Lady Nightingale's Academy for Future Monarchs - {CLOSED}

[Lady Sabine]

Thirty years ago, The Reckoning encompassed the continent of Damre. From East coast to West, no nation went untouched, no royal family unshaken, no military unbloodied. It was a combination of things- a period of cold, dry weather. A blight afflicting grain. A new strain of the bloody flux. The untimely death of an emperor. The invention of the canon. The HellFire plague's reappearance. A discontented baron who thought he could do a better job of ruling than his current king. A disenfranchised exile making his return. A new cult sweeping the nation and burning the unworthy.​

It all added up quickly.​

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Famine.​

​

Disaster.​

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Plague.​

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Rebellion.​

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War.​

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Strife.​

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Death.​

No nation was spared, not completely. When the dust settled and the rebuilding began, eight years ago, all the leaders of all the nations in the world met with one another. Another war could not be allowed. They must learn to communicate and cooperate and prevent another Reckoning.​

As part of their plans, they contacted Lady Nightingale. She was a woman with no connections to any nation or ethnic group, a perfect diplomat with perfect manners and no allegiances. A true neutral. They gifted her with land and with money and with supplies, and bid her make a school, an academy where they could all send their primary and secondary heirs, where she could find them good matches and raise them to be aware not only locally, but globally.​

The Lady Nightingale accepted, and the Castle on the Edge of the World was gifted to her. It is its own nation, autonomous and free from the rule of any other monarch to prevent any tampering with her system. They have put the fate of the future in her delicate hands, and entrusted her with setting the world on a better course through their children.​

The Castle on the Edge of the World is the Lady's academy. Here she accepts students who are either the heir to the nation or the heir to the heir, who enter between the ages of eleven and fourteen and graduate seven years later, learned in mathematics and science and geography and history and philosophy and music and medicine and art and war and no fewer than four languages. They socialize with their fellow heirs and are typically arranged to marry one of them to help preserve the peace in future generations. Of course, enemies made here also last a lifetime...

Artist: http://sigbjornpedersen.deviantart.com/
used without permission but with gratitude
not for profit

The First Graduating Class consists of ten young men and women, who are:

{NIGHTSTEALER} Vayan Darreon, Crown Prince of Lluvia | 18 years of age

The true heir of his rainy kingdom, the 18-year-old prince is son of King Zephaniah Darreon and Lady Giselle Dairamore, his lawfully (but lovelessly) wedded wife. This puts him in a rivalry with his half-brother, Ceryx Luma. He is betrothed to the Prima Donna of Vavasia.​

{LADY SABINE} Ceryx Luma, Bastard of Lluvia

19-year-old bastard son of Zephaniah Darreon and his lover, the archmage Caeca Luma, Ceryx stands to inherit only because the king recognized him against the queen's wishes. This has driven a rift between him and his half-brother, notably because Ceryx is two months older and by law the elder recognized son should inherit. Ceryx is betrothed to the princess of Kairnholde.​

{RUFIYA} Geoffrey Cullen Kairnborne, Anjarl of Kairnolde

The Anjarl of Kairnolde has many duties, among them wielding the hammer of justice. It's a heavy burden for any young man, especially combined with political duties. The Anjarl will soon be blood-brother to Ceryx thanks to his sister's betrothal, and he isn't sure what to think of that. He is betrothed to the princess of Godspeake.​

{VASSAL} Navrin the Firstborn, Prince of Pierix

Once, Pierix was one of the greatest maritime empires. However, during the Reckoning, Pierix lost all of it's fleet and over half of its land, and is now a broken and pitied kingdom. The young prince is expected to return it to its prior glory, which is no easy task. He is betrothed to the Golden One of Keim.​

{LADY SABINE} Ynu Stormdancer, Golden One of Keim

Keim is a tropical island-nation off the West coast of Damre. It was untouched by the wars, but got a bad case of the bloody flux and lost much of its fleet to fierce hurricanes brought on by the unusual weather patterns. Eager to trade and rebuild, Ynu knows it wil be her job to share the wealth of her land with the world. She is betrothed to the Firstborn of Pierix.​

{RUFIYA} Gwenaviere Auditore Ysterra, Prima Donna of Vavasia

Vavasia was once the cultural center of the known world. However, three of its great libraries were burned, an earthquake claimed its finest museum, and all the scholars of the Grand Academy were slaughtered. Having lost so much of its national treasures, the Prima Donna knows she will be hard-pressed to maintain the illusion of her country's grandeur... and ward off the warlike people of the Red Hills. She is betrothed to the Crown Prince of Lluvia.​

