[OOC] The Bronze Brigade: In the beginning

[Hillan]

Do note that the OOC is still very much so a work in progress. I'll keep updating it.

Lore

We live in the realm of Ashnator, a world not completely unlike ours, geographically. It's lands are green with grass and it's ocean's are blue. The growth of species is different than that of Earth's for a very simple reason. There is no salt water, and the incredible amount of water on the planet have allowed uncountable variety of species in the natural kingdom. Man's existed on the realm for a very long time, mankind's most certainly one of the oldest species in the world.

The first human kingdom, known as the kingdom of Ash named after the ash that revitalized the land after a gigantic forest fire. The three brothers that ruled the kingdom were warriors, the strongest, in fact. They protected their kingdom against all forms of evil. Dragons, Goblins, Beasts, Demons and the list goes on and on. They were the first three who understood the key to human strength in the world. The power, and importance of a soul, the spirit, in fact, the very essence of human life was what made man superior to other species in the land.

The youngest brother wanted to use the power of the soul to empower the nature, to go backwards in time, to have mankind step back, and let mother nature run rampart. The oldest brother, wanted to do the opposite, he wanted to enslave nature, the animals, and make all other species bow before the might of mankind.

The middle brother, was caught in the middle, for as the years passed, the conflict escalated. The two brothers made their own armies, splitting the kingdom in three parts, the two clashing for years. The middle brother knew that there was no good that could come from the fighting, and it burdened him, for both of his brothers wanted him to stand by their side, to defeat the other.

The middle brother had enough. Splitting his kingdom, and giving it to his siblings, he went into exile. Deep into the caves of the world. In the caves, wandering for many years, harnessing the powers of his soul, he grew powerful. He was oblivious to the war of the outside, between his loved brothers whom now, because of years of bloodshed and tragedy had forgotten all about him, and all about the time when the three ruled together, like a family.

The man found his way to a cave inside a volcano. Where he found the shimmering metal, flowing, like it'd be blood in veins. He found Bronze, naturally created from the copper veins in the caves, and combined with other ore thanks to the heat of the volcano. He began to craft the bronze over the course of years. Finding that unlike other materials, the bronze had a natural ability to channel the power of one's spirit. The man saw the possibilities in this, Bronze could be used to stop his brothers from fighting. He didn't have to shed anymore blood. He could unite the kingdom once again.

He crafted a full suit of armor, and weapon for himself, before he headed back into the outside world. Hopeful. But his hopes were crushed as he arrived back home in the kingdom of ash. Seeing nothing but death and despair. His brothers had long since killed each other, their armies were destroyed, and mankind was shattered, without hope.

But with the reapperance of the brother, they would constitute a new kindom. A better one. Where people would live with nature, as it's kind masters. He taught the way of the bronze to the people, and they began rebuilding. The city of Bardum was built, and soon the excellence of the city of bronze spread all throughout the land, creating the kingdom of Amuldor, where science and magic would lead the world into a more modern age.

Magic

'Magic', Soulforging as it's called is the art of physically manifesting your own spirit, your very soul is what you use to perform the acts that defy the laws of physics. Your soul is, essentially a holder of infinite power. But the mastery of using your soul to perform previously mentioned feats is something that's highly individual, not to mention the wide variety of ways you can use Soulforging in.

Ways of usage of it includes, but are not limited to enhanced physical capabilities, elemental projection, naturally communication, healing, astral projection and enchanting.

Character Skeleton

-Picture- Preferably not manga, manga influenced pictures can be okay.
Name: Duh.
Age: Duh.
Soulforging Specialty: Choose two specialities. They do not have to be the ones I made examples off, just something along those lines. I'm giving very free reigns. Think outside of the box, if I like it, and it's well thought out, it's fine.
Abilities Soulforgings that aren't speciality. Your character are as such less skilled at them. Try and keep it to a reasonable amount.
Skills:Battle or Civilian-related.
Equipment: Gear, do remember that you're a cadet. You'll be having quite little gear.
Backstory: Try and keep it above two paragraphs, but less than ten.
Other: Something else you'd care to mention.

