Flight of Fancy (OOC/Interest Thread--OPEN!)

[Aisha deCabre]

Kafzeil, you've been approved. Go ahead and post up your revised bio.

[Kafzeil]

GOOD TIMES!:3

Name: Kafzeil Harkonnen
Race: Angel
Age: 119
Species: Ferret
Personality: Cranky, Sarcastic, snide, but never cruel, Kafzeil can be a good companion if you get to know him. He often likes ribbing people he likes, though He's not above verbally smashing people who draw his ire.

Kaf generally prefers to avoid fighting, and solve any problem he can diplomatically, however, if push comes to shove and he needs to make quick getaway or defend himself, He always has his trusty hammer Charlene nearby and is trained to use it. He's also skilled with Light based magic and has an affinity for lightning based spells, and is capable of using both types in a variety of ways, from lights to missiles, to beams. While not as strong or as fast as a Demon, he makes up for it by utilizing a fighting style that relies on counters, taunting and insulting his opponents until they make a dumb move.

Due to his hatred and fear of heights and flying, and possessing a mild allegory to tobacco, Kafzeil is not enjoying his cruise at all, and is grumpier then usual.
Appearance: 5' 1", medium build, Mostly white fur with brown limbs, tail, ears, and a "bandit mask" patch on his face. brown eyes and brown hair. The only hint to his Creature Heritage are pair of large white feathery wings. Prefers white dress shirts, black dress pants, shoes, his black wool long coat and gray scarf. Rarely seen with his glasses or lucky black fedora.
History: Born into the power Harkonnen Family, Kafzeil was critical of his grandfather's way of running things. To avoid his Seventh Son's death or exile, his father sent him off to higher education while he tried smoothing things over with his own dad, hoping Kafzeil could become useful to his grandfather somehow.

Kafzeil would take up political sciences and history, and end up as the family's Diplomat, often sent to meetings and arranging deals on behalf of his family. He ended becoming a "Freelance Diplomat", offering his services to parties with little experience in his field, or to act a mediating body or third party in such discussions.

He's aboard the Flame of Freedom on his way back home following a Summit, and granted his ticket was a birthday gift from a friend of his.

he was certain she was attempting to annoy him. And here he was hoping that Summit would get heated and last longer then intended.
Possessions: -Charlene: A silver-alloy war hammer. The alloy conducts electricity well enough for Kaf to give it a charge, adding a bit more "Oomph" if need be. Engraved on the head is a scantily clad Ferret Angel. Kaf talks to his weapon, and weather he is joking or not is up for debate.
-A Change of clothes, including fancy dress.
-A bag of books for the trip.
-A  stockpile of anti-nausea and allergy relief potions and medications.


Name Eden Keter
Race: Demon
Age: 91
Species: Rabbit
Personality: There are many words to describe Eden. Bubbly, excitable, maybe even slightly crazy. 90% of the time she has the kind of stupid grin you'd expect from a child in a candy store, and her second most com expression can be described as "Blank Stare".

However, Eden is still a Demon, and can be quite crafty. What she lacks in raw strength she makes up for in pragmatism, creative thinking, and surprising people. It combat, she's not afraid to fight dirty, using an whatever underhanded tactics she can. While not as strong as older demons or even demons her own age, though she's still stronger then the average being of 'Cubi. She is however, very fast and athletic. She knows a few random spells, having dabbled in Magic a bit, and her best spells are a Paralysis spell, a Telekinetic Shove, And fire and ice related offensive magic.
Appearance: Standing at 5' 9", Eden has an average wingspan for Demon of her height, and is build like a rail. Brown fur, silver hair, and red eyes. She wears her hair long but brushed back and wears a Paper Boy's on her head, said hat containing holes for her medium length horns. She tends to wear Short sleeved red button up shirts, blue shorts and boots that go up past her knee, fingerless gloves, and tiny spectacles.
History: The Keter Family is a power but unorthodox bunch of Demons. Rather the amass power by proving their strength and forcing lesser Beings to worship them, they are found of The Golden Rule

Whoever has the gold, makes the rules. As such, while most of the Keter are well trained warriors and fighters, this is only to protect their Trade caravans, stores, warehouses, and even beings under their employ. However, they value cunning, and view bazaars and auctions much like other demon clans view battlefields.  

Eden is currently training to be one of the Family's Head Merchants, being a direct granddaughter of the current Matriarch, though currently only ranks as a Caravan Guard.

Eden managed to snag a pair of tickets to the Flame Of Freedom, and invited her friend Kafzeil to join her on the voyage.

Well, more like coerced, but a fear of flying is a terrible thing for a creature with wings to live with.
Possessions: -A broken Sword, something of a family Heirloom. Eden claims it's a powerful blade that can fell Cubi Clan leaders in a single stroke. The Blade's true power is unknown, but it's certain as it stands, it's just a busted, but sharp sword.
-Some changes of clothing, including some fancy dresses.

[Aisha deCabre]

Tapewolf, you've been approved now too. You may post your bio.

You too, Paladin.

Also, Justacritic, you still need to revise and post yours.

