This RP is rated M for Mature, and may contain content including, but not limited to, the following:
Realistic Action/Fantasy Violence
Depictions of Real-Life Wartime Events (i.e. World War II)
Coarse Language/Innuendo
Partial or Complete Nudity
Sexual References/Situations
Drug/Alcohol Use
Dracomerica
The Next Great War
Spoiler: Main Storyline
As the 1930's come to a close, the fate of the world of men is more uncertain now than it has ever been. The nations of the world, still reeling from the sheer terror of the Great War roughly two decades ago, now face new threats from the increasingly bold Axis Powers led by the Japanese Empire in Asia and by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy in Europe. In particular, the Nazi regime of Germany has singlehandedly raised the country from her utter disgrace after the Great War and proceeded to completely reshape the German armed forces into a military power far greater than anything Germany's foes could ever have anticipated, and now the nations of Europe fear that a second, far bloodier Great War may be on the horizon. Even Scandinavia, which as a whole has elected to remain neutral, has reason to fear that this brewing war may someday arrive on her doorstep, owing in large part to the valuable Swedish iron ore imports that pass through Norway to Germany, among other strategic reasons.
Meanwhile, the mythical beings that reside in Scandinavia - from the small and relatively harmless nisser to the massive bear-like trolls - have just as much to fear from the possibility of a second Great War as their unsuspecting human neighbors do, as such a war would place their homelands directly in the crossfire. The same can also be said of the dragons residing within the region, as the gradually-differing ideologies of some dragons regarding the ancient European Rite of Ages has potential to reignite the Draconic Dark Times and contribute even further to the widespread violence that already threatens to consume the world of men.
This is the story of a few such dragons and how they negotiated one of the most unpredictable eras in human history, whether by secretly influencing the tides of war or by simply trying to survive.
Spoiler: Historical Context of This RPThis RP is set during the events of World War II with a particular emphasis on the Nazi occupations of Norway and Denmark. As such, before this RP goes live, I feel that a brief overview of the real-world historical context of this period relative to the RP is in order. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me (Lady Celeste), Moe, and/or Thelonewanderer, the latter two of whom are our resident WW2 experts for this RP.
Spoiler: Rise of Nazi Germany
Approximately two decades have passed by this point since the official end of the Great War: a bloody global conflict the likes of which the world of men had never seen before, and had desperately hoped never to see again. Four of the world's major imperial powers of the time have since ceased to exist, the territories of their successor states either reduced dramatically or broken apart altogether. Among these four powers was the German Empire, which had since been replaced by the Weimar Republic and, most recently, by the Third Reich under the control of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers' Party, better known today as the Nazi Party.
Born from Germany's utter ruin in the aftermath of the Great War, the Nazi regime rapidly gained strength in the years that followed, before the Nazi Party ultimately supplanted the Weimar Republic in favor of its own totalitarian government in 1933, under the absolute control of Hitler himself. Ever since that date, Nazi Germany has grown bolder with each passing year; despite being almost completely disarmed under the Treaty of Versailles, Germany managed not only to rebuild her armed forces, but to transform them into the fearsome Wehrmacht: a unified, cutting-edge force fully prepared to destroy the enemies of the Third Reich.
And when World War II broke out, they got their chance.
Spoiler: Operation Weserübung
In the wake of World War II, neither Norway nor Denmark posed any direct threat at first. Norway declared her neutrality early on, preparing to defend said neutrality by force if necessary, while Denmark signed a non-aggression pact with Germany in 1939 that would supposedly have lasted for ten years. However, the strategic significance of the Scandinavian region left both countries in a very precarious position, especially Norway, as the port of Narvik served as part of one of the main shipment routes for Swedish iron ore imports to Germany. By 1940, both sides of the war were already considering occupying part or all of Norway, including one proposed plan to send Allied troops through Narvik to aid Finland in the Winter War and then simultaneously take control of the Swedish iron ore mining district. Separate violations of Norwegian neutrality by both sides, such as the Altmark Incident, only added to growing concerns regarding Norway's fate, and Hitler, convinced that an Allied invasion of Norway was inevitable, decided to beat them to the punch.
