territory, away from the Elysian centre and on the edge of nothing. The cold forced them to bundle up, rarely ever showing skin (except in the presence of family, friends and loved ones), and eventually, this evolved into a culture of suspicion and mistrust; day to day meetings happenings happening from behind veils and masks and scarves; to an extent that parts of the body that did show despite the layers were painted or tattooed black. The almost sacred nature of identity plays into gender in some societies, from a young age, children get used to dressing androgynously, behaving androgynously, shaving all hair and doing everything in their power to appear sexless. Once hitting puberty, it is customary for females to bind their chests and men to tuck, or for both to wear padded clothing to obscure body shape (in more liberal families), and once voices start to break Sigasmarandis are often trained by their parents to speak in one tone and pitch. This voice, common to all of Sigasmaranda, is called Tonsloslillt and is used in day to day communication basically ensuring everyone sounds the same if not similar. The only time Tonsloslillt is not observed is when Wuld (which will be discussed later on) are being given, and only then.
Another result of being so close to the cosmic edge was the presence of a constant, corrupting fog, that manifested itself as grey, sooty mist, that made vision difficult to long distances. The Fog, however, has water like properties, in the sense that it exhibits systems of currents and tides; meaning there are times of more and less dense fog, and areas where the concentration and thus effects of the fog are more powerful. As well as this, the strength of the fog is also dependant on the distance from the cosmic void, with the Elysian center being completely devoid of its effects; despite this, the fog has inroads and tendrils in the dark places of Elysia and a weaker ambient fog permeates in most places farther from the center. The properties of the Cosmic Fog (though typically having minor manifestations in Sigasmarandi) have a powerful mutative effect on the flora and fauna of the outer system, spawning and melding beasts into increasingly more terrifying beasts. That being said, just as the fog has the capability to produce flesh-rending monsters, it has equal capacity to make creatures of little notability or even beings of awe-inspiring beauty.
Due to the ever-present gloomy darkness of the Cosmic Fog, song is the major form of art and follows a complex system of belief, identity and utility. In their culture, songs are called Wuld, and Wuld varies in style from planetoid to planetoid, with families having their own tones and rhythmic variations of the regional Wuld, and with everyone having a unique fingerprint to their own. Wuld are not typically lyrical (though some Wuld are worded), and vary from melodic tones to simple screaming, acting as an alternate form of communication that could cut through the fog and cloud mired terrain. Wuld are also deeply engrained in Sigasmarandi mythology; they are believed to be the borrowed voices of the Lost Good (positive spirits trapped in the cosmic fog), and as such lore dictates that Wuld outlive their Wuldors, so that they may make the journey back to their Lost Good.
With every death, families hold on to the Wuld of their loved ones by incorporating it into their own in some way. This is the reason as to why there is such a huge variation in Wuld, which can be heard on a daily basis, with brief Wuld being presented as greetings; longer ones being performed at weddings-births-and-funerals; and full ballads being passed between friends and loved ones in lieu of conversation, as an expression of affection.
Wuld forms such a core part of people's lives, that some Sigasmarandi believes that one dies when their Wuld leaves them, and not that the Wuld leaves them when they die. This has resulted in a tradition of yearly festivals, conducted when the tide of the Cosmic Fog is at its weakest, and culminating with ships setting off into the void - crewed by those who believe that if they can get permission from the Lost Good of their Wuld, that they will be able to hold on to their Wuld forever.
Wuld also has a more sinister side, various intonations, harmonies and incantations allowing the Wuldor to manipulate the properties of the cosmic fog and the beings corrupted by it. Aeyterwuldoree is the forbidden art of using those Wuld, though its basics are simply learned and sometimes practical (though usually useless and typically frowned upon for the connotations of using it). However, more advanced Aeyterwuldoree is considered a heinous crime, as its seen as cooperation with the cosmic fog, due to the process allowing mutations to happen more readily in the Wuldor's body. To an extent that people can be horribly disfigured/misshapen by its misuse, these individuals (Aeyterwuldor) are considered highly dangerous and traditionally have been hunted down and killed, or locked away and unstrung (the process of making someone mute), a punishment some consider worse than death.
