Miakardia — Roleplayer Guild

Please see the information below, and comment here if you want to take part. I am looking for 2-3 people with at least a few months Post-by-Post RP experience, who intend to stay active.

There's a continent named Nerthus which contains four nations, with an unclaimed mountain range running down the centre of the main island, north to south. To the east of the mountain range is the most powerful of the four nations, the west side is split between two other nations, and the fourth nation is on a smaller island to the north of the main one.

The nations are each ruled over by an immortal being, who carved the world apart several thousand years ago, after wrestling control of the world from their father, who created the continent. Each of the immortals has power over one of the four main elements, fire, water, earth and air, and the landscapes of their realm somewhat reflect their element.

We will each start off with one character each who is a member of the nation under the control of Cacus, the Fire King. Each year, the King sends out his royal guard, to select ten people between the ages of sixteen and twenty-two to be taken to his secluded palace. Once there, they are never seen again. Our characters will be part of this group of ten. Upon arrival at the palace, it becomes slowly clear that you've been rounded up for a particular reason, and your selection was not random. All of you have something that makes you a little different, a latent power. You'll develop said power through the course of the RP. You discover that you've been brought to the palace, so that the immortal king can kill you and steal your power, to fuel his own immortality and to increase the intensity of his own powers. Your characters will escape and eventually lead a rebellion to overthrow the immortal king. But can you kill an immortal..? It's happened before... Hasn't it?

The land of Nerthus was created millennia ago by a being of great power who sailed from across the Orizo Sea on a ship carved of stone. The being was Aion, The Father of Gods, who commanded dominance over all of the world and that which it contained. Aion had ruled another land far beyond the horizon and had over time, become disillusioned with it due to its never changing nature. He sailed until he could not sail any more, and it was there he used his great powers to pull the Earth from the seabed, raising the very rocks and sands beneath the waves until they surrounded his mighty vessel. He used the winds and flames to tame and shape the rocks, before bringing them crashing down upon the vessel upon which he stood. The impact from the collision from the masses of rock either side of the vessel is believed to be the origin of the Diairon Mountains that separate east and west on the main island of Nerthus. The mighty ship which had borne the creator is believed to have become the largest peak at the centre of the Diairon Mountains, which is where it gets its name Mount Skipa, derived from the Old Nerthese word for Ship.

Aion stood atop Mount Skipa and looked over all of his new land. For six long years he slaved away, carving the remainder of the land, until he had shaped the landscape to his liking. It was now that Aion realised his land required life. He took a ball of clay from a riverbed, and shaped it into the first Riktik, a small semi-sentient humanoid goblin-like creature which stood at about two feet in height. From the first, he created many, and the Riktiki race was born.

On the winds from the south, Aion called to him the seeds of trees and plants which had grown on the land he had once called home, he gave these to the Riktiki and they scattered across Nerthus, planting the seeds that the Creator had given them, obeying and serving his will.

For a thousand years, the Riktiki lived on Nerthus, living in small clans and tribes and feeding off of the fruits borne on the trees of the seeds given to them. Over time, they split into three subspecies. Those that dwelled within caves in the mountains became the Mountain Riktiki, a grey and frail species, that lived in large groups within cave complexes, greedy and always hungry for the shiny metals contained within the rocks of the mountains. Those who lived in the forests became Tree Riktiki, they grew slightly taller and stronger, and more solitary, usually living in family units, their increased health and strength due to the abundance of food and living space they had at their disposal. The third subspecies lived on the edges of deserts and beaches in underground burrows they dug themselves, and became known as Sand Riktiki. Like their cousins in the mountains, the Sand Riktiki lived in large groups, but had access to many of the same foods at their relatives in the forests, so grew larger also.

The Creator was happy with what he saw, and fashioned more beasts from the clay of the rivers, populating the plains with rabbits and deer; the forests with birds, squirrels and elk; the river and seas with fish; and the mountains with hares and goats. These new creatures that Aion created spread like fire, and soon covered much of the land. The Creator saw that they would soon overwhelm the Riktiki and take their food, so he created the hunters; wolves, bears and orcas amongst other beings which helped to keep the other animals in check.

Over time, the Sand Riktiki grew more intelligent, and began farming, then began to build structures underground. For hundreds of years they developed and Aion left them to it, relishing in the changes his own creations were inflicting upon themselves. That was until he looked closer at them.

The Sand Riktiki had grown so arrogant in their newfound intelligence that they had begun to worship idols in their own likeness. One particularly large group in the Tressi Desert had constructed four huge statues, one for each of their new ‘gods’ which represented the four elements.

