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8 yrs ago
Current I don't understand how Tumblr RPing works. It boggles my mind. O.o
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There, fixed >.>
@IsotopeI'm sorry! I meant to fit you in there, but I must have accidentally scrolled one right over and missed you x.x
@Templar Knight

The legionnaires are missing a Stealth-type currently.

At the moment, we've got:

- Commander [Gabriel]
- Caster [Gwynne]
- Archer [Fayvre]
- Face [Katerina]
- Light Fighter [Adrianna]
- Heavy Fighter [Joseph]
- Thief [Meera]

All of these roles are pretty loose, but they're the closest to the archetypes I could think of.
I'm gonna wait for Sierra to post up so our GM can keep up with us, then I'll drop post number 2.
@Sierra How far into the IC have you read? :P
@Drunken Conquistador@MegaOscarPwn I've got "Entire Family likely slaughtered" I'd say we're all good.


*Feels pretty normal right about now.* xD
Aaaand posted! Enjoy the read!

Prologue
The Shift


Armand rode hard through the night. The sun was peaking over the horizon, though its light was dulled by the morning fog. The air was cool, and morning dew shimmered on the leaves and blades of grass. In the fog, a looming silhouette could be seen. The Spyre. Almost as old as Dawnguard, the Spyre was a massive tower that functioned as a school for Vahkranite court sorcerers. The Spyre was one of three such sorcerer collegiums, where people would come to learn the ways of magic within their legal rights in exchange for servitude to the emperor.

Armand was glad to see the torches lit in the windows of the Spyre. He remembered his days within those stone walls, studying the various methods needed to access the aetherwinds, and conjure magic. There was a strange comfort in seeing the building as its highest point touched the clouds. Armand had once stood on the highest balcony for the briefest of moments, before stepping off of it and letting the aetherwinds carry his body to the ground. He was the first to ride out then, when news had reached Dawnguard that half a dozen students fell to their deaths when the aetherwinds simply vanished.

"Hold there, stranger." A guard said as Armand approached a checkpoint, "You enter state grounds. Explain your business here immediately."

Armand drew the reins back on his horse, and brought it to a stop. He looked down at the gaggle of guards, three of them, all looking like they hadn't seen any real combat in their lives. "My name is Master Armandus Treyathal, Sorcerer Superior of the Court. I come as ordered by Grand Master Ustizor to investigate reports of aetheric phenomena."

The guards all looked between one another for a moment, then brought their eyes back to Armand. The most senior one their held out his hand, "Surely you have orders from the Grand Master in paper, Master Treyathal?

Armand nodded and reached into a saddlebag. He produced a scroll, which he promptly handed to the man in charge. Armand waited while the guard read the order. He felt strange, like the air around the Spyre was different. Surely, the gloom of death was there, but Armand had felt that many times over and had grown used to it. This was something different, like the life surrounding the Spyre was simply gone. He heard no birds in the morning, nor saw any insects flying over the small river he'd fish at during his days off. No fish jumped from the water. Hell, he couldn't even see them swimming below the surface either. Armand's horse whinnied, and he patted at its neck to keep it calm. "Everything is in order, Master Treyathal. I'm not a sorcerer, but... It doesn't take one wise to aetheric energy to know something is amiss here... Best be wary."

Armand nodded once to the guard and kicked his stirrups into the horse's side. The horse picked up its pace and closed the final distance to the Spyre. As he rode toward the great black oak doors at the base of the Spyre, Armand saw three figures stepping down the marble stairs to greet him. One wore blue robes with white trim similar to Armand's, the Sorcerer Superior of the Spyre. The two flanking either side of him were both in red robes, battle magi. One was an older looking man with a burn scar that dominated half his face. The other was a young woman, perhaps not even twenty years of age with raven black hair and striking emerald green eyes. The Spyre's master spoke first, bowing his head as he did, "Master Treyathal. It's been too long, I trust things are well in Dawnguard?"

Armand dismounted his horse. A young apprentice ran from the stables to take the horse away, all apprentices had side jobs when they were free from their studies. "Better than here t'would seem... Though the news of the incident here has cast a shadow over the Citadel. I hope you can shed some light on the circumstances, Master Rense." Armand said as he lowered his blue hood. The man was fairly young for a Sorcerer Superior, just about thirty winters old. His hair was blonde and neatly cut. His azure blue eyes were sharp and focused.

