Please post character sheets here. Everything is open for discussion and change, though I will try to guide the flow of things towards my overall feel for the story. 

Hold nothing back.

I held back on the opening post to allow others' imaginations plenty of room to play. Feel free to do what you feel works. 

We all need to be relatively close to each other so that we can meet and let this thing take off. After we have things going I'll introduce the plot and things will get exciting. 

I apologize if the wait was a bit much, but if you're still with me, I'm thankful and glad. 

A private message will be sent to all in the [url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/53349/posts/ooc]interest check[/url] so that we can all move here.

(I changed my mind. No pms. I'll just post a link there)

[b]Characters[/b]

[hider=Avis][ Avis Bierne Cassell | 25 | Female ]

Appearance: Standing at 5'5, Avis prides herself in her modest curves. She's slender, maybe even a little scrawny. Her wavy, jet-black hair is messy, cut short to her shoulders, and ends in wisps. She ties it back with an old, brown bandana, probably in an effort to hide how long she hasn't had a shower. Well-used goggles rest on the bandana just off her forehead. Her eyes are a curious sight, the left one being brown and the other a pale gray. 

She wears slim-fitting, dark brown miner's coveralls with a loose, faded tee underneath it. Both articles are covered in a layer of ash and grease. She's left hand-dominant, so her left forearm is bare. But her right is covered in different cloths, braided string, and strange looking beads. Half-fingerless leather gloves line her hands, so worn that there are holes in the palm. Her necklace is important to note as it is the magical object to allow her access to the island. She often tucks the ball behind her shirt. 

Along the simple silver chain around her neck is a curious object -- a small metal ball about 1.5 inches in diameter. The metal shines a pearlescent silver, many lines are etched within its features that glow pale blue-white. On its front several little copper cogs slowly tick together, though it doesn't seem to show any indication of time. At its bottom is an intricate indent that almost seems like a keyhole. 

Personality: Neither a leader nor a follower, Avis tends to make her own path in life, and prides herself on her independence. Avis is naturally reflective and enjoys sitting down at the end of a long day to ponder the mysteries of her world. She holds onto questions rather than answers as they can always change, but questions remain constant. She regards her starved, dying world with great sadness. But she still holds a sense of wonder, and has clinically detached herself from her surroundings as a coping mechanism. She's adaptable, down-to-earth and laid-back. When she speaks it's with genuine emotion and honesty. Past the well-meaning apathy, down on the soul-level, Avis has a great capacity for emotion -- she's empathic, warm and gentle. 

Occasionally Avis is prone to feeling inadequate, especially if she's not met with success soon after she starts something new. Her level-headed trait can be confused with apathy, or a lack of care. She's used to being quite private, and has a bad habit of not disclosing her personal opinions. Avis also dislikes being alone for an extended period of time, and can become crippled if an emotional need is not met. 

Background: Avis was essentially sold to her uncle after her previous family could no longer afford their youngest daughter. He worked in a mine, and she was quickly working down in the darkness with him, even at her young age. There was family love between her and her uncle, but it wasn't the same as a mother's embrace and Avis went through a period of grief. 

Her uncle had collected many things over the years, old books, odd trinkets and a great assortment of chipped jewels. Being a natural tinkerer, Avis learned how to take apart his clocks and put them back together, better than before. As soon as he taught her how to read Avis found a great love in learning, and read his entire library twice over. His books on legend and lore impressed her the most, and she dreamed of lost islands with bountiful bread and honey. 

For her 18th birthday her uncle surprised her with a gift not even he knew the significance of. On a line of freshly polish silver he offered Avis an ornate silver ball that ticked like it had its own heartbeat. He told her it was the key to finding the island she read about in her childhood. But when she asked for further insight, he shook his head. Not even he had all the answers. 

A year later her uncle gave her his hot air balloon ship, and after working for months on the steam engine, Avis got the old clunker up and running. That was her ticket out of mining, and with a heartfelt goodbye, she left her uncle and the claustrophobic darkness behind. She never looked back. 

High up in the clouds for many months, Avis never tired of the fresh air, being able to peek over the steel railing and seeing a vague, dark land far below. And she never grew bored of watching the sky, in its many sunsets and nights full of twinkling stars. 

After years of pursuing the legend of the lost island, Avis came across enough secrets that eventually took her journey into the vast and endless ocean. She knew she'd be searching for a needle in a haystack, but she had to find paradise. After all these years, she was so close -- giving up wasn't an option. 

Other:
-- Avis is a tinkerer, and can fix almost anything. 
-- She thoroughly enjoys the tick of copper cogs, and has become quite attached to her silver ball. 
-- Owns and maintains a moderately large airship. [/hider]

[hider=Ivy]Ivy Kachess | 24 | female

Personality: If you were to liken her to a type of explorer, Ivy would be the one seemingly present in her surroundings, yet constantly stealing glances at the distance. Despite (or perhaps because of) having lived an undifficult life, she finds herself on the lookout for something... more. Vague dissatisfaction is nothing unique in a would-be adventurer, but paired with the sense that things will always turn out for the best, it manifests as surprising recklessness. Ivy doesn't require a plan in order to act, as she simply does what feels right at the time. She is often too self-absorbed for subtlety.

