Inlaa

The Lucenrai Chronicles: The Fallen Kingdom

These answers are what I needed, thanks!

The Lucenrai Chronicles: The Fallen Kingdom

That's fine. I have a couple of other questions...

So, firstly, does a person ever "run out of mana," so to speak? I.E., if Gabby were to keep casting spells for 10 minutes straight, would she run out of energy, be worn out, etc.?

Secondly, how do mages view Ritualism? Is it something that's universally hated, or do a lot of mages practice it in secret, or is it something mages wish they could practice? Etc.

The Lucenrai Chronicles: The Fallen Kingdom

Speaking of which, if there are any changes I should make to my CS yet, let me know. I really don't mind.

The Lucenrai Chronicles: The Fallen Kingdom

Gabby

Appearance: Gabby was born with a short, broad build, standing at a mere 5'1. Her shoulders are wide, and she isn't exactly the prettiest of women around, but most wouldn't call her "ugly" so much as "plain." She has blonde hair, a red nose, a blotchy complexion, and olive-colored eyes. She's missing two teeth in the middle-left side of her mouth.
Name: Gabriela "Gabby" Varanus
Age: 18

Personality: Clever, sarcastic, and inquisitive make for dangerous traits in Lucenrai, but Gabby nevertheless possesses all three of them. Her tongue wags more than it should; she's prone to making witty, barbed comments and smirking about it while she's at it. She loves cutting people down with her words, and she hasn't had to learn to deal with the consequences of that just yet.

Gabby is by-and-large a pessimist, though tutelage under good old Marius - her mage mentor - has made her grudgingly willing to help people. Still, she won't help without complaint or without compensation of some kind. She is a firm believer that most people will try to cheat you, and those that don't are going to have something unlucky happen to them. Her glass isn't half-empty - she just knocked it over and decided the question was for idiots who want to prove some point about always looking on the bright side. She hates those idiots.

Gabby has an adventurous spirit whose flame hasn't quite been stoked yet. She craves excitement of some kind; she has a strange fascination with the war on her heels, though not enough to make her deaf to reason (like "run away before you get stabbed by Varyans or eaten by orcs"). She'll take gambles other young mages might not.

"I'm standing here; you're standing there," Gabby has told people in the past. "Let's keep it that way." She doesn't like people getting too close to her property (unless they're buying something of course) and she especially doesn't like it when people hover over her shoulder as she's reading or while she works. A friendly embrace is out of the question. Personal space is big to her, and nobody enters it without a glare... or a lot of trust.

Killing is something that Gabby has done... once. She doesn't want to do it again, but she's promised herself that she will if she has to. She hates it, though, and the act of taking the life from another human being isn't one she takes lightly.

Gabby definitely has a "me first" sort of mentality, and she isn't very keen on sharing or generosity or any of that rot. She'll be helpful, of course, when the situation demands. For instance, she has every intent to contribute to the caravan's success because the caravan's success demands it. Stopping to help some stranger along the royal road, however, is not worth the risk to her. People are generally awful after all. This isn't to say that she's heartless; she knows when someone is suffering and she doesn't want people to suffer. She just isn't sure it's worth her resources, her time, or the risk of being grabbed and stabbed repeatedly in the back.

Gabby also is very good at keeping her promises... partly because she only makes them sparingly. To her, a promise or an oath is not to be taken lightly. She tends to swear by her mentor's grave IF she swears.

Finally, it's worth noting that Gabby loves winning and being right. Likewise, losing isn't something she takes well.

Backstory: Gabby was born to a merchant family with a slowly growing business. They ran a general store in Varya's capital. Gabby's mother would spin clothes to sell while her father handled the store itself; his three employees would get goods from the market for resale, salt meats and make jerky, and peddle unwanted or soon-to-spoil goods in the poorer districts at discount prices. It was a good enough trade to have, and Gabby's father would throw the occasional party for his employees, and he'd subsequently give them bonuses while drunk, but hey: it made them loyal and happy, and it encouraged his men to take him out drinking.