[Tapewolf]

Tapewolf, you've been approved now too. You may post your bio.

Much obliged.  I had kind of thought to do a Demon character next RP I joined, but since I was asked for Jakob, I could hardly refuse...

=========

Name: Lord Pettersohn (b. Jakob Pettersohn, Daryil clan)

Race: Incubus

Age: 950

Species: Wolf

History (Background): Jakob was brought up by his mother after his father disappeared.  Shortly after his brother went off to study, Jakob woke up to find some wings on his head and shortly disappeared himself.
Waking up at SAIA, Jakob began a long education to learn of his powers and abilities as a Daryil Clan incubus.
Upon leaving, he worked for a snow leopard Angel known as Lord Page for about a century until his lord and mentor was assassinated in an attempted coup.  Inheriting the throne, Jakob's sanity began to crack and he spent several centuries as a tyrant under the alias of Johan Cross.
Finally coming to his senses, Jakob left his realm in shame and began doing contract work for the Academy, mostly specialising in Being technology.

History (Present): Following Daryil's ascension, Jakob was granted land and a title.  As the Lord Daryil's emissary, he has recently been sent to conduct negotiations with another power, and is returning to his master by means of the Flame of Freedom.

Possessions:  Jakob is dressed in expensive clothing befitting the ambassador to his Leader.  He has with him several changes of clothes, a selection of books and a certain amount of currency about his person (both cheque and cash) along with a shortsword, largely for ceremonial purposes.
He also has a diplomatic bag containing the signed treaty and a rare book, a gift from the city-state of Yaaap to Lord Daryil.

Skills: Jakob's specialisations are in technology and illusion magic.  Outside of this he is a jack-of-all trades, master of none.  He is not a particularly strong fighter or a dedicated student of combat magic, but he does know some basic stun spells, healing and some self-defence.

[Paladin Sheppard]

And here's my approved characters


Name Paladin Sheppard (Paladin Jonas Shep'Pard)
Race: Cubi
Age: 580
Species: Wolf
History: Paladin grew up with a fair standard cubi upbringing, first in Raven Hold; the Shep'Pard Clan's fortress city, then SAIA when he came of age and his head wings came in. Excelling in his combat and magical studies Paladin's schooling was extended and modified due to an incident in the Magic Wing of the school. No longer able to perform the same levels of spell casting yet remaining above a being's level of magic.
Paladin returned home and took up a place in Raven Hold's forces, and with Clan Shep'Pard's mercenary leanings was well honed in the way of battle. Paladin was rose through the ranks without incident and was well respected by his peer's. Despite being a direct descendant  of the Clan's leader no one thought he was undeserving of the promotions.
After several hard assignments Paladin was promoted again and was chosen to join the Raven Rangers, the Clan's long range reconnaissance group and marshal's service. As Cubi are not always welcome Paladin commonly took on the guise of an Adventurer or Bounty hunter, and taking on those roles to maintain his cover.
Now after a rather a well paying bounty Paladin is taking a vacation on the Flame of Freedom...Or is he....
Possessions:
Paladin wears a suit of Full Plate armor that has a trigger-able chameleon spell causing the suit to select the most effective camouflage for the current environment.
Edge of Cobalt, a two handed artifact axe, so old no one in the clan can remember its origins, a rectangular blade on end and a hammer shaped counterweight on the other, the metal of the blade has a slight blue hue to it and runes that are a cobalt colour mark the head.
Two shortswords with a minor enchantment to maintain their edge.
Twenty throwing knives.
Collapsible Recurve bow and thirty arrows.
Warp-Aci Rex.
Traveling pack


Name: Ephrael Falco
Race: Being
Age: 24
Species: Tasmanian Devil
History: Ephrael lived with her family on a outlying farm of the town; Freewater, growing up care free -if little hard on her parents due to a nearly in-exhaustible supply of energy. Her world was shattered at the age of 16 when her farm was attacked by a monster, Ephrael and her twin sister Jade were in town at the time and returned to a smoking pile of rubble and the desecrated bodies mother and father.
While Jade had her magical studies to bury herself into to cope with her grief Ephrael went a little off the rails, using the skills and energy she had  as a child to fall in with a group of rogues. When she was caught one day Ephrael was given an option to use her skills and woodlands knowledge in the service of the town's militia, and as the town sent its prisoners to the capital's jail (which had an evil reputation) Ephrael agreed.
When her term of service was up Ephrael returned briefly to a life of crime...Until she tried to pick the pockets of a large wolf in plate mail armor who was passing through. Instead of turning her in the Wolf, whose name was Paladin, offered to train her to be a bounty hunter and adventurer like himself. Taking the offer Ephrael soon mastered the skills required as her trainer and  partner could easily keep up with her hyperactivity, a feat few could accomplish...
When Paladin completed her training, he told her he had to move on as he was being called home, Ephrael saddened still was happy as she now knew she could hold her own against just about anything, especially if she used both her old skills and her new. She struck out from the town, after spending a drunken night saying goodbye to her sister, and went looking for fortune (but not fame as her roguish instincts still held some sway). A ticket hit her in the face as she was leaving, it seemed to be for a airship called the Flame of Freedom....
Possessions:
Two Daggers.
Recurve Bow plus 60 arrows.
Thieves tool kit.
Leather armor vest and kilt dyed green.
Traveling pack.

