[OOC] The Frozen Flame: Dark Fantasy/Steampunk RP

[Nightbringer]

We don't do Memorial Day in Britain, but I appreciate the sentiment anyway. The 4th weekend in May is finding me well Avery :)

[Scout]

No, but you may as well take a day to remember your own fallen warriors, Night. :p Unless you do your own Memorial day on some other day like most of your backwards English traditions do, wot. XD

[Nightbringer]

Yeah we do that, we have Remembrance Day on November 11th, which you guys call Veteran's Day, right?

And humour me; what "backwards" English traditions are you referring to exactly? :P

[Desert Zephyr]

I have no clue. I am still rewriting my history, but I am not sure that will shock anyone. The rewritten portion is sitting at five pages, and if you want to look at it, let me know. It's on google docs so you all can leave comments as well. Hope you are all having a good weekend.

[Avery Calhoun]

@ Night, Yes we have a veterans day too. A lot of times the line is so blurred between the Veteran's day and Memorial day holidays here anyway. Memorial day is technically for just the fallen and Veteran's day is for all vets / service members living and dead.

@ Scout, I do appreciate the thanks Scout but it is hardly required

@ Night, November is pretty eventful there is it not? Besides the Armistice day (Veteran's day here if I understand it correctly) is the 5th really a big deal in Britain? Parliament also opens up for session in November does it not?

@ Arch, I think that LJ was good with your char since you went with the changes, as to a start date... this crowd seems to always go long in the OOC before starting up, I think the starting line may be approaching soon though.

@Zeph, I am always willing to read up if you want some outside eyes on it.

[Archangel89]

I'm excited to start...this is one of the two games that has.me excited to rp again

[Nightbringer]

Avery, we have Guy Fawkes Day on the 5th. Most people have forgotten the real meaning of it but it's an excuse to let off fireworks. And the State Opening of Parliament happened every November from like the 1500s till 2011, but it happens in May now because of the change in legislation regarding fixed-term Parliaments. It's all just pomp and ceremony anyway though, but then most things involving the Royal Family are entirely pomp and ceremony these days anyway :P

Scout, now that I think about it, we do have a lot of odd traditions...

[Avery Calhoun]

@ Night, I always wondered if and how much the pomp and circumstance was still a factor in the British political system. With a history and legacy like it has I always imagined it being something that was slow to fade away with time. I cannot remember what late night show in the U.S. (not exactly a source of news I know) said this but at one point someone did a pretty basic statistical poll and found that New Yorkers were more interested in the goings on of the Royal Family then most people on London. I don't know how valid it was but it was a good laugh, especially around the whole wedding and baby events. Heck, I remember I couldn't turn on the news without some update about Kate and I always thought... just how is this top-line headline news in the U.S?

October and November are pretty big months for me (being Asatruar) so I am always interested in seeing if there are correlations around the world.

@Arch. Having been with this story since the get go on the old site I know the feeling. This is actually one of the few things keeping me in the forum RPs. Everything I join lately (maybe it is me) dies out or just turns so... ridiculous... that I lose interest. I think this RP and its cast and my own little Sci-fi world building venture I am working on (all be it far to little) are the things that keep me here.

[Nightbringer]

The Royal Family to me is just something that's there. It doesn't affect me in any way. Some people have a real vitriolic response to them, and I just don't get it. They don't do any harm, in fact they rake in tourist revenue. For some reason Americans (I can't speak for you guys obviously) seem to go nuts over all the Royal stuff when they visit Britain. It's weird.

And Asatruar? That's some kind of Paganism, right? Sorry if I seem uneducated Avery, but Paganism and its many many many different varieties has never been something I've been able to get my head around.

[Desert Zephyr]

Thanks Avery, what email should I link it to? You can PM me if you want for that.

For the royalty bit, I think it's mostly romanticizing the royalty, and bit of Disney that makes it a big deal. The other thing is, it's just social news, so they are probably the same people who go crazy over celebrities here to begin with.

[Lovejoy]

Yo guys, Managed to finish off one of my character profiles. I'll try have the rest up sometime tomorrow, along with some more info. I'm still jobless, but I do have an interview next week for an administrative position, so that's cool. :p

Zoya Kiriyev


Age: 41
Race: Muraadan (assimilated Varyan)

Zoya Kiriyev is a commander in the Varyan military. Thirteen years ago, she served with distinction in the Lanostran War and was granted leave to return to civilian life at the war's conclusion. However, as the empire readies itself for another invasion, Zoya has been summoned to rejoin the military forces and resume her post as a commander within Lord Varya's armada. Leaving behind her family and the comfortable civilian life she won for herself through her heroism in the war, Zoya has been tasked by the Church with leading the military forces supporting the First Elurian Inquisition during their journey through the eastern continent.

