Which role are you most interested in?

  • Coordinator

    Votes: 1 10.0%
  • Scout

    Votes: 2 20.0%
  • Infiltrator

    Votes: 2 20.0%
  • Doctor

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Assassin

    Votes: 3 30.0%
  • Warrior

    Votes: 2 20.0%

  • Total voters
    10
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S

Sarokhor

Guest
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IC Thread: CLOSED SIGNUPS - Sanguine Dirge IC
IC Crack Thread: CLOSED SIGNUPS - Sanguine Dirge IC: The Pilgrim's Respite

It was the 1365th year after the death of the Alorran messiah. A man proclaimed to be a messenger from the gods intended to lead humanity to a life beyond the tyranny and corruption of kings and lords. Beyond the oppression of their government and soldiers... Such treason was not tolerated for long and soon enough the messiah was cornered and he sacrificed himself to save his followers. As the messiah walked the holy halls of Skariskall lit ablaze with godly mystical flames, the soldiers of the king were frozen as the man did not burn but instead spoke of forgiving them for their misguided loyalties and sin. In the end the messiah was struck down by Grand King Amaraan, ruler of all of Alor by the authority of the kings and queens of the territories within the region. The king's blade, a symbol of his rightful status as Grand King, plunged itself into the heart of the messiah and the flames reached out, engulfing both men and consuming them until naught was left but the blade, now cursed inflict the same fiery fate upon any who dared to wield the mantle of king of Alor ever again.

The followers of the messiah fled during the outcry and chaos of such a magical event. These men and women were never seen again in the eyes of the public. As far as the governments and kingdoms of the world were considered they fled into exile never to be heard of again. Yet this was far from the case, they had indeed exiled themselves from public view but only to operate as the shadowy hand of the gods to slowly unravel the corruption under the blessing of the messiah's sacrifice. For since that event there has never been another grand king who claimed ownership over the entire region. And with the blades of the Sanguine Dirge nipping at every scrap of corruption and lordship slowly for over a millennium, the world was changing. The people of Timinster have rallied and ousted their governor due to proof of his sinister love of torturing young children for his enjoyment. With the power of an entire city in uproar the governor and all those loyal to him were driven from the city. Whilst they would have fled to the governor's superior: Baron Higram of Dafeld Tower, and asked for assistance they never made it that far. In the forest before the tower the governor and his soldiers were slain and pinned to the trees as a sign that the citizens of Timinster had the support of the now infamous assassins of the Sanguine Dirge. With the previously hidden group coming forth into the public eye their fight was only just beginning


The story will follow the upcoming conflicts across Alor as the Sanguine Dirge continues their bloody deeds in the name of the gods. The finale should be the elimination of all governments and lordships to deliver the region into a collective democracy as per the will of the gods. Plus a secret twist that leads into a final arc



Your character will fill one of these limited roles in the newest assembled group of the Sanguine Dirge:

Coordinator: The group leader responsible for planning out the method in which the group will complete the mission assigned by the grand master. The coordinator is the only one who receives communications with the grand master. Coordinators should be detail oriented, inspiring, and strategic. Yet they also possess the ability to fight yet not at the same level as an assassin or warrior. The coordinator should rarely involve him/herself in combat operations unless necessary and should focus on commanding and guiding the group

Coordinators passively have the ability to send magical messages to the group using animals. The coordinator can also receive feedback given to the animal verbally by group members. This allows the coordinator to change his plan to fit any changes in the situation and any new information gathered by any group member

Slots: 1 (Filled)


Scout: The scout is a long range character who observes the target and the surrounding environment, reporting any relevant information to the Coordinator. The scout is an expert at recognizing weaknesses in defenses, locating traps and hidden areas, and for taking out isolated and vulnerable targets at a distance. They can also of course support warriors by injuring or killing targets that flank or overwhelm him/her. Their close range skills are very poor in comparison to a warrior or assassin but they make up for it with stealth, range, and athleticism to escape

Scouts passively have keen eyesight far beyond a normal person's ability. Able to zoom in and make out details at over a mile away. This is part of the reason they make great archers with enough practice with a bow or other distance weapons

Slots: 2 (2 Reserved)


Infiltrator: The infiltrator is a master of disarming traps, picking locks, and sabotaging various vital structures. An infiltrator ensures the group can enter, conduct the mission, and leave safely with or without finesse. The infiltrator is a close ranged fighter and uses tools and gadgets to accomplish their objectives. They can be stealthy, bold, magic oriented, or charismatic and can be used for close ranged scouting of an interior. The infiltrator can also serve as a spy if they manage to become involved in the inner works of the target's government. This undercover work is the ultimate source of information and sabotaging essential for the long term goal of eliminating the government

Infiltrators passively have the ability to phase through non-living material when focusing very intensely. This is useful for getting themselves inside neigh impregnable structures to more easily sabotage the defenses, scout, and open the way for the rest of the group

Slots: 2 (1 Reserved, 1 Filled)


Doctor: Being an outlaw group the Dirge needs these characters to treat injuries without drawing the attention of the local government. The doctor also serves as a discreet trader with local businesses for supplies. Food, water, medicine, tools, poisons, ect. The doctor can also use his/her expertise and equipment to create medicine, poisons, or other useful mixtures such as acids or explosives with the proper ingredients. The doctor is not so much a fighter as a support character who helps the group to survive after a battle or helps them to escape if things go poorly during a fight. However the doctor can indeed kill as they have enough knowledge to strike a lethal blow to anyone not paying him/her much mind

Doctors passively gain the ability to sense ailments in a person's body allowing them to more swiftly diagnose and treat or worsen the effects. They can also see and identify residue substances on surfaces. This allows a doctor to be a detective of sorts and piece together an idea of what has happened in an area recently

Slots: (Filled)


Assassin: The assassin is the silent stalker and executor of high value or hard to kill targets. The assassin can stay hidden either stealthily or in plan sight by blending in until they are ready to strike. With expert knowledge in vital points, poisons, and armor weaknesses they strike with calm and deadly precision using the element of surprise to kill their targets before they can fight back. Assassins are also great short or medium range fighters but tend to be poorly armored for sustained combat. As such it is a good idea for an assassin to eliminate only essential targets before fleeing or hiding

Assassins passively gain the ability to blend in with their environment when focusing hard enough. This can allow an assassin to be nearly indistinguishable from the bush they are hiding in or simply unremarkable in the group they are moving in

Slots: (Filled)


Warrior: The warrior is a heavily armed and armored close range character who attacks head on to outlast or skillfully defeat a target. Warriors in the dirge are often used as a distraction for more subtle tactics to work without a hitch, though they are also used when subtly is impossible in a situation. Most warriors can fight multiple opponents at once without much trouble due to armor, training, and the blessing of the gods

Warriors passively gain the ability to see 360 around themselves as far as 10 meters. This allows them to better defend themselves from flanking maneuvers or sneaky ranged attacks. It does take a lot of mental focus though

