ClocktowerEchos

Crisis of the Confederacy [Sci Fi Warlordism NRP] (Updated!)

Thread updated with a concrete idea and concept. Discord Here!

Greetings RPG!

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Crisis of the Confederacy [Sci Fi Warlordism NRP] (Updated!)

@Yam I Am Okay wow holy shit I was not expecting something like this but I love it!

I was doing some thinking and I think I'm leaning towards a sort of mix where its sci-fi but all focused on one planet. This planet would be a part of a greater Space UN confederacy or whatever and the planet itself is rich in valuable resources but also unstable politically due to having been ruled by a military dictatorship for a long time that wasn't that great to begin with, only got worse but was better than what was there before. Prior to the dictatorship, the planet was basically run mafia-style with gangs and crime cartels running the planet and exploiting people; the entire reason the dictatorship got into power was because it had the popular support of the people who didn't want to be ruled by a mafia. This also opens up the opportunity of "loyalist" factions who still believe in the ideals of the dictatorship (justice, order, stability, etc) or might even claim to be the legitims continuation of it. The reason the dictatorship fell was due to a single terrorist attack that detonated a huge chain of explosives around the capital along with random killings and accidents that left most of the executive branch dead and a whole lot of people with power without a central authority.

Of course, the Space UN sent in their own peacekeeping forces while nearby planets and systems who wanted the valuable resources of this world sent in their own expeditions. Same story with the megacorps who also have their own security teams to protect their assets and maybe "expand" a little. Something like buying up property or a resource point that was recently attacked by "unknown agents" that just so happen to kick their competitors in the nuts. The reasoning for this, the Space UN is more of a loose confederacy of planets and laze faire capitalism.

On idea I had is that these tensions had been simmering for a while now with a lot of the rebel and soon-to-be warlords hoarding their own stuff because just about everyone could see what was coming but are now acting openly. The incoming heir/dictator was a promising candidate who was one of those "once a century" miracle leaders who could do everything and everyone liked but they got killed in the attack with everyone pointing fingers at each other.

As for stats, yeah I don't want to do "hard stats" where every post you gotta do a calculation. I was thinking something more like the NS would have numbers in certain things like troop morale, equipment, popular support, etc to make the three playable faction types feel different as well as letting the events be more interesting. Do you do something that can get you a lot of resources and equipment but will loose you popular support? Or do you gain popular support but make your own troops more dissatisfied. Stuff like that. The alternative is that there is just a strengths and weaknesses list on the NS itself for people to list it out and then there's a lot of OOC talk about what happens going forward.

Crisis of the Confederacy [Sci Fi Warlordism NRP] (Updated!)

Crisis of the Confederacy

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It is 2259 AD, and the Stellar Confederation is dying. Decades of mismanagement, political instability and economic collapse was capped off by the destruction of the Human homeworld, Earth. On March 15th, 2159, the very nation-states that birthed the dozens of planets of the Confederacy, had obliterated themselves, taking the seat of Confederate Parliament with them. Now, billions of souls across the stars look to what remains and all ask one single question:
"What happens next?"

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Stellar Confederacy

The Stellar Confederacy is the interstellar assembly of all the colonized human worlds lead by the Confederate Parliament. Each world is largely free to do as they wish so long as they contribute towards whatever major infrastructure project there are and send soldiers to be part of the Confederate military. This has lead to many different planets developing despite all being nominally unified under one banner. To join the Confederate Parliament, a planet must be independent, abide by interstellar laws and meet the requirements laid out by the Colonial Concord with demands a certain population and development level. Under ideal circumstances, the Confederate Parliament is responsible for projects and initiatives too great for any one single planet or sector to preform alone. Such as major infrastructure development, anti-piracy duties and large scale humanitarian efforts.

Historically, the Confederacy was created when space-travel still largely required the sponsorship of Earth's nation states but as some of the colonies become more powerful than the nations that birthed the, tensions arose. These worlds had the power to rival their home countries but were still subordinate to them which lead to a brief conflict known as the Unity War which lead to the creation of the Confederacy. Although no longer seen as the economic or industrial heart of humanity, it remained an important cultural and political heart as well as the benchmark to which all other planets compared themselves too. Recently however in a controversial move, corporations were granted seats on the Confederate Parliament which many believe was a representation of how far the Confederacy had fallen into politicking and gridlock as well as a sign of things to come.

Lead up Events

In 2194, the first megacorporaitons were granted seats on the Confederate Parliament and quickly they began to throw around their new influence. With many of these corporations playing key roles in the galactic economy or the military-industrial complex, more and more resources were being dedicated towards corporate spaces and their goals. The Confederate military soon stopped patrolling "unproductive" areas of space and instead focused on protecting the major industrial and wealthy worlds. This resulted in pirates becoming more and more brash, plundering unprotected trade lanes and even holding some small worlds hostage. Each sector and planet had to build up their own independent militaries just to protect themselves.

This slowing of commerce would lead to the economic collapse in 2238, otherwise known as Black New Year. Worlds who had relied on trade or assistance from parliament soon fell into disarray as poverty numbers skyrocketed. Next to no help was given due to the Confederate Parliament becoming gridlocked and stonewalled in any effort as clueless politicians who hadn't even set foot on their represented worlds in decades didn't know the extent of the situation on the ground. Refugees, fleeing collapsing worlds or new found "pirate lords" flooded into neighboring planets, straining what resources they had. As violence grew out of desperation, many planets were forced to take drastic measures to keep the peace, some going as far as "aggressively acquiring" materials and resources from their neighbors.

Old rivalries and bad blood came to the surface again as every planet blamed the next for their woes and everyone pointed a finger at the megacorps on the Parliament. On Earth the same thing happened between nations but now even more tension between them. And then finally, on March 15, 2259, a single nuclear missile launched was detected. In the blink of an eye, the entire human race stood silent as millions of years of history and evolution was burned away in nuclear fire on their beloved homeworld.

Additional Notes

FTL in this setting is done by using a Slipspace Driver or sometimes called a Rift Engine. It rips holes between t points in space and creates a tunnel between them. Although travelling through a rift takes at max a few hours, creating the hole can take longer depending on distance and the size of the ship. These tunnels are the only safe way of traversing through FTL, requiring skilled piloting skills and AI assistance to stay within the margin and prevent too great of a drift. For this reason, special stations called Rift Stations are often constructed in the most valuable or important systems. These stations are capable of supporting a fully or partially opened Rift, greatly reducing travel time while also decreasing the processing and skill requirements for ships to go through safely.

Additional Information

Slipspace Drivers work by ripping a hole in reality between two points and dragging the ship through. Both the entrance and exit holes are detectable by scanners while they are being made. Because of this, smaller ships will often precede larger ships to create a safe beach head or to find a safe place for the larger ships to exit slipslace as they require more time to create a large enough hole. A large portion of humanity uses a variation of the Hao-Narana Slipspace Driver which requires specialized FTL fuel and are known to be something of a black box. Common crew tales tell of technicians mysteriously disappearing while trying to manually adjust or fix a Driver.