[Aisha deCabre]

VAE, if you could please do just a minor bit of cleaning on grammar/spelling, you're approved to post yours too.

[VAE]

Cleaned up what i could, specifically, the one sentence in his bio that I accidentally.  
Edit: adding a forgotten section.

Name Vladim A. Eisenberg
Race Being
Age 28
Species Lynx lynx
History
Vladim grew up in the town of Syernogorsk, being the son of Alexei Eisenberg, an unemployed sorcerer, and Alyssa Kurilova, a technician, who met each other during a local military conflict.
He seems to have inherited a decent amount of both skills.

Originally trained in industrial magic, a series of odd events including prolific asset stripping of the company he worked at and an odd plot by the local government resulting in him and a few dozen other unemployment benefit seekers ending up in a requalification course for the profession of "evil overlord" has forced him to flee the country (a side effect of the plot) , but provided him with a set of new skills and ideas on how to use them.
Eventually, after a few years of adventuring to amass some capital, Vladim and a bunch of affiliates  managed to take over a city-state somewhere north, and asides from all the fun such power tends to bring, work on Vlad's main goal - improving beings (mainly himself) , and eventually, invent a method to make one into a cubi (and from then on, getting reasonably close to immortality)
Let's say that the efforts have been chiefly unsuccessful, asides from a few beneficial side-inventions, and eventually, due to the historic power of cliche, his government was overthrown by a force of "adventurers" (read thugs).
He did have an escape plan, along with key equipment and key personnel,  however you can only magically carry off so much , and especially minions got pretty much shafted.

A situation like that isn't conducive to continuing his plans , as currency is a crucial element in any effort. As such , after moving and staying quiet for a time to prevent termination of his person, Vladim left his closest associate in charge of what remained, and returned to an already proven way to acquire it - doing less than pleasant tasks for whoever is willing to pay to have them done, and that doesn't mean sewage draining.
Well, that brings us to the present - after doing a well-paying, but somewhat high profile job for someone Vladim felt the urging need to disappear for some time until things calm down a bit, and decided to do it in style - aboard the Flame of Freedom.

Description

Vladim is about 5'7'' tall lynx being.
He is the usual tabby-something colour of a lynx, except for greasy, black cephalic hair, pink nose and paw pads, and yes, eyes with no visible pupils that faintly glow red. The last is the product of a magic experiment since apparently, it was the tops in villain style back then.

Speaking of experiments, a more successful one has fitted him with four rather well foldable hydraulic tentacles about 10' fully extended permanently mounted on his back .  They are stronger and tougher than his own rather less able body, however, they are controlled directly ( he repurposed a bunch of less useful spinal nerves, such as those dealing with toe movement) so they don't have any better reflexes than him, and sure as hell aren't autonomous.
As another side effect of such fusing, damage to them isn't exactly a pleasant experience.

As far as personality goes, Vladim is rather choleric and prone to anger outbursts. Asides from such, he likes to plan things well through and often goes for effect -  if the physical description wasn't enough of a pointer, he's something of a showoff.
He has something of a dislike for creatures as well. (his mother leaving his father for one didn't help).

Possessions

More often than not,  he tends to wear a two-piece robe (practical to conceal the above), cape (green, more often than not, and fastened with a brass trinket) and yes, obligatory metallic spiked shoulder pads to make up for his very much less than impressive physical appearance.
When trying to blend in the crowd, he just keeps to the robe and usually a darker cape.

He also brought in the rest of the payment in a pouch, a spell book, a few tools, and a towel.
You can't travel without a towel, see.

Skills:

Vladim's specialises in earth magic - including spells that are out of place in a dirigible, like shaping or modifying properties of soil and stone, to ones that are useful everywhere like conjuring sharp stone shards at rather high velocities, or streams of sand.
These mostly come as spells he used all the way back at work, or modifications thereof - the streams of sand  for example is just a hack on what is used for waterjet machining.

Other than that, nothing is really notable.

[justacritic]

And so meet one of the members of Clan G'ian, those who sense most strongly Regret and Contentment.


Name: Hobbies Sven
Race: Incubi
Clan: Clan G'ian
Age: 387
Species: Fennec
History: One of the many times great grandchildren of Cain G'ian. Born in one of the more liberal minded cities he was
raised in the knowledge of his heritage as an incubus by his parents. At an early age he learned of the wonders of
puppetry. As a happy circumstance Hobbies found he had a talent for it and soon achieved skill beyond mastery. After learning from other puppeteers and craftsman, Hobbies became well regarded in the theater circles. Now he is a puppeteer that has been hired to provide additional entertainment on the Flame of Freedom. He's rather nervous as this is his first gig with such a high class clientele.  
Possessions: 12 Performance Puppets, which are able to be
refitted for several different puppet theater pieces
5 Unusual Puppets "For Trouble" with hidden mechanisms
and stored enchantments.
The complete collection of "The Eight Immortals" considered
the masterpieces of the puppet arts, in both performance
and war. Hobbies received these puppets, much to his
shock, as a 300th birthday gift from his clan leader. Each
puppet is a tribute to a historical being whose stories
achieved the distinction of "legend".  Many rumors have
surrounded this valuable set which hinders performing with
them. Hobbies keeps these safely on his person and has
only used them seriously only three times in the last 87
years.
Puppet repair kit
Camera
Multiple types of string

[Aisha deCabre]

Some awesomeness all around so far.

