Izurich

Revue of Annihilation

Note: Preapproved in the Interest Check.

Almagest

ALMAGEST

Human | 56 | Male | 188cm (6'2") | 85kg (187lbs)
0th Circle | Stars / Celestial Bodies | ♫

Born Klaudios Athanatos, the Ichor-Blessed Master of the Stellar Domain was once mere mortal, just like most. Klaudios was the younger of two brothers, the second son of a pair of merchants. His family was quite well-off, not to the extent of nobles and royals, no, but certainly a cut above peasants and laborers. As a result, he had a good childhood, with proper education and upbringing, something that was taken for granted by most. He had never been orphaned or subjected to any traumatic experience. Really, there was nothing to write home about his early years, but that in itself was notable in its own.

Naturally, his parents expected for him and his older brother to continue the family business once they came of age, however, unlike his economically talented and thrifty older brother, Klaudios' passions lie elsewhere. As far back as he could remember, Klaudios always had his gaze set above, toward the infinite stars dotting the boundless aether. While his parents and brother were busy counting coins, he engrossed himself in observing celestial bodies, while they tried to find the most profitable venture, Klaudios attempted to divine the meaning of each constellation. The rest of his family might be satisfied with earthly endeavors, but not Klaudios, the aether was where he belonged.

As a result, after his parents passed away peacefully in their old age, Klaudios' brother was the one who continued the family business, he and his own family now that he had a wife and children of his own. Meanwhile, the younger Athanatos still had his neck craned upwards. Ever the estranged uncle, his only companion was an orphan dragonkin girl named 'Frederika' that he hired as his assistant as his limited mortal body still required to be maintained. Due to the regular contact, they became a surrogate family of sorts.

Over the decades, now well into his 50s, Klaudios' ambition only grew, he was no longer satisfied with being a mere human, confined within a flesh vessel full of limitations, if only he could become one with the stars...

One day, in a stroke of fate, his prayers were answered as a piece of a falling meteor - no bigger than a gold coin - fell right into him. The celestial projectile smashed through the telescope Klaudios was using, then continued all the way through into his eye, embedded deep in his skull. By all logical explanations, he should be dead, severed from his mortal coil, and to be fair, it could be true depending on how one looked at what happened next. At that moment, Klaudios Athanatos was no more... and in his place, Almagest the Ichor-Blessed, Master of the Domain of the Stars. While the "newborn" entity shared Klaudios' memories, experience, and parts of his personality, it'd not be erroneous to say that they were an entirely new person.

As Almagest, he knew what must be done, the path to true divinity was possible, he must gather more ichor to one day ascend as the One and True God, and through this Divine Ascension, the very stars would be within his grasp...

But he couldn't do so alone, a journey must be made, trials and tribulations to conquer, allies to gather, and there was no better place to start than Oratorio, the Fortress-City That Watches the Abyss.

It was a star that once ended the Thousand-Faced God, thus twas' only fitting that a star would ascend as the next.

Path to Ascension

0th Circle Ichor-Blessed

❖ Ichor: 0
❖ Wealth: 0
❖ Paladins: 1
❖ Followers: 0
❖ Resources: None
❖ Artifacts: None
❖ Property: None

Divine Protection of the Stars

❖ Stellar Navigation: When directly exposed to the starlit sky, one will always be instinctively aware of the four cardinal directions.

Starting Benefit

❖ Treasured Companion: 1 Paladin. You've granted your Grace upon someone whom you trust deeply.

Paladins:

Frederika

FREDERIKA

Dragonkin | 28 | Female | 148cm (4'10") | 45kg (99lbs)
Tier 1 Paladin | Dragon Brawler | ♫

Unlike her employer - and eventually, surrogate father - Klaudios, Frederika had no parents, no childhood, and no education. As far back as the Black Dragonkin could remember, she was a street urchin who had to fend off hunger, cold, and rival kids all on her own, scavenging or stealing just to survive day to day. That was until she decided to infiltrate a random house to steal a basket of bread, only to find out that it was occupied by a single resident, a human man... and he was slumped over next to a telescope, barely even breathing.

Taken by morbid curiosity, Frederika went to check on the man, finding out that he was gravely ill. The dragonkin urchin was no doctor, but going from personal experience, she knew what a fever was. Curiosity turned to pity as she decided to take care of the man, while also making herself at home in his house of course, hey, take it as payment for her services.

Once he got better, the man introduced himself as Klaudios Athanatos, Astrologist, and much to Frederika's surprise, he decided to 'hire' her as his 'assistant', whatever that was, but if that meant free food and lodging? She'd be a fool to refuse.

Days turned to months, months to years, and years to decades as the once 8-year-old dragonkin blossomed into a bright young woman, and it was all thanks to Master Klaudios or Almagest as he called himself nowadays, but she wasn't surprised at the development, he was nothing but eccentric after all.

Nevertheless, whatever Master Almagest wished, Divine Ascension or whatever, she'd make it into a reality or die trying.

Skills

❖ Undying Loyalty - Incredibly resistant to mind-control effects that'll force her to attack her own allies.

Grades

STR - I | END - I | DEX - I | AGI - I | MAG - I

Izurich's Active PCs

--Ravenfell- Athroyeaux Coast--

_{In collaboration with @Estylwen}

---

Off the coast of Arthroyeaux, amidst a cloudy sky and disturbed sea, a lone fisherman's ship was seen over the water. Fishermen could be seen with their nets. But, more importantly, coming up from the lower deck, was none other than Valor Teardrop, standing with a hand on her hip, looking out at the waves.