Slots: 2 (Filled)

Character Bios should follow these guidelines:


Name: (First, Last)


Age: (between 10-30)


Race: (human, elf, orc, ect) [Pretty much all fantasy races you can find. Though I've made all races pretty much equal at a base level. Basically it's just for looks and background. Stereotypes still exist but like most stereotypes they aren't very true. For example Orcs are generally viewed as stupid vicious barbarians by common society but in actuality they can be as smart and sophisticated as any other race]


Sub-race: (if more than one or if one is cursed with Vampirism, Lycanthropy, or Spectralism)


Description: (Written and/or picture) [No real life pics, this is fantasy so keep it artsy or anime]


Role: (Role you wish to play. Call a role that has open slots)


Fighting Style: (Primary and secondary weapons and how your character uses them. This isn't Naruto or Bleach or something else with crazy ass flashsteps and explosions all the time... keep it more like Lord of the Rings Style fighting. Same with magic, keep it small but useful and only usable either on a long cooldown or limited uses per day)


Abilities: (Whatever you can think of that makes your character unique. Be very creative but no Godmodding or incredibly variable powers. Example: if you say you have telekinesis, that means you can move things with your mind. Nothing else, no telekinesis blasts, barriers, telepathy, ect) [Characters between 10-19 have 1 ability. 20-30 get 2]


Strengths: (choose two particular things you can think of that your character is good at) [Keep it reasonable, as in your strength cant be to have reflexes fast enough to dodge or block anything from any direction]


Weaknesses: (Choose things that can be used against your character) [These need to be actual hindrances. Not something like "If you shoot my character through the heel with an arrow he becomes killable... Because who the hell is going to think of doing that to somebody unless they know the person's name is Achilles?!]


History: (lengthy description of your character's life before being recruited to the dirge)



Curses:

Vampirism-

Strengths: Greatly increased Speed/Reflexes/Strength, Retractable claws and fangs, Unaging, Night vision, Fatal Injuries do not kill you, Regeneration (at the cost of consumed blood), 2 extra abilities

Weaknesses: Weak to magic, Water burns, Cannot touch Holy or Blessed locations, Sunlight burns, Can frenzy when starving, must drink half their body weight in blood every 24 hours or becomes weakened


Lycanthropy-

Strengths: Animal senses (night vision, scent tracking, sense danger), Increased strength/reflexes in human form, slow regeneration. Wolf form (super regeneration, greatly increased strength/speed/acrobatics, infectious, large teeth and claws, venomous teeth/claws/blood)

Weaknesses: Silver stops regeneration, hunger increased, loss of control in wolf form


Spectralism-

Strengths: Ghost form (can leave one's body and travel through the realm of death to harm or influence the living without physical danger) Restless (no need to sleep), Fasting (no need to eat or drink), Spirit magic

Weaknesses: Holy magic is fatal. Physical body is vulnerable to possession and is physically defenseless when in Ghost Form. Fatal injuries kill your body leaving you trapped in the death realm until you waste away or twist into madness (in short character death means your character becomes a danger to the group rather than just dying off)



My own main character:

Name: Aloette Viscenna
Age: 19
Race: Human
Sub-race: Vampirism

Description: Aloette was inflicted with vampirism at a young age and thus still looks 12 in appearance. Her brown hair stretches just past her shoulders. Her eyes are chocolate brown just like her hair. She is 129cm tall (4 feet tall) with an aristocratic appearance as far as dress and figure goes. When using her vampiric powers or feeding her eyes take on a red hue and her features change a bit. her hair darkening and her skin paling

spoiled_by_randis.jpg

Role: Infiltrator

Fighting Style: Aloette is small thus she uses this to her advantage to make her opponent underestimate her and strike weaknesses with a slim stiletto dagger. Her backup is a small hickory cudgel she uses with her vampiric strength and speed to break bones or render a foe unconscious in a single strike. Her focus on attacking the joints, groin, and throat makes her great at disabling a foe but not a single strike instant killer most of the time

Abilities: Charm (can use magic to subtly control a person with suggestions/commands), Telekinesis (can control objects with her mind), Illusory Copies (can create controllable copies of herself at a distance of up to 20 meters. 5 copies can be created at most and they cannot interact with living or undead targets)

Strengths: 1) Aloette is a skilled manipulator of people, her charisma lets her talk her way into and out of many situations and further helps her infiltration skills... 2) She is deceptive/sneaky. Her size and age lets her move around nearly unnoticed when she is smart and careful about it

Weaknesses: Her stunted age means her range is short in combat and as an infiltrator she can do little politically. Her undercover work can never be as a government official or anything important

History: Aloette's family is actually distant royalty from the lineage of King Tromor, her father being Geovold the baron of Wawold. They left their royalty behind and sought out the dirge when King Tromor's practices of necromancy affected them directly. When a riot grew out of control in Wawold and the king himself had to get involved Geovold was punished for his inability to resolve the situation. King Tromor cursed his only daughter with vampirism. Seeking a cure and revenge for this monstrous betrayal Geovold took his family and sought out the dirge. They were accepted with open arms and the wealth was a great boon to the cause. Aloette showed great promise in the arts of the Infiltrator and soon enough she learned to control her vampiric urges and use its power to further assist her. This will be Aloette's first official group after 7 years of training



Unfortunately the world map is too big a file to upload here... So here is a link to the map on imgur and I will display it with BB code below but you will definitely need to download it either way and zoom in to be able to read city names and such

Region of Alor

oFMc46d.jpg


Currently accepted characters:

Coordinator:
Elyan ag Mórgwnystrad; 25-year-old Human Male played by Sir Basil

Scouts:
Liandra "Scarlet" Bosch; 20-year-old Human Female played by EmperorsChosen
Mali'Maele Taneashira, 21-year-old Halfling Male played by devil's 4DV0C473

Infiltrators:
Aloette Viscenna; 19-year-old Human/Vampire Female played by Sarokhor
Ghegari Don'orah Greygrim; 26-year-old Half-Orc/Half-Elf Female played by -Vesper-

Doctor:
Harmond Blackwell; 30-year-old Human/Werewolf Male played by -Vesper-

Assassins:
Raven Willow Ashdown; 17-year-old Human/Werecat Female played by neobendium
Mygdos Yakomishe; 22-year-old High Elf/Specter Male played by Yzmael
Kiyoko "Kyo' Sanada; 19-year-old Human/Werewolf Female played by RedArmyShogun

Warriors:
Xarl; 34-year-old Human Male played by Hunter of Shadows
Vera Gambriel; 24-Year-Old Human/Vampire Female played by Akashi
Samuel Grayfon; 17-year-old Half-Elf/Specter Male played by BlueFlameNikku
 
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NAME: Harmond Blackwell

AGE: 30

RACE: Human

SUB-RACE: Lycanthrope

APPEARANCE:
berserker_by_white_corner-d4tuvdg.jpg


ROLE: Doctor

FIGHTING STYLE: Harmond chooses to strike when his target least expects it. Being a doctor, it is not an unusual sight to see him carrying his surgical tools with him wherever he goes, so he always has at least a small knife or scalpel within reach when he needs to perform some surprise incisions on an opponent. He is generally viewed as a non-combatant when compared with his comrades, therefore the enemy tends to ignore him in favor of focusing on the more immediate dangers first, which gives him the opportunity to attack or sabotage when they aren't looking. Even in cases where he is truly unarmed, he has been known to keep his nails longer than normal, and a trace amount of potent poison laces the tips on his left hand; it is not enough to kill a man, but it can be enough to debilitate him to give Harmond an advantage.


