A Bone to Pick (M) (OOC/Open)

Started by VAE, May 30, 2012, 09:53:46 PM

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VAE

The Council of State building was quite new, built when the amount of cities significant enough to hold representation increased such that the old Imperial Palace wasn't enough for them, and the Council of Ministers. Millions were spent on pointing out to the world that the Gubernia of Kebre isn't as behind as they'd like it to be, and even though the construction project took twice as long and cost three times as much as intended, the result was a massive construct of stone, steel, glass and ironwood that towered over Port Oriss, topped by a statue of Zezzuva herself. None of this mattered to the bear in blue navy uniform, artfully sewn to give wings an outlet, as he strolled into the office of Councillor Stein, the Port Oriss representative.
"Fuck, Isa , so it is true. We just sunk one of them two hours ago. Fuck."
The silver fox incubus pushed up his glasses, and looked up.
"Right, so Theo's goons were worth their salt for once. I suppose that means your men are in."
"Speaking of Theo, where the fuck is he? I we-"
"You want anything, Counter Admiral?" - A voice, just above his head. The bear loooked up to see the familiar visage... well, half a visage of a tabby-patterned cat, sitting cross-legged about ten feet in the air,the rest of his face appearing a mass of writhing worm-like tentacles.
"I want to slap your stupid mug hard enough for the wall to give you a second one. As for what I need-"  Theophilus Kish'Ta - the Minister of Security -  quietly landed and with a sigh, transformed into his more regular self. "is for your fancy leathercoats to find out who's gift-packing our ship blueprints and mailing them to Ti'baltr fresh from the engineers' pens." Counter Admiral Antonov sighed, "Or rather, we all know who those fucks are, but we need enough shit to convince the Governor. Once that's done, my sailors will deal with them, and anyone who'd voice problems with a field trial..."
Both the bear and the cat grinned. "Understood. Lemme think for a bit while I go grab a lunch , and then we'll work out the details. Ira!" With a crackle, a purple snakelike warp-aci ripped through reality, and with another pop, both of them were gone.
"Fucking civvy showoff fuck. You know, Stein, if I didn't know you I'd never have guessed you for a 'cubi."
Councillor Isael Stein responded with a sigh.

Players so far:
RAM - Jaes Straken
Tipod - Oygun
littlekreen - Fergus
AmberCross - Christopher
Ghostwish - Zanfib Black

Anyways, this is an interest thread for a game based on the 3.5/DnDMFA campaign I ran in ages past (and which died due to scheduling conflicts) , well, up to about half a year ago. Pretty much everything from DMFA proper and Chronicles of Jakob Pettersohn counts as canon here, though there are a bunch of changes that really carry over.

The GMs will be myself, and the esteemed Meanyowl.

As for races, I'm allowing anything from DMFA/CJP with the exception of Phoenix A (prophetic, insane) tri-wings (why would they give a damn?), fae (doubly so, plus being bonkers) and dragons. (this locality isn't exactly dragon-friendly, besides they are rather too powerful, though this one is the most prone to exception)
Furthermore, if you have a custom race in mind, that could be possibly qualified under the broad definition of mythos, or something from DnD that'd fit similarly (Neogi come to mind) , I'm all for, though do PM either of us beforehand such that you don't waste time with making up a character profile you won't be able to use.
Profiles are to be PMed to me or Meany for approval. If you got questions, you can drop by #argument_atrium on Boxy's IRC server

Template:

Name:
Age:
Race:
Species (if applicable):
Physical Description:
Notable Equipment:
Magic/Natural Abilities:
History:
Trivia:


The game setting would mainly be the Governorate of Kebre.

Wall of text information under collapsibles, beware

A very short bit of history -[spoiler] the Governorate used to be something of a backwater province of the Basileus Imperium, which ended when both the Imperator Praesens  and the Imperator Ascendens met their end at the paws of the B'tar and Ja'krath clan leaders in a single sweep during the Dragon-Cubi war.One by one, the provinces began collapsing - a revolution took Kebre like a fever, along with the life of its draconic governor. The Governorate became the Republic of Primorsk, under the more-less conscious rule of a Sergej A. Pskov, the first being in charge for as long as anyone recalls, and a former tailor. Set out towards brighter tomorrows, the republic lasted for all of seventeen days before the main portion of the army under the lead of General Udar returned from the south. As a result, the Governorate is one of the few countries retaining their name and structure from the old days, and Chairman Pskov one of the few beings that experienced the joy of being cast into the pedestal of the victory monument.
At present, several thousand years later, and roughly 30 before DMFA timeline start, the governor is Inzir Zezzuva (his twin Uzir is the Minister of National Defense) and things are looking as good as ever - well, except for a few minor issues, like constantly worsening national economy due to the pirates from Catpaw Isles, the eastern city of Kallisburg threatening to declare autonomy, taking with it a good share of through-border trade and national income, never mind the recent rumours from their southern neighbour, the rather isolationist Independent Holy Republic of Tearasfant.
[/spoiler]

A few facts - Kebre's demographic split is roughly 75% being/phoenix B , 8% Gryphon B, 8% Demon and 9% everything else*. The most important cubi clans in country are Taun, Zezzuva, and Ja'krath. The largest demon families are the Vlkodav clan and the Smrtislav clan, both of whom have a fair political representation.
That said, it is rare to find a Being in any sort of a significant political post outside village, or at best city councils, with the exception of the church perhaps.

The country's eastern neighbour is the Kingdom of HollyAnn**. Not much can be said about it, really.
On the south are the Bogs, a large area of moor-like, muddy terrain that creates a natural border with Tearasfant, and prevents territorial disputes. There's also a lot of movement going across the border, those in the know - the strongarm in this area are the Grounders , an anti-wing group that has a lot of unofficial support down south.
The west is a seashore, with the mentioned cluster of five islands dubbed Catpaw Isles - the largest of them, the "sole" if you wish, is where Ti'Baltr is located.
Up north, we got the Am'Hor mountains which stretch from the sea to.. well beyond Kingdom of HollyAnn , and are the reason why sea trade is so important for Kebrean economy - for most, it's easier to circumnavigate them than attempt hiking through, or crossing the Magnet plains.
The Magnet Plains used to be the location of the mountain palace where the current Imperator Ascendens observed the country, and set forth plans to be carried out when the cycle would turn towards his rule next. It is not known precisely what happened, but he and the B'tar clan leader died in a manner that turned the mountains in a radius of roughly 50 kilometres from the epicentre into flatland, whose grey-black soil is ferromagnetic, and can be used to strengthen the power of ritual spells. The Free City of Mag'nithor which lies here fully profits from the fact, serving as a home for miners, and also acting as a stop for anyone wanting to cross the mountains through here.
Somewhere in the mountains, Kallis's Citadel is located. Little is known about it except for the occassional loud explosion, and subsequent SORRY! flying above the mountain peaks written in rainbow-colour smoke.

Major cities - [spoiler]
Kebre divides into the Oriss Region, Central Kebre, The Bogs,  and Kallisburg region,
Oriss region consists of the west of the country, with key cities being Port Oriss, the capital, and Port Kolma. The region mostly lives from seawise trade, goods being transported from the rest of the country via the Forked River. A number of fortifications, most important being Fort Solig, protect the cities from any outside danger.
Port Kolma is the southernmost city, and a bit of a special case - it used to be an independant state but was conquered by Kebre during the post-collapse years. As such, there are a few creatures that resent the new rule, and the nearby Fort Kagan fulfills the dual role of protecting citizens from harm at sea, and keeping them from having silly ideas.