Outraged at their forgetfulness, Aion created gods of his own, in his own image. One to take the place for each that the Sand Riktiki had created. First was Cacus, the Great Dragon, and Aion bestowed upon him control over the most consuming of the elements, Fire. Then came the twins, Ceto and Aeolus, Water and Air. Fourth was Oxylus, a huge muscular being who stood a head taller than his siblings, and controlled the Earth upon which his walked. Aion send the new gods to destroy the Sand Riktiki, all of them.

Cacus burned their nests, Ceto ripped the fluid from their veins, Aeolus ripped the air from their lungs and Oxylus crushed their false idols under his fists. Whilst their cousins were slaughtered, the Tree and Mountain Riktiki trembled in their own nests, fearful of what may befall them.

When all of the Sand Riktiki were dead, the Four turned back to their Father and Creator. Aion grew worried at what he had created, having seen the extent of the power he had created in his desire to punish his former creations, and he attempted to destroy the Four. Cacus rallied his younger siblings and together they defeated the Creator.

With Nerthus now theirs, the Four split the land between the four of them. Cacus took the largest portion, claiming it was his right as the eldest. The Twins took portions of equal size, splitting the west of the island between them, and Oxylus was left with a small portion in the north-east of the island that Cacus did not desire due to its lack of any valuable resources.

The Four took to their new lands and build grand palaces by enslaving the remaining Riktiki to do their bidding. Once the palaces were complete, they one by one grew bored with the Riktiki, which resulted in Cacus calling his siblings to his new palace. It was here they decided to create a new people in their likeness.

Oxylus took clay from the riverbeds, and with his powerful hands shaped the first of the race of men, as Cacus instructed. The Four stood back and waited. Nothing happened. Cacus did not understand, he had watched their Father create his siblings in the exact same way. For many days and nights, the Four slaved away attempting to bring their creations to life.

In the end, they succeeded. The clay was shaped by Oxylus, and fired by Cacus, then together, the Twins would breath Air and Water into the husks, the process between the Four of them, their power united, brought the race of men to life. The Four granted the first Men more intelligence than the Riktiki, who had long since fled back to their caves and their trees. They created many of the new species, transporting them across the lands which they ruled, until they were satisfied with the number they had created.

For the next few thousand years, the humans shaped their settlements around the palaces of their masters, and grew more intelligent and stronger. They learnt to hunt, and farm, and eventually to build stone shelters, and eventually to forge weapons.

It was around the time that the humans were first making metal weapons, that Cacus realised he could create an army, should the need ever arise. Though, his current lands lacked the resource of tin that was needed in the production of bronze for his subjects’ weapons. His youngest brother’s land to the north, however, had plenty of tin, and would do well combined with his nation’s vast expanses of copper. Thus began the first war on Nerthus.

For five hundred years, the humans on both sides of the war fought a bloody battle whilst their rulers hid away in their palaces, strategizing and planning. Eventually, Cacus’ forces began to gain the upper hand. Fearful of what would happen to their own lands if their eldest sibling took control of Oxylus’ land, Ceto and Aeolus agreed in secret to assist their younger brother. Using the combined power of the three of them, they tore the territory still under Oxylus’ control away from the mainland of Nerthus, drowning thousands of Cacus’ soldiers in the doing so.

Realising that his siblings had united against him, and following the huge loss to his forces, Cacus agreed to a peace treaty with Oxylus which allowed Cacus to keep all of the east side of the main island, so long as he allowed Oxylus total control of his new smaller island.

Another five thousand years passed, and the human race advanced slowly under their godlike rulers. In the land ruled by Cacus, which came to be known as Logaris, several new towns were setup across the nation. Boats were created in the nation of Agier, ruled by Ceto, allowing her humans to establish trade routes across all of Nerthus. With trade and money flowing freely, this is the world in which our protagonists live. On the cusp of a cultural and scientific renaissance. The main modes of land transportation are horses and feet. The main weapons of the time are swords, knives and bows. Canoes and longboats travel up and down the major rivers of the lands, and large sailboats travel between the nations, transporting goods such as cloths and precious metals and spices. The majority of the people of Nerthus live in small farming villages still, though they are usually within a day’s ride of one of the large towns, or the nations’ capitals.

