That has to be the most tactless exit I've ever seen. 'Your CS aren't good enough for me, I'm not wasting my time writing a character that's going to be so much 'better' than all of yours.' (I didn't even have to manipulate the words that much, that's literally what you're saying.)
The geyser burst, capturing Evvie in the rapidly ascending water. Sand splattered the ground around Anna, a testament to the pressure she had built up before unleashing it on the intruder. She could flap her wings as much as she liked, there was no outrunning this volume of water bursting from the ground, and now she was in the Wraith’s icy grasp.
The water passed Evvie, who had intended to just fly straight up and out of the encroaching liquid, spouting fire. Her breath was hot, but the water was moving quickly and it was icy cold, and she had directed her escape in the wrong area. The tower of liquid reached its peak, and following Anna as her hands dropped dramatically sank back down, curling in at the peak to drop a heavy volume of water down on the flailing dragon-child. The water evaporated quickly under the effect of Evvie’s fire, but Anna had a degree of control over water in all its forms, and was diverting all her attention to reducing the effect the dragon’s fire could have. As the water collapsed in on itself it leapt from either side of the column, intending to effectively trap the dragon’s wings and prevent her from fighting her way out of the expanse of heavy water falling down around her.
As the heavy volume of water collapsed down on itself, Evvie would likely be trapped inside, and the weight of the water would be more than disproportionate to its volume. Anna used her spiritual energy to place greater pressure on the water, forcing Evvie down and hopefully under the sand, to drown like the rest.
So they seek to restrict magical technologies as well? Magical technologies include things like alchemy, enchanting, and golem construction. The point of magical technology is to let those with weak magic, or no magic at all, to still be able to use magical items to improve their lives. This kind of implies that the Church of Remus seeks to limit the power of magic to only the strong mages, not the weak muggles who don't have much magic naturally. Is this your intention? If yes, it would fit the theme of an ambiguously corrupt church quite well.
It could be perceived like this, but they promote the use of magic for means that benefit people as a whole, so though they may disapprove of a war golem they would be perfectly happy with you having a construct to carry your shopping.
They are only particularly hostile towards technology as we know it in the real world, and even then only things of a militaristic nature. Remember this is just the ideology of the Church however, in many ways its basic teachings are like Christianity, with things like 'be nice to eachother' and 'don't steal and murder stuff' and other positive messages. It could be argued that much the same as Christianity can be perceived as being hostile to homosexuality and other actions they believe 'unnatural' the Church of Remus sees military tech (and the futuristic tech of the Faction itself) in this light.
That's not to say many of the magi members haven't joined out of a sense of self importance however, as they certainly would. Magic is praised in the church as being god given, to be used to help your fellow man perhaps, but still to be individually valued.
@Melonhead Thanks for the great race, and the Key, you played your part to perfection! That could have went either way, and had you asked, I would have suggested a coin flip or something similar to decide.
Honestly, I didn't want to go through all that and have it essentially amount to nothing, so you kind of had to win. It was an interesting story though.
Ah, okay, I wasn't sure if Earth's geography had changed. That simplifies things. The Church of Remus was specifically designed to restrict all technological growth of a militaristic kind (while promoting the use of 'natural' 'god given' magic, so it would have been doing that even before the Tech faction emerged, but I'll re-clarify that as well.
I've changed the continent to Europe and the countries to roughly comparable countries, Germania, Italia and France. Would people prefer roughly similar city names as well? So far I've made up the capitols of each country, but this is all up to everyone else, I don't want to make decisions just because I'm the first person to clarify this stuff.
Havardr charged up the mountainside, building speed after his slow start. He had underestimated his foe once more, taking the time immediately after scaling the near vertical part of the cliff to regain his breath. However, determination to scale his own mountain and protect his secrets was not enough to challenge the determination of the challenger. In terms of pure endurance, he was starting to realise that despite everything he was beaten.
Still, there was not a chance of him giving in. He was going to use every shred of his remaining energy and strength to reach that waystone before the human. He owed it to his fellow Keyholders. The Goat did not doubt one thing, if Kei’taro won he was more than worthy.
