[OOC] Crossing Worlds

[GambolMuse]

Reserved

[Scout]

Note: As an immersive roleplayer, Aiko’s real life information is something she’s kept concealed since she began playing. Her name, her age, and anything of her social life is concealed with the utmost care. While in-game, she is Aiko and she chooses to act as if there is no “real world” until she has to be in it again.

Display Name: Aiko, the Shadow Dancer

Real Name: ???

Age: ???

Race: Fox Tail

Level: 70

Class: Assassin
Subclass: Shadow Dancer title

Appearance:
(Click for higher resolution)

Gear:

Combat Armour

When in a party or on a mission, Aiko typically dons very light, cloth-based armour that provides the highest possible mobility with low physical defense. Her most-used gear to date is pictured, leaving her with an elegant cloak and small stole over basic dexterity-boosting clothing. The stats on Aiko’s armour are a well-concealed secret; she shares the literal attributes of her gear with nobody.

Lunar Shawl: This cloak was received as part of the “Sol Set” from a raid which Aiko and Largoes did on the North American server. At some of the farthest reaches of Elder Tale’s map, a quest which few cared to complete was placed with “inverse equipment.” Those who completed the quest were given the armour, which could be upgraded or have its abilities applied to future sets if one so wished. Due to the nature of the equipment, which granted bonuses opposite to the “typical” builds of a particular class, was cast to the wayside by many and deemed nearly useless. Aiko only chose to keep one item of the set, and that’s her cloak. It helped to balance her equipment and, in all honesty, had a beautiful aesthetic to it. While it only helped her physical defense slightly, it caused her aggro-rate to rise marginally as well. However, she chose to keep it because, counter to her blades, it exudes a soft, golden aura when any person or monster spotted her. It was her way of keeping track of how hidden she was in any given situation. Not to mention, it was absolutely beautiful when worn in public.
The cloak gifted to man by the Sisters of the Sky. Out of pure spite, the celestial sister shines stronger upon whosoever is seen wearing it. However, the hard surface of her pale sister has granted this cloak a greater physical strength, for those who are spotted with it on may just need the protection.

Handwraps of the Shroud: Given as a reward to a rather recent quest on Crescent Moon Isle, these black sleeve-handwraps are worn in order to negate the aggro-causing status of Aiko’s Lunar Shawl. They increase her ability to hide in low-light situations as well as silencing the drawing of any weapon, should she have to do so while concealed in darkness. On the contrary, in the light or during the day outside (even in a shadowy forest), the handwraps become nearly useless, as their physical defense is nil. As an added bonus, because of the Apocalypse, they greatly improve her grip on her weapons, making it even more difficult to disarm her.
Sewn by the hands of a skilled tailor, these jet-black wraps are made specifically for stealthy players, helping keep them quiet without weighing them down.

Padfoot Shoes: A player-crafted pair of shoes which she purchased after reaching level 65, the minimum required to wear them, these shoes give the wearer a “Silent” status effect. Aiko’s movement, unless she is wearing armour which can clank or grind, makes absolutely no sound. While a lot of equipment provides bonuses to the Move Silently skill, this is the first pair which a stealth class can acquire that provides completely muted movement. Bonuses to this piece of armour are sub-par at best, but they aren’t the only items with “Silent” on them, they’re just the first.
Typically worn by the thieves and couriers of the city, these boots soften the wearer’s step. They boast a rather high level of comfort for runners and sneaks while promoting perfectly silent movement.

Wyvern Silk Top & Skirt: A commissioned set of cloth armour which Aiko had had made after joining a monster hunter’s party with Largoes at level 68. The boss of the quest was a legless, winged serpentine beast which could deal frost-breath elemental damage. The material required to make the armour set was received upon completing the quest with a character possessing the “Hunter” subclass. Ironically, the leader of the party had taken it upon himself to act as the Hunter and, due to his rather surprisingly high subclass level, he was able to provide material to all of the light-armour users in the party. Heavy armour users were reimbursed with cash which the light-armourers were not given. Fair’s fair, Aiko agreed. The equipment fit so well that for almost two days, she felt like she was wearing nothing under her cloak. At first, it was creepy, now it’s simply comfortable. And the dexterity bonus was the first bonus she had received since entering the game with a significant percentage: 7%. It was actually worth wearing. Despite being nearly weightless and extremely comfortable, the Wyvern Silk items are versatile – they can be worn in any climate and adjust their insulation based on the temperature around them. In colder weather, it contracts on its own to keep the wearer warm, but in warmer it will seem to thin itself out, making the fabric bearable in the heat.
Sewn from the silk of a rare breed of Wyvern. The Silk Wyrms were known to spin fine coverings for their eggs and younglings, who need to be kept warm in the harsh cold of the mountains. Furthermore, their frost breath tends to keep their internal body temperature dangerously low in adolescence, so the creatures must make warming sheets and wraps until their hatchlings are large enough to sustain their own warmth. The silk is highly adaptive and sells for a high price thanks to its comfort level.

