So worried right now. My brother just got admitted to the hospital after swallowing six toy horses. Doctors say he's in stable condtion.
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3 yrs ago
Nice to meet you, Bored. I'm interested!
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3 yrs ago
Ugh. Someone literally stole the wheels off of my car. Gonna have to work tirelessly for justice.
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Bio
Oh gee! An age and a gender and interests and things. Yeah, I have those. Ain't no way I'm about to trigger an existential crisis by typing them all out, though. You can find out what a nerd I am on discord, okay?
@TinyKiwi I loved Mara, but Bango is amazing! Feel free to play whichever you like.
@Bork Lazer Dude. Just...dude. I'm in love with your character. I love his complex, intellectual, prickly nature and wild experimentation. The regional pasttime that you've created is awesome as well. Permission to incorporate it into the lore? Also, accepted, BTW.
@Gittarackur That's a significant improvement. TBH, I'd just be careful to make sure that you strike a balance in your RPing between seeming legitimately unsettled and not acting out to the point where any reasonable academy would expel you. Thierre is provisionally approved pending some demonstration of what a post from your character will actually look like in the RPG. Sorry for all of the hoops that I'm making you jump through, but basically any character above an 8.25 is a spicy proposition and I need to be certain that they're going to be a good faith actor.
@Dark LightDigging the back story and the detailed description of his inventory and magic. Pending a reference picture, Vyrik is very much approved.
Also, in honour of an Eskandishman, I thought I'd post a little bit about the history and culture of Eskand.
A Story of the Founding, Flourishing, and Fall of Eskand
1200 years ago, by the reckoning of learned men, lived the most powerful magic user in the annals of history: the legendary Fradje Ironshaper. We can gather from old texts and modern deduction that he was a prodigiously powerful mooncaster, with an estimated maximum RAS of 9.70. Through force of will and arms, he unified the Eskandish tribes and sacked Avince, the capital of the Avincian Empire, bringing to his people great wealth, renown, and reverence. It is said that he lay with ten thousand women (and some men, though that's strangely absent from more recent retellings) and that fully five percent of the Constantian population today can claim ancestry from him, including much of the nobility. Yet, for all of his gifts, Fradje Ironshaper was but a mortal man and, the moment that he was finally called to the Visitor's table - for not even he could resist that call - there was no other figure who could hope to hold his empire together.
The empire or Avince rebounded, thanks to the efforts of Macian III, and lasted, against all odds, for another 250 years until its final collapse. The Eskandish people retreated south of the Haskell and Zeine Rivers, which today mark the border between Crisia and Perrence. They remained strong, however. They were fierce and feared and, for a time, Eskand itself and the two lesser Eskandish kingdoms of Drudgunze and Holbahnia bullied the North. The Northerners were a disaster: their kingdoms, duchies, and counties small, weak, and feuding, and they could not fight back. Soon, they did not even fight each other. They settled down and produced: works of literature and theology, fine jewellery and garments, delicious and exotic foods and spices that the Eskandish could not hope to derive from their cold and wild lands.
Much to the delight of the their Southern overlords, the Northerners paid their tribute, and they sent delegations with it each time: larger and more richly appointed delegations. These people had names attached to them that weren't their own names, like Somnians, Stresians, Dordians, and Hundrians. They met with Eskandish kings and spoke with them. They showered the kings with gifts. The kings forgot the Gods. They traded Father, Mother, Sister, Brother, and Visitor for Ipte, Shune, Oraff, Eshiran, and Dami. They decreed that their people should do the same. The Drudgunzeans bowed to the will of their kings - not all of them, and not all at once, but they did. In Holbahnia, the people rose, but so did the king's defenders. East and west were torn asunder: two kingdoms forever more. But in Eskand itself, the proud Jarls and Aerchonns put the king's head on a pike for his blasphemy and marched North. The worshippers of the false Gods recanted or burned. It had been many years since an Eskandish horde had marched north, and many things had changed, but there was nothing else that could be done that would satisfy the Gods or, truly, the people.
Only, this time, they were not fighting the soft and decadent men of the North; they crossed swords with fellow Eskandishmen. With difficulty, the great heathen army plowed forward, towards those green lands and their sly people with their silvery tongues and tempting wares. Yet, when they reached the waters of the Zeine, which had once been theirs to come and go from as they pleased, they were met by an army from the Kingdom of Perrence - an army versed in the Gift, armoured by a thousand blacksmiths, and trained by their former countrymen. The Horde collapsed and fled. The oriflamme of the Perrench fluttered, bloodstained, over the battlefield.
The men of Helbahn, broken in numbers, body, and spirit, returned to their homelands and made a humiliating peace with their Holmanian neighbours, if only to preserve a border between the two nations that had not existed more than two generations before. They accepted the new Gods and the new ways, and monks and nuns came to preach in their temples and minister to their people. They replaced the old script with the letters of the Avincians, themselves long disappeared. Proud Eskand refused to surrender, however. they retreated to their keeps and into the harsh, icy winters that had always made their home unassailable during the cold months of what the Northerners referred to as Somnes and Hundri.
