Running out of Magic (OOC/Interest Check)
IC thread here: https://role-player.net/forum/showthr...=1#post2653005
(I am looking for players, Interest and any suggestions! Post your character sheet or post/PM any questions and I will get back to you as soon as I can.)
Magic has been declining. For the last few decades, new Magi, those with the ability to manipulate the mystical energies of the world, have not been born with the regularity of days of old. Only 50 years ago, most cities, towns and villages had at least one Magi in their midst, someone who could heal, read bones or tea leaves, or at least light a candle using only magic. But times have changed.
The annual search and recruitment fairs have turned up fewer boys and girls with any talent, and the abilities that are discovered are mostly pale reflections of what came before.
On top of this, someone or something has been killing the existing Magi. Village Wisdoms, City Wizards, Witches and Sorcerers, even the wild Druids have been found murdered; some by blade, some by what appears to be wild animals and others by what can only be magic. The level and skill of the Magi does not seem to matter and a single witch has executed among a gathering of her sisters and brothers while a cabal of sorcerers was found murdered in their beds to the last man.
The Magi look to each other not in common cause but in suspicion. Where the Druids would make regular treks from their wooded areas to nearby towns to offer nature’s healing and remedies, they now barricade themselves in their wooded cities with trees and thorny vines. Court Magi, once trusted advisers to royalty and nobility, have gone into hiding. Hospitals have lost most of their healers and entire towers of mystical scholars have either locked their doors or disappeared, occasionally taking the tower with them.
The world has begun to panic and those who would attempt to capitalize on the growing chaos have appeared, selling tonics and charms with all the power of sugar water and bundles of twigs.
This situation can no longer be ignored as a natural fluctuation of magical energies and the deaths of the Magi cannot go un-avenged. Magi and the non-magical alike have begun to choose champions to venture forth and work in concert to solve both mysteries. They can only hope and pray to their respective deities it is not too late.
Spoiler: Magi Classes
The classes I have used are my own interpretation of the terms; in my own head, they make sense. If you wish to add a class, or make modifications to an existing class, I am more than happy to hear you out.
Spoiler: Witch
Class: Witch
Gender: Male or Female
Class Specifics: Witches use objects, spells, sigils and potions to manipulate magic. A witch is likely to have a few enchanted rings, amulets, etc. on his/her person at all times and seldom travels without a personal spell book or grimoire.
A witch can also enchant objects to perform a specific function, but the effects are temporary and limited in scope. For example, a stone can be spelled to hold heat or a ring to glow in the presence of other magic, but this is a lingering spell the witch has linked to the object. The object itself is unchanged by the casting. No Witch’s spell lasts longer than 3 days, though it can be renewed rather than recast.
Witches generally work with a coven; while most remain in proximity to their coven mates, a few do maintain some distance between their members in order to give them a sense of independence. These latter covens will generally meet on a regular basis to share news and discoveries among themselves.
Due to the nature of their craft, a witch is most likely of the classes to be educated; he/she would need to be able to read detailed instructions for wards, potions and the like.
Since the magic they wield does not come from within, a witch is most likely to maintain his/her strength for a longer period of time. Because Witches uses a symbol (words, potion, glyph) to manipulate magic, he/she can be rendered powerless by binding and immobilizing their hands and blocking their ability to speak.
Spoiler: Wizard
Class: Wizard
Gender: Male
Class Specifics: Wizards channel magic through an item of power with compatible characteristics. A crystal wand can be used to produce a bolt of lightning or other raw manifestation of energy while a wooden or bone wand can be used to channel growing magic into vegetation or healing magic into the living (humanoids, animals, etc.). They can also use Talismans, Totems and various forms of empowered jewelry (created only by skilled Wizards) to focus the energy they channel into the ‘shape’ they desire. Some artifacts can only be used for very specific function, such as lighting a candle wick, and are useless in all other situations
Wizards are most likely to set up shop on the edge of a developed city. Wizards prefer to live and work in towers as the height grants them the unhindered ability to see the stars, phases of the moon and other natural phenomenon that amplifies their ability to channel power from the world around them.
Wizards are solitary practitioners, though they are amicable to sharing knowledge with their fellows. A wizard may take on an apprentice born with the aptitude for Wizardry and train them in the craft in exchange for assistance with their research and for tasks they are unable to complete themselves (such as visiting the market, retrieving laundry from the washerwoman, etc.).
Wizards channel magic from the world around them and in a pinch, can channel energy they store within themselves into their works. This is frowned upon and considered “Amateurish” by fellow Wizards and is considered a sign of poor planning.
Channeling power requires concentration and focus, thus it will cause weariness in the Wizard after an extended channeling session. Wizards burn calories while channeling and have voracious appetites after the channeling is complete, so there is no such thing as an over-weight Wizard. In fact, several wizards have died from starvation in the middle of a lengthy cast when their bodies no longer had the ability to sustain life due to exhaustion.
Since Wizards must channel a majority of their power from their surrounding world, a binding circle can cut them off from Magic and render them powerless by stilling the flow of magical energy.
Spoiler: Sorcerer/Sorceress
Class: Sorcerer/Sorceress
Gender: Male or Female
Class Specifics: Sorcerers and Sorceresses are masters of raw power. They require no focus or spell to project their will through their bodies to affect the change they desire in the world. If a Sorcerer survives puberty, they have the chance to learn subtlety in their power and are more versatile in their craft. The basic skills of Push, Hold, Destroy and Block can be evolved into Levitate, Contain, Disintegrate and Barrier, to name a few. With practice, and patience, an imaginative Sorcerer can work incredible feats of magic.
Sorcerers generally isolate themselves from others, except their mentor(s) during their training but tend to return to their family home once they have a grasp on their power. From there, they will either hire themselves out as mercenaries, join the local government militia or seek out other Sorcerers to learn new skills.
While Sorcerers eventually tend to seek out ways to use their powers as a stand-alone entity in either military or mercenary applications, Sorceresses tend to form small groups of women who complement each others powers. These groups, calling themselves Covens, Sisterhoods or more unique names, will also join military or mercenary bands, but only as a single unit.
Sorcerers and Sorceresses are unique among the Magi in that they can channel their powers together, blending their energies into a single weave that allows them to accomplish more as a pair than even three could do alone.
