[center][h1][color=00aeef]Celestial Bonds[/color][/h1] [i]There are currently two slots available. The first people to express interest will be sent the discord link. Any further interested parties will be sent the link if anyone drops.[/i] [hr] [img]https://i.imgur.com/Cnvv35g.png[/img] [color=fff200][h3]Introduction[/h3][/color] It is the year 1327, 32nd year of the reign of Vanel Adondum Galias VII, 16th Emperor of Grenheim.[/center] Grenheim, a grand empire stretching across almost half the continent of Salfare, teeters on the edge of war. To the northeast lie the Barbaric Skauls, who assault Grenheim's shores with abandon, and terrorize any trading vessels in the Adelanian sea; to the East, the kingdom of Lyngald attempts to encite its allies into war against Grenheim, to reclaim land that has belonged to the Empire for over a hundred years; and to the southwest, the Halidar republic is slowly becoming more expansionist, taking over the smaller nations that lie between it and Grenheim's southern border. There is no edge of the Empire free from threat. This constant tension has seemed to stoke the fires of innovation, leading Grenheim into a sudden industrial revolution. The people have yearned to move beyond the bounds of magic, which is cumbersome and takes dedicating most of your life to learning just the basics. The invention of the gun, mass production, and various gadgets and tools have made life very different from what it had been only a decade ago. In addition, many parts of Grenheim have seen several social reforms, broadened citizenship, and a growing middle class, upsetting the previous status quo of nobles and the peasants beneath them. In this age of social and technological evolution, though; the most significant discovery may be one of a magical nature. Two years ago, mages working under the emperor, studying the Adondum, the holy text of the Empire's official religion, discovered a ritual that could convert the emotional bond between two individuals into power. Specifically, the ritual gave one member of the pair immediate magical potential and basic knowledge of their abilities. The other member gained the ability to summon a magical artifact, referred to as a Gear. The bonded pair would also gain a sort of enhanced awareness of each other, knowing the other's general location, being able to sense their emotions, as well as some telepathic communication. Due to the problems at Grenheim's borders, those who underwent the Empowerment Ritual were immediately conscripted, though only a small percentage of the bonds seemed to have abilities that could be directly applied to a military context, despite attempts to find as many useful bonds as possible across the entire empire. Within the last few months, further research into the Empowered Bonds, and the many passages of the Adondum that may reference them, led to a second discovery. The mages and priests who had slaved over the project had been able to pinpoint nine specific locations on a map, allegedly the locations of pairs that had been chosen by the Gods, destined for a greater purpose that could save or doom the Empire. Immediately, these pairs were tracked down and brought to the estate of an old general by the name of Dalgen Carridan, who the Church and the Emperor's Mages could trust to train the newly bonded pairs in relative secrecy in a short period of time, as well as house them for the duration. Once the pairs were all gathered, they were put through the Ritual. Unlike any pairs before them, the Ritual seemed to burn a mark of some sort into the flesh of the bonded individuals, with each pair's brand differing in shape and location. To the men conducting the Ritual, this was proof that they were correct, and that these fateful few were blessed by the gods themselves. [hr] [center][color=fff200][h3]Setting Information[/h3][/color][/center] [hider=Celestial and Empowered Bonds] Two individuals with a deep emotional connection who undergo the Empowerment Ritual gain an Empowered Bond, or a Celestial Bond. The only real difference the two is that a Celestial bond gives stronger powers with a greater potential for growth, and includes a brand somewhere on the bodies of the members of the bond. The following powers are gained through a bond: [list] [*]The ability to sense the emotions being felt by one's partner. This ability cannot sense the reasons for a feeling, just that a certain vague emotion is being felt. [*]The ability to know the general location of one's bonded partner. [*]Telepathy, or the ability to communicate through thought. [*]One member of the bond becomes the Mage of the Bond, and gains the Celestial Potential, which immediately gives them an affinity with a specific brand of magic. Most