They were right over the coordinates. Now, it was only a matter of snatching up what was lost. The air, however, felt tense…

The inexplicable tension in the air then heralded itself through an archway-shaped portal spawning on the same deck that the Clandestine agent found herself on, and stepping forward from said portal was none other than She Who Hosts the Shade, Scion of the Tearmoon Coven and Royal Apprentice of the Hathforth Court, Melisande Tearmoon... or at least, an entity that wore her face and voice. It heeded not the various reactions of the fish-harvesting mortals, how could it when it could reunite with its 'old friend' from the castle gardens?

"So... here it lies..." Kronos chuckled, gazing toward the sea before ever so slightly turning its indigo gaze at Valor, "You seem surprised, pawn of the false-shade king." At this point, the Dremora had dropped any pretense that it was the Lilim it masqueraded as, its voice carrying otherworldly whispers through the very air, "Did you really think your mages could manipulate the fabric of space-time in my presence and expect it to go unnoticed?" It sneered, half-amused, half-insulted.

It'd have preferred to devour the Ghost King himself, but for now, one of his pawns would do, a little... entree to the main course. "You see, I'd never have thought I'd sympathize with any mortals, and yet... your king had proven me wrong. Your kind is so vile that I felt pity for those humans you summoned. I've made it my duty to consume every last one of your “people”... starting with you, so come, you unliving mockery of the shadekin; fight and resist, it shall make my meal all that sweeter..."

Valor Teardrop turned and faced ‘Mèlisande’, staring for a moment before scoffing. “So you really are a Shade.”

She gestured with her hands, shrugging. “You can try all you like, King DuFairre's magic is true, and his intent pure. The Ghosts of Ravenfell have little to fear from the likes of you.”

"Indeed, in the shadows, a truekin, which your 'people' mock with your very existence," The Dremora curled an uncharacteristic grin across Melisande's face as it too tilted its head, albeit to such an angle that very much suggested it was no Lilim, "Good, I prefer prey that has confidence." It chuckled lowly as the simulacrum's shadow seemed to part its jaws and lick its lips.

Valor was silent, before she placed a single gauntleted finger on the chin of her mask. “Though, if you really noticed the Royal Symphony's teleportation magic, this is perplexing… You've come alone, haven't you?”

"Of course I had. Why would I share my meal?"

The Dremora lied as easily as it manipulated space-time.

"Kronos, Mother and I are ready to act upon your command."

"Wonderful, Feylings, just as we schemed."

"Be cautious, she might not be alone herself."

"I am aware. If you see one cockroach, there'll always be more lurking nearby..."

Valor clasped her hands together in front of her, “Very well, then. Still no intent to heed His Majesty's words? You know what's coming. A storm that will destroy everything, and a new Arrowfell will sprout from the ashes.”

Her head tilted. “Surely a Shade such as yourself has some amount of self-preservation…”

"Ehehehe... hahahahahaha!!" The Simulacrum's shadow cackled, though its voice was carried through the air all the same, its source mattered not, both its 'body' and the shadow cast by said vessel were of one and the same entity, "You seem to misunderstand... Arrowfell disgusts me, all those mortals and their petty squabbles," It paused, simply to let its words hang in the air, "However, it's not about that at all, what I want is the utter extermination of your kind, I care not what your ambitions are, only your demise..."

Valor listened intently, silently. Before a huff left her chest, short, dismissive. Still, she didn't move to draw her sword. She seemed relaxed, as if she was untouchable.

If the undead wouldn't make her move, then... fine by Kronos, even as they spoke, Melisande and her vexatious Feyling of a mother were working on narrowing the location of the sword and as for the Dremora, it could wait, after all, it had all the time in the world.

Indeed, it was easy to detect with magic that the sword rested at the bottom of the ocean here, gently wedged between two coral beds. Fish unknowingly swam around it, some gazing at the strange, ghostly gleam it gave off.

However, the moment Mèlisande and her mother would begin to seek it with their magic, a gold cage, or shield, encased the sword.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

"Melly dear, tell Kronos that a rather intrusive party is competing for possession of the artifact."

"Kronos, we've located the sword, but someone got to it before us and blocked our access.

On the boat's deck, Valor stood there, casually swaying her weight on one leg, her hand raised and glowing a faint golden hue. She tutted at the Shade.

“Lying like a bad child. Someone ought to teach you some manners.”

A minute shift of Kronos' indigo pupils as it reflected the the dim golden hue, "Ah, I may have identified our culprit..."

"Ehehehe... indeed, so come, punish me."

Her free fingers snapped, and there was a rush of air. In an instance, a lithe man in a billowing cape and white mask appeared in front of the Shade. A slender lance was gripped in his hand, thrown with rapid force, aiming so the tip would pierce Kronos, right in the heart.

Simultaneously, Valor manipulated her golden fingers, and the sword with its gilded cage slowly began to raise.

As both sides expected from each other, neither of them were alone. Thus, the Dremora was quite pleased when another of her ilk finally showed himself. By the end of the day, it might have enough to share with other Shades... no, nevermind, it'd have all of them for itself.

"Feylings, now, they took the bait."

Within the following short seconds, a cascade of events all unfolded at once.