Because Sorcerers draw power from within, their powers are often triggered out of self-preservation or intense emotion. As such, they are most likely of the Magi classes to die young, either by burning out their own minds from channeling too much energy into a task beyond their ability or from being killed by the lethal conditions their power has just created. Infants can be especially vulnerable to such accidents.
A sorcerer can be rendered powerless if contained within a binding circle, similar to a wizard, or by use of a proxy; another Sorcerer who will siphon off the Sorcerer’s power for their own use and denying this energy to the rightful owner. The methods for this transfer are known only to a select few and are considered akin to murder in the Sorcerer communities.
Spoiler: Blood Mage
Class: Blood Mage
Gender: Male or Female
Class Details: Blood Mages are by far the rarest of Magi. In the height of Magi, a Blood Mage was born maybe once a generation across the world. With the decline, the traits of a Blood Mage and how to spot them have been mostly lost; they are often confused with Sorcerers or missed entirely as a fluke in the flow of power as they cannot manifest their will without fresh blood.
The powers of a Blood Mage are similar to those of a Sorcerer and come from within, but are different in that they draw from life energy itself; the life force that flows with blood. A Blood Mage can use any blood to work his or her magic; animal blood being the weakest, human blood begin more powerful, the Blood Mage’s own blood being most potent. A Blood Mage can bend the latent power in blood into the same Shapes as a Sorcerer (Push, Destroy, Hold and Block) but the strength of the power is dependent upon the donor. A Blood Mage can drain a squirrel and Push a grown man back a foot or so, but use the same quantity of blood from a human and knock the same man across the room or their own blood and force him through a stone wall.
Blood Mages also have magic similar to Witches and Enchantresses; like a witch, they can use a victim’s blood to work their will upon them. They can cause a target to become diseased, physically limited (unable to walk, weak, unable to speak, etc) by focusing their intent through a sample of blood. They can also compel action through an amount of blood taken from the target.
However, blood can only be used for magic once; after the energy is drawn from it, it is useless. A Blood Mage using his own blood would be a vortex of power for a short time before their blood would lose power and they would either lose contact with their Blood Magic or they bleed out. The intended result of the Blood Mage’s spell will drain the blood ‘offering’ quickly for a compulsion, but much more slowly to bind someone into sleep or make them blind, deaf, or otherwise infirm. Using blood from a fresh wound could loop the entire target’s blood stream into the spell. If the drain of magic is slow enough, the body will actually replenish its power rapidly enough to keep the spell active continually.
Because the class is little more than a theory, their social habits are unknown. One can assume they are not trusted due to the nature of their power, but they can exist in any setting without giving themselves away as their power does not resonate the same way as it does for a Sorcerer or other known Magi. Blood Mages can be benevolent and use their powers for progress (healing both physical and mental) or they can use their power for personal gain and murder. Much power can be gained from bleeding a man dry and the lure of this strength is hard to ignore.
A Blood Mage is limited in power by the blood they have access to. In battle situations, a Blood Mage will use their own blood only as a last resort. In a ritual spell, a blood mage can bleed themselves and use their blood in conjunction with others to cast greater and more powerful workings. As blood mages must have blood in sight to use it, denying them access to blood will render them powerless. A binding circle is much less effective against this class than it is for Sorcerers and the only sure way to hinder their power is complete immobilization.
Spoiler: Druid
Class: Druid
Gender: Male or Female
Class Specifics: Druids derive their power directly from nature and the natural elements of Earth, Air and Water. The fact that a Druid can rarely, if ever, access the fourth element of Fire has led many scholars to believe Druids are counterparts to Sorcerers, whose manipulation of raw energy could be considered manipulations of Fire. In truth, their powers are dissimilar in nearly every way. Druids do not draw power from within or channel power from around them; rather they manipulate the elements themselves through an affinity with them.
Druids can manipulate Earth to create chasms and tremors, can twist flows of Air to create cyclones and hurricanes and can work water to aid movement of ships or to swallow enemies into any body of water. The average Druid can work one element at a time and can only work a second element once the first is released. Rarer are the Druids who can work several flows at once, including flows of two different elements. These Druids can manipulate the weather and work more complicated acts of nature, such as spontaneous growth of vegetation, by blending two flows of elemental power together. Rarest of all, and unheard of for several generations, are the Druids who can work three or more elements and several flows of the same element at a single time. These Druids are believed to be, not Druids, but incarnations of nature Spirits or Deities and are often worshiped.
Believed to be caused by their deep connection with Nature, Druids can commune with animals telepathically. It is not uncommon for a Druid to develop a bond with an animal and have that animal become a companion. Companions are generally Mammals, though they have also been birds, reptiles and on one occasion, a tarantula.
Druid groups, or Groves, identify as a family and travel only in groups of the same clan. They maintain residence in densely wooded areas away from cities and spend free time in meditation. Members of a Grove are not necessarily related, but once accepted into a Grove, a Druid is not allowed to choose another. Should the Druid choose to leave, or commit a crime against the Grove or nature that results in their expulsion from the Grove, they are sent into the woods naked and with nothing. These Druids are often mad or dead within a week of leaving because, as it is said by the Druids, Nature will not suffer a traitor.
A Druid can be separated from their power if they are surrounded by unnatural elements; blacksmith-forged metal, varnished wood and other man-worked materials are out of reach of the Druid’s power and will muffle his or her call to Nature. However, there is no magic that can silence a Druid’s call entirely and Nature will eventually respond, often with a vengeance. Seldom does a Druid have to wait that long, though, as the Grove with almost always come to the trapped Druid’s aid.
Spoiler: Enchantress
Class: Enchantress
Gender: Female
Class Specifics: An Enchantress is a master manipulator of human minds. While her power is not as aggressive as the other Magi Classes, she is far more versatile in her skill sets. The typical Enchantress is well-versed in the names and uses of plants that aid in clouding thoughts and bending wills but only as a supplement to her true power: the ability to compel, through mental projection, others to do her bidding and in her ability to manufacture elaborate illusions in the minds of others. The mental landscape is her playground and should she find her foe asleep, can ensnare him or her in their own dreams so tightly they can never wake up.
