Strange Manifestations (pseudo-modern fantasy)

Hey guys, I'm pretty new to the site and wanted to start a...thing here. After looking through some of the rest of the games and participating in one ore two (two, it's two) I decided I would take a chance at running one. Before I begin, however, I should probably lay down some ground rules.

1. Be polite - If the atmosphere is getting tense and it's not because of anything plot related, chances are nobody is going to have fun. If you have any problems with any other player in the game, feel free to send me a PM and we will try to straighten the issue out with civility.

2. OC Characters - I don't mind if you play a character that isn't you own creation, but I find doing so may unnecessarily complicate things. If you absolutely must use a character that is not original, let me know before you start and we will see about fitting you in.

3. Initially, this game is set in a city in a pseudo-modern fantasy world. Magic plays a huge role in how technology works in this world, but characters do not have to be magical themselves. You are free to build on the world, but keep these ideas in mind, please.

4. Plot and Play - Play how you are most comfortable and feel free to build on the story as you wish. However, try to avoid messing around too much with the plots other players star, as they more than likely have somewhere they want to go with it. If there are any problems I don't notice, send me a PM.

5. Overpowered Play - This includes autohitting, ghosting, and godmodding. Put simply, don't do it. However, I understand that certain plot points may have particularly OP moments, and all I ask is that, if such a plot might arise, you let me know ahead of time so that it can be planned out.

And that should just about cover it. If you have nay questions, suggestions, or the like feel free to send me a PM and I'll back to you as soon as I can. And, hopefully, this can and will be a fun experience for everyone.

Aren yawns as he walks slowly down the stairs from the apartment above his modest shop of bobbles, trinkets, and enchanted curios. He runs a hand through his short blonde hair before donning a long red cloak with gold hemming and a silver clasp at the throat and a similarly colored wide-brimmed hat. He puts these over a white, short-sleeved button up shirt and a pair of blue jeans, but not necessarily because he thinks it's fashionable. As a mage outside of the Codex, he is required to identify himself in public with said garments and, though it is only a form of identification, he doesn't like it. Still, this is better than the alternative of getting on the bad side of the Codex or, gods forbid, the University itself.

"It's about time you woke up. The store's been open for the last hour and a half," comes the annoyed voice of his hired assistant, Terenia. She stands in front of one of the windows, wiping it with a cloth, and wears a black teeshirt and jeans of her own. He has to admit, clothing on a Vel'Khana, or Gel-Kin, looks a little odd, but he doesn't pay it much mind. She's a good worker and an equally good friend, regardless if she happened to be made of what equates to blue colored biological jelly.

"Yeah yeah," he says, flipping his arm at a small machine on the counter he walks behind. There is a mechanical click and a buzzing of Essence around the thing before the screen on the front slowly comes to life. Essence Imagery only recently made it's way to the public as an entertainment medium, but so far he hasn't been disappointed.

I think you'll have better luck with this type of game in the Roleplaying Zone subforum. Just saying.

Jack Bruhide is currently asleep in his dorm.

BLARING ALARM NOISES—BASH!

...oh, wait, no, he's not.

"Oh, boy. 'Nodder day, 'nodder...oh, fuget eet."

The sound of a crash and an alarm startles Terenia and she looks out of the store window to see the commotion. Aren cranes his neck but can't really see.

"What happened?"

"Looks like one of the Codex fat-cats doesn't know how to operate their vehicle. I'm so glad those things aren't common, you know how many people would die?" she asks, and Aren nods. The Codex is the governing body of the city (and the country) and, because of that, they get special perks. Like access to the newest vehicles equipped with Essence Motors.

edited 17th Aug '15 8:24:17 PM by MrJikoui

Jack puts on some clothes. Nothing much. Shirt. Pants.

He also smells breakfast.

"Wuzzat? Zat waffus?"

Charles, a fairly plain looking man in a slightly scuffed leather jacket, wakes up in his room at the base of the Drake Hold and heads up the stairs to check on Vara, his young dragon friend. When she sees him enter, she lifts her large white head and puffs a bit of smoke toward him playfully, making him chuckle and cough simultaneously, "Will you knock that off?" He tosses her a slab of manticore steak, which she fries with a short jet of fire before eating it.

When she's finished, he climbs into the harness, patting her back, "We'd better go patrol. I think I hear an alarm going off not too far from here." He takes the reins and leads her out to a balcony, where she flaps her large, batlike wings before taking off into the air.