Just to let everyone else know, you have until this Friday to send us character sheets, those of you who are interested in playing.  After that, almost time to get this ball rolling and the ship flying.  

[Tipod]

Golems and the spirits who loved them, this fall on NBC.

Name: Terry "Peerless" Simmons
Race: Undead
Age: 27
Species: Golem

History: An amicable inventor and former being, Terry had never quite known the joys of success until his recent years. Often, he found himself the victim of petty Creature squabbles in whatever town he settled in, constantly bemoaning his sensitive body as it was broken time and time again. He grew despondent in his youth, desperately searching for any chance to leave the provincial life and realize his higher calling as a gifted tinkerer.

That opportunity came at the tender age of 22. Serving a prosperous clan of politically-minded demons, his work revolved around novel engineering feats, civil projects, and the occasional unsavory implement of self-defense. The work was long and arduous, but a welcome challenge with little interruption. As payment for a five-year contract, he was finally granted his lifelong dream: a chance to spurn his mortal coil.

Obsessed with the notion of "the new flesh," but repulsed by the feeding habits of regular Undead, Terry sought a more unconventional method of embracing Unlife. After assembling an animated-yet-soulless husk of rubber, steel, and scraps of old armor (for that personal touch), his spirit was then exorcised and placed inside. In essence, he is a ghost, incapable of leaving the body he possesses. Should that body ever break, he'd find himself wandering aimlessly through the mortal plane, easy prey for any soulsucking monster that crosses his path.

Was it worth it?

Totally.

The golem itself is a relatively light design of minimal girth and average height, faceless and humanoid: a blank, adaptable slate, just as Terry had always wanted. Many confuse him for an automaton at first sight, an undignified distinction that's saved his (un)life on several occasions. With his body and contract finished, he's booked a trip on the luxurious Flame of Freedom for some much-needed R&R.

Possessions: Backpack
Assorted loose change and bills of various denominations
Sewing kit
Metal polish
Notepad with pencil
Small toolbox of fine implements

[Tezkat]

Woo... another popular RP for me to fail at!


Out of curiosity, what is the legal status of slavery in this part of the world?

[Aisha deCabre]

Woo... another popular RP for me to fail at!


Out of curiosity, what is the legal status of slavery in this part of the world?

Well cool beans.

And considering the ship is transporting slaves in absolute secret, as in only the captain and a few members of the crew knowing at this point in time, it's probably safe to say that it's VERY illegal. Heads would roll or hang for this, really.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Just a reminder that you now have 24 hours to send us your character sheet if you wish to join this rp.

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

As we evil-Dms were plotting things out, we ran into a bit of a minor stumbling block. DMFA is a great setting, but it's a bit loose to a lot of background information that isn't directly relevant to what the characters are doing. It's all well and fine, but when we're planning a game, (and one of our number being extremely anal-retentive about it doesn't help ) we wanted something a bit more concrete.

Therefore, we're establishing that the general level of "technology" which is roughly equivalent to what was prevalent in real life in the 1940s. Propeller aircraft and reliable automobiles are "cutting edge" technology, and electronic computers are a highly theoretical design in a few laboratories.

Weapons, as per DMFA standard, are still in the medieval era. (If anyone wants to draw up a picture of people throwing javelins out of an old-fashioned airplane, I'll give you a DM-Bonus during the RP)

For those of you already putting in bios, I want to apologize on behalf of the three of us for the inconvenience. I will be sending Pms momentarily to those people whose inventory will be affected and suggest alternatives. If I missed you, yell at me.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Just to show I can follow my own instructions, here is my character sheet. And submissions are now closed as it is hard to take late arrivals onto a moving airship. If you're still interested in joining let us know and we'll let you know when events allow more players. Edited to add: Those of you with pending character sheets need to get us your revisions ASAP.


Name:  P. Melodie Icewing (don't ask what the P stands for)
Nickname(s): Mel
Race:   dragon/snow leopard
Species:   ice with just a bit of lightning
Family and Association(s): Grandmother L.L.; Grandfather Howell; brothers Barron and Rage

Physical description:  A rather small (5'3") thin dragon with pearlescent white scales, silvery-grey horns and bright blue eyes. Often seen as a snow leopard.