Enchantresses are unique among the Magi in that they are not born, but made. When she is still an infant, a future Enchantress is taken from her cradle and immersed in the life and training of an Enchantress. During her training, the young Enchantress will only have contact with the Mother and will be released into the world to hone her craft on her own once training is complete. While the exact details of the ritual or process that turns the child into an Enchantress are unknown by all but Mother Enchantresses, one thing that is certain is that Enchantresses are no longer fully human once the process is complete because they have been fused with a Succubus. Due to this fusion, Enchantresses will have an extended lifespan and are immune to most human illnesses. They can live upwards of two hundred years, but they are not immortal and their bodies will eventually begin to wear out. No Enchantress has lived past 500 years.
Most Enchantresses are given to the Mother either to ensure the girl is given a better life than what she would have had with her family or as payment for services rendered. If the time to train an Enchantress comes and no Tribute has been received, the Mother Enchantress will steal a child and use her magic to remove memory of the child from the family.
The powers of an Enchantress are the most difficult of the classes to suppress. There are few known methods to suppress the influence of an Enchantress, though rigorous mental training can grant a certain measure of immunity to her compulsions and illusions.
Spoiler: Characters
Spoiler: Konrad Wulf; Witch - Character Inactive
Name: Konrad Wulf "The Left Hand"
Age: 34
Class: Witch
Skill/Talent Specialty: Konrad inherited a rather large grimoire from his bloodline, bound in dark red leather with a silver wolf's head on the cover, it never leaves his side. He also has a fondness for touch-based spells which are rather complex.
Character details: A stern man as befit his former position yet still in possession of a heart, tarnished as it may be from his years in politics. Konrad is average in height with a sturdy build, he keeps his black hair and short beard well-trimmed. Although he prefers formal wear Konrad has taken to wearing simpler traveling clothes with the killer about, most notably a large black leather overcoat with a hood. Upon closer inspection a series of claw-like silver rings adorn his left hand. Konrad also travels with Ulric, a black dog with the size and appearance of a wolf.
Brief Origin story: Konrad comes from a family rich in witchcraft, and his initial lessons in magic went well and quickly. By 22 he was in the court of Lord Theron providing council, warding, and poisons. During his time in the court Konrad earned his title "The Left Hand" as several enemies of the court collapsed around negotiation tables. While the Lord's right hand was busy finishing disputes on the field of battle his left was ending situations before they even began.
This and his coven of 6 others were Konrad's life for 8 years. At 30 the first murder in his coven happened, fearing the worst Konrad went into hiding. Ulric was given to him then as a puppy, a memento from Theron. Then, a month ago, the second killing of a closer member of the coven. The rest decided that it was time to do something about the killings and Konrad drew the short straw. Leaving his secluded home in the forest he has set out to acquire what information exists about the killer, or killers.
Spoiler: Sylvyn Wyrdsmith; Witch
Name: Sylvyn Wyrdsmith
Age: 32
Class: Witch
Skill/Talent Specialty: Sylvan is trained in all of the basic talents for witches, such as Runecraft, Potion making and incantations but takes great pride in his spellcraft. He has penned many of the grimoires held in the Coven Library back home with most being his original works and some improved versions of old spells.
Character details: Sylvyn is kind but socially awkward. He never had the urge many of his peers experienced to leave the coven and travel abroad. As a result, he was deeply familiar with the area in which he grew up, but lacked real-world knowledge. His homosexuality has caused additional difficulties as he has never met another gay male or female and feels set apart from his family and friends. He is scholar soft, and while most would not consider him ugly, neither is he considered handsome or beautiful.
Brief Origin story: Sylvyn studied the arts of witchcraft for the sake of study itself. He would cast spells in an attempt to determine better and more efficient methods, but sought nothing more than to document his findings to promote the knowledge of his Coven. When he turned thirty, his Coven decided he needed time away, both to stretch his legs and learn something away from the small village that contained everything he had ever known. They temporarily banished him, telling him he was to travel anywhere in the world he wanted but was not allowed to return for five years.
Sylvyn took this decision hard and left with a broken heart. He traveled for only a year, barely moving 50 miles away from his home, when he met the handsome young Lord Killian from the House D’barac. Lord Killian convinced Sylvyn to return home with him where Sylvyn would be a House Witch and adviser to his Uncle, Lord Byron D’Barac.
Sylvyn, feeling a stirring he had long since suppressed, agreed, believing he would serve out his exile and return home with a title to share with his Coven and potentially a true love. However, that night at a dinner in his honor, he was drugged and in a sedated state, taken to the D’barac dungeons where he was fixed with immobilizing shackles and a fitted gag and then strapped to a reclined stone slab. Lady Marie D’barac, Lord Byron’s sister, was then able to practice her ‘witchcraft,’ believing the charms and curses she placed on her enemies using corrupted versions of spells from Sylvyn’s own grimoire, and occasionally the Witch’s blood, hair and, in one instance, his flesh, would give her family an edge in the political games of the noble houses. However, as she had not an ounce of magical talent, she succeeded only in torturing the man, ignoring his pleads for mercy until he gave up, waiting to die.
For a year, he has been used as a source of reagents, but something is happening…the house was full of screams and roars of rage but now there is silence…
Spoiler: Zandria Brighteyes; Sorceress
Name: Zandria Brighteyes
Age: 23
Class: Sorceress
Skill/Talent Specialty: Zandria has the ability to see the magic in others. In Sorcerers/Sorceresses, she can tap in to this power. In the other classes, she can see the magic they wield, but cannot access it.
Character details: Zandria is a peaceful girl, born with a patience that served her well when her Sorcery became active. She is kind and generous with a deep sense of obligation to care for others. While she is pretty to look at, she is altogether unremarkable when compared to others. Her hair is dark brown, usually contained in a simple braid. She currently travels with a toddler, a boy she has taken from her Coven of the Midnight Rose.
Brief Origin story: At a young age, it was discovered Zandria had the ability to see magic, both when in use by a Magi and the potential for magic in others. Her calm nature and methodical mind made her an ideal Sorceress once her powers activated at age 4; she was a challenge to anger and always considered her actions before taking them.
When she was 6, she was taken into the Coven of the Midnight Rose for further training. At 10, Zandria inadvertently drained four of her sisters and a Sorceress abducted from another coven of all power, leaving 5 husks that appear to her to be gaping voids rather than magi. Horrified by her actions, she attempted to cease her training and go home; the Coven would not release her, having found a weapon never seen before. She was forced to kill several more times to hinder the power of other sorcerous Covens/Cabals.
