Journey to Divine Mountain OOC

[Aristasy]

Link to IC: Journey to Divine Mountain

Premise Atlas Information Alchemy Shenshan Character Sheet

• 
  The main focus of the role play would be a journey undertaken by students of a certain school located in an isolated mountain temple, the Shenshan School of Alchemy and Medicine. It is a famous school known for being the closest to reaching the secret of divine immortality. However, for the past decade, Barbarians have been invading the civilized world, making it very unsafe to continue teaching the secrets of the school, lest an invasion result in the secrets being stolen. When it became clear that the Barbarian invasion was an ongoing threat, the Shenshan Elders transported all the school's secrets to a faraway, secret location. While the secrets were safe, the school faced the looming risk of losing any suitable teacher of such secrets, because all the elders were nearing death.
  
  At the beginning of the role play, the main invading force of the Barbarians would have been repelled by an alliance of previously independent city-states, and the Shenshan school, led by the last remaining elder, would quickly send its best students along with some reputable mercenaries to retrieve the secrets. The journey would probably take months and would involve meeting yaoguai, bandits, lingering barbarians, as well as visiting many city-states and other wonders along the way.
  
  The role play is called "Journey to Divine Mountain" as homage to "Journey to the West". Divine Mountain is a mountain located far away from Shenshan school, but is part of Shenshan property. There are three phases planned for the role play - journey to the mountain, retrieving the school secrets from within the mountain (Mwahaha!), journey back from the mountain.
  
• 
  
  
  
  Pangu City

  Arguably the "capital" of Pangu, if there was one. This city boasts the largest population full of culturally diverse denizens. Most will only ever know the people living in their neighborhood and surrounding areas, as there is usually little reason to travel very far due to all the conveniences of daily life and leisure being within quick walking distance. The ratio of wealth is quite even, with approximately two-thirds of the population being middle and upper-middle class. Most of the last third is of lower-middle or working class, and predictably, only a very small percentage of the population holds wealth greater than a house's weight in gold. Pangu City was originally a powerful theocracy, but as trade and immigration from other parts of Pangu increased, the government has become more secular and democratic in nature.
  
  Also known for its prestigious colleges of modern medicine, Martial Arts, alchemy, and history, Pangu City has a very progressive culture, abandoning the rigidity of patriarchal norms. Women hold positions of power, can own their own property, and generally face no issues due to their gender.
  
  Despite being the largest city, it has a very lackluster army. Luckily, the city is very shielded from the Barbarian invasion, as the demonic mountains of Emoshan act as a natural buffer to the north along with the Fortress of Talon's famous military. Sun Alliance Headquarters are located to the east along with mountain ranges to the west. In fact, a significant portion of the population have doubts on whether Barbarians really exist or not.
  Yewan City

  One of the larger cities of Pangu, Yewan is known for its night life and passion for culinary arts. Many tourists enter healthy and leave a few pounds fatter, due to the abundance of delicious and reasonably priced foods. There are not many quiet residential areas in Yewan, as most of the living quarters are in the upper floors of restaurants, shopping districts, and night clubs.
  
  During the day, the streets are relatively empty as most are sleeping. Known as the "homeless" hours, it is at this time when beggars and other unfortunates wander the streets more aggressively than at night. While Yewan City has an excellent police department due to the chief being a very influential and good person, the rest of the government is quite corrupt. Bribes and backstabbing are very common as the politicians who try to do good are pushed out. Recently, there have been rumors of a vigilante uprising.
  Fortress of Talon

  Famed for their military might, what was originally an army of defectors grew into a powerful independent fortress, and eventually respected for their role in pushing back the initial invasion of the Barbarians. Without their defense, the Barbarian Output would have been much further south-east. Nowadays, the Fortress of Talon is a medium-sized city full of Martial Arts schools that recruit and prepare students for service in the military.
  Den of Madness

