Force and Fury

The Hourglass Order

Just a quick update on the above vote: thanks to player and general forum input, the winning spinoff idea was Oriflamme. the interest check will be going up sometime later tonight or tomorrow. Vive la Perrence!

The Hourglass Order

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J O C A S T A R E

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Plenty of decapitations here, Jocasta mused to herself. How macabre. She wasn't particularly surprised that these were all little killers despite their subtle and not so subtle assertions to the contrary. After all, what was she?

I am what the Refuge made me, she knew, and the things I have become since, but there was nothing before: only vague memories of hide and seek, climbing pistachio trees, and frolicking on a rocky beach with friends whose faces she could not remember. For that wound, the Chemical Mage who had taken those memories paid with his life. It was but a trick of internal chemical and magnetic magic: overstimulate the heart and provoke a heart attack. He noticed her tampering, but it was too late. He couldn't fight it off by then. He couldn't even form words. So it was that Jocasta sat there while the others battled, her face telling the story of a near-panicked girl sweeping the distance for energies, while she ripped the life out of an evil man. It was revenge a decade in the making and yet it did not satisfy the girl. She worked to keep a scowl from her face. You still lived past fifty, she knew. I didn't get to watch it, she thought. You didn't know it was me. She consoled herself with the notion that at least he would not erase everything that made up any other little children like he had erased her or whoever she had been before.

Next, Jocasta knew, she would have to set upon Mirabel, the Tan-Zeno, for she was strong in The Gift and would escape once she recognized this for the attack that it was. Already, the girl could feel the energy of three bodies scrambling. She could feel Mirabel's brain pumping out cortisol and adrenaline. You're next, you bitch. She had already decided to save Gutierrez for last. The more that he suffered, the better. Al-Qorrah was unfortunate to be there, but there was nobody innocent who ran a Tethered Refuge.

"Could you warm this for me, please?" Jocasta snapped out of her bloodlust just as Mirabel may have felt the first pinch. She'd wasted time being unusually subtle. Six Halassa were dead. Bitch and Creep were not, sadly: the former to go on being as presumptuous as ever, the latter as arrogant. The sour look that some part of Jocasta demanded did not show on her face. She would finish her work later, even if all five of these others stood against her. As for Esparza, it would appear to all but the most trained that the anxious old man had simply suffered a heart attack. Besides, out here in the desert, with aberration-mad beasts running amok, the other caretakers would not continue their mission while carrying the body. They would return to the Refuge and she would see them there. A wave of... something cold and uneasy washed through Jocasta. She could not picture, in her mind's eye, being back there. Secretly, she wished for Triste, or even Benedetto. His constant slings and barbs would keep her mind busy.

Jocasta put hands to wheels, resisting the near-instinct to let herself float. At least the ground beneath her was rocky and she started to move. Then she found more of that Gods-awful drink shoved in her face. What was with Bitch and consuming the stuff? Fuck it, Jocasta relented, time to kill her with kindness. "Oh Zamira," she chirped, "r-really, you're too kind! How can I refuse?" With a quick bit of chemical manipulation, she muted the signals from her taste buds to her brain and took a hearty sip. She let it linger in her mouth for a moment, checking for poisons and psychotropic effects. Satisfied that the drink was no threat, she swallowed. "Ahhh, I know I shouldn't be... be drinking this," she sighed, "because it excites my temperament ever so... so much, but that really hits the spot." She smiled warmly. "I can already feel the energy flowing back into me. Tha-Thank you." At that, compliments towards the vile drink abounded, and they all got down to the work of filling themselves with it.

"So. The settlement,” Zarina remarked after a blessed few seconds of not having to hear her voice. "We’ve agreed to talk to them first, yeah? Then let’s get moving before they’re all turtle shit.”

They're already far worse than that, you self-important imbecile. As if to reinforce Jocasta's impression, the Virangishwoman yawned and stretched. "... It’s that way, right?” She pointed in a direction that was... just wrong enough that Jocasta was tempted to let her walk off in it.

"Uh... uh, yes!" the Tethered girl replied after a moment. "Th-this way!" She pointed in a slightly different direction. "I'm... I'm sure Yalen senses it too. We've, uh, quite the range. Perhaps he'd be a b-better choice to um... lead the way," she squeaked. "Th-that is, if you're alright with it, of course!" With a start, she turned to the priest. "Dami forgive me, I'm so t-terribly sorry for just assuming."

Yalen merely pointed at himself in response with a look of puzzlement. "Me? Er, yes, of course. I'd be happy to." He closed his eyes for a moment. "Someone must have felt the portal open. I can sense them out there. A group of four or five. They must be part of the garrison."

Three now, Jocasta thought, learning another valuable piece of information about her teammate. "Thank you," she mewed, "and sorry. I... I suppose we should get going." And that was that. With a few more words exchanged, they set off for the Refuge, or 'settlement' as Bitch put it, or 'garrison' as Idiot put it. At least Slut knows when to keep her mouth shut, Jocasta decided with some satisfaction, though the Torragonese kept stealing yearning glances at Creep's cloak. Sucker was... furtive, probably wondering if anyone had noticed or would condemn him for his use of Blood Magic. Ironically, that had actually served to increase the tiny shred of respect that Jocasta held for him. Now, if you could just learn to use it without shame, she thought, but the notion soon faded from her mind.

It was tough going for the Tethered girl as the terrain alternated between stone and sand. There was a growing chill in the air and a pesky wind that continued to whip dust into the group's eyes. The blonde was forced to use a continuous amount of energy to both move herself and keep her eyes clear. More than one of the others noticed and tried to take advantage of her shield, and so, with a little peep of exertion and doe eyes darting about, she expanded it to cover them all, drawing from the residual heat in the sand to warm herself as she went and... for some reason, Slut as well. It wasn't generosity, empathy, or anything like that, of course. She just couldn't deal with any more of the girl's telegraphed gazes at her teammate's cloak.

Then, there were lights in the far distance and she knew them for the sanctuary. Clear in her mind's eye was that night, six years ago, when she'd glanced back over her shoulder at them a dozen times, with growing conviction that she had made the right choice and growing fear that it would kill her.

Yet, there was something else too, and she exchanged a glance with Yalen - Idiot. Three human bodies and a fast-cooling corpse, the energies in it changing: Tan-Zeno, Binder, and Rapist. They were hurrying back to the safety of the for-once aptly named Refuge. Further, Jocasta stretched her senses and she could feel swift shapes moving above: a pair of Froabases pounding the air with their wings, kinetic energy swirling about. The stout thirty-foot dragons liked hunting at dusk, often aided by their version of The Gift. They avoided cities, but would regularly pick humans off if they journeyed solo or in small groups. The sonic rasp of their echolocation caused her to flinch momentarily. They were either hunting or...

Almost simultaneously, the Froabases arced up and away and that struck Jocasta as wrong. One of the caretakers from the Refuge turned to look back at the fast-gaining group and shouted something unintelligible, waving them forward but not stopping. Jocasta delved into the kinetic and sharpened the distant voice. "Arena!" they were shouting, "Arena Malvada!" ...Evil Sand, Jocasta translated with a start. She reached out with her senses and there it was, near the edge of her range, approaching exactly from due east, perpendicular to their path: the gargantuan collection of energies that could only denote a Royal Sand Wyrm... and it was a big one.

One of her idiot teammates was shouting for the caretakers to slow down. Another was asking if they needed help. It would be easier to let these fools die, but she needed them, in a manner of speaking. Jocasta was not entirely ready to waltz into that Refuge and not just murder every caretaker in sight. The face that she was forced to wear for them might be the only thing that would hold her back. She took a deep breath. "Sand Wyrm!" she screamed, making sure that everyone heard her. "East of here! It's... it's coming up fast!"

The caretakers would make it if they dropped Esparza's body. They'd make it with time to spare. The foundations of the Refuge were solid stone and ran deep underground to bedrock. Jocasta's peers were... a fifty-fifty proposition. Anyone who could boost their speed with Kinetic magic stood a good chance. Anyone who could lift themselves at least one hundred feet clear of the sand might live. Or, they could fight it. The Refuge was so tantalizingly close. Jocasta never thought that she'd actually be happy to see one of the accursed places, but its presence was now a comforting thing and a grim reminder of the sheer hostility of the High Desert. Separating herself from her wheeled-chair, she raised it alongside her as she rose smoothly into the air. Then, the Tethered was flying, letting gravity tug at her and then drawing from that same energy to lift herself back up in a continuous loop. She glanced down at the ground and her five peers. She glanced ahead at the Refuge and its stoic walls. "Hurry," the caretakers were shouting at the students in Torragonese, "Run! Use your magic!" She glanced East at a distinctive growing furrow in the sand. Jocasta Re had killed many people and many things in her life, but she had never even thought to kill a Sand Wyrm.

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Action Opportunities

1) There are plenty of dialogue opportunities during the journey, which took roughly half an hour. Feel free to play those out before things get serious.
2) Anyone can have shouted out to and tried to communicate with the caretakers. Feel free to have your characters notice that something is 'off' around the same time as Jocasta.
3) The Royal Sand Wyrm (Serpentis Regia), is the apex predator of this ecosystem and is considered by many to be nearly impossible to kill. At twenty-five meters (over 80 feet) in length, it can easily swallow a person whole, though it makes a point of biting down and dealing a fatal blow to anything that it ingests. Capable of using the Gift to shield its vulnerable spots and counter the internal attacks commonly used by Froabases, it is unbelievably durable. Its maximum travel speed while hunting is sixty kilometers per hour, though it is not particularly agile due to its massive size. It can, however, bury prey or attackers in an avalanche of sand and, when surfaced, breathe out a burning cloud of high-pressure acid steam. This acid does not harm its own armour. You would be able to tell that the one that you are facing is not aberration-mad. Were it to go aberration-mad, it would either attack the Refuge or the somewhat-nearby town of Jarramon. Casualties would likely be in the hundreds or even thousands. You have a few options:

a) Attempt to fight the Sand Wyrm right now. This is a very risky play. It could pay off in a big way, but there is a serious threat of death.
b) Run. You might make it to the Refuge, if you're fast, and you might not. Technically, you only need to run faster than the slowest person to uh... buy yourself some time. Will you leave your teammates behind to save yourself?
c) Fly, if you're able to or if you can get someone to help you. You'll have to fly at least one hundred feet up and maintain it long enough for the Sand Wyrm to lose interest or until you're over the Refuge and can drop down into it.

4) If you survive, you will make it to the Tethered Refuge. This is a large sandstone complex with tall, thick walls and an inner courtyard built around an oasis. It has many rooms, a church, a medical wing, and a large sunken agora with a partially covered bathing pool. There are three towers: a tall narrow 'Tower of Reflection', a shorter administrative tower near the medical wing, and the church's bell tower. There is also a small chapel to Vashdal for those who keep the Darhannic faith. The doorways are generally wide and, aside from the gardens, where tropical fruit trees, flowers, and produce are grown, it is smoothly paved, with a minimum of stairs and many ramps. There is a winch and pulley platform system in each of the towers that can only be operated by the caretakers at the top.

⫸ New World Order ⫷

_ _ __ __ ____I N T E R E S T____ __ __ _ _

The Hourglass Order

Manfred Hohenfelter von Meckelin-Thandau

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Manfred had made it no more than a handful of yards, when he paused at the top of the steps. The ship's towering twin stacks let out a mighty puff of white smoke and then it died down to a trickle. From below came the sounds of shouting and clamour.