It was not until she had reached age 23 that the coven secured their next new recruit, a boy with potent power for his age. Zandria refused to let him be turned into a killer as they had turned her and one night she fled with the child and all of the supplies she could get her hands on. After a week of running, terrified the Coven would find her, she heard in a small town that the Magi Killer had struck and her entire coven had been murdered the day after she had left. Zandria and her charge, whom she had named Ander, have been seeking a new coven and home ever since. However, the mistrust by Magi and Non-Magi alike have made fear of newcomers a serious barricade to her goals.
Spoiler: Nikolai "Nino" Grey; Sorceress - Character Inactive
Name: Nikolai "Nino" Grey
Age: 24
Class: Sorceress
Skill/Talent Specialty: Very strict control over the flow of her magic, but lacks the skill to make practical use of it. She possesses a great sense of direction and reasonable endurance due to a childhood of constant travelling.
Character details: A woman with a stout heart and a nearly debilitating thirst for truth and justice, Nikolai sticks firmly to her own moral code. The means does not always justify the end however, and she can easily come to feel frustrated and dissatisfied when she is unable to accomplish her goals. She values above all else the need for honesty and transparency, and believes that it is best to be both succinct and informative despite not being one for conversation. Her taciturnity may often be mistaken by others as shyness or aloofness, though that is hardly the case. While Nikolai may actively choose to engage in as few interactions as possible, it has everything to do with her fear of harming herself or others should her magic go haywire.
Nikolai is short but lean, with shoulder-length black hair and a slightly dark complexion. Her eyes are vibrant and round, hazel in color.
Brief Origin story: Nikolai was named after her father, who had always wanted a son to be his first born child. Her family lived life as vagabonds who never stayed in one place for too long, and her father thought it necessary to teach her how to fend for herself should the need arise. Her mother disagreed with the idea strongly at first. She worried that her daughter, who always wore her heart on her sleeve, would fall prey to the turbulent depth of her emotions; a dangerous thing to happen to a neophyte sorceress. She wanted her daughter to live the normal life she'd been denied in her own childhood, away from covens and the like, and thus hid Nikolai from the world of magic as best she could until her powers manifested at the age of 7. At that point, Nikolai could no longer flee from magic.
Nikolai followed her parents to the countryside to stay with a family friend, Orlind Rosch, who lived out his days in relative solitude. It was s safe place to settle down for a few years, and there she trained away from prying eyes until she was skilled enough to keep her magic in check. Due to her mother's ideals however--that magic was a cursed gift--Nikolai acquired a fear of accidentally tapping into a power she believed she would not be able to control.
Her father took to doing odd jobs within the small village a few miles south that often kept him away for weeks. Eventually Nikolai's mother passed away due to her illness, and visits from her father during that time grew less frequent until one day all contact ceased entirely.
Spoiler: Rass Tarius; Sorcerer
Name: Rass "Icehand" Tarius
Age: Appears late 40
Class: Sorcerer
Skill/Talent Specialty: Perhaps unique among his kind, Rass has the ability to draw energy and magic from his surroundings for his purposes by imposing his will upon it through his considerable sorcery, though this often has a draining effect on the area that can take time to recuperate.
Character details: A man of many opinions, others' opinions, Rass is described as having one underpinning feature: no matter if he is laughing or crying, he is always looking for something. He will interact greatly with other Magi, though he seems to be particularly interested in witches when on the move and wizards when in cities. Of the latter, he has not inconsiderable amounts of knowledge of their craft, though whether he has any innate talent in it - and how he got the knowledge - is a mystery.
Brief Origin Story: In Rass' village, it was said that he was consummated under a fiery star. This connection was only noticed because the village had a resident wizard recluse who warned the village elders. As a result, Rass' mother would be taken away from the village to a specially made clearing for his birth. Though outwardly unharmed where the wizard had declared he would cause an explosion on conception, his mother would never bear another child.
In spite of an inauspicious beginning Rass grew up generally healthy and happy for an out-of-ways village. The wizard never stopped pestering his family, bringing unusual attention, but nothing came of it. That was, not until when Rass began puberty. On a quiet noon in the same clearing he was born with the wizard, slowly sliding asleep amid yet another lecture on the invisible stars whose charts the wizard refused to share, an explosion DID occur and the wizard's beard was never the same again.
Though not outright ostracized by the village (Rass always suspected that the wizard warned the people not to rouse a sorcerer's anger), Rass nevertheless came to the conclusion as he grew into manhood and his power surfaced more and more that he was no longer welcome in his village. Though somewhat bitter, he found no lack of friends and family to console him, even as he felt more and more isolated. Finally, he left upon his ascent to manhood. The wizard was probably the most sorry to see him go.
Traveling far and wide, harnessing his power in the isolated parts of the world, Rass eventually wound up in the service of one noble or another, either as part of a court piece or on the battlefield. At first, Rass was horrified by the destruction he wrought. Slowly, however, he realized that it would happen, with or without him. In war he fought and bled and loved and killed, becoming harder and quieter with each passing year, the source of his power shifting as the years passed.
Now Rass is out of work. The last noble he worked for had gotten himself assassinated after killing his rival, but before paying Rass for his not inconsiderable aid. Many of the superstitious brass, or at least those who pretended to be, whispered it was his fault and the wandering sorcerer had to depart. With magic receding all over the world, Rass set out to investigate, if for no other reason than that he had nothing else to do.
Spoiler: Konobria; Sorceress - Character Inactive
Name: Konobria
Age: Unknown
Class: Sorceress
Skill/Talent Specialty: The seemingly ageless Konobria effortlessly draws magical energy from a source outside of herself and beyond nature, though she employs this ability rather sparingly. This is due to her belief that true magic originates on another plane of existence and that channeling too much power weakens the boundaries between the physical and metaphysical realms.
Character details: Konobria has been around for a long time and possesses knowledge about a great many things. Consequently, she has grown rather bored, cynical, and indifferent to the dealings of Men and Magi alike. The slow demise of magic and Magi has piqued her curiosity, and she is most eager to observe its completion, if only because the prospect seems so novel. An albino of sorts, she has white, almost blue-tinted skin and ice-blue eyes. She is bald and wears utilitarian black garments. She appears to be in her mid-40s, though most would safely conclude that she is much, much older.
