Lightning cuts across the sky like a glowing dagger, driving it's burning point of light into the body of inky black that is the sky. The thunder is a war drum, beating rhythmically in a deafening boom that threatens to swallow the world whole. The drum beats for the soldiers of this turbulent battle; bloated, grey clouds that fire volley after volley of piercing rain. Demonic winds howl and swirl with the fury of a thousand suns, ensnaring an unfortunate squid in their grasp. Within moments it is dead, destroyed by the onslaught. Only a fool or a madman would dare brave this hellish nightmare.
Luckily the captain of the Round Rouge is both.
She stands in the squids nest, above the metal ball that is her ship, cackling madly. Her olive skin face is framed by dark, shaggy hair that writhes wildly around her head like a group of vicious snakes. Pale, wide eyes almost seem to glow in the darkness as they dart across the sky, searching and scanning. She must find it. She must have her prize.
She doesn't care that most of the crew are dead. She doesn't care that the engines are dead. And she certainly doesn't care that she may soon die herself. For Captain Marassa this has become almost routine.
Suddenly she spots it looming up ahead. Her prize. A great beast of a cloud that could swallow the ship ten times over. It approaches quickly, hurried on by the wind. Victory and defeat walk hand in hand with one another; the timing must be perfect to avoid destruction. Closer. Closer. Closer. At last she shouts the command into the wind, and remaining crew scramble to obey her orders. Giant nets unfurl from the sides of the ship and pass through the monster's grey body, carefully filtering out the precious white powder called Sphax. All who still live grip to something, anything for safety as the ship is torn limb from limb. For hours they cling to their small rocks of safety in the raging storm, until at last it passes and they are free from it's deathly grip. Captain Marassa has triumphed again.
The RP takes place in the Seven Skies; a place where the ground does not exist and the only form of transportation is flying.
The ships provide this flight are enormous metal balls. These balls are powered by large engines that take up the lower part of the ship. The engines in turn are powered by large wind turbines fitted to the exterior of the ship. The engines are often very unreliable and require repairs more often than not. There are many different designs of ship; some are comprised of a single ball, others are very intricate with several balls linked together via metal tubes. I'll post a diagram of the ship we will be using later on.
Different areas of the Seven Skies are more prone to certain weather conditions. For example one area may be frequented by storms, while others may be very warm and cloudless.
There is no currency in this world, and instead the economy is a barter one. People trade goods and materials rather than buying and selling. The most valuable of these goods is a fine white powder called Sphax. This powder is produced by combing through clouds with a special net. The thicker and denser the cloud the more Sphax it contains. Thus storm clouds produce the highest yield of Sphax.
Sphax is so valuable as it could be considered the foundations of the world. The fighters of the world use this explosive powder in their pistols and muskets to fire metal ball bearings at their enemies. It can also be refined to create a very strong silks and metals that is used in ropes, nets, swords, the metal balls used in guns etc. The nets used to gather Sphax are made from this silk. However, it requires much training by an expert to be able to weave this silk and forge this metal.
Such experts can be found scattered across the skies, most commonly in the larger, industrial towns. Towns are in fact several ships linked together using Sphax silk bridges, floating across the sky. Depending on the size of the town, there may be up to hundreds of ships comprising a single town or trading post.
However these towns must defend themselves from roving bandits and pirates, who frequently launch attacks against defenceless ships. The most common weapons used in defence by ships are harpoons. They are fired from holes made in the outer walls of the ship, and can be used to jam wind turbines or pierce weak points in the hull of the enemy vessel. Once attached, they can be used to bring ships to a halt, or pull them close enough for the crew to board and engage in hand to hand combat. The weapons used in close quarter combat are generally cutlasses, Sphax powder guns, and anything else that can quickly and effectively cut down the enemy.
Drinkable water comes from filtered rain water, and food comes either from the meaty bodies of the giant squid and seagulls that inhabit the skies or from the algae that gets stuck in the nets with the Sphax.
Clothing also comes from these giant animals, with squid skin being tanned and used as a type of leather, and the feathers from the seagulls being used for warmth and padding e.g feather cloaks. These giant animals are docile unless attacked, in which case they can become violent.
Basic rules apply here guys. Be civil, no god modding etc.
If you join this RP you will be taking on the role of either a new or old crew member of Round Rouge; Captain Marassa's ship. I will be playing the role of the Captain.
The RP will begin after Marassa's latest Spahx run, as she docks her ship at the floating bar of Sunlight; a less than reputable bar known for it's rowdy patrons. Once there she makes her way inside with any remaining crew members to hire new hands. We will begin just as the Captain enters the bar, with my opening post being her arrival and entrance. If you are a new hand you will be recruited in this bar, if you are a surviving crew member you will be entering with the Captain. Once recruited the adventure will begin! I don't want to give too much away about the plot until the RP starts, so be content in the knowledge that it will involve a lot of high skies adventure.
Name:
Age:
Appearance (pictures are acceptable):
Equipment:
Role on the ship (medic, engineer etc):
Personality:
History (a few paragraphs will do):
(Wrote this on my phone so I will fix any issues later. My CS for the Captain will be up later also)
