AlidaMaria

League of Assassins

Maybe he can work on a mission during the times he isn't counceling or giving emotion-control lessons?

League of Assassins

Sounds perfect to me!

The Relics (No Plot/Fantasy/Character Driven/Worthy of Skepticism)

Post incoming!

And now it's edited enough to be readable!

The Relics (No Plot/Fantasy/Character Driven/Worthy of Skepticism)

A lone figure was walking on a narrow, winding path surrounded by grasslands and farms as far as the eye could see. Marcus adjusted the bags on his shoulder with a sigh. His feet were sore after days of walking and he was a starting to get irritated at the gods for making such a vast world. Still, the view was great. After living in a small cabin in the woods near the southern mountains for five years, it felt good to see vast grasslands again. He had tried his best and succeeded to avoid the main roads, since large crowds made him feel uncomfortable. And currently the main roads sure were crowded. No wonder, since it didn't happen that often that a new king was crowned in Othea. As a wry smile crept across his face, Marcus thought back to all the coronation rituals he had witnessed as a child. Twelve... in a span of fifteen years. On two of such days, the the High Saeng had been killed just before he ascended the throne, and on one he was killed by poison in the holy water. It hadn't been a pleasant sight when the High Saeng-to-be fell to the ground, screaming as his skin and hair seemed to wither after the water had been poured over his head as a symbol of unity with the gods. Apparently, the gods didn't really like rulers.

Forcing his thoughts back to the present, Marcus noticed that there was a group of people was walking not too far ahead of him. His bow hung on his back, but he wouldn't be able to reach for the arrows. What on earth had he been thinking when he put them in the bag with provisions this morning? Unconsciously, Marcus reached for his lower abdomen. Beneath the piece of cloth strapped around his waist was the reassuring weight of a metal. Sang Min was within reach and with that comforting knowledge he continued to catch up with the group.

As he came closer to them, he noticed that they were arguing about something. "No way that... Do it yaself!" He could see that the group consisted of five men, three woman and two children. His hand moved away from Sang Min and he sighed with relief. He wouldn't have to shed any blood today. "Ya know bloody well.. necessary..." When he was only 5 yards away, one of the younger men noticed him. "Hey and who is this then? Sneaking up to us like tha. Lance, look at tha. He's dressed real odd isn't he, that fellah." Lance... the name seemed oddly familiar. A man as large as a bear turned his head towards them. While he first seemed angry that the younger man had interrupted his conversation, his eyes went wide when he spotted Marcus. "Well blimey... I may be damned if that ain't our very own Recluse!" Before Marcus had a chance to react, Lance had already grabbed him and hugged him tight, squeezing all the air out of Marcus' lungs. "Lance....let..m...no..." But Lance paid him no heed and just continued to smother Marcus while laughing his roaring laugh. When he finally let him go, Marcus was sure he was a few bruises richer. "And wha on Azukhar brings ya so far from ya lil forest?", Lance asked with the thick accent of the southern mountain people. "Ya didn't come all tha way to just to say ya miss me?" Lance laughed loudly at his own joke and Marcus couldn't help but smile, invisible under the cloth covering his mouth. Lance was blacksmith in the village near the forest Marcus lived in. He was always kind to him and after taking a good second look, he noticed that Lance's wife Meriam and his children Bruce and Amy had come as well. "Actually, I'm on my way to the coronation." Marcus said with a soft voice. "Wha coincidence, so are we. Join us!" Lance wouldn't take no and so Marcus found himself continuing his voyage with ten new companions. And so his plan to avoid the main roads died a soundless death...