Central Kebre is where most of the industrial capacity of Kebre lies. The citizens of Kolina mostly occupy themselves with woodwork - the town is responsible for almost half of Kebre's wood production ,and virtually every book printed. The massive Kolina Press printworks belong to the current Minister of Culture and Literacy, Uriel Ja'Krath.
The residents of Veldun either mine coal, ores, or work in one of the many factories, such as Kotva Shipyards. The town is permanently surrounded by a thick cloud of soot and smog, leading the locals to joke their air is stronger than Oriss's beer.
Novzgrad, located at the spring of the Forked River , is the youngest and smallest city, per population count ,and the current scientific central of the country. Most of its citizens are either researchers and engineers, or Gryphons B from the nearby mountains. The city is one of the two in the country that use hydroelectric power , the other being Kallisburg.
Zalmar, located in the delta of the forked river further south and reclaimed by effortful drying of the bogs as recently as 200 years ago, is where the bulk of the country's agricultural production comes from. The Zalmar Agricultural Institute, is one of the best and most subscribed to institutes of higher education in the country, with as many as 300 students doing "Thaumatization of Agricultural Production" alone.

The Bogs, further south aren't densely inhabited - the most important city there is Gorod Kur. Its citizens mostly work drying and reforming the land, at least officially  - this is the place where folk who pissed off someone important, or made other sort of a life-expectancy-limiting move go to hide. If you end up in this town ,you most likely fully deserve it.

The last ,Kallisburg region is dominated by Kallisburg itself - a personal project of Kallis Ja'Krath who used it to prove to everyone on the Oriss Council of Ministers that hydroelectric power is viable, carried the project out, ruled the city for a decade or two ,grew bored, and retreated into the mountains. Of note is also the massive, soulpowered Anchoring Tower, which prevents teleportation in and out the city, and a ten-kilometer radius around it, built after a failed terrorist attack on the Ja'krath dam.
One of the most modern and beautiful cities in Kebre, those in charge try hard to compete with the capital, and most would rather see themselves as independant, or a part of the neigbouring Kingdom of HollyAnn.  
[/spoiler]

*There's a significant Were population living in the mountains north. Furthermore, until their extermination by Governor Arazi Taun, a large amount of Were cossacks lived along the Forked River.

**If you care, this was grandfathered in since the first DnDMFA game was a dungeon crawl which dealt with Dark Pegasus, and when that bit ended, I had to make up a country.


That I think would do for a description. So, interested, anyone?
I shall answer further questions if anyone asks. Also, rewards for anyone who read up so far.

Notable rulers - an excerpt from my old GM notes.

[spoiler]
Stepan Alexejevic Pskov, the more-less puppet leader of the uprising that claimed the life of the draconic governor, and the only being to have ruled the lands Kebre, at least to some extent in recorded history.
His newly declared Republic of Primorsk lasted for seventeen days before Port Oriss was reconquered by general Udar and his soldiers. According to a rumour, Pskov's disembodied head in a statue commemorating these happenings contains his trapped soul,
Arazi Taun. Silver fox. One of the first modern rulers, stopped the raids on Kebre from the cossacks indigenous to the Forked River (wolf weres, here originates the fear of "werewolves")  area by an extensive military campaign aimed at their extermination. Died in an accident when attempting to utilise the souls of the same for his ascension. Perhaps by coincidence, the site of this accident was chosen hundreds of years later by Dark Pegasus to build his castle.

Saint Pravoslav (own name Arvid)  Polecat. An angel, and another of the odd cases of a creature being declared a saint by the church of Christ the Were.He declared the church as the state religion of Kebre. Under his lead, other cults and churches were slowly but efficiently pushed out of Kebre and some (like church of Christ the Furry) were declared heresy, with all that  usually follows. Historians suspect his sanity was somewhat adversely impacted by an unsuccessful assasination attempt later on. Ejected from office by a coup after attempting some of his more extravagant plans (post-assasination attempt) such as attempting to launch a crusade, tripling the church funding, renaming the week days after cardinal sins  and constructing a ninety-meter enchanted statue of himself made of pure gold which greeted passersby by singing out of a repertoire of annoyingly cheery tunes. Fled , possibly with church aid (he demonstrated at least some mental acuity by taking along a host of rather pricey possessions of both his own and the state treasury) .  Rumour has it he is still alive somewhere, though Church of CtW denies such claims.


Kagan of Smrtislav clan (another demon, goat, one horn off) - biggest expansion of Kebre (in an attempt to outdo Vlkodav clan), both southwards and eastwards - reconquering some breakaways and conquering others. Slain in a duel with the Exalted Lord of Korma (neigboring state to the east,  since reabsorbed by Kingdom of Holly-Ann), his death put an end to large-scale expansion of Kebre for the following 1600 years.
Salmac the Watchful, a rather paranoid feline angel which  built several fortresses and barracks, some of which survived until today. His rule was the heyday of Okhrana, especially the division aimed against internal enemy - overtones of it are sort of "heard" even today. Cut the profits to smugglers and pirates almost eliminating the former.  He was the longest-acting ruler of modern history of autonomous Kebre, being assasinated while inspecting a fortress being built - shot through the eye by a bullet (suggests one of the Ha'kun guns being used).


Inzir and Uzir Zezzuva  -  rulers for the last 340  years. Inzir is the present governor while his twin is the minister of national defense. It was this government where Kallis Ja'krath first became the newly appointed minister of technology, then left in a huff to successfully fund the building of her own city. The basic appearance of the two is of two identical ,  except for uniforms.

[/spoiler]


Another note - Church of Christ the Were, the state church of Kebre - the following is verbatim from the relevant DnDMFA article. Many thanks to Tapewolf for the creation of Churches of Christ the Furry , and Christ the Human, which inspired me to come up with this one.
Of course, the allignment and domains info is largely irrelevant here.

[spoiler]

Church of Christ the Were

The human, the Intercessor in the path of our ills, who negates them. The animal, the Comforter who is a strength in the dark. The furre, the Tester who forces us to become the sum of our parts. Thus is the creed. - Father Feofilakt, Archbishop of Port Oriss and Patriarch of Kebre

Heretics, with their hundreds of saints and icons, they are polytheists under the guise of worshipping the one true god and his lupine son. - Lucrus, Bishop of Kolma


The Church of Christ the Were is yet another christian denomination, common in the northern lands and among the more civilised weres. The followers believe in the Trinity of the lupine Spirit, which bestows the thaumaturgic gifts of god, the human Son,who gave up all of his magic to purify the world, and the lycanthropic Father, the ruling, creator aspect, all being together in one deity. Asides from that, they place importance on numerous icons of hundreds of saints, some of them decisively seem like creatures, (Saint Ilya the Dragonslayer has suspicious headwings propping up his halo, and in fact, some apocrypha state he eloped with her instead, after persuading her of the benefits of vegetarianism) a fact that is rather ironic since there are no less myths and misconceptions about them than in the other churches. On the other hand, it is perhaps the denomination most tolerant to magic, at least of the spontaneous kind, considering instances to be miracles and proof of their faith.

