[CENTER][COLOR=SLATEGRAY][B]C H A R A C T E R   C O N C E P T   P R O P O S A L[/B][/COLOR][h1][color=cyan][b]A   SONG   OF   GARTH   AND   FIRE[/b][/color][/h1][sub][hr][hr][/sub]
[sup][img]https://baku-panda.org/images/absolute_song_of_garth_and_fire.png[/img][/sup]
[h3][sup][sub][color=cyan][b]G A R T H   O F   S H A Y E R I S[/b]   [color=steelblue]♦[/color]   [b]T U L A   O F   A T L A N T I S[/b]   [color=steelblue]♦[/color]   [b]M A R[/b]   [color=steelblue]♦[/color]   [b]V U L K O[/b][/color][/sub][/sup][/h3]
[/CENTER][COLOR=steelblue][INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3]C H A R A C T E R   C O N C E P T:[/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][/COLOR]
[INDENT][INDENT][center][ [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHc4KPXOC5Y]Theme[/url] ][/center]
[b]As above, so below…[/b] [i]Since the time of the Great Flood, when the Empire of Atlantis was shattered and the continent of Poseidonis plunged beneath the sea, peace has long been the solace of the deep. The sundering was followed by dark ages in which some adapted, others evolved, or regressed. As the waters drained from out of the Sahara, an entire culture was wiped from the face of the Earth. But the periods of enlightenment that followed ensured that the developing undersea nations followed a different path than their counterparts on the surface. While war shaped human history, it was peace that defined the city-states of Poseidonis.[/i]

[i]New frontiers were explored. Some cities were lost to them, while new ones sprang up to take their place. To the far south, to the Antarctic Circle, the city of Tha-Korr rose up as the capital of the Antarctic Nations. Atlantis survived, its pride intact even if its influence was diminished. The former prison colony of Xebel shook off its chains. The Kingdom of Fishermen flourished into the Holy See of Tritonis. To the vast Pacific, Venturia became the Sparta of the sea, while its sister city of Auriana was their Athens. And the city of Shayeris, home to the mageocracy that had served as the scholars and advisors of Ancient Atlantis became a vassal kingdom to the throne of Atlantis.[/i]

[i]All of that changed when Venturia claimed an attack by the surface dwellers. The Council of the Twelve Nations has broken and, with it, so too has the long-lasting peace of the eternal deep. In the face of flaccid diplomacy, King Orm of Atlantis and Queen Clea of Venturia take up arms against the other, dividing up their neighbors for conquest in an unprecedented undersea world war. Both would use the present conflict to their own ends, uniting the undersea nations under a single banner once again.

Return to a history both familiar and new, a world unlike any seen before. A world beneath our very oceans. The saga of the undersea war. The curse of the Trench. Our cast will have to navigate these and other challenges, and they are confronted by political aspirations and ambitions of people who each believe that they are acting for the common good. There are no heroes. There are no villains. Merely victory and tragedy, which too often go hand in hand.[/i][/indent][/indent]
[COLOR=steelblue][INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3]C H A R A C T E R   M O T I V A T I O N S   &   G O A L S:[/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][/COLOR][INDENT][INDENT][i]A modern Greek epic, “A Song of Garth and Fire” will tell a multitude of stories in overlapping detail. It’s not the story of any single character, but for Season 2 will be divided among the point of view of a variety of characters integral to the overarching narrative, with the named four (Garth, Tula, Mar, and Vulko) being the main cast.[/i][/indent][/indent]
[COLOR=steelblue][INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3]C H A R A C T E R   N O T E S:[/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][/COLOR][INDENT][INDENT]
• [b][u]The Twelve Kingdoms of Poseidonis[/u][/b]:
[indent]The Kingdom of Atlantis (Sea of Atlas, Moroccan Coast)
The Antarctic Nations (Capital: Tha-Korr; Southern Arctic Region)
The City-State of Xebel (Bermuda Triangle)
The Holy See of Tritonis (Fisherman Kingdom; Greek Archipelago)
The Kingdom of the Brine* (Northern Arctic Region)
The Kingdom of Venturia (Pacific Ocean/Hawaiian Islands)
The City-State of Auriana (Pacific, shared border with Venturia)
The Kingdom of Lemuria (Great Barrier Reef)
The Deserter Kingdom (Sahara, extinct)
The Lost Kingdom of the Trench (Marianas Trench)
The United Kingdom of Shayeris and Crastinus (The Idyllist Kingdom; [i]aka The Hidden Valley[/i])
The Lost City of Thierna na Oge (Ireland/Wales)[/indent]
• His Royal Highness [url=https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Garth_(New_Earth)][b]Belgarth Melicertes Triton[/b][/url], Heir to the Throne of the United Kingdom of Shayeris and Crastinus, Apprentice to the Third Circle of Mysteries, the Prince of Idylls. [i]Otherwise known simply as Garth, the only son of King Thar of Shayeris. Because he has not yet come of age, he continues to hold the title Prince of Idylls rather than King of Idylls.[/i]

