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[img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/210412/20ed1e322d9bb28496c97dfcbaafa2d9.png[/img][hr] Welcome to [b]Heiseina: Memories Long Forgotten[/b], a 'post-post-apocalypse' where nearly all remnants of the old world's destruction have been washed away. Replacing it is a world retaken by nature, where creatures from fairy tales live alongside what's left of the human race. Magic is as much a part of life in Heiseina as breathing. Near everyone uses it, in some fashion, to make up for advancements in technology lost in the apocalypse. Violence is a foreign concept, only found in stories told 'round campfires in the dead of night, or in the natural cycle of life and death. Heiseina is a place without warriors or weapons, and even the laws of magic prevent it from being misused to harm other people. It is as if the very concept of murder died with the old world.

That's what your elders have told you, anyway.

This is the story of those ancient laws being broken, of worldviews being shattered by a stranger's arrival. Themes of power and violence will be re-occurring throughout this roleplay, and the beliefs your characters have grown up on will be challenged at every turn. There [i]is[/i] an overarching plot that will govern much of our game's pacing, but it isn't linear; your choices will radically shape what direction the story goes in, and you'll be making those choices very frequently. I'm drawing on a lot of different sources as inspiration, but I'll be leaning into the archetypes of samurai films, certain anime, and post-apocalypse stories. Our tale may get dark at points, but our heroes will have plenty of opportunities to make things right.  

[img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/210412/29b68cd319fdcba51aafeb59d39b341f.png[/img][hr]I'll keep the rules section light as I expect you to know the Guild's guidelines already: 

[indent][b]->[/b] No one from Heiseina village has traveled beyond the valley. Your character's knowledge of broader history and worldview will be shaped by the very narrow perspective of their home and its elders. Included in this is the belief that both the [b]laws of nature[/b]- in regards to magic- and the [b]village's most sacred customs[/b] prevent violence between people. Animals are also protected by similar laws, outside the specific context of hunting. [/indent]

[indent][b]->[/b] I'll do my absolute best to accommodate your character's arc and development. Your enjoyment of the game is my chief concern, and your characters will be the primary engine by which the RP functions. If there's a specific arc you want to follow and you need my help to make it happen, I'll do it.[/indent]

[indent][b]->[/b] Character death is always on the table. I won't be gunning to kill you or anything of the sort, but the world's a dangerous place and you aren't at all prepared for what it'll throw at you. Write your characters as if this possibility exists, and you'll more than likely make it through to the end. [/indent]

[indent][b]->[/b] As for posting requirements, I'll be pretty lenient, but I expect at least one post every two weeks. If you won't be able to meet that deadline make sure to let me know so I can work accordingly, but be assured: I'll be keeping the game [b]moving[/b]. If I have to move past your character to make sure the RP doesn't die, I'll do it. [/indent]

[indent][b]->[/b] We'll be starting a week away from the Dance of the Serpent, a holiday based around the dragon, Miorochi, and his waking. It is a time celebrating new beginnings, the start of spring, and a chance to make amends with those you've wronged. Preparations for the holiday are well under way: gifts are being prepared, offerings made at the shrine, and paper dragon crafted. There will be a period of time where characters will be able to interact with each other and the rest of the village— before things kick off properly.[/indent]

[hider=CHARACTER SHEET TEMPLATE][pre][color=YOUR COLOR CHOICE GOES HERE][CENTER][img]Character Name Font Meme[/img][/CENTER]
[table][row][/row][row][cell][center][img]Character Image[/img]
[color=2E2C2C][sup]_______________________________________________[/sup][/color][/center][hider=// INFO][indent][sub][b]P E R S O N A L  D E T A I L S[/b][/SUB]