Allignment: LG

Domains: Law, Good,Inquisition, Community,Magic,Protection,Strength


[/spoiler]

The full article can be found here, for reference - rhe material therein might pop up at times.


What i cannot create, i do not understand. - Richard P. Feynman
This is DMFA. Where major species don't understand clothing. So innuendo is overlooked for nuendo. .
Saphroneth



VAE

#1
Ugh, since I'm apparently an idiot late at night.
This is an interest thread, at first, hence whoever wants in should, to say, make a clawmark on the door.

EDIT:

Also a few things that slipped by when I was writing up tons of info.

The tech level in Kebre and such is sort of all over due to magitech, but as far as pure technology goes ,electricity is the hot new thing (think the 1900something Paris expo with moving pavements and electric arc lamps - that's the sort of thing you might see in Kallisburg) while, say, in terms of guns, muzzle loader rifles and pistols, and blunderbusses just about compete with traditional, more enchantable weaponry, and the hot new thing in military use is the mitrailleusse.
What i cannot create, i do not understand. - Richard P. Feynman
This is DMFA. Where major species don't understand clothing. So innuendo is overlooked for nuendo. .
Saphroneth



littlekreen


Kafzeil

And you shall have my axe.

I mean, I'm interested, but you already knew that.
Real men wear Hats.<br /><br />Raz: Lili! An evil madman is building a fleet of psycho-death tanks to take over the world, and we\'re the only ones who can stop him! <br />Lili Zanotto: OH MY GOD! Let\'s make out! -Psychonauts

Ghostwish


VAE

Quote from: Ghostwish on May 31, 2012, 07:56:08 PM
Are the cavity searches mandatory?
Dental cavities, definitely. You could have cyanide there.
What i cannot create, i do not understand. - Richard P. Feynman
This is DMFA. Where major species don't understand clothing. So innuendo is overlooked for nuendo. .
Saphroneth



rammenstein

I am...interested, depending. I've got a character concept that's been rolling around in my head since Tezkitty drew my fursona picture. It will definately need to be run by you and/or Herr Meanster first, though, as I don't know if the idea is even applicable.

Boom.

Tipod

I'm here, daring to be stupid and different.
"How is it that I should not worship Him who created me?"
"Indeed, I do not know why."

Ghostwish

Welp, so long as I get to be first in the watermelon humping contest, I'm in!

VAE

And with that, having five people in means that regardless of who else gives a damn, the game has enough folks in to happen.
During the week to go on, we'll be processing charsheets. If approved, slap them here. If you still want to join on top of all, mention it here, too.
What i cannot create, i do not understand. - Richard P. Feynman
This is DMFA. Where major species don't understand clothing. So innuendo is overlooked for nuendo. .
Saphroneth



rammenstein

#10
Name: Jaes Straken
Age: 24
Race: Half Being/Demon
Species: Cross Fox
Physical Description: Jaes Straken is a dark furred cross fox. He has messy white headfur, contrasting sharply with his bodyfur. He normally wears a sleevless shirt, cargo pants and combat boots. Around his neck is a pair of dog tags, and he has a tattoo on his left bicep representing his unit. Jaes stands at about five ten, weighing in at around one sixty pounds.
Notable Equipment: Nothing notable
Magic/Natural Abilities: Boom Magic - Jaes is able to create blast waves via magical energy. He can also control their directionality and propagation.
History: Jaes was born in Veldun to one Conrad Straken, Being, a product of a one night stand between her and an as yet unnamed Demon. Due to a quirk in his genetics, Jaes' demonic heritage did not fully manifest. Despite slightly heightened physical abilities, he retains the appearance of a normal Being. The main trait he got from his father was an affinity for magic. Specifically, what he calls "Boom Magic."

Conrad Straken is a miner, and a mountain of a woman. She instilled in her son the values of hard work and sacrifice, and when Jaes turned fourteen he got his first job as a miner, using his Boom Magic to great effect. Four years later, he left to join the Kebrean Military.

Jaes has been a military fox for six years now. His abilities and special brand of magic proved to be extremely effective in a military capacity, and he excelled. He is currently assigned to Gorod Kur, in the hopes that his Boom Magic will prove effective against the mudmen.
Trivia: Jaes Straken has extensive knowledge of mundane explosives. He uses this knowledge to increase the effectiveness of his own magical abilities.
Ranger Color: Crimson.

Boom.

Tipod

#11
Name: Oyugun

Age: 78

Race: Earth Elemental

Species (if applicable):
Mudman

Physical Description: Broad-shouldered and standing at six feet, six inches tall, Oyugun's body is typical of other mudkin save for a few differences. Like the others, his body is composed of a viscous, muddy soil, with moss patterned across his back like a mantle, and he slithers along on a column of ooze rather than walk on two legs. Unlike other mudmen, both arms are formed of bundled roots and vines, allowing him to easily and cleanly grasp things from distances of up to a dozen feet. Atop his shoulders, he wears the skull of an adult horse, a trophy awarded to him for faithful service to tribe and country.

Notable Equipment: Horse skull and nothing else.

Magic/Natural Abilities: As a mudman, Oyugun requires only moisture and relatively loose soil to live happily and is mostly impervious to physical trauma. He can change his shape, add more mass to himself, easily burrow through anything short of solid rock or concrete, and has a minor dabbling in the art of geomancy. Compared to his elders, however, his mystical affinities lie just short of novice, leaving him to rely more on physical prowess in a fight.

History: A Bogs native, Oyugun spent most of his life doing what all good earthkin do: mind their own business, living off the land and performing sacred rituals to keep the marshes healthy and overgrown. Sadly, as the outside world grew larger and more civilized, it became clear that the mudkin could no longer roam their turf in peace. Damming and terraforming has shrunk their boundaries considerably, and now, Kebre dares to encroach further by establishing settlements such as Gorod Kur in the area. Combined with Grounder activity and animosities between Kebre and Tearasfant, the natives fear that they can no longer remain neutral and isolated. Some younger members have already taken to vandalizing and assaulting trespassing Beings and Creatures (dubbed "meatpeople" by the mudkin), or even outright facilitating grounders to cause trouble, and as tensions rise, it's only a matter of time until some State entity decides to crack down on them, doubtless with the support of a public that views them as slimy, savage monsters.

Oyugun wishes to stop things before they get any worse, aiming for a total recall of all foreign settlement in exchange for tighter control of their younger, more restless kin. As such, he's one of the few elementals willing to leave the safety of his home and venture off into a cruel and apathetic world.

On a personal level, Oyugun is a hopeful yet grudgingly bitter person; where Creatures are proud of their military and civil progress, all he sees are the pointless deaths of others and the rampant exploitation of nature in its purest form, all for ideals that he can't begin to see the purpose of. Just watching the development of Gorod Kur has shown him how merciless the State can be in spite of its civilized veneer: martial law, the killing of dissidents, and abuses by its military. Combined with local misconceptions about the mudkin as cannibals who raise the dead and kill men for their skulls, neither group has been left with a positive impression of the other. Oyugun feels that unless he puts forth an effort to speak with Kebre's ministers and plead his case, then both of their people will find themselves fighting a petty, vindictive conflict that serves no-one's interests.