  Criminals, mercenaries, Barbarians, it doesn't matter who you are, what you are, this is where you go when you are wanted for murder. This is where you go when the mayor has found out you were sleeping with his wife and daughter. The Den of Madness is where you go when you need to hide from the authorities. Ironically, this city may be the most progressive of them all, because no one will judge you for how you look, they will judge you by what you can do for them and how large your purse is.
  Barbarian Outpost

  The headquarters for the invading forces of the Barbarians. Little is known about the lands north and west to this location, as none dare knowing it is a one-way trip.
  Ningjing Village

  
  A surprisingly large and tame village of common folk. The weather is consistently warm and humid, leading to great bounties of herbs, crops, and healthy livestock. A notable fact about Ningjing Village is that it houses what villages describe as "ethical mercenaries", known for their fair pricing, quality of service, and refusal of non-virtuous requests.
  Sun Alliance Headquarters

  Housing the second strongest military might in Pangu, many like to debate which army would win in a battle, Talon or Sun, as Talon is touted to have the strongest individual soldiers whereas Sun has larger numbers of less distinguished individuals. In addition to allying with Talon to drive back the Barbarian invasion, the Sun Alliance plays a great role in exterminating the yaoguai and vengeful spirits roaming south from Emoshan.
  Emoshan

  Lush, beautiful forests coating mountains laced with tranquil waterfalls. The catch is that it is full of yaoguai, vengeful spirits, and other creatures yet unknown to humankind. It is a mixed blessing for Emoshan to exist, as without their indiscriminate predation of humans and Barbarians alike, Pangu would be much more open to invasion than it currently is.
• 
  The World of Pangu
  
  Legend has it that the universe came into existence from formless chaos. As the chaos started to take form, two opposing forces, Yin and Yang, gradually reached equilibrium. It was from this new state, that the very first being in the universe, Pangu, appeared. Without any ado, Pangu immediately began creating the world that we see today. After 36,000 years, Pangu died, becoming a part of the world left behind.
  
  This role play will take place in an alternate universe, where ancient China exists in a completely different setting compared to what history would tell us in our current world. This alternate world is known as the world of Pangu, where there are vast, grassy plains horses freely roam across, lush greens coating mountainous regions, and dense forests infiltrated by both gentle and violent rivers. The known continent has no end to the west and north, but the east and south eventually gives way to the Endless Sea.
  
  Chi
  
  Pure energy, with no affinity is known as Chi. It is all around us and can be molded into more sophisticated forms. Chi can be used in various ways. Manipulating and using it in its pure form is the basis of all Martial Arts. Infusing it with the elements is known as magic. Finally, condensing Chi, various metals, and refining it into a pill for consumption is known as Alchemy.
  
  Elements
  
  There are five elements - water, wood, fire, earth, and metal. Water empowers wood elements while overpowering fire elements. Wood empowers fire and overpowers earth. Fire empowers earth and overpowers metal. Earth empowers metal and overpowers water. Metal empowers water and overpowers wood.
  
  Culture
  
  There is no single culture encompassing all of Pangu, so different city-states, villages, and areas will have different dialects and ways of life. Common across all are having the rich and the poor, and a hatred of Barbarians, invaders from the west and north.
  
• 
  
  
  In Pangu, the practice of alchemy is common and widespread, especially internal alchemy, which is the cultivation and improvement of oneself. While alchemy for the many schools competing throughout the lands is the lifelong journey of attaining divine immortality, where improvement is long-term, gradual, and inheritantly safe for the health of the practitioner, recently there have been "secular" sects popping up where the goal is to quickly refine and enhance an aspect to extremes, at the cost of longevity and stability of the body.
  
  
  Branches

  Internal Alchemy - the practice of utilizing refinement techniques to improve oneself. Results are relatively gradual, but permanent.
  
  Alchemy - the manipulation and refinement of something external to the body, whether that be rocks to gold or strengthening a bamboo shoot to be stronger than steel. Results are quicker, but the refined item deteriorates after a duration dependent on how much Chi has been used.
  
