Interest Check: Tales of Air and Shadow - A Song of Dragons

The west wind blew the leaves across the training court and made the beautiful apple trees wave in the bright sun. The Stormspire Keep had it's daily training drill in the morning, and the fails had to stay enduring further training to pay for their less-than-desired results.

-It's no use, Karl. I'm never scoring any more than that in swords. I'm a bow guy, and you know it.

-It's not my problem, Elliot. You know the Colonel is right: "A good archer must have a fine sword arm, for eventually, the enemy will draw near".

-Well, I ain't need a sword arm, I never let an enemy get close enough. I's got the bullseye, Karl, you know it, you've seen me shoot. Colonel could gimme a break, that he could. More: he should!

-No, he can't, you fool. The Counselor would see it in his eyes. He always do. And his orders were for all soldiers to meet the minimal required scores, or lose the morning practicing.

-That damned counselor! He's brought naught but trouble since he arrived in Rhozaria, I tell you! And where did that guy even come from? Ain't anyone even heard of him before Young King Kastor came across the guy!

-Oh, but he brought something. He brought our jobs, you moron! If he had not pushed Your Majesty to retake the Old War, there wouldn't have been that many conscriptions, and you would still hunting cats down some dirty alley.

-...yep...you might be right...but I still don't like that man. There's anything odd about him...

-No sane person likes that man, Elliot. There is something very dark about him. I for one wouldn't walk beside him in an empty road. But the man gave us our jobs, in a sense, you gotta have some respect.

-If not, he would probably have my head on a pike by next morning...

-That or put you in the front at some siege tower on the next attack. He is the kind of person who can kill you without even letting you know what happened.

-Good thing he ain't here to hear me...

-Who knows? That man seems to have a way of knowing all that happens. He always knows...
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-HOW can they be so STUPID? Can those fools not see they are being used? Now they burn, chop and bleed to help themselves help...their end!

A beautiful door of woven wood opened smoothly, as a being of angelic beauty walked by. One could have said she was the most perfectly wonderful woman in existance, if it wasn't for her dark haired sister in the room, who managed to remain just as stunning even with her eyes burning in rage and her perfect hands tossing furniture around. Maybe the fearsome gaze made her even more beautiful, if one would dare say so.

-Calm down, sister. You will end up startling her.

-Let her BE startled! Let her rememeber why she entered these woods trembling in fear! Let her go and remind her equals why they FEAR US!

-Sister, you are being ridiculous. Stop saying these thorned words that will certainly bring you regret. You know it is not her fault, she has not even layed her eyes on a fellow human in centuries.

The dark haired woman stood silent for a moment, breathing heavily. Her perfect chest going up and down, her long, water-like dark haid wonderfully spread all over her face, in the most perfect chaos, like the world's best painter had spent a whole week carefully choosing the best place to draw each string. Then she breathed out, and calm seemed to return to her heart, leavig only a mild irritation.

-They are fools, sister, you know it. I apologize for extending that to our friend, but you have to admit: they are all fools.

-Indeed, they are. And that is why our beloved friend was the last human to see a Fae and not die or go mad in fear in the process.

The golden-haired woman in a dress of the greenest leaves walked gently to a nearby chair, seemingly too perfectly woven from wooden strings to be real. And how can be wooden strings woven? Hard to say, it makes no sense. But can not all of this be also said about the almost unreal woman in green sitting in said chair?

-Still, we can do nothing. If they cut our woods, we cut them back. If they burn our leaves, we burn them back. If they put down our protected, we shall sing for them, and they shall put each other down. And we can do nothing other than that, for that is the full extend of our purpose.

-But they will take the whole Great mother with them! It is our world too, sister, we have to tend for it.

-We are tending to it in our own way, sister. We have an eternal war to fight against them, but it is to be fought in the woodland. If we go out of our way, will we not be just doing the same they did? Will we not end up doing just as much harm?

The wondrous sister in black started putting each tossed piece back into it's place, still irritated.

-You are right...but I still cannot sit down and watch everything burn...they have killed their gods already, and torn ours to pieces, this way they will kill all that is left...

-So do not sit and wait. You heard the Old White One. From their own ranks shall rise the hero. Make sure that hero triumphs.

Having finished with the furniture, the black sister turned around and went out of the door, leaving behind a tought and a pair of fingers crossed on her lips, a sign of farewell.

