...

[Thought Manifest]

Nieri is fluent in the Uialien language, all of the Edhil languages, Fatanen Common, and a handful of Calva languages, and I imagine that any languages that have similarities to the ones she already knows would be game for her to kind of piece together based on vocal inflection and similar words/grammar, so she'd be able to translate pretty well. Plus, it's already been established that she and Truffle developed a way of communicating to each other via telepathy (even if they won't know right off the bat who the other person is) though I don't imagine Nieri can put herself into Truffle's head. Truffle will have to reach out first. I imagine that she inherited her Edhel-mother's inability to communicate that way, but I also think that her father likely taught her how to shut others out of her mind (which all of this needs to be added to her sheet now that I think about it, gdi...) because not everyone is super pleasant to have wandering around in there. I bet that skill helped her a lot when Sairuvar interrogators came a knocking on her brain-door when she was in captivity.

@Nemaisare, I don't mind discussing the different paths we'll take. We have a handy-dandy map that @Beckett made for us, so that should make things easier. I'll have to ask them if they want to draw the agreed-upon pathways onto the map, too, so I don't end up desecrating it in Paint like a child with crayons and an expensive canvas painting. XD


@71372, omg! hahahah That would be hilarious.



If we do do alternate languages, how do you guys think we should go about it? We can't really do the italics thing because that should be reserved for any telepathic communication or inner thoughts individuals have, but because the languages aren't like... legit or complete or even structured... they're just vibes I feel like they should have, we can't have the whole "This is what I'm saying in my real language." This is what this means... thing like I've seen done in novels. How would you guys like to try to designate non-Common from an individual's native tongue if they choose to speak in their native language?

 

[71372]

!! I've seen it done like this before and it is quite effective.

"Nee ye~yoo uii, nobo meno. (Your hair is delicious.)" He sung non-chalantly as he leaned over the poor Uiliae, picking at the vegetation off it's head despite it's flailing protest.




Just an example.

 

[Thought Manifest]

That could work. I don't really see parenthesis being needed for anything else, so I'm down with that if everyone else is.

 

[Rainjay]

We could use a different font? I know Iwaku only has a handful of fonts available, but I'm sure they would be enough for our purposes. Although, I mostly suggest is because when it comes to language my imagination reaches its end. It comes off as repetitive and weird :P I'm able to come up with how a language sounds, how fluid it is, the common sounds and letters, and names that resemble the language, but I can't make up words and writing for it. Although with practice I probably can. This could be a good chance to exercise that dulled-out skill. :P


I'll add something about the languages Shale speaks and the food she eats to the CS, and I'll probably mention it out here so anyone actually interested (I suppose her food habits aren't something necessary to know, while language is a bit important) can read it xD

And, I usually head off my posts with character name/basic information, although if there's a particular format, just lemme know ^^


And.. a question! Are people opposed to using colors in dialogue? Or is there a certain array/type of color you don't want to see? Usually for bigger roleplays like this I use coloration for dialogue so that it makes reading easier. I just pick one color and use it in the header and for my character's speaking, and then I'll use unused colors for NPCs, etc. Although I won't if people have an issue with it. Just lemme know!

 

[Rainjay]

@Rainjay, I added Shale to Truffle's history, if you want to make sure it sounds okay. Mention's in the second paragraph. :)

Read it, and I love it ^^ It's pretty cute, if you don't mind mine saying. And I like what it adds (I feel my description of the occurrence is much more bland :P) too!

 

[Thought Manifest]

All font changes would need to be easily readable, and I'd prefer if resizing them didn't happen. I have a really hard time reading anything smaller than size 3, and my vision is bad enough already without my smooshing my face against the screen to try to read what someone wrote. As for colourizing dialogue, I find it extremely jarring. It completely takes me out of what I'm reading, and half of the time, people choose colours that don't work against the forum's background, so I have to highlight the whole dialogue just to read it. I don't want people adding colour to their dialogue. If I catch people doing it, I'm going to PM them to remove the colour codes.

Maybe we should just write dialogue in English and we can specify before/after the line of dialogue if it was in Common or some other language.

 

[Beckett]

I'm so sorry I've been absent in the OOC and late on making my character. The holidays have me very busy. I will try and get her up tomorrow.

 

[Nemaisare]

@71372 Oh, Truffle's just fine if folks ask to use some mushrooms. They don't necessarily need them for anything since the part that actually does the nutrients digesting is under their skin. :P But that dialogue example absolutely made my day.

