Thinslayer

Condemned

He's talking to me! He's actually talking to me! For purely business reasons, of course. Magdalee shot him the widest grin before beginning her tactical analysis. "Yeah, their coldies tend to be hotties, and not in a good way. Out here, there's lots of earth-benders and lightning-callers, but out there, they put some fire-breathers and ice cream shooters into the mix. They really did a number on us last time we were up north. Hate those lanky bastards."

Captain Promagnus nodded solemnly. "Aye, they're a handful. What's really hurting us, though, are those dam impromptu war machines they keep building. Every so often, this one engineer comes down and builds a weapon, trap, or fortification that wrecks havoc on our strategy. We're fairly certain it's the same individual because we've consistently heard them call her "Arwen Durvain," and I think "Durvain" is a proper name, because "Arwen" is a title given to female squad leaders and...sorry, I'll stop rambling. Point is, it's the same person, and she's a royal thorn in our sides. I wouldn't be surprised if she 'just happens' to show up at the place you're infiltrating. If she does, please take her down for us."

Condemned

Erudessa Durvain

* Gender: Female
* Age: 217
* Height: 6'4"
* Hair Color: Silver
* Role: Immortal Council member

Throughout all of time, there have always been 3 Ageless elves, never more, never less. While most elves can live to be 1000 years old, the Ageless can live indefinitely, provided their lives are not otherwise ended. They can be identified by their radiant silver hair, a trait totally unique to them. Most elves perceive them as being chosen by God, and so they serve as prominent figureheads for their race. However, their political power stems from a more crude source - brute strength. As a rule, the stronger magic an elf can cast, the more their wishes are respected by others. The Ageless are born with an inherent gift for magic, so more often than not, they rise to the top of elvish society anyways.

Just a couple hundred years ago, however, all three of the Ageless were slain in a coup that left Aetherion leaderless for decades. Together with the rise of the Imperium, it was a dark period for the elves, and it was during this time of anarchy that the neighboring countries were able to enslave hundreds of defenseless civilians. Then, three new Ageless entered to the public scene - Erudessa Durvain, Sadron Aphaderuiondur, and Arandur Nostarion. They rallied the nation together to fend off the invaders, and after a brief conflict, built the Great Wall to isolate their people from any further involvement in continental wars.

Condemned

Imperial Legionnaire

* Gender: Males and females are allowed to join the ranks.
* Age: 13-65
* Armament:
Steel broadsword
Wood-backed steel shield
* Armor:
Basic steel helmet
Steel chestplate
Steel gauntlets & greaves
* Combat Notes:
Trained non-stop from birth to adulthood, the Legionnaire is the most fearsome fighter in the world. The famed samurai of the Dragon Kingdom were nothing to Imperium, and the legendary Coronal spearfighters had their asses handed to them despite having numerous natural advantages. Only the elves ever gave the Imperium any real trouble, and even then, the campaign was projected to be a short one. Legionnaires are familiar not only with the sword and shield, but with all the most common forms of armed combat, including swordsmanship, spearmanship, knifework, axework, macework, archery, and horseback. Their legions' camraderie and teamwork lends them superior strength to all other known armies on the continent.

Condemned

Aetheri Crossbow Knight

* Gender: Males and females are allowed to join the ranks.
* Age: Only mature adults ages 25-900 may join the military.
* Armament:
Munoz & Sons semi-automatic repeating crossbow, 12 shot clip
Titanium alloy one-handed broadsword
Magic shield generator, 3 charges, 6 minutes to restore 1 charge (blocks all damage for one second per charge)
Wrist-mounted hidden blades, in case of disarmament
* Armor:
Full helmet with semi-transparent visor, resistant to blunt force impacts
Cushioned steel plate armor, resistant to cuts, stabs, and blunt force impacts
Underarmor bodysuit, no protective value
* Combat Notes:
Elvish infantry are extremely difficult to fight. Even fighting butt-naked, an elf soldier is a force to be reckoned with. They are taller, faster, and stronger than humans, and they heal injuries much more rapidly. Many are also magic-capable, with their own unique quirks and abilities that make them unpredictable in battle. Wearing the standard Aetheri battlesuit, a squad of elves can only be matched by a well-trained Imperial platoon in most battlefield situations.

Because of their strength, durability, and rarity, elves are the most valuable slaves in the Imperium. A healthy elf male goes for about 100 crowns, 500 for a broken-willed soldier; for comparison, a healthy human male goes for about 2 crowns, 10 for a young and buff one. A day's wage is 10 crowns on average, and a loaf of bread is sold for 1 crown.

Condemned

"General! Captain Wintergate reporting as requested."

General Cassius Cornell turned around to see Lanik giving him a salute. He spread his arms and bellowed, "Lanik, my boy!" He took the man in a too-tight hug, squeezing him until it hurt. "You, old friend, were sorely missed. Come! We have strategies to discuss and elves to kill. Our lovely Magdalee..." He gestured to Captain Magdalee, who pushed out her hip and offered Lanik a sultry wink. "...and General Promagnus..." Captain Promagnus folded his arms and grinned at Lanik. "...were just telling me of an excellent opportunity."

