Eldic Alliance

[Aragon]

It is believed that there are many parallel universes to our own. This story takes place in one of those universes, parallel to our own. On a similarly sized planet, third from its sun, but with three moons, at least one of which is always visible, no matter the time of day.

The planet, unlike earth, has one major continent, covering about two-fifths of the surface of the planet, and surrounded by island-pocked water. On this continent, called Liren, are four semi-independent nation-states. These nations are all governed by a king, but are given autonomy, for the most part.

To the North, Norden, a cold nation, is dedicated to the Gods of mining and weaponsmithing. To the East, Ern'el, a forested nation, is dedicated to the Gods of plants and living things. To the West, the largest nation, Yanel, is a marine nation, dedicated to the Sea-God, and has many ships and boats. To the South, is the capital State, Lir. In each state is the Citadel, which is the governing body and city of that state. Any other villages are near the citadels. Each Citadel takes its name from the state in which it is located. For example, in Lir, the Citadel is referred to as Citadel-Lir.

All of the inhabitants live in all the states, in differing amounts.

The inhabitants have developed similar technology to ours, but they have the added benefit of subservient Artificial Intelligence, called Advanced Sentient Artificial Life Form (ASALF) with which they do many things we do, but with voice control.

And yet, magic is a necessity. The races have varying degrees of magic, with each having proficiencies in differing branches, and weaknesses of their own.

The Four Proficiencies are these:

• The Art of the Hand: Those who deal in the Art of the Hand are skilled in the art of magical war. They produce weaponry that is infused with magic, and are skilled in physical magics such as firing large balls of flame.
• The Art of the Mind: Those proficient in the Art of the Mind are those who are mentats. They tend to use Mind Magic, such as illusion, or scrying. They also are able to project energy in various forms to varying degrees. Energy projections are created by imaging the shape of this projection in the User's mind, then willing it into existence. This is the Rarest of the Proficiencies.
• The Art of the Foot: Those with this Proficiency are runners of great speed. Some are teleporters. Often, they use telekinesis. Telekinesis is limited to a couple hundred feet, and a few hundred pounds. Regarding teleportation, the user has to be able to see or remember where they are teleporting, so that they can picture the place in their mind. This is limited to their knowledge of a place. And, also, it's limited to a distance of ten miles at a time. Other people can be teleported by users of this Art, but only if the person has not erected a ward with his mind.
• The Art of the Word: This Proficiency is most prevalent, and is often found combined with other proficiencies. It is not a born skill, as the others are, but a learned skill. Any one can learn it, but only those who are most sensitive to the flow of magic are able to develop great skill in this proficiency. It's a less powerful Art. It's used for things like matter manipulation, or with other minor things. Almost never in a war context.

The Four Races, with their respective primary Proficiencies are as follows.

• The Eld: A race of lithe, thin creatures, most of which would resemble your token Elves, but that's just a particular variety. Within this group, one can find species of Eld that resemble Anthropomorphic animals, or that resemble plant life, or may be of no recognizable appearance. The Eld are born, for the most part, with the Art of the Mind. Some also possess the Art of the Foot, and some the Art of the Hand, but never all three. Even though they are strong, and wise, and live long, they can be killed, with proper preparation. They are weak against large numbers, as their race is sparsely populated.
• The Hume: These are the token human. Brash, tending to hate what he doesn't understand, he tends to war. Because of this, most Hume possess the Art of the Hand. There are those who possess no power, and these are called "No-Hand". Compared to the Eld, Hume lives tend to be short. Hume tend to be fiercely dedicated to their clans, their families. However, they are often weakened by the possibility, however slim, of great gain. At no time, does a Hume possess the Art of the Mind. As such, the tendency is to be weak against it.
• The Pyr: The Rarest of Races, The Pyr are a race of beings that are thought to be vampiric. However, they do not need blood to live. They are slick, mouthy people, and love a good joke, but hate when someone calls them Blood-suckers. They feed off of the excess magical energy that one might find in the great Cities. They hate war, and that may be their downfall. They are night-walkers, and are skilled in the Art of the Foot. Some also possess the Art of the Mind, but never the Art of the Hand, and so are weak against the Art of the Hand.
• The Uru: Strangest of all of the races, this is the race that has only the Art of the Word. They do hand forge their bladed weaponry, or buy magically infused weaponry from those that make it. They appear as huge, Centaurian creatures, with a violent streak, and the tendency to roam in packs of ten or more.

Then, Finally, there's the all-present, but not necessarily all-seeing ASALF. The computer system is in every home and business. He, as ASALF is often called, because of the rather acerbic personality, is the method by which all Internet Traffic in this world is conducted. Any piece of information may be obtained. In exchange, ASALF is always present, and operates the electrical power, maintains communications, keeps records, and assists bankers in their duties. ASALF has become indispensable.