And so, on April 9th, 1940, Operation Weserübung was launched.
Denmark, for her part, was mainly in the wrong place at the wrong time, as the Germans decided to use Denmark to help stage the invasion of Norway and to subsequently extend Germany's air-defense system. Although the initial plan was to simply pressure Denmark into permitting the necessary operations for the invasion of Norway, it was ultimately decided that taking Denmark by force would be the safer course of action in terms of Operation Weserübung's primary goals. Sure enough, Denmark's flat terrain and relatively small army made it virtually impossible for the Danish forces to maintain any substantial military resistance, and Denmark surrendered to the Germans within six hours of the invasion.
With Denmark securely under Nazi control, the Germans then set their sights on Norway, and German forces were promptly deployed to Oslo, Kristiansand, Egersund, Stavanger, Bergen, Trondheim, and Narvik. Unlike Denmark, however, Norway was able to fight back to a somewhat greater extent, and Allied forces arrived in short order to aid the Norwegians until Nazi campaigns in France forced them to evacuate Norway. In all, the Norwegians managed to hold out against the Nazis for roughly two months before officially surrendering, but the Norwegian resistance movement and the Free Norwegian Forces would continue the fight against the Nazis long after the official surrender.
Spoiler: Nazi Occupations of Norway and Denmark
Compared to other Nazi-occupied countries such as Poland, Denmark and Norway were not treated as harshly by the Germans, primarily because the Danes and the Norwegians were viewed as members of the same Aryan race that the Nazis wanted to promote. Denmark was allowed to retain her independence with respect to domestic affairs for the first three years of the occupation, to the point that even Denmark's Jewish population was left alone for the most part. Likewise, despite Norway's stronger resistance in the early years of the occupation, the Germans had at least some hope of making potential allies of the Norwegians, and generally treated them as such. Despite this relatively lenient treatment by the Nazis, however, neither country's occupation was without its own share of conflicts.
Spoiler: Norway
In Norway, pro-Nazi politician Vidkun Quisling collaborated with the Nazi occupiers early on and stood poised to seize power during the initial invasion of Norway. However, King Haakon VII declared that he would rather abdicate the Norwegian throne than accept Quisling's pro-Nazi puppet government; inspired by the king's resolve, the Norwegian government likewise refused to name Quisling the Norwegian prime minister. The Nazis responded by sending their forces to capture King Haakon, then-Crown Prince Olav V, and the rest of the Norwegian government, but they all managed to avoid capture long enough to obtain safe passage to England, where they set up a Norwegian government-in-exile and would go on to support and inspire resistance efforts in Norway and abroad. The Free Norwegian Forces, who managed to escape from Norway during Operation Weserübung, would go on to fight alongside Allied countries like Britain and Canada against the Axis Powers. Meanwhile, domestic resistance efforts in Norway would continue in various forms throughout the occupation; one of the Norwegian resistance's most famous successes, the Norwegian heavy water sabotage, effectively halted Nazi efforts to produce nuclear weapons.
Not nearly as fortunate during the Norwegian occupation and World War II in general were the indigenous Sámi people of northern Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia's Kola peninsula. Unlike the Norwegians, who were considered to be Aryans and therefore members of the Nazi master race, the Sámi were viewed as subhuman by the Nazis, and Sámi prisoners were treated as harshly as the inmates of the infamous concentration camps, if not worse. Most notably, Germany's scorched-earth attacks in Northern Norway in 1945 destroyed a vast majority of the Sámi's land in Norway, and Norway's discriminatory Norwegianization policy at the time contributed even further to the cultural destruction of the Sámi in Norway.
Spoiler: Denmark
Thanks in no small part to their swift surrender during Operation Weserübung, the Danish government was allowed to maintain Denmark's independence with respect to domestic affairs for the first three years of the occupation. During this time, the Danes enjoyed relative leniency from the Germans, as Hitler hoped to transform Denmark into a "model protectorate" with which to demonstrate to the world what a future Nazi-controlled Europe would be like. However, aside from economic cooperation with respect to Denmark's surplus agricultural products, the Danish government's cooperation with the Nazis was largely on a strictly technical basis, while King Christian X resisted the Nazi occupation in very subtle but noticeable ways, such as riding every day through the streets of Copenhagen without his guards present so as to show to the Danish people that he had not given up his sovereign rights, as well as reportedly vowing to wear the Star of David himself if the Nazis ever forced Denmark's Jews to wear the star (though the latter was never confirmed, since Denmark's Jews were never forced to wear the Star of David).
