Perhaps my intro isn't attention grabbing enough. So in that case, here is a wee joke.
One day Manius bought a fine bottle of whiskey, and while walking home, he fell. As he got up from the ground, he felt something wet on his kilt. So he looked up to the sky and cried out:
"Oh Lord! Please! I beg of you! Let it be blood!"
OOC Info
First of all, I should be clear and say that though this RP will take place in the real world, I am taking very large liberties and changing quite a few things in order to explore the story that has been playing around in my head for weeks. I love Scottish and English history, but I do not want to replay it or be limited by it. I desire the creative freedom given by a fantasy world (excluding magic, dragons, and other such things) mixed with the reality and fascinating history of our own world. So I suppose I will categorize this historical fiction, with a much stronger emphasis on the fiction then the history.
To enable someone with minimal historical knowledge to more easily step into the RP I have in mind, I'm going to clean out a 100 year period of Scottish, English, and little bit of Irish history and replace it with things that will better serve the story and make the world feel more like our own. That being said, I am going to pull in elements from real history, events that did happen at some point or another, and pull them into the fold. They may be a few hundred years early or late and will be tweaked to better serve our story and characters, but I'll do this in hopes of making the RP feel more realistic. That and there is some EXTREMELY interesting things that actually happened way back when that a lot of people know nothing about.
Lastly, I am only looking for one partner. Given that we will both be playing two main characters each, and a unknown number of side characters, I’m not sure I will have the time to keep up multiple RPs. Please PM me if you are interested with your version of the two female characters and if there are multiple people interested, I’ll consider multiple RPs.
As of right now, for your enjoyment and surprise, I've elected to keep most of the story a secret. If you want some idea of what kind of story is to come, I'll just say this: Expect the unexpected and expect the worst. The start of the story I have planned currently will enable us to choose just about any direction for the story we like. That being said, I don't want to spoil anything. :)
1. No anime or cartoons for your characters appearances. I just can't do it. Sorry.
2. Half-decent grammar. My grammar isn't perfect and I don't expect yours to be either, but please try.
3. Minimum of 3 paragraphs for each storyline, even if they are short ones. I'll do my best to give you as much as I can, but often I'll only be able to conjure up as much as your post will allow me.
4. You don't need to respond every day. I realize that this RP is essentially two RPs tied into one. Just try to post once a week at a minimum. More is encouraged, but I can get very busy too.
5. OOC communication is encouraged as well. Friendly conversation is nice, but at the very least, we can use it to keep each other informed on when we will be posted next or if we will be unable to for whatever the reason may be.
6. Keeping things as realistic as possible is a must for me. So if I write something up that you think isn't possible, and vice versa, we should late each other know. Please don't let my Scotsman piss fire, fart thunder, and devour a pig in a single bite.
7. Enjoy yourself! The whole point of this is to explore and enjoy a new story and characters. If you start to get bored, please tell me and I will do everything in my power to change that.
"Twelve highlanders and a bagpipe make a rebellion." - Scottish Proverb
A saying often joked about among Englishmen, but known to be brutally true by all Scots. For hundreds of years, the English have occupied Scotland and the Scots have driven them out, only to see them return again and again. Many of the Scottish clans yearn for a free Scotland, other seek the security and power of the English, while others simply want to live and be left alone. Put five Scots in a room and you will have five different opinions on what the fate of Scotland should be. Never has the country been more divided. Between fighting the English and each other, the Scots have been steeped in enough blood to drown the whole country.
In the year of our Lord, 1185 AD, Scotland is once again heavily under England's thumb. King Henry the Puppeteer, King of England, has a very firm grip on Scottish politics. It is very well known that King Marcus Campbell, King of Scotland, is king only in name only. The will of King Henry is executed by his puppet Marcus, whose arm is twisted due to his son and heir being held in the Tower of London. Many clans in Scotland are outraged by this. Some because their prince is in prison, others because they believe their king to be unfit to rule and desire another in his place.
Now in Edinburgh, a meeting has been called by King Marcus. By the grace of King Henry of England, in the hope of establishing peace with Scotland, has offered up his youngest daughter to marry an important Scotsman. Every clan chieftain and their most eligible bachelor, whether it be themselves, their son, or other relation, has been ordered to attend by their king and none will refuse him. Not simply because he is their king, but every clan desires a connection to royalty.
There are hundreds of clans in Scotland, but most have sworn loyalty to or are politically affiliated with one of the three largest: Clan MacKenzie, Clan Campbell, and Clan Douglas. All three have had a member of their clan sit on the throne of Scotland in years past, giving them all a claim to it, should they decide to press it.
Clan Chieftain: King Marcus Campbell Heir: Prince Marcus Campbell II Seat of Power: Edinburgh, central Scotland Clan Tartan:
Clan Motto:Ne Obliviscaris (Forget Not) Bio: Campbell lands are in central Scotland, enabling them to stand in the middle of the blood feud between the MacKenzies of the north and the Douglases of the south. They managed to avoid taking a side in the wars of the past, earning them the dislike of the MacKenzies and Douglases alike, who both think them to be cowards.
Clan Motto:Luceo non uro (I shine not burn) Bio: The MacKenzies of the north control almost the whole of the Highlands and are fiercely in favor of Scottish independence. Having been openly against the English in every war and occupation, they earned their wrath and roughest treatment. Because of this, they hate the English passionately. The only people they hate more are those they have branded traitors. That being any Scotsman who have openly supported the English. Clan Douglas are their rivals and they are the power in the highlands, concentrated in Inverness.