But that was before the Era of the Return of Jornwuld Ritaynur, an Aeterwuldor who after decades of being cast out of exile from Sigasmaranda returned, wielding her dark power as a tool of retribution. Many, who practiced the dark-art in the shadows rallied by her side, waging war against the Hunter Clans that once chased them across the length of breadth of the Sigasmarandi Rim. The conflict was short, intensely bloody, and indecisive, as the vast majority of people raised their arms on the side of Clans such as the Ritaynurs and the Borgphrysts. The resulting peace lead to the abolition of laws that attacked Aeyterwuldors, in exchange that they used their power sparingly, and in the defense of Sigasmaranda. The truce, dubbed the Accord of Long Peace, named after a monastery at the edge of darkness, has been held to this day. However the number of Aeterwuldors has not increased significantly since then, as the effects of the use of Aeyterwuldoree are still not well understood. And as of yet, the mutative, corrupting effects of Aeterwuldoree are incurable. So those who handle the dark-art remain in the distant, dark places of the realm, training and studying for when the time comes that they will be needed.
Appearance:
Skyldig's hard life is reflected on her face, not a picture of beauty by any stretch of the imagination. She stands at 4 Qbits tall, and is enmeshed in dense, lean muscles, though not enough as to be grotesquely muscular. The telling feature of her femininity are her hips, which rise away from her body slightly before rolling back in, though only slightly visible through her layers of clothes. Her chest is flat, not in the sense that she was unendowed, but due to a voluntary double mastectomy she underwent; to detract herself from easy identification, and to give her more maneuverability.
Her round face also tells of a life "well" lived life, originally her nose' tip extended a few inches past her face, and her ears pricked upwards just the same. The tip of her nose she lost in a fight, where her opponent held on to it and refused to let go; suffice to say they did not survive that encounter, and Skyldig had her nose treated by a surgeon, hence the lack of apparent damage. Though her nature was that of constant action, and she broke the bridge of her nose a few weeks later, and healed crooked. She lost her ears when she was captured by a rival group of marauders, cut down to human size by her captors, leaving the edges angry, red and poorly rounded. Her full lips are smudged a sooty black, positing that it's due to stains from her Bako (a roughly chopped, dried root, from the nightshade family of plants) chewing. And the scar on the left side of her face? The deep, angry channels of flesh, and the missing lower eye lid? The result of her time as a slave, fighting in the pits of Pargalon-3, wherein during a duel with a pyromaniac she got a large portion of her face, neck and chest burned.
Occupation/Concept: Formerly Captain of the Battery of Slaig/Currently Shipside Weapons Expert
Training: - Heavy & Medium Weapons Proficiency: - Martial Arts: - Ball Room Dancing: - Powers/Abilities: - - -
Equipment: - - - - - -
Airship:
Motivation:
Personality:
Flaws:
Bio: "My father was an asshole, but I suppose that means I didn't fall too far from the tree." From her place in the common room, Skyldig commanded the attention of the assembled Marauders. "I killed my mama on the way out, so he stuck me with 'It's your fault' as a name, and got remarried. He was the kind of man who thought his seed to valuable to waste in handkerchief." Pulling her scarf open from the bottom, she spat out a black melange of fibre and saliva, a chewed up lump of Bako. "Oh and he spread that seed around, I probably have brothers and sisters that I don't know about. Not that I care to know about them, couldn't even get to know my step-siblings. Father was too busy making my life miserable." From a very young age, Skyldig was put through the ringer of preparation for courtly life, and her Father made sure to find her the most cruel of teachers. Her elocution teacher would beat her for every stutter, her literature teacher would tear her books apart and reassemble them in the wrong order, her gymnastics teacher, looking back at it now, had done many an obscene thing to her.
