deia876lat

Broken Skies

As Tyrhallan walked along with him he listened intently pondering over the answers of the young mage.
“Knight Captain, I am afraid I do not know much. From what I know, she is a refugee that was in one of the ships being chased. She must have been badly injured because she was passed out when Master Mage Arn finally awoke. She was evaluated by a medic when she woke up and was deemed needing bed rest but he said nothing else.”

Tyrhallan frowned.
"Something doesn't add up and it unsettles me." Tyrhallan said explaining his thoughts. "From those I have spoken to that were with or around her were fine...yet from what was reported to me by my fellow Knight she was practically pulled from Death's grasp. Something eludes me, probably something right there in front of me and it vexes me. Perhaps my own inadequecies are getting to me." He said waving his own thoughts away, allowing Thobias to continue.

“In regards to Master Mage Arn’s behavior. No. It is not normal. He is often professional and even though many a young and good looking mage has tried to win his favor, none had succeeded.” A slight smirk crossed the young man’s face in a flash.
“I left the room to give them privacy. If indeed Master Mage Arn has been fallen under the lady’s spell, then I did not want to be a third wheel. So Knight Captain. I am afraid I do not know much of what was said or done in that room.”
At the mention of another mage a pensive look formed in Tobi’s face. “Every mage is listed by Squad and you being a tactical commander should have access to the reports. If you knew the name that would help. I know for a fact none of the Shooting Stars where mobilized for his operation and I think only one or two squads were on alert but not actually engaged. I do believe however that there were some mercenary mages that were attached to the actual vanguard ships.” The young mage shrugged. “I can try to ask around for you but we were not there when the young lady was brought in.” He added respectfully. “I am Adept Mage Thobias son of Thomas Tailor. My squad is the Shooting Stars as I am sure you know. I am at your service if you require any further assistance” Then thinking quickly about it he added “Although, I am sure you would have to route a formal request via Captain Evander Alessan if you required me for more than just questions.”

"Quite understandable, as would befit a loyal friend and fellow mage. I also understand you would be careful with 'delicate information' if you 'had' heard any to protect your superior. Honourable, but in my case you can be assured that I seek only to aid Sir Arn and I simply don't like to be caught unawares." He spoke looking at the young mage to gage his reaction.
"I can already read the question in your eyes...Why would 'someone like me' concern myself with those that society considers beneath them?"
He snorted as a smirk formed on his lips.
"Because I truly believe that those who are in a position such as mine also carry the responsibility of care for those who 'serve' them. Power corrupts when it is not controlled and kept in check by a healthy dose of self mockery, service and responsibility. My family's name offers me a better place in society, my skills and knowledge a certain position. With this world being so skewed and messed up already it doesn't need another windbag flippant noble who's full of their own importance." He scoffed at the idea, before his expression softened.
"Sadly though, I find I am oft an exception and as a result see people regard me with dread and uncertainty." He said getting to his point.
"Your first reaction for example. Now I hope that I was able to assure you that I am not someone out for blood, but simply seek to keep those that I feel responsible for safe. After all...why else would I have bothered with becoming a Knight?" He ended calmly before he continued to listen to Thobias's information.
"A mercenary mage you say? Perhaps that would explain why I have been unable to locate her..." He uttered as he stopped for a moment.
"You have already helped me greatly young master Tailor. Your information is much appreciated." He told him before he grimaced at the name.
"Yes, I know the particular individual you're refering to...I'd..." His words were cut off as an individual stormed down the hallway at them.
"VENRAY!"
As Tyrhallan looked down the hall he watched the Captain of the Shooting Stars thunder at them, the expression furious to the point of clearly steaming.
"What the Hell do you think you're doing ordering around MY MEN!"
"Doing my duty to protect Belisio." He answered in a tone that could cut ice. "Now pray tell, what makes 'Captain' Alessan grace us with his presence?" He asked as he straightened his back, planting his feet firmly on the ground and being as obstructive as possible.
"I am here because of the mess you created Venray! You can't just come in and order around 'MY MEN'!" Alessan shot back in fury not backing up or off.
"I have done so, because there is a war going on! If you're here to tell me off because your lousy pride got dented then I suggest you get your priorities in order!"
The two stood face to face staring at each other. One glaring daggers and the other simply looking with a cold penetrating look that could freeze over the Deep Sky itself.

