[Art/Writing] Jairus: Merry Christmas

[Pagan]

      Technically it's wizardry, but to be honest it's just natural to them. A lot of these powers and stuff are as old as the races themselves, which in some cases predate magic spells and stuff like that. It's like our ability to hear or smell… kind of. They still need to practice it, but ultimately they basically can manipulate light magic at a very high level without "technically" using spells. It's confusing: it's kind of like they can do only one type of spell normally, with their bodies "canceling" other types of spells… tell you what: pretend that they're all basically warlocks who can manipulate light magic and perform any kind of light magic spell.

Don't let yourself get crosseyed, I think I get it. They just use light magic without having to do or be anything other than being an angel.

[Jairus]

Okay, it was Angels last night, and now it's the demon's turn. And again, Amber's model will be used. I'll go back through and edit it all once I get my version finished. If you ever read this Amber, may you be complimented a dozen times today for coming up with such a nice, simple-to-work with template.

The Demon Race
General Traits:
• Bat-like wings (either two or four)
• Horns
• Inherent light-elemental magical skills
• Heightened physical abilities/appearance
• Limited shapeshifting (restricted to four-wings)
• Lifespan: upwards of 2000 years
General:
      Cousins of the Angel race, Demons are perhaps the most famous of the various creature races, due in no small part to their... activities, if you will. Unlike Angels, Demons prefer direct confrontation and feats of power and strength and handling their problems personally, a tendency that somewhat defines their societal structure: to a demon (much like an angel), power is everything, and those who do not have power had best get out of the way lest they be trod on. They are the Chaos to the Order that angel's seem to stand for, and in fact could be summed up in one word as "Chaotic." However, despite what legends and stories and Angels say, demons are far from truly evil, and in fact many of them have a sense of honor, if a loose one.
      As already mentioned, angels and demons both have a thing for power. Demons, however, feel that so long as they get it, there's really no reason to dance around the issue and head straight for what they want. Part of the reason that Angels seem to despise their cousin race so much is because demons have screwed up more long term plans than most of the other races put together, simply by rampaging through one town or city. This is part of the reason why records of so-called "noble demons" seem to disappear, while Demon rampages get blamed for a lot of things that they had only the most superficial connections to. On the other hand, demons tend not to kill their temporary allies, given how valuable they are at the moment, and also tend to let their allies go on their way once they are done with them, rather than slaying them for the fun of it.
      Perhaps surprisingly, not only have demons established their own towns and cities (though most of their cities are often safe havens for beings and creatures who want to stay away from other population centers), but they also have fairly tight-knit families. While angel clans are loose-knit formalities, demon clans are vast things that try to have major family reunions every so often, while multiple semi-related clans will often team up to take out a larger threat. Moreover, a person who has gained the respect of one demon and their connected clan will often be given at least grudging respect by most other clans. To be called "friend" by a demon is nearly as rare as to be "family" by a Stargazer, and arguably just as important. Moreover, demons will often set aside personal differences and grudges to fight for something bigger... like saving a city full of innocent beings. Due to their chaotic nature, it is often hard to pin down a demon's feelings, but ultimately if you don't cross a demon they will tend to let you be.
History:
      Like the angel race, the history of the demon race is fairly unknown. Both appeared at roughly the same time, and seem to be opposites of each other. Due to their chaotic nature, demons have been found on all sides of pretty much every conflict throughout history. While they have often been guilty of destructive rampages and attacks that left horrible repercussions in their wake, at the same time demons can also be found working behind the scenes of history to help things along... which has occasionally included toppling a despotic tyrant or two. In short, demons do what they will, and you had best hope that you do not get drawn against them.
Strengths:
      Powerful dark magic and remarkable physical abilities make them very similar to their angelic cousins. Demons seem to take this a step further, and can actually use their magic to increase their stamina to the point that high-level demons can outfight armies. While not considered as "god-like" in appearance as their angel cousins, demons tend to physically be more powerful and have extra abilities that angels seem to lack. Most demons - similar to their angelic cousins - have a somewhat increased healing rate, though it isn't a superpower or anything like that. The demon population also has a higher percentage of wizards than the angel population, mainly because demons don't have a real taboo of breeding outside of their race or a few select species - which means that demons also have a far wider array of appearances than angels.  The rare four-winged type of demon also possesses a limited degree of shapeshifting, mostly limited to their basic appearance: stuff like complete alteration of physical type is beyond their inherent skills, and is mostly kept to hiding their wings. Like angels and Lazerai, Angels can increase their power through the consumption of souls: while they don't do it as often as Lazerai, Demons do consume souls on occasion, though usually they prefer live pray.
Weaknesses:
      A methodical combat strategy can do a lot against a demon, though since they tend to get both more powerful and more savvy as they age this usually only works against younger and middle-aged demons. For the older ones, you have to fight them on their footing. While demon wizards are more common than angel wizards, they are still fairly rare: also, demons tend to shun sorcery outside of simple illusion talismans to hide their wings and horns and some such. Demons also find it slightly harder to fit into more mainstream societies, and also have the whole Demon stigma thing going on. However, if you manage to match or defeat a demon in battle, you can count on not suffering any form of revenge: to prove yourself capable of defeating a demon is to be proven worthy in the eyes of most demons, and most of them will give at least a grudging form of respect. Demons - unlike angels - also seem to prefer going out in a blaze of glory.
Important Figures:
Locklsey (age: unknown, status unknown): Perhaps the definitive example of the "Noble Demon," Locksley was perhaps best known for what he didn't do: rampage, loot, devastate, and otherwise terrorize. He was a cultured and refined individual, who tended to use his abilities as an assassin, taking out the worst members of society. He also would lend his assistance to those who needed help, including - in his own words - "redistributing ill-gotten wealth." His skills in battle and training with magic had also given him a form of "sixth sense" that allowed him to analyze a battle or situation and act on it with almost precognizant speed. He was one of the Four Wing type of Demon, and thus also had some shapeshifting powers in addition to being a demon wizard. Ultimately, he was a largely neutral force. He was defeated by unknown parties and sealed inside on of the Demon-bloodline clans for the Warlock experiments. The clan's status following the inter-dimensional war is unknown, so likewise Locksley's status is also unknown.

Incidentally, a bunch of the stuff I've said about angels applies for demons as well.

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Something beginning with the "C/K" sound?

[Pagan]

Interesting. Demons have close familial ties. Nice additional contrast to angels, there.

So demons are chaotic, but they aren't exactly evil. So I guess they're just hyped up on caffine and hormones?

[Jairus]

      Demons are Chaotic, so it's more like they just like a good party, I guess. To be honest, most demons are basically Chaotic Neutral, it's just that the Chaotic Evil and Chaotic Good ones get a little more attention (kind of like how despite Demigods being really rare, they still show up a lot in stories and legends). Demons at a certain level don't fit into anything more ordered than a clan or small town, and civilization doesn't really work around them at all. It's not that they're trying to bring everything down around others, it's that demons clash really hard with order... and those clashes tend to lead to destruction.
      I just want to make clear that these are generalizations. Demons and Angels tend to be raised this way, so they think in a certain way, but it's hardly programmed into them. Part of the problem is that Demons also tend to be shunned because of their history or their appearance: while many of them are certainly good-looking, the creepy wings and horns are a little freaky for some people. Really, it's a vicious cycle, unfortunately. Really, once you get past the whole "eating others" and "inclined to destroy things," most demons are actually fairly nice. Especially once you have earned either their friendship or respect: demons make friends for life. Being befriended by one member of a clan tends to draw you under that clan's protection, but you should still be careful: there are some powerful rivalries among the clans, and you still have to prove your worth. The conditions under which most demons are raised or have been treated tends to give them a mentality of "those with power are meant to be on top." If you want a demon to respect you, you have to have power of some kind, and preferably something tangible - like magic. They also rarely respect politicians, but really that's just sensible.

Incidentally, I'm just using DnD affiliation terminology to abbreviate what I'm saying: it's never used in-universe. I think everyone kind of understands what I'm trying to say.

I wish I could say more, but I'm still kind of tired. I might be able to throw Lazerai together for a post tomorrow... and then you'll start to get some weird stuff. Questions?

[Pagan]

Yay Lazeri!

I do have one question, but it might make for a night's post, so you don't have to answer now. How do you handle a magical duel?