[sup][COLOR=SILVER]
[b]Full Name[/b][COLOR=#807B84] - Give me your full name.[/COLOR]
[b]Age[/b][COLOR=#807B84] - Character age, preferably teens to twenties but there's no hard cap[/COLOR]
[B]Gender[/B][COLOR=#807B84] - Self-explanatory[/COLOR]
[b]Occupation[/b][COLOR=#807B84] - Your occupation is likely to be whatever your parent(s) did, but it doesn't have to be. This will determine your characters skillset and signs known, in part.[/COLOR][/color][/SUP]

[color=#2e2c2c]-[/color][/indent][/hider]
[hider=// PERSONALITY][indent][SUB][b]P E R S O N A L I T Y[/b][/sub]

[sup][COLOR=SILVER][b]Character Trait[/b]
[COLOR=#807B84]Explain a bit about your character's personality.[/COLOR][/COLOR]

[COLOR=SILVER][b]Character Trait[/b]
[COLOR=#807B84]Explain a bit about your character's personality.[/COLOR][/COLOR]

[COLOR=SILVER][b]Character Trait[/b]
[COLOR=#807B84]Explain a bit about your character's personality.[/COLOR][/COLOR]
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[hider=// SKILLSET][indent][SUB][b]S K I L L S E T[/b][/sub]

[sup][COLOR=SILVER][b]Skill Trait[/b]
[COLOR=#807B84]Explain a bit about your character's skills and abilities.[/COLOR][/COLOR]

[COLOR=SILVER][b]Skill Trait[/b]
[COLOR=#807B84]Explain a bit about your character's skills and abilities.[/COLOR][/COLOR]

[COLOR=SILVER][b]Skill Trait[/b]
[COLOR=#807B84]Explain a bit about your character's skills and abilities.[/COLOR][/COLOR]


[/SUP][/indent][/hider]
[/cell][cell][b]Physical Description[/b]
[color=#807B84][indent]Self-explanatory
[/indent][/color]
[b]Character Conceptualization[/b]
[color=#807B84][indent] A character's conceptualization would include any relevant backstory, the character's important relations and their motivations and worldviews. This is where you'd outline what arc you'd like your character to follow throughout the course of the roleplay, and some of the flaws that plague them.[/indent][/color]
[b]Other Information[/b]
[color=#807B84][indent] Anything else you think I oughtta know. Can be used to list things like familial relations, the Signs your characters know, those sorts of things.

[/indent][/color]
[/cell][/row][/table][/COLOR][/pre][/hider]

[img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/210412/9261fede8b75a3f84b9a92671c01ba8e.png[/img][hr]The first leg of the game will take place in Heiseina, an idyllic village in the center of an unnamed valley. The valley's total population hovers 'round a hundred people, with the largest percentage of them living in Heiseina proper. Its society is agrarian, focused on being self-sustaining and little else. Sign magic is the backbone of the local economy and culture, with salvaged technology as more of a curiosity than anything else. The singular radio tower in the center of the village mostly functions to play music during holidays and other celebrations, though its rumored that Ayano, the valley's only mechanic and tinkerer, uses it to speak with other, distant villages as well.

All that truly remains of the old world are scattered, broken ruins, picked clean by salvagers over the course of generations. The surviving technology of the old world is early twentieth century, pre-television. Ayano is responsible for repairing and maintaining salvaged tech, as well as manning and maintaining the radio tower. She keeps a number of half-baked and failed inventions scattered across her workshop. The biggest of these projects is the cobbled together pile of junk on wheels that sits under a tarp out front.

The world is a place of magic and wonder. Many creatures out of old world fairy tales now wander the landscape alongside more mundane animals: giant eagles whose wingspan eclipses the sun, dragons hug the peaks of mountains, and [i]Yōkai[/i] of all shapes, sizes and kinds inhabit the valley. Most of the largest creatures have only been glimpsed on the horizon or seen as a shadow passing above the clouds, but interactions with mischievous and helpful spirits are common enough. There's little nearby that would ever threaten a human's life, however.

