Eru Iluvatar

Spiritum Aeternum; or The Ramshackle Monster Hunters

I'm going to read through the latest couple of posts and then update Stefano's position in anticipation for the pirates.

The Final Histories of Arda: The Contention of Mordor

I'm a huge fan of LOTR although I'm new to Nation RPing so I'm not too sure how this works. Mind if I watch for a little to learn and then create a warband?

@Blubaron45

Go ahead, though don't wait too long.

Thanks for the interest!

The Final Histories of Arda: The Contention of Mordor

@Bright_Ops

Sorry for the delay, you and your warband are accepted.

Move your sheet to the character tab and feel free to post.

The Final Histories of Arda: The Contention of Mordor

You are not too late to join. I will look over your CS later - looks promising!

All-Star Marvel: Audax Mundus Novus - Season 1 (Completed)

Player Name: Eru Iluvatar

Character You Wish To Play: Wanda Maximoff [The Scarlet Witch]

Moral Alignment: Walking the Line

Affiliation: The Shadow Conquerors

Character Origin & Backstory: With the foundation of the Shadow Conquerors (then simply known as the 'Brotherhood' as a European relief and aid group, nobody knew what role it was to have in the years to come. The core founders of the group included Erik Lehnsherr and Charles Xavier - among other faces, many of which who were the largely unknown phenomena named mutants. It appeared afterwards that Lehnsherr had been seeking mutants to join the group, though it was in truth only dedicated to general aid and relief. The group's base of operation - Sokovia - however, was an unfortunate place to be at the time. Corruption and oppression ran rampant in the streets, and all of it originated from the powerful Government that ruled the country. Erik, noticing these drastic afflictions perpetrated by humans, rose to lead the syndicate into direct conflict with the corrupt Sokovian Government. The President and the Government together had plagued Lehnsherr's time in Sokovia - damning him and his accomplices to endless labours and extortionate taxes. Wanda and Pietro Maximoff, two siblings with an undisclosed past and profound dormant abilities, grew up in the guerilla warfare of the Brotherhood-turned-terrorist group under the protection and guidance of Lehnsherr. The two quickly took to him as a father figure where there previously was none - Wanda admiring his natural leadership skills and obvious superiority to the common man.

With the continued state of distress in Sokovia, the ranks of the group expanded. It was renamed to the 'Shadow Conquerors' and Charles Xavier with some of his fellow accomplices were becoming more at odds with Erik's chosen tactics. The leaders, Lehnsherr's specifically chosen compatriots, employed more elite and experienced operatives. They primarily only included the oppressed populace of Sokovia, but hungry eyes looking in from outside the country soon became involved. The Shadow Conquerors altered once again from an organisation fuelled by anger to a bloodthirsty group of killers - at least out in the field. Sokovia descended into chaos, and that's when the X-Genes of the twins came to fruition. Chaos became a homestead for Wanda, and Pietro himself gained the ability to move at superhuman speed. They eventually adopted titles to pair with their gifts: Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch. Erik took great interest, more so than before, in the two. He saw they were bound for great things.

Wanda had always seemed destined to continue Erik's quest against the Government, if something were to take him out of the field. Coincidentally, he did leave with Wanda's coming of age - along with her brother, Pietro, and many of the mutants involved with Sokovia. They had departed for the United States soon after a seismic separation had occurred between Erik's Shadow Conquerors and Xavier's more pacifist ideas. The two groups were at complete odds, purely over mutant affairs and the position of mutantkind in relation to humanity. Wanda had been interested in staying with her adoptive father and becoming involved in the mutant situation instead of the war with the Government - but she had grown too attached to the former cause. She had grown up with the endless conflicts, and had been involved to a much greater extent than Pietro.

The Maximoff twins had been close physically throughout their upbringing, though it was apparent that as time progressed - the two drifted apart mentally. Pietro was not devoted to the cause that Wanda and her 'father' Erik had taken to heart, and Wanda's growing urge for vengeance against the perpetrators of all the negativity she saw around her only increased. She still loved him, but it was unrequited, a love born out of the shared blood that flowed through their veins. She looked upon a lot of his qualities with disdain, but perhaps with the right counsel he could be prepared for greater purposes. Perhaps, when she had finished crushing the Government, she would seek him out in America.
Wanda had always shuddered when people mentioned the future. Fighting the Government had been her whole life - could she find a similar cause to partake in? Would it have to be for the good of the common man? As she matured into her mutant life, Erik's phrase constantly reoccurred in her mind - 'homo superior'. She knew that he and her brother were fighting over mutantkind on another, unfamiliar, continent. She certainly considered the plight within her possible options. She had decided to leave, after the war was over. Only, she had to survive - both physically and mentally - first.