Dami damn it! He shouted inwardly. "Scheiße, Scheiße, Scheiße" he muttered under his breath. The Kerreman gritted his teeth and turned on his heel, marching back towards where he could get a better view. He could hear breaking glass and see the glow of fire reflected on the water's surface. This was why you didn't send children to do the work of soldiers, even if they were talented children. Manfred knew himself for half a child as well and even he was not so unwise. Either the old man has lost it or else he is doing this for a reason.

Making it to the forward railing, not so far from where the second mate, helmsman, and an unfortunate seaman slept by the pilothouse, Manfred peered over. Their plans had called for a measure of order and teamwork. Instead, there was naught but chaos and Dorothea was in the midst of it. With a growing panic that he tamped down on with the practiced mindset of a soldier, he scanned the scene below for her. Of Carmillia, he saw nothing. She had either pitched overboard or else abandoned Dorothea at her first sign of need. Zarra, too, had gone gallivanting off on his own self-appointed errand. Perrench schwein-hunde! he cursed at them. Dami-damned slimy, unreliable people!

His eyes found her: lost, scared, and alone in the surging mob. That vile agent of the Traveler's had outmaneuvered her. Under pressure, she'd consumed an aberration. Dory... He knew how much his had meant to her. He knew about her dreams but now she was part of a nightmare. She was giving it her best, though. He saw a flash erupt from Dory's hands and then she clubbed her disoriented foe on the temple and he spilled into the water. Manfred rushed to the side railing, closest to where she was, grabbed it, and checked that nothing would fall from him as he leapt over.

"Not proceeding as you'd expected?" inquired a voice. The former soldier froze. He had just swept the area there was nobody -

Everything was still. It was... like somebody had stopped the forward march of time itself. It was not only people; it was everything: the flash of Dory's magic, the flicker of the fires, the lapping of the waves. But not him. Manfred whirled in the direction of the speaker, eyes wide, hands going instinctively for his weapons. "What are you?" he asked.

The figure was a woman in a dark, hooded cloak. She was seated on a bollard. "Nobody you know," she assured him, her voice not the least bit assuring. He could feel the pinch of chemical magic in his mind. He had trained to recognize it but he also knew that someone capable of time-stopping magic could easily have hidden her deed. She wanted him to know. "You hide your true face," he growled.

"A necessary precaution," said the mysterious woman, "for my enemies are many."

A cold prickle worked its way up and down Manfred's body. Such power and secrecy, many enemies... His mind did not want to accept its own conclusions. "And you recognize me for one, Traveler."

He could not see her eyes, but he could see the soft smile on her lips. "I recognize you for many things, Manfred Hohenfelter: lost but too afraid to admit it, dutiful but with no one to serve, good but unable or perhaps unwilling to see the path to justice."

"You are the archdemon Zathra here to tempt me, like Dami in the wilderness!"

She regarded him steadily and said nothing for a moment. "I do not need to tempt what I could kill. Not that I shall do such a thing. There has been far too much death already; far too much of those with power misusing it against those without."

He was about to issue an angry retort but it would've done him no good. His way out of this was not to oppose the monster, but to appease it. He remained silent and nodded slightly.

"I know you for a good man: one who has seen the senseless slaughter that results when one person holds the effortless power of life and death over a great many others. How can he resist when he knows himself better? How can there be equality when, in truth, there is not?" She shook her head sadly and he listened. After a moment he replied. "There cannot," he admitted quietly.

"And yet I am a villain for trying to share the power that was placed within this world for us? For trying to empower the common people so that they might not be mere fodder for those who hoard the Gods' Gift?" Her voice rose and she unknitted her fingers.

"That power is unholy," Manfred retorted, finding his conviction once more. "Unnatural! It is not of this world and it turns people mad when they touch it!"

"Does it now?"

"One need only look below," he snarled, twisting to regard the frozen scenes of violence below. "That is madness!" he finished, twisting back to regard her but, instead of a grown woman, he was now face to face with a young boy. He recognized that boy from somewhere. Where, he could not precisely say.

The boy frowned. "That is the problem. As things stand now, most people cannot cleanly handle the power that comes from without. Its effects are temporary, yet dangerous nonetheless." His feet dangled as he talked and, momentarily, he hopped off of the bollard and half-turned. "I... wanna change that," he continued. "You don't know how much the church lies." He shook his head in annoyance and his eyes met Manfred's again. "The things that they say about 'aberrations'." He made his fingers into air quotes.

"The church is the word of the gods," Manfred replied with a coldness more certain than he felt. "Are you questioning the gods?"

"No, for the love of Shune," retorted the boy. "I'm questioning the people who make up that church. Did not Ahn-Dami give us free will? Do not we have choice? Who is to say that same choice does not corrupt the will of the gods? Who's to say your beloved priests and bishops - users of the Gift all, from families of wealth and privilege all - are telling you the truth?"

That gave Manfred pause, for he had long known that people in positions of power lied. His own family lied. Jurgen lied about the woman he had raped. Father had lied to his soldiers about the war. Mother had lied to him about Nina - dear Nina - and then his sister had disappeared. "Then what are they lying about?" he challenged.

"Everything," the boy snorted derisively, "but most of all, the 'threat' that their 'aberrations' present." He walked right up to Manfred and gazed up at him, expression implacable. "What we're doing down there -" he gestured "- it's imperfect, though your friends have made it look worse, but you can absorb that power safely: in small amounts, weeks apart, and it will work. It'll make you stronger." The boy turned abruptly and skipped away, leaning against the rail on his tiptoes. For a moment, he seemed so like a boy and so little like The Traveler that Manfred nearly forgot who he was. "But the real solution," he continued, "is in the hold of this ship or... one part of it, I guess."

"The Lyre?"

The boy grinned mischievously. "Old Hugo didn't tell you why it was so important," he teased, "and unlike those Rednitz fools who just want it for status, he knows what it can do."

"And I suppose you'll tell me?"

"Yup!" the boy replied, and Manfred waited. The Traveler's expression grew impish for a moment before he relented. "You see how just that tiny bit's affected them down there?"

Manfred glanced that way again and when he looked back and opened his mouth to speak, he was speaking to Nina. "You are not her!" he roared. "Don't take her face! You have no right to!"

He blinked and the Traveler was an old man with a long beard. "Apologies if that was jarring, but I have met her and she believes me. Search your feelings. You know your sister. You know her heart."

"Say your piece, sorcerer."

The old man let out a snort. "I cannot let you and your group succeed." He shook his head regretfully. "That artifact can reconcile the without and the within. In layman's terms, it and its peers can remove the taint of madness from aberrations. With those, we can change this world for the better. We can bring The Gift to all of those who deserve it."

"And each holy artifact can do this? How do you know?"

"I have already said enough. I do not like to kill but, for such a greater good, I would scarce hesitate. That is why I need to know whether I must risk my loyal friends or whether I can trust you and your people to make the right decisions."

Manfred's heart was hammering. He could feel it within his chest. This truly was the Traveler. There truly was something to the artifacts, or so it appeared. He would test that later. "I cannot speak for others," he warned.

"I will speak with them in time," replied the old man.

"The artifact is safe so long as it is in my hands," Manfred promised, though he truly had no other viable choice. "I will put your theory to the test," he amended, "and if it should turn out not to be -"

"I would expect nothing less," the old man interrupted. "In fact, I would encourage it. Just... be careful who you call an ally or a friend." He nodded sagely. "Now, I believe, you were in the middle of being a hero," he concluded. "I would rescue the girl and head for the hold as quickly as possible. There's a hidden access near one of the wheels, not far from where she's standing. It'll take you to the engine room."

How can he know all these things? Manfred wondered, his sense of unreality ebbing and flowing with each sentence in their exchange. Now, he understood, the unsettling encounter was about to be over. He would be left with much to think about and little time to think. "One last question..." he began, and the Traveler twisted and nodded. In truth, Manfred felt stupid asking it, but he had come this far down the rabbit hole of reality and it was now burning in his mind. "Are you... a God?"

The old man merely chuckled. "Only to some," he replied. Then, there was a flash of darkness and Manfred found himself standing not one yard from Dorothea. She turned and regarded him, startled. "Yes, I snuck up on you," he assured her. "Easy to lose me in the press of this madness."

"It is madness!" she near-shouted, "total madness! Dami, I should've never touched that gods-damned aberration!" He kept his newfound perspective to himself for the time being, for it wouldn't help. Instead, he knew something that would. Manfred took Dorothea by the hand and pulled. "I'm very glad you're alright," he said simply. "Come with me. I know a way out of this."

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Pre-Interest Check Ideas

_{Art by Guillem H. Pongiluppi}

Discord 𝅗𝅥 𝅘𝅥 𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝅘𝅥𝅯

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Long ago, along the banks of the rivers now called the Asquelle, Oreuse, Vitroux, and Meine, there lived five tribes: one for each of the Gods, though these people were as yet ignorant of the Pentad. The land that Oraphe had gifted them was lush and green nonetheless, the climate fair, and the forests rich with game. At times, it was true that Echeran raised his mighty sword and there was war among them but, more often than not, there was bounty enough for all and so they lived in Ipté's peace.

Centuries passed and, as Chune granted them more of her wisdom, the five tribes began to apply her Gift of magic in simple ways. They built villages and towns, pushing back the forests with their dark, rugged reaches and savage beasts. Farms came to cover the hillsides: swaying seas of golden rye, barley, oats, and lentils dotted with thatched-roof huts and cottages. Gradually, the five peoples became one and their numbers grew. They began to call themselves something new: Parren. Dami was pleased by their sound judgement and blessed them greatly for many years.

But the five tribes-turned-one were simple yet, compared to their neighbours from the rocky, sweltering north. These had built a vast empire on blood, gold, and magic. They, too, were many, and greatly blessed by Echeran, whom they worshipped in marble temples. Now, they turned their greedy eyes south towards the lands of those they called Parencii. How simple was the conquest.

Yet, for all of their initial brutality, these Avincians proved just and fair as masters and, in time became brothers with the Parencii and the others whose lands they had marched upon. Once again the people of the Asquelle, Oreuse, Vitroux, and Meine thrived. They learned a great deal in this time - most of all, the names and magics of the Gods - and nobody could call them simple anymore. They built their homes of stone and plowed their fields with oxen and slaves gained from conquest. Their victories became those of the Avincians and the Avincians' theirs.

However, the same was true of their defeats, for such are the Gods of the Pentad that they give and they take. The peoples of Sipente ebb and flow no differently than their world does. Too much, those of the arid north liked their gold, and their empire weakened from within. From the south now, lands cold and unforgiving, blessed only with winds, snows, and a wealth of minerals, came a new threat: the Eskandr.

Their magics were fresh and strong and their fury and lust like nothing the Parencii nor their Avincian masters had ever seen. By fire and sword, they set upon the more civilized peoples' homes, farms, and businesses and razed them to the ground. To their frigid and desolate lands, the Eskandr took the accumulated wealth of generations: the gold, spices, and marble, the strong men as slaves, and the beautiful women as unwilling wives. Those left behind howled for vengeance and, within a decade, formed the backbone of the mighty Avincian legions which struck south.

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On the banks of the Meine, the two armies fought to a bloody standstill. The empire recovered itself somewhat and staggered on for another two hundred years. The Eskandr bided their time but, when the thousand year city of Avince and its civilization fell, it was not they who did the deed. Rather, among others, it was the Parench. For quite some time, they had been doing the dragon's share of the work and receiving scant little of the reward.