ABILITIES:

-Cry Wolf (releases an inhuman howl that calls the attention of any wolves in the area; only works once per night -- cannot be repeated to enlist more wolves; only works at night -- full moon not necessary)

-Lick Wounds (saliva enhanced with healing properties, can be applied to most wounds to relieve pain, ward off infection and promote quicker recovery; however, it is ineffective on major injuries)


STRENGTHS: Because of his lycanthropy, Harmond gives off a predatory aura, one that other animals and even people can often sense and shy away from. It makes negotiating much easier when a person is too unsettled by his presence to risk getting on his bad side. One of his more blessed abilities, granted in tandem with his other animal instincts, is that the doctor can now 'smell' someone's sickness and he is able to diagnose what type of disease ails them by scent alone, as dogs have been known to do. He is much more efficient at his job now, thanks to the wolf's curse. He is proficient at both hurting and healing others, it all depends on what that person deserves; it is safe to assume that Harmond has pretty much abandoned his Hippocratic Oath since joining the Sanguine Dirge... some would say he never truly abided by it in the first place.


WEAKNESSES: Since his hunger has been increased by his curse, if not sufficiently fed, Harmond can become almost single-minded in his search for sustenance. His priority to obtain food will come at the cost of any mission parameters he may be assigned to at the time, meaning he is more than willing to compromise an operation if he feels the overwhelming urge to sate his appetite above all else. Additionally, his mood can take on an edge of irritation, aggression even towards his teammates, which will then turn to total hostility in his more severe stages of starvation. This issue limits him to staying near locations where food isn't scarce. There is also the minor problem of him losing his sanity under certain lunar conditions... but the Dirge has been very understanding of his affliction thus far. If he ends up bounding far off into some remote farmer's field, however, it is up to Harmond to try to find his clothes his way back once he returns to humanity in the morning. Meanwhile, many patients have died due to the doctor being abruptly "out of town" too long to treat them.


HISTORY: Truth be told, the doctor does not remember his real name; it was one of the things that he lost, along with his mind, to Lycanthropy. His first transformation took place in a small town called Blackwell, and so when he awoke without memory of what had happened, he adopted the name of the decimated town -- afterall, it was the place that had given him his new life, so it was only fitting that it would give him his new name as well.

Harmond...
Maybe it was Harold...? Or Harvey...?
But "Harmond" stuck in his mind because the word "harm" kept recurring in his aching brain as he looked around the ruined town. Bodies strewn about. Blood stained structures. He had harmed Blackwell...

Harmed Blackwell...

He remembers that he came here to help. He was a doctor who believed he could cure the curse. Nobody needed to die; lycanthropy was just another ailment that medicine did not yet understand. When the moon wasn't full, the afflicted were fine. He could not justify killing a human being just because they changed into a beast against their own will. It wasn't their choice to change, they never meant to be monsters, they didn't deserve to be driven out or put to death.

"The Wolves of Blackwell" were becoming a well-known occurrence, and it was only getting worse as more of the infected townsfolk were exiled into the surrounding woods. Severed from their friends and family -- their ties to humanity -- of course those outcasts would transform fully into lycans. Their population would soon swell as they were forced to form a pack, and with each new addition of another exiled person, Blackwell was only losing ground while the wolves were always gaining.

The doctor doesn't know when he was scratched or perhaps bitten -- he's not even sure if it was a scratch or a bite that did it to him -- however, he is not surprised to think back on it now though. It was a rough job with frantic, often terrified townsfolk. He had to be forceful with some of the more maniacal patients, trying to restrain them and whatnot. He is not surprised to think that he might've been infected in the process by some stray scratch or teeth having grazed his skin.

The residents of Blackwell were always quick to accuse each other of being infected, but the doctor was an outsider, someone they trusted because he looked cleaner, more refined, intelligent. He was assured of himself and is was that attitude that assured others he could handle it. No one expected him to befall the same fate, especially not in silence. If he was ill, he would've warned them. He never got a chance though, because he didn't know.

He was at the heart of the operation when it happened, on the inside where everyone thought they were safe. The lycans were at the edge of town. The doctor was within.

Needless to say, no one was left alive after his first transformation occurred.

The doctor stumbled, his memories scattered. There was an odd sense of satisfaction as he surveyed the chaos surrounding him. All at once, he understood how the wolf's curse could be considered a gift in God's eyes; the law of nature could restore to this world what the law of man had destroyed. He soon discovered that the Sanguine Dirge shared his sentiment.
 
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I got my doctor done first, cause his story was stuck in my mind the most. Infiltrator to come next, unless... omg @Vio I can't believe you're still stalking me lol! I could trade you the infiltrator slot if you're interested in it?
 
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I got my doctor done first, cause his story was stuck in my mind the most. Infiltrator to come next, unless... omg @Vio I can't believe you're still stalking me lol! I could trade you the infiltrator slot if you're interested in it?
Let me take a look vespie baby <3

PS: Holy shit the doc is sexy as fuck. I want me some of that xD
 
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Lol nice to see we are getting people who know each other in here :bananaman:

@-Vesper- character accepted. Welcome to the dirge, Sanguine Doctor!
 
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Elyan ag Mórgwnystrad
Male / Twenty Five / Human
"Each man is a hero and an oracle to somebody."

PERSONALITY Calm, collected, and highly articulate - Elyan is the model coordinator. He enjoys working and speaking with others, and is careful to take their opinions into account. However, he is also a deeply private person, who rarely expresses his own needs and desires. He is, on the other hand, clear on his concerns and thoughts regarding his position. In truth, all of his extroverted, leader qualities are underscored by a quiet, inwardly focused personality. Even when he is speaking, Elyan is usually very preoccupied with what's going on in his own head. He values family and community, and sees selfish actions and kin-killing as reprehensible actions that deserve punishment - although he sometimes finds it difficult to determine the difference between retribution and vengeance. He is careful not to trust too readily, and he does not make oaths without thinking, or make promises that he cannot keep. Although Elyan values physical and magical strength, he finds greater value in human goodness and generosity - as in the past, it has saved his life. He is deeply religious, and eager to spread the word of his Messiah, and the teaching that were once lost.