{VASSAL} Lucielle Godsvoice, princess of Godspeake

The pious people of Godspeake have had their faith shaken tremendously in the past few years, though not as badly as the rest of the world. As a Devout in her order, the princess knows she has an obligation to spread the word of god... or does she? The princess is betrothed to the Anjarl.​

{NIGHTSTEALER} Amarylise Kairnborne, Anlaide of Kairnolde

Younger sibling, the Anlaide is not due to inherit Kairnolde. In spite of this, she knows her duties will not be light... especially not with the rivalry that has sprung up between her and the Veiled Maid, whom she distrusts. The Anlaide is betrothed to the Bastard of Lluvia.​

RULES|

• Don't be stupid. This should cover pretty much everything.
• Art theft is stupid and wrong. If you use art, LINK credit to the artist.
• You must play a female and a male from the list above. You may not play a couple.
• Romances, including unrequited ones, are permitted outside of couples. In fact, all sorts of relationships between all characters are encouraged.
• I don't like errors. I also hate one or two liners. If you can't find a way to stretch out your reply to at least three lines of text, make something new happen! Be an active part of the roleplay, and use your English skills while being so.
• You are more than welcome to use your creativity with the kingdoms. If you are having trouble picturing the kingdom's culture, send me a message and I'll tell you what I was imagining to give you inspiration. If you think you have a better idea for a culture/name/title than what I have written, I will gladly change things!

CHARACTER FORM|
Fill these out for both of the characters you want IN THE POST that you request to join in. Your acceptance or denial WILL be based off of how well you fill this out, so don't be lazy about it. You are more than welcome to add categories and make it look pretty, but you may not remove any information.
Name: (full name, please)
Age: (between 18 & 21)
Appearance: (pictures & photographs are permitted in addition, but not in replacement, to text. ALL pictures must have a LINKED credit to the artist)
Personality: (what sort of person are they like?)
History: (what did they do before the academy and during their seven years attending?)
Skills/Talents:
Opinion of Betrothal: (do they like what's happening? resent it? think they could do better? have another person in mind?)

 

[Lady Sabine]

Ceryx Luma​

The Bastard of Lluvia | 19 years of age ​

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A thin and somewhat delicate youth, Ceryx has the Luma coloring that his mother had, as did her ancestors before her. Skin alabaster pale, hair raven black, eyes all iron and silver. Luma blood is magical blood, and it runs strong in him. He stands just five foot five and is slight of build for a man his age, with a delicate face almost womanlike in its beauty. He has long, thick lashes, cupid's-bow lips, and his hair tumbles untamed down to his mid-chest. Masculine he is not, yet there's something fey and entrancing about him, though he wears his body almost like a costume or a mask.

In Lluvia, it is often said that magic and madness are two halves of one coin. This is very much true in Ceryx's case. He is of immense magical potential and talent, and can be mad as a hatter when he embraces his heritage a bit too fully. He is a loner, having developed no close friends in spite of having spent seven years with his fellow monarch brats, and doesn't really regret the decision. While he can be charming and often quite clever when he chooses to speak, he more often turns his wit to cruelty and spite. There isn't a student in the school who hasn't received a verbal lashing, and the especially unfortunate ones got it in the form of a catchy limerick. Some people suspect that his hard shell hides a tender heart, while others are quite convinced that he feels little more than spite and hatred.

Born in a country just barely beginning to stabilize after a military coup, Ceryx was unwelcome from the first day. By the time he was born his mother had already been cast aside in favor of the Lady Giselle, herself six months pregnant. Though Caeca Luma, Ceryx's mother, convinced her lover to legitimize their child, it was a condition that the trueborn son inherit first. The reversal of that decision instantly became his mother's game, and he her pawn. While he feels that she loves him, he fears she loves power even more. In her, the addiction to magic runs even deeper, and she has gone thoroughly into madness. In a way, he dreads going "home" every year. His mother sees him as more of a pawn than a son, and his father, the few times he sees the king, is usually shadowed by Queen Giselle, who makes no secret of her hatred for him. It is, at best an awkward situation, and one he is glad is about to come to an end. Wherever he goes after graduation, he is quite certain it won't be Lluvia.
Skills/Talents: His primary talent lies in magic, in more or less all of its forms. As a magi, he has proven himself adept in all schools, though his specialty is the manipulation of energy. He also has a head for numbers and poetry, finding that they flow in a logical, orderly fashion not at all unlike magic.

As far as the betrothal goes, he's more than a little offended that the Nightingale paired him with the only other person in his class who isn't going to inherit a kingdom. In truth he has no use for the Anlaide, and is strongly considering making a break for it before the wedding night. He suspects she is no happier about the arrangement than she is.