Suffice to say, when the Hunter Guilds came to the family to demand their rightful conscript, she was delighted when her Father forced her to go, instead of one of his many sons. "At least in the Guilds they beat everyone." She said, thinking back to when her father savaged her for having a lover. Despite he himself, and his offspring from the other woman, having mistresses in copious amounts. "I would say I wasn't prepared for it, but looking back now I don't think they were prepared for me." Skyldig attacked every challenge and expectation handed to her with vigor, whether it meant sleepless nights in the Scrollatorium or beating the largest cadet to within an inch of his life in training. "When I graduated, I was the only one to get an officer post, because the others 'paled in comparison'." She said, imitating the strong accent of her division's Drill Sergeant. "It was a shitty post, I mean, I didn't know Slaig was a place before they put me on the first Eel there." Sometimes she thought they put her there because they were scared of her.
The day she assumed her command, she threw a private off a barracks roof to show her superiority. It was safe to say that she would not be a popular commander, but that was none of her concern. Slaig was a hamlet-town, that held the distinction of being one of the farthest inhabited rocks of Elysia, it was also home to the College of Karadzic, a convent/monastery where Aeterwuldors practiced their dark arts, far from the civilized inner world's of Sigasmaranda. As such, the concentration of void fog in the area was high, and life there was grim and medieval, and the mutants and creatures that crawled out of the Void were likewise terrifying and gargantuan compared to what would normally emerge. Hence the requirement of such a large military installation nearby, not only did it serve to stop these creatures rampaging deeper into Sigasmaranda, it allowed the guilds to keep a watchful eye on the College and its mystic inhabitants.
The first few months of Skyldig's deployment were uneventful, no more than a few dozen Sultedyr, their man-sized talons and giant leathery wings were no match for the barrage of rockets, shells and 13.2mm rounds from the battery. Despite that, had they gotten through the chaos would have been unfathomable. Uneventful. Until that is the night of the 9th month of her deployment. Zapatov Zapatinski was a private, the twin brother of the girl Slyldig had thrown off the roof all those days ago, a scrawny man with rat like features, but with a mettle to him that betrayed his looks. It was he who was assigned, though he infact volunteered, to do the supply runs between the village and the College. As part of the arrangements, the College would provide technical assistance to the people of Slaig in exchange for rations and supplies. So it was Zapatov's responsibility to drive into the College every other day in the truck to do the deliveries. It seemed, however, that the extended exposure to the even more intense Vapour on the inside had severely effected him. As on the night of the ninth month, without warning, he sat bolt upright in barracks J and began to scream uncontrollably. Zapatov pointed around, jerking his body about as he fingered people across the room and nearby, telling them in a horrified voice that they were going to do. Suffice to say, before anyone could hold him down and administer a sedative, he stuffed the muzzle of his service pistol into his mouth and emptied the chamber.
And as if by some divine decree, the siren went off hours later, sounding the alarm and rousing the troops that hadn't been woken up by Zapatov's suicide. They manned their stations, waited, the radar operators peering into their green displays as oscilloscope swung a wave of electrons around the circular monitor. For a moment there was nothing. Then suddenly the screens went bright and the batteries opened fire. The first shell to sail through the darkness impacted something, seeming to explode in midair, the rockets that followed illuminated the darkness around it, exposing the assailants. Giant beasts of other dimensional frightfulness, surrounded by flocks of rotting, ragged creatures. The entire battery opened fire, as the sea of evil approached them like a tidal wave, every gun firing as fast as possible, rockets like burning lances across the darkness. Ears and fingers bled from the frantic fire. Skyldig alone manned a heavy machine gun, standing at the head of a buttress that extended out into the void, wielding it from the hip, one hand holding the belt while the other pushed on the paddle, and aimed the thundering machine gun around.
Around her she watched as people fell, the plague descending on them despite the full power of the battery bearing down against it. Perhaps one of the most dense collections of conventional firepower in Sigasmaranda, if not Elysia, could not stop the tide. For the split second she glanced to the side, she watched the Black Wall spill into the country side all around. They were going to be encircled. She dashed back, behind the thunderous canons that blasted at the ever approaching wall, behind the rocket batteries, launching incendiary missiles into the mass of rotting reek, behind the heavy machine guns chugging lead into the invading force. Zapatov was right, and perhaps wiser than the rest of them. From the College she heard a resounding shriek, followed by many more, as the front tower that faced into the void exploded, shadowy bolts and giant trailing beasts bursting towards the oncoming invasion. The Aeterwuldors honoring their end of the deal, cartwheeling into almost certain devastation. The truck door slammed shut, as some of the troops who decided to run clambered into the canvas covered bed behind the cab, stamping her foot on the accelerator, the automobile rushed forwards and away from the tidal wave of doom.
