[b][center]Tales of Brilliance[/b][/center]

The world of [url=http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h313/benit149/ToB_map_zpsbe324767.png]Glazend[/url] flourishes in a false peace, as the world’s largest continent Sephira is home to three nations who are silently vying for control of the land. Tensions are rising every day as ancient treaties are callously broken and people go missing. The nations build their armies to prepare for the inevitable clash, with only one country certain to be the victor. Each country is researching different methods of utilizing thaumaturgy into military weapons and barriers, racing against time and their enemies to develop the greatest magitechnology.

The three nations divide Sephira into three equal parts. The southern country is Sord, an oriental steampunk nation that uses steam-powered technology that has since been phased out in the other nations. The central and most influential country is Zenterr, brimming with European influences and a prospering economy thanks to the royal family investing in magitechnology research at the Sect of Maxwell. As such, the Sect’s main headquarters is situated in Zenterr, with its branch houses spread across the continent. The northernmost country is Boreas, and it is riddled with internal strife and conflict due to rampant discrimination and obsession with thaumaturgy. Boreas is the most obvious threat to peace because it has actively used its citizens in awful experiments in the past, plus its magitechnology is said to be greater than Zenterr’s. Its leaders are a council of Elves who believe they are the superior race above all and treat the other races as inferiors. In the past, Zenterr and Sord had to cooperate to quell Boreas’ activities before things got worse, and provide sanctuary for those affected by Boreas’ tyrannical rule. There are whispered rumors that either Zenterr or Sord is actually working with Boreas to create new magitechnology, but nothing has been proven.

Glazend’s citizens all have one thing in common though… or rather two – everyone has gone through the Blessing of Elements to be granted two of ten possible magic glyphs called Thauma (pl. Thaumae), named after the branch of science that studies them; thaumaturgy. Those who specialize in the research are called thaumaturges, and they all belong to the Sect of Maxwell (named after the king of elements). While these sorcerers are in high demand across the three nations, the Sect of Maxwell heavily regulates where thaumaturges are deployed. They’re also very creepy to be around, as [url=http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2010/282/6/2/plague_doctor_by_malignanttoast-d30dfsk.jpg]they dress in plague doctor outfits like this one[/url].

Regardless, everyone can use two Thauma based upon the rituals that thaumaturges perform on children to determine their strongest elemental affinities. From there, the children go to temples and are granted their respective elemental Thauma by a priest or thaumaturge who are part of the Sect. The ritual has become so common that no one has questioned when it came to be or why. Rich or poor, male or female, regardless of race, everyone is able to use two Thaumae. The ten Thaumae known to the world are the following:

1.	[b]Undine Thauma[/b] – Water element that can specialize in offensive and long-range healing spells
2.	[b]Efreet Thauma[/b] – Fire element that is excellent for offensive skills
3.	[b]Sylph Thauma[/b] – Wind element that allows for quick movement
4.	[b]Gnome Thauma[/b] – Earth element granting the user a higher level of defense
5.	[b]Celsius Thauma[/b] – Ice element that functions as the offensive form of water, plus causes the target to either freeze or have their body temperature lower
6.	[b]Volt Thauma[/b] – Lightning element that shocks the opponent and can cause paralysis
7.	[b]Rem Thauma[/b] – Holy element that’s mainly used in magic, not so much for fighting
8.	[b]Shadow Thauma[/b] – Darkness element, the polar opposite to Rem
9.	[b]Martel Thauma[/b] – Nature element that is closely related to Gnome, but makes use of plants and trees
10.	[b]Lorelei Thauma[/b] – Sound element that allows users to access a special branch of magic called [url=http://aselia.wikia.com/wiki/Fonic_Hymns]Fonic Hymns[/url], utilizing short songs to cast mystifying spells rather than using spoken incantations

These ten elements can be combined to allow people a wider range of elemental control for everyday practical usage, combat, or military purposes. For instance, an Undine + Rem user will be an excellent healer, while Sylph + Volt users are very swift and agile. The most unusual combinations are called elemental clashes because they cancel each other out by nature, thus not benefitting the user in any way. The following five are considered elemental clashes:

Undine + Volt (water vs. lightning)
Efreet + Celsius (fire vs. ice)
Sylph + Gnone (wind vs. earth)
Rem + Shadow (light vs. darkness)
Martel + Lorelei (tangible vs. intangible / existence vs. concept)

It is impossible for more than two Thaumae to exist on a person at any time. Any more than that, and elemental discord will occur and kill the user. This is known as Thauma Branding because it involves ‘branding’ a victim with a third Thauma. However there has been forbidden research in that area, along with research into the darkest realms of thaumaturgy in order to prepare for the upcoming war. Such subjects include weapons of mass destruction, immortality, time travel, replication, achieving godhood, and even creating new Thaumae. Sord’s people are demanding for technological advances. Boreas continues to plunge into the realm of black magic and sacrifice everyone’s lives for it. Zenterr is stuck in the middle trying to keep the peace while bolstering its defenses. It won’t be long before this fragile peace gives way to a potential outbreak of mayhem and blood.