First, Kronos didn't even bother to move the Simulacrum out of harm's way, instead using the chance to silently cast Fate Bond upon Valor and Faith, intertwining their strings of fate and causality together.

Second, a Dimension Door tore through space-time behind Valor, connecting the two locations, revealing a pair of nearly-identical Lilim in a mystical forest by a verdant glade. One of them was keeping the portal open, while the other...

"O' stellar comets, swarm them!"

Third, Jezebel snapped her wand toward Valor as numerous magical bullets burst forth from it, all homing in on the female undead with power and precision one would come to expect from the Lilim Matriarch.

There was a haughty huff as Valor half turned to view the portal, the rush of comets. Instantly, a gold construct, translucent, erected itself in a dome over Valor. Comets impacted the magical barrier, ricocheting off. Fishermen panicked, scurrying below deck to avoid any stray magic.

Valor, however, kept her position, her stance calm and relaxed despite the minor cracks inflecting on the surface. As the Matriarch's attack ended, her dome morphed into pinpoints of gold, like hovering rain. Each elongated into a needle, and shot forward, a shower of needles arcing forward to pierce the Lilims.

"Ah, the little corpse has her tricks~" Jezebel remarked with a chortle, so indeed, there were good reasons why Kronos itself relented to allow Melisande to ask for her assistance, these pawns of the Ghost-King weren't pushovers, "I shall handle her thorns, my dears." The Matriarch declared as she flicked her wand, casting her Magic Missiles once more as swarms of star-shaped projectiles rushed forward, clashing and neutralizing Valor's golden needles.

Meanwhile, the masked Clandestine made disgruntled noise, noticing the weaving of magic the Shade had wrought upon them. Nevertheless, he struck forward with his lance, the Shade unmoving. The lance appeared struck through the Shade's head, before the weapon impacted, a shockwave ripping the Shade's body apart, along with the rail of the boat.

"Ha ha ha ha ha haaa...." Slow, mocking laughter haunted the open sea even as Faith's lance struck the Simulacrum true, ripping it apart as the construct dispersed into tiny motes of mana residue...

The Clandestine stared for a moment, before he hovered on the spot, plucking up his lance again and turning to the Dimensional Door.

...only for Melisande's Seed to glow as Kronos reappeared right in front of the lancer, between him and the Dimension Door. Its shadow curling a mad grin, whispering right into Faith's unliving soul, "Sit, boy..." as it hexed the Clandestine agent with a chronomantic malady, the aptly-named 'Slow' spell gripping his limbs and - due to the Fate Bond - Valor's as well.

"Feyling, I've bonded their fate-strings and cursed them with time-lethargy."

"Duly noted, Kronos."

Meanwhile, the real Melisande was not about to let Kronos' efforts go in vain as she reached her right hand forward... then closed it into a fist. At virtually the same time, the fabric of space-time around Faith trembled and throbbed before violently imploding, courtesy of the silent-cast Vacuum spell.

Before the spell could hit its mark, however, a red sigil appeared under the feet of both the masked Clandestine and Valor. In an instant, space warped, and the two members vanished…

The cage around the sword disappeared, and it began sinking once more into the waters.

"And thus they scurried off like the fleas they are..."

"Do you know where they went, Kronos?"

"You offend me, Feyling, one does not manipulate the fabric of reality before The Dremora of Space-Time and expect it to not notice."

"That is fair. Would you go after them?"

"Good question. As much as I'd like to, they are mere pawns, and we have a more pressing matter to attend to. However, rest assured, upon my immortal soul, I swear that Ravenfell will be truly lifeless sooner than later."

"While you two are having your lovely little telepathic chat, look what I've discovered~" The Matriarch chimed in as she made a flourish with her wand, then a second later, something rose out of the watery surface...

Titanslayer, The One Sword to Rule Them All.

The mythical blade proceeded to slowly descend, finally landing in Kronos' hands.

"Ah... yesss..." Kronos hissed, splitting an ear-to-ear grin as the Simulacrum's hands gripped it tight. Shadowy tendrils licked the air around the Dremora before they coalesced upon the ghostly blade, enveloping it, infusing it with a part of the Shade's own essence.

"With this, you are 'Titanslayer' no longer, I christen thee... 'Shadesbane', slayer of my own kind and leviathans alike."

The very air of the open sea rumbled as if Ravenfell itself was quaking under the realization that their sovereign had just made a powerful enemy, it wasn't enough that he had to declare war against the dukedoms and houses of Arrowfell, but gained the ire of the Shade as well. Perhaps, indeed, twas' time the Ghost-King learned that agelessness did not equal true immortality.

For now, the pair of Lilim mother and daughter watched in silence through the portal...

...as the sky turned black.

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Mèlisande Tearmoon & Kronos

Mèlisande Tearmoon & Kronos

16 / Unknown | Lilim / Dremora | Female / Genderless | 157cm (5'2") / N/A | 46kg (101 lbs) / N/A

Goal: Firstly, driven by a sense of loyalty to her mother, Matriarch Jezebel Tearmoon, and the coven she belongs to, Melisande strives to realize her ambitions of exerting the coven's control over the Glasic Fields by whatever means most convenient, whether through supporting the Wizard Queen or the Duke of Rhinecliff. Secondly, motivated by gratitude to the Dremora of Time, Kronos, who dwells within her, she wishes to search for a way to separate their conjoined souls so it can return to the Shade from whence it came. Thirdly, above all, she wishes to enjoy everything life has to offer before her borrowed time finally ends, whenever it'll be.