BOON Elyan is formally trained as a swordsman, but that is not where his true strengths lie. His true strength lies in his ability to lead people. A gifted, and eloquent speaker who appeals to people’s ideals; his abilities at speaking are only bested by his ability to listen. He excels in swaying others, and preaching the Messiah’s words, giving them their own weight and beauty. His knowledge helps with this - as his dreams have led him to a unique understanding of the world, and given him insight that others might not have. Some say he can see the future - but this is not true. Elyan’s dreams only tell him of the past; of the world of the Messiah — so different than the world of the present.

BANE Elyan rarely expresses it; but he believes that he is the Messiah come again. This belief manifests not in arrogance, but in a paralyzing fear of failure. He is horrified by the prospect that because of his dreams - he alone knows the fate of the Messiah, and some of the old ways of the Gwerin - and that he is responsible for this knowledge. In some, small way, he delights in this. It gives him comfort to know that he knows more than anyone else about the fate of the Messiah, and he has some self-assurance in his actions. But on the other hand, he believes that this will ultimately spell destruction for the Gwerin; because he is not capable of what the Messiah was, and he sees himself as weak, and foolish. He feels that if he fails his people, that will be the end of the Messiah, and there will be no hope of his return- this is something that he cannot live with. Elyan’s terrified that his dreams will lead him to darker and more dangerous paths than the road he has already travelled. More than anything, he fears the idea that he is not actually powerful or gifted in any way. Because of this, he privately, never expressively, views all people as truly human - and thus, his inferiors. This rarely comes across in the way he speaks, but leads to him believing he must be the person to save others, and he thus - takes on too much. He fears that he is really, and truly, nothing more than human.

STYLE Elyan avoids direct confrontation when he can. He prefers to rely upon his own gift for speaking, and leading others towards their goals, rather than fight independently. He is not above utilizing his special talents, namely, his Witchwords in order to end fights before they begin. When pushed into physical confrontation, his weapon of choice is a sharp longsword - leaving one hand free to help him balance, and make signs if need be. His signs are generally a way to communicate soundlessly in battle - a carefully worked sign language that is designed to be quick and fluid. He wears medium armor; a breastplate with leather greaves and gauntlets. Although he rarely utilizes it - largely due to inexperience - he also carries a yew longbow along his back, as well as a small dirk.

WITCHWORDS Witchwords is the common parlance for Elyan's ability to convince others. Although he is a eloquent public speaker on his own, he can magically influence his voice to achieve complete control over the receiver of the Words. Although Elyan can gain control over listeners by merely altering the tonal qualities of the voice, it general only results in his ability to command the listener to follow simple instructions or very clear orders --- which the listener obeys dutifully. However, the Words have some very clear limitations; namely that the Words only last for a few minutes ; and after it wears off, the subject is immediately aware that they have been charmed, and that their will was not their own. Although Elyan can continuously speak his Witchwords to a target, to keep them under his control - that prevents his capability to do anything else, and eventually, the target will have too strong a resistance for the Words to have any continued effect.

SAGESIGHT Some say that Elyan can see the future. This isn't true ; he has dreams of the past, which he uses to inform his choices in the future. This ability only manifested in Elyan following his year-long sleep after a violent confrontation with his mother. This ability is only strong when Elyan is sleeping ; and from what dreams show him he is capable of interpreting visions of the past -- which may or may not have anything to do with his current situation. While awake, his Sight is far more limited. He is capable of a very limited form of prescience - thoughts, feelings, images into the very near past, but nothing more than that. Elyan fears that he will get lost in the Sight, and be unable to see anything but endless visions of the past.

HISTORY A thousand years ago, the Messiah died. When he was killed, a sword was placed through him, by Grand King Amaraan. The Messiah's followers were chased away, hunted to the ends of the earth. Some of them stayed, stayed within Timinster - but many fled. They lived in small communities, by the wayside, lost to the world. The Messiah's people - who called themselves "Gwerin", "The People - lived apart. The settled in a rocky, small cove. In this cove off of the Sea of Mene, there was a long abandoned castle that overlooked the white sands. This region, the Mórgwnystrad, or the White Bay in the common tongue, was where the Gwerin made their home, waiting out the witch hunt. While the world changed around them, they preserved their ancient traditions. For hundreds of years, the priests held out hope that the Messiah - who they called Feaseia - would come again. But the Feaseia did not return. They prayed, they held sermons, they whispered his name into the dark, attempting to conjure his spirit - but the Messiah never came. Nonetheless, they preserved their way of life, preserved the Word of the Messiah ; but many of the Gwerin lost faith. Some of them started to believe that he was never a Messiah at all - but simply a false God. Others thought that the Messiah was just a herald of something else - of a different God who was to come amongst them.

Centuries passed, and despite their efforts, the Gwerin changed. Although they had long been ruled by a collection of high priests, the high priests dwindled. Soon, there was only one chieftain, and one family that ruled them all. Twenty-five years ago, Mórgwnystrad's high priest, their chief and leader, was a man called Duwyn the Black. He was called this for his grim and violent outlook - but he was not always so. Once, he was a man who kept to the teachings of the Messiah - and believed that he would come again. When Duwyn was younger, he had met a witch. She was not so much a witch, as she was the oldest of the Gwerin - so old that nobody knew how old she was. There were stories that she had lived since the days of the Messiah. There were stories that she was the Messiah's concubine, while other stories said that she simply washed his feet and kissed his hands. But from those kisses, she had learned some of the Messiah's teachings. When a man came of age, within Mórgwnystrad -- they went to the witch to learn of their fate. Duwyn the Black was no exception to this rule. He had knelt across from the witch, and she told him many things. She told him what she had told his father, and his father before him, and many men before him. Perhaps it is what she told all men and women of the Gwerin.

Croí agus lasair , claíomh agus farraige , thit an Feaseia fola saor in aisce. leáigh sé cloch , iompú go luaith , agus líonadh an domhain . As a chuid fola , beidh crann gan toradh beith . bhfuil aon leanaí an crann , ach beidh an crann a bheith ag an flaithis , agus beidh na flaithis a chuid torthaí . Ón dteagmháil ollphéist beidh na torthaí ag fás . Nuair a bhíonn na torthaí ithe , beidh an síol a chur fréimhe . Agus amach go mbeidh an Feaseia ag fás arís . Croí agus lasair , claíomh agus farraige , is é an Feaseia aisling saor in aisce. -- The Witch of the White Bay

Heart and flame, sword and sea, the messiah's blood fell free. He melted stone, turned to ash, and filled the earth. From his blood, a fruitless tree will sprout. No children has the tree, but the tree shall reach the heavens, and the heavens shall be its fruit. From monster touch shall the fruit grow. When the fruit is eaten, the seed will take root. And out the messiah will grow again. Heart and flame, sword and sea, the messiah's dream is free. -- An Cailleach ag Mórgwnystrad

With these words in his heart, Duwyn left. He became a great prince - for they had long since adopted the titles of their neighbors, the tradition of high priests cast to the wayside. The story goes that Duwyn had gone fishing with his courtiers, but being a young man, had gone off on his own. He sailed out of the cove, towards one of the great inlet stones that rose out of the water. When he returned to his fishing party, he had a woman in his arms, of unearthly beauty and grace. Her shimmering hair was the colour of starlight, or so the bards claimed, and she had bright violet eyes. Duwyn behaved like a man bewitched around her, and insisted on marrying her on the spot. His father, Henno Longtooth, rejected the marriage, so Duwyn strangled him with a fishing line. There were no further complaints about the marriage. Melsuine bore Duwyll four beautiful daughters, each lovelier than the last. They were named Rhiana, Cwym, Glynna, Dyaeffryn.