In the Stresia, however, ships arrived. They were not warships. They carried tribute, as in the days of old, but the men who delivered this treasure were taller somehow, sterner now. They warned the Eskandishmen not to march North again, not to march north of the Hidsvark, which divided their kingdom from Holmania and Helbahn. This was an insult that they could not bear, for the lands to the Zeine and Haskell had always been theirs. Yet, they needed the money, to rebuild broken ships, weapons, bodies, and trade, so they accepted the terms and took it. Onto their lands they accepted the monks, who came to live among them. The Jarls and Aerchonns thought the king weak and demanded an assembly to decide if he was still worthy to lead.
From this was born the elective monarchy of Eskand, as he was found wanting and replaced. His successor, too, was unsatisfactory to her subjects, and she gave way to yet another. In truth, the lands of Eskand did not go down in a blaze of glory that would please the Old Gods. Those are much mythologized now anyway, and were not nearly so romantically savage as portrayed in later texts. The Drudgunzean nations furthest north, who had reluctantly accepted the Pentad and the Avincian words and customs from the outset, were carved up by differences, wars, and political marriages. There is yet some Eskandish blood there, but less as time goes on, and the tongues that they speak would not be recognized by their forebears. The middle kingdoms of Helbahn and Holmania also turned North, though less so. The former became a land of traders and opportunists, thieves and sailors. The latter, one of greedy burghers and grasping, beady-eyed bankers.
Eskand itself began to splinter, the islands of Hargelich, which had always been only nominally under its control, being the first to break away. The Juiskarnish Isles, perceiving the inertia of the Eskandish court and its backwardness, were next, turning trader and haven for political causes. These events, occurring within the span of a single lifetime, were traumatic to the old order. The Jarls held an assembly and chose a new king. He did not satisfy them. They held another, and this man died within months by the blade of a Black Rezandian. The assembly was in crisis. The two sides - one from northern Eskand and one from the south - remained at loggerheads, driven, perhaps, by a last spasm of that legendary stubbornness of their people. Nobody, however, listened to the West - nobody except the Holmanians to the north, with whom they shared a dialect and did a brisk trade. So in that year of Ahn-Eshiran-41, the kingdom of Eskand broke three ways. The Loh Eskandish had their king, as did the Ath Eskandish. The Barthic people split. Nobody expected it to last. There would be a civil war, of course, likely in the year cohort of Eshiran-Zept, for war was that God's blessing, and there would emerge a victor and a vanquished.
Yet, the war was barely a skirmish. The two Eskands focused on each other. The Barthics fortified their new borders and turned Northwards. The row became a schism. The schism a chasm, and no force of man or divinity has been able to heal Eskand ever since. Today, it is a shadow of the kingdom it once was. The Old Gods live on only in folklore and increasingly fanciful retellings of the past. Northern priests, merchants, and nobles take Eskandish wives and marry into or buy Eskandish land. The youth of the Noble and Merchant classes dress in the fashions of last year's Perrench and Revidian courts and speak and write Avincian. The great armies of Perrence have long since moved on from their borders to the south and reoriented themselves towards Revidia - on the old lands of Avince. The northerners and their great armies fight with rifles, cannon, and galleons amongst themselves now. Eskand fights within itself. Some say it fights for its soul - its reason for existing.
That is the story of the fallen kingdom of Eskand.
A Land and People Profiled: Eskand
(1/5 in the series)
Eskand is rich in resources: fish, timber, coal, iron, and gold. The waters are cold and clean and a great many whales and birds migrate there during the warm months of Stresia, Dorrad, and Rezain. There are fiery mountains along the spine of the Eskandish peninsula, and hot springs for people to bathe in. There is oil and uranium in the ground as well, as yet untapped until human industry is ready for it.
The people are hardy, stubborn, and not a bit resentful of northerners. They live on an ancient cycle, growing hardy crops in the thin soil and fishing by the coast. Many still hunt to supplement their winter food supply. They have a natural warmth and curiosity about them, but only if you get to know them and they sense that they can trust you. Once, they were travelers and explorers, but that has mostly changed in their culture. They can be religious and superstitious, often mixing Quentic belief with pagan practice. They treat the act of gift-giving with the utmost respect and solemnity and are believers in reciprocity and the sharing of resources between people. To a degree, they follow the creed of "from each according to his ability to each according to his need," but this is not absolute. If one is consistently found to be derelict in his or her duties, especially through lack or effort, that person is declared Aerdgangir and ostracized by the community. Despite common depictions of them as backwards, simple, and unwashed barbarians, Eskandishmen hold personal hygiene in the highest regard, bathing at least once per week, and taking pride in the grooming of their hair and beards. For women, it is considered a right to receive three days' rest - except for essential duties- when menstruating. Clothing is mostly designed for warmth and comfort and wool is the most common material due to the great herds of sheep raised in the northern part of the country. In the far south, seal leather is more common, and is traded with the north for wool.
