Aur Signup Thread

TrulyDeceptive The Silence That Speaks Volumes from HOW DID I GET UP HERE?! Since: Apr, 2014 Relationship Status: Non-Canon

The Silence That Speaks Volumes

#1: May 17th 2016 at 10:00:00 PM

In an unknown world, at some given moment, life suffers. Whether the world might be found in a different time or across the gaping chasm of space, we cannot know. Clues hint that it belongs to a faraway galaxy in another age, yet the galaxy, albeit different as perceived during the night sky, with different worlds and different stars, has a history quite similar to our own; regardless, the living entities who reside therein have met an age of misery.

This world, called Ges by those who dwell upon it, has a history remarkably similar to ours, but also differs from ours considerably in several aspects, the least of which are that biodiversity is slightly greater, and mechanical technological innovation far more expansive.

Throughout this world's history, the nature of people has been recorded in myth, which, as of late, has been discarded in favor of common knowledge and science gleaned through inference. There existed ancient rumors of a primordial entity called the Crafter, who, naturally, was the creator of everything, and of its children, called the gods. There existed books and stories handed down across generations relating the stories to the nations. All of the nations deemed their world's gods precious overlords in ancient history, and, naturally, each of them had their patrons. No one understands entirely how that age concluded, but what is known of all the interconnected manuscripts is that they all end similarly: with all the gods' violent deaths at the hands of each other and the primal god's departure from this earth.

But, before the protobiont left, it bestowed upon all the mortal beings a gift called the Aur. With the Aur, people could discern for themselves what was right and wrong; certain people became capable of witnessing and changing the natures of others, some became strong enough to twist fibers of the metaphysic, and souls manifested within the lives of every conscious person.

But their souls grew wicked...

Thus the world led itself into the modern era, wherein the sight of Aur described in records of eons past has become, to understate excessively, rare.

The tyrannous overlord known by all who abide upon the planet as Dyeus Kaisar rules from the Northern Continent with a figurative iron scepter.

From the Southern Ocean, criminal kingpins dreaded by all who know of them scheme, planning the downfall of southern civilization, each with a rampant pirate armada.

The Garden Isle is the point at which our story is set, encompassed by Pontos, the planet's sea.

The primeval king of the Garden Isle, known to its inhabitants as Gan, protects the tree of life; he has chosen to reside there for countless generations without the knowledge of the outer world. The dominion established under him is a simple polity governed in absolute peace. The subjects of the island have lived without experiencing violence for centuries, if not millennia. No one knows the identity of the king, nor that of his consort. Lately, certain ambitious and mysterious figures have set their eyes on the Isle.

But, of course, there's no way in hell the greed characteristic of human nature will leave all the souls on the Garden Isle untainted...

In the 12th year of the New Imperial Calendar, our story begins.

World Description:

Language

Their language is, by all means, incomprehensible to us, but will nonetheless be translated through analogy as needed as if it was English. The predominant language of the planet is called Common Prose (or, more simply, Prose). Speech in other languages should be indicated by italics. If there's any confusion in regards for whom the language excludes, anyone who doesn't fully understand the functionality of the language being spoken should ask for an explanation in the out-of-character discussion thread. A although standard things belonging to the world (including units of measure, names and analogies, and scales and constants and equations and methods used within their scope of science that are named after people) are not comparable to our own, the people belonging to the world do use base 10 as their standard number system for mathematics, and any system or object for which the analogue couldn't possibly be known (for example, Pythagorean theorem, Bekenstein-Hawking formula, Cartesian coordinates, Pascals, centimeters, Hawking radiation, the Newtonian (or kinematic) equations, Bernoulli's principle, L'Hôpital's rule, Celsius, voltage, and joules) should be written or spoken in accordance with what names we already have. The same applies to words derived from people's names and works of fiction. Additionally, each day of the planet is measured in 24 total hours, akin to our own.

