Colonial

[Isotope]

Interested

[Dinh AaronMk]

Swag.

[SirBeowulf]

So are we waiting for anything in particular? We could just stay silent. I like silence.

[Dinh AaronMk]

So are we waiting for anything in particular? We could just stay silent. I like silence.

@SirBeowulf

Later today I'm planning on releasing the application so we can start devising characters. By Saturday I'll probably start the RP, work permitting.

[Dinh AaronMk]

App time. Name: Description: <including age and gender> Background: I like application simplicity, as you can see. If ya'll could write at least four to five paragraphs of background, I think that's a good base. Unless someone disagrees and wants it ten, but then you're just burning my time.

[Vilageidiotx]

Name: Gwynda Adair Description: 35/F/Uponhill Background: Gwynda Adair was born Gwynda Umbrahme, the daughter of the Erle of Tembree. Tembree was, in ancient times, an independent kingdom who's people subsisted off of fish, whale, and seal while their warriors ranged across the moors finding opposing tribes to plunder. Those harsh times came to an abrupt end long ago when the young Kingdom of Sorset invaded and swallowed the small, unpeopled moors of Tembree. This conquest had been achieved by a Sorsetii Queen named Athdara. The Warrior Queen's personality cult grew strong in this far off place, and it has remained the unofficial main religion of the Tembree people, who's provincial nature has largely kept them isolated from the cosmopolitan Ethahnic faith. Tembree's barrow-pocked moors and climbing basalt cliffs set the stage for her early childhood. Gwynda was a strange child, taken to fluctuating moods that she would later relate to the spiritual world. She was imaginative, putting stock in old superstitions and falling deeply into the Athdaric cult. At fifteen, she was married off to the young Erle of Siltbruce, Riordan Adair. The Adair clan came from ancient blood, and they trace their lineage to a time so far back that legend and myth are too mingled in the history to prove them wrong. Riordan had entered public life as a cavalry officer, and by nineteen he had already been inducted into the Society of Banshees - a secret society of distinguished Cavalrymen who marked themselves by making their faces ghost-white with cakey white powder, running lines of greasepaint below their eyes to represent banshee tears, and screaming in battle. Though his induction was undoubtedly due to his social status rather than any sort of veterancy - he had only fought in one pitched battle before being brought into the society - it was still a badge of honor he wore with great pride. Gwynda was happy in her marriage. The Adair clan only paid polite attention to the Ethahnic religion, attending more to a routine of traditional ancestor worship, and their lack of devotion allowed Gwynda to practice her particularly devout worship of Athdara. Riordan was a patient man and seemed to handle her flights of fancy well enough, and the Adair wealth allowed her to indulge these fancies with some extravagance. The couple had one son who they named Nevin, and two daughters who they named Blaire and Braithe. When the War of Brugii Succession began, the couple had not been wedded a year. At the time, it did not seem like the world-changing event that it would eventually become. Gwynda had always lived comfortably, and she had developed an ignorance of the outside world that made her way of life seem immortal. It wasn't until the second decade of the war, when it began to expand beyond Bruge, that Riordan rode off to war in an extended campaign at the head of a column of light dragoons. Gwynda did not doubt that he would return. Riordan participated in the charge that saw the death of King Brandon Aeloy, though Riordan was leading flanking maneuver meant to unhinge the enemy line while the King's men charged into its center and therefore did not witness the King's death himself. In fact, it wasn't until the battle ended that he learned what had happened. Like many of the noblemen, he was nervous about the new King Ilroy's ability to rule, but the war was still there to fight. Riordan was part of a mission to ride around the enemy army while the Battle at the River Tirus took place, and he returned home after it ended. Ilroy's death shook up the entire political world of Tirna-Sorset. The nobility saw in the rising Aenda an authoritarian who would usurp their ancient rights, and they supported the young King Michael in what ways they could. When the rebellions came, the Adairs sided with the true king against the usurper Aenda. Riordan rode to war again, and Gwynda was still absolutely sure of their safety. Riordan joined with the other members of the Society of the Banshee, who's peculiar cult-like rites and elitist culture sided them with the anti-Aenda faction. They hired mercenaries and attempted to join-up with the other rebels. They won several skirmishes, but when faced with the professional army in a pitched battle, they were defeated. Riordan was imprisoned, taken to the capitol, and executed on the steps of the palace along with dozens of other nobles. Gwynda's world was turned upside down. She fell into a deep depression, made worse by her fluctuating moods. She was imprisoned, along with her children, Riordan's sister Maude (who's husband had died in the early years of the Brugii War, causing her to move to the Adair lands), and Maude's children. Though they were not executed, the decision of Aenda's judges was hardly less horrifying. Nevin, Gwynda and Riordan's eldest son, was taken to a surgeons and castrated in order to end the male line of Adair's. Their lands were taken, and they were forced to join the settlers being sent to Uponhill. The Adair's live on a farm outside of the settlement, though they winter within the walls of Uponhill with the rest of the colonists. A winter fever killed Gwynda's sister-in-law Maude, leaving Gwynda as the matriarch of the family in exile. They are assisted on their farm with a small circle of servants and staff.