After a large enough hole is created, it is important for the vessel to stay within the slipspace tunnel created. Although ships are capable of withstanding limited amounts of "drift", FTL Drift is nevertheless regarded as an extreme yet common hazard. Thus skilled navigators, helmsmen and pilots are always in high demand who even then require the assistance of AI to try and stay within the margin. Anything under a 1.0 drift is considered acceptable with 0.75 considered average and the record being 0.51. Anything above a 1.0 is considered extremely dangerous with a 2.0 considered suicidal and more than likely to cause the ship to be broken up in slipspace. It is unknown what slipspace can do to an exposed human body but it is presumed to be unpleasant.

For this reason, FTL is often a trade between safety and speed as the longer a rift takes to charge up, the bigger the slipspace tunnel and thus the wider the margin of error is. However given that an FTL rift can take hours or even days to charge up, consuming huge amounts of energy and FTL fuel, most ships will fly with as slim a margin as the pilots feel comfortable with. Ships charging up their Slipspace Drivers are often extremely vulnerable as many systems such as weapons, thrusters and even communications might have to be shut down in order to provide the Driver with enough energy. "Emergency Jumps" are possible but only as a last resort where the ship will attempt to only create half of the Rift and instead try to link with an existing Rift. This rushed process is filled with dangerous as at best the ship will arrive at a Rift Station damaged from small margin and FTL tunnel or at worse, actually collide with another ship mid-FTL as the two attempt to exit out of the same rift.

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The Sol System is currently guarded by the remains of the Confederate Guard who refused access to anyone else they deem a threat. This quarintine has also meant that the lynch pin of the Rift Routes is cut off meaning planets will have to find ways around it, try to get on the Guard's good side or make their own Slipspace Anchors, something that normally requires the pooled resources of the Confederacy to create.

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Warships in general are pretty limited as the Confederate military only used it to deal with pirates, as such pure military vessels are limited to destroyers, frigates and corvettes. Rumors talk of prototype light cruiser carriers but none were officially introduced into service prior to the self-destruction of Earth. Most warships are going to be converted civilian craft: pleasure yachts, research vessels, cargo haulers and industrial ships. Most vessels above a certain size start with at least anti-asteroid guns.

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Timeline wise, humanity first started getting interested in space again in the 2030's which kicked off a new space age. 2040's had the first permeant Lunar colony that would develop into the Lunar Gate and the 2050's was capped with the discovery of FTL and the Hao-Jorgan Slipspace Driver which would begin an age of colonization.

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Sentient AI and artificial Synthetics exist in this setting along side with "dumb" AI and robots. These sentient AI are common in military and industrial applications, especially on board starships where their immense processing power is of great assistance during FTL travel. The Confederation considered them as sentient and thus possessing "human" rights, a decision that not everyone agrees with. Despite this however, AI still have a limited life cycle and can develop Rampancy, otherwise known as Date Cancer. While technically possible to "cure" this affliction, it more often than not leads to complete memory wiping and skill resetting of an AI.

Additional Information

Increasingly advanced AI have been around for at least a generation although sentient AI are not widely available on the commercial market. These AI make use of holograms to project their figures in real space with such technology being widespread across humanity. Synths are just as capable of self learning and are given humanoid but not true human bodies. Synths are most commonly used in extraterrestrial operations where their mechanical frames operate better than organic bodies while also requiring less upkeep. Military use of such advanced Synths is limited due to the relatively high cost of their self learning Pandora AI Cores; military use of less advanced but still sophisticated AI is however common as are the Synth's lower tech cousins the Droids.

Rampancy and Data Cancer is a technical limitation of self learning where an AI will think themselves to death and overloading themselves. If untreated, AI will tend to develop superiority complexes over organics and display increasingly irrational and illogical behaviors ranging from purposely messing with calculations to stringing together nonsensical sentences. It is for this reason that Confederate policy is for AI undergoing Rampancy to either be disposed of or to have their memories wiped. This wipe is basically a factory reset where the Ai will loose any relationships, skills or shortcuts it may have developed in its previous life. Although advancements in AI research have managed to increasing the period of time before Rampancy develops to about a decade, no cure has been found for it.

While not an uncommon sight, organics still vastly outnumber mechanics and there are no cases of colonies made up of entirely AI or Synths although they have been known to occupy positions of power and management over organics (typically then supervised themselves by another oraganic).

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On aliens, humanity has found a few sentient alien societies while going about their journey but have yet to encounter any space-capable aliens. These aliens species when found on settled worlds are treated very differently depending on who and where they are found. Some have integrated into the more advanced human societies while others are treated as slave labor or even zoo animals or worse. The legal representation of aliens has been a constant point of contention in the Parliament since they were first found and no overall ruling has been made by them.

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Magic and psionics do not exist outside of faiths that preach it in some way. Harry Potter isn't going to ODST drop and blast some dude with a fireball and Gandalf isn't going to march around in a mech suit and lift several tons of concrete with the power of his megachad galaxy sized brain.

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Some planets are lumped into sectors, typically for one of two reasons. One is that the planets or systems individually cannot fulfill the requirements of the Colonial Concord so they pool their resources together so they can get a seat. The second is that its sometimes the result of large scale colonization efforts that have this purpose in mind so are built from the ground up to be a collective unit.

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"X thing wouldn't logically happen"/"Y thing couldn't work based on what we know". Look, I'm not smart enough to list you realistic physics behind FTL or how some things happened exactly but I'm running this as "if its plausible and cool it can be considered". No Dyson spheres or Death Stars though.

Making an NS

You NS can follow any format but this should be brief. Anyone who looks at your NS should be able to read it without requiring a cup of tea and an armchair; you do not get extra points for long and fancy entries, its more important that information is easily read and understandable. If you do want to add in more lore about cultural details and whatever hyperadvanced technology you've discovered and what kind of alloy is used in your Galaxy-class super destroyer, put it in a hider when you are done with the actual app.
There are four broad strokes of playable factions/styles in this RP. Each has their own inherent pros and cons. These aren't set in stone but can provide foundation if you need it.

• Independent - A planet or system that is now trying to navigate its way through the crisis. They are the "vanilla" faction type. They are usually fairly stable and unified (assuming they've survived the fallout of Black New Year) but often have limited resources and authority outside of whatever system they own.
• Movement - Rebels or revolutionaries depending on who you ask who've taken advantage of the instability to take power and propel themselves into the lime light. Ranging from the political to the religious to the desperate, movements lack recognition or authority but are a resourceful bunch with a lot of exprience operating with little resources meaning that they've suffered the least from Black New Year.
• Ex-Confederate - The military and government of the old order who have the most control over all of confederate space on paper. In reality, each official or officer is stuck in their own sector of space with rivalries and low quality leaders found among them due to the confederacy's nepotism in its waning years. They start out with more planets and systems under their control and military resources at their disposal, a hold over from their former mandates. But many are finding their own planets may no longer support the old ways and have begun infighting among themselves over who has what jurisdiction.
• Megacorp - Viewed by many to be directly responsible for the collapse and crisis ever since they were allowed on the Confederate Parliament. They little support from among their own worlds and hit hardest by Black New Year but have consolidated their own power well with stockpiles and personal mercenaries a common sight for all of them. Their biggest advantage however are their branch offices and subsidiaries that exist across the confederacy acting as a network of informants and esponage.