Most Eskandish housing is built into the landscape itself, and either takes advantage of natural windbreaks like fjords or hunkers close together in shapes designed to deflect the harsh gusts. Fortified towns and villages are common, with wooden palisades backed by earthen ramparts. The most common materials are sod and stone, supplemented by wood, increasingly the further north one goes. Bronze, bone, and gold are used in decoration, and the second sometimes in aspects of construction. Most houses are also built around a central hearth and with a stone chimney.
Most cities in this country are small, with the exception of Hegelo, Vigholm, and the capital: Meldheim. All are located on the coast, for the bounty of the sea is needed to sustain larger populations. In these cities, great wealth and sophistication exists alongside squalor and crime. They are dangerous places at night and yet more prosperous than the oft-backward countryside. Though the Eskandish tongue dominates, one can increasingly hear languages from as far afield as Virang, Belzagg, and even distant Rettan.
@Theyra Approved. I think Karim is a nice mix of lowkey and still interesting, with hopes, fears, and motivations that make sense. You've done a great job with the lore too. I'm looking forward to RPing with you! OOC will be up probably tomorrow.
@Gittarackur There are some things in there that I like, particularly the background for his insanity. It feels quite genuine. His style of magic is also something that's cool and thematic and has a nice, distinct style. For what it's worth, every group needs its resident troubled/disturbed guy or misunderstood jackass. However, 9.1 is absolutely nuts as a RAS score and kind of puts him in a position to just run rampant over the group. Normally, anything above an 8 is considered prodigious, so I'm going to ask you to lower that to something a bit more reasonable. He can still be a prodigy, but he doesn't need to be a world-breaking psychopath. In the future, if the character is going in an interesting and worthwhile direction, there are ways in which he can gain power. I'm all for that. Also, just in terms of characterization and being period appropriate, I don't need a ton of 'haths' and 'doths' and all that jazz, but his opening quote/motto just really doesn't have the right feel for this RPG as it stands. Let's try to make all aspects of him make sense within this lore and not just some, alright? How about you keep the good stuff and work on those issues and get back to me in a bit. Sound good?
A born-explorer, Ilannaq takes after her adventurous father more than her bookworm mother, although she does inherit her intelligence. The half-Eskandish half-Rettanese girl embodies the spirit of ancient Eskandish adventurers, one who embraces dynamic change over the boring stagnancy of the status quo. She has little issues in learning new information and adapting to progress, be they mundane or magical. In fact, she easily gets bored if her studies are restricted, especially if it's due to some silly notion such as tradition, "Oh it's forbidden because some wrinkled old fart says it's dangerous... boo hoo", what a bunch of horseshit. Which brings us to the other side of her personality, her boundless curiosity and strong ambitions combined with a lack of life experience make for one reckless young mage with a rebellious streak. Much like a cat, telling Ilannaq that she musn't do something - especially if it's by an older figure - will just make her want to do said thing more.
A candle burning bright, but as the saying goes, the candle that burns twice as bright will burn half as long.
C H A R A C T E R A P P E A R A N C E
Full Body
Standing at 155cm (5'1") tall, the adolescent girl is around average height for someone of her age and her penchant for arduous explorations keeps her body athletically slim. Born to an Eskandish father and North Rettanese mother - both people of the subarctic climates - leads to her possessing extremely light hair to the point of being silver-white and the fairest skin complexion that a healthy human can naturally have. She may justifiably be mistaken for an albino, but two things set her apart from true albinos: one, her skin - while very pale - still possesses a level of creamy hue that albinos don't, and two, her deep blue eyes that signify the presence of melanin in her irises whereas real albinos will have reddish or pinkish eyes due to their ocular blood vessels giving color in lieu of their transparent irises.
Anna usually clads herself in garments that are quite functional and show her status as a middle-class individual. Her favorite outfit is a set of white blouse, brown vest, and knee-length magenta skirt, and when outdoors, she dons her dark brown magus robe and hat. The latter two are enchanted with moderate protection against wear, tear, and heat in particular due to the fiery nature of her magic.
L A N G U A G E S
Due to her heritage, Anna is fluent in three distinct languages; Eskandish from her father's side, Rettanese from her mother's side, and Avincian from both.
T H E G I F T & B A C K G R O U N D
Ilannaq's introduction into the world of magic is rather... unusual to say the least. Unlike most mages, she wasn't actually born with a high RAS potential. Sure, when considering the whole population of the world, she's among the lucky 6% to be able to perform parlor tricks, something she found out during one of her father & daughter travels in which she made a candle's fire swayed like a snake charmer to his cobra, much to the amusement of other sailors on the ship. In that moment, it seemed like Anna's path in life would be a merchant and explorer, just like her father, little did the young girl know that fate would take her elsewhere.
