(Interest) Ashes of the End [Souls-Inspired Dark Fantasy]

I'm going to do the one thing I shouldn't and give "Earnest Garry" the benefit of the doubt here, Taco. =P Send me your backstory in PM.

LISTEN, NO, I SWEAR, I FORGOT HIS FULL NAME WAS TRUSTY PATCHES. BELIEVE ME ON THIS ONE. I've sent you the background.

Well, Rogan's going to hate Garry.

edited 5th Jun '17 10:48:37 PM by TroyandHawk

Removing Kellon Anders from consideration for lack of responsiveness.

So, we currently have three characters - Willem the Headsman, Hytal the Scout, and Convict Rogan. I'd like to have two more before we begin, but I'll settle for one.

edited 6th Jun '17 1:12:37 AM by RedSavant

Is it alright if we call my character Headsman Willem to keep with the Souls-like naming?

Sure, absolutely. The titles are in no way mandatory. =)

I'll be pushing the launch back until at least the weekend due to personal circumstances. Apologies for the delay.

Don't apologize man, take all the time you need.

Info on Sorcery

In terms of spell flavor, you'll want to look at mostly the basic Soul stuff - things like Soul Arrow, Soul Spear, the Homing Soulmass spells - and the Pestilent Mercury spell. Sorcery in this world draws on silvery mercury as its focus element the same way sorcery in Dark Souls uses crystal.

The basics of the art are the same - there's a lot of reading scrolls and stuff, and it's generally pretty intellectual. Most sorcerers use staffs that hold a tempered-glass core of mercury surrounded by wood as their catalyst, and it's done by focusing one's will into the mercury and casting from that. The more mercury, the more power, but also the harder it is to control, that sort of thing. Traditional sorcerers are very strict about discipline and self-control, because the more control you have the more intricate spells you can perform.

The one University of sorcery in the land is in the rocky and stormy coastal land of Mellta, a harsh environment for many people who live there. The sorcerers of the University use their collected knowledge, not just of magic but of agriculture, construction, and other disciplines, to maintain a fairly lush and comfortable lifestyle behind the high, magically reinforced walls and gates. The University is an oasis of knowledge not just for Mellta, but for all of the lands of the Flame... or at least, that was the intention.

With the light of the flame fading, the current headmasters of the University have begun to refuse entry to most people, accepting even fewer students than before and turning away most envoys from the Melltan government and other kingdoms. The road to the University has grown very dangerous; not only have the thunderstorms along the coastal roads increased, but the hopefuls and beggars turned away, many of whom had been clinging to acceptance as their last resort, have turned to banditry or simple madness. Some are Branded, but others are simply desperate. Either way, even meager sorceries are often more than a match for simple armor and weapons.

There is a sect of sorcerers living in the hills and crags of Mellta that decry both the bandits and the University, though. The first few were cast out as heretics, but they survived, and eventually gained a following from among the failed applicants and bandits. These heretics say that the restraint and self-restriction practiced by University scholars destroys the true power of sorcery - the power drawn from the Silvered Beast, Arvess. These heretics use sorcery in close combat, taking trophies from the beasts of the wild to manifest the silvery claws, teeth, spines and even wings of Arvess in a brutal, bestial whirlwind. They tend to forsake the more complex ranged sorceries.

I'll be making a compilation post of all this info in the general chat thread once I make that, so don't worry about tracking it all down later.

• Name: Temple Maiden Aisha
• Age: 21
• Equipment:
  • Armor: Dervish Armor, armor giving a neat balance of light protection from both physical and magical threats while affording ease of movement and a light weight.
  • Weapon: Dervish Twinblades, a pair of scimitars with sharp blades, ideal for deadly attacks against lightly armored foes. Shortbow as a fall back for medium distance attacks on the run.
  • Gift: A necklace consisting of crystalline beads with patterns engraved upon them, hanging from which is a symbol. Valuable for religious reasons.
• Appearance: A young woman from a distant land, clad in garments trying to balance the practical with ornate. Cloth of light blue and warm violet accent armored pieces of light chain mail and hard leather in the style of a distant land of deserts and plains. Skin of light brown tone is exposed here and there by the garments, eyes the same shade of bright violet as part of her dress peer from above a veil and under a headscarf accompanying her long, silky black hair. Lithe of built, of average stature and with an abundance of grace in her steps, the Temple Maiden is as deadly as she is enchanting when performing her blade dance.

Temple Maiden Aisha looks good! Send me your backstory via PM.

Well then, I think that's about it for signups. ~Tropers/Booky, were you looking to get a signup in as well? I don't intend to close signups straightaway, though I likely will at some point. For now, I plan to write up a starter post over the next 24 hours and get started most likely sometime in the next 36.

~Tropers/Greeneyre, ~Troyand Hawk, ~@Romanian Inquisitor, and daltar, let me know here how your character got in to Haelwyd - that could be climbing over the wall, finding a crumbled passage, etc. I may give you some treasure depending on the route, or there may be penalties.

Do you want that here or in PM?

edited 11th Jun '17 5:54:10 PM by TroyandHawk

Let's go with via PM for now.

Here we go. Sorry for the wait, folks.