Ynu Deidre Stormdancer​

Golden One of Keim | Twenty Years of Age​

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Ynu is tall for a woman, a good five foot ten, though willowy for all her height. The thickest part of her body is actually at her thighs, which are banded with muscle from years of dancing. She is otherwise slender, with a narrow waist and graceful chest. Though she isn't beautiful, she isn't ugly either. Her skin is coffee dark, her hair even darker and long enough to brush her hips, and her eyes are almost darker still, almost pure black. She has the low, flat nose and thick lips typical of the Keimiche people, which give her a bit of exotic mystique, something she needs considering her features are almost painfully normal and average for a woman of her nation.​

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Much like her movements on the dance floor, Ynu is graceful and poised in conversation and socialization. She is unfailingly polite and charming, good with both humor and sorrow while maintaining dignity. However, she is more than a little proud, to the point of being stuck up. She knows that she is pretty and clever enough to be useful in her own right, while also being heir to the nation of Keim, which is rich in natural resources and culture both- more importantly, she makes sure other people know this as well. She is a natural leader, genuinely caring and concerned, and genuinely believing she is better than those she leads.​

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As the firstborn child, she knew from day one that she would one day inherit the isles. Daddy's little princess was, of course, never refused anything, and even as her people died she was raised on a diet of praise, training, and luxury. In the aftermath of the revolution Keim's silks, spices, and pearls have made her people very, very wealthy, and she now stands to inherit arguably the most financially powerful nation in the world. This changed her interaction with her fellow students, for she sees herself as a step above them. Not a big one, but a step, which is enough to set her apart from some of the other girls. In spite of this, she has no outwards enemies, for she treats everyone, Ceryx reluctantly included, with respect and kindness.​

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A dancer in her heart, Ynu is also quite adept at picking up on new languages and is currently fluent in six; literate in three at a decent level. The number of dancing styles she has picked up on is much, much higher. From the traditional prayer-dances of the islands to ballet to waltz to interpretive, the instructors have yet to find a dance she has no talent for.​

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Ynu is, frankly, less than thrilled to be paired with a prince she sees as inheriting one of the weaker nations. However, she is clever enough to grasp that it could be a very clever move politically if their nations can combine their economies. After all, having a guaranteed market on the continent would be very useful, and give them a smaller sea lane to worry about protecting. Still, she would have somewhat preferred a bigger player in the world field.​

 

[Nightstealer]

Vayan Darreon, Crown prince of Lluvia​

Aged: 18​

Vayan has his father's build, muscular and tall, majestic even. His skin is a soft bronze hue from hours training with weaponry in the sun. He has wavy brown hair that hangs around his face in waves when out, but usually he pulls it back into a sleek tail. He is broad shouldered, about 6'1'', with the piercing gaze of vibrant green eyes. He has often been described as a walking mountain, and one girl who once ran into him was said to later describe the encounter as walking into a wall of muscle. He found this amusing. He is covered in many scars from training as a boy and even more so as he grew more powerful. His skin takes a slightly mottled and waxy turn, like someone melted it slowly and deliberately on his left shoulder from an incident when he was thirteen, involving the hot fires of a forge and a sparring match between he and his half brother. ​

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Kind, brooding and often considered a deep thinker, but to those who don't know Vayan, he is the very definition of an heir to the Lluvia throne. He has a strong heart, caring greatly for his family, even his half brother, despite the deep feeling of contempt he holds for the man. He feels cheated a lot for being refused his right to the throne for a bastard child, but is willing to fight for his right to the throne. He is passionate and can be hot tempered once something has his attention, often spiking without warning and it can often be difficult to calm him once more.​

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Vayan spent most of his life trying to gain his father's favour, always in the shadow of his brother. He grew up being known as the Crown prince, but always felt insecure about his position as heir to the throne. There was rivalry between the brothers, as with any family, a desire to prove that he was worthy of taking over after his father passed on, a desperate need for acknowledgment of that fact. But he could never bring himself to hate his half brother. He was blood, regardless of how thin the bonds of blood may have been. He was raised to believe that family and honour were among the two most important things a noble should know, and so he believed it whole heartedly. When he was thirteen he and Ceryx had been practising their sparring techniques when it became more than a sparring match, but a heated argument and full scale fight. It made it all the way into the forge, and somehow Vayan lost his footing and fell backwards, landing awkwardly in the forge itself, the fire licking all up his left arm, making him scream in agony. The damage was so great that the physician thought he'd never be able to use his arm again. This news just made Darreon more determined to prove his worth. He would not be bumped down the list because he was crippled. So he conditioned himself every day, recovering at a remarkable pace, despite the pain and the sweat and minor tears involved. He continued to train even when they were sent to the academy.​