Biographical and general information

History: Youngest grandchild of the leader of the Icewing clan, famous/infamous as information brokers, she was raised to work in the family business but became a jeweler specializing in enchanted objects instead. This was probably for the best as she has the approximate sneakiness of a kitten. She is on the airship at the request of the fleet's owner. He suspects the crew is up to something and has sent her to check the anti-cheating enchantments on the casino equipment.

Abilities:  Strong magical abilities with specialties in ice and lightning. Excellent shot with a crossbow (taught by her grandfather, the General) Uses enchanted objects she has created to compensate for her weaknesses.

Weaknesses:  Small and physically weak for a dragon. She has no fighting skills beyond the crossbow. Poor against earth magic due to an almost obsessive hatred of being dirty. Getting any type of spot or stain on her will drive her to distraction once noticed. Very weak against fire to the point of sometimes freezing her in fear.

Possessions:
Trunk of assorted party dresses for the trip
10 different charms protecting her against fire and heat
Her purse is a bag of holding currently containing:
   Jewelers tools
   Crossbow & bolts
   Half eaten chocolate bar
   Bag of gemstones she has picked up for future use
   Jewelry box containing the tangled mess of her own jewelry to wear on the trip
   Money from several different nations
   Several ounces of Deus Ex Machina for GM emergencies
Her favorite outfit consists of a long grey suede coat with an enchantment to keep her cool, high grey boots, an embroidered blue silk tunic, and black trousers. She always wears her Icewing family ring which consists of a large piece of clear quartz in a simple silver band. Total materials value $12. If these rings are anything more than sentimental costume jewelry no one has ever discovered it.

Trivia:  Bleeds blue due to adaptations to the extreme cold of her homeland. Was on the championship airborne obstacle racing team at University over her grandmother's protests due to the fact that her father died while racing.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Sunblink, your character sheet is approved. Go ahead and put it up.

[Sunblink]

Name: Katherine Beatrix Imenwati-Jyraneth (as known as Keaton Jyraneth)
Race: Succubus
Age: 489
Species: Black-backed jackal
History:
Born and raised in a hidden city, Harla'keth, which was literally entombed within a desolate mountain range. Most wanderers – especially Dragons – thought the region was uninhabited, which was largely how the clan went unnoticed during most of the Cubi and Dragon Wars. Jyraneth Clan's matriarch was a fanatical, absolutely atrocious lunatic, but obviously a pragmatic one. Drooling invalids were obviously not leadership material, but Jyraneth herself was a charismatic beast – she was a true Svengali, and knew how to orchestrate the bleating macrocosm of believers and unbelievers in accordance to her whim. Her flock, at most, thought she was enlightened, and at the very worst thought she was a force of nature not to be trifled with. Whether or not Jyraneth's insanity was just a front or truly debilitating was left up to speculation.

Jyraneth Clan was a religiously fanatical clan, highlighting Cubi as the true inheritors of the earth, and all other races as inferior offshoots. According to Jyraneth's scripture, Cubi were entitled to use Beings as their resources and assault heathens at their leisure, disregarding clan politics.

Keaton was born into a noble family; her mother was a retired Judicator (one of Jyraneth's generals), meaning she was allowed to circumvent reproduction regulations and start a large family. Her childhood was typical for one brought up in a noble Jyraneth family: she was a spoiled and entitled child with a tumultuous upbringing, mostly sheltered and cared for but struggling against the conditioning used to inure her to committing the unimaginable against God's mistakes. Ultimately, when she learned to accept the barbaric nature of her clan's society, she took to it rather well.

Her mother was unloving, militaristic, and cold, while her father was unusual for Jyraneth Clan Cubi – instead of embracing a life of bloodlust, he preferred to work on his art, and fostered a similar talent in one of his daughters, Esmeralda. Salem enabled and constantly forgave his wife for her transgressions despite the toll it took on their children, and Elizabeth had no idea how to express her affection for her children in a healthy way. Elizabeth was trapped between feeling disillusioned with her queen's teachings and being terrified of her unimaginable strength. Although she adored her children, she thought that controlling them with an iron fist was the only way to keep them from ever being slaughtered and branded heathens. After all, she had witnessed a thousand times over what happened to those that crossed the Red Queen.

Keaton got along excellently with most of her family, but bonded with her twin, Lianna, in particular. While they were kindred spirits in their childhood (even collaborating with their combined magic skills to enchant a marble as their first foray into magic), their relationship in adulthood became strained, especially as Keaton started training as a slaver. Lianna took her father's more liberal attitude to heart, and had a fairly angsty, bitter, disillusioned adolescence as she experimented with her philosophical beliefs. By this point, Keaton distanced herself from Lianna, but considered staging an intervention to save her sister from the heathen chopping block. In spite of her sister's wavering faith, they both passed through the adulthood ritual with flying colors – the 'ritual' in question being a ceremony that takes place after a noble Cubi grows their headwings.

Keaton became a slaver, Lianna languished. Frustrated with Lianna, Keaton decided to drag her along on one of her raids so she could see the beauty of their task in motion. This backfired, and instead instilled Lianna with an unhealthy, dangerous fascination with the outside world. Keaton clashed with Lianna repeatedly, but refused to disown her outright in spite of her loyalty. She still believed her sister could be saved.