Many Varyan soldiers lost their lives during the attrition campaign against Lanostre-- so costly was the struggle for the empire that for every Lanostran killed in that conflict, three Varyans perished. Though the empire held a clear advantage in numbers, the soldiers of Lanostre were far and beyond the more potent fighters. Thus the narrative of the war was written-- the young soldiers sent out to the warfront rarely returned, and so their loved ones waiting back home congregated in their churches, and prayed for miracles.

For many of the soldiers who served alongside Commander Zoya Kiriyev, she was that miracle.

Having joined the empire's youth corps at the young age of eleven, Zoya has had a long and brutal career as a frontline soldier and commander-- one that she was all too eager to leave behind at the war's conclusion. Celebrated for her bravery and brilliant tactical mind, she quickly rose through the ranks of the Varyan secular army and upon the completion of her officer's training, was immediately shipped off to the Lanostran subcontinent. Once there, she was given command of a small company and went on to distinguish herself by leading her band of soldiers to victory after victory. More impressive than her successes on the battlefield was Kiriyev's obsessive MO to not allow anyone in her brigade to fall in the line of duty. She was a supremely cautious and defensive-minded leader, with a craft for subterfuge and guerilla warfare that many of her fellow officers did not share. During her first year in Lanostre, Kiriyev's company lost only seventeen soldiers-- most of the casualties falling to Lanostran inquisitors.

Zoya Kiriyev's reputation as a leader who would fight tooth and nail for the survival of those under her command, sometimes to the ire of her commanding officers, spread throughout the ranks of the conscripted men and women of the military, and thus she began to be hailed as a "hero" among the lower ranks of the invasion force. This did not sit well with the inquisitors who led the invasion, as most of the Church's warriors believed the conscripts to be little more than cannon fodder, only there to distract the secular Lanostran armies while Lord Varya's true work was being done-- the capturing of the goddess Lanostre herself.

As the war continued and the battles grew ever more fierce, Kiriyev's determination to lead her soldiers home never wavered. Four years later, when the Goddess Lanostre surrendered to Lord Varya personally, her greatest wish was finally answered and she and the rest of the men and women who had long served under her were allowed to return home. Most of the soldiers who served in Lanostre now occupy high-ranking posts within the secular army-- Kiriyev however, asked to be discharged from her office, and after her superiors failed to convince her to stay, they granted the commander her freedom. She went on to marry a T'saeren engineer and started a family.

For the past thirteen years since the war's end, Zoya has not so even as touched a rifle, nor has she stayed in contact with her old comrades in the military. She has lived a placid life with her husband and young boy, far away from the public eye. Her idyllic peace came to a sudden end when Father Valentin, a high-ranking priest within the Church, called for her to return to her post in order to serve a newly ordained class of Inquisitors as they journey throughout El.

Though she fears the very real possibility that she might not return from this journey, Zoya has not wilted in her years as a civilian. She has resigned herself to the task given to her. Commander Kiriyev will serve these priests as faithfully as she served the men and women under her command, she will guide them safely through the frozen wastes, and Varya help her, she will fight for them until the day she returns home.

[Lovejoy]

Oh and Archangel, yes, you're accepted. Right now I'm just finishing up on some big information entries that will help fill out the world a bit more, as there are kind of blank gaps in the world that no one really knows much about. Once I get that done, as well as post a few profiles for the super-important secondary characters, we'll begin. I think in the meanwhile we can get started on our relationships,

[Desert Zephyr]

And my history is off to LJ for editing. Those of you who like reading can read the whole thing. For the rest of you, I will try and summarize in two or three pages after we finish the final version.

