The land of Velja houses four nations within its borders, the Kingdom of Aliod, the Zigraes Empire, Pryocor, and the Catugan Republic. Aliod is the newest among these powers, having successfully separated from Zigraes in a bloody revolution that was spearheaded by the grizzled veteran, now king, Leontes. Zigraes limps along after their loss, having recently suffered the death of their beloved empress due to illness. Catugan, always the stalwart diplomat, attempts to build a relationship with the newly sovereign kingdom, leaving Zigraes very much to its own devices. To be frank, things look bleak for the young Emperor Immanuel and all of Zigraes. Since coming into power, he has proven himself meek and ineffectual, failing to muster his mother's charm and appeal to the masses. Many blame his age, but whatever the reason, the empire fears another rebellion that would further decimate the populace. Immanuel's advisers have proposed a political marriage in order to restore a sense of hope within its people. One of Pryocor's many clan leaders, a renowned manakete warrior named Nasara, has agreed to such a union in hopes to bolster relations between the two nations. While the promise of support from such a strong ally quelled the majority of the citizenry, a vocal minority took issue with the idea of relying on Pryocor. Manaketes, laguz, and scions make up the population of Pryocor, and some humans still hold an antiquated prejudice against such races. While those in Zigraes mainly stay quiet, the senitment is much stronger in Aliod, and Leontes has seemingly been looking for any opportunity to incite his soldiers to finish off their former home nation. Immanuel and his advisers plan to push ahead with the ceremony, banking on an alliance with Pryocor to keep themselves safe. While violence has erupted in the streets and numerous threats have been made, Immanuel refuses to loose his army against his own people in order to protect himself and their plan. His younger sister, Aria, decides to form her own band of soldiers to keep the peace in her newly hostile environment, being desperate to see Zigraes in a tranquil state once more. The siblings have parted ways, firm in their conviction that they are doing what is best for the empire. Immanuel faces a challenging road full of political pitfalls and thousands of unruly denizens, while Aria now embarks on a quest to prevent bloodshed at the hands of lawless bandits who prey on the unease felt since the war, as well as countless groups who threaten assassination come the night of the wedding. She suspects that Aliod is to blame, and sets out to expose what she believes is a well-orchestrated plot. However, during her self-righteous quest alongside a ragtag group of knights and eager volunteers, she may well discover truths best kept unearthed, and involve the four nations in a far-reaching bloody conflict. Velja is more of a powder keg than any one single person could ever hope to realize. [hider=Velja] As stated, the continent of Velja contains four distinct, and conflicted, nations. Pryocor and Zigraes once lived in a peaceful state of general ambivalence, with neither power wishing to make trouble with the other. Catugan stood between them, both physically and politically, acting as a facilitator during times of strained patience. The former empress of Zigraes earned some ire from conservative members of the populace when she attempted to reach out and form an official alliance with Pryocor, which pushed internal tensions to a boiling point, leading to the revolt and formation of Aliod. Aliod, as a result, has only stood for six years as a separate sovereign power. [b]Zigraes[/b], once the largest nation in the land, has always been home to a grand paradox. They house a highly skilled army and are governed by seemingly the most benevolent rulers in all of Velja. Never one to incite war, the empire has proven time and again that they are more than capable of handling any violence directed against it from without. Zigraes is home to an economically and socially diverse citizenry, even after the separation, and is only now experiencing some of the ill effects that go hand in hand with such a demographic. Money-hungry mercenaries and war-crazed bandits now lurk in cities once considered pristine, casting a dark shadow over the once idyllic nation. Emperor Immanuel seems ignorant of the small problems in order to focus on the larger picture, but that has made him unpopular, causing growing resentment throughout the empire. [b]Aliod[/b], a new, yet powerful kingdom, commands respect from all corners of the land. King Leontes is a strong and efficient leader, proving himself more than capable of inspiring his citizens to work towards making Aliod a wealthy and powerful nation. Economically stunted, the war-like Aliod still has much work to do if they wish to thrive away from the well-oiled center of commerce that they once belonged to. They are openly hostile to Zigraes, still apparently debating wiping them off the map, and bear resentment towards the diverse land of Pryocor, but haven't been in the position to act on either hostile relationship, instead preferring to focus on self-development instead of