Balthazar007

The Six Crystals

Tempum City (K7), Early Afternoon

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... Nevertheless, he clenched his hand and began sniffing the air. He turned his head this way and that way, trying to find the most appetizing scent. He caught the familiar scent of fruit coming from a certain direction and headed towards that direction. There were many things catching his eye, but his stomach compelled him, insisting this as the most important task. And Mougin agreed. After all, he would not be able to enjoy Tempum city if he starved to death.

@Spin The Wheel

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As Mougin walked the city streets, searching through all the delicious smells, he was being watched. Keeping their distance, having done this a million times before, five young gangsters trailed him. He looked new to the city, possibly an easy mark, despite his size.

Three of the gang members were humans. While two of them were beastfolk, in their beast forms (alligator and snake). They wouldn't outright attack Moujin, unless he were dumb enough to walk down a dark alley. Instead, they were waiting to see where he carried his money, assuming he had any...

A friendly food truck owner opened the side window of his truck. Moujin was the first living creature he saw. The chunky older man, a beastfolk in human form, called out to Moujin. "Hey, brother! You hungry!?" The smell of this man's cooking was indeed the smell Mougin had been chasing.

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Stallo City (D9), Early Morning

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... As she'd delved deeper into the research, Zara felt more and more confident in her ability to protect Jorath. She knew that her job as a bodyguard wouldn't be easy, but she was up for the challenge. However, after putting on the uniform she'd been provided with – a black suit with a white shirt and matching tie – her elevated mood took a downward turn. Formal clothes and Zara were not a good combination. She only had to look once at herself in the hallway mirror to know that those sleeves would not have much more life to them, especially if it came down to it and she had to fight someone. "Well, I guess that's that… I'll deal with the problems as they come. Now it's about time to go meet the boss," she reminded to herself out loud before exiting her hotel room.

Summary

We are given a glimpse into the daily routine of Zara, as well as some information about her past (already detailed in her biography) through an introspection scene. We also learn that her employer is name Jorath, and that he has some things to hide. She proceeds to do some background research, before heading off to meet with him on her first day at work

@Vec

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Jorath, his wife, and their two teenage children were waiting for Zara at the bottom of the stairs. It was strange, seeing such a high profile man surrounded by his loving family.

"Dad! What are we waiting on!" pouted the daughter, apparently not having noticed Zara. She sounded like a spoiled brat. The mother shushed her. And the son pretended not to hear any of it, continuing to play his handheld video game, from the comfort of a hotel sofa. Maybe loving family wasn't the right description for this particular family.

Jorath merely rolled his eyes. The big man's attention was on Zara. "Hello there!" he bellowed. "Are you ready to get going!?"

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Leemo City (F5), Noon

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Suns Dhagar - Yellow Crystal Bearer

Leemo City - Noon

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... Suns readied a kindly smile towards the woman behind her translucent desk; except for where privacy was desired.

"How much longer? I can be quite impatient at times," he told her.

@Renny

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The secretary looked only halfway looked up from her desk. "Did you not read the invitation thoroughly? It said there may be a ten to fifteen minute wait." This woman didn't look even the slightest bit phased by Sun's status. Perhaps she was programmed to be that way, being an android and all. Sure she could almost pass for human, but a careful eye could catch the subtle differences.

Suddenly, the door to the office slid open, revealing a young blonde man, sitting behind a desk. The secretary looked up, without emotion, and motioned for Suns to enter.

As the door shut behind him. The man behind the desk stood up, and cracked a weak but honest smile "I apologize for the seven minute wait my friend." He walked around the desk, deliberate with his footsteps. "Thank you for coming. I could use your help."

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The Six Crystals

I have my character sheet reasonably close to finished. Life has just been conspiring against me.

@ARedneckWizard

No worries!

The Six Crystals

@Balthazar007 Considering how few players actually submitted a CS from the original pool of interested ones, I don't think a discord is needed yet.

@Vec

Agreed.

@Balthazar007 I did the changes in the one I put in characters. Please check to make sure everything is fine or if I need to change something.

@Neianna86

Only thing I see is that Kazuha's spear needs to be removed from his "Inventory" and listed as a "Key Item". And along that note, Fantaghiro has a sword in her "Items" named 'Ash'. If that's the same sword as 'Tailfeather', but listed as a different name, it needs to be removed. Other than that, you're good to go!

The Six Crystals

How fast do we want the party to come together? I have no problem either way, just asking.@Balthazar007

@Vec

That is completely up to you, the players. This is a sandbox style RP. You dig wherever and whenever you like. It's my job to fill the sandbox with shiney objects for you to find. Lol. I love analogies.