Required Categories

• Name/Flag/Faction
• Location (Map WIP)
• Summary: This should include what your faction is all about; guiding principles, ultimate goals, current issues, etc.
• Resources: This should include major industries, specializations, development and civil and military resources. Planets should be listed here.
• Administration: This should include your government and leadership. POV Figures should be listed here.
• Strengths/Weaknesses: An outline of what advantages and disadvantages your faction currently has. This can be changed later on with changing conditions. Whatever you put on here should have an actual effect in game that can't be swept under the rug.
• History: History bullet points about the background of their origin and major events. You don't get credit for having five pages of history here, keep that in a hider.

If want a more complex code guide for your summary and pros/cons to make things look pretty, feel free to use this. You don't have to unless you really want to. Remember to delete the .'s in the hr brackets.

Fancy Code

Overview - PLANET Description Lorium Ipsum

Strengths Advantage - Description Advantage - Description Advantage - Description [.hr][.hr] Weaknesses Disadvantage - Description Disadvantage - Description Disadvantage - Description

Galaxy Map

White = Sigma
Pink = Mao Mao

Confederate space map to come along with pros and cons suggestions.
Discord Here!

Bayonets, Brimstone, and Bullets - A Napoleonic Inspired NRP

WIP - Kankora

K A N K O R A

^{"Nothing is really lost to us as long as we remember it."
~ LM Montgomery}

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Kankora, a land covered in the remains of those who came before and a people whose history has been lost to its dense, oobscuring fog. While lesser men would question the how's and why's of civilization in such a place, the Kankorans ignored them and made their home in the marshes, swamps and rivers of this Graveyard of Kings. From their pillar cities and bone towns, Kankora has been dragged into the modern age by a line of great kings; visionaries who brought old traditions into a new world. Now with the scale-clad armies of the cantons at his back and the might of the Serpent Navy at his back, the new king, King Omaka, awaits not to prove himself, but for the return of his father who made the very same promise as an ancient god one made to the people of Kankora.

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GOVERNMENT

The Crown, the Nobles and the Law

The monarch and royals of Kankora ("the Crown") are highly influential and are the embodiment of the Kankoran state. Unowned land is the property of the state and key aspects of life such as taxation, labor tax and the vast Mitla storehouses. However, much of this power is delegated to noble families who carry both great responsivity and respect. Many Mitla storehouses are built next to the castles of noble families and should they be found using their power irresponsibly, they are subject to the full harshness of Kankoran law. According to Kankoran law, any noble found stealing from their Mitla will have them and three generations of their family executed and their family name added to the infamous "Black Ledger", effectively crippling them from further noble life.

The pillar cities (Palaos) and bone towns (Bonaos) are typically run by an elder who is sometimes voted upon and sometimes appointed. Palaos are divided another step by their iconic "wards"; additional pillars that split off from the main one and are connected via bridges and their leadership has traditionally been done by appointment from the Palaos Elder. The country on a whole is divided into several Cantons, ruled over by a Chieftain noble.

Kankoran law is notoriously harsh and unforgiving with the idea that the actions of the individual reflects the action of the group. This is often seen through "generational punishment" where the criminal's extended family is punished. However, this extreme is typically reserved for what are the "Crown Laws" which are much larger in scope and affect the good of the whole nation. Lesser courts deal with "Common Law" that deal in things like property dispute and petty theft and while the Common Courts rarely deal generational punishment, laws are still harsh with some form of branding or public humiliation.

GEOGRAPHY

Map Claim, the Land of Rivers, the Graveyard of Monsters

ECONOMY

Mitlas, Taxes and Goods

Kankora uses a mixed system of free market trade and planned industry. The Crown sets out quotas are surplus goals for each Canton to ensure that the Mitlas are never empty. This typically is only for things such as food, weapons, armor and building material however can also include things such as scaled hides, Crustaloid Crabs and valuable luxury items. Once these quotas have been filled, farmers and tradesmen are free to sell their surplus goods to market, typically hauled by the favored pack animal, giant hermit crab-like coruscations known as the Crustaloid Crabs.

Taxation in Kankora does not work off of giving over goods (as that is what the quotas are) but instead giving over time. Kankora boasts one of the most sophisticated and well maintained infrastructure systems in the new world with wide canals, sturdy bridges and semi-paved pounded roads. With this system, the Crown can efficiently move people about for labor projects, maintenance work and new constructions. It is not uncommon for people to quite literally pick up their lives and use the labor tax as a way to move somewhere else. Of course, the other major part of the labor tax is the conscription of military service, typically in a Canton's local militia.

Masters of their home, the Kankorans have a number of exports they ship on their Dathmir boats. From the jungle growths come hard and soft woods, good for a variety of construction and crafting applications, and medicinal herbs, fungus and moss. Alongside there medicinal farms are groves of young Eternity Trees that regularly produce a waterproof resin that Kankorans use to coat cloths and ships. The waterways' animals that skilled hunters, fishermen or river farmers use to produce hard animal shells, fish, seafood and the famous Kankoran Scaled Hides.

With so many rivers and lakes, it comes as no surprise that Kankora has become masters of them as well. They have perfected the art of creating floating farms and even raised villages that sit atop stilts. Boats of all sizes and purpose are created daily with every family owning at least one boat. The most famous of these shipyards is the Arms of Mother, built in a naturally enclosed harbor resembling the outstretch arms of a hugging mother, it uses a primitive type of mass production to create vast numbers of ships during war. More recently the Arms have attempted to figure out a way to use the same method to mass produce larger, western-style warships.

Trade Goods

• Various hard and soft woods from jungle swamps
• Reptile skins and animal shells
• Waterproof Resin
• Kankoran Amber
• Fishing Goods
• Mercenary work and boat building outsourcing

HISTORY

Old Kankora, the Lost Father and the Lampur Dynasty

According to legends, the Kankoran people are all that remains of an ancient, highly advanced empire they called Old Kankora after their home island was consumed during an apocalyptic storm in antiquity. No evidence has ever been found of this mythical island empire, but the records of some other older civilizations do make note of a huge storm and several artifacts and relics belonging to the Crown are incredibly well made and advanced for what their supposed age is. It is this esteemed heritage to which Kankorans claim their mastery of the waves, immunity to seasickness and incredible balance to.

The first known ruler of Kankora was actually a Queen who is said to have had a child with the former patron god of Kankora, Huta'lopo, according to myth. Evidence suggests this lost Queen was in fact real but who the father of her children was is remains a mystery. To this day however, the Crown has always claimed right to rule through this supposed divine blood until recently.

The first mention of Kankora in the history of other nations is that first of traders, then raiders and then finally as mercenaries. In an age past, Kankora became famous for its Marine-at-Arms, naval infantry so fearsome that on more than a few occasion, ship captains have surrendered their vessels at the sight of them and the rumor a ship had even a handful of Marine-at-Arms was enough to dissuade smart pirates. The scaled cloaks, horn hammers and fanged blades of the Marine-at-Arms has become one of many symbols of modern Kankora. At the height of their power, they even served as bodyguards to foreign nobles, skilled warriors with no connections to the land and aboslute loyalty upon payment made for excellent protectors against court intrigue.