However, the Lady's behaviour was strange. She was not of the Gwerin -- so people were naturally susipicious and untrusting of her. But she did nothing to win their trust, spending her days locked away, never mingling with the people, or learning their ways. Although the old faith - the Messiah's faith - was falling to pieces; Duwyn was still very devout, and held a Mass every Friday night, for the lost leader of the Gwerin. But his wife, the Lady Meulsine, did not hold this same faith. She always left Mass before the Annointment, and took the daughters with her. On one such occasion, The Black Lord became curious about her behaviour, and asked a trusted knight to follow her. The knight followed her from the Mass, and watched as she sunk into the water of the cove, taking her daughters down into the deep with her. The knight watched, horrified, as they took on terrible, inhuman qualities; too many fins, teeth, and eyes. He rushed back to report this to Duwynn. Duwynn was uncertain of what to do -- so he turned to the only one who might have known what to do, the old witch, Cailleach. Cailleach read the signs in the water, she carved runes, and she cut her wiry arms open and whispered the Messiah's name to her blood. She pronounced her verdict; Melusine was under a powerful curse, and had been for many years. She was aegelcuwif; a Mother of Monsters. She warned Duwyn that his unborn child -- for Melsuine was pregnant - was surely damned. But Duwyn begged and pleaded, and eventually the witch relented. She said that maybe she could lift the curse -- but it might kill Melusine, even if it spared the child.

Duwyn agreed, but told the witch that if she was unable to save his child, she would find himself at the bottom of the sea, along with all the demons that dwelled there. The witch agreed, and began to prepare. She slaughtered a white ewe, and lit juniper and sage boughs. She mounted the ewes head towards Duwyn's castle, and whispered the Messiah's name. The air in Mórgwnystrad was said to smell like funeral spices for a full week. At the end of the week, the witch came to Duwyn, and said that she would be ready to perform the rite. But the night before the ritual, Melsuine went into labour. The child that she gave birth to, the boy, was not born right. He was not as beautiful as her daughters, nor was he as healthy - the witch suspected that he would succumb to fever or cradle-cough before his first week of life. Duwyll, disgusted with the witch and fearful for his child, took comfort with his wife. Melsuine learned of what her husband had planned for her, and for her daughters from a tearful confession. Duwyn had come to terms with the belief that he would have to kill his aegelcwif. She, according to the legends, lay with her Lord one last time, before snatching her children, transforming into a dragon, and flying into the sea.

The Black Lord's lands fell into disarray, and he fell into grief. the witch Cailleach was tasked with the raising of Elyan. The first thing that the the witch did was perform a through exorcism of the boy, for fear that his mothers' demonic taint had seeped into him. Without his mother for the sacrifice, Cailleach baptized Elyan in lamb-blood, and burnt the lamb's feet in dedication to the The Messiah and their God. Elyan was then entered into the the witch's monastic church, the House of the Messiah. While cloistered, Elyan learned about the Faith and was by all counts a perfectly normal, studious boy. However, when he turned 12, he began to engage in behaviours that Cailleach could not reconcile. One evening, when Elyan had been left to study in the library, Cailleach found him standing over the body of another acolyte. Elyan had slit his throat with a quill-nib. The horrified the witch had sent Elyan back to the castle, and the care of his father - claiming that there was no more that he could do for him.
When Elyan returned to his father's castle, he found that the Black Lord had let his kingdom run into disrepair. He was taxing his small-folk for more and more lavish ways to stay inside his castle, and never leave. The loss of his wife and daughters had weighed heavily on him for twelve years, and even the sight of his son was not enough to pull him from his depression. Elyan, neglected by his father, flung himself into the process of achieving manhood within his small world. He had committed the Words of the Messiah to memory, along with great works of poetry. He was a decent swordsman, and as was common amongst his people an excellent sailor. Despite his violent entry into the world - and his violence against a young acolyte - these traits nearly became forgotten, as Elyan developed, and grew into a fine young man. He was well liked, well thought of, and held both his fellow men, and the Messiah dear to his heart. But there were always whispers. Whispers that he was as monstrous as his mother - whispers that he was a monster too. But there were other whispers too; perhaps he would bring the Gwerin into a new golden age - and they would be able to return to the world.

Elyan was seventeen, when he returned to the witch, to hear what she had in store for him. She welcomed him, despite all that transpired. She told him first, that he had changed. And then - she told him many things. She told him what she had told his father, and his father before him, and many men before him. Perhaps it is what she told all men and women of the Gwerin.

Croí agus lasair , claíomh agus farraige , thit an Feaseia fola saor in aisce. leáigh sé cloch , iompú go luaith , agus líonadh an domhain . As a chuid fola , beidh crann gan toradh beith . bhfuil aon leanaí an crann , ach beidh an crann a bheith ag an flaithis , agus beidh na flaithis a chuid torthaí . Ón dteagmháil ollphéist beidh na torthaí ag fás . Nuair a bhíonn na torthaí ithe , beidh an síol a chur fréimhe . Agus amach go mbeidh an Feaseia ag fás arís . Croí agus lasair , claíomh agus farraige , is é an Feaseia aisling saor in aisce. -- The Witch of the White Bay

Heart and flame, sword and sea, the messiah's blood fell free. He melted stone, turned to ash, and filled the earth. From his blood, a fruitless tree will sprout. No children has the tree, but the tree shall reach the heavens, and the heavens shall be its fruit. From monster touch shall the fruit grow. When the fruit is eaten, the seed will take root. And out the messiah will grow again. Heart and flame, sword and sea, the messiah's dream is free. -- An Cailleach ag Mórgwnystrad

But she told him something else as well - who he would marry. She told him that he must marry the Gwerin’s herbalist’s daughter. Herbalists were always loved and respected amongst the people, and had taken on a religious significance; as the herbs of juniper and sage were the funeral spices that they used to worship the Messiah. Notoriously difficult to grow on the rocky soil; the herbalist’s daughter had proven to be remarkably gifted with such an art. Her name was Valdis, and she was believed to be the most beautiful member of the People; with tan skin, huge, dark eyes and long black hair. Elyan wanted to know why he was intended to marry her - and the witch told him.