All Character Sheet's are to be sent to me, Hillan, via PM.

Bronze

Bronze is, despite the fact that it's what the entire city walls are made off, a rather rare material. You'll rarely find a warrior who owns a full armory of bronze. Bronze is nigh-indestructible, being able to pierce the hide of a dragon when in the hands of a powerful wielder. Most warriors outside of the brigade don't own a weapon of bronze, but more commonly simply an artifact. A ring, or an amulet that they use to amplify their spirit in combat.

The Brigade

The brigade was formed 56 years ago, by the current regent. King Jachiro The Fourth. Jachiro was a warrior, claimed to be the greatest one of the kings since the first king of the ancient tales. Jachiro waged war on the dragons of the world, as the dragons was spreading terror and destruction. He needed a band of warriors not afraid of anything.

And so was the Bronze Brigade formed, as a dragon hunting unit, given their name due to the fact that they all had to be armed with full bronze, as Bronze was the only material strong enough to both withstand the power of a dragon, but also pierce it's hide.

The Brigade was successful in defending against the dragons, pushing them back into the far corners of the world, were the vile creatures would hide away. But the kingdom of Ashnator wasn't safe yet. More evils lurked, so the king decided that the Brigade would become something more than Dragon Slayers. They were to become a regiment, the very elite of the army, an ideal that all men and women in the kingdom would look up to, and hail as heroes.

And that's exactly how it's been since then. The members of the Brigade have been the stars of the City Of Bronze ever since. Followed, Idolized, and sometimes even worshiped. Passing on their knowledge from generation to generation.

Initation into the Brigade

The Brigade is, as you'd imagine, not something you could just walk up to and sign up with. You have to be chosen, and have had opportunity to prove yourself worthy to join the brigade, and due to the very limited amount of cadets that are accepted every generation, there's very strong competition between the aspiring cadets. It isn't unheard of grudges being held by those that didn't get accepted.
The Brigade looks for more than just raw martial talent, though. As such, there's been people known to get accepted without being the very elite warriors, but having other abilities that puts them apart from the rest.

Rules

No more freaking rogues, like dayum yo. Come on folks.

Regular Guild rules applies.

[Enarr]

I am Nightrunner. And I approve of this message.

[PinkFlower]

The whoe soulforging thing will make it hard to do a shaman.

They'll either need to be a wilderness child(gruul style.)

OR they'll need to be more selesnyaish.

Maybe she could be non wild based if she was simicish.

Sorry magic is the best reffrence i have for summoning stuff, and what kinds of things can be summoned.

n

[Hillan]

Soulforging, is very much so magic. Except it's not fueled by mana.
For instance, a Shaman could use his or her spirit to 'sync' up to that of a natural spirit, an animal or a plant.

Like I said, I'm giving you very free reigns. Press the limits I write in the OP, and if I enjoy it and think it's a solid concept, I'll allow it.

Shoot for the stars, so to speak.

[Hillan]

Original Post Edited.

[ShuffleCat]

Looks great! Will start a character sheet soon.

[Marrow]

very nice, be'll reading the whole intro post some other time but im certainly interested

[Iridious]

Alright! Character is a-go!

Calathes Evers

(Yay, quick and dirty mugshot. I'll do a better one later.)

Name: Calathes Evers

Age: 26

Soulforging Specialty: Cal's most latent abilities lie with his ability to communicate with nature and his ability to manipulate the wind.

Abilities: Cal can manipulate the air around him for different purposes, be it to guide his arrows or stoke the flame of his forge. He also has a pact with a wolf spirit which he can bring forth through a soulforge summon.

Skills: Cal is a tempered tracker and hunter - a skill set he uses symbiotically with his smithing trade. He sells the meat from his hunts and uses hides to craft leather goods which he also sells in town. Calathes also dabbles in brewing beers and hard liquor which he sells to the local pubs. You might say he's a bit of an entreprenuer.