However, the most monumental moment in Kankoran history is the Lost Father, when Huta'lopo made a promise to his children that he had to leave them for some great duty but would return. For generations, Kankora was disconnected from divine magic as they waited for the return of Huta'lopo. However, he never returned and over time, the idea that he hand abandoned Kankora grew until his followers were no more.

With their legitimacy shattered, the Crown faced rebellion and uprising after the reign of Lotao the Wicked. It was during this time, when Kankora was shattered, that a distant relative of the royal throne arise to press his rightful claim to the Kankoran crown, Hatarva the First. Relying on his ability and charisma, he overthrew Lotao and chained him to a rock and thrown into the sea. Thus began the current Lampur dynasty.

Since then, a series of successful and worthy kings have dragged Kankora into the modern world, introducing new ideas and concepts (with some censorship). The previous king, King Aota, had left his son with a respectable army, a strong navy and a booming nation, having finally squashed the last bits of resistance. He set off on a voyage to try and find Old Kankora, promising his son that he would return to see him coronated as King of Kankora. More than a decade has pasted since that day and the prince was hesitant to be crowned, still waiting on his father's return. Finally, after demands from both his nobles and his subjects, he reluctantly took the crown as King Omaka.

CULTURE

The People, the Pillar Cities and Bone Towns and the Spirits

MILITARY

The Royal Army, the Scales of War and the Legacy of Olonar

The Royal Navy, the Serpent Ships and the Masters of Tides

The Grim Crusade - A Warhammer 30000 RP

Need to finish history and write up the meeting and his appearance.

Demervan Laranak, the One Eyed Wolf and the Kerberos King

Name: Demervan Laranak
Gender: Male
Pysker Grade: Kappa
Homeworld:

Salott

Salott is an unfortunate example of good intentions gone wrong. Formerly a planet fame for its high quality luxury goods and artisan agriculture and known for its culture of honor, come the Long Night, Salott was spared the brunt of the horrors of it thankfully. Shifting its production to more survival-centric industries, the Barons and Viceroys of Salott's upper class remained fairly comfortable, watching over their fields and workshops. However, ideas of abolishing the increasingly entrenched nobility gain popularity after a series of terrible famines and natural disasters that left the commoners crippled and devastated.

The Salottic Revolutionary Council gained followers and momentum, leading to the outbreak of full on war of the revolutionaries vs the mercenaries and sworn house guards of the nobles. After a decade of war that ravished much of the planet, the SRC declared victory and tried to move towards a more democratic republic. The various groups and internal factions, once bound by their hatred of the nobility, began to splinter and soon political infighting once again crippled the planet as bandits, former mercenaries and house guards and even revolutionaries, preyed upon the weak.

While the Barons and Viceroys had the money and loyalty of guards to protect their vast fields, when the SRC distrusted the land to the poor peasants, they no longer had the means of protecting their own interests. Soon they began to band together and hire armed gunmen to try and protect what little livelihoods they had left after the civil war. These gunmen however, saw an opportunity. As one of the few well-armed forced left and already having defacto control in some remote areas, these triggermen took to forming gangs, clans and families whose activities began to look more and more like organized crime. Protection rackets, drug trafficking, prostitution, illegal betting, arms dealing, the loose gangs of criminals that began to become known as the Salottic Mafia grew in power.

Now, almost all of the planet is under the influence of the one of the criminal elements, either covertly or discreetly. What remains of the SRC is a broken corpse of diehard guerrillas and fanatical insurgents who strike out against the much larger families in suicidal attacks. As for the peasants and commoners, they had finally found a limited degree of safety. Although now the commoners are under new management, while chaffing under heavier taxes, have been granted a larger degree of freedom than before.

Appearance:

Demervan stands at an average height for a Primarch and on the surface appears slimmer without his armor. Exceptionally well groomed, his black hair is sleek yet silky while he beard is trimmed and smooth. His light bronze skin is without blemish and only the most fashionable of scars across his left eye and a nick on his right cheekbone, both giving off equal parts an attractive aggression and a mysterious mark.

Personality:

Demervan is a man of bold speech and bolder actions. He feels no need to hide his Primarch superiority, no apologize for his actions which he has absolute confidence in on the level of ancient Greek hubris. Feeling right at home with the underworld of any society, he openly engages in the vices of drink and dice as well as women, seeing it as completely acceptable so long as he completes whatever tasks he is given.

However, beyond simply confident bravado and sins, there is one other thing which Demervan holds dearly and that is the concept of Honor Among Thieves. Politicians and nobles are not to be trusted as they are only capable of looking after themselves and their own careers, but to be a part of a criminal family is to be one of many who look out for each other. This honor is so sacred that he has personally ensured to brutal execution of well over a dozen of his best lieutenants who broke the sacred laws of honor.

Demervan cares little for the formalities and “noble customs” that other Legions and Imperial society as a whole focuses so much on to the point he has a disdain for those who have gained their ranks purely through family connections and nepotism. The Primarch of the 20th Legion prides himself on meritocracy and is willing to accept anyone into his fold so long as they prove their worth and aren’t a pompous git.

He is a many surrounded by mysteries and lies, some of which were created by him. He is unfortable with anyone knowing too much about him, likely a self defense mechanism honed over years of ruthless underworld politics. While not exactly a habitual liar, Demervan's relationship with the truth is often very fluid.

History:
There are some dozen versions of how Demervan landed upon the world of Salott and how he rose to power. Some versions claim that he was picked up by a major gang and adopted by a Mob Boss. Others say that he was raised by normal parents but fell into crime where he excelled. Others say that he was once a pit fighter who broke his own chains and formed his own gang. Whatever the reason for it, Demervan has never once told the same story twice in its entirety, preferring the anonymity and confusion it generates to ensure that no one really ever figures it out.

What is known for sure is that at some point he created his own gang called the Black Flag Battalion, either from combining other gangs or raising it from nothing. In time, the BFB would spread its influence until it became the single entity which controlled organized crime upon Salott. There wasn’t a street in a city under their control, a police department on their payroll or a drug sale that they hadn’t permitted. In a highly ironic twist, once they became masters of the underground, overall crime decreased on the planet as the gang warfare and bloody street fights had all but disappeared.

With his power absolute, Demervan shifted from simply being the master of the underworld into something else to help cement himself: a pop culture icon. Through legitimate business practices, the BFB spread its imagery on everything from t-shirts to strippers, decorative stickers to billboards, jewelry to tv shows. With his own unnatural charisma, Demervan lead ran for the head of multiple nations, even forcing many of them into his own super national organization: the Salott Syndicate. Proving that he could lead soldiers and civilians as well as he could criminals and gangers, the Syndicate became Salott and Demervan, the Crown Prince of Crime.