Brief Origin story: Konobria's background is up for speculation, and she likes it that way. Some believe her to be a demon; others think she hails from some place off-world, perhaps from another dimension entirely. She has dabbled in various covens and circles of sorcery over the decades, many of which fell into disgrace or extinction shortly after her always-voluntary departure. This has made her an obvious target of suspicion and earned her many enemies...all of whom are now dead, thanks to a variety of causes. Ironically, she has never actually taken a life or been directly responsible for the death of another, though she nonetheless earned the notorious moniker of "The Reaper's Harbinger."
As the numbers of dead Magi climb and their factions grow ever more fractious, Konobria feels drawn to the center of the conflict. She has no interest in fighting for any side, but feels that what is happening is karmic, the result of magic's abuse by inferior beings that are ignorant to its true nature. To watch The End unfold from the best seat in the house excites her...because it is 'new' and, in her own mind, because it is just.
Spoiler: Alan Richson; Sorcerer - Character Inactive
Name: Alan "10,000 blades" Richson
Age: 60
Class: Sorcerer/sword salesmen.
Skill/Talent Specialty: He can levitate his whole stock( around 25 swords give or take) if he is found in combat.
Character details: he is a tall gentleman, with a fit build. He wears traders clothes. He has white hair, he has a tan. He has a kind face. And tends to smile a lot, and talks a lot of the pasts as his days as a swordsman. He is really friendly and willing to cut a deal. He has a large box that holds his stock in it and the side can drop to draw the blades.
Brief Origin story: He is born at the tail end of the age of magic. He grew up under the supervision of a noble family, and trained as a knight. When he came of age, he desired to travel the land. He done battles with almost every type of enemy. In his late 30s he tried to settle down and raise a family. But it wasn't the life for him so in his mid 40s he started to wander the land. At the age of 50, he started to sell swords.
He has loose connection to the night legion ( as in he sometimes sells stuff to them, and beat the shit out of recruits.) as well as a number of other groups.
Spoiler: Drewyn Lightly; Blood Mage
Name: Drewyn "King of Dreams" Lightly
Age:21
Class: Blood Mage
Skill: Drewyn is highly specialized in subconscious magic (basically anything to do with dreams, memories, and sleep). He can lull someone to sleep or waken a sleeping person, influence dreams, and erase or create memories. He is highly skilled in this area, so much so that people call him the "King of Dreams." However, his skills in other areas are limited. As another downside to his affinity, he is often plagued by night terrors and can never forget anything, whether the memories are pleasant or deep, dark secrets that should be tucked away into the darkest corner of the mind. Drewyn also has an odd affinity for making sleeping potions, pills, etc.and can be found with them on his person at all times.
Character traits: Drewyn is a caring, nurturing soul. If he sees suffering, his first instinct is to ease it. However, he is a brooding and withdrawn person and, due to his inability to forget past traumatic experiences, can be a bit cynical at times. He is an attractive young man, but due to his feminine features, is sometimes mistaken for a woman. Appearance. He carries a bag with him that contains all kind of odd gadgets and trinkets.
Short Bio: Born in a small, unknown town, Drewyn was orphaned at a young age. His mother, a lovely woman, died when she gave birth to him. His father died two years later, violently mugged and left on the side of the road to die. They were found, but not after his father had already left the world. Drewyn had somehow gone unscathed. Subsequently, Drewyn was taken to the orphanage where he stayed until he was seven.
On his seventh birthday, he was taken in by an odd magi named Daniel. At first, the adoption went smoothly, the next few months the best of Drewyn's life, but the situation soon went sour. Daniel was abusive, it seemed, and would often drag Drewyn down to the cellar and beat him until he was black and blue. This went on until he was twelve, the beatings gradually getting worse and worse until Daniel started using magic to harm him as well. One day, when Drewyn was forced in to the cellar, things took a turn for the worse. Daniel came at him with a knife, threatening to slash his throat.
The two struggled for a while until, in a fit of desperation, Drewyn discovered his powers. Daniel cut himself on the knife, shedding his own blood. In an instant, Drewyn's magic reacted to the presence of blood. Daniel was thrown into a magical coma. Shocked, Drewyn fled town, not wanting to face the consequences. According to sources, Daniel still lies sleeping to this day.
Spoiler: Alistair Shede; Druid - Character Inactive
Name: Alistair "Skins" Shede
Age: 26
Class: Druid
Skill/Talent Specialty:A relatively average Druid when it comes to manipulating nature with a preference to air and water magic. The earth just doesn't seem to sing to him like the other elements do. His animal companion is an unusually large python reaching about the length of Alistair from his feet to his neck with rusty colored scales. Completely willing to be a mere background character in the lives of others unless something peaks his interest, it's easy to under estimate him. Knowledgeable about poisons and cures but adamantly refuses to play healer unless the situation is dire.
Character details: A young man seeking something to remove the constant boredom in his life, regardless of how willing the stranger is going to be at finding themselves a tag-a-long. Said tag-a-long can be difficult to work with as Alistair is perfectly content to merely watch a situation from a distance all while making the occasional suggestion. Some may call this tactic selfish, yet flattering once it's revealed the complete confidence given. At least, that is a favored excuse of Alistair's for avoiding confrontation. During quieter moments, his inquisitive nature about the lives of others and their personal philosophies can be an ice-breaker. That isn't to say this man was a born questioner, more so a pusher as he enjoys challenging people's views and on the occasion values to the breaking point.
Nature is constantly changing, so why shouldn't the concept of right and wrong? That is a personal philosophy of Alistair to be open to bizarre ideas and mindsets. For someone like him to be content with a stagnant life, makes a lazy and sleepy Druid. So it's time for hibernation to be over and for the adventure to begin. Surprisingly tall at 6,4 with a thin, but fit build and a shock of brown hair down past his ears. Unruly bangs often fall in front of his grey eyes much to his annoyance. His complexion is shockingly pale despite his outside life style..unless it's reddened from sunburn, a curse that gave him his nickname as "skins" as his skin peels rapidly like a snake after burning or it could be due to massive python he calls friend.
