Across the Cosmos he blazed. A man - nay, an Elf, a High Elf - encased in light and trailing fire, propelling himself with arcane fury through the star studded blackness, transcending time and reality, merging the borders of space and the Abyss with fervent yet practised hands.
His name was Fiirnmir Starsplendour. The High King of the High Elves, Lord of Agros, Slayer of Gods and Bane of Divinity. His power was mighty, but his temper patient and just. He loved far more than he hated, saved more than he took, and protected far more than he threatened. His was not the business of pride or hubris, nor ignorance or passion. His was the domain of wisdom and compassion, tempered in the fire of righteous action.
Yet as he came upon the source, he felt a rare pang of anger rush through him.
Agros was in peril. Her many cities of gold and marble were crumbling into the seas. Her peoples, innocent as they were of their King's ancient sins, were dying in the thousands with every passing second. Indeed, the High Home of the High Elves was collapsing in on itself, and even Fiirnmir, as mighty as he was, could not turn the tide of relentless destruction.
Fearing the Gods had returned to launch their revenge, he had taken to the Cosmos to battle them, in what he perceived to be a final confrontation between Elf and his Creator. Yet, as he ascended the clouds, and broke into that hollow and hopeless void known as the Cosmos, he found himself quite alone. No enemies awaited him, no minions of hate and peril, no trap nor ambush. Nothing. Yet still Agros continued to crumble below.
It did not take him long to ascertain the source of the threat to his peoples. Skilled in the lore of the multiversal plains, he was able to see - yet unable to hinder - the tendrils of powerful energy that now gripped his home. It seemed Agros was not under siege from divine beings, but something as equally severe. Something natural, yet tainted.
And so he followed the source.
And here he was.
The High King of the High Elves, idle with rage, looked upon the folly of an idiotic race.
No one, human or beast, from the crumbling skylines of New Ark would have noticed that lone shooting star in the sky above, blended as it was with the multitude of catastrophes affecting them; they would not have known that a being far mightier than science would ever permit, looked down upon them, as a huntsmen would look down upon a rabid dog.
@Shoryu Well I guess I'll start us off then? My first post is ready. Or should I hold off? I know you said I could post before Monday but I didn't want to inadvertently steal your thunder and get a slap.
Former Species: High Elf of the world known as Agros.
Height: 5'8
Weight: 125 lbs
Appearance: Fiirnmir is a High Elf of Agros, and as such, is an image of beauty and perfection. His skin appears as unnaturally pale, yet unblemished and smooth. No birthmarks, freckles or moles mark his flesh, and nor would one find any signs of age or weariness in his features. Those who look upon him would do so with an unconscious admiration of his image, though it would be paired equally with unease.
He is of a lithe build, with toned - though not bulging - muscles. Certainly, he falls more into the athletic spectrum than any other, yet there is an unnerving about his apparent bone and muscular structure. Everything is too well proportioned, too symmetrical, as if he is more the creation of an impassioned and very precise engineer, than a product of a nature.
Long golden hair crowns his head, running its way down across his back in an immaculately brushed river. His head is narrower than one would expect of a human, and yet it is longer, giving him a prominent brow that borders on giving his hair a receding appearance. The whites of his eyes are of a bright yellow, and his pupils are an icy blue, and this can appear particularly menacing to someone to familiar with his kind. No lines mar his face however, nor any stubble. He appears youthful, but a time wizened gaze hints at a weariness that has accumulated over the course of several millennia. His ears are pointed, and share a perfect symmetry, but they are not much larger than those of an average human.
He wears an assortment of brightly coloured robes and other loose and voluminous garments, and a golden crown embedded with flawless gemstones sits upon his head. A gnarled wooden staff, six feet in length and headed by a large green crystal will be seen clenched in his hands at all times.
New Species: Fiirnmir the Broken // ED #708 Height: 5'8 lbs Weight: 210 lbs Appearance: This is not Fiirnmir's state at the initial start of the RP, but will quickly become so after I have established his introduction to the story.
Fiirnmir's melding with a synthetic being has left his appearance a mockery of his former self. He is now an unnatural entity; flesh has melded with metal in the most gruesome way possible. Spliced down the middle between man and machine, his body has become a walking abomination.
ED #708 was a humanoid-shaped security android, programmed to maintain peace and order. As such, Fiirnmir's left side appears as a darkened metal endoskeleton - more or less in the style of a normal human skeleton, yet bulked up by circuitry, projectile resistant plating, wiring, motors and electrohubs. ED #708's face is likewise skeletal in nature, and projects a constant menacing half smile complete with a set of aluminium teeth. ED #708's remaining eye changes between a constant red glow when acting hostile or aggressive, and green when it is being passive.
Fiirnmir's right half however, is more grotesque and terrifying than the metal skeleton it has attached to. His flesh is reddened and inflamed where it meets the metal, and has overgrown its bounds in places to cover exposed gaps left over from the melding. His formerly pale skin has taken on a sickly greyish tone, and his eye has dulled to a complete blackness. His hair, or what remains of it, has turned an icy white, and his mouth is caught in a permanent grimace where it has unevenly joined with the jaw of ED #708.
To cover the extent of his horror, Fiirnmir has taken to wearing a large and heavy brown cloak, taken from the corpse of a slum dweller. This item of clothing obscures most of him from view, though his mutilated face and ED #708's glowing eye is an ever present feature to onlookers.
Personality: Initially, wise, compassionate and selfless yet troubled. Later... Fiirnmir's sanity, knowledge and ability to reason may become severely compromised.
