River

Tales of Sythus: Rise of the Shadowlords

Mind of Madness said
I would just post a new post Ethir and have hatter do a catch up post.

Yeah, I'm really eager to get things going already! :)

... As We Knew It - Another Generic-or-whatever-Post-Apoc [N]RP

This sounds really cool! Count me as interested :)

Tales of Sythus: Rise of the Shadowlords

Just posted! ^_^

Tales of Sythus: Rise of the Shadowlords

[Kathar - The Palace >> Kather - The Rusty Brewer]

Cerise pulled up her robes as she walked briskly down the halls. In one hand, she balanced the Empress's evening tea, jasmine infused with arnica, a medicinal herb. As she neared the door to the Empress's chambers, the volume of guards grew heavier. Some eyed her with trained suspicion. Others with mild curiosity and a glint in their eyes, a look she had grown used to over her time at the palace but had never quite become comfortable with. As she approached the door, Cerise raised her free hand to knock, and then slowly lowered it. The Empress had told her years ago never to knock, as she was always welcome, but to this day she still went through the motions of knocking each time she approached the door. It felt particularly odd and unmannerly opening the door with all the guards' eyes on her, but they didn't stop her. They knew her face well enough by now.

The room was surprisingly dark, with all the curtains drawn. Cerise found this strange, as the Empress always loved to watch the sunset in the evenings. Taking a sharp breathe, Cerise began to sense that something was not right. Something was very, very wrong.
"Your Highness?"
Cerise's voice came out shaky, and she placed the tea down on a table next to her to avoid spilling any from her shaking hand. There was no answer and Cerise approached the bed, where something smelled rather repugnant. Perhaps the Empress had felt ill tonight and had decided to go to bed early? But if she had been ill, Cerise was sure she would have been summoned. From her pocket, Cerise retrieved a tinderbox and carefully lit the lamp she knew to be beside the Empress's bed. She looked down. Everything felt numb after that, but Cerise was sure she heard a woman scream, only to realize moments later that it was herself. She stumbled back from the bed as the guards rushed in around her. Strong arms found her own, and she was quickly ushered back to her living quarters.

Cerise sat on the edge of her bed, recalling what had happened just moments ago. In a flash, she saw the blood gushing from the Empress's neck, staining her satin sheets a brilliant, deep red. Her eyes were still open wide, as if she stared right into her murderer's face moments before he killed her. Cerise held her hands to her head and took a deep, cleansing breath. Who could do this? Having worked closely to the Empress for years now, Cerise saw much kindness in the woman. She had never done anything to enrage her citizens, and Cerise had never seen this coming. Apparently the Empress had, though. Cerise stuck her hand between the mattress and the bed frame, feeling around until her fingers made contact with rough parchment. She slowly pulled the scroll out from between the mattress, careful not to rip it. Her eyes scanned the letter that the Empress had quietly slipped her after her midday check-up several months earlier. The Empress had instructed her not to read it until the time was right. As she read, Cerise realized that the time was, indeed, very right. But it was also so, so wrong.

The letter instructed Cerise to journey to the far west corner of the city to The Rusty Brewer, a joint Cerise had never more than walked by on errands. Knowing she had no time to waste, Cerise pulled herself off the bed, grabbed her satchel from the far wall, and shoved the letter into it. Her eyes moved to the far corner of the room, where her staff lay against the wall. She rushed over and grasped it tightly, feeling the cool, smooth wood grow warm from her touch. If ever there were a time for it, it was now. Cerise went to the door and turned the knob, only to find that it wouldn't budge. She turned harder, and the lock resisted her. Someone had locked the door from the outside. But why? Suddenly, Cerise heard footsteps and voices growing louder outside her door. She held her breath and listened.
"You have ensured that all the Palace doors are locked?"
"Yessir."
"Good, that will surely enforce the curfew without question."

The voices faded as the made their way past Cerise's door, until she could no longer make out conversation. A curfew, huh? She would have to get creative. Cerise made her way to the window beside her bed and gave it a firm pull. Only a thin screen divided her from the Palace gardens, which were a safe fall below her window. Cerise pulled the screen out and looked outside. There were, of course, guards posted all around the garden's perimeter. Cerise took a deep breathe, pulled up her hood, and muttered to herself. "Disguise me." Her staff glowed brightly for a moment, and then dimmed. The world around Cerise grew foggy, but she was not alarmed. She knew that the guards would not see her now, but she would have to be silent, because they could still hear her. With that, she slipped through the window, landing on her feet with a quiet thump. A few guards looked in her direction, but upon seeing nothing, turned away. Cerise smiled slightly, and with a tight grip on her staff with one hand, and the other hand pressing her satchel to her side, she made her way to the west Palace gate.