"And that's how I got out." She said, looking down into a tin of crushed up Bako root, before taking a pinch of the fibrous material and putting those fingers into the folds of her scarf. "Call it cowardly.. I lived." She spoke around the slowly reconstituting plant matter, before leaning back to silently ruminate, the assembled crowd looking about at each other before slowly dispersing.
Here is my work in progress CS, don't judge it too much, I typed a lot of it up on my phone. XD
Name: Ryteb Ignatius Pyarros Age: 45 Gender Fluid, though tends to respond best to male pronouns. Race: Akagami Kitsune
Culture: The Akagami are a nomadic people, each clan, or Hakki Yagyõ, having their own rules and traditions. Ryteb's birth clan were influenced heavily by the fae, possessing a druidic mindset and culture. The elders of the clan were very closed minded about technology, regarding civillisation as against the will of the world. Due to his exile from the clan, he tends to deliberately contradict this mindset out of petty vengeance.
Racial Features: Akagami Kitsune posses a limited ability to shapeshift, namely between the form of a fox and humanoid as well as being able to shift genders on the fly. In tbeir humanoid form they posses fox ears and a tail. Their animal form has multiple tails for each decade of their life.
Appearance Short and lithe in his humanoid form, Ryteb is constantly mistaken for a child, not helped with his androgynous features. His red hair comes down to just below his shoulders, kept behind him in a ponytail by a hairband with a tiny silver gravestone with his initals engraved. In his fox form the hairband transforms into a collar. His eyes are red-orange, like a warmly flickering flame, and possess the same intellect in both forms. He wears a Chinese kempo outfit, with the top having a silver tiger on the back.
Occupation/Concept Navigation Officer and Co-Pilot
Training:
Apprenticed to the clan navigator from eight years old, terminated at the age of fourteen.
Trained in interstellar navigation and combat by the Steel Tiger mercenary company.
Self taught in manipulating essence, mostly fire and electricity manipulation.
Powers:
Trained in hand-to-hand combat, bojutsu (Staff Combat), and handguns.
A natural navigator, with well honed skill in astral and terrestrial cartography.
Capable pilot, if slightly insane
Able to channel essence into fire and lightning. He has a habit of sending foxes made of said elements at the enemy.
Decent at tinkering, though relies on magic to make up for his lack of proper training. To amusing results.
Equipment:
Extendable bronze staff
Foxfire mk3, a pistol augmented to fire compressed essence instead of bullets.
Portable Shield Generator, a stolen prototype of a bullet deflector. Inefficient for anyone unused to turning essence into electricity. Looks like an overteched bracer.
Airship: Less of an airship, more of a heavily modified glider designed to reach stupidly high speeds with little in the way of safety or comfort. Think the aerial equivalent of the Ariel Atom.
Motivation: Staving off boredom.
Personality: An adrenaline junkie masquerading as a serene martial artist. Generally easygoing unless you screw with his precious things. This is A) his office, B) his fellow crew, and C) his sweets. Doesn't respond well to authority, but is cordiel with those who have earned his trust.
Flaws:
A ridiculously bad cook.
Will never admit he is wrong, or that he doesn't know something.
Has an addiction to sherbert lemons. Gets pretty cranky without them.