Ges

Northern Continent — the continent to the north of every other formation of land; inhabited by the Nords, the continent is ruled by the ruthless New Nordic Empire (historically known as Gotthus) from their governing body in Gottheim, but, as of late, an insurrection has been set in motion in the Continent's more distant northwest corner by the Brytons of the New Republic of Albion.

Eastern Continent — by far the largest continent; its inhabitants are diverse, as are their cultures (there's a mountain range in the center of it separating the people in the Cin Empire (pronounced as "chin") from the West, and, beyond that, the Empire of Wakoku (both governed by a Royal Family, although Wakoku's rulers are generally more docile than the imperialistic governors of Cin, who currently support the idea that their Empire operate under a policy of mercantilism), as well as a plateau descending into a settlement in the South called the Sindui Republic; to the North is a rather frigid country known as the Republic of Auj, and to the West are a number of belligerent countries that constantly struggle to arrange new borders and engage in war incessantly, the three most prominent of which are, from north to south, the once-great kingdoms of Iounos and Urakos, which are adjacent to Auj, separated from it by the northwest border of Iounos and by the North Sea, which the countries share on their borders, and a collection of independent settlements caught between them and Auj to the east known altogether as Sur, and, lastly, south of them, the remarkably larger—albeit more tranquil—Republic of Parsis, which shares the West, South, and East Seas on its borders with Urakos, a country in the Southern Continent to the southwest called Mishrei, and Sindui, respectively, and has lately taken an interest in annexing Sur).

Southern Continent — the most notable country of the Southern Continent belongs to the north and is known as the Kingdom of Mishrei (the country itself has no definitive borders or limits, but is defined by the people of the Southern Continent who claim to support it and comply with the laws established by the Mishrei Parliament); it shares the South Sea of the Eastern Continent with Parsis and the West Sea; the country also engages in trade with Sindui across the East Sea.

Western Continent — the most mysterious and confined of all the continents; no one knows anything about the lost civilizations belonging to the Western Continent and their oft-bellicose inhabitants save for those who have actually been there and returned alive (by land, it's separated from the Northern and Southern Continents by the Northern and Southern Straits).

Pontos — the World Sea; think of every landmass within it (every isle that lies upon the world of Ges) as belonging to an improbable (or outright fictitious) Midgard; it engulfs well over three fourths of the planet and is separated into the Northern Ocean (surrounding the Northern Continent, defined by the thinnest point of the Northern Strait), the pirate-ridden Southern Ocean (surrounding the Southern Continent, defined by the narrowest border of the Southern Strait), the Lost Sea (in the center of the continents, flowing into the West Sea of the 3 continents to the East, encompassing, amongst others, the mystic Garden Isle), the seas of each continent, and, lastly, the Great Ocean of the Unknown Hemisphere; spanning well over three quarters of the world's surface, no individual on the planet fully knows what lost relics or forms of life it may hold.

Lost Archipelago — any number of unknown islands located on the opposite hemisphere of the world; they may have unusual customs and histories that outsiders would find interesting, they may be inhabited by a culture of predators and inhuman lifeforms, or they may not contain any living entities whatsoever.

Gan — the home of a civilization that has never experienced suffering; an island consisting of an expansive plain marked by a collection of streams that converge into a single river flowing through its capital and drain from every corner of the Isle (it's situated precisely between all four continents).

Geography

I'll keep it simple by giving each of the seas' and countries' names in alphabetical order, followed by their real-life geographical equivalents.

Albion — British Isles
Auj — Russia & Ukraine
Cin — China & Mongolia
Iounos — Greece & Turkey
Mishrei — Africa, Saudi Arabia, & Everything In-Between
Nordic Empire — European Mainland
Parsis — Iran
Sindui — India
Sur — Various Middle-Eastern Countries
Urakos — Iraq & Syria
Wakoku — Japan
North Sea — Black Sea
East Sea — Persian Gulf
South Sea — Red Sea
West Sea — Mediterranean Sea

Species

Available:

Human: Most of the inhabitants of Ges are human; they appear to have a stronger propensity for Aur than most sapient beings.
Dhampyr: A hybrid offspring of a human and a vampire. Most female vampires are menopausal; as a result, the vast majority of dhampyrs are the children of female humans and male vampires. People usually dismiss people who claim to be dhampyrs as attention whores, in spite of how sightings of vampires persist across the planet. They have surprising physical durability and a high propensity for regeneration; they can regrow lost legs in about a month, and lost arms in 3-4 weeks.