Eilis was resting in his arms, her mind and body soothed by his warmth, yet she knew it wouldn't last forever.
Nothing ever did. Not with her...
Still she figured she could enjoy this small inkling of kindness, this moment of normalcy and keep it as a memory for when the darker times would catch up with her again. When her luck would fail and undo all sucking out the light from life itself.
"Thank you Arn." She uttered as she drifted off in a sort of restful meditative state, that was until a stream of light hit her through one of the portholes. When it landed on her back her reaction was instant, as if she had been stung. She froze eyes wide in horror, seeing in her minds eye a flash of steel and a pair of veiled eyes staring directly at her.
"Found you..." Rang through her head in a whisper that felt distant and older than time. Before the stream faded off, broke up and disappeared from the room, Eilis's shoulders sunk dejectedly letting go of Arn with a look of silent horror.
Almost mechanically she stepped and turned away from him. She remained silent as she went back to her bed, feeling around for it, before laying herself down again. Her tattoo's had lit up when the beam had hit her, but as the stream of light had faded so too dimmed the tattoo's on Eilis's skin allowing her to take a shivering fearful breath as she curled up in the blankets making herself as small as possible.

They were going to come for her...they wouldn't leave her alone...There was no hope in starting a new life.
Feeling hurt, fearful and in pain she felt that realisation wash over her and pull her under drowning her hope and her little flame of warmth and freedom all together.

Broken Skies

"Hold up young Mage, I'll accompany you." Tyrhallan called after Tobi as he closed the door so the two could enjoy some more rest.
"I would like to have a word with you if I could." Tyrhallan took large strides to close the distance the young man had already created, before he walked next to him.
"I have a couple of questions for you and I think you can guess what they will be about..." Tyrhallan said cryptically as he listened and watched the hallway carefully.
"Was there anything known about the girl, did she give any indication what exactly drove her to flee? I heard she had a hand in saving the others...did you happen to known how bad her condition had been? As for Sir Arn...is he? No let me rephrase that is his behaviour towards the girl normal?" He looked down at the young man with a cocked eyebrow. "For if I didn't know any better I'd say he is in great danger of losing his heart. I have been trying to find this particular mage that had brought her, Miss Eilis in, but she seems to be quite elusive, do you have an idea of where perhaps I am able to find her?"

Eilis listened to Arn's words and nodded though her words were less enthusiastic.
"Maybe, it's not that I doubt the Knight Captain, its just..." She practically crawled back into his embrace, her voice small and terrified.
"I don't wanna go back, I can't go back..." She pressed herself against him tightly, so tightly infact that Arn could feel her shake with fear.
"If this next battle doesn't go well..." Her words were heavy and foreboding. "They're not taking me back alive...I'd rather kill myself...I won't be a key or their weapon."
Taking in his scent soothed her, his warmth comforting her. "I'm thankful I've got you."

On the other side of the wall

That was more or less the idea, but we can put it up for a vote.
What would you all prefer?
Would you prefer that I left it that way or that you can choose the time you're from and simply were kept 'frozen/sleeping' until your Undying began.

On the other side of the wall

Herat is very diverse and comparable to our world, with the exception that magic has seeped into the land itself, leading to the fantastical and gorgeous sights, but also harbours its dark side which is utterly terrifying and feeding off of your fears, leading you astray and make you lose your way.

Glimpses of Herat:








(You are going to be human first, if you'd like to be more supernatural send me a PM with your idea as the reveal of such a thing will be more fun if the others don't know)

Character:

Name:
Age:
Appearance:
Character:
Background:
Skills:
A Fear:
Possessions on you:
(Since you more or less get dropped on the other side of the Veil you're allowed to have 2 things on your person as they were in your pockets or on you.)

