Jinxer

Wildstar: Sanctuary

Looks like fun - I've recently got back into Wildstar after a long hiatus (as in, from when it was still in beta :3). I'll work on a CS tomorrow.

It doesn't really impact upon me but for others: how much knowledge are you expecting of the lore beyond the races and their basic characteristics?

The Unsung Heroes (Superhero,Always Open)

@Gurren1

I'm in for a reboot as well if it's on the cards!

Cabal (An Old Kingdom RP)

I'll get a response to yours up a little later, Gisk. I'm shattered from a day of no rest and no lunch and cannae continue!

Cabal (An Old Kingdom RP)

The Merchant Quarter, Belisaere

It was lucky that Elaeriel's mind was still tight with anger, her body fuelled by the adrenaline the argument with her mother had brought rushing through her veins. This was all fortunate because, otherwise, she might not have caught sight of the Charter Magic flare. The angle was too steep so many failed to notice the light although as she got closer to the source she could hear a good deal of commotion down one of the side streets. She stopped for a moment, considering her options. Her first instinct was to go towards the source and investigate what was happening but voices of caution sounded in her head, many voices expressing concern at her apparent empathy for others echoing across the years of her life back to the present.

She shook her head and darted into the side street before the doubting voices could sway her determination. Today, of all days, she would act as herself before even that was sold away to someone for a paltry alliance in this contest for the throne. One could be forgiven for thinking the Queen was dying, or dead, what with all the frantic activity from the branch families to amass resources and allies; but the Queen was still healthy and active. And loved by her people.

The noise centred around a house, not in the poorest of condition but not exactly one of the merchant mansions found nearer the main avenue of the Merchant Quarter. There was a smashed window and Elaeriel could almost smell the traces of Charter Magic left by the flare, although it looked like no one else could even if they had understood what the flare was; few had the upbringing that she had had with the Charter like a lifelong friend. The constant presence of the Great Charter Stones beneath the Palace had kept her swaddled in the Charter from the moment she was born and reaching for it was so easy, almost like breathing. That was not to say that she was especially skilled with it, she certainly had no natural talent, but Elaeriel had been taught by the best so she was definitely an adept at least.

"What's going on? Has anyone gone inside?" She asked, her voice ringing out across the hushed murmurs from those around the house. Charter Magic was something of a mystery to some and often associated with Free Magic. At least, in the sense that where there was Charter Magic there may well be the danger of Free Magic also. It was no wonder the people stayed outside rather than rush in but they turned at the sound of her commanding voice; the voice of someone used to being obeyed. Instant recognition of the crest on her tunic had the townspeople clearing a path for her quickly with one man approaching her to speak, head bowed and hat held in his hands.

"We don't know, Milady. Just there was this light and a smash so we came over, in case of fire y'see. But there's just the sound of cryin' inside. We were waiting for the Guard, just in case it was Free Magic sorcery, ma'am." He said, ducking his head as he spoke. Elaeriel nodded, trying not to hide her irritation at his subservient attitude; others of her family might expect or even demand it but she had other thoughts about the position of the Royals.

"Stay here, then. If the Guard arrive, let them know I've entered." She strode down the path before her, trying not to let the stares from the small crowd unnerve her. She paused at the door before pushing it open and sweeping inside with her hands already itching to cast a Charter mark, just in case it was a Free Magic creature making the sounds. But it wasn't. It was a young woman, her age by the looks of it, sobbing as she held a corpse's head in her hands.

After assessing the situation briefly, Elaeriel rushed over to the woman and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. She still felt uneasy, the whisperings of the crowd outside having set her suspicions alight, but those doubts were being swept away by the sight before her; no Free Magic Creature she knew could pull off such a convincing performance.

"Are you hurt?" She asked, glancing at the body. It was definitely a corpse, she hadn't even felt the death from the avenue so it couldn't have been that recent. The blood looked dark, sticky as it dried but not completely in that way blood never seemed to.

"I'm going to get the guards. We'll give him a Charter Burial once it's safe."

Cabal (An Old Kingdom RP)

No worries. I'll edit my post so there's a response to Christa's post to keep things going.

Cabal (An Old Kingdom RP)

Navis

The chief of the village, an elderly man, rushed to meet the paperwing that came fluttering down with the grace of a live bird, its eyes shutting as the Charter Magic that powered it was cut off and the rider climbed steadily out of the transport. He was dressed for battle with the traditional symbols of his esteemed lineage but the slowness in his movements could not be mistaken for anything except for what it was: old age. His beard was a storm grey as was his close-cut hair but there was a strength in his body and although he moved cautiously there was strength and purpose in his actions; this old Abhorsen still had plenty of life in him yet.