Location: Fiirnmir starts at the city's centre, where he has just arrived. There at the heart of the catastrophe, he hopes to prevent the world from falling to ruin. However, I quickly intend for him to relocate to the slum district, which will be shortly after his melding.
Status: Starts in his High Elf form. ED #708 will join the party shortly.
Secrets:
1) Has two daughters. 2) Wife was slain by Mortus, the Lord of Death back on his home world after he questioned the Pantheon's sovereignty over Agros. Though not content to merely let her soul traverse the "Eternal Plain", Mortus put her into a realm of suffering and fire so that she would be tormented for all of time and beyond. This is not something Fiirnmir was able to reverse, and it haunts him greatly. 3) Destroyed the Lord of Death, earning the unofficial title of Fiirnmir Godslayer. Clashed with others Gods shortly after, and drove from the Agros. 4) The victory over Mortus is the reason the High Elves do not age. 5) His world is being torn apart by the same catastrophe that is affecting New Ark. 6) He arrived to stop the catastrophe. 7) In his original form he has the power to reverse the damage, and undo the cooperations' hubris. 8) He is the guardian of Agros, as well as its High King; he is more or less the emperor of an entirely united world. No other High Elf came close to his original power and prestige. 9) His "living" half after the melding, is kept alive by using 90% of his magical reserves, greatly reducing his potency as a Mage. This will not be immediately apparent to someone not familiar with magic. If he uses more magic than he can afford to spare, he will simply die.
I'm stating the above, because after the melding he may not remember most of it (losing half his brain). Other characters though may be able to help him remember by asking the right questions. If at the some point the players wish to save the world somewhat, him remembering everything might play a pivotal role in that potential story line. Also, his knowledge of magic, and by extension his ability to teach it, might be something else other players want to explore.
Assets: Fiirnmir is the greatest Mage that ever lived on Agros. He is the envy of his peers, and beloved across the entire planet as a benevolent and mighty ruler. His knowledge of the arcane is vast, and his power in his original form put him on a level playing field with the very Gods that created him. Any other characters wishing to excel in magic, should seek him out if they wish to enhance their powers.
However, after his melding, the following will apply from ED #708's half.
1) System Diagnostics - ED #708 is able to quick fix damage to his half of the body via re-routing power and shutting down non-essential systems to prop up the more essential. This does not extend to Fiirnmir's half.
2) Connection to Host Server - Though communications to corporate headquarters are down, he periodically makes contact that lasts a few seconds, allowing ED to access bits and pieces of information. Probably useless, but may come in handy.
3) Android Strength - ED's half of the body is built for battle, and as such posseses great strength. He can upend a car, or pull open a reinforced door if given enough time. Also, if he punches someone, it's unlikely their skull will survive the impact.
4) LR-17 Photon-Cannon - ED's arm can transform into a photon-cannon, which is a standard weapon for an android of his type. It takes approximately ten seconds to charge, and can hold that charge for a further ten seconds before he either has to shoot it or deactivate it. The resulting impact causes a blue explosion, on the scale of an RPG or hand grenade. Using the weapon draws power however, and he can only use it a finite amount of times before having to recharge his on-board munitions battery.
5) 4th Generation WarCo CPU - ED's CPU is a self contained super computer, the size of an apple. It is immensely powerful, enabling him to analyse situations through explicit use of mathematics. As such he is able to make tactical predictions and hazard assessments with decent accuracy.
6) EyeScan 3000 Series - ED's eye can scan a variety of things, and gain information. These range from sky formations, terrain and biological entities. However, as the world is changing so rapidly, there is much ED's CPU will not be able to understand.
Possessions:
1) The Star Crown of Agros - a magically enchanted artefact, forged from the bones of Mortus, the Lord of Death. It is able to amplify Fiirnmir's powers, granting him immense magical strength. It is said that whilst wearing it, he is greater than any of the Gods and could crush them easily - though this is something that was never tested. After the melding with ED #708, it not only becomes broken, it also becomes lost. Another character may find a broken shard or section of it, and the results of which can be discussed with me. Obviously anything I say will be subject to the GM's approval.
Equipment:
1) The Staff of the High-born. A gnarled length of wood, approximately six feet in length and headed by a large green gemstone. With it, Fiirnmir is able to focus and channel his energy, enabling him to achieve mighty magical feats. Dangerous in the wrong hands however, and will consume those who are not familiar with magic. It is said the green gemstone was Mortus' left eye, though this is only known by Fiirnmir himself. Like the crown, it too will become broken and lost after the melding. Leaving the possibility for another character to locate the gemstone. Again, seek me out before you do that, so I can tell you what might happen depending on the scenario involved. Obviously anything I say will be subject to the GM's approval.
Story:
Fiirnmir. Fiirnmir. Fiirnmir.
What foolishness. What hubris! You were their most humble servant, their most steadfast supporter - their most loyal soldier.
What madness possessed you? Why did you do this? Can you not see what they do to me?
No. But you can hear!
Fiirnmir, High King of the High Elves. Godslayer, and bane of Mortus. Life giver, and Master of Time Eternal. Mighty titles, bestowed upon a mighty being.
In his early life, he was one of those fortunate to be gifted in the arts of the arcane. He had great teachers, and a passion for learning all that he could. His powers adulterated quickly, and before he was even a man, he was surpassing those around him by many leagues. He was pious too, as was the way of his peoples, and he paid appropriate homage to the Pantheon. Yet he was damnably a thinking Elf, and in a land of Gods, thinking Elves were always a sore fit.
