[OOC] Dragon Riders of Aethier

[ShidenBlades]

I will post a character sheet of your guys instructor so that you can get a glimpse.

I'll add rules and explain how magic works tomorrow sometime.

Feel free to ask questions about the world, dragons, politics.

Imagine the setting somewhere around Medevil Europe before guns. Blackpowder exists, though is extremely rare and imported from the far east. Real world cultures and religions will likely be mirrored, but changed to fit the setting. Think Roman/Greek style deities being prevalent in the area.

[ShidenBlades]

Human

The only race currently available to play are humans. This is because humans are the only ones capable of becoming Dragon Riders.

Humans are a diverse group, with skin ranging from deep black to pale white; hair of nearly any color and eye colors as varied as the rainbow. You can find humans in sprawling cities and tiny villages from the frozen lands in the north to the deserts in the east and all the places in between.

Kesh

The Kesh are a varied race, the common factor being that all of them are bipedal feline creatures. While Kesh can be found in most places humans are they are generally found in the habitat that their animal counter-parts are found in. They exist as a tribe society and are often nomadic hunters. The Kesh that are known to exist are linked with the following large cats; lions, panthers, cheetahs, leopards, tigers and jaguars. Though they can be grouped together, individual families are vastly different from region to region.

Vorask

Similar to Kesh in that these are bipedal carnivorous, but these most closely resemble wolves. Vorask vary in color from white to black, with grays and browns being most common. They are most often found in the cold northern climates and are not on friendly terms with the other sentient races. Vorask are extremely territorial and will actively hunt down and eat any humans that end up in their territory.

Sura

The rare and elusive Sura, little is known about these people. Dragon Riders know little more about them and come into contact with Sura diplomats from time to time. In history when a Sura has come to speak to the Kings of men it has always been with a Dragon Rider escort.

Druid

While they appear to looke like a human physicall a true Druid has changed both spiritually and mentally, he has become something more. True Druids are those that bond with a willing animal. As a druid progresses in its connection to the animal, and through it his understand of nature as a whole, he learns to communicate with other creatures of the type and can even take the shape of his companion. Not much is known about Druids as what they do is looked upon as black magic and explained as fornicating with devils and beasts.

[ShidenBlades]

Magic and the Status Quo: While this RP focuses on Dragon Riders and their connection with dragons, magic does play an important role in a Riders life. Though, Riders are not the only ones capable of using magic. Since magic takes on the role of The Song in Aethier it is understandable that music is held in the highest-regard.

Bards are held in esteem, telling tales and playing beautiful music. But, Bard cannot use The Song. Mages in Aethier take the name Composers, and where they are in the world dictates how they are treated. A Composer is a rare thing, one can go their entire life without meeting one, though all Composers are trained and taught at The College many Bards are taught at The College as well.

The College is in Alexandria, the most prominent city on the continent and they hold a tight grip on the Composers there.

The Song

The Song is not magic in the classical sense that you say a few words, wave your fingers and poof, something happens. The Song is the foundation of existence, all things are made from it and so to be able to tap into it in anyway gives you the power to change reality. Of course there are rules to be followed and prices to be paid by when using The Song.

The Song derives its name because when a user opens themselves up to it they hear a melody. What someone hears is dependent on a couple conditions; the first of which is based on what they are trying to accomplish and alter, second is how the user is feeling at the time. Emotions are the conduit from which The Song is delivered and its end result is greatly affected by the emotional state of the song user, or Composer as some have come to call them.

<More to Come>

Alexandrian Deities

Scion-
God of the sky, constellations, law, order, justice

Cyries-
Goddess of marriage and family

Shia-
Goddess of the seas, lakes, rivers

Nanm-
Goddess of fertility, agriculture, nature, and the seasons

Lucian-
God of wisdom, reason, intelligent activity, literature, handicrafts and science, defense and strategic warfare.

Una-
Goddess of The Song, prophecy, inspiration, poetry, music and arts, medicine and healing.

Petryl-
God of the hunt, virginity, archery, the moon, and all animals.

Lucias-
God of war, violence, and bloodshed.

Ley-
Goddess of love, beauty, and desire

Sterg-
God of the forge, creation

Koin-
God of commerce, thieves, eloquence and streets

Vayne-
Goddess of wine, celebrations, and ecstasy.