Master Rense nodded, "The aetherwinds in the valley have become completely still, Armand. I have my most talented scholars looking into it, reading through all historical records of aetheric phenomena in our archives- none of which match this event. The winds have shifted and changed directions, but never vanished entirely like now."

Armand stepped closer, nodding to the grizzled battle mage. The mage nodded back with familiarity, though his face was grim. Rense continued, "Worse yet... With the aetherwinds gone, our sorcerers are having difficulties conjuring even the smallest of sparks. I'm afraid without the winds, the Spyre is nothing more than a light house without an ocean."

"Let us walk and talk, Master Rense. I wish to stand on the balcony and feel the air." Armand said as he passed the trio of sorcerers, and entered into the Spyre.




"I didn't want to believe it, Master Rense, and for that I apologize. You are right... The winds are completely dead." Armand said, holding his hand out over the highest balcony. He could feel the air move through his fingers, but he couldn't feel the usual electrifying sensation that a sorcerer normally would from the aetherwinds.

Master Rense nodded slowly, "It is a difficult thing to comprehend. We all felt a powerful surge of aetheric energy before everything went silent. Might you have any idea what could cause such an occurrence, Armand? After all, you've always had a natural sensitivity to the aetherwinds. What does your intuition tell you?"

Armand stood right at the edge of the balcony where an apprentice would step off. He crossed his arms, rubbing his chin between his right thumb and index finger. "Grand Master Ustizor once spoke of the cause of the aetherwinds. Leylines he called them."

Rense nodded, "I am familiar with the leyline theory, yes. That they were once connected to the Nexus before its destruction, much like the roots of a tree. Though since the destruction of the Nexus in the First Age, no proof was ever found to confirm the existence of the leylines."

Armand shook his head and looked back to Master Rense, "Do you know why the Spyre was built here, Master Rense?"

The older Sorcerer shrugged, clearly not privy to the same information that Armand was as one of Ustizor's most trusted men. "Because the aetherwinds here were stronger than any other point within the valley. Sorcerers could wield magic here with greater ease."

"T'is only a half truth, Master Rense." Armand said, "The base of the Spyre was very precisely placed on top of a convergence point, where a leyline breached through the earth and expelled aetheric energy, thus creating the aetherwinds in this region. The same goes for every other sorcerer's tower the Imperium has ever built. The towers act as waypoints in an attempt to map the lost leylines."

Master Rense took in the information but didn't appear too shocked. He had spent enough time being the apprentice to know that one was never finished learning. "What is it you are suggesting, Master Treyathal?"

"The only other time in recorded history that there was a shift this major in the aetherwinds, was when the Nexus collapsed and the leylines were snapped out of place. My theory for now is that perhaps the leylines themselves are shifting. For what reason, and by what means, I am still unsure. It just a theory crafted by my findings in this moment."

Master Rense raised a brow at that, "Say you are correct then... What could this shift mean?"

Armandus looked out to the horizon, his blue eyes watching a murder of crows flying away the Spyre in the distance. The sun's light shining over half of the valley. "I do not know...





Chapter 1
As the Crow Flies


The sun light shined over the mountain peaks and into the valley, causing Gwynne to narrow her eyes and pull her hood over her face a bit more. She looked over her shoulder, back to the looming Spyre in the distance. Gwynne had sensed the change in her surroundings not long after she connected the Spyre's leyline to the Force Orb. Things were more peculiar in the woods leaving than when she entered. She was used to it, however. In the eleven years that she has been searching for the leylines, she had only found four. Every time the orb connected to the lines, the surrounding areas seemed to pause. It was a curious thing, and Gwynne had spent a great deal of time pondering on the long term effects of her actions.

The Force Orb glowed and orbited around Gwynne's body. "And there you go thinking again. I swear, you've got to be the quietest sorceress I've ever known." A voice emanated from the orb. Every time it spoke, the orb would light up in little pulses.