  Medicine - mostly herbalism with some alchemy techniques utilized when creating medicine. Recently, there has been a radical new school promoting surgery, which consists of using refined tools and alchemy to fix the body in a more mechanical fashion. Results have been hit or miss.
  Item Types

  Potions - liquid compounds that provide moderate effects over a moderate period of time. The amount of time between consumption and the effects tends to be quick, within 5-10 minutes. Most last hours to days.
  
  Elixir - usually liquid, but can be gaseous. These are much more difficult to make, but provide extremely potent effects for a longer period of time. The amount of time between consumption and the effects is usually within 5 minutes. Effects at their most potent last a week usually, but instead of instantly disappearing, they taper off for a few days.
  
  Pill - most pills take longer for effects to appear, as they are solid. Ingestion to first effects is usually 20 minutes to an hour. Effects tend to only last a day. These are very cheap to make.
  
  Refined Pill - due to the drastic increase in quality, scams involving regular pills advertised as refined pills run rampant throughout the more capitalistic city-states. The time it takes for effects to appear can vary from instantaneous to even days later. However, all effects from refined pills are permanent.
  Alchemy Schools

  Most focus on at most two branches and keep themselves funded by selling products created by students. The majority of students are middle to upper class young adults following their parent's directives. Many will join, but most will drop out to attend other disciplines. Alchemy as a career can be rewarding, but the time and money investment is a significant hurdle. The schools tend to have more male students at the lower ranks, but later on the gender ratio evens out in the Senior student rank and higher. It is rare to see a female Elder rank because most end up married off and retired from Alchemy as professionals, even if they continue their practice at home.
• 
  
  
  Translating to "Divine Mountain", Shenshan School is located north-eastern on the known continent. The actual Divine Mountain is physically located far, far away in a secret place. Before the invasions from the Barbarians, the school was rumored to be the closest to discovering the secret to divine immortality, allowing mortals to ascend to the heavens.
  
  Ranks within the school are, from lowest to highest:
  
  Fledgling - any student younger than 10 starts here, as in addition to alchemy studies, personal development and a balanced upbringing as a person is included in the education. Fledglings are rare because the cost of attendance is much higher.
  
  Trainee - any student older than 10 would start here, the main focus is on learning basic refining techniques and herbology for simple medicine. It is not uncommon for a few adults to be this rank, but they tend to graduate to the next one very quickly.
  
  Student - having passed the basic exam, this rank consists of the majority of the school's population. Students wildly vary in motivation, so some can be excellent learners, while others are becoming old enough to resist their parent's will, wanting to pursue other disciplines.
  
  Senior Student - there are probably one Senior Student for every four Students. These individuals are able to advance their education with minimal guidance and sometimes mentor Fledglings and Trainees as preparation for advancement to Instructor.
  
  Instructor - at this rank, one is provided a stipend to continue their own education along with helping teach classes to Student rank and below.
  
  Senior Instructor - this rank is where the main focus of responsibility shifts away from teaching others, and one is expected to advance the name of the school itself. Most rarely teach class and spend their days researching new techniques and attempt to make discoveries.
  
  Elder - while almost every single bearer of this rank will be nearing the tail end of the expected mortal lifespan in age, there have been relatively young Elder ranks in the school's history. Unfortunately, many gave their lives transporting and defending the school's secrets from the Barbarians when the decision to hide them far away in Divine Mountain was made. There is currently only one Elder that is still able to teach the secrets. Should they die, the next generation will be set back quite a bit, and will have to recover those secrets themselves.
  
