[center][i] Existing for hundreds of years Gabaras has thrived off their immaculate spice trades, silk, prided themselves in grandeur relations with foreign dignitaries, and claimed the name as a city of magic. Gabaras was boastful, filled with pride but also kind to their allies. Its king ruled with an iron fist held against those who called themselves enemies and shielded those of a lesser fate. On the cusp of an industrial revolution, Gabaras’s greatest minds began a collaboration of magic and metal-- steam arising from houses as the city began to advance faster than any kingdom around it. But at its peak, Gabaras fell for mysterious reasons, and one day the council had announced an undocumented ancient evil that had cursed its land. This announcement caused mass hysteria followed by speculation-- but those who were skeptical suddenly disappeared. Citizens caught wind of the mass disappearances and eventually revolted against their kingdom but the revolts ended in silence. A handful of revolutionaries were unaffected and surprised by their comrades' docile behavior and continued with their original plans and eventually uncovered a dark secret mustering behind Gabaras’s castle walls… The royal family and the governing branches of Gabaras were seemingly under the control of an unknown entity that grasped its roots deep within the castle-- and in an attempt to thwart the entity the revolutionaries devised a plan of attack and when that attack came it failed spectacularly. Betrayed by a group of their own comrades the revolutionaries scattered and eventually killed off by the betrayers. Barely any survivors were left and those who managed to escape Gabaras’s peril died of a mysterious infliction but their deaths were enough to gain the attention of neighboring kingdoms that soon gathered their militia alongside mercenaries and the adventuring guilds to fight against the unknown darkness culminating in Gabaras. [/i][/center] [hr] [center] [b] “Oh dutiful soldier, save my people from their peril. “ [/b][/center] [hr] [b] The Nearby World [/b] [i] Somnius, The Greyveiled Scorn Discovered only a few millenniums ago Somnius is a collection of landmasses that have been rigorously colonized by modern kingdoms. Before its discovery, it was known to be a land of danger-- being occupied by an unknown civilization and when contact was attempted no response was given, and then shortly after an invasion occurred but no one was at the other end of that invasion. In any case, the land underwent an intense battle for reclamation hundreds of colonies, tribes, and groups alike battled on Somnius- battling in lands of which were dotted with ruins and evidence of past life but as always man and men were blinded by the lust of war and eventually only three kingdoms stood victorious against all odds. Gabaras under the rule of the prideful king, The Kogan’s under the rule of the wrathful king, and Amber Grove under the rule of the merciful king. As the three survivors of a long hundred-year war for territory the three kings that manned their nations collaborated and ruled under one banner over Somnius. Formally naming themselves, “The Kings of Somnius. “ and created a trio of capitals that bordered the edges of Somnius. Entering peacetime the three lived and grew within Somnius, mapping out its land and discovered ancient knowledge from what they could only assume was from the civilization that never responded. As time went on two of the three kingdoms became docile but Gabaras grew at an alarming rate. Forming connections from outside of Somnius, developing new magics every second year, and soon technology of running gears like airships and blunderbusses made their appearance within cities walls. As advanced as they were, Gabaras eventually fell to collapse for unknown reasons, and their fall shook modern society, and immediately the remainder of the trio called to arms to aid their fallen comrade. [/i] [hider= The Kingdoms of Somnius] [b]Gabaras[/b] The King of Gabaras, Jonathan Lockly is the most recent and youngest king of Gabaras and has played a role in developing his kingdom. Extremely inquisitive he has always had a knack for magic and the more earthly aspects of magical applications. Claiming that his goals were to "replicate magic without the use of magic. " Obviously his goals slowly became fulfilled and created a grand city that was worth his pride. At the start of the industrial age, Gabaras began mass preparations of modernizing their city with technological applications such as city travel with trams and motorized vehicles. Homes specifically in Gabaras were equipped with electronic and magic capabilities coupled with mass sewage lines. A wonder to the world, they barred off their projects for the "safety" of the other kingdoms as they claimed that all new technology were labeled as prototypes. But eventually, Gabaras's hand was forced and began to slowly introduce their technological marvels to the kingdoms. [b] Kogani [/b] The King of The Kogan's, Oda Hideyoshi. Although not actually a king, Hideyoshi holds royal blood and has been a continual tradition of the centuries passing. Kogani runs on democracy and works alongside a political representative-- Oda holds some political power as a majority of its citizens believe in the sacred flow of tradition. Aside from being a traditional figure, Oda actually takes the title of War General and hones his ability in teaching Kogan Soldiers the art of the blade. He is especially popular for mouth and hand type abilities that require no incantation but breathing. Following the Industrial Age, the city of Kogani generally stays away from Gabaras's technological advances. Its city borders the sea and offers protection to Somnius and has the 2nd largest army, the largest being Gabaras. Kogani is known for its surprising quality of the military army as a majority of its soldiers show adept physical ability. [b] The Amber Groves [/b] Originally having a king back in the days of the Somnius war, they have completely abandoned the monarchy government and now rely on a socialistic representative council of the provinces within the Amber Grove. They are a powerhouse of magic and have protected the land from natural disasters and