"We stole aetheric energy from a school, Topesh. You saw what we caused as we were sneaking out: students falling to their deaths in hopes the winds would slow their descent..." Gwynne sighed.

"Are you getting soft, Gwynne? Don't forget how many have died by your hands for getting in our way..." The voice in the orb sounded sinister.

Gwynne shot a sharp glare at the orb, "All of which rose up in arms to capture an apostate. Those apprentices were young and not involved, and they died anyways. It isn't right."

"You're speaking to the soul of one of the world's greatest evils about the morality of killing. I should remind you, Gwynne, that I started out the same way you did: Noble despite your circumstances." The orb drew closer to Gwynne's face so the voice could speak in a deeper tone, "Remember that you are my chosen. And your fate has already been decided as I wrote centuries ago. You will kill, then kill some more, and finally kill more until my goals- our goals, are realized. You may try to avoid the killing as much as you'd like, Gwynne... But the will of the Legionnaire is natural law. It is unbreakable, pinpoint focused, and absolute. You've had eleven years to get used to it, the time for complaining is over."

Gwynne rolled her eyes as she walked, "Ever the brutally honest little soul, aren't you, Topesh?" Gwynne waved her hand dismissively, "So you have me ensnared in your universal design, so be it. But don't think that I like doing what you've forced me to do."

"No? If I remember correctly, you were grinning from ear to ear when we connected that leyline beneath the Spyre. I can feel your emotions, Gwynne. They betray your words. You know if Talmuth were here, she'd reveal to you your future, and show you just how far from your nobility you'll have strayed. I'll say it again, this is all by de-" Topesh is cut off.

"All by design, yes yes, Topesh I've heard that now for the past eleven years." She then raises her hands and speaks in an almost mocking tone, "I'll become the new scourge of this world and forcefully usher in the Fourth Age by means of chaos and strife in this age."

"Word for word. So the apostate does listen to the orb with a voice every now and again."

Gwynne sighs, "Better to give the orb a voice than to listen to your whispering in the back of my skull. At least when you speak through the orb, I can't hear you over great distances."

The orb vibrates slowly, "Wait... I know what you're alluding to. Don't throw me away like I'm some cheap child's toy~...." The orb launches off a few hundred feet ahead of Gwynne at the mere motion of her finger.

Gwynne watched as the orb smashed into a cluster of trees, sending a murder of crows into the sky, making a lot of noise as they flew away. She took a deep breath and counted the crows as she walked in silence, glad to have her thoughts to herself for the time being. Gwynne was completely unaware that another potent sorcerer was counting those same crows as they flew.
My intro post is gonna be opening up with mystery like any story should! Should be up within the hour I imagine.




Gwynne Lancet

{{ Female || 28 }}


APPEARANCE
Gwynne is a short, pale skinned human who often hides her face behind a veil and hood. The sheer amount of magic that Gwynne has used has bleached her hair white, and turned her once brown eyes into a ruby red hue. Gwynne is very fit from a life of travelling and fine tuning her martial prowess. There are three pinprick scars on her right shoulder blade from a long healed pitchfork wound. Gwynne often wears light clothing that is easy to maneuver in. She foregoes armor and protection for agility and faith in her own abilities. Gwynne carries a number of small trinkets and jewels. Most are just that, trinkets and jewels, though some contain potent aetheric energy which Gwynne uses to channel power into her orb.



BIOGRAPHY
Gwynne's parents were both martial artists who had met in a dueling tournament in the Vahkranite Emperor's honor. Despite the Emperor being in attendance, the tourney was a rather quiet affair. The emperor preferred it this way, with only a few hundred noble guests in attendance. Gwynne's parents fought one another, and endured twenty grueling minutes of being locked in a stalemate. The show was spectacular, but a winner couldn't be decided. The Emperor was more impressed that he was forced to declare the duel a draw. As a token of appreciation, the Emperor granted the two fighters a plot of land they so desired. The two married and settled down in a peaceful valley just hours from Dawnguard. Before long, a small community formed on their land, and it soon became known as the village of Stalemate. It wasn't very creative, but one noble who attended the tourney insisted that the village be named that.