Background: By the grace of her father's work, Ivy grew up as an unwilling beneficiary of the war-making World Government. In the inner sanctum of the capital, being a faraway witness to the imperium's ruthless colonization efforts was the only price to pay for an acceptable standard of living. Orin Kachess was the renaissance man responsible for discovering untapped energy sources for the government to scrape up. Ivy didn't exactly approve of the World Government's shameless exploitation and pollution, but in a country starved of resources, she had little choice in the matter. When her father wasn't there to regale her with stories of his travels, she chased away the boredom by reading about various subjects: the past, mostly. It was a way to withdraw from the endless political machinations all around her. Yet when Orin came home with a mysterious artifact and a tale about an uncharted continent, Ivy couldn't help but to indulge her curiosity and follow this clue to its logical conclusion.[/hider]

[hider=Tawara]Personality: His emotions are mainly sublime, though irritation or indifference seem to peak above all others. This is not to the point of melancholly, however. He does not withhold his expressions, it is only that he sees himself as mature and experienced. Most things are considered mundane and typical to him. He tries to convey the spirit of a guiding hand to those around him but not with a direct, self-appointed mentor, mentality. 

Background: If Vue de Mer had slums, Tawara would have been raised in them. The closest thing they have close to the city are the distribution and production districts which tend to get a little greasier, a little grimier, than other areas. He was raised on elbow-grease and confidence. Learned to take things in stride from his parents, who both worked as mill-hands and farmers, depending on the season. Families in these districts were closely tied so work flowed evenly between them, with no one name holding a monopoly on any trade. Having no immediate family around, including siblings or younger cousins, Tawara was adopted by the older youths among the families, and in turn, adopted his share as he grew. Value was more than just currency or benefit, but respect and a sense of understanding happiness for all, overall. 

Other: 

Name: Tawara Jones (I didn't bother repeating his old name; I didn't even reference it. I just wanted him to have the nick-name "TeeJay". ha)

Age: 29

Gender: male

Appearance: 6', Wide shoulders and full chest. Very athletic. Has short, dark gray hair around his head with lighter gray on top which fades to wide toward the center. Cropped short and shaggy. He sports a thin goatee and a light 5'-o-clock shadow. Typically he wrips the right sleeve from his shirts and ties it tightly above his bicep, just below his shoulder, though no apparent reason for this ritual is known. [/hider]

[hider=Rui-Ling]Name: Rui-Ling Escellar
Gender: Male
Age: 21
Personality: Rui-Ling is, above all else, a figure who is content with his life, one that enjoys routines and relishes in normality. Possessing none of the fiery, masculine traits that his ancestors have been blessed with, this young man could be seen as one that is stagnant and ambition-less. He does not desire to die while in possession of the most wealth, nor does he feel particularly inclined to make his name something that is nationally known. He’s a social person who has dabbled into a wide variety of topics, but thus far, has no particular goal in mind. An aimless academic, perhaps, one that meanders through life at a steady, carefree pace, delighting in fleeting interactions with strangers. He holds his emotions close to his heart, rarely showing anything outside of the socially-accepted poker face that is oh-so essential to the lives of those involved with the aristocrats of Vue De Mers.

Background: The Escellar family is one of many mixed races. An old-money family, their wealth spanning from the days when airships were still a rarity in Vue De Mers, when clockwork muscians were still considered abnormal and taboo. Back then, the family was still full of innovative, creative people, pioneers of a new technological era. Now, the Escellar family are composed of aristocratic businessmen and women, investing in other companies for a slice of the profits. The adage of the family had gone from ‘Work Smarter, Not Harder’ to ‘Pay Others to Work Harder’, and it was in this environment that Rui-Ling, second son of Nysieg Escellar, was born.

Despite the urgings of his tutors and the disapproval of his father, he never whole-heartedly pursued the science of economics and finances, discarding them in favor of the arts. A charming young child to have during social events, his inability to care about ‘professional things’ proved itself stronger than his father’s stubbornness, and soon, Rui-Ling earned himself the title of ‘the Escellar Family’s Canary’. An absolute delight to have during ballroom dances or dinner parties, but pretty much useless for the deeper, more complex discussions about business proposals, long-term strategies, and fluctuations in market prices. As long as he didn’t smirch the family name by getting into some sort of ridiculous scandal, his father gave Rui-Ling free reign over his life. He even got a monthly allowance that was equal to a worker’s salary.

The first thing Rui-Ling did after that was promptly move out of the lavishly-decorated mansion of the Escellar family in favor of a one bedroom apartment suite in the merchant’s district of Vue De Mers.

And there wasn’t really any ‘next’ thing he did, because after that, his days were filled with doing whatever he wanted.

Which really wasn’t anything dramatic at all.[/hider]