On the other side of the wall

Lore.

This world is inhabited by all sorts of creatures. Whether powerful or not, big or small they named themselves and refer to themselves as the Sidhe.
They can be split up into two groups:
The Neutral Ones and The Malevolent Ones.

Where the Neutral Ones generally didn’t mind mankind or treated them more or less ‘fairly’ a trick every now and then without malice, the Malevolent Ones have every intention of eating humans, whether by swallowing them whole or by skinning them alive before wearing your skin as a coat. They also keep slaves too, depending on how you look at it you don't want to end up in their hands.
Children, Maidens and the Gifted were considered more valuable since their blood and flesh was considered of higher quality. Hence all the old tales of kidnapped children or virgins being snatched and sacrificed.
Most notoriously were the Formorians, but Kelpie’s, Merfolk and Witches were quite eager for them too.

Most of the Sidhe and their kind have the capability to shapeshift. They all have their own speciality whether it be strength or elusiveness. In some cases Powerful Sidhe enslave or capture their own, but the weaker Sidhe try to avoid that as much as they can.
Since Sidhe are immortal beings, they can die and get reborn, their deaths being from either grief and longing or painfully falling in battle. Death by Blade or Deat by Fading their spirits are send to the Tree of Souls, to be restored and reborn into a new form.

Weapons & Magic.
Whilst in our world Magic is practically gone and considered non-existing, here on the other side Magic is woven into the world itself. From the Veil itself, the Sky and the very earth beneath your feet.
This magic however is old and powerful, hardly a thing you want to play around with. It would be like a toddler handling a loaded gun.
Also this magic isn’t free of charge, the use of magic is bought and paid for and sometimes the price is not going to be one you’re willing to pay.
Forms of magic may depend on the who or what wields/performs it.
Not all creatures in this world may know how to wield magic, but all are capable to sense or see it.
Witches, Druids and Shamans are usually the ones you go to for the odd magical solution.

Weapons in this world are more recognisable, they are quite like the ones we know in our world. Of course the materials may differ, craftsmanship too and some require some experience to fight with. Swords, Spears, Bow and Arrow are the norm.

Gods & some Important Figures of Herat.


The SunKing.
The Father, Master of Light and of War.
Whilst he was no God, he married a Goddess and obtained Godhood through his defeat of the Shadows.
Some say he was a small spark of Life inhabiting a shape of earth and air, others claim he was the descendant of a long died out Sun.
Whatever the truth may be, in the first days of Creation the Sunking had travelled across the silence and the void, all alone.
That was until he stumbled upon an equally lonely soul that rested upon her bed of Starlight.
As the two met in Darkness their lights battled one another first, before enthralled by one another they decided to continue their journey together.
But the Sunking soon found himself out classed. Unworthy of the touch of the Goddess, eager to become worthy of her, they parted once more so he could attain Godhood.
The Goddess had told him of her captors, a force she was unable to defeat, forcing her to remain in her bed of Starlight unable to venture out and explore like he had.
They were a race of powerful Shadows, manipulative, destructive and cruel.
Her own light though powerful, was easily withstood by them, in fact it was why they had kept her there, as a captive. They would drink from her Life Essence to feed themselves.
And so the Sunking set out in his quest to free his Goddess and to become a God himself and as tale tell he succeeded. He defeated and cast back the Shadows with his own Light and by doing so attain the true Power of a God.
The two became man and wife and together they started their creation of our world and the beings upon it. Though as time went by he grew more and more withdrawn and the old storytellers say there had been an argument in the once happy couple.
This argument had to do with the Sunking’s restlessness and Goddess’s creation of the Veil. They started to bicker and argue more and soon enough their Heavenly forms separated, simply following one another across the Heavens.


