If there is any part of the lore you would like to change (or take issue with), everything's negotiable. I'm more interested in the romance than in the sci-fi.
Btw, the main reason I'm going with a cliche "arranged marriage" trope is it neatly packages two solutions together: 1. It allows us to tell the story of a couple already in a committed relationship. There are quite enough falling-in-love stories in the world and not enough about people trying to maintain an existing relationship. 2. Our characters can't know each other already. How can they when the players don't even know each other? We'd have to retcon and go like, "Of course, she knew he tended to do that." The alternative? 7 years together, and they barely know each other? Not buying that.
While Erudessa had signed up to join the first ever colonization effort, the selection process seemed more like a speed dating system than an emigration interview. At first, the interviewers focused on her science credentials, and they appeared impressed by her research in olfactory healing, but they revealed their true colors shortly after their eyes glazed over. Their questions turned to her personality - "What do you find attractive in a man?" "Tell us about an average day in your life." "How are you with children?" Her answers must have been adequate, because she got an email notice of acceptance a few days later.
The launch ceremony began a week later. She almost didn't make it in time - the lab director gave her cleanup duty before closing time, and she arrived five minutes early panting and out of breath. Unfortunately, the lines were not as kind to her, and she found herself standing awkwardly during the speaker's introduction until a kind group of people ushered her into a seat. "Thank you," she whispered to the pretty redhead next to her. "A pleasure. Name's Judy. Judy Rawling. Nice to meet you." "My name is Erudessa Durvain. The pleasure is all mine." They bumped fists and directed their attention up front.
The speaker had just finished telling a flat joke, earning similarly flat laughs. "...so anyway, I suppose you're all wondering about last week's interview. This Colony Project, hosted by our amazing sponsors at SpaceRoid Incorporated, will tackle three goals: To test the effectiveness of the Council's terraforming efforts, to show that Crescent citizens can adapt to any environment they find themselves, and to establish a firm cultural foothold for the future. To that end, we have taken the liberty of matchmaking single men and women who are compatible in both personality and career. You are, of course, free not to enter into any relationship, but you will still be paired with a partner for the duration of your stay, and the Ministry of Culture recommends entering a union for pragmatic purposes. Return transports will be provided in case you ever wish to return. I'll let our other speaker fill you in on the details."
As the next speaker made his points, Erudessa couldn't help feeling a little excited. God knew how long she'd been looking for a spouse. She'd employed dating sites and professional matchmakers, but until now, she'd been unable to find a single promising man who wasn't either turned off by her intellect or her high social status. But here, not only would all that work be done for her, but he was likely to have similar employment. Erudessa and Judy shared a hi-five.
"...and that's all, folks! A psi-com will issue you a number, and your match will have the same number. When a staff member calls your number, step forward and board the shuttle."
The psi-com droned out a number in her mind. Number twelve.
An attendant called out the first couple. "Number One! Step forward Number One!" A man and a woman stepped out of the crowd. Erudessa bounced on her toes as she awaited the fateful number twelve. Here goes forever! __________
Welcome to The Faraway Land, an original sci-fi/fantasy series set in the far future. This scenario will lean toward sci-fi. Both our characters are citizens of the Crescent Empire, an advanced spacefaring superpower that recently gained independence from the United Nations and settled a habitable world on Alpha Centauri. The Immortal Council is the highest ruling body in the republic, made up of the seven most powerful men and women in the universe (whom we will NOT be playing in this RP). Each Immortal can wield incredible magic, able to shape whole worlds to their whims. One such Immortal terraformed Aion into a habitable world over the span of about ten years. However, terraforming is thought to draw the attention of higher powers, because it always pans out unpredictably, and brand new species of plants and animals appear that no one introduced to the environment. For this reason, settling a newly terraformed world is fraught with unforeseen hazards, and our characters are among the first colonists to set foot on the world.
The challenges of frontier life are best tackled with a trustworthy partner, which is why the Ministry of Culture recommends bringing a spouse. You will play the role of a male selected to match with Erudessa Durvain.
Erudessa Durvain is a scientist, as you may have guessed from the intro. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Percille University with a doctorate in Arcane Healing (so in D&D terms, she's a cleric), and is employed as a researcher in Luther & Von's R&D divison (a prominent Disease Management corporation). You'll find her to be mildly sassy, cheerful on most days (even without coffee), and a stubborn lover.
I should probably discuss politics briefly, but I know the subject is touchy these days, so it's entirely optional if you're interested. This is where most of the real sci-fi kicks in, and may or may not be reflective of how real life operates.
The Crescent Empire is a Federation, divided into States by continent. The federal government tries to keep as low a profile as possible, involving itself in state and individual affairs only when absolutely necessary. State governments, however, vary wildly in public policy, ranging from small-government capitalist to outright communist. People are free to live under whatever state government they choose, so long as they're willing to pack up and move there. Public debates are a popular form of entertainment, made considerably more exciting by the recent legalization of dueling. This is the main reason politicians tend to be upstanding citizens - if they're not, they get called out and shot in the Central Arena on Crescent Prime (Alpha Centauri b).
In the gaps where municipal, state, and federal governments lack control, corporations run the show. Unlike in 21st century America, where corporations were thought to be puppeteers corrupting politics for their own gains, here in the Empire, they hold little sway in the political sphere, thanks to a few judicious amendments to the constitution. Because of their tremendous positive impact on the national economy, they enjoy a largely positive reputation in the empire, and are responsible for running most of the empire's functions. The colonization program is sponsored by a corporation, SpaceRoid Inc., and their partners at Tron Aerodynamics are responsible for providing the shuttlecraft.
