aviendha

Illuminati: Becouse the world won't run itself. [Light Hearted, Conspiracy, Urban Magic, Dark Humour]

@Hellis So, um, is this still happening?

Magic Systems?

What are your favorite magic systems that you've read about, played with, seen, or even invented? I'm not talking about the generic magic systems, where 'magical' things happen because you said an incantation, or waved a wand, or something like that, I'm talking about the really well defined ones that have their own physics and whatnot that create a solid continuity.

Also, what are your favorite uses of even the generic magic systems? Things like necromancy, but applied to things other than people and animals, bringing plants, stars, dreams, back to life; things like systems that work generically, but involve currency, in payment of your soul, or similar things...

Thoughts?

The Wheel of Time - Trolloc Wars

@Tangletail I wasn't calling you a liar, I was asking for clarification that it was coincidence. And once again, forced labor, not an option, and building a bridge would be pointless and impractical, and again, you're jumping to the end of the campaign. Develop your character within the world before the end of the RP rather than trying to race to the end, ok?

Illuminati: Becouse the world won't run itself. [Light Hearted, Conspiracy, Urban Magic, Dark Humour]

So when will the IC begin?

The Wheel of Time - Trolloc Wars

@TangletailOh, so it's just coincidence that you happened upon Ba'alzamon's strategy to win the war? Read below:

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The fall of Aridhol was a massive blow to the Westlands, as it allowed the Shadow to now funnel armies into Coremanda and Manetheren. This was the 'hottest' part of the war, with fighting raging throughout those two kingdoms. The armies of Manetheren became famous during this period, with King Thorin and his grandson and successor Aemon achieving great victories over the Shadow with the new tactics. A band of elite warriors grew up around Aemon, the Band of the Red Hand, and their appearance alone on the battlefield could cow the forces of the Shadow. But the Shadow also gained renewed confidence at this time with the emergence of a commander who called himself Ba'alzamon. Rumored to be the Dark One itself at the time, modern historians now prefer the theory that this was the Forsaken Ishamael during one of his periods of liberty from his prison.

Ba'alzamon led the Shadow forces in assaulting Manetheren directly, attempting to penetrate into the Manetheren heartland by crossing the River Tarendrelle while the armies of Manetheren were engaged elsewhere. According to legend, King Aemon al Caar al Thorin marched his army day and night and beat the army of the Shadow to a strategically important bridge. Thus began the Battle of the Tarendrelle River, where the forces of Manetheren held their ground for ten days, awaiting relief forces that had been promised but would never arrive. Eventually, King Aemon's forces were broken and he was forced into a fighting retreat across the heartland of Manetheren ending with a final last stand at the Battle of Aemon's Field where the remaining defenders perished. Eldrene, the king's Aes Sedai wife and queen, felt the severing of their bond the moment he perished. Driven mad with grief, she drew deeply upon the Source and unleashed a vast wave of the One Power that routed the army of Shadowspawn and utterly destroyed the capital of Manetheren.

It was learned later that the then-Amyrlin Seat, Tetsuan, delayed and misdirected reinforcements so they would not arrive in time to save Manetheren. Her actions stemmed from youthful envy of Eldrene, a more powerful channeler. For this crime Tetsuan became the first Amyrlin to be deposed, stripped of staff and stole, and stilled by the Hall of the Tower.

Source: wot.wikia.com/wiki/Trolloc_Wars

It's discussed in one of the first few chapters of the first book.

EDIT: It's the 9th chapter of The Eye of the World, and Tetsuan's bit is relayed in the 5th chapter of The Great Hunt.

EDIT: "Manetheren blood was always stubborn, and more so after Aemon died and Eldrene's heart was shattered." - Moiraine, The Eye of the World

The Wheel of Time - Trolloc Wars

@Tangletail Except you're forgetting that honor is a really important thing in specific cultures. And in the circumstance you outlined, a man could and likely would swallow his own tongue before doing anything so immoral. He wouldn't just sit and watch- he'd fight back, and if he couldn't, he'd kill himself before any information could be forced from him. That's quite obvious. I would personally rather die than betray Israel, and would kill myself without qualms if I knew I was going to be tortured or otherwise suffer at the potential expense of my people, my country, my religion. And I'm a violin teacher, not a military officer...

One of the reasons Ba'alzamon keeps cutting her off is because you're attempting to rush this campaign forward by like 6 months, by trying to bring up the solution that Ba'alzamon comes up with that ends up almost winning against Manetheren. Please, don't do that... They won't even have the idea to approach through the rivers for several months. Don't use OOC knowledge to boost your IC stuff.

The Shadow should have multiple roles during this; strategy and planning, actual battle on smaller scales, and

spoiler

on a larger scale against the white tower

, infiltration, individual duels, personal quests... you're thinking very limited, by trying to force the RP into its final stage.