[Byrd Man]

Name: Dr. Peadar Browning Age: 36 Appearance: Browning is a very fragile man, standing at a diminutive height of 5’4 and barely weighing above 120 pounds. His long hair is black with streaks of white. He wears a collection of suits that were once fine, but are now tattered and stained due to the conditions since his exile. Along with his clothing, he has a small bag with medical supplies. Bio: Dr. Peadar Browning was born into one of Tirna-Sorset’s upper middle class family, a family of social strivers. Peadar was taught how to read and write at an early age and soon amassed an impressive library that contained everything from plays, treatises, works of fiction, and political tracts. He had dreams of one day becoming a writer, but he was pushed by his father to practice medicine. He acquiesced to his father’s wishes, but continued to write on the side as he studied. Under the pseudonym of E.G. Rathais, Peadar published the best-selling adventure serial The Bowrocker. Further successful Rathais works followed. There was the sweeping epic A Kinsman's Journey, the romantic and bawdy Tales of a Country Wench, and the runaway successful novel The Life of Callum Creag that was published in several languages across the world. While the name Rathais became an international celebrity, it didn't provide much future so Dr. Peadar Browning quietly continued to practice medicine by day and write at night. Among his closest patients were a duke and his wife. The duke and duchess were part of a small group of nobles who were beginning to grow disenchanted with Aenda’s regency. They invited Browning to meetings where they discussed the rights of nobility, the aristocracy, and who should rule. Motivated by these discussions, Browning wrote a series of essays under the pen name Publius, the essays were titled Thoughts on Constitutional Monarchy. The works called for making the royal family powerless figureheads while a governing council made up of the nobles ran the country with evenly divided power. The duke and duchess provided the seed money for publishing. The essays, published during the height of Aenda’s war with the gentry, sent shockwaves through the nation. The followup pamphlet Thoughts on Self-Determination was even more radical and callied for a mixed government of nobles and commoners elected directly by the kingdom's land owners. After the brief civil war's end the duke and duchess were arrested by the army. Under duress they confessed that Browning was Publius. The good doctor was arrested and served six agonizing months in a dungeon before he was shoved on a ship and sent across the water to Uponhill. Browning was party to the hellacious first year the colony suffered. Like the rest of the town he suffered disease and starvation. As a doctor, he did what he could for those in need of his help. Those he could not help he helped bury. The first year is now over and Browning, emaciated and constantly sick due to his weak constitution, serves as just one of two doctors the town has. He helps the people of the colony where and when he can. In his free time he continues to secretly write political tracts that concern the radical ideas of self-governance hoping to one day find an audience that is ready for his ideas.

