Nanaya

Iris Ascendis

Enjoying the posts! Today's been busy, but I'll be getting around to posting later tonight.

Iris Ascendis

Will get a post up soon.

Also edited in something under skills that I realized I forgot to put in a week ago. Leaving it here for quick reference in case Nanaya wants me to take it back out.

Unyielding: Through a combination of conditioning, armor, and sheer, unrelenting tenacity, Iraleth is hellaciously stubborn, able to power through wounds that would take lesser warriors out of a fight.

@Psyker Landshark

Yep, this addition's totally fine!

Hi, going to be off for like a day or two,

sad irl stuff ig

friend of mine had their dog die this morning and I'm being there as emotional support.

Just wanna give a heads up so it doesn't look like I just, disappeared.

@Sifr

And sounds good, thanks for letting us know!

Iris Ascendis

@ERode@AThousandCurses@Psyker Landshark@Estylwen@Sifr

The IC has been posted! You can join in when ready.

Iris Ascendis

March 1st, 1526 SR

"For the moon above us, the wind around us, and the flowers below us." - An unknown individual, 1526 SR

---

The sun rose on another bright day in the Vaalin Union. As flowers danced amidst a windy ocean of green fields and rolling hills, the life that pulsed through the land marked a welcome beginning to the spring season. For many it was a day like any other, but for those traveling along Vaal Nero's vibrant plains and coastal cliffsides, it marked a turning point in history - for today, Wingram Academy would open its gates for the very first time, and allow a new generation to take the reins of their lives. Vaal Nero's northern roads had not seen such use in quite some time, as carriage after carriage had tread along the well-worn paths north of the clerical city for days by now. The symbol of an angelic wing and a lance crossed in an 'X' pattern would be engraved on each, immediate recognition given to the vast caravan that carried unknown variables within. The majority of students would find themselves as passengers in these carriages, each compartment large enough to fit sixteen students. Should any students try to interact with the staff steering these carriages, they would be met with blank-faced silence by these well-dressed coachmen in brown suits and top hats, fully committed to their role and their role alone.

The time was 9:00 AM, and the caravan of hopes and dreams had reached its destination after a tiresome yet uneventful two day trip from Vaal Nero's streets. The carriages would line up along the outskirts of the almost ethereal, village-like campus below. Overlooking from rocky green cliffs, the school was nestled away comfortably inside of a descending canyon of sorts, a waterfall on the horizon completing an almost otherworldly look to this place. As the coachmen each left the carriages and opened the doors of each compartment to allow students to flood out, the former carriage drivers formed an orderly line at the front by the cliff. One by one, they would reach raise their right hand skyward - and as the last of the twenty coachmen did so, a brilliant light would emerge from the ground beneath their feet.

The stone and grass would crumble away, revealing a bridge of solid light that began to form with elaborate archways and jewel-encrusted railings. It would quickly stretch down, all the way to the campus below; upon touching the campus grounds, it would all at once lose its heavenly glow and turn into solid oak. Upon this transmutation, the coachmen would step away from the wide bridge downward, raising their arms towards it as if beckoning them to descend. Many students would appear confused by this, uncertain, while others either cautiously or brazenly began their descent.

"Welcome to Wingram Academy," a woman's voice would echo from below, deeper down within the academy, yet loud enough to be heard rippling across the entire student body. "Orientation is to begin in the auditorium at 10:00 AM sharp. We're already a little past nine, so I trust you all understand what that means, yes?"

A silence, for but a moment, would linger from the woman - as if either giving time for the words to set in or for a response - before she would continue with the same boom.

"The first day of any job is always the most chaotic, so your first task as a student of Wingram will be to take your seat in the auditorium on time. Those who arrive even a second late will be taking a carriage home immediately and may try again next year. Best of luck!"

JRPG-inspired magic school RP with a heavy focus on story and characters!

Hey, I know you've got a bunch already interested, but is there room for one more? This kinda thing really seems right up my alley.

I'll be able to get a CS written up after work tomorrow!

@Daxam

Ah, sorry, I saw this late. Unfortunately we're already full on slots, sorry! I would like to remain adamant about the maximum of five players, juuust to keep the flow going. I've had RPs die in the past just due to too many players in them, so I try to stick to lower groups in RPs I run as a result now.

Iris Ascendis

With that, all current slots for the RP are filled until a player either drops out, is removed for inactivity, or their character dies. Thanks to those who showed interest, and apologies if you didn't make it this time.

The IC will begin on Monday!