History:

The Two of Us

The Lilim, a curious race of monogendered people; beautiful, physically delicate, and magically talented, these all-female sapients were said to have descended from ancient nymphs intermarrying with humans and elves. Regardless of the truth, it's clear that the mystical influence of the fey realm runs strong in them, which would indeed explain their peculiar traits. Then, the Dremora, shadowy creatures hailing from the Shade, dreaded and mysterious, they're a subject of innumerable stories and legends, malevolent anathema to the All-Force itself.

One might ask, what if a pair of Lilim and Dremora are forced to coexist? Melisande's very existence is a representation of such a concept.

Born as the first child of the current matriarch - leader - of the Tearmoon lilim coven, Melisande's struggle began right after she left her mother's womb. A sickly infant, the girl's early years were spent mostly bedridden and confined in her room, and even the best of the coven's healers were unable to cure her ailments, it was as if her fate had been set in stone, that she was to suffer through a short life of agony before she'd waste away into an eternal sleep. Something that the matriarch found unacceptable, her beloved daughter would live... by any means necessary.

After exhausting almost every option, Jezebel turned to the forbidden, in place of the so-called benevolent All-Force who couldn't save her daughter, she'd instead embrace the dark gifts of the Shade. Delving into eldritch knowledge was quite achievable for a Lilim of her stature, thus after no small amount of research, the coven matriarch prepared a ritual, one that would summon a dremora from the Shade and use its unlife-force to immortalize her child.

The ritual... succeeded, Jezebel summoned a creature of timeless existence and infused it into Melisande, freezing the progression of the child's affliction. However, meddling with the shade had its price, there'd always be a catch, and in this case, it's the harrowing fact that the otherworldly creature didn't quite disappear, instead its consciousness melded with Melisande's, practically turning them into a conjoined twin sharing a single body. Still, Jezebel deemed that it was worth it.

...and so did Melisande, as she grew up, she learned to coexist with her "twin", her 'other self', one she named Kronos. As for Kronos, it was resentful at first, being imprisoned in someone else's body, but due to the combination of Melisande's warm friendliness, its own curiosity about the material plane, and last but not least, the promise of one day being able to be separated and return home, it grew to tolerate its new life, one might say it might've grown fond of Melisande, though it'll never admit it.

At the tender age of sixteen summers, Melisande qualified for a scholarship from the Society of Young Magic to attend Hathforth Academy. There, she could hone her power over chronomancy, the arcane art of space-time and causality manipulation, using the best resources and tutelage the academy could offer. In addition, her mother tasked her with gathering any information that'd help the Tearmoon coven to rule over the Glasic Fields and obtain exclusive authorization to manage it, essentially supplanting the Royal Gardeners, but no one needs to know that... at least not before it’s appropriate to whisk the curtains.

Seed: Gemini - Melisande's Seed takes the form of a gem-encrusted golden star-shaped brooch. Perfectly symmetrical from the vertical axis, Gemini's primary function is to manipulate the fabric of space-time to conjure an identical copy of Melisande's body, including her current apparel, and either Kronos or Melisande herself can focus their consciousness to control said copy, which practically allows the twins to have a separate body each. The clone continuously consumes mana to maintain its existence and when dispelled through one reason or another, it'll simply vanish into fleeting motes of pure mana.

Magic:

❖ Swift: Enchants a target with magical vigor, allowing them to perform actions quicker.
❖ Slow: Hexes a target with arcane malady, hindering their movements.
❖ Hasten: Accelerates the progression of an effect, for example, an antidote that'd need several minutes to fully take effect can be manipulated into a single minute.
❖ Hinder: Impedes the progression of an effect, for example, a venom that'd have taken a minute to kill can be delayed to several minutes.
❖ Blink: Manipulates space-time to instantly change the caster's location to another location within sight or a maximum of several meters, whichever is closer.
❖ Reflect: Conjures a barrier that can reverse the trajectory of mundane projectiles, unable to affect magical projectiles.
❖ Vacuum: Generate a localized implosion at a designated point in space, damaging anything within that space with pure force. The size of each implosion can be no larger than an apple. Its destructive power is similar to a Firebolt spell.
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❖ Dimension Door: Connects two separate points of space via a portal, enabling nigh-instantaneous travel between the two. If a portal closes while something is traveling through it, then the subject will either be wholly ejected into one end or if impossible due to one reason or another, severed in two. Can only conjure a single pair of portals simultaneously.
❖ Fate Bond: Intertwines the strings of causality between two separate individuals. If a bonded creature receives an effect, then the same will be applied to its pair. Can only work on creatures with a soul and no more than a single pair simultaneously.
❖ Void: Basically a larger version of Vacuum, this one can affect a volume of space as large as an adult horse. Its destructive power is similar to a Fireball spell.

Skills:

❖ Magical Erudition
❖ Metamagic: Silent Spells
❖ Agelessness
❖ Dremora Sense
❖ Nymphish Charm
❖ Diplomacy

Faction: Tearmoon Coven - Melisande is affiliated with the Tearmoon Coven, a society of Lilim (and their husbands or more rarely, wives) under the rule and guidance of the Matriarch, chosen by popular vote upon the death or abdication of her predecessor. While there are multiple covens scattered across the world, including Arrowfell, the Tearmoons are the most prominent among them. They're a little over a thousand members strong and host some of the best arcane practitioners in the region.