[Vilageidiotx]

You might want to play with the naming convention a bit. I'm digging the Federalist Papers reference, but I think Aaron was wanting to eschew the latin cultural trope altogether, and the names might be a tad too modern anglo. The naming convention in the OP seems to be a more mix of celtic and old english.

[Byrd Man]

Alright changed it up. Kept the surname since that's already old English, but tinkered with some of the other names.

[Pepperm1nts]

Jesus, Vilage. You really made it easy for noble characters, huh? I guess my character won't have a wee-wee.

[Vilageidiotx]

Jesus, Vilage. You really made it easy for noble characters, huh? I guess my character won't have a wee-wee.

@Pepperm1nts

He was the singular male heir of a rebel leader who was also a pagan. His cousin will still be packing heat. You could come up with some excuse to remain endowed i'm sure.

[Dinh AaronMk]

It's like some weird sort of diversity here by making use of inheritance or whatever.

[Pepperm1nts]

Jesus, Vilage. You really made it easy for noble characters, huh? I guess my character won't have a wee-wee.

@Pepperm1nts

He was the singular male heir of a rebel leader who was also a pagan. His cousin will still be packing heat. You could come up with some excuse to remain endowed i'm sure.

@Vilageidiotx

I don't know why "packing heat" in reference to someone's Johnson makes me giggle like an idiot. Anyway, yeah, I guess I could come up with some excuse. But the character I had in mind actually has a lot in common with the Adair fellow.

[Vilageidiotx]

Well, it hasn't all been filled out yet. Or maybe castration was being used in the context of a proscription style money raising campaign where Aenda's supporters would save the castration punishment for nobles who are the singular heirs of their executred fathers, so that the government can exile them and, instead of being required to give that land to an heir or risk a lawsuit by a future potential heir, that government can claim that land an all of it's incomes. Maybe the church gets involved and requests castration being ceased by citing it as barbaric. Or it was typically used in the military as part of a dishonorable discharge, and Aenda was a middle class career soldier who saw no problem with using military punishments in this context, but it is considered poor form to use the same sort of punishment on nobles, so the nobles who supported him got nervous and pressured him to knock it off. In this way, only a small number ever got the (tiny) axe. Or maybe the common masses have some sort of beef with debeefing, so a grassroots "Free Willy" campaign begins. This would tie in nicely with the enlightenment values suggested by Byrd's app. Aenda brings up an old punishment for traitors, and legalists fear that this will set a precedent for bringing back all kinds of harsh sentences, so they print and distribute essays and pamphlets decrying to tyranny of capital punishment and cause enough of a ruckus to cause Aenda's regime to take a more flaccid approach and simply exile the young noblemen, balls and all.

[Pepperm1nts]

I guess having the punishment cease at some point is good enough. I was worried every exiled noble would have to abide by the no-willy rule and they'd all be Unsullied.

[SirBeowulf]

Pilsky Yakovitch, Sandwich Thief.

Name:

Pilsky Yakovitch.

Description:

According to the ruling class of Tirna-Sorset, Pilsky is nothing more than another rat clogging up their sewers, and at first glance that might be true. Like any other slum dweller, appearance is not one of the main things one tries to improve. Usually food and shelter are of more importance. Still, beneath the dirt and grime, one might think of Pilsky as a rather handsome man of twenty years. He's a rather short fellow, just barely topping at an average height of five feet, ten inches. Sloppy brown hair in need of a good wash, but a surprising set of hazel eyes that get all of the ladies. Not much body weight on him though. Hunger tends to do that a lot. Of course, being used to going hungry all his life gave him the better edge once winter came around. That and a hidden stash of stolen food tends to help.