[Jairus]

How do you handle a magical duel?

Get as far away as you can.

...

      Okay, seriousness time.

      This might take a little thinking, so this will actually be a while of me thinking this out and typing it.
      Duels between mages are not two old men waving wands and saying funny words at each other (actually, I don't think any mage uses a wand past their first few years of training in the magic arts: no real usage outside of training halls). Suffice to say, it's complicated. There are basically three magical combat types: Warriors, Mystics, and Guardians. Warriors specialize in using magic to amplify their abilities and fight directly with it, Mystics prefer to use magic in a more traditional long-range support style, and Guardians specialize in fighting as a group and reinforcing themselves and their allies. Now, these are just generalizations to make it easier to design a mage's fighting style. The mentioned Dreksa is technically a Warrior (though he's powerful enough that it doesn't matter), Cid was actually more of a Mystic than anything, while Nick himself has acted as a guardian the few times he's tagged along with Corey. Anyway, the classifications don't really matter.
      A duel between mages is a big thing. You are talking about two individuals capable of shaping and altering reality and the world through magic, who have been training in the magic arts since childhood, and generally have mastered at least one weapon and form of physical combat, and are also capable of enhancing their own abilities to nigh-superhuman or even supernatural levels. Now set them against each other. Some magical duels have destroyed whole cities. Duels are big things, and most mages tend to avoid a full-blown one whenever they can. If you could somehow combine a shounen anime fight with a Jedi duel and a giant robot battle, you could get something pretty close to what a duel between masters looks like. Duels tend to be two sides only, no seconds or anything like that. And they're scary. Most of the spells being flung around are of the evocation type and are meant to kill: there's very little disarming at work here, and even then it's just so that it's easier to kill them. I've got a duel in mind (that unfortunately takes place about three years after the story I'm telling on Terra) that basically turns an abandoned modern city into a crater. There were two people fighting. And technically neither "won."
      I will point out that duels are few and far between. A duel is basically a no-holds-barred fight between two entities with the winner living and the loser dying (you do not want to see a duel between two High Dragons. Ho boy.). Battles are far more common, and that's basically what it sounds like. Just a normal fight between two magic-wielding entities. These tend to be more like RPG group battles, to be honest.
      And yes, weapons are a staple. And I don't mean little things like wands and magic rings. Swords, staves, guns, spears, lances, weaponized armor... if you can somehow enhance it with magic and wield it, someone will use it in magic (books and cards too: that's more like sorcery, honestly). And martial arts helps (not necessarily witchcraft). Dreksa is considered one of the best swordsman of the age. Cid was (and still is) an amazing shot with his guns.

Okay, questions? And please, if anyone reads this stuff, do ask any questions you happen to think of. I'll try to answer them as best as I can.

[Fragmaster01]

If you could somehow combine a shounen anime fight with a Jedi duel and a giant robot battle, you could get something pretty close to what a duel between masters looks like.

Wouldn't that just create a setting where emo mecha pilots sit around discussing their brilliant new attack centered around a giant lightsaber for 20 episodes while epic music plays in the background?
On a more serious note, would Conservation of Ninjutsu come into effect here? In other words, would the two mages using so much power in one spot limit their ability to continue to use power?

[Pagan]

Okay, questions? And please, if anyone reads this stuff, do ask any questions you happen to think of. I'll try to answer them as best as I can.

And what am I? No-one? Gee, thanks.
Just fooling, I know you want more than one wall to bounce things off.


Ya know, I think that's the first time I've heard someone describe their wizarding duels as such. But yours has to be the funnest so far. I tend to be a fan of rampant destruction, rebuilding fees be damned.

[Jairus]

If you could somehow combine a shounen anime fight with a Jedi duel and a giant robot battle, you could get something pretty close to what a duel between masters looks like.

Wouldn't that just create a setting where emo mecha pilots sit around discussing their brilliant new attack centered around a giant lightsaber for 20 episodes while epic music plays in the background?

"Emo mecha pilots." Well, sure, some pilots may angst (a lot) about the killing and the fighting, but in what anime could you sum up a mecha pilot as "emo?" Sheesh, whatever world that guy's in charge of protecting is just screwed.

On a more serious note, would Conservation of Ninjutsu come into effect here? In other words, would the two mages using so much power in one spot limit their ability to continue to use power?

      Ooh, good question. Yes, but it's so minor as to be almost impossible to notice. Most duels rarely last longer than five-ten minutes or so, mainly because extensive use of magic is physically tiring. Young mages can actually exhaust themselves after using only a few spells because they're not used to it. Besides which, at the point that mages are doing stuff like this, they've gotten so good at what they're doing that it just comes easily to them. So, yes, but it really doesn't matter.
      In a more meta-fictional answer, no, because then the fights would be less interesting. The point where mages resort to pure physical combat is the point where they have reached their limits for the time being.

Okay, questions? And please, if anyone reads this stuff, do ask any questions you happen to think of. I'll try to answer them as best as I can.

And what am I? No-one? Gee, thanks.
Just fooling, I know you want more than one wall to bounce things off.

Pretty much. Nah, just kidding.
      I know, and exactly, and thanks for understanding. Plus, I really want to get what a wide variety of people think, to see if I should keep developing this idea (let's just say I have some ideas for events that take place about ten years after all of this stuff on Terra happens, none of which actually happens on Terra...)

Ya know, I think that's the first time I've heard someone describe their wizarding duels as such. But yours has to be the funnest so far. I tend to be a fan of rampant destruction, rebuilding fees be damned.

What can I say? It's more fun that way.
      Plus, magic is actually fairly healthy for you, so an eighty year old mage is still really fit, which is why I can get away with old mages still kicking much butt and taking many names. Um, I think I'm getting a little incoherent at this point... might be time for bed.

Okay, next set of questions... GO!

[Jairus]

Lazerai. Youngest of the three Andela races (Okay, I just made that up from ANgel, DEmon, and LAzerai, so it's not canon or anything, but I need a way to refer to the three of them), yet perhaps the most powerful/interesting. Credit for the template goes to Amber. Also note that a few things in here kinda contradict some of my older ideas: I've finally got this stuff down on paper, so now I've changed how a few pieces fit together.