@Rainjay yay! I used your history for inspiration. So, not bland at all. :) Glad you like it.

@Thought Manifest I was mostly asking because looking at the map, it seems like the first part of the voyage would be by sea, in which case, everyone could get to know each other realllllllly well. And that the Edhil Resistance group would either have to anchor off the coast of Ushtaway and hope no one spots them, or take a longer sea route and find a port nearer Stegros. So, I was wondering if the characters would be getting a chance to weigh in on the decision or if this would mainly be an OOC decision. ThoughI'd love to see the routes traced out. That'd be fun!



As for the demarcation of different languages, I find the best thing to do is always make sure you've mentioned, in the post, which language is being used. Then go for the differentiation around the actual dialogue. That way you have two separate things telling you what's going on, in case someone misses one or the other. I've seen lots of different methods to demarcate the speech without using italics.

I've seen italics used as thoughts or telepathy, or people used ~dialogue~ instead of quotation marks.

I've also used just sentence structure and grammar to separate out meaning when going with a sound language that didn't involve words as we'd understand them. But that takes a great deal of extra words to describe the sounds. This is an option to avoid actively having to make up words and remember them later, or when you don't necessarily need an exact meaning and the basic concept is fine for those who would be translating or understanding the person talking.

To make a language, I've used both what 71372 demonstrated with the parentheses for translation right within the dialogue as well as making the translation a footnote at the end of the post, the parenthesis style is clunkier to look at, but much faster to read. There's also the fact that sometimes you might not want people to be aware of the exact translation simply because the characters wouldn't be. In which case, PMing the people who should know can work, but is also far more effort.

I'd say, we can either all just use English and different symbols to mark out which is which. Like, maybe, Italics for telepathy and thoughts, with "dialgoue" for Eriston Common, ~dialogue~ for Uialien, <<dialogue>> for Calva, *dialogue* for Edhil... that sort of thing, or practise our sound making skills. I've only done it once before, where we worked off each other in the thread to come up with gryphon speech... It was fun, but I could see this getting particularly confusing with more than two people and more than one language.

 

[71372]

Well how 'bout just "(Uiliae: Your hair is delicious.)"? When speaking in languages other than common, with the brackets AND the language which it is said. If the player wants to make up words before that, it's fine - it does not have to be the same between players since we can already read it. We can edit it later too.


1) The brackets become a clear indicator that this sentence is not going to be readily understood by all, it cautions the reader on the spot,

2) The indicator tells us what language it is,

3) The rest is written in easily read english.


How 'bout it? :) Telepathic speech could be "(Telepathy to XXX: Really? I moisturize everyday!)" Like Nemaisare said, it IS clunkier but it IS functional. But it also simple. I think that's most important. Till we get an actual language that is. :3



@Nemaisare Mission success then! :P

 

[Beckett]

I think the best thing is to just describe in post what language the character is speaking.

"hello," the cat-man said in his native calva tongue.

"Noglakr," the dwarf responded, though the cat man did not know dwarven.

Quoted Italics if you are using English to describe what is, in character, a non English spoken word.

 

[Rainjay]

I do like the idea of the (Uialie:"Blahblah").

 

[Beckett]

Name:
Vahnulitz Aer
"The Representative"

Age:
1224

Gender:
Female

Alliance:
Fatanen Rule

Race:
Edhil

Appearance:

Black hair, grey/blue eyes, pale skin. Over 6 feet tall.

Class:
Pildae, Nestad (imbuement only)

Abilities/Skills:
Agility, Concealment, Evasion, Stealth, Poison Knowledge, specifically for adding poison to weapons. Illusion and Shadow Magic, specifically for creating weapons that use these types of magic.
Setting Illusion traps



Armor and Weapons:
Steel plated armor painted dark green. Black hood.
Crossbow with three different sets of bolts - poison (standard bolt that is lethal regardless of where it hits), dark cloud (casts shadows over its victim or near where it hits), and stun (causes a bright light where it hits)
Claws attached to gauntlets for close range defense. Poisoned.
Illusion traps: wires that when tripped cause a phantom attack (which cannot injure)


Personality:
Before the creation of the mace, Vahnulitz was dedicated to technological advancement. She had the demeanor of a mad scientist, always trying bizarre things in order to perfect the art of imbuing weapons with magic. She had her own shop that most of the edhil knew better than to walk around in, because there were so many contraptions that could be set off. After making the mace, she left all that behind and blindly follows the High King. She is ruthless, calculating, and while the love of crafting never went away, it was over shadowed by her dedication of the High King. Don't ask her why, it just makes her angry.