In order to keep his human population in check, Cacus chooses to keep an air of fear over his subjects. Once a year, on the longest day of summer, he sends his royal guard across the land of Logaris to collect 10 randomly chosen beings to be brought to his palace in the capital of Cavolon, on the east coast of Nerthus, where the River Kokki meets the Anatol Sea. No one is sure what happens to the Chosen. Some believe they are trained to become Royal Guard, others believe they are sacrificed to the God-King, and still others believe that they are experimented on in the dungeons of Cacus’ Palace, where he desperately attempts to create the ultimate soldiers to gain the upper hand on his siblings…

The cultures of Nerthus are largely similar, but with a few key differences. The main split is between the east and west sides of the island, with Joro being more similar to the eastern side of the island than to the right. The majority of the population live in towns and villages, with a significant minority living in each nation’s capital city. The following is a breakdown of the general cultural divide in Logaris, where the vast majority of the first part of this roleplay will take place.

Logaris North:
In the north of Logaris, the people are used to a fair climate, in winter they occasionally get snow, but through summer they are treated to occasional rain that keep crops and other plants happy through the warmer months. The people are generally quite friendly, as they are not used to having to fight for resources and land, as there is plenty to go around. The majority of people live in villages, with very little communication between them. The main town in this area of the nation is Oakport, the most northerly town in Logaris. It is a trading town, with many merchants and taverns, though there is a Royal Navy and Legion presence here, particularly the Navy, due to the town’s positioning on the Neos Sea, and thus the proximity to Joro. Like their island neighbour’s to the north, naming convention in the north of Logaris is often that the child takes the name of the parent with the suffix -sen or -dottir. This is in contrast to the rest of Logaris, where family names are more common.

Druxi Desert:
Not many people make a home in the Druxi Desert. The warm temperature is not helped by the lack of rainfall in the vicinity, something they are jealous of their neighbours to the north, east and south for. The people here are often quite aggressive and sly, as they are used to having to cheat and fight to survive in the harsh environment. The majority of people live in Druz (pronounced Drooz), in the shadow of Mount Monach, though there are a few nomads that travel the sands, acting as guides to those foolish enough to cross the desert rather than go round. Some also live on the mountain itself, which is a dormant volcano, where they spend a lot of time looking for precious stones in the mountain’s vast expanses of caves.

Logaris Central and East:
The people between Eastwatch and Tredes have little between them in terms of cultural difference. This is the most populated of the nation’s regions, and is home to many villages, two large towns and Logaris’ Capital, Cavolon. To the north of the region is Eastwatch, a large fishing town, which is often used by passing traders to restock their supplies before heading to either Cavolon or Oakport. To the south is Treves, on the edge of the Tressi desert. Legends say that when the town was founded, the desert was several miles south of it, but slowly over time the sands have crept closer to the banks of the minor river that Tredes clings to for its water supply. The Capital, Cavolon is a bustling city, larger than Eastwatch and Tredes combined, it has merchants and tradesmen of all kind, and is home to the Academy, the home of knowledge in Logaris, which itself houses the greatest library in all of Nerthus. Physicians, alchemists, architects and other great professions are trained in the Academy, which sits in the shadow of Cacus’ great white stone palace on the banks of the River Kokki Estuary. The people of this region are largely carefree and easy going, they go about their work, and money comes easy in the centrelands, whilst crime is low due to the high presence of the Royal Legion in the area.

Tressi Desert:
The Tressi Desert is largely uninhabitable, so hot and dry that barely anything can live on its sands. That said, there are a few nomadic tribes that are autonomous in all but law, as the Legion does not enter this area except in extreme circumstances.

Logaris South:
The South of Logaris is well known for its hot weather, this makes it hard to grow some crops in the area, but ideal for things such as grapes and olives, which they grow in abundance. Southport is the main town in the region, and is well known across Nerthus for its wines, which makes the merchants in the town very rich. There are a handful of other villages across the region, which are mostly populated by vineyards and olive fields, and tended to by the residents of these villages. Some of the people who live here fish on the open sea for food, though the majority hunt the open plains for deer and other prey. Southport is well known across the nation as being one of the few populated places that the Royal Legion and Royal Navy have little influence in. Seven of the richest merchants of the city form a council, that collects taxes from the people, sends some to the capital, but use the rest to maintain the city, and employ their own City Guard, which makes the Royal Legion near enough defunct in the area.

The military of Logaris is split into three main branches, the Royal Guard, the Royal Legion, and the Royal Navy. Each branch has its own leaders, protocols and functions within the realm of Logaris.

