Arceroth

Soulless Shadows

@Jollan Accepted on both counts

Soulless Shadows

@Lotrix Molick

Has been approved!

The Vanishing Kingdom

Kalla

"I was looking for a friend," Sev shrugged as Maeve questioned him, "almost found one, but he had the bad manners to blow himself up. That's who the explosion was, no one was hurt by it but him. Think he wanted to take me with him. I swear, people these days refuse to accept when they are beaten."

Sev paused a moment to scowl at the blade of his spear, pulling a rag from a pocket and began cleaning the blood off before it could dry. Of course, this was only partly a front, allowing him time to inspect the other Sylve that had joined them. No military uniform, didn't look like a government official. But he did seem quite skilled with his gift of air, more so than Sev was with his own though he would argue he was better with light, if he was ever to admit to having that gift.

Seemingly satisfied with the now clean blade Sev pocketed the rag and held the staff out, chanting some meaningless phrases that sounded like a spell. Rings of light ran up and down the length of the spear, it's form shifting and changing till it was once again a staff. While Sev had removed any markings indicating the weapon belonged to the Sylve military it was still recognizable as such to a trained eye. Better to allow people to make the assumption the weapon had been transformed into a military style spear than he was just carrying such a spear around.

"Local lord doing deals with bandits against his own people?" Sev asked, looking up in contemplation as he thought, leaning his staff against his shoulder, "that's a new one I think."

Soulless Shadows

"If you see a man without a shadow, shoot it;
If you see a shadow without a man, run."

Thirty years ago they simply appeared, strange creatures made of shadow, all over the world. Anyone they touched simply changed, these shadow touched no longer cast shadows in any light and seem to lose that which made them human on some fundamental level. We call them the Soulless.

The mainlands are lost, dominated by ethereal shadow beasts and their legions of soulless humans. We survive because of two facts: the shadows fear bright lights and the Soulless don't work together like true humans. Now the survivors of humanity live on small islands, their coasts kept illuminated by great fires at night, some use electricity to power flood lights, but such technology was considered dead long before the shadows began to move. Great airships, once cargo haulers and passenger liners became flying cities. Safer than the islands as Shadows can't fly, but harder work to survive on.

For now, survival is all we can manage, for how can you kill monsters that you can't touch?

-----

The world of shadows is an apocalyptic steampunk setting some of my friends asked me to run. Currently there is no map or set list of nations so much is up for creation. That being said there are some key concepts of the world all must know:

-Mercureal: Often simply called 'merc' is a naturally occurring gas often found beneath great mountain ranges. While highly toxic and more than slightly flammable it is the substance on which the world ran before the shadows came to life, and is now the one thing keeping humanity alive. When combined with water at one part per thousand it dissolves into the water like salt. The merc treated water has a lower boiling point, vastly lowered transition state energy requirement and, most importantly, once turned to steam will not condense, regardless of temperature, so long as it is kept under pressure. When it finally does condense the water becomes normal with the merc seemingly replaced with a mildly toxic salt.

-Shadows: called many different names by different cultures, the shadows are an enigma. Generally inactive during the day they flee from bright lights, but don't seem injured by them. They pass through normal matter at will, ignoring walls, doors, bullets and explosions. There has never been a confirmed case of one being killed, and all attempts to contain one for study have similarly failed with spectacular results. Any human they touch becomes soulless, in fact this seems to be the only way they can interact directly with the world.

-Soulless: While appearing human on the outside, they are anything but. Most notably they do not cast shadows, this property has never been explained, though it has been studied. Soulless are capable of coherent speech, tool use, teamwork and even cultural persuits such as art or music, but they seem to decline to use any of these when left on their own. Groups of wild soulless act more like beasts than men, fighting for food, not using tools, failing to maintain their own health and appearance beyond basic needs and the like. Despite this, when challenged by untouched humans they will take up arms, pretend to be normal, even entreating others with promises and lies. Despite everything one things remains constant, the soulless always try to stop humanity from surviving. They pin down people so they can be touched or kill them, acting on some collective instinct. The change from human to soulless is instant, a marine who moments ago fighting to save his comrades will gladly turn his weapons on his friends the moment his soul is taken. Often they will try to hide their condition to infiltrate safe islands or airships where they can sabotage and kill.