Illuminati: Becouse the world won't run itself. [Light Hearted, Conspiracy, Urban Magic, Dark Humour]

Sam

Name: Samara Rigby née Moreau, PhD, 'Sam'

Department: Research and Denial

Asset Number: # 485 - 21 - 8290

Age: 67

Appearance: Small in frame and stature, her appearance resembles that of a teenage girl. Her hair, shaggy and shoulder length, is bright white, though. Her eyes are wise, and grey, and sunken in shadow. Her age is difficult to discern from a first glance, given the inconsistencies. She is a walking anachronism. Her style incorporates the chic of the early fifties with the more drastic modern styles, in an odd yet compelling manner. Somehow, her teeth are as white as her hair, shockingly so. She wears no makeup, yet maintains a perfect complexion, though she never smiles. Her nose and ears and mouth are too small, and her jawline is too angular, though her eyebrows are precisely manicured. She is not beautiful, simply strange.

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Personality: Sam is exactly like any other woman over the age of sixty who has elected not to have any children. Oddly happy, and more than willing to live the life of a younger girl. This is further exacerbated by her magically youthful appearance and ambiguous age. She does not seem to recognize her own mortality, laughing off questions concerning time and such with an uncomfortable smile. Passive aggressive, she is unlikely to bring up any issues in the office, but she will be the first to act on her desires or disgusts. She enjoys eliciting confusion from others, juggling multiple personas; she can be as sweet as a grandmother, or as cruel as a vicious teenager, as innocent as a child, or as devious as a seductress. It is difficult to discern her actual personality, except in the company of her husband. With him, she is honest.

Brief History: Sam was born Samara Moreau in some small village in southern France. Through fickle childhood troubles, she found herself a victim of leukemia. Her mother searched for a cure, uprooting the family and moving them to America, before their last resort- she consulted an arcane sorcerer in Chicago to save the little girl, and the family found themselves in immense debt. However, the sorcerer took it one step too far, and attempted to enslave the Frenchwoman. The company put a cease to his illegitimate activities, by putting an axe into his chest. Sadly, this occurred in front of the young and impressionable Samara, who immediately became obsessed with death.

Sam attended a university in Germany, studying classical literature. She earned her degrees, up to a PhD in Language and Literature, while studying dozens of cultures through their literature and collective mythology. She still held an obvious fascination with death, and pursued a better understanding of it. However, given her childhood experience, she was frightened, so she decided to look for scientific means to reverse death. Within a few years, she stumbled upon a colleague who referred her to a Necromancer, where she began her darker studies.

Her pursuits were immediately halted by the company, and she was considered for elimination. Someone in the company apparently saw her potential, and recruited her, rather than killing her. Shoved into the Research department, the girl was given a probationary year to prove her worth, before she could be considered for a position as an asset. She was inspired to save lives, to find the secrets of life itself, given her own second chance. That first year passed, and she found herself on a search for the answer to eternal life, and oddly successful in her efforts, refuting false claims and pocketing potentially true ones, and determining their value to the company. Those academic pursuits have since become more personal in nature. She began to go by the name 'Sam'.

When she was in her forties, and her first gray hairs began to appear, Sam met a new recruit to the Damage Control department, Sean Rigby- a behemoth of a man, the opposite of her ideals. He faced death every day, with a beard as lush as any forest she had seen, and he seemed to have an aversion to wearing shirts. After a year of really strange dates, Sam proposed, and Sean accepted. The two were married in a courthouse, a quiet affair. They own a little cottage together, where they try to spend their time, but both are constantly working, and hardly ever see one another. At some point, Sam discovered a genie in a lamp- she made two wishes, but refuses to disclose what they were, or if they came true.

She has not been made an agent for obvious reasons; the volatile nature of her work, and the volatile nature of her psyche. She is not ambitious, perfectly content in her current position.

Skillset: Sam is, as far as anyone knows, immortal, and eternally young. Her research delves into the possibilities of everlasting life, and she investigates every newfangled idea that pops up, no matter how obscure or strange. Those which seem to pass her ruthless testing are then experimented upon further, while those which fail are passed on to others within the department, to discern any odd qualities of the items. In addition, she has her own theories, and tests them out on company time. Most of her research is into the classical methods of immortality and youth, though her independent works tend to focus more on the technological capabilities that might mimic historically successful methods of eternal life.

To be clear, she is not invincible, nor does she work in invincibility; her work is primarily in discovering methods of indefinitely prolonging a human life. Clearly, she has not discovered anything that is perfectly effective, as she herself has aged in certain respects, mostly internally, but it is most evident in her hair. Much of her solutions have appeared to be entirely superficial.

