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[indent][i]The year is 4E15. In the early days of the Fourth Era, in the wake of Martin Septim’s heroic sacrifice to end the Oblivion Crisis, the Empire is in turmoil. The line of Talos has been broken and their reign has ended. Potentate Ocato has been assassinated by the Dark Brotherhood and the witch-warrior Thules the Gibbering, a madman unloved by the people, sits on the Ruby Throne. Morrowind has been ravaged by the Red Year, Black Marsh has seceded, and unrest is brewing in the Summerset Isles. The Legions are spread thin. Local rulers and warlords all over Tamriel, even in the Cyrodiilic Heartland, are establishing [i]de facto[/i] independent city-states and territories. It is a time of war, of political intrigue, of coup d’etats and power changing hands. 

In Cyrodiil, only the Imperial City is still firmly under the control of the Emperor and the Elder Council, fractured though it may be. Some of the rulers of the other cities and counties have seized control for themselves -- others have been overthrown, and their erstwhile territory is now ruled only by the right of the strong. The peasantry suffers. Mercenaries, arms dealers and assassins are making a killing. Bandits prowl the roads and the woods, and bands of deserted Legionnaires take what they want. The people cry out for heroes to stand up against cruelty and tyranny, but who will answer the call?

In all this chaos, a warrior-woman and a minotaur have escaped from the dungeons beneath Thules the Gibbering’s ghastly Arena; a place of bloodshed and death, where prisoners, slaves and beasts are forced to fight and kill for the cackling Emperor’s entertainment. Their wild flight has taken them from the Imperial City to the forests outside of Skingrad, where they had to fight against highwaymen and roving packs of wolves for survival. The local farmers and hunters were afraid of them at first, but the woman and her monstrous protector meant them no harm. Over time, they became local heroes for the resistance they showed to the corrupt and self-serving Count of Skingrad and his enforcers, who relentlessly ‘taxed’ the peasants for everything they had. 

Besides, an escaped slave-girl and her man-bull companion… where had people heard that before? 

Others joined them in their cause, and soon a resistance had formed. One by one, the warrior-woman, the minotaur and their ragtag crew of freedom fighters took down the Count’s lieutenants and freed the countryside surrounding Skingrad from his control. Now, allied with a citizen’s militia inspired by their actions, they gather round the fire on the eve of their final assault on the Count’s castle, the Emperor blind to the world in his White-Gold Tower, while another power gathers strength in the West...[/i][/indent]
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Hello and welcome to [b]The Elder Scrolls: Stormcrown Interregnum.[/b] In this RP, we will be playing the inner circle of the escaped slave and warrior-woman Isobel Aurelia, an incorrigible optimist with lofty dreams of a better future for the common people, as she takes the fight to the petty kings and warlords who have seized power in the Empire’s weakened state after the Oblivion Crisis. Beware that this RP takes place well before the events of [i]Skyrim[/i] -- there is no Aldmeri Dominion, no Stormcloak Rebellion and certainly no dragons. This is a period of Tamriel’s history that has remained mostly undescribed, save for the Greg Keyes novels (which I haven’t read and have no real interest in), so we will be charting our own course and seeing where the story takes us! 

This will be an RP about guerilla warfare, political intrigue, spycraft and power struggles, inspired by movies like [i]Sicario,[/i] narratives like [i]Game of Thrones[/i] and real-world conflicts like the Nicaraguan Revolution and the Arab Spring. We (my lovely co-GM [@Leidenschaft] and myself) are aiming for the gray, not the black and white. This isn’t a simple “good guys saving the world” story. This is about the struggle of balancing idealism with pragmatism, about the cost of victory, about the tough decisions and sacrifices that have to be made. As such, we are looking for people who can stomach (and enjoy writing) about mature themes and who have the patience for weaving a long-haul story where your characters might struggle to balance their goals, morals and aspirations when faced with the harsh reality of war and politics. 

Isobel herself will be an NPC, with her mostly functioning as a plot device. The real meat of the story will be found in her inner circle, our characters, whose responsibility it is to shield her from threats, but also to get their hands dirty and carry out all of the most unsavory tasks that come with running a rebellion. Make sure that your characters have a strong personal motivation to want to try and make a change, or they will not last long.

If this sounds appealing to you, let us know! If you have any questions, let us know that too!

Cheers, Hank

[center][sub][i]"I AM CYRODIIL COME, he said, Old Reman, born from the earth that IS Al-Esh, and yet he would scorn this country now! Repent! I say again, REPENT!"[/i]
- The Prophet[/sub][/center]