-Technology: Due to the discovery of Mercureal this world has gone down a vastly different path from our own. Electricity is considered a technological dead end, used for lighting and creating sparks, but little else. Instead the world uses machinery powered by steam. Special tanks able to hold merc-steam under immense pressure are used as batteries or fuel. During the great war, which ended shortly before the shadows rose, great tanks were powered by these steam cells. Afterwards personal automobiles using the same tech were on the rise. Gunpowder does exist but is much harder to find due to the situation, most arms are steam weapons, using merc-steam to propel pellets at near supersonic velocities. Several steam guns are even able to break the sound barrier. While weaker than normal firearms, these steamarms are much cheaper to use and easier to find ammo for since any merc-boiler can recharge their tanks.

A discord is... coming soon^(TM). RP will be mostly on RPguild but the discord can be used for quick back and forth conversations that one player then posts allowing for in-depth conversations. I shall be the GM and control the NPCs running the airship the players find themselves on. Exact details are yet to be determined but the RP will likely follow a single airship that the players are notable members of and their struggle to survive in this broken world. Politics between different ships and the various safe islands as humans fight over supplies, drama between friends as people are pushed to their limits. I hope all of this will be central in this RP.

Update: Discord Get!

Character sheet

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Age:

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Appearance:(pictures are fine, if any changes just mention them here as well)

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The Vanishing Kingdom

Kalla

"This place was a lot easier to find during the day," Sev grumbled as he glanced down another side street that went nowhere. Using illusions to stop others from keeping track of him was one thing, but it also sometimes resulted in him getting lost himself. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, half the reason he came to this town was to get lost, but when he actually knew where he wanted to go it could be annoying. That Isoli had said something about using magic, right? To be honest Sev hadn't paid much attention to what she said, first he was... enjoying her presence behind his illusory eyes and later he had left as she was talking.

"Hey!" someone shouted from behind him, prompting Sev to turn around to see a pair of injured bandits, or rebels or whatever they were, approaching him. The lead bandit pointed at Sev, "he looks like easier prey than that chick."

"I don't know," his companion replied, "there's blood on his spear."

"Did you two happen to run away from town square? I believe there was an Isoli in a short dress and a man the size of a small bear," Sev asked, apparently unconcerned.

"Let's just deal with him and get out of here," the first bandit said, charging forward brandishing a worn saber. Sev sighed, pointed the tip of his spear at the man and chanted something under his breath. A series of burning red runes burst into existence around the short blade at the weapon's tip. The charging man's eyes went wide just as a ball of fire shot from the weapon and struck him in the chest.

"Uhg, why did I pick fire, in this climate," Sev groaned as the burning rebel screamed and ran around in panic. He made eye contact with the other bandit who, after a moment, turned and ran. The Sylve warrior mage sent a barrage of icicles after him with another spell, but at range his aim wasn't good enough to get a solid hit, and simply shattered against brick buildings or buried themselves in the ground. With a shrug Sev stepped around the now prone, and smoldering, man and followed the pair's tracks backwards.

In short order he finally found the town square, and was a little disappointed the lady had finished off all the other bandits, he had been looking forward to swooping in to save her. He briefly considered covering his spear with the staff illusion again, but he was already running a bit low on mana, probably being around half. And if the next day promised as much violence as the night had he'd need every drop.

"We're probably dealing with rebels," Sev called out towards Maeve as he came to a decision, walking into the bloody square with his spear still on display, "said something about an emperor of greed, mean anything to you?"

The Vanishing Kingdom

Kalla

"Emperor of Greed?" Sev asked, pulling the spear back just out of reach of the bandit, looking unconcerned at the gathering mana, "so you're rebels? Good to know. By the way, you seem to have already forgotten the first rule of magic."

The bandit's angry expression turned to surprise as the illusion of Sev wavered and vanished moments before the mana detonated. Meanwhile, the real Sev, around the next corner sighed with mild relief. The illusions used against the bandits earlier he could have passed off as a precast spell, but when he dropped that bandit mage in the dirt and walked away, leaving his image behind, there wouldn't have been an easy explanation. He'd planned to simply leave the bandit mage behind, appearing to turn invisible with a quick spell cast, after getting his answer. He didn't expect this level of... devotion to their cause.