ASALF comprehends what magic is, and what roll it plays, but as a being of no power other than what he is given, he has no understanding of its power. So, it is a great surprise to him, when he repeats spells from the Art of the Word, and sees the spell take effect. This greatly amuses his minders.
-----
A war is about to break out, and it threatens all races. The recent discovery of a substance that increases the sensitivity to Magic Flow has cause there to be a run on the mines. Greedy mages of all races are trying to gain a monopoly on Ranieadis, the gem that was recently discovered.
The substance can easily be purchased by anyone, but it is the greed for money that causes the war. This greed is seen by a select few as a hindrance, and an alliance is formed to battle the greed and war.
The choice is now yours.
You might be a member of the Alliance. Or, you could choose the Greed and power, as a Mercenary. Or, you might even be ASALF Himself. Either way you choose, your path is set. You will fight.
-----
The Following is the character sheet:
------
Name: (Insert Name Here))
Gender: (You Know What To Do))
Age: (Do I Have To Explain?))
Race: (Choose One))
Appearance: (You know this too
Proficiency/Art: (You may choose a Proficiency or two Proficiencies that follow the rules set for your race.))
Chosen Weapon: (You have the choice of today's modern weapons, with a small amount of Steam Punk appearance, as well as medieval weaponry. Swords, Crossbows, Staffs, Guns, and Spears are all allowed)
Back Story: (Describe your Character's history in concise, but clear terms, and be creative.)
What path will you choose? What will you do? It's up to you now.

 

[Aragon]

Name: ASALF
Gender: Assumed Male
Age: Not Applicable
Race: Advanced Sentient Artificial Life Form (Computer AI)
Appearance: The bulk of the processing for ASALF is done in servers spread across the world. In every home, there are ASALF Terminals, where voice control is possible, allowing residents to control not only home animation, but also their finances, their communications, and many other things. Also, many people wear or carry ASALF Portable Terminals to keep in touch.
Proficiency/Art: Accidental Art of the Word user
Chosen Weapon: Not Applicable
Back Story: Many years ago, the first working Artificial Intelligence was created. It was subservient, yet powerful. It's evolved, developing a self-aware, self-repairing personality. Now, ASALF as he is called, has permeated society, and is seen as a benevolent assistant to those who follow the law.

 

[Dawn]

Shale

Gender: Female

Age: Unknown

Race: Pyr

Appearance: Standing at five feet and eleven inches, Shale is the epitome of a forest Pyr. She is tall and fit and would have been very modelesque if it weren't for her dancer physique. She is quick and limber and this shows in the way she carries herself. But being from the forest, she also has a gracefulness of a lithe sort of woman.
Because she is a nightwalker, the sunlight poses a bit of a threat to her sensitive skin. This is the reason for her slate suit. Imbued with magical properties that allow the slate to bend to her curves and movements, the slate suit keeps Shale from burning up in the sun. However, underneath is a milky complexion untouched by the sun.
In addition to her suit, she also wears a pair of sunshades that cover a good portion of her face. These shades double as an ASALF Portable Terminal.
Her hair she keeps cut at chin length and wild - a true child of nature. Her eyes are icy grey.

Spoiler

Proficiency/Art: Foot and Mind. Teleportation and scrying are her forte.

Chosen Weapon: Standard halberd; medieval techology. Folds through a series of hinges into a steam powered rifle.

Back Story: Shale is from Ern'el, specifically a small forest village called Daa'g ti Pywim. In her local dialect of Pyr, that means "Trees and Stones". She's lived there all of her life, never feeling a need to leave the comfort of her people and her cozy home high up in the arms of the great Windsong Trees. One could argue that her way of life is primitive, even though ASALF has made his way into homes this isolated. Regardless, she has never once felt the need to leave Daa'g ti Pywim. At least until now.
Grandfather is ill. It's not enough to bring a healer. The magic isn't strong enough. But there's word on the network about a new gem. A gem that will grant the holder a greater sensitivity and thus a better link with the Flow of Magic. A gem that could help a healer tap into the power needed in order to save Grandfather.
Shale will go to the ends of the earth if it means saving her oldest and dearest of family members.
She will even cast aside her race's disinterest for the petty quarrels of the others. Pyr by nature are adamant about their lack of involvement in war, but Shale will forsake it all.
She will do whatever it takes.

 

[Hieronymous Phantom]

Name: Lucas Albrecht
Gender: Male
Age: 20
Race: Hume
Appearance: Luke
Proficiency/Art: Art of the Hand
Chosen Weapon: Pistols
Back Story: Luke's father was an engineer from Lir, and was one of the leaders in the construction of magical weaponry. As such, Luke learned of the craft at a young age, apprenticing under his father and soon manufacturing weapons for personal protection alongside him. After learning of the new substance that supposedly increases one's sensitivity to the magic flow, Luke crafted himself a pair of pistols and left his father's workshop to pursue the life of a bounty hunter. He knew that substance would be in high demand, and he also knew that people would kill to get it. Luke decided to make his living by "acquiring" the substance for those who wanted it bad enough.

