Graceling Roleplay

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Rainjay

The Queen Jay
Original poster
FOLKLORE MEMBER
Invitation Status
Posting Speed
  1. 1-3 posts per week
  2. One post per week
  3. Slow As Molasses
Online Availability
3-10 PM EST
Writing Levels
  1. Intermediate
  2. Adept
  3. Advanced
  4. Adaptable
Preferred Character Gender
  1. Male
  2. Female
  3. Transgender
  4. Primarily Prefer Female
Genres
Fantasy, science fiction, dystopian, post-apocalyptic, apocalyptic, modern, high fantasy, fandom (post- or pre-canon)
This is an active WIP.
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based loosely on the novel by Kristin Cashore

Estiron is a continent on Terra; the Isle of Man. It is largely segregated from the rest of Terra, and for good reason. The men and women in Estiron are caught in never ending conflict, be it war, hatred, or even disease. Nobody wants to meddle in the affairs of Man.

The nature of Man has also segregated itself from nature, and magic. They live in a harsh, drab reality, distanced from the fantasy of the world; their only connection to the peoples and lands outside of Estiron is through fairytale and myth. And, of course, the Gracelings.

Those that are Graced have abilities straight out of a children's storybook. They are strange, unusual, and unreal, and as such the Graced are isolated and feared. However, the royal courts of the kingdoms of Estiron find the Gracelings quite useful, taking advantage of their powers to wage war against each other, using them to spur the eternal conflict amongst each other.

For centuries the Graced have been abused in this way, but no more.

The kingdoms are falling one by one into one of the greatest wars of Mankind, and the Graced are on the frontlines. They act as spies, warriors, knights, medics, and more, and in some cases, they will be the first to die. It is a Graceling's war, initiated by Man; and the Court finds this absolutely distasteful. They will do anything to stop the Graced from fighting their own kind, and to liberate them from the kings and queens that use them as pawns.

Will you help the Graceling rebellion, or will you take the side of the royal kingdoms of Estiron?

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The Roleplay

The characters will be split by allegiance and will be working, some independently, and some in a group, depending on which direction you take, to either win the war, or end it. The Court is attempting to end the war while those of Osion allegiance are attempting to end the war before it begins; and that means assassinating the Kings of Rhodontaea. Those from Asene are trying to sort out their true allegiance in this conflict.

More information will be provided in-roleplay. Players are encouraged to help further the plot and to provide sub-plots. A large majority of this story will be played out through side stories created by the players.

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Map of Estiron

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Map base from arsheesh.

In Estiron lie six kingdoms: Myropion, Iteos, Osion, Asene, Rhodontaea, and Eulica. Each has its own royal court and peoples and culture, and each, for the most part, hate every other kingdom in the Isle.

Osion
-Osion-
Osion is a rather massive kingdom, composed mostly of farmers and miners. They are bordered by several mountain ranges. The land dips inward from the mountains, like a subtle crater, often causing problems with rainwater flooding. As such, many buildings are built on a high foundation. The castle itself is built on higher ground right outside Estia City, so high off the ground that it never floods.

Osion makes most of it's trade on ores and agriculture. Many of the people producing these goods are poor, living in weak houses and with tattered clothing, although everyone in the country is ensured enough to eat, and most have an education. Crime is rather common, and is dealt with severely.

Osion makes most of it's trade on ores and agriculture. Many of the people producing these goods are poor, living in weak houses and with tattered clothing, although everyone in the country is ensured enough to eat, and most have an education, although free education stops after the age of eleven and only the upper middle class can afford higher education. Crime is rather common, and is dealt with severely.

The Osion court consists of a living King and Queen, several princes and princesses, and a decent sized family. The Queen is a gentle hearted woman, but has little say over the kingdom's politics, or over her husbands actions. The King is a cruel man, although his influence is rather subtle; he murders those who cross him, fires servants for mistakes and sentences thieves, even young children who stole a piece of bread, to death.

Asene
-Asenine-
Asene is an ocean side kingdom, focusing on fishing, farming, trading, and seafaring. Their kingdom is surrounded by various forests, mountains, and hills, although they aren't nearly as segregated from the world as Osion is. The kingdom is a large trading and transportation hub. The royal family lives in a castle in Mansoia City. Their castle is said to be one of the biggest in the continent, stocked with luxuries unknown of to many. In fact, the entire kingdom is middle class to wealthy, with few lower class citizens. Those in the lower class receive poor treatment, however, and crime is quite common.

Asene is a popular travel destination, particularly for the rich and royal, as few others have the coin for traveling. The kingdom is filled with lavish inns and taverns, and has many a tourist resort as well, particularly in their capitol city, where they do tours of the royal castle.