Brief Origin story: His childhood was tearfully boring from his perspective as his Grove traveled from forest to forest under the soft hand of his grandmother, the elected leader of the clan. His grandmother was a reserved woman in the public eye, yet passionate about her magic and the nature surrounding it. This resulted in Alistair being tutored under a strict, but knowledge teacher that was not afraid to check rocks at his daydreaming habits. The tough old woman could have been made from the stone itself as her clucking was to hide the pain of loosing Alistair's father and mother to a bandit raid. This was one of Alistair's motivations to travel beyond the familiar woods of his Grove and find his parent's killers to learn their own motivations.
Alistair as a young and moody teen was much more content to be curled up on a heated stone with small snakes dozing on his person making water dance about his head with flicks of his fingers. Nothing in the Grove seemed to interest him unless it had to do with magic. Making herb mixtures or medicine merely made him sneeze. Healing just wasn't in his blood unlike his parents who were both adept in the medical field. Personal issues with healing stem from this link as his poor healing skills would be a dishonor to the memory of his parents.
As the years went by as both snake and Alistair grew, his grandmother revealed details of his parents murder from the bits of news and rumors she had managed to gather. His parents had been traveling back to the Grove campsite with only a few coins to their name and had been ravaged by bandits. Only fleeting thoughts from their animal companions, a rabbit and a pheasant, gave a fragmented account of their attackers…nothing of much significance. That was aside from the singular tattoo seen on one of the attackers of a crimson hawk on the right shoulder. Such a tattoo couldn't be something one could forget.
Yet, as the world changed once again as whispers of murders of Magi even reached the ears of his isolated clan, it was Alistair who volunteered to leave the woods and seek out information on this apparent change. It was a change of pace for the young as darker thoughts of revenge began stirring in his heart. After all, he didn't plan on becoming a mere background character in the world as a whole…why not try to become a lead himself?
Spoiler: Neteri Swiftfell
Name: Neteri Swiftfell
Age: 19
Class: Druid
Skill/Talent Specialty: Neteri, unlike most of her kind, is unable to access her power. Due to this, she has become a skilled non-magic healer and potion maker. Her connection with animals is deep, and seems to make up for her inability to harness nature’s powers.
Character details: She has a quiet sort of beauty, often overlooked due to her shy, soft spoken nature. Her dark hair is often pulled back, with stray strands dangling in her face. It contrasts strongly with the paleness of her skin. She is rarely seen without her cat, Gwynne, a dainty silver tabby with bright eyes.
Being unable to protect herself with magic, she keeps a dagger at her hip at all times.
Brief Origin story: Although most of her Grove refuses to leave the supposed safety of their home, she feels she has a duty to help those in need, and travels alone into the villages nearby to offer her services. Though she fears for her safety, she has come to realize that it is not a danger she can hide from, but must face. This opinion has caused much upset amongst her fellows.
Spoiler: Aria Chanteur; Enchantress
Name: Aria Chanteur
Age: 126
Class: Enchantress
Skill/Talent Specialty: Aria is a skilled Enchantress but has focused her talents on the performing arts. She is capable to weaving her voice with subliminal compulsion and can start a riot, an orgy or put an audience to sleep with a song. Aria is a sought after Assassin due to her ability to slip away unnoticed after delivering her quarry to the gentle arms of death with a smile on his or her face.
Character details: Like most Enchantresses, Aria is beautiful and has inspired many songs and poems. The trouble is her appearance shifts depending on who is looking at her. Five people can look her directly in the face and from each person’s description, the others would not recognize her. Aria does not have much of a temper because she has never needed one; if you offend her, she will just compel you to humiliate yourself in public and be done with you.
Brief Origin story: Aria, born Teeka Swinemuck, comes from the time immediately preceding the noticed decline of magic, when Magi were still respected and/or feared by all humans. She was offered to the Mother Enchantress as a newborn in an effort to save her from a life of poverty and toil on her parents’ pig farm. Her father was the deformed product of incest and her mother was ugly as sin, so there was little chance she would catch a suiter’s eye and be saved from the muck, despite the love the couple shared for their daughter.
Taken to the manor owned by the Mother, Teeka was trained in conversation, proper etiquette and other skills needed by high class ladies. However, she excelled, even as a human child, at music. While her face bore the traits of her unfortunate parentage, her voice was that of an angel. When she was ready and reached puberty, The Mother Enchantress sought out a Succubus drawn to the playing of an enchanted harp and this demon was fused with the girl. As all Enchantresses are, Teeka was renamed as a symbolic shedding of the cocoon of her past life. She was renamed Aria Chanteur and on top of her other training, was taught to kill.
Before long, she was traveling the world, performing for kings, queens and lords and ladies. Occasionally, the purpose of her visit was just to perform but most often she was to gather intelligence and on occasion silence her employer’s adversary. She was known as the Welcome Reaper as she was only employed to remove foes her employer had great respect for and wanted dead but did not want them to suffer.
A few years ago, Aria was called home to her Mother and directed to research the deaths of several Mother Enchantresses and their charges. Aria turned her skills of espionage to seek out information she could report back to her mother.
Spoiler: Astraea Atropos; Enchantress
Name: Astraea Atropos
Age: 253
Class: Enchantress
Skill/Talent Specialty: Astraea, in addition to being a manipulator of wills, can sense the presence and strength of minds of others over a large distance in the form of something akin to a heartbeat. This allows her to gauge the target’s mental defenses and project her powers over distances, but the effect and magnitude of her craftings are slightly lessened as the distance grows. Astraea also takes great pride in her magical prowess and spends much of her time honing her craft, and learning new skills to supplement it for. Though she is adept in many aspects of an Enchantress’ powers, Astraea specializes in creating vivid hallucinations and warped realities in the mind, whether they be dreamlike or nightmarish. Since her powers are not directly offensive, Astraea also decided to train her body, and thus she is rather athletic and quite adept in hand-to-hand combat and gymnastics.
Character details: The most noticeable feature about Astraea, like what seems to be the case with many other Enchantresses, are her eyes, which are pigmented in a blue hue as deep and captivating as the night sky itself. However, unlike most of her kind, Astraea was born with such eyes and the fusion with the succubus did little to change them. The boldness of her gaze is further emphasized by her pale, rosy complexion and platinum locks that fall to her waist.