My Signups

Name: Johannes "Jack" Geist
Gender: Male
Age: 27
Birthplace: New Nordic Empire
Ability: Firestorm: He can channel his emotions into heat, although, by doing so, it becomes difficult to be as attentive as he would otherwise be; he doesn't see as clearly as he would be able to if he didn't, and he might even lose consciousness entirely (conversely, if he doesn't use this ability, he can also see how people think more clearly).
Personality: He's an ardent supporter of the New Nordic Empire, and holds a sincere belief that the system it's trying to establish over the world can and should be used to accomplish good things. He's not so naïve as to expect or believe that the people in charge of it are imposing it for the sake of everyone's well-being, but his thoughts are based upon the notion that people should comply with the laws it establishes, no matter what action that denotes. His understanding of the way the world functions and how it should operate is based upon the idea that acting through illegal methods (committing crime) will, at some point, result in injustice. He doesn't want any injustice to ever befall anyone again, and he believes that, although the way the law works still permits wrongdoing to occur, it shouldn't, although the only way he should try to change it is by complying with it (to change a governing system from the inside).
Appearance: He stands at 180 cm and weighs 72 kg, with a well-built (although unused) physique. He has yellow eyes, pale skin with a farmer's tan, and light ginger hair. His clothes consist of black dress shoes, a grey collared shirt, and a pair of khakis. He has well-trimmed hair without any style that he prefers to keep from growing past his forehead, and a beard that he shaves each month. He sometimes carries a red cotton jacket for cold weather.
History: He was born and raised in the settlement of Gottheim. Although his father was the youngest brother of Dyeus Kaisar, the current king, in the urban megalopolis, it was easy to remain unnoticed, and the Empire hadn't even been established at that time. His father was a patrician of Gottheim and a farmer, although his eldest uncle had always had a greater predisposition towards political affairs. His parents attempted to raise him to understand that people with the power to do so take advantage of those they can take advantage of for the sake of themselves, and, furthermore, that they should. He hated his parents, in spite of the fact that he had to rely on them; the fact that his father always displayed a complete disregard for his well-being convinced him that it would be fair to hate him, and that there's a difference between the way things are and the way things should be. While he was 14, the Consul of the Nordic Republic died, and countless people made their bids for authority, if not regality, of whom his father was one. His uncle was aware of this, and took the opportunity to have his father killed by giving him a unique silenced handgun as a birthday gift. He murdered his parents that night. He shot his cowardly father about a dozen times, several times in in the torso and in both eyes, before slitting his throat with a knife and carving up his face as he screamed for his life. His parents slept separately, but he killed his mother anyways so as to prevent her from reporting him to the police. He threw his father's dismembered corpse into the feeding trough and sent the head to his uncle as a kind of trophy. He found it ironic that after being so arrogant throughout his life, his father would cry like a childish brat out of self-pity. He also thought it to be ironic and a shame that, in order to accomplish anything with his life to allow the system to change for the better, he also had to abuse the system for the sake of himself. Since that day, he's been working for his uncle to pay for himself as a living. His uncle recently appointed him as the ambassador to Gan.
Equipment: A 13-round silenced handgun and a 30-cm knife with an 18-cm blade imported from Wakoku.