The Lazerai Race
General Traits:
• Three pairs of wings (two pairs on the back, remaining pair's location varies)
• Inherent light and dark elemental magical abilities
• Clan crest somewhere on body
• Heightened physical abilities/appearance
• High-level Shapeshifting powers
• Lifespan: upwards of 5000 years
General:
      With an even more mysterious past than their Angel and Demon cousins, the six-winged Lazerai are often believe to somehow represent the pinnacle of both races... or at the very least the offspring of them. Truth be told, no one quite knows the origins of the Lazerai race, but whatever the case they do seem to have abilities of both of their cousins, including magical abilities that encompass both light and darkness. Perhaps the most unique feature of the race is their six magical wings. Four of them are always on their back, while the smaller two manifest at another location on the body, and appear when a Lazerai grows into adulthood. There are stories told of Lazerai with a fourth set of wings for a total of eight, but if they do exist they are very good at hiding...
      The single greatest difference between Lazerai and their cousins is their extra set of wings, which bears some explaining. Lazerai are born with four sets of wings, and from a young age can actually be mistaken for four-winged angels. Somewhere between puberty and mid-twenties, Lazerai manifest their third set of wings. Exactly what purpose the third set serves is unknown: while the larger main wings are suitable for flying and the smaller secondary wings are usually used as a form of stabilizer, the third set of wings is much smaller. The manifestation point is also different: while the two main sets always appear on the back, the third set tends to appear in a different place. Shoulders, head, ankles, hips, and arms seem to be the main points, and children manifest their third wings in a similar location to their parent's: there is no correlation between a Lazerai's power and where their wings manifest. The appearance of the third set of wings also marks the point that a Lazerai's natural shapeshifting powers are awakened, and are believed to have inspired the tales about the six-winged angelic Seraphim that "hides its face" with two of its wings: as it is, the wings are the easiest part for a Lazerai to shapeshift, which they usually use to hide their wings or alter their appearance or even shift their wings into simple weapons and/or tentacle-like extrusions.
      In a similar fashion to their four-winged cousins, Lazerai are slightly thaumovoric (magic-eating), and in fact once they reach a certain level of power they can live simply by naturally converting magic into whatever their body needs (which incidentally gives them stamina similar to that of a demon's), though most Lazerai still eat and drink and sleep when they want to. Of course, like their cousins, Lazerai can consume souls to increase their power and abilities... a trait that they actually seem to exercise slightly more often than their demonic cousins. Speaking of power, Lazerai seem to have the same obsession with it that their cousins carry: however, they prefer to exercise it in different ways, preferring a more subtle form of power. In the case of Lazerai, their obsessions can be explained away because the means by which they gain power also increases their own abilities. Lazerai can also use their empathic abilities to enhance their absorption of energy by channeling other's emotions, a trick that is so common and widespread that most Lazerai think that they can only absorb energy in this fashion.
      While Lazerai are often at the very least at rivalries with other clans, within their clans they are fairly tight knit... and for a very good reason: each clan member carries somewhere on them a clan crest that ties them to their family. Acting in much the same way of a High Dragon's clan name (for example, "Ydraigoch") the crest marks them as a part of a specific clan, and acts very much as a sort of magical brand or tattoo: unlike the tertiary wings, the crest appears in a random location on the body. In addition to helping tie the clans together (the crests can be used in a form of magical communication), they are also the only part of a Lazerai's body that cannot be altered by shapeshifting. Exactly why this is is unknown, but since the crest only appears after Lazerai start using magic, it is theorized to be tied into their magical abilities. Interestingly, analysis of the mark indicates that it is somewhat similar to a Warlock's trait, the physical sign that indicates that the individual in question is a Warlock, though if this is merely a coincidence or an indication of something bigger is unknown. While no known illusion/shapeshifting spell of any power can alter the crest (short of ripping off the body part that the crest appears on, which could be bad if it's on your chest, for example), some enterprising Lazerai have discovered that a magitech shapeshifting gadget called SCIN can actually conceal the clan crest...
History:
      Much like angels and demons, the origins of the Lazerai race are unknown. However, it is generally accepted that the Lazerai only really made their appearance after the Angel and Demon races had been well-established. Regardless of their history, Lazerai are far less well-known than their cousins, due mainly to the fact that they can more easily hide themselves. At a fairly recent point in the history of the Lazerai race, they were engaged in brutal conflict between the clans, though this has retreated to the level of a cold war between them. Lazerai also do not get along with their cousin races, though the precise reasons for this rivalry are forgotten by all three of them.
Strengths:
      It's tempting to just write "See entry on Angels and Demons," but there's a bit more to it than that. In addition to light and dark magical abilities, Lazerai obviously have the power of shapeshifting to use as a psychological weapon or simply as a disguise. Lazerai also have a high proportion of wizards to normal, a proportion that is also significantly higher than angels and demons put together. In addition to their empathic abilities, Lazerai also have powerful telepathic abilities, though these are a lot harder to use than their empathic ones. Their wings are the easiest to shapeshift, and can be used as a form of extra prehensile limb... or several prehensile limbs, should the need arise.Given their understanding of emotions and thoughts, it's generally hard to tell what a Lazerai is genuinely thinking or feeling. Add to this similar physical and soul-consuming abilities as their cousins, and you have a very dangerous opponent indeed.
Weaknesses:
      The biggest weakness, though this is a tricky one to exploit correctly, is that no matter what appearance a Lazerai takes, it's clan marking will still remain, making it possible to see through their disguises. It is possible to turn their telepathic and empathic abilities against them, and a lot of Lazerai get so used to using these powers that they have difficulty fighting an opponent with mental defenses of some kind. Younger Lazerai are also slightly more vulnerable to physical damage than their cousins.
Important Figures:
Azra'eil the Strife (age: unknown, deceased): If not the first Lazerai, he was certainly one of them. Azra'eil was one of the only known eight-winged Lazerai (for the record, his third set manifested on his hips and his fourth on his shoulders), and was thus one of the most powerful Lazerai in existence. His clan marking was in the shape of a red ouroboros on his left hand. He is perhaps the one most responsible for the current idea of Lazerai essentially being cruel jerks, given that he was one himself. Through his life, he created a number of magical artifacts, including the cursed mystical armor that would one day be referred to as the Armor of Strife. He was defeated by a dragon whose name has either been lost or hidden from history, which also slightly jump-started the rivalry that most High Dragons and Lazerai hold for one another. Though he is long dead (at least 250,000 years or so), there is a legend passed back and forth among some Lazerai that his descendants are still alive, and will one day unite the warring clans into a single Lazerai race...

Okay, now I'm tired. Questions?

[Pagan]

I don't know, Andela works pretty fine.
I've always kinda wondered about this for cubi and it goes for Lazeri as well, does the clan mark glow when casting spells?
So I'm guessing that the second pair of wings kinda sprout right below the first, could the third pair pop at the small of the back then?

[Jairus]

I don't know, Andela works pretty fine.

The problem with reading it is that in my mind I want it to sound like "Andelé!" or however it's spelled. But, as a placeholder name for the three of them, it work's fine. It's better than HED, certainly (Human, Elf, Dwarf).
      Incidentally, if I actually used Andela as a name for the three races, it would also end up being the name of the place where the Angel and Demon race were born. I've always kind of held the suspicion that the Lazerai race came later for some reason...

I've always kinda wondered about this for cubi and it goes for Lazeri as well, does the clan mark glow when casting spells?

Ah, good question! No, it doesn't. It really is just like a tattoo or brand, nothing really special about it except it's permanency.
      Incidentally, there is a trick to hiding the crest: it's a powerful sealing spell that basically locks away pretty much all of a Lazerai's special powers and renders them normal (well, they keep their magic, but that's it) and locked in a de-Lazerai'd version of whatever form they were just in, complete with all weaknesses. Of course, you can see the disadvantage to using such a spell, especially since all that you're trying to do is hide what is basically a tattoo and in exchange you're giving up EVERYTHING. Not worth it... unless, for example, you want to keep someone in the dark about their true nature and seal their powers before they're even born...
      It's also possible that any Lazerai who has a child in this state would have an offspring that is Lazerai but in the exact same circumstances: their powers and true form sealed, unaware of their own nature until the spell is lifted from them. It's entirely possible that there could be a whole family of Lazerai unaware of their true power, living and dying normal lives somewhere out there... but to be honest I don't think the trick would last longer than a generation. It's just too risky, to be frank.

So I'm guessing that the second pair of wings kinda sprout right below the first, could the third pair pop at the small of the back then?

Possibly. The thing is, all four-wings have the main wings up top and then the sub-wings below that. I was only half-joking about the flight stabilizer: they can actually work a little bit like that. As for the third set of wings, they could come out of the back, but I don't know of many characters who have done that. So, for a list of possible locations for the third (and possibly fourth) wings to manifest: upper back, hips, ankles, forearms, shoulders, head, with minor variations between them. Besides, don't you think six wings on the back would be a little excessive?
      Besides, they really aren't much to look at (the third wings): imagine Cubi headwings, and you've got a good idea about their size.

      As a side note, the sealing trick would work for Angels and Demons too, though it wasn't designed for them. As for the spell itself, I'd imagine that you would need some kind of external pendant that - if destroyed - would immediately lift the spell on all members under it's effect. Otherwise, you'd have to lift the spell one member at a time.

      Also, now might be a good time to talk about something called Ascension...
      Basically, the Ascension Ritual (it's a misnomer, really it is) transforms whoever it's performed on into one of the three Andelan races, depending on how it's performed. It is not a very well known ritual, for a number of reasons. It is high-level magic, it is dangerous, it is difficult to perform, it is probably one of the most painful things imaginable, the resulting entity lacks the lifetime-worth of experience that a natural member would already have (making them a danger to not only themselves but everyone around them if they lose control of themselves), and those that undergo (or have it done on them...) the ritual typically do it for somewhat nasty reasons. All in all, it just isn't common. Oh, and there's a possibility that whoever you use it on will end up dead. Or worse.

PS: What, you didn't find it interesting that Nick has accidentally discovered how to do something that various Lazerai researchers have spent tens of thousands of years trying to discover to do, and failed at doing?

Great! Keep them questions coming! I'm actually thinking about posting some information about the Stargazers for my next big post. Don't forget to comment or query me: I'll answer to the best of my ability.

EDIT: Woot! 101 posts! I should never use that phrase ever again!