History:
Originally from Hyarya Tol, Vahnulitz spent her early years perfecting the art of immersing newer technological weapons with magic. It was sixty years ago that she began creating a weapon requested by the high king himself. After spending three years working on it, she finally finished the weapon, a mace with the power to cast a shadow which can physically attack an enemy. Of shadow magic, this was the first of it's kind. Pleased with her results, she personally delivered it to him. Impressed by her craftsmanship, the High King begged her to remain in his command and be his "representative". Vahnulitz accepted, never returning to Hyarya Tol. To no one's knowledge, her blind devotion to the High King and Fatanen rule is tied to that mace. In it's creation and unbeknownst to herself, she put a shadow of herself within it. When the mace is being used, whether or not she is near, she blacks out. She can still move and act but she has no memory of what she has done. She is easily manipulated in that state. The closer she is to the mace while being used, the stronger the shadow is. If the mace were destroyed, she would be set free. If the shadow was destroyed, she would become completely mindless. If she is killed, she will forever be tied to the mace, a ghost of herself.
The High King used Vahnulitz and her weapon sparingly, but when the high king died, she served his daughter. The High Queen used The Representative as an assassin, killing anyone and everyone who stood in her way. She used the mace freely and without consequence, and any inch of regret that Vahnulitz felt was ripped away each time her shadow was released. She was a candle burning at both ends, becoming a master pildae but a shell of the edhel she once was. When the High Queen died, the mace and Representative passed down to her son. When he was younger, instead of using her like a tool, he treated her kindly. At his coming of age, he developed a short lived relationship with her, basically using her until he found something better. Despite this, she fell in love with him, and would do anything to secure his rule. Now he holds her at arms length, sending her on important missions instead of keeping her by his side, as her grandfather once did.

Other:
Works for Dwennon Ulmer
Used to live under the council of Anarwen Belliel
Has instructed Hue Syrus to be a mole in the Edhil resistance party for his father's benefit

 

[Firewombat]

Alright, let's see if I can give my own two pense here on some of these matters.

So, on the topic of food:

Fatanen: So these guys probably have a similar pattern as your average human did a couple of centuries ago. What does that mean? Well, your main diet was consisted of...bread. Yeah, not very exciting, right? Mainly consisting, meaning that bread is always present in your meals and is what -feeds- you, everything else is there for flavor, with meat being a once-a-week kind of treat. Bread is just that good - the crops you make it from are hardier than most vegetables; if you don't have much to go on it'll keep you fed because it's a very heavy kind of food - it's why pastries and such get you fat nowadays - because it's not the ONLY thing we live off of, and we don't spend the majority of our time doing physically intensive work (i.e. tilling the fields, herding sheep etc.)

Calva: Well, these guys are pretty much like the Fatanen, with the exception of their nomadic tribes. The ones that constantly roam will be:

- Fewer in number than more situated tribes.
- Using animals they herd themselves as beasts of burden, rather than sources of food or fur (of course, old animals that aren't suited to do their work will likely be put down for meat, furs and leather)
- Hunters and gatherers primarily
- Trading with the situated tribes for things they can't make themselves with that lifestyle.

Edhil: Now these guys are a bit more interesting - because they're practically ageless. That translates into a few things that set them apart from the other races:

- They need less to eat and can go longer before starvation starts to become lethal.
- They need less water to sustain themselves and can go longer before dehydration starts kicking in.
- They can be productive and active even at the ends of their natural lives
- They reproduce a lot more slowly than the other races.

So that means you need less food overall - because they're not as numerous as the other races - and they don't eat as much. So, they'll likely have farmers as well - but there's less pressure, they can survive with less than Fatanen could. Of course, being less numerous means you have fewer soldiers to spare in particularly turbulent times like these.

Nogyth: Well, these lot are practically all dead, but for the sake of this being a complete list - they don't have farmers, because they don't have farmland in the mountains. So what do they live off of? Mosses, fungi, cave beasts, things they don't need sunlight to grow and sustain - and of course, trade. Trade some of those ores they had easy access to in the mountains for things -they- don't have easy access to, and everyone's happy. Shame they're dead, for the most part.