Name: Zephyr Aludash Age: 25 Gender Male Race: Saurian Culture: Racial Features: Appearance Stands at about 6'6" Occupation/Concept Marauder/Artifact Hunter Training:
Trained in various forms of martial arts by an ascetic of monks he met and was partially raised by
Not formally trained by practice and his technomamcy powers make Zephyr quite adept at hacking systems
Powers:
Technomancy, specifically being able to gather information on any tech item just by touching it
Detect Magic, the ability to sense if an area is being affected by magic and possibly specific causes/effects
Firebolt, about as effective as a gun but it’s a gun that people don’t see coming. Can also be toned down so it’s less able to kill
Equipment:
Airship: As much as Zephyr wanted to keep the ship he lived on with his parents it was too badly damaged. He left it with the monks, they said they might be able to fix it. He’s yet to go back and check Motivation: Trying to find something to fill the void in his life left by his parents’ death Personality: Zephyr always tries to keep a cheerful demeanour and tries to not take himself too seriously. Being dark and moody never helped anyone Flaws:
Has rather low self esteem and often looks for validation from others
Has abandonment issues and does not do well on his own
Bio: Thought his parents were just normal people but they were really smugglers, just hid it very well
The signs were there about his parents. They had resources far above what anyone would expect of common folk
His dad was messing with trying to equip their ship with transport capabilities when they were raided
His parents tried to protect him but the raiders made quick work of them, slaughtering them right in front of him
Dazed and confused, Zephyr screamed, and it was as though the ship came to life to aid him
The transporter system was good enough for one use and transported the raiders off the ship in to the cold void of space before breaking
The ship floated along in space for several days, seemingly with some destination in mind. Zephyr was alone, and any time he tried anything with the ship it would short circuit, so he spent most of his time away from ship systems
Eventually the ship reached a small planet and Zephyr was hailed by an ascetic of monks who lived there
Since Zephyr didn’t know how to land the ship some of the monks came up to get him down. Zephyr saw them and was surprised they were Delzhan, he’d never met their kind before
They took him in and taught him their ways. They also found Zephyrs magical powers had been awakened based on what he told them and the strange behaviour of the animals at the temple
Zephyr lived with them for many years, learning martial arts and learning to use his magic
Eventually though he felt he had to leave the monks so he could grow as a person
He bounced around between a few things before finding the Marauders
He’s been with the Marauders for a few years now, with a group of people he generally likes, always ready for the next job to start
Extra Info:Honour code: Don’t shoot first. Don’t kill anyone who’s just doing their job (cops et al.) He also enjoys a morning coffee
Taking inspiration from Katekyo Hitman Reborn for his magic. Storm Clouds are not to be caged...
Name: Ryteb Ignatius Pyarros Age: 45 Gender Fluid, though tends to respond best to male pronouns. Race: Akagami Kitsune
Culture: The Akagami are a nomadic people, each clan, or Hakki Yagyõ, having their own rules and traditions. Ryteb's birth clan were influenced heavily by the fae, possessing a druidic mindset and culture. The elders of the clan were very closed minded about technology, regarding civillisation as against the will of the world. Due to his exile from the clan, he tends to deliberately contradict this mindset out of petty vengeance.
Racial Features: Akagami Kitsune posses a limited ability to shapeshift, namely between the form of a fox and humanoid as well as being able to shift genders on the fly. In tbeir humanoid form they posses fox ears and a tail. Their animal form has multiple tails for each decade of their life. Akagami have a natural magic linked to the clan, a bond that nurtures their growth and promotes their clan abilities.
Appearance Short and lithe in his humanoid form, Ryteb is constantly mistaken for a child, not helped with his androgynous features. His red hair comes down to just below his shoulders, kept behind him in a ponytail by a hairband with a tiny silver gravestone with his initals engraved. In his fox form the hairband transforms into a collar. His eyes are red-orange, like a warmly flickering flame, and possess the same intellect in both forms. He wears a Chinese kempo outfit, with the top having a silver tiger on the back. His back has a tattoo of a fox wreathed in fire and lightning. His hands are blackened by old burns.
Occupation/Concept Navigation Officer and Co-Pilot
Training:
Apprenticed to the clan navigator from eight years old, terminated at the age of fourteen.
Trained in interstellar navigation and combat by the Steel Tiger mercenary company.
Self taught in manipulating essence, mostly fire and electricity manipulation.
Powers:
Trained in hand-to-hand combat, bojutsu (Staff Combat), and handguns.
A natural navigator, with well honed skill in astral and terrestrial cartography.
Capable pilot, if slightly insane
Able to channel essence into red fire and purple lightning. The red flames are far more destructive than regular fire, even burning the wielder if being handled without a focus. The lightning is strange, acting like normal electricity whilst possessing the power to multiply his innate abilities or create temporary copies of objects. Food and living things don't tend to play well with copying...