Kidnappings, rebels, some emperor of greed... at least one pretty lady, this was getting interesting, but also dangerous. With a shrug, Sev decided to stick it out for a bit, it could be fun. He doubted there was anyone from the Scar in a hundred miles, much less someone with connections to the military and having knowledge of who he was. All Sev had to do was play the role of a warrior mage, help out, have fun and leave before word got out. Should probably go a bit easier on the illusions.

Smiling to himself, and the last bits of rubble from that mage's explosion raining down around him, he spun his spear idly in one hand and made his way back towards the inn. Maybe he'd arrive in time to swoop in and rescue that Isoli noble woman.

The Vanishing Kingdom

Kalla

"It does seem a bit... excessive for a small caravan town," Sev agreed, nodding towards the cluster of dead mages. As far as Sev was concerned, any magic user who couldn't hold off a guy with an axe wasn't worthy of the title 'mage.'

"I doubt this town has enough wealth to justify this kind of loss of life," Sev continued to Maeve, "any normal bandits would have given up the moment they got a bloody nose, not push into that meat grinder. Meaning they are hear for something or someone in particular. I'm hardly a person of much import, but if they truly were after one of us travelers they would have devoted more to rushing the inn than a couple hooligans."

The warrior-mage pondered as Allard headbutt another mage hard enough to cave the 'mage's' skull in. Coming to a decision he spun his staff conjuring a bit of fire at its tip to light his way in the night.

"I don't know if you are skilled in healing, but I am not. Don't suppose you could look after our barkeep and tavern while I go... retrieve someone who is better able to answer our questions."

Before waiting for an answer he vanished around the side of the tavern.

-----

"Idiots," the varuk mage spat, watching from a safe distance as one of his fellows was thrown aside by the berserk innkeeper, "never let a warrior get that close to you."

"That chain spell was reasonably impressive," one of his cohort said.

"Not if it couldn't hold one man in place."

"Greetings gentlemen!" Sev called, walking around a corner to where the small group stood, small flame still burning over the tip of his staff, "I don't suppose any of you are willing to answer some questions?"

"Get him!" the mage yelled, rapidly chanting a spell to constrict the man who'd foolishly announced his presence, grinning as the chains close around Sev, "rule one of sneaking up on someone, don't announce your presence."

Ofcourse that grin turned to surprise as the first man slashed at Sev, only for the blade to pass clean through the Sylve without leaving a mark. Moments later the image dispersed revealing that the chains had closed around an illusion.

"Rule one of magic: control where your target's attention is," A voice whispered in the varuk mage's ear just as a hand closed over his mouth.

The other men, after a moment of confusion turned to look back at their leader, who appeared to be looking around in confusion but not saying anything for several moments before he too dispersed like an illusion.

"So," Sev said two streets over where he'd half drug the Mage, "you can either answer my questions, and tell me why you are here, or..."

Rather than finish the warrior mage lifted his staff and tapped it on the ground. The polished wood seemed to crack and split, falling away starting from the top to reveal a shining spear blade, wreathed in fire, and continuing down the weapon seeming to turn it from a wizards staff to a magical spear of some power. Sev pointed the weapon's tip at the mage's heart while placing a foot on the other man's knee to keep him seated.

The Vanishing Kingdom

Sworn Souls Inn

"Why, my lady, introducing myself is the least I can do," Sev replied with a confident smile, nimbly taking her hand in his and raising it to his mouth to give it a gentle kiss on the back of her knuckles, "I am Sevuid Chigi, renown mage and warrior."

Releasing her hand he finished with a bow of his own that, while decent did betray his less than noble heritage to those with a skilled eye. Straightening he reached out one hand behind himself and, with a flick of his wrist, his previously stationary staff flew to his hand with a slight gust of air, the still sweat stained hat rocking about atop the slender headpiece.

"Though my friends call me Sev," he finished with another grin at Maeve, "and, should it come to it, I hope to be your friend if we are required to fight side by side."

"And I agree," Sev commented when Maeve mentioned the weather, "had I better control over ice magics I might try to cool things down, but, alas, unless you wish to be pelted with icicles we'll just have to hope the night is a more refreshing temperature."

Retiring to his own room Sev nearly collapsed on the bed after traveling all day in the heat he was more than ready for some sleep of his own. He barely managed to remember to cast an air ward on the door to his room, which would create a loud snap if the door was opened without him disarming it first. It seemed like moments before the tolling of a bell, followed by shouting and screaming outside woke him from his slumber. Groaning the traveling warrior mage got to his feet, pulling on his hastily removed cloak and removing the ward from the door with a wave of his hand.