Being a member of the merchant class had a lot of benefits: clean clothes, full bellies, bathing more than once a month, and a bigger house (which, of course, doubled as the store). Gabby enjoyed all of these thoroughly as a child, and she flaunted her possession of these luxuries. She was a nasty little girl. She teased poorer girls about their ragged clothes, made huge gestures and and forced gagging noises as she talked about their smell, and she loved to show them how good she was at reading - something most peasants can't do. Her mother tried to force that behavior out of her, trying everything from beating to pleading to ranting about how the powers-that-be in the heavens would punish her for acting so crass, but nothing really worked. It didn't help that her father thought it was the funniest thing he'd heard, and that he'd engage her in piercing insult contests.

There were a lot of disagreements between Gabby's parents - her father would stay out drinking until morning, for instance, or her mother would angrily destroy something precious of her father's - and those quarrels reached their peak when she was seven years old. Her father found his wife in bed with one of his employees. After much yelling, fighting, and a few broken pieces of furniture, Gabby's mother left the city with the man she'd slept with. Gabby stayed with her father.

Though he was wont to drink his sorrows and anger away, Gabby's father cast the stuff aside at the rousing sermon of a firebrand priest. His new drug became the blessings of the divine, and he spent inordinate amounts of time at the temple. He made donations to the church, too - large ones. His friends joked behind his back that he was still a drunk, just drunk with faith.

Gabby was expected to do as her father did. She went to the cathedral, but her enthusiasm was comparably lacking, and she was inattentive as a worshiper. Her father was greatly displeased, but he felt he could do little to sway her, and so remained disappointed... until, one day, one of the priests at the cathedral noticed her eying some markings on the wall at the end of service. When he asked what she was looking at, she answered "These are meant to keep bad things out, aren't they?" She was right, so the priest found a mage to test her for magical potential - and, oddly, she had it, though her father had no trace of the talent. The mage believed it must have come from her mother.

Her father was offered a sum of cash to let his daughter be taken to be trained as a mage. He accepted, seeing an opportunity to both make a profit and to ensure his daughter had a good education. So it was that Gabby became a mage's apprentice at the age of eight years old.

Her first apprenticeship to a very traditional mage was short-lived; he found her bull-headed and difficult to control. After discussing what to do with her with other mages, another candidate for teaching her was found: a crass old mage with a touch of madness living in a remote Varyan village. This man, Mad Marius, was able to deal with Gabriela's insubordination very easily: he'd simply ignore her or use his magic to punish her in weird ways, like giving her hiccups or pinning her to the wall as he studied some old text. Though unconventional, this manner of punishment was enough to dissuade her antics.

Life with Marius was not easy for Gabby to adjust to. For one, he lived in a woodland cottage near a village full of peasants whereas Gabby was used to having the luxuries of the city and the comforts a little wealth can provide. Secondly, she hated the forest, and she suffered from seasonal illnesses, always growing sneezy and stuffy in the spring. She complained frequently of these concerns and lamented wishing to go home, but Marius would have none of that talk.

Marius had Gabriela perform menial tasks at first: she would purchase alchemical components in town or fetch herbs from the woods; she would clean clothes for hours on end; she would fetch wood for the fireplace; and so on and so forth. Her requests (and demands) to learn magic were quietly and calmly rebuffed each and every time. It wasn't until after several months later that Gabriela was taught her first bit of magic, and by then she was an eager student.

Gabriela seemed to have the most talent for abjuration - the magic of protective wards and warding off evil - so that is what she was taught first. She took to it quickly, and proved even quicker to show enthusiasm when Marius told her she could make a fair profit selling protective baubles to the townsfolk. They started making trips into the village, and longer trips to a nearby city, peddling magical and alchemical trinkets: fireworks, glowing rings, amulets that protected the wearer from bad spirits - small things that were relatively harmless in the hands of the peasantry, so said Marius, and were worth a lot to those without the talent for magic. In this way they made profit, and in this way Marius fostered Gabby's knack for bargaining and persuasion. He also showed her the art of alchemy: how to mix potions, how to identify herbs, how to identify certain poisons, and so forth. Gabby took to this as well, though she had a habit of keeping some dangerous things (like poisonous leaves) for safekeeping.