He married the daughter of his father's rival House, and though the marriage was not initially agreeable to either, they went on to have two daughters. However Fiirnmir was not really much in the way of family, and he neglected them for many years in favour of pursuing his arcane studies. And it was such pursuits that put his life into a collision course with destiny.
Through his research, he was able to gleam hints and snippets of how the Gods came to be. He came to understand that like he, their lives too were finite, and that though time left them be, they could be killed like any other being - if one knew how. This brought further questions to his conciousness, and he clashed with the greatest minds of the day over a God's unchallenged right to rule over creatures they wrongly thought to be inferior, merely because they had created them.
Such clashes of intellects led to his banishment from the learning centres of Agros, and he returned to his family a somewhat broken man. Scorned by a wife who had always hated him for putting her and his children second to his research, and outcast from the community that he had known all of his adult life, Fiirnmir began to curse. Indeed, he cursed aloud, for days and nights, and he challenged the Gods to battle over the right to rule Agros.
They were foolish words. They the words of mortal being, who could not contemplate their own actions in a sea far bigger than their own pond. They should have been ignored, but Mortus, the Lord of Death, took an exception to the constant barrage of insults from this lowly mortal mage.
Mortus appeared in a flash of lightning and fire, and for seven days he battered the world of the Elves, until finally he appeared in the flesh, before the dishevelled and raging form of Fiirnmir. The Elf was initially terrified, realising his folly instantly, and he begged Mortus for forgiveness.
Mortus did not heed the words of mortals, though. He was their End, their Keeper, and he had been offended. He lifted a hand, explained to Fiirnmir that his soul was about to spend an eternity in suffering and fire, and then uttered the words that would haunt the Elf for the entirety of his life.
Una. Maxis. Expelum.
A spear of potent arcane energy burst from Mortus' exposed palm, and shot towards Fiirnmir. Before the Elf could react however, his wife who had always hated him, always scorned him, inexplicably threw herself into the path of the Godly magic. She exploded there and then, leaving behind cinders.
Her screams started in Fiirnmir's mind instantly. They were horrible sounds, full of an indiscernible pain, of a rage and madness the Elf's ears had never been graced with. The dark form of Mortus merely smiled, and heckled the stunned Elf, who could do no more than claw at his ears in a vain attempt to cease his wife's ethereal screams of pain.
Mortus cackled as he explained the fate of Fiirnmir's wife, but reassured the Elf that he would soon be joining her. It was at these words that Fiirnmir found his metal, and put a life time of arcane research to the ultimate test. He prepared himself to fight a God, the first Elf to do so in living memory. At first Mortus laughed, but when Fiirnmir sent a searing bolt of lightning at him, far greater than a mortal should have been able to conjure, he sobered immediately.
And so the two clash. A mortal and a God, toe-to-toe, in a battle of magic that tore apart the land and left the great Houses of Agros in ruins. The other Gods watched on from the Pantheon, unsure whether to intervene, or whether to let Mortus handle the matter on his own. He was a proud God after all, and he didn't take kindly to the other Gods meddling in his affairs.
For twenty days and twenty nights they fought, until finally Fiirnmir's rage allowed him to over power Mortus, and he cast the Lord of Death aside; broken and dying, Mortus could only stare up at his brothers and sisters at the Pantheon in a mixture of wonder and shame, as they stared back in horror.
Using Mortus' remains to fashion God-killing weapons, Fiirnmir wasted no time in challenging the Gods directly. Having been shown their own mortality, they were unwilling to face him in battle; they were, despite their powers of creation and mastery of the elements, cowards to the last one. Fiirnmir chased them away, and banished them from Agros.
And so Fiirnmir became a God himself, though in name only. He disbanded the ancient Elven Houses, established himself as leader of the Elves, and led them as their King. There were troubles of course, and not everyone accepted his rule, but as it turned out, Mortus' death had ended the ravages of time affecting the High Elven people. The elderly became young, and the young ceased to age at adulthood. Natural deaths were no longer a thing, and Fiirnmir had all the time in the world to forge the path of his peoples.
And so for twenty thousand years Agros prospered. Cities so great and magnificent dotted the landscape, and the Elves multiplied into billions. Fiirnmir for his part continued his arcane studies, and yearned to find a way to break his wife free from her eternal prison, that she may yet find peace in whatever remained of the afterlife. But as time wore on, it became clear to him that Mortus' work had been pristine and nearly impossible to undo. Even with a limitless lifespan, Fiirnmir began to consider that he may never find a way to cease his wife's torment.
He was getting close though, making progress, and he may yet have achieved his goal if Agros was not assailed by a catastrophe. The world was placed under siege by a force unseen; her landscape split and ruined by volcanoes, her skies sundered by storm and blizzard, and her seas bloated with the turbulence of a power untamed. Entire continents began to drown, and Agros' many cities, so wondrous as they were, crumbled to the ground. Millions died in the first seconds, and many many more were set to follow.
Fearing the Gods had returned, Fiirnmir ascended to the Cosmos to do battle with them. It would end here he decided; either the Elves would be masters of their fate, or the Gods would have the world back again. Though as he crested the sky and the stars, he found no Gods. Just an empty void.
Scanning the endless void for a sign of the disturbance, he found that the trouble was stemming from a different plain entirely to his own. Had he not being working to rescue his wife from her prison, he may never have realised the patterns that told him this, but there they were, clear as day.
Someone else's catastrophe was threatening to undo everything he had worked to achieve. And so he tapped into the source of this cataclysm, found its location, and stepped forwards to put an end to it before it put an end to everything he knew and loved.