The Relics (No Plot/Fantasy/Character Driven/Worthy of Skepticism)

Sorry I became so enthusiastic that I wrote a whole bunch.. If this is too much or if there's something missing, I'll change it.
Also, sorry Pixie, I stole you format x'D

Da-Hyun
Geography
Da-Hyun is a relatively small island nation to the far west of Azukhar and encompasses the nine most western islands known. The islands are home to beautiful, rough nature with large woods, beautiful beaches and enormous cliffs. The largest island, Daseom however, is the only one with average soil in some parts of the island. On most of the smaller islands, agriculture is impossible and because of this, the only source of income for them is fishery, wood cutting and livestock in the form of sheep. Some of the richer farmers posses and cows. The capitol Doa Jun is located on Daseom and most trade and treasure flows through this city. [/hider]

Economics
The life in Da-Hyun is a hard one and so are its people. With the lack of food sources in the kingdom, the population is rather small and most Da-Hyunin have resorted to piracy as a way of life. There's also a form of 'legal piracy', established by the kings of Da-Hyun. The so-called 'The Jongsa Company' regulates what ships are allowed to be attacked, where ships or coastal villages may be attacked and it's in charge of the fair distribution of loot. When official Jong die while on duty, the company also provides widows a compensation or monthly financial support. No wonder that unregulated Da-Hyuni piracy isn't common these days.[/hider]

Arts
Despite the regular stream of treasure flowing into Da-Hyun, the arts never really flourished. It's said that in days long forgotten, the Da-Hyunin knew how to weave beautiful tapestries, filled with such colours that there was no doubt magic involved in the process. Of those days, only a few tapestries, sculptures and paintings remain. These days, the only arts that still thrive in Da-Hyun are the traditional music, ship building and navigation. Since their marine is superior to their neighbouring countries, the Da-Hyunin specialize in weapons that are practical when fighting on boats. Besides that, they've perfected their ways of sacking coastal cities and are trained to fight with any weapon they can get their hands on. Fair swordplay is a concept that'll only cause laughter in Da-Hyun.[/hider]

Theology

The traditional faith is called Tatsu Zheng Dao (or the faith of the Nine, as it's commonly called). This faith is bound to a strict set of rules, to make sure not to risk the Nine's wrath. The Nine don't desire their followers to hold a sermon. A few examples are listed below.

Rituals
- One has to pray each day, to all the Nine Gods. There exists a standard prayer that can always be followed.
- Followers who feel attracted to one god or want to ask them a special favor, must follow the god's special desires. For example, Gashi desires woman to pray for their husbands safety, San-Geob desires to pray to Yun-Yeong for strong guards and followers of Luong must say all their prayers in a way-that's-close-to-insulting-the-gods-but-not-exactly.
- Both Jun Haemosu, Yun-Yeong and Zhu-yì ask for blood offers. (It is said that Zhu-yì makes his heavenly wine from the blood of his followers.) These are given every year in the capitol, combined with a great festival that lasts 27 days.
- All Da-Hyuni have to return to the sea after their death. Preferably, the dead are anointed with oils, cremated and scattered across the ocean. Sailing out and dropping the body into the sea will also suffice if the family can't pay for the oils or if the deceased died at sea.

Mythology
Jun Haemosu
The god of the ocean. He's the most important god in the Da-Hyuni pantheon and can be concidered to be the High Saeng among the gods.

Yuwhae
The goddess of rivers and sweet water, she's the wife of Jun Haemosu

Yun-Yeong
The god of plunder and battle and holds a very prominent position.

Amatsu
He is the god of the moon and shadows. Often worshiped by thieves and sailors.

Gashi
The goddess of family, village life and marriage

Fen
The goddes of death and new life, usually depicted as a beautiful woman without a face, dressed in a long white gown covered in blood.

San-Geob
The god of trade and money.

Zhu-yì
The god of wine, parties and hedonism. Da-Hyun has a relatively large amount of alcohol addicts since there aren't that many things to distract people from the daily grind.

Luong
The god of deceit, lies and delusions. He used to be human and is called the Trickster. He has been known to have tricked the gods themselves on several occasions, after which Jun Haemosu made him a god and let him live in his undersea palace, so that he and the other gods could keep an eye on Luong. He's mainly worshiped by thieves, some traders and other deceivers.

The Da-Hyunin have a habit of calling upon their gods at any time. They also like to use parts of their gods in creating elaborated curses. A few examples are: "Fen's bloody dress..." "By all San-Geob's treasures.." or "Zhu-yì's chamber pot...".

