[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/eRf0glL.png[/img][hr][hr]
[img]https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/549e9b77-4c90-4c7f-8d0e-772a4ba70576/dbrgcbp-f02f47d0-9d74-4999-b269-0bbcdb9efc12.jpg/v1/fill/w_1274,h_627,q_70,strp/ellie_mansion_by_arsenixc_dbrgcbp-pre.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOiIsImlzcyI6InVybjphcHA6Iiwib2JqIjpbW3siaGVpZ2h0IjoiPD0xMDgwIiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvNTQ5ZTliNzctNGM5MC00YzdmLThkMGUtNzcyYTRiYTcwNTc2XC9kYnJnY2JwLWYwMmY0N2QwLTlkNzQtNDk5OS1iMjY5LTBiYmNkYjllZmMxMi5qcGciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9MjE5NCJ9XV0sImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTppbWFnZS5vcGVyYXRpb25zIl19.PujlU5E9HhsfB4G5d_-GYwp5qJ4bFjz9eCAnrc78IZk[/img][hr][hider=James himself][img]https://i.pinimg.com/originals/a7/fc/f9/a7fcf9f3d249e8a58de6903b44bc26c5.jpg[/img][hr][h3][b]| 52 | British | 6'0ft |[/b][/h3][hr]

James Vanburen is an older, rugged man with a big heart and a sense of morality like no other. They don't call him magnanimous for anything, after all. He did all he could to improve Araminta by funneling money into the drug problem, adopting orphans and street rats, and help people who were wounded by throwing money at them. He's a man of few words, usually quick to the point but he liked conversation. He was a father to his children, making sure they all grew up well and moral people like him. James, however, had his flaws - he seemingly was obsessed with siring as many children as he could and being quite dismissive of his wives. Still, he did what he thought was right... however, much of his duties were by proxy. He used servants and other such people to raise his children. James was always busy... and mysterious absent for long periods of time. When he got back, nobody knew what he did or why, but few questioned what he did. He was an exceptional alcoholic who always had a glass of whiskey or wine on him at all times.

Died on Christmas day.
[/hider][/center][hr][hr]

[indent]The Vanburen estate is a massive building that's on the outskirts of Araminta. It's a mansion that's in its own little field once you pass the massive gates to keep the commoners out. The first thing you'd see when you approached was the [url=https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91PP6I7wMdL._AC_SL1500_.jpg]Statue of a kneeling World War II soldier[/url]. Which is strange given that the Vanburens seemingly had no relations to WWII, but James had it made. Surrounded by woods, and hidden in the forest: it was the perfect place for the young Vanburens to grow up. It had many pathways and fountains and fields. The estate itself is two stories tall and was stocked with everything the Vanburens needed. Food, water, entertainment, everything they ever could have wanted to keep them happened. Whatever they didn't have James would get. However, what's peculiar is that the estate had many, many, strange artifacts and other items that James stipulated that they explicitly [i]do not touch[/i]. Some of these things have strange powers in fact.

The Vanburen Family got its wealth from mysterious means - James said that they inherited the wealth, but from whom? However, they maintain that wealth by owning many businesses in Araminta and beyond and investing. Apart of James kindness is that he saves family businesses by buying them and only stipulates that they give him a cut of their wealth. This is one source of income, but one cannot find out just [i]how[/i] James got his money. He just up and appeared one day! Few try and find out how, but only to come up at a dead end... or at the business end of Jame's rifle. 

The Family has a wide range of different people apart from them. James seemingly wanted to have a massive amount of children, but it didn't exactly make his wives happy. He had a wide number of failed relationships and other mishaps that ended with him jumping to the next wife or woman to have his kids. There was a strange lack of... passion in the relationships. Like he just wanted children to continue his lifeblood - which shows in how he usually dumps the children on his wives. James gave his children all the love he could and did it with a smile. He encouraged the children to follow all of their dreams while trying to groom his successor to the business. He also had the tendency to adopt a wide range of orphans and street rats... whatever catches his ear it seems. Because of this, Vanburens are a diverse amount of people in terms of gender, sex, and personality.

However, all the Vanburen children have been afflicted with a mysterious curse after his death - it was known as the Curse of the Vanburns and it triggered around one year after his death. Slowly, they realized that, as they left Araminta they were slowly turning to stone (if they were gone from Araminta for more than a week they'd almost be completely stone). When they got back within the bounds of Araminta they reverted back to their human flesh. They're unsure of what would happen if they fully transformed into stone, but they figured that it would be death.[/indent]

[h1][color=black] FATHER'S THINGS [/color][/h1][hr]
[indent][hider]James, throughout the manor, had a wide variety of different artifacts for some reason that is unknown to the children. He told them never to touch it, but now that he's gone they're reluctant to follow that rule. Some of these artifacts are discovered to have supernatural properties to them that make them crucial to finding the truth about James Vanburen and breaking the curse.


[indent][b][url=https://i.imgur.com/hNbnkxh.jpg][color=black]FATHER'S RIFLE[/color][/url][/b] Perhaps the strangest of father's collection and his most prized possession it seems. The Lee–Enfield Rifle with a bayonet attached that has obviously seen quite a lot of use if one were to take it apart. Father's Rifle can still fire, but that's not the strange part about it. It seemingly has a supernatural ability; if one were to slash at the air they can make portals to alternate universes, and portals to destinations in their own universe. It seems that only Vanburens can use the rifle to its full effects.