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Skills/Talents: He is a skilled fighter, specialising in swordsmanship. Also very good at hand to hand combat.​

Vayan is willing to do whatever it takes to please his father. He feels often as though their father would rather Ceryx be his only son, despite the evidence against this, and so if his father wants him to marry the Prima Donna, he will.​

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Amarylise Kairnborne, Anlaide of Kairnolde​

Age: 18​

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Amarylise is fair skinned with long golden hair that is often plaited or pulled up in an extravagant twist and pinned to the back of her head, and hazel blue eyes. She is slender, bordering on frail and only around 5'5'' in height. She has a heart shaped face and soft features, with pouty, pale rose coloured lips and a small, slightly upturned nose. A small smattering of freckles coat her cheeks and the bridge of her nose like icing sugar on a turn-over, giving her an innocent appearance, almost childlike. She is young, naïve in appearance and personality. ​

Amarylise is quiet, shy. She tends to hide in the shadows of her brother's reputation, rather than facing her problems head on. She'd rather avoid conflict than cause it. She is naïve in many ways, and timid. She is especially cautious around her betrothed, afraid of his actions and reactions, aware of his tendencies to manipulate and belittle those around him. Despite all this, she is aware of the tasks that lie before her, and she has a determination to do her duty, regardless of how she feels about it. She doesn't know how to feel about the rivalry between the veiled princess of Arria, unwilling to confront the situation, but not wishing to seem weak. she is a kind hearted person, and does in fact feel empathy for her betrothed, believing he deserves better treatment than that which has been given to him.​

Amarylise spent most of her time as a young child being taught in the ways of etiquette and how to assist her brother when the time came for him to take his place on the throne. Although she was simply the second in line to the throne, she was still required to attend lessons with her brother, and even took weaponry training with him, becoming quite skilled with the use of twin blades and a moderate archer. But her real skills developed in her time at the academy, where she excelled in medicine particularly. She dreamed of being a healer, finding she had quite the talent for it, a knack for locating and identifying herbs and their uses, a knack for applying healing techniques. She felt that if she were no longer required as heir to the heir, she would much like to become a physician. Her other loves became mathematics and art. She found that both had a form of beauty, though in mathematics no one quite understood what she saw.​

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Skills/Talents: Medicine and art, especially painting and sketching.​

Amarylise is frightened of Ceryx, but also awestruck by him. She finds him fascinating and in a way cares for him. She believes that he has a good heart, but tries not to show it. She feels there are worse people to be betrothed to. Perhaps if she were to get him to open up to her things might not be so bad.​

 

[Lady Sabine]

Accepted. ^^ I think the relationships between Ceryx, Vayan, and Amarylise ought to be fascinating!

 

[Rufiya]

Gwenaviere Auditore Ysterra​

The Prima Donna l Eighteen years old​

"I've my own life, a life which I've dedicated to my people, nothing more."​

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A young slender but lithe woman, she barely marks five foot five when measured. But despite her lack of height is rather obvious, her evenly tanned skin, sharp features, striking green eyes and vibrant red hair, in her opinion, makes up for it. She has plump, naturally red lips which are accompanied by light shades of blush and a charming smile. Her eyes, in more detail, are a icy aqua-green sort of shade and she holds herself proudly and confidently. But despite all this, Gwenaviere has her moments of insecurity, most of the problems originating from her less-endowed chest.

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Gwen is a very strong-willed woman, which when determined is almost unstoppable. Her passion for the reconstruction of her kingdom drives here even more. Focused and tough, Gwen is definitely not the one to back down to anyone. This of course has it's downfalls and Gwen has been scolded for speaking out way more then what would be considered normal, but still she perseveres in her ways. Her precise ways also often lead her to being stressed out easily, that contributing to her incognito drinking addiction and lately, her attitude.​

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Gwenaviere as young little child, experienced many things as the others did. After all, their families were all recovering from their weakness. She had a privileged life compared to her people, having a maid and such. Though she'd often get in trouble around her kid years for always sneaking out to see the community and just how poor they were. This eventually led to her promising them to help them. As Gwen mingled among the townsfolk she learned some of their everyday tasks, fascinated by how different it was from her's. Gwen eventually received the news of her to be sent to the Academy, and knowing that it would help her people she went without question. But as she arrived, her time with the common folk had left her somewhat..undignified as the other royal kids. She was considered a wild child until her older teens where she managed to compress her inner rebel enough to stay out of trouble, well most of the time at least. She managed to become well-acquainted with the most of the royalty now, despite her shaky starts with the most of them.​