The main human representative of the gods is the High Yo Ju. He lives in a palace deep in woods. He has a residence on every island and from time to time he moves. The High Yo Ju also functions as an oracle and some claim he can see the future.
Below him stand the Yo Ji, a group of 9 men and 9 women who function as high priests in the traditional capitols on all nine islands (in groups of two, one man and one woman). They are in charge of local festivals, offerings and provide council.
Below them are the Jima, the local priests in villages. They are also the ones who assist the Yo Ji and Yo Ju. Altough they cannot claim to speak for the gods, they are trained in the proper ways of executing rituals and can call upon the Yo Ji if necessary.
These religious leaders don't ever mingle themselves in politics, or 'We are not concerned with things of this world, only with those of the other' as they describe it themselves.

Stance on envokers
Traditionally, the Da-Hyunin aren't against evokers as long as they use their abilities for the common good, they were even welcomed with open arms. A few High Saeng who ruled for longer periods of time are known to have been evokers. Some even whisper that even the High Yo Ju is an evoker. With the recent infiltration of the Holy Order of Idris however, envokers are hunted down and killed. If that's not possible, there's a bounty placed on their head or they're simply exciled. Currently, the Holy Order is gradually increasing its influence in the major cities, influencing politics as well. On the country side the Nine are still followed though, and none of the spiritual leaders have been hurt as of yet, to prevend unrest among the Commons.

Politics

Da-Hyuni is ruled by nine noble families, each tracking their origins to one of the first men to step foot at the Kingdom's islands. They're ruled by a king (the High Saeng), who is chosen from among the nine family heads (or Saeng as they're called). When the High Saeng dies, the Saeng gather to elect a new one from among their mid. The High Saeng resides in the capitol and he usually gathers the Saeng or their representatives in the city to council him. Da-Hyun has a history of High Saengs killed by poison or knifes and it's no wonder that the commons call the High Court 'Luong Pis' (snake pit, or pit of Luong).

There is no way for commons to gain political power. The only way is to fight and plunder well, for those who gather enough treasure stand a chance to have their son or daughter be married to a high born. If such a marriage is arranged, the whole family of the lowborn will be raised to the status of high born, but they'll usually still be looked down upon by the high born. There have been many attempts to change this system from the bottom to the top, but as of yet none have succeeded in doing so.

The current High Saeng is called Jok Lu. A powerful man, both in connections and physically. He has survived several assassination attempts and has been in power for seven years now. He isn't exactly loved, Da-Hyunin never truly love their leaders, but he's considered to be a just ruler, which is as close at it will get.

Architecture
Most cities are built in a triangle shape, the harbour being one point, the houses of the high born another and a temple is located in the third point (to the Nine or to the city's protective sprit or favourite god). Most cities are walled, especially near the harbour and throughout there are walls and gates that can be closed in case of an attack. This way there are certain levels where people can flee to in case of an attack from the sea. Everything is build expecting a sea attack, so the defences to the land-side of the city are usually rather weak. (If this makes no sense at all, please say so and I'll try to draw it lol). The houses are usually built in the typical Da-Hyuni style of pointed roofs and walls made of either white stone or a sort of bamboo.

The Relics (No Plot/Fantasy/Character Driven/Worthy of Skepticism)

Pfew, finally caught up with reading all this and the IC, going to work on a post now! :)

Oh! And should I write something about Da-Hyun? Concidering our time zones I think I'll just start writing about it when I have the time for it.

League of Assassins

I'm willing to make compromises, so me and Zeth will most likely split the combat lessons in two, divided by subject. But it seems like Zeth hasn't been online, so there's no reply as of yet. We'll keep you lot updated though.

A permalink to Freja: http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/54425/posts/ooc?page=3#post-1683526

Thicker Than Water

I'm just glad you lot didn't start the IC without me lol. No problemo agmigo

League of Assassins

Rofl not even! In your classes that would be likely though :p

League of Assassins

Well, they students will at least get all the attention they deserve... and more lol
I suppose we'll just have to add a lot of npc students?