That said, I recommend y'all take this month (i.e. the first day) to get to know your surroundings and test the boundaries on what you can do in this RP. Maybe set up a meeting of characters to take places at the beginning of the next day, Armistice Day, when the festivities are in full swing.

Again, these are only suggestions. Players are encouraged to PM each other or message right here in the OOC thread about collaborating. I can even start a discord if y'all are interested. Originally, I had planned on it.

The Six Crystals

@Balthazar007 One important general. I liked the idea of multiples but I think Suns would be wary of placing himself amongst so many strong-willed; potential unjust Generals.

@Renny

One general he feels he can trust, at least more than most, heard that.

@Spin The Wheel@Vec@Renny
Okay you three, I'll be posting one post tomorrow that covers all three of you, as well as dropping three character sheets in the 1st "Characters" post.

If anyone else gets a post out before then, I'll try to include a response for yours as well.

The Six Crystals

<Snipped quote by Balthazar007>

You could be the shadowy butler/head of staff that 'takes care' of everything. It feels like someone like Jorath would have someone like that around to burder with all the complicated stuff.

@Vec

That'll work.

@Renny, I like your post, but just to be sure I'm following along: Sun is about to enter the office of one important general, or is he going into a meeting room with multiple generals talking strategy?

The Six Crystals

@Vec

It is quite enjoyable to read your detailed opening IC post. It sets the scene very nicely.

That being said, try to dial it back a bit or use hiders in the future, especially if and when you start interacting with other players.

I do appreciate a good introduction though, so don't change anything.

I'm thinking of ways to introduce an NPC to your storyline, and I see three options. Either I make an NPC for Jorath, or if you'd rather post as him as well, I could be one of his aids (i.e. regular body guards), or I could be a formidable attacker. I could have fun in any direction. What do you think?

The Six Crystals

@Balthazar007 Quick question on my end, I think you said something earlier about posting for the individual locations of the players. Should I wait for a post of Leemo before posting? It won’t be tonight cause my brain is fried after work but just curious.

Edit: Just saw you already posted for Leemo. Expect a post tomorrow lol my bad.

@Renny

I'm not making a post for each location. I'm just adding hiders with background information to the opening IC post. I have already done one for Leemo city. So whenever you are ready, you may post.

The Six Crystals

Dark matter is a good analogy but I was thinking more along the line of a primordial plasma or Ylem I think it's called. Or we could reflavor it as entropy/decay magic.

I've got some ideas for the cave elves.

@ARedneckWizard

Actually, I'm going to have to rule that dark matter and primordial plasma (i.e. ylem) are the same thing. The humans and basically everyone on the surface sees it as "dark matter". While the Cave Elves, being the ones who actually know how to harvest and contain it, they refer to it as "ylem". They understand the true workings of the substance, hence why they have been able to name it. Others don't understand its true nature, so they have a more vague way to describe it.

The Six Crystals

I do have two questions. How advanced are the elven villages in comparison to the human nations?

Secondly, would this fit in with the magic.
"All things fall into shadow, even light. Shadows do not represent the absence of light, they show the presence of darkness. Thus, shadow and darkness are not death or diminishment; they are the fundamental state of the universe, the constant that existed before, that exists now, and that will exist when all other things are snuffed out. Just as magic has an opposite. An ancient formless substance that fills the space between matter.
The shadowcaster understands the true, primal power of darkness, attunes herself to the Plane of Shadow, and learns great shadow mysteries the equal of any mundane spell. These dark casters are workers of alien magic, possessing an occult understanding of the world and magic that even other spellcasters find disturbing."

@ARedneckWizard

I like the direction you're taking shadow magic, and I like the way you explain it. The only thing I don't want to allow is the introduction of actual "aliens". However, this doesn't mean you have to change anything. I just want to point out your usage of the word "alien" would not be in reference to an actual aliens race, but rather, it's meant as "foreign" or "strange".

It also makes me think we're talking about dark matter manipulation, which actually already exists on a planet wide scale, in the form of gravity manipulation, the primary way hover cars and flying ships work.

This brings me back to your first question, "How technologically advanced are the elven races." The answer to that varies on which race we're talking about. For example, the Volcano Elves, living on the isolated continent of Numgam, are very primitive, and the City Elves, living among humans, are just as technologically advanced as the humans themselves.

Then, above that, we would actually have the Cave Elves. Their village would be more like an underground city that heavily relies on dark matter and gravity manipulation. And their main export would be dark matter itself, a highly sought after resource. In other words, the Cave Elves would actually be the MOST technologically advanced civilization on the planet, but this would only be known to them and a few higher ranking individuals in the Mutrenu continent.