It was neck and neck once again, but though the Goat was particularly well suited to the climbing of a mountain he was not built for pure speed. Somehow the human with his long stride and damned limitless energy was pulling ahead. The goat bowed his head, trying to increase his speed with each bound, but the waystone was fast approaching. He growled low in his throat, exhaling with one last breath of exertion.
It wasn’t quite enough. The damned human passed the waystone perhaps a few seconds before him. It was incredibly close… but as they passed the waystone the ground rose up suddenly and then stopped… flattening out and providing them with a view through clear skies.
Havardr stopped, breathing hard, the race over and not in his favour. He snorted once and then allowed himself to become transfixed with what was to his mind an ordinary view. It always had this effect, even to him, so how his foe felt about the land sprawled out in front of him like god’s own garden, who knew…
“Damn… you… Kei’Taro.” He breathed, insulting the challenger good-naturedly. He regained his breath with a few pants, looking down at his injured contender.
“Take back your power, and more. You’ve earned the secrets of the mountain, of that I have no doubt.” He looked back to the majestic view before him, returning to thoughtful silence.
“The mountain herself would like to give you a gift… something I cannot give you. Look out across the plains, and you will see your path laid out for you. Indistinct, hazy, but there it lies, just waiting for you to take it. You will learn something about your future, should you wish it.” He snorted and walked away from the human, giving him time to look out, and enjoy the feeling of his power returned with extra.
“When you feel ready, descend from this place and take your path, you will find what you left behind waiting for you. I expect you will find the mountain far more accommodating on your way down. Do not forget what you learned here Hemming, for I will not forget what I have learned from you.” The Goat walked away then… perhaps leaving a few moments for Kei’Taro to say his farewells if he so wished.
Havardr turned his head and could just barely keep the astonishment from his eyes. How in the world had his opponent survived the avalanche… and relatively unscathed? He had of course noticed he was in fact injured, but considering he should be buried and frozen, it was amazing. It also worried him, a little.
He pushed on, carrying his hefty weight up the mountain. The blizzard had been thinning out sporadically for their journey, but almost as if the avalanche was her last effort it seemed to be easing off now, the mountain was giving them a moment of respite. It was probably so that they could really show the other what they could do. He passed the fourth waystone at an impressive speed, bounding up the mountain in a fashion that looked almost impossible. How could an animal that had to remain on four legs effectively climb up a near vertical cliff? The answer was with a lot of skill, but even he had to move quite slowly at that point as he sought out spots where he could place his hoofs, and launch himself further up the rocky expanse.
He knew now that it was a short and difficult climb for him, a possible chance for his one armed opponent to catch up if he could bare the pain. After this short hurdle though the mountain wound up to the peak, a flat out sprint to the finish as it were. The fifth waystone was up there, awaiting the winner of this contest.
Appearance: Johnathan is a man who looks particularly unfit to be in any sort of holy capacity. He has a strong jawline with a short black/grey beard and a rough, but not quite ruggedly handsome, face, with strong features. His eyes are a steely grey/blue, and his hair is very dark brown with some hints of grey. He wears it short, and not particularly groomed. His body is broad and muscular, and he stands about 6ft 2” tall, with lightly tanned white skin. His nose is just a little crooked, and he has a faint scar under his left eye, all in all he looks more suitable as a boxer than a priest.
His common attire is a simple home-spun brown priest robe, with the golden sword insignia of his holy order, underneath he wears tough black cargo trousers and a simple white vest.
Personality: Johnathan is a virtuous man, with a fair intellect and a decent knowledge of the world around him. However, he is also what one could call a fanatic, blinded by his faith and capable of acts of immense cruelty when shielded by the law of his order. He is honest to the point of being blunt or tactless, however he is also loyal and trustworthy. He is slow to anger, except when it is his faith which is questioned, and even then he is just as quick to forgive. He belongs whole-heartedly to the Church of Remus, which is a faith group with similarities to Christianity, with a guiding principle of condemning dangerous technology. Johnathan has vowed abstinence since joining the order ten years prior, but was straight beforehand.
