Tominas

Intrigues of Venedig - A Fantasy RP (18+)

@Tyki
Will get a response up in about four hours, going about my day presently

Intrigues of Venedig - A Fantasy RP (18+)

@Tyki@Stitches@Overlord Thraka

Jesus christos we move fast around here 0_o

Intrigues of Venedig - A Fantasy RP (18+)

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Clarimonde Sauerstein

_{Slave Auction in Venedig, Before the Attack}

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@Stitches@Letter Bee
The former nobles stood behind the silk curtains of the wooden stage, surrounded by silk, flesh, perfume, and chains. Roaring jeers and frantic bids rose from the crowd of the auction, commoners and aristocrats alike come to gawk at how the mighty had fallen, vendors selling refreshments to those with coin to spare. Behind the curtain, expressions were mixed. Some were proud, some afraid, a few trying to comfort their children. It was an interesting mix of humanity, the group held quiet by the guards around them.

Of particular note was one young woman, the manacles at her wrists and ankles inscribed with indecipherable iconography. Her long, black hair dangled loose behind her stout, scarred body as she stared down her nose at the man silently weeping in front of her. He was a large man, square of jaw and well-muscled. Under less demeaning circumstances, she would have found him quite attractive. As things stood, however, his bulk placed the woman squarely in the shade as his sobbing wrattled the chains between them. Though he faced away from her, she hoped he could feel her disdain. Clarimonde was afraid. She would have to have been a lunatic not to be. But if nothing else, their blood demanded dignity. If nothing else, they could bring no shame to their Houses. He disgusted her.

After the initial sale of the Edenweiss family, they trotted out the next dozen or so, Clarimonde with them. Her shoulders were square, her back ramrod straight as she marched out, naked as the day she was born. The crowd jeered and the auctioneer began to rattle off the attributes of those to be sold, Clarimonde remembering her mother's earliest lessons from her childhood in Steinholme. Those were happier days, but now her mother was dead and Steinholme had fallen. One of these would be corrected, with time.

She stared into the sky, keeping her eyes unfocused on the crowd, the aristocrats, the commoners. Distantly, she heard the auctioneer issuing prices, proofs of purchase for the nobles, though she paid them no heed. She had appearances to keep up... but it was a lovely day. Her world had crumbled around her. She was to be a slave. But no one could take the breeze away from her in this instant. No one could rip away the sun and kill the sky, so for now she breathed in the light on her skin and the vivid blue above her as she stood silent, waiting for her fate.

Soon, the auctioneer had come to her, the others led off to their new owners. The muscled man had been sold for a paltry sum, his value undermined by the fact that he blubbered like an infant. A small part of her wondered what the crowd would deem her worth. Mentally removed from the situation, she was determined that she would be sold for substantially more, though perhaps not quite as much as the high-profile Edenweiss. Soon, however, her eyes flew open as the booming baritone of the auctioneer jostled her from her reverie, her face a mask of carved marble.

"Here, Lords and Ladies, stands Clarimonde Sauerstein, age 24! With the rest of her family dead or unavailable for purchase, she's become a bit of a collector's item! As you can see from the scars here, here, and here, she formerly kept occupied as a field medic for the Rebellion..." he paused, allowing the crowd a moment to jeer at her loyalties. Clarimonde stood unflinching as the corpulent man needled at her old wounds, gesturing grandly for his audience. They were eating out of his hand. "But despite her political flaws, she remains well-educated in medicine, court manners, and as a woman after my own heart, High magic! Not to worry, that's what our manacles are for, Ladies and gentlemen, no accidents today! All the same, she comes from a sturdy stock, good for working, not bad looking, but ssstubborn as an ass! So let me ask you, beloved audience, who here has the confidence and coin to break the shrew?!"