The only thing known for a fact about Demervan personally is that he had fell in love with a woman although that is as much as is remembered. Some say she was an underworld princess, others a one night fling that became serious, or a prostitute that caught more than the Wolf's eyes. What is known is that this woman was named Illya and she took Demervan's last name in a grand ceremony the whole world watched. But Demervan was always going to outlive her by several life times; unlike so many other things, he stayed by her side until she finally passed. He has never quite been able to move on from his Queen, wearing her locket around his neck and not taking lightly when someone speaks ill of her or her memory.

When the Emperor came to Salott, it was under disguise as a single lawful vigilante who began to attempt to dismantle the empire Demervan had built. When the One-Eyed Kerberos finally figured out who was behind it, he personally set out to find this “Golden Virtue” hero who was destroying everything he built in an incredibly short amount of time. After a highly dramatic final confrontation at the top of Demervan’s own skyscraper, the Emperor revealed himself and dueled the Kerberos King. Their battle went on for a day and a night until the Emperor finally pushed Demervan over the edge, leaving him hanging. Offering his hand in exchange for submission and fealty, the only recorded incident of Demervan kneeling before someone else occurred and he was given the 20th Legion, the Storm Guard, and full Primarch regalia in exchange for granting the Syndicate control of the entire Salott System.

Since taking command, Demervan has brought a number of worlds and stellar empires into compliance, often by exploiting local criminal elements and using them as proxies to ensure as few casualties for his own legionaries. However, he hasn’t “gone soft” as the 21 Banners’ actions during the Siege of Taratoru and the Battle of Endicele Bay proved.

Skills:

Hypnotic Presence – Beyond simple normal Primarch charisma, something about Demervan has a certain hypnotic aspect to it. The way he can project his voice and the supernatural ways it whispers in your mind combined with his ocular mutation hidden under his eyepatch can sway many people to him and even if they are not swayed, it can be highly distracting.

Master Chief – For whatever reason, Demervan just appears to have an incredible ability to master anything that can be cooked. From decadent feasts to carefully crafted military rations to even illicit drugs and mystical potions. The Primarch takes great pride in this and has made a habit of cooking his own meals, originally to avoid poisoning attempts on Salott but now for his own amusement. Rumors has it that he is current complling a master cookbook that he plans on releasing.

Reckless Luck – Things that seem impossible some how work when Demervan is around. More than once, his hair brained ideas should have gotten him killed and yet he walks on. It seems that this manifests as him being able to survive increasingly harrowing situations. Yet rumors remain that the One Eyed Wolf’s luck will run out and even darker rumors suggest that Demervan himself knows this and is looking for a way to avoid it.

Wargear:

King's Tribute – A massive single edged power sword whose handguard can fold down to be gripped with two hands, it is said that Demervan forged this blade by melting down the crowns and jewelry of the Salott nobility and then had it upgraded and refined by the Adepts of Mars. The design of its hand grip allows for Demervan to pull off some fairly creative maneuvers and strokes with it.

Chainbreaker – A modified Meltagun that has two modes, a long range single shot or a shotgun-like spray that can clear out an entire room in seconds. And also probably slag the room. Demervan enjoys using it in combination with his blade for close combat, blowing holes in his enemies with it at point blank. Hilariously, Demervan has learned how to cook with such a weapon as a heat source.

Illya's Last Gift – A trinket from Demervan's first and only lover, it has little actual power but tremendous sentimental value as it contains a fairly advanced piece of technology. Demervan can be seen looking over it, flipping through holographic memories of her while listening to her favorite music box pieces. Some theorize that this trinket might actually what be giving Demervan his famous luck.

The 21 Banners

LEGION NAME: The 21 Banners (formerly Storm Guard)
LEGION NUMBER: XX
LEGION ORGANIZATION:
The Legion is organized into 21 "Banners", each of about 5000 marines for a total active fighting force of 105,000 marines and around about one million normal humans serving in the Free Companies that follow the 21 Banners. Each Banner is also sometimes called a "Family" who is led by a Don and is broken up into Syndicate of 1000 marines. Each Syndicate within the same Banner tends to follow a theme, be it color, animal, weapons, etc. Dons have a great deal of power over their Banners as most of the heavier equipment in the 21 Banners is put in the Banner level and assigned as needed to the Syndicates and Squads.

The inner circle of the 21 Banners is the Koza Nosra, an advisory council comprised of Dons handpicked by Demervan.

ARMOR APPEARANCE:


WARCRY:
"Do your worse!"
"Don't even try!"
"Watch us/me now!"

ROLE/SPECIALTY:
The 21 Banners is a fast attack and orbital shock legion, specializing in rapid assaults on ground or drop pod assaults from orbit. Favoring a slight lean towards melee and close combat, they also make use of various forms of psychological warfare and combat stims. Their psychological combat can range from sowing doubts or enticing enemies to straight up using terror and torture to terrify them. The wide variety of combat stims and “battle brews” the legion creates have also become a specialty and have become so renowned that the apothecaries are instead known as Alchemists.

HONOR GUARD:
The Legion’s Honor Guard is called the Golden Guard Oathsworn who wear very distinctive armor and typically are armed with a variant of the Reaper Autocannon known as the Blitzer Autocannon or the “Salottic Typewriter”.


IMPORTANT PEOPLE:

The Koza Nosra

Machio Tsovang
Don of the 4th Banner and also High Alchemist, he has the moniker of "He who Rusts Blades" on the account of his incredible durability. Legend says that the only time he's actually felt pain was when a building was dropped on him with him in it. He has a calm and steady demeanor and is slow to anger.

Juji Seventar
Don of the 7th Banner and possessing the moniker of "Serpent Breaker", he is extremely ambitious but also extremely honest; he is very frank and open with his power moves. This has actually gained him a level of reliability within the legion as one can usually guess how he will act without too much trouble and also what he'll probably say.

Lorento Karja
Don of the 16th Banner and known as "Master of Northern Stars", he is the greatest duelist within the legion and is eager to get into battle, always found on the first drop pod down. He's frighteningly adept at psychological warfare and most of his trophies are actually things he's taken from defeated foes.

Hanabe Forgio
Don of the 11th Banner and famous as "He who Chains Mountains", his tactical mind is unparalleled with only Demervan being able to regularly best him. His most famous achievement was when he had brought a hostile world to compliance with only a dozen marines, having fought incredibly lopsided battles all the way through. Good friends with Machio Tsovang.

Piraza Langui
Champion of the 21 Banners, Demervan himself gave him the title of "Sword Eater" after a notable instance where he broke an opponent's blade with his teeth. His dual blades technique and acrobatic fighting style was honed in zero g through long hours of practice. Has a fairly intense rivalry with Lorento Karja.

LEGION CHARACTER:

The 21 Banners takes heavily after its criminal roots on Salott in obvious and subtle ways. Most obviously is their much more lax discipline on the surface compared to their sibling legions and their individualism. Almost all of the legionaries have some form of self-stylization or personalization through paint, marks or trinkets.

Despite their fairly verbose and boastful nature, they are actually a pretty insular Legion, seeing themselves all as "honored family" and trying to get any information about them is extremely difficult without concerted effort. They take the maxim "honor among thieves" extremely seriously; while they open admit that they are black sheep, they aren't snakes.