Faction: Church of Remus
Biography: Johnathan was born in Hevren, one of the large and ever growing cities in Magi-controlled Earth, on the continent of Europe and in the country of Germania. He grew up without his father, who had taken ill from alcohol and died when he was very young. His older brother Isaac abandoned the family the moment he turned 18, leaving Johnathan listless and unwilling to commit fully to studying. He dropped out a few years early and took up odd jobs, until news of his mother’s death drove him to drink. The story goes that he was picked up by the mysterious founder of the Church of Remus, and thrived under his personal tutelage. This led him to swiftly rise up among the ranks and become the official leader of the chapter, while the founder headed off to create new chapters across the continent.
Skills: Johnathan would be loath to admit it, but he is actually a fairly competent fighter, after taking up illegal cage fighting for a few years. He would be considered adequate in what could basically be considered Boxing, Judo, and Krav Maga. Johnathan is a skilled Orator, after performing sermons for roughly nine years, he can control a crowd with relative ease. He has the basic skills of any adult who lives alone and looks after themselves, as well as the somewhat shifty skills of someone out of work for long periods of time. He has even lived on the streets for a short while. Johnathan is very good at sizing someone up. He also has a working knowledge of history, and could be considered a somewhat proficient tactician, this comes from his less than savoury work as part of the Church.
Abilities: Spellcaster
Evocation: The Book of Remus
Johnathan learned from the founder of the Church of Remus how to summon the book of the order, a moderately sized tome comparative to the bible. Within this book is a wide variety of spoken spells, with effects rooted in spellcasting. The necessity to summon and read from the book offsets the advantage of a wide range of powerful spells. Each spell is linked to a page of chanting, which must be channelled as the spell takes effect.
Hand of Life: The first, the Hand of Life is the closest ability linked to Remus himself, it allows one to sacrifice mana to regenerate someone’s cells or repair other forms of damage and combat disease, it is essentially a basic healing spell that works on contact.
Hand of Death: The opposite of the coin, the Hand of Death is a contact based spell which works in the opposite fashion to the Hand of Life, taking the energy from whoever the user touches and using it to either bolster the magi’s own mana reserves or healing their bodies. (Energy drain spell.)
Circle of Light: The most fundamental defensive spell in the Book, the circle of light can project a barrier of light energy around the user, up to a radius of six feet.
Waters of the Tiber: A powerful ability that allows the user to saturate an area in water, quenching flame. After a minute of chanting, one may create a wave of water more than capable of knocking a grown man off his feet. It may also be used at a lower cost to manipulate already present water, though not as effectively as a devoted water manipulator.
Feral Ferocity: An ability which takes direct effect upon the user, it causes the mage to become more feral in combat, with heightened reflexes and speed, this is a somewhat embarrassing ability to use, but highly effective in desperate situations.
Commanding Presence: When holding the Book of Remus the user exudes some of the Deity’s aura, causing those afflicted to be filled with an unexplainable respect for the priest. This is only particularly effective against weaker willed/low intelligence beings. It is a fairly easy manipulation on someone’s mind however, because everyone has the capacity to respect someone they are far less likely to question the sudden liking of the priest or the special attention they pay to his words.
Exorcism: An ability which requires a minute of reading even to take effect, this wears the target down with waves of energy, damaging electrical circuitry and reducing technology to ineffectiveness while similarly disorientating a mage. It has a particularly powerful effect against summons and possessive creatures, often forcing them to flee.
Cleansing Flame: After a few moments of chanting, holy fire emerges from the user’s free hand, with the strange effect of only burning those the user deems immoral or unholy. This means it can be used with impunity in a large crowd, and only effect the person the user wishes. The reasons for this on a scientific level probably stem from the flame being purely visual until the heat is directed on a single source. It arcs like a flamethrower, and lasts for a full minute unless one stops chanting, it is highly costly in terms of mana. It may only burn inanimate objects if the user wills it, much like people.
The Betrayed’s Paranoia: An ability which when channelled allows Johnathan to sense those around him, particularly powerful beings who would wish him harm. It only works on a radius of about 100 feet, and requires him to have the foresight to actually use it.
