To watch the horizon fall away and feel the mist of the clouds while ascending through limitless skies, there is no sensation more pure in the world. The dragons - once our sworn enemies, now our most faithful companions - are bonded to we who have the privilege of calling ourselves their riders, honouring the pact made by our ancestors long ago to safeguard their young in exchange for the strength of their wings.
However...
There are those who would abuse that privilege.
Having conquered the eastern half of the continent of Elbe, the human-ruled Empire of Kovos now turns it gaze westward and all that stands in their way is the Sunspire Mountains. From north to south, it stands as a bulwark in the centre of the land and though the three nations of the west are hardly united, all recognize the threat from the east, and so The Alliance is formed.
To resist the coming storm...
And fight back.
NO LONGER RECRUITING
Overview
You are a dragon rider of The Alliance and you have been charged with the duty of defending the realms of the west from the forces of the Kovosian Empire in the east. Among the three nations there is: Avalan Home of the elves, ruled for millenia by Empress Sifa. A realm of lush fields, winding rivers and ancient forests, Avalan lies to the westernmost regions of Elbe and serves as the breadbasket to the three nations. Rich in agriculture and medicine, it boasts some of the finest healers and mages in all the land.
Norsica Home of humans and dwarves, currently ruled by High King Alaric as decided by kingsmoot 20 years ago. Cold, vast and windy, this rugged nation lies to the north and claims much of the Sunspire Mountains as part of its territories. Though crops are difficult to grow, fishing and hunting has ever been bountiful, and there is never any lack of meat and mead. Furs, hide and metals are the nation's foremost experts, as well as some of the hardiest warriors in all the land.
Feros Home of orcs and beastkin, ruled by the Council of Elders. Hot and impossible to tame, Feros lies to the south and is known as a realm of contradictions with arid steppes to the north, vast deserts at its centre and dense jungles to the south. From exotic spices to expert gemcrafts and fine fabrics, its goods are as diverse as the people that live in this region. It is also home to the rare gold dragons.
Then there is the enemy...
The Empire of Kovos Having conquered all the land east of the Sunspire Mountains, the Empire seeks to claim the rest of Elbe. Dominated by humans, it has ever been known to possess the largest and most skilled army of dragon riders in the entire continent. All of Kovosian society revolves around it and the most elite are known as the Crimson Wings. A group of six dragon knights, solely devoted to and led by the Emperor himself...
For more information, see below.
No dragon will suffer any weaker than themselves to ride them, thus all dragon riders are capable of wielding 1 of 2 different types of magic: mana and prana.
Mana A power only available to mages, those born with a connection to the energy that flows through the world itself known simply as the 'Source'.
It allows for a wide variety of uses such as commanding the elements, healing sickness and injury, moving objects from afar, creating and controlling golems, and enchanting items of power.
Though incredibly versatile, one must use mana sparingly for it places a heavy toll on one's spirit and may result in a condition known as feedback. The effects of which may range in terms of severity from light-headedness to a deep coma or even death, depending on how far the mage overextends themselves.
Prana The power of the individual spirit inherent within all living things. When one becomes capable of transcending their physical limits, they are said to have become 'awakened' and this may either be triggered through intense training and discipline or a singular moment of extreme emotion.
However one becomes awakened, they are now capable of extraordinary feats such as running great distances in the blink of an eye, leaping as high as mountains, withstanding sword strikes without a scratch, shattering boulders with a single blow or even imbuing such strength into weapons and armour.
Like mages however, such power ought be used sparingly lest one burns through the entirety of their strength, both in spirit and body.
Humans - short lived compared to other races, average size, average physical strength, fewer mages and awakened, but those who do possess the ability to wield mana or prana are observed to be incredibly fast learners. Known as 'quickbloods' by the elves.
Elves - tall, mostly born as mages and practically immortal when living among other elves in sufficient number. Otherwise capable of living up to 300 years in 'the wild' (anywhere outside of Avalan). Prana users incredibly rare and often looked down upon as outcasts.
Dwarves - short of stature, twice the average lifespan of a human and resilient as bedrock. Average proportion of mages and awakened, tendency to be more skilled with enchantments and the use of enchanted items to augment skills in battle.
Orcs - big, physically powerful, highest proportion of awakened compared to other races, though also the fewest mages. Like the humans of Kovos, most orcs come from a martial culture that values honour and prowess in battle above all else. Average lifespan of 200 years.
Beastkin - the result of many centuries of animal hybridization experiments by an ancient civilization attempting to create the perfect slave race. Said civilization met its end at the hands, claws and fangs of the beastkin themselves, who now consist of hundreds of different tribes, but are all united by their shared past. Proportions of mages and awakened as well as average lifespans vary wildly depending on each tribe.
There are many different types of dragons, each one affected by the environment they were born in. For example, while most dragons typically breathe fire, some born in extremely cold climates may instead breathe ice and those born amidst the sky may possess only two legs instead of four, or no limbs at all except for a pair of wings.