In time, Gabby's master decided to move to Edessa, having caught wind of the coming troubles and wanting to help. Gabriela did not have such benevolent desires - she only accompanied him so she might learn magic - but as his apprentice she had little choice unless she wished to find a new mentor. She prepared alchemical medicines alongside Marius, created more protective baubles, and started began focusing her studies on more aggressive magics ("Just in case," the old mage told her).

Such lessons continued until Gabriela was sixteen. Her mentor took ill that year, and while he was careful to see a physician as soon as he could, he died of swelling in his lungs, so the physician said. Stricken with grief (and surprised that she was), Gabriela nevertheless chose to stay in Edessa as her master had left her his house on his deathbed. She peddled magical wares on her own for the better part of a year, not quite ready to be mentored by someone else. Making a profit, at least, with her magical skills was a worthwhile way to live until she was ready.

But then war came to Edessa, first from orcs and then from expansionist Varyans. Gabriela was accused rather quickly of being a Varyan spy, so she was tempted to retreat to the Varyan lines; but upon doing so she found herself treated like any other Edessan peasant. She barely managed to escape execution, and she had to kill a young soldier to get away. Now 18 years old, the young mage Gabriela has decided the safest thing she can do is travel away from Edessa and away from the war that is coming. The safety of a caravan, even if her Varyan accent is as clear as day to the others, is something she can ill-afford to walk away from.

Truth be told, though, something in her finds the whole affair exciting.

Skills and Abilities:

Adept Haggling - Her words may not be honeyed, but Gabby is still is great at driving bargains home. She has a real talent for buying and selling goods at prices others can't.
Adept Alchemy - Wonderful potions, poultices and salves can be produced with the proper application of magical talent and herbal know-how. Gabby possesses both of these things. She can make potions that slow bleeding, pastes that eat through wood, oils that make old ladies' joints hurt a lot less, other such things... And fireworks. She can make fireworks. This doesn't make her good at healing people; it just makes her good at making stuff that can be used to heal people.
Journeyman Abjuration - Magical barriers and wards against evil are something Gabriela specializes in as a mage. It is a difficult art to master, but she's well on her way to becoming a full-fledged abjurer. She can create shields of magical energy rather easily, and they're strong, sturdy things. She's also believed to be able to keep evil spirits away, but that may just be superstition. Her only real fault is not being able to keep up a magical barrier for long periods of time, perhaps because she hasn't actually had to yet.
Journeyman Acid Magic - Gabby finds that acid is a wonderful substance to wield. It can melt through wood, stone, and even metal if it's powerful enough, to say little of flesh. She hasn't mastered the art, but she can nevertheless control acid considerably well for a young mage.
Journeyman Light Magic - Just as useful is the ability to manipulate light. While it can't be used to hurt someone - at least not by a journeyman practitioner like Gabby - it can be used in a variety of ways: creating blinding flashes of light, making static illusions, and illuminating a room are all very well within Gabby's power.
Journeyman Academics - Math! Science! Astrology! Gabriela is decently well versed in academia, though it was not the focus of her training like it is with other mages. Still, she's a good reader and knows enough book stuff to be bookish.
Novice Herblore - With the knowledge of alchemy comes a basic expectation to know what plants will help you and what plants will poison you if you chew them. Why would you chew poisonous plants? Yeesh. Gabby knows just enough herb stuff to know what will be good for a potion or salve... (Note: Gabby is meant to be on the lower rung of "novice" in this department.)
Novice Bludgeon Wielding - Gabby knows a bit more about clubbing people than your average untrained peasant. Call it a talent, if one that most wouldn't be proud of necessarily. Her talent hasn't been accompanied by much training, however; but she has had some rudimentary lessons in walloping from a local militiaman in Edessa. Just... not much.