Technology is so advanced that it strays into the realm of magic. With a vivid imagination and a handful of psionic dust (dubbed "Seed"), one can create anything with only a thought. In practice, however, this is considerably harder than it sounds, and a combination of high-level artificial intelligence and molecular computing simplifies the creation process to manageable levels. Some intrepid businesses have turned a profit by creating stand-alone programs and devices that automate magecraft entirely. For example, there's a phone app that cleans your clothes for you. You get the idea.
Out on the frontier, there's no telling what hazards we'll face, and all the trappings of civilization we've come to know and love will not last. Our characters will be forced to rough it without the support of their mother nation, and may come to depend entirely on each other for survival. The ending, should we reach it, will be the dawn of a new civilization.
That Elizabeth Warren's alleged race would have any influence at all is a disturbing thought - it means her heritage was important to at least one or more people.
Nope, it's a tattoo, put on there by the person themselves or someone else can be asked to do it. Nothing magical about it, just stick and poke and painful as heck. If she hasn't yet abandoned the tradition of ojih, she would keep it up. To not do so is considered falsifying it.
Makes sense. And considering that she *did* kind of join the raids on some elven properties, she would rightly be judged a traitor. Fair enough.
@Thinslayer Yeah, that works. If she was a Sota and had done that stuff, she'd probably be executed, so we could say she was extremely high in the ranks of Eija (since Taja are always men). Maybe Kaija knows something of who betrayed her, but keeps the information to herself in case she wants to use it as leverage someday? I dig that. I'll think of ways to expand on this.
Also just so that you understand, marring an Ojih is like as horrific as carving a baby open. Like it's culturally a HUGE deal and any Azurei that saw her would straight up not know how to even interact with her. It'd be like speaking with a ghost, or someone with their head hanging halfway off. She should know what she's getting into :D Yep, I read your nation app. I know exactly how horrific that is. And that's why she's so hesitant to destroy it despite her religion change. For what it's worth, she always wears a mask and hood when interacting with foreigners, so they wouldn't even be able to see her pointed ears, let alone her Ojih.
She would also have a mark of treason on her Ojih--A bold black mark down the bridge of her nose. I assume that mark forms automatically? Because she was thrown to the orcs right after being stripped of her magic.
@Mistiel It's not written nearly as well as I would like - there's no real introduction, and no exploration of motivations at all. I actually intend to write that story IRL, so it's a lot more fleshed-out than that meager summary can do justice to.
Orcs often raided farms and caravans for resources, and Gorman insisted on dragging Erudessa along. She would protest, but still come with them, offering behind-the-lines assistance with healing, food preparation, and resource management. Gorman would mock and scorn her endlessly for not participating directly in the fights, and even when she did join, he'd still ridicule her for attacking races that elves were normally on cordial relations with. There seemed to be no pleasing him. Since she wasn't grasping the concept he was trying to teach her, he would occasionally lead raids on other orcs who were committing atrocities.
She finally figured it out when he led a full-scale assault on an elven settlement she was familiar with. Unwilling to attack people she knew and loved, she stood in the gates of the city and challenged the entire orc army. She was ready to die before letting them set foot in the gates. See, though orcs hate elves, they hate spinelessness even more, and hold a deep respect for courage. Erudessa displayed as much courage as any orc, and thereby earned their respect.
For all his hard-knuckled treatment of her, Gorman had still taken care of her when she was still a powerless elf in his army, so she didn't want to kill him. Neither did he want to kill her, because the reason Gorman took her in was because he saw in her the salvation of his people. He hated how bloodthirsty the orcs had become, and Erudessa had the potential to change them.
For that reason, Gorman wanted Erudessa to replace him. The only way one gains rank in orc society is to kill the one currently holding the rank. So both to test Erudessa's resolve and give her an opportunity to take his place, Gorman challenged her to a duel to the death. They fought right there in the city gates, fighting as equals for the first time. Erudessa struck him a mortal blow, and dropped him to the earth. As he lay bleeding out on the cobblestone road, he told her his intention before all his men, that he meant her to replace him. When he passed, the warband gave her their quiet deference.
Ohhh spicy. That would be high treason, like of the utmost level. Does she have an Ojih? (Facial tattoos) They are not required in Azurei culture/religion but they are a choice. More often than not, people do take them. But she doesn't need to.
I think we found Azurei a good foe!
She does have an Ojih, but she's contemplating marring it. After discovering a Fragment revealing the existence of a previously unknown god, she converted a new religion. However, she hasn't yet discarded all the old ways, and lingering fear over her fate in the afterlife is the only reason she hasn't destroyed her Ojih.
Technically, she's not a traitor, but the victim of treason. She used to be a uniquely powerful elf, very high-ranking (with your permission), and her sudden disappearance would have caused ripples in the Azurei political scene. One of her peers stripped her of her magic powers and betrayed her to the orcs, and her betrayer still walks free, identity undiscovered. I wouldn't be surprised if she was badmouthed to the Azurei, though. She holds no particular malice against her homeland, and in fact the whole reason she became leader of the orcs in the first place is because she stood up for the Azurei - it's a long story.
Also like, Azurei needs some allies (or enemies bwahahaha.) anyone wanna collaborate?
If you'll permit, our nations may have a difficult relationship. Erudessa Durvain hails from Azurei, but she's loyal to Fellmore. Fellmore is intensely hostile to Azurei (because orcs hate elves, duh!), but Erudessa still loves her homeland.
Lord Zee
BellBottomBlues
Lewascan2