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

102 posts, actually. 101 replies to your original post.

... 103 and 102, now.

[Jairus]

102 posts, actually. 101 replies to your original post.

... 103 and 102, now.

Well, maybe I should have said 101 replies instead of 101 posts.

Really, Boxy, no questions of your own?

Um, tonight is either the Divine Race and theurgists, or some information about the Stargazers. Which one do you guys want?

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Really, Boxy, no questions of your own?

Mostly I've been scanning, not reading. I've had a few too much work things to deal with to spend lots of time reading this; I might get to it later, but at the moment, I'm just scanning as a mod, and checking for people getting upset.

[Jairus]

Really, Boxy, no questions of your own?

Mostly I've been scanning, not reading. I've had a few too much work things to deal with to spend lots of time reading this; I might get to it later, but at the moment, I'm just scanning as a mod, and checking for people getting upset.

Ah, okay. Out of curiosity, what do you think in general so far? And if you're worried about people getting upset, should I hold off a little on the Divine Race (aka... the gods), or should that be okay?

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Oh!

Sorry, didn't mean to give the wrong impression. I monitor here, just like I monitor every other thread in the forum. Nothing specific about this thread is causing me any trouble at all, so go right ahead.

And, as I said, I've been scanning, not reading. So I couldn't say anything specific about it.

[Jairus]

Okay, cool!

Um, my next post should have some actual information. Hopefully.

[Jairus]

Okay, I'm about to head back to my apartment, so I might as well leave something for my two or three readers to look at. The Divine Race will be my post for tonight, so instead I decided to talk a little bit about the Stargazers. Or, if I don't get to the Divine race tonight, then I've got this up. It's a win-win situation. YAY!

      What are the Stargazers? To be honest, it's basically a giant inter-dimensional family who aren't related to each other where only a handful of the members even know that other members exist. There's a lot of mysteries surrounding the Stargazers, most of which will never be answered.
      The name Stargazer itself is strange. Different members treat it differently. On some worlds, Stargazer is more of a title handed down from one person to another. On others, it's treated like a family name where children of Stargazer's use it as a surname. On yet others, it's a role that people step into and play out. And on yet other worlds, it's just a nickname that certain people acquire. The many uses for the name are almost as varied as those who have carried it. However, no matter how you gain the name, whether you're born with it or are given it in some way, you are a Stargazer, regardless of species or race or even if you're related to another on. End discussion. To my knowledge, there has never been a "former" or "ex" Stargazer, though it might be possible.
      The Stargazers have no organization. This should be obvious, since most of them are unaware of the existence of other Stargazers. On the few occasions they do get together, they are an organization of equals, none more important than the other. Despite what some people think, Dreksa is not their leader, though he has on occasion taken a sort of a "first among equals" position. Incidentally, if a group of Stargazers (and group meaning more than one) is standing against you, you are in trouble. Big trouble.
      The Stargazers draw their members from every conceivable race and species, and then some. Elves, humans, dwarves, Undead, angels, vampires, lazerai, demons, incubi/sucubi, Low Dragons, anthros, Umbra, ghosts... about the only races who have not been represented in the Stargazers are non-sentient beasts, the Divine Race and the High Dragons themselves... though Dreksa Ydraigoch changed that last one. Moreover, magical ability is not a prerequisite: some members of the Stargazers have never even heard of the existence of magic, and yet are no less members for it. Combat abilities are not necessary either: one Stargazer was nothing more than a simple navigator, who gained his nickname because he was so good at navigating by using his world's constellations. Their skills are just as varied as their backgrounds and races.
      However, despite all that makes them different, there are a few weird things about the Stargazers that they all share. For one thing, they seem to be tied to destiny a little differently than other people. Stargazers tend to somehow get involved in important things or interact with something that one day may become important. Just as an example, a Stargazer might decide to visit a particular world and be in a particular city on a particular day that allows them to get involved in a resistance force that is currently against a massive despotic empire but in short order will be fighting against something much bigger. A Stargazer might be in the right place and time to adopt an orphaned child who is the child of people from two different worlds. A Stargazer might randomly meet someone that they've been trying to find for years and be able to give that person a vital piece of information that they need. Coincidences more unlikely have also shown up, although it is always the sort of being in the right place and encountering the right people, so it's more the power of forming the right connections at the right time and place: for example, a rock never falls at precisely the right moment to knock a Stargazer's enemy out. Most people who follow the Stargazers note that for all that they are tied to destiny, they seem to also act independently of it. Perhaps what is strangest about the name is that there is no inherent magic tied to it (there are names and words that have magic linked to it), and yet people just seem to fall into the name, if you will.
      There are three other things that tie Stargazers together. Most Stargazers, upon meeting for the first time, immediately have a level of camaraderie approaching that of life-long friends, or at the very least act as if they've known each other for years: one side effect of this is that any wandering Stargazer (like, say, Dreksa) immediately has an ally that they can count on. The second thing is the motto: most Stargazer's seem to live by the saying that "There is nothing that a Stargazer cannot do," or some variation of it. The third thing is that most of them seem to live by an oath similar to the one that was once used by the Knights of the Realm: "the strength to protect the innocent, the wisdom to uphold justice, and the courage to stand against evil," though some Stargazers add a little extra to the line at the end, depending on their experiences. In a way, it explains what side Stargazers take on wars and fighting: they protect those who cannot protect themselves, and can basically be counted on to fight evil. Albeit, it does nothing to explain exactly how they can show up in the right place to fight it, but most Stargazers either don't notice it or don't think it important enough to care: as Dreksa points out, destiny is important, but people are more important.
      As to the history of the Stargazers... well, no one knows for certain. Each world has it's own Stargazers of some form or another, most - if not all - of whom have in some way been a part of history. Their origins are unique to their worlds. Few worlds have more than a handful and it's very rare to find more than one or two together, though it is noteworthy that about 9,500 years ago there was a massive gathering of about twenty or thirty Stargazers. Also, most Stargazers seem content to live the quiet life until the world needs them for something or another thing. Interestingly, there are some stories that suggest that the first magic-wielder might have been named Stargazer, which might explain their deep ties to the forces of magic and destiny...

Okay, that's some stuff about the Stargazers. Tonight, we dine with gods!

[Jairus]

Okay, tonight's post is... the GODS!!! I've kinda-sorta-vaguely-not-really edited Amber's template to kind of fit the way things go for me. It's still hers, though.

The Divine Race
General Facts:
• Intense magical abilities
• Varied appearances/powers/etc.
• Lifespan: technically immortal; see strengths/weaknesses
Overview:
      Manifestations of wild magic and belief, members of the Divine race (gods and devils are both Divine, but I'll just call them gods for now) are among the most powerful magical entities in existence, surpassed only by a handful of other beings including the Faerie race. Born from eddies in wild magic and shaped by belief, gods are everything that they are believed to be... literally.
      Now, as a part of my efforts to save time, here's part of the post I gave on page 3 about how gods are "born" and shaped.

Gods and Faeries are basically a part of wild magic in much the same way that leaves and the trunk respectively are a part of a tree. They grow from the root of their power, and are a part of it, and might even be the part that everyone sees, but there's so much more going on behind the scenes.
      Okay, have you ever seen a little vortex of air when you're just out walking? It looks a bit like a minor tornado, and it's created by winds hitting in weird ways or being accidentally redirected by cars and stuff. Anyway, not important. Imagine instead that that little vortex of wind, it's a vortex of wild magic. Now imagine that that vortex might fade away to almost nothingness, but it can never truly go away. And that every time it blows past someone, it becomes a little stronger and is shaped by their belief in it. Okay, that's basically what a god is. It's a little nexus of wild magic shaped by belief into something more powerful. So every god that has ever been believe in exists to one degree or another (yes, even the Flying Spaghetti Monster and the Invisible Pink Unicorn: while wild magic can be controlled through a sort of logic, it's really more like quasi-logic than anything), and is more or less how people imagine them.
      So, the short answer is, gods are no better than the beings that created them. In fact, only a handful of the most powerful gods cab even migrate between different worlds and thus truly be older than the civilization that believes in them. Each god basically has the normal powers: super strength, immense magical power, immortality, the ability to bestow power upon their believers. Most gods are aware of what they are to one degree or another, and so while their believers are duking it out down on the mortal planes most gods actually have a somewhat friendly rivalry. Gods also need the continued faith of their believers, even if it's just one person who truly believes in them, to cling onto their "life." And yes, they're powerful, but there's also a certain lack of control to that power in that they can only use it as their origins see fit, if that kind of makes sense. Some gods are extremely powerful and have power rivaling Faeries, but considering that Faeries can do more to a god than a god can do to a Faerie, most gods don't try.