Magic, called Signs, is woven through all parts of human society as well: the blacksmith lights his forge with the [i]Heat[/i] Sign,  the hunter cleans her kill with the [i]Purify[/i] Sign, and the farmer ensures a bountiful crop through daily castings of [i]Growth[/i]. These spells are helpful and utility-based; none of them are meant to cause direct harm to another human being. Indeed, many Signs simply [i]will not function[/i] if the caster intends to hurt someone with them. 

Learning Signs is a time-consuming skill that anyone can attempt, usually in the form of a year or two of intensive study per Sign, though some take to it quicker than others. Heiseina's magic is taught by Seimei Tomo, the Signkeeper, who keeps a meticulous archive of every Sign in recorded memory, and who experiments with Sign combinations that might benefit the village. Sign combinations are essentially casting two or more Signs in succession to produce different effects, such as a [i]Heat[/i] Sign + a [i]Water[/i] Sign creating a burst of steam.

I'll put together a list of Signs as the Roleplay progress, but I want to leave a lot of that development up to the group(s) Signkeeper(s).

The Master of the Village is an old man named Takamori Kenji, whose family has ruled over Heiseina since its inception. It is his job to settle quarrels between villagers, uphold the law, and protect the valley from any sort of danger. Kenji is also rumored to be a master swordsman, though such claims are never made to his face-- he is forbidden by ancient customs to ever draw his ancestral weapon except under extraordinary circumstances.

[hider=Characters]

[hider=Anayo][img]https://i.imgur.com/ke8Z3Q0.png[/img][indent][sub][b]Character Info[/b][/SUB]

[sup][COLOR=SILVER]
[b]Name[/b][COLOR=807B84] - Anayo[/COLOR]
[b]Age[/b][COLOR=807B84] - 29[/COLOR]
[b]Gender[/b][COLOR=807B84] - Female[/COLOR]
[B]Occupation[/B][COLOR=807B84] - Tinkerer[/COLOR][/color][/SUP]
[/indent]
[indent][SUP][COLOR=SILVER]

A peculiar woman born amid ancient machinery, Anayo spent much of her early life digging through ruins in search of broken toys. Her father, Musen, was the village's previous tinkerer, a brilliant inventor who'd discovered and repaired the radio that Anayo now maintains. As an adult, she tinkers with a number of creations, most of which are either amusing yet useless or terribly unreliable. Her biggest project- a wheeled vehicle built entirely out of scrap- has never actually been turned on. 	The lion's share of her time is spent locked up in her workshop under the radio tower, where she prefers the company of her gadgets over that of her neighbors; the only time she really interacts with the community is when she's blaring her collection of records during social events.

[/color][/SUP][/indent][/hider]

[hider=Seimei Tomo][img]https://i.imgur.com/oqh1uGg.png[/img][indent][sub][b]Character Info[/b][/SUB]

[sup][COLOR=SILVER]
[b]Name[/b][COLOR=807B84] - Seimei Tomo[/COLOR]
[b]Age[/b][COLOR=807B84] - 37[/COLOR]
[b]Gender[/b][COLOR=807B84] - Female[/COLOR]
[B]Occupation[/B][COLOR=807B84] - Signkeeper[/COLOR][/color][/SUP]
[/indent]
[indent][sup][COLOR=SILVER]

As the Signkeeper of Heiseina, Seimei Tomo is the most respected members of the community after its master. She is the sacred custodian of the village's magics, as well as many of its other, more ancient secrets. On most days she is a teacher to her people, letting them learn the Signs they need to better do their duty to the village. On other days she is an explorer, wandering the valley in search of answers to what became of the world before. Tomo is known to be a severe woman, intense in demeanor and quick to dress down those who step out of line; yet she has a compassionate heart for those rejected, broken things that others turn away from. 