Shame, and weird. I'm guessing the GM is new to the site, and was expecting a more lively experience? Who knows.
Well, if this does get cancelled, then one of you guys should consider making a WW2 themed RP of your own. It's a topic that obviously has ample interest, and it's something I'd happily join.
I got bored and created a couple of NPCs that people might want to use/take ideas from. I have no intention on playing either, but if anyone wants an insta-NPC, here's ya ticket.
Also, the second guy, Ronald Rahner, might serve as a perfect antagonist to anyone looking to take on some NPCs. He's someone you wouldn't want to run into during the catastrophe.
Again, I have no interest in playing them, I was just exercising my creative muscle a little bit and thought I may as well share them.
Whelp, looks like it's time for bed again. Catch ya later.
Name: John Murphy
Apparent Age: 40's Actual Age: 37 Former Species: Human Height: 6'1 Weight: 170 lbs Appearance: John was never what one might call a "looker", but this wasn't something that particularly bothered him. Fat, balding, and equipped with a pair of noodles for arms, he looks to be your typical male who is rapidly descending into the perils of middle age. A pair of thick framed glasses rest upon a bulbous nose, and his pale sun-shy skin seems to have a constant sweaty sheen to it.
His ill fitting suit trousers, that end a few inches too early, and his white shirt riddled with coffee and food stains, give further credence to the idea that John is someone who gave up on keeping appearances some time ago.
New Species: White Unicorn Height: 5'9 Weight: 1,800 lbs Appearance:
Personality: Easily excitable, extremely optimistic about himself and the world, despite its state. More interested in exploring his new found self, than caring about the mess going on around him.
Location: Galloping gleefully through the factory ring.
Status: Ecstatic Unicorn.
Secrets:
1) Loved unicorns since he was a boy. He decorated his room with pictures of them, and dressed up as one at every opportunity. 2) His aforementioned love of unicorns earned his father's scorn, to the point of domestic violence. 3) Hates his father. 4) Mother died in an industrial accident when he was 9. Went into state care, where he was brought up by an unfeeling system that educated and trained him to perform a mindless, soul destroying middle-management job. 5) Hates any and all forms of government or authority as a result.
Assets: N/A
Possessions: N/A
Equipment:
1) Unicorn Horn - John's horn is magical (obviously!), but he doesn't know how to use it - or even that it is magical.
Most of John's adult life was spent listening to that sound; the noise time makes, when it gradually but inevitably passes you by as you waste your time on things that are of no relevance to your existence.
Trapped in an office, working a middle management position in a WarCo CPU factory, slumped over his desk as he fantasised about a life that did not so closely resemble Hell. No ambition, no future, and a past he'd rather not think too much about. There was no sweet heart on his arm, no children to greet him after his 16 hour shift, no real wealth with which he could numb himself. All he had really, was that sterile looking white clock on the wall of his office.
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick.
But no tock.
John looked up at the clock, startled that something so familiar had stopped so suddenly. He immediately jumped to his feet, and walked the width of his office to take a closer look. A clock like John's, designed to kill people by lulling them into a life of mediocrity and despair, never stopped. It had, or so he thought, a nuclear battery after all. Yet there it was, it had stopped.
Suddenly his office door flew open, and in ran Director Hayward, John's direct superior. The man was terrified, babbling and sobbing about some unseen catastrophe. John didn't know what to make of it, but then he didn't have much time to give it any thought. There was a bright flash of searing white light, and the entire factory shook - all 50 floors of it.
And John felt different suddenly. He felt taller. He felt heavier. He felt strange, yet oddly, he also felt free. Director Hayward however, backed away from him, snot running from his nose and tears streaming down his face. He screamed, and hurried back through the door of John's office.
Turning and looking into the reflection of his office window, John could not quite believe what he was seeing - could not quite understand. At first he thought that perhaps he was hallucinating, but then he looked down at two magnificent white hooves - his hooves, and he laughed - no, he whinnied. Perhaps he was dreaming? Perhaps he was dead? It didn't matter. For the first time in John's life, he felt happy. So happy, that he turned towards his office door, knocking over the desk in the process, and galloped through it.
And then he continued to gallop, with no aim or pause for thought, as a childish giddiness took over what remained of his human sanity.
Name: Captain Ronald Rahner Apparent Age: 40's Actual Age: 45 Species: Human Height: 5'9 Weight: 150 lbs Appearance: Ronald is a military man, through and through. Sun darkened skin, a meticulously shaven head, muscled in all the places where it matters. He has brown eyes that seem to be permanently encircled by a frown, and a nose that shows signs of several breaks. Scars run across his cheeks, and his neck, and there are other signs of previous injuries dotted across his body.
However, most of time Ronald will be found wearing his WarCo Corporation security uniform.
Personality: Ronald is a grim and serious man, with little humour. He is cold and calculating, and sees himself as an answer to any problem. Definitely a "victory at any cost!" kind of soldier, and someone who isn't afraid of sacrificing others - and himself - for the greater good of the mission. In short, if you're not an asset to him, then you're an obstacle, and he has no qualms with removing obstacles regardless of their age, gender, political affiliation or combative status.
Location: The Security District.
Secrets:
1) Earned his promotion to Captain by assassinating the infant children of a former WarCo exec. 2) Has killed many Slum Dwellers during routine clean up operations, often going beyond what the situation has called for to do so. 3) Is infamous for ordering an artillery strike on a ten-thousand strong protest march in the Factory Ring, three years ago. Not many know that it was he who gave the go ahead to use heavy munitions, and someone else was framed and executed in his stead for the atrocity.