But in order to bring out the best in both Kebre and his kin, he will have to act polite. As much as it hurts to look at a Kebre greatcoat or silkshirt and not immediately besmirch their honor.

Trivia: Mudkin, while lacking in all but one facial feature (eyes), have a strong sense of identifying each other through trophies and outward appearances. Those who help keep the marshes healthy wear flowers and fungi, those who fight against hostile fauna and intruders wear the bones of their victims, or some might simply make up their own "outfits" based upon personal preference. This practice causes them to identify Creatures and Beings in a similar manner, such as calling Kebre generals "greatcoats" and their administrators "silkshirts."

Ranger Color: Brown
"How is it that I should not worship Him who created me?"
"Indeed, I do not know why."

littlekreen

#12
For those that like justified text and decent paragraphing here is the gdocs link.

Name: Fergus
Age: 15
Race: Gryphon
Species (if applicable): Type B

Physical Description:
Fergus is a red gryphon (B) that's lanky but tall. Bright apple green eyes as colorful as his disposition match red feathers on his body that sport a similar bright shade of purple and blue hues at their fringes. Though that fur covering his body is entirely red it lacks the coarseness of puberty. His body is lithe and not particularly muscular though watching him at the fair shows him more than strong enough in awkwardly carrying comparatively large objects around the carnival on two legs with wrist hooks. His voice is somewhat high-pitched but not grating in sounding like an eternal child enthralled with his works. He is often wearing fur coloring of some sort from the local booths as the workers far prefer Fergus to the fat husband.

Notable Equipment:Collar, Pack, and Tools

Details:[Spoiler]
  • Collar - Fergus wears a collar that says where to return him to the circus if lost. Fergus usually explains it as a relic from childhood. It is a nondescript leather collar that is far too large for child however and has clearly been replaced lately.
  • Pack - Attached by straps to Fergus and clips to his collar it comprises a front-facing pack and two side packs of thick material to hold his things in. The pack also has a cloth covering at the base of his wings covering the misshapen lumps that formed due to his damaged wings.
  • Tools - If nobody stops him Fergus will carry his tools with him despite their weight. The various tools include thinks to manipulate mechanical equipment, general pans, a small sewing pack, handleless cooking supplies, and other miscellaneous tools he requires while maintaining the carnival. The load fills his pack almost entirely though they are all very tightly packed and well-organized. All these tools are mechanically adapted for someone without proper hands, he couldn't employ normal tools, though despite that Fergus has become as adept as one can with them. Repeated abuse from the wife's husband to get back to work and constant hounding saw to a grueling maintenance for these tools and they are all in immaculate condition. There are however an abnormal amount of clamp tools in his pack to hold things together where he would need hands to do so. That does occasionally limit the variety of things he could do without a workshop or an assistant though he usually has plenty of either at the circus.
[/spoiler]

Magic/Natural Abilities: (Icanfixit! (Su) - repair, Sabotage (Su) - unrepair, Fixated (Ex) - learn till you drop)

Details:[spoiler]
  • Icanfixit! (Su) - Fergus has no magic abilities except through his unnatural affinity for the inner workings of the rides at his carnival. This includes most mechanical equipment that one would find at a carnival, or even more advanced kinds, where Fergus can identify what equipment is broken and how to fix it. If the machine is not one he has built before or parts are unavailable this is considerably harder which will require progressively more rube-goldberg-like solutions to increasing damage unless he builds a copy of the machine in question from blueprints or at least has a service manual.
  • Sabotage (Su) - This is related to his previous ability, being the reverse, in intentionally taking things apart. Breaking complex mechanics isn't really within Fergus's thought process but if convinced can do very effective subtle damage to machinery given enough time to look at it.
  • Fixated (Ex) - Fergus fixates easily and is difficult to dislodge from the task once on it too long. While it may be beneficial at times it largely amounts to a more onerous compulsive learning which at the carnival has resulted Fergus having a wide corpus of skills to pull from. If fixated on learning something he will continue doing that thing and learning effectively until collapsing from sleep deprivation. Concerted efforts have to be taken to dislodge him from the obsessed task or he will not respond but the wife of the recently deceased carnival manager or those pulling hard on his collar can instantly garner his attention when she has something that needs doing.
[/spoiler]

History:
TL;DR summary I feel dirty for having wrote:[spoiler]Captured by an extremist group of grounders Fergus's as a newborn his life was harsh and unforgiving. At least the extremists forgave each other for their repeated murders but while Fergus survived he got the hammer and thus his deformity. Abused and indoctrinated he was eventually rescued by a gryphon adventurer he knows not the name of whom brought him to a circus where he then lived. The carny folk would have taken care of him if not for being put to work by the carnival boss. The boss worked him for long hours in many different things much like the extremists and Fergus's indoctrination kept him alive. The carny folk took less kindly to such exploitation but were placated when the boss took a wife to care for what the carny folk thought of as his adopted child. Fergus did more and more under the oppressive fat man until the fat man's death by way of idleness came in actually doing so little for the carnival. Suspicions were raised but nobody cared except for Fergus and the widow. They instead care for a carnival now out from under an iron fist but Fergus and the widow still live under the fat man's shadow. More so for Fergus in endless self-imposed toil and a widow that can see scars which don't heal.[/spoiler]