Powers and Abilities: Chaos Magic Reality Warping - Hex Fields, Telekinesis, Flight, Force Fields. Limited knowledge of general sorcery, formidable tactician, adept at close combat.

Sample Story Arcs:
Fate of Sokovia - Focusing on the climax of the Sokovian Government's war with the Shadow Conquerors, and Doctor Doom's pivotal involvement.
Mutant Discord - Focusing on Wanda's movement to the United States, her reunification with Pietro and her position in mutant affairs.
Chaos Uninhibited - Focusing on Wanda's mental state and her progressive succumbing to the power of Chaos.

Sample Post: She hovered above them all, watching with a ravenous intent as her pawns made a decisive move against the enemy. She had pondered about the rather erratic strike she had ordered, though only briefly. The secret war had been going on for years now, and its conflicts were pitiful and sparse. Then the enemy had suddenly introduced a third party.

"Latveria." She hissed, to none but herself. A cacophony of cultivated fields were split roughly by the border - a large and imposing stretch of stone and steel, manned and defended by the Latverian monarch's soldiers. She had never seen the monarch himself, though the name 'Doom' had been a topic of conversation throughout her entire life, and the rumours were often unbelievable and terrifying. She was greatly interested by the man - if he was even mortal - and the drastic move by the enemy to target his state had made her chuckle with excitement. She knew it would not be long until this 'Doom' was before her.
The strange defenders of the border were unlike anything she'd expected. They were all identical, large and stationary - like gargoyles defending a medieval keep. Penetrating colours of green and silver shone with the moon's glare as her pawns approached.
If they had the audacity to steal under the guise of me, then what else is there for me to do but raise the stakes?
She sneered as her gift held her high in the air. It was a picture of twisted beauty if one were to see her up close.
She focused on the menial response of the Latverian soldiers as her Shadows let loose with silenced gunfire. They appeared remarkably stalwart, barely even fazed by the bullets that should have proven fatal. They began to mechanically move towards her pawns. She wasn't particularly unnerved by the strange soldier's formability - if dead bodies were produced in Government uniforms then she didn't care, even if they were disguises. She had worked with one of her Conquerors, a drunkard but efficient strategist named Ivan Jankovic. They had agreed on this course of action shortly before she had sent the man to dispose of the potentially threatening Zebediah Killgrave.
She giggled to the clouds amongst her. She was manoeuvring the pieces of the war chessboard with a meticulous pragmatism. No matter how far her pawns made it into Latveria, the first signs of conflict would still have sufficed. Doom would be alert soon enough, and the monarch's weaponry would let her crush the enemy once and for all after she had twisted his strings into a trade agreement. And if not... well, she had her gift.
For was she not Wanda Maximoff, master of Chaos?

Was she not the Scarlet Witch?

All-Star Marvel: Audax Mundus Novus - Season 1 (Completed)

The darkness was oblivion to Nebulo. It restrained him like nothing else could. He could writhe with fury, with all his strength. It mattered not. The darkness held him, for it chained his shadow to darkness. If he was not visible, then he could not move. In pitch blackness, he could never move. Nebulo screamed silently in one of the rooms of the abandoned tenement. He had stayed too long in the constantly dimming room. Now it was too late. He should have stayed close to one of the others, for they needed light, fire, all counters to darkness. He should have stayed outside where the ubiquitous galaxy's light cast Nebulo far down the paths, making him huge and powerful. Yet, he had made a mistake, and now escape was impossible. Oblivion chained him until the light came.

---

Leonus stalked the decaying, glum back streets of New York City. He hungered more than he usually did, maybe because of the insurmountable influx of new potential prey in the area. He also wanted to escape from the others for a while. Their presence was at best irritating to him. That was one of the main differences between Leonus and his pantherine counterparts - they hunted in packs, Leonus hunted alone. Before Terrigenesis, Leonus had always been a loner - a bookworm, in fact, a boy that nobody wanted anything to do with. No fun. The Inhuman process had changed him, however, had shown him his true form. Whatever he had been before was irrelevant, a testing of the waters before the headlong plunge in. He was a lone wolf... or rather, a lion. Yet he hunted with all the combined might of a horde of beasts.

---

She rested her eyes along with the rest of them. There was a certain camaraderie to sleeping among the flora in which Timberia now shared so many traits. The solemn moonlight cast a pleasant glow among her and her family. It calmed her most effectively, clearing her mind of all interfering thoughts. Shamefully, the bulky Leonus often occupied her mind - filling her with thoughts of lust and desire. She did not even know how a relationship between the two would work, yet that did not stop her from acting erratically when the feline man was around her. She had neglected a friendship with Falcona because of Leonus' bristling hate for her. It was those two who had each vied for control within the group - Falcona with her noble and more diplomatic aims and Leonus with his disdainful aggressiveness against humanity. Timberia had sided with the latter in an attempt to make him appreciate her, but unfortunately his emotions rarely strayed towards friendliness. Despite the obvious impossibility of him returning her lust, she feared she would stay stalking the feral man until it was no longer possible for her to do so.