For their greed, Dami judged them wanting and Echeran laid them low. Plague and famine swept the lands of the dead empire. Petty kings, conquerors, and strongmen carved the great corpse into small, feuding realms. Roads fell into disuse, temples into ruins, and forests full of wolves and bandits encroached upon farmland. As they lay bleaching in the subtropical sun, bricks were scavenged from the great, overgrown bones of the old Avincian cities. Public baths, stadiums, and libraries became humble huts and longhouses. Books became kindling and the practice of magic became strange and arcane.

Now, the Eskandr returned, and they feasted on the soft lands to the North. Under many banners but with one purpose and a common set of heathen gods, they raided up and down the coast and then began to strike inland. The villages of the Parench burned once more and there were a hundred different men who claimed that they would act as saviour to their people: the one to take on and defeat this scourge of Echeran. They would not share their glory, however and, instead, they carved their own lands up in bloody warfare. Only after dozens of these would-be heroes lay dead and the heathens ran rampant, extracting tribute and taking slaves, did the remainder swallow their pride and adopt the titles of dukes, counts, barons, and margraves.

On the shore of the Étroite Sea lies the old Avincian city of Solenium, with its handsome stone buildings, cobble streets in their original grid pattern, and palm trees that sway in the maritime breeze. Renamed Solenne by the Parrench, it was here that the proud lords of the land, near to broken from their wars against each other and Eskandr alike, gathered on the Ides of Verdi. As cathedral bells chimed and the year’s first flowers bloomed outside, they bowed their heads and pledged their fealty to a new king: a first among equals.

The ruler of the unified Parrench people, Arcel, is a young man, for it was truly his father Rouis who won the crown and then expired too soon to wear it. Some say he is clever, handsome, and strong in The Gift. Others say that his are a young man's dreams and too grand to make for reality. Dukes and counts whisper and scheme. Margravines curtsy and court him. They say he will fail but, in truth, he must succeed, or the bold experiment that is one Parrench nation will fail with him and become a feast for the Eskandr.

To that end, in cities, towns, and even the largest of villages, King Arcel's agents now appear. For those few who can read, parchments are hammered onto posts and church doors while innkeepers and town criers relay the king's message for the many who cannot. Arcel, first of his name, King of the Parrench, calls all willing and able warriors skilled in the use of The Gift to the town of Relouse, on the southern frontier. Knights, Wizards, Rangers, and Scoundrels alike, he calls them to fight for the future of their people.

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Your Legend_________ __ __ _ _

First: The Story This is a low fantasy RPG set in the same world as The Hourglass Order, but eight hundred years prior, during the Dark Ages. It shares much of the same lore and deals with the coalescence and founding of the nation of Perrence. This takes place against the backdrop of merciless and persistent raids and invasions by the southern 'barbarians' known as Eskandr. Yet, these invaders face issues of their own. Their northernmost brethren - the Drudgunzeans - are increasingly forsaking their ancient ways and the faith of their fathers in favour of Quentism. You'll be playing warriors of a great many sorts who have answered the young king's call to fight for their country or else the very barbarians who seek to destroy it in order to preserve their ascendance.

Second: Character Creation This RPG involves magic and a handful of fantasy creatures, but is more concerned with a degree of realism than most fantasy. To that end, you'll be playing human characters. These should be setting-appropriate, which means no clockwork tinkerers, half-elves, unusually tall emo kids, rebellious princess-knights, or anime main characters. The people that you create don't have to revel in their outward uniqueness simply for its own sake. They can be archetypes but still be compelling if thought, nuance, and heart go into making them. Good Dark Ages character art is also very difficult to find, so I'll be allowing some leeway, but this is not a D&D campaign or an anime. Characters attire should be practical and reflect their setting and role.

Third: Conduct This will be a fast-paced game with plenty of action, intrigue, politics, and exploration. It will have a clearly defined goal and ending. Players will be expected to adhere to the standard rules on powerplaying, metagaming, and 'asspulling'. Play this game in good faith and it'll be rewarding. If you find yourself very focused on 'winning' against other players as opposed to telling a collaborative story, then I'd ask you to look elsewhere. In terms of activity level, I'm looking for at least two paragraphs per post a minimum of once per week. If you don't think that you can keep up with that activity level, then this isn't for you. If you go inactive on the forum and on discord without prior notice for more than a week, I will ping and Direct Message you. If you fail to respond after a second week of inactivity... your character will fall in service of the kingdom or join the Visitor in Grønhal.

Fourth: Deaths As participants in a wartime game, you run the risk of character death. These will not be random acts of the Gods, but risky choices are, well... risky. That is not to discourage risk-taking. There may be sizable rewards as well, but ill-advised decisions (and you will always receive a warning of the risks and possible benefits if you would like one) can also result in the maiming or death of your character. You are free, however, to re-enter with a second character if your first is taken by Echeran. You'll only be permanently kicked from the game in instances of counterproductive behaviour or extended inactivity without notice.

Fifth: Character Roles There are three main factions and ten Callings (otherwise known as classes). Some are fairly unique and there will be caps on how many characters are allowed of these types. For the sake of realism, if your character is going against the societal grain, I would like to see good, nuanced, developed reasons as to why. If you're rebelling in some way, it needs to have a compelling internal logic and thoughtful emotional justification. In general, to ensure a balanced spread of characters that reflects the spirit of the game, we'll be using a quota system. If there are too many characters submitted for a particular quota, the one best suited to the direction of the narrative will be taken. The other player may submit an alternate character if they wish.

Quotas

Nation Quotas:

• Parrench: 0/8
• Eskandr: 0/4
• Drudgunzean: 0/4

Calling and Gender Quotas:

Bard: 0/2	Berserker: 0/2	Horseman: 0/2
Infiltrator: 0/2	Knight: 0/6	Maledict: 0/2
Priest: 0/2	Ranger: 0/3	Witch/Warlock: 0/3
Wizard: 0/3	Male: 0/9	Female: 0/7

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The World_________ __ __ _ _

The world of Sipente, where our story takes place, is vast and complex, governed by the laws of nature and magic but, to its people, by those of the divine Pentad as covered in the holy Menanne. All Parrench and many Drudgunzeans believe firmly that it was through the will of the Gods that all things were brought into existence, by their leave that man flourishes, and by their wrath that he fails.

Distinct from most fantasy settings, this world is very much in its equivalent to the Dark Ages (though the later part of them). Tactics and technology are simpler than in later medieval times: castles humbler, siege warfare in its infancy, good steel more valuable, and mounted knights a relatively new innovation. Full plate armour does not yet exist. The trebuchet has not been invented. Still developing, too, are the social codes that will come to define the middle ages: chivalry is a mere idea that some people have, nobility is still as much a state of being and behaviour as it is a status that one inherits. Magic has become less schooled and more arcane, still widely used but with much of its written form and finer points having been lost. Kingdoms are generally small and evanescent in nature. Parrence is the first truly large one to form north of the Asquelle since the fall of the Avincian Empire. Its success or failure may very well determine what the continent's future will look like.

Many are the peoples, places, beasts, and legends of this world. However, in this brief guide, only those that may play a role in our story will be covered.

Pentad

The Pentad of the Quentic Faith

Ipté. Chune. Oraphe. Echeran. Dami.

Lover, Learner, Creator, Destroyer, Judge: All magics and all of creation pay homage to the divine Pentad who brought them into being. Thy existence is beyond human understanding, thy ways both arcane and divine, and thy gifts the foundations of life itself. May thy will be done now and forever.

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🌹 Ipté: The Lover 🎻

Ipté is known as The Lover and occupies the first position in the sign of the Pentad. One places their right hand beneath their left shoulder when making the sign. Like their four fellow Gods, Ipté possesses a female aspect - Aun-Ipté, the Queen of Beauty - and a male aspect - Ipté-Sept, the Lord of Love. The two aspects' legendary artifacts are the Rose and the Lyre, respectively, and the deity is associated with the element of Air, Arcane Magic, and the year's first season of Hundri, in the depths of winter. The works and deeds of Ipté make up the books of Ephaire and Kinship, which are the fourth and fifth books of the Menanne. This god's blessing, oft delivered by Hundrian monks and nuns, is "Ipté enchant you."

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📖 Chune: The Learner 🕯️

Chune is known as The Learner and occupies the second position in the sign of the Pentad. One places their left hand beneath their right shoulder when making the sign. Like their four fellow Gods, Chune possesses a female aspect - Aun-Chune, the Keeper of Knowledge - and a male aspect - Chune-Sept, the Seeker of Knowledge. The two aspects' legendary artifacts are the Record Book and the Lantern, respectively, and the deity is associated with the element of Lightning, Thunder Magic, and the year's second season of Stresia, when the spring bloom begins. The works and deeds of Chune make up the books of Bergamon and Wisdom, which are the sixth and seventh books of the Menanne. This god's blessing, oft delivered by Stresian monks and nuns, is "Chune enlighten you."

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🌳 Oraphe: The Creator 🥭

Oraphe is known as The Creator and occupies the third position in the sign of the Pentad. One places their left hand upon their right hip when making the sign. Like their four fellow Gods, Oraphe possesses a female aspect - Aun-Oraphe, the Giver of Life - and a male aspect - Oraphe-Sept, the Preserver of Life. The two aspects' legendary artifacts are the Tree of Life and the Ambrosia, respectively, and the deity is associated with the element of Water, Blood Magic, and the year's third season of Dorrad, in the hottest months. The works and deeds of Oraphe make up the books of Lazaire and Flourishing, which are the eighth and ninth books of the Menanne. This god's blessing, oft delivered by Dordian monks and nuns, is "Oraphe keep you."

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💀 Echeran: The Destroyer 🗡️

Echeran is known as The Destroyer and occupies the fourth position in the sign of the Pentad. One places their right hand upon their left hip when making the sign. Like their four fellow Gods, Echeran possesses a female aspect - Aun-Echeran, the Hand of Death - and a male aspect - Echeran-Sept, the Bringer of War. The two aspects' legendary artifacts are the Skull and the Sword, respectively, and the deity is associated with the element of Fire, Essence Magic, and the year's fourth season of Rezain, when the harvest takes place. The works and deeds of Echeran make up the books of Gelgamed and Wrath, which are the tenth and eleventh books of the Menanne. This god's blessing, oft delivered by Rezaindian monks and nuns, is "Echeran spare you" or, in some cases, "Echeran empower you."

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⚖️ Dami: The Judge 🔨

Dami is known as The Judge and occupies the fifth and final position in the sign of the Pentad. One retracts their hands from the hips and presses their palms together in a sign of reverence below their chest. Like their four fellow Gods, Dami possesses a female aspect - Aun-Dami, the Giver of Choice - and a male aspect - Dami-Sept, the Arbiter of Justice. The two aspects' legendary artifacts are the Scale and the Hammer, respectively, and the deity is associated with the element of Earth, Force Magic, and the year's fifth and final season of Somnes, when the harvest is over and cold rains coat the land. The works and deeds of Dami make up the books of Arbroast and Judgement, which are the twelfth and thirteenth books of the Menanne. This god's blessing, oft delivered by Somnian monks and nuns, is "Dami guide you."

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Five Gods, Five Orders

The Quentic Faith organizes its religious orders into one for each deity in the Pentad. They take variations on the names of their associated seasons. Monks and nuns of a given order are responsible to all five divine members of the Pentad, but especially to the particular deity that they serve. Each order also contains suborders, with their own original vestments, purposes, and structure of governance. Every monastery of monks or convent of nuns is headed by an abbot or abbess, respectively. These are almost always members of the nobility, while other members may be of any social class.