Upon arriving at the gate, Cerise was less than surprised to find it shut. She stood several feet away from it, trying to decide how to get around it. Before she could scheme something, a group of men in dark robes approached the gate from the other side. They muttered something to the posted guard, and the gate began to creak open. Cerise jumped back in surprise, letting out a small, involuntary gasp. One of the cloaked men swung his head in her direction and she covered her mouth. He walked right up to her so that he was so close she could feel his warm breathe on her neck. Thinking for sure she was caught, Cerise readied herself to fight. However, after several moments of staring right at her, the man was beckoned by his group to return to them, and he turned and walked away. Cerise looked towards the gate, which was now slowly closing in a foggy blurr. Uncaring at this point whether she was heard, Cerise ran through the gate just as it was closing, and slid across the dirt road to the other side. Now outside the Palace, she knew there wouldn't be any more barriers in her way to the bar. As she continued to walk west, farther into the outskirts of town, her intended location came into view. Upstairs, she could see a dim light glowing through one of the windows. Checking to make sure there were no guards around, Cerise uncloaked herself and made her way to the front door, where a man stood smoking. He eyed her with surprise but said nothing. Cerise cleared her throat and spoke up first.
"I'm here to see um--" She recalled a name from the letter she had just read. "Lukas."

The man broke out a smile, which slowly turned into a smirk as he responded.
"You? I dunno what that man is thinkin'... Go ahead, I 'pose. Upstairs. First door on ya left."

He clearly did not recognize her from the Palace. Cerise rarely made public appearances, so this was not all that surprising. To him, she probably looked frail and unassuming, not up for whatever adventure lay ahead of her upstairs. To prove him wrong, she quickly pushed past him without further hesitation, made her way upstairs and found the room the man had directed her towards. She stood in the doorway and slowly removed her hood, noticing that there were already two men present, one hooded, but no other women. She wondered for a moment if the bartender was right to be surprised she had been invited to whatever kind of meeting this was. Taking a deep breath once again, she spoke up.
"My name is Cerise Mansfield. I have been summoned here by a man by the name of Lukas, on behalf of the late Empress."

The hooded man spoke up. Asking her to please take a seat and wait patiently. Cerise cautiously entered the room and took a seat a few away from the other man in the room. She eyed him for a moment, noting his strikingly dark skin and pointed ears, making it clear that he was most certainly Elven. Then she looked away, down at the staff that lay across her lap, and wondered what she had just gotten herself into.

Tales of Sythus: Rise of the Shadowlords

Ethir said
Bleh. I go back to college tomorrow, but I finish early so I'll try to squeeze it up tomorrow afternoon, does that suit y'all? I'd do it now only I'm super tired and dealing with a few family issues right now :/

Of course! I didn't mean to rush you, take your time :) I hope everything is okay!

Tales of Sythus: Rise of the Shadowlords

I'm just wondering... when will the IC be starting up? I'm eager to get started! ^_^

Tales of Sythus: Rise of the Shadowlords

Name:
Cerise Mansfield

Age:
26

Appearance:


Race:
Human

Allegiance:
Supporter of the Immortal Nine

Class:
Mage

Profession:
Noble Healer

Personality:

~Level-headed/Calm~
In general, Cerise maintains a calm demeanor, even if she is panicking internally. As the oldest child and a caregiver for the ill, she learned that it is always important to keep a cool exterior and to assure others that they are safe in order to maintain order. By keeping her emotions in check, she can make decisions based on the most logical solution.

~Cold/Distant~
A seemingly unusual trait for a healer, Cerise can often seem as if she keeps others at a distance. However, she does this only in their best interest, as she believes that it is an important step towards not becoming emotional when someone is ill or hurt so that she can do her best work to help them. To her, healing is a science that must be approached empirically. Getting too attached or too emotional with her patients will only lead her to make more errors.

~Logical/Intelligent~
As mentioned previously, Cerise's typical approach to problems is to use logic. Over the past six years she has spent living within the castle walls, she has read almost the entire palace library. She has a hunger for knowledge and is always eager to learn more, as she sees her knowledge as being practical and applicable to her daily life. She finds use and meaning in everything she learns, even things she learns from fictional stories.