Clan Chieftain: Angus Douglas Heir: Henry Douglas Seat of Power: Dumfries, southern Scotland Clan Tartan:
Clan Motto:Jamais arrière (Never behind) Bio: They share a border with England, but that isn't all they share. Their political ties with the English run deep and they aren't very secretive about it. This has fueled their rivalry with Clan MacKenzie of the north. Due to possessing the most fertile land in Scotland, they are among the wealthiest clans in Scotland. That and their many holdings in England.
Clan Chieftain: William Neil MacKenzie MacLeod Heir: Fergus Malcolm MacKenzie MacLeod Seat of Power: Dunvegan Castle, Isle of the Skye (Northern western Scotland) Clan Tartan:
Clan Motto: Hold fast Bio: Linked by blood to Clan MacKenzie. Freya MacKenzie, the only sibling of Malcolm MacKenzie, was married to Neil MacLeod and together they had two sons, William and Fergus. Neil was drawn and quartered by the English for ‘inciting a rebellion’. His family will say he was only practicing his bagpipe. Either way, that left his eldest son William as clan chieftain at age 18. His younger brother Fergus ran away the day after this father's death, but eventually returned 10 years later. When he did, he was welcomed home with open arms, but the Fergus who returned was a stranger to everyone he had left behind.
(OOC Note: Both storylines will be running separately until if/when they come together. Each storyline will have each of us playing one character in it, along with any side characters. Which means two main characters each and then we can decide later how to split the side characters.)
Prologue - Southern Diplomacy
Now in Edinburgh, a meeting has been called by King Marcus. By the grace of King Henry of England, in the hope of establishing peace with Scotland, has offered up his youngest daughter to marry an important Scotsman. Every clan chieftain and their most eligible bachelor, whether it be themselves, their son, or other relation, has been ordered to attend by their king and none will refuse him. Not simply because he is their king, but every clan desires a connection to royalty.
Name: Manius MacKenzie Gender Male Age: 33 Clan: MacKenzie Appearance:
Public Knowledge: He is arguably one of the most eligible bachelors in all of Scotland. For reasons unknown, he has yet to marry and the daughter of the King is the first time he has openly considered it. And a good thing to, as he needs children to pass on the MacKenzie name. He is infamous for being a very serious man who doesn't care much for conversation. Getting a sentence out of him would be considered something special indeed. Because of this, those who sneer at him behind his back have come to call him 'Manius the Mum'.
Name: (The third daughter of the King of England) Gender Female Age: 18 - 25 Clan/Nation: Kingdom of England Appearance: (Only requirement is no anime or cartoon.) Public Knowledge:
Prologue – The Tranquility of the Highlands
At Dunvegan Castle, the seat of Clan MacLeod, life carries on as it always does. William MacLeod of MacLeod has gone south to Edinburgh, along with every other clan chieftain, leaving his younger brother Fergus to oversee his lands while he is gone.
Name: Fergus Malcolm MacKenzie MacLeod Gender Male Age: 26 Clan: MacLeod, allies of Clan MacKenzie Appearance:
(I don't usually use gifs, but that smile captures so much of what I imagined Fergus looking like.)
Public Knowledge: When he was 15 years old, Fergus’ father Neil MacLeod was executed brutally by the English. The next day, Fergus stole as much gold as he could carry and ran away. Everyone thought he was dead until he returned ten years later with ten times the amount of gold he had stolen. Along with the gold, he brought with him many things from around the world. A few of the items include a Viking sword, a necklace bearing the Egyption anhk made of silver (always worn around his neck), and a woman (YOU). The only thing that he returned with that he had taken with him was his kilt, which had been patched up far too many times. Because of all this, Fergus is an enigma to his people. He looks like Scotsman, dresses like one, and talks like one, but none can get rid of the feeling that he isn’t. He’s been home for little over a year now and he hasn’t spoken once about where he went, what he did, and why he returned. Not even to his mother and brother.
Name: (Complete freedom to create a character from anywhere Fergus visited.) Gender Female Age: Clan/Nation: (England, Ireland, France, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Sicily, The Holy Land, Egypt, or Persia.) Appearance: Public Knowledge: When Fergus returned to Scotland after years away, she returned with him (Anything else known about her and her relationship are yours to decide as well. Friend, lover, servant, etc. You choose. Anything but married or betrothed.)
The characters above will be the main characters and we will explore the story through them, but there will also be a need for many side characters who will play important roles through out the story. How we will split them between us we can decide later, but in the interest of creating more detail for our world to be reference later, below are some of the most important characters to our story.
Name: King Henry the Puppeteer Gender Male Age: 46 Clan/Nation: Kingdom of England Appearance:
Public Knowledge: Cunning, ruthless, and very effective at achieving his ends, King Henry has earned himself a reputation as a man willing to do anything to achieve his ends. Due to his methods, Pope Alexander III threatened to excommunicate him, but the Alexander III died before executing this thread and his successor decided to turn a blind eye. For the last five years, he has held the Prince of Scotland as his 'guest' in order to bend the country to his will. This is but one of his methods used to subdue a populace, as he uses similar means to control the Welsh and the Irish. Because of this, he has earned himself the title, "The Puppetter'. Since he allows people to call him this, one can guess that he enjoys the nickname.
He has one son and three daughters.
Name: King Marcus Campbell Gender Male Age: 56 Clan/Nation: Campbell/Kingdom of Scotland Appearance:
Public Knowledge:
Name: Prince Marcus Campbell II Gender Male Age: 31 Clan/Nation: Campbell/Kingdom of Scotland Appearance:
Public Knowledge: Currently held prisoner in the Tower of London by King Henry of England. Notorious for being both gluttonous and stupid.
.png/200px-Douglas_tartan_(Vestiarium_Scoticum).png)