To many of the poor, downtrodden and outright outcasted criminal elements, the 21 Banners is something akin to a patron saint. Wherever they go, they find no shortage of people wishing to join their free companies or even try to become a marine themselves.

RELATIONS

Stemming from their own history, it comes as no surprise that much of the Imperial Authority does not approve of Demervan and his Legion. The man swings around his primarch authority willy nilly with only the faintest of regards for protocol. Orders not from his siblings or the Emperor are taken as suggestions and the Kerberos King doesn't even hide his disdain for the upper class of aristocrats and noble elites. Much of what he does appears to be entirely dependent according to his mood if you listen to the bureaucrats and generals.

To those lower on the social ladder, Demervan is considered "one of their own" with his legion preferring to mix with the troopers and the gangers than the officers and politicians. He is seen as a sort of beacon of hope, an affirmation of their life style yet also having the chance to get out of it with the Free Companies who are often less rigid than the various Imperial Army units. Where ever the 21 Banners go, the stock rooms seem to be a bit lighter and causality lists are a bit longer, not because of additional deaths but because officers can no longer find their soldiers as the Free Companies welcome some new, entirely unrelated members.

Spirit Wielders!

Medium: Solomon

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Solomon Saddler

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Name: Solomon Saddler

Age: 18

Normal Appearance:

A man with a permanent scowl on his face, his stern visage is a sign to others to give him a wide berth. Under his tall frame, he holds a lot of seething anger and pent up rage and can literally stare people down given his 6"4' height. All over his body is a dozen burns and scars, each with a story of their own.

Medium Appearance:

"Battle Dress"

Solomon’s transformed state grants him a type of light armor that show off his muscles and a sealed helmet with red-tinted lenses which also comes with a voice amplifier. His gauntlet are like bear clawed fist, designed to maximize his Raging Strike. It comes without saying that the entire suit is fire proof and highly resistant to extreme heat. Wherever he walks, he leaves a trail of ash and embers floating in the air. An onlooker can discern roughly how enraged Solomon is as the angrier he gets, the more a magma-like fractal pattern is visible all over his armor, not unlike Ozai.

Personality:

Solomon has unfortunately become the thing he hates most; someone who embodies the insane demands of his parents yet is never enough. He has only respect for strength with no time for weakness or cowardice. He is a man of few words but great ambition and even greater rage hiding under the surface. Merciless, ruthless and petty, he holds a grudge very easily and will go to great lengths to right any slights or opposition against him. Whether they are legitimate or something Solomon made up is always a debate that he doesn’t care about. Never given a chance to process his thoughts, he unleashes it against a world that in his eyes, has caused him so much pain and suffering.

Although many compare him to a dog or raging bull, Solomon still holds to a strict set of codes he stubbornly refuses to break.

• Never stop improving: Becoming complacent is the root of weakness, there is always something more.
• Never prey on easy targets: While he despises the weak, he despises people who only target the weak since they’re easy pray and refuse to challenge themselves.
• Never break an oath: For all the things Solomon has done, he has a surprisingly strong track record of not lying or breaking a promise out of a sense of honor he loosely hold himself too
• Never respect those who do not earn it: There are few people who Solomon hold in high regard and even fewer he has respect although he will always respect people who are willing to face him.
• Never just pray for something: Perhaps one of the most infuriating things are the weaklings who pray, hope and beg for something better; the world is driven by actions, not words.

Background:
Solomon was born into a world that knew only one word: Strength. Strength of body and strength of mind were the only thing that mattered to his family. The strong are the only ones who could survive in the real world they told him, weakness would only lead to failure. From youth, this was all that was drilled into his head, his parents setting ever higher bars in which they demanded him to reach. He had to be the best of everything or he’d be weak; any slacking in school was met with punishment, any slowing in athletics was grounds for reprimand, and any talking back was met with discipline.

He tried everything he could, sleeping for only 4 hours a night, feverishly cramming for tests and pulling through the physical tests his father made him do like a desperate animal. Solomon was at the top of his school’s honor roll and set records on every front. He even won trophies for sports that were taken away the second he returned home lest he “grow complacent”. “Man up” he was told, “Don’t be a coward”. Even beyond his best, Solomon wasn’t good enough.

All of it, the years of punishment, the stress of being strong, the endless demands that could never be satisfied would be capped off by a single sentence, “If you are this weak, how could you be our son?” Solomon finally broke, but his parents refused to let him even shed tears and locked him in a closet, a common punishment.

In that small, cramped darkness, a voice whispered to Solomon. It promised strength, it promised ability, it promised respect, it promised a way to use his deep-seated hatred and it promised Solomon he would get the thing he always wanted from his parents: a smile. And so, Solomon signed a contract with Ozai, the Marching Fire.

When he smashed his way through the door and confronted his parents, he thought they’d be proud of how he now achieved another level of strength entirely, but was shot down. They arrogantly defamed Solomon for using a “cheating coward’s way out” and how this was a new low for him. Letting his rage take him over, Solomon destroyed the entire house and its foundations in a berserker fury, stopping only because he passed out and his mother called the police to take him in.

When he awoke at the station, instead of police officers, a Medium approached him and offered him a deal, and knew exactly what buttons to press. If he joined his little group Solomon would be able to prove his strength, to get even stronger and be respected. With nothing to loose and no home to go back to, Solomon agreed. And so he became part of PHANTOM where he did indeed do all three but most importantly, he got praise. And so he stayed, an ever loyal, ever vengeful, ever enraged blood hound of PHANTOM.

Spirit: Ozai, the Marching Fire

Name: Ozai, the Marching Fire

Classification: Elemental

Appearance:

Ozai

Ozai resembles a flayed man whose been badly burnt. His skin is charcoal black with orange, lava-like cracks and fractals. He trails ash and embers wherever he walks

Personality:
Ozai is best described as "affably evil" and like Solomon, is unrepentant about his actions. Unlike his host who only experiences about 1/8th of the emotional spectrum, Ozai enjoys cracking jokes, being a sarcastic prick and really playing into the evilness to a degree that borders hamminess and scenery munching. He revels violence and isn't all that picky of where it comes from. He's more than happy to listen to Solomon whose given him a fairly constant stream of entertainment.

Sealed:
Ozai is sealed in a small obsidian trinket, carved in the visage of an ancient war god, worn as a necklace. Solomon often rips the necklace off and crushes it in his hand when channeling for dramatic flare. Ozai, while more than capable of restoring the trinket to its original state, really hates it when Solomon does this.

Abilities:
Through Ozai, Solomon uses extreme emotions as raw fuel for his ability, which is often rage as it’s the easiest for Solomon to tap into. At a base level, this augments Solomon’s already formidable strength and durability, effectively meaning that he can fight longer and therefor build up more emotion for additional power. Solomon is also able to channel his power into his own body, allowing him to set his fists on fire and cause small “explosions” in a small radius around his body. This is what is behind his signature “Raging Strike”; right after his punch or kick connects, he summons up a percussive explosion to add even more force into his strike.