~Stubborn/Spoiled~
Cerise grew up being idolized for her talents. As a result, she doesn't take criticism too well, if she takes it at all. She doesn't like being told by others how to do things and believes that her method is always right. Even in areas she admits she doesn't have much proficiency in, such as sword-fighting, she is slow to warm to the idea of criticism. It takes a very patient and tolerant trainer to teach Cerise.

~Family-oriented~
In her very core, Cerise loves her family, and it is the only thing that she allows herself to get emotional about. She is also slightly self-conscious of her strong feelings when it comes to her family, but she will defend them with all her being.

Biography:

Cerise was born and raised in the port town of Ronin, where she was the only trusted healer by the age of sixteen. She was following in the footsteps of her mother, Mara, who had become too ill to work. She learned magic by watching her mother as a child. Mara was a very gentle and soft-spoken women, and as a result, her magic was gentle and soft-spoken.

Around Cerise's 20th birthday, Mara passed away, leaving her and her father to care for her four younger siblings. However, they were fairly poor, living off only Cerise's earnings as a healer and her father's earnings as a fisherman and with six mouths to feed. They survived together, though, and were generally happy.

Several months after Mara's death, two guards from the palace in Kathar approached Ronin. They had heard rumors of a mage with considerable potential living in those parts, and they had arrived to recruit her. They explained that the Empress was growing old and frail, and that she needed a healer to stay by her side at all times to ensure her good health. They promised Cerise and her family comfort and wealth for the rest of their days, if only Cerise would leave immediately with them to Kathar to beginning her training and work. They also promised to teach her more extensive magic, something she had little experience with. Cerise barely hesitated to leave. She wanted what was best for her family, but she was also excited by the idea of learning new things and seeing places beyond her small port town.

Now having lived in the palace of Kathar for six years, she's become accustomed to the lifestyle of a noble, and has perhaps become a bit spoiled as a result, but never forgets her roots. She has also become an incredibly skilled white mage. Unlike her mother, she went beyond simple healing spells and learned to use magic in the defense of herself and others. Her mentor, an old mage named Kuzin, taught her that magic is so powerful and rare that it should never be used to lash out at others. Instead, it should be used to defend and protect those you love and treasure. To this day, Cerise take her mentor's message to heart as best as she can, but can't help but feel overwhelmed with how much power she has and how little she feels she actually does with it. On the day of the Empress's assassination, Cerise was only rooms away, and was the first to find her dead, alerting the guards with her screams.

Weapon of Choice:
Generally unarmed, but carries a staff to channel her magic when she travels outside the kingdom

Powers & Abilities:

~Healing~
Cerise's healing abilities are considered to be at the level of expertise. She can heal using magic alone, or with the use of herbs and potions.

~Herbology/Potion-making~
Cerise knows how to identify and use plants in the wild to heal ailments, such as poisoning. She can also use these plants to make potions that can heal or harm others in various ways.

~Magic~
Cerise has as a strong understanding of light magic and can effectively apply her knowledge in moments of danger. She can create force-fields and barriers, manipulate refracting light to strike enemies, and even temporarily cloak herself or others to be unseen by enemies, among other more minor skills.

Relationships:

Mara Mansfield - Mother
-deceased-

Calvin Mansfield - Father
-Fisherman living in Ronin-

Quinn Mansfield - Younger sister (age 16)

Luc Mansfield - Younger brother (age 21)

Oliver Mansfield - Younger brother (age 14)

Noelle Mansfield - Younger sister (age 12)

Testing

Do you have any pre-existing information on the other regions of Sythus?

[Interest Check] Fantasy Roleplay

Awesome! I'll try to have a CS up by tomorrow evening ^_^

Gamer Symphony Orchestra

I go to school at the University of Maryland where I sing (soprano) in this amazing group called the Gamer Symphony Orchestra. We're the first collegiate ensemble solely dedicated to video game music. I know we're not perfect, but we have so much fun and I've met so many amazing people through this organization! So, what I was wondering is.. are any of you a part of an orchestra similar to this (or even a part of this one? WHO ARE YOU?!)? I know there are some high school GSOs and a few are beginning to start up at some colleges now. It would be so great to hear from other GSO members!

Here's a video of our Spring concert this year, for anyone who is interested:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPaA-ouQZF0