Intrigues of Venedig - A Fantasy RP (18+)

@Stitches
...that is so damn pretentious I love it. But I think the idea behind @Overlord Thraka's edit was that we could do the auction for Clarimonde and Afia before the attack took place, then leave the square and have a merry time as the bells and whistles went off behind us. That being said, if you don't wanna do that I'm willing to work with you for the pre-order thing, though I feel like the Emperor would want ALL of the ex-nobles to at least be displayed for the shame factor of the auction. Unless I'm just reading too much into things.

...additionally, Aifa could potentially leave a servant behind to bring news and "place her order" if/when things calm down. Just spitballing

Intrigues of Venedig - A Fantasy RP (18+)

@Letter Bee
Excellent. That being said, it's 5 AM where I am, so I'll post in the morrow. Probably early, since my sleep schedule is near non-existent at this point.

Intrigues of Venedig - A Fantasy RP (18+)

@Letter Bee
While we're discussing GM/Player posts, I would like to ask one thing. To what degree do we need to worry about not stepping on your toes, NPC-wise? Frame of reference, if I sent out Clarimonde and said something about the auctioneer discussing the slaves, is that kosher?
@Overlord Thraka
Bruv, I'm sure it wasn't intentional, no sweat off my back. You were just playing your char as you see her. Besides, aside from being a little bit of an interruption to things, the terrorist attack certainly provides an interesting scenario for the city to ponder, assuming she escapes alright.

That, and I think we can totally work with the edit. A little clunky, but definitely something that can be worked around so long as it's chill with @Stitches

Intrigues of Venedig - A Fantasy RP (18+)

@Overlord Thraka
Well shit, that was fast.
@Stitches
...In all fairness, this is a big event for the Empire as a whole. It's a direct command from the Emperor meant to shame the rebellious nobles that as far as he is concerned, killed the shit out of his son with shivs. Additionally, a large portion of the powerful nobility from the city is present, which means a high guard-count. ...Compared to one person with a crossbow. Something tells me the event is nowhere near over.

How To Be A Hero - A My Hero Academy RP

@Tenma Tendo
You'll be good, old chars can stay where we didn't really have much of a chance to really work with them too much.

How To Be A Hero - A My Hero Academy RP

@Pirouette
Not gonna lie, rankings were one of my favorite parts of this shtick and I think we're BLANTANTLY stealing Rob's idea for them at this point. Though with how things are going, it's not super unlikely there will be team ranks as well(?) as individual ones. And trust me, there will be competitions.

Intrigues of Venedig - A Fantasy RP (18+)

Clarimonde Sauerstein the Last

Name: Clarimonde Sauerstein
Age: 24
Physical Description: Clarimonde is a stout woman, firm of base and a tad busty. She's as strong as she looks, and often was forced to carry wounded soldiers across the battlefield during the Rebellion. That being said, she has a worn sort of beauty about her, like an eroded statue. The war left the beginnings of a few lines across her face, but she's still young.

Physical appearance

Clarimonde's Final Portrait

Important items: Since the Iron Decree, the possessions of the Sauerstein family were completely confiscated, their estate given to the Emperor’s replacement of their family. She managed to hide away a small, bronze locket with a magically made portrait of her family before they were broken apart, and is actively looking for a few other items tied to her past. Non-enchanted.
-Her father Rayner’s rapier, well-made and well-used. Nonmagical, unnamed, but has a small inscription at the base: “Stärke des Blutes, Stärke des Steins.” Location unknown, belongs to the Emperor as a trophy of sorts.
-Her mother Wilde’s favorite broach, a palm-sized piece of shaped black onyx with silver filigree. Used to control the magical defenses of Steinholme, currently held by whatever noble the Emperor deemed to place in her ancestral home.
-Her brother Amwolf’s bones, to be buried in Steinholme. Location unknown, likely scattered.