City: Tearmoon Glade - The patch of land dominated by meadows and rolling hills that the coven claimed as their ancestral home, dating back to centuries old. Though they're mostly self-sufficient due to the Lilim's talents in the arcane, they aren't xenophobic, in fact, it's the exact opposite. Due to how their race propagates, a Lilim can only bear Lilim daughters and as such, they need men of other races to take in as consorts.

Though each coven may differ in their culture and norms, Tearmoons in particular endorse Lilim-focused polygamy in that a Lilim is allowed to have multiple husbands (and/or wives, though husbands are preferred) and they do not acknowledge adultery if a husband or wife of a non-Lilim decides to marry one. The latter in particular is quite a controversial practice amongst outsiders as the Lilim's propensity for alluring comeliness means it's quite common for a married person to be tempted to elope on their spouse with a coven member.

In Tearmoon, only Lilim can become full-fledged coven members and they all share the same surname, which is the coven's name. People of other races need to be espoused to a member to be allowed to live within their enclave. Members who have come of age are encouraged to venture out of the glade, both to gather life experience and find a potential spouse to bring back to the coven.

Aside from providing services related to magic and alchemy, causing marital problems to non-Lilim women and men, and generally functioning as a self-sufficient enclave, the coven maintains neutrality in political affairs... until the Glasic Fields' sudden introduction into the region. Standing at the foremost of this newfound ambition is Matriarch Jezebel and her appointed agent, Melisande.

Assets: Arcane services, alchemical products, and... a popular emigration destination for individuals (mostly men) preferring an easy, docile life as a consort.

Mèlisande & Kronos' Relationships

Mèlisande & Kronos' Relationships
Us Melisande to Kronos and Kronos to Melisande. A pair of existences as distinct as oil and water, yet united together through the machinations of the Tearmoon Matriarch.	________________________ ________________________ ________________________ "You're the reason I can live, laugh, and love, Kronos, thank you." "Hmph, tis' a burden forced upon me, however, I shall keep you alive until I can be free from this prison. Woe to all who aims to harm Us."
Matriarch Jezebel Tearmoon The reigning matriarch of the Tearmoon Coven, Melisande's mother by blood, and last but not least, Kronos' abductor. One of the two is obviously more fond of her than the other.	________________________ ________________________ ________________________ "My beloved mother, she could simply bear more daughters yet she never gave up on me. For her, I'll sail through even the stormiest seas." "... ... ..."
Headmaster Caveus Ashan Dean of the College of Hathforth and a good friend of Melisande's mother. His sheer arcane knowledge and experience made him quite respected in the coven. It's preferable to have him on our side than against.	________________________ ________________________ ________________________ "Headmaster Ashan possesses acumen only few others have. I can see why Mother is fond of him, for I am too," "Humans are such short-lived creatures even amongst you mortals. If he's such a brilliant magus, why doesn't he free himself from time's grasp? Or perhaps he can't."
Court Mage Eirwen Blackthorne Court Mage and Advisor to the Wizard Queen, but more importantly, the founder of the Young Society of Magic, providing scholarships to promising students such as herself.	________________________ ________________________ ________________________ "I hope I can make Sir Blackthorne proud." "This mortal is capable of recognizing a being of superior power when he sees it, good, he knows his place."
Duke Laurent Rhinecliff The head of House Rhinecliff and ruler of Odonfield, like Caveus, he's a good friend of Mother. Tearmoon and Odonfield had been neighbors for as long as she knows, long before the reign of either the duke or the matriarch. She prefers if this cordial relationship continue.	________________________ ________________________ ________________________ "Mother told me the Duke will assist me in my mission, and I suppose he expects the coven to side with him against the Wizard Queen..." "He and the vexatious feyling are of the same flock, you should trust neither. Only we can take care of us."
Wizard Queen Evelyn Keove The reigning sovereign of Arrowfell, who carved her path to power through blood and death. She appointed the Royal Gardeners to manage the Glasic Fields instead of the coven, the very reason why Melisande was given her mission.	________________________ ________________________ ________________________ "Can I truly change her mind? Or can this only be done through force?" "I care little for my kin, but knowing she can abduct them at will with her accursed crown... yes, it'll fill me with joy to drag her into the Shade, kicking and screaming..."

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Kronos

Kronos

Unknown | Genderless | Dremora
@Izurich

Description: A Dremora who governs over the concept of time and space. The combination of being territorial yet peaceful makes for a reclusive entity, Kronos cares not for the material plane with its bickering mortals and their mortal problems, and in relation, it too disdains its envious brethren, always craving to consume the light of the All-Force. It does not and will not understand, all it wishes is to be left alone... until a vexatious feyling forcibly dragged Kronos out of its peaceful Shade and into another being's body, and the rest is history.

Though it has learned to tolerate its new lot in life, Kronos remains a cynical and callous entity, it's slow to forget and even slower to forgive. If it sees an orphaned urchin begging for scraps of food, it'd assume some kind of ruse is at play. If it's given a gift, it'd immediately try to deduce what the giver expects in return. In its mind, no good deed goes unpunished. Clearly, it distrusts everyone by default and so far, only its host, Melisande, has managed to foster what can be discerned as affection from it.