Nemays-
God of the Underworld, dead and the riches under the Earth

[ShidenBlades]

Temporary Map

Map

Each spot with a Diamond is a Capitol of its region, each one being controlled by a different entity. I'll place in the borders of each kingdom later.

[ShidenBlades]

Dragons

Drakuoum – What Kesh call Dragons and Riders.

The following information will tell you what a Dragon Rider is, what skills they have and what their purpose is. I will provide some history on them as well as information on dragons. It will not have everything as I feel that character should learn as they go.

The bond that connects a dragon and its rider is a special one. Not even the dragon-riders know why or how a bond forms, but they do know that it is the choice of the dragon prior to its hatching. The connection that a rider and dragon share is more than just a magical link, they are physically, emotionally and spiritually bond to one-another.

It is well known that dragons become more powerful the older they get, they get larger and develop diverse magical abilities. The same can be said for a Rider as his bond grows stronger. While young riders are comparable to your regular human, a rider with centuries under his belt is far stronger than half a dozen strong men, quick as lightning with senses on par with some animals. Truly ancient riders even begin to take on characteristics of their dragon, mostly commonly reptilian eyes. Though hardened, scale like skin and pointed teeth and fangs have also developed.

While Dragons do not take on human characteristics they do grow, mentally, as a human might. They are capable of reason, learn to speak and grow as a human might. It’s important to note that Wild Dragons are little more than instinctual creatures.

True Dragons, as the dragons ridden by their Riders prefer to be called, also develop magical abilities beyond that of their Wild kin. While dragons are magical creatures they do not use magic the same way their Rider does, one will not see a dragon casting spells. Rather, a dragon can influence the natural world around them, be it through animals or plants, though truly ancient dragons can affect the weather in a limited fashion around them.

It’s important to note that True Dragons do not possess the Wild Dragon’s ability to adapt instantly to different environments, such as going from aquatic to volcanic conditions. So while True Dragons are very resistant to magic and weather effects Wild Dragons are all but immune to such things.

While dragons vary in appearance as much as their human counter-parts the size of a dragon can help in determining their age. Dragon Riders have broken down a dragons age into five categories based on size to help with training, the categories are largely unknown outside of the order.

Hatchlings – They are usually the size of a large house-cat, are not capable of flight or any other magical abilities. Hatchlings are largely dependent on their Rider at this stage.

Wyrmling – Wyrmlings are larger than a house cat but no bigger than a wolf, they can fly for short periods at this time but cannot yet carry a heavy load. This is the age in which dragons are capable of hunting for themselves.

Drake – The vast majority of Dragons are considered Drakes, that is to say that they are capable of carrying a passenger but do not possess the terrifying bulk that a Wyrm carries. Drakes are more often than not, sleek and fast. A Dragons slumbers come more slowly once they reach maturity and are they are often considered drakes for a couple hundred years. Drakes vary in size but are generally between the size of a large horse and elephant.

Wyrm – A wyrm is the thing of legends, they are as large as a house and are capable of incredibly displays of magic. They do not possess the sleek body that drakes do, and have gained a considerable amount of girth due to muscle over the years. A single Wyrm can be enough to deter a nation from war.

Great Wyrm – The only difference between a Wyrm and Great Wyrm is status, a Great Wyrm is one of the dragons (along with their Rider) that sits on the council of Riders.

Dragons and Age

Everyone knows that as dragons get older they get larger and as they get larger they get more powerful. What isn’t common knowledge is how dragons get so large. They do not ‘grow’ like your average living creature, Dragons are actually more akin to snakes in that they shed their old form and rise into their new one.

This process is somewhat constant for young dragons as they are constantly loosing scales and growing new ones. When a dragon is ready to become a drake they enter a deep slumber after gorging themselves. The first slumber last exactly one cycle of the moon. The older a dragon gets the less often these slumbers occur, but when they do occur the more food is needed to fuel the transformation.

[OnlyThePie]

Can you explain The Song, what weapons we're supposed to use, and do we require a picture of our human?

Also, given the style of the skills, I assume we're going to be jumping forward (from a narrative point of view) in time a lot here?

[Cat Sidhe]

Gueeeeess who's working on her character sheet? This bitch.