An alarm begins beeping in a small, modest house. "Ugh..." A short woman named Ash McEwen, practicing wizard, says as she presses the off button. She gets up and stretches, wondering where Ylysthyr, her familiar, is. She gets dressed, grabs her staff, and heads down to her basement, where she does most of her alchemy and other various experiments. "Lys? Where are ya?" She asks to the empty air. Her familiar had a habit of disappearing and reappearing from time to time.

edited 17th Aug '15 10:55:59 PM by MonkBarbarian

Ylysthyr, a void-entity who appears as a silver haired cat with bright with slightly glowing green eyes drifts though the air towards Ash. They seem slightly blurry to look at and they have several incorporeal tendril like appendages which are so faintly visible that they cannot be made out properly and appear as a faint silver haze.
"There you are, your kind sleeps so much. This experiment of yours is coming along nicely though."
Ylysthyr adopts a very amused expression as they glide over and land on Ash's shoulder.
"What do you have planned for us today?

edited 17th Aug '15 11:05:15 PM by Laithelryn

As the alarm continues its blaring, Aren sighs. It's not going to get fixed. Not if he doesn't do something about it. With a sigh he stands and, picking up his spellbook, heads for the door.

"Ter, take care of the shop for a few minutes, I'm gonna see about helping out."

"Careful they don't try to blame you," she says as he exits. Codex officials are wary of pretty much anyone. Who better to blame for their magical mishaps then someone with an inclination toward the area? As he steps outside he's hit with a brisk breeze and has to hold his hat as he walks. The wreckage is mild, but it looks like Terenia was correct in her assumption - some official couldn't control his new "toy" and ended up crashing into a cabbage cart. "Eugh..."

Ash smiles at Ylysthyr, shrugging. "Hey, a human's gotta do what a human's gotta do, right?" She says, laughing. "And yes, it is..." She begins looking through yet another book. "Hm... If only there were a way to... Hm." She barely notices when Lys asks her what she plans on doing. "Oh, y'know the usual. Maybe go outside for a bit, meet new interesting people... Maybe fight someone who deserves fighting."

Charles lands Vara in a nearby park and secures her to a tree before heading into Aren and Ter's shop, he looks at some of the trinkets, nodding to Ter as he does so, "Hey Ter, how's it going?"

edited 17th Aug '15 11:20:51 PM by GhostElm

Ylysthyr takes to floating around the room again, they seem quite happy today.
"Thats why I chose to become your familiar Ash, you never decide to spend a quiet day reading though a book of theoretical spellwork or anything. Things are far more exciting this way."
Ylysthyr now lands next to some of the alchemical equipment and playfully paws at it.

Ash grins at Lys. "That's me, alright. Now, be careful with that stuff, alright? Wouldn't want my favorite housecat to get blown up when they pawed at some alchemy stuff, would I?" She says, then begins walking upstairs. "I'm gonna go out for a walk. Would you like to come?" She asks the otherworldly being that happens to look like a cat.

Aren approaches the damaged vehicle and takes quick stock of it. Wheels are busted but the cab is all right. The man that was driving it is a twiggy young man with wire-thin glasses that match him. He has a scruffy brown mustache and a receding hairline of the same color. He looks pissed.

"You. Mage," he says, crossing his arms. He wears the black and silver jacket and pants of a Codex official, but beyond that he doesn't have much else to identify him. Aside from the attitude of course.

"Yeah?" Aren asks as he flicks his wrist upward. A panel on the side of the vehicle pops open, revealing a complicated looking mechanism with a shining blue crystal at it's center. The Essence Motor, with an intact Essence Crystal. At least that wasn't broken. With a muttered word and a twist of his fingers the alarm dies.

"You can fix it?" asks the official rudely.

"I can try," Aren answers with a clearly fake smile.

"Well well if it isn't the 'Captain' of the Dragon Patrol," says Terenia as she walks around the counter. Her motions are incredibly fluid, for obvious reasons, and she has a sarcastic smirk, "How's the ring treating you? Aren tells me he put a little more work in it than some of his other pieces."

"Housecat? You know full well that I am more than any mere housecat. You seemed pleased enough when I came through that portal."
Ylysthyr happily floats just behind Ash, clearly intent on joining her for this walk.

"Oh, I know!" Ash says. "I was just teasing you~" She said, leaving her house. "You know, I had a lot of familiars I could choose from that day... But you were my favorite, Lys." She walks up to Charlie and Terenia. "Oh, hi Charles, and hi, Teren. How are you two today?"

Charles kindly grins, "You're as charming as ever, Ter." At the mention of the ring, he pulls out a chain from inside of his shirt, a band inscribed with intricate runes dangling from it. "It's served me well so far, already let me know when Vara's been in a few tight spots. I actually sort of came in to thank him, but it looks like he's gone for now." He looks around, "Anything new and interesting gossip around town you think I should know?"