Equipment and Spells:

• The Fountain of Eternal Youth - A small spring which was teleported into her office space, which might potentially be the answer to age.
• The Painting of the Artist as a Young Woman - A painting which takes on the visage of its owner, aging as its owner is supposedly stuck in a stasis.
• The Philosopher's Stone - A stone which seems the most viable option for immortality, currently in her possession for 'testing' purposes.
• The Staff of Giving - A misnomer. In reality, it seeps the life out of its targets. A sentient object, it is kind of a jerk, who tries to drive its owner insane through a variety of amusing methods. Its voice can only be heard by the holder.
• The Djinn of the Lamp - Two wishes have been used, and Sam has one left. The Djinn is fond of her, though, and does general chores to help her out, as a janitor of sorts. It is mute, and chill.
  
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• Sean Rigby - Her husband, a tall and buff and brutal warrior who is entirely tender towards his tiny wife. He will protect Sam with his life. However, he is rarely ever around.
  
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The Wheel of Time - Trolloc Wars

@Lucky Knight If you want, my Gleeman could interact with them.

Illuminati: Becouse the world won't run itself. [Light Hearted, Conspiracy, Urban Magic, Dark Humour]

Hey, I'm interested in this RP! Is there any way I could make 2 characters, a Research and Denial dept. woman whose focus is on discerning the possibilities of eternal youth and immortality, and her husband, a buff warrior with swords in the Damage Control dept. that takes on all the worst cases that no one else wants?

The Wheel of Time - Trolloc Wars

Ba'alzamon, Commander of the Shadow

Shadar Logoth

Ba'alzamon was quiet for a moment, waiting for the woman to finish her seemingly endless rant. Once she finished, he waited a moment for the dust to settle. He pondered for a little while, looking at his servants, all poised in equal parts respect and terror, though not betraying any fear in their eyeless faces, blank and rigid. They did not argue, they did not fight, they were obedient, and yet, they thought for themselves, in a way. His face lost any expression, and breathed deeply. When he spoke, his voice was quiet and oddly sweet, reminiscent of the manner with which one might address a small child.

"The Light have libraries, and libraries have books. Books contain history, a history studied by every soldier who attains a rank of commanding officer, every woman raised as an Aes Sedai, every child who becomes monarch. And they learn from the mistakes of the past."

He sighed, dramatically. Raising a hand to his temples, he massaged them with his fingertips. A few of the Myrddraal leaned back, a few leaned forward, almost imperceptibly.

"The battle you speak of occurred far before the creation of Manetheren as a nation. Far before the grand notion of nationalism swept their people, which developed into an incredible stubbornness. It is something foolhardy, yet something to be admired. Their people are strong in a way that you clearly cannot understand. Given your clear lack of respect towards authority, you cannot comprehend their deference towards their monarchs, towards their fellows, towards their land. Your example is flawed, your idea is laughable, and your confidence is ignominious. Do not speak to me as though you are an authority on history, when you have lived for less than a blink of the Dark One's eyes."

Pausing for a moment, he let out a short, dry chuckle, though it closely resembled a cough. He began to pace, before continuing, his lips twisted into something like a smile.

"You are right about one thing. Just one."

Ba'alzamon stopped in his tracks, at the center of the head of the table, and glanced at the ground, placing his fingertips atop the table. He created a weave of earth, drawing from the source with a gentle hand, pulling the stone from the ground beneath his feet. In a moment, a chair had formed behind him, and he took a seat. Stretching out, to rest his legs and arms alike, he lounged, all the while maintaining his calm.

"You serve me."

He pointed down the decrepit road.

"Act like it."

Princess Naia Irabena, Aes Sedai

Tar Valon, the White Tower

"You can go in the library, kid, you just don't want to make a fuss about it, okay? For future reference, Tetsuan's a bitch."

Naia listened to the girl's suggestion, and furrowed her brow. Personally, her research tended to focus on the more philosophical questions of life, the meaning of things, mathematics, theory of the One Power- all thoughts which related to the art of war, not the immediate mechanics of it. She did not know weaves except to facilitate her research, and expound upon it, and those few every Aes Sedai must know to keep herself from dying. The latter were important, but relatively basic, in comparison with the amazing talents of the women of the Green- not that she would ever betray her respect for that Ajah. That could never happen.

"You're a Healer. Your purpose is to heal those who would otherwise be killed, not to get yourself killed. If you find yourself fighting, you'll end up on the front lines, and you'll end up with your head on a spike or in a stomach."

Realizing the harshness of her words a moment too late, Naia bit her lip, and raised a hand to her forehead.

"Oh, kid, I don't mean that. If anyone mocks you for focusing on Healing, then they're colorblind. When battle comes, just refuse to heal them until they've apologized. Though, if you're really still concerned, find yourself a Green, they're used to teaching that stuff. And they're generally friendly. Annoyingly so."

She offered a thin smile to the girl, though the exhaustion in her eyes remained.

"Anything else?"