Laue

[Reboot]The Witch Hunt

Yup. That would be a problem, but not for long. After all, mages are gathered to one place for a number of reasons, giving them citizenship is one of them.

[Reboot]The Witch Hunt

IC is up.

[Reboot]The Witch Hunt

Mages

Every mage could feel it - dizzyness, background sounds slowly fading away, and a voice in their heads. A voice that promised change, hope and a better future. It instructed them to go to the infamous black forest, promising it will not harm them. And just like that, everything went back to normal. Except somehow, even without knowing the forest's location, every mage instinctively knew how to find it now.

---

Paladins

A large group of paladins were sent letters excusing them from any current duties they are currently doing and instructing them to gather at the Paladin Headquarters in Liria - Meldiniar's capital, citizenship papers in hand. The reason for it was not written, though most realized by now that it has something to do about The Azure Covenant and the rumors that they are hiding in The Black Forest.

---

Alicia

Alicia was not surprised by the letter. Her father pulled a lot of strings to start off this chain of events, and she was an important link in this chain. And how to avoid any suspicion better than sending your own child along? It what was Alicia's time to shine, after all these years of training. If she was to be a princess, she would have to earn it. And Alicia was more determined than ever, even though independence from Meldiniar seemed just like wishful thinking, a colossal, impossible task. But Deliah dedicated his life to this, and the main event has started. And she is already a part of this.

Entering her room, Alicia yelled at her maids - her things were not packed. They were nowhere to be found, however, as her father explained that her personal maids are now working for paladins are cooks and caretakers, getting paid both by him and the paladins. The girl, of course, tried to throw a tantrum, but was ignored by Deliah, and told to do it herself. Problem was, Alicia has never done anything like that herself. Trying to remember how her maids did it, she did a rather decent job of packings things, as for a first timer. It was only after she was "ready" that she learned that unlike her days as an initiate, she does not get to take anything - all necessities will be provided by Paladins themselves. A sacrificial lamb for her father's simple amusement, at the very least Alicia got to ride to the capital with her own personal chariot. With nothing but her weapons and armor, as well her papers. It was going to be a lengthy ride.

---

William

When William heard "the call", he was reading a book. "Mass telepathy, sent to only a specific demographic, huh. That needs great skill and power. Might as well check it out." the scholar mumbled to himself. Altea was always known for building on top of lost civilizations and ruins, and Meldiniar was no different. A vast and sprawling literal underworld was beneath it, full of criminals, smugglers and nobles who want a bit more freedom. Even though paladins know of it, they can do little to enforce it - mainly to avoid a political shitstorm in case some noble gets offended. And accusing a citizen of ANYTHING is a hard, let alone proving it. Nobody wanted that mess, figuring someone else would do it.

The main perk of this Underworld was that they had a lot of lost books, lost, as in burned by paladins. William himself was highly renowned, and since this gutter of Meldiniar had it's own fair share of refugee mages, who too heard "the call", it was a good place for him to stay. But the curiosity got better of him, and William, together with many other mages formed a caravan heading to The Black Forest, disguised as scholars heading to study some long lost place. William himself now belonged to Deliah Eternus' Covenant of Scholars, so he had his citizenship. Others did not, however, and he hoped that it will be enough, should anyone ask for their citizenship papers.

The journey gave him time to think, and reflect upon the current events. Deliah Eternus was royalty, well, if his kingdom still existed. He was a known figure in the Underworld, as well as one of "role citizens" well-connected with Paladins and The Inquisition. Rumors were flying around that Paladins are going to march somewhere in force. It was clear that Deliah was planning something big, which involved playing all sides of this conflict. His further motives and goals were not clear however, at least not until they reach The Black Forest.

[Reboot]The Witch Hunt

Plenty IMO. Gonna start working on IC soon. It's gonna begin more or less the same, though some things will be tweaked where I think things can be improved upon.

[Reboot]The Witch Hunt

@Frey: sure it's allright.
@Cheznor: Accepted. It just strikes me a bit odd that a paladin would use the more "scientific" name for Light though.