He looks over at Ash, smiling genuinely this time, and going in for a high-five, "I'm doing good, Ash. How 'bout you?"

edited 17th Aug '15 11:51:16 PM by GhostElm

Ylysthyr adopts a proud position for a moment.
"Of course you did, I am far more than any mere voidhound or sqbollut! Much prettier as well!"
Ylysthyr maintains the serious stance for a moment before returning to their much more casual floating.
"I truly am glad you chose me though, I have had so much fun these past few years. It is a worthy mage who dares call upon the void to obtain a familiar."

Ylysthyr curiously floats towards the others and swirls around them mischievously.
"Hello there, what are you two doing?"

edited 17th Aug '15 11:55:04 PM by Laithelryn

Ash gladly accepts the high five. "I'm pretty good! Working on some nice magical experiments." She smiles. "How about you? How's draconic vigilantism going?"

"Come on hurry up I'm very late," the official says, tapping his foot impatiently. Aren ignores him and kneels next to the last wheel he needed to fix. It is bent at a really odd angle.

"Ytal," says Aren with a scowl, and the vehicle is lifted by an invisible force. Then, clenching his fist, Aren focuses the Essence around him and give a quick, one-inch punch. The gathered Essence shoots forward and the wheel is forced back into shape.

"It's not perfect but it'll get you to the Spire. Anything new happening up there, or...?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," the official says as he gets back into the vehicle. The Essence Motor hums to life and, without another word, the man is gone. Aren shakes his head angrily and starts walking back to the shop.

Ter smirks, "Well you know. Working in a building full of charms. I'm glad it's working for you though, dragons are hard to even come by anymore, let alone befriend. Aren should be back soon, though." Then, turning to Ash and Lys, "And hello you two. Still not wearing your cloak around, missy?" she clicks her tongue, "Better hope the Codex doesn't decide to pay you a visit. Then again you've always had a knack for trouble." As Lys passes by Ter raises a hand to run along the voidcat's back, her arm glowing as the Essence within her reacts to it.

"Hmph! Those codex snobs, if they had any idea what true power was they..."
Ylysthyr seems very happy with the petting and rubs against Ter's hand a little and their eyes glow slightly brighter.

edited 18th Aug '15 12:05:44 AM by Laithelryn

"Hi there Ylys, how're you?" He pulls out a jar with a captured Sqbollut inside, "Look what I picked up for you the other day..."

"It's going pretty well, had a bit of a run in with some weres the other day by the bridge the other day, they were harassing a few elven younglings and I had to show them the way out of the city. How's alchemy treating you?"

He looks over and sees Aren enter, he nods, "Hey there, what's with the long face?"

"Alchemy's going great! This week I've only blown off my eyebrows..." She counts on her fingers. "1... 2... 4 times!" She says happily. "I've been coming up with all sorts of concoctions... Not without help from Lys, of course. I don't know what I'd do without them." She says, reaching over to pet the aforementioned familiar. "And Ter, I didn't feel like wearing the cloak today. Didn't match my outfit." She says half-jokingly.

"Oh you know," says Aren with a scowl as he takes his hat and cloak off, hanging them next to the door. He steps up to Charles, the dragon-rider a few inches taller than him, and gingerly takes the ring in his hand for a second, not pulling on it too harshly. His manner is completely professional, and with a tap the ring gives a flash.

"Refill on the charge. No...heh...no charge," he says before taking a step back, "Anyway, just another Codex jackass being stupid with potentially volatile materials," then, with a playful glance toward Ash, "only slightly more dangerous than what some people have been up to lately."

"Oh leave her alone," Terenia says with a smirk, "Like you haven't played with magic you weren't supposed to."

edited 18th Aug '15 12:17:41 AM by MrJikoui

Ylysthyr immediately rushes over and examines the captured sqbollut. As they examine the wisp-like but corporeal they lick their their lips, exposing the eight fangs which stick out from their rows of delicate teeth. Luckily for the sqbollut its mind is probably just a little too slow to realise the peril it is in
"Thank you so much Charles! These are so rare on this plane, I have not had one for months. I will not sleep at all tonight if I eat it but I really want to..."
Ylysthyr looks at Ash with wide and thankful eyes as they are petted.
"Thank you for saying so Ash, You are a great mage to be the familiar for! And you are very much right, that silly cloak would not have gone well with that shirt at all!"
Ylysthyr pauses for a second.
"Can I eat the sqbolllut Charles got me now?"

edited 18th Aug '15 12:23:36 AM by Laithelryn