-He said that when the Guardians War came, and what a great hero that proved to be...
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Darkness.
For a being of one of the Realms of Light, wich is simply a fancy way of calling any realm that is not The Shadow Realm, darkness is only darkness. There is darkness, there is light, and there is the low-light area in-between. But a being born in The Shadow Realm, or one that has spent enough time in it, knows that not all is that simple. There are many layers of darkness. Better yet, there are many kinds of darkness. There is just the common darkness, that in that realm, you greet like the sunlight. Then there are many levels of deeper and deeper darkness, each one darker than the one before. Darker than one could think it was possible. Than there is the last layer, a darkness so absolut, not even the Shadows can see in it. Not even the Lords of the Realm can see in it. Even thought cannot exist in it. And then, when you go deeper than it, you find Darkness. Yes, just like that, with a capital D. It's the essence of the Shadow Realm. It's not just darker and and more horrifying than any other level of darkness. It also has it's own mass, it's own weight, it's own energy. It's not just a black form of mana, like the one the beings in the realm use. It's much more than that. It's a whole new form of power, a whole new form of matter. And it is of that Darkness that that prison was build. And from the deepest layer of darkness the Darkness cast as a mind-numbing shadow, a voice of utter pain and disgust emerged.

-What is it that you want, Munnin?

The creature in black bowed down deeply before the entrance of the dark prison, too afraid of the own prison to go any closer. Too afraid of what was inside it to stand any farther. Was it a raven or was it a man? Hard to tell, probably some cross designed by a mad man who had too much spirits to drink.

-M'lord, Sire, Liege. I came only to deliever a message that the messenger said I should deliever, for I did not want to disturb you, M'lord...

-Say it, Munnin! I have no time for your endless mumbling.

The creature was tossed back by the power of those words. It was not small, per se. In fact, the raven-like creature was much greater than an average human, probably around 7 feet tall, but it was so bent, humbled and terrified, it seemed to wither and shrink in that presence.

-Y-yes M'lord, Sire, Liege! T-the message. "The first Jewel was a success. A child of green has been successfully enthralled. Not only will it distract all forces from what truly happens behind curtains, as it also proves correct our theory. With your permission, I shall start the tracking of the Red Jewel". That's the message, M'lord, Sire, Liege.

A slight grin of satisfaction could be felt inside the cages of Darkness. And along with it, impatience.

-As expected, no surprise. Go and tell him to not waste time tracking. I know where the Red Jewel is located, and you know it too Munnin. Go and tell him, and help him acquire it. And don't waste any more of my time with questions. Improvise, you worthless fool, that's why I created you, to improvise!

-Y-yes M'lord, Sire, Liege. Right away!

And the pitiful black creature flew away, leaving the black presence inside it's prison of Darkness. Alone. As it had been for so long. As it should have stayed...
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...and the once proud, united nation through wich the humans ruled all, came down crumbling in a cataclysm that, from what study I have, could only have been caused by ourselves was most likely due to an unforseen unbalance in the ageless war on the faeries, and the results are the many unexplorable ruins that can be found all around the continent. What was left of the human population went scattered, forming bands and tribes all around the enviroments that could be used for habitation. We humans, had made many dangerous enemies in our times of pride, and for that, we were no longer welcome in the dragons' mountains, the faeries' forests, or the water-people's coast. Only the highlands and the deserts were free for our few brothers, and the deserts only because the long term commerce had made us friends with the goblins and ogres that lived in the Sea of Sand.

By the time our race could stand on it's own feet again, we had all reversed to a tribal state that lasted for centuries, overflowing our lands with war and blood of our own brothers and sisters. We were all kinslayers, in a sense. It is unclear exactly when or where, but it is known that from a small tribe, rose a man called Axel, that would be know for ages as the Night Griffon. He was an incredible warrior and a keen strategist. The man witnessed battle after battle, and won each and all of them. It is said that he then grew tired of the bloodshed, tired of seeing brother killing brother, and decided that the humans could only truly prosper when they were united, like their enemies were. And he proceeded to unite all the nations, all the tribes and all the clans under his banner. Axel spent half his lifetime in this gigantic war, and reached his forties with an united, but confused and mixed Empire in his hands. A whole race, blindly loyal to him, but with no real structure. And the Griffon used the last thirty years of his life trying to put that Empire in order. And with the help of his two trusted counselors, he managed.

At seventy five, in his deathbed, however, Axel realised he had given his whole life to his race, never having had time to think about having a spouse to love or give him children, and the greatest ruler of mankind was dying with no rightful heir. He then did the only thing he thought reasonable: put the two of his counselors as the heads of the Empire. One people, two crowns. His reasons were good, but the same cannot be said about the results. The counselors, Amaranthius Rhozarius and Khorus Dharnassus had come from very different life styles, and their point of view on nearly all aspects of ruling was different at an essential level. During the ruling of Axel, the High King found a balance between the diverging, but just, opinions, but without him, the two could never reach a consensus. What sprung from there was a segregation. The once Great Empire Axel struggled so hard to build was split in two. On one side, Amaranthius took the wings of the griffon, along with the black and the blue of the gray-and-purple banner, and founded Rhozaria. A Kingdom he would rule with the wisdom and high intellect fitting for the Archmage he was. On the other side, Khorus took the claws and the tail, along with the white and the scarlet, and brought to life Dharnassus, wich he swore to rule with all discipline and righteousness of the General he had spent his life as.