provided almost all the mages of Somnius with their magical knowledge. With the introduction of the Industrial Age, the council completely welcomed its emergence. Right as Gabaras began formal trade with the cities they were the first to also industrialize their cities but with an emphasis on magical applications. A majority of homes and even cities nest their way into trees or natural objects and thus use the new technologies to automatically activate magical appliances without the need for a mage. [/hider] [hr] [b]MAGIC[/b] [i] It is unknown how the dance of magic began-- but it became a prevalent tool in almost all known societies. Magic has been a pathway to and from worlds and a way of communication between the peoples of the earth. In simple meanings, magic is a label used to define actions charged by the collection of mana. Mana is the energy that can be shaped and conducted by the user's will. From summoning demons from the dark realm, or conjuring storms over a city, magic has no bounds except for the restriction of the humanoid body. Those restrictions being the storage of mana. From the current world's understanding mana travels through the body but cannot be perceived normally. But with the use of “Magic Sight,” scholars are able to see the travel of mana throughout the body and is mainly directed towards the mouth, arms, chest, and legs. Mana travels through the body via blue-ish tinted veins and can only be perceived through magic sight. These veins determine the amount of mana a person carries and if they are denser the more mana they can carry and vice versa. Mana veins also dictate where you can cast magic; with a focus towards the veins in your mouth, you are able to cast magic efficiently through incantation. A focus towards the hands or legs implies some sort of magically drawn symbol or patterned dance that enables a spell. But usually, mages focus all points of their body so they are never too underhanded. Although, if a mage chose to focus on one point of their body their mana veins would move in favor of where they are casting and thus disable all other areas of their body and can only be moved through rigorous training or expert restoration magic. Magic is always changing and scholars stress that those of a magic degree always be open-minded to new possibilities-- even if their odds seem unlikely. [/i] [hr] [b]RACES[/b] [i] Humans, Elves, Dwarves, and Orcs. Humans populate a majority of the planet- having the knack for adapting to any surrounding they meet. They are tenacious beings and often rule over the other three main races. Elves on the other hand tend to stick to the sidelines offering little to the world, focused on their own kind. The elves isolate themselves to the grand forests of Earth and live quiet but long lives. Their silence is often but met with annoyance but whenever they do have the chance to speak the other races listen. Dwarves are a rowdy bunch, populating earth almost as much as humans. They are small but ambitious and are in the front of technological advances-- to compensate for their stature dwarves hone a manner of machinery or take hold of steel laced with magic. And finally, the orcs, found in Elven forests they are taller than humans and come in many different shades from blue to green, and also sport sharp ears. But unlike the elves, they are strong and forceful. Usually collaborating with their forest friends Orcs take up arms in the art of war and defend their land-- usually not belonging to any sort of government orcs instead belong to a majority of tribes and informal societies. Aside from the four races, there are also hundreds of others that don’t make themselves known as much as the four. Either in hiding or simply in another plane of existence, these creatures are labeled Otheros-- and make a small percentage of races on Earth. And because they are undocumented by larger civilizations they are met with… uncertainty and a degree of hate from the main races except for the elves and orcs who welcome Otheros kind. [hr] [b]Character Sheets[/b] [hider=Sheets] Name : Appearance/Description : Gender : // Race : // Age: Personality : Background : [ Don't worry about this section too much! Just vague details should work well enough since we won't be going over any lore OUTSIDE of Gabaras (this will make more sense in RP. ) But! I do have to include that if you are Otheros your character probably has met some level of oppression and that can work into your personality/background and in addition to this Elven/Orcish people are kinder to Otheros! This should be all but I stress-- if you need any help pm me! ] Equipment : [You characters are most likely under some sort of mercenary work or directly connected to an adventuring guild so they will have some level of basic equipment. Please don't go too overboard! You will be getting better equipment as the RP rolls about!] [/hider] [/i] < -- > [hider= Light Introduction ] So I'm trying my hand again at a dungeon-like RP but instead of heavy mechanics I'll be trying to go as... they would call it, "The Common Sense Route" and have no mechanics! As you could probably tell this sort of RP will indeed have combat in it and I will most likely need a co-host to help me sort out that mess and help make sense of those nuances. In other news my goals for this roleplay are very simple-- "FINISH IT AND HAVE FUN! " I've hosted a multitude of roleplays but never finished and I'm hoping I'll get to AND aid the players who participate by having a fun time but also benefit from this by learning extensive storytelling and better managing of a group of players! I'm also probably going to make a discord so that we can specifically talk about combat posts so that if there are any problems we can get it through as quickly as possible! And I know I've been talking a lot about the combat but I promise I'll make Gabaras SUPER-DUPER interesting along with the surrounding world. In regards to the races and magic, you can practically be anything just... "make it make sense" you know? And as for magic, it's honestly TBA but it won't be super restrictive so if you have any ideas that you want your character to have then... just go for it! Otherwise, I hope ya'll are interested!! [/hider]