He half stumbled down the stairs, relying on his staff for balance, arriving at the tavern just in time to hear a meaty thunk and see the door shake as whoever had been trying to get in was killed.

"Uh, people these days," Sev grumbled, shaking himself awake and preparing several spells in his mind, "no manners whatsoever."

Undoing the bolt lock he stepped outside, and over the corpse of whoever had been trying to enter the Inn, Sev took in the battle taking place in the small town. The big barkeep had the majority of the bandits under control it seemed, judging by the bodies stacked up around him. Clearly whoever these bandits were didn't agree, however, as one wielding a short sword lunged at Sev, eager for what seemed like an easier target.

While Sev might not be the combat powerhouse of Allard, he wasn't a pushover by any means. He lifted his staff to parry the incoming attack, something the bandit was ready for, reversing his swing to avoid the block. It didn't help, however, as what seemed like an invisible blade of air sliced through his neck as his own sword passed through Sev harmlessly. The bandit collapsed to the ground, clutching his neck and gurgling in confusion as the Sylve almost calmly looked around for more enemies.

"Well, isn't this quite the predicament I've found myself in here," he sighed.

the Trick

Sev caused his image to remain stationary as he stepped back to avoid the attack, then used his bladed spear to cut the man's throat while his image was displaced and stationary, only to return to where his image had been standing and drop the illusion.

The Vanishing Kingdom

Sworn Souls Inn

"Ahh," Sev sighed in contentment as he finished the meal, little in the world was as good as a full belly and good drink, "wait, bloodlust?"

Sev paused to sniff a couple times, looking around the room in mild confusion. His staff stood upright next to where he sat as though it was stuck in the floor despite the lack of anything supporting it, a fun magical trick he'd learned early on, with the wide brimmed, and sweat soaked, hat Sev had worn outside hanging from the top as though the mage's staff were a hat rack. Across the room a rather pleasingly attractive woman had been speaking to someone about dancing, based on what Sev had noticed, several other patrons were retiring to their rooms or enjoying their drinks. But bloodlust? Sev didn't smell anything like that, but that might have been because of the amount of sand that had been blown in his face.

The Sylve jumped in his seat as the innkeeper dropped a massive axe on the table, talking about being an old warrior.

"If you need someone to assist you in combat," Sev said as he realized the axe wasn't directed at him, "I'm more than willing to help out, as I mentioned earlier. I'm a mage of some skill and can hold my own in a melee."

Sins of Ash

Some people have expressed interest in knowing more thus... a post for the knowing of more:

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Gods

Lysen
Symbolized by a waterlogged tome, Lysen is the god of knowledge, secrets and deep water. It is generally frowned upon to worship Lysen, especially among the Erudin, who see keeping secrets as standing in the way of their fate as a race. Her temples tend to be hidden in caves or beneath cities, especially those with ports. Those who follow her tend to seek out knowledge in the world, storing it all in a single great tome which they then either ritualistically hide, or toss into the ocean. They see the seeking of knowledge as a greater pursuit than the knowledge itself. Another, rarer, follower of Lysen serve as confessors, a sort of traveling priest who accepts confessions from anyone, promising to keep their secrets while serving as an ear to listen.

Demodocus
God of community, growth and forests, he is represented by a great stag. Demodocus is most popular among humans and has a temple or shrine in almost every town. Even farmers often have a small shrine where they burn offerings to the god of growth in the hope of a good harvest. Priests of Demodocus are willing to take part of almost every aspect of civilization, their clergy serving as mediators in disputes, bankers and trusted advisers for everyone from castle lords to independent farmers.

Lezeta
The god of the future, traveling and death, represented by a bridge made of bones. If any god can be said to have gone truly insane from the end of fate, it would be Lezeta. She hates humanity for their sin and few end up worshiping her, though it isn't impossible to find an occasional contrarian begging her favor. The No'Go'Vin are the race most likely to worship her, being nomads, while churches and shrines to her can be found scattered throughout the lands of all the fated races.

Tui
A burning fist represents the god of strength, renewal and fire. Tui is the spiritual incarnation of 'if brute force didn't work, you didn't use enough of it' and favors straightforward honesty and honor. Unsurprisingly worship of him is most common among the strength fated Kruun. Churches of Tui are generally in a constant state of flux, being a mix between a martial arts dojo and place of worship, the head priest isn't the eldest or wisest, but the strongest. Being defeated isn't dishonorable to a follower of Tui, it is merely part of the endless cycle that sees the weak become strong and the strong become stagnant.