One day, the young girl was happily diving into the sea in search of underwater trinkets to collect; corals, clams, and the like, then she noticed something highly unusual at the corner of her eyes. Upon turning her gaze there, she saw what could only be described as a pitch-black coral. As big as she's tall, the object stood like a sore thumb as unlike its vibrantly colorful fellows, this particular coral seemed to reject light itself, being a void of coral-shaped darkness. It was ominous, exuding an aura of eldritch fear as even fishes steered clear of the thing.
However, being a curious young girl with perhaps too much courage for her own good, Anna approached the thing... and touched it. At that very moment, the shadow coral seemed to vanish into her hand, seeping like gas infusing itself into her body. She panicked for a split second, but the primal fear of drowning settled her mind as she surfaced into land first before trying to analyze just what in the name of the Pentad just transpired. She couldn't make sense on what happened and decided to keep the incident to herself since it was so strange, she assumed no one would believe her anyway.
That very same night, Anna dreamt of being visited a... man? Well, he vaguely looked like a man... except made out of shadows, just like that coral. The umbral figure drew close to her, gently whisked locks of her white hair, and lovingly caressed her neck, tingling her, then he put his mouth right beside her ear, whispering sweet nothings into her before he locked their lips together. She whimpered as pleasurable tingles caressed her adolescent body, not yet an adult but had already experienced puberty, then they laid, just like a husband and wife would.
The following morning, Anna woke up all sweaty and bothered, but most importantly, she felt a heat in her very soul, practically begging to be released. She surrendered to her instincts and unleashed a jet of flame from her hands, casting an Arcane spell before she even knew what an Arcane school of magic even is. She was dumbfounded... then followed by a jolt as her mattress caught on fire.
It was an incredibly unusual dream and furthermore, though most of them are incredibly difficult to recollect, Anna still vividly remembers that specific dream to this very day. It must be a sign from the gods, from Eshiran-Zept specifically. The Bringer of War had blessed her, empowered her, and it's her duty to seek more of his blessings. That day marked Anna's new path in life as she started seriously pursuing magic as a career. Her parents are of course proud of her, that their only daughter had The Gift even though both of them are just ordinary folk. They showed their support by hiring a personal tutor for her.
It was through the tutor that Anna learned that she possessed a 'Redblood' primary mana type coupled with a 'Fireblood' secondary, making her naturally talented at offensive magic that revolves around fire and heat. Well, that certainly explains everything. She found out that she has a knack for the Arcane and Chemical schools of magic. All of these discoveries reinforce her belief that she was indeed empowered by Eshiran-Zept, after all, isn't that what the clergy say? "Eshiran empower you." Although she keeps her divine encounters with the The Destroyer a secret from everyone, believing it'd sully the god's blessing through arrogance.
Over the next few years, Anna's knowledge and competence over her two chosen schools grew, and while not an outright genius prodigy, she's quite intelligent, enough to make her reliably progress in her studies without major setbacks. Furthermore, she regularly explored the world under the guise of field studying, and while not a complete lie - she really was field studying - she had an ulterior motive of searching for more of "Eshiran's Blessings". She felt them calling to her and it's only her god-given duty to fulfill her pilgrimage.
As it turned out, she did find more of those umbral objects, they took many forms, often mimicking mundane objects and people aside from their pitch-black texture. Each time she touched them, they vanished inside her and then she'd get another vivid dream with Eshiran-Zept. What always came next was an increase in her RAS value, something that befuddled her tutor as he believed that it was unheard of for a Redblood to have a rapidly growing RAS. Of course, Anna knew why, but she didn't need to tell her mentor that.
In fact, it was this perceived rare talent that pushed the tutor recommend Anna for enrollment at Ersand'Enise because someone of such talent shouldn't have anything else than the best magical academy in the world. Safe to say, Anna managed to nab herself a spot amongst the student body.
Indeed Ersand'Enise is undoubtedly the finest academy for aspiring mages, but Anna also found it an oppressive establishment that clings to useless traditions and hinders progress by placing unnecessary restrictions on learning, who are they to stand in the way of progress?
Heh, no matter, by her own hands under the guidance of Eshiran the Destroyer, she'll destroy the status quo and usher a new age of unchained knowledge, of boundless horizons!
M O T I V A T I O N
Ilannaq firmly stands on the side of progress and views tradition as nothing but ill-fated attempts by the old to maintain their status quo. She believes that the so-called 'aberrations' that she met are actually Eshiran's physical manifestation and that she has been chosen - empowered - by the God of Destruction to bring about change by dismantling the old so the new may prosper. She has been given a divine purpose in life and by the Pentad, she's going to fulfill them.
Her greatest fear is being chained, confined with nowhere to grow. She abhors following rules that she herself doesn't agree with and stuffy ceremonies and rituals are nothing but suffocating. Due to said belief of being 'chosen', she thinks quite highly of herself and thus hates being belittled.