Astraea is described by her allies and foes to be prideful and mischievous. She’s a playful character who generally keeps to herself, but carries a callous attitude underneath her amiable expressions. She finds joy in using her abilities for personal gain or entertainment, occasionally disregarding any loss or grief she may cause to others. Her behaviour has caused several conflicts with rather righteous magi in the past, but Astraea has since learned to be a bit more discreet - though she has found some within the community who find no wrong in her activities.
Brief Origin Story: Astraea never had a ‘human’ name. Although she was only about three or four at the time, the memories of her life before meeting her Mother Enchantress still resurfaced from time to time as a fading, yet sharp tingle. Her father, a nasty pig of a man, was a traveling merchant who had conceived Astraea with a peasant girl from the neighbouring village, out of temporary passions and a bout of lust. The peasant, though beautiful, was young and not mature nor wealthy enough to raise a child, and traveled to the man’s home to leave Astraea on the doorstep one night.
The arrival of the baby came as a surprise to the merchant’s wife, who he had already been married to for several years and bore two children with. After much conflict and deliberation, the despicable merchant and the equally as despicable wife reluctantly took the child in, in hopes of raising her to be a servant of sorts. However, as the by-product of an affair, Astraea would be the target of much resentment from the woman. She would often neglect the infant, refusing to feed or bathe the child for days, and punished it out of spite. Miraculously, Astraea managed to endure and live for a couple of years with what seemed to be either an innate, fierce tenacity or simply pure luck. As time passed, the children of the merchant also followed their mother and joined in the abusing of Astraea when they were old enough to do such things. Astraea endured unspeakable torment until she was saved by the Mother Enchantress, who took her away and gave her a better life. She was finally given a name - Astraea, meaning “star,” for her eyes of night gifted to her by her birth mother.
The hopelessness and weakness Astraea had felt as an infant would then fuel her greed for power as she trained with the Mother Enchantress. She focused all her energy in her studies, and sought excellence in everything the Mother taught her in order to please her savior and strengthen herself in the process. As she continued to learn more and more, Astraea’s thirst for power became an absurd obsession, spending most hours of her days crafting elaborate fantasies and warping the minds of human test subjects without rest, in order to refine and expand her abilities. The succubus she was fused with towards the end of her training was much like her in personality and ideals - a demon shrouded in a chilling aura, with a savage greed for power that challenged Astraea’s.
Spoiler: Penny Grimsley; Demon-Bound - Character Inactive
Name: Penny Grimsley
Age: 28
Class: Human
Skill/Talent Specialty: Contracted to demon
Character details: Brave, but not stupid, Penny is willing to take risks despite her own well being. Although she also believes that there a time to take those risks. Fairly intelligent with both street and book smarts. Photographic memory. Is more stubborn than a bull once a decision is made. Looks. Has a diagonal scar across her upper back.
Brief Origin story: At a young age Penny started to experience constant agonizing pain that started in her left leg and worked it way throughout her body. Concerned for their daughter her parents took to the doctor only for her to be diagnosed a couple weeks later with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome--a chronic condition characterized by severe burning pain, most often affecting one of the extremities, as well as an assortment of other side-effects. Luckily, her parents were good friends with a Magi who offered to treat her.
Years had passed since the first session. After her most recent session with the Magi something felt off; it felt like there was a shadow following her. A few days later a mark appeared on the back of her hand. That was not the only thing, later that night something indescribable appeared and stood there staring before murmuring, "We are bound." When she tried to go back to the Magi he was nowhere to be found. Penny now not only needs the magic to help with her illness but also to figure out what she is exactly bound to.
Spoiler: Edward Shadowfell; Human/Night-Legionnaire - Character Inactive
Name: Edward Shadowfell
Age: 28
Class: Human: Night-legionnaire.
Skill/Talent Specialty: He is a skilled swordsman. He can move quietly, has great night vision and can blend into the shadows well.
Character details: His right eye has an eye patch over it. He has a slender build. His hair is black and his eyes are deep blue. He has a blunt personality and doesn't like people. If he is caught shirtless, he has scars on his back from being lashed many times. He wears black chain mail. On the right shoulder is a crescent moon insignia. The same insignia can be found branded on his chest over his heart.
Brief Origin story: Orphaned as a child, he had to steal to live. His skill in stealth grew as he got older. When he was around 14, he had a dream of a princess in the moon, telling him to find the ones who “hide themselves from the light” to prove to them he was worthy. When he woke up, he started to look for them. At age 16 he found them, The Night-Legion; a group of outcasts who shared a similar dream. He was sent to "Save" a young Enchantress, whom the Legion believed to be the reincarnation of their goddess. (In reality, they kidnapped her and then brainwashed her into thinking like them.) Edward succeeded in abducting the woman, losing his right eye in the process, and when he returned to the Legion, he was welcomed into their ranks. He was branded with the mark of their goddess and gifted with a black sword, enchanted to call out to the other legionnaires and sometimes, compel even the shadows themselves to lend aid. His current goal is to protect his goddess' vessel.
No one truly knows how many are in the Night-Legion but their end goals are clear; to create a world of everlasting night. In their ranks are every type of person from every walk of life. They currently serve Lynett the brainwashed Enchantress who serves as the mortal vessel of their goddess, Luna.
Night-Legion inspirited from this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfMYKSdZdAY
Night-Legion's theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTZE2M0XzU8
Mark of their goddess: https://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/...20111008152200
Spoiler: Orlind Rosch; Human - Character Inactive
Name: Orlind Rosch
Age: 36
Class: Human
Skill/Talent Specialty: Orlind is decently skilled with his fists and hand-to-hand combat, but prefers to wield hefty axes. He has basic medical knowledge, enough to patch up shallow flesh wounds, but lacks expertise and finesse.
Character details: Despite still being young, Orlind often complains of feeling as though he's an old man. His leg was permanently damaged during his childhood and while it doesn’t pain him, it forces him to walk with a noticeable limp. What he lacks in mobility, he chooses to make up for with sheer brute strength and fierce determination. He is a relatively docile man who tries to abstain from violence, fighting against his old instincts to battle any who oppose him. His level-headedness and patience are both in short supply however, often leading him into situations that could have been handled better through more passive methods.
Orlind is a muscled man with a sturdy physique that others may find to be intimidating. He has several scars along his arms and torso that stand out against his pale complexion. His white tufts of hair are cut short, and accentuates his green eyes.