Assorted Powers (Spells, Seed, Skills, Artifacts, etc.):

❖ United Souls: Kronos is Melisande and Melisande is Kronos, distinct yet united. They share each other's powers and skills.
❖ Distinct Minds: Melisande is Kronos and Kronos is Melisande, united yet distinct. Mind-affecting conditions that afflict one of them do not automatically beset the other. They're considered as two separate entities for this purpose.
❖ Consciousness Substitution: Kronos can control Melisande's body or Gemini clone as if it were its own, becoming the primary consciousness of the vessel.

Jezebel Tearmoon

Matriarch Jezebel Tearmoon

44 | Female | Lilim
@Izurich

Description: The reigning Matriach of the Tearmoon Coven and Melisande's mother. Though she may initially appear like the spitting image of her daughter, their similarities are merely skin-deep. Behind the cordial and unassuming persona lies an ambitious woman of many schemes. She firmly believes that her people are the most suited to unlock the true potential of the Seeds, yet the Wizard Queen unwisely squanders their potential by favoring those incompetent simpletons in the Royal Gardeners instead of her coven. No matter, whether under the sanctions of the Wizard Queen or the Duke of Rhineclfif, Tearmoon will be the exclusive custodian of the Glasic Fields. She’ll see to it.

Aside from being a coven leader, Jezebel is an accomplished magus and scholar in her own right. She's routinely invited to conduct lectures at the College of Hathforth, in fact, she's a good friend of Caveus Ashan the headmaster. In relation, though Jezebel won't hesitate to curry favors and pull strings in order to ensure Melisande's enrollment into the prestigious academy, she doesn't need to do so as her eldest daughter is talented enough to qualify for the scholarship anyway.

Assorted Powers (Spells, Seed, Skills, Artifacts, etc.):

❖ Arcane Appraisal: Through the combination of vast knowledge, experience, and shrewdness, Jezebel is able to instinctively detect when a magical spell in being cast within her vicinity, analyze its methods, and then given time, eventually unravel its purpose. This ability only concerns the appraisal and identification of spells, whether she can replicate the spell or not is another matter entirely.
❖ Counterspell: Disrupts a target's casting process, causing the spell to prematurely fizzle if the target fails to resist. This technique can only be performed to a single target once every few minutes.
❖ Magic Missiles: Conjures and launches a hail of solid magical projectiles to one or several targets, said projectiles possess extraordinary homing capabilities, in other words, they're exponentially harder to dodge than block.
❖ Power Word: Obey: Utters a command laced with powerful enchantment to compel a target's body to perform a single action. It can be resisted through sufficient willpower, resisting targets will instead be paralyzed in place for a brief moment as their mind struggles to regain control of their body. Each target can only be affected by this spell once per day.
❖ Defy Death: The caster engraves a crest upon the target which essentially functions like a dormant healing spell. The mark activates if the host is dying, healing their wounds enough to stabilize them. The crest is invisible to the naked eye and lasts for a week or until triggered, whichever is shorter.

Suzanna Tearmoon

Suzanna Tearmoon

"I've stopped counting." (100+) | Female | Lilim
@Izurich

Description: The Tearmoon Coven's (self-proclaimed) Alchemist Primus. Hubris aside, the fact remains that Suzanna "Suzy" Tearmoon is one of the best alchemists ever to grace the Province of Arrowfell. Eccentric, insufferable, and yet unquestionably brilliant, she's a walking definition of a 'genius savant'. It's not difficult to see that she isn't right in the head, for good or ill.

Furthermore, in a society where its Lilim members are encouraged to have a husband, preferably multiple husbands, Suzy is a shamelessly asexual rebel. She has zero interest in any sort of romantic relationships as anything and everything that distracts her from her work is simply not worth her time, romance included.

Between that and her unabashed delusions of grandeur, no covenmates in their right mind would vote her to be the next Matriarch, resulting in her niece - Jezebel Tearmoon - to take the throne. Not that Suzanna could care any less, her place is in her workshop with her ingredients, tools, and potions.

Assorted Powers (Spells, Seed, Skills, Artifacts, etc.):

❖ Alchemical Master: Potions, tonics, elixirs, salves, all manner of products produced through glorious alchemy, brewed at a quality matched only by a scant few. The Tearmoon Coven may host many alchemists, but there's only one Alchemist Primus.
❖ Substance Analysis: Through various methods from examining them to outright ingesting the product herself, Suzy can discern the properties of a specific alchemical product, then eventually replicate it.
❖ Drug Tolerance: Being insane enough to imbibe various unidentified solution over many decades, Suzy's metabolism has adapted to her risky lifestyle. She's able to endure the adverse effects of consumables far better than a common person can.
❖ "Begone, Harlot!": The Lilim has no time, nor desire to engage in promiscuity. Suzy is completely immune to any charm effects, magical and mundane.

Fidélicia Tearmoon

Fidélicia Tearmoon

14 | Female | Lilim
@Izurich

Description: Mèlisande's half-sister on their maternal side of the family. Like Mèlisande, Fidél was born from Jezebel's womb, but unlike her, she was sired by a different father, specifically by the Matriarch's second husband.

In an almost intentional twist of fate, Fidélicia was designated to be a walking contrast to her older half-sister. To start: she inherited her father's looks more than Jezebel's, she was born perfectly fine with no complications, and most frustratingly of all, she's a completely average person as far as her kin goes. Her magical talents are... decent, she has no learning difficulties, yet has no particular talents in any specific school either. While she's a good mage for Arrowfell's standards, that much is to be expected from an individual of a race who practically breathe magic.