Character Template

Name: Any name with some use in the concurrent era of the world (or historically, or mythologically), or one with a basis thereof.
Species: Any available.
Gender: Female, male, hermaphroditic, or genderless.
Age: Anything realistic for a human; I'd advise having characters between 13 and 70, and up to 180 at the highest extreme, although some individuals of different species that are akin to and practically the same as real-life mythical humanoid creatures may be able to live nigh-indefinitely.
Birthplace: Which nationality they belong to; type "Not Applicable" if they're somehow not from any country at all.
Ability: Optional. Use only one, and explain its limitations, as well as how they manipulate the Aur to use it, such as reading minds or channeling fire, and, furthermore, expect normal humans to generally have greater strength with the Aur than a vampire or some other mythical species. To give everyone a fair idea, Johannes Geist can emit up to 1 gigajoule of energy before passing out (enough to heat up one cubic meter of space by a few hundred thousand degrees Celsius), would require 10 minutes to replenish his reserves, and can't use it on a space he can't see. Other reasonable restrictions would be required for abilities that don't depend on energy; for example, a telepath may only read or send their thoughts to one person's mind at a time.
Personality: At least 4 sentences.
Appearance: At least 4 sentences; it should not be inclusive of equipment.
History: At least 6 sentences; explain how they ended up on the Garden Isle.
Equipment: Anything of any use that isn't considered clothing.
Theme: Optional.

Any suggestions?

Accepted:

spacealien: Lusine Nhang

Reserved:

edited 22nd May '16 6:01:24 PM by TrulyDeceptive

The truth can oft be more misleading... I'm driven by greed, guilt, rage, and despair, but I'll never try to justify haughtiness.

Lt.BGob The Fantabulous from The Merry Ol' Land of Oz Since: Apr, 2014 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature

The Fantabulous

#2: May 18th 2016 at 5:17:04 AM

Looks interesting. I may make a sheet in a few days or less...

“Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?”

spacealien Since: Apr, 2016

#3: May 21st 2016 at 3:18:07 PM

This sounds good! Here is mine:

Name: Lusine Nhang
Species: Human
Gender: Female
Age: 25
Birthplace: Sur
Ability: Temptation: She can temporarily blind someone by flooding their mind with images of their darkest, most intimate desires. She does this by first getting close enough to put her hands on the victim's chest, and moving her influence into their heart to their mind. She can only do this to one person at a time, and the effect lasts at full force for thirty seconds. Unless the victim is utterly lost in the enchantment, it will decrease in strength for the following thirty seconds.
Personality: Lusine's nation-state in Sur was always too small and peaceful for her. All the same, he deeply resents Parsis for its designs on her homeland. Her interest in politics, beyond that, is negligible. Complicated interpersonal situations bore her with their lack of definable returns, so she uses her skill at navigating them to benefit her financial interests. She is unabashedly mercantile, though, she hopes, not tackily so. She has no qualms about using other people to get her way. Her disregard for regulations, international law, and other people's feelings has gotten her to the top. Now that she's made it, she is determined to stay there, even if that means losing the person she originally was.
Appearance: She is 173 cm, and 75 kg. She is quite thick-set and muscular. She has dark tan skin, dark brown eyes, and thick black hair that she sweeps to the right. She has a very strong jaw. She is certain to keep up with the latest fashions— if one is to play the market, one must own it. She wears a dark blue dress, cut just above the knee, black heels, and a coat of indeterminate animal origin.
History: Lusine was not born into importance. She is the daughter of a village merchant. He wanted more for her, so he taught her to be very shrewd. She took to it well, and travelled to Wakoku to study business when she was 17. At 21, she launched a shipping empire (Nhang Confederate), which, while not the largest in the world, turned a considerable profit. As her wealth increased, so did her sphere of influence. There are few places left on Ges where her name isn't cursed. She became notorious for eating smaller companies alive, and treating anyone who got in her way like a lesser life form. She was alternately loved and despised. However, when she took on a rival company, Dask Incorporated, she met her match. Jozefa Dask turned her few remaining friends against her and tore apart Nhang Con. Lusine, desperate to salvage any remaining profit, quickly agreed to join a team of explorers on a quest to an island long lost to civilization.
Equipment: In her garter belt, Lusine carries a small syringe filled with a paralytic—just in case.

edited 21st May '16 3:18:34 PM by spacealien

TrulyDeceptive The Silence That Speaks Volumes from HOW DID I GET UP HERE?! Since: Apr, 2014 Relationship Status: Non-Canon

The Silence That Speaks Volumes

#4: May 21st 2016 at 11:45:13 PM

Wish I'd checked this thread sooner.