Decent at tinkering, though relies on magic to make up for his lack of proper training. To amusing results.
Equipment:
Extendable bronze staff
Foxfire mk3, a pistol built to channel his fire into attacks without the risk of self injury.
Portable Shield Generator, a stolen prototype of a bullet deflector. Inefficient for anyone unused to turning essence into electricity. Looks like an overteched bracer.
Airship: Less of an airship, more of a heavily modified glider designed to reach stupidly high speeds with little in the way of safety or comfort. Think the aerial equivalent of the Ariel Atom.
Motivation: Staving off boredom.
Personality: An adrenaline junkie masquerading as a serene martial artist. Generally easygoing unless you screw with his precious things. This is A) his office, B) his fellow crew, and C) his sweets. Doesn't respond well to authority, but is cordiel with those who have earned his trust. His morals are skewed, barely batting an eye at illegal activities.
Flaws:
A ridiculously bad cook.
Reacts violently to being confined or caged.
Has an addiction to sherbert lemons. Gets pretty cranky without them.
Bio: An inquisitive mind born into a backwards clan, the young Kitsune chaffed against his compatriots who were happy to live in ignorance. So the youth planned his escape. Showing aptitude for navigation he was taken as an apprentice by the clan's wayfinder. He was fourteen when he finally was confident enough in his skills to self-exile himself from his clan. For Akagami, exile is considered a punishment worse than death. Those who survive the inital pain of losing the clan magics generally go insane from the loss. But unlike other exiles, the kit didn't want the magics, his soul burning the bonds away with his desire for independence. He would not be chained by anyone, especially the elders. This desire manifested itself as red flames and purple lightning curling around him. Passing out from exhaustion is considerably better than the alternitive. Making his way to the nearest spaceport, he never did find out the name of his home planet, he worked as an assistant mechanic while he tried to find a group to become apprenticed to. During the search, he created the first version of his glider. Of course, he promptly crashed it into a building. By some stupid luck, this crash would put him in the fastlane. The Steel Tigers are a mercenary group leaning towards the criminal side of things. When the youth crashed in they were fully prepared to waste the little shit, and did in fact give it a damn good try. Unfortunately for them this kit had his destructive flames. When the reinforcements arrived they found the kid with burnt arms in the midst of charred corpses. A mage falling right into their laps was a blessing from the gods. They offered him a place in their organisation, which he agreed to so long as they respected his freedom. A deal only made sweeter when the realized he had talent as a navigator. His tenure with the Steel Tigers lasted fifteen years, parting ways only because he wanted to explore the universe without being stuck in their territory. For the next decade, he was a freelance hitman, avoiding getting tied down to the boring groups that tried to recruit him. This ended when he heard the stories about a powerful group of Mercs. The Marauders.
Well, maybe they could curb his boredom.
Extra Info: While technically a member of the Steel Tigers, acts more as a freelancer due to his wandering nature.
Culture: The Tekhsmis are a race of cyborgs believed to have been created by the god Apti, who wanted to gift the world with more technology. It is believed that Apti blesses each Tekhsmi child with their intelligence when they were born and give them each a specific role in society that they are supposed to carry out until their end.
Because of this, the Tekhsmis have built a five-tiered caste system, each with a specific purpose to society. At the top of the caste system are a group of senators who rule over their society. The second caste system is a group of priests and priestess who presides over ceremonies and rituals to appease their god. The third caste are researchers whose drive is to invent and theorize how to better the world. The fourth caste are the engineers who take the ideas of the third caste and mass produce their ideas and the final caste is the group of skilled labours who create all the technology that the Tekhsmis use.
Since it is believed that everyone has a certain role given to them by Apti, the Tekhsmis are very strict about knowing your place in society. Rules and rules and they were made for a reason. Those who break the rules are punished accordingly and shunned by society as it is understood that rulebreakers chose themselves over the benefit of their society.