Cal has yet to dabble in forging anything serious out of bronze, but has nearly mastered his steel craft. Aside from Bronze, iron was the chief element of weapon and defense engineering. While steel does not have the ability to channel one's spirit, it is far more more durable than iron and capable of sundering such constructs. His steel is nearly 100% free of imperfections due to his ability to stoke his flame hotter than his competition.

His martial prowess is also impressive. He is well versed in basic martial practices and can quite effectively defend himself with both bow and blade. His top skill would have to be his tracking ability. Be it through brush or tundra, he will find his target's spoor.

Equipment: Other than the standard issue gear the cadets receive, Cal has his own compound hunting bow that he crafted with his own two hands. He also wields a scimitar that was passed down to him from his mother. The armor he wears was also crafted by hand. Bound leather with small, snug steel plates along the length of his left arm.

Backstory: Calathes hails from what used to be a small human settlement, far to the north of Ashnator. Due to the higher elevation, the climate was cooler than that of the First Human Kingdom. He carried out the first twelve years of his life in this small town. This was a tight-knit community who's inhabitants depended upon one another for survival. Calathes' mother taught him how to handle a bow and a blade - knives and scimitars in particular. She was one of the core members of the town's militia and hunting party. Fierce in her ways, she imparted memories that would not easily be forgotten.

Cal's father was away with the trade caravan most of the time, so he did not see him often. Instead, he picked up most of his interest in his more articulate skills from his uncle. He was the village smith, as well as an artist. There were many a day where Cal and his twin sister, Ixilly (ick-shill-y), would sit in awe and watch his hands work wonders. The two kids both seemed to have a inborn talent for communicating with nature. Soulforging, while not terribly uncommon, had yet to manifest itself in such a way within the community.

Time went by as such for a number of years until just after the twin's twelfth birthday. What started as a warm, ordinary summer night quickly changed into a terrifying ordeal as a nomadic group of barbarians raided the town. Cal's father was away with the caravan, leaving his mother to defend them. Cal and Ixilly lost their mother that night before their very eyes. Their mother did not submit before laying many of their numbers to rest. To call the scene barbaric would be an understatement. She pleaded with her children to run between her screams and struggling and, with tears of uncertainty and confusion in their eyes, they complied. The children made off into the forest and descended the hills with the sound of clanging metal and screaming behind them...

The twins spent the next year wandering south together. What initially began as a sense of disillusion and state of mourning grew into a desire to survive, and they did just that. The two sharpened their hunting and gathering prowess and their bond with nature bolstered further. This too, however, was not meant to last. After finding a large settlement they could do some bartering in, the two decided that they should stay. Weary from a year of living in the wilderness, this seemed like a great idea - and it was, for a time. However, a few months into their stay saw the village brought to it's knees by a dragon. The Brigade had driven out most of the draconic beasts, so suffice to say such an appearance was shocking. No one knows why it struck - perhaps one of the villagers crossed the beast, or it simply lashed out. The resulting chaos separated Cal and Ixilly and sent them fleeing in different directions.

Cal searched for his sister incessantly for weeks, but came up empty handed. More time passed, and eventually Calathes found his way to the outskirts of Ashnator. Cal's spirit was all but gone by this point in time. His mother was gone, and he had no idea where his father and sister were. His motivation had simply evaporated. He stood outside of a blacksmith forge almost religiously, day in and day out, and watched the man work. Eventually the man asked the young Cal if he'd like to give it a try. Lo and behold, the disenchanted kid seemed to have some experience and skill. The man took Cal in as an apprentice and continued Cal's training where his uncle had left off. After some time, the glint in his eyes returned, along with his will to live. For the past thirteen years Cal has worked the trade, and has since taken over since the old man passed away. He has grown the business to include leather wares he crafts from the fruit of his hunts, not to mention a few brews he's concocted. To this day he lets himself get lost while out on those hunting trips, hoping to come across his father or sister.