All of these combined dooms her to live under Mèlisande's shadow, and yet... she's fine with it. Yes, she's not as unique, or talented, or beautiful as her sister, but thanks to all of that, no one placed any expectations on her. Like an heir ranked fifth in the line of succession, she's essentially free to live however she wants to. After all, for each boon Mèlly possesses, another weight is added onto her shoulders, and Fidél knows their mother enough to realize being her 'favorite daughter' is actually more of a curse than a blessing.

As things stand, Fidélicia is content to be a simple covenmate, a happy-go-lucky Lilim who helps around the Glade here and there with whatever assorted tasks her people need. Her great-aunt - Suzanna - often asks her to forage for various ingredients, and she's also good friends with Nitta Kochimei, a catgirl courier working for the duke of that walled city to the South.

Assorted Powers (Spells, Seed, Skills, Artifacts, etc.):

❖ Aeromancy: Fidél is quite skilled at utilizing spells associated with the wind element; from flying, directing air currents, summoning a miniature tornado, etc. It's quite a handy and utilitarian element if she can say so herself.
❖ Foraging: Honed by experience of gathering ingredients for Suzanna, the young Lilim can be relied on to locate, identify, and collect various herbs, mushrooms, and other materials.
❖ Robust Health: For some reason, Fidél rarely falls ill and even if she does, she'll recover quicker than most others with little to no assistance from medicine or healing magic. Maybe the myth about idiots being immune to the cold has some merit after all...

Revue of Annihilation [Faction-Ruling Demigods Vie for Ascension]

If you want, you could swap it over for just a generic 'Resistant to mind-influencing effects.' Bit of a strange Skill to manifest from either a Dragon Brawler or a Paladin of the Stars, but I don't have problems with it either way.

Will kick up the OOC and Discord tonight. IC will probably be up sometime past the 15th.

@ERode

Just mild general resistance would be a bit strange, true, but strong specific resistance that's tied to the backstory? Now that's less strange, and also cooler. 😎

Noted on the schedule.

Revue of Annihilation [Faction-Ruling Demigods Vie for Ascension]

@ERode And here's grandad's Starter Paladin yo.

Frederika

FREDERIKA

Dragonkin | 28 | Female | 148cm (4'10") | 45kg (99lbs)
Tier 1 Paladin | Dragon Brawler | ♫

Unlike her employer - and eventually, surrogate father - Klaudios, Frederika had no parents, no childhood, and no education. As far back as the Black Dragonkin could remember, she was a street urchin who had to fend off hunger, cold, and rival kids all on her own, scavenging or stealing just to survive day to day. That was until she decided to infiltrate a random house to steal a basket of bread, only to find out that it was occupied by a single resident, a human man... and he was slumped over next to a telescope, barely even breathing.

Taken by morbid curiosity, Frederika went to check on the man, finding out that he was gravely ill. The dragonkin urchin was no doctor, but going from personal experience, she knew what a fever was. Curiosity turned to pity as she decided to take care of the man, while also making herself at home in his house of course, hey, take it as payment for her services.

Once he got better, the man introduced himself as Klaudios Athanatos, Astrologist, and much to Frederika's surprise, he decided to 'hire' her as his 'assistant', whatever that was, but if that meant free food and lodging? She'd be a fool to refuse.

Days turned to months, months to years, and years to decades as the once 8-year-old dragonkin blossomed into a bright young woman, and it was all thanks to Master Klaudios or Almagest as he called himself nowadays, but she wasn't surprised at the development, he was nothing but eccentric after all.

Nevertheless, whatever Master Almagest wished, Divine Ascension or whatever, she'd make it into a reality or die trying.

Skills

❖ Undying Loyalty - Incredibly resistant to mind-control spells that'll force her to attack her own allies.

Grades

STR - I | END - I | DEX - I | AGI - I | MAG - I

Revue of Annihilation [Faction-Ruling Demigods Vie for Ascension]

@ERode There we go.

Almagest

ALMAGEST

Human | 56 | Male | 188cm (6'2") | 85kg (187lbs)
0th Circle | Stars / Celestial Bodies | ♫

Born Klaudios Athanatos, the Ichor-Blessed Master of the Stellar Domain was once mere mortal, just like most. Klaudios was the younger of two brothers, the second son of a pair of merchants. His family was quite well-off, not to the extent of nobles and royals, no, but certainly a cut above peasants and laborers. As a result, he had a good childhood, with proper education and upbringing, something that was taken for granted by most. He had never been orphaned or subjected to any traumatic experience. Really, there was nothing to write home about his early years, but that in itself was notable in its own.

Naturally, his parents expected for him and his older brother to continue the family business once they came of age, however, unlike his economically talented and thrifty older brother, Klaudios' passions lie elsewhere. As far back as he could remember, Klaudios always had his gaze set above, toward the infinite stars dotting the boundless aether. While his parents and brother were busy counting coins, he engrossed himself in observing celestial bodies, while they tried to find the most profitable venture, Klaudios attempted to divine the meaning of each constellation. The rest of his family might be satisfied with earthly endeavors, but not Klaudios, the aether was where he belonged.

As a result, after his parents passed away peacefully in their old age, Klaudios' brother was the one who continued the family business, he and his own family now that he had a wife and children of his own. Meanwhile, the younger Athanatos still had his neck craned upwards. Ever the estranged uncle, his only companion was an orphan dragonkin girl named 'Frederika' that he hired as his assistant as his limited mortal body still required to be maintained. Due to the regular contact, they became a surrogate family of sorts.