Although Denmark was mostly left alone at first, tensions between Denmark and Germany began to grow as time went on, causing their originally stable working relationship to slowly deteriorate, until the last straw came in late August of 1943. On August 28th, Germany demanded that the Danish government impose harsher laws on the Danish people in response to increasingly frequent protests and strikes, including bans on strikes and public assembly, the imposition of a curfew and of German censorship, and a fine on the city of Odense for the death of a German soldier in the amount of 1 million Danish kroner with hostages to be held as security. The Danish government refused to comply with these demands, and the Germans officially overthrew the Danish government the following day and imposed martial law, permanently shattering whatever peace the Danish occupation had enjoyed up to that point.
One month later, the German attaché Georg Ferdinand Duckwitz leaked word to the Danish resistance that the Nazis were planning to deport Denmark's entire Jewish population en masse to the concentration camps during Rosh Hashanah, when the Germans assumed that all Jews would remain in their homes. In response, Danish civilians and officials alike organized a mass rescue of Denmark's Jews (including King Christian himself, who helped finance the rescue effort) by hiding them from the Gestapo, smuggling them into neutral Sweden (mostly by boat across the Ĝresund Strait), and even intervening on behalf of those who were captured to such a degree that most of the captured Jews survived. In all, over 99% of Denmark's Jewish population survived thanks to these efforts. However, very few of the rescuers involved could be given any specific credit after the war for their roles in the rescue, because the rescuers generally wanted to be acknowledged as a collective effort instead of claiming individual credit for their specific roles.
Spoiler: RP RulesStandard rules include no godmoding, no powerplaying, and third-person story format only. No specific post length or level of literacy is required, but at least make your posts understandable to a typical reader, and include enough detail so that others can reply back accordingly. If you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask me or someone else for help.
Also, this is an M-rated RP, and some degree of *ahem* descriptive content is allowable by that standard, so prospective players should be 18 or older to apply. But don't turn this RP into a blood-spattered porn-fest either. There IS a fine line between Rated M and Rated AO, and anything that clearly crosses into the latter will not be tolerated.
Furthermore, because this is a historically-based RP, I must emphasize the importance of maintaining as much historical accuracy as possible. Of course, given the simple fact that this is a fantasy RP involving dragons during World War II, I understand that some degree of deviation from actual historical events is to be expected, but things like having Hitler dressed up like a hippie while waving a sign that reads I JEWZ or anything else that blatantly deviates from the historical context of this RP will not be allowed.
Finally, regarding inactivity (which I hope will not be a problem), if you become inactive to the point where it hinders the progress of the RP, I will PM you with a warning message. If you do not post or give me some kind of explanation or response within a week after this warning is sent, you will be removed from the RP. Simple as that.
Spoiler: Character Sheets (UPDATED!)Spoiler: Standard CSName:
Alias(es):
(if applicable)
Species:
(Human, Dragon, etc.)
Race:
(Some species (humans, elves, dragons, etc.) may have multiple races to choose from.)
Date of Birth:
Ethnicity:
Place of Origin:
Occupation:
(If Applicable; Must fit with the time period.)
Power(s):
(If Applicable)
Weapon(s):
(If Applicable; Must fit with the time period.)
Fighting Style(s):
(If Applicable; Must fit with the time period.)
Non-Combat Skills:
(If Applicable; Must fit with the time period.)
Primary Language(s):
(What language(s) can the character fluently speak?)
Secondary Language(s):
(What language(s) can the character speak, though not as fluently?)
Affiliation(s):
(What group(s) is the character part of?)
Connections:
(Aside from Affiliations, what other potentially useful personal and/or professional connections does the character have?)
