[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/qmryfkC.png[/img][/center] [hr][h2][i]Plot[/i][/h2] [quote]Upon the Great Continent there exists the Kingdom of Astoria and the smaller, neighboring Kingdom of Wolfkrone. Powerful individuals and fearsome creatures of old reside within the confines of this vast continent. So great is their might that they have been immortalized by the people of the kingdoms - they have become legends. Some are even worshiped as deities. You were once such a legend. Your power stood amongst, even beyond, Lords and Kings. You, alone, rival the greatest of armies. And as the hands of fate dictated: you led a life of violence and romance. You've slain your share of legends, conquered frontiers, and your accomplishments were forever etched into the history of the kingdoms. And, finally, at the end of your life, you, too, were slain. Such is the curse of the immortalized: [i]"A peaceful death does not await the glorious ones..."[/i] Now, at the advent of the new millennium, a blight spreads across the land. The citizens of the kingdoms call it the "Re-rising". The Holy Church calls it the "Blood Plague". Regardless of what one may call it, it refers to the resurrection of the dead. These "risen" are marked by a mysterious symbol visible upon their flesh. The Holy Church hypothesized the blight to be the work of forbidden Blood Magic, hence the Chruch's given name to the blight. Although the risen may appear and act as normal people, they seem to possess an uncontrollable and insatiable bloodlust. Because of this, numerous gruesome murders have occurred throughout the kingdoms, with numbers amassing by the thousands every month. The ruling families of each kingdom, under the guidance of the Holy Church, are dedicated to purging the continent of this threat but political relations are strained. Some even say that a war is coming. You suddenly awaken from a long dream in which you walked aimlessly through a never ending field of white roses. You faintly remember a mysterious figure in your dream: a woman shrouded in white; blood-stained hands covering her face. But, more importantly, you recall that you have died some time ago - slain by another legend. You now also possess a mysterious marking somewhere on your body. It is unlike the marking of the normal risen but, rather, it is unique to you; not that you know of any of that anyways. And within your mind, there exists a beckoning desire to kill...[/quote] [hr][h2][i]Lore Notes (Optional Read)[/i][/h2] [quote][b][u]World Information[/u][/b] [hider=Glossary][hider=The Creation of the World]The Holy Church describes the primordial sea of chaos before the creation of the world as "The Void." It exists as the absence of light, darkness, time, and space. The first Primordial God and the only existence during The Void, Allias, the One Alone and the All-Father, brought the chaos the gift of light and darkness, then time and space. In return, the chaos gave him a wife: Astachia, Mother of the Void. Astachia shed the first tears and created water, breathed the first breath and created wind, and from her love sprang fire. She then, with assistance from Allias, gave birth to three Primordial Gods: Algur the Great Earth, Gnascor of the First Blood, and Scire the Perspicacious. Algur, in his arrogance, renounced the authority of Allias to which the All-Father created a prison to "bind his flesh." With a great sphere of water from Astachia's womb, Allias ripped apart Algur's limbs and threw them into the watery prison before doing the same to the rest of his body. Algur's body, in its weight, sank to the center of the sphere while his limbs surfaced to become continents. Thus the world was born. Scire the Perspicacious created the lesser gods and goddesses to act as guardians of Algur's prison. Gnascor, stricken with great grief for the loss of his favorite brother, tricked his father to cutting his throat and wrists so that he bled the first blood and covered the world. From his blood sprang the first men, giants, dragons, and the other beings. Gnascor sacrificed himself so that his brother's flesh may have meaning. As a tribute to Gnascor's actions, Astachia ordered Scire to grant knowledge to the then primal beings. From then continues the story of the world...[/hider][hider=The Founding of Astoria]During the Age of Blood, the Church of the Good Blood ruled the Great Continent and employed Blood Magic to enslave mankind. So mighty was the power of Blood Magic that even the giants and dragons feared it. When Lord Galant of the First Sword lost his beloved wife and unborn child to the sorceresses of the Church of the Good Blood, he declared war on the church and its followers. Many were quick to ally with Lord Galant including the giants led by Titanus the Unbroken, Saint Loraine of Light and his archpriest followers, Avalon the Chaos Sorceress and her sisters, and the Five Heavenly Kings. With his army of Knights of the First Sword, Lord Galant cut down his foes with swords sung about in legends. Titanus and his giants, using pure brute force, decimated the demon armies conjured up by the Church's Blood Magic. Saint Loraine and his archpriests with holy magic and weapons purged the land and captured cities that once swore fealty to the Church of the Good Blood. Avalon and her sisters shrouded the sky in darkness and unleashed a plague of death upon the enemy. And the Five Heavenly Kings with their awesome might slain the strongest of foes the Church could produce. After nearly three decades, the war ended and the Church of the Good Blood as well as Blood Magic, itself, were no more. In the remnants of the cities constructed by the Church rose a new kingdom: the Kingdom of Astoria; named after what would've been Lord Galant's first born. Lord Galant became king and his allies benefited greatly. A new age had come...