Ní thabharfar do pósadh a bheith sásta, agus beidh ort aon leanaí . Ach ní mór dúinn go léir a dhéanamh cad ba mhaith linn is fearr gan mhaithe ár Messiah . Roghnaíodh tú .-- The Witch of the White Bay

Your marriage will not be happy, and you will have no children. But we all must do what we would prefer not to for the sake of our Messiah. You were chosen. — An Cailleach ag Mórgwnystrad

Elyan felt he had to. So, he proposed to Valdis of the Boughs, and she was in no position to refuse. They invited all of the People to their month long wedding ceremonies. The old king, Duwyn, cloistered himself away, unable to see his child’s happiness, and the impending nuptials reminded himself to much of the price he had paid to have Elyan. But the truth of the matter, was that the ceremonies were not entirely joyful. While Valdis looked upon Elyan with love in her eyes - Elyan never even looked at her, or spoke to her. His eyes were always elsewhere. He stared at the Gwerin’ s architect, a young man with black braids and a ready smile. He stared at one of the last high priests - an older man with long white hair but an unlined face. Never once did he stare at a woman - and Valdis began to understand. She resigned herself to her fate - and told herself that she would find a lover of her own. But something happened.

At one of the many wedding parties, Elyan laid eyes on an older, but still graceful, woman in the crowd. She wore a beautiful gown imported from the far reaches of the world, and her long, pale neck was covered in pearls and opals. But the clothes did not outweigh her own, unusual loveliness She had shimmering silver hair and lavender eyes. With her were four ladies, each dressed in the finest clothes who looked exactly like her, but appeared closer to Elyan's own age. Elyan knew that he had to speak with her, as if bewitched. She looked long at him that whole evening - and whispers began to erupt from the banquet. Some said the strange woman looked like the old queen, Melusine - while others said that she was a foreigner, come to destroy the People. Yet others said that Elyan had her as a secret lover. Indeed, the young prince felt his heart fill to bursting ; he was certain he was in love with her. Despite his wife’s pleading for him to come to bed with her - Elyan left her in the middle of the night. He went to the strange Lady’s room, and begged the Lady to tell him her name. She told him that she would tell him if he came with her across the sea, to a rock in the middle of the cove. Elyan, overcome with love, agreed.

They rode away together in a silver boat, carved in the shape of a sea-serpent. The four ladies rode with them, and never said a word to Elyan. But they did sing - a beautiful, entrancing song. They taught him to sing it as well, and just as he learned it, they arrived at the rock. But Valdis would not have this. As soon as her fiancé left her - she rushed to her father-in-law, the old king. She explained what had happened, and described the mysterious woman that he had gone with. Duwyn was furious, so furious that he nearly strangled Valdis, until she bit his hand. With that bite, the Black Lord’s senses returned, and he pulled his sword from the wall, and went after his son - but did not find him in the Lady’s room. He knew, though, where he had gone. Where else could he have gone? Melsuine was a monster that had come from the sea - from one of the great inlet stones that rose out of the water. Duwyn the Black took a ship with him, and Valdis, and sailed out across the sea. A great gale rose, but Duwyn had sailed the sea all his life, and went to the rock.

When they arrived, they found Melsuine and Elyan both. Elyan laid on a stone carved with runes, and Melsuine stood over him; a sword in her hand, primed for his heart. Her four daughters had quartered a goat. One daughter placed the head of the goat on their brother’s head, blood pouring down his face. The other three had placed the goat’s legs adjacent to each of his limbs. They had wrapped sage and juniper around his body - bound tightly with nettles. The nettles had sprouted red boils along Elyan’s skin, but he did not seem to notice. The smell of Alarune clung to the air. Alarune, Valdis informed the Black Lord, was a plant that was said to only grow from where a hanged man's blood had dropped. It’s leaves, when mashed into paste and forced down the throat, were known to create visions that were almost real, and left the consumer helplessly trapped in dreams. Duwynn’s face went pale with rage, and he gnashed his teeth, biting at the side of his sword with his teeth. He charged at his once-wife, sword raised high. he four daughters began to sing their song again, and a storm began to brew above them. Lightning forked down on the ground and Melsuine's true form was revealed - a pulsating mass of teeth, eyes, and sea-creatures. Duwynn slashed and cut at her many twisting limbs. Valdis crawled away from the violence, towards Elyan’s bound body. She pulled the goat’s head from his face - and it was all bloody. She wiped the blood from his face, and began to unbind him, the nettles stinging at her hands. True Love - - a pretty concept, with little merit — was ringing in her heart. She placed a kiss to his lips, in the hope that he would wake. He did not. She sucked what she could of the Alarune from his lips, and dragged him from the stone, to the edge of the beach. She plucked strings of seaweed from the water, and wrapped them around his eyes, to sooth his dreams. The fighting raged for a long time, and the storm clashed above them. The song began to die down, verse by verse, as the sisters were cut down. Eventually, Melsuine’s monstrous features faded away, revealing a broken, ugly, old woman, with only a few teeth in her mouth and warts all over her naked body. Blood poured from her body - she was surely done. But she wasn’t done. She reached out to caress Duwynn’s face, and then, twisted his neck. They both died, their blood mixing with the water.

Valdis pulled Elyan into the boat, and they returned to the shores of Mórgwnystrad, the white beaches. She dragged her fiancé onto the shores. He did not wake - and would not wake for another year. The marriage feasts were cleared away. Valdis nursed him through these years, although she knew that when he woke, he would not care for her; and she would be as unhappy as before. The witch Cailleach came to the palace, and helped Valdis. She told Valdis many things, teaching her how to help Elyan. But Elyan still did not wake. The Gwerin managed on their own, with guidance from their priests. They didn’t need their unpopular Duwynn the Black, they didn’t need a king. But there was no golden age. The soil turned ashy and acidic. Soon, the Gwerin could not grow wheat, let alone juniper and sage. The famine began to pick them off one by one - and worse, a few foreigners had discovered them. They had seen foreigners before, of course. But not foreigners like these one. These men had come across the sea, from Penman - the City Beneath the Arch. They were mercenaries, who ate the Gwerin’s food, raped their people, and burned down their church. The castle held, for a long time, while these mercenaries ravaged the village.