Lusine Nhang is accepted.

The truth can oft be more misleading... I'm driven by greed, guilt, rage, and despair, but I'll never try to justify haughtiness.

Lt.BGob The Fantabulous from The Merry Ol' Land of Oz Since: Apr, 2014 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature

The Fantabulous

#5: May 22nd 2016 at 3:45:31 AM

Okay been really busy lately so I'm gonna just leave this as a placeholder, hopefully will be able to actually give it some substance soon. Contemplating making her a kinda of bodyguard for Johannes or a defector from the New Nordic Empire (very open to suggestions):

Name: Sjaan van Holst
Species: Human
Gender: Female
Age: 24
Birthplace: Northern Continent/New Nordic Empire (Rijmveld)
Ability: None known

[[Coming Attractions]]

Personality:
Appearance: Sjaan is approximately 175 cm tall with long legs and figures as well as a deceptively slim build considering her dense, acrobatic musculature - an unfortunate few have mistaken this lithe, graceful posture for frailty to their immediate regret. She is a touch on the flat chested side but it seems to compliment her frame and strong bone structure. Her skin is quite fair and slightly marred by a few scars and calluses and her hair is dark blonde, wavy, long with a hint of red and usually tied neatly and slung over a shoulder. Sjaan's eyes are somewhat atypical of the Northern Continent, excepting her home province of Rijmveld - Dark brown, often appearing black to most observers. Her face is rather pretty though not exceptionally so but expressive and has a beautiful smile, albeit rarely shown. She abhors wearing dresses unless she absolutely has to but is otherwise very smartly dressed, generally opting for comfortable shoes or boots with simple pants and shirt or a more formal variant with a vest and tie.
History:
Equipment:
Theme:

edited 23rd May '16 2:52:39 AM by Lt.BGob

“Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?”

TrulyDeceptive The Silence That Speaks Volumes from HOW DID I GET UP HERE?! Since: Apr, 2014 Relationship Status: Non-Canon

The Silence That Speaks Volumes

#6: May 22nd 2016 at 5:40:26 AM

That sounds like a wonderful idea (as does being a defector, but there are hardly any sides to defect to other than Albion).

I've been thinking of introducing a buff pirate kid who basically has the exact same ability as Johannes, but it's kind of pointless, and I might have enough to deal with just using one character.

The truth can oft be more misleading... I'm driven by greed, guilt, rage, and despair, but I'll never try to justify haughtiness.

Lt.BGob The Fantabulous from The Merry Ol' Land of Oz Since: Apr, 2014 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature

The Fantabulous

#7: May 22nd 2016 at 2:14:31 PM

Glad you like the idea! I think I'll go with a bodyguard but I'm thinking that, while she'll be very loyal, she won't necessarily be happy with the state of the New Nordic Empire. Think I might not give her an ability, as well.

Is there anymore detail you can give to the state of the various countries? Also, just what sort of technology is available?

Pirates are always fun in R Ps though I guess it depends how many other people you'll end up having to manage.

edited 22nd May '16 2:25:11 PM by Lt.BGob

“Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?”

TrulyDeceptive The Silence That Speaks Volumes from HOW DID I GET UP HERE?! Since: Apr, 2014 Relationship Status: Non-Canon

The Silence That Speaks Volumes

#8: May 22nd 2016 at 2:47:41 PM

They've been using nuclear fission as a fuel source for just over a decade, but they are more advanced in other scientific fields. Things such as cloning are (infrequently) practiced (but not with people—at least, not enough for it to be common knowledge). People use satellites to transmit messages (as they do nowadays), but no one cares to develop spaceflight, and scholars consider astronomy and quantum mechanics frivolous fields of physics for those who can afford to study them. Their electronics are roughly as advanced as ours.