The Asene court consists of a widowed Queen, her two twin daughters, and their elder brother, alongside several aunts and uncles. Most of the living relatives to the heirs live in the castle- its big enough. The Queen is very big on wealth and money although she loves her family very much. It is known that she was titled Queen early in her youth- she was only fifteen, and was largely unprepared to rule, and still is.

Iteos
-Itean-
Iteos is south of Asene, and is a close ally to the seafaring kingdom. It is also a rather small kingdom, consisting of two forests and grasslands, surrounded by the sea. They focus on fishing as well as some agriculture and forestry work, producing furniture and other goods for homes and construction. They also serve as a trade hub. The citizens here are varied in religion, culture, and wealth, and all are given "equal" treatment; the lower class receive little benefits. However crime is low, and most have little to protest about.

The court of Iteos consists of an old King, a middle aged High prince, and several younger children. The castle is rather small and is located awhile away from their capitol city, and so anyone in the family not a direct heir to the throne lives elsewhere.

A decade ago the kingdom began to fall into economic collapse although they have since mostly recovered with help from Asene. In return, their closest trade ally is Asene and all exports go through Asene before traveling elsewhere in Estiron, and the kingdom gives a percentage of the profits to their Queen in thanks.

Eulica
-Eulican-
This kingdom exists entirely on an island far south from the other kingdoms. Eulica focuses on fishing, agriculture, and luxury goods. The country, although not mostly rich or middle class, is incredibly wealthy in a variety of ways. The citizens don rings of gold and silver, one for each family member, and adorn themselves with hoop earrings and other jewelry and decorations. They dress lavishly and comfortably, and don't hesitate to express their cultural habits.

The country is largely separate from the rest of the Isle, and actually celebrate their Gracelings, rather than abuse or isolate them. They do trade with the other kingdoms for much needed goods, and have good relationships with Osion, the main exporter of their valuable metals.

The court consists of a loving King and Queen, and their seven children; five sons and two daughters. Each has their own castle across the kingdom, decreasing in size as they decrease in age.

Rhodontaea
-Rhodontaean-
This kingdom is up north and exists in two separate land masses. They are ruled by two different courts, as well; the Kings are brothers, but have married separately. One division of the court has no current heir, while the other has one; a young girl.

Not much is known about Rhodontaea because, like Eulica, they are rather peaceful and keep out of everybody's business. They live in an area that is snowy and wintery most of the year, which makes trade difficult. There are several passes through the mountains to get to the country, although most trade comes in by boat in the good seasons.

The people are much loved by their Kings and are taken care of nicely.

Myropion
-Myropian-
This last kingdom is rather mysterious. Little is known of Rhodontaea, but even less is known of Myropion. They are at the border of the continents edge, the edge of humanity, and they keep to themselves, rarely even trading. Some believe the countries border is heavily protected to prevent citizens from leaving the kingdom. Others believe that the kingdom is a utopia, so lovely that nobody would ever want to leave.

It is known that their court is run by a solitary King, looking for a bride. His sister was married to one of the Rhodontaea Kings, and his first born niece to the Eulican King.

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The Graced

What does it mean to be Graced? Those that are Graced never show their Grace until they come of a certain age, usually anywhere from the age of four at the very earliest to around nine at the latest. Most kids show their Grace at the age of six or seven. It is usually impossible to tell if a child is Graced beforehand; many children in Estiron have an eye color that shifts color, like a green-blue hazel for example, until they are around seven years of age. Usually, most children's eyes settle into a natural color; blue, green, brown, black, gray. But a child who is Graced has eyes that settle into unnatural colors- one eye will be one color, and the other eye is another color.

After a child's eyes settle, the news quickly passes along through villages. The Graced are shunned, disliked- by all except the King or Queen of the kingdom. Many royals will take these Gracelings into their home, and observe their Graces until they decide if the child is useful or not. If they deem the child of use to their court, they keep the child in their possession. If not, the child is returned to parents- parents that often do not want the Graceling to begin with.

The Graced do not have powers typically associated with superheros or magical girls. Their powers are much more unique and more of common use. Such skills would be similar to the ability to hold your breath for a long time, or to run faster and longer before resting. The Grace to control fire or create matter from the air is unheard of.

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The Court

Every kingdom has their own court, but the Court, capital C, is a totally different thing. The Court is an underground operation run by Gracelings and other human supporters. The idea is to fight back against the royal courts that use and manipulate the Graced to their advantage, and to win equality for Gracelings in the kingdoms.