individuals have the potential to harness magical energy regarding a specific topic that is representative of, or important to them as a person, also known as the Focus. Learning the Focus to one's magic often takes Mages half their lives, and learning to harness and manipulate it takes the other, meaning the only mildly skilled Magi are withering old men. With the Celestial Potential, a bonded Mage immediately knows their Focus, and a basic understanding of how to harness it. [*]The other member of the bond becomes the Knight of the Bond, and gains a Celestial Gear, a magical artifact that can be summoned and dismissed at will. Similar to magic, a Gear grants an ability to its wielder that has some connection to their life, personality, or position in the bond, though only a singular power as opposed to the Mage's repertoire of spells. [/list][/hider] [hider=Religions of Note Within the Empire] [b]The Eternities[/b] - Less of a religion in and of itself, and more of a value system that centers on success through belief, and supporting perseverance through repetition of the nine Eternities, which are simply long narrative poems. This was a major religion before the Empire originally formed, and is still quite common in the east, though it only has a handful of followers in modern Grenheim, and those that do follow it do so in tandem with another religion. [b]The Grennish Pantheons[/b] - The standard religions of Grenheim have always been those that worship a pantheon of what were once the various deities of the smaller cultures that were subsumed into the Empire. The central gods of this pantheon have been static since the birth of the Empire, and were the original gods of the country from which Grenheim formed. [hider=The Original Pantheon] [b]Aurdin[/b] - God of Fate, Order, and the Sun. [b]Vyra[/b] - Goddess of Love, Emotions, and Machinations. [b]Haermund[/b] - God of Knowledge, Cunning, and the Unknown. [b]Gelsa[/b] - Goddess of Nature, Beasts, and Instinct. [b]Lamure[/b] - God of Performance, Artistry, and Creativity. [b]Morrowyr[/b] - Goddess of Death, Mourning, and the Afterlife. [b]Gardwyn[/b] - Goddess of Honor, and Glory, and the Hunt. [b]Starmgein[/b] - God of the Sea, Storms, and Weather. [b]Harbingald[/b] - God of Fire, War, and Vengeance. [/hider] A second pantheon eventually came into popularity due to various myths and legends telling the tale of a new pantheon that was born into Primordium, the realm of the gods, and cast out the old gods with little effort. These Usurper gods were more commonly worshiped after Adondeism became popular, but their worship occurred even before the creation of the Church of Adondeus. Both pantheons are still worshiped, though never simultaneously. The Usurpers are much more commonly worshiped, due in large part to their importance in the Adondum. [hider=The Usurper Pantheon] [b]Aurmyr[/b] -God of Truth and Power. Bringer of Day. [b]Mordyn[/b] - God of Fate and Endings. Bringer of Night. [b]Garnmier[/b] - Goddes of the Sea and Winds. Bringer of Change. [b]Falk[/b] - God of Nature and Beasts. Bringer of Life. [b]Oremnyr[/b] - God of Ideas and the Unknown. Bringer of Enlightenment. [b]Galenmoor[/b] - God of Judgement and Order. Bringer of Justice. [b]Hadra[/b] - Goddess of Love and Creativity. Bringer of Inspiration. [b]Lemnys[/b] - Goddess of Trickery and Schemes. Bringer of Vengeance. [b]Myrengald[/b] - Goddess of Consumption and Destruction. Bringer of War. [/hider] [b]Adondeism[/b] - Adondeus Grenwel, the 2nd Emperor of Grenheim, was murdered on his throne by his council of advisers. When the scene was discovered, only Adondeus' corpse was found, along with seven tomes written in blood. The various volumes described everything from the various pre-existing myths and legends that had been past down for generations prior, to new prophecies about the end of the world and a war between the gods. Due to various reasons, the books were kept secret by the next several Emperors, until the 6th finally gave in to the demands of his Council of Mages and Scholars, and allowed the Adondum, as it was called, to be studied in depth. Eventually, the Church of Adondeus was formed, worshiping the 2nd Emperor as a prophet, and the Usurper gods as the true lords of Primordium. According to the church, absolute faith is required to save your soul in the end times, and assure you a place in Primordium among the Gods. Adondeism is the official religion of the Empire, and due to this, the Church has major influence over the Emperor, and most regions of the Empire, so while pagan faiths are not explicitly outlawed, those who worship them are guaranteed to face prejudice. [/hider] [hr] [center][color=fff200][h3]Rules[/h3][/color][/center] [list] [*]This is a