Clothing: Aiko’s casual attire changes quite often. It’s what she wears in the city, or during casual non-combat meetings. Usually the wardrobes consists of clothes in long, flowing robes or shirts with skirts. The colours are often dark, to contrast the shades of her hair and fur, but she tries not to restrict it much.

Weapons: Aiko wears a pair of Kukri (“Blade[s] of the Peuchen”) on her belt behind her at all times, even in the city. They have jet black blades with handles wrapped in solid white. Along the sharp edge of each blade is a vibrant jade hue, giving them a rather menacing appearance. The blades emit a menacing shadow and leave a trail of cloudy darkness behind them whenever swung. The Kukri is a rare reward from a raid on the maps resembling South America, but to receive it twice, one must spend hours running the dungeon. In Aiko’s case, however, she and Largoes each acquire one within hours and rather than selling his, the warrior gave it to her. The net worth of these daggers is incredible, especially when sold as a pair; when one wields two Blades of the Peuchen, they are granted the title “Shadow Dancer,” due to the nature of the weapons.
These sacred blades are all guarded by the great, mythological Peuchen in the southern continent of the Occident. Forged by the extinct, ancient alvs of the region, these weapons are precious to their immortal charges and the creatures will do anything to protect them.

History In-Game: Aiko joined Elder Tale quite some time ago, meeting Largoes shortly after joining. They’ve never had a large level gap between them, but they’ve stayed together for nearly all of their play-time since meeting. When she started playing, Aiko viewed Elder Tale as just a game… However, because her character was placed in an area heavily dominated by roleplayers, she has developed habits that are not so easily broken. Their perspective quickly rubbed off on her and after the Apocalypse her view of the world was only reaffirmed.

Together, Aiko and Largoes have likely seen more of Elder Tale’s world than anybody. Despite starting on the North American servers, they began traveling outward in any direction. Once they were strong enough, they got a party together and traversed the dangerous lands to the south. Most of their travelling has been done in the later portions of their gameplay, as they’ve only just begun to reach the higher levels. They spent surprisingly little time on the EU map before moving to the Crescent Moon Islands. They were in Akihabara when the Apocalypse hit, leaving them stranded after the teleports disconnected. Despite having not maxed out their stats, Aiko and Largoes have consciously placed themselves in dungeons above their level simply to see what was in them. Escaping wasn’t always easy, and death was often imminent, but it was never very regrettable.

[GambolMuse]

Display Name: Kosuke, the Crimson Blade
Real Name: Fukuyama Ryou
Age: 15
Race: Wolf Fang
Level: 68
Class and Subclass: Samurai and Avenger
Appearance:

Kosuke

Equipment:


• Casual attire: Kosuke dresses very simply when inside of a city, on a slight whim not to appear flashy or draw attention. Though the color of his outfit may vary it almost always consists of a high-collared tunic with short sleeves, and a long-sleeved black shirt beneath that. A leather belt secures a pair of brown pants around his waist and a set of socks and sandals cover his feet. Regardless of where he is Kosuke always wears a black, hoodless cloak which he typically keeps closed. Even out of combat he always has his sword at his hip.


• Combat Gear: Kosuke trades all but his cloak in for his combat attire, opting for the flexible plate armor of traditional samurai instead. Wearing both a black long-sleeved shirt and pants which are both figure conforming he has over his torso a sheer, single plate of armor, both on his front and back. These are held together by black, interlacing straps which run along his sides and over his shoulders, and it’s to these topmost straps that two curved plates rest to cover his shoulders. His legs are covered primarily by thigh guards and shin guards, made again of the individual plates to provide maneuverability. A set of hardened leather boots cover his feet. All of his armor is of a reddish color.