Assets:
1) Ronald has security clearance for many of the Security District's armouries and munitions depots.
Possessions:
The WarCo Third Generation IFV, or W3G for short, is an infantry fighting vehicle that hovers above the ground for maximum mobility in the tight streets of New Ark. Equipped with a 30mm kinetic energy cannon and two machine guns, it is a reliable and robust model used by a majority of WarCo's military contractors. Able to carry a squad of 8 soldiers, plus 3 crew, it is an asset to any modern mechanised force.
Crafted from specially tempered alloys, it can take a heavy beating before being put out of action - unless someone is able to get lucky enough to strike it in the rear, where the fusion powered gravity generators are located.
WarCo's military contractors are some of the best on the market; battle hardened, well paid and well motivated, they form the core of a crack team of professionals. Conditioned to the point of having little regard for morals or the rules of war, they will carry out any mission regardless of the political, social or moral consequences. Those who have not been affected by the on going crisis, have been rounded up by Ronald, and they usually accompany him at all times in his W3G.
Equipment:
- Assault Rifle - Pistol - Combat Knife - Frag Grenades - Wireless Radio - Gas Mask - Battle Visor (Equipped with a heads up display)
Story:
"This is Blue Bishop. Solaris has gone critical."
"Say again, over."
"Solaris has gone critical, Captain. Do you understand what I am telling you?"
"Affirmative. What are my orders?"
"Maintain city-wide law and order, at any and all costs, Captain. We will get the Solaris Project back under control, but until then, we need you and your men out there to keep the people from getting... too excited. I have already explained the situation to your superiors at WarCo, and they have given me full authority over yourself and your men for the duration of this crisis."
"Understood. What are my operational parameters?"
"Use any means necessary to keep New Ark functional. I don't care if you have to drive a tank over a crowd of protesters, or if you have to blow up a bus of school children. Just. Keep. Things. Containable."
"Affirmative."
"Oh, and Captain? There might be some... rather strange side effects from this crisis. All you need to know is, if you see something you don't like, you have my full authority to remove it from existence. We're counting on you, Captain, don't let us down now will you?"
@Shoryu I'm glad you like him. Equally, I can't wait to start playing him. I've got about a thousand potential scenarios that I want to explore with this guy, and I'm already planning my opening posts. Should be megga epix.
Speaking of epix. As my sheet states, players should speak to me before stumbling on a shard of the crown, or the staff's gemstone. That way I can keep the situation controlled and reasonable. That should stop every character suddenly stumbling upon new found powers in their first posts :D
Also, if anyone else is starting in the corporate district, lemme know if you want to coordinate anything. Whilst I didn't plan on him meeting and greeting with anyone until after his "transformation", I'd like to leave room for other possibilities. Briefly meeting Fiirnmir in his original form might somehow benefit another character's development arc or something. But that's just food for thought.
I'm turning in, I'll catch up with you guys in about 8 hours. Laters! :D
I am really, really, REAAAAAAAAAAAAALLY sorry about how big it is. Because my character is coming from another world, I had to write a whole bunch of fluff. Nothing has really changed from what I originally pitched to you, it's just a lot more fleshed out. My posts will not be anywhere near this size, so don't worry about me whacking everyone with an essay every time my character does something.
Briefly summed up though, here's what we have:
Fiirnmir was a powerful mage, the greatest of his day. His world Agros exists in a different reality or material plain than New Ark. He upset some Gods, they did something, he over powered them, became ruler of the world for thousands of years and was busy working on a pet project when Agros starts getting torn apart. He finds the source of the catastrophe to be New Ark, and travels there. He is initially powerful enough to stop it all, and maybe even reverse it.
But then he'll bump into a robot at the RP's start, and his dance cards get drastically rearranged.
Anywhos, lemme know what you think.
Name: Fiirnmir Starsplendour, High King of Agros.
Apparent Age: 20-30
Actual Age: 23,452 Earth Years
Former Species: High Elf of the world known as Agros.
Height: 5'8
Weight: 125 lbs
Appearance: Fiirnmir is a High Elf of Agros, and as such, is an image of beauty and perfection. His skin appears as unnaturally pale, yet unblemished and smooth. No birthmarks, freckles or moles mark his flesh, and nor would one find any signs of age or weariness in his features. Those who look upon him would do so with an unconscious admiration of his image, though it would be paired equally with unease.
He is of a lithe build, with toned - though not bulging - muscles. Certainly, he falls more into the athletic spectrum than any other, yet there is an unnerving about his apparent bone and muscular structure. Everything is too well proportioned, too symmetrical, as if he is more the creation of an impassioned and very precise engineer, than a product of a nature.
Long golden hair crowns his head, running its way down across his back in an immaculately brushed river. His head is narrower than one would expect of a human, and yet it is longer, giving him a prominent brow that borders on giving his hair a receding appearance. The whites of his eyes are of a bright yellow, and his pupils are an icy blue, and this can appear particularly menacing to someone to familiar with his kind. No lines mar his face however, nor any stubble. He appears youthful, but a time wizened gaze hints at a weariness that has accumulated over the course of several millennia. His ears are pointed, and share a perfect symmetry, but they are not much larger than those of an average human.
He wears an assortment of brightly coloured robes and other loose and voluminous garments, and a golden crown embedded with flawless gemstones sits upon his head. A gnarled wooden staff, six feet in length and headed by a large green crystal will be seen clenched in his hands at all times.
New Species: Fiirnmir the Broken // ED #708 Height: 5'8 lbs Weight: 210 lbs Appearance: This is not Fiirnmir's state at the initial start of the RP, but will quickly become so after I have established his introduction to the story.