Full back story as collapsible wall o' text[spoiler]
   Taken very young, likely as a newborn, by an extremist grounder group with the aim of redeeming the winged into honest living. This redeeming largely meant a lot of forgiving each other for murder with winged unwilling to be saved so they turned to taking weaker targets that they could "re-educate". Fergus was one of the few that survived their brutish mutilations of shattering the base of his wings and the attentions of a willing farm vet's application of skills. It was only thanks to prompt attention of healers that Fergus survived at all but his body would never be the same.
Still after recovery he was young enough to not know better. In Fergus's formative years was taught basic skills and outright indoctrination. One half told he could be a useful person if learning skills making up for his deformity of wings and morality where the other had him do as they asked with hopeful smiles as it was all he knew. This became with rapid speed to Never to talk back or be beaten for being too weak to obey in giving in to 'the immorality of his nature'. He did chores, cleaned things, recited their doctrine, and also eventually gained enough trust that he could leave to get their supplies.
The latter done without question soon attracted the attention of another gryphon adventurer due to Fergus's obvious injuries. The attention was met with fear of the 'unmoral' even as the adventure tried to interact with Fergus on occasion. Increasingly investigative, furious with time and details, the adventurer followed Fergus home as evidence mounted rapidly for his abuse.
   That day coming home with supplies blurs in adventurer for Fergus. The gryphon adventurer showed up to have a 'talk' about Fergus soon after Fergus entered the gate. Just beyond Fergus was beaten out of sight for his crime of leading someone to their door. Much more their anger when those threats are winged. This did not go on for long owing to good hearing in smashed down door burning a horrifying image of an armed adventurer into little Fergus's brain.
Wide eyed then faint Fergus woke up to being carried by someone bearing a good deal of wounds and smelling like wood smoke. Later given to a very old woman in a show robe talking to the adventurer. The gryphon took his blur with him on leaving as Fergus then on spent a short while with his new carnival's gypsy woman. Though Largely hiding in a cabinet while the old woman finally coaxed him out with food and a promise to read him new books.
   Soon Fergus was taken again after a meddling fat man got wind of the gypsy's new freeloader and set off to see about it. Boss of the carnival Fergus found himself in that fat man didn't take kindly Fergus's presence. Though while screaming at the scowling old woman when Fergus's bootlicking sparked a liking for the freeloader. Immediately put to work, soon after interrogating Fergus about his skills to pay his way, the fat man never hit Fergus but for a tireless tirade of verbal abuse driving chores. Allowed to stay at his new home as long as the fat man's demands were done even until Fergus passed out from exhaustion.
Not knowing how to perform the tasks left the carnival folk doing their best teaching Fergus out of the fat man's wrath. As much with such work they well raised one of their own in his frenzied obedient willingness to memorize. Merely just obedient at first since Fergus saw authority in the fat man but time and care found a place in the people that kept him safe. Though as he took to his new home looks of Fergus to the fat man in adoration of his adoptive father disgusted everyone but Fergus. Especially so for the fat man himself.
   Fergus's eyes always saw a father more tasks to do where the fat owner saw looks expecting him to take care of Fergus when he got sick or hungry. That soon put the fat man off in search of a wife to take care of the miscreant now that others of the carnival saw Fergus as their own. More that they saw Fergus as his own.
What little money the fat man had with a good deal of smarm found him soon married to a young gryphon woman. Once the fat man came back Fergus reluctantly dealt with his new wife after being berated to do as she says. Though he wouldn't eat with her and avoided his eyes regular meals not circus food if at a distance let with someone that responded with care respond when those eyes looked up.
   Ponderous hands of that fat man soon won out over courting at marriage as the young phoenix B woman lost her youth under the fat man's not so idle hands while leaning more on Fergus for support. Fergus becoming older now, distant but proficient, left the fat man far more time to tend to himself in the cold-hearted prison he held his 'family' in. Fond of telling each other stories and caring for the other's injuries he told her how he came to be there and both stuck together from then on. The fat man often remarked in that prison they lived in of her treatment a sickening thing that 'coddles the worthless boy'.
The circus folk now begrudgingly placated still hated the fat man though he didn't need their approval if they wanted checks as someone else would keep them happy. The boss lady and Fergus were often left to take care of that wake left by the fat man. When others needed helping hands from hunger, sickness, or injury the boss's wife and Fergus took care of the sole interests in their mutual existence of the circus folk as much as each other. Fergus saw to fixing the carnival as neither wanted the fat man running to fix emergencies or even maintain things. The circus folks hatred for the fat man helped him suffer penance so the rest of the circus would not have to suffer his wrath.
   Eventually idleness took its toll on the fat man's heart and it stopped with most walk past him twitching in the mud. Only one gave tears for the fat man as Fergus cried for the one who would not cry for him. Though the window arrived to console Fergus on the rainy night could not cry anymore. Few saw that corpse dragged to mortuary on a cart that night but the circus folk came to dig his hole for the service next morning.
That service saw a headless body, blamed on mechanical accident, though many came in their funeral best out of due respect. Inconsolable Fergus cried next to a prematurely old woman which with stone faced nothing said of the fat man at his eulogy 'rest in pieces'.
A nothing of emotion also occupied her time at first more than talking to Fergus but whispered along with Fergus through the carnival on occasion. As folk shook off the angry shadow haunting them with great joy the show went on for them even as the widow took heart in their recovery. Worry instead replaced the empty feeling as she watched Fergus always deep in his works. The nothing abated entirely as Fergus made the carnival take on a life of its own in constant search of the widow's smile but still under the fat man's shadow. As she stops Fergus working under what became an immobile old shadow he tells her often that maybe with the circus better the adventurer will show so she won't have to be alone. It makes her smile at least so with new days ahead and work to do Fergus smiles with her.
   The widow however proved unwilling to take over her hated husband's place setting Fergus instead to running day to day things at the carnival while she dealt with the money. Workers far more happy that Fergus was hard at work the last few years saw all prosper. Good fortune at least sees the circus folks laughing for themselves but taking Fergus with them to perhaps help sew together his damaged past. As that portion of his life came to a close slowly his indoctrination has gone with it but the scars remain.
Though at night when the crew tells stories around campfires they retell stories that he has the old man's head in a box somewhere where Fergus hears it berate him still. It's only partially in jest as Fergus hears others quietly blame it on the wife or the gypsy. At least among them it's always told with a happy twisted ending. Fergus is happy to foster the rumors anyway and never says too much about it even if he knows the truth. That mystery grew on itself to feed haunted mystery to patrons that the carnival runs on.
More pressing a spectre, for the widow looking at the fat man's bill books, are demons are at the carnival's door in recent years. Old ghosts of loaned money now come haunt them but the folk hold their own.[/spoiler]

Trivia:
Collapsible[spoiler]
  • Proficient primarily with basic carpentry, brazing, mechanics, and logic structures with which he repairs the arcade but his efforts at the carnival require a shallow knowledge of a wide field of skills.
  • The base of his wings are both misshapen and badly grown. Internal wing muscles are barely attached to the rest of the skeletal base as bones did not heal correctly at all from their original aggressive mutilation. As such he cannot fly or glide lacking the strength to flap the wings enough to provide lift or hold them beside his body. Though it does still cause him a little pain to do other than just hold them up in place he has enough strength to move them about after years of recovery but not much else.
  • The specific grounder cult's wish to keep the winged from procreating affected Fergus rather young. After an ill-advised farm procedure subsequent medical attention Fergus lacks any interest whatsoever in related activities and clearly has not begun puberty.
  • Doesn't usually get angry but once holding a grudge has been known to sabotage the unattended belongings of unwanted patrons in ways that prove unfortunate at much later times. The husband's wife has happily bailed Fergus out twice for his implications in abusing the possessions of a certain fat man or other unwanted patrons of the circus.
[/spoiler]

Ranger Color: Maroon

Kafzeil

Sorry for the delay with the character sheet. Been busy as Hell this week.
Real men wear Hats.<br /><br />Raz: Lili! An evil madman is building a fleet of psycho-death tanks to take over the world, and we\'re the only ones who can stop him! <br />Lili Zanotto: OH MY GOD! Let\'s make out! -Psychonauts

VAE

No prob. Come to IRC today - I'll be finally free, and owl's there all the time
What i cannot create, i do not understand. - Richard P. Feynman
This is DMFA. Where major species don't understand clothing. So innuendo is overlooked for nuendo. .
Saphroneth



AmberCross

With my character approved I add to here:

Name: Christopher
Age: 17
Race: Cubi. He thinks. But actually Dragon. Maybe. He doesn't know. Which is to say no one told him.
Species (if applicable): Umm... what? Snow leopard. Yeah, that sounds legit.

Physical Description: He looks suspiciously like a snow leopard. If a snow leopard were to walk on two legs. And have batlike wings. And be light blue instead of white. With dark blue instead of black. And have darker blue hair. Actually come to think of it, he looks suspiciously like Clan Leader Seme, but with blue instead of red and bat wings instead of feather. Which is really weird because they aren't related at all. And if anyone finds it important, his eyes are hazely grayish blue or purple. Something around there. Kinda. If no one finds it important however, they are green.

Notable Equipment: Clothing. He usually wears clothing. Oh, and this tube thing I describe in the next section.