Appearance:
Personality:
Brief History:
Family:
Friends:
Rivals:
Enemies:
Romantic Interests:
Likes:
Dislikes:
Other Notes:
Theme Song:
(Optional; Must fit with the time period, i.e. no Linkin Park or Britney Spears.)
Spoiler: Historical Figure CSName:
Alias(es):
(if applicable)
Date of Birth:
Ethnicity:
Place of Origin:
Occupation:
(If Applicable; Must be appropriate for this person in reality.)
Weapon(s):
(Optional; Must be appropriate for this person in reality.)
Fighting Style(s):
(Optional; Must be appropriate for this person in reality.)
Non-Combat Skills:
(If Applicable; Must be appropriate for this person in reality.)
Primary Language(s):
(What language(s) can the character fluently speak?)
(Must be appropriate for this person in reality.)
Secondary Language(s):
(What language(s) can the character speak, though not as fluently?)
(Must be appropriate for this person in reality.)
Affiliation(s):
(What group(s) is the character part of?)
(Must be appropriate for this person in reality.)
Connections:
(Aside from Affiliations, what other potentially useful personal and/or professional connections does the character have?)
(Must be appropriate for this person in reality.)
Appearance:
Personality:
Brief History:
Family:
Friends:
Rivals:
Enemies:
Romantic Interests:
Likes:
Dislikes:
Other Notes:
Theme Song:
(Optional; Must fit with the time period (i.e. no Linkin Park or Britney Spears), and must be appropriate for this person in reality.)
Spoiler: Side Character CSName:
Alias(es):
(if applicable)
Species:
(Human, Dragon, etc.)
Race:
(Some species (humans, elves, dragons, etc.) may have multiple races to choose from.)
Date of Birth:
Ethnicity:
Place of Origin:
Occupation:
(If Applicable; Must fit with the time period.)
Power(s):
(If Applicable)
Weapon(s):
(If Applicable; Must fit with the time period.)
Fighting Style(s):
(If Applicable; Must fit with the time period.)
Non-Combat Skills:
(If Applicable; Must fit with the time period.)
Primary Language(s):
(What language(s) can the character fluently speak?)
Secondary Language(s):
(What language(s) can the character speak, though not as fluently?)
Affiliation(s):
(What group(s) is the character part of?)
Connections:
(Aside from Affiliations, what other potentially useful personal and/or professional connections does the character have?)
Appearance:
Personality:
Brief History:
Other Notes:
Theme Song:
(Optional; Must fit with the time period, i.e. no Linkin Park or Britney Spears.)
Spoiler: Miscellaneous InformationAny information that may or may not be deemed necessary for this RP that doesn't fit in any other section will go here. This includes information on draconic culture, other magical creatures as necessary, etc.
Spoiler: The Rite of AgesOriginating in Ancient Greece, from whence its practice quickly spread throughout Europe, the Rite of Ages is a traditional rite of passage by which young adult dragons ("colts") formally reach adulthood. The origins of the Rite date all the way back to Ancient Europe, where the Rite was originally instituted to as a form of "eternal vengeance" for the death of the sea dragon Ketos, who was reportedly slain by the human hero Perseus while attempting to claim Princess Andromeda as a sacrifice at his deity's command. After the Middle Ages, however, more and more western dragons took pity on the humans harmed during this original Rite and began to practice a modified version, known today as the New Form, that resulted in less bloodshed.
Because the Rite of Ages represents a colt's official transition to adulthood, colts who have not completed their Rites are still regarded as children under traditional draconic law. As such, they are forbidden to do any of the following:
1) Marry.
2) Have or adopt children.
3) Own property of any kind.
4) Seek employment of any kind, except under the supervision of their parents or other legal guardians.
5) Leave their homes, unless escorted by a traditionally-recognized adult family member at all times.
More progressive dragons, however, have sometimes been known to disapprove of the Rite (particularly the Old Form), and a few colts have refused to take part in the Rite because of this and have been subsequently declared to be defiled. Furthermore, accusations have been made in recent years that the Rite of Ages has been corrupted by traditionalist extremists. Moreover, further modified versions of the Rite of Ages have become increasingly common for some colonies; these modified Rites typically result from a lack of readily available princesses and/or knights, unreasonable risk or danger to the colt's safety, or other such factors beyond the colony's control. Traditionalist critics decry these changes and the conditions leading up to them, claiming them to be a clear sign of the Tragedy of the Natives being inflicted upon the draconic race by modern human society.