To sum up, the origins, powers, abilities, and backgrounds of the various gods is as diverse as the worlds that gave birth to them.
Strengths:
      Immense magical abilities, physical power, and nigh-immortality are part of the reason why gods can claim the authority that they have. Because of their origins, any god has nearly unlimited control over whatever fits them: a fire god controls fire, an earth goddess can control earth, and a water devil can control water, etc etc etc. Also, due to their varied origins, their weakness and strengths also tend to be different, so one strategy does not necessarily work on all gods. If someone actually succeeds in "killing" a god, the amount of belief surrounding them will actually revive their "soul" from death, and so long as a god has even one believer it can hang on to life. Gods can also lend some of their power to people who belief in them (think "prophet"). In addition, provided belief is strong enough, almost anyone can "become" a god: some gods are in fact the magically transformed souls of people who died heroically in battle or some other circumstance.
Weaknesses:
      In addition to the weaknesses that people believe that they have (i.e. a trickster god who cannot resist a riddle), gods also have a few other weaknesses among them. Gods - like Faeries - cannot use Black magic, so anyone using black magic against a god has an extra weapon against them. If a god has no more believers left, it gradually fades away until it almost doesn't exist anymore. Since gods are shaped by belief, if how people interpret them changes then they are altered as well. A god that is killed is revived is only the god that it is supposed to be, and has none of the memories or experiences from its previous incarnation. Also, gods are weakened by belief, or rather someone else's belief: a Holy weapon (Holy is a term for focused faith) is capable of injuring or even "killing" a god (consider that to Dreksa, his sword Stigmata represents his belief in himself, his family, his friends, and his magic, and it's no surprise that most gods don't really try to cross his path). Most gods are also tied to their world, since belief in them does not exist on other worlds.
History:
      About the only element of history that the Gods have in common is that they do not predate the existence of sentient life on their worlds, with the exceptions of a handful of truly disturbingly powerful gods with power roughly equal to the Faerie race that can travel between worlds. Most gods tend to have somewhat friendly rivalries between gods of foreign belief systems.
Key Figure: Python the Trickster (age: unknown) is one of the oldest and most powerful gods, mainly because he was very good at becoming that. His exact powers and origins are hard to pin down, but what is known is that he has six bodies that allow him to be in six places at once, each of which could be considered an element of the trickster archetype... if it was that easy to define exactly what he is. His power is enough that he can travel between the worlds, and tends to use his powers to cause surreal and just plain insane situations wherever he goes... not unlike a Faerie, in fact. He is not as vain as other gods, and most of his humor is all in good fun: he takes great pains to ensure that no one is hurt by his antics. In desperate circumstances, he has been known to bring all six of his incarnations together into one body, allowing him to use reality-altering power greater than most Faeries...

Okay, questions? Comments? Concerns? Ideas of what to do next?

And I kind of apologize for the lack of organized info on the Stargazers: no one in their universe really knows much about them, so it's kind of hard to pin them down. Any questions about them?

[Pagan]

The Stargazers sound quite interesting. I noticed that the big gathering happened around the same time of Dreska's birth, any significance?

A question about divines, you said as faith in them wanes, they'll fade away and die eventually, so- just as an examble- would the old greek or egpytian gods been really strong in the old times, but pretty much gone nowadays?
So an object of strong belief can possibly wound a god? Could you maybe explain that a bit more.

[Jairus]

The Stargazers sound quite interesting. I noticed that the big gathering happened around the same time of Dreska's birth, any significance?

It's just a generalization of dates, actually (mainly because I don't want to say that it happened on an exact date... that's a little cliché, in my opinion). The weird date is so that these mysterious events didn't happen exactly 10,000 years before: if that did happen, someone would think that all of the weird shit about to go down was a result of some ancient seal that could only last 10 millennia, instead of a bunch of different happenings happening at the same time and building up on one another. Basically, it's me subverting the fantasy time scale.
      As for the closeness to Dreksa's birth... he was about twenty or so at the gathering. So Dreksa's birth actually happened just before the big hoopla in the past... and no he wasn't the result of some ancient prophecy or some such.

A question about divines, you said as faith in them wanes, they'll fade away and die eventually, so- just as an examble- would the old greek or egpytian gods been really strong in the old times, but pretty much gone nowadays?

I'd imagine that they're still around, but severely weakened. And yes, they would have been pretty powerful, especially considering that you had a fairly large civilization believing in them for quite some time. Plus, you have to remember that the countries and nations that believed in them (and looters as well) have temples and monuments and statues devoted to the memory of those gods, all of which give gods additional anchors to existence. However, I imagine that at this point they'd be so weak that if you were to kill them off, their revived form would be little more than an echo on the magical wind, which is about as close as you can get to killing a god. At this point, there's really no way that they can ever come back.

So an object of strong belief can possibly wound a god? Could you maybe explain that a bit more.

Okay, I'll try to explain this (it's only happened a few times in history, and it's a little weird). Let us imagine that you had a charismatic leader who riled up the population and became this larger than life figure. And then this leader is killed, let's say by the government they were opposed to. But the belief in this larger than life figure lives on, and over time more and more stories are told about this individual, and gradually they build on each other until the individual in question is resurrected as a god. It's a really long and slow process (centuries at the lest), and it rarely works out perfectly. Honestly, it'd be easier to start from scratch to make a new god.
      As for Holy weapons, they're basically forged from belief. Certain amounts of belief can imbue some fairly impressive abilities into a weapon, aside from the obvious creation of a holy weapon. It's this focused belief transformed into a weapon that disrupts the belief that holds a god's body together. Incidentally, if Nick were to ever engage a god in a battle, Cal could serve as his holy weapon, since it exemplifies best the three things he most believes in. One, the sorcerer's stone built into it symbolizes his belief in magic and it's controllability and it's power. Two, Cal's body symbolizes his belief in science and logic. Three, it symbolizes his connection and belief in his friends: that sorcerer's stone was a gift to Nick from his first and best friend Corey. Those three things combined together means that Nick actually has a fairly potent Holy weapon on his hand (well, wrist).
      Much like how belief can create some weird affects, it can also create some interesting Holy artifacts. Just as an example (and I'm not calling on this from an idea that's bouncing around in my head, nooooooo), let us pretend that about 1,500 years ago a Welsh warlord named Artur wielded a well-made sword called Caledfwlch. This sword might be made from a fallen meteorite, but aside from that it's nothing special. Now add 1,500 years of myths, legends, fairytales, cartoons, books, stories... and suddenly you have King Arthur of England and his magical sword Excalibur that can cut through anything. That massive amount of belief will have imbued the legendary abilities of Excalibur into Caledfwlch, and anyone wielding the original Caldefwlch who knows what it is can call on the supernatural sharpness of the legendary Excalibur. As an even better example (also not drawn from an idea that's bouncing around in my head), a simple clay cup that a simple carpenter drank from 2,000 years ago doesn't matter much in the scheme of things. But add in that that simple carpenter is believed to have been the Son of God, and the fact that the cup also supposedly caught his holy blood, and centuries of beliefs (regardless of whether or not they're backed up by history or even the mythology of the religion that this figure is attached to) focused on a simple little cup, and suddenly you've got the Holy Grail, an artifact that can prolong the life of and heal anyone who drinks from it. Whether or not he was the son of God doesn't matter: what matters is that people believe that the cup he drank from has power because of it. That is the power of belief: a single artifact that can focus all of this belief is a very potent weapon indeed, which is why such legendary weapons and artifacts are so powerful in the hands of the right (or wrong) wielders...

Um, any questions? And I hope I didn't offend anyone, they're just examples.

[Jairus]

Well, now that I've got the basics of the universe down and a little bit of race info out, I feel it's about time to start posting some biographies about the main characters. All of these are current up the where the story starts, and are based on what the characters know and believe about themselves - so of course, some things have been censored.

For my first player, Cornelius. The character template is a modified version of Amber's, so credit basically goes to her again.