rampaging. [b]Catugan[/b] is the wealthiest and most spiritual nation on Velja, and is as such in the best position to keep the peace. The republic has done exactly that for decades, providing an example for the bickering countries that surround it. Catugan has always had open trade routes with its neighbors, and its religious influence has spread along those commercial lifelines. They revere the manaketes, especially, as they view the race as being closest in form to their gods, and as a result, have always attempted to keep those prejudiced minorities from assaulting Pryocor directly. Its army is nothing too impressive, and many wonder if its diplomatic tendencies will continue to suffice to keep Aliod in line. [b]Pryocor[/b] is the oldest of the nations, and contains fascinating ruins and vast deserts that once house glorious cities and monuments of a time long since passed. Many who remain behind are those who feel irrevocably connected to that past, such as the scions and the manaketes, but others who may have been considered outsiders have taken refuge in Pryocor's loose government, which consists of powerful clans instead of a centralized system. Some of these clans hold traditional ways of life, while others emulate the lifestyles of the beorc-centric lands around them. It is hard to generalize so vast and diverse a locale, but with a population that consists mainly of those whom face bias outside of their lands, it is safe to say that Pryocor mainly prefers to lead an isolated existence. [/hider] [hider=Races] Four races populate the continent, and they are chronicled here in the order of their prevalence. [b]Beorc[/b] are most commonly called humans, and they vastly outnumber the other races. Being creatures who mainly rely on cunning and strategy, they utilize tried and true weapons in combat and hold an astounding number of beliefs, some of which involves gods and beasts, while others still are more incendiary, which causes them to quarrel among themselves. [b]Scions[/b] resemble the beorc in every way, except for slight physical differences, most notably being a point in the ears. Descended from a now extinct race, scions excel in magic that is completely unknown to beorc, laguz, and manaketes. While they are skilled in the tomes and staves of the other races, their native magic seems to involve spirits, known as golems, and strange devices. Their ancestral ruins are often obsessively studied, and many long to better understand the golems that some scions are still able to manipulate. [b]Laguz[/b] are the sister race to the beorc, and they hail from a distant land known as Gallia. While beorc use weapons made of metal, laguz are blessed with their own tools in the form of claws and fangs. They are able to assume the form of the animal that represents their tribe, and this transformation is done without the use of stones, unlike the manakete. Much is not fully understood about this process of morphing, but it is notably quite temporary, leaving laguz susceptible to reverting to their human forms if they exhaust themselves in battle. The two tribes of Velja are the beast and bird tribes, consisting of cats, tigers, lions, and wolves, as well as the ravens, hawks, and herons, respectively. [b]Manaketes[/b] are the rarest of the races, but they are also some of the most respected. By utilizing magic stones, the manakete are able to awaken to their dragon forms, a feat with makes them respectable warriors. However, manaketes tend to be more intellectually curious and inclined towards pursuits outside of combat. [/hider] [hider=Classes] The ability to evolve and promote units is central to Fire Emblem, and will be a focus in the roleplay as well. Obviously, the mechanics of seals don't translate particularly well outside of the games, so promotion and class changes will be handled more organically. After enough battles, a unit might "promote" to its higher form, giving a wider range of weapons to utilize, or improving the chances of certain tactics working in your favor. In terms of changing to a completely new class, say, magic user to sword user, a unit will need to seek out someone to train them. Units in the party are the logical choice here, so keep in mind the abilities of the other characters on your quest. Each unit will be able to learn the basics of one other class, allowing them the chance to promote along two different lines. You'll see the effects of this in the actual game, seeing as stats as shown in the series won't factor into battles exactly. [b]Unit Types[/b] Being cheap and using Awakening's unit system as the base for this game. For reference: [url]http://www.gamefaqs.com/3ds/643003-fire-emblem-awakening/faqs/67148[/url] [/hider] [hider=Units] This will one day be an easy-access list of the units in the game, to be used in conjunction with the characters tab. CS materials: [b]Name:[/b] [b]Age:[/b] [b]Sex:[/b] [b]Class:[/b] [b]Homeland:[/b] [b]Appearance:[/b] [b]Biography:[/b] (Nothing extravagant needed. Who are they and why are they doing this?) [b]Strength:[/b] The classic stats of Fire Emblem, resistance, speed, attack, magic, etc. What do you want to be good at? [b]Weakness:[/b] And what will you sacrifice? [b]Inventory:[/b] [/hider]