He joined the Bronze Brigade shortly after the old blacksmith's passing, some two years ago. They had need of a tracker in order to hunt a monster and Cal decided to volunteer. While Calathe's fighting talent was somewhat impressive, it was his ability to keep tabs on his quarry that warranted notice. The Brigade offered him a place in their ranks and Calathes accepted. Up to this point it has been an extremely part time venture for him - lending his tracking skills when needed. As such, he is still a Cadet. But he has a growing interest in the Brigade, mostly due to the hope that it could lead him to his family - or the barbarians that drove a blade through his childhood.

[Hillan]

Name:
Javian Northstar II

Age: 21

Soulforging Specialty:
ForceField:
Javian is able to generate a force-field around himself, serving as a shield that protects him, or others from harm. The forcefield is said nigh-impenetrable. However, Javian cannot attack and keep the "bubble" up at the same time.

Geomancy:
Javian's able to manipulate the ground below us, usually to errupt constructs of earth, such as make-shift walls or pillars. His mastery of geomancy is ironic, since his greatest skill is aerial fighting.

Abilities:
Javian posses basic regenerative abilities, as well as the ability to use his spirit to power his body increasing his physical prowess, as would all cadets and members of the Brigade. He's also able to use his spirit to propel himself high into the air, and come crashing down from these jumps with impressive power.

Skills:
Martial Training:
Javian's received extensive martial training, even since he was a child. He's a skilled hand-to-hand combatant, a very skilled user of polearms and a natural born leader-figure.

Swordsmanship:
Javian is a well versed blades man. Originally a spear man, he's picked up sword fighting over the years. He's skilled with most blades, ranging from rapiers to scimitars. His personal favorite is the kukri.

Strategic thinking:
Javian's a damn good tactician. He commands, and he conquers, taking his own and his team's abilities into account whenever he gets to planning. He thinks something through thoroughly before taking to action. Javian tries his hardest to keep his head cool, and his thinking objective when he's planning a tactic.

Charismatic:
Javian's got the attitude of a knight. He shows authority and pondus to those around him, and it's shown in both his actions and words. He's a gentleman, and everyone knows it. Javian's able to calm down a situation before it gets worsened thanks to his charisma.

Equipment:
His spearblade is his most obvious weapon, meant to offer the reach of a spear, the power of an axe, and the edge of a sword. He carries his father's kukri with him on his hip. On his shoulder, there's his shoulderpad, used to belong to his father, it's made out of mostly bronze, allowing Javian to amplify his spirit through it.

Backstory:

Javian's father, Northstar Sr. Was a Dragon Slayer, pretty old, in his 60's when his son came into the world.. Sr. Was the only surviving member of the original Bronze Brigade, he had retired from the brigade a long time ago, but was still hailed as a honorary member of the brigade, and recognized as such by the people of Ashnator.

Javian was born with high-expectations, to become a great warrior like his father. Javian's mother, Bella, got very sick when Javian was very young, so he never got to know his mother. He lived in the shadow of his father his entire childhood, and his father echoed in his life. He enlisted into the Martial Academy at the age of 11, as would all who wanted to join the military. He showed great promise, not only as a warrior, but also as a leader.

Javian's father died when Javian was 16 years old, leaving the young boy, and people in the city, and in the brigade hurting. But Javian tried to move on with his life, inherenting his father's sword, and the piece of armor he had kept for over 50 years. Javian, was unlike his father, unable to manipulated wind, but instead able to manipulated the earth below him, allowing him to still perform powerful feats with his spear.

Javian had been a candidate for the Brigade for the last two years, but not seen to be emotionally ready, despite proving to be one of the most powerful young candidates the City Of Bronze have to offer. But this time, it will be his time to shine. Leaving his old position as one of the 12 Captains of the Militia for the brigade.

Other:

All characters do not have to have a military background to join the brigade. Javian's more of an exception than a rule.