Magic/Natural Abilities: He's still pretty young, but has shown a pretty good affinity towards magic, especially ice magic. Plus technically he's a dragon and can theoretically become a large rampaging creature at a moment's whim. But he doesn't know that. He's at that age where he's expecting his headwings to show up any day now. His mother also made sure he was trained at fighting for reasons mentioned in the history part, so he is proficient with most melee weapons and a few ranged ones as well as fighting with magic. Which isn't to say he's good, just proficient. He is only 17 after all. Instead of carrying around weapons everywhere, he carries a small rod which he can shape ice weapons around to make them extra durable. It works as the hilt of a sword, the center of a quarterstaff, the grip for a longbow (no, I don't know how a longbow made completely out of ice functions either), and several other such weapons.

History: (Like most history, this part is kind of long and boring and you can skip it if you want.) Anyway, so a long time ago, there was this empire ruled by dragons. Except somewhere, someone pissed off someone else and a war started. Cubi were fighting dragons, dragons were fighting cubi, fun times. Point is, around these parts at least, the dragons lost. Or lost power at any rate as their empire crumbled into fragments and are now a bunch of smaller countries. Unsurprisingly, there were many survivors on both sides of the war, including a couple of dragons that may or may not have been royalty (depending on who tells the story), one of which was a strapping young lad who called himself Drake. Also surviving this war was a large clan of cubi made up of many refuges called Clan Seme. One such refuge was a young succubi named Misale who lost her entire family and was very resentful of dragons because of that for a couple of hundreds of years. She had mostly mellowed out by the time she met previously mentioned strapping young lad and they (well, she anyway) fell hopelessly in love. After a rather towdy affair during which she somehow failed to notice this fellow was a dragon, he left her for reasons he never bothered to explain and she found herself preggers. Unsurprisingly since dragons are more powerful than cubi, the child turned out to be a dragon instead of a cubi much to the mother's horror. This child was a constant reminder of the dragon who broke her heart as well as those who killed her family so she hatched a plan to raise it hating dragons and think it was a cubi. This could only last so long until the child figured out the truth at which point the child would (if Misale played her cards right...) feel so guilty about being a dragon would develop a terrible inferiority complex and do anything for her to make it up to her. She gets a dragon to do her bidding against other dragons in a wonderfully complex plot for revenge and as a bonus the kid is likely to end up with self-loathing. Wonderful, delicious self hatred and all that other stuff. It's hard to say whether getting a child from a dragon was her plan all along to get her own private minion, or if she only convinced herself it was after having her heart broken and reminding her of the war. Either way she's been telling Chris she loves him while secretly hating him and just waiting until he is old enough to be useful. However Chris accidentally short-circuited that plan by deciding to run away and see the world since a side effect of her carefully overseeing his life was that he felt smothered by her. There are a few others in his 'family' that actually do like him and since Misale never told anyone her plan, everyone else also thinks he'll probably be a cubi too. It seems unfeasible that not one of the cubi Chris grew up with would notice small details like his 'snow leopard' tail having a tuft of fur at the end that is spaded, despite him using lots of magic his clan mark hasn't come in yet, or that one of the spells that came most easily to him was essentially ice breath, but hey... preconception is a powerful thing. Currently he has very recently run away from home on a quest to see the world, join the circus, and all those other things young rebellious teens get it into their heads to do at that age.

Trivia:
  • When he gets mad he starts to look purple for some reason.
  • He usually wears his hair long and tied in the back.
  • He is very ticklish, but only on the sides.
  • His dad is probably not really named Drake, but he looks a lot like his son regardless. Not that anyone but Misale would know.
  • Somewhere along the line as a child, Chis got it into his head that rain is just really sad snow so he used to always try to cheer it up. He 'knows better now', but will still do so anyway when no one's looking.
Ranger Color: That really nice shade of green somewhere between forest and emerald. But I suppose purple works too.

Ghostwish

#16
Name: Zanfib Black
Age: 19
Race: Being
Species (if applicable): Ringtail
Physical Description: A lean, body-builder physique, about 5'2, at a peckish 140 lbs. Unlike most ringtail cats, his family has the distinction of a black on white coloration. His eyes are purple, and his ears are quite over-sized. His tail is very long, and extremely well kept, something of a point of vanity for the ringtail.
Notable Equipment: He carries around a few crystals, in which he stores psionic energy for later use.
Magic/Natural Abilities: Psionicist, generalist.
History: [spoiler]
Ah, Zanfib. How wonderfully ignorant and brilliant plans come to amazingly twisted and perfected fruit. To understand him, you must understand his parents. Parents that should have never been parents.

They were a pair of mages, you see, and if anyone ever combined the mass of their egos, the black hole that would erupt would surely swallow our galaxy. How exactly they were able to put down their vanity mirrors and see each other remains a mystery to this very day. How exactly they were able to think of each other past their own, diluted self-improtant views is also baffling. Their decision to have a child is easily explained by gross stupidity. They thought they could produce a perfect mage, a master of the arcane, a powerful spellcaster. You may notice 'happy child' is not to be found in these expectations.

Such came Zanfib, who was, if you believe it, a being who is incapable of magic. Zanfib Black, the family name coming from the ringtail family's distinctive fur coloration, could not use magic, had no inclination for magic, and thanks to his non-parents, would soon come to hate it, mock it, and look down upon all who used it.

They sent him to the best of arcane schools, the tution of which would rival SAIA, oblivious to who they were dealing with, and what they would unleash. Never a touch of love, never warm guidance, never true parenting. Zanfib would never know these things. He knew only expectations, and goals that seemed failures to him. So he went to the schools of magic, where he never learned a single spell. And yet he would learn all manner of power, using the school as an impromptu firing range. He occupied his time cheating on tests, and fouling up their experiments. He became a master of vanishing from class, and yet the teacher would mark him as present. People would argue with him, only to be turned into gibbering fouls. Sometimes, he would even mind-slave people to do ridiculous, silly things. He ruined a professor or two with such nasty games. And yet he never cast a spell. he could even do this while in the midst of an anti-magic field. It baffled everyone in the school, except for one person who knew why.

And it certainately wasn't his parents. No, ignorant egoists that they were, they thought him some new breed of mage. Thank gods the headmaster had an intelligent mind that he actually used. He saw the troublesome and dark-natured ringtail for what he was.

A psion. A master of the mind and the tremendous force that it holds. He was, in essence, a living joke that the universe was having on his parents. He was what all mages played at, using their minds to wrestle with magic, and yet failed to become, which would to use his mind to harness his mind, and the power that it held. He was not a mage, and never would be one.

The headmaster saw this, and had Zanfib sent to a specialized tutor. Someone who would hopefully be able to wrangle the withdrawn and misunderstood being into control.

Zanfib was sent, alone, to a backroom office inside of the school. And although he had probed the headmaster's mind as best he could, he could not figure if this was just some dumb prank to get rid of the obnoxious ringtail. He figured that once again he was shunned, because he was different, and they were perhaps looking down upon him as they always did. He was right in the midst of that train of thought when a voice, strong and echoing, sounded through his mind.

No, young one, not here. You will not be dismissed as strange and inferior, for we are equal. We are one and the same, you and I.

And he looked up, right as the door to the office swung open and he found himself looking up at a russian blue cat cubi.