• [url=https://dcextendeduniverse.fandom.com/wiki/Nuidis_Vulko][b]Vulko[/b][/url], Keeper of the Sacred Chalice of Mommur, the Steward of Shayeris. [i]Serves as the de jure head of state for the nation of Shayeris until Prince Garth comes of age. Leads the Circle of Knowledge, Shayeris’ magocratic republic council.[/i]

• [url=https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Mar_(Earth-616)][b]Mar[/b][/url] of the Brine. [i]A Plodex youth, presented as an egg to King Thar by the Brine on the occasion of Garth’s birth. He serves as Gar’s page, attendant, and friend. [/i]

• Her Grace, [url=https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Tula_(New_Earth)][b]Tula Leucothea Adrasteia[/b][/url] of Atlantis, the Duchess of Tlapallan. [i]A young, teenaged girl who came to Shayeris as a child bride betrothed to the infant prince by the command of her uncle, King Orvax of Atlantis.[/i]

• [url=https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Queen_Clea_(New_Earth)]Clea[/url], Queen of Venturia. First to seek the title of [i]Ocean Master[/i], so that she might lead a war against the surface world for their pollution of the sea. Lemuria, the Antarctic Nations, and a conquered Auriana form the basis for her claim.

• [url=https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Orm_Marius_(Prime_Earth)]Orm Marius[/url], the current reigning King of Atlantis, ascending upon the death of Orvax Marius. Orm seeks to dissolve the Council of Nations so that a resurgent Empire of Atlantis can emerge. He is supported by Xebel and, begrudgingly, by an occupied Shayeris. The invasion of Shayeris serves as political clout to try and force the cooperation of the Holy See of Tritonis and the Brine.

• [b]Rogue’s Gallery[/b]: Black Manta, Hagan, The Unforgiven Dead, Bres, Devilfish, the Trench

• *Note: In Absolute Bounceverse, “Brine” is a common term used to describe the [url=https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Plodex]Plodex[/url] people.[/indent][/indent]
[COLOR=steelblue][INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3]S A M P L E   P O S T:[/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][/color][hr][hider]
[center][img]http://baku-panda.org/images/absolute_vulko_title.png[/img][/center][COLOR=deepskyblue][INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3]T H E   H A W A I I A N   I S L A N D S[/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][/COLOR][INDENT][INDENT][sup][color=steelblue]United States Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam[/color][/sup][/INDENT][/INDENT]
[color=#d9d9d9]For nearly sixty years, the USS [i]Trafalgar[/i] sailed the seven seas.[/color]

[color=#d9d9d9]Once a proud member of the [i]Kitty Hawk[/i]-class of so-called ‘supercarriers’ that had emerged in the 1960s, the [i]Trafalgar[/i] had followed its predecessors USS [i]Constellation[/i] and USS [i]John F. Kennedy[/i] by bowing out of active service in the late 1990s, after more then thirty years of deployments in the national defense of the country whose flag it had carried across the globe. Those proud memories of the ship’s service days were now merely footnotes in the annals of history. Since the ship had pulled out of Naval Station Mayport for the last time, it had been collecting rust in one of the [b]ghost fleet[/b] boneyards, waiting for its fate to be decided.[/color]