[Zherdee]

picture

Name: Maccio Rainhard
Age: 20
Soulforging Specialty:
Maccio is able to rapidly transport from place to place in very limited distance (around one meter), a thing that makes him, with his ability to enhance his agility, swiftness and acrobatic abilities in general to inhuman level, makes him a very mobile target.
Abilities
Maccio is capable of creating limited illusions, like altering the look of cards or dices to play in his favor or making an illusion of fire for a distraction.
Skills:
If there is anything like a professional rogue, Maccio would be one. Being a burglar, thief, gambler and juggler, he learned all tricks of the trade he needed to be successful in such shady professions. Be it lock picking, pick pocketing, stealth moving or art of cheating, he almost mastered them all. He is also more slippery then a flock of eels, being able to escape from almost every situation live can throw at him.
Equipment:
Apart from regular cadet stuff he received at start of his training, Maccio always carries a small leather pack with a few things left from his previous life. The burglar and lockpicking tools that were too expensive and useful to be left behind, a deck of cards and a pair of dices. He also carries a slim rapier, hidden in a cane like looking sheath, with a tip from bronze and a white tricorne hat.
Backstory:
Although most people would count Maccio as an orphan, he would never think about himself in that way. He was born in a local brothel to a whore (even if he is very, very unkind to anybody who uses the name in abusive way) and her client. As such, he never had problem with a lack of "parental" figures. Although being raised by a group of harlots, and some of their more kind clients, is not something most people would call the happiest childhood, Maccio considered himself lucky. The closest thing to a father Maccio ever had was mister Rainhard. He was one of the regular clients and he was particularly interested in Maccio´s well being. Despite the rumors, that he was a murderer and criminal of the worst sort, he had always been kind to a boy and even taught him every skill he would need to survive on streets, needless to say that Maccio was a natural talent. He even bought him an expensive hat, the kind of nobles used to wear, and a fine crafted rapier with a tip from a bronze!
But one day, his visits stopped. Maccio waited on him for a long time with mixed feelings. He felt scared, thinking Rainhard might have been hurt and in the same time he felt betrayed, thinking his patron might dumped him. A few days had passed until he found it was the later. Rainhard´s corpse was hanging in the middle of square. Poor bastard have been executed for almost endless list of crimes, ranging from a thievery to coldblooded murder.
It almost broke young Maccio. He became wild and reckless, trying to get some revenge on a system that had his mentor executed. Marccio was accepting jobs, that even his former teacher would forbid. Initially, he was successful. He was able to steal great riches from wealthy men and it had made him name on the street. He gained prestige and infamy and that is never a good thing in his profession.
The cage clapped sooner than Marccio could enjoy his fresh riches. He took a job that should be easy and because of a sheer arrogance and lack of a proper preparation, he ended up trapped with almost dozen of guards, surrounded with no way to escape. But it still didn´t stop him from trying. He took down almost a good half of them and badly scraped the others, a feat so impressive that in the end, he was given a choice. Either he will hang in the air next to his mentor or he will serve in army...

[Hillan]

Let's get this show back on the road!

[PinkFlower]

mmkay

[PinkFlower]

got skunked while jogging so may be a bit till charactr is up.

[Hillan]

PinkFlower said
got skunked while jogging so may be a bit till charactr is up.

That is.... Well.. I'm gonna have to be honest.

That's amazing.

[PinkFlower]

Hillan said
That is.... Well.. I'm gonna have to be honest.That's amazing.

Amazingly stupid on my part?

[Hillan]

Not even that.

Just straight up amazing.

Just imagine calling in to work and going "So.. Hey.. I can't come to work on time today.."

"Why?"

"I.. Uh... I got kinda skunked.."

[PinkFlower]

Well i don't have a job so that's good.

Also bro...... they wouldn't want you coming to work after being skunked. God stuff smells so fucking bad.

Also it gets kinda ironic when you realize I was running so I could get more attractive for a date tomorrow.

[Hillan]

I mean.
If you started running now, you're kinda too late anyway. If you'd want to look more fit for a date, thing you should do is work-out just a little bit just before you go to the date, so your muscles are pumped. (Not enough to warm you up, though.)

[PinkFlower]

I've been trying to lose weight all wea... and females aernt supposed to have pumped muscles i think.

Less or more debatable in ma scenario.

[Hillan]

Oh.
OOHHHHH. You're a girl. <.< I just assume everyone on the interwebs is a guy. Well then! Best of luck :P

Seriously, though. How common is getting skunked?