Lovejoy

The Last Embers (Dark Steampunk/Fantasy)

@CollectorOfMystOh, yeah. The three Leviathan inquisitors should have their own history, so yeah. You, @Scout and @Draken should definitely work on these. You can do it beforehand here or have it be revealed more organically in the IC. Figured we shouldn't have any more delays if we can help it.

The Last Embers (Dark Steampunk/Fantasy)

Here are Ragnar's relationships! If there's anything you disagree with, let me know!

Father Rodion @Drakey

Ragnar was always in awe of Rodion's prodigious mechanist's talent. So much so that as children, the younger Ragnar would always hang around and watch the older boy work on his machines with rapt fascination. Even though the two rarely spoke (despite Ragnar's incessant attempts at getting Rodrion to open up) Ragnar looks back on those days fondly. Hours would go by with Ragnar watching the mechanist at work, with nary a word spoken between the two, and that seemed to suit Rodrion just fine. Rodrion, sweating in the Seminary's metalworks -- a place foreign to most pupils-- seeing him down there after morning training was like clockwork for Ragnar, and he delighted in discovering whatever new projects Rodrion was working on.

These days, Ragnar and Rodrion still maintain their cordial but distant relationship. Still, Ragnar worries over the mechanist and often thinks about him. It took many years for Ragnar to give up on ever truly becoming Rodrion's friend, which deeply saddened the youngest war priest, but with the two becoming fully ordained Inquisitors, it was high time for Ragnar to grow up and take his position as the Protector of the group more seriously, which didn't leave much time for constantly worrying about his fellow pupil.

Father Hassan @Sisyphus & Father Yerokhin @The Angry Goat

Ragnar loves Hassan and Stina unconditionally. Ragnar, who is among the youngest and smallest of the group, sees the two of them as brothers, as his difficulties with training and ether manipulation almost caused him to fail the first year and were it not for the two of them pushing him to his limit and making certain he would survive his training, he would have either perished with the fresh meat of those beginning pain-filled years or been shipped off to one of the lesser branches of the Church. Due to this, Ragnar's love, gratitude and admiration for the two older inquisitors knows no bounds, and as a result, to this day, he is always awkward around them. Whether it be straightening his back and deepening his voice whenever Stina passes by, or attempting to awkwardly replicate Hassan's devil may care attitude, Ragnar always overcompensates whenever the two of them are in the vicinity, a fact that isn't lost on either Hassan, Stina or anyone else in the group.

Mother Astraea @deathbringer

Though Ragnar's has immeasurable respect for Astraea's skill in battle and believes her healing abilities to be essential to the group's survival, his feelings toward Astraea-- the person, and towards the entire nation of Lanostre itself, are complicated to say the least. Having his family massacred by Lanostran pirates has cultivated a silent hatred for the Goddess of the Trident within Ragnar, who he believes, in Her infinite power and omnipotence, could have easily stopped the slaughter of his mother and sister Herself. Though this burning enmity for the Lady has roiled within Ragnar since he was a boy, he tries to not let it color his feelings over Astraea, who he possessed a curt if not respectful relationship with.

Knowing that Astraea and other Inquisitors with similar abilities would be able to see through him in an instant, Ragnar keeps a constant "emotional aegis" veiling his most unholy feelings and desires, keeping them to the shadows while the bright, cheery boy performs in the light of the stage. He goes to sleep every night terrified of the Lanostran inquisitor one day becoming powerful enough to see through his little shield...

Mother Tatiana @OppositionJ

To Ragnar, Tatiana is one of the most important things in this world. For as long as he's known her, he has looked to her as a trusted sister and confidant. She is his rock, his secret keeper, his lantern in the dark. Their close-knit relationship being what it is, Tatiana is the only other person who knows of Ragnar's secret hatred for the gods, as he has spent long nights confiding his fears and worries to her.

Years ago, when they were both twelve years old, he tried to convince her to run away with him and become apostates, but she managed to change his mind. Due to his unconditional love for her, she is the image that blossoms in his mind whenever the pain and exhersion of maintaining the aegis becomes too much for him to bear. She is what keeps him pushing through.

Ragnar, Tatiana and Galahad, being the three among Phoenix warband with the deepest ether pools, often study together. As children, they forged a pact to learn as much from each other as they could and to become as powerful (if not more so) as their instructors, and for the past couple of years, when time permits, Ragnar has been teaching them how to summon an aegis in case he falls in battle.

Mother Ziotea @shylarah

Ragnar and Tatiana have always had a mercurial relationship. Deep down, they understand each other, and even have the propensity to care about each other a great deal, but this realization comes through only after they've both had a massive argument and/or fight and are then forced to make up by the rest of the group. Ragnar, who prides himself in being the "responsible, mature one" and mother hen of the group, can be brought down by Ziotea very easily, whom he views as immature and bratty. In return, she sees him as fake and arrogant, and is the only one with the ability to make his cheery, cool-headed facade come tumbling down around him, the only one all too willing to remind him, through her barbs, that he is really just a dumb 19 year old kid with nary a shred of real-world experience on his shoulders. After all, compared to her life as an Omestrian street urchin in the slums of Magnagrad, his own childhood was comparatively serene.

Though they are often at each other's throats, and both have hurt each other emotionally (and physically, at times) in the past, there is little doubt that Ragnar would put everything on the line for her if she was ever in danger.

Father Galahad @vietmyke

Need to PM you about this one!

Father Ilya, Father Oren, and Mother Viveca @Draken, @CollectorOfMyst, @Scout

Ragnar has often heard of the three most talented Inquisitors of Leviathan Company. Though he had never actually interacted with them during training, due to his own nervousness, he was always fascinated by the talk he heard about the three.

