TheLazarus

The World of Aerion

@One Who Tames A small dagger should be fine. That goes the same for everyone else as well!

I've got the follow-up Knight post written up too, just gonna wait a bit more for the last character to make his first post before I go forward.

The World of Aerion

Varian Sigmund - Dalenham, Ethora

The portly shorter man visibly paled as Edon stood before him. He was clearly not used to being in front of men like this, giving Varian even more indication that this man came from some money. The cloaked merchant cleared his throat and seemed to take in a few sharp breaths before responding to Osmund and Edon's inquiries. "H-her name is Priscilla. A young, dear lass. Beautiful long auburn hair, eyes like mine. A sweet girl. U-unfortunately beyond that... more information I cannot give. Respectfully, sire, as I have said before, I come to you under the garb of discretion. I ask you to honor that... or I will take my business to others."

A few more moments passed before Varian once more sighed and looked at his two companions. He figured whether they wanted to come or not, he could always take the job and leave it to them to decide whether to stay. They had no obligation to do so anyway. With that thought in his mind, the Highman turned back to the corpulent merchant and nodded. “Alright. We accept.” He said, picking up his mug and finishing the rest of his ale before slamming it down hard on the table. The merchant seemed overjoyed.

“Thank you, warriors!” He began fiddling in his pockets as if looking for something, but did not necessarily pull anything out. He continued to speak. “Now, I know you wouldn’t want to set off right away, and without any further knowledge of the mission. Tomorrow at the break of dawn, meet me in front of the gates of Dalenham, ready to go, and I’ll bestow upon you the first half of the payment, as well as additional information. Is this acceptable?”

Varian nodded, and the merchant smiled, speaking again, apparently on the verge of tears. “I will see you tomorrow, then. I cannot thank you enough.”

“Save your thanks for when we actually finish the job.” Varian said coldly. The merchant nodded in understanding, and departed as swiftly a he came, his larger size deceiving in his movements. Varian eyed him the entire time while he left the tavern, before leaning over to the others. “I don't trust him, but I trust the silver. If you want to continue on with me, then we'll go together on this job tomorrow. If you don't, here in Dalenham is where's we'll part ways." There was a lot to consider; what equipment to bring, what path to take, whether he needed to hire additional swords for the job. But for now, "Either way..."

Varian motioned to the bartender. “Oi! Another round for us!” He yelled at him. The bartender was quick to yell back. “Aye, I’ll get you your damn foreign pisswater!”

The World of Aerion

Varian Sigmund - Dalenham, Ethora

Varian eyed Edon curiously as the man grabbed for the coins without checking for anything. He wondered briefly what his reasons for doing so were. Did he trust Varian and believe he was honest enough to split it wisely? Did he not want to seem to eager to do so in front of others and risk unwanted attention? Did he simply forget due to stupidity? It could have been any number of reasons. The man did not strike Varian as someone interested in the money. At least, not to the extent of being greedy. Soon enough Varian dropped the thought out of his mind. He shook his head, and took a few gulps of his Orbrigg Ale before slamming the goblet on the table, satisfyingly letting the aftertaste develop in his mouth.

As Varian prepared to speak, he was interrupted by a throat clearing from a short, stout man in front of him. The plump man wore a large, hooded black cloak, and although Varian was no connoisseur on clothing, he could tell it was crafted of luxurious material, perhaps silk. The man kept very well hidden that which he wore underneath, but Varian could have sworn he saw some sort of jewelry on his garb. No matter how well the man probably tried to hide it, he was evidently quite wealthy.

“Excuse me, but I do believe I overheard that you are in fact mercenaries, is that correct?”

Varian looked back at the others, and then turned to the man in the cloak. He put one arm over the back of his chair as he continued to gaze at him. “I suppose we are.” Varian finally replied, much to the apparent joy of the cloaked man.

“Splendid!” He exclaimed, perhaps too loudly for which he intended, causing him to look around the tavern to make sure nobody else heard. After composing himself, he spoke again. “I am in desperate need of assistance, and I have no one else to turn to. My daughter has been taken by brigands. They took her north and are holed up north in a fort just outside of Curilan. I have sent others to try and release her, but none have returned. I implore you, please rescue my daughter!”

In Varian’s eyes, the man seemed sincere. It was against his better judgment to usually go directly for the client instead of through contractors, but he seemed like he was distressed and in desperate need of assistance. But Varian knew the others might be tired from just accomplishing one mission, and might have liked to stay in the city for a few nights before going on another job. He disliked the notion of turning down a potential client, but the lives and well-being of his group would always take precedent over the client.

“Sorry, but we’ve only just returned from a job of our own, and we’re tired. I’m sure you can find ano-“ Varian was suddenly interrupted by the man in the cloak.

“How much did you earn on your last job?”

Varian looked at him curiously, bringing his mug up to his mouth and taking a gulp of the ale, and replied. “30 silver.” The man was quick to respond.