[/COLOR][/SUP][/indent][/hider]

[hider=Takamori Kenji][img]https://i.imgur.com/XHnqwUJ.png[/img][indent][sub][b]Character Info[/b][/SUB]

[sup][COLOR=SILVER]
[b]Name[/b][COLOR=807B84] - Takamori Kenji[/COLOR]
[b]Age[/b][COLOR=807B84] - 66[/COLOR]
[b]Gender[/b][COLOR=807B84] - Male[/COLOR]
[B]Occupation[/B][COLOR=807B84] - Village Master[/COLOR][/color][/SUP]
[/indent]
[indent][sup][COLOR=SILVER]

Takamori Kenji is the Master of the Village, the oldest and most respectable position in Heiseina's history. His family has looked over the community for generations, from the first day they settled the valley. As Master, Kenji's role is to act as a mediator in disputes, to uphold the laws of man and nature, and to protect his people from whatever may come for them. He is a friendly, affable man, who cares deeply for his people and gives himself wholly to them. His sacred vows to protect and nurture Heiseina are of profound importance to him; in all his years he has never shirked from his duties, even through sickness and personal tragedy. The Takamori sword is displayed above the fire pit in his home, having remained sheathed for more than a hundred years.

[/COLOR][/SUP][/indent][/hider]


[hider=Tetsu][img]https://i.pinimg.com/564x/95/ae/24/95ae24986563f975b33c7a3dd6303a1c.jpg[/img][indent][sub][b]Character Info[/b][/SUB]

[sup][COLOR=SILVER]
[b]Name[/b][COLOR=807B84] - Tetsu[/COLOR]
[b]Age[/b][COLOR=807B84] - 41[/COLOR]
[b]Gender[/b][COLOR=807B84] - Male[/COLOR]
[B]Occupation[/B][COLOR=807B84] - Blacksmith[/COLOR][/color][/SUP]
[/indent]
[indent][sup][COLOR=SILVER]

Tetsu is the master blacksmith of the village, though one wouldn't know it upon meeting him. He's best known as one of the few reprobates who spends their days drinking and partying while shirking his duties to the village; Tetsu's infamous for dropping his work into the lap of his apprentice and sleeping the day away with a bottle of sake tucked under his arm. For all his many faults he is, however, extraordinarily skilled at his craft-- when he applies himself. 

[/COLOR][/SUP][/indent][/hider]

[/hider]
[hider=Locations]

[hider=Within the village]

[b]Tinkerer's Workshop:[/b] Sat just within the town square in the shadow of the radio tower, the Tinkerer's Workshop is a sizable, one-story home that's been added onto several times throughout its lifespan. Half-finished and discarded toys are scattered across both the lawn outside and every inch of the interior, making for a poor experience for what few guests Anayo will bring host. A vehicle built from scrap is the largest of these projects.

[b]The Master's Estate:[/b] The largest building in Heiseina, and possibly the whole valley, the Takamori Estate has seen better days. Kenji is not a man with many children as he lost his wife relatively young and has never remarried. The extended family that remain in the estate are those who either couldn't find a spouse in the village or those who wished to vie for Kenji's favor, so that they might take his place as Master when he eventually passes on to the afterlife.

[b]Tower of the Signkeeper:[/b] An old tower of carved stone that the original settlers of Heiseina constructed their first homesteads around, it soon became the living space of their line of Signkeepers, the Seimei clan. It hosts the largest collection of written text in the valley, much of it either the ruined remains of scavenged old-world material or the work of previous Signkeepers and the village's would-be poets. Tomo is the only Signkeeper in known memory who has never married or even shown an interest in suitors, though she did secure an apprentice to take up the role in her stead.	

[b]Abandoned Shrine:[/b] The old shrine atop a hill at Heiseina's edge hasn't had a keeper in many years, as its previous maiden died suddenly and had not yet found someone to replace them. It has since fallen into disuse, much to the chagrin of the local Yokai who were growing used to the shrine's offerings that kept them in good spirits.
[/hider]

[hider=Around the Valley]The valley, unnamed by its inhabitants, is surrounded on all sides by mountains. The Shimmering River flows down from the northern mountains down to Kama's Lake, which Heiseina sits on the northwest shore of. This freshwater lake is the source of much of the village's water, as well as its sole source of fish. 