Over the decades, now well into his 50s, Klaudios' ambition only grew, he was no longer satisfied with being a mere human, confined within a flesh vessel full of limitations, if only he could become one with the stars...

One day, in a stroke of fate, his prayers were answered as a piece of a falling meteor - no bigger than a gold coin - fell right into him. The celestial projectile smashed through the telescope Klaudios was using, then continued all the way through into his eye, embedded deep in his skull. By all logical explanations, he should be dead, severed from his mortal coil, and to be fair, it could be true depending on how one looked at what happened next. At that moment, Klaudios Athanatos was no more... and in his place, Almagest the Ichor-Blessed, Master of the Domain of the Stars. While the "newborn" entity shared Klaudios' memories, experience, and parts of his personality, it'd not be erroneous to say that they were an entirely new person.

As Almagest, he knew what must be done, the path to true divinity was possible, he must gather more ichor to one day ascend as the One and True God, and through this Divine Ascension, the very stars would be within his grasp...

But he couldn't do so alone, a journey must be made, trials and tribulations to conquer, allies to gather, and there was no better place to start than Oratorio, the Fortress-City That Watches the Abyss.

It was a star that once ended the Thousand-Faced God, thus twas' only fitting that a star would ascend as the next.

Path to Ascension

0th Circle Ichor-Blessed

❖ Ichor: 0
❖ Wealth: 0
❖ Paladins: 1
❖ Followers: 0
❖ Resources: None
❖ Artifacts: None
❖ Property: None

Divine Protection of the Stars

❖ Stellar Navigation: When directly exposed to the starlit sky, one will always be instinctively aware of the four cardinal directions.

Starting Benefit

❖ Treasured Companion: 1 Paladin. You've granted your Grace upon someone whom you trust deeply.

Saint Valerius Academy - A Knight/Noble Fantasy

<Snipped quote by Izurich>

Absolutely! I've been RPing since my teenage years as well and as a younger person never really thought about it as much, but as I grew into adulthood, I started to be a bit more uncomfortable with how minors are some times portrayed in writing and in stories. At least, I think I have. I'm not sure if that's a product of pop culture and the media manifesting itself, but there is still some level of discomfort I feel deep down with it. And if I'm honest, I'm finding difficulty in placing the feelings into words. Because I do absolutely agree with you and I do think we can come to a compromise as writers. For now, I'm okay with things happening to our characters as they would adults, with the except of those things that I find to be hard limits for myself in writing. Sometimes heavy topics can be difficult to deal with on any given day just based on all the other stress you've had to deal with in the day.

I want to be sure, regardless of the age of our characters, that at the end of the day writing is a fun past time. If you can agree to that, then I think we'll have no issues RPing together.

@HylianRose

As long as those hard limits also apply to adults (which practically means there are no minor-exclusive hard limits), then I'm very sure I can adapt without any nagging feeling, because they're off limits, period, regardless of the age of the fictional character in question.

That said, once you confirm my statement above, I believe this discussion will be over.

Revue of Annihilation [Faction-Ruling Demigods Vie for Ascension]

@ERode Oh, sure~ let's just say the ichor-infused space rock made him go totally bonkers and assume a new identity, everyone thinks pops is crazy... until he actually becomes that new identity, well, unless he croaks before that, but that remains to be seen.

Since it'll be a pretty noticeable edit, with the faceclaim change and all, I'll repost the updated CS below instead of editing the old post.

Also, okay on the Paladin CS, was just about to ask about lol, nice,

Saint Valerius Academy - A Knight/Noble Fantasy

<Snipped quote by Izurich>

Honestly, you do make a great point. Things do happen to minors in real life just like anyone else and censoring that is taking away from level of realism and reality from the world. I suppose then, my points do still hold that I don't want to read details of gore and/or drugs etc but more on the level of regardless of age. I keep thinking about things like My Hero Academy and how they handle drama and heavy topics because those are children and things do happen to them. People die, children have their abilities taken from them, hurt horribly. And I don't really think twice about it other than enjoying the story. I think it may just take some time for me to get away from this idea and this discomfort of being 29 and writing stories where children are the subject. But that's not something I need to project onto you or this story.

However, there are still limits to things and as you said, compromises that need to take place in a group rp. We need to be aware of everyone's limits and what they are comfortable reading/writing/interacting with. I fully believe that heavier plots should be discussed with all writers who might be involved prior to implementation. I'm not going to include a character who was a survivor of SA without first clearing it with ALL who might need to read or interact with it.

@HylianRose

Understood, thank you for your wisdom and respect for differences in preferences.

For context, I'm in my early 30s, and I've been roleplaying for almost 2 decades now, which meant I started in my teenage years, from then till now, I've never let the age of fictional characters ever affect me from writing the story I want to tell.

I grew up with Doraemon (the Adventure series is most relevant to this topic), Dragonball Z, Sailor Moon, Cardcaptor Sakura, etc. In all of those aforementioned fictional series, plenty of heavy stuff ranging from violence to SA happened to minors as well as adults. I've never felt discomfort because one, I know being a minor doesn't somehow make you immune to them, and two, they're fictional, they're - essentially - storytelling tools.

Regardless, I'll always respect your authority as the GM as this is your world and here, your word is law.

So, with that said about yourself and myself, if we can find a middle ground that satisfies us both, it'll be awesome, but if not, then it's no issue.