Name: Cornelius Ran Sorato
Nicknames:Cor, Corey, the Gale Sword, "Creep!!!"
Age: 26
Family: Mother (Wilhelmina), Father (Gerik), Sister (Francine)
Marital Status: Single
Species: Hybrid Human (nothing else really: his four wings are just one of the occasional side effects of having an adventurer for a parent)
Type: Wizard, technically (see Trivia)
Hair color: Red
Eye color: Sea Green
Skills: Swordsmanship, martial arts, able to pull a weapon out from nowhere when he needs it
Hobbies: Adventuring, partying, carousing, showing-off, making a fool of himself
Favorite Weapon(s): Wolkenschneider (custom greatsword)
Most known for: Looking for adventure big and small... at any excuse
Favorite food: Steak medium-rare, booze
Favorite color: Rust red/brown
Overview
Personality: If first impressions are important, then Cor always gives the impression of a shallow show-off flirt. An attention whore, he enjoys being at the center of the spectacle, and seems to attract all kinds of attention. Beneath it all, however, is a man who firmly believes in justice and protecting others, and will leave at the drop of a hat to save the day with no expectation of reward (he gets attention, and to be honest that's all that he wants). He has in the past gone to extreme measures to help people that he perceives as needing help (in fact, this is how he and Nick met). He is also usually the one who throws himself in-between danger and his friends, though fortunately he can absorb a lot of damage. Below all of that, however, he is an emotional young man who deeply relies on his friends to keep him sane... or at least balanced, and he strives to keep this hidden.
History: The son of Wilhelmina and Gerik Ran Sorato, Cor has had an interest in being a warrior and adventurer like his dad since he was a little boy. Despite his four wings, he is not an angel: in fact he doesn't really give a second thought to them most of the time. He doesn't talk about his past much (mainly because his friends all know it), though it is known that both of his parents are currently missing, though he and his sister occasionally get cards from their mom. Though he has a tendency of making friends (and enemies) wherever he goes, his closest friends are Ariel, Tarn, and Nick (which he met at five, six and fourteen respectively). Cor retired from heroing a few months ago, and currently he is living at the Cralatav Inn with his older sister Francine.
Trivia:
• Despite being a wizard, he hasn't used magic since he was five or so. He doesn't talk about it. Despite not liking to use his natural gifts, he is not above using enchanted objects.
• Cor's collection of melee weapons is truly impressive, and he has trained in each one of them. Each one of them has a story behind it that he is quite willing to tell... if his sister lets him.
• The great kilt that he wears as a part of his normal outfit was a gift from his friend Tarn. The garment is enchanted to protect against magic, offers some physical protection, is designed to fit around his wings, and can actually wrap and tie itself around him when he's in a hurry. The outfit's usefulness is enough that he doesn't care that it - combined with his long red hair tied back in a ponytail - makes him look a bit like a woman. When he goes on adventures, he also adds a few pieces of armor - including a helmet (on his first adventure, he quickly learned that you need head protection). All of the armor was custom crafted by his friend Nick for him.
• Likewise, Wolkenschneider was a gift from Nick. Due to the complexities of wielding Wolkenschneider, Cor is one of the only people who can wield it safely - a hint that he may be smarter than he lets on.
• Despite not using the power often, Cor is capable of flying with his wings. In fact, he is substantially more skilled than most winged beings/creatures of equivalent age, and is capable of hovering or flying backwards with his wings. On occasion, this has turned into a nasty surprise for an enemy of his.
• While he was at the academy, he had a crush on Nick's older sister Artemis, a fourth year when Cor was just started. He was very excited to get a chance to meet her in person when he and Nick became friends.
• On a minor side note, Cor is slightly jealous of Nick that Nick was younger than him when he lost his virginity... though out of respect for Nick's wishes he doesn't talk about it.
• When nervous, his wings tend to retreat closer to his body... a trick that allows him to make a very quick assisted jump away, faster than if he had opened them instead. Though it doesn't allow him to fly, it does give him room to do so.
Personal Quote: "Ooh, shiny..."

Okay, questions?

[Jairus]

Call this an early prototype, a quick short story. This isn't done, and I'm just posting a few paragraphs to get some feedback before I move forward. This is meant to be a little story about Elian, back during his adventurer days before he lost his eye.

"Undead Temple"

      There is a certain stillness that only an abandoned building has. On the one hand, you have the knowledge that at one point in the past, this temple or castle or tomb or city was a thriving and bustling area, with workers and citizens and soldiers and all of the other little cogs that made the whole machine work milling about doing their jobs with their own concerns and needs. On the other hand, you have the knowledge that you are standing in the middle of a gradually decaying space, where the only living human to set foot in the building in a thousand years was you, and you were surrounded by what might have once been cultivated gardens but were now jungles, and the guards who had protected this place in life were now protecting it in death. It was a horrible and beautiful dichotomy that reminded whoever so much as experienced it that all of life was temporary and even the greatest of accomplishments today would one day be forgotten and buried.
      Elian Cidney loved it. Well, except for the Undead soldiers, that is. Like the one that was right now running – well, shambling – at him brandishing a sword half-eaten by rust...
      The revolver rang out once, putting a magic-charged bullet through the head of the zombified guard. The skull shattered, the spell trapping the guard's soul collapsed, and the half-armored skeleton crumbled to the ground. A brief gust of what felt like wind blew past, and the pile was still. The young (well, twenty-three years old) elf lowered his gun and gave the bones a quick look.
      "Sorry. I wish I could have done more." He continued moving deeper into the temple.
      To be fair, the use of undead soldiers was a brilliant time-saver on the part of whoever built this temple. Sometimes the cinemas got it right: some temple-building idiots had in fact built deadly traps, needing complicated movements to avoid them, and with horrible consequences for the ones who did not get it right. It may have kept out some thieves, but it also led to a higher turnover for priests, and you did not really have a backup plan for if someone actually got through and out. Instead, these designers had hit on the brilliant idea of "killing" a handful of their guards and using powerful dark sealing spells to trap their souls in their bodies, creating an immortal army of undead guards who would protect the temple from invaders until they had been destroyed while letting the right people past. And considering that all signs indicated that the civilization had collapsed about two millennia ago and the soldiers were still going, the priests had done some good work. What could possibly go wrong?
      Considering that the phrase "living hell" fairly accurately described what these souls had been experiencing since their creation, a quick fairly-painless final death from a bullet was the nicest thing he could offer them.

Okay, I'll see where it goes from here. Please, I am begging you, tear into it, tell me what I'm doing wrong so that I can work on it.

[Jairus]

Okay, time to introduce a first for my thread: a Faerie. This, incidentally, shall serve as a little warmup to introduce a profile for the Faerie race sometime this week.

May I introduce Ariel Shakespeare (it'll make sense). The character template is still a modified version of Amber's, so credit basically goes to her. Again.