I N V E N T O R Y
Most notably from her personal possessions are two arcane foci, a magus' tools of the trade. The first takes the form of a broom, except it's actually a staff and the 'broom' end contains pockets of phosphorus powder in which she can ignite to provide both heat and rapid chemical reactions for her to draw from and eventually cast her spell through it. The second one is a wand, but with a thicker grip than average, it's functionally similar to her staff in that it contains powdered phosphorus for her to use as a Drawing and Casting aid.
Aside from these items, she loves to collect various trinkets and souvenirs from her travels and those sent to her by her parents. She keeps a journal to record personal notes and sketch things she saw. She isn't the type to flaunt wealth much so she rarely carries a lot of money on her person, just enough for her to get by while she stores the rest at Ersand'Enise's local bank.
S T R E N G T H S & S K I L L S
❖ Well-traveled and street-smart. ❖ Self-assured and courageous, resulting in a strong mental composure. It'll take a lot to genuinely scare her. ❖ Diligent and ambitious, rarely slacks off from her studies. ❖ Proactive contributor and confident decision-maker, any group she's in will not be burdened by stagnancy. ❖ Great swimmer.
W E A K N E S S E S & F L A W S
❖ Casting Addiction: One of the side-effects of her seeking out "Eshiran's Blessings" is her mind developing a peculiar urge to cast spells, destructively offensive spells to be exact. She derives pleasure from flexing her arcane muscles and the bigger the spell, the more pleasurable it is for her, not unlike a drug addict. If she doesn't get to do this, she'll fall into withdrawal with symptoms ranging from restless fidgets to an overwhelming, uncontrollable compulsion to cast a fireball or two, right then and there regardless of the consequences. ❖ Lack of respect toward authority figures, deserved or not. ❖ Deluded sense of superiority. ❖ Poor repertoire of defensive spells. ❖ Weak against the cold.
M I S C E L L A N E O U S
❖ Her faceclaim is Elaina from Majo no Tabitabi. ❖ Her character's concept draws inspiration from Megumin (Konosuba), Illidan Stormrage (Warcraft III), and Enrico Pucci (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure). ❖ Color Code: e783a4
Approved! I love how well you've integrated the lore! I'm looking very forward to RPing with Anna.
You will never freeze in Ersand'Enise. In fact, I've found you're unlikely to sneeze. You might even think that it's not a big deal, but if you were Eskandish, you would know how I feel.
Marlynn is the oldest daughter of an Eskandish viscount and has a twin brother, Owain, who she's older than by half an hour. He never hears the end of this. In general, Marlynn is much for clever quips and quick comebacks. She plays the cultured young lady quite convincingly and is well-heeled enough to understand her duties and ultimately, with some grumbling to confidantes, abide by them. She's a bit of a wild child deep down, though: not quite a tomboy, but treads right on the edge of that. She has a soft spot for animals and spends as much time out in the forest or putting her horses through exercises as is socially appropriate. Then, she returns to her studies with perhaps less diligence than she should. She's the kind of person who tends to fall right in the middle of the pack academically. She isn't dumb; she just can't be bothered to jump through all of those hoops with any real enthusiasm. She saves that for the physical and social sides of things.
Though she's a quick talker, good liar, and a bit of a charmer, Marlynn isn't much for gossip and even less for people who talk down to her. Being a low-middling noble is not always easy. Those below you look up jealously and seek to challenge your authority and those above you are the most snobbish sorts who enjoy looking down on you. The world is annoyingly complex and, though Marlynn usually feels as if she's up to the challenge of it, it's oh-so tiring at times and she'd rather things just be simple. Her facade of demure noble feminine virtue is less-than-perfect in these moments and she has the reputation of being a serial eye-roller. She once told her brother, only half-jokingly, "I'm over it, you know? All the being a show pony and smiling and curtsying and talking to people who don't really wanna be talking to me either. Just like... let me find a decent husband who isn't twenty years my senior or smells like turnips and sweat. Set me up with a nice little keep somewhere not-awful. I'll pop out a few kids, get deep into my cups with the other local ladies, yell at my servants a bit, and then just get to do the things I wanna. That'd be nice. That's a happily ever after, right?"
C H A R A C T E R A P P E A R A N C E
Simply put, Marlynn is very pretty and, in her less insecure moments, she knows it. She's tall and slim, with bright blue eyes, long auburn hair, and a light dusting of freckles across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. There's usually a twinkle of something mischievous in her expression, and you sometimes wonder what must be so funny in her head. Spoiler: it usually isn't what you think.
When she doesn't have to be presentable for others, Marlynn dresses for comfort: a simple tunic and loose, light ankle-length skirt in earthy tones. The ensemble is completed with a cloak and riding hood held together with a simple bronze clasp, some sturdy boots, and a belt with pouches. Her hair is usually pulled back in a loose braid or double ponytails. Of course, Marlynn all dressed up aims to impress. While she isn't much for frilly dresses and prefers clothing that leaves her unencumbered, she'll happily wear ostentatious jewellery. She likes bold and striking patterns, particularly in her house's colours of sapphire blue, gold, and white.