He pointed to a circled point on the map. "The elves have doubled their security at this sub-fortress. We're certain that means a high-ranking official is there. Since we have practically no intel on how Aetheri government works, this could be a boon for us. If we can capture their leader, we could learn how they operate and deal a blow to their morale in the process. Here's the thing, though: we're strapped for ideas on how to capitalize on this. We tried catapult artillery, but their archers and damnable bomb arrows shoot our shots out of the sky as fast as we hurl them. We tried tunneling through the mountains, but they always seem to find them and block them off with these weird unmanned weapons. Siege engines are out of the question, and starving them out is proving ineffective. We need your brilliance, Lanik."

The region in question was the southern border of Aetherion. Being higher up north than most of the continent, it was bitterly cold for most of the year, rainy for half of it, and delightful for only a few months. A mountain range formed a natural wall between the two countries (the same range that made the border to Northaven, incidentally). The elves had foreseen the reign of the Imperium and contructed a formidable wall around their entire country well in advance, and the Imperium now faced the daunting task of scaling this wall built on top of the mountains.

"Well, just go around to a non-mountainous side of the wall!" one might argue. There's just one problem with that: the rest is ocean. And not just any ocean - it was icy, monster-infested ocean, and the elven wall extended a ways out to sea, so no ground action was possible, eliminating the Imperium's main strength. And that didn't even account for the Aetheri navy and coastal fortresses. That was a whole other arena that Imperial military planners couldn't deal with.

With the whole nation practically a living fortress, this heavily fortified region was actually the weakest point that the Imperium believed it could take. If they charged at it headlong, they could probably destroy it, but with unacceptable casualties. General Cassius, whatever faults he had, was not brash, and would not waste his soldiers' lives like that.

Condemned

General Cassius Cornell stepped out of the tent and stretched. The cool morning air and calm blue sky refreshex his soul, almost as much as his night of pleasure with the slave girl sleeping in his bed. He strapped on his gear and marched to greet the captains. "Hail, brothers, and a fine morning to you!" he bellowed. The captains stood to attention and beat their chests with a resounding "hoo rah."

Captain Magdalee, a tough brunette from the south, rolled out a battle map on the grass. "You're just in time, Commander. We were debating how to cross the mointains without getting slaughtered by the ballista turrets. They collapsed our tunnels, shot down our catapulted missiles in mid-air, and destroyed our siege engines. We just can't seem to get a clear shot at them."

Cassius folded his arms and studied the map. At this rate, infiltration seemed to be their best shot. Unfortunately, they hadn't stored any elf armor and could not effectively disguise themselves. What other options did they have?

"General," called Captain Promagnus.
"Yes?"
"I think we've been overlooking our lucky break."
Intrigued, Cassius gave the captain his full attention. "Do tell."

"Well, our scouts came back with the usual enemy strength reports, and I noticed that the number of troops on one of the inner forts had doubled. The other scouts reported increased patrol activity. If the elves are anything like us, doubling security is a giveaway for the presence of a high-ranking official."

General Cassius laughed. "That makes this an excellent opportunity then, despite the potential costs. We still have no clear idea how their leadership is structured, since no one has ever been inside Aetherion, and we can't pass up this opportunity to capture one of them. We must prepare a sacrifice and pray to the gods for aid. Do we have any suitable offerings?"

The leaders picked through the slave lists in their minds. Then Magdalee spoke up. "What about the slave in your tent?"
Cassius snapped his fingers. "Yes! I like your thinking. She'll make an excellent sacrifice. Guards, prepare the offering."

Soldiers cut down trees and built a wooden altar while the guards dragged the young slave girl bound and gagged out of the tent. They strapped her to the altar, and the priest brandished a knife.

"Isn't this exciting?" Cassius crooned as the priest flayed the girl alive. Magdalee nodded, a broad grin on her face. "It's very satisfying. Can't wait to taste her young blood. Wasn't she from the former Dragon Kingdom? I hear their blood is sweet."
"It is. It has this unique flavor resembling elvish blood, highly saccharine, but not overly so. We'll be able to taste the difference later today, eh?"
The two fist-bumped as the priest lit the fire under the altar.

"General! A dispatch!"

A messenger ran up to Cassius and handed him the note.
Lanik Wintergate was assigned to your legion, General Cornwall. Be ready to attack the elves after he arrives.
"Yes! The gods have accepted my sacrifice! Oh, this will be a glorious day. Make ready the troops!"

Condemned

It was like going to heaven on foot.

The messenger stood before the pearly gates, awaiting a response from the gatemaster to enter into paradise. When the gates opened, he stepped into a glade unlike any other in the world. The trees sighed in the early morning breeze, and a soft golden light poured in from the east. At the center of the glade stood a ring of marble pillars around a table, the place where the High Elf Council met. Two of them were already present; Sadron Aphaderuiondur and Arandur Nostarion, living legends and almost worshipped by mortals, sat in two of the three thrones. "Welcome, Henry Craddish," Sadron said, arms outstretched. "Rest here, and be at peace."

Henry sighed with disgust. "Crud. That means she's in there."
Sadron dropped his arms and shrugged. "Be careful."