[b][color=black]SEALED APPARITION COLLECTION[/color][/b] Many of the artifacts and other things within the Vanburen estate have an Apparition sealed inside of it. There are hundreds of different Apparitions that are vying for a master... or a way out.
[/indent][/hider][/indent]


[h1][color=black] FATHER'S JOURNAL [/color][/h1][hr]
[indent][hider]Father's journal, unlike the rest of Father's things, doesn't have any inherent supernatural properties. It's a handwritten brown leather book that's been weathered through the ages, looking like it was written [i]decades[/i] ago. Inside of the book contains a treasure trove of information written on the supernatural. Including various supernatural entities that are out there. First and foremost it explains the various types of Extra-Normal beings so that goes without saying.

[indent]
[b][color=black]Extra-Normal Beings[/color][/b] - [I]"I thought that magic was the stuff of legends, but now I've seen things most people couldn't believe. Adepts, Awakened, Apparitions, Aberrants..."[/i]

[b][color=black]The All-Verse[/color][/b] [I]"Apart of opening my eyes to the greater universe was learning about the existence of parallel worlds. I could drop a pen and it'd cause a universe where I didn't drop a pen to spawn into existence. These universes are infinite in... potential."[/i]

[b][color=black]The Hound[/color][/b] - [I]"Throughout my travels throughout other universes there's one constant; the Black Hound. Is he an Apparition? Or something else? This thing is the agent of death in its rawest form, acting as the grim reaper that transports the dead to the other side. He's immensely powerful and of all the times I've fought the thing I never even done more than drive it off. I feel like he's toying with me... that he has the power to destroy worlds. However, he seems more concerned with going after those who "cheat death" than anything, but worst-case scenario, [b]never[/b] challenge the Hound. There's no way to defeat it."[/i]

[b][color=black]The Glutton[/color][/b] - [I]I've never seen the thing with my own two eyes but I've seen Recollection after Recollection of the slaughter. It takes the appearance of a vast ball of orange light, formed out of sparks and embers. This thing... it almost brought all life to an end but it was sealed in Shimmer and eventually destroyed. Everything that has happened so far was because of it.[/i]

[b][color=black]Mayor Crest[/color][/b] - [I]"Do not trust her."[/i]

[b][color=black]Babylon[/color][/b] - [I]"When I first laid eyes on her, I could tell she was a great evil in the world. I don't use that word lightly... because that's her nature. She's an Apparition that is the physical representation of all sin in her home universe and some dumbass had the great idea to shunt her into another world. All this did was make her think bigger... she has terrorized dozens of worlds in her attempts to become all-powerful and rebuild her empire of sin across all the universes. Fortunately, I managed to trick her into coming into Shimmer where she went dormant... but now that the magic is back she's probably going to want revenge."[/i]

[b][color=black]The Fragile Goddess[/color][/b] - [I]"An Apparition that deemed itself a God, it's from one of the many alternate worlds out there where Apparitions have taken the appearance of Gods. This Apparition was the weakest one, hence her name, being the offspring of several larger, more powerful beings. Her intentions are benevolent, but her actions make her a threat. Nonetheless, she's an ally and I've sealed her in the statue outside the mansion for when the time comes."[/i]

[b][color=black]Shade[/color][/b] - [I]"Honor the fallen, honor the fallen, honor the fallen, honor the fallen, honor the fallen, honor the fallen, honor the fallen, honor the fallen, honor the fallen, honor the fallen, honor the fallen, honor the fallen, honor the fallen, honor the fallen, honor the fallen, honor the fallen..."[/i]

[b][color=black]The Swarm[/color][/b] - [I]"This one is probably the most powerful apparition I've seen; it's a mass of several hundred different insect Apparitions that act as a unison. The Swarm has several dozen different abilities that make it near unbeatable in combat - however, I found a way to seal it. By taking it apart piece by piece and sealing each Apparition in a different object I've rendered it inert. However, if it comes back together... I'm not sure if I'll be able to stop it again."[/i]

[b][color=black]Thornton Walters[/color][/b] - [u][s][I]"Stop him at all costs."[/i][/s][/u]

[b][color=black]The League[/color][/b] - [i]"In my opinion... they're the most dangerous threat to the multiverse. The League of Luminscience is a collection of magical families that rule over their home dimension, Glint. Fortunately, their bureaucracy stops them from being a real problem but that can change in an instant. Many people carry their blood, and thus their abilities."[/i] 

[b][color=black]The Rage of Dying Animals[/color][/b] - [I]"He used to be benevolent. He used to be good. Keep him sealed if you know what's good for you, he's [u]his[/u] greatest ally. Also powerful. That's important too."[/i]

[b][color=black]Lihua Zhao[/color][/b] - [I]"Someone that got roped into all of this... she was a beautiful moral.. albeit vain and prideful woman. Her abstraction was crucial... She settled down in Shimmer and had some kids, I'm glad. But, I heard someone killed her, I hope it wasn't [u]him[/u]."[/i]

[b][color=black]Mary Roberts[/color][/b] - [I]"An old friend of mine from my childhood... she unfortunately died but she returned as an Apparition. She was one of Thornton's allies, but she turned against him and joined me. Mary's a very difficult one to work with, but she's a very cunning woman [s]don't underestimate her[/s]."[/i]

[b][color=black]The Bull[/color][/b] -[i] "The counterpart to the Hound... where the Hound represents death the Red Bull represents rage and vengeance. I've seen it's rage first hand... it cannot be contained. Nor stopped. That thing... burned it all, drowned my home in rage and blood."[/i]

[b][color=black]Farmer Hill[/color][/b] - [I]"[s]Its the only place that has magic. I've vowed never to go here and neither should you.[/s] That's irrelevant now that Farmer Hill isn't much of anything."[/i]

[b][color=black]My rifle[/color][/b] - [i]"Take care of it. You'll need it."[/i] -

[b][color=black]The Oasis[/color][/b] [i][/i] - [i]"The most beautiful place I've seen... [u]you must stop him from getting here.[/u]"[/i]
[/indent][/hider][/indent]