One day, Lianna fled the city without fuss or fanfare, throwing the entire clan into pandemonium. Assassins were sent after her, hoping to eliminate Lianna before any of the clan's secrets landed in the wrong hands. The hunting parties came up empty-handed, and the clan buckled down for any lasting repercussions Lianna's rebellion might bring.

Keaton was mercilessly interrogated, and eventually her mind was pried open and her memories scanned. They realized she had absolutely nothing to do with Lianna's disappearance, but still distrusted her for her tolerance toward her blasphemous ways. Keaton was told that if Lianna betrayed the clan, she would suffer the punishment in place of her sister.

Harla'keth was attacked by Dragons. Most of Keaton's family was killed in the slaughter. Keaton managed to escape through dumb luck. Jyraneth herself deserted the clan, allowing her followers to be massacred – the perfect barrier against the Dragons seeking her life. With her life crumbling apart at the seams, Keaton limped away from the ruins of her former home. She fell into a deep depression and state of mourning, severely traumatized by the sight of her beloved home, reduced to ashes. People that she had known for years and treated as neighbors were annihilated and buried in the ruins of their own homes. Landmarks, treasured artifacts, and what ultimately represented years of prosperity were used as kindling. Harla'keth herself bleed, then burned, her geographical shell a smoldering stain of sanguine on the horizon.

Not long after the slaughter, Keaton came across a small group of survivors. Immediately blaming her sister for the carnage, they shunned her, then when Keaton became too persistent, they attempted to kill her. She retaliated, but was overwhelmed and was forced to retreat. The attack ended with her losing her eye, which would eventually be restored.

After she recovered from her wounds, she lived a mostly miserable existence for a few years. Took up odd mercenary jobs, mostly assassination work for Demons and Angels who needed people killed. Most of her customers were widowers or grieving families demanding vengeance against those who killed their friends or loved ones. It was considered improper for Demon families to want retribution for murdered family members, as it went against the Demon philosophy favoring the strong over the weak, so such desperate souls resorted to more clandestine tactics to enact their revenge. Business was booming.

Keaton attracted the wrong crowd, however, and went head-to-head with a crime family run by an Angel named Kytharion. Kytharion's hitmen had actually been hired by Adventurers who wanted to nip the problem in the bud, but did not have the resources to find their elusive target. Kytharion, however, saw some potential in Keaton, and decided to recruit her instead of killing her, thus removing the problem and repurposing it into an asset.

Keaton became an enforcer, intimidating Kytharion's enemies with her outlandish abilities. She enjoyed this a lot more than the mercenary work, as many people complimented her for the skills she learned as a slaver. Despite the circumstances behind this reluctant allegiance, she started to appreciate this line of work. However, tension between Kytharion and herself, followed by a few traumatizing events, soured the experience beyond compromise.

Kytharion betrayed Keaton when she ran afoul of a mafia Cubi clan called Kamei'Sin Clan, and she had to escape before she was killed. Keaton was, quite understandably, pissed, but had no means of getting revenge against Kytharion. Her way of coping was to lapse back into Jyraneth teachings as repentance.

Although she was a pariah in her own clan, Keaton longed for Jyraneth companionship, and wanted to know the truth behind Lianna's departure. She learned about SAIA, the academy responsible for grooming generations of young Cubi into seasoned warriors, and signed up so she could investigate whether or not any of her clansmen had drifted into the school. Jyraneth Clan was one of the only clans that refused Fa'Lina's invitation, as it meant tolerating the blasphemy of other clans under a universally neutral roof.

SAIA was a sanctuary to Cubi of all shapes, sizes, and creed. There were no Jyraneth Cubi to be found, but the headmistress convinced Keaton to stay, and promised she'd let her know if any of her surviving family or clansmen arrived. She enjoyed the classes, she benefited from the training, but became restless when years passed with little to no progress in her search, that dissatisfaction twisting into paranoia. She finally snapped and accused the headmistress of deliberately keeping her in the dark (an unfounded and ultimately untrue accusation), then quit.

Distraught and reeling from what she realized was probably one of the worst mistakes she ever made in her life, Keaton retreated from the world. She was too prideful to admit that she was just a paranoid lunatic to the headmistress's stupid, stupid, stupid sympathetic face. After completely devastating the shelter in which she was taking refuge in the throes of a tantrum, she let herself sink to the ground and slipped into a fitful slumber. Two years later, she opened her eyes again, and did not feel refreshed in the least.

In the midst of her travels, she somehow recovered tickets to the Flame of Freedom. At first she considered pawning them off to enthusiastic buyers eager to travel on the renowned aircraft, but every minute she spent fretting over her sister, her family, her deteriorating sanity, the Kamei'Sin, and Kytharion's cronies distracted her from her decision. The tickets rested beside her bed, completely neglected, for about a week, until she decided that a vacation was in order. It would only be a distraction, but it was certainly a welcome one.