Fiirnmir's melding with a synthetic being has left his appearance a mockery of his former self. He is now an unnatural entity; flesh has melded with metal in the most gruesome way possible. Spliced down the middle between man and machine, his body has become a walking abomination.
ED #708 was a humanoid-shaped security android, programmed to maintain peace and order. As such, Fiirnmir's left side appears as a darkened metal endoskeleton - more or less in the style of a normal human skeleton, yet bulked up by circuitry, projectile resistant plating, wiring, motors and electrohubs. ED #708's face is likewise skeletal in nature, and projects a constant menacing half smile complete with a set of aluminium teeth. ED #708's remaining eye changes between a constant red glow when acting hostile or aggressive, and green when it is being passive.
Fiirnmir's right half however, is more grotesque and terrifying than the metal skeleton it has attached to. His flesh is reddened and inflamed where it meets the metal, and has overgrown its bounds in places to cover exposed gaps left over from the melding. His formerly pale skin has taken on a sickly greyish tone, and his eye has dulled to a complete blackness. His hair, or what remains of it, has turned an icy white, and his mouth is caught in a permanent grimace where it has unevenly joined with the jaw of ED #708.
To cover the extent of his horror, Fiirnmir has taken to wearing a large and heavy brown cloak, taken from the corpse of a slum dweller. This item of clothing obscures most of him from view, though his mutilated face and ED #708's glowing eye is an ever present feature to onlookers.
Personality: Initially, wise, compassionate and selfless yet troubled. Later... Fiirnmir's sanity, knowledge and ability to reason may become severely compromised.
Location: Fiirnmir starts at the city's centre, where he has just arrived. There at the heart of the catastrophe, he hopes to prevent the world from falling to ruin. However, I quickly intend for him to relocate to the slum district, which will be shortly after his melding.
Status: Starts in his High Elf form. ED #708 will join the party shortly.
Secrets:
1) Has two daughters. 2) Wife was slain by Mortus, the Lord of Death back on his home world after he questioned the Pantheon's sovereignty over Agros. Though not content to merely let her soul traverse the "Eternal Plain", Mortus put her into a realm of suffering and fire so that she would be tormented for all of time and beyond. This is not something Fiirnmir was able to reverse, and it haunts him greatly. 3) Destroyed the Lord of Death, earning the unofficial title of Fiirnmir Godslayer. Clashed with others Gods shortly after, and drove from the Agros. 4) The victory over Mortus is the reason the High Elves do not age. 5) His world is being torn apart by the same catastrophe that is affecting New Ark. 6) He arrived to stop the catastrophe. 7) In his original form he has the power to reverse the damage, and undo the cooperations' hubris. 8) He is the guardian of Agros, as well as its High King; he is more or less the emperor of an entirely united world. No other High Elf came close to his original power and prestige. 9) His "living" half after the melding, is kept alive by using 90% of his magical reserves, greatly reducing his potency as a Mage. This will not be immediately apparent to someone not familiar with magic. If he uses more magic than he can afford to spare, he will simply die.
I'm stating the above, because after the melding he may not remember most of it (losing half his brain). Other characters though may be able to help him remember by asking the right questions. If at the some point the players wish to save the world somewhat, him remembering everything might play a pivotal role in that potential story line. Also, his knowledge of magic, and by extension his ability to teach it, might be something else other players want to explore.
Assets: Fiirnmir is the greatest Mage that ever lived on Agros. He is the envy of his peers, and beloved across the entire planet as a benevolent and mighty ruler. His knowledge of the arcane is vast, and his power in his original form put him on a level playing field with the very Gods that created him. Any other characters wishing to excel in magic, should seek him out if they wish to enhance their powers.
However, after his melding, the following will apply from ED #708's half.
1) System Diagnostics - ED #708 is able to quick fix damage to his half of the body via re-routing power and shutting down non-essential systems to prop up the more essential. This does not extend to Fiirnmir's half.
2) Connection to Host Server - Though communications to corporate headquarters are down, he periodically makes contact that lasts a few seconds, allowing ED to access bits and pieces of information. Probably useless, but may come in handy.
3) Android Strength - ED's half of the body is built for battle, and as such posseses great strength. He can upend a car, or pull open a reinforced door if given enough time. Also, if he punches someone, it's unlikely their skull will survive the impact.
4) LR-17 Photon-Cannon - ED's arm can transform into a photon-cannon, which is a standard weapon for an android of his type. It takes approximately ten seconds to charge, and can hold that charge for a further ten seconds before he either has to shoot it or deactivate it. The resulting impact causes a blue explosion, on the scale of an RPG or hand grenade. Using the weapon draws power however, and he can only use it a finite amount of times before having to recharge his on-board munitions battery.
5) 4th Generation WarCo CPU - ED's CPU is a self contained super computer, the size of an apple. It is immensely powerful, enabling him to analyse situations through explicit use of mathematics. As such he is able to make tactical predictions and hazard assessments with decent accuracy.
6) EyeScan 3000 Series - ED's eye can scan a variety of things, and gain information. These range from sky formations, terrain and biological entities. However, as the world is changing so rapidly, there is much ED's CPU will not be able to understand.
Possessions:
1) The Star Crown of Agros - a magically enchanted artefact, forged from the bones of Mortus, the Lord of Death. It is able to amplify Fiirnmir's powers, granting him immense magical strength. It is said that whilst wearing it, he is greater than any of the Gods and could crush them easily - though this is something that was never tested. After the melding with ED #708, it not only becomes broken, it also becomes lost. Another character may find a broken shard or section of it, and the results of which can be discussed with me. Obviously anything I say will be subject to the GM's approval.