CHARACTER SHEET

For the Race category, there are six available to choose, although the last two are extremely rare in the regular series:

Human – Standard [i]homo sapiens[/i] that are flexible at learning magic or fighting skills, but not both. They have the highest population on Glazend, but normally live up to around 80 years.
Elf – People with long pointy ears. They are very talented with magic and thaumaturgy, and have much longer lifespans than any of the other races. Elves in Boreas believe they are the strongest race and will persecute anyone and everyone, including fellow elves, half-elves and dark elves.
Half-Elf – Folks born between a Human and an Elf. They’re often persecuted by both sides and are often on the run. Many belong to the Sect of Maxwell because it doesn’t discriminate against race; it will accept anyone as long as they have skill. Half-elves are said to live up to 1000 years, but not many do because of the manhunts against them.
Dark Elf – A manmade race created by fusing captured Half-Elves with dragon’s blood; they’re the result of the unethical Dragon Blood Project in Boreas to see whether or not mortals can wield the godly power of dragons and then be turned into brainwashed soldiers. As a result, their skin turned darker and the sclera of their eyes turned black, but otherwise they retained normal elven features. Dark Elves are treated even worse than Half-Elves because they’re seen as either slaves or rejected test subjects that need to be eliminated. Even Zenterr and Sord are a little leery of Dark Elves, but still provide a safe haven for them.
[b]This race is to remain extremely limited! As we already have 3 Dark Elves for the story, I will be extremely strict about adding any further Dark Elves. I want most of them to have been killed by Boreas and Sect exterminators, and the ones we're playing are the rare survivors.[/b]
Dwarves – Perhaps the rarest race on Glazend, Dwarves are short-statured and talented craftsmen who don’t involve themselves with world affairs beyond crafting tools and weapons.
Dwarf-Elf – As one has never been seen, it’s not known what Dwarf-Elves are like.

Name:
Age:
Appearance:
Birthplace:
Personality:
Race: (Human, Elf, Half-Elf, Dark Elf, Dwarf or Dwarf-Elf; see above)
Canon or OC:
If Canon, which game:
Weapon:
Thauma #1:
Thauma #2:
Base Artes/Spells: (if you’re familiar with element-based Base Artes, please select according to what your character’s Thaumae are)
Bio:

RULES

1.	You may use a character from an existing Tales series (from Phantasia all the way to Xillia 2 – we’ll leave Zestiria alone until it is released). However, they will need to be equipped with at least one Thauma that best suits their existing skill range, i.e. Kohak with fire, Veigue with ice, Tear with music, etc. If they are mages that normally use a wide array of elemental spells, obviously many of those artes will need to be cut. And yes, spoilers will be inevitable.
2.	Likewise you may create an OC and start them off with a short list of base artes or first-tier spells. Your character’s skill list will expand as the story goes on. If you don’t know what base artes or spells to use, [url=http://aselia.wikia.com/wiki/Arte]please look here for more[/url].
3.	You don’t need to know the Tales series like the back of your hand. This will be a fantasy setting with heavy emphasis on elements, of course. The Tales Wiki has plenty of information about the games’ lore if you wish to research more about it.

CHARACTER ROSTER

benit149 - [url=http://198.58.124.212:3000/topics/21839/posts/ooc?page=1#post-591338]Melvin[/url] (Dark Elf)
hefewy - [url=http://198.58.124.212:3000/topics/21839/posts/ooc?page=1#post-586251]Cyreth[/url] (Dark Elf)
neko_sama - [url=http://198.58.124.212:3000/topics/21839/posts/ooc?page=1#post-586821]Ashe[/url] (Dark Elf)
Darkrougenin - [url=http://198.58.124.212:3000/topics/21839/posts/ooc?page=1#post-587939]Lucas "Like" Flamberg[/url] (Human)
Leviathan - [url=http://198.58.124.212:3000/topics/21839/posts/ooc?page=1#post-591399]Lumen[/url] (Elf)
Shinra - [url=http://198.58.124.212:3000/topics/21839/posts/ooc?page=2#post-592721]Seth[/url] (Human)
The Blue Sylph - [url=http://198.58.124.212:3000/topics/21839/posts/ooc?page=2#post-594318]Lianne 'Lily' Marzof[/url] (Half-Elf)
ShadowD - [url=http://198.58.124.212:3000/topics/21839/posts/ooc?page=3#post-619687]Mobius Zeltos[/url] (Human)
TurboTuber - [url=http://198.58.124.212:3000/topics/21839/posts/ooc?page=3#post-621296]Anton Selsvart[/url] (Human)
Gareth - [url=http://198.58.124.212:3000/topics/21839/posts/ooc?page=3#post-624041]Xoven Trigade[/url] (Elf)
xAsunaWolfx - [url=http://198.58.124.212:3000/topics/21839/posts/ooc?page=3#post-626927]Deimos Jacquez[/url] (Half-Elf)