Background:

When given a chance to throw it all behind him, Pilsky jumped on the chance faster than you could call Aenda a bad ruler. Who wouldn't? The benefits given to him were certainly worth it all. Free land as far as the eye could see, extremely fertile soil, and a bunch of natives who would gladly give up their women. That and a free ticket out of the prisons was a big plus. To a man who had lived all of his life in the cramped slums of the capital, throwing a chance like that away would have been suicide. Or a surefire way to not die of starvation and exposure to the elements. Instead of tight, cramped slums where you at least had a few feet to breath, now he had been subjected boat ride over with no bed and the only solace being that he had already thrown up his meal hours earlier. It was a helluva few weeks, that. Growing up in those slums, sure it was hard, but it was the only thing he knew. Mother was a whore, father was a drunkard emigrated from an country named Gornska to the East looking for work. Stealing came easy to him at least. With no craftsman or metal smith to apprentice under, all he knew was self taught or learned from a father in his few sober moments. His work consisted of shining shoes or being hired for barely anything at textiles or workshops. His only experience with anything in the water were sitting at the docks, watching the boats enter and leave the ports. That and chopping fish. His other job was being in a roving band of young men. Your average gang that played at being big, but never did anything than getting in scuffles and territory disputes. It was there he learned how to fight and how to use a knife. Hell, he even had a girl he liked. Pretty lass who was in a work house. Probably only liked him for his money. Then he made the mistake of trying to steal from the rich. A lower noble, but a noble none the less should have been a good target for his gang. It turns out well trained, well fed guards who wielded swords were more than a match for a bunch of rats with chipped daggers and thin stomachs. Turns out said noble was being rather generous, and gave them a choice. Either be locked away in the prisons or take his place on a ship sent to start a colony. It turned out to be pretty stupid of Pilsky to say yes. After gathering up the measly sums he had saved over the years, saying goodbye to his friends, and giving a kiss to that pretty lass, he was given a set of papers he couldn't read, thrown onto a boat, and sent off to new lands. Pilsky quickly realized how different it was to the slums. Having never held a hoe or a shovel, no hammer or nail, nor even owned a chicken or a goat, it was difficult. His hands bled from the blisters, his skin cracked and peeled from the sun, and his bones ached from the work. His first 'shelter' broke down within' a week. Hell, he even managed to get the effects of poison ivy down his breeches whilst doing the you know what. It wasn't a pretty sight at all. And while the winters back home were something, it was even worse in Uponhill. Like most, his living conditions weren't the greatest. Combining poor construction and little idea of how much fire wood needed led to a miserable and hungry season.

Hope its good enough. I'm kind of sick right now, so tell me if I blundered anything.

[Vilageidiotx]

Uponhill, not Townhill =p The only things I think you need to add are the name of the city he slummed in, and a reason why he has a Slavic name. If the former is the capitol, you might want to ask Aaron what the capitol of Tirna-Sorset is called. And with the latter, just say he immigrated from a foreign place and give the place a Slavic sounding name.

I guess having the punishment cease at some point is good enough. I was worried every exiled noble would have to abide by the no-willy rule and they'd all be Unsullied.

@Pepperm1nts

There is always a way to work around this shit. If all else fails, we could say that Aenda just really didn't like the look of Nevin's balls.

[SirBeowulf]

Uponhill, not Townhill =p The only things I think you need to add are the name of the city he slummed in, and a reason why he has a Slavic name. If the former is the capitol, you might want to ask Aaron what the capitol of Tirna-Sorset is called. And with the latter, just say he immigrated from a foreign place and give the place a Slavic sounding name.

@Vilageidiotx

Upon? Town? Basically the same thing. As for his name, whoops. I added some stuff in to explain it. Oi, Aaron. What's the name of the capitol? TELL ME.

[Dinh AaronMk]

Doulein would be the traditional seat of power for Tirna, but given the union between the two it's since turned over to The Warren, the former palatial city of Sorset. To be honest I haven't had to think about it, and I just got done watching a long-ass (like, four hours long) Chinese movie so I'm trying to keep my naming out the Cao and Jingyu stuff. I'll need to get to writing a post for Precipice to use that.

[Pepperm1nts]

eyyy where dis at