The Lancets never wished to lead a village, so they left their friend in charge of the town while they simply ran of martial arts training school. The school thrived, and two years later, Gwynne Lancet was born. Back then, Gwynne's hair was raven black like her mother's, and her eyes were a hazel brown like her father's. Gwynne was a naturally curious girl in her youth. If she saw something in passing, she'd always return later to explore it and learn its secrets. Of course, as a child, these discoveries would be minor things that any child would marvel at and any adult would simply pass by. Nevertheless, this curiosity would lead to Gwynne developing a sharp mind, and a strong understanding of the world around her while most children were still too busy playing in the gardens. She was a bright girl, always impressing her parents and teachers with things somebody would come to understand years later. It was clear to her parents that she'd become a great tutor in the future.

Gwynne took to her parent's martial training quite well. She was running a class at the age of fifteen, and seemed to be loving every moment of it. Of course, like any youth, Gwynne developed a bit of a rebellious side. While she took her role as a class instructor seriously, Gwynne always yearned for her own room to develop. Before and after classes, Gwynne would often be out of her parent's sight, either gossiping with other village girls or getting in trouble with the boys. Her life was peaceful like any other youth's life in a safe village near the capital.

When she was seventeen winters old, Gwynne's life changed. She and her friends had been out one rainy evening, intent on pranking the old sleeping guard at the village's only watch tower. She'd climb up the tower from the outside, since the hatch to the roof of the tower was always locked, and balance a bird's egg on his forehead. But first, Gwynne would need to collect the egg. So she and her friends scattered out into the outlying woods. One found a robin egg, another found a duck egg. Gwynne gasped when she found an eagle's nest. It'd be the greatest prank! Lay an eagle egg on the sleeping guard's forehead and wait for the eagle to come searching for it! The rain made the tree slippery, but Gwynne managed to climb to the next. Inside of the nest were three eggs, and the eagle was nowhere to be seen. She grabbed an egg and started to climb back down. That was when she heard it, the eagle's call. Turning to the source of the noise, Gwynne saw the eagle swooping down at her at breakneck speeds. She tried hurrying down, but slipped on the wet wood. Gwynne tumbled through the branches, luckily escaping the eagle's wrath in the chaos, and hit the ground rolling. She rolled downward into a small ravine with a creek at the bottom. Gwynne ended up half in the water, groaning in pain from the long tumble. Then she saw it: the bending light of the object that would alter her path in life.

Nestled between two rocks was a strange crystalline object. The silt carried by the creek had covered the object enough to hide it for the centuries it had rested there, but Gwynne's splashing into the creek dislodged it slightly, and shook off the silk. She reached to her shoulder in the water, grabbing the object and pulling it into the air. Gwynne was entranced, her eyes locked on the perfect sphere as light emanated from it in random colors and directions. Even more, Gwynne could have sworn she heard a voice whispering in the back of her mind as she held it. It spoke her name, Gwynne Lancet, and said, We meet at last~. The voice was almost seductive, and it seemed to drive Gwynne. She hid the orb in her bag, and ran back to her friends. During her run back, the orb continued to whisper to her, telling her to act natural, and to keep the orb a secret.

Gwynne was pretty badly bruised up from her fall from the tree and tumble into the ravine. She used that as a sound enough excuse to return home, and wished her friends the best of luck with their prank. Gwynne hid the orb in her room, and every night after she was told to go to her bed, she'd stay up for hours studying it. She listened to the voice in her head, and only became more obsessed with figuring the orb out. She became less and less devoted to her task as a martial arts instructor. Her friends saw her less. And her parents had noticed her being less rebellious than used to be. In the following months, Gwynne had learned that she was a chosen of an ancient Legionnaire named 'Topesh the Wellspring', a sorcerer of unequaled aetheric understanding and power. She figured out, with Topesh's assistance, that the orb was a shard of the legendary Nexus. With more study, Gwynne figured out how to wield the aetheric energy within the orb to wield it in combat.