We are psions.

That was more than a few years ago. It's nearly a decade later, and while Soliat continues to call the ringtail back at times, Zanfib has been on his own for a while now. He's done well, quite well financially, and continues to train and learn as a psion. Although he has managed to come to terms with a few of his many issues, he remains an over-all angry personality, tends to be arrogant, and it doesn't take much to make him offer a snide remark, or outright snap at someone.

And speaking of his issues, they tie together with his financial success quite well. During some of the duller moments in Soliat's care, when he was letting his brain recharge and wasn't attempting to solve Soliat's latest puzzle game, Zanfib occupied his time sketching and writing short-stories. When he began applying the discipline and focus of psionic training, this quickly developed in graphically illustrated written novels.

... and then puberty hit, and Zanfib found an all new way to occupy his time and bury his issues.

The introduction of the estrogen-bearing gender into Zanfib's life caused some very subtle yet powerful changes in the ringtail. He found he had a hidden series of talents that the prime and proper would scoff at in public, but envy in private. It didn't take an earth-shattering event for Zanfib to connect the dots.. and start writing (and drawing!) novels of an entirely different nature.

When he started into the porn industry, he did not do it for money or fame, but merely another outlet for his parental origin frustrations. He took up a pen name, toying with his own name to become 'Black Fan Zib', and quietly published a novel. Oddly enough, it was an instant hit, and out of pure curiousity Zanfib continued to produce. The second book was an incredible success and launched Zanfib into an illustrious, if lustful, position as a recognized author.

The third book was an experiement on Zanfib's part. He thought he was just testing the limits of his authoritive ability, but here's the truth. Zanfib is a heterosexual, with deeply buried homosexual tendacies. He'd be bisexual, if only he had had real parents. But, such as the case, the third novel was these buried traits peeking to the surface.

He wrote a novel depicting a homosexual couple in a slice of life setting. While he thought it rather ordinary, it was an instant HIT in gay communities world wide, and was coveted by many, and banned by more than a few! The result was a series of statues being erected for him in those clothing optional cities, and then pen name could not hide him from his fame. Zanfib Black became a whispered name in excited circles.

The fourth book was a return to his roots, and came out as ordinary by his track record. However, in response to the many requests he had been getting, the fifth book was a sequel to the third, and left off promising a third book.. at a massive cliffhanger.

He was promptly canonized as the Patron Saint of Porn, and rumors began to spread he would start making movies soon.

Fans would be left waiting, however, as he finished up a few other novels along the way, launching two more series, one that favored heterosexuals and one that was pretty much a grab bag of all kinds of different tastes. It was his ninth book that netted him a job offer from none other than the cubi clan of Nact'Larn. Nact'Larn herself was counted amoung the thronging group of Black Fan Zib fans, and summoned the ringtail to her chambers.

Being male and attracted to women, Zanfib agreed, and found himself in directorship of a something new and experimental. A 'movie studio'. Apparently the world was just now coming around to the 'moving picture' entertainment sector, and Nact'Larn wanted to get a jump on it, being eagerly backed by a few of the other emotion-based clans.

Now Zanfib lives a rather affluent life. A large estate home with a sizable chunk of land, and the entire staff to manage it, a collection of those new-fangled gryphonless carriage things, and a considerable amount of wealth. He has only been recently working on his tenth book, which shall be the third in the series, something the fans have been waiting for..

And that is Zanfib Black. The most wonderful catastrophe of a person ever to live.
[/spoiler]

Trivia:
[spoiler]
Current Relations:

Family - Abhorrible. The schism began to grow impossibly deep when Zanfib started going to Soliat instead of magic school. At that point there was basically no contact between them. When Zanfib's career as a graphic porn novelist kicked off, it brought outrage from his family, who attempted to disown him and strip him of his name. Zanfib normally wouldn't have cared, but seeing a chance to irk his fail-parents even further, he fought them in court. And won. Now the Black name belongs to and is distinctly related to porn, lust, and all things naughty. His family, all of them, were forcibly renamed the Midnight family.

Nact'Larn Clan - Excellent. Zanfib's books are in regular circulation amoung the clan, the infamous leader herself is said to recieve the first printed copy of all his books, along with now being on Zanfib's short list of editors for the books and series. The movies which Mr. Black produced out of her studio have filled Nact'Larn coffers, and rumors now abound that the cubi clan is considering making the being ringtail a permanent member.

Fan Base - Astounding. Ever since his real name became public knowledge, even his arrogant, abrasing persona couldn't keep his fans at bay. He's described as a rebel, a poet, an affluent connissour in the ways of love, and many other things that reinforce his theory that his fan base is completely insane. Ironically enough, the more the ringtail tries to retreat into privacy and drive his fans away, the more they are drawn to him.

General Public - Mixed. Sometimes they're his fans, sometimes they're not. If the ringtail is astoundingly lucky, they don't know him at all.

Zanfib currently has one child amoung Nact'Larn. A daughter, of course, of which he is unaware.
[/spoiler]

Ranger Color: Purple. Or Violet works too. Oh wow, the sky is made of bricks-

VAE

And the IC thread is up.
A word of warning - I have pretty much just done a brief description of the locale, and some salient events that's been happening in where you are likely expected to be around. Introduce yourself, and once your characters get an actual place on the map, we can work off that. In some places it's obvious where it's gearing to, in some it isn't, but well, that's life, no?

And yes, this did take an ungodly amount of time to deal with. Sorry.
What i cannot create, i do not understand. - Richard P. Feynman
This is DMFA. Where major species don't understand clothing. So innuendo is overlooked for nuendo. .
Saphroneth



VAE

and now, Kreen's update's been dealt with, much like Ace's.
Reminder to players - short posts are acceptable ,especially when dialogue is concerned - we prefer having it ,and as such don't be afraid - if you talk, you will get a reply that while maybe not immediate, doesn't depend on what others are doing.
What i cannot create, i do not understand. - Richard P. Feynman
This is DMFA. Where major species don't understand clothing. So innuendo is overlooked for nuendo. .
Saphroneth



Ghostwish

Pancakes! The lawnmower is not a catholic!

VAE

And another bunch of posts done with completely, kreen's being the last.

What i cannot create, i do not understand. - Richard P. Feynman
This is DMFA. Where major species don't understand clothing. So innuendo is overlooked for nuendo. .
Saphroneth



littlekreen

FYI: My power supply went boink on my computer. I am keeping an eye on thread notifications from my phone, though. I should have a new power supply by friday sometime and be back to lurking. heh.

Chairtastic

First post to be made while VAE is away dealing with his relatives.  Expect changes to happen when and if he gets in contact with me.