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Gwen, living in the remnants of the cultural plot has acquired many skills over the years, the non-combat related ones all tied to the ones you would see among the common folk, cooking, weaving, trapping, herbalism, those kind of things. But on the other side of the spectrum, looking at the more refined arts, Gwen has taken a special liking to archery, spending a lot of time in the barracks despite that not really fitting her givens stature. Lately her instructors had pressured her to partake in more lady-like activities so she ended up taking up the harp, though she feels a little bit awkward with it. ​

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Gwen has before focused herself on the better of her country, so she has managed to swallow the thought of marrying a man whom she had no romantic feelings for. But the constant thoughts of seeing the villagers so happy celebrating a love-driven marriage always manage to pop up. Specifically, Gwen finds her to-be husband fine. Though since she was young she was always interested in said husband's little brother. Though whether its a romantic feeling is up to speculation of the others, and even herself.​

The amazing artwork is fully credited to: http://www.deviantart.com/?q=Leliana+Dragon+Age&offset=25

 

[Lady Sabine]

Sounds good! I'll be waiting~

 

[Rufiya]

Geoffrey Cullen Kairnolde​

The Anjarl l Twenty Three Years Old​

"Justice is not some intangible object, it's a very very real weapon. A weapon I'e been entrusted with.​

Geoffrey, often called Cullen by those he knows personally, is a strongly built man, who stands over his comrades up straight and properly at five foot eleven. He is definitely aware of his rough good looks though that in itself doesn't define him. He shares some traits with his sister, that being their blonde hair but some he does not (the freckles) but it wouldn't be that hard to figure out if they were to stand next to each other. A very handsome promising man, though he hardly smiles.

Cullen isn't exactly a shy man, but he wouldn't be the first person to stand up and shout his ideals. Reserved would describe him best, the man who would take some extra time to examine the situation and then offer his insight on the subject. He can be considered rather serious, his face always held in a strong expression though it often softens around his younger sister which he cherishes dearly. Cullen will always follow his duties without question and will do anything to accomplish the goal.

Cullen was to become the pure image of justice, to become its advocate, to become it's distributor. His childhood wasn't filled with times of leisure but instead intense lecture and lessons. He studied diligently, realizing just how pivotal he was during his younger years making him a prodigy of sorts. The only times he could really relax was when he was with his sister, where his slightly carefree personality comes into play. He often thinks back to the days where he trained with the two-handed blades next to his sister, and the jokes that came out of his mouth and somewhere deep inside of him, he misses them.

Cullen is a warrior, being trained in combat he fights with strong deep cleaves and heavy swings. Cullen is also surprisingly rather talented in singing however only his sister has ever heard that voice, and most of his time has been consumed with work.

Geoffrey doesn't particularly have any opinion on the matter of his to-be wife. She seemed alright enough, and the both of them and the amount of influence they both held definitely seemed rather grand. Though Geoffrey can't say he's ever though of her romantically.


Photo is from deviant-artist Sirinne. :3

 

[Lady Sabine]

The Prima Donna and the Anjarl. Sounds good!

 

[Nightstealer]

I'm actually really really excited for this :) I haven't been this inspired by an rp on here in quite a long while, so I think this will be good for my creative influences. I've wanted to do something like this for a while now but no one ever had interest enough and I didn't know how to do it. Seriously, thank you so much for this. Oh and I fixed up the whole heir thing.

 

[Lady Sabine]

You're quite welcome. ^^ Let's hope we can attract two more interested parties and get this show on the road pretty soon.

 

[Nightstealer]

have you requested an rp banner for this? I feel like it might get the interested parties XD

 

[Rufiya]

I've recommended it to a couple people I know and trust well, but no replies yet. Hehe.

 

[Lady Sabine]

I'll request a banner this evening if we still have two spots open. ^^ In the mean time, inviting people is great. I've sent out a few PMs of my own.

 

[Nightstealer]

I still don't really know anyone on this site XD sorry I can't help the promotion aspect

 

[Lady Sabine]

I have a banner submission in and an ad up. This isn't as popular as I'd hoped it would be, though. :c I hope everyone is still interested?

 

[Nightstealer]

Of course :) however, I got a job last week, so I'll be offline more due to that. I'll still try to be on regularly though

 

[Lady Sabine]

Well, we have a banner and we have hope, but it looks like that's about it. :c

 

[Nightstealer]

We could always divvy up those that are left between us?

 

[Lady Sabine]

So we could... or we could rearrange the couples so we'd still only be playing two each. Hmm.

 

[Nightstealer]

We could also just work with what we have for now and see if interest peaks after it's started?