The Hundrian Order

Deity Served: Ipte
Associated Season: Hundri
Blessing: “Ipte enchant you”
Suborders:

• Gold Order Hundrians: Counselors and advisors who facilitate family relationships
  - 50% nuns, 50% monks
• Green Order Hundrians: Gardeners and animal husbandry who cultivate beauty in nature
  - 40% nuns, 60% monks
• Vermilion Order Hundrians: Courtesans and escorts dedicated to the arts of sexual love
  - 70% nuns, 30% monks
• Orange Order Hundrians – Counselors and therapists committed to facilitating marriages
  - 60% nuns, 40% monks
• Turquoise Order Hundrians – Performers, muses, and models who showcase human beauty
  - 40% nuns, 60% monks

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The Stresian Order

Deity Served: Shune
Associated Season: Stresia
Blessing: “Shune enlighten you”
Suborders:

• Stresian Scribes: responsible for the transcription of books and recordkeeping
  - 60% nuns, 40% monks
• Stresian Sages: live in remote areas engaged in the study of time, space, and magic
  - 50% nuns, 50% monks
• Stresian Philosophers: scientists, thinkers, and inventors engaged in the natural sciences
  - 30% nuns, 70% monks
• Stresian Scholars: teachers, instructors, and researchers
  - 50% nuns, 50% monks
• Stresian Thaumaturges: scholars and practitioners of magic, particularly holy magic
  - 60% nuns, 40% monks

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The Dordian Order

Deity Served: Oraff
Associated Season: Dorrad
Blessing: “Oraff keep you”
Suborders:

• Sisters of the Sunrise: dedicated to assisting with childbirth and infant care
  - 100% nuns
• Sisters of the Sunset: doctors, healers, and carers for the elderly
  - 100% nuns
• Brothers of the Sunset: doctors, healers, and carers for the elderly
  - 100% monks
• Brothers of the Unconquered Sun: protectors, paladins, and magical healers
  - 100% monks
• Sisters of the Unconquered Sun: magical healers, menders, and protectors
  - 100% nuns
• Children of the Nourishing Sun: dedicated to the preservation and protection of nature
  - 50% nuns, 50% monks

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The Rezaindian Order

Deity Served: Eshiran
Associated Season: Rezain
Blessing: “Eshiran empower/spare you”
Suborders:

• White Rezaindians: care for the dying, easing their passage to the afterlife
  - 80% nuns, 20% monks
• Grey Rezaindians: burial of the dead, mourning, and commemration
  - 70% nuns, 30% monks
• Black Rezaindians: assassins in service of the Death God
  - 20% nuns, 80% monks
• Brown Rezaindians: maintenance of graveyards and monuments
  - 40% nuns, 60% monks
• Red Rezaindians: warrior monks who spread and protect the faith
  - 10% nuns, 90% monks
• Blue Rezaindians: disposal and destruction of unwanted things
  - 40% nuns, 60% monks

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The Somnian Order

Deity Served: Dami
Associated Season: Somnes
Blessing: “Dami guide you”
Suborders:

• High Somnians: judges, lawyers, and justices of the peace
  - 30% nuns, 70% monks
• Old Somnians: advocates - keepers and enforcers of tradition and morality
  - 50% nuns, 50% monks
• New Somnians: advocates - challengers of traditional morality, guarantors of free choice
  - 50% nuns, 50% monks
• Grand Somnians: advisors to royalty and high nobility, lawmakers
  - 30% nuns, 70% monks
• Light Somnians: protectors of due process, fairness, and legal transparency
  - 60% nuns, 40% monks
• Dark Somnians: dispensers of vigilante justice, clandestine challengers of injustice
  - 20% nuns, 80% monks

Peoples

History:_________ __ __ _ _

Four hundred years ago, by the reckoning of learned men, lived the most powerful magic user of all time: the legendary Fradje Ironshaper. We can gather from Avincian texts and modern deduction, that he was a prodigious mooncaster, with abilities exceeding anyone alive in this day. Through force of will and arms, he unified the Eskandr tribes and sacked the eternal city of Avince, capital of the Empire, bringing his people great wealth, respect, and plunder. It is said that he lay with ten thousand women and some men as well and that fully one of every twenty Eskandr can claim ancestry from him, including much of the nobility. Of course, the moment 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 Avincians rebounded, thanks to the efforts of Macian III, and their empire lasted, against all odds, for another 250 years until its final collapse at the hands of its own maltreated vassals. The Eskandr people retreated south of the Asquelle and Meine Rivers and bided their time. They remained fierce and feared and Eskand itself, along with the two lesser Eskandr kingdoms of Drudgunze and Holmenbahn 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 Eskandr could not hope to derive from their cold and wild lands.

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 Eskandr 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, Chune, Oraphe, Echeran, 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 Holmenbahn, 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 Aerchons put the king's head on a pike for his blasphemy and marched North. The worshipers of the false Gods recanted or burned. It had been many years since a great Eskandr horde 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.

It is this very army - a great heathen army under Hrothgar the Black - that now stands at the precipice of Parrence, its violence spilling across the borders, its bloodlust far from sated after in turns pacifying and plowing through its Drudgunzean former kinsmen. Its leaders claim that a different sort of war has been waged against them and they are here to ensure that it never happens again. Against such an uncompromising threat, Arcel of Parrence, shield of Quentendom, has no choice but to fight.

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Eskandr_________ __ __ _ _

Overview: Eskandr hail from the cold and unforgiving lands to the south. Gradually, through exploration, conquest, and settlement, they have worked their way up the continent and make periodic raids deep into Quentic lands. A rugged and hardy people, Eskandr tend to be tall and fair, possessed of a warlike nature and vitality. Proud, temperamental, and unquenchably vain, they bathe and groom with startling regularity. These people keep five gods of their own - Father, Mother, Sister, Brother, and Visitor - and most refuse to hear of any others.

In their homelands, they ply the meager soil with root vegetables and maintain vast herds of sheep and goats. They survive on these and supplement their diets with rabbit, grouse, and cheeses. They gather herbs in the short summers, hunt the roving herds of mammoth that call the southern steppes their home, and take fish from the endless bounty of the sea. Eskandr prefer to live communally in fortified longhouses, guarding against raid, weather, and beast. Indeed, their lands are home to some of the most ferocious creatures known to study, including the great black dragons of the volcanic mountain ranges.

In battle, Eskandr are fearless and underhanded, seeking all and any advantage they can muster over their foes. The men and the women alike fight, though the former are more commonly in the press of shield walls whilst the latter often feature as skirmishers, spies, and scouts. None are to be underestimated. They are audacious in the extreme and well versed in The Gift, with many possessing at least a rudimentary knowledge of all five branches of magic. These, they will employ to augment their bodies and strikes, fell enemies from afar, and enhance their vitality. An Eskandr warrior will fight to the very last breath so that he or she may gain a place close to the head of the Visitor's table in Grønhal (the Green Hall).

In general, their society is much enamoured with the notion of legacy. A man will be judged by the Father and Visitor on his achievements in battle and the fairness of his dealings with others. There is no greater honour than to perish bravely in combat and such warriors will earn for themselves an exalted place at the great table of Grønhal. A woman will find herself subject to the Mother's and the Visitor's judgment by much the same metrics but, to a limited extent, also those of her sons and daughters. For her, it is imperative to survive battle so that she may be there to raise them and impart her guidance. Thus, there is a web of responsibility, enforced by religious belief, that binds people together and encourages behaviours that will benefit society.

Major Cities and Regions: Farthang, Stormhavn, Gronmark, Astland, Hegelo, Altberg.

Common Heraldic Symbols: Bear, Wolf, Mammoth, Dragon, Owl, Serpent, Trident, Hammer, Oak Tree, Volcano.

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Drudguzeans_________ __ __ _ _

Overview: Drudgunzeans are people of the midland plains and forests. Originally a subset of the Eskandr, they displaced the original inhabitants of the lands they now call home over two centuries ago. In the much more forgiving climate, they have adapted and flourished, growing new crops and developing new tastes that their forbears could never have imagined. Intermediaries between their Eskandr brethren and the myriad peoples of Parrence and the Ensollian coasts, they are in the process of forging a bold new identity.

Over the past century, most Drudgunzeans have made the decision to forsake their ancient heathen ways and accept into their lives the light of the Quentic Faith. A proud warrior people, they have become increasingly known their shrewd and calculating nature of late. Old ties of loyalty - once sacred in Drudgunze - have been tested by their eagerness to benefit from both their northern and southern neighbours.

This canny eye for self-advancement has ever more greatly become a hallmark of their emerging culture. Drudgunzeans are nothing if not keen, diligent, and efficient. Yet, when their blood can be coaxed to run hot, their fury is truly a sight to behold and their armies something to cow even the mightiest of nations. Some say that they combine the ferocity of their Eskandr ancestors with the discipline of their ancient Avincian foes.

Constant innovators and master metalworkers, they create for more than mere function: the war masks of nobility and particularly renowned Sturmknecht (Stormcniht) are works of art that speak to the glories earned by their bearers. They are also diliggent in the use of magic, employing it in a myriad of workmanlike ways and also taking great pains to preserve its teachings through the writings of a new and invigorated clergy of wizard-priests. Though generally less concerned with beautification than their Parrench neighbours, Drudgunzean monks produce gorgeous illuminated manuscripts and the people at large are enthusiastic consumers of northern music, culture, and tapestry.

Major Cities and Regions: Albesas, Meckelen, Salterberg, Fenske, Einderhal, Endburgh, Harrowende.

Common Heraldic Symbols: Dragon, (Black) Eagle, Wolf, Stag, Crocodile, Sickle, Stars, Lightning Bolt, Castle.

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Parrench_________ __ __ _ _

Overview: There has never been a people, in the known history of Constantia, so blessed and so cursed at once as the Parrench. For millennia, their rich green lands have been the envy of all others, and the fortunes of this nation have ebbed and flowed accordingly. Most of all, however, the Parrench have grown. They are numerous beyond all others, playful and puckish, clever and creative, hard working and relentlessly determined. These people squeeze everything that they can out of often short and brutal lives. They laugh and cry both in great measure. They honour their dead but then move on. They build great monuments but are not slaves to their pasts. The one thing that does not seem to resist the is the soil. Greatly blessed by Oraff is the land, and they can grow most anything on it in abundance.

Indeed, the cuisine of Parrence is varied and their trade flourishing. Increasingly, under the banner of young King Arcel and his father Rouis, these people have started to emerge from the darkness and chaos following the collapse of the empire. Their art and music fuse those of their tribal ancestors, their former Avincian overlords, and many exotic cultures from around the Ensollian Sea into something new and exciting. Much of this is made for secular purposes, but the Parrench people, too, are devout and keep the gods. Their architects quarry the stones of the Echamps Plateau to build great cathedrals that soar into the subtropical sun in stunning new styles or Retesque and Balthazarene.

Yet, war is a shadow that constantly stalks this green land. As duchies, kingdoms, and counties flourish, their lords grow grasping and ambitious. They train their sons, daughters, and loyal retainers in the magics of Old Avince, otherwise lost, and send them to fight. The magics of the Pentad are terrifying when used against human flesh. Those without the Gift find themselves fodder for those with, and a social order begins to emerge in greater certainty.

The Parrench are not natural warriors, but like all endeavours that they set their minds and the great mass of their numbers towards, they have molded themselves into fine fighters: fiery yet disciplined, iron-willed and steel-armoured. From hundreds of smithies across the realm have emerged the arms and armour necessary to equip a Grand Armee capable of taking on the Eskandr and, if necessary, the Drudgunzeans. This collective will is something new for the proudly individualistic and independent Parrench. They have a natural stubbornness and irascible temperament that drives them always to fight for what they value, even against seemingly insurmountable odds. Now, with their various feuding realms having been forged uneasily into one, they are ready to make their stand: for their futures, for their pride, for Parrence!