Strengths and Weaknesses: Keaton is a wild fighter, divided between two spectrums of competence. The first is her animalistic, single-minded bloodthirst and how she brutally and obsessively chases her quarry. The second is a startling amount of sophistication that can be executed with both creativity and intellect. Between attempts to maim, mutilate, or otherwise spectacularly destroy her adversary, she demonstrates shocking improvisation on many levels. There is a certain edge of creativity that she implements in her overall battle technique that makes her unpredictable, and the way she utilizes her natural proficiency for shapeshifting only enhances that.

Keaton's magical abilities lie in a unique form of shadow manipulation. To her, shadows are like clay in the hands of an artist, and she can meld them however she likes with enough time and effort. The more outrageous the feat, the more energy it takes to properly execute the attack, but ultimately the restrictions boil down to Keaton's imagination. Projectiles are swept away by barriers, tender faces are pulverized with fists comprised from physical shadow, and fleeing prisoners are captured by nooses and cages of writhing darkness. When Keaton is molding the shadows into a weapon such as a throwing star, she 'locks' it into a solid form. This protects the shadows she is currently manipulating from being driven back by sunlight. However, the bindings do not guarantee protection from concentrations of magical light. A single spell that produces a ball of shimmering light is probably enough to melt a virtual obstacle course of black blades and saws that she has grown – when it comes right down to that, the name of the game is avoiding the caster long enough to catch him off-guard. More importantly, Keaton can only manipulate shadows when there are shadows to manipulate. If there are no shadows, she cannot control them.

Light magic is Keaton's fundamental weakness, and anyone with a competent understanding of such magic can easily melt her defenses. It should go without saying that Keaton's shadow abilities are far from foolproof, and when the disorientation and versatility fails, her pretenses can easily be stripped away by something as simple as a bullet or a blast of fire. Cubi abilities aside, Keaton can be subdued, immobilized, or even killed by fairly normal means. Her only weapon is an unnamed meteor hammer that she is able to craft out of shadows. She can create a single, long cord out of darkness and loop it through the ornamental weight hooked to her belt.

Since the meteor hammer is forged out of the same shadows as her magic and her shadow-skin, Keaton can change the meteor hammer in the middle of a fight, even using it to help orchestrate her darkness-conducting efforts. She can also spontaneously shorten or increase the length of the meteor hammer's rope in the middle of a fight, although she prefers something within 4 meters (12.8 feet). Keaton is extraordinary with the meteor hammer, able to spin and twirl it and execute a number of techniques designed to immobilize, ensnare, and/or bludgeon. The weapon is clearly not intended for purely offensive combat, but if she maintains enough momentum, she can probably strike with crushing force. Best of all, besides the shadow-manipulation, Keaton can cast elaborate dark-oriented spells using the meteor hammer, thus increasing the destructive potential of her weapon and providing a back-up plan when her shadow-magic fails. However, lack of concentration and distraction can result in her accidentally getting tangled in the weapon and clubbing herself in the face, which can be exploited by a particularly creative opponent.
Strengths: Versatile, unpredictable, and talented. Metamorphosis and dark magic is Keaton's forte, and she excels in completely disorienting and blindsiding her opponent before they can even bat an eye.

Weaknesses: Weak against light magic – her versatility ultimately relies on a single element of magic, and has a straightforward weakness. Although psychology rarely passes as a legitimate excuse nowadays, Keaton is an embarrassment in social situations, and while she's not prone to random acts of violence, the fact she sometimes reminds Beings to "know their place" in fits of anger or threatens Adventurers that are back-sassing her doesn't do much to endear her in the hearts and minds of her companions.
Aside from those things, Keaton is unremarkable in protection, and in some ways the overwhelming nature of her unpredictability is just smoke and mirrors, since it can easily be combatted with anything else, or outright neutralized with light magic.

Possessions:

• An ornately-decorated, spherical weight that is usually tethered to her belt - ostensibly, it serves no practical purpose. However, it is actually the major component of a weapon (a meteor hammer) she is able to weave out of darkness. The Jyraneth Clan symbol furnishes the hook as a subtle artful flare. It doesn't look like a weapon by itself, but still might seem suspicious if only for its unusual appearance. Passes it off as a family heirloom.
• A suitcase containing some stuffed animals and other pointless knicknacks that she's accumulated.
• A marble, seemingly unremarkable in appearance other than its opalescent luster. The glass seems to encapsulate a gently swirling variety of colors, churning from one shade to the next. It is enchanted so that whenever it is thrown, it will return to the holder.

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

IC post is UP. If you have an approved bio, you may post now.

To the two people we are waiting on for biographical submission, you can post up your character sheets, but be warned, if you delay to the point that it would break narrative to have your character suddenly appear, you will *not* be allowed to post up until a more convenient time to bring in new faces.



EDIT: Minor edit made to intro post to clarify where one section ends and the other begins. Those are now in bold font

[Tezkat]

Name: Mateo E'ekat

Race: Were

Age: 16

Species: Ocelot

History: Born and raised in a small fishing village, his family hid their Creature nature and worked alongside the Beings, using their magic to help out where possible. Mateo showed particular promise in that regard. After turning sixteen, he bid farewell to his childhood home and left to seek his fortune in the big city, where he'd received a scholarship to study weather magic at a prestigious college.