pair RP, meaning that you are recommended to partner up with another player and create your characters together, with a shared backstory and Celestial Bond. Making an entire pair on your own will only be allowed if we are unable to reach a full cast of 18 unique players. [*]As implied above, there will be a hard one character limit unless we don't have enough players. [*]Only join this RP if you are sure you are willing to commit to this RP long-term, and have the time to do so. Quitting the RP harms your partner, not just you, so consider carefully before you commit. [*]There will be an expected minimum of roughly one post per week. There will not be a timer or anything, but if multiple GM update posts have gone up without your character having interacted during the previous period, expect a warning, or a kick if you've done it enough times. If extenuating circumstances prevent you from posting, simply inform a GM. [*]Make an attempt to read all posts. Whilst skimming is fine, this only harms your ability to interact with other characters. [*]Those who express interest will be PMed a link to the RP's official discord. As this is a Pair RP, communication is important, and as such, joining the discord will be mandatory, as it's an easier mode of communication than the OOC. [*]Metagaming and Godmodding will not be tolerated. Autohitting/Autokilling is off-limits unless cleared through a GM. [*]Romance is fine, just keep the smut to PMs. Fade to black, and all that. [*]Please color code your character's dialogue in order to easily differentiate them from everyone else. [*]And of course, follow all RPG rules.[/list] [hr] [center][color=fff200][h3]Character Sheet[/h3][/color][/center] [hider=Character Sheet] [b][u]Personal Information[/u][/b] Full Name: Gender: Age: I suggest staying between the mid-teens and the late twenties. Appearance: An image or description is fine, though a combination of the two is recommended. Height: Weight: [b][u]Background Information[/u][/b] History: Tell me a bit about your character's past. You don't have to tell me everything. Brief Personality: I don't want to know everything about your character, save it for IC, but at least give me something. Emotional Bond: Describe the bond between your character and their partner. Partner: Who is your character bonded with? [b][u]Celestial Gear Information[/u][/b] (Knight only) [i]make sure to submit both your gear, and your partner's magic to the GMs over PM, or at least the rough ideas you have for them, before you make your CS. If you were to build your character around it and then have that one element rejected, that would probably not be great. Name: Your weapon's name, it's that simple.[/i] Type: Is it a sword, a dagger, a musket? I'd like to keep types different from player to player, to avoid having a bunch of people with swords Appearance: What does the weapon look like? a picture or description is fine. Function: The weapon's primary ability. This shouldn't be too powerful, as it will be upgraded in the future. Do attempt to have it synergize with your corresponding mage. [b][u]Celestial Potential Information[/u][/b] (Mages only) [i]make sure to submit both your magic, and your partner's gear to the GMs over PM, or at least the rough ideas you have for them, before you make your CS. If you were to build your character around it and then have that one element rejected, that would probably not be great. Focus concept: The idea that encompasses your character's magic.[/i] Spells: You will start with three spells, of a reasonably low to middling power, and will gain more powerful ones over time. Each spell should correspond to your focus in some way. Keep your corresponding knight in mind for synergy. Name: What you call this spell (honestly, this is optional, but spell names are cool) Function: The effect of the spell. Please include all costs incurred from the spell's use. Name: Function: Name: Function: [b][u]Miscellaneous Information[/u][/b] (optional) Likes: Dislikes: Hobbies: Character Theme: Other: [/hider] [hr] [center][color=fff200][h3]Character List[/h3][/color][/center] [hider=Character List] A list of all current characters: [b][u]Mages[/u][/b][list] [*]Sntabe [*]Lasrever [*]Chasers115 [*]Greengoat [*]Deathmyster [*]Silverpaw [*]Reasonable Facsimile [*]baraquiel [*] [/list] [b][u]Knights[/u][/b][list] [*]SaintSanguine [*]Snagglepuss89 [*]Papitan [*]Riffus Maximus [*]Banjoanjo [*]Cu Chulainn [*]Ethereal [*]Dark Light [*] [/list] [b][u]Pairs[/u][/b][list] [*]Sntabe & Saintsanguine [*]Lasrever & Snagglepuss89 [*]Chasers115 & Papitan [*]Riffus Maximus & Greengoat [*]Deathmyster & Banjoanjo [*]Cu Chulainn & Silverpaw [*]Dark Light & baraquiel [*]Reasonable Facsimile & Ethereal [*] [/list] [/hider] [hr]