Name: Ariel Shakespeare
Nicknames: Airy, Airhead, Music Mistress
Age: Unknown
Family: Old Boyfriend (William Shakespeare), remainder unknown
Marital Status: Single and Insane
Species: Faerie
Type: Faerie
Hair color: Sea green (she changed it after she met Cor)
Eye color: Pink
Skills: Faerie magic (really, do I need to explain any more?), the "Dancing River"
Hobbies: Being cheerful!
Favorite Weapon(s): Faerie magic, but more commonly she uses a big honkin' mace or a bladed polearm of some kind.
Most known for: Causing spontaneous crowd songs at a moment's notice
Favorite food: Raisins
Favorite color: Rainbows!! um, tie-dye (she had to be talked down from "penguin")
Overview
Personality: Light, bubbly, and as airy as her name, Ariel is the kind of person who always has a smile on her face and a song in her heart – unless she gets angry, in which case you should probably run (but then again, this is true of all Faerie). As a Faerie, things just seem to work out and come out easy for her, meaning that those who observe her can watch her seemingly dance between one event and the next. Despite appearing to be childish and simple, she is more than willing to become much more serious in the face of danger - though whether one or the other is an act or she is genuinely crazy is untestable. She was also Cor's part time partner for the years that he spent adventuring, and can still be counted to join him on his semi-retirements from retirement. Through it all, she is a kind and loving figure who truly wants her friends and those she cares about to be happy. She also likes musicals. A lot (more on this in the trivia section).
History: Ariel's history is relatively unknown. She has known Cor since he was about five or so, and she has dropped hints that she is fairly young for a Faerie, but aside from that she doesn't really talk about her past. Cor seems to know more about it, including that a few centuries ago she dated an up-and-coming playwright named William Shakespeare in another universe all-together. Ariel liked his name so much that she "borrowed" it from him (she also introduced a trouble-maker named Puck to "Billy"). It is known that she hails from the Faerie Kingdom, however. Aside from that, it seems that her friends are currently the most important thing in her life. She also somewhere in her past learned a martial art called the "Dancing River," which she tried to teach to Nick but ended up running into a brick wall – literally.
Trivia:
• When Ariel does magic, she seems to prefer wind and weather magic - though she can of course do almost any form of magic imaginable. When she gets angry, she seems to pull out a lot of fire...
• Ariel is actually a fairly good cook... when she follows the recipes. Otherwise, she tends to... experiment (complete with somewhat weird ingredients). And those experiments can have some... interesting results. On one occasion, she accidentally summoned an interdimensional demon through a bowl of "chicken" "noodle" "soup" that she had made for Nick when he had a cold: he had to pull out an unfinished Skipper Mark III to defeat it. Another time, she baked an "apple" "rhubarb" "pie" while at the Cralatav Inn: Francine ended up borrowing her recipe and it's still one of her best sellers six years later. On another occasion, she baked "peanut" "butter" "cookies:" Nick still has nightmares three years afterwards that leave him needing to change his bedding. Her coffee can send people into temporary paralysis or give them the equivalent of the world's greatest drug trip. All in all, it's best to come prepared whenever she cooks. Nick also seems to catch the short end of the stick when it comes to her cooking, though he doesn't really begrudge her for it.
• Ariel's love of musicals is so great that sometimes she can't help but break out into song... complete with the nearby crowds joining along and an invisible musical accompaniment backing them all up. Most people in Crater Lake are so used to it that they just go along with it.
• She also enjoys dancing, and will sometimes use her dances to manipulate her magic - and to fight (see the "Dancing River" style).
• A part of the park next door to the Cralatav Inn has been turned into a Faerie Glen to serve as her home, inaccessible to anyone without her permission... or people who wander in by accident... or someone who has a pressing need to be there... or by random chance. Really, like all Faerie magic, it's a little eccentric.
• Don't get her angry. Just... don't. Her cute little Faerie antenna start to glow with a magical fire, her wings multiply until she looks like some kind of avenging angel, her voice seems to emerge from every surface around her, and the earth shakes and the wings blow and waves crash against the coast and lightning strikes the nearby trees and random discharges of magical energy leap across empty space... and then she gets mean.
Personal Quote: "Hugs for everyone!" *followed by Nick screaming and trying to get away before she grabs and hugs him first*

Hm, what should I do next? Should I add a little more to the "Undead Temple?" Or come up with some more Race profiles? Hm...
Um, anyway. Okay, questions? And please, make comments and ask questions, even a quick one for something that you didn't get. It weakens my fragile self-esteem when you don't. And yes, I'm shamelessly trying to guilt you into at least saying something.

[Jairus]

Okay, I'm currently working on a drawing of Nick so that I can do some costume work, but in the meantime here's a rotten ol' BBC program! another profile, this time for Francine Ran Sorato. Incidentally, I just remembered where I heard Sorato from when I made it up: it's the term for the shipping of Tai and Sora from Digimon Adventures/02. Hm, funny my my brain works sometimes.

The character template is still a modified version of Amber's, so credit basically goes to her. Again. For the fourth fifth... you know what, I'll just say that credit basically goes to her and leave it at that.

EDIT: Okay, revised version is now up. And this is why I love the internet sometimes: you can fix problems when they come up. Oy. I need Franny to knock some sense into my head.

Name: Francine Ran Sorato
Nicknames: Franny, Fran, "Run!"
Age: 29
Family: Mother (Alicia), Father (Gerik), Step-mother (Wilhelmina), Brother (Cornelius)
Marital Status: Single
Species: Human
Type: None
Hair color: Auburn (reddish-brown)
Eye color: Brown
Skills: Boxing, War hammer wielding, witchcraft, butt-kicking, extreme rage, and inn-keeping
Hobbies: Inn-keeping, hammering, cooking, brewing, sketching, boxing
Favorite Weapon(s): Massebrecher gauntlet set/war hammer
Most known for: Taking over the Cralatav Inn from her dad and stepmom.
Favorite food: BLT
Favorite color: Yellow
Overview
Personality: Franny's personality seems to defy definition. On the one hand, most people who meet her get to see her "angry face," a side-effect of her having to deal with some aggravation or another - usually linked to either her brother or one of his/her/their friends. On the other hand, as one of the oldest of the group of Crater Lake friends, she tends to look out for them and act as a touch base between all of them, as well as helping to smooth out the arguments that occasionally come up (her generally level head and affection for her friends helps keep her neutral in their arguments). It's arguable that the various antics of her friends and her customers are what drove her to develop her "angry face," and that her confrontational attitude is just a side-effect of her trying to keep everything from spiraling out of control. She is one of those rare individuals who is both in possession of a quick temper and in complete control of it, allowing her to turn it on and off at will: this, combined with a lifetime of practice with both her mom's war hammer and her own specialized weapon boxing skills, makes her a dangerous opponent, though she has rarely - if ever - joined one of her friend's expeditions. One notable thing about her is that she rarely needs to actually hit anyone: merely pulling out Massebrecher in it's exceptionally frightening Hammer mode is enough to quell arguments. If one thing is true, she is a deep and loyal friend who - though critical of the various insane antics that go on around her - would probably find life to be dull without them.
History: Though she addresses Wilhelmina as her mom, Franny's mom was in fact Alicia, a Guard captain several years ago. Gerik married Wilhelmina when Franny was about two, so Willy's been the only mom Franny ever knew: contrary to popular myth, the two step-family members get along wonderfully, and still send one another postcards. Her little brother Cornelius was born about a year later. As they grew up, Franny gradually became a very sensible young woman who could be counted on to keep her head in a tight situation - and to lose it when it was necessary to do so. Franny took over the Cralatav Inn after both of her parents went traveling, and has been running it for the last nine years. She and her brother currently live at the Inn.
Trivia:
• Francine's mom died during a flu epidemic when she was only a few months old. Franny herself almost didn't make it.
• Alicia wielded a large war hammer when she was younger and when she protected the city alongside her husband. Franny continued using it once she took over the inn from her parents. While Alicia could pull her hammer out whenever she needed it (with no adequate explanation of where it had been before), Franny never quite got the hang of it, and could only summon it when she was calm and at peace - in other words, she could only call on it outside of battle. This hammer was destroyed during a Wyrm attack some years ago, and was then replaced by Massebrecher.
• Massebrecher ("mass crusher") was built for her by Nicodemus to replace her mother's destroyed war hammer. It actually was designed to accommodate for both of her fighting styles (boxing and hammering), and as such has two modes that she uses normally: Impact mode (a pair of large waldo-like gauntlets) and Hammer mode (do I need to explain this?). There is a third mode called "Crusher mode," however it has never been used outside of testing. Massebreche stores most of its parts in an interdimensional pocket that Nick designed for it, and also repairs itself outside of battle. It could be considered a Proto Familiar, and is magitek driven since Nick's normal technology can't do all of the things it needs to do.
• She actually didn't like using her hammer originally, and studied boxing and kickboxing when she was younger, which explains why Nick designed Massebrecher as he did.
• Despite knowing a great deal about magic and having some power of her own (which is necessary to power Massebrecher), Franny never studied sorcery or wizardry, and does not use magic outside of enchanted objects. She does, however, use witchcraft...
• In addition to her sketching, Franny sometimes writes poetry... though universal consensus is that she isn't very good. She has acknowledged this, but still enjoys writing sometimes.
• She and Nicodemus tend to be the only voices of reason in a given situation, though Nick's tendency to panic when he gets overwhelmed means that even he relies on Franny to help him keep his head straight.
• Part of the reason that Nick and Franny get along so well is because Nick is one of the only people who always pays his tab on time. The two of them tend to swap "Corey Control" duties to whoever would be most effective at knocking him down a peg.
• Much like Nicodemus and Cornelius and a handful of the other characters, Franny is loosely based on two older character ideas of mine, one a battle princess and the other a big sister figure. (Nick and Cor are not based on the battle princess and the big sister. Get your minds out of the gutter.)
Personal Quote: "Who and what do I get to break?"