Royal Guard:
The Royal Guard is the private force of Cacus, acting as guards to the King himself, as well as guarding his grand palace, and acting as the extension of his will outside of the capital. They are a relatively small force, and ruthlessly trained. It is estimated that only 30% of those who enrol survive the experience of training. The Royal Guard wear full white armour, which has their insignia engraved into the front of the breastplate, a large circle surrounded by flames, to represent the sun. When in the form of a flag or on paper, the symbol is often depicted in an orange colour. The preferred weapon of the Royal Guard is the staffspear, a long staff tipped with a short sword. They carry these in all official capacities, though are trained in multitudes of other weaponry, for use in the field. They are led by a Captain of the Guard, who in the year 4999 is Captain Gilbur Grandson, a middle-aged man who hails from Oakport, and joined the Guard at a very young age. His loyalty to the King is unwavering, and he would gladly give his life for Cacus.

Royal Legion:
The Royal Legion is the primary land-based military force of Logaris. They typically wear grey chainmail, with leather greaves, and cloth breaches. Their open-faced helmets typically have the Legion’s symbol engraved into the left and right sides, which is a simple burning torch. The majority of the Legion aren’t spectacularly trained, and are usually recruited and trained in their local town, meaning there is no centralised training for the Legion, so the standard of quality varies significantly from region to region, with the highest quality of Legionnaire generally being in the central region, the worst in the far north, with the south being somewhere between. Generally, the legionnaires use swords, but some of them are trained as archers and the majority of them use spears on guard duty, though often carry their swords with them at all times. The official head of the army is Cacus himself, though he delegates most roles to a single general, and actually has little interaction with the Legion directly. General Tanbor Yslin, a cruel and organised man in his mid-fifties, is the current de facto leader of the Legion. He is a calculating man, with no huge loyalty to the King, though he respects his power and knows it would be futile to even consider staging any sort of coup.

Royal Navy:
The Navy is the smallest of Logaris’ military forces. The Navy is a collection of ships manned by sailors whose primary official function is to protect Logari merchants as they travel between ports in Logari waters. They operate the docks in most towns, with the exception of Southport, where the docks are controlled by and operated by the town itself. Their primary unofficial function, however, is the capture of other nation’s merchant ships and confiscation of goods, for the personal gain of Admiral Koris Andar, the Navy’s leader. In terms of military power, the Logari Royal Navy pales in comparison to the navies of Agier and Joro, though is about on par with the navy of Dwalin. Their flag depicts a burning hand, on a white background and flies from all their ships.

Southport Watch:
Southport is a largely autonomous town in the far south of Logaris, the presence of the Royal Legion is minimal here, and as such the town is mostly guarded from crime by the Southport Watch, a group of soldiers recruited, trained and paid by the town itself, or more specifically the Council of Seven, who rule over the town in an unofficial capacity, paying their dues to King Cacus in exchange for de facto rule over the town.

The calendar in Nerthus follows a similar structure to that of Earth. Each year consists of 360 days, which is broken down in 45 weeks of 8 days, or 12 months of 30 days. Each day is broken down into 24 hours, though due to the lack of timekeeping devices in the world of Nerthus, the position of the sun is highly relied upon when organising times for things to happen.

Seasons in Nerthus are like in our own, but named after the four immortals which rule over the continent. Winter is named Aeola, for Aeolus, due to the cold winds which blow from the north-west. Spring is Cetin, named for Ceta, as it is generally the wettest of the four seasons, due to warm showers on and off throughout the season. Cacon is Summer, for the hot days and named after the Fire King, Cacus. Oxylin, for Oxylus, is Autumn, named for the Earth King, due to this being the season of harvest.

The last day of the Nerthese Calendar (i.e. the 30th day of the 12th month) is also the shortest day of the year, therefore the first day of each new year is considered to the first step away from Aeola. The longest day of the year, known as The Day of the Chosen in Logaris, is likewise the 30th day of the 6th month, the middle of Cacon.

The moon of Nerthus follows a thirty-day cycle, which aligns itself with the months, with the first of each month being the first day of the new moon. As such, the commonfolk often just time by which number cycle of the year the moon is currently in. As such, it is normal to hear a farmer talk about harvesting his crop during the tenth moon. Only the rich and educated in Nerthus use the names for the twelve months, which are as follows in order: Aeofall, Cetris, Seedrain, Cetfall, Cacris, Sunpeak, Cacfall, Oxris, Leafrain, Oxfall, Aeoris and Frostpeak.

Written dates common follow the system of DD-MM-YYYY. And years are counted as the number of years passed since Joro split from the rest of the continent, and the end of the first great war. The year at the beginning of the RP is 4999, making the date of the Day of the Chosen which occurs close to the start of the RP as 30-06-4999.

Political Map of Nerthus, 30.06.4999

Terrain Map of Logaris, 30.06.4999

Terrain Map of Logaris, 30.06.4999
Miakardia Member

Written at Dusk

Status

Recent Statuses

Bio

Most Recent Posts