L A N G U A G E S
Marlynn finds sitting with a tutor and learning languages to be just about the most tedious thing in the world. She's fluent in her native Eskandish, of course, and passable in Avincian. She's also picked up a few Revidian and Perrench words and phrases from her regular visits to the port of Pesperlich on family business. That's about it. Secretly, she feels a bit intimidated by the northern nobles with their flawless Avincian and self-conscious about her accent and less-than-perfect way with the language since she's used to being quite clever with words in her native tongue.
T H E G I F T
Marlynn is above average but not exceptional in terms of The Gift, kind of like she is with most things. She prefers drawing from kinetic and arcane sources and favours two styles of magic: the practical things that'll help her look after her horses, make her life easier in small ways, and allow her to augment her performances, as well as illusion magic. She shares a tutor with her brother and, for reasons unknown to either of them, finds it the most amusing thing in the world to just appear in places or pop out of nowhere and scare the living daylights out of people. It's not as if she has any ambition to do sinister things. Being able to alter what people see and turn literally freakin' invisible is just cool, she supposes. As long as Marlynn stands still in a place where the light isn't changing too much, she can actually already go invisible. How awesome is that!? For what it's worth, she isn't bad with Magnetic casting either, because lightning is cool too.
B A C K G R O U N D
Marlynn sometimes feels as if she's not even the main character in her own life. Her upbringing has been, for the most part, utterly unremarkable. Her father is a typical lower-middling noble (a viscount) who looks after his lands, holds court twice per week with the commons and representatives from Pesperlich Town's guilds, and has various little projects going. He complains at not being high-ranking enough to be invited to the college of electors, and tries to petition a friendly great house every once in awhile to bump Pesperlich up to full County status. He funds port improvements when he's had a good harvest and tightens the purse strings when he hasn't. He goes hunting and riding with some of his knights and men-at-arms and, in a non-traditional move, sometimes brings not only Owain, but Marlynn along too. She's quite good with a snaphaunce, able to take a rabbit reliably from 100 yards, though she secretly thinks that bunnies are kinda cute.
Of course, the viscount makes up for that bit of a break from the expected by maintaining a regular search for suitable suitors for his daughter. He hopes to have her marry up as part of his long-term project to get into the college of electors (spoiler: the poor guy has no chance). To serve this ambition, Marlynn spends a considerable amount of time on her needlework, sitting and chatting with her ladies-in-waiting and the neighbouring baron's daughter, Tannifer. She's also expected to maintain musical interests and it's here that she actually has some passion. While, secretly, she prefers tunes more like the bawdy ones that she heard when her party stopped by a tavern in Pesperlich Town one evening a couple of years ago, the viscount had a harpsichord imported at great cost from Perrence for her to play. Marlynn is indeed passable on the 'Scalloped Beast' as she calls it, but she much prefers the lute and making up clever little rhymes to go with her original compositions. While she doesn't stand out as a player, her lyrics are considered quite amusing by most, and she has quite the performer's flair.
In terms of important formative experiences, Marlynn's had few that stand out. There was a pilgrimage to the Verdant Throne when she was eight years old, where she began climbing the tree before being fished out with one of the fruits already in her mouth (she actually lost a baby tooth while biting into it). She also traveled to Ersand'Enise when she was twelve and it was apparent that she and her brother were fairly strong in The Gift. Marlynn decided that she wanted to go there. It sounded ever so much more exciting than her everyday life in Pesperlich: repeating Avincian phrases and practicing calligraphy with her tutors, gossiping with Tannifer, needle and thread in hand, or slamming away at a harpsichord for hours to sheet music brought over from Revidia. In light of this, perhaps it's not surprising that being accepted to Ersand'Enise means a helluva lot to Marlynn Vance. She doesn't come from a bad place. In fact, her life is quite privileged and she knows it. She doesn't have a pain or trauma-filled past, and she's never really even been particularly unique or special. What this place is, though, is agency. She wants some of that, deep down, more than anything else.
M O T I V A T I O N
Um... I may have actually answered this under 'Background'. Oops? Basically, Marlynn's a bored, smart, slightly underachieving creative type who prefers to either be the centre of attention or to be left to her own devices, with little in between. At the end of the day, she wants some agency and control over her life and to be able to chart her own course towards a 'happily ever after' with, perhaps, a not so small dose of fun and adventure along the way. To her, Ersand'Enise represents her first step on that path, and she's both nervous and excited.