Iris Ascendis

Here you go! Please let me know how it looks. :>

The Hunger

Ciara Ventura

5’2 | Human | Female | 16

Appearance:

Alignment: Neutral Good

Personality:

Being treated a bit harshly in her early years caused Ciara to be somewhat of an empath. Without much regard for rules or society, Ciara is more inclined to help someone in a vulnerable position because she was there once upon a time. She has a slightly mischievous nature, being the type to break curfew just for the sake of it. Her Hunger sometimes causes her to question her own morals, but she has promised herself she isn’t what people might think she is, and she condemns any notion of Umbrialism.

Backstory:

It’s not a long shot to say Ciara had a tough upbringing. Thrown out of her home at a young age at the thought of her manifested Ethos having anything to do with Umbralism, Ciara was pushed from one orphanage to another in Vaal Kastrix. This caused CIara to be somewhat of a recluse, finding more company in the essence she could feel around her than the other unwitting children.

This gave the Voices in her head more free reign, and she eventually conceded to her Hunger, tasting the essence of a plant. It was delicious, though the shriveled husk of the plant that remained… left something to be desired.

When she was old enough, she supplemented her studies with a part-time job, offering her services to clear away excess plant life that plagued residents’ homes at a fraction of the cost of official essence eradication treatments. This allowed her to move out of the orphanage and into her own run-down apartment at the ripe age of 12. Yes, she had to forge an ‘adult’s’ signature to get the place, but the landlord didn’t ask questions for someone to fill his vacant suite with holes in the roof, finally.

At the age of 14, she had evolved her part-time job to also include package running. She could manipulate and hop from shadows at break-neck speed and deliver packages faster than horses. This made her skills heavily sought after. She used these extra funds to move to the big city, Vaal Shakta. This city's overwhelming amount of essence caused her to lie quietly on the floor of her new apartment for some days before her Hunger adjusted.

It was soon after, at the age of 16, she received an auspicious letter of invitation from Wingram Academy.

Prime Essence: The Hunger

Ethos: Ciara’s Ethos can be broken down into fragments.
- The Voices
- The Light
- The Shadows
- The Night

The Voices

A voice in her head was one of the reasons Ciara discovered she could eat light and essence. It almost continuously comments in the background like a child, reminding her of her hunger. It gets terribly excited when she comes across significant sources of light that are within consumable distance (i.e., being able to ‘breathe’ it in.)

She thinks it is these voices in her head that emerge in physical form when she uses the Shadows.

The Light

A person, place, and thing all exude a bit of essence. Some have more than others. The essence, or light of people, can be especially eye-catching, appearing to Ciara as a warm, radiating, mouth-watering glow. The better a person is, the more light they naturally carry. If a plant is like warm buttered toast to Ciara, a person rich with essence and light is like a lobster or steak meal, with a dash of addictive qualities. Until now, Ciara has never given in to her Hunger cravings for prime essence from a living person.

Too much light can overwhelm Ciara. Standing under the sun is something she can manage. However, she doesn’t like it. She also can’t stand purifying magic due to its high amount of light.

The Shadows

Her own shadow can come to life when she embraces her Ethos, manifesting black tentacles or shapes that can reach up to 10-20 feet. They have enough strength to knock a horsedrawn carriage over on its side. However, they have nerve endings and can't be used as a shield with which to hide behind.

Any shadow that she can see can also be brought to life. She hasn’t yet figured out how to manifest tentacles or create shapes of other shadows. However, she can use her own shadow as a portal and hop from one shadow to the next as a type of shadow manipulation/teleportation technique.

Her emotions, unbridled, can cause strange reactions. Emotions like extreme agitation can cause dark mist to rise off her. Fear can cause her shadow to quiver visibly. Her Ethos may also react and manifest to a subconscious will, such as the repressed desire to strangle someone.

The Night

All shadows blend into one during the night, especially a New Moon. By extension, Ciara’s shadow becomes one with everything she sees around her, allowing her to create tentacles and shapes from further away.

Magic: Primal

Miscellaneous Skills:

- Nimble dexterity
Ciara can move up and across buildings in a nimble, stealthy way that she developed during her years of package-running. This includes safe landings, such as breaking her fall with rolls.

- Silent movement
From the dislike of being seen when she came to and from the orphanage, she can move quietly, knowing how to feel out the quietest parts of the floor and how to keep her clothes from shifting noisily.

- Daggermanship
Ciara knows how to manipulate short daggers as a means of self-defense, which she has needed to use a number of times in the rough-and-tumble streets of Vaal Kastrix.