She was eighteen when a friend had caught Gwynne in the woods practicing with the orb. Gwynne was unaware of her friend watching her, and so continued to practice by channeling dark aetheric energy into Force Orb. As she did, Topesh's laughter could be heard emanating from the orb. Her friend ran off and told the mayor of Stalemate. When Gwynne returned, it was to a crowd. Her parents were there, as well as a court sorcerer and an entourage of guards from the capital. Gwynne was taken by the guards, and when she tried to fight for freedom, she was arrested and separated from the orb. The sorcerer took it for study, while the guards kept her locked away in a cart bound for Dawnguard. She was shaking, sweating, and crying in her cage while Topesh's voice became more and more insistent that they needed to run and keep running, lest she faced execution for illegally practicing sorcery. Gwynne eventually conceded to Topesh's aggravating words, and summoned the orb to her. The orb burst out from the sorcerer's cart, and slammed into the guard sitting next to the cage's door. The guard was sent with terrifying force through the cage, his back and ribs broken.

Gwynne clambered free from her cage, just in time to be flanked on three sides from the other guards. The sorcerer climbed from his cart and witnessed as Gwynne fought the three trained and equipped soldiers. She'd punch, dodge, kick, roll, and repeat, all while the orb floated around her to cover her blind spots. The orb tossed one soldier as it slammed into him with frightening speeds, while Gwynne broke the leg of another guard. The third had it the worst as the orb slammed into his helmet clad head, collapsing the full plate helm around him and crushing his head. The sorcerer conjured an aetheric flame, which Gwynne dodged by leaping to the side. The orb floated in front of Gwynne. She punched the orb powerfully, causing a ripple in the air as the orb shot out a bolt of devastating lightning. The electricity arced to the sorcerer while he channeled aetheric energy, then chained to all of the horses in the caravan. A handful of the survivors from the devastating aetheric discharge were paralyzed. Those who were fortunate to remain untouched by the lightning ran off and spread the word, 'An apostate was loose in the Imperium'.

In a matter of days, Gwynne's name and face was all over the Imperium. The authorities had put a bounty on Gwynne's head, she was wanted alive in the interest of learning her secrets of the Force Orb. Gwynne ran like Topesh had told her to. She even channeled aetheric energy directly into her body to run faster and jump higher. The more energy that coursed through her body, the more it began to show. Her skin paled, her hair turned white, and her eyes became ruby red. It wasn't long before she looked like other apostates that had tangled with aetheric energy. Before the changes, she was able to get by on the hopes that innkeepers and good Samaritans wouldn't recognize her.

Gwynne had managed to find shelter in town on the fringe of the Imperium. But only weeks into her stay, her identity was discovered, and the town rose up in arms to capture her. She barely escaped the small abandoned cabin she was staying in. One lucky farmer had succeeded in wounding her with a simple pitchfork, leaving her shoulder scarred. Gwynne only escaped because she started seeing things that she couldn't before. Topesh had regained some memory after being in a state of limbo for centuries. He granted Gwynne the ability to see the shattered and lost aetheric leylines. The leylines led Gwynne deep into a canyon that the townsfolk were superstitious of. They didn't follow. Gwynne found shelter in a cave that the leyline led into. She watched as the Force Orb caused the leyline to bend and draw closer. Topesh explained that since the leylines were once all connected like cables to the Nexus, and reached across the world. With the Nexus gone, the leylines scattered and ripped apart. Topesh wanted to conduct an experiment, and willed Gwynne to bring the orb closer to the leyline. Surely enough, the leyline connected to the orb. The orb resonated, and Topesh became filled energy. They learned their new goal in that cave, with the Force Orb, they could bind all of the leylines together again, and forge a new Nexus at Gwynne's fingertips.

Gwynne and Topesh have been travelling Avalon for a decade now, searching for the lost leylines and binding them to the Force Orb. Despite whatever nefarious intention Topesh may be keeping secret, he continues to convince Gwynne that the recreation of the Nexus will usher the world forward into a new golden age.


SKILLS
-- Martial Arts
Gwynne was always talented in the martial arts. She relies on a combination of kicks and punches working in tandem with her force orb to keep her opponent constantly on their back foot.

-- Aetheric Might
Gwynne is a first rate sorceress. To the world, she is viewed as an apostate and a witch. The world's view isn't very far off, as Gwynne willingly delved into the darkest reaches of magic to further her own talent. Many apostates who have gone as far down the path as Gwynne has often die from the aetheric overload. But none of them were chosen by the Legion, and none of them had a shard of the Nexus at their command.


