Mirandae

The Spirits Within: Oakridge Chronicles

My motivation is severely crippled at this time, so I I'll hold off on additional characters of mine and the graduation party flashback for now. It might be easy to recruit new people, but it's quite emotionally taxing when people disappear or stop posting, or promise things that then doesn't appear. I need a day or two to my own devices.

The Spirits Within: Oakridge Chronicles

_{T H E F I E L D S ◇ J u n e 6 ◇ M o v i n g F o r w a r d}

---

Her gunblade penetrated deep into the now miry ground. Olivia leaned against the hilt of the weapon to support the weight of rain and mud on her presence. The stench of earthen roots and putrid fluids invaded her senses. The last effort carried the brunette onto her feet, rusty and frigid air escaping her lungs. Olivia beheld the grace of the ice queen and her forceful weapon as a marvelous display of fury and efficiency. The two women combated the threat in tandem, similar to how they had sparred against each other at the academy and completed various simulations as a duo. Monika’s fervent attempts against the tiny, almost comical mushrooms that bounced around their larger host were suddenly brightened by a massive beam of energy coming from a nearby vehicle. The plasma melted away the Mordrem’s protective bark, but much of the heat of the beam reflected back to its source and knocked about whoever launched it in the first place. However, it was not for nothing. Monika was able to amply cut through the monstrosity and finally bring it down. The tiny spores rapidly withered along with their host.

The silence of the rain fell upon them. There were no more vehicles passing the Guardians and the screech of the Mordrem creature vanished with its death. Olivia’s clothes were completely soaked at this point, and her hair was tangled mess clad with sprouting bits of mud. She made her way across the torn battlefield to check on everyone. Most of the team appeared to be alright, minor scratches and bruises that were already vanishing due to the spirits mending their sanctuary. Olivia nodded at Rogart to let him know that she was fine. She could tell that the man was of the overly protective kind, which was not a bad thing in itself. However, Olivia had not expected his kindness to Eric to extent to her as well. Nicholas and Graham were the skillful, capable men that she needed not worry about. Her hand gently graced Niko’s shoulder as she passed him by—being of certain aesthetic appeal, she could not help herself but to be soft—and she patted Graham on the back as appreciation for his impressive acrobatics. Monika had managed to propel herself all the way to the vehicle wherefrom the plasma beam had been launched. That girl did not seem to appreciate the amount of punch her abilities packed.

“Alright there, darling? You should get a feel for your own recoil,” Olivia smirked at Monika.

Coming around the vehicle, Olivia was surprised but delighted to see one of the Conrad brothers laying in the dirt after being knocked back by the reflection of his own attack. The brunette landed him an arm and pulled the hunky man up on his feet.
“Well, well, if it isn’t one of the better halves,” Olivia smiled and ruffled the boy’s hair. “Your brother is going to kick your ass when he finds out about this, you know,” she continued with a light tone on her voice. “And believe me, I will tell him just to see what he does with you,” Olivia teased the boy and slapped the boy’s arm. “Anyway, I’m just kidding—you know that right?—Stick around with us and we’ll get through this.”

Olivia tapped on the window connected to the driver’s seat of the transport. The glass disappeared into the mechanisms of the door and the sullen driver spoke: “We have to get moving. We’ve already broken protocol by stopping." Olivia called for the other to gather and load up. When they were all set, the driver made sure that the remaining distance was closed with great speed and accuracy. The team reached the Mobile Operations Vehicle within half an hour, where the transport was picked up and docked. The large hangar quite a chilly atmosphere, which did not sit well with the Guardian’s soaked clothes. They were greeted by an officer who offered them to shower and change into dry garments.

“Welcome to Nautilus. Your team has been requested to attend a meeting with High Command within the hour. There are showers and dry clothing at your disposal at the lower decks, should you desire it.” The officer was brief with his instructions, knowing that the Guardians had been on a Mobil Operations Vehicle many times before. He promptly left them to their own decisions.

“Okay. I need a shower and those dry clothes, at least. Take care of yourselves and then meet in the command tower within an hour,” Olivia said.