He never arrived. Unfortunately, a certain band of slavers he encountered on the journey had very different plans for his future...

Possessions: He's wearing a pair of jean shorts, the torn remains of a t-shirt (black with a yellow smiley face), his new slave collar, and heavy manacles enchanted to suppress his magic. The slavers took his backpack, which contained a few changes of clothes, his wallet, his admission letter, several pens, a notebook, a textbook written by the professor who sponsored his scholarship (On Focused Manipulation of Chaotic Meteorological Systems, 142nd edition), his favourite hunting knife, and a good luck charm given to him by his mother.

[Aisha deCabre]

One small thing, Kaf; if the "red-robed" panther you're talking about is Aisha, she's actually all in blue, no cape. x3

[Kafzeil]

One small thing, Kaf; if the "red-robed" panther you're talking about is Aisha, she's actually all in blue, no cape. x3

Yes, it is, and fixed my post.=B

[techmaster-glitch]

   I ended up not submitting a character because I couldn't come up with an appropriate concept, but also more because I don't think I have the heart to actually particpate in an RP like this, but I did just want to say: I am fascinated with reading it (morbid though it may be), and I'm very curious to see where it will go.

[Inumo]

Y'know, I submitted my character on the assumption that there would be market information on the slave collars, but I suddenly realized that, while it passed without incident, I'm not entirely sure what the GMs deem is on the collars. Between me and Tezkat, we figured at the least there'd be some ID number (with mine apparently labeled #567), but is there anything else that might be tacked on? Nobody's mentioned anything being off about inserting a tag onto my collar, so I'm guessing the number's on the tag or something of that sort.

[Aisha deCabre]

Y'know, I submitted my character on the assumption that there would be market information on the slave collars, but I suddenly realized that, while it passed without incident, I'm not entirely sure what the GMs deem is on the collars. Between me and Tezkat, we figured at the least there'd be some ID number (with mine apparently labeled #567), but is there anything else that might be tacked on? Nobody's mentioned anything being off about inserting a tag onto my collar, so I'm guessing the number's on the tag or something of that sort.

We're letting the people with slave characters decide what's on the collars; the only definitive things we gave all of you are magic-suppressing manacles and, for the winged, weighted ankle cuffs and such to prevent flying off, should that hangar open to plummet y'all.

I should probably mention here too that I had edited my previous post somewhat at the request of one of my fellow GMs, if anyone missed the implication in the intro.  Potentially, all of the slaves there are sorta now drafted into being part of a personal suicide fighting force in the future.  So, tags or not, it doesn't matter; nobody's being sold off. x3

[Tezkat]

Hmm...

What do we know about the political landscape of this region? Should it have been immediately obvious (to those paying attention, at least) who "His Excellency" was? It can be hard to know how to react to some of these revelations without additional context. (For instance, learning you've been drafted to hold the border against encroaching monsters is rather different from becoming a tool to overthrow a beloved king... )

[Aisha deCabre]

Hmm...

What do we know about the political landscape of this region? Should it have been immediately obvious (to those paying attention, at least) who "His Excellency" was? It can be hard to know how to react to some of these revelations without additional context. (For instance, learning you've been drafted to hold the border against encroaching monsters is rather different from becoming a tool to overthrow a beloved king... )

Heh; that, I imagine, is one of those things that may be revealed later on in the plot.

x3 Trust me, the three of us are in different ways lovers of detail, especially world-building, and also where and what to reveal as the story goes.  If it's important to know now, then it will have been revealed already, I imagine; we try never to leave a detail out of the loop of the players.

Much.  

[Tezkat]

Fair enough.

So, in the absence of this information, would it be safe to assume that "His Excellency" is too widely used a title for our PCs to determine the identity our mysterious "benefactor"? Or would it actually narrow down the options a fair bit?

[Aisha deCabre]

Fair enough.

So, in the absence of this information, would it be safe to assume that "His Excellency" is too widely used a title for our PCs to determine the identity our mysterious "benefactor"? Or would it actually narrow down the options a fair bit?

Too widely-used. Being a high-class cruise, there are people traveling on that very ship who're called that on a regular basis.

[Corgatha Taldorthar]

To expand further "His Excellency" (or more rarely "Her Excellency") is a common title for someone elected or appointed into some sort of high governmental position, usually something with a life tenure. From the usage the slaves encountered, it would likely be some kind of "president for life" figure, or a high ranking Citizen's general, or something in that field.

[Tezkat]

Assuming it's even an official title and not being used ironically and/or as a codename, right?

Anyways, thanks. That clears that up.

One more little question... what do we call the region(s) in which the RP takes place and the associated law enforcement agencies that would ordinarily be tasked with, say, hunting down slavers?

My earlier question about the political landscape wasn't so much fishing for a playbook on the powers that be as trying to get a feel for the kind of world we're in (e.g. a kingdom with a militarized royal guard, a republic employing civilian police, etc.).