• 
  Family Name:
  Given Name:
  
  Age:
  Gender:
  
  Class: (Noble, Commoner, or Poor)
  Zodiac: (Dragon, Tiger, Rat, Rabbit, Dog, etc)
  Appearance: (Picture, or very detailed description)
  
  Equipment: (If applicable)
  Combat Style: (If applicable)
  Element: (Everyone has an affinity even if they do not use magic)
  
  Affliation: (Shenshan or Mercenary)
  Rank: (Must be between Student and Instructor rank for Shenshan, feel free to come up with one for Mercenary)
  
  Personality: (Optional)
  Background: (Optional)
  
  Sample Post: (Use this as a practice post, some prompts are - skipping afternoon class at Shenshan to go peek at the nearby village hot springs, thief tries to run off with your character's coin purse, sparring session or training magic, etc.)
  

 

[Aristasy]

Characters

Buras Garethson - played by @Beowulf
Yu Ke'ai - played by @JRPG Fanatic
Orchid Qiū 邱 - played by @Pray4me
Ying Tsu - played by @Aristasy

 

[Aristasy]

Reserved for Summaries

 

[Aristasy]

Miscellaneous

Interest Thread

 

[Beowulf]

Buras Garethson

Family Name: Garethson
Given Name: Buras

Age: 26
Gender: Male

Class: Poor.
Zodiac: Ox
Appearance:

A lattice work of stitching covers his back. The chord appears to be tendons of some sort, and seem to be surprisingly maintained.

Equipment: Leather pauldrons, bracer, grieves, and chest piece. The chest piece is covered in chain mail. The joints of his armor are also covered by chain mail. A massive two handed axe is his weapon of choice.
Combat Style: His death having been foretold by the shamans, he does not fear death like so many others. Charging into battle with a rage nearly unrivaled, Buras dives into combat with strength granted to him by demons, so the stories say. He is just as likely to use the haft of his axe or his bare hands to bludgeon his opponent at close range as lop off a limb with the bladed end. In a one on one duel, he will constantly be on the offensive, pushing his opponent off balance and looking to trip him up. There is no honor in battle, only victory or death.
Element: Earth

Affliation: Mercenary
Rank: Barbarian

Personality: Buras knows that everyone doesn't like him. He left his clan to stay here, and he's a barbarian so nobody here likes him. He is seen as a traitor by his kind, and as an uncivilized brute by the rest. Well, if they aren't going to like him then he won't like them. If they think he's a savage, then he'll be a savage. Let them scorn him all they want, in the end if they want to guarantee their safety they will end up hiring him.
Background: Buras was born into the Broken Horn tribe of what the people of Pangu call Barbarians. But to him, the Broken Horn tribe were not Barbarians, they were family. And the raids they did on Pangu was merely something that had to be done for survival. A nomadic life was hard, and food was often a day to day thing. Whenever they stumbled across a granary, they were all to grateful to the gods and quickly looted it. They did not raid because they wanted to, they did it out of necessity.

But a culture that required everyone to fight meant that the young had to be strong and grow stronger. The only exception to this rule were the shamans, and even then a physically weak shaman was uncommon. Buras was no exception. It was said that he came out of his mother's womb with a fury the elders had not seen. And his first day away from his mother had him wrestling a wolf to the ground. Of course these are all just tall tales, but one particular tale is true.

It was when he was passing from boyhood to manhood. He had to perform a task of his choosing. Most young men challenged their father to a match, a match that was already decided for. The fathers often not wanting the shame of their sons not being able to become men. The more dangerous option was to hunt a chosen animal. The few that chose this path often hunted legendarily large deer or wolf packs said to have grown to the hundreds. Buras decided to do the latter of the two, and his query was the great bear Thorburn, who's hide was said to be covered in the arrows and spears of previous hunters, and who's claws were sharper then swords. And how was Buras going to kill this beast, you might ask? With his bare hands, of course. If seemingly no weapons could harm Throburn, then he would kill it using no weapons.

Here the tale becomes unclear on what exactly happens. Two sources directly contradict each other, one saying he found Thorburn dead and claiming he killed it, this coming from a Barbarian of assumedly a different tribe, and the other telling of a great battle between him and the bear that lasted for supposedly three days and three nights, this coming from Buras himself. Either way, Thorburn was dead and he dragged it back to the tribe.