---

_{K I N A B A L U S U M M I T ◇ J u n e 6 ◇ C h a o s & T u r m o i l}

---

]“Whatever you say, pretty boy.” It was the only thing Selene could crack out of her mouth at Thael’s commands. She did not despise him in any way, but the heroic leadership trope was not a particular appeal to her. Once the dark figure had revealed itself as a threatening consciousness, standing behind Thael’s protective and bulky properties was not so bad anymore. Xander appeared to have the same idea, as his warm and furry body pressed against Selene’s side. The wolf nearly growled at the dark figure at this point.

“Easy there, boy. . . Easy.” Selene’s hand smoothly ran through the creature’s hair. “There is naught to fear, if there is naught to lose. . .” The girl mused and mumbled. That sweet yearning and scent of crimson matters invaded her senses. Her spirits began to stir within her body and manifest themselves, hungering for nourishment of prey. Selene could feel her canine teeth growing every so pointer within her mouth, and the smokey shadows of some gloomful spirit began to mystify her presence.

Without hesitation, Selene swung her vile Fleshreaver into position, trailing her body. The weight of air from that motion moved Xander’s fur akin to a breeze across grassy fields. Her feet silently braced themselves for the coming effort. Petty words would never solve this encounter. She longed for death, a worthy entity to send her to the afterlife. Selene sprung from the dusty ground, cracking it with her strength, and propelled herself forward in a fierce leap. The smokey shadows swirled around her in a dance of void and gloom. The distance between her and the dark figure closed rapidly. A the half way mark, Selene raised her offensive Fleshreaver and forced all her strength into a swing that would make air void and disintegrate rock upon impact.

Subira and Thael were the better minds compared to Selene. Diplomacy was a noble aspect, but entities of the dark were inherently devoid of such finesse.

The Spirits Within: Oakridge Chronicles

Hmm, I thought this kind of freedom in characters and lore-making would inspire more posts/activity than the traditional, linear format of roleplaying. Am I being unreasonable in think that?

Anyway . . .

The Gastridamon boss has been defeated! It's technically dead, so whoever posts about it next can describe its death in anyway he or she wants. @icmasticc did the most damage to it in a single post. @Ozerath's Kyle took the most damage, but because his attack landed a crit, and Gastridamon had Reflect! @Rockette did most consistent damage.

@Vox
How are things going? Your last in-character post is pushing beyond two weeks now.

The Spirits Within: Oakridge Chronicles

@ZB1996
I have a third character in the works for the Doral mission, but it's up to you where you want to continue with Ezra. It's fully possible to travel between the different missions.

@icmasticc
Well then, this will be good practice for you! I know a thing or two about perfectionism, and it's extremely destructive. You won't change over night, but in small steps it's eventually going to get better. Try to make that post and get it out, no matter how you feel about it. You can rant here afterwards if you want!

The Spirits Within: Oakridge Chronicles

@smarty0114@Anima I'm marking both of you as inactive now. Let me explain my reasoning, so that there won't be any misunderstandings or bad blood. Your last in-character posts date two weeks or more ago and the out-of-character updates are scarce or nonexistent.

Smarty, you said that your life is hectic, which is understandable, but you're plenty of active elsewhere on the forum. Either way, both of you seem to have finals now, just as I do myself, so if that is distracting, you should take care of it before doing anything else half-committed. I don't mean to be cruel or unfair, but I have to follow my own rules.

When you and I feel that you have the time, you're welcome back at your leisure with new characters!

The Spirits Within: Oakridge Chronicles

@icmasticc
Smoothness doesn't matter. Every post will not be perfect. All of us understands this, but it can be difficult to accept it. But, as mentioned before, we'd rather have something than nothing at all. Nobody here will judge you on your creativity, language ability, or anything else. So, treat it as a craft (bricks and stones!) rather than a creative process, and things will be easier.

@Redrum
Awesome! I encourage constant care of character sheets. I've updated the format for it, as well. Nobody is required to change it if they've completed characters with the initial format, but you're more than welcome to if you feel like it.