“I will pay you 30 silver to each of you, and an additional 200 to be split amongst the survivors upon completion.” He said, unflinchingly. Varian nearly spit out his drink from his mouth as he heard the offer. He place the mug down on the table and eyed the man suspiciously.

“Who are you exactly?” Varian questioned him. The man in the cloak looked around for a moment before replying. “I am... a reputable merchant wishing only to have my daughter returned to me.”

"Most 'reputable merchants' don't mind sharing their name," Varian shot back.

"You'll forgive me if I don't share my name, but I came with the job offer under the intention of secrecy," The cloaked merchant explained. "Had I not wanted that, I would have chosen a more... direct way of getting my daughter back to me. This offer shall only come once. Either accept it, or do not.”

Varian sighed and leaned back a bit further in his chair. He looked over the faces of the others.

The World of Aerion

@CitrusArmsSee this post for the logistics of magic! I'll also add a section for magic into the opening thread.

@Timemaster Sure thing!

Origin and accessing magic: Magic is drawn from one of two places and subsequently has two names: Arcane and Divine. Arcane magic is drawn from one's spirit and the potential one has to command it is something you are born with. In this regard, not everyone is a candidate to to be a great wizard and a strong spirit to control the Arcane is something you have or not. Think of it as a natural gift or skill. That being said, it is difficult to control and is potentially very dangerous if one does not receive training. This danger has made many afraid of magic and is the core reason for a number of inquisitions and the widespread purging of mages in the land of Aerion (especially in the land of Ethora) leading to is rarity. However, Mage's guilds still exist and many students of Arcane magic go there to learn, control and develop their abilities.

Divine magic is drawn from one's faith in a certain divine being, whether it is an established figure or not (meaning it is does not have to be one of the major figures from Aerion's religions, which I can provide, and could be "made up"). Many Priests fall under this category for example. Divine magic is less dangerous and primarily used for healing and the like, though it can be used to curse others for example (if the patron deity is "evil" or "dark"). Divine magic is still fairly rare as to access it someone must have strong faith in a figure and like arcane magic be well trained.

Staves and augmenting magic: Staves, rituals, and other tools can augment and strengthen magic. Staves are usually used to channel, strengthen and help control magic, rituals and ceremonies can focus or strengthen it and other tools like wands and books do exist and do much of the same as I just said.

Rarity and use: Magic is increasingly rare because being a mage, wizard or any title is a stigma that often leads to imprisonment or worse death. People do not like magic for it disturbs the peace and is a constant threat. Magic is very powerful and power corrupts. Therefore, using magic in a public space is not a good idea for example, as you will likely be captured or killed on the spot by the townspeople or if you are lucky, the local town guard. Magic is often confined to the home or in the case of divine magic (which is generally more accepted), a church or shrine.

However, Raelus is one country where Arcane magic is more accepted, as the government makes extensive use of the offensive properties of Arcane magic in its military conquests. In this regard, mages are more of a resource however. Miracia is another country where magic could be found, as well as Palaven.

I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions.

@TheLazarus

So that other non-country is actually Palaven, I just messed up on the font and it turned smaller than the rest. Consider that Palaven.

@One Who TamesI'll do my best to speed people along! Let's check if @Nevix has something to add before I respond.

I will probably advance the knights by the end of the weekend no matter whether the last person has posted or not.

The World of Aerion

@CitrusArms Yeah of course, feel free to ask whatever you want.

The World of Aerion

@Inuyasha We're just waiting on Archangel89 to make his first post, then we can get rolling!

BTW, if you guys have any ideas for side stories to incorporate with your characters into the main plot, let me know, we can work something in based on what you wanna do.

Fire Emblem: The Eternal Struggle

@Ryteb Pymeroce Lol I just realized I totally got confused on your character, I made some small changes to my post.

Fire Emblem: The Eternal Struggle

@Cyrania I'd say most of the people there probably didn't see him, but a few might have. So partially successful!

The World of Aerion [Fantasy + Medieval + Sides]

BUMP for interest!

We've got enough knights, but we could still use some more mercs if any are interested. Jumping into the story is quite easy for mercs, especially since we barely got started.

The World of Aerion

Btw, for everyone's information, currency in Aerion is measured through bronze, silver, and gold pieces. Every country basically trades in them.

The division is as follows: 100 bronze pieces is equivalent to 1 silver piece. 10 silver pieces is equivalent to 1 gold piece. In other words: 1000B-->10S-->1G

If you were to transfer that into our world, 1 Bronze piece would probably be the equivalent of 1 Dollar (Or 1 Pound, or 1 Euro, wherever you are from). So getting 10 silver (as the mercs just got in the latest Aerion post) is the equivalent of probably being able to sustain yourselves for about a couple weeks (more or less, depending on how much your character spends).