The Court is based in Osion, and was created by a royal Graceling to fight back against the King's orders. The King was using his Gracelings to execute enemies to the throne and common thieves alike. Initially the Court was only a small effort to stop his antics, but since has grown with the threat of the cross kingdom war.

There are allies of the Court across Estiron, although most allies reside in Osion, Asene, or Eulica. Common allies only provide small services; a free night at an inn, or a new riding horse. Others however, with title, can provide greater services; gold, intel, access to spies and the spy network.

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The War

Estiron has been largely in peace for the past two centuries, but Osion has recently instigated conflict between at least two other kingdoms; Asene and Rhodontaea. The conflict originated over trade routes and supply, but grew after the Rhodontaean heir, a young girl, was declared kidnapped, and the Kings pointed fingers at Osion. Osion of course denied having any part in the kidnapping, although Asene has joined Rhodontaea in the battle against Osion to find the young princess.

It is believed that Osion sent a messenger convoy to Myropion in a request for aid. It has yet to be confirmed if they have an ally in Myropion, however.

Iteos, although closely allied with Asene, appears to be looking towards Osion as a new ally, and Asene is unsure if they are to back out of the conflict and ally with Osion or not. Eulica has remained neutral on the matter, although are more closely allied with Osion due to trade ores and metals.

The Osion king and both Rhodontaean Kings are known to be gathering their armies for war, particularly recruiting Gracelings of all ages.

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Rules

1. All Iwaku rules apply.
2. No godmodding, metagaming or powerplaying of any sort.
3. If you wish to leave the roleplay, please let us know instead of just dropping out!
4. Two Graced characters per person, 3 max. Do not make more characters than you think you can play!
5. Be respectful to other players!
6. I expect all players to be able to post at least 3 paragraphs (4+ sentences each) per post, and to be able to post at least twice a week.
7. If another player has locked you into conversation and then disappears, you have my permission to godmod the character ONLY enough to free your character; i.e. "Lucy finished chatting with Tom before saying her goodbyes."
8. If you don't post for a week without notice, I will remove you from the roleplay roster. Do this twice and I will not allow you back into the roleplay.
9. I reserve the right to accept and decline all CS's.

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Character Creation

Below is the CS for your character!

All of the Graced in this roleplay will belong to a court; other characters will either be in the court through blood, or can be a captain, soldier, mentor, etc.

Name: (many of the Graced may only go by a first name)
Title/rank: (if applicable)
Age: (see below for details)
Gender:
Court: (see below)
Allegiance: (are they loyal to their court or to the Graceling Court)

Appearance: (please try to refrain from anime pictures. Must come with a one paragraph, 6 sentence description)
Personality: (one paragraph, 6 sentences minimum)
Grace: (only if the character is Graced. If not, remove this)
History: (2-3 paragraphs minimum)
Occupation: (if any)
Other:

Graceling characters must be 10-20 years of age. Officials must be over 25. No characters below the age of eight.

Nobody is allowed to have a character from Myropion, Eulica, or Rhodontaea without permission. The roleplay will take place in Osion and Asene. Characters may have traveled from one court into another, and may be from one court and visiting another- this will most likely be the case for any characters from the three forbidden kingdoms. However all characters will be in or from some court or another, whether or not they are royal and have rank or not. Your character might just be some poor kid taken from a lower class family and brought to the court because your Grace has some use or other. Or you might be a Graceless servant.

Characters are allowed to be royal but I will set personal limits on this and acceptance of these characters is at my discretion. I'm taking the roles that seem the best suited. It is best to pitch a character idea before writing up an entire CS.

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Characters

I am accepting:

2 more direct heirs (one Graced)
3 relatives to a throne
10 more Gracelings
10 more etcetera characters

Pending characters:

None.

I have accepted:

None yet.

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Questions? Comments? Please ask below or shoot me a PM!

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Let me know if you're interested!​
 
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If we can get a few more people I'll put up the sign-ups! :D
 
I'd love to join but I've never read the books! D:
That's totally alright. I think I've got all the relevant info up on the first post, so long as you read it, you should be okay ^^ And if you have any questions, just ask me!


One more person, guys, and I'll launch the sign ups! :D :D :D
 
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I'd totally love to join!
 
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I am interested in this. I honestly love a Rp that focuses on several paragraphs of well place content required. This much depth will only fan out to be something amazing.
 
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@Rainjay If you make the sign ups today, I will do it first thing tomorrow! If I wasn't going out with friends, I'd be already making plans xD;
 
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Oh my god :D Happy that the roleplay got so much interest!