Equipment:

Green focus crystal - A shimmering crystal that Gabriela uses as a focus for her magic. She can cast spells without a focus, but it helps to have something of this nature when she needs to quickly throw up a barrier or blast someone with a spray of acid.
Gambeson - A simple, protective padded cloth armor. Gabby bought this just before being forced onto the road. While it's not as effective as leather or chain or pretty much any sort of not-made-of-cloth armor, it's lightweight and only somewhat difficult to get used to. (Image link: http://www.esford.com/Gambeson/AH6074%20gambeson%20front%20lg.jpg)
Traveling clothes - Simple brown pants with a silver-embroidered blue tunic. This outfit has lots of awesome pockets and belts and stuff that make it perfect for carrying lots of things... like alchemical components, money, or just a handful of sand.
Alchemical components - A few basic goods to make some medicinal salves or blinding powder at short notice. Comes with mortar and pestle.
Morningstar - Hey, everyone needs a weapon, right? This is a simple spiked club used to beat people's faces into a bloody pulp. It may not be especially effective in the young mage's hands, but if Gabby runs out of options...
Gardening knife - A tool meant for cutting plants and stuff. Also can peel tomatoes. Rad, huh?
A small cheesecake - No, you can't have it. It's for emergencies.

Faction:Martian Front (The Luna Wars Were a Thing)

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Free Workers of La Parranda

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The Low Road, excavation site - 8:49 a.m.

The sound of massive drills boring through the earth rang all throughout the large, equipment-filled cavern. Under normal circumstances, a person could be deafened by being in the room, but the headgear Jonathan and his diggers wore was more than enough to all but nullify the noise to minimal levels and serve as a HUD for his two dozen workers.

Messages flared across their visors as he typed on his arm device. We're approximately twenty meters from the depth we need to reach. Proceed with caution: there are deposits of radioactive elements surrounding the metals we're after. Handle with care.

The operation was proceeding at a steady pace. Rather than move swiftly to strip mine the tunnel (as Hephaestus used to prefer to do), Jonathan's crew was working slowly so as to preserve as much of the desired materials as possible. At least, that's what Dr. Brown had told his team. While partially true, Jonathan also didn't want to damage the Martian relics he was certain would be found.

Seconds later, the massive drill was turned off. They'd reached the desired depth. Now they would be using more sophisticated tools to retrieve the metals they were after. Manual digging began in an orderly fashion. Rock dust flew up in the air and a few bits of it stung Jonathan's face, so he stepped back and brushed himself off. At least it wasn't the radioactive metals... which, thankfully, the men and women had proper suits for.

Finally, the motherload was reached; the first traces of bismuth and lead were found, two of the target metals they were after. A couple veins of radioactive elements were removed, too, carefully marked for future digging. Long minutes went by and...

Nothing. The artifacts Jonathan's research had led him to believe would be present were... not present. He wished he had one of the workers' helmets at that moment. It would have hid his disappointment better.

Looks like we hit paydirt, sir! We can have these materials ready to go within 60 minutes. :) A cheerful message from one of the supervisors came in, complete with a thumbs up from the man as he turned back toward Jonathan. And he was right: it would be smooth, easy work from this point on, and the only real problem left before the goods reached home was a chance that the railway might malfunction again.

Still, the Chief Excavator wasn't happy. He wouldn't let the others know, though. Excellent job, people, he typed on back. Ramirez, you're in charge now. Keep digging for twenty minutes and then take a thirty minute break. You've worked hard this morning, friends.

