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[center][i]"Our Liege, the Duke of Brittony, has charged us with a grand Quest to rival the tales of old!"[/i]
[color=darkgray]—Ser Giles de Cerneau, Knight of the Duke's Household[/color][/center]

The Dukedom of Brittony is only a small peninsula, jutting out the side of the much larger landmass that makes up the powerful Kingdom of Gaulle, but it is one of the most influential demesnes on the continent. Its industry is nearly equal to that of Gaulle, its banks and merchant guilds some of the largest and most powerful in the land, and its noble court famous from war-torn Hispania to the Imperial lands in Thraecia. 

The Duke of Brittony and the King of Gaulle have long been at odds with one another. The latter views Brittony as nothing more but a rightful extension of his realm, his avarice only multipled by the great wealth of the Dukedom. On the other hand, the Dukes of Brittony have fiercely protected their independence for generations, all the way back to the times when the Old Empire held dominion over most of Gaulle.

Their latest feud concerns the Duke of Brittony's betrothal to the daughter of the Count of Savoy, a rich and powerful lord to the south of Gaulle, near Italia. The King of Gaulle has held ambitions of marrying his son to the Savoyard Princess, and had made several very expensive diplomatic overtures to that end. Thus her betrothal to a different lord, and none other than the Duke of Brittony, represents an intolerable insult to the Gaullish King and his dynasty.

Now word has reached the Duke's court that his would-be bride has been intercepted on her way to Brest, the capital of Brittony, by agents of the King of Gaulle, and is now being held in the royal Gaullic court of Lutecia. Rumour has it that the King plans on forcibly marrying the Princess and his son as soon as the latter is of age. 

This is where your tale begins. As a prestigious, well-respected member of the Duke's court, you have been charged by his Grace, along with several other of his courtiers, to rescue his bride and see her safely to Brest. Your unique skills will make you indispensable to this small party; perhaps you are an arcane mage, a learned priest, a famous knight or trusted guardsman, an influential aristocrat, or even a wealthy merchant. 

Whatever your background, you and your party face a daunting task ahead of you, but one fit for the tales of old. You will face down any number of challenges and obstacles, travel across Gaulle and perhaps beyond, and meet all manner of man and beast. Fame, glory, riches, and the goodwill of one of the most powerful lords in medieval Europe will be awarded to you upon your success; for this is the Duke's Quest.

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/vhbAHyr.png[/img][/center]
Duke's Quest is a small-party quest-style roleplay inspired by 14th century Europe, with a few historical tweaks for flavor. The full setting can be found under the "setting" tab. Gameplay will focus on this small party as they travel across Europe, defeating & outsmarting adversaries and overcoming obstacles in their quest to save the Princess of Savoy and return her to Brittony. I have a tentative plot in place, but I'm open to divergence from it depending on what everyone feels. 

As for characters, I'm looking to have a small but diverse set of no more than six. When creating your character, feel free to be liberal with the setting, within reason of course. By that I mean you can whip up any kind of background within the setting, just don't go creating new kingdoms or super advanced technologies or whatever. If your character fits in a fantasy 14th century Europe, you should be good to go! 

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[hider=History]
The history of Europe in this RP is much the same as it is historically, with a few key changes. These will be listed below.
[list]
[*]Harald Hardrada conquered England, not William of Normandy. As a result, England's culture is more Saxon/Scandinavian than French/English. The lower regions of England, such as Wessex and Mercia, are still largely Christian. However, the northern parts of the Kingdom such as Northumbria have seen a larger influx of pagan immigrants, and thus are largely pagan themselves. As the current King of England is also pagan, England is largely seen as a Kingdom of heathens and raiders by much of the Christian world.
[*]The Kingdom of Gaulle is a fairly new Kingdom, with a history stretching back just over a century. Originally the land it presently occupies was a mix of Frankish and Occitan dominions, with Normandy being primarily Gaullic. Just over a century ago, a great warlord known as Alasdair emerged as the ruler of Normandy, and his conquests over the rest of Neustria & Aquitaine would later go on to form the Kingdom of Gaulle as it stands today.
[*]wip
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[hider=Reference Map]
[img]http://freemaps4.me/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/14th-century-map-of-europe-5a622c5b767a5.jpg[/img]
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[hider=Fantasy Elements]
[hider=Magic]
Practitioners of magic are as rare as they are varied in scope. Members of religious institutions such as the Christian church who possess magical talent are known as Inquisitors or Clerics depending on their purpose (combat versus preaching). Their magic is faith-based and revolves around chanting and using religious iconography. There are also magisters, mages trained in the logic-based discipline of magic, typically at a famous university/academy or by taking apprenticeship with a court magister. They create magical workings by manipulating the forces of nature and natural law. Besides religious mages and magisters, there are hundreds of different hedge mages with their own unique brand of magic, including everything from druids to pagan shamans.
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[hider=Fantastical Creatures]
Naturally, as magic is a very real construct in the world, so are magical & fantastical creatures. A general rule of thumb is the more legendary/powerful, the more rare they are; treat the setting as low-fantasy. For example, dragons exist, but in such scarce numbers and reside in such remote locales that they are practically mythical to an everyday person. Religious creatures also exist, though only the truly powerful may draw their notice, as the veil separating our worlds is a strong one indeed, and generally not worth the effort of crossing. 
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[hider=Character Application]
[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Sex:[/b]
[b]Culture:[/b] I.E. Gaullish, Brittonian, Italian, Danish, etc
[b]Age:[/b]
[b]Physical Description:[/b] At least a paragraph, but you can include a picture
[b]Occupation/Skillset:[/b] Why are you in the Duke's Court? Are you a famed scholar, mighty mage, loyal knight, etc? Include your education/skills/expertise
[b]Personality:[/b] At least a paragraph
[b]Backstory:[/b] At least two paragraphs

[hider=BB-Code Character Application]
[noparse]
[b]Name:[/b] 
[b]Sex:[/b]
[b]Culture:[/b] 
[b]Age:[/b]
[b]Physical Description:[/b]
[b]Occupation/Skillset:[/b]
[b]Personality:[/b] 
[b]Backstory:[/b]
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