• Weapon: At current Kosuke only has a single weapon. Dubbed “Teshō’s Blade”, this Katana is a very rare drop acquired from the level 65 dungeon of similar name, “Teshō’s Burial Grounds.” About three feet in length, the blade of the weapon itself is made of a dark steel and a lighter steel, showing as two halves almost of one blade. Engravings of the Japanese idiom: “Nanakorobi yaoki” (fall seven times and stand up eight) can be seen on each side, the color of the engravings changing with the blade. The handguard on the sword is of an amber color and molded to look almost akin to a budding flower. The handle of the sword itself is made of a dark pine wood wrapped tightly in red cloth, two tassels hanging off the very end of it. The sword is unique in that it has two abilities to its name; Warrior’s Fury and Warrior’s Determination. Above 50% health Kosuke gains an extra 10% attack power when striking. Conversely should his health fall below 50% he gains an extra 10% in damage mitigation, both magical and physical. The wielder of this weapon gains the title of "Crimson Blade" in reference to Teshō’s infamous blood-red or crimson armor he wore into combat.

Elder Tales History: Despite playing the game for well over three years on and off Kosuke has spent nearly all of it as a solo player. PUG groups aside he typically trains and travels on his own, earning him a bit of a reputation as a loner. As such even when he attempted to join a smaller Guild he was invariably turned away under the pretense he wouldn’t work well with others, which may have been right. As a game which you could do perfectly fine as a solo player he didn’t let it bother him very much, the solitary play wasn’t all bad. As a single player he was able to train and gain experience at quicker rates than most and during the peak of his playing he was one of the higher levels on the server.

Kosuke had to take a break from the game as his grades had slipped, but after 6 months he had gotten back into it. Still a solo player, and now missing most of his few friends he’d made he resumed his solitary playtime once more. He had no desire to join others even still, but a tiny little event was set to change that. After the Apocalypse hit and countless players were stuck in the game it became increasingly obvious that you needed a group in order to survive in this world. Death may not be final but it wasn’t good by any stretch, it paid to have someone watching your back. With no one to support him then Kosuke soon found himself a near permanent resident of Akihabara. Sooner or later someone was bound to offer him a place in a group, he’d just have to hold out and wait until then.

[Fisk]

Display Name: Largoes, the Justicar

Real Name: Angelo Burr

Age: 16

Race: Race of Ritual (Otter-beastman appearance)

Level: 65
Class: Guardian
Subclass: Justicar - Title

Appearance: Despite being of the Race of Ritual, Largoes doesn’t look like a human. He retains the strange, cryptic markings that are indicative of his race, but looks more like an otter beastman than anything else. His hair is messy and unkept, the same color as his brown/beige fur. Strange ‘tattoos’ of black fur show up on him, running along one side of his face, each of his hands, and a large circle on his back. In his combat clothes, only the one on the side of his face shows, and in casual wear, the face and hand tattoos can be seen. He stands at around 5’6”, and looks rather scrawny for his class/role. With framless rectangular glasses, a meek gaze with his emerald-green eyes and a skittish personality, he doesn’t seem like he’ll do a good job of protecting anyone, really.

Personality and quirks:
Avid collector of trinkets and dungeon memorabilia, which means his inventory is often clogged with what others call ‘useless etc. junk’.

When the situation isn’t violent, Largoes is very social yet meek, tending to be soft-voiced and easily flustered or embarrassed. He’ll often stutter and grab at his scarf for comfort, or adjust his glasses-- all habits that he’d picked up in the real world.

He consumes alarming amounts of seafood. This is also a real-world habit, and it’s only by coincidence that he happens to be an otter in Elder Tale.

As someone who knows all sorts of little details about this world, he’s happy to share what he knows, be it monster biology, climatology, and the like. Odds are, he only knows what you don’t need to know, though: Like monster mating rituals, obscure lore, and text references.

Gear:

Clothes and equipment

Largoes’ combat gear is almost all part of the ‘Sol set’, a set of equipment that had been earned from a quest far up in the north in what’s called “The Cold Observatory”. Although he has all sorts of casual scarves to wear, he always wears the same red and black striped scarf when in-combat. He wears a combination of cloth and plate armor, which gives him stronger maneuverability and magical resistance than other Guardians. In turn, his physical defense is laughable, by comparison. Largoes’ combat armor includes obsidian-colored plate mail boots and gloves with golden accents, accompanied by a white and red tabard and cloak outfit.

Eclipsis – The night-black plate mail on Largoes’ hands and feet. Grants the user bonus strength, inversely related to their defense stat.
The sun’s harsh rays weaken, and those that prospered under its light wither. The meek inherit their strength, and grow courage from their weakness.

Eclipsin – The red and white cloak and tabard, simple in design, with runic patterns sewn into it. It heavily favors magical defense over physical.
Under the light of the Rose Moon, the Astral Magus’ strength was at its zenith. The circle was drawn, and the blood rite paid; when the world blocks the sun from shining on her pale sister, the runes will blaze with bright light, granting magic mightier than any strength.