For the better part of the year, they were ruled by these mercenaries, while the people in the castle ate through their stores. But in the village, the food was running out, and the people were dying. The mercenary’s leader, a man named Uddyr Many-Scars decided that it was time to move on - he would enslave the population, and sell them to the highest bidder within the city of Timinster, knowing that they could fetch a good price there. Uddyr prepared his men to go - but he would not leave without raiding the castle. And he did - the guards were exhausted, the walls were crumbling, and Uddyr broke through. The mercenaries scoured the castle, until they came to the room where the witch Cailleach, Valdis, and the unconscious Elyan rested. The witch and Valdis did what they could to protect Elyan - and themselves - but Uddyr’s axe was great. When they lay dead, Uddyr prepared to drag Elyan from his bed — and only then did Elyan’s eyes open. He spoke something - something that made Uddyr’s axe drop from his grip; and made the mercenary kneel before him. Uddyr cursed him, calling him a witch, a demon, a monster — but Elyan paid him no heed. He cradled Valdis in his arms, pulling her body from the ground. He walked through Mórgwnystrad without being harmed - but seeing the violence that had been wrought against the Gwerin. His people were in chains, or dead and bleeding - piled in burning mounds. His lands were ravaged, the ground scorched to its roots. He walked through it - and not a single mercenary raised an axe against him.

Without a word, Elyan buried Valdis in the ancient Mórgwnystrade way - that had been passed down from the funeral of their Messiah. The stories say, at least - that when he went down to the beach, to place Valdis in the sea, a spring of juniper and a handful of sage washed onto the beach. He burned them, and he held the woman who was never his wife under the waves until her bodies bloated with salt. When she sank, he told Uddyr Many-Scars to release his people - and that he would be sailing to Timinster. The mercenary had no choice but to agree - he was bewitched to do so - and they sailed across the sea, marched on foot, and walked to Timinster. He commanded that Uddyr Many-Scars return to where he had come from — and walked into the city alone.

Elyan found that the treatment of the Messiah, and the Messiah’s people was different, here. But like finds like, and he soon found what he called the Gwerin - even if they had long forgotten their own names, and traditions. Elyan tried to help these subjugated, these hidden Gwerin - he taught them the ways of his people, and told them stories of their shared Messiah - stories that they had forgotten. Although many of the traditions had been lost to both of their peoples, Elyan found himself speaking stories that had not been told for thousands of years, stories that had come from his dreams. Soon, the Timinster’s Gwerin told him of the Sanguine Dirge ; and Elyan situated himself amongst them. His extreme faith to the Messiah, his unique heritage, and his developing abilities made him a valuable member of the Dirge - and he rose swiftly through the ranks, becoming what he called Cinnire - a word untranslatable in common; but it could be sussed out to be a person who led an animal by the head, while the animal walked the route it had never walked before.

Often, Elyan thought of what the witch had told him. He told no others, but it always echoed in his head. From monster touch shall the fruit grow. When the fruit is eaten, the seed will take root. And out the messiah will grow again.


 
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Elyan ag Mórgwnystrad
Male / Twenty Five / Human
"Each man is a hero and an oracle to somebody."

PERSONALITY Calm, collected, and highly articulate - Elyan is the model coordinator. He enjoys working and speaking with others, and is careful to take their opinions into account. However, he is also a deeply private person, who rarely expresses his own needs and desires. He is, on the other hand, clear on his concerns and thoughts regarding his position. In truth, all of his extroverted, leader qualities are underscored by a quiet, inwardly focused personality. Even when he is speaking, Elyan is usually very preoccupied with what's going on in his own head. He values family and community, and sees selfish actions and kin-killing as reprehensible actions that deserve punishment - although he sometimes finds it difficult to determine the difference between retribution and vengeance. He is careful not to trust too readily, and he does not make oaths without thinking, or make promises that he cannot keep. Although Elyan values physical and magical strength, he finds greater value in human goodness and generosity - as in the past, it has saved his life. He is deeply religious, and eager to spread the word of his Messiah, and the teaching that were once lost.

BOON Elyan is formally trained as a swordsman, but that is not where his true strengths lie. His true strength lies in his ability to lead people. A gifted, and eloquent speaker who appeals to people’s ideals; his abilities at speaking are only bested by his ability to listen. He excels in swaying others, and preaching the Messiah’s words, giving them their own weight and beauty. His knowledge helps with this - as his dreams have led him to a unique understanding of the world, and given him insight that others might not have. Some say he can see the future - but this is not true. Elyan’s dreams only tell him of the past; of the world of the Messiah — so different than the world of the present.

BANE Elyan rarely expresses it; but he believes that he is the Messiah come again. This belief manifests not in arrogance, but in a paralyzing fear of failure. He is horrified by the prospect that because of his dreams - he alone knows the fate of the Messiah, and some of the old ways of the Gwerin - and that he is responsible for this knowledge. In some, small way, he delights in this. It gives him comfort to know that he knows more than anyone else about the fate of the Messiah, and he has some self-assurance in his actions. But on the other hand, he believes that this will ultimately spell destruction for the Gwerin; because he is not capable of what the Messiah was, and he sees himself as weak, and foolish. He feels that if he fails his people, that will be the end of the Messiah, and there will be no hope of his return- this is something that he cannot live with. Elyan’s terrified that his dreams will lead him to darker and more dangerous paths than the road he has already travelled. More than anything, he fears the idea that he is not actually powerful or gifted in any way. Because of this, he privately, never expressively, views all people as truly human - and thus, his inferiors. This rarely comes across in the way he speaks, but leads to him believing he must be the person to save others, and he thus - takes on too much. He fears that he is really, and truly, nothing more than human.

STYLE Elyan avoids direct confrontation when he can. He prefers to rely upon his own gift for speaking, and leading others towards their goals, rather than fight independently. He is not above utilizing his special talents, namely, his Witchwords in order to end fights before they begin. When pushed into physical confrontation, his weapon of choice is a sharp longsword - leaving one hand free to help him balance, and make signs if need be. His signs are generally a way to communicate soundlessly in battle - a carefully worked sign language that is designed to be quick and fluid. He wears medium armor; a breastplate with leather greaves and gauntlets. Although he rarely utilizes it - largely due to inexperience - he also carries a yew longbow along his back, as well as a small dirk.

WITCHWORDS Witchwords is the common parlance for Elyan's ability to convince others. Although he is a eloquent public speaker on his own, he can magically influence his voice to achieve complete control over the receiver of the Words. Although Elyan can gain control over listeners by merely altering the tonal qualities of the voice, it general only results in his ability to command the listener to follow simple instructions or very clear orders --- which the listener obeys dutifully. However, the Words have some very clear limitations; namely that the Words only last for a few minutes ; and after it wears off, the subject is immediately aware that they have been charmed, and that their will was not their own. Although Elyan can continuously speak his Witchwords to a target, to keep them under his control - that prevents his capability to do anything else, and eventually, the target will have too strong a resistance for the Words to have any continued effect.

SAGESIGHT Some say that Elyan can see the future. This isn't true ; he has dreams of the past, which he uses to inform his choices in the future. This ability only manifested in Elyan following his year-long sleep after a violent confrontation with his mother. This ability is only strong when Elyan is sleeping ; and from what dreams show him he is capable of interpreting visions of the past -- which may or may not have anything to do with his current situation. While awake, his Sight is far more limited. He is capable of a very limited form of prescience - thoughts, feelings, images into the very near past, but nothing more than that. Elyan fears that he will get lost in the Sight, and be unable to see anything but endless visions of the past.