WEAPONS
-- Force Orb

A perfectly spherical shard of the Nexus. Gwynne stumbled upon the Force Orb when she was a rebellious teenager. She wasn't aware at the time that this Force Orb would also become her totem, and that she was fated to find it on that rainy day. The Force Orb is the sole corrupting force that made Gwynne stray from her focus as a martial arts instructor. Gwynne turned her attention to learning the Force Orb. When she finally unlocked its secrets, Gwynne had unknowingly woke the soul within the orb as well. She was then made painfully aware, that she was destined for a far darker path.

The Force Orb orbits around Gwynne when she activates it. As per the soul's wish within the Orb, it is capable of absorbing great amounts of aetheric energy. The more energy within the orb, the more potent it becomes. The Orb functions as both a battering ram, and a lens which Gwynne uses to cast spells. When used as the former, the Force Orb slams into a target, and throws the victim. The harder the orb hits, and the more aetheric energy it has, the more damage the force orb can do its target. When used for the latter purpose, Gwynne can channel aetheric energy through it, and cast enhanced spells while sacrificing stored energy within the orb, much to the soul's dismay. Gwynne can channel dark aetheric energy into the orb, which makes the orb unstable and prone to large aetheric ejections. In this fashion, the Force Orb can be used as an impromptu bomb.

The Force Orb is wielded through hand gestures, which Gwynne has learned to incorporate into her martial style. This results in a deadly combination of ranged attacks, magical chaos, and two pronged assaults at close range. The Force Orb is the source of Gwynne's power, and is nigh indestructible as her totem. Nevertheless, she protects the orb from anybody who would wish to steal its power and render it inert.


OTHER
-- Aetheric Trinkets
Gwynne carries a number of small trinkets and jewels which are imbued to carry aetheric energy. Some of which carry dark aetheric energy as well. Gwynne uses these trinkets for quick channeling into her Force Orb. The trinkets carrying dark energy often times fade to dust after being emptied. Emptied trinkets are held onto so that Gwynne can later recharge them.




Topesh the Wellspring

{{ Male }}




Force Orb
Topesh's soul found itself bound to Force Orb, a perfectly spherical remnant of the Nexus.


PERSONALITY
Unlike the other legionnaires, Topesh's voice can be heard by more than just Gwynne. When the Force Orb is activated, Topesh's voice emanates from it. He acts as a sort of adviser to Gwynne and anybody brave enough to be company around her. Topesh is easily excited, and often loses himself in reverie from when he had a body. When near aetheric energy, Topesh starts to get obsessed. He wishes above all else to consume that energy, and use the Force Orb to become a new Nexus that bends to his whims. One might say that Topesh is an addict, that isn't very far from the truth.


SKILLS
-- Containment
Topesh has gifted Gwynne with the lost knowledge of containing aetheric energy into other things, be it living or otherwise. It is through aetheric containment that the Force Orb can exist. Containment also works on the user as well, allowing Gwynne to store aetheric energy in her own body to boost her own skills. Containing energy in living beings is dangerous, as the aetheric energy constantly seeks for a path to flow out of. If the contained energy isn't discharged fast enough, then it either explodes out of the individual violently, or causes great stress on the body. Gwynne rarely contains aetheric energy within herself, but when she does, she channels it outward with her punches and kicks.

-- Witnessing the Leylines
A part of gathering aetheric energy is knowing where to find it. Topesh was obsessed with the aether and its darker sibling. He unlocked the map of the aetheric leylines coursing throughout the word from the Nexus. Now that the Nexus is destroyed, the leylines have shattered and whipped around like a tight cable letting go of all its energy at once. This has caused the leylines to become lost to time. Topesh has granted Gwynne the ability to see the leylines with her own two eyes. Their combined effort to bind the leylines to the Force Orb is made far easier since Gwynne can see where she needs to go.


OTHER
-- Drunk with Power
When the force orb is filled with aetheric energy, Topesh sounds like he is getting drunk. His speech becomes slurred and less sensical. This has caused Gwynne to manage his energy consumption, similar to a diet, much to Topesh's dismay.
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