TheMerlin

Broken Skies

Huh, that's a good question... @deia876lat?

Broken Skies (Science Fantasy, Post-Apocalyptic, War and Magic)

Just to let everyone know, the roleplay is still open and accepting new participants.

Broken Skies

To Leo he send a look of ‘Don’t goad them. This is not the time.’

@deia876lat

I couldn't help it, Leo gestured back with an elaborate shrug.

As the mage spoke again however, it quickly became apparent that he would provide no amusement and his words soon became noise to Leo as he wondered what kind of magic the man might have used on him.

Leo had fought mages before, but try as he might, he never could decipher what the signs of their power meant before taking form and effect. Whether it was a slight shimmer in the air, almost imperceptible to the untrained eye, or the physical movements of the mages themselves, it was impossible to read. All Leo knew was to get out of the way before anything happened and launch a counter attack as quickly as possible.

A horizontal slash towards the neck, unprotected by the armour, Leo thought as he imagined ways of killing the mage in a combat scenario, resisting the impulsive urge to do it for real.

Then with an abruptness that was almost surprising, the mage stepped forward to approach the two knights, close enough for Leo to see the man's brown eyes and startlingly small irises. This time, Leo could not help paying close attention as the mage spoke.

"I understand that you gentlemen would like to blow off some steam instead of all this waiting. Honestly, I think your spar would perhaps serve as a diversion for the junior personnel which would boost their morale and prevent any last minute jitter from setting in."

@Omni5876

"Well, how about that," Leo said, nodding with approval as he turned towards Tyrhallan. "What do you say, Captain? Shall we put on a show for them?"

Broken Skies

That's alright, I guess it makes sense. Question though, would it be safe to assume that Arn isn't aware that Tyrhallan is the commanding officer for the knights? If so, I think that's something @deia876lat can work with.

Also, is there in fact a group of other mages with Arn right now or is he just the first to show up? Because I just assumed he was already with a group this whole time, but after rereading your posts I feel like I might have been wrong about that. I'll edit my last couple of posts if that's the case.

Broken Skies

@deia876lat sorry, just a minor correction regarding this bit:

He could tell Leo was tapping into the Aether

The Aether is the name of the force keeping all the islands floating in the air. Mages can interact with this force due to their connection with Gaia, but ki users lack this connection, so the only thing they can control is the power of their own soul, their ki. It's not related to the Aether. Hope that clears things up.

@Omni5876 it depends on the nature of their assignment. Sometimes it's following the nearest guy in charge. Other times, the mage has full authority to the point of commanding an entire airship if necessary. It's really all up to what the Archmage and King decides, and sometimes that means working with knights.

Broken Skies

"You sure you want that?" He asked once more as he took hold of his own blade.
A eyes darkened in colour as the seriousness was set to steel, a look of a bird of prey focussing on his potential opponent.

@deia876lat

"But of course," Leo replied as he moved into a guard stance, straightening his posture with his free hand held behind his back and his sabre pointed forward at Tyrhallan. "We could be facing the biggest fight of our lives soon. A bit of last minute practice wouldn't hurt. Much."

Tapping into the energies of his very soul, Leo closed his eyes and breathed deeply until he felt strength flowing through him from the core of his heart to the fingertips of his sword hand. In another breath that strength extended to the hilt of the sabre then onto the blade itself, forming a sheathe of ki around it and reinforcing the bonds within the steel until it hummed with power. When Leo opened his eyes, he felt as though he could cut down Gaia herself as he cracked a smile at Tyrhallan.

"Will you oblige me by attacking first, sir?" the Silver Spider asked amiably. "Or shall I make the first m-"

@Omni5876

Sensing a disturbance in the air, Leo looked away from his opponent as he searched for its source and saw a squad of battlemages gathering nearby, one of them looking back at Leo in particular with hands raised in front of him. Seeing the faint distortions of light in the space between them, a clear sign of mana at work, Leo lowered his sabre as he said, "It looks like we have an audience."

Whatever his differences with the other knights, if it was one thing Leo shared with them it was their rivalry with the mages. All knights had this in common. That was unless their noble leader, Tyrhallan, had anything to say about it of course, but then again Leo was never one to pass up a good opportunity for entertainment. Shooting a mischievous glance at the Captain, Leo raised his hand in greeting towards the mages as he called out, "Ho there friends! Looking for the war or are you just lost?"

Broken Skies

Before I answer your questions, I'm going to have to hit the brakes a little and point out that this part of your post in the IC thread:

the Battle mage was caught off guard as the lower ranked knight all of a sudden sprang on the superior

and this:

blast of air aimed at the attacking Leo.

... didn't happen. While Leo is certainly challenging Tyrhallan to a sparring match, he hasn't actually attacked yet, so would you mind editing your post so it doesn't seem like Arn is blasting air at Leo for no reason? I'm sure it's a simple misunderstanding, but please try to avoid jumping the gun again in the future as it technically counts as breaking rule 1. Do not control, maim or kill anyone else's character(s) without their consent. I don't mean to put you on blast, I just have to point it out as the gm. I hope it's not too much of a hassle.

Now to answer your questions.

am I to assume that we are following military ranks?

Sort of. If you're familiar with Warhammer 40k, think of it as how a space marine chapter is organized. It'd go from soldier > sergeant > captain > commander > general and of course the king would have the highest level of authority, but it wouldn't get much more complex than that because there just aren't enough soldiers to justify it. Sure it's been a hundred years since the cataclysm, but the world's population is still a lot smaller than it used to be, so there's probably no more than a few thousand soldiers in any nation's army. More than enough to man the guns of an airship though.

Would knights and mages be in the same service Army perhaps?

Knighthood is a rank in of itself and stands at the highest among the army, as described in the lore. The only ones they answer to is the king of Belisio, the general of the army and their Knight Captain, Tyrhallan. Battle mages on the other hand are more of a role than a rank. They're mana specialists trained to engage in direct combat or advise whoever's in charge wherever they get assigned to, either in teams or individually, so they're more of an attachment rather than a part of the army. Same thing for casters.

would battle mages hold a rank based on skill or are they only based on birth?

They don't hold ranks among the army, but they would among themselves based on seniority and leadership. All mages receive their assignments from the Archmage. Hope that answers all of your questions. If there's anything else you want to ask, please don't hesitate. It helps me just as much with the worldbuilding.

Broken Skies

"Annoy? I'm the one who's annoyed," Leo scoffed as he returned his attention to his sword, Silverfang, shining brightly even in the waning sunlight. "I thought the action would've started already by the time I got here, but it looks like I showed up too soon."

Running the sharpening stone along the edge of his sabre with a few final strokes, Leo stood up and held his blade in the air, examining his work as he continued, "Still... war, huh? Who would have thought. I wonder if your uncle knows who to thank for that. Well, not that I'm complaining. Kind of feels like I was born for this, you know?"

Turning his eyes towards his fellow knight and Captain, Tyrhallan the Crimson Rider, Leo looked him up and down with an appraising gaze as he took note of the highborn lordling's equipment. Fancy sword, fancy armour, red as his knightly name and pretty as a painting. Fully prepared for battle apparently.

"Say, how about a sparring session?" Leo asked with a glint in his eye as he swept his blade through the air in a flourish. "Just to warm up a bit."

Broken Skies

Just jump right in.

Broken Skies

Updated the magic section of the lore a bit to describe how mages see their powers at work.