[color=#d9d9d9]Scraped for razor blades? Sold to a developing country? Turned into a museum ship?[/color]

[color=#d9d9d9]No, the [i]Trafalgar[/i] was to be towed out to sea and scuttled to the bottom, where it would become home to a new artificial reef.[/color]

[color=#d9d9d9]A gathering of veterans who had served aboard [i]Trafalgar[/i] during its many tours of duty had assembled atop the USS [i]Arizona[/i] National Memorial, paying their respects to the sailors and ships that had gone down, even as they watched their former aircraft carrier as it was towed out to sea for one last cruise.[/color]

[color=#d9d9d9]The USS [i]Gerald R. Ford[/i] was another aircraft carrier that carried the flag of the United States, this one launched in the current decade and the holder of the current title of [i]supercarrier[/i]. The Commander of the Pacific Fleet stood out on the bridge wing, watching as [i]Trafalgar[/i] was towed out some 207 nautical miles outside Hawaii, to the spot that had been designated for the artificial reef. If all went well, the ship would sink and lay on its side atop an elevated ridge line. [/color]

[i][color=#d9d9d9]“All ships, all stations, be advised that active sinking of a U.S. Navy warship is taking place in the vicinity of...”[/color][/i]

[color=#d9d9d9]The pyrotechnics were invisible to the naked eye, contained within the ship and buried under the water line. From this distance, the old sailor could see the ship begin to list. [i]Trafalgar[/i] was going down.[/color]

[color=#d9d9d9]“Shit!”[/color]

[color=#d9d9d9]The admiral heard the exclamation from outside the bridge. Turning away for a moment, the man poked his head in as he took stock of the scene and then looked over at the operations officer. “Status report?”[/color]

[color=#d9d9d9]“Several of the charges in the aft failed to detonate,” the project engineer answered, looking over a laptop that had been propped up on the navigator’s table for this event. Looking over the data on the screen, the engineer added,  “The ship is going down with a different dive profile than we’d planned for. I think we’re going to miss the ridge.”[/color]

[color=#d9d9d9]The admiral just gave a grunt, as he turned back toward where [i]Trafalgar[/i] was starting to disappear. Her bow section was submerged, the flight deck slipping beneath the water as the supersection vanished from view.[/color]

[color=#d9d9d9]And thus passed the m[/color]ighty[color=#d9d9d9] warship [i]Trafalgar[/i].[/color]

[center][color=#9fc5e8]+ - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - +[/color][/center]
[b][color=#9fc5e8]THE UNDERSEA KINGDOM OF VENTURIA[/color][/b]
[b][i][color=#9fc5e8]The Hamlet of Caer Tethys[/color][/i][/b]

[color=#d9d9d9]Tucked away in a shallow ravine, nestled in the shadow of an undersea mountain, Caer Tethys was a quaint, pastoral village. Located near the border with Lemuria, Caer Tethys had enjoyed relative prosperity as relations between the two nations had always remained friendly. 

The vastness of the Pacific Ocean basin, and the prominence of the undersea mountain, meant that Caer Tethys had also avoided any contact with the surface dwellers. Their submarines gave the submerged mountain a wide berth. Leaving this part of the sea floor unexplored by those who breathed air.

The temples of the [i]theoi halioi[/i] were open, as the citizens mulled about the Greek inspired architecture as each went about their day. The open columns, encrusted with barnacles and coral, permitted a variety of aquatic life to move on the gentle currents that passed like a breeze through the sleepy hamlet.

A visiting priest was lecturing on Triton, while elsewhere children were thrilled with a classical education, learning about the exploits of Poseidon’s champion, Nereus. In the gymnasium, teenage boys competed for the attention of teenage girls, while on the steps of the amphitheater’s round old men debated politics and philosophy.

It was well what one might have imagined life to have been like in another place, another time. Transplanted across hundreds of miles and more than a thousand years by the ocean tides. 

The USS [i]Trafalgar [/i]had been falling for more than five minutes. Centrifugal forces caused by the displacement of more than 60,000 tonnes of water had caused the ship to spin as it continued to descend. The [i]Trafalgar[/i] had built up a head of speed, plummeting through the ocean depths at near fifty miles per hour. The ship had started to break apart. The superstructure shearing away from the flight deck as it began to shatter into a cloud of debris that trailed behind the main hull that was aimed at the sea floor like a rocket.