The Spirits Within: Oakridge Chronicles

@Vox
Looks good to me. The Doral mission is suffering at the moment, so it would be better for her to be there. I will have my third character there as well. Unless you had something specific in mind for this character and the hammer mission, do consider Doral instead.

@Celaira
Thank you! @Rockette is the graphic talent around here, so she should get most of the credit!
Do join us if you feel like it! We're always open to new players.

The Spirits Within: Oakridge Chronicles

Added a few bits to the gallery! I'll be adding more over time, so check the first post every now and then.

Gallery

Mordrem attacking a settlement in the Dark Zone during day.

---

Slums of Aster.

---

Somewhere in the Dark Zone where the shoreline has receded. The wreck of an old ship is used as a camp.

---

Monks praying to the spirits

---

Searching for something in the Dark Zone.

---

The Spirits Within: Oakridge Chronicles

I've put up another recruitment thread. It seems like the hype has died now, which was expected. I'll have to mark some players as inactive soon. That's a bummer, but that's just roleplaying in general. The show will go on either way!

The Spirits Within ◇ [Always open to new players]

<sub>┤ OOC ├

◇ Semi-futuristic, post-apocalyptic setting.
◇ Action adventure, drama and romance, mystery and horror.
◇ Magic through the use of spirits, military schools, war with alien threat.
◇ Multiple characters per player encouraged.
◇ Story told through interconnected events and missions.
◇ World-building.</sub>

_{P R E M I S E}

---

This story is about a world called Libra, which has been torn asunder by war with extraterrestrial creatures called Mordrem. Twenty years ago, an ambitious research facility experimented with teleportation technology in order to extend its reaches beyond the planet, but accidentally opened a gateway to another dimension through which the alien threat invaded. This incident is known as the Calamity.

Libra is unique in that all life is of an energy called Gaia, and each life has a spirit. Through their existence, the spirits gather experiences and memories with which they return to Gaia upon destruction, adding to the enrichment and cycle of life. Alas, the Mordrem thrive on the consumption of all organic matter of Gaia and spirits. This has caused the world to slowly wither away, and its remaining spirits to seek sanctuary in superior entities.

The war with the Mordrem is spearheaded by individuals known as Guardians. These are men and women who possess high spirit density in their bodies, allowing them to grow incredibly strong and harness the natural power of the spirits within. This power is widely known as magic. Guardians are crucial to the war effort, but they need to be trained just as any other soldier. In this roleplay, your primary character will be a Guardian who has recently completed his or her training at Oakridge Academy.

The gateway caused by the Calamity remains open, maintained by something on the other side. As long as it persists, Libra can never be liberated. It has taken the army—one of the few remaining institutions of the former government—many years to prepare for an operation that will attempt to close the gate. One way or another, your primary character will be selected for the horrific task of exterminating whatever slumbers on the other side.

_{I N F O R M A T I O N}

---

The roleplay is told through seasons like a TV show. You are encouraged to portray several characters, but it's not a requirement. The story will usually be split into several events that are happening at the same time, so having more than one character will give you a bit of a dynamic experience. While your primary character has to be something specific, your secondary character(s) can be nearly whatever you want, including villains. You are also welcome to add to the lore of the world!

Your primary character will be a Guardian, a superhuman being that wields magic through spirit possession. The roleplay is heavily focused on combat, but most of it is moderated in order to keep things fair and square. The influences for this roleplay include games such as Final Fantasy, Half-Life, Dead Island, The Division, and films such as Edge of Tomorrow, Alien, and Interstellar.

Head over to the OOC and say hello! Me and @Rockette will help you to get started in the best possible way.

_{R U L E S}

---

➡ Be courteous to each other, compromise instead of complain, and communicate with me no matter how trivial the matter.

➡ Summarize posts considerably longer than a thousand words. This can be done in a hider at the end of the post.

➡ Two weeks is the upper limit for post frequency. A character/player will be marked as inactive after that time.

➡ Post updates about yourself in the out-of-character thread whenever you can. If you have nothing to say, the magic words are: The Wicked Witch of the West went her own way.