Thus, when it was announced that they would be joining their warband on the Elurian expedition, he was beside himself with excitement. He has made sure to be as welcoming as possible to his three new companions, and has made certain to tell them as much as he can about his fellow Phoenix inquisitors and their quirks. Ragnar wants nothing more than for the three Inquisitors to feel at home, and though his over-eagerness might come off as annoying, his heart is certainly in the right place.

The Last Embers (Dark Steampunk/Fantasy)

@OppositionJI think it was his idea in the first place to have Stina accompany her. :p

The Last Embers (Dark Steampunk/Fantasy)

@OppositionJI think maybe Ragnar, Hassan, and Stina would be good candidates? I have an idea for Ragnar and Tatiana's relationship that might be neat.

The Last Embers (Dark Steampunk/Fantasy)

@CollectorOfMystHe's great! I don't think anything has to be changed. As for the ether abilities, I like those two ideas. Telekinesis in particularly would be a pretty cool power that no one else among the cast has.

***

So, the IC is coming up soon, and I figured now would be a good time to discuss how we're going to start this monster. Here's the set up:

It has been a month since Culmination, and three weeks since Warbands Phoenix and Leviathan have received their orders. Phoenix has been called to the Elurian front, where they will carry out support operations for the main invasion force as well as journey through the continent on a missionary/annexation expedition. These mission orders took Phoenix by surprise, as they believed they would be sent on peacekeeping missions in Muraad and Lanostre for the first few years of their service like most other graduating inquisitors. The majority of Leviathan has been ordered to remain behind in the empire to help safeguard the homeland, with three of its members-- Father Ilya, Father Oren and Mother Viveca ordered to join the departing Phoenix on their journey to El.

We will have a short introductory period where our characters are taking advantage of their month of freedom before their mission begins. It is the first time they've experienced any sort of extended leave in the past twelve years, and the whole of the empire is open to them. Some have decided to remain in Magnagrad, while others have journeyed to their homelands and families, others have just gone and disappeared, not telling anyone where they are. A week remains until the start of the expedition.

I have some "prompts" for where our characters might begin their stories. Some of us are together, some are alone, and in these scenes, depending on how they go, certain storylines might manifest, or if you'd rather just have a short moment with your character, that's fine too. These are all just suggestions that I think could lead to character/story development and worldbuilding, but you're free to ignore them, join others on their prompts (as long as things don't get too busy!), make up your own, ect. Basically, it's up to you! Though I do think the prompts I thought up could lead to some cool stuff, as I already have certain things already planned for them, but yeah!

***

Four Priests Walk Into A Bar: @The Angry Goat @Sisyphus @Draken
Hassan, Stina, Ragnar and Ilya decide to have a night out in the Red Light District in the slums of Magnagrad.

The Inspection: @Drakey
Rodion visits the VSS Karamzina, currently being outfitted for the expedition in the Imperial drydocks at the outskirts of Cero, former capital of T'sarae. Within the ark, he visits the forge and lab that will be his home away from home for the long journey.

Dark Ice: (@deathbringer @OppositionJ @vietmyke)
Tatiana, Astraea and Galahad journey home to The Azure City of Sapharan, capital of Lanostre, where they visit their families for the first time in more than a decade. The trio decide on an impromptu excursion to the Black Glacier before returning home.

The Dreamer and the Summoner: @Scout
Viveca has disappeared. She wanders somewhere by herself, remembering the last interaction she had with Mother Indira al Sayed, her mentor and Head Instructor of Warband Leviathan.

Beneath the Rubble: @shylarah @CollectorOfMyst
Oren brings Ziotea to the ruins of Idin-Mar, the lost capital of Omestris, to visit the land of their ancestors one last time before journeying to El. There, they come across a group of escaped slaves...

***Note on Ziotea/Rodion and Tatiana/Hassan***

I know your characters are very close to each other and are maybe/sort of Facebook Official, so them being separated at the start could be considered as weird. I thought it'd make sense though, since... spending 12 years together is kind of a long time and maybe they'd want some space to stretch their wings. It'd also make their reunion scenes more special!

If anyone has any questions, let me know! Also, I'll be posting some info on Mother Indira al Sayed for the members of Leviathan soon enough.

The Last Embers (Dark Steampunk/Fantasy)

@shylarahScout's character, Viveca, is a former slave from Omestris.

@CollectorOfMystAwesome! I'm so happy we finally have our full cast! Will read his CS now!

The Last Embers (Dark Steampunk/Fantasy)

@shylarahI mean, people can die from any serious injury. The point is that we have powerful healing magic at our disposal that can bring back people who are at death's door. They might not come back completely healed though, like that pupil Ziotea injured, or Father Creid himself.

There's also the factor of personal shields mitigating the worst damage. So, yeah, lots of factors to consider!

The Last Embers (Dark Steampunk/Fantasy)

@OppositionJ Hey, did you get my last PM?

The Last Embers (Dark Steampunk/Fantasy)

@shylarahI'm pretty sure people can survive a broken neck. Unless you meant something more severe.

I wrote him to be a kind of highly respected teacher type who maintains a spotless record when it comes to having his classes come out of the Seminary relatively unscathed. And yeah, it'd definitely be an oddity in the RA. :p

The Last Embers (Dark Steampunk/Fantasy)

@shylarahWell, we've got magical healing abilities in this world, so healing a broken neck wouldn't be outside the realm of possibility. What if she paralyzed the person, he was healed and was able to walk again (after a long time), but was left kind of messed up by her attack and was thus demoted to one of the lesser branches of the church? I think it'd be interetsing. Maybe this priest is still out there somewhere, planning his revenge... :p

And no, Creid has never lost a student in one of his classes.