[Archangel89]

Cool...well scout and I have already started on our relationships but if anyone else wants to work on theirs with me then feel free to send me a pm and well get started

[Avery Calhoun]

@ Night. Yeah the Asatruar are those that practice some form of Asatru. I say "some form" because like you said paganism (which Asatru is grouped under) is complex and varied and just the practice of Asatru is varied enough to boggle the mind. At the core it is the belief in the Old Norse Pantheon, Cosmology, and Mythology. Within Asatru there are literalists, re-constructionists, deconstructionists, very unfortunately racists, and every other kind of "ist". I got into the Norse, Celt, and Pictish mythology about ten years ago when I traced the primary line of my genealogy to the northeastern coasts of Scotland and the west coasts of Scandinavia. From there I identified with the Norse mythology and its world view and life view and thus began to practice (as best I could, learning along the way) Asatru.

Now, being of a scientific mind, I fall into a group of Asatruar who do not see Odin, Thor, Balder, Loki, Freya, etc as Gods and Goddess in the Christian sense. Rather I see them as ancient ancestors, once living human blood relatives who were once living Kings, Queens, and Heroes who's stories were transformed into the Sagas, and who became these mythical beings used by ancient people to explain a world they scientifically could not understand.

So unlike a literal follower of Asatru I do not believe that Odin watches all or the world was made from the coming together of fire and ice and filled with the leavings of a giants corpse, or that an ash tree holds the world together, that I have a chance to go to a God's hall when I die, or that Ragnarok is coming. I believe in evolution, the big bang, and all the principles of science and that these ancient Norse Gods and Goddess were just human beings (whose stories have become God-like) and I try to live my life by the example of the noble virtues and wisdom of my ancient ancestors set forth in that mythology. That being said I do ascribe to a pagan calendar and holidays because I do believe it is more in sync with the biological cycle of the world.

@ All, I will be more than happy to work out relationships though I do remember most of them between Motya and the returning cast. For the new cast PM me with any ideas and if I do not hear from you in a couple of days I will shoot you a PM myself to get the ball rolling.

[Scout]

God... Aeron, really?

[AeronFarron]

Name: Enyo

Age: 19

Height/Weight: 5'11", 148 lbs.

Race: Lanostran/Varyan

Appearance: Enyo is a fairly tall for a young woman. She has light blonde hair, pale skin and emerald green eyes that seem to glow within themselves. Her body is trim and well defined, honed to the point between speed and raw strength. Her hair is usually tied into a ponytail with a tie from her stepmother, and she carries the necklace of her birth mother: a shimmering blue crystal with the visage of a giant cat-dragon etched within it.

Her shoulders are rather broad for a young woman, and her fingers are calloused from archery and hoplite training. Her arms, like her body, are deceptively strong and have been reinforced with the natural protection that comes with multiple broken arms.



Personality: Enyo is fairly complicated. While she looks brooding and seems to be plagued by bouts of melancholy, many are surprised to find that is just her default expression. Enyo is a smart young woman with a cynical and dark sense of humor. Couple that with a half smirk type of smile, sharp words, and an entitlement problem, you have the recipe for quite the arrogant personage. What could be considered the worst part of her personality is that she has no sense of mercy or forgiveness. While incredibly loyal (almost to a fault), and often more than happy to lend a hand or make some noise, Enyo has a very long memory. Once she is scorned, no teaching or religious rebuke will keep her from extracting equal and swift revenge. She is a devout worshipper of Lanostre, but has surrendered herself to the service of Varya, just as the goddess had. She takes great pride in herself and her skills.

Familial Bonds:
Enyo loves her stepmother deeply...her eldest siblings and father suspect the love is more intense than a daughter should have for her mother and have vocalized these thoughts often. These veiled accusations would often be met with a scathing glare and a curt, cutting comment about her father's incapability to please his wife and his inability to meet any of her needs, hence the jealousy and projecting; or that her siblings were simply jealous that their mother loved her more.

She has a soft spot for the sister closest in age to her as well as her younger brother. Enyo has been known to dote on them both during her vacation. Their bond runs so deeply, that her sister put off her dream wedding for nearly a year and a half, just so Enyo was able to attend. Her brother takes extreme pride in his half-sister and her accomplishments. He was usually the loudest of the family, seconded by her stepmother, whenever she competed in the games (which was every year once she was allowed to). Her love has not extended to her brother-in-law, whom is too much like their father, in her opinion. Despite this fact, she downright spoils her niece and nephew.

Background: Enyo was born to a poor, single Varyan woman. The woman cared for her miracle daughter, whom was nameless, the best that she could. Ultimately though, she was dying and had no family to care for the child. Seeing no other choice, she violated the promise she'd once made and went to the girl's father. The man's wife answered the door and brought the dying woman and her child into the noble's home.