Albion is a lonely republic whose last monarch renounced his authority 1-2 centuries ago. It has more than its fair share of adventurers, physicists, biologists, and chemists, but most of its inhabitants are menial workers (who do things like ship cargo or work for shop-owners, eventually opening businesses of their own). Culturally, it represents the U.K., the U.S., France, Australia, Canada, and Ireland.
Auj is a cold expanse of icy forests and plains. Its inhabitants have a reputation for being big and tough. Its royal family was deposed by a less extreme party than the Bolsheviks who gained authority over real-life Russia. It's generally been faring well ever since (partly thanks to the warm-water ports it has around the North Sea).
Culturally, Cin is feudal China, although its inhabitants wouldn't mind a coup d'état (for any reason, although they'd probably show the most support for one that'd let them replace their royals with whomever they care to elect).
Gan is a paradise of an isle, whose native people and wildlife are immune to all sorts of plagues and have never experienced war. The isle's governed by a sort of shadow king. Ancient myths tell of a tree of life that the king was appointed to guard. As far as the public knows, they've had the same king and queen for millennia. Although the queen often makes public appearances on behalf of both of them, the king has never publicly revealed his face. The isle has a population of roughly 3,000,000.
Iounos is Urakos' next-door neighbor (both geographically and culturally), and the first nation to establish a democracy. Many of its denizens fear being invaded by the New Nordic Empire.
Historically, Mishrei practically invented the idea of social castes. It's known for its slaves, governors, and pharaohs. Its castes are ancient history in its more civilized towns, as its monarchy ended when Italus waged a brutal war across the West Sea a couple millennia before modern times. It's the only known nation in which slavery is legal (and even then, it only exists in few cities). Although nearly everyone who inhabits it claims to belong to the same nation, every city (or state) has different laws.
The Northern Continent used to be divided into 3 major nations: Gallus, Gotthus, and Italus. Italus conquered Gallus for itself roughly 2 millennia ago. At the time, it was known as the Italic Republic. When its governor (who bore the Italic surname Caesar—transliterated into Common Prose as Kaisar) died, the widespread Republic broke out into civil war as it attempted to fill the power gap. It emerged as an outright Italic Empire (which would've more aptly described it from the start, given its firm control over numerous nations). A couple centuries later, the Italic Empire was utterly ruined by Gotthus, its citizens enthralled, and its culture assimilated. The Gotthic tribes were at a standstill when the king that united them died, and managed the nation as a republic. It renamed itself the Nordic Republic, and spent the next 15 centuries conquering the rest of the Northern Continent's mainland. Any Gallic survivors who weren't enslaved fled to Albion.
Parsis used to be an empire that controlled well over half of the 3 eastern continents' populations 2-3 millennia ago. It got defeated by the Iounians (with some help from the nations Parsis governed), and the continents basically went back to doing what they did before, just without having to worry about power-hungry governors managing their every step. It's been a republic ever since.
Sindui has a higher population density than any other nation, but it's nowhere near as bad as actual Indian ghettos. Unlike real-life India, it's mostly secular, and never had a caste system.
Sur's a terrible place to live; there are constant feuds between the tribes, and they all fear being invaded.
Urakos was the first recorded nation. It once tried to become an empire and conquer everything, but it was handily defeated by Parsis. It was quick to adopt Mishrei's caste system. The oldest myths were witnessed in Urakos.
Wakoku's mostly filled with merchants, inventors, and scientists; those who still believe in deities there think that hard work and integrity give them a reason to look upon their followers with favor.

edited 22nd May '16 11:42:40 PM by TrulyDeceptive

The truth can oft be more misleading... I'm driven by greed, guilt, rage, and despair, but I'll never try to justify haughtiness.

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