[/hider][hider=The Holy Church]In the aftermath of Lord Galant's war, Saint Loraine of Light and his archpriests founded a new church: the Holy Church. Under the leadership of the charismatic and beloved Saint Loraine and with the full backing from Lord Galant, the Holy Church's power and influence quickly grew throughout the entirety of the Great Continent and even beyond. Not only did the Church provided places of worship, it also provided an expansive militaristic force armed with holy magic and weapons. In a way, the Holy Church has become it's own kingdom, separate from both Astoria and Wolfkrone.[/hider][/hider] [b][u]Legends Information[/u][/b] None Yet [b][u]Bestiary[/u][/b] None Yet [b][u]Guilds[/u][/b] [hider=Glossary][hider=The Heralds of Light][center][img]http://i.imgur.com/JSTcXhb.png[/img][/center] Founded by one of Saint Loraine's most trusted archpriests, Father Edrict the Lightwatcher, the Heralds of Light is a subset of the Holy Church and, consequently, is the largest guild operating in the Great Continent. With numbers amassing in the hundreds of thousands, the Heralds of Light are a formidable and exceedingly resourceful force that has few enemies yet many allies. Their guild motto is, "[i]Blessed by light, let we, who resound, pierce the abyss. We have come.[/i]"[/hider][hider=The Night Legion][center][img]http://i.imgur.com/fhKTMNL.png[/img][/center] The history of the Night Legion is as obscured as its members. The only certainty known by the people of the kingdoms about the Night Legion is that it does indeed exist. It is said to be a vast underground network of spies, assassins, and thieves who serve no one but themselves. Rumor has it that the Night Legion even dabbles in forbidden Blood Magic. Because little is known about the organization and its members, there is no accurate estimate of how large the guild actually is. Those who wish to join the Night Legion cannot simply seek them out but, rather, must be personally invited. From confiscated documents, their motto seems to be, "[i]On this darkest night, we serve.[/i]"[/hider][hider=The Brotherhood of Arms][center][img]http://i.imgur.com/NqYIZDE.png[/img][/center] Established by Scholar Moriah of Dresdenwood and backed by the Five Heavenly Kings, the Brotherhood of Arms is a collective of scholars and merchants seeking to acquire and study legendary objects of lore. In their five decades of operation, the Brotherhood have come in possession of countless legendary artifacts with their largest collection having a stern focus on legendary weapons. While not officially members of the Brotherhood, themselves, mercenaries hired by the guild are used for protection purposes and to accompany members on research expeditions. Plus, with the support of the Five Heavenly Kings behind them, few dare to steal from the Brotherhood of Arms. Their motto is, "[i]Actions of iron, words of gold.[/i]"[/hider][hider=The Goetia][center][img]http://i.imgur.com/jKv1Kjf.png[/img][/center] During the Age of Blood, sorceresses of the Church of the Good Blood channeled their Blood Magic to summon a militia of seventy-two powerful demons. These demons formed what would be called the dark guild Goetia. Feared across the continent, the Goetia fell any who dare oppose the authority of the Church. During the war against Lord Galant and his allies, the Goetia were finally defeated but managed to escape death by breaking their covenant with the Church and retreating back to the dark realm. Before they left, they swore to one day return to the world and exact their vengeance. They have no guild motto.[/hider][/hider] [center][b][i]*Remember you can submit your own entries. Post the information here in the OOC or PM it to me.*[/i][/b][/center][/quote] [hr][h2][i]OOC Information[/i][/h2] [quote][hider=Rules][list] [*] All standard rules apply. [*] As GM, naturally I have the final decision on all things relating to this RP. Obey the decisions of any Co-GM's. [*] Be respectful with other participants and settle any personal arguments over PM. [*] Romance is tolerated as long as it is kept it at an appropriate level. [*] Normal NPCs can be controlled but you must have my permission to control key NPCs. You are allow to create/control NPCs if necessary to your post. [*] If you need to be inactive for a long period of time, please notify me first via the OOC or PM. [*] There is a limit of two characters per participant unless there is reason to make an exception. Make sure you post your CS in the OOC for approval first and after being accepted, re-post your CS to the "Characters" tab. [*] Most important rule of all: [b]~Have Fun~[/b] [/list][/hider] [hider=Character Sheet][quote][i]*Please remove all in parentheses and put N/A for any optional parts you did not fill out in this app*[/i][/quote] [b][u]Personal Information[/u][/b] Name: (Fantasy-esque name; surname optional) Epithet: (Character's full legend name/title) Age: (Age of death and/or your age when resurrected) Sex: (Male or Female) Date of Birth: (No year) Legends Slain: (List the legendary figures or creatures your character has slain before their death) Slain By: (The legendary figure(s) or creature(s) that killed your character) Appearance: (Hider preferred; 3-4 lines minimum; picture also accepted but please include a short description of any changes, if there are no changes, then just put the picture; picture must be art and no photos of real people) Personality: (Hider preferred if more than 3 lines of text) Lore: (Hider preferred; 3-4 lines minimum; basically your character's history chronicling their rise to legendary status and their death) [b][u]Combat Information[/u][/b] Equipment: (Hider preferred; list the equipment your character uses; description of an equipment should include how it looks, whether by using text or a picture, what it's used for or its capabilities, a name for the equipment if it has one, etc.) Techniques/Spells: (Hider preferred; list a specific technique(s) and/or spell(s) your character can use in combat; your character may gain more techniques/spells as they grow in the RP)[/hider] [center][b][i]*Any questions, comments, or suggestions should be posted in the OOC or PM'ed to me*[/i][/b][/center][/quote]