I N V E N T O R Y
Marlynn regularly carries a small notebook to write down her wittier ideas and was gifted a big, pretty, gold-winged staff as a going away present. She twirls it when she's bored and uses it to help her cast. She also has quite a bit of jewellery, two nice gold chains, and multiple pairs of shoes and boots. She has a satchel full of focus words for illusory spells that she's trying to master and dozens of pages of sheet music. There is a fine lute and a less-fine lute leaning against her night table or slung over her shoulder at times and her wardrobe is packed full of dresses organized from 'really fancy' to 'plain Jane'. She'd kind of like to train and keep a bird since there are so many here and it's kind of a tradition. She finds magpies rather adorable little pests. Perhaps she'll add an animal familiar at some point.
S T R E N G T H S & S K I L L S
❖ quick-witted ❖ great horseback rider and good with animals ❖ musically talented ❖ kind of has some feminine wiles, actually ❖ very good with illusions
Marlynn's just honestly pretty good at being a competent young noble girl, likeable, and morally somewhat decent despite herself. She's often been only half-jokingly described as 'a little bit above average in everything'. In particular, though, she's good with illusion, animals, and music, and usually pretty socially put together.
W E A K N E S S E S & F L A W S
❖ kind of spoiled, to be honest ❖ not as worldly as she thinks she is ❖ not the most diligent student ❖ has a need to be seen as interesting and fun - can be approval-seeking ❖ pretends to be cynical but honestly just kind of a dreamer who's become a bit afraid to dream
Marlynn can be a bit of a suck. If she's not good at something or doesn't enjoy it, she doesn't really try. She also tends to seek external validation and likes to be a bit of a performer, but only on her own terms. In a practical sense, she sometimes overestimates her own competence and can embarrass herself or get into hot water. Her most common response is to react with stubborn pride, hold it together because Eskandishwomen don't cry, and then go home and ball her eyes out while having a near-anxiety attack. Finally, while she's not a snob, she's still more or less a typical young noble with much of what that entails.
M I S C E L L A N E O U S
Marlynn will simp for pretty boys. She'll never admit as much and act indignant if you accuse her of it but, deep down, she's a typical thirsty teenager.
To be remembered is to live on in death, very few deserve the cruel fate of being forgotten. Anybody short of a traitor should be remembered. I will make sure you and yours will not suffer that fate.
Oh so very used to silently watching and listening until called upon, Mara is a quiet creature, content to observe the antics of others rather than involve herself directly unless asked. Being raised from childhood as a slave by a practical man who saw the use in a Yasoi Bloodchild, Mara has developed a sort of protective nature of those who keep her around. She is unsurprisingly easy to manipulate in many ways, and naive in just as many. However one must realize that while she is used to being ordered by others and has a strong respect for authority figures, her loyalty always lies with those she considers to hold her leash. Old habits die hard, and though she has recently attained her freedom she finds it hard to act on her own. Not all of her Yasoi nature is lost to her however, as she still retains a very basic grasp of the language as well as the natural curiosity and habit of collecting what can sometimes be strange items that people often attribute to Yasoi.
Overall, Mara is a young lady who finds it difficult to act alone, consistently looking to others for support. When she finds those people however, she is difficult to pull away from them due to her dependent nature and protective attitude. The world is a very big place, and Mara already doesn't know what to do with it.
C H A R A C T E R A P P E A R A N C E
Tall and lithe with exceptionally pale skin, her hair is strange shade of silvery grey and is often tied back into a loose ponytail. Her stare is piercing, seeming to look straight through anybody she happens to be looking at, however her gaze rarely meets that of anybody else's, preferring instead to avoid eye contact unless spoken to directly. Her wardrobe is unsurprisingly sparse, containing few exceptional garmants of her own choice save a patchy fur lined leather cloak, it's insides stitched with with what seems to be hundreds of names. The sheer number of needle-holes implying at one point there were even more, but they had since been removed. The garmant is obviously old, and once of extremely fine make, but time has taken it's toll and some sections seem to be more patch than cloak. It's patchwork nature however, helps hide the myriad of small pockets hidden along the inside of the cloak, making it exceptionally easy to secret away small objects.
Being Yasoi gave her a natural gift for magic, and being bloodchild and blueblood only further aided this. She has a dedication to Binding magic, and is rather skilled in it due to her near singular devotion to the art. Few could ignore her presence as she found her freedom, and her presence at the school was due to a single simple fact. It is far easier to keep an eye on a Yasoi Binder within the walls of such an institution than it is when they wander around aimlessly. Her protective nature often places her near the front lines alongside her allies, using more defensive magic to bear the brunt of a force that may otherwise fell her allies. When arriving at the school and notified of the dangerous destructive capabilities of misused binding magic, Mara was not surprised... but was gladdened to hear that she could be taught to draw on her magic in less harmful ways.
B A C K G R O U N D
Born to a Yasoi noble family, Mara was a very sickly child, taking after her mother who passed soon after giving birth. Her father, wracked with grief and terrified of the possibility of losing his only tie to his beloved wife left on this world, spared no expense in the search of a binder or blood mage that could keep her alive. This resulted in Mara becoming a Bloodchild, unsurprisingly. In the short year that followed her recovery, Mara's noble house seemed to disappear nearly overnight, and she was left captured in human lands and eventually enslaved for many years, where she was raised by a practical slave lord who saw the use in a Yasoi Binder.