In addition, despite trading much of their tech to other races, they rarely talk to outsiders unless necessary. This is not because they want to stay out of conflict, rather they think other races are beneath them especially those who do not embrace technology like they do. Tekhsmis believe that one day, Apti will decide when to “upgrade” everyone to their standards and they can become rulers of a new age.
Racial Features: At first glance, Tekhsmis look like normal human beings. However, upon further inspection, one will notice the blue circuitry right beneath their skin, following the patterns of the human nervous system. This circuitry allows them to collect and parse data almost instantaneously. It also allows them to communicate by touching one another and transferring data. Tekhsmis brain also allows them to store vast amounts of information. It helps them rule or invent or build but also, they can hold a mean grudge.
Appearance
Occupation/Ship Position: Engineer/Computer
Training:
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Computer Programmer/Hacking
Very basic hand to hand combat
Powers:
Technomancy: In a way, Malkan can commune with technology via touch. She can also infuse her essence into said items to control them though the bigger the tech the harder it is for her.
Electromagnetic manipulation: Malkan can see different objects and beings in the world as electric fields. Because of this, she is able to manipulate these fields to form an attack such as an EM blast or a defensive shield. In addition, by putting herself in a trancelike state, she can extend her conscious into these fields and wreak havoc without leaving a trace.
Equipment:
Goggles/Glasses – Although she has perfect vision, Mal uses her goggles or glasses when the electric fields around her are too distracting or she wants to focus on the task at hand.
Cybernetic right arm – After the incident, Mal lost her right arm. Thus, she built herself a new one that helps her out. Like a swiss army knife, the arm houses many tools that Mal uses to build her tech.
Left gauntlet – Like her right arm, Mal’s left gauntlet also helps her build. It’s most notable purpose is to help her infuse essence into her tech.
Boots – Mal’s boots ground her when she’s working to help her avoid electric shocks.
Airship: N/A
Motivation: She’ll tell you it’s for the money, but it’s to survive, find a purpose in life.
Personality: Malkan’s general demeanor is sarcastic and indifferent though she can get tetchy when people touch her tech or ask about her past.
Flaws:
Electricity – The circuitry in Mal’s own body can’t take high volumes of electricity or it’ll short out rendering herself simply human. She circumvents most shocks by modifying her boots to act as a ground.
Doesn’t understand worlds without tech.
Deathly terrified of Demons
Bio: Because intelligence is valued so much, young Tekhsmis are monitored very closely from the day they were born. The Tekhsmis have a centralized schooling system that all their children attend where the focus is engineering and math but also history and law. Upon completion, students take an aptitude test where they are placed in a caste. Then they are paired up with a mentor with the intent that they’ll replace said mentor upon their age of retirement.
Upon taking her aptitude test and scoring a decently high mark, Malkan was placed in the third caste of invents where she was paired with her mentor Tibor. Tibor was a renowned innovator. Star-struck, Malkan sought to learn as much as she could from Tibor, and Tibor, seeing the potential in his young student, took her under his wing. However, Tibor also had other plans. For years, Tibor wanted to see if he could capture a demon and harness its powers. Without telling her his true motivations, Tibor tasked Malkan to help him build a machine for the sake of “harnessing powers not familiar to the Tekhsmis”.
If asked, Malkan will make up a story but the truth is that she doesn’t even know herself. She assumes Tibor lost control of the demon but all she remembers is finishing the machine and had moved on to another project when a loud explosion rocked the building. Sensing that it was it was towards her mentor’s lab, Malkan ran over to check to find him battling a demon. She joined in, only to be quickly knocked out.
When she came to, it was a week later. She was missing an arm and according to the doctors, the only reason why she survived was because she had exalted. Apparently, the demon had leveled a whole city before it could be disposed. It killed thousands of Tekhsmis, including Tibor. Enraged by the tragedy, the senators put her on trial as soon as she could walk again. Despite valuing the exalted for their rarity, the senators did not want to chance another fiasco like this. For her part in this event, Malkan was banished and erased from Tekhsmis history.
For a time, Malkan roamed Elysia, lost. She discovered she had new powers that she didn’t understand or could control properly. Malkan did a few odd jobs here and there to survive before falling in with the Marauders.
