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Jargo

Enough talk. Witness.
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  1. Looking for partners
Posting Speed
  1. 1-3 posts per week
Writing Levels
  1. Advanced
Preferred Character Gender
  1. Male
  2. Female
  3. No Preferences
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I'm dropping the story first and some OOC information later. Please scroll down if you're interested in that. The main themes of this roleplay will be mystery-solving and combat in a high fantasy environment.

The world:

The story takes part in a fantasy world. The geography is: two large continents, with multiple island archipelagos in and around the vast oceans. Our story takes place in continent A, and the people living there may have only the vaguest of idea of the existence of continent B, but apart from knowing it's there, there's hardly anything more known about it.

The continent:

On continent A, there are a few main countries, divided in-between the regions.

Country A is an empire, spanning across the central and most fertile, resource-rich territories of the continent. They obtained this place through conquest, but in their rule, albeit strict and merciless to rebels, they tend to be moderate and, apart from maintaining law and order, do not terrorise or otherwise disturb the conquered peoples. Because of that, most of the latter have already absorbed into the Empire's culture and customs and hardly remember being sovereign. For that reason, the Empire can be counted as a single entity.

Country B is not really a country, spanning to the east of the continent is an endless steppe with a few lakes and mountains in-between. Imagine central Asia. The place has been dotted with the ruins of a highly advanced, very magically-adept dead civilisation, whose collapse presumably due to magical experiment gone wrong, triggered an event that caused the once luscious plains of the east to turn into steppes. The steppes are populated by several tribes, each of which collects lore and artefacts of the dead civillisation and each of them claims to be its true descendants. Each tribe has different episodes in their folklore detailing their connections to the lost civilisation and the events that lead to its death.

Country C is a trade archipelago just west of the continent in about a day's sail. Powerful merchant families practically rule the islands, despite them having an "official democratically elected government". It's just a farce, the merchants practically trade politicians as commodities. It is the only place in the continent where slavery is commonplace and not stigmatised. Also the only country where all sorts of races can be met and where racism is practically non-existent.

Country D is an ancestral monarchy, with a benevolent king and an aristocracy council of nobles, who have ruled the land for as long as anyone can remember. Mostly minding their own business and having no interest in foreign affairs of the other nations has left them exposed to plots from the outside and constant mistrust and bad reputation because of their witchcraft practices has made them a target.

Country E is, once again, not really a country, but a loosely defined geographical space, sharing a common heritage and culture. Occupying space almost as large as the Empire, the North hails from... well... the northern part of the continent. However, unlike the other countries, 80% of the entire population of the North is focused in the most southern part of the territory, where several major communities, each with their own leader, have permanently settled amidst the rich woodlands (defer to the picture above). This part of the land only gets really cold in the six month of winter, whilst the rest is occupied by small tribes and nomads and is basically a frozen tundra.

The premise:

Countries A and C (The Empire and the Archipelago) launch a two-way invasion of country D (the monarchy). On one side, the vast and well-equipped armies of the Empire make their advance, claiming territories as their own. On the other side, the unrivalled Great Merchant Fleet places a naval blockade on the sea border of the monarchy and the trade council marches their mercenary hordes across the rich coastal regions of the kingdom, taking anything that might yield a good price and setting up shops across the land. Presumably, there is an agreement between the two forces of how to split the kingdom once conquered.

The King's army is outnumbered, outgunned and surprised. Not a good place to be. Refugees all across the land flood to the capital, but an all-out battle is out of the question. The situation is dire, but one of the sorcerers that act as advisers proposes a daring plan. There is a story, a myth, actually, as old as... well... the kingdom itself. The myth tells about a mysterious power, sealed in the Northern lands from the same forces who created and shaped the world. For years the best sorcerers of the kingdom have always taken pilgrimages to the North and always come back with enhanced magical sensitivities and powers, hence providing a physical verification of the story. The sorcerer tells the king that during his own travels, he encountered a shrine of a sort, which was like a physical reservoir of unbridled energy. If the power was indeed as vast as he recalled, then it might be sufficient to allow the sorceress of the kingdom to weave a spell that would destroy their enemies.

Your character is a royalty, nobility, a knight or a warrior from country D, who is close to the king. For one reason or another (up to you to incorporate in the backstory) he/she is the one that is given the task of venturing north, finding the place mentioned by the sorcerer, and taking its energy with a specially designed magical contraption. Your country's fate rests on your shoulders and the clock is ticking.

Notes;
Your character is NOT a mage, he/she is a warrior. That is not to say they cannot have magical abilities, know some magical spells, or be familiar with the magical lore, but that is just not their main occupation.

My character is a northerner who has spent their entire life exploring the bizarre anomalies occurring out there. He has often ventured into the Frozen Wastes and is versed in the Runes, the northerners method of both writing, spell-casting and divination. He has his own motives for wanting to find exactly the same place as your character. He also has his own means of discovering it.

Meeting place and settings, as well as terms of starting the roleplay are entirely up for discussion. The same goes for avatars, pictures and art in general.

Brief OOC information:
  • I favour quality over quantity. I don't mind waiting several days for a good post and I hope you have a similar disposition.
  • I don't place paragraph limits per post, but I do want you to interact with the surroundings.
  • I'm looking for someone who can actively participate in the worldbuilding process and who can also develop an engaging character. I want to be able to sympathise with your character's plight, otherwise I don't really feel connected to the roleplay.
  • The other countries are given just for colour of the whole thing, but you want to develop and invest them into our story somehow, I'd welcome that.
  • The Grad Mystery of the North that we'd be chasing can be developed by both of us, or we can just go with the idea that I have.
  • I can roleplay in a thread or PMs, doesn't matter to me.
  • Some parts are kept deliberately vague to preserve the "mysteriousness" of the entire setting and also to allow more space for you fantasy to flourish as opposed to working within a pre-defined narrative :)
  • I don't mind romance being a part of the roleplay, if it develops naturally, not as a prerequisite.
If you're interested in this concept, please drop a note here or in PMs. I will mark the request as filled, when it's filled :)

Random trivia:


"To find your way across a lake of mud, you must be unafraid of getting sucked in. If you only seek to place your step only upon the firmness of the stones, you will never know just how clear the waters beneath the surface may be. In the same way, a Runecaster must never be afraid of dabbling into the Unknown. For knowledge of the Runes can derive from one source and one source only, and that source is experience. The energy of every fall and failure can be harnessed!

- An excerpt from Freya's Journal Nr.1, a questionable introduction on northern spellcraft​
 
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I just wanted to add that should you find the backstory/motivation I've ascribed to your character dull or unappealing, you'd be free to change them as you like, including the whole invasion plotline. The most important thing in this story for me is the pursuit of a mystery deep in the north, with both characters having their own strong motives for doing so, practically all else is subject to change should you want to.
 
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