...

Oy, it's fixed now. That's part of the problem when these ideas are up in your head dancing around for years on end: they build and build until you realize that they're completely different from when you started. The oldest idea for Francine was an insecure young woman who was a bit of a jerk because it was that was the only way she could get people to back down. But still, it's been about five years since I came up with her earliest incarnation. To be fair, her younger brother wasn't as big of a hothead as Cor is, so she kind of had to change to balance him out.

Hm, I should make up another tech page, shouldn't I? Massebrecher, the Switchkey, Nick's Multidriver... I should talk about them at some point too. Actually, maybe I should post some information on the Faerie race...
Okay, questions? Ideas for what to talk about next? Hm, maybe I should mention some of the backstory of the Cralatav Inn.

Also, I'm still working on it and it's really rough, but this will probably end up becoming a drawing of Nick in the not-too-distant future. Hopefully, with a little practice, I can do a few more and all of you can start to get an idea what these characters all look like.

[Jairus]

Ah, the Faerie. Perhaps the strangest of the various races. Prepare to dive into folklore that for once is basically spot on. Credit for the profile template goes to Amber.

The Faerie Race
General Traits:
• Wings (generally insect- or butterfly-like... really, whatever they want)
• Some form of head decoration (antennae, halo, floating gem, crown)
• Incredibly varied appearances
• Powerful magic
• Lifespan: potentially unlimited, in practice millions of years
General:
      Arguably the most powerful wielders of magic to ever live, the Faerie are practically the incarnation of magic in a physical form, and might very well be that. Of all of the various races, magic comes easiest to the Faerie, with all of it's power and instability, which leads to most of them being somewhat... shall we say "schizophrenic?" They are practically immortal, and indeed can only die when they choose to, which makes fighting them a little hard.
      Despite their age, Faerie are good at keeping secrets - for millions of years, if necessary. Most of them dwell in a parasite universe that they call the Kingdom but that everyone adds "Faerie" to the beginning to clarify. They are "ruled" by the Oberon and/or the Titania, essentially the king and queen of all fairies, though most Faerie just do what they want and treat the roles as little more than a game. A very long and complicated game, but a game nonetheless.
      Incidentally, the appearance of the Faerie race is as varied as magic itself. Some are tall and beautiful, others are short and squat. Some are the size of buildings, while others could dance on the palm of an Elf. All of them have wings of some form that vary in number depending on how they feel and all of them have some form of head decoration. Since their appearance depends on their whimsy and will, it is fairly easy to tell a Faerie's mood, and therefore easy to tell when to start running. Faerie tend to treat life as a game, and the rules are something that they make up and/or change as they go along. They are also somewhat... unbalanced, mentally, and can have slightly terrifying mood swings. One moment, they can be sweetly offering cookies and milk, the next moment throwing down terrible curses on all involved. They have no sides in any conflict, except for the ones they choose. Interestingly, one thing all Faerie seem to hold to is a code of honor: once they make a promise or set themselves to something, they will accomplish it, no matter how long it takes. This extends to not only promises not to use certain powers, but also vendettas on their part against certain individuals. On the other hand, they also have fairly short attention spans, but they do have long memories.
      Faerie could be considered wild magic, and somehow are born from it. I will provide a quote from an earlier post to help explain what Faerie are...

Gods and Faeries are basically a part of wild magic in much the same way that leaves and the trunk respectively are a part of a tree. They grow from the root of their power, and are a part of it, and might even be the part that everyone sees, but there's so much more going on behind the scenes.
...*snip*...
Okay, so what are Faeries then? Faeries are natural-born cyclones of wild magic, the trunk of the tree: so intimately tied to wild magic that they are often mistaken for it. They are powerhouses of magical energy, and can practically rewrite reality with a snap of their fingers. They don't rely on belief since they are practically a side-effect of mortals and magic existing in the same place (I've always imagined that Faeries were born from the subconscious desires of mortals for the universe to make sense, but truth be told Faeries are among the oldest races in existence, so that probably doesn't explain it). Their primary weakness in the magic department is that they really can't perform spells, and can only shape wild magic to suit their will. So, basically each Faerie's version of magic is different. Sucks to be whoever's fighting them

In short, Faerie are practically made of and from magic, and share a handful of similarities with gods (including the immortality and the bizarre soul). Faerie can be born in two ways: either two (or more) Faerie can come together to essentially "jumpstart" a new Faerie, or in the process of "dying" an old Faerie will create a new locus of energy and give birth to a new Faerie. There is no limit to the number of Faerie that can exist, though they do try to keep the numbers steady. Besides, when you are going to live to be tens of millions of years old, you have plenty of time to get a family started. Faerie can also breed with other races, resulting in an offspring known as a Changeling.
History:
      The exact history of the Faerie race is unknown. They are potentially one of the oldest races in existence, and might very well be as old as magic itself - or even possibly predate it. Their immense magic seems to pop up in the weirdest of places (including everlasting springs, floating islands, eternal flames, and the deep-fried twinkie), all of which seems to imply that Faerie seem to do things just because they want to. The very trickster-like mentality of the Faerie race means that they are capable of playing games that seem a little cruel to those outside of the race. Interestingly, there are no currently living Faerie who remember a time when the Dragon race was not around...
Strengths:
      If it's magic, the Faerie have power over it. They can strengthen or weaken wild magic, neutralize spells (though Modern magic is a little more difficult for them to handle), and since the only way for them to die is for them to decide to do so, they are basically immortal. They can effortlessly cast the most powerful of magic, and can even bring the dead back to life with little effort (they don't, but they can).
Weaknesses:
      What weaknesses Faerie have come in two categories: the kinds they give themselves, and the kinds they all have. The first kind is so unpredictable that you might as well plan for them not existing. As for the second kind...
      All Faerie share a weakness to so-called "cold iron," meaning non-magical iron or steel (they're particularly weak to steal because of it's refined and purified state). Considering that cold iron is considered one of the only ways to kill a being that can only die when it chooses to, it is perhaps best not to dwell too long on this. In fact, Cold Tech generally is harder for Faerie to affect, though that's a bit like saying that it's harder to rip four sheets of paper in half than it is to rip three sheets of paper in half. Faerie cannot perform Black magic, meaning that a Black Mage has access to a magical weapon that a Faerie cannot use. There is also a spell designed to kill a Faerie (really, it'll basically kill anything else too, but it was meant to kill Faerie) that they cannot dispell, but it isn't well known. Incidentally, the cold iron trick and the magic spell that can be used to kill Faerie prevents them from using their energy to start a new Faerie life, meaning that it is a very permanent form of death (incidentally, a dead Faerie cannot be resurrected through magic: their souls are a little different than normal souls and are more akin to a god's soul). There may be alternate ways of killing Faerie, but no one has discovered them yet. In short, there are ways of killing a Faerie, but you're better off not getting into a fight with one anyway.
Important Figures:
Puck (Age unknown): One of the most famous of all Faeries, Puck is perhaps responsible for the birth of more trickster gods than any other being, and in fact maintains a healthy friendship with Python. There is no end to his tricks (incidentally, A Midsummer Night's Dream was based on one of his antics), and about the only positive thing that can be said is that his tricks are always in good fun and never cause permanent harm. His jokes are minor inconveniences at best, and major inconveniences at worst. Ultimately, he is practically the incarnation of chaos and poor taste (he might have had a hand in the invention of the whoopie cushion).

Okay, now I'm tired. Questions?

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Do you pause for breath?

[Jairus]

Do you pause for breath?

It actually takes me a while to finish writing stuff like this up because I'm checking the rest of the forum at the same time and responding to other threads. The more people are responding to stuff like the Ban Game, the longer it takes to write.

[Jairus]

Okay, this isn't a major post or anything. It's just a quick announcement that due to unforeseen circumstances, I will basically be away from the internet until late sunday evening. Long story short: for some reason none of the internet connections are working at my parent's house, so no postings here. I ll make it up to my two/three readers by writing something new every night and then posting them sunday. So, yes, Boxy, that means you are free of me for about two and a half days. Aren't you a lucky little box?