Uialien: Well, these guys are practically magic, in one way or another. They're practically Fae folk in more traditional fantasy - given they have two courts, who represent the forces of creation and entropy and nature and all that. As someone who's pretty into fantasy - these guys are nothing new to me. So, what do they eat? Well, our illustrious leader said it herself - they can feed off of life-essences without actually consuming anything physically. No reason why this wouldn't extend to all of them, but given that each of them has a very unique and mystical nature, it's no surprise if some of them -choose- to eat like mortals do.

Being -literally- immortal (except for being killed, of course) , practically means you don't age, you don't hunger, and thus - have no need to produce food for anybody, though an enterprising Uialie may've made a farm to trade with the mortals at some point, (it'd be the most efficient farm ever, for one, if you don't have to feed your farm-hands or yourself, think of them profits) before they too got wiped off the map.

So! That's how I see the nutritional side of each race working - course, none of this is set in stone and ''as I decree'' it, 'cause I don't get to say that.

 

[Thought Manifest]

@Beckett,

Not Related to Verdan or D.E.A.

you're fine. It happens. I'm actually going to be pretty busy the next couple of days myself. I'm still sick (though considerably less right now. Just have a cough and a slightly swollen throat), and I work nine hour shifts today and tomorrow (yay for Christmas Eve holiday pay? A whole dollar more! Yippee!). Plus, Christmas time is a time for opening presents and trying to keep my bunny from eating all the things like loose bits of wrapping paper we missed during clean up and... well... the tree with all of its fun, vine-like cords... >.>;; So yeah. You're good! Take your time.

Vahnulitz is in the Pending Characters section. I approve the shadow weapon. It not only works well with Hyarya Tol's focus, but it also sounds freaking awesome. I'd like you to detail a couple of ways Vahnulitz has heard it, has seen it, has personally used it (whatever is more feasible for the character) in her history because I'm super curious about it. Also, what are some limitations the weapon might have? What is its scope as well?

Also, you may want to stick Nestad into her Class section as well; even if the only thing she does with it is Imbuement, it's still a Nestad thing.

Finally, when you get the chance, I'd also like to know how she felt about Dwennon's grandfather's death, the High Queen and her death, and if there's anything different about how she feels toward High King Dwennon or if it's just the same basic dedication she had to his predecessors.



@Nemaisare & @71372, while those are both really nice ways to clearly indicate what language is being spoken, I'm just really concerned about how jarring it will be to have stuff like that. I don't think it'll be too much to ask to just write out (in a similar vein to @Beckett's example) what language our characters are using. I just find it frustrating when there's a bunch of OoC-ish stuff in the IC because it really takes me out of the story I'm reading. I think that if anyone has even the slightest confusion, we can just post our question here for clarification. A few of us are super quick to answer things, so it shouldn't be a problem.



@Firewombat, You should add potatoes to Fatanen food fair, and you'll basically be on your mark with them. The Calva ideas sound good. The Edhil additions sound perfect. Because of both their extended life spans and their needing less food, I always saw them needing reproducing more slowly, too. However, the Edhil have been around a long time, and they live a long time, so they're actually the second largest population of people in the world, behind the Fatanen. I've got the racial population order under each Race tab.

Nogyth are mostly dead, but they have just enough of a population left that they can rebuild their numbers without having to interbreed with the other races. Everything else sounds great, and the Uialien stuff is also awesome. I actually really like the additions of them potentially having amaze-balls farms specifically for trade. Thanks so much for putting this all in an ordered sort of way. I think I might actually add this to the racial information when I get a bit of time.

 

[Beckett]

Vahnulitz is in the Pending Characters section. I approve the shadow weapon. It not only works well with Hyarya Tol's focus, but it also sounds freaking awesome. I'd like you to detail a couple of ways Vahnulitz has heard it, has seen it, has personally used it (whatever is more feasible for the character) in her history because I'm super curious about it. Also, what are some limitations the weapon might have? What is its scope as well?

Also, you may want to stick Nestad into her Class section as well; even if the only thing she does with it is Imbuement, it's still a Nestad thing.

Finally, when you get the chance, I'd also like to know how she felt about Dwennon's grandfather's death, the High Queen and her death, and if there's anything different about how she feels toward High King Dwennon or if it's just the same basic dedication she had to his predecessors.