Gonna add my second character, a mage some time later on, and maybe even start the IC.

William the Scholar

Age: 36

Alignment: Mage
Affiliation: Covenant of Scholars
Personality: William has an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. Literally being a walking library, William has no patience for fools - anyone who has no desire to seek knowledge like him. Fitting right in with the more intellectual types, William usually refuses to even acknowledge "brutes". However, if those "brutes" display a desire to learn more, William will quickly become the best teacher they ever had.

Bio: Born to a family of servants, who watched over a noble's huge library - a massive building full of books. It was their job to organize and catalogue the books, as well as taking care of them and the building itself. As soon as he could read, William started figuratively devouring books, one by one. Unlike anyone else, William displayed an uncanny talent to remember everything he read, capable of reciting entire books just out of memory. The noble they served made use of this, going as far as adopting him and parading him around, all for his own selfish goals. Nevertheless, William soon joined the top of the intellectual community of Meldiniar, and even had meetings with Dwarven inventors - a rare honor for a human.

But for all his success, William harbored a secret - his memory, his knowledge was caused by the Arcane power inside him. Though unlike most mages, his powers don't have visible effects, like creating sparks or moving objects without touching them. Careful about not being discovered, he sought protection and work in the vast underworld of the empire. It is there where he met Deliah Eternus and learned of his plan - a plan that works perfectly for him.

Power Description: William has little combat capabilities, though he can quickly disable an attacker, he lacks any direct combat magic or even fighting skills. He usually relies on his knowledge of the opponents biological and physiological weaknesses to overcome threats.
Spells:

• Lorekeeper - the passive magical effect that allows him to "store" any and all knowledge, which can also be used by his other spells. He can "load" one topic at a time, like "Medicine" and have full access to everything he knows about the specific topic, and not anything else. Switching topics requires a few moments of concentration. Since all of his stored knowledge requires magic to "access" and "remember", if he is for any reason unable to use magic, he cannot access his knowledge. Without anything "loaded", William is still extremely intelligent, just not the point he remembers every sentence he read in a book.


• Analyze - William places a minor enchantment on any object or creature, instantly "loading" all he knows about said object or creature. Furthermore, as long as the spell is in effect, he will be able to fully learn any move or spell the target uses. However, this information must be "loaded" just like everything else. And even though William might learn how a master swordsman fights, he still lacks the strength and muscle memory to copy it completely.


• Mend - William's healing differs from regular magic healing in that instead of just dramatically boosting a body's regeneration, he uses his own anatomical knowledge to heal. Though this process is far slower, it also has no side effects, nor can be interfered with various healing reduction magical effects.


• Exhaust - By manipulating the air composition around a target, William is able to quickly tire out and exhaust an attacker, without killing it. This spell is completely useless against anything that does not breathe.

Skills:

• Meditation - William does not sleep. Instead, he goes into a trance-like state, browsing and cross-referencing the knowledge contained inside him. However, he needs more time to achieve same level of rest than compared to just sleeping.

Equipment: None
Other: William has absolutely no sense of humor. Even though he sometimes tries to be "funny".

All character lists are stored here for easier reference. Will also put this link in the main post.

[Reboot]The Witch Hunt

Yeah, I think I'll have characters on both sides now. That also means I'll have to do even bigger posts.

Alicia Eternus

Age: 21

Alignment - Paladin
Affiliation - Covenant of Scholars

Personality - Alicia is a naive idealist, yet unfamiliar with the harsh reality of the world. Always with a cheerful smile on her face, and completely socially inept. Her childhood limited her social interactions, so she is not exactly sure what is offensive and what is not, and is easy to be offended herself. Due to her status, she always assumes she is in charge of her peers, though she respects the Paladin hierarchy and the chain of command. Her more courtly way of speaking makes for some issues when trying to talk with people of lesser birth, as they usually don't even understand or are annoyed by her mannerisms. And yet, when things get serious, Alicia changes completely - becoming solely focused on ending the fight.