Brief Origin Story: Having experienced the true nature of battle from a young age, Orlind grew up as a hardened individual around those who had little interest in mercy or diplomacy. Raised by his parents and surrounded by their mercenary guild, he was taught early on that people were targets that served no other purpose than to be skewed on the edge of his blade. Though he did not believe in their views and disliked the idea of killing those he had no personal qualms with, he could not deny that he found it inexplicably thrilling to be caught in the heat of battle throughout his years of practical training. This shamed him more than he could ever openly admit.
By the time of his 15th birthday, his parents were hired to track down and kill a woman who lived in a nearby village, and they ordered Orlind to complete the task as his rite of passage. Upon locating his target, Orlind was torn with the knowledge that she was a frail, sickly girl just a few years older than himself, and that she and her newlywed husband were soon expecting a child. He told the couple of his prior intentions and that they should flee before someone else came to do what he could not. Unable to carry through with his mission, and knowing fully the punishment that awaited him if he returned empty-handed, he left his parents behind and hoped they would not track him.
It wasn’t until a year later that Orlind was reunited with the couple he had spared and met their daughter, Nikolai. Despite the oddity surrounding their very first encounter, Orlind slowly became a close friend of the Greys who had thanked him for saving their family. Though he enjoyed their company, he left in favor of taking up residence out in the country to distance himself as much as possible from his past. There he stayed for 22 years until the disappearance of the Nikolai's father spurred him into action.
Spoiler: Lenic Ravaine; Human Medic - Character Inactive
Name: Lenic Ravaine
Age: 27
Class: Human/Healer
Skill/Talent Specialty: Lenic possesses no innate magical abilities, though years of study have granted him mastery of many traditional Druidic healing practices. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of herbs, potions, and poisons, and an advanced understanding of anatomy and biology.
Character details: Lenic is a highly conflicted individual. He is incredibly intelligent and naturally kind-hearted, but that nature does not serve him well as Konobria's ward. He has feared and hated her for most of his life, and his passion for the healing the arts is a direct response to her indifference toward Humanity. Bound to her by a magical tether that only she can dissolve, he has had no choice but to follow and serve her, which has left him wracked with anxiety and guilt. He is of average height and slim build, with short auburn hair and golden eyes. He is conventionally attractive, if a bit bookish. His attire conceals runic symbols he has etched into his own skin, representing prayers and affirmations that he is still good in spite of his indentured servitude. Quite strangely for a non-Magi, he appears to have an animal familiar: a dragonfly which has been his constant companion since childhood. Lenic doesn't know how or why the insect remains with him, but he feels that it is immune to Konobria's darkness. In the two decades that the three of them have shared company, Konobria has never acknowledged it.
Brief Origin story: Lenic's entire life has been a struggle to define himself as his own person. He never knew his mother, and his father was a blacksmith in service of Lord Ganuel of North Ordun. Ganuel blamed the death of his wife on his former soothsayer, Konobria, and ordered that 6-year-old Lenic be sent to Konobria to deliver a poison-tainted book that would surely kill the sorceress. Of course Ganuel's weak assassination attempt failed, and instead of killing the boy, Konobria kept him for herself, magically binding him to her. He was to be not only her ward, but her servant and protector; if she should be killed while the bind was in place, Lenic would die with her. Two nights after the binding, a dragonfly flew in through his window and landed on the distraught child's shoulder. After that, it rarely left his sight.
As much as young Lenic hated Konobria, he eventually grew to see her as a parental stand-in. Since Konobria's actual needs were relatively few, Lenic was often left to his own devices, which consisted mostly of studying Druidic texts. Disheartened to learn he had no arcane abilities, he found solace in his acuity for recreating Druidic medicinal concoctions. Unbeknownst to Konobria, he also adopted some of their spiritual belief, such as the purifying and protective power of runes, which he carved into his chest, stomach, and limbs. He vows to give his life to medicine if he can ever break free of Konobria's magic.
In the meantime, he is forced to join her on her journey into the heart of conflict between the distrustful and warring Magi. The binding prevents him from acting against her, but he has also begun to take his role as her protector more seriously. He appreciates the breadth and depth of her knowledge, which he feels must be guarded to ensure the preservation of the world's remaining magic. He also hopes that the light of his true character will shine through if he can help save or spare a few lives.
Spoiler: Details Regarding PlayersMy last story started out really well but then all of my people disappeared. I am hoping I have learned from the experience and will be a much better GM this time. I want everyone to know I am really open to suggestions; if you have a suggestion or thought, even if you don’t want to join the story, I would be happy to hear it.
Players can be Champions chosen by their sects to investigate the decline in magic and/or the deaths of the Magi or solitary practitioners/investigators. Magi characters will have a vested interest in finding a solution (they don’t want to die or have their kind become extinct) but non-magical characters will have their own reasons for investigating. If it is not personal, such as having a family member or other loved one who is a Magi, they could be concerned with the loss in healing magic or may have been hired as a mercenary for a Magi group unwilling to risk their lives in this venture, such as scholars whose only practice in magic is theoretical.
We will also need the villain. The villain identity is not decided yet; if you have any ideas or would like to have this part, let me know. The killer may or may not be connected to the decrease in Magi born; they may be taking advantage of decreased numbers to try to dispose of magic-users, for whatever reason.
The classes and related descriptions are very general; each class can have variations on the descriptions listed, but they do need to adhere to the essence of the listed class.
Spoiler: RULES
I am pretty easy going. I don't mind swear words, but don't overdo it. This is not a Mature thread, so keep it all PG 13.
I expect collaboration with posting; if you find you have written your character(s) into a corner, let another player know so that they can assist in getting you out again. The last thing I want is for someone to stop playing because they ran out of creative steam.
I may add things here in the future as things are suggested or situations arise.
Spoiler: Character Sheet
Name: (First "Nickname" Last)
Age: (keep it less than 100 years, unless you are an Enchantress)
Class: (If you are not Magi, indicate your skill set)
Skill/Talent Specialty: (indicate if your character has a magic skill unusual to their class or describe
Character details: (Personality, physical traits other players should be aware of, interaction with the other members of their class, if Magi.)
Brief Origin story: (What is their goal/inspiration?)
Originally Posted by .Karma.
Bookmarks