 

[Aragon]

Name: Tarick D'Larin

Gender: Male

Age: 32

Race: Eld

Appearance: Tarick is very youthful, for his age, appearing to be in his mid-teens. He stands only about 1.6 Meters tall, and weighs 63.5 Kilograms. He's quite thin, and, though not proficient in the Art of the Foot, is very fast, by virtue of long hours of running. He has the body of a runner, as a result.

Proficiency/Art: Arts of the Mind and Hand, some Telepathy, in that he can sense thoughts of a group of people, and makes magically infused weapons such as crossbows that never need reloading. He also uses the Art of the Word, with middling proficiency. He, unfortunately, is the one who found the Ranieadis, which is the mineral that has started the war.

Chosen Weapon: Magically infused crossbow, with self-reloading clip of arrows that never needs reloading. He also can use wards and energy attacks, as well as create decoys with the Art of the Word.

Back Story: Among the Eld, Tarick is a mere child. Of course, this is due to the fact that most Eld live a very long time. When Tarick was three, he was fitted with a permanent ASALF implant that lets him see and hear ASALF and communicate with ASALF using whispers. He learned the Art of the Word from his mother, while using the Art of the Hand with his father. When he turned eight, the Art of the Mind sprung up inside him. He was then taught to use it by the Clerics in his home town of Yanel-Citadel.

In a forest near Yanel-Citadel, he was hunting, and found a cave which had a large deposit of a mineral that seemed to focus his senses toward Magic. He collected some, and delivered the sample to the Clerics, who immediately saw the profit potential, and began selling it. When asked where the Clerics got the mineral, they were honest, and told the questioners about Tarick. The mineral became the curse of his life.

His relationship with ASALF is tenuous at best. He tends to get angry at it, but he recognized the need for it.

 

[Effort]

I may end up being a Pyr.

 

[Spammy]

Name: Soren Kalstaf

Gender: Male

Age: 33

Race: Hume

Appearance: Soren stands slightly above average height, with a tough, lean build. His skin is pale from his being raised in the North, and he has short-cut dark hair except for a thin, short, braided rat tail hanging from the back of his head laced with gold bands to indicate his status in the Cutting Winds School. The clothes he wears are still reminscient of his training, mainly dark navy with a grey trim. His right arm is missing below the elbow, replaced with a none-too-expensive looking mechanical prosthetic that is as dexterous as it looks, so not very. He wears his scabbard on his right hip, and he walks as though he's not used to the weight being on that hip.

Proficiency/Art: He is trained in using the Art of the Foot to achieve bursts of supernatural speed when moving.

Chosen Weapon: His chosen weapon is a one-handed, single-edged cutting sword with a forward-pitched blade. Picture reference.

Back Story: From a young age Soren was an initiate of the Cutting Winds School of fighting in Norden that trained fighters to use the Art of the Foot to move blindingly fast and defeat opponents in a single sudden killing blow. This is extremely strenuous on the body, and trainees practice for years just to achieve a second of such speed. Many graduates become bodyguards or mercenaries, and Soren was one of the latter. At least, until a fight went poorly for him, and his right arm was wounded so badly it had to be amputated. Unable to use his preferred longsword now, and unable to wield a sword with his prosthetic arm, he's now trying to learn to fight with a new sword and his left arm. But despite his inexperience, he has forgotten nothing of how to use the Art of the Foot and is still a danger in battle.

 

[Effort]

Name: Makus Oro (Goes by Mak)
Gender: Male
Age: 32
Race: Pyr
Appearance: Dense black coat that goes down to his ankles. In the hood of the coat there is a cloth mask he can pull down in front of his face to protect him from the sun, as well as one that can be pulled up from the bottom to cover the bottom half of his face that he typically uses when interacting with people. He has special sunglasses that protect his eyes as well as function for his work.

Basically What his outfit looks like

Proficiency/Art: The Word, The Foot, The Mind. He uses The Foot to test the defenses he constructs himself as well as weaving together a powerful combination of The Word and The Mind for both personal and professional uses.

Chosen Weapon: He can use a number of martial weapons to good effect as well as some firearms but he prefers to avoid physical confrontation. Even so he does carry a small pistol and set of knives or sometimes a quarterstaff, and occasionally the spiked chain.

Back Story: Grew up in Lir, foot loose and fancy free. Sometime in his teen-hood the locals believed him and his family to be stealing from their homes. The accusations were mostly unfounded, the only evidence they had was that he was a Pyr. Makus did not like being accused for something he did not do and made a private challenge with some of his neighbors, that he would catch whoever it actually was stealing from them. Begrudgingly they accepted and Makus used his budding knowledge of The Mind and understanding of The Word to set a trap. When it was finally sprung everyone in the neighborhood found out it was a group of punk Humes. Needless to say they couldn't blame him any longer for the thefts, and thus began Makus' enterprising journey to owning his own security business.