Everwarm Scarf – No known in-game effects. Obtained as a wearable etc. item in a Raid by Aiko, who had gifted it to Largoes.
Presumably sewn from the down of a Phoenix, this red and black scarf is absurdly long. It will always stay warm, and in times of near-death, its wearer may report feeling a separate heartbeat, accompanied by a feeling of relaxation and rejuvenation. The heat then fades, and the scarf turns black, its color and warmth returning as soon as the next day.

Casual Clothing: No matter the weather, Largoes is always wearing either a coat or a sweater and long pants, usually jeans, seemingly oblivious to whether or not it’s too hot outside. On top of this, he’s almost never without a scarf bundled around his neck. He’s got an incredibly large collection of kinds and colors, but has a natural tendency to wear what might be considered ‘winter’ scarves. He has a penchant for dark, calm colors: Blacks, blues, and dark greens are colors you’ll often see him wearing.

Weapons

Earned as part of a Chain Quest that brought both Largoes and Aiko far to the north of the NA servers. Notoriously known as the ‘least worth quest line’, the few that had ever completed it had clearly decided that their findings weren’t even worth sharing on the internet. The tedious quest line, filled with jump quests and lore quizzes rather than item collecting and monster hunting, had yielded the curiously contrary ‘Sol set’, which has effects that amplify the opposite of what the average player would need strengthened. The Sorcerer set increases physical attack with little to no magic bonus, and the Assassin’s set boasts physical defense and hate-gain, for example. The flavor text is heavy with cryptic messages and strange metaphors.

Solis Occasum - Otherwise known as “The Sunset”, this obsidian two-handed mace is heavy and blunt. Deep, calm orange colors run along this weapon like marbled veins. Part of the seldom seen and rarely used ‘Sol set’, this enigmatic Guardian weapon further amplifies the magical strength and resistance of the wielder in combat, the more they attack and receive damage respectively. Earned from completing the “(K)night’s End” quest in the North American servers.
The sun rests its weary, battered body. Her pale sister greets her in the twilight sky, where the border between the physical and ethereal is weakest. The kingdom of night comes to reign again for another celestial hour, as even the sunset must come to an end.

Sol Ortisa – Also known as “The Sunrise”, this is a one-handed mace and shield set. Unlike other weapons, both must be equipped together. The shield is ethereal and wispy, looking more like it’s meant to block magical attacks than physical. The mace is made of a mostly-clear material, radiating a bright light when it’s held by its owner. The color of the light depends on the type of magic being channeled through it. Part of the ‘Sol set’, this curious Guardian equipment grows stronger for each different type of magic present—The hammer becomes slightly stronger with allied magic being channeled nearby, and the shield becomes much stronger when blocking enemy spells. Earned from completing the “(K)night’s End” quest in the North American servers.
The sun climbs its way up, fighting back the night. Her pale sister flees, whispering words of vengeance. “The meek shall band together, and daylight’s protectors will be naught but bones, come moonrise. We will come.” The sun shudders, hesitating as it soars into the air. This was no empty threat.

History In-Game: Gaming was always Largoes’ favorite activity, and his full-time escape from life. He was talented at gaming, if nothing else, but few things excited him more than exploring and questing, so for a little while, he played solo. Elder Tale was an escape to him, a place where he didn’t have to pretend to be happy or sad, or look excited when he wasn’t-- but he knew that others didn’t share that philosophy. As a mark of both respect and fear, he kept to himself. It worked out well enough for him. The most popular servers were roleplay servers after all, so if he acted like he normally does—fretting over little details, seeming more or less detached, and an overall recluse—Other players either left him alone, or accepted that as part of his character. He drifted along, completing quests, and piecing the lore together as he explored. He always thought that he’d be alone the whole time, doing what he wanted, and drifting from party to party as required. Nobody cared for the more obscure quests, anyway. “What’s in it for me?”, they’d ask. “I mean, if it doesn’t drop anything good, why do it?”

Other players simply broke his immersion. How could he be bothered to include other people if they were all too busy with their own interests?