Major Cities and Regions: Solenne, Nazaire, Loris, Gaen, Relouse, Chirence, Eux-en-Vitroux, Lac Ste. Guillaume.

Common Heraldic Symbols: Wolf, Falcon, Leopard, Snapping Turtle, Rabbit, Hound, Sun, Moon, Crown, Unicorn.

Places

The World_________ __ __ _ _

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The Gift

The Gift_________ __ __ _ _

Thunder. Arcane. Blood. Essence. Force.

Magic is a blessing of the Gods and so is called, respectfully, The Gift. Yet, it does not come from nowhere. Before any spells can be cast, no matter how trivial, all magical power must be drawn from sources of energy abundant in the world. The five great schools of magic - Thunder, Arcane, Blood, Essence, and Force, draw from the heat, light, metabolic, kinetic, potential, and electric energies of one's surroundings. Those skilled in The Gift may then convert one type of energy into another within themselves. You might draw heat from a raging fire, but that does not mean that you need to cast a fireball. If you can afford an extra few seconds, then you might decide on Arc Lightning from the Thunder school or a telekinetic shove. Spells from all five schools are made viable through the blessed act of conversion. However, there have long been rumours of other as-yet undiscovered magics that promise far greater power if used as well as far greater consequences...

Covered below are the five major schools of magic use. Their workings are explained using language that the majority of their practitioners do not even understand and would not be able to reference or explain. Following the collapse of the Avincian Empire, much of existing magical theory has been lost. The essential know-how, however, remains.

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Thunder Magic

• Drawing: Thunder magic draws its energy from the polarity of atoms and molecules, using their tendencies to attract and repel each other to build powerful charges.
• Offense: While Thunder mages have a reputation for being a 'slow' school and defensive counterpunchers, they are more than capable of mounting independent (and often terrifying) offense of their own. They rely on creating charges and polarizations first and then capitalizing on those. Ever watched somebody disintegrate? Ever seen a massive lightning bolt strike someone down from the heavens?
• Defense: With Thunder mages, the line between offense and defense is often blurred, as they tend to be masters of subtle and sneaky techniques that cause their opponents to destroy themselves or set them up to be countered mercilessly.
• Utility: Thunder mages tend not to directly favour utility spells, most of their repertoires being multifunctional. However, their ability to set up their environments, manipulate electric currents, and move charged objects using magnetism can be helpful.

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Arcane Magic

• Drawing: Arcane magic uses the radiative energy of heat (thermal) and light as a power source. As a result, it has a virtually limitless (and potentially overwhelming) supply of power during the day and in warmer places and considerably less at night and in colder places.
• Casts from this school focus on using heat and light in a multitude of different ways. Partially as a result, Arcane is easily the most balanced school in terms of offensive, defensive, and utility spells, boasting impressive flexibility that enables adherents to take either subtle or aggressive approaches. This, combined with the sheer abundance and ready availability of heat and light energy makes Arcane the preferred school for mages than any other.
• Offense: In terms of offense, arcane magic users can focus the powers of heat and light to burn, melt, and blind. Intensely focused beams of light and heat can cut and burn holes in solid objects, while fire can spread rapidly and offensive draws can cause targets to freeze to death.
• Defense: Defensively, arcane magic can warp and bend the visible light spectrum to allow a user to disappear from sight and can manipulate temperatures and the surrounding environment to negate incoming attacks.
• Utility: In terms of utility, arcanists can create powerful illusions, as well as provide light and heat. Especially intense heat can cauterize wounds.

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Blood Magic

• Drawing: With Blood magic, drawing involves not the repurposing of energy but the repurposing of matter by destroying it and using its potential energy. In the case of healers, known colloquially as 'Binders', this can be used to remove foreign objects from the body, treat patients, or dissolve incoming threats. However, the 'blood price' of turning matter into energy is inherently inefficient. Unless the matter in question contains a great deal of potential energy, one will often need to draw an excessive amount of it.
• Difficulty: A Blood magic user must be highly skilled in the art of drawing, so as to make the most of sources. These are highly abundant, but many are poor reservoirs and, furthermore, careless drawing can damage allies or even oneself. Binders, in particular, need to exercise the utmost caution while removing unwanted matter from a human body.
• Offense: With Blood Magic, the mere act of drawing is a powerful attack, destroying matter from castle walls to weapons to human bodies. However, this is a 'slow' magic, taking more time to draw from than others and requiring great focus. Blood magic users can also repurpose matter, dissolving it in one form and place an reforming it in another. This often takes the form of simpler shapes and uniform materials. Still, a stabbing blade doesn't usually need to be that complex.
• Defense: The ability to covert matter into usable energy, and vise versa, makes Blood a massively powerful school of magic on the defensive side of the ledger. Blood practitioners can destroy enemy projectiles, heal wounds from trivial to fatal, invigorate allies, and materialize barriers (and simple weapons) for protection.
• Utility: The ability to create passages for allies and obstacles for enemies is of considerable use. One may also materialize simple, useful devices, like ramps, levers, cushions, and pulleys. Exceptionally skilled Blood magic users may even 'seal' simple spells by creating items that, when drawn from, release the necessary amount and type of energy for the spell.

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Essence Magic

• Drawing: Essence magic uses the power of chemical reactions as a source. It can use smaller reactions to trigger larger reactions, amplifying the power of the initial spell exponentially and creating a power loop to draw more from. Be careful, though! These can quickly spiral out of control.
• Offense: Practitioners of Essence magic are known for their terrifying array of offensive skills, and these come in two primary varieties: External and Internal. The former focuses on manipulating and often chemically altering the environment to generate powerful reactions in the form of combustion, explosions, and corrosives, which can be further perpetuated for cataclysmic results. The latter focuses on manipulating the biochemical properties of a living target’s body to injure, incapacitate, dominate, or destroy it.
• Defense: While they are offensive powerhouses, Essence users are markedly weaker on defense, relying predominantly on their ability to keep opponents on the back foot and, at higher skill levels, to deceive and dominate them mentally.
• Utility: In terms of utility, Essence users possess a plethora of skills beneficial to both themselves and allies, from minor casts augmenting moods and abilities, to transmutation, to powerful healing and even quasi-resurrection spells.

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Force Magic

• Drawing: Force Magic uses the power of kinetic energy as a source, meaning that the simple act of anything with mass in motion can power it. It also interacts with less obvious forms of motion and energy, such as sound waves and gravity.
• Offense: There are three distinct approaches to Force offense. The first seeks to manipulate motion and sound within the environment to use it against the target. The second focuses on offensive drawing and manipulating the target itself. The third approach uses the kinetic energy of the environment to turn the caster’s body into a powerful weapon.
• Defense: Defensively, Force magic’s telekinesis can allow its caster to throw objects into the path of attacks to act as shield instead of using them as offense. Additionally, the manipulation of sound is a subtle but powerful tool.
• Utility: In terms of utility, the telekinetic abilities of the Force school are front and center, though their multifunctional nature makes them potent offensive and defensive tools as well. Force spells can also augment their caster’s movements and help him to levitate, making him a very elusive target.

The Gift: A Deeper Understanding

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Understanding The Gift_______ __ __ _ _

Use of The Gift is a rare phenomenon, reserved only for those most blessed by the gods. It is estimated that perhaps two in a hundred people have the ability to use magic for more than mere parlour tricks, though this has not been measured for a certainty. As befits a great boon bestowed upon man by the divine Pentad, The Gift is arcane and inscrutable in nature: far beyond mortal understanding. What little is known to learned men is recorded below for the benefit of the interested.

The Five Celestial Wheels_________ __ __ _ _

Developed during Avincian times, the Five Wheel Method provides a straightforward measure of a person's capacity for The Gift. Five massive wheels are set spinning and maintained at a set speed by a powerful user (or multiple users) of The Gift in order to generate a specific amount of Force energy. Each of these wheels contains precisely double the energy of the wheel previous. Upon a signal, the candidate being tested will draw from each wheel in turn, taking a moment's rest between wheels to expel all drawn energy. The number of wheels that he can successfully draw from will act as a measure of that person's capacity for drawing energy. If he is able to draw partially from a wheel but not entirely, he will be assess for a quarter, half, or three-quarter measure. While the Five Wheel Method can put a number on how much energy a person is able to safely draw from his surroundings, what it cannot do is give him an absolute measurement of something as abstract as 'power'. Other factors such as drawing range and efficiency, conversion efficiency, spell focusing techniques, environmental and multiplicative effects, and a caster's mastery of a spell all have roles to play. Having a high Five wheel number certainly doesn't hurt, though. While other factors can change, it is the only one that is more or less immutable. Let's take a bit more of a look, shall we?

The Five Wheel scale is not a linear one. It's exponential. That means that each whole number on it represents double the power of the one before. Let's say that a hypothetical person is able to complete drawing from one wheel. We'll assign him a score of one. If he is able to draw successfully from two, then he has double the power and a score of two. Nice and tidy, right? But remember that two will now double, so when he draws from the third wheel, he does not have three times the power of a First Wheel magic user, but rather four times. This diverges further as we move up the scale.

First Wheel = 1: Minor magics - 80% of magic users
Second Wheel = 2: Moderate magics - 13% of magic users
Third Wheel = 4: Fairly Strong magics - 6% of magic users
Fourth Wheel = 8: Great magics - 1% of magic users
Fifth Wheel = 16: World-warping magics - neg.% of magic users

The Process of Spellcasting:_________ __ __ _ _

Draw > Contain > Convert > Cast

The power of a magic user is based upon a number of factors, but the four steps above are the essentials of any spell, though conversion is optional for some. We've already touched on capacity and schools of magic, so let's take a closer look at exactly how using The Gift works and how one can use it more effectively.