Seeing the great bear dead, the shamans saw the potential for greatness in Buras and that night ushered him over to their tent. When he arrived, he was firmly tied down and they told him to remain strong as they lashed at him with knotted whips, some having animal teeth tied into the knots. The exact reason for why they did this is unclear, perhaps its an attempt to attract the gaze of their blood thirsty gods. After that, they used the tendons of great Thorburn to "seal away his soul so it is not lost," stitching the woulds they had just created shut.

After that it was all a haze to Buras, who was barely able to see through the pain, it was taking all of his strength to just stay conscious. But he saw the writhing figures of the shamans dancing around the fire, heard their chants beseeching the gods and asking for their gift of prophecy. It was here that he saw it, in the fire, a tall and unnaturally thin being with horns that looked to scrape the sky on top of a horse with tusks that could gore mountains. No, it wasn't sitting on top of the horse, it was fused with the horse. Rider and horse were inseparable. And he realized, that this is what would kill him. He did not need the shamans to translate what the gods said to him, he knew.

Weeks later, when Buras healed from his wounds, he began battling without a hint of fear. He knew his death, and none of the battles he has fought in or any of the combatants he has fought against looked anything like the horror he had seen in the fire that night. His fame grew, and tales of his fearlessness spread throughout Barbarian lands.

So if he was so revered, why did he leave? Simple, he did not like the Barbarian way of living. He slowly grew to despise it. Having no longer a need to fear not seeing tomorrow, Buras began to see the pointless way of their life. They fought for food that would last them a couple of days at best, then have to fight again for more food. If it they didn't kill each other, then it would be the Pangu people that killed them. So, sick of it all, he left. But the fates had other plans for him, and he knew his death would be in battle. So he became a mercenary, the people of Pangu not trusting of a Barbarian and the Barbarians, viewing him as a traitor, would like nothing better but to see his head on a spike.

Sample Post:
How did Buras end up like this? Standing in a hurried arena, with men lining up to fight him. Oh, that was right, some warrior thought that a lowly barbarian would easily fall to their skill. Well once Buras straightened that man out and left him with a broken and bloody nose, other warriors, perhaps friends or perhaps those that just wanted to fight him, quickly challenged him one by one.

This was his fifth opponent so far. A scrawny whelp that looked like he barely knew how to hold the sword that was in his hands. The matched seemed a bit unfair to him, so he dropped his axe to face the boy. Apparently that was a great insult, for the boy rushed at him with all the grace of a hog and skill of a stone. And all Buras had to do was step to one side, stick out his foot, and push the kid to send him on his way to the ground. All of this happened in the blink of an eye. "This match is done." he growled in their language so they could understand him.

But they would have none of it. He did not press his advantage and prepare a finishing blow. The crowd hoisted the poor boy up and practically threw him back into the ring. By now the boy had realized their mistake and where visibly shaking. But honor or some other equally ridiculous thing was keeping the boy in the ring and compelling him to fight. Sighing in annoyance, Buras says "fine" and gets into a fighting stance. As soon as he was set, he charged the boy, roaring as he crossed the ring. Taken aback by the sudden ferocity that he hadn't shown his other rivals, the boy stood in shock as the barbarian closed the gap.

Reaching the boy, who still hadn't moved, Buras grabbed him by the throat with one hand, wrenched the sword away with the other, and slammed the kid to the ground. And once the kid opened his eyes, he was met with the sight and sound of Buras' open mouth roaring, once more, in his face. That was all he needed to do, his grip on the boys throat alone would mean their death,, all he had to do was squeeze and he'd crush it. So he got up, he looked around at the ring of people and was pleased to see them all scurrying away from him as his gaze passed over them.