The people of Caer Tethys had little time to react, for few looked up toward the surface. The shadow passing over mistaken first for a passing whale, or perhaps a large tanker on the surface. By the time the first shouts of alarm had run out, it was already too late to do more than watch as the USS [i]Trafalgar[/i] crashed down on top of the gymnasium, with a rain of debris hailing like falling meteors chasing soon after.

The old men on the steps found they had no more words for debate, for there was no future left that they could imagine.

Their children lay dead around them.[/color]

[center][color=#9fc5e8]+ - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - +[/color][/center]
[b][color=#9fc5e8]THE UNDERSEA KINGDOM OF ATLANTIS[/color][/b]
[b][i][color=#9fc5e8]Emergency Session of the Council of the Twelve Kingdoms[/color][/i][/b]

[color=#d9d9d9]“I have [b]not come[/b] to the Sea of Atlas so that my words might be debated in committee!”

Clea, daughter of Phorcys, Queen of Venturia was every inch her father’s daughter. A warrior, through and through, she might have easily belonged to the natives of Themyscira were she not a child of the ocean. 

She had risen out of her seat, seemingly prepared to vault over the table that presently separated herself from the flaccid diplomat who had dared suggest that a committee be dispatched to verify her accounting of things. Looking at each member of the council in turn, she finished by locking eyes with the one who had the audacity to sit at the head of the table. “I have come to resolve the attack upon our sovereignty [b]NOW[/b]!”

At the high throne, Orm Marius of Atlantis was merely silent.

For his part, Vulko was willing to count that as a blessing. At least, for the moment. Clearing his throat, he tried to keep hope alive for a non-military solution to the present crisis. “Destruction has always been the way of man,” the Steward of Shayeris offered, trying his best to maintain a conciliatory tone. “Those who dwell upon the surface will destroy themselves. We need not reveal ourselves to them to effect that.”

King Plodex gave a gurgling sound of agreement. “You mistake ignorance for aggression,” the Brine Lord proclaimed, in as curt a tone as ever a Brine spoke. “The surface dwellers do not even know we exist. They know not what they do.”

The Archbishop was next to speak. “This bickering is distraction. We cannot turn our attention away from the present crisis of the [i]dark water[/i],” Oceanus XIV warned sternly, as the dolphin-tailed merman leaned forward. “The curse of the Trench has returned and we must each devote ourselves to eliminating that threat yet again.”

In the history of Poseidonis, never had the Holy See and Xebel agreed on anything. Era ago, the religious decrees of Tritonis had served as the basis by which Xebel had been operated as a prison colony, a part of history that remained a rather contentious bit of blood between the two nations. So it was that every head was made to turn when King Nereus spoke and said, “Tritonis has the right of it.” 

Seeing as he had everyone’s attention, the red haired monarch of the bastard kingdom looked around the room as he gruffly warned, “Each passing day, we have word of more and more sightings of the dark water. Xebel has lost one too many of its soldiers to fighting these beasts.”

Clea’s hand slammed down upon the table. 

“One of our cities is now a wasteland,” the woman barked, her voice raw from both strain and emotion. Horrified, the warrior-queen of Venturia looked around as she asked, “Am I to expect no better answer than this?”

The sound of a staff striking the floor echoed through the chamber. Each head now turned toward the head of the table, to Orm Marius, who held to his trident as though it were a scepter of authority. 

Now, Atlantis deemed to speak. And, when it did, Vulko felt all his hopes, all his dreams for a better tomorrow, torn asunder.

“If this assembly is incapable of taking action in light of the present crisis then the purpose for which this council was formed has ended,” Orm offered. And then merely stood, and walked from out of the chamber.

Clea was soon to follow, with Lemuria close behind.

The Antarctic Nations lingered only a moment, stoic as always, before they, too, took their leave from the assembly.

As the Brine, Tritonis, and Xebel fell upon debate, all Vulko could do was place his head in his hands and fear for where this might lead them.[/color][/hider]