Ramirez fired back a quick Affirmative and the crew went right back to work. Chief Excavator Brown, however, got into his Tunneldog - an underground four-person treaded truck meant for traversing large tunnels such as the ones in the Low Road. With a putter and a roar, the truck came to life, ejected a few sparks from the rear, and gave off the rancid smell of fuel. Brown took a sip from the bottle of water resting on the seat beside him before starting the drive back to his excavation outpost. He needed to get back to the drawing board.

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The Low Road, excavation outpost - 9:18 a.m.

Jonathan sat at his desk, cross-referencing the book in his hand and the markings on the screen over and over again. It was a maddening process, to be frank. He'd been so certain there would be ruins of some kind here, and yet...

"No matter," mumbled Jonathan, sighing and running a hand across his balding head. He glanced back around the room, eying the charts, the layered maps with sticky notes on them, and the books spread all over the room. "Perfect chaos," he mused with a chuckle. He was about to get up from his seat when he saw an alert start flashing on the right side of the holographic screen on his desk - a communications request from Marshal Asturias. Odd, he mused, but he spoke his computer's password and waved his hand at the screen.

"You wish to speak?" he asked.

"No, I just wanted to stare at you for a few minutes," came the sarcastic reply. The Marshal was prone to comments like that. Jonathan couldn't blame her; he didn't think she allowed herself more than an hour's worth of free time in the day. "I need to know what sort of materials we're going to be getting from the mines and how soon they can be transported for trade or arms production."

Of course, the geologist thought, reaching up and rubbing his forehead. War: the neighbor at our doorstep. "We've just begun the removal of metals important to the construction of various alloys from the rock," Jonathan began, bringing up another holographic screen showing the periodic table and selecting the appropriate metals. "I can't be sure how many tons we'll be able to procure just yet, though it should be within thiiis range..." His fingers danced around as he made punched in the appropriate numbers with agility and alacrity.

"This is a start," mumbled the Marshal, seeming mollified by the numbers. "We'll have enough to trade at least. Has Santiago come your way yet?"

"No, she hasn't. Why?"

Adelina cursed, peering off-screen to check on something before sitting back straight in her seat. "Shit. Then she's probably going to be bothering me. Alright: while you're in your office, I need you to find some tunnels that are large, not going to be used any time soon, and preferably with uneven floors and debris, and I'll need those tunnels made safe from cave-ins. Also, any scrapped equipment you have, I need it delivered there. Can you do that?"

The scientist's brow furrowed. What a strange request. "I... can do that, yes. I'll send a team as soon as I finish choosing the next excavation site. Is that all?"

"Check the new broadcast station," the soldier replied, punching in a few numbers herself. "The President gives his speech in five minutes. You should let your people have a chance to watch it."

"Thank you," Jonathan said. "I'll get back to my duties. Oh, and Ms. Asturias?"

"What?" The reply came out a bit snappier than Jonathan expected.

"...Nothing. Hasta lego," he said with a smile.

"Luego," corrected Asturias with an amused snort. "You really are horrible at learning new languages. Hasta luego." And then her image popped off the screen.

Televised Broadcast

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La Parranda, 9:30 a.m.

A handsome, slightly dirty man of clear Hispanic descent sat behind a desk in a minimalistic room. He wore a black beret, short hair and had an old-school cybernetic communications implant visibly curling around his ear. He had a horseshoe mustache, thin sideburns and weathered skin. The man, probably in his thirties, had one hand wrapped around the other as he spoke to the camera. His expression was serious and sincere - or, perhaps, the practiced expression of a man that appealed to passion rather than reason... or both.

"Approximately three-and-a-half weeks ago, at this very minute, a revolution began." President de La Parranda's voice was slow, solemn, and deep as he spoke, touched with a mournful tone. "Hephaestus Metallurgy was overthrown. It was a bloody affair lasting for five long, terrible days, but in the end, the people of La Parranda broke the shackles of oppression - unimaginable oppression - and tasted freedom for the first time in our collective lives.