---

Stallior had taken matters into his own hands. He had left Attilan with a mission, bestowed upon him by Master Triton. The aquatic Inhuman had always lectured the young denizens of the Great Refuge about peace - with humanity, and with themselves. He spoke against Gorgon and Karnak's fondness of conflict. He had told the children of noble and intelligent humans, those that could theoretically understand the civilisation of the Inhumans. Stallior's favoured message from him had always been 'We can look alien to them on the outside, but Terrigenesis is a process that can not breach the souls we share with the humans.' It had of course been said in Triton's guttural and broken speech, but a translator had been on hand to assist. As much as it pained to admit it, however, many Inhumans were anathema to his Master's message. If sould held the personalities and the core of a person, then why does Terrigenesis alter not only appearance, but even personality in some cases? Stallior had known Leonus before the ritualistic tradition. He had known a timid but well-meaning boy, accompanied always by a book or scripture. Now... Terrigenesis had irrevocably breached his soul. Master Triton certainly was wise and the perfect example of a pacifist, but some of his teachings were illusions to soften the knowledge of the hate that humanity would undoubtedly harbour for the Inhumans.

Spiritum Aeternum; or The Ramshackle Monster Hunters

<Snipped quote by Fat Boy Kyle>

That's good to hear. Keep at it daily. I'll be posting an update shortly regarding our schedule.

@The New Yorker

I will make a post following this update.

The Final Histories of Arda: The Contention of Mordor

Apologies for the drastically short opening, though I think I expressed everything I wanted to, and I wanted to limit the amount of time we spent with Aragorn before the long stretch in Mordor.

Also, if you would post your banners at the head of every one of your posts, that would be brilliant. Thanks.

The Final Histories of Arda: The Contention of Mordor

King Elessar Telcontar stood in his imposing chambers, the soft glare of sunset refracting slightly off the glass. The ornate window was the definition of antique, dating back to days when the fabled Valar walked freely and gladly upon Endor - Manwë, Lord of the Breath of Arda. Nienna, Lady of Tears. Oromë, Huntsman of the Valar, and more besides. The sleek glass could have been handled by the first of the Elves, the Sindar of the Teleri, before the Silvan Elves left the Great Journey. The focal point of the window held on three visceral and piercing jewels, that were almost preternatural in their simplicity.
The great King looked upon the detailed jewels with a content longing, thinking of the Númenoreans he directly descended from. He had acquired the opulent craft-work from a sparsely crewed Corsair ship out of Umbar, among various other notable pieces of loot. Elessar's Reunited Kingdom had been looking toward Umbar during their voracious reclaiming of Harondor and the lands stolen from Gondor since the Kin-strife. The valiant veterans of the War of the Ring had not lost pace after Sauron's defeat, nay, in fact they were more determined than ever. The upper hand of Man would not slip as it had after the War of the Last Alliance, allowing Sauron to rise again and come so close to complete devastation. The men occupying Minas Tirith could barely stay behind the walls if an opportunity to crush a dark force arose. They had swarmed southern Ithilien and had set up pseudo camps of war, pushing further every month to the south.
Elessar turned his head away from the roving expanse of Ithilien, focusing instead on the looming Ephel Dúath beyond the Anduin. He silently prayed for the fellowship of men that had departed with the intent of braving Mordor's ever-threatening population of Orcs. Though, there could not have been a more formidable group assembled. Elessar trusted in Vísesinda and his men to strike irrevocable blows against the corrupted Orcs.
Elessar then stared south-east, at the currently unreachable lands of Harad, Khand and Rhûn. He was often plagued with concerns regarding the remaining resistance that dwelt in those lands. Sauron had amassed an insurmountable force, and it lived on in those untouchable lands, and in the chaotic regions of Mordor. He knew there was a lapse in the power of Mordor, and that if enough time was provided - it would be filled. The unknown Easterlings, and the Haradrim, and the Khandish undoubtedly had noticed the succulent opportunity that the Black Lands advertised.
As much as he hated to admit it, the western King had little power over this imminent contention of Mordor. He could only bide his time and gather his strength for what the coming conflict would produce.
Aragorn's grip tightened on the smooth-fashioned wood that comprised his windowsill.
The war for Middle-earth was far from over.

The Final Histories of Arda: The Contention of Mordor

Come to think of it, I do have a question. Am I correct to assume our warbands would also consist of regular rank and file Orcs that do not consume resource points?

@BlackBishop

Indeed. Terminal and I deduced how many Orcs there would be remaining, and divvied them up between Warbands - but I don't think we wrote anything down. I will double check how large the Warband should be on average.