Spirit Charge: Fury Unleashed
Fury Unleashed is Solomon’s Spirit Charge. While he can technically do limited pyrokinesis from his abilities, he can’t control all that well. It is a pillar of flames that originates from Solomon which shoots into the sky, then slams into a target that Solomon can see or knows the location of. It requires continuous channeling before the pillar reaches full power in which case it can move around a great deal as Solomon struggles to keep it on target.

Limitations:
His rage however, eats away at him while being channeled; a trade of his own health and life force in exchange for devastating blows. Even without using Raging Strike, he is more than capable of beating the daylights out of anyone by anger alone, but so far it hasn’t killed him yet. The furthest he can push himself is to about twice his regular strength and going to that cap already weakens him considerably, slowing him down by a wide margin.

Clock's Clockery of Clockage for Clocky CS's

Medium: Edgy Fireboi

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Solomon Saddler

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Name: Solomon Saddler

Age: 18

Normal Appearance:

A man with a permanent scowl on his face, his stern visage is a sign to others to give him a wide berth. Under his tall frame, he holds a lot of seething anger and pent up rage and can literally stare people down given his 6"4' height. All over his body is a dozen burns and scars, each with a story of their own.

Medium Appearance:

"Battle Dress"

Solomon’s transformed state grants him a type of light armor that show off his muscles and a sealed helmet with red-tinted lenses which also comes with a voice amplifier. His gauntlet are like bear clawed fist, designed to maximize his Raging Strike. It comes without saying that the entire suit is fire proof and highly resistant to extreme heat. Wherever he walks, he leaves a trail of ash and embers floating in the air. An onlooker can discern roughly how enraged Solomon is as the angrier he gets, the more a magma-like fractal pattern is visible all over his armor, not unlike Ozai.

Personality:

Solomon has unfortunately become the thing he hates most; someone who embodies the insane demands of his parents yet is never enough. He has only respect for strength with no time for weakness or cowardice. He is a man of few words but great ambition and even greater rage hiding under the surface. Merciless, ruthless and petty, he holds a grudge very easily and will go to great lengths to right any slights or opposition against him. Whether they are legitimate or something Solomon made up is always a debate that he doesn’t care about. Never given a chance to process his thoughts, he unleashes it against a world that in his eyes, has caused him so much pain and suffering.

Although many compare him to a dog or raging bull, Solomon still holds to a strict set of codes he stubbornly refuses to break.

• Never stop improving: Becoming complacent is the root of weakness, there is always something more.
• Never prey on easy targets: While he despises the weak, he despises people who only target the weak since they’re easy pray and refuse to challenge themselves.
• Never break an oath: For all the things Solomon has done, he has a surprisingly strong track record of not lying or breaking a promise out of a sense of honor he loosely hold himself too
• Never respect those who do not earn it: There are few people who Solomon hold in high regard and even fewer he has respect although he will always respect people who are willing to face him.
• Never just pray for something: Perhaps one of the most infuriating things are the weaklings who pray, hope and beg for something better; the world is driven by actions, not words.

Background:
Solomon was born into a world that knew only one word: Strength. Strength of body and strength of mind were the only thing that mattered to his family. The strong are the only ones who could survive in the real world they told him, weakness would only lead to failure. From youth, this was all that was drilled into his head, his parents setting ever higher bars in which they demanded him to reach. He had to be the best of everything or he’d be weak; any slacking in school was met with punishment, any slowing in athletics was grounds for reprimand, and any talking back was met with discipline.

He tried everything he could, sleeping for only 4 hours a night, feverishly cramming for tests and pulling through the physical tests his father made him do like a desperate animal. Solomon was at the top of his school’s honor roll and set records on every front. He even won trophies for sports that were taken away the second he returned home lest he “grow complacent”. “Man up” he was told, “Don’t be a coward”. Even beyond his best, Solomon wasn’t good enough.

All of it, the years of punishment, the stress of being strong, the endless demands that could never be satisfied would be capped off by a single sentence, “If you are this weak, how could you be our son?” Solomon finally broke, but his parents refused to let him even shed tears and locked him in a closet, a common punishment.

In that small, cramped darkness, a voice whispered to Solomon. It promised strength, it promised ability, it promised respect, it promised a way to use his deep-seated hatred and it promised Solomon he would get the thing he always wanted from his parents: a smile. And so, Solomon signed a contract with Ozai, the Marching Fire.

When he smashed his way through the door and confronted his parents, he thought they’d be proud of how he now achieved another level of strength entirely, but was shot down. They arrogantly defamed Solomon for using a “cheating coward’s way out” and how this was a new low for him. Letting his rage take him over, Solomon destroyed the entire house and its foundations in a berserker fury, stopping only because he passed out and his mother called the police to take him in.

When he awoke at the station, instead of police officers, a Medium approached him and offered him a deal, and knew exactly what buttons to press. If he joined his little group Solomon would be able to prove his strength, to get even stronger and be respected. With nothing to loose and no home to go back to, Solomon agreed. And so he became part of PHANTOM where he did indeed do all three but most importantly, he got praise. And so he stayed, an ever loyal, ever vengeful, ever enraged blood hound of PHANTOM.

Spirit: Angry Cursed Fire Demon

Name: Ozai, the Marching Fire

Classification: Elemental

Appearance:

Ozai

Ozai resembles a flayed man whose been badly burnt. His skin is charcoal black with orange, lava-like cracks and fractals. He trails ash and embers wherever he walks

Personality:
Ozai is best described as "affably evil" and like Solomon, is unrepentant about his actions. Unlike his host who only experiences about 1/8th of the emotional spectrum, Ozai enjoys cracking jokes, being a sarcastic prick and really playing into the evilness to a degree that borders hamminess and scenery munching. He revels violence and isn't all that picky of where it comes from. He's more than happy to listen to Solomon whose given him a fairly constant stream of entertainment.

Sealed:
Ozai is sealed in a small obsidian trinket, carved in the visage of an ancient war god, worn as a necklace. Solomon often rips the necklace off and crushes it in his hand when channeling for dramatic flare. Ozai, while more than capable of restoring the trinket to its original state, really hates it when Solomon does this.

Abilities:
Through Ozai, Solomon uses extreme emotions as raw fuel for his ability, which is often rage as it’s the easiest for Solomon to tap into. At a base level, this augments Solomon’s already formidable strength and durability, effectively meaning that he can fight longer and therefor build up more emotion for additional power. Solomon is also able to channel his power into his own body, allowing him to set his fists on fire and cause small “explosions” in a small radius around his body. This is what is behind his signature “Raging Strike”; right after his punch or kick connects, he summons up a percussive explosion to add even more force into his strike.

Spirit Charge: Fury Unleashed
Fury Unleashed is Solomon’s Spirit Charge. While he can technically do limited pyrokinesis from his abilities, he can’t control all that well. It is a pillar of flames that originates from Solomon which shoots into the sky, then slams into a target that Solomon can see or knows the location of. It requires continuous channeling before the pillar reaches full power in which case it can move around a great deal as Solomon struggles to keep it on target.

Limitations:
His rage however, eats away at him while being channeled; a trade of his own health and life force in exchange for devastating blows. Even without using Raging Strike, he is more than capable of beating the daylights out of anyone by anger alone, but so far it hasn’t killed him yet. The furthest he can push himself is to about twice his regular strength and going to that cap already weakens him considerably, slowing him down by a wide margin.