"Yes, I say oppression," he went on, a bitter note rising in his voice. "We were slaves, mis amigos." He lit a cigar with a match, inhaled deep, and stared intently at the screen. "Those of you not from La Parranda would not know the horrors Hephaestus wrought upon us. We were worked without pay, worked until we would die, slept on dirt-covered floors and broken cots... We were herded like cattle from one station to another." He tapped his cigar off-screen, brought it back to his face, and knitted his long eyebrows together. "They had a saying, the managers: 'Those who cannot work are discarded. Those who will not work are punished until they will work or must be discarded.'

"By now all of Hephaestus' assets belong to the people of La Parranda, and that is where they will remain. I, President Martin de La Parranda, decree that we are a free colony like any other, deserving all the rights any other human ought to have." The President rose to his feet, and the camera followed him up, showing the underground city of La Parranda through the window behind him. "We have earned our freedom," he said firmly, "through years of toil, through being punished for sins our fathers' fathers cannot even remember. We desire nothing but that: peace and liberty; the chance to rule ourselves; no more oppression and no more torture.

"But," he continued, raising his hand and his voice, "a desire for peace does not mean we are unwilling to defend ourselves. Should another corporation try to force us into servitude, or should would-be conquerors come to La Parranda, we will fight back. We will make a second stand, no less bloody than the first if we must, and we will, by the grace of Heaven, stand resolute. This I vow as the leader of my people.

"But we do not wish to be remembered for bloodshed. We wish to introduce ourselves, Mars, not as rebels, not as foes, but as brothers." The President smiled as he spoke, his hand outstretched, proffered symbolically. "There is a storm coming, mis compañeros. We must weather it together, or we shall be washed away in a bloody flood."

The President stayed silent for a few more seconds, staring intently at the camera. "I am President Martin de La Parranda," he finally says, "and I represent the Free Workers of La Parranda."

The broadcast ended on that note.

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Faction:Martian Front (The Luna Wars Were a Thing)

I'll be posting a "the next morning" type of thing very soon that... really isn't me taking any actions. I'm waiting to take actions until after more people post, yeah. Just introducing characters / concepts / fluff.

The Lucenrai Chronicles: The Fallen Kingdom

I honestly didn't expect to make it in, so this is a very pleasant surprise. Giddy and anticipating a good game.

And I honestly am surprised one person in particular didn't get in instead of me. I enjoyed reading other players' applications. So, yeah, again: giddy about this roleplay.

Europa: Dawn of the Middle Age

Well, I've read the general history of the world and most of the Viking page. I've also given the maps a good, long look for a while. I'd be interested in participating if you can get a few more players.

So, King Arthur existed, eh...? Or at least a couple Artorius fellows. Eire is still a bunch of warring clans struggling with Viking raiders, right? Or is it actually a unified place in this timeline?

Out of curiosity, what does C.E. represent (since it's taking the place of A.D.)?

I find it very interesting that both halves of the Holy Roman Empire exist in 893 A.D. in this timeline. That's a game changer...

Are there Pagan pockets of worship in non-Pagan lands?

Oh, and I'm supposing we'll be adventuring to a backdrop of the forces of Chaos rising up at about the time we start adventuring? So all the creatures from myth and lore start appearing before we start our travels?

Faction:Martian Front (The Luna Wars Were a Thing)

<Snipped quote by Inlaa>

I really want the FBM to work with your faction. They just sort of fit with FBM's ideals along with the fact that they toppled a corporation.

@Elitestpotato

I'd actually be happy to see some talks go down and was thinking the same thing. I think that should be a case of the FMB approaching the Free Workers (they're not likely to know much about a freshly started freedom fighter group), but they'd at least be open to deals of SOME kind. I can shoot you a PM if you want.

Faction:Martian Front (The Luna Wars Were a Thing)

Thread's looking good so far. I had to make a few edits to my own post after the fact (realized that Asturias never said what the 'bad news' was). But I'm eager to see where this goes.

EDIT: And made one last change to fit what someone else wrote. Still works.