Equipment:
1) The Staff of the High-born. A gnarled length of wood, approximately six feet in length and headed by a large green gemstone. With it, Fiirnmir is able to focus and channel his energy, enabling him to achieve mighty magical feats. Dangerous in the wrong hands however, and will consume those who are not familiar with magic. It is said the green gemstone was Mortus' left eye, though this is only known by Fiirnmir himself. Like the crown, it too will become broken and lost after the melding. Leaving the possibility for another character to locate the gemstone. Again, seek me out before you do that, so I can tell you what might happen depending on the scenario involved. Obviously anything I say will be subject to the GM's approval.
Story:
Fiirnmir. Fiirnmir. Fiirnmir.
What foolishness. What hubris! You were their most humble servant, their most steadfast supporter - their most loyal soldier.
What madness possessed you? Why did you do this? Can you not see what they do to me?
No. But you can hear!
Fiirnmir, High King of the High Elves. Godslayer, and bane of Mortus. Life giver, and Master of Time Eternal. Mighty titles, bestowed upon a mighty being.
In his early life, he was one of those fortunate to be gifted in the arts of the arcane. He had great teachers, and a passion for learning all that he could. His powers adulterated quickly, and before he was even a man, he was surpassing those around him by many leagues. He was pious too, as was the way of his peoples, and he paid appropriate homage to the Pantheon. Yet he was damnably a thinking Elf, and in a land of Gods, thinking Elves were always a sore fit.
He married the daughter of his father's rival House, and though the marriage was not initially agreeable to either, they went on to have two daughters. However Fiirnmir was not really much in the way of family, and he neglected them for many years in favour of pursuing his arcane studies. And it was such pursuits that put his life into a collision course with destiny.
Through his research, he was able to gleam hints and snippets of how the Gods came to be. He came to understand that like he, their lives too were finite, and that though time left them be, they could be killed like any other being - if one knew how. This brought further questions to his conciousness, and he clashed with the greatest minds of the day over a God's unchallenged right to rule over creatures they wrongly thought to be inferior, merely because they had created them.
Such clashes of intellects led to his banishment from the learning centres of Agros, and he returned to his family a somewhat broken man. Scorned by a wife who had always hated him for putting her and his children second to his research, and outcast from the community that he had known all of his adult life, Fiirnmir began to curse. Indeed, he cursed aloud, for days and nights, and he challenged the Gods to battle over the right to rule Agros.
They were foolish words. They the words of mortal being, who could not contemplate their own actions in a sea far bigger than their own pond. They should have been ignored, but Mortus, the Lord of Death, took an exception to the constant barrage of insults from this lowly mortal mage.
Mortus appeared in a flash of lightning and fire, and for seven days he battered the world of the Elves, until finally he appeared in the flesh, before the dishevelled and raging form of Fiirnmir. The Elf was initially terrified, realising his folly instantly, and he begged Mortus for forgiveness.
Mortus did not heed the words of mortals, though. He was their End, their Keeper, and he had been offended. He lifted a hand, explained to Fiirnmir that his soul was about to spend an eternity in suffering and fire, and then uttered the words that would haunt the Elf for the entirety of his life.
Una. Maxis. Expelum.
A spear of potent arcane energy burst from Mortus' exposed palm, and shot towards Fiirnmir. Before the Elf could react however, his wife who had always hated him, always scorned him, inexplicably threw herself into the path of the Godly magic. She exploded there and then, leaving behind cinders.
Her screams started in Fiirnmir's mind instantly. They were horrible sounds, full of an indiscernible pain, of a rage and madness the Elf's ears had never been graced with. The dark form of Mortus merely smiled, and heckled the stunned Elf, who could do no more than claw at his ears in a vain attempt to cease his wife's ethereal screams of pain.
Mortus cackled as he explained the fate of Fiirnmir's wife, but reassured the Elf that he would soon be joining her. It was at these words that Fiirnmir found his metal, and put a life time of arcane research to the ultimate test. He prepared himself to fight a God, the first Elf to do so in living memory. At first Mortus laughed, but when Fiirnmir sent a searing bolt of lightning at him, far greater than a mortal should have been able to conjure, he sobered immediately.
And so the two clash. A mortal and a God, toe-to-toe, in a battle of magic that tore apart the land and left the great Houses of Agros in ruins. The other Gods watched on from the Pantheon, unsure whether to intervene, or whether to let Mortus handle the matter on his own. He was a proud God after all, and he didn't take kindly to the other Gods meddling in his affairs.
For twenty days and twenty nights they fought, until finally Fiirnmir's rage allowed him to over power Mortus, and he cast the Lord of Death aside; broken and dying, Mortus could only stare up at his brothers and sisters at the Pantheon in a mixture of wonder and shame, as they stared back in horror.
Using Mortus' remains to fashion God-killing weapons, Fiirnmir wasted no time in challenging the Gods directly. Having been shown their own mortality, they were unwilling to face him in battle; they were, despite their powers of creation and mastery of the elements, cowards to the last one. Fiirnmir chased them away, and banished them from Agros.
And so Fiirnmir became a God himself, though in name only. He disbanded the ancient Elven Houses, established himself as leader of the Elves, and led them as their King. There were troubles of course, and not everyone accepted his rule, but as it turned out, Mortus' death had ended the ravages of time affecting the High Elven people. The elderly became young, and the young ceased to age at adulthood. Natural deaths were no longer a thing, and Fiirnmir had all the time in the world to forge the path of his peoples.