Spirit Wielders! (A roleplay where you sell your soul for powers.)

@dragonmancer Hey I think your discord link expired. Also I have an idea for a character I'd like to run by you

When Royalty Collides

Ｒａｉｄｅｎ　Ｚｈｅｎｇ　＆　Ｂｅａｔｒｉｃｅ

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Finishing his greetings with the royal hosts, concluding with a short, polite bow. Without much direction, he let himself calmly meander through the great halls but he didn’t let himself relax too much. A dozen things were racing through his mind at any given time, seeing how the air vents could use fixing, how the chandelier could “accidentally” drop on someone by their chains, how many roof tops could a gunman trace a line through a window, and how stunning that painting was over there.

Marching over in his shiny boots, he looked at the painting. A Field of Flowers by Edward Jorenns, a beautiful piece portraying a woman, her white dress and sun hat blowing in the wind, atop a hill of flowers from a dutch angle. Zheng remembered hearing about this piece, mostly because one of his college friends wouldn’t shut up about how much he wanted to buy it at an auction or something. He’d always thought the whole idea of auction to be foolish, but now looking at the piece up close, Zheng could start to see why people put so much value on art like this.

From down the hall, his peripheral vision caught a glimpse of a pair of people walking down, one Beatrice Mei Koing and one Raiden Zhao. Putting on his best smile and straightening his military jacket, he did his best nonchalant walk over and tipped his hat when Beatrice finally noticed him approaching.

“Princess Beatrice, an honor to see you here. I do hope that Königreich der Welten and its queen are doing well.” Zheng bowed slightly as he approached closer. He noted the slight way Beatrice looked uneasy at this whole thing, even though she was doing a wonderful job hiding it while introducing him to Raiden. Zheng just stood by until Beatrice was finished before offering a handshake to Raiden, “The illustrious Zhao Raiden... I am honored to finally meet you in person. I have heard many wonderful things about you and your pet rabbit.”

"Ah yes, I think at this point, my rabbit is a lot more famous than me. Everyone seems to know him so well." Raiden met the man's hand and shook it firmly. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Prince Zheng." He had heard a few things about the Prince and how he had gotten the title, which only made him respect the man even more. "I admire what you have done for Liang so far- I only hope to have as much dedication as you have for your country."

Beatrice kept her expression arranged in one of mild, and polite, interest. It was….pretty fucking ironic, really, that Raiden and Zheng were standing there talking to each other as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

She laughed softly at Raiden’s comment about his rabbit being more famous than he was. “Well, Tao is quite charming,” she pointed out lightly, smiling at the two of them. “Anybody who tries to claim otherwise is wrong.”

Zheng simply chuckled as Raiden finished his firm handshake, returning his own hands behind his back and smiling hearing the prince’s admiration, “It is good to hear such words Prince Raiden, thank you for your kindness. What I do for Liang is for its protection, and I know its heavy price.” Zheng flexed his prosthetic hand open and closed next to his side while looking down at it before shooting a look at Beatrice, he wondered if she even knew about the circumstances around his little robotic arm.

Taking a deep sigh and nodding towards one of the many food tables, Zheng shifted his feet and pointed towards one that had a trio of small pyramids of crackers, cheeses, pickled vegetables and spreads, “Hors d'oeuvres? It is one things I am personally looking forward to is the food here. Unlike you Prince Raiden, I am not fortunate enough to have brought along a fair princess to dance with.”

Raiden gave Zheng a nod. "We must do what we can for our countries and the people. It's a burden we all bare here, but I wouldn't have it any other way." He wasn't a stranger to sacrificing personal life for the crown and the people. Raiden had only gone along with his betrothal with Beatrice this long to find a way to be selfish in the safest way possible and dissolve it when he knew the consequences would be minimal. Though, he really admired Zheng for what he had given up for Liang.

"I'm not much of a dancer," Raiden smiled at Beatrice, "I hope you can give Prince Zheng a chance to dance, perhaps? I'm afraid my feet don't know right from left when I'm on a dance floor." It was a lie, of course, but Raiden didn't do much dancing anyway. He knew how to dance perfectly, but one thing was dancing in a club, and the other was waltzing in a ballroom. It would also be the perfect opportunity to sneak to Henri and finally talk to the man.

Beatrice caught Zheng’s sidelong glance, and duly ignored it, because what the hell was she supposed to say in front of all these people? Oh, sorry my dad’s a dickhead, but no worries because my mom and great-uncle are going to put you onto the throne and then we can somehow get my dad to stop trying to annex Liang????

She did, however, let her smile turn slightly sympathetic as she glanced over in his direction and murmured her agreement to what both of them said about doing what they must for their countries. “I would love hors d’oeuvres, and whatever else they have,” Beatrice admitted, smiling again. She was slightly taken aback by Raiden’s suggestion that she and Zheng dance (it seemed - improper, perhaps?), but...maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea, if the music was loud enough to obscure whatever conversation that they may have.

“I would be happy to dance with either of you,” said Beatrice, laughing softly. “Provided that we find some snacks first, of course.”

With a smile and a nod, Zheng lead the trio further into the ballroom towards white draped tables with silver platters, stacked high with refreshments and delicacies; he presumed the full meals would be served later once everyone had been settled int. With a plate in one hand, Zheng gracefully pluck various selections of cheese and meats onto his plate with tongs.

Raiden let Beatrice stand in front of him. "I think I will pass the snacks," He eyed the various meats, cheese, and fruits on the table, but nothing seemed appetising to him., Instead, he waved down a passing server and asked for some whiskey on the rocks. Raiden knew his stomach wouldn't do good with food now, and alcohol was the only thing that would calm his nerves for now. After receiving his drink and thanking the server, he made his way back to Beatrice and Zheng.

"Are we all set, then?" Raiden glanced between Beatrice and Zheng, a natural smile playing on his lips.

Beatrice followed along as Zheng made his way towards the food, aware of Raiden walking beside her the entire time. When they arrived at one of the tables, Zheng grabbed some snacks, and Raiden went for another drink.

Beatrice decided to opt for snacks, as well, figuring that a bit of fruit couldn’t hurt. “Oh dear, it looks like I’m so boring that Prince Raiden can’t wait to be rid of me,” Beatrice answered, her soft smile making it abundantly clear that her words were nothing more than a light-hearted joke.

“I think we’re set, if you also agree, Prince Zheng.”

Raiden glanced over at Zheng then at his betrothed, wondering is they had met before the ball. While it wouldn't be unusual, he did find it interesting. It would be a good opportunity to excuse himself while both of them talked and snacked. "I will have to apologize since I have to excuse myself." Raiden looked at Beatrice. "I have a few things to do before we go back to introductions," he turned to Zheng, "please keep the princess some company. I'll try to be quick." He gave them both a curt bow before turning on his heels.

It only took him a few seconds to spot Gen and Henri walking around the dance floor, hand in hand. He couldn't wait for Henri to be alone, so he'd have to introduce himself to Gen before anything.