Inventory:
- Two leather-handled short daggers tucked away in the sheathes on her hips, hidden under her jacket.
- A small satchel of dried grass she keeps on her person to stave off her Hunger. She uses it as an emergency stash, preferring other, more rich sources.

@Estylwen

Approved! You can post it in the characters tab when ready.

Iris Ascendis

Alright, reading through the lore, my main question I think pertains to technology. Obviously this is an alternate universe from our own given the, well, everything. But some locations (Eg; Vaalin Union) seem to have some very modern looking areas, whereas other places seem to be more clockpunk in its aesthetics, and transportation is specified to be by carriage in one of the descriptions. In short; where are we at exactly, technologically? What do we have VS what we do not have. Is it one to one with the technology of our universe's year of 1526?

And in the particular case of dwarves, if they exist in this setting, are they mostly metal workers, or do they tend to skew towards technological (mainly clockwork) skills?

Expect a character sheet or two in a bit, and apologies if this was answered and I missed it ^ ^"

@Sifr

What ERode said is pretty much correct, some parts of the world are simply more dense in essence than others, and what that's resulted in is a lopsided setting, technology-wise. The Vaalin Union is one of the most concentrated areas of essence worldwide, so they've quickly risen to a modern day quality of life through usage of essence manipulation and the powerful natural leyline that they've built their cities upon.

Rekordia, meanwhile, is comparatively low in its essence density, and being the oldest nation on the planet, has seen a lot more usage of its natural essence. They get around this with their clockwork technology, reverse-engineered by studying the construction of the Sacred Record they hold ownership over. It can't quite meet the convenience and ease of use of the Kastrix Leyline's power in the Union, though, and with their reclusive "us vs them" mentality instilled by their queen, they primarily focus their technology towards building weapons of war. Things like their tanks or guns that primarily run on construction alone with minimal essence use required, or Gearveins that directly drain a pilot's prime essence rather than taking in essence from the world around it.

Mirris finds itself in the middle, having decent essence flow and in bountiful rolling hills, plains and lakes such that they don't have a desperate need to fight for survival - but also without clockwork tech in their backyard to research and build upon. They find themselves closer to a traditional high fantasy setting because, without a significantly powerful country-wide leyline and no advanced technology to research, a Mirrisian's study of essence is primarily around using it to enhance their martial abilities. They do of course trade with other nations, but no amount of trade can compensate for the sheer geographical advantage that the Vaalin Union has, in terms of essence.

Transportation is primarily still bound by horseback or carriage simply because other means have not yet been figured out. Vaal Shakta does have an alternate means upon which one of their archmages has a 24/7 obligation to levitate and transport magical metal crates across the city for faster transportation, but that can only be accomplished within the city's walls. Rekordia would have the means in theory, but Queen Carmine sees no need to focus on advancing their transportation beyond that of carriages, with how small their nation is in size and how that time could be put to better use constructing more Gearveins for their country's defense.

Basically, essence and leylines are cheat codes, and places that are more abundant in them have more opportunities to go beyond the technological limitations otherwise given to others. Technology is all over the place for that reason, and countries with the means to achieve higher tech, at least on the continent of Vein, aren't keen on sharing with their rivals. Technology for many nations can be considered to be like the 1500s of the real world, with variables significantly impacted by essence or the presence of things like the Sacred Record to assist.

Also, Hildegunde is approved! You can either put her in the characters tab, or decide if you'd rather go with the other character you have planned. But as you've made a character, you are locked in for a slot regardless of whether it's Hildegunde or another character you have planned. :)

Iris Ascendis

Right, Nanaya, you got an idea of when you're gonna start the IC?

@ERode

I was thinking Monday. I'd like to give time for players up to the cap of five to build their sheets and start off at the same time. If sheets aren't ready by then, we'll get started on Monday and let the remaining people join when they're approved and ready.

Iris Ascendis

@Nanaya
If you want to keep things at a steady pace, a smaller group works better, I'd feel. The ideal would probably have been to cap it at 5 and then do acceptances based off of a deadline, picking out the best sheets out of however many you receive before said deadline.

Since you've already started accepting though, that's a bit awkward, so I guess it's mostly just gonna be first come first served.

@ERode

Yeah, in the end it'll have to be first applications. Though I think as a result, if anybody were to drop out or be removed for inactivity, players who didn't get to make characters in time would take priority in claiming an open slot.

@Ammokkx@Sifr@Dragonfly 9@Vec@AzureKnight@Blayr17

There are now currently two character slots remaining, at the moment. If people are still interested after the RP is full, they can let me know if they'd like to be on a priority list should a slot open up.