(The next part of the text features a visibly different handwritting and ink type)

In the end, the split did not work as well as planned. First, the Empire was not really divided in two, as many felt that, now that Axel was gone and the heirs couldn't even agree to how to rule it, they should go back to living as they lived before, and many small city-states and little nations were born, each with it's very specific government. Second, the two rulers did manage to rule each kingdom as they thought correct, with a certain degree of success, but none achieved the greatness and order Axel's had. Rhozaria grew into a nation of culture and mind. It had great schools and academies, with the Ebonknife College being hosted in it's grounds, the greatest academy of magic in the known world. But Rhozaria had not the discipline or the hierarchy that Khorus helped bring to Axel's Empire. It's citizens were unruly and all the system was hindered by bureaucracy. As for Khorus kingdom, it was disciplined, strong and stout. It's blacksmiths were the best, it's siege engines prodigious, and there was no better training than what it's soldiers received. All citizen, man or woman, had to serve for no less than five years in the army, what not only gave Dharnassus a massive, strong army, as also an entire population as a well-trained militia. But where it's steel force was mighty, it failed in education and magic prowess. It's people had inferior quality food and unfitting education, wich only got worse as a great part of the potential merchants, farmers and crafters were busy working as soldiers, willingly or not. And even with that mighty army, it was unable to win ground against Rhozaria, as it's spellcasters were vastly inferior, and it's defenses against spells, more than unfitting.

Not only that went wrong, but Rhozaria and Dharnassus were caught in an endless war, that king after king made sure to continue. Now, after five centuries of senseless warfare, King Darwin of Dharnassus, old and in deep depression from the loss of his beloved wife to a plague, managed to strike a truce with King Malkavis of Rhozaria. The deal was achieved mainly due to the fact that Darwin was a much superior tactician, and Malkavis could not stand any more blows to his forces at such advanced age. This truce, the one King Darwin longed so much for, was short-lived, though, as only five years later Malkavis died from a breathing disease, leaving no known heir. He had many wives, and even more mistresses, and for a whole year the scribes had to look at records and research, while an incompetent regent threw the kingdom into utter chaos. Finally, they were able to locate a young man, at his mere fifteen, who had a proven blood connection to King Malkavis. Even in his young age, the boy was deemed a better choice than the foolish regent. Was not Axel himself only fifteen when he started winning battles for his clan? In the end, Young King Kastor was even better than what they could think. Better than what anyone could even dream. Few months had passed when he brought upon the court a strange man from a distant country. He called the man, an obvious sorceror or gypsy, his counselor, and would not make a single state decision without him. As a result, the thorn kingdom the regent left for him was reborn, and better than before, in a single year.

But who could have forseen what would happen next? Kastor declared war again againt Dharnassus. No reasons, no explanations. Five years have passed since that declaration, and he crushes Rhozaria battle after battle, not losing a single one. The kid is a marvel of strategy, and where does he get so many soldiers from?

(The script ends here, with a bit blot of ink. The last two paragraphs seemed writen with a rather angry handwritting.)
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Ok, so this is the first RP I'm trying to host. The whole preview is up there, in that big chunk of text, just kinda hidden and decorated. Basically, it's a rather normal fantasy world, other than for the factors exposed up there and a few more secrets to be unvelied. It features a little bit of DaVincian-Steampunk technology (think flying ships and steam power...LOTS of steapower). Guns exist, but are rare and only in Rhozaria (and a few other desert city-states). I'll post an adequate intro after I get little feedback, but its enough to know for now that the characters will be participating on the war. They are all mercenaries hired by Rhozarian to help fortify and defend a keep in a county they believe wil be attacked soon.

I'll be taking 5 characters and there will be a few modifications to the system. Mostly they consist of a few more status effects to be listed later, a power level between a normal enemy and a boss (I call it Elite...I know, not very original. It's basically equivalent to 2 normal enemies in power. And it can use D-Ability). And a card system.

The card system is pretty simple: each character has a new equipment slot: it's a card slot. There is essentially one way of acquiring cards: completing achievements. The achievements will be almost always in boss fights and you get to know wich card it bestows, but not what are it's effects. Don't worry, it's usually not too hard to guess what's the card is about.
When you have a card equiped you are granted a new ability, depending on the card, that can be used once per battle. You can reactivate a used Card Ability by spending 5 drive points, if you are that desperate. No you don't get to start with any cards. There's a plan for a card fusion system, if the RP happens and gets far enough...and, of course, if you get that many cards. Ah, you also get more card slots as you get class promotions. One per promotion, to be precise. The point of the system is to give each character room to extend it's ability pool by being able to do more of what it does, or fill other roles. And to give another use to drive, of course.