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Spell Power Determinants

• Capacity – all magic users have a capacity for energy that their body can process at a given moment. Effectively, the higher the capacity (as measured by the Five Wheels), the more energy that can be drawn in, contained, and expelled. While other skills can be learned, this one is innate. While it increases as you mature, once you are grown, your capacity is whatever the Gods have declared it to be.
• Reading – Energy exists in a number of forms in nature and artificially: force (motion and sound), thunder (magnetic), arcane (heat and light), essence, and blood (matter-based). The better that a magic user is at reading energy sources, the more ready a supply of energy for spells he will have.
• Drawing – the energy that a magic user relies upon originates in her surroundings. She must be able to sense it, grasp it, and draw it to herself in order to utilize it for casting spells. Drawing is the first active step in transferring the energy from its origin to its eventual target, using the person who draws as a temporary vessel.
• Containment - For a period either brief or long, the magic user must contain the drawn energy within herself, and containing large amounts for long periods can be dangerous. It often manifests itself as a sort of pressure that one feels inside, and a mounting headache. Energy contained for too long also tends to 'leak out' into one's surroundings and gradually dissipate.
• Conversion – Energy for use in spells can be drawn from a multitude of different sources addressed earlier. Normally, a spell simply intensifies and redirects that energy towards a preferred target. However, with training, a wizard or other magic user can store the drawn energy temporarily and expel it as a different type.
• Efficiency – energy must be pulled from surroundings, contained, (potentially converted), and then expelled (cast). Energy is not easy to control, and may escape the grasp of the magic user during any of these stages. Maximizing the amount of energy retained through each results in more powerful spells. Basically, the process is as follows: Draw Efficiency >> Containment Efficiency >> Conversion Efficiency >> Expulsion (Cast) Efficiency.
• Focus Words - This is the spoken part of any spell. It is not strictly necessary, but many magic users will use this for more complex or energy-intense spells. While having a routine of prescribed words that correspond to what one is doing can help with maintaining focus and ensuring efficiency, if these words invoke the Gods, it is also believed that they may lend the caster their assistance.
• Preservation – Drawing, containing, and casting large amounts of energy is often dangerous to the human body, so a magic user must spend a certain amount of focus and energy on protecting himself. This is usually accomplished through projection of spells away from the body, or the casting of small counterspells.
• Freecasting – Preservation when casting is often achieved through use of an object or weapon that acts as a focus point for the spell away from the body. In fact, most magic users do not know how to cast any other way. However, with the right protection in place, it is possible to cast without the use of an instrument or focus point, giving the magic user far greater flexibility.
• Multiplying – The energy released by a spell can cause secondary and tertiary effects in the environment, which skilled magicians such as witches, warlocks, and wizards should learn to anticipate and benefit from. Possessing a keen awareness of the potential for these effects and tailoring one’s spells to take advantage of them can multiply the energy output of a cast exponentially.
• Impact Focusing – When bursts of energy are diffused over too large of an area, their impact is diluted. A skilled magic user can increase their intensity by forcing all of the energy into a small focus point and maintaining that focus all of the way through spell completion.
• Impact Bursting – Drawing energy can take a considerable amount of time. While expelling energy is a faster, simpler process, there still tends to be a power curve. This effectively weakens the spell, as the total amount of energy is not used all at once. A disciplined and well-trained practitioner of magic can release all of her energy in a very short burst to ensure that it reaches its objective with maximum impact.

Callings

Your Role_________ __ __ _ _

Bard. Berserker. Horseman. Infiltrator. Knight. Malédict. Priest. Ranger. Warlock. Witch. Wizard.

Many are the forms in which people have taken to using The Gift, applying it in their existing fields of work and interest, augmenting existing skills and, in some cases, creating entirely new ways of shaping the world and their places within it. Below are covered the ten major callings that will comprise the heroes of this story. Some may specialize in only a single calling while others may hear two.

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🪕 Bard_________ __ __ _ _

Bards are particularly blessed of Aun-Ipte. They can be found in Drudgunze, Eskand, and Parrence.

Though the auditoriums of the empire are permanently closed as a stage, musicians still abound throughout the continent of Constantia. Many are simple musical performers who sing and play an instrument. However, there are some who can use the Gift to empower their music: whether force or essence, their songs have a palpable power or far-reaching emotional impact. They can inspire, empower, cow, or deafen allies and adversaries alike.

Durability: ★☆☆☆☆
Stealth: ★★☆☆☆
Agility: ★★☆☆☆
Endurance: ★★★★☆
Physical Attack: ★☆☆☆☆
Magical Attack: ★★★★☆
Range: ★★★☆☆
Support and Healing: ★★★★☆
Mounted Ability: ★★☆☆☆

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⚔️ Berserker_________ __ __ _ _

Berserkers are particularly blessed of Echeran-Sept. They can be found in Eskand.

A rare calling, and found only among the Eskandr, the path of the Berserker is one of controlled madness. These hulking, feral warriors enter a trancelike state, empowering their minds with visions and thoughts of ferocious beasts such as wolves, dragons, and bears and their bodies with essence, force, and arcane magics. Charging into battle, they attack with unmatched ferocity and great speed, greatly resistant to damage and nearly impervious to pain.

Durability: ★★★★☆
Stealth: ★☆☆☆☆
Agility: ★★★★☆
Endurance: ★★☆☆☆
Physical Attack: ★★★★★
Magical Attack: ★★★☆☆
Range: ★★☆☆☆
Support and Healing: ★☆☆☆☆
Mounted Ability: ★☆☆☆☆

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🐎 Horseman_________ __ __ _ _

Horsemen are particularly blessed of Aun-Dami. They can be found in Eskand and Parrence.

Most everyone who is anyone can ride a horse in this day and age. However, the significant steppes in the Eskandr midlands and those of northeast Parrence have led to horsemanship becoming a way of life for those who live there. More than even the oft-mounted knights of Perrence and Drudgunze, these people have mastered the art of maneuvering and managing horses (and sometimes other mounts) on the battlefield and effectively wielding a variety of weapons in lightning strikes.

Durability: ★★★☆☆
Stealth: ☆☆☆☆☆
Agility: ★★★★☆
Endurance: ★★★★☆
Physical Attack: ★★★☆☆
Magical Attack: ★☆☆☆☆
Range: ★★★☆☆
Support and Healing: ★☆☆☆☆
Mounted Ability: ★★★★★

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🥷🏻 Infiltrator_________ __ __ _ _

Infiltrators are particularly blessed of Aun-Echeran. They can be found in Drudgunze, Eskand, and Parrence.

In an age of swords, armour, and honor culture, there are nonetheless those who eschew societal expectation and take another approach to martial effectiveness. While some come from the respectable echelons of their respective cultures, many started out as thieves and hired blades. As a general rule, infiltrators are masters of stealth and quick, decisive movement and attack, employing arcane, force, and even essence magics to act as spies and assassins.

Durability: ★★☆☆☆
Stealth: ★★★★★
Agility: ★★★★☆
Endurance: ★★★☆☆
Physical Attack: ★★★☆☆
Magical Attack: ★★★☆☆
Range: ★★★☆☆
Support and Healing: ★☆☆☆☆
Mounted Ability: ★☆☆☆☆

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🛡️ Knight_________ __ __ _ _

Knights are particularly blessed of Oraphe-Sept. They can be found in Drudgunze and Parrence.

Recent advances in metalworking technology and the introduction of the stirrup to Constantia by Virangish peoples during the fall of the Avincians have resulted in the invention of an exciting new type of fighter: the knight. Heavily armed and armoured melee warriors skilled in mounted combat, many knights employ Essence and Kinetic magic to augment their massive physical strikes and enhance the performance and endurance of their mounts. Thunder Knights also use their metallic armour to create massive charges and strike down their foes with powerful Thunder magic.

Durability: ★★★★★
Stealth: ★☆☆☆☆
Agility: ★★☆☆☆
Endurance: ★★★☆☆
Physical Attack: ★★★★☆
Magical Attack: ★★☆☆☆
Range: ★★☆☆☆
Support and Healing: ★★☆☆☆
Mounted Ability: ★★★★☆

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🐍 Malédict_________ __ __ _ _

Malédicts are particularly blessed of Ipte-Sept. They can be found in Drudgunze.

Known as a 'Giftschlag' in the local language, some maintain that these strange sorcerers of the swamplands are merely a story to frighten children. Some are held to be remnants of the original Angrii population who were displaced, exterminated, and assimilated into the Drudgunzean culture three centuries prior. Whatever their origin, they are shrouded in mystery. Their magics are primitive, requiring direct touch or proximity, but immensely powerful. Using Blood, Thunder, and Essence magics, Malédicts can disintegrate possessions, plants, and people alike, form things out of thin air, and place powerful curses on their victims. Some say that they are cannibals. Others say that theirs is the magic of the yasoi.

Durability: ★★★☆☆
Stealth: ★★★★☆
Agility: ★★★☆☆
Endurance: ★★☆☆☆
Physical Attack: ★★☆☆☆
Magical Attack: ★★★★☆
Range: ★★☆☆☆
Support and Healing: ★★★☆☆
Mounted Ability: ★★☆☆☆

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🙏 Priest_________ __ __ _ _

Bishops, Priests, Monks, and Nuns are particularly blessed of Aun-Oraphe. They can be found in Drudgunze and Parrence.

While all of creation shares in the blessings of the Pentad, not all people offer the Gods their rightful praise. It falls to the religious orders of the Quentic faith - Hundrian, Stresian, Dordian, Rezaindian, and Somnian - to make up the shortfall. Often found in fervent prayer or enggaged in good works, they are motivated by their faith and empowered by the Gift. Holy men and women call upon powerful magics of all five schools to heal the world, protect the innocent, and strike down evildoers.

Durability: ★★☆☆☆
Stealth: ★★★☆☆
Agility: ★★☆☆☆
Endurance: ★★★★☆
Physical Attack: ★☆☆☆☆
Magical Attack: ★★★☆☆
Range: ★★★☆☆
Support and Healing: ★★★★★
Mounted Ability: ★★☆☆☆

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🏹 Ranger_________ __ __ _ _

Rangers are particularly blessed of Dami-Sept. They can be found in Drudgunze, Eskand, and Parrence.

While many people live sedentary lives as farmers, fighters, or crafters, dependent upon others and never taking the time to master the skills of their distant ancestors, there are some who chart a different course. Rangers are dedicated hunters, trappers, survivalists, and people of the frontiers and forests. Stealthy, quick, and capable, they use the Gift to augment their traps with illusion and empower their use of the bow and arrow.

Durability: ★★☆☆☆
Stealth: ★★★★☆
Agility: ★★★☆☆
Endurance: ★★★★☆
Physical Attack: ★★★☆☆
Magical Attack: ★★☆☆☆
Range: ★★★★☆
Support and Healing: ★☆☆☆☆
Mounted Ability: ★★☆☆☆

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🌙 Witch/Warlock_________ __ __ _ _

Witches and Warlocks are particularly blessed of Chune-Sept. They can be found in Drudgunze, Eskand, and Parrence.

In the years since the empire's collapse, formal schooling and practice in magic has declined precipitously and a great deal of written knowledge has been lost indefinitely. Keeping many traditions alive are the witches and warlocks of Constantia. Powerful magic practitioners, many are rugged and self-sufficient businesswomen and businessmen with deep knowledge in the poisons and remedies of the natural world as well as powerful magics that they can use to burn, blind, numb, heal, and invigorate. If some are less than reputable, they are nonetheless a necessary part of early medieval life.

Durability: ★★☆☆☆
Stealth: ★★★☆☆
Agility: ★★☆☆☆
Endurance: ★★★☆☆
Physical Attack: ★☆☆☆☆
Magical Attack: ★★★★★
Range: ★★★★☆
Support and Healing: ★★★★☆
Mounted Ability: ★☆☆☆☆

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🧙🏻‍♂️ Wizard_________ __ __ _ _

Wizards are particularly blessed of Aun-Chune. They can be found in Parrence.

Trained and powerful magic users, schooled in the ancient arts of the Avincians, Wizards can draw from the might of all schools of magic to cast spells capable of immense utility, healing, and destruction. That they can do this from ranges and with speed that others could not dream of speaks further to their dedication, natural affinity for magic, and leadership role. Educated, keen-minded, and stealthy in combat, a true wizard, able to bend the laws of nature to his whim, commands instant fear and respect.