Well, he thought that way, until he encountered Aiko. Outside a small raid lobby, she had spotted him. Largoes normally didn’t like raids— All that communication made everything feel more like a math problem than a fight. But, when they spoke with each other, she spoke like there was no one behind the screen. “This is me,” he’d imagine her saying. And it didn’t feel like a lie. They hung around more and more often after that short raid. Occasionally, Largoes would come by and help with one of Aiko’s raids to level up. Other times, she’d come and visit him to join his little questing sprees, and get otherwise inaccessible items. He could feel and act like himself, without having to rely on his real-world mask to be friends with her. They travelled from land to land, server to server, exploring and learning along the way. They joined raids and completed obscure quests, and long before they’d even started, they found themselves excited to explore further and further.
After the apocalypse, the two found themselves stranded on what was called the Crescent Islands in the NA servers… Japan, in the city of Akihabara.

Their new reality was Elder Tale.

[kryusa]

Display Name: Tamina, the Moonlight Priestess

Real Name: Uschi Katzen

Age: 17

Race: Human

Level: 66
Class: Cleric
Subclass: Dancer

Appearance: Tamina is of the human race and stands at about 5’5”. She has a rather voluptuous physique, with light brown hair and different colored eyes, which stands true for her in the ‘real world’ as well; her right eye is green while her left eye is blue.

Appearance

Personality and quirks: Has a pretty weird obsession with cats and loves to imitate their appearance with cat ears and a fake tail. When she sees a Werecat, she glomps them on sight.

She can be quite the air head, as most things tend to go right over her head; this makes her a terrible strategist, and she is never one to volunteer for the role of leader. She is better at following directions and focusing on that. She tends to have a one track mind and jumps from one topic to another, even in the heat of battle. People usually need to remind her of what she needs to be doing. Despite this, she is an exceptional healer.

She is a very heart-warming and welcomes anyone with open arms, which can be sweet as well as dangerous, as she will pretty much trust anyone. It is always best for her to have someone with her at all times, as she will tend to make rather bad decisions on her own.

Despite her being a well-endowed female, she never tries to purposefully use her ‘feminine wiles’ to get what she wants, it just tends to happen with the men who love female attention.

Gear:
Combat clothes: Tamina’s combat gear is a simple pair of short shorts, coupled with a corset and knee high boots. While this doesn’t seem like appropriate attire to wear for battle, the clothing she acquired came from the beach named Tsukiakari in the eastern part of the world. These clothes have a certain quirk to them which makes it useful for support/healer roles, as the attire has a 65% chance of the enemy to ignore them, not seeing them as a threat.

Vertigo – The corset that Tamina wears. It is soft pink in color, with a zipper in the front. Gives the wearer a small boost in spell casting speed of about 5%.

Deja Vu – The short shorts. They are also a soft pink color, with zippers on the sides. Gives the wearer a boost in magical power by 17.

Perplexity Black knee high boots. Nothing too special, just extremely stylish and adds to the wearers movement speed.

Cute Fluffy Cat Ears – No known in-game effects. Can be bought from a store called Le Chat in an eastern town. Was given to her by her friend who is no longer in the game.

Nyaaaaa!

Weapons: Nirvana was given to Tamina as a loot reward for defeating the ugly and rather tough boss, Haesslich. He was within the Kobold caves to the west, where there are many rare and unique monsters. She was in a raid group when she received this item, and many of the other healers in the group were salty that she got the weapon.

Nirvana –.This staff has multiple colors, such as blue, purple, and yellow, swirling together to create a dizzying effect. This particular weapon has no damage attribute, instead, it heals teammates for some health rather than do damage; this is useful when mana is low. Also gives the wielder a 15% healing bonus for healing spells.

Do not fear child, for if you believe in inner peace, you will defeat the monsters within.

Casual Clothing: Tamina’s casual clothing when she is in town or not in battle consists of mini-skirts, thigh high socks, and a tank top. Nothing too drastic from her in battle clothing, except it may seem a bit more modest to some who know her. She realizes that her clothing could give her a bad reputation, but decides to ignore what people think and wear what she wants. She likes to have multiple styles of clothing, but this type of outfit is her favorite.

History In-Game: Gaming was never anything that Uschi was into much, seeing as she was a rather popular girl in the real world, always out and about, going to clubs to dance, sneaking into bars, etc. One of her close friends introduced her to Elder Tales, saying that it would be good for her to find a hobby that wouldn’t get her into trouble and into jail at the age of seventeen. Although she was kind of hesitant at first, she decided to heed her friend’s advice and join the game. She played often with the friend who showed her the game, but on that fateful day, when all the players who were logged in at the time they became stuck in it, her friend was not on.

She leveled up mainly with just her friend, and sometimes small parties when they needed to raid or do quests that were too hard for just two people. Since that day, the only way she was able to level up and do things in the game was by pairing up with randoms. While she is grateful for these people for letting her join, she is looking to make long time partners and friends.