"Where?" He asked, shortly. The village chief nodded, not questioning his esteemed visitor's shortness. When the Abhorsen came in a Paperwing dressed for battle, looking tired from a long journey, then pleasantries were merely a waste of time. The chief guided the Abhorsen to where two horses were held by his fellow villagers, also mounted on their own animals. They were work beasts, stocky and slow as opposed to the lean gallopers messengers and warriors used but they would serve their purpose well enough.

The Charter stone being watched by two more of the villagers, a little out of the town and closer to the chief's village but due to the thick forests all around it had been easier for the Abhorsen to land at Navis and then continue on foot or horseback.

"Nothing yet." The elder of the pair greeted them, noticing their grim but determined faces. "The body looks to have been there a good few days now."

The Abhorsen went alone and on foot to examine the stone and the corpse still crucified upon it. He circled the stone before gesturing for the village chief to join him. All of the villagers looked ill from their proximity to the broke Charter stone but the chief had weathered much in his time and made no sign of his unease.

"Have you seen any of the Dead?" The Abhorsen asked and the man nodded.

"Yes, sir. Not many and out of the village proper, sir. When we go back there's nothing left, no trace. Their tracks just stop, like they disappeared. One of the young lads says he saw a lass camping around here. Says she had bells on her, sir." He spoke the last words in a whisper as if mentioning the devices might bring the Dead down upon them. The Abhorsen stared at the stone, shifting his shoulders as he prepared for the exhertion ahead of him.

"See if your young lad can find her again. I'll need to have a word with her."

Cabal (An Old Kingdom RP)

First IC post up. Hope it gives enough for everyone to start on - if not just fire me a PM and we'll work out where to put you!

Cabal (An Old Kingdom RP)

Haldan, a small village on the road between Orchyre and Aunden

"Be more careful with her."

The voice was deep. Flat. Powerful. Even without any emotion in the words there was a certain melody to the tone, a melody that made one feel obliged to obey its message. The owner of the voice was, strangely for its deep rumble and the nascent power it projected, a man well below average height wearing patchwork robes of black, green and blood red with his face hidden by the shadow of a black, wide-brimmed traveller's hat. A further oddity, and almost comically large for the wielder if not for the threat of inescapable death radiating from its blade, was the massive battleaxe strapped to the speaker's back. It shimmered between a deep red, black and the natural colour of steel as if it were a living thing.

The man's slaves dipped their shadowy rotting heads, slowing their pace so that they could hold their victim more securely. Four of them carried her, a middle-aged woman wearing a white apron over a green tunic smeared with mud. She looked to be a herbalist or an apothecary but to the short man and his slaves it was the Charter mark on her forehead that gave her value to them. The shambling figures dropped the woman slightly, banging her already bloodied head against a rock and making her groan out in her unconsciousness. The man hissed and they cowered away from him, fearing for their already once-lost lives.

"I said be careful with her! She needs to be alive for this." They hoisted her up again and continued to their destination: a Charter stone just off the main road. Beyond it were cliffs that sunk sharply to meet the see, the sun falling below the horizon as night came fully upon them.

Finally the dark servants could do no more and laid the woman down before hurrying away from the power of the stone which repulsed them. The Dead could only come so close the stone before the power which tied them to the corpses they inhabited was disintegrated and they were hurled back into Death. Gesturing impatiently to his right, towards the stone, the man ordered a band of torch-bearing villagers to continue the grisly procession to the stone. They bore no signs of magical manipulation, apparently serving the short Necromancer of their own free will. A few glanced at the man, or rather at the bells strapped across his chest, with pale faces but they kept to their job; it was being well paid after all.

They hauled the woman up against the stone, holding in her place as their paymaster began his ritual.

--------------

The Merchant Quarter, Belisaere

"Come along, Elaeriel. We don't have time to be dawdling in a place like this."

The young woman, dressed in a fashionable tunic with tight leather riding trousers, wore no expression in response to these words, following her mother who was adorned with a more traditional dress and enough jewellery to purchase every house on the street. In her mind she questioned what 'a place like this' was meant to suggest about their surroundings but had decided immediately it was best not to bring it up. Her mother had no time for questions and expected only obedience from her offspring.

"Mother, what's the purpose of this visit?" Elaeriel asked, growing tired of being carted around the city by her mother. First it had been to a dressmaker's, then a jewellers and now they were heading towards some acquaintance of her mother. The young woman had a sinking feeling of what her mother intended, presumably trying to soften the blow by showing her magnificent dresses, necklaces and rings but unfortunately such things held little importance for someone who had had such things arrayed before plentifully her entire life.