Short Bio:
Clarimonde Sauerstein was born to her mother and father in Steinholme, high atop the Grimrock mountains. The position in nobility had its privileges, but her parents always made sure to remind her that first and foremost, Sauersteins were strong. She attended every execution in Steinholme, was taught tactics, the basics of High magic for self-defense, and how to tell when loyalty to orders was more important than personal initiative. In particular, she took to medical studies with vigor, fascinated by the paradox of how hard it was to kill and how easy it was to die.
That is not to say that her childhood was joyless; far from it. She and her brother were inseparable, and her father showed a side of himself that few had seen in the presence of his family. He told them stories, his grim countenance relaxing into an expressive face full of wonder as he related tales of heroes and villains, legends and love. Her mother taught her court manners, but also how to sneak out the back when politics grew too dull. At nights, she would take her children to watch the skies together, pointing out constellations and shooting stars as they savored sweets stolen from the kitchen. Commonborn, Wilde told them of how to read weather and the beauty of simple joys. It was a good time in Clarimonde’s life, but it was not to last.
Eventually, the war came. Her father a major commander in the emperor’s army, he and his loyal forces stood with Du Reich des Goldenen Grahles staunchly… at first. As it progressed, he was summoned to meet with Emperor Maximilian XV for war counsel time and time again, emerging from his chambers less convicted every time. It came as a shock to the nation when his forces raised a new flag overnight, joining with the Rebellion as Rayner found himself swayed. Clarimonde herself was surprised, but her father remained silent on the matter. He always just stood there, jaw locked, and said that he couldn’t support his liege anymore, that he refused to see reason.
As time went on, the war went poorly. Clarimonde, seeing her twin brother enlist himself at the bottom rung of the military, as was custom for their family, saw fit to do the same. Though her father would not allow her to fight in the infantry, she enlisted as a field medic, an arguably more dangerous job. Medics were not allowed to carry weapons, in exchange for clemency from enemy forces. All the same, magic wasn’t innately offensive. Though she never killed, her wards and constructs saved more than a few from magic.
More time passed, Clarimonde bringing more soldiers back from the brink than she could remember, losing countless more. Her parents would not have wished it, but this experience more than any other taught her what it was to be a Sauerstein.
While she was away, the Reich reached Steinholme. Her mother led what defenses there were, but it was not enough. Wilde fell in defense of their home. Amwolf perished on the front lines, his body desecrated and his bones stolen. Her father was captured along with the rest of the leaders of the Rebellion.
The war was lost.
The Iron Decree came.
Clarimonde was to be auctioned off to the highest bidder as a slave. This was not to be allowed. To herself, bound and prevented from using her magic, the newfound heir to House Sauerstein composed herself. She would not show her captors any anguish. She would give those of her blood who fell a proper burial. She would find and save her father from his prison beneath Castle Goldenreche, and do what she could to spite the Empire any way she found.
She may be a slave for now, but Clarimonde Sauerstein is not a woman to be trifled with.

Starting Faction: N/A, slave. Loyalty belongs to her family, and the legacy of House Sauerstein

Spell List:
-Minor Constructs(High): The user conjures simple tools and objects no larger than a breadbox, remaining in existence so long as she focuses on them. Traditionally, Clarimonde utilized this spell for field surgery, summoning sterile clamps and scalpels. Occasionally she drinks out of a conjured teacup for kicks.
-Lesser Judgement(High): Crude but effective, this spell hurls white bolts of energy, doing damage which cannot be healed by magic. Hits as a crossbow bolt would.
-Lesser Ward(High): Simply a ward against other magic, this spell protects its target for a few hours before wearing off. Has no effect against physical weapons. Analogous to chain-mail, the ward does not completely negate other spells, just lessens their effect on the beneficiary.

Exceptional Skill List:
-Exceptional Will: Clarimonde has seen more than her fair share of death and pain. Holding a man’s intestines in while lightning crackled an inch from her head changed her. Nerves of steel. Functionally, this is the same as mental Toughness, resisting mind-altering affects. Not immunity, but a very strong will against effects of the same level. Fluff-wise, her face is a stone wall.
-Exceptional Medicine(x2): Studying under the finest tutors the Sauerstein coffers could afford, Clarimonde then spent several years performing meatball surgery in muddy trenches with minimal supplies. She can’t bring back the dead, but if the brain is alive she’ll damn well keep you that way.