Traveling further westward from Heiseina one arrives at the Mumbling Wood, a forest that expands up to the base of the western mountains. Its home to the largest concentration of Yokai in the valley, though they often wander out from the trees to interact with humans. Children ought to be kept out, and those adults who have business there tend to bring offerings and trinkets with them to satisfy those Yokai they encounter within.

A number of hamlets dot the valley, the largest of which reach two or so dozen people and the smallest only a family or two. Those from outside Heiseina are seen as suspicious by its populace, who have many a story about foreigners being sorcerers, killers and other ne'er-do-wells who would threaten their peace.
[/hider] 

[/hider]
[hider=Magic]The magic utilized by Heiseina, called Signs, is woven through all parts of their society: the blacksmith lights his forge with the Heat Sign, the hunter cleans her kill with the Purify Sign, and the farmer ensures a bountiful crop through daily castings of Growth. These spells are helpful and utility-based; none of them are meant to cause direct harm to another human being. Indeed, many Signs simply will not function if the caster intends to hurt someone with them. 

Signs are cast by a combination of tracing the appropriate Kanji in the air and speaking its incantation in tandem, after one has made the appropriate spiritual connection with its source element. The process is strange and esoteric, unlike anything else one might experience- many struggle to align with even a single element to learn just one sign. Those who have dedicated themselves fully to the craft, however, find it comes much easier to them.

Learning Signs is a time-consuming skill that anyone can attempt: a combination of repeated practice until the physical representation is perfected, and intense meditation to achieve spiritual alignment. This usually takes an ordinary adult a year or two, though some take to it quicker than others. Heiseina's magic is taught by Seimei Tomo, the Signkeeper, who keeps a meticulous archive of every Sign in recorded memory, and who experiments with Sign combinations that might benefit the village. Sign combinations are essentially casting two or more Signs in succession to produce different effects, such as a Heat Sign + a Water Sign creating a burst of steam.

I'll put together a list of Signs as the Roleplay progress, but I want to leave a lot of that development up to the group(s) Signkeeper(s).

A few I've already mentioned:

[i]Heat:[/i] A touch based Sign used to spark a small fire.
[i]Water:[/i] A spell used to conjure the equivalent of a cup of water.
[i]Growth:[/i] When applied repeatedly to an animal or plant, Growth speeds up the growing process.
[i]Purify:[/i] Casting Purify will make something safe to consume for the caster.
[/hider]
[hider=Local Creatures]Many normal animals exist throughout the valley: birds of all feathers soar through the air, badgers and cats and foxes roam the underbrush, and great elk run across the grasslands. Some of these beasts can be dangerous, under the right circumstances- such as wolves, wild dogs or large cats- but most are content to leave well enough alone. They can be hunted for their meat by those who've learned the proper customs. A hunter must ensure their first blow ends the thing's life, and they must perform its rites before it is safe to carry.

Other, more otherworldly creatures are just as common in the valley. They are most often called Yokai, a catch-all term for all supernatural entities around Heiseina. A few noteworthy ones are:

[b]Miorochi[/b], an ancient dragon said to rest in the northern mountains, whose breath springs forth the Shimmering River that gives life to the whole of the valley. It is a godlike spirit venerated by many, said to protect them from outsiders and ensure a bountiful harvest. He sleeps much of the time, day and night, hiding somewhere far from human eyes- only soaring through the sky once a year, on a day Heiseina calls the Dance of the Serpent. None have ever found where he rests his head, though those that have tried are thought to have met a terrible end.

One of the most common kinds of Yokai found in the Mumbling Wood are the [b]Kodama,[/b] who most often take the form of an ordinary tree- said to bleed when struck with an ax, and to bring misfortune when they're cut down. Woodsmen will mark Kodama with knotted rope, and often they'll build shrines or leave offerings at their base. When entering or leaving the forest its good practice to pray before these shrines, for the Kodama will let one know if the path ahead is safe to travel.