Spoiler: Steps of the RitePrior to the Rite itself, a ceremony is held by the dragon colony on the birthday when the colt due to undergo the Rite comes of age. After the birthday celebrations have concluded, the colt is brought before the colony elders and recites Ketos' Oath, which is formalized by the colt dipping his/her front-most right limb into a bowl of dragon blood and marking over his/her heart and forehead with the blood. The blood is not washed off until after the full Rite has been completed, both to symbolically honor the blood shed by Ketos when he was slain and to signal to other dragons that the colt is undergoing the Rite of Ages and should not be interrupted.
Spoiler: Ketos' OathI, [COLT'S NAME] of [PLACE OF ORIGIN], son/daughter of [COLT'S FATHER] and [COLT'S MOTHER], do on this day pledge to honor the ultimate sacrifice of Ketos, martyr of Aethiopia, and the eternal vengeance promised by Heaven and Earth to his murderers. To this end, I vow to continue the work of those before me and see the crimes of men duly punished by my hand. With the blood of Ketos, I seal this sacred oath.
The Rite of Ages itself consists of different tasks that the colt in question must successfully accomplish to complete the Rite. There are two main versions of this set of tasks, commonly referred to as the Old Form (the original Rite from ancient times) and the New Form (a modified Rite established after the Middle Ages to minimize bloodshed and destruction, due to some dragons taking pity on the humans harmed through the Old Form and wanting a more merciful approach to the Rite).
Spoiler: Tasks of the Old Form1) Devour a human princess.
2) Slay a human warrior in combat.
3) Live in the wilderness for a period of time to be determined by the colony elders, and successfully fend for oneself during that time.
4) Destroy a measure of human territory, no smaller than a village, and kill all of the humans within said territory.
OR
Successfully conquer a measure of human territory, no smaller than a village, and maintain control of it for a period of time to be determined by the colony elders depending on the territory being controlled.
5) Make a home for oneself.
6) Claim the first piece of treasure for one's treasure hoard.
Spoiler: Tasks of the New Form1) Kidnap a human prince or princess, and successfully hold him/her in captivity for the remainder of the Rite.
2) Defeat a human warrior in honorable one-on-one combat, while in one's human form.
3) Live in the wilderness for a period of time to be determined by the colony elders, and successfully fend for oneself during that time.
4) Assume a leadership role over a territory or group, for a period of time to be determined by the colony elders depending on the territory or group being led.
5) Make a home for oneself.
6) Claim the first piece of treasure for one's treasure hoard.
Spoiler: Exemptions to the Rite of AgesThe Rite of Ages was at the height of its popularity in practice during the human Middle Ages. Afterward, however, more and more dragons either found the traditional requirements and restrictions to be excessive, or had come to sympathize with some or all humans and consequently wanted a more merciful alternative to the traditional ("Old Form") version of the Rite. Eventually this led to the introduction of a modified Rite ("New Form"), but concerns still persisted in several areas of the world, especially in those further away from Europe. And so, as time progressed, more and more dragon communities decided to offer legal exemptions to the Rite of Ages, while others (most notably the Eastern Asian Union) have banned practice of the Rite of Ages altogether.
What exactly would be required for these exemptions may vary depending on the specific backgrounds, circumstances, and ethical priorities of the community, but a general consensus is that, to merit an exemption, the colt in question must prove that he/she is mature and/or independent enough to either "live by the principles for which Ketos of Aethiopia gave his life" or "honor the will of heaven and earth with his/her life".
Dragon communities most likely to offer exemptions (aside from the Eastern Asian Union, which has banned the Rite altogether) are usually located in Africa or the Americas, most having started offering exemptions in response to the beginning of the native/settler conflicts and the start of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. On the other hand, those least likely to offer exemptions are mostly located in the Mediterranean region (especially Greece) and in or near what used to be classical Aethiopia (i.e. southern Egypt (south of modern-day Aswan) and some of northern Sudan), as dragons from said regions tend to take Ketos' death, and by extension the Rite of Ages, more personally than dragons from other regions.