Guess who has absolutely no idea what to use as a face claim? This bitch.

[ShidenBlades]

@OnlyThePie

I'd be happy to answer your questions!

The Song is this worlds version of magic. It's a very intricate and personalized magic, by that I mean magic isn't merely something that requires a few arcane words and hand gestures to get an effect. It is tied to the very mythos of creation (which I am currently writing), but basically everything was brought into creation with The Song, so when a Dragon Rider uses magic they are controlling the building blocks of creation to a very small degree. Magic gets its name because when you use The Song you hear music, you hear and feel creation all around you.

It is highly addictive and dangerous. Addictive because of the power that one can use and dangerous because it can fry the mind and overload the senses. We will go through several training sessions, where your characters will be first taught how to hear The Song around them, and then how to effect it.

You can use any weapon you'd like. Pick whatever fits best with your character and you'll be trained to use that weapon.

A picture of your character is not mandatory, but can be useful. A picture AND description of your dragon will be mandatory once they become Drakes.

Narrative will not be moving forward too fast. There will be time skips here and there, but the nature of this RP will take place over a long time. So I would not expect to be flying on your dragon any-time soon. I'd like to delve into the relationship between dragon and rider, and other riders and ...well... of course things will happen to cause different kinds of conflict in the story.

Hopefully that answers some questions.

I'm more than willing to help with character creation.

I wouldn't worry about Weapons or The Song right now, that information will not be relevant right away and you can edit your sheet as it does become necessary.

[ShidenBlades]

I"ll add that Dragon Riders in the view of the world are as respected as they are feared.

Though, their numbers are not what they used to be, they do their best to keep their presence known.

Think of them in a Jedi style fashion, if that helps? They consider themselves peace keepers among another things. They also protect people from Wild Dragons when such threats arise.

[OnlyThePie]

Ah, so just work on the personality bits for now? Leave the bits about the Dragons and Magic aside for now, and go limited on the weapons?

[ShidenBlades]

@Cat Sidhe

Umm... no need to claim a face. I doubt anyone will use the same one you do.

[ShidenBlades]

@OnlyThePie Essentially, yes.

I do not want to force looking into magic and other lore related topics until you have the information to look over and understand it from an in-game perspective.

Also, as the GM I want to see what sort of weaknesses and strengths you give your character. I reward good writing and believable characters in game by various means.

[Cat Sidhe]

@Cat Sidhe

Umm... no need to claim a face. I doubt anyone will use the same one you do.

@ShidenBlades

Oh, I meant finding a picture. Colloquialisms, am I right?

[OnlyThePie]

Okay gotcha. Given this world is similar to ours, I can give my character an ethnicity similar to a North-European (German or Scandinavian), correct?

[ShidenBlades]

@Cat Sidhe Correct.

@OnlyThePie Absolutely.

Not everything in this world is set in stone. So, if you have an idea for a culture/region, I'd be more than happy to help develop it with you.

[OnlyThePie]

Are Possessions possessions of the family or of the character? I can't figure out what to put there.

[Cat Sidhe]

@ShidenBlades

So, I'm filling out this sheet, and I'm wondering - would you imagine any of our characters have earned some kind of title this early on? I was considering something a tad more derogatory - maybe a nickname bestowed upon my character by one of her less-than-savory peers? (An NPC, of course.)

[ShidenBlades]

@OnlyThePie Possessions are what your character has on them. They can be mementos of the family, like an heirloom. Once taken from your family you will not be allowed to return until after your training is completed.

@Cat Sidhe If your character is the son/daughter of nobility/royalty then I could see them having a title. As far as nicknames, I would think that since you've only been with the Riders for a week or so that they haven't given you a nickname.

That said, if your character prefers to be called something else and that's how they introduce themselves than I could see that working.

[OnlyThePie]

Where will the story start? Have our heroes already been recruited, or are they still at home?
I've mostly finished my character, just need to fill a few little things in.

[Cat Sidhe]

@Cat Sidhe If your character is the son/daughter of nobility/royalty then I could see them having a title. As far as nicknames, I would think that since you've only been with the Riders for a week or so that they haven't given you a nickname.

That said, if your character prefers to be called something else and that's how they introduce themselves than I could see that working.

@ShidenBlades

Got it, thanks!