Durability: ★☆☆☆☆
Stealth: ★★★☆☆
Agility: ★☆☆☆☆
Endurance: ★★☆☆☆
Physical Attack: ★☆☆☆☆
Magical Attack: ★★★★★
Range: ★★★★★
Support and Healing: ★★★★★
Mounted Ability: ★★★☆☆

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Character Sheet

[color=6B8E23][h1][u][color=A52A2A]C[/color]haracter [color=A52A2A]N[/color]ame[/u]__ _ _ _ _[/h1]
[img]Character Image[/img]
[sub][h3][u]A G E[/u] | [u]G E N D E R[/u] | [u]L O Y A L T Y[/u] | [u]C A L L I N G[/u]__ _ _ _ _[/h3][/sub]

[sub][h3][u]C H A R A C T E R I S T I C S[/u]__ _ _ _ _[/h3][/sub]
[i]A description of your character's appearance, motivation, and personality.[/i]

[sub][h3][u]B A C K G R O U N D[/u]__ _ _ _ _[/h3][/sub]
[i]A description of your character's life, experiences, and circumstances up to this point.[/i]

[sub][h3][u]I N V E N T O R Y[/u]__ _ _ _ _[/h3][/sub]
[i]A description of items regularly in your character's possession or owned by them.[/i]

[sub][h3][u]T H E G I F T[/u]__ _ _ _ _[/h3][/sub]
[i]A description of your character's abilities with The Gift, favoured schools, and how they're used.[/i]

[sub][h3][u]S T R E N G T H S & S K I L L S[/u]__ _ _ _ _[/h3][/sub]
❖ [i]Three[/i]
❖ [i]to four[/i]
❖ [i]of these[/i]
❖ [i]go here[/i]

[sub][h3][u]W E A K N E S S E S & F L A W S[/u]__ _ _ _ _[/h3][/sub]
❖ [i]Three[/i]
❖ [i]to four[/i]
❖ [i]of these[/i]
❖ [i]go here[/i]

[sub][h3][u]C O L O U R C O D E & O T H E R[/u]__ _ _ _ _[/h3][/sub]
[i]Your character's hex code and any other miscellaneous information. Feel free to use bullet points.[/i]
❖ [i][color=A52A2A]hex code[/color][/i][/color]

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The Hourglass Order

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B L A C K F L A G

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_♪

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Group One: Ingrid and Onarr

'Somewhere else' turned out to be a small, quiet room on the upper floor. Perhaps there was honour among thieves. "We been trying to do business with 'em for ages," Captain Falzon was saying. He was bald beneath his curly wig and big hat, both of which were presently on the table in front of him. "But they're in some weird spot further out down the coast. They've got a little cove or something and they keep to themselves. Don't even know who the crew is," he grumbled.

"You wouldn't, perchance know where this inlet is located?" Onarr inquired, thinking it likely for a businessman of a sort like this Falzon to have taken an interest.

The pirate quirked an eyebrow and shook his head tightly. "I know how to recognize dangerous people and I know when those people don't wanna be messed with." He struck a match and took a moment to light his pipe. "If I knew, I'd have told yuh," he continued, exhaling. "But I agreed to help you out." Indeed, he had, and it hadn't been cheap. He lowered his voice. "I know it's northeast along the coast, down a bit past The Doge's Breeches along that beach. Might wanna pop in and save a quick ahoy for the wonderboy there: Nerio Luchessi. If anyone knows anything, it'd be him."

So it was that, a few minutes later, the odd pair found themselves on their way to the Doge's Breeches, Ingrid grumbling about not getting her money's worth from that scurvy-mouthed pirate. She had a building urge to make something go kaboom. Life was simpler that way. It was right about then that she noticed Wvysen up ahead, leaving that very same building in a hurry.

Group Two: Trypano and Ismette

If the Mermaid's Knees had been a dead end, at least it had been an illuminating one, leaving Trypano with a mystery to solve. Of course, that could be vexing too. The two women had decided to make their way downhill to where the others would be, in the hopes of reconvening and figuring out what to do next. It only made sense to check in on La Fleur Rouge, which showed no sign of Desmond or Benedetto, before heading to The Doge's Breeches.

Their discussion over, they passed the next little while in easy silence, or perhaps it was actually loaded. For all of the time she had spent around humans, she still did not understand their cognition and doubted that it would ever be intuitive for her. The idea that one would care about friendships, rivalries, or societies. That was a very human conceit, she supposed. Things came and went. Impermanence is the the nature of the world, she thought to herself as the last sliver of one of the moons dipped from view. Then, in the distance up ahead, she saw two figures running. There were others chasing them. Trypano seemed to have noticed too. Normally, Ismette would've stayed out of it - making other people's problems your own was a great way to die - but she recognized one of them: Desmond - Desmond and a pretty dark-haired woman. She gathered all of the energies that she could. Her kinetic energy stretched, the receptors in her nerves and muscles sparked, and time quickened. She surged forward.

Group Three: Penny and Wvysen

When Penny awoke, she tried to hide it, but her eyes flashed open and she blinked. She could feel them open and yet, she saw nothing. She was on a cold, rough floor. A rope chafed at her wrists and... her foot was free at least. It had no partner to tie it to, after all.

Again, the Perrenchwoman blinked. She rubbed her eyes against her shoulder, but still could see nothing, and a cold wave of panic prickled through her veins. Am I blind? she thought with terror. Though she had never known otherwise, life was difficult as it was with one leg. To lose her sight as well? She let out a soft moan.

That was when she felt it: cold, foul-smelling breath upon her face. Instinctively, she flinched back, but there was a wall behind her. "HeLLo, pRinCEsS," said a voice that matched the breath.

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"Will you fuckin' relax?" Nerio was calling after her, but Wvysen was anything but relaxed. This was not what she'd signed up for. She'd wanted nothing more than an ordinary school year. Now there was a grave crisis. Time was ticking and, if she didn't warn them, her friends would all be dead before long. "It's gonna be fine!" the pirate called after her. "The princess is safe and that's what matters, right?"

The princess is safe, she scoffed to herself. The stress of it all was getting to her. This wasn't like her. She was about to open her mouth to retort when three things happened at once. From one direction, she noticed Ingrid and Onarr making their way towards her. She called out to them. From another, she caught sight of two rushing figures. One was Desmond and another was... the princess! Alright! she thought. "Onarr, Ingrid, this way!" she shouted, skidding around the bend. She called upon her kinetic skills to lift herself off of the ground. That's when she saw the third: black clad figures. It was almost too late. It was happening! She opened her mouth to warn Desmond and the others.

Group Four: Desmond and Amelea

They hadn't made it very far when the princess stopped, posture stiff, head flicking to one side and then the other like a meerkat peering out of its den. "I don't think we have that kind of time," she warned Desmond. Her eyes flicked over to his and he could feel a buildup of energy around her. It was modest, much like his own. "Godsdammit," she cursed, "I knew it was too easy." She started moving, and quickly. "Reach out with your senses. There's at least a dozen coming for us." If she wasn't shouting, anxiety bled out of her voice nonetheless. "I'm sorry," she added quickly. "I should've known they'd use me as bait." She glanced at him apologetically. "Now, unless you have a whole lot of people, right here and right now, I suggest you try to keep up!"

She suited words to action and, with a thrust of kinetic power, took off at a breakneck run, her dress fluttering behind her. That's' when Desmond could sense them too: about a dozen figures converging on their position: some quickly and some slower, from virtually every direction except... no, one was in the air too. Yet, there was a small part of him that still couldn't help but think of this as little more than a convincing performance. If he was going to run, it'd be towards backup and not whatever trap she could be leading him into. Drawing on every bit of kinetic energy that he could muster, he pulled even with Amelea, reached out, and grabbed her by the arm. Penny and Wvysen were at The Doge's Breeches and it was close, if he'd remembered the town map right. Ingrid and Onarr were supposed to meet the others there as well. Desmond was hard-pressed to think of how these shadowy pursuers would be able deal with three mages with 8+ RAS levels. "This way!" he shouted, and she didn't resist.

He scanned for energies again as the building drew closer. Three were unusually large for humans and a surge of adrenaline filled him. Maybe not all of the figures were enemies. There was a chance...

Then, he was there. Wvysen was out front, yelling at Nerio, who was... another friend, of a sort. Desmond was no stranger to tough scrapes in his line of work, and he might just get out of yet another. Wvysen was in the air, shouting something. Ingrid and Onarr came barreling around a corner, the dwarf struggling to keep up with his towering companion, having to boost himself as he went. Down the hill from above came Trypano and Ismette. But then came the attackers.

It was so quick that he didn't have time to react, and the others were still far away. A figure clad in black from head to toe landed in the middle of the small square by the docks, just in front of the Revidian tavern, and the impact of it sent cracks through the ground. With movements stiff and rapid as a construct, he turned his head in the direction of Wvysen and there was a surge of power so great that it nearly made Desmond sick. With a blinding flash, a beam of light seemed to pass through her and Desmond's eyes traced it back to the yawning mouth of the new arrival. Wvysen's lower body hung there for a moment by a tatter of flesh and fabric, and then it tore free and she fell to the ground in two pieces.

Amelea shrieked and shrank back, but there was no time for Desmond to mourn or cower. Ingrid, Ismette, Onarr, Nerio, and Trypano arrived. Yet, the attacker kept drawing as all five of his partners, too, joined him. Where was Penny? Where was Benedetto? It was seven on six, but that hardly mattered with this kind of power on display. It did not take a scholar to recognize that what they were up against was an Atomic Mage.

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Action Opportunities

1) There's no time to make a plan. You need to do it on the fly and you need to fight. The assailants will be trying to take the princess alive, but deadly force is in use against the rest of you.
2) One of the mysterious assailants is an Atomic mage: approach with extreme caution. Even his radiation can be very damaging. Only Ingrid has the ability to put up a shield, and she's at a novice level.
3) There ain't no saving Wvysen. She's as dead as they come.
4) Nobody knows where Penny and Benny got off to, but their power would sure be helpful in this fight.
5) You're close enough to the water that it can be a drawing source. Though an abundant source, it's currently a little far to be an efficient one.
6) The other five assailants are not as strong as the Atomic. There is one for each other type of magic. They're not trash mobs that you can kill without GM approval. However, if you're smart, you should be able to overcome them.
7) There are more assailants who aren't magic users nearby. They're cautious because you don't bang with mages lightly but, if you leave them an opening, they'll try to kill you.

The enemies

1) Atomic mage: appears male, RAS at least 8.40 (exact number unknown), likely offspec in Kinetic.
2) Chemical mage: appears female, RAS unknown (actually 8.03), destruction chemist with a dual offspec in illusion arcane and internal chemical.
3) Binding mage: appears male, RAS unknown (actually 6.58), dedicated healer with a dual offspec in Blood destruction and defensive magnetic.
4) Kinetic mage: appears female, RAS unknown (actually 6.89), skyborn long-distance telekinetic with a dual offspec in offensive and disintegration magnetic.
5) Arcane mage: appears female, RAS unknown (actually 5.79), greyborn illusion arcanist with a dual offspec in internal chemistry and blood destruction.
6) Magnetic mage: appears male, RAS unknown (actually 6.77), thunderchild offensive magneticist with a dual offspec in healing binding and defensive magnetic.

The Hourglass Order

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J O C A S T A R E

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"Five encounters five," said Creep, doing that thing that people of a certain height did, looking down their nose at you in a subtle assertion of power. "One for each of our party to trial against." It gave Jocasta pleasure knowing that hers was the power to break this arrogant girl should she have chosen. "Agreed?" The Virangishwoman concluded their one-sided conversation. Jocasta gave her the satisfaction of the eye contact that she so obviously sought. She gulped and nodded. "I...I'll give it everything I have," she promised. Or... perhaps ten percent, you peon. It was easy to turn the smirk that threatened to burst out of her into a brave smile. Then, she watched the children launch themselves headlong at giant tortoises. Jocasta had lived inside one of their shells once. She had eaten their putrid flesh: rubbery, bland, and slimy. What moisture it had contained!

The magics that they hit the halassa with were about what she expected. Slut played a pretty little thing on her flute, splashed some paint and vibrated the sand. Oh, Jocasta thought, you're a sonic mage. Truly a stunning development. Still, she slowed the aberration-mad beasts a little, and that made it easier for the others. Subtly, the Tethered began drawing energy.