Her high-cheekboned, sharp-eyed and equally sharp-tongued mother stopped abruptly and rounded on her young daughter to reveal a fierce expression. Elaeriel had grown used to that look in her mother's eyes, barely suppressed rage that was probably supposed to suggest earnestness but did not work on someone who had seen it one too many times.

"We're going to the Master Goldsmith's manor. It may beyond our station to consider marrying into such a family but they have funds enough to raise an army. You could hardly ask to live more comfortably than wi-"

"You can't make me." Elaeriel cut her mother off pointedly, her voice curt and just as commanding as the matriarch of their branch family. "You and father seem to forget the Queen forbade arranged marriages which either the bride or the groom were against. I will not have this argument with you yet again. I shall find my own way back."

Ignoring her mother's hissed threats, Elaeriel turned on her heel and strode into the crowds, blending in and disappearing. Her mother remained where she was, her face purple with rage beneath the white mask of makeup, surrounding by her guards on the lookout for any assassins from a rival family.

"Shall I go after her, ma'am?" One of the guards asked but the family matriarch was already moving on, continuing towards the Master Goldsmith's house.

"No, soon she won't have a choice in this. She'll see that."

Cabal (An Old Kingdom RP)

Name: Elaeriel (Ell-air-ehl)
Gender: Female
Age: 17

Appearance/Physical Description:
Elaeriel is much paler than the other members of her branch family, although they all have the dark hair commonly associated with the Abhorsens; a trait passed down through the generations. Her eyes are a bright blue giving her a ghostly appearance when contrasted with her white skin. Her raven black hair is straight and nearly always tied back into a ponytail, so as not to get in the way during her day-to-day activities.

Of average height, standing at five foot seven inches tall, Elaeriel often finds herself towered over by other members of her family, especially the men who stand at well over six foot. She has a slight but athletic build, most of her life spent being trained for any of the potential jobs she might be given should her family take power at the end of the Queen's reign.

Her clothing she chooses fastidiously and dependent on the occasion. When in the Royal Palace she wears silk dresses, although eschews the makeup that most of her fellow women apply as she also spends a great deal of her day actively and as such finds the time spent applying it badly spent. When not in the Palace she tends to dress herself in tight leather riding trousers and a tunic top, usually of a cool colour such as green or blue, with appropriate jacket or shawl dependent on the weather.

Personality: Serious and focussed, Elaeriel has spent her entire life being taught that she must be prepared for just about any role. And not just be capable but be good at it. This leads her to be overly serious when it comes to seemingly minor tasks, applying her desire for perfection to anything she faces.

That being said, she is relaxed in conversation although a bit awkward when not talking in an official capacity. Having had very few real friends, as opposed to family friends or cousins who could be potential enemies, she lacks the ability to interact with strangers easily and without suspicion.

History/Background: Born into one of the seven branch families of the Royal Line, Elaeriel is the third and youngest child of her parents. Her eldest brother, in his mid-twenties, is her family's best hope to succeed the Queen and as such she is somewhat eclipsed in any of her achievements. That is not to say that she has been ignored, having been given the best education in almost all matters so she can do her part to secure her family's future.

Her life has been spent amongst cousins who could one day in the future seek to have her killed or could become her partner should her parents and theirs decide it was in their best interests to ally. As such she has had no close friendships and speaks almost exclusively in diplomatic tones; polite and amiable but with little to no sincerity.

Elaeriel hates this life, feeling trapped in machinations she has no interest in with her existence to be a pawn in a much greater game that she wants to escape. Visits from the Abhorsen have always been something she looks forward to, allowing her to escape the confines of the subtle game to hear of the necromancer's adventures and the wider world. She had often pleaded for permission to visit the Abhorsen's House but she was never let out of the sight of her parents or their servants, lest something happen to her and put them at a disadvantage.

She is currently spending most of her days with the Royal physician, learning various methods of healing outside of the Charter and how to spot non-spelled poisons; a vital skill for when she has a spouse her parents assure her.

Skills: She is a skilled charter mage, having been taught it by a succession of guards, Charter Mages of every discipline and even the Abhorsen himself for a short time. Her skill is entirely through the tutelage she has been given rather than an innate ability, although her bloodline gives her a closer connection to the Charter than many enjoy and as such she finds it easier to reach for.

She has walked through the first two gates, although always with someone more skilled in the art at her side, and knows the use of the bells, and other musical instruments well, but only in a theoretical sense.

Aside from this she has skill with bow and blade, specifically with a rapier or any other light weapon, and has spent years on horseback. She is, however, not used to longer journeys and has little experience of living in anything but the lap of luxury.

Cabal (An Old Kingdom RP)

@Minimum

Sorry, forgot to say! Yes you are indeed accepted.