Bio - Since birth, Alicia was taught and trained in a skill set that would allow her to join the paladins, and excel. Her father, though maintaining a guise of a loyal noble, did not forget what was taken away from him, and was plotting every single waking moment of his life. And Alicia were to follow his ideals, and be his eyes and ears from within. However, Deliah was still a loving father, and gave her everything he could, while trying not to spoil her... too much. Alicia's childhood consisted of luxury, lessons and training that very few children ever receive.

By the age of 13, she could almost go toe to toe with her combat instructors, if not for her natural strength disadvantage. Educated in etiquette, management, leadership and battlefield tactics, and imprinted with her father's ideals, Alicia was ready to join the Paladin training. Due to Deliah's connections, he knew very well of what the Paladin training is like, and the girl was prepared accordingly to deal with the strict discipline and indoctrination that will occur, without arousing suspicion.

Her days as an initiate were a mixed bag. She was raised to be a Paladin, and was completely prepared for anything thrown at her. Except socialization. Viewed as a "pampered daddy's girl who just wants to prove something" by some, a "Deliah's political move" by others, Alicia made very few friends. She did, however, prove that she is extremely capable combatant, probably the best one in her class. But even then, she had her personal maids in the barracks, doing all the chores and everything else for her, which raised more than a few eyebrows. Though anyone living in the same barracks did not mind that fact, at all. But in the end, Deliah's plan succeeded. Alicia became a paladin, passing everything with flying colors, and opportunities for her to join the Inquisitors arisen - just like he planned, while the girl still remained loyal to his cause.

Becoming one of the first members of Deliah's freshly created Covenant of Scholars, Alicia was granted official citizenship, and widely regarded a role model for other nobles. But after all this, Alicia was still with no true friends.

Power Description - Alicia supplements her aggressive fighting style by conjuring swords of light and manipulating them in various ways.
Spells:

• Sword of Light - Conjures a sword of light a bit above her shoulder, which can be fired on command. Up to 4 swords can be on standby. These require no extra gestures on Alicia's part, and are extremely deadly when released mid-attack. Swords create a small explosion of light on impact.


• Bladewall - Creates a small wall made from multiple Swords of Light pointing outwards. The blades can be released at will. Only one wall can exist at anyone time, and blades can only shoot forward.


• Shadow Eater - Detonates a Sword of Light, spreading tiny particles of light over a large area. Used to provide a minimal source of light, weaken or outright disable various magical cloud effects, and to weaken various supernatural senses. Multiple nearby detonations amplify the effect.


• Ring of Blades - Creates a dome-like formation of blades around the target.

Skills:

• Teathron Style - An exotic fighting style of forgotten origin. Utilizes two longswords of varying weight and length, this combat style leaves little room for opponents to retaliate, relying on evasion and parries for defense. To an outside observer, this combat style looks like a dance, a dance with two sharp swords swinging around.


• Tactician - Though lacking actual combat experience, Alicia is able to recognize and perform various tactical moves.


• Etiquette - While rather obnoxious to anyone trying to speak to her casually, it makes her invaluable when dealing with other nobles, allowing Alicia to mingle among them without drawing much attention.


• Wealthy - While not much of skill, money is never an issue for Alicia. Well, her father's money.

Equipment - Alicia is equipped with mastercraft light armor, decorated and fitted exactly for her, as well as the two swords. Compared to regular equipment most paladins are issued with, her gear is leagues above.
Other - Due to her lifestyle, Alicia is unable to take care of herself. On her own, she would quickly just starve to death, as everything was taken care off by her maids back home.

[Reboot]The Witch Hunt

No problem.

[Reboot]The Witch Hunt

@Mad Scarlet: Accepted.

@PerniciousIntent: Accepted. There is one thing, concerning elves however, which I'll PM you with. It's a rather small thing so we have no plot holes later on!

@Rultaos: Do I even need to repeat myself? :)

I can't even nitpick anything.

[Reboot]The Witch Hunt

Yes, as long as that elf has a good motive to be outside his forest. They don't really show themselves much. Well, not at the beginning of the story, anyway.

[Reboot]The Witch Hunt

OOC is up here!