Snorting with the knowledge that no one would challenge him now, he walked over to his axe and picked it up from the ground. At least they had been smart enough to leave his axe alone when he dropped it. If he had found it missing then he'd have no choice but to rip this small village apart looking for it. They wouldn't have liked him afterwords, but he had the feeling they didn't like him now. So he decided to leave, they didn't need a mercenary anyways. He had heard of a place called Nenjing where mercenaries gathered. Perhaps he'd get a job there.

 

[Beowulf]

Do the lands of the barbarians of a name? And is anything known about their culture, or do I get to go nuts and make it up as I go along?

 

[junebug]

What age range would you say the students are in? :)

 

[Aristasy]

@Beowulf "Barbarians" is a catch-all term for "the outsiders", so there isn't much known about them for the layperson. Most scholars who try to study them in depth don't return alive :p You would have liberty to make up lore for Buras.

@rhea Good question~ Any students younger than 10 would be considered fledgling rank, so older than that. There is no upper age limit, though it is rare to have someone older than early 20s to be anything lower rank than Senior Student rank.

 

[junebug]

My idea works out then! Thank you for the clarification! xD @Aristasy

 

[Aristasy]

I added more information about alchemy and a bit more explanation of the ranks in the Shenshan school.

Next up is more elaboration on the actual world itself, the element system, and maybe a world map for context.

 

[Beowulf]

Hm, I don't know what to write for my sample. Other then that I'm done, so feel free to look it over and tell me if there's something wrong with it.

 

[MUSΞ]

Starting my cs, but waiting for a bit more information to help smooth out my character~

Think I'm going to make him/her (haven't decided yet) 17. Seems like a good age when first becoming somewhat adult mature, but still having childish, teen tendencies. Should be fun.

 

[Aristasy]

@Beowulf Great character :) Is the strength granted through fearlessness earth magic or was that figurative? Since his element is Earth, wood-based effects would be most harmful to him while fire-based effects would be the least harmful, sometimes positive in effect. If he uses any earth-based attacks, water would suffer the most damage while metal the least. Other elements would be neutral to him, meaning there are no bonuses or penalties in what the effects do.

I also added a world map and some info about major cities and towns. It is by no means the complete map as there are smaller stops on our journey that will be added in as we go.

For your sample post, I would recommend writing about his current life as a mercenary, possibly leading into how he ends up as one of the mercenaries accompanying the Shenshan students. Ninjing Village may be a potential starting point for Buras if interested :)

 

[Beowulf]

Could it be possible that he used earth magic subconsciously? If not then I was being figurative.

 

[Beowulf]

I have completely filled out the character sheet.

 

[Aristasy]

Maybe its subconscious at first, but later on he learns about it more during the journey and improves it.

If you go the enhancement-magic routes, there will need to be some drawbacks, but you don't necessarily have to come up with it now.

 

[Aristasy]

I have completely filled out the character sheet.

Accepted :) Welcome to Panguuuuu, foreigner~

 

[Aristasy]

I will only be on my phone until late tomorrow night, so may not be able to update stuff in depth until Tuesday. I can answer questions throughout or approve characters though.

The info is mostly done, the role play would start with students at Shenshan and mercenaries at Ningjing or nearby.

If there is an inbalance to start, I'll fill the gap.

 

[Beowulf]

Meanwhile here I sit, character finished, all questions having been answered. Alone.

 

[junebug]

I... have not received any alerts for this. I didn't realize it was still here because of that. With that being said, if it hasn't been seen, I've sort of migrated off Iwaku to a more casual rp site. I'm still around, but I don't think I'll be around enough to give this rp what it truly deserves. Seriously, if I'd known people were still posting in here, it might've been different and I would've had my writing prompt done by now, but with the stresses of college and just seeing the detail of sample posts, I don't think I'm going to be a good fit as I'd hoped. Apologies for keeping everyone in the dark- I could've sworn I'd watched this thread but it appears I hadn't. You guys have fun! Good luck on the roleplay!