Remus’ Body: An ability which requires a comparatively shorter period of time to channel, and which carries over until an end clause is spoken or the user’s mana runs out, provides a passive buff to the user’s physical capabilities. This covers the user in a skin of energy, increasing his strength, agility, speed, and durability to super-human levels.
Martyr’s Blood: An ability which also requires the user’s blood to be shed on the page of the book, this ability allows the user to increase the power of the book of Remus for a short period. In this time three extra spells may be used.
Martyr Abilities
Sword of Remus: This ability breaks apart the Book, preventing it from being summoned for a 24 hour period. The user draws a steel longsword from the pages, imbued with the ability to either freeze or burn anything it comes within an inch of, other than the user. The user also gains the passive ability of Remus’ body while using the sword. It constantly requires mana to keep active, but is highly effective at cutting through armour or even thick plates of metal, making it a deadly weapon. (Evocation)
Shield of Remus: The book breaks apart, shielding the user with its energy for over an hour, making them unnatural durable, Remus’ Body activates at the same time. This can allow Johnathan to survive things which should by all rights kill him, though at the cost of his Book for a day. It also allows him to subsist on the energy of the book alone for a short while, removing his need to breath etc. (Spellcasting)
Blood of Remus: The most difficult ability to master, the Blood of Remus allows the user to personify the deity himself (by this I mean he assumes the form of an avatar of Remus, giving him incredible physical prowess and a few powerful elemental spells, he doesn’t actually become a god). Johnathan is not skilled enough to use this ability effectively, so from the outset he won’t be using it at all. (Shapeshifting)
Possessions: Johnathan has relatively little of what one would call Worldly Possessions, other than the mundane items people would expect any priest and mage to have. He does however wear a necklace on the outside of his monk-like robes which looks similar to the Cross, but with the point more resembling a blade.
Name: Church of Remus, Remus Faith, Remusite (someone belonging to the Church of Remus)
Side: Magi
Composition: 80% Human, 20% other assorted races on Earth (roughly representative, save that the chapters are in cities so non-urban races are disproportionately represented.
Location: The Continent of Europe, chapters in every capitol city on the continent. Namely the country of Germania, Italia, and France, with their respective capitols being Hevren (Johnathan’s chapter) Damus and Retus. There are also smaller off-shoots of the main chapters, which are often unsanctioned but still run with similar functions and belief systems.
Description: The Church Of Remus is one which as of recently simply opposes the Tech faction ideology. It condemns the use of dangerous technology and refers to past accidents to promote this. Behind this fairly popular motivation however lies the truth that it is a growing political entity which feeds off the fear of the highly ambitious and widely feared Tech faction.
Though many of the principles may be likened to Christianity, it places the root of all evil in technological development of a militaristic or dangerous kind. Citing the death of the god Remus at the hands of industry and technology, a path which leads to the death of humanity. In the new age, these sort of principles are highly contentious, and have gained serious traction. Mages flock to the Church, believing it supports their ‘god given’ abilities and enjoying the belief that they are favoured by Remus himself. The Church was founded roughly ten years prior by Romus, a powerful magi who has trained a number of powerful magi under him to serve as his Solis, or ‘Fathers of Faith’. Johnathan is one such leader.
Goals: The Church of Remus is devoted to reducing the influence of Technology in society, instead promoting the natural gift of magic. They have been thought to have directly eliminated certain groups or individuals which have used technology to harm others. They are also known to protect the people of Earth, even from their own folly in terms of magical abominations. Ultimately, they seek to preserve the ‘Gods’ earth and eliminate those who would usurp him with cold metal.
Behind this there is a more subtle and cynical move being played, where Romus, the founder of the church, is creating a small but fanatically powerful army of magi who are willing to fight at his command, particularly against the incursions of the Tech faction.
Notable Members: Johnathan Stelridge, Sion of Hevren Romus, Founder of the Church of Remus -Slot open- Faction master (Sion) of Damus -Slot open- Faction master (Sion) of Retus
If anyone is interested in joining the Magi crusade against the Tech faction let me know. (Though it is a little more subtle than that.)
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Nytefall