She proved this usefulness, and despite her poor education, proved a good showpiece and defensive tool far greater than any single hired guard could provide him. Thing do not always last though, and those who take to selling people are not often the most honorable of people. Her owner was eventually killed, and in the chaos that was the attack, she found that with his death there was no reason she was bound to him any longer. He was kind to her however, and his mark and name would remain with her from then on.
Her life before introduction of the school did not last long, but consisted of her search for more of her people, or those who could teach her more about her magic. As expected, it did not take long and now Mara finds herself at the edge of a new world. With so many choices and possibilies, the girl's head spins as she tries to search for something to anchor herself against the tide of new experiences.
M O T I V A T I O N
Answers motivate her beyond most anything else. While she searches for those who would direct her, and those whose judgement she can trust, her true motivation lay almost entirely in her desire to hone her magic, and search for answers about herself and her people. Old memories poke and prod, whispers about her and her people reach her ears, but so little of it makes sense... but it will make sense, in time, else she will force the sense out of this world. She is patient though, she has waited this long to learn, she can wait longer. It cannot be forgotten, for she will not allow it.
I N V E N T O R Y
What sort of personal items, tools, cash, jewellery, or weapons (!) does your character usually carry, and what might we find stashed in his home or dormitory? These should ideally be age, region, and social-class appropriate, have some sort of use, and tell us something about him.
While some are self explanatory, Mara has always had an exceptional memory, and her experiences in life have given her the habit of moving while making little noise, and taking full advantage of her senses. She is rarely surprised by events around her and even more rarely snuck up on.
Anything not covered above goes here. You can leave this blank if you like.
Tthanks for making this so quickly. Mara is approved! Just make sure that you fill out the inventory section if there's anything noteworthy that goes there. If not, maybe we can assume that there isn't?
On another note, I think there's enough interest between here and discord that I'm going to drop an official OOC in a couple of days. Stay tuned!
@Force and Fury So what category of magic would implore the use of manipulating not just the flesh nor the bone but what of the soul? I would assume such a thing would be extremely difficult as it seems most magic would be easy if it has an existing physical component to use. It would be dangerous to try to puppeteer a soul and use it in something like animating a corpse.
Ah, so one of the things that I've done is purposely left it ambiguous as to just how real the religious and spiritual aspects of the world are. Do people have souls? Could a skilled enough chemical mage actually just recreate a person's brain chemistry from when they were alive? Could a binding mage rebuild their flesh and would that be enough? Could a temporal mage temporally pause them or de-age them to immediately after death to prevent decay? Would it do the job? I'm not sure, and that's where you have some room to dabble and play.
@Force and Fury I'll need to take a Scrooge McDuck level dive into the lore, but consider me quite interested. I don't use Discord though, hope that's okay.
Also I want to toy with the idea of a student who uses the dark magic (ie: necromancy) however not in the goth edgelord way. More in the way of someone who is both scientifically and spiritualy interested in the way that the dark magic works. So like a person going down the beginning of a dark path into forbidden knowledge.
TL;DR A students slippery slope to the dark side.
In theory, that sounds interesting and I'd love to see that kind of storyline done well (also digging the Scrooge McDuck reference). I can certainly make space for that within the RPG. I'm going to post some further details on how some of the magics work under the 'Advanced Lore: The Gift' section in a little bit, so hopefully that should clear things up in terms of how 'darker' forms of magic would work in this world and give you a strong starting point. TL;DR, there is a forbidden school of magic literally called 'dark' but it isn't what most people would think it is. There are definitely magics that one might consider 'dark', though: particularly blood and binding, some forms of chemical, and temporal. Happy reading and feel free to ask questions if you have any!
@POOHEAD189 Fingers crossed that things clear up. We'd love to have you. The goal here is to really launch a long-term persistent world with a lot of stories to tell over time.
@Moon Man Sick indeed (but not that kinda 'sick' right now what with the omicron and all). Glad to have you aboard.
@Saiten Algard You're gonna need a lot of time, friend. I'm rooting for you. In the meantime, feel free to join the discord. Believe it or not, that massive infodump actually does not cover everything.
@Izurich Happy to have you aboard. Godspeed, brave one!
Oh gee! An age and a gender and interests and things. Yeah, I have those. Ain't no way I'm about to trigger an existential crisis by typing them all out, though. You can find out what a nerd I am on discord, okay?
Stay awesome, people.
<div style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Oh gee! An age and a gender and interests and things. Yeah, I have those. Ain't no way I'm about to trigger an existential crisis by typing them all out, though. You can find out what a nerd I am on discord, okay?<br><br>Stay awesome, people.</div>