Techcubi

Name: Zarus Owona
Age:  110
Race: Cubi
Species (if applicable):  Feline
Physical Description:  A black male cat, 5'7", glowing dark green eyes, his wings and headwings being green, with black tips. Wears pants, but no shirt, mostly using his shapeshifting to compensate for clothes.
Notable Equipment:  Rope, sack, knives, and, usually at least three types of poison.
Magic/Natural Abilities: Oh, you know, all that cubi stuff, shapeshifting, wing combat, mind/thought reading. He also practices a small amount of healing magic, as well as abit of fabrication magic. He also fights with his clan's style of wing to hand combat, mostly a balance, using his shapeshifitng. Also, he sometimes uses his wing density to protect his chest.
History: Zarus Owona was born to two Owona cubi, in the City of Port Oriss. Before his birth his parents lived in a different city, but once his mother discovered she was pregnant they moved to Port Oriss; where the bulk of Owona members in Kebre lived.  During his early childhood, he made a few good friends  and was somewhat happy. One of his friends, a male canid Zezzuva boy, named Turus, was especially cool to hang around with. The young canid himself was studying so he could become a great detective. Turus could at times be impatient with his friend, but, for the most part, he was there for Zarus.  Zarus' family lived the middle-class life; and at the age of twelve, Zarus was sent to live at a special private school in Port Oriss. In reality it was a place where young Owona clan members could both be educated, and train their combat combat skills in secret. So, there he stayed, living with his cousins and clan mates, the school/training grounds being run by his older uncle. 

     During his younger years, he couldn't really practice with the wing-to-hand combat techniques, but, he still watched the other clan mates in action. As well as combat techniques, he had learned some magic: puppeteering, healing, shapeshifing, and general studies. 

     By the age of thirty-five, after he had learned sufficiently, he started undertaking various missions for his clan and the cubi race in secret. Spying, infiltration and assassination were his fortes. One of his first, and most important marks so far, was the being mobster of Port Oriss named Zem.  Zem had been conducting smuggling operations on the turf of different mobs, so an unknown Don paid Zarus to kill Zem.

     Zem didn't pay his henchmen very well, which made them amicable to bribery.  The morning after the hit had been declared, local city guards would find Zem's body stabbed through the heart. Interestingly enough, they didn't find the murder weapon, which one of the local detectives, Zarus' childhood friend , Turus, had gotten rid of.

     Another important hit had come when Zarus was age forty. A treasurer of Port Oriss named Belfon, had been embezzling money from the city treasury. Despite being a wealthy enough man, Zarus managed to pay off Belfon's staff, and kill his personal bodyguards. The morning after the hit had been called, Belfon was found dead in his bed. Guards found traces of a slow-acting poison in his system, which hadn't killed him until about an hour after he had fallen asleep. The investigating guards were confounded by the lack of leads. However, a friend of Belfon's, who had dined with him the night before, claimed Belfon had hired a new feline butler to help around the house, but, hadn't seen the new servant since the night before.

After that, Zarus decided he should go into hiding for a long while. So, he used his shapeshifting and spying talents to find the perfect being to masquerade as. Locating a suitable male being glassworker named Zarbruk, Zarus began the process.  Zarbruk was a good man, had a wife and kids, nice family, and decent money. So, Zarus spent some of his money learning Zarbruk's level of glassworking, then killed him. Afterward, Zarus impersonated Zarbruk, and lived Zarbruk's life. However, living a normal life wasn't good for a cubi infiltrator and assassin, of course. He used his money he saved up over the years to gather up Intel on all potential clients and targets.  He did this for thirty years, before deciding to get back into the game.

     His next target after thirty years of a normal life was an Owona clan traitor, named Takus who had planned on allying with dragons, and gaining power to become a tri-wing, and, assimilate the Owona clan. Zarus tracked Takus to an estate about a mile away from Port Oriss; infiltration was easy enough but that's when his luck ended, as Takus discovered him. He and Takus became entangled in a battle of blades and wings, Zarus barely managing to kill the traitor in the end. Feeling the battle was a sign he was not yet skilled enough, Zarus went to see a combat-instructor to learn how to become better in battle, and better kill his targets.
After twenty years of training with his instructor, he decided it was time for another hit. The governor of Port Kolma, Peruvus Glenx, was a horrible furre, increasing taxes of his citizens, putting many people to work, and, putting those who protested to death. Infact, his reign as governor was SO horrible, that one of the Owona clan members who lived their, Tulee Owona, put a hit on the governor's big fat forehead. Deciding that he was going to try a different way, Zarus ambushed Peruvus' secretary, took a sample of her blood, created a voodoo doll, and, then, used her to kill the governor with a quill pen.

For the next eighteen years, Zarus took on a number of jobs, most of them fairly small, with a few big ones, such as infiltrating a demon-blood crime in Port Oriss. A week after his 108th birthday, he was sent by the clan elders to infiltrate a powerful gang in Veldun, the Crimson Tears syndicate, for a month, he worked his way up to the top, will little difficulty, to be third-in-command. However, that's when he met her. The second-in-command. The tiger demoness , Zulri Bloodfire. At first, they mainly had a sort of friendly relationship, but after two more months, it quickly developed into a romance. They might have even gotten married, if it wasn't for a sudden ambush by the guards in the middle of the night. Figuring she had betrayed him, the head of the organization, Zix Crimson, slit her throat. Coming close to drowning in his own rage, Zarus fought with him, Wing and steel. Though, he nearly died, he was saved when Zix made a rash swing with his blade, which Zarus ducked, and then stabbed his own dagger into Zix's heart, with a slight bit of difficulty. The Crimson Tears were routed, but at a price. It took Zarus months, but, eventually, he got over his depression. Yet, that doesn't mean he doesn't still think about her alot, and what could have been.

     Needless to say, he'd been doing this for a while now.  A few months previous, Zarus was offered an apprenticeship by a powerful cubi, which his clan mates strongly suggested he accept. He'd been with his master/mistress for six months presently, and, now he's about to go on a path that will truly test his skills in the shadows...



Trivia: In terms of Bloodline, he's  Owona's great-grandson, at least on his mother's side.

Also, he has a sixty-five year old cubi son, who he revealed himself to when his son was ten. They have a pretty good relationship, him having taught his son some of his skills when he was young, doing stuff with him, and, later on, when he wasn't on a job he would practice with his son. However, with recent events, they haven't exactly gotten a chance to chat or bond much. Although, he still sends letters to his son's usual address.

VAE

Notice for ghost - don't bother replying yet -  your chunk will receive an update when Owl shows up.
What i cannot create, i do not understand. - Richard P. Feynman
This is DMFA. Where major species don't understand clothing. So innuendo is overlooked for nuendo. .
Saphroneth



Ghostwish

There will be swordfish for this, good sir.

VAE

What i cannot create, i do not understand. - Richard P. Feynman
This is DMFA. Where major species don't understand clothing. So innuendo is overlooked for nuendo. .
Saphroneth



VAE

And Ace got dealt with... the rest of you will likely get their posts sometime durign the week.
Yes I do fail hard. =T.T=
What i cannot create, i do not understand. - Richard P. Feynman
This is DMFA. Where major species don't understand clothing. So innuendo is overlooked for nuendo. .
Saphroneth



Chairtastic

ATTENTION POOR PEOPLE LOCKED IN THE TIGER'S DEN WITH ME.

Since VAE is in between school and home, and for a long time has had horrible writer's block, I will be taking over posts starting today.

You may all have forgotten, but I am the evil GM in this setup.  My posts will have the potential for each and every one of your characters to be violently killed if you aren't clever enough to navigate out.  Pray for the lynx's safe and swift return.

littlekreen

I've been played dnd for the last 10 years or so with four different DMs and I think we've yet to have our character survive past level 5 that didn't start there. Pretty much SOP for me that all characters are expendable.  :P

usually by killing each other if the DM doesn't do it first now that I think of it.