HISTORY A thousand years ago, the Messiah died. When he was killed, a sword was placed through him, by Grand King Amaraan. The Messiah's followers were chased away, hunted to the ends of the earth. Some of them stayed, stayed within Timinster - but many fled. They lived in small communities, by the wayside, lost to the world. The Messiah's people - who called themselves "Gwerin", "The People - lived apart. The settled in a rocky, small cove. In this cove off of the Sea of Mene, there was a long abandoned castle that overlooked the white sands. This region, the Mórgwnystrad, or the White Bay in the common tongue, was where the Gwerin made their home, waiting out the witch hunt. While the world changed around them, they preserved their ancient traditions. For hundreds of years, the priests held out hope that the Messiah - who they called Feaseia - would come again. But the Feaseia did not return. They prayed, they held sermons, they whispered his name into the dark, attempting to conjure his spirit - but the Messiah never came. Nonetheless, they preserved their way of life, preserved the Word of the Messiah ; but many of the Gwerin lost faith. Some of them started to believe that he was never a Messiah at all - but simply a false God. Others thought that the Messiah was just a herald of something else - of a different God who was to come amongst them.

Centuries passed, and despite their efforts, the Gwerin changed. Although they had long been ruled by a collection of high priests, the high priests dwindled. Soon, there was only one chieftain, and one family that ruled them all. Twenty-five years ago, Mórgwnystrad's high priest, their chief and leader, was a man called Duwyn the Black. He was called this for his grim and violent outlook - but he was not always so. Once, he was a man who kept to the teachings of the Messiah - and believed that he would come again. When Duwyn was younger, he had met a witch. She was not so much a witch, as she was the oldest of the Gwerin - so old that nobody knew how old she was. There were stories that she had lived since the days of the Messiah. There were stories that she was the Messiah's concubine, while other stories said that she simply washed his feet and kissed his hands. But from those kisses, she had learned some of the Messiah's teachings. When a man came of age, within Mórgwnystrad -- they went to the witch to learn of their fate. Duwyn the Black was no exception to this rule. He had knelt across from the witch, and she told him many things. She told him what she had told his father, and his father before him, and many men before him. Perhaps it is what she told all men and women of the Gwerin.

Croí agus lasair , claíomh agus farraige , thit an Feaseia fola saor in aisce. leáigh sé cloch , iompú go luaith , agus líonadh an domhain . As a chuid fola , beidh crann gan toradh beith . bhfuil aon leanaí an crann , ach beidh an crann a bheith ag an flaithis , agus beidh na flaithis a chuid torthaí . Ón dteagmháil ollphéist beidh na torthaí ag fás . Nuair a bhíonn na torthaí ithe , beidh an síol a chur fréimhe . Agus amach go mbeidh an Feaseia ag fás arís . Croí agus lasair , claíomh agus farraige , is é an Feaseia aisling saor in aisce. -- The Witch of the White Bay

Heart and flame, sword and sea, the messiah's blood fell free. He melted stone, turned to ash, and filled the earth. From his blood, a fruitless tree will sprout. No children has the tree, but the tree shall reach the heavens, and the heavens shall be its fruit. From monster touch shall the fruit grow. When the fruit is eaten, the seed will take root. And out the messiah will grow again. Heart and flame, sword and sea, the messiah's dream is free. -- An Cailleach ag Mórgwnystrad

With these words in his heart, Duwyn left. He became a great prince - for they had long since adopted the titles of their neighbors, the tradition of high priests cast to the wayside. The story goes that Duwyn had gone fishing with his courtiers, but being a young man, had gone off on his own. He sailed out of the cove, towards one of the great inlet stones that rose out of the water. When he returned to his fishing party, he had a woman in his arms, of unearthly beauty and grace. Her shimmering hair was the colour of starlight, or so the bards claimed, and she had bright violet eyes. Duwyn behaved like a man bewitched around her, and insisted on marrying her on the spot. His father, Henno Longtooth, rejected the marriage, so Duwyn strangled him with a fishing line. There were no further complaints about the marriage. Melsuine bore Duwyll four beautiful daughters, each lovelier than the last. They were named Rhiana, Cwym, Glynna, Dyaeffryn.

However, the Lady's behaviour was strange. She was not of the Gwerin -- so people were naturally susipicious and untrusting of her. But she did nothing to win their trust, spending her days locked away, never mingling with the people, or learning their ways. Although the old faith - the Messiah's faith - was falling to pieces; Duwyn was still very devout, and held a Mass every Friday night, for the lost leader of the Gwerin. But his wife, the Lady Meulsine, did not hold this same faith. She always left Mass before the Annointment, and took the daughters with her. On one such occasion, The Black Lord became curious about her behaviour, and asked a trusted knight to follow her. The knight followed her from the Mass, and watched as she sunk into the water of the cove, taking her daughters down into the deep with her. The knight watched, horrified, as they took on terrible, inhuman qualities; too many fins, teeth, and eyes. He rushed back to report this to Duwynn. Duwynn was uncertain of what to do -- so he turned to the only one who might have known what to do, the old witch, Cailleach. Cailleach read the signs in the water, she carved runes, and she cut her wiry arms open and whispered the Messiah's name to her blood. She pronounced her verdict; Melusine was under a powerful curse, and had been for many years. She was aegelcuwif; a Mother of Monsters. She warned Duwyn that his unborn child -- for Melsuine was pregnant - was surely damned. But Duwyn begged and pleaded, and eventually the witch relented. She said that maybe she could lift the curse -- but it might kill Melusine, even if it spared the child.

Duwyn agreed, but told the witch that if she was unable to save his child, she would find himself at the bottom of the sea, along with all the demons that dwelled there. The witch agreed, and began to prepare. She slaughtered a white ewe, and lit juniper and sage boughs. She mounted the ewes head towards Duwyn's castle, and whispered the Messiah's name. The air in Mórgwnystrad was said to smell like funeral spices for a full week. At the end of the week, the witch came to Duwyn, and said that she would be ready to perform the rite. But the night before the ritual, Melsuine went into labour. The child that she gave birth to, the boy, was not born right. He was not as beautiful as her daughters, nor was he as healthy - the witch suspected that he would succumb to fever or cradle-cough before his first week of life. Duwyll, disgusted with the witch and fearful for his child, took comfort with his wife. Melsuine learned of what her husband had planned for her, and for her daughters from a tearful confession. Duwyn had come to terms with the belief that he would have to kill his aegelcwif. She, according to the legends, lay with her Lord one last time, before snatching her children, transforming into a dragon, and flying into the sea.

The Black Lord's lands