Far and away the most plentiful type of Yokai in the valley are the [b]Bakemono[/b]- a category of creatures that are said to be able to change their shape. They can be animals- [i]Kitsune[/i] as foxes, [i]Bakeneko[/i] as cats, and [i]Bake-danuki [/i]as racoon dogs- or they can be plants, like some Kodama, or they could even take the form of inanimate objects, like the [i]tsukumogami[/i]. Their appearances and behavior can differ completely from spirit to spirit, their only singular, defining trait being their ability to change. Some are friends to Heiseina; others are nuisances. There a hundreds of stories about villagers encountering their like, and there's no telling how many of them are true or not.

Most cannot say whether the [b]Oni[/b] are real or merely creatures of folklore. They are giants of strangely colored skin and horrific visage who are thought to stalk every inch of the valley: in caves in the mountains, under rocks in Kama's Lake, in the darkest corners of the Mumbling Wood. Many woodcutters, hunters and travelers will claim to have spotted those hulking things, though there's never real proof of their encounters. The Oni are supposedly wicked things who kill not for food but for pleasure, and who wield crudely forged weapons, like the men of the old world- the most common explanation for this is that the Oni are actually humans, cursed by the laws of nature for their heinous crimes.

[b]Yurei[/b] are the restless spirits of the dead who linger in this world instead of passing on to be with their ancestors. They may remain because their body was never given proper funeral rites, or due to some terrible trauma in their former life that was never resolved. It is the duty of the Signkeeper to see these Yurei laid to rest, to ensure the safety of the rest of the village, for a Yurei allowed to linger for long becomes angry, perhaps even violent.[/hider]
[hider=Folklore and Religion]The highest laws of man and nature are based around the use of violence. These laws apply to mankind alone, and when broken are punished by both the Master of the Village and the spirits of nature themselves. Cautionary tales tell of men and women who break these laws being stripped of all belongings and told to leave the valley- those that refuse soon find themselves victim to ferociously angry Yokai intent on tearing them limb from limb. Even when one tries to hide their wrongdoing from their fellow man they cannot avoid the wrath of the wood, of the grass, and the ground itself. The only way to avoid a terrible fate is to leave the valley and never return, though no one has been exiled in a generation.

But what lies beyond our small corner of the world? There's a thousand different interpretations and very few can say which is the closest. Rumor has it that Takamori Kenji, Anayo, and Seimei Tomo have all seen the other side of the mountains, though if they have they'll never speak of it. Some think of it as a hellish, dead landscape where nothing lives but roaming demons who consume all they come across. Others think it is the broken husk of the old world, devoid of all life. Still others think of it as just an extension of the valley's terrain, no different from Heiseina except that it isn't protected from violence like their home is. All that really is known is that its a strange, dangerous place, and any who have left the valley of their own accord have never returned.

In days long past, when humans first settled in the valley, they had no magic to call their own- for the magic of the old world had been stripped from their minds and they were left powerless in this new, strange world. It was the Yokai who lived there before them that approached these first settlers and showed them a new form of magic: Signs. These Signs were a shadow of what came before, and could never be used to directly harm another person, but they fulfilled their purpose and helped the first human settlers thrive. Some Yokai still, on occasion, will teach new Signs to humans of the modern day- when Tomo is away from Heiseina it is often her business to seek out new Yokai to teach her their way.

The most common form of religion is the worship of the Yokai; those that are oft venerated earn the title [i]Kami[/i], meaning deity. It is thought that worship increases a Kami's power and influence, and it is thought to anger the Kami when villagers fall away or forget to keep to their customary acts of reverence. Yokai appreciate gifts of specific kind, and can grow irritated when offered the wrong thing or when offered nothing at all. It is the duty of the Shrine Maiden to lead ceremonies at Heiseina's shrine, to keep the local Yokai in good spirits and to ensure the village remains devout. Mothers often tell their children that, if they forget their prayers, they'll be stolen away in the night and eaten.

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