Hiram
God of Kings, Determination and Mountains, Hiram is represented by a lone dormant volcano, representing both his resolve and the depths of his fury when angered. It's almost impossible to find a kingdom without a temple to Hiram in the capitol, unlike Demodocus, who preaches a shared identity, Hiram argues people must be ruled and that a hierarchy of authority must be established. Priests and followers of Hiram are slow to anger, but slower still to forget, and will rarely stop short of reaching their goal. Rivalry between two priests of Hiram have been known to drag kingdoms to war decades later. The Orren, who wished for stability, almost exclusively worship Hiram, and look down on all other gods, especially Arabella.

Arabella
Tools of industry, such as plows and anvils all serve as symbols to Arabella, the goddess of ingenuity, independence and rivers. Arabella preaches self-reliance and intellectual development, making her a favorite among the Erudin. Unlike Lysen, however, priests of Arabella believe in the sharing of knowledge rather than keeping it hidden for yourself. What few large temples to Arabella that do exist resemble schools more so than places of worship, often dedicated to educating their communities and serving as a home of research. Many preists of Arabella travel to bring knowledge to far flung communities and live free in the spirit of independence.

Epham
A god of passion, lies, and storms, he is represented by a tornado. While many gods are fickle, none are more so than Epham. Sailors make sacrifices to Epham before leaving shore in the hopes he'll leave them alone, knowing all to well the damage of a sudden storm. Only artists and performers generally admit to being followers of Epham since most of his worshipers tend to be thieves and gamblers. It is hard to say what might earn Epham's favor, but it is just as hard to guess what might anger him.

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The Known Races

The Kruun
The Kruun wished for the strength to take what they wanted, to most this makes them seek to better themselves so that they might best others. There is no one method to become strong, but strength you don't demonstrate is wasted in their eyes. Many Kruun will take small trophies, like finger bones or coins, from those they defeat and weave them into their hair as a symbol of their strength.

Kruun are shorter than the average human, with thicker arms and only 4 fingers per hand.

The Orren
This race of mountain dwelling people wished for stability and the ability to endure whatever comes their way. They pride themselves on their rigid, unchanging societies, many of which haven't passed a new law in over a century, and their stubborn nature. Unique among the fated, they are able to enter a sort of stasis where their skin slowly hardens to resemble rock. Doing so for long periods without your house falling apart is considered desirable, and the High King of their largest citadel city is said to have been in this stone sleep since the end of Fate.

Orren average six feet tall, or more, with a thick, grey hide.

The No'Go'Vin
A race of nomadic lizard people that wished for, and now live upon, giant dinosaur like creatures called No'Go'Bu. They worship their great companions, living in small tent cities that hang from the howdah upon the beasts back. Rarely do the No'Go'Vin leave their tribal beast for any length of time as they will begin to wither if away for too long.

No'Go'Vin stand only four feet tall with long scaly limbs and a crest along the back of their heads.

The Giflings
A race of short agile people who only wished to enjoy this world. What few of them remain live in hidden farmer communes where a strict unspoken rules results in a generally happy and peaceful agrarian existence, those who disrupt the status quo negatively are often banished. These exiled Giflings are the ones most commonly interacted with by other races, and have earned Giflings as a race of troublemakers, pranksters, thrill seekers and junkies.

Giflings stand at most 4 feet tall, have long pointed ears and are extremely agile, if physically weak.

The Erudin
This race of scholars wished for knowledge, and tend to have the most sophisticated magical and technological societies. The only Erudin strongholds that survived the tide of ash were far to the west upon the Erudin Isles, which escaped the fall of fate almost untouched. Erudin have a reputation for being obsessive about learning all they can about a single subject, Erudin chefs will travel the world to learn how to cook dozens of recipes, swordsmen will practice day in day out to perfect their skills.

Erudin stand the same general height as humans, but have an extra finger on each hand.

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This is, of course, a bare bones quick overview of the races and gods. I'm willing to entertain ideas for other fated races, if you have an idea, but be sure to come up with a way for that race to have survived the fall of fate. And if you have questions, feel free to ask :)