Henry raised both eyebrows and turned down the dirt path. A log house stood at the end of it, quaint and unassuming as always. But Henry knew better. He'd carefully marked the locations of all the landmines with pebbles and began to pick his way across the field. He tested the earth with his toes, then gently, ever so gently, placed his foot down. No explosion. This looks promising. He brought in his other foot and glanced about. There was the next marked safe spot! Just like the last time, he stretched out his foot to test the earth. Nothing! He wiped his forehead and brought in his other foot.

*click*

He froze. Surely she hadn't figured out that he knew...but of course she did. That accursed elf would be the death of him. Welp, there's nothing for it. He drew in his breath and stepped off. With a pop and a flash of light, he once again found himself covered from head to toe in glitter. Shoot.

"I hate you," he spat.

The elf peeked outside the cabin door. She had no right, no right to fire those sparkly eyes at him! No sir, he was not falling for that. She had to pay for what she'd done.

"You hate me?" she squeaked.

Darn you. "Well...no. I mean YES! Why do you keep doing this to me?"
"What do you mean by 'keep doing this'? The last time was years ago."
"I'm still picking glitter out of my ears since the last time."
"Oh. I'm sorry. Come on in and I'll get you cleaned up."

He deliberately triggered all the remaining mines on his way in just to spite her. "Don't you ever sometimes step on your own landmines, Eru?" he asked as he stepped through the door and glanced around the room. Contraptions of all sorts piled along the walls. There was a "bi-cycle," "combustion engine," "boom stick," a pile of magic rings, a Cutie-Piezer! staff, and an animatronic sculpture of Arandur, to name a few.

Erudessa Durvain flipped her silver hair and lifted her chin. "Maybe. I certainly wouldn't tell you." A teasing grin tugged at one corner of her mouth. She snapped her fingers, and a healing spell washed over him to remove the glitter.

Henry fished the message out of his bag and handed it to her. "I almost forgot. I have a message for you from the front lines."
Erudessa's playful expression vanished. She plucked the letter from his hands, sawed open the envelope, and flipped open the message. "2 legions at border xing. Snowmen."
"What does that mean?" Henry asked, curiosity getting the better of him.
Erudessa's eyes narrowed. "It means I have to check the ballista turrets again. Want to come with me?"
"Oh Hell-"
The elf's expression darkened.
"-heck no. I'm still paying off my student loans. I don't have time to fight a bunch of murderous, bloodthirsty barbarians."
"Oh. Want a quick coin then?"
"Just my wages, thanks."

Erudessa flipped a coin in the air. Henry caught it. He almost didn't see her slip another one in his pocket as she brushed past him. "Hey!" he protested.
"It's coming out of your tax money anyway," she muttered back as she threw on her gray cloak & hood.

Henry stepped out to watch her skip easily across the minefield.

"I still hate you," he whispered with a smile.
__________

The Wardens stood to attention and saluted as the High Elf entered the sanctuary. Erudessa stood before the lanky commander and folded her arms. "Commander."
"Your Ladyship."
Erudessa strode over to a wall and leaned on it. "Good to see you in one piece. What happened this time?"
The commander planted his hands on the map table and exhaled. "The Imperium's ranger division happened, Wintergates, if our intel is accurate."
Wintergates, the 'snowmen' in question. They'll be tough. I need to be here for this. "How did you find out about this?" she asked.
"It was a stroke of pure luck. One of our agents was smuggling sol crystals into Northaven when the rangers attacked and killed everyone in the caravan except him. He trailed them and overheard them mention that they were to report for reassignment to the eastern front."

Wait just a minute. Imperials spared someone? And they let him walk away? Something is fishy here. Erudessa forced herself to remain calm as she considered the possibilities. I never figured them for the spying types, but there's no way an Imperial soldier would spare someone out of the goodness of his heart. It must be a trick. Perhaps they're feeding us false intel. If so, that calls everything into question...

"Your Ladyship?" the commander reminded.

"Oh! Yes. I will join you. Point me to your chief engineer; I'd like to speak with him about fortifying this place."

Who Shall Win Her Heart?

@imacamoprincess@Dynamo Frokane@DeadlyPhoenix
Hello?

Looking for serious 1x1 RP partner!

@BellBottomBlues Or I can start us off. I have some ideas about that.

Looking for serious 1x1 RP partner!

@Thinslayer
For the sake of establishing a plot I think it would be good to start off with a campaign theme, mixing in other themes -- story permitting. Honestly, as long as there's an overall goal (which I assume from the synopsis is to bring peace to the Imperium) I'll be down for any theme. Maybe there'll be a section where our characters are thrust into an arena, or watch observantly in a political party of grandeur trying to locate a target. But just to keep a sense of direction yeah, let's go with a Campaign theme. Our characters are here to complete a set goal, which will be determined more eloquently in the story (as well as their motives). I like the idea of being able to fall back to slice of life every now and then, when the pacing slows and we can really develop our characters because of past tribulations.

Cool beans?

@BellBottomBlues

Cool beans! Feel free to start up the thread and make the opening post. I'll start making a few NPCs to get things moving, and I'll run them by you before introducing them.