There was nothing subtle about Bitch, however. It was clear that the sisters weren't on ideal terms - and I wonder so ever why? Jocasta mused wryly - but they were oh so much alike beneath their superficial differences, pointy hats, and gaudy jewellery. This one just charged in and began jumping and dancing around the biggest oldest tortoise of them all, making a lot of unnecessary noise. Ugh, Virangish. She was entertaining at least, though her attempts to poke at its shell were not likely to yield any sort of dividends. For a moment, Jocasta considered intervening, but the girl was quick and probably wouldn't die. She'd find her opening eventually.

The boy that the Tethered had hardly noticed earlier - she'd thought there were only five of them for the longest time - she dubbed Sucker (for bloodsucker, since he looked like a vampire). He... started disintegrating sand. This was wonderful, honestly! The vampire was a blood mage! Left to her own devices, Jocasta would've struggled to make something so good up! Thankfully, the nonexistent gods had done it for her. Or just this guy's parents, she amended. She watched him sweat and strain and set himself as if he were about to defecate in the sand. A barrier materialized in front of the charging halassa and the big old tortoise hammered right into it blindly at a... breakneck pace. Well, not really. It did slam hard into something of considerable mass, however, and it staggered, stumbled, and... Jocasta gave it a little bop. It crashed to the ground, dazed and wounded, one of its chunky forelimbs twitching spasmodically.

As Sucker was busy nearly getting a nosebleed and giving a halassa one, Creep, for all her subtly disdainful talk of pulling one's weight - which Jocasta was all too used to being on the receiving end of - attacked the third animal with... a screaming puppet. The Creep is a puppeteer. Let me guess: the priest prays the next one to death. Just what the second Virangishwoman intended to do with a little black birdy and a cuckoo jester was beyond Jocasta's imagining, and that actually annoyed her slightly. If this one dies, she told herself, I think I'll let it happen. Would the sisters reconcile as one lay there, expiring? That would be worth watching. A part of her now hoped that one would, indeed, take a mortal wound, but she wasn't invested enough to make it happen.

“And thus Shune said unto Rakda, I shall take thy sight from thee, so that thou may ponder thine own iniquity…!” Jocasta felt a distinct buildup of energy in the area of the fourth halassa and the beast let out a horrible braying, hissing yowl. Well, at least one surprise among the group. Yalen was straining, she could tell. For all of his Tethered powers and enviable degree of ambulation, his RAS was pitifully low. Boiling its brain, she recognized. He was the smartest of the group, the girl knew, for she had done it the same way. He made the most of his powers and ended its life quickly and mercifully. Animals were stupid things, but innocent, and there was no need to make them suffer for humanity's follies more than they had to.

Then, one was upon her. She'd been paying so much attention to the others that she'd neglected its approach. There wasn't time for anything fancy. With a speed approaching instinct, her arms flashed out in front of her and, eyes wide, she hit it with a massive kinetic shove. The enormous tortoise tumbled backwards, end over end, and landed on its back some fifty yards distant, struggling to right itself. Mercilessly, Jocasta drew the energy both from its flailing limbs and from the final halassa, which was heading straight for Ayla, and made a slight twisting gesture with her fingers. The inverted animal's neck snapped and its suffering ended.

While her draw had slowed the sixth giant tortoise to a more appropriate tortoise-speed, it was still headed for Ayla. There were three still very much alive and in the fight and a fourth down but not completely out. Jocasta began panting. She used chemical magic to cook up a sweat. Clearly, the Tethered girl had done her part and was rightly exhausted. She reached out with her manas. Even now, she could feel her former prison-mates stirring a ways away. She wondered who the caretakers' favourites were now: who'd told them about the disruption out in the sands. She could sense them moving: on a sortie out to investigate. The other five could handle three and a half halassa and, if they couldn't, they weren't worth having around anyways. "I-I'm sorry," Jocasta called, panting as she spoke, "That's one more down, b-but it took a lot out of me. I've got your backs, though! I'll...I'll scan in the distance for any more. Gods help us if there are!"

That would cover the surge of energy that they might feel from her. Four figures: caretakers, including Mirabel, the Tan-Zeno; Al-Qorrah, the Binder; Esparza, the Internal Chemist; and Gutierrez, the rapist. They would never make it over here. Jocasta drew from the desert and reached out with her energies: she would see to that.

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Character Action Opportunities

1. You all pretty much have free reign to finish the fight in the style that you like. Show me and each other what you can do!
2. Jocasta's a very good actress and chemist, and she's just expelled a lot of energy, so her pretending to be exhausted should not be discoverable unless you are right beside her, not particularly engaged in a fight of your own, paying her explicit attention, and have some experience with spotting acting.
3. When the fight ends, people can start either searching for the aberration that caused this, if there's anything left of it, or head for the Tethered Refuge (both Yalen and Jocasta can probably sense the energies from it from this range).
4. Jocasta's covering up her actions at the end very well, especially given the heat of battle all around her but, if the caretakers are still alive, you can make it to them and touch base. They probably have information about the problem.
5. You won't want to linger on your killing field, though. Coyotes are lurking and the Froabases on the cliffs will be on their way soon to feed on the carrion. There's also the off-chance of a Sand Wyrm and you do not want to mess with one of those.

The Hourglass Order

World Expansion

Alright so, given the popularity of this game and its associated world and lore, I'll be opening up a second game during the summer (yay, teacher life!) set in an earlier time and different place. Below are a few potential options and we'll choose one. Feel free to chime in with any feedback, questions, or interest! Let me know which you'd be most interested in. On that note, I intend to open an interest check for the one chosen before the weekend.

1) Regium Anguis (Royal Snake): set during the height of the Avincian Empire, this RPG follows the political intrigue and growing conspiracy to assassinate an emperor who some feel is decadent and corrupt and others feel is strong and stabilizing. Yes, this means magical gladiators, barbarians, and centurions.

2) 秘密戦争 *Himitsu Sensō* (The Hidden War): set during the collapse of the Danegashima Shogunate, this RP follows the various warring clans and hidden agents of the Retanese twin emperors as they attempt to establish control over late medieval Kanjiki. Yup, we have magical ninjas, geishas, and samurai.

3) City of Stone: set in the fertile Miharapori Delta during the agricultural revolution, this RP follows a small band of hunter-gatherers as they encounter civilization and the establishment of the very first kingdom, formal discovery of the seven magics, and enshrining of the earliest pantheon of gods. Yes, this means magical cavemen, but think of it more as Mesopotamia/Babylon.

4) 百王之战 *Bǎi wáng zhī zhàn* (War of the Hundred Kings): set in Dark Ages Re Tan following the collapse of the Sui Dynasty, players would either lead or be part of one of the dozens of factions and sub factions vying to establish the great nation's next dynasty or at least prevent it from splintering. Yes, this means magical shaolin monks.

5) Oriflamme: set in Dark Ages Perrence, Eskandish raiders pillage up and down coasts, rivers, and trade routes, extracting tribute from petty nobles and threatening the capital. The young king Arcel has decided to establish the Knights of the Red Table to counter their threat. Players would take on the roles of knights and mages in this quest. Yes, there be dragons.

6) By Reed and Wind: set during the expansion of the Palaparese peoples into the islands of the Solemni Ocean, this RPG follows the harrowing ordeal of one clan as they set off on their trimarans and catamarans to find a new home safe from the dangers of volcanoes, typhoons, great sea beasts, and internal sabotage. Yes, this means magical Maori warriors.

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Feel free to take this survey: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfJ1…

The Hourglass Order

World Expansion

Alright so, given the popularity of this game and its associated world and lore, I'll be opening up a second game during the summer (yay, teacher life!) set in an earlier time and different location. Below are a few potential options and we'll choose one. Feel free to chime in with any feedback, questions, or interest! Let me know which you'd be most interested in. On that note, I intend to open an interest check for the one chosen before the weekend.

1) Regium Anguis (Royal Snake): set during the height of the Avincian Empire, this RPG follows the political intrigue and growing conspiracy to assassinate an emperor who some feel is decadent and corrupt and others feel is strong and stabilizing. Yes, this means magical gladiators, barbarians, and centurions.

2) 秘密戦争 Himitsu Sensō (The Hidden War): set during the collapse of the Danegashima Shogunate, this RP follows the various warring clans and clandestine agents of the Retanese twin emperors as they attempt to establish control over late medieval Kanjiki. Yup, we have magical ninjas, geisha, and samurai.

3) City of Stone: set in the fertile Miharapori Delta during the agricultural revolution, this RP follows a small band of hunter-gatherers as they encounter civilization and the establishment of the very first kingdom, formal discovery of the seven magics, and enshrining of the earliest pantheon of gods. Yes, this means magical cavemen, but think of it more as Mesopotamia/Babylon.

4) 百王之战 Bǎi wáng zhī zhàn (War of the Hundred Kings): set in Dark Ages Re Tan following the collapse of the Sui Dynasty, players would either lead or be part of one of the dozens of factions and sub factions vying to establish the great nation's next dynasty or at least prevent it from splintering. Yes, this means magical shaolin monks.

5) Oriflamme: set in Dark Ages Perrence, Eskandish raiders pillage up and down coasts, rivers, and trade routes, extracting tribute from petty nobles and threatening the capital. The young king Arcel has decided to establish the Knights of the Red Table to counter their threat. Players would take on the roles of knights and mages in this quest. Yes, there be dragons.

6) By Reed and Wind: set during the expansion of the Palaparese peoples into the islands of the Solemni Ocean, this RPG follows the harrowing ordeal of one clan as they set off on their trimarans and catamarans to find a new home safe from the dangers of volcanoes, typhoons, great sea beasts, and internal sabotage. Yes, this means magical Maori warriors.

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Feel free to take this survey: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfJ1…

SANDSTRIDERS: A Lost Land

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The Imit tried hard to radiate power and dignity and maybe even succeeded. It was not difficult when he already possessed one of those things. Azar had seen men like him before - and they were almost always men - of course. Sitting there above her upon his fancy chair, his gaze had flickered momentarily to lewd. She didn't need to be particularly perceptive to notice it.

The ayiralite bowed low before him. These Tawrish thrived on recognition of their awesomeness. "I am Azar, your excellence, called Al-Hashimi or else Masoumi by others." She rose in a single, sinuous motion, her hair momentarily enfolding her in ebony and flames before settling about her back and shoulders. "You may, of course, address me however you desire." She paused for just long enough before continuing, aware that she should probably reference the Tawrish pantheon lest he suspect her of not being a follower. "I am grateful to have saved a man of such value. Indeed, I have come here from a place of some hardship to serve the will of the Gods and of Maatrho himself -" And, by extension, you, she thought, though she did not say it. "- in any way that I may be of use. Of course, as you know, my nature lends itself better to some pursuits than others..." With a thought, she conjured five small tongues of flame that danced at her fingertips.

It was near to noon and dusty columns of light streamed in through the tall narrow windows of the palace. This place reveled in that rarest of indoor commodities: sheer open space where utilitarian function was often the order of the day. Azar's attention, however, was on the Imit and her own performance, with which she found herself pleased. Nailed it, she thought, hiding her smirk of triumph. The jinnblood's expression remained beatific, or so she imagined it. She stood before the Imit's throne, feet together, chest out just a touch, for too much would make her appear low and that wouldn't do. She allowed a slight smile to crease her lips as she snuffed out the flames in her palm. A curl of smoke arose from it and, ever so slightly, she bowed her head and awaited his words.

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