• Keep in mind the weapon was made very recently. I can tell you her experience when she created it, and how she's seen Dwennon use it, but it was never Vahnulitz's to use. That would be like...using someone's commissioned sword. However, the cost of the magic the mace uses it on her, not on Dwennon. She doesn't know that, but it's making her mindless. Perhaps when it's being used she goes into full zombie mode. hmm...
• I can put nestad into her class, I really only made her good at imbuement because that is the major trade of Hyarya Tol. Does that mean everyone at Hyarya Tol that participates in the major trade is a nestad class?
• She was requested to make this weapon about the same time Dwennon inherited the bracelet. she had no communication with the people before him. If she was willing to make this for him, I would assume she felt rather neutral about Fatanen rule, but not super dedicated. She was more dedicated to her pride in the creation of the mace. It's her most awesome creation. Also, It's the MACE that makes her dedicated to Dwennon, not actual personal affiliation.

EDIT: Two questions I missed:
Limitations and Scope: Basically, the mace is tied to her. It's essentially a shadow of herself. The shadow person has the same limits she does. I imagine if the shadow person could be killed, she would become a vegetable. If she's killed, perhaps the shadow person would be destroyed. Or perhaps she would become the shadow person. As for what the shadow person can do, it can interact with the physical world. However, I don't think it can do magic.
When the shadow person is being used by Dwennon, something must happen to her. She can't interact in two halves as once, at least not completely.

EDIT EDIT: I realize now I mistook grandfather for Dwennon. I will add relationships with mother and grandfather royals.

 

[71372]

I do not think Hyarya-Tol specifically has only imbuement as a major trade (and thus only Nestads being involved), as I quote the OOC:

• Hyarya Tol
  Located to the west of Enya Tol is Hyarya Tol. It voted for female Council Member Anarwen. It's focus is the immersion of magic with technology.

Immersion of Magic and Technology does imply to include more than just imbuement the way I see it. It's a general term. Isn't there plenty of other options that include immersion of Magic and Technology? Like engineering and alchemy?

The following is just the way I see it but I pressume that a person would have to know the kind of magic they are going to imbue something with before they can imbue it, and the Nestad's path of magic does not cover the whole plethora of mystical arts either. And then there are the craftsmen who are the ones who made the object itself long before any enchantment. That takes many kinds of skills! :)

Sidenote: I'm only replying to this because I want to confirm my opinion on the matter too, this is what I currently see when I read the OOC and if it is right/wrong will affect the way I post in the future.

 

[Auralnaut]

@Thought Manifest

Not relevant to story, simply info on my character

I couldn't resist using Jorah's photo, he's just too cool! The skirt, the armor... I think I may have a severe man crush. I just started watching Game of Thrones (season 3 blew my mind), so Alastair is very influenced by characters within the show. I'll have to start reading the books soon so I'm no longer a tv-watching poser :P

I think I've made all the needed changes to my character! I should have specified that he fought at Dorduar, but I didn't even realize there were several different mountains the Nogyth occupied, I thought it was just a large mountain range north of Eriston. I'm an idiot sometimes. I changed the king's personality so he is racist, which actually works out beautifully as it furthers Alastair's need to conceal his heritage. The king is pretty manipulative, too, taking advantage of Alastair's superior battlefield knowledge and ensuring he remains loyal by appearing to uphold the same morals as Locke.

It seems like most of the characters loyal to the Fatan Rule are acquainted with the king! As Thought Manifest pointed out in an earlier post, our characters would probably be familiar with one another to an extent, so it would be wise to establish pre-existing relationships before the start of the RP (especially with both Vahnulitz and Zora having romantic relationships with the king, oh my).

 

[Beckett]

That relationship doesn't have to exist, if its too similar to Zora. But yes, we should establish relationships between our characters.

That's a good point on Hyarya Tol, though I can't really think of any examples to confirm it.

At some point, I want Vahnulitz to have to fight her own shadow self. That was the sole reason for tossing relationship stuff in there. But if its too much, we can figure out another way to make that happen. Vahn is something that can be twisted for what we need for the story, as that is what I created her for.

 

[Firewombat]

Honestly, I'm confused about who the High Kings and Queens are, at this point, I can't imagine anyone racist enough to wipe out entire races would sleep with someone other than their own kind, let alone develop romantic relations with them, but that's just me.

Everything else is fine, although the concept of ''magic'' is pretty fluid with every class having their own kind of it.

 

[Beckett]

The point of Vahnulitz is she's not at this point acting of her own volition. Why she made the damn thing in the first place is up for debate, but that happened right before the beginning of the timeline.