After listening to the woman's story, the infant began to cry in hunger. The woman lamented and apologized quietly to the child for she feared to feed the infant in worry of the disease that ran through her. Taking pity on the woman and feeling her own motherly instincts rear, the incensed wife gently took the child and suckled her. The child ate greedily and kept a strong grip on the woman's finger. The wife was entranced by the child whom began to cry again. She looked up to ask what was wrong, only to see the woman slumped over and no longer breathing. The woman comforted the child best as could.

When her husband returned home to see his secret mistress laying on the family couch and his wife with a strange baby across from her he was enraged and asked his wife what was going on. An argument ensued. In the end the child was to assimilate into the family, despite her bearing the coloring of her mother, while her mother would be buried in the family grave plot.

The following years found the child- whom was later named "Enyo" for the war-like argument and sides that popped up when she was taken in- had to play catch up with her half-siblings. Her stepmother treated the girl kindly, for she saw untapped potential in the girl and cared for her deeply. She trained the girl personally in her toddler years into childhood. She watched proudly when the six year old punched her older half-brother's lights out after he took her toy spear and prevented her husband's interference in the matter. The eldest boy had been quite spoiled, and she reasoned that it was good for him to have some sense knocked into him. The favoritism was obvious between the couple and the children, and led to deep seeded, almost malicious rivalries between the eldest two and Enyo.

The girl grew quickly after than, for in the middle of her seventh year of life, she was much taller than her half-siblings had been at her age. She helped her mother and older sister with her younger brother when she wasn't practicing her letters, numbers, and weapons. The three were nigh inseparable once they all connected: if the boy was napping, Enyo watched over him while she cuddled with her sister. If her sister was doing some knit work, Enyo was playing with her brother a few feet away. A few months later, her step-mother offered her up for the Red Seminary, and told the girl she would bring the honor to both herself, her, and her mother as well as to spite her father and her meaner siblings. The girl allowed a few tears when she hugged her closest siblings once more, then sobbed when she hugged her stepmother before she was led away.

Talents/Ethereal Abilities: Enyo was gifted with and honed impressive physicality and physical capabilities. She has taken much care to hone any practices that increases her strength, reflexes or agility, and has been gift with an impressive mind for technology for her race. She has no known spells, as she barely passed her classes for that particular skill. After her classes, she instead put her energy and ether into her own personal skill and combat related skills. As such, she can manipulate her own ether as impressively as she can her weapons, but most of the skill goes unseen.

Enyo's personal ethereal ability allows her to draw on the ether of other people for her own personal use. Unlike modern ways of drawing ether, Enyo can control how much ether she takes and whether her victim feels euphoria or utter pain, or even both. In the same way, she can also transfer her ether to another for their use as well. Unlike her equipment, she cannot use this ether for weapons or as a power source. The ether is only to be "consumed" to boost her own ether if she is mortally wounded. She must be careful though, for the feeling is addicting, and should she take too much ether within herself, she can kill herself.

Equipment:
Mother Enyo's equipment allows her to use a person's ether when used in conjunction with her personal weapon, Omega, in combat. Her shield, Alpha, collects the ether from the dying person when Omega is docked on it, and then stores it as power for the two pieces of equipment. From there, Enyo can manipulate the ether as if it were her own for the purpose of transforming the weapon and shield into their other weapon forms.

These pieces were commissioned by her stepmother and were gifted upon finishing her "Demon Year"

Alpha's transformations:
Buckler, Hoplon (circular shield), gauntlet (default), the rear end of her rifle.

Omega's transformations:
Doru (Hoplite's Spear), Bastard Sword (not due to length, but because it is reflects its "bastard" wielder. It combines the xiphos (19 inches in length, vague leaf shape, deep center indention) with a Broadsword (heavier towards the base, stylized pommel and hilt))., front end of her rifle, a small, palm sized "torch" that attaches to her gauntlet for a longer lasting light source or to use it as a blunt force object (default).

Character Relationships: TBA

[AeronFarron]

Scout said
God... Aeron, really?

So sorry that not all of us are veterans and are used to the separate topics yet. Been here less than a week, buddy.

[AeronFarron]

Enyo's Quick Picture

[Avery Calhoun]

Welcome Aeron, I don't think Scout meant anything serious by it just some joking and general ribbing, it happens a lot here. Your character looks like a good one but it will all depend on what LJ wants at this point in time. Either way welcome, again.