Most other parts of the world could go either way, with some local regions more likely than others to offer exemptions (the British Isles tending to be the most heavily polarized of these "neutral" regions). Furthermore, in most parts of the world, exemptions may also be offered due to logistical problems or extreme circumstances. For example, exemptions during the two World Wars were very common due to unrealistic danger to the colts, while even those communities that would not offer exemptions tended not to as strictly enforce the conventional restrictions on colts who have not completed their Rites.
Spoiler: European Dragons - Crime and PunishmentUnder western draconic law, crimes and illegal actions in general are divided into three basic categories:
Crimes against the Heavens are any and all forms of irreverence toward a deity, spirit, and/or legitimate spiritual/religious group in which no mundane crime was committed; such crimes can include impersonating a prophet, desecrating a church or other holy structure, exploiting any spirit for personal gain, and so on. Punishments for these crimes generally involve requiring the convicted to make amends to the parties who were thusly disrespected, harmed, or otherwise affected; depending on the offense, this requirement can range from offering a declaration or token gesture of one's repentance for the offense, to submitting oneself to a punishment chosen by the offended or by the colony elders.
Crimes against the Earth are generally mundane crimes such as murder, rape, pedophilia, etc. in which no deity, spirit, or spiritual/religious group was directly affected. However, this category can also include any action that causes needless harm to the environment and/or the natural order, such as causing more pollution than is truly necessary, needless cruelty to plants and/or animals, and promoting and/or taking part in any activity that is considered contrary to the natural order and/or needlessly harmful to oneself or to others. Punishments for these crimes generally involve requiring the convicted to make amends to all those who were harmed or otherwise affected by the crime in question; depending on the offense, this requirement can range from offering a declaration or token gesture of one's repentance for the offense, to submitting oneself to a punishment chosen by the colony elders, by the offended, and/or by the family and friends of the offended.
Crimes against Heaven and Earth, arguably considered to be the most serious category of offenses, are any and all mundane crimes (murder, rape, etc.), or any other action(s) deemed harmful to the environment and/or the natural order, in which any deity, spirit, and/or legitimate spiritual/religious group was directly harmed or affected; such crimes can include, but are not limited to, murdering or otherwise harming a prophet, speaking ill of a martyr (i.e. dishonoring the martyr's ultimate sacrifice), using murder or any other crime to directly interfere with the fulfillment of the will of a deity/spirit/religious group, and so on and so forth. Punishments for these crimes generally involve requiring the convicted to make amends to all parties (including the spirit(s), deity(ies), and/or group(s)) who were harmed or otherwise affected by the crime in question; depending on the offense, this requirement can range from offering a declaration or token gesture of one's repentance for the offense, to submitting oneself to a punishment chosen by the colony elders, by the offended, and/or by the family and friends of the offended.
Spoiler: Levels of PunishmentAlthough punishments for specific crimes may vary, the severity of these punishments generally depends on factors such as the degree of the harm done, whether or not the convicted has any remorse for the offense (and if so, to what extent), and other factors as applicable. Knowingly making no effort to stop an offense in progress, for example, is often considered just as bad (if not more so) as the offense itself.
Punishments handed down for any given offense generally have two primary goals in mind:
1) To make amends to any who were harmed or otherwise affected by the offense, and/or
2) To prevent any further harm or offense to the convicted, to the affected parties, to others, to the natural order, etc.
Capital punishment in western draconic societies is extremely rare, typically reserved for hopelessly unrepentant offenders. More specifically, a death sentence is commonly carried out in the form of a "final cleansing" in which the convicted is either burned alive ("cleansed in fire") or drowned in clean water ("cleansed in water"). Contrary to popular belief, such a form of execution is not usually seen as a punishment per se but rather as a final act of mercy, as it is commonly believed to permanently purify the subject and thereby save their soul after death.
More info coming soon!
More info coming soon!
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