I'll do my best to put up the sign-ups tonight or early tomorrow! I've got some holiday stuff to attend to but after that I'll set it up!
 
I sent you a PM. I asked you some questions that if you say Okay to will be able to let me formulate a good and long character sheet.
 
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Hey, one quick question- are people with mind-reading graces still disliked and all? I don't know if this was an issue resolved later on; I only read the first book.
 
Hey, one quick question- are people with mind-reading graces still disliked and all? I don't know if this was an issue resolved later on; I only read the first book.
I only read the first book myself; I'd say they are generally frowned upon, due to being an intrusion on someones privacy.
 
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Ohgods. I only remember reading a book more than after book one (one of the heirs, I presume)
I'm not even sure then, I read it (more of read the plot and was interested)
Nevertheless, I'm interested of joining :)
I like the standards since I'm been trying to return roleplaying.

You say not anime? Does this mean, we are using faceclaims or do we just write up the overall appearance?
 
Ohgods. I only remember reading a book more than after book one (one of the heirs, I presume)
I'm not even sure then, I read it (more of read the plot and was interested)
Nevertheless, I'm interested of joining :)
I like the standards since I'm been trying to return roleplaying.

You say not anime? Does this mean, we are using faceclaims or do we just write up the overall appearance?
Faceclaim, photography, just not a specifically drawn anime image. You can if you'd like, I just prefer that they aren't used. I find most images used are either lacking in detail or include wild physical features that a character in such a roleplay wouldn't have.
 
I hope their is more room, I enjoyed the concept of the books ^^ I read all three and yes, Mind-reading is very...hated and if a King/Queen finds out you have it. They won't leave you alone until you are in their hands, or dead.
 
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Faceclaim, photography, just not a specifically drawn anime image. You can if you'd like, I just prefer that they aren't used. I find most images used are either lacking in detail or include wild physical features that a character in such a roleplay wouldn't have.
I see, so it is entirely up to the roleplayers that we can 'see' their character.
When will you post the sign-ups :)


I need a recap though; What specific powers can we have? All usual powers such as elemental, does not exist.
For example, more strength than an average person is allowed? Breathing underwater? Talking to animals?
 
I see, so it is entirely up to the roleplayers that we can 'see' their character.
When will you post the sign-ups :)


I need a recap though; What specific powers can we have? All usual powers such as elemental, does not exist.
For example, more strength than an average person is allowed? Breathing underwater? Talking to animals?
Sign ups will probably be up tomorrow.

As for powers, I do ask people just try to keep them from not being over powered. The ability to read the thoughts of everybody on the planet would not only be over powered, but probably would have resulted in the character having been executed young anyhow.

Greater strength, breathing underwater, those are both good by me. Talking to animals I'd say would be unavailable, as animals don't really talk. They communicate through noise, but not talking. Being able to sense the emotions of animals, and to instinctively be able to communicate with them through body language, would be an acceptable alternative.

Basically, it doesn't have to be something that could naturally happen (underwater breathing per say), but it has to affect something that actually happens, if that makes sense. Animals don't talk, so you can't talk to them. Matter cannot (as far as we are aware anyhow) be created without a chemical reaction and humans cannot create those reactions on their own, so controlling elements and creating objects is a Grace that cannot occur.

I guess exceptions to that would be things like mind reading and stuff, so I'm not entirely sure how to describe what's off limits or not, but I hope I managed to help rather than confuse.
 
Sign ups will probably be up tomorrow.

As for powers, I do ask people just try to keep them from not being over powered. The ability to read the thoughts of everybody on the planet would not only be over powered, but probably would have resulted in the character having been executed young anyhow.

Greater strength, breathing underwater, those are both good by me. Talking to animals I'd say would be unavailable, as animals don't really talk. They communicate through noise, but not talking. Being able to sense the emotions of animals, and to instinctively be able to communicate with them through body language, would be an acceptable alternative.

Basically, it doesn't have to be something that could naturally happen (underwater breathing per say), but it has to affect something that actually happens, if that makes sense. Animals don't talk, so you can't talk to them. Matter cannot (as far as we are aware anyhow) be created without a chemical reaction and humans cannot create those reactions on their own, so controlling elements and creating objects is a Grace that cannot occur.

I guess exceptions to that would be things like mind reading and stuff, so I'm not entirely sure how to describe what's off limits or not, but I hope I managed to help rather than confuse.
Mmm, It was helpful anyhow. I'll search more on the book later.
 
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How many powers are we allowed to have then? Many powers have subpowers so are we allowed to have all the powers of that one general power or do we have a limitation on how many subpowers/powers in general that we can have?
 
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