Most rare are gold dragons, which tend to be the largest and capable of breathing flames hotter than any other. A close second would be black dragons, such as the one the Emperor of Kovos rides (itself rumoured to be an awakened beast).
While incapable of human speech, dragons are known to be able to share their emotions with the rider they have bonded to and vice versa. Bonding with a dragon itself can be risky as one must often prove themselves equal in terms of strength to be considered worthy of becoming a rider, though different dragons may possess a different criteria for choosing their riders.
Perhaps it is one's personality that a dragon may select for, or merely the look of one's face. Either way, dragons will not respect those they perceive as lesser to themselves.
If you wish to join the roleplay, please fill out the character sheet below and send me a pm.
Name:
Age:
Description:
Race: Human/Elf/Dwarf/Orc/Beastkin/Mixed
Nation: Norsinia/Avalan/Feros/Kovos
Magic type: Mana/Prana (CHOOSE ONLY 1)
Abilities:
Background:
Appearance: (Optional)
Dragon name:
Type:
Description:
Appearance: (Optional)
If you have any questions or just wanna chat, feel free to send me a pm or post anything ooc here.
@Psyker Landshark at minimum, every rider has to be strong enough to make a dragon think twice about looking at them as prey or being lower on the totem pole. So for a mage, they'd need to be able to use their magic to defend themselves from a breath attack or show that they're no push over. For example, raising a wall of earth to block flames or casting a blast of fire just as powerful as a dragon's.
The most powerful mage, the empress of Avalan, would be capable of summoning natural disaster like floods, earthquakes, hurricanes and firestorms. Most others would be anywhere between that to only being able to levitate a piece of paper.
As for the rarity of riders, it depends on where they're from. In the Kovosian Empire, almost everyone who is a mage or awakened will try to become a dragon rider since it's so central to their society. In the west though, the process is less centralized so while some may train to become riders from an early age, others may develop their skills first before thinking about becoming a rider.
In other words, those from the east tend to become riders as early as possible (basically as soon as they meet the most minimal requirements) then build up from there, while those from the west tend to develop their talents first and then go on to become riders with an already strong base of skill in mana or prana. Some may even choose to not be riders at all.
Another thing to consider is that there's only so many dragons to go around, especially those mature enough to be useful in combat. In Kovos, there's enough to form an entire fleet of riders with their numbers being in the hundreds. The 3 nations of the west however had to form the Alliance just to match those numbers and yet still fall short.
Hope that answers your questions. Lemme know if there's anything else you'd like to know.
While we wait, how about we talk shop before we begin? To be honest, I wasn't expecting so many people to be interested in joining the roleplay and I feel like there's going to be just a bit too many riders for a reasonably sized patrol squad. Would anyone be willing to have their character be the leader of a second squad?
While we wait, how about we talk shop before we begin? To be honest, I wasn't expecting so many people to be interested in joining the roleplay and I feel like there's going to be just a bit too many riders for a reasonably sized patrol squad. Would anyone be willing to have their character be the leader of a second squad?
I can do it if noone else has their heart set on it.
Although, I'll admit it would be a bit odd for the youngest and probably least experienced rider on this team to be a squad/team leader, given he's in his early twenties and the next youngest person is nearly thirty. Not to mention the full elf and dwarf in the party.
Are you considering making the squad arrangements permanent? I think I'd prefer it if they were organized depending on the task, so that everyone has a chance to interact.
@Nameless Hero Well, he is nobility, if in exile. There's defiantly a president in history for nobles to be given command on the grounds of being noblemen and nothing else. Not to mention he's been formally educated in warfare for the batter part of his life. Even if he isn't experienced, I could see someone going
"Oh, hey! This guy's been trained to understand the intricacies of war, but he isn't experienced enough to lead a larger unit. And he's a dragon rider so putting him in a supply unit would be a waste. I know! Let's make him a squad or team leader, so we can get him some experience and not risk too many lives doing it."
At some point, someone will get the bright idea to think the century-old wizard knows something about leadership and strategy.
To which he'll tell them to fuck off because he's the equivalent of a college professor part-timing this shit, his specialty is in slinging spells and ancient lore
Alright, so we'll have 2 newly minted squad leaders. One of em will be my character Jinan, recently promoted by dint of seniority within the ranks, and the other will be @Bacon's character Caleb, fast tracked coz noble but also coz he survived an attack led by a member of the Crimson bloody Wings. That's just a step behind being attacked by the Emperor himself, so definitely worthy of respect.
Whoever is the least annoying? I guess it'd depend on who'd be best assigned to make sure Nimethel's not quietly plotting to shirk her duty? Probably Jinan as he's older.
I guess it'd depend on who'd be best assigned to make sure Nimethel's not quietly plotting to shirk her duty? Probably Jinan as he's older.