And, that's it. So, your thought? Critics? Anyone interested?

The new mechanics sound very interesting. Pandy will join <3

I have an extra character I can donate to the cause. I will yield if someone else wants to join and the slots are full though.

I'm certainly interested. So you may count me in as well.

Warm sun, soothing breeze, birds singing... if it keeps like this for the whole fortification process, maybe the stay will not be that bad after all. I culd just lay down all the free time and think about life...Oh, who am I kidding? Do I forget the steel plates covering my body? Or the halberd just sitting beside me? This weather is just a facade. Soon, if our spies are right, war will come to this place, and all will be flares and despair. I just want to end this so I can see my girls again...

-Lieutenant Irongrip! Sir! We have a serious problem!

Oh, well. There comes some new conscript running for me, sword shaking maddly at his belt. The boy can't even run properly with that thing...and he brings trouble. And here was I enjoying what fleeting peace I had...

The bearded veteran rose from the groung, taking his steel-bladed halberd in hands, and looked at the young soldier who came running in bizarre haste.

-What is it, soldier?

The young man in chain mail stopped to catch his breath for a second, and started talking unconfortably fast.

-It's the woods, sir! Men are reporting trouble in the woods! The count told me to come to you, said it was your job to care for it. Internal security and all.

-Oh, for the love of the Eight! Fine, what exactly is going on in the woods?

The soldier gasped for a second, trying to explain correctly. He was sweating.

-It's...weird sir. I wasn't there personally, but I ran in to check, you know, see if I could do anything...

-Ok soldier, just speak it.

-...voices, sir. Singing. Someone is singing in the woods...and men are killing each other. Not just that, too. There are...things killing them. Bathing in their blood...burning them...I didn't see these, but a crazed soldier grasped my arm and yelled that at me before...cutting his own head off...so I ran to tell the Count, I wasn't going to stay there.

Damn, not now, not here. Specially not now...

-So you are thinking...

-My mama used to tell me, sir. About the Little People. Sometimes she called them the Fair People too, but I'm not sure wich one is the correct...she said they lay on the woods and eat the soul and heart of men who walk by. I always thought those were just stories, but...no, I can't go in there sir, not with all I've heard. If that was true...

-Calm down, soldier. Yes, I believe it's faeries...but not all you've heard is true. I'm going to solve this.

The soldier's expression turned to something completly different. Surprise, awe. Something between those two.

-You...you've faced them before sir? Should I go call some men to go with you?

-I've faced them before, back in the capital, but no, don't call anyone. I think I know who I am going to take. You can go rest now, soldier, take the day off, grab a drink. But say no word of this to any peasant or soldier, understand?

-As you wish, sir!

Faeries? Here? Damn, I knew they were cutting too deep. But fighting faeries is no business for soldiers. Most of those poor bastards are too young, never even tasted the blood of a man in their blades. They will be ripped appart and controlled like puppets if I take them in there...I need people with experience. Good thing we brought some mercenaries. Let's see if they were worth the king's gold...
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This is the proper intro. If we get one more player, perfect. If not, I will just have to make a few adjusts. Anyway, this should give a base of the situation the characters will start in.

Interesting.

Perhaps I should go make a special character for this.

Don't worry, I'll spare you of my most recent creation. But I might make something similar to her. (b=3=)b

To Safebooru! ~~~/o/

Well, I believe we will not be getting any more players, so I'll get to work on making the adjusts and setting the topics.

If you'd given it about 24 more hours, I'd have said hell yes. Are you all done already?

Nah, I still have the old backup. With 5 players, it's much better. So I'll count you in. ^^

New Stat Ailments and Buffs I'll be using:


Critial Eye: Aflicted has +50% critical for 3 turns.

Doubt: Aflicted deals only half dmg with magic. Calculated after SPR mitigation.

Fear: Aflicted deals only half dmg with physycal attacks. Calculated after DEF mitigation.

Mana Leak: Aflicted loses 10% Max MP per turn for 3 turns.

Panic: Aflicted does it's best to stay as far away from applier as possible, using up all moves to escape and never moving closer to it. Will use any movement-based abilities it can to escape. Other than that, may act as normal. Lasts 3 turns.

Taunted: All of aflicted's offensive actions must include the applier among its targets for 3 turns.


*Zombie status will be known as Undeath, since there are zombie monsters in the RP, and that would be...well, weird.

*Abilities by enemies or players may apply other status not described anywhere, as long as they are described in the ability, of course.

And all is set, I'll be waiting for the profiles. Everyone may post on the RP thread as soon as their profile is aproved.

Ooo, Taunt. I like that.