And so for twenty thousand years Agros prospered. Cities so great and magnificent dotted the landscape, and the Elves multiplied into billions. Fiirnmir for his part continued his arcane studies, and yearned to find a way to break his wife free from her eternal prison, that she may yet find peace in whatever remained of the afterlife. But as time wore on, it became clear to him that Mortus' work had been pristine and nearly impossible to undo. Even with a limitless lifespan, Fiirnmir began to consider that he may never find a way to cease his wife's torment.
He was getting close though, making progress, and he may yet have achieved his goal if Agros was not assailed by a catastrophe. The world was placed under siege by a force unseen; her landscape split and ruined by volcanoes, her skies sundered by storm and blizzard, and her seas bloated with the turbulence of a power untamed. Entire continents began to drown, and Agros' many cities, so wondrous as they were, crumbled to the ground. Millions died in the first seconds, and many many more were set to follow.
Fearing the Gods had returned, Fiirnmir ascended to the Cosmos to do battle with them. It would end here he decided; either the Elves would be masters of their fate, or the Gods would have the world back again. Though as he crested the sky and the stars, he found no Gods. Just an empty void.
Scanning the endless void for a sign of the disturbance, he found that the trouble was stemming from a different plain entirely to his own. Had he not being working to rescue his wife from her prison, he may never have realised the patterns that told him this, but there they were, clear as day.
Someone else's catastrophe was threatening to undo everything he had worked to achieve. And so he tapped into the source of this cataclysm, found its location, and stepped forwards to put an end to it before it put an end to everything he knew and loved.
I was picturing some kind of security android too actually XD... technically military fits as well, since the corporation technically 'is' the military... oh wait, 'was' ;3
And! I was also considering 'otherworldly interactions' a possibility, thanks to the whole theme of this 'clysm', though it needs to be few and far between probably. Being from another world isn't out of the question, and 'unwillingly' being dumped into 'this' world could be an interesting element for character dynamics... It could also provide someone to try teaching magic to others... or, ya know, giving hints that might help, since some might have access to a different facet of magic.
on a side note, as a 'powerful mage', I could picture his power being a bit nerfed here since magic is 'fresh' in this world, it's only just begun so it's bound to be more unruly than he's used to, not to mention the potential strange ways that technology could be interfering with it.... especially if it's inside of him. XD... actually, depending on how you work the fusion, he might not even 'have' his magic, or need to find a new way to magic.
Also, just to clarify a point! I don't mind seemingly outrageous ideas, the worst you'll get is an 'oh god no!', but there's a lot that I can accept as long as it can be played 'well'. Afterall, there's a difference between a mary sue harem anime power fantasy character, and one that 'looks' the part while the player handles them more responsibly. Before RPguild was shattered a couple years back I'd made a reputation for myself of challenging myself to use 'that risky character type'[I.e. powerful dragons, some kind of alicorn, nanomachines son!, and so on] in reasonable and entertaining ways that didn't break the bank, so to speak, generally employing generous nerfs or defining undefined power they had in the process... there may be a thin line and a slippery slope combined of course, but I enjoy exercising my imagination as much as seeing the depths of other's imaginations, so long as they can do so without ruining everyone else's fun.
Amen, brother.
Well here's my idea in its briefest form:
The Elf, is a powerful mage on his home planet, possibly the most gifted of his time. He's lived for tens of thousands of years, and is immortal in the style of Toklein's Elves. Throughout his life time, he has played a pivotal part in his peoples' development throughout the ages, guiding them through dark times and preventing them from insurmountable evils.
And then suddenly the sky darkens, lightning storms flare up, and his world starts getting battered. Cities are brought by to their knees, millions perish, and it looks as if the world is days away from an apocalypse. The mage then uses his powers to search the cosmos, or the Void, or whatever term I end up using for it, to see if he can find the source of this sudden end-of-days scenario. And through doing this, he finds the RP's world, and senses that whatever cataclysm is affecting it, is also affecting his world.
Therefore, he must end the cataclysm, or his people will perish. He travels from his planet, or universe, or material realm (whatever), to the RP's planet where he plans to A) see what's happening, and B) stop it.
However, something happens, not sure what yet. Whether he is attacked by the android on arrival, and through a freak accident he melds with it, or whether he simply "teleports" directly into it, he ends up in his mutilated state. The "melding" almost outright kills him instantly, literally cutting his organs and brain in two. Powerful as he is though, he is able to use his magic to sustain his life, and to bludgeon the immense pain before blackness takes him. It's at this point that he realises he is not alone in his head, and an alien presence is trying to take control of him. A mental battle ensues, and will continue to ensure throughout.
So to stay alive, he has to constantly focus 90% of his magical reserves on preserving his flesh, leaving the remainder at his disposal to perform basic magical tasks. That nerfs his mage background to a sustainable level :)
Furthermore, he would use what magic he could spare, to regrow his flesh in places where the melding has left exposed gaps. So areas where the flesh meets metal would resemble something like melted rubber I guess.
As far as functioning goes, the CPU and the Elf's mind act separately, but have control of the entirety of the melded body. So the Elf can control the robotic features, and the CPU can control the Elf's flesh and bone. The Elf is normally able to subdue the CPU through either logical argument, or pure strength of will, but there is room left for the possibility that the CPU will somehow take control.
With the Elf's albeit limited magic, and the CPU's technological features (such as being able to scan terrain, and analyse hazardous situations), he should form quite the wild card in many situations.