The Nagtqueen.
The Merciful Lady, Mother Starlight, Lady of the Starry Sea are but a handful of her names.
Goddess and Wife to the Sunking, they form the Pair of Creation.
She together with her husband breathed life into our world and its creatures.
So loving a mother she was that upon seeing the troubles her creations caused for one another, she separated them, shielding them from one another.
She created the Veil, in an attempt to save her creations from one another’s ruin.
Considered by all in high regard and a level of respect, whether the beings are good or evil.
She was once a radiant beauty full of Mercy and Life, her light shown down during the dark nights and her watchful eye gazed down upon her children protecting them during their nightly hours.




The Moirai.
The Moirai are the three sisters of Fate. They are known as the Maiden, Mother and Crone. The Spinner, The Threader and The Cutter.
They are some of the most mysterious beings as there are no records or knowlegde on how they came to be.
All that know them respect them and heed their actions and warnings with a careful eye. They are amongst the most powerful and the most vindictive when scorned. Since they rarely say what they mean, people regard them with a hesitant fear knowing they weigh and judge the souls they encounter and balance upon their own designs and desires.




The Three Kings.
The Sons of The Sunking and The Nagtqueen.
The Goddess breathed life into all of her Children but some were more powerful than others, these Godlike children hold extraordinary powers and are more powerful than the Fae or Mankind. Witches too don’t pick a fight with these particular Lesser Gods.

The eldest and best known is the Holly King or the Winter King.
First born and with a touch that chills he is a far cry from his younger brother, who is known as the Oak King, King of Summer.
His coming always brings a colder climate and darker nights.
Said to have a heart of ice to match the iron will and unforgiving nature of his being he is regarded with a good deal of fear.

Unlike his brother, the Oak King is celebrated and revered. He is bringer of harvests and sower of his oats so to speak. He embodies fertility and strength and thrower of the most extravagant parties. He is said to embody the warmth of Summer and the Freshness of Spring.

The brothers rule the land as the seasons pass each in their own way.

The youngest of the brothers is perhaps the most unpredictable and elusive he feels little connection to the world and the beings on it, preferring the Heavens as his domain to rule.
Lord of Heaven, the Sky King or Bringer of Storms mainly concerns himself with the control over his domain. He makes sure the heavens are in order and the winds keep blowing. He is coincidently Lord of the Afterlife, making sure the beings are reborn and the Tree of Souls maintains its duty.


The Crimson Lady.
She is a mystery a powerful priestess and some even claim she is one of the most powerful magic users of Herat.
It is said she helped the Nagtqueen to create the Veil. She tends to aid those that seek her out. Though there are terrible rumours about her aswell.

On the other side of the wall

@Lady Seraphina
And I completely agree with you.

Maybe its my directness, but I have found particularly with mediums where you cannot hear or see each others facial expressions or tone that being blunt basically avoids a lot of walking around eggshells around people later.
I reacted strongly, because I want people to have the freedom to play or portray whoever or whatever they want.
(And because I have been in situations where I literally have had to deal with people going 'you can't because reasons' usually bullshit ones.)

I want us all to have a good time, so I wanted to let you know that I support your choice in whatever character you wish to play.

Growing up deprived of one sense means you adapt in ways that hearing people don't have to. It means you often have a skill set that they don't. It is a sentiment I have come across very often that able bodied people don't like the idea that a disabled person can do certain things better than they can. If that's not going to be a problem here that's great. But I'd rather know up front rather than get a few posts in after I've written a character I care about only to have people start yelling at me because my character can read body language better than they can or can eavesdrop on a conversation out of earshot by lip reading despite the fact that by the same token they can't understand a conversation half a foot away if anything is blocking their vision.

I don't see how they could have argued with you on that, because the body/brain adapts generally so a blind person would have a better 'sense and hearing' because a blind person depends on it. Seems to me like you got yelled at without real justification.

On the other side of the wall

I am going to put my authority forward on this as DM and state:

You can play whoever and whatever you want, it is a fantasyroleplaying story for a reason.

I will not tolerate people who feel the need to tell someone they can or can't do something 'because they might feel offended' or 'feel the need to feel offended for someone else's sake' type of nonsense when there is no foundation for it.
I consider this time of behaviour bullying.

It is a character. Your character.

Unless you are going completely over the lines with this and be a complete jerk for the sake of being a jerk and demeaning I say hardly anyone truly could have objections to it.

I will say straight up I don't like people who feel the need to lecture others. The world is tough enough on people as it is, no need to add more to that. Maybe its because I am a bit older and this whole current wave of SJW-ism is making my head hurt and 'my bullshit detector' go off.

But writing someone who is deaf as mentioned before by @Dark Cloud can be a bit difficult, but challenging as well. If you want to do it, be my guest.

On the other side of the wall

Introduction.
My poor unfortunately souls…
Welcome to Herat a place of unbridled beauty and horrifying terror. Where Dream and Nightmare are conjured and breathed into existence.
It is the world on the other side…a world we don’t see, touch or know off except from strange tales from a time where our world still had magic and housed the supernatural.

All that changed with the Veil, a decision of the gods, to abandon our world as the slowly observed how magic was slowly dying and our disbelief was turning into malice.
In a universal final call to the Others, creatures of legends and fables alike they guided them to their own world, one where they would live forever and where mankind’s disbelief and hatred could no longer harm the weak and entice the powerful.
And so for many, many years these two worlds coexisted together, passing each other by like trains never crossing each other’s tracks.
The occasional child would glance out of their world and over to the other side, but society would correct the child’s fantastical notions and soon enough they truly would forget all about it.
Other instances lost souls would be lured in by the cruel and powerful hungry to make a meal of a heart or a soul.
But most of the time the Veil would separate them from interacting, from crossing over…
But not anymore…the Veil is no longer as powerful as it once was.
There are glitches, holes in the net, doorways that allow things to slip out for a moment and slip in.
With the Nagtqueen growing weaker and falling ill there is no one to safeguard the Veil, to pull out those that fall in…
And this is exactly where your story begins.

You find yourselves in Herat and in a strange state between alive and dead.
It is called your ‘Undying’ since you are technically not supposed to be there, you’re a strange rarity that is both wanted and by others despised.
You’ll have to try and find a way home… if you can… otherwise you might have to become part of this world.
Whatever fate you choose the road you’ll be walking will be twisting, turning, long and dark.
Few handsome princes or fairygodmother's here to save the day, you'll have to rely on your own wits, talents and potential skills.

Start thinking about who you are and what could potentially be a reason your character ends up here.
I’ll be posting more tomorrow, character sheets, lore and more about the creatures of this world.

Broken Skies

"So that's it then, we're going to miss the show at Presper... I wonder how it's going right now."
"Well look on the bright side, if we lose then you won't have to worry about notifying anyone. We'll either be dead or enslaved. Anyways, I got what I came here for. Now that I know the mage is still alive, I can sleep a little better at night knowing who to turn to whenever my tea gets cold. And if it makes you feel any better, Venray, I'll annoy the shit out of whoever they replace you with. You can count on that, sir. In the meantime, I'll be off to my next objective."
Tyrhallan couldn't help but smile at that last remark of the Spider feeling the clap on his shoulder.
"You know they're serving salmon in the cafeteria? Actual salmon! I thought they were extinct!"
"Never doubted you Dalmer and you know what that means right? Either it is a fake or some radioactive spawn. Real wild Salmon are as rare as albino dragons." Tyrhallan called after him.
Eilis who had been silent up until this point heard the final words of this strange man as he walked off. She pulled at Arn's clothing.
"What's a salmon?" Showing her unfamiliairity with it, clearly someone as well read as Eilis should know what salmon was, yet the expression that was displayed for the men to see was inquisitive. She was serious she did not know.
"A fish young lady. A very tasty and filling fish. I'll see if I can wrestle some free from Dalmer's clutches and send it down to you both. Sir Arn, just...keep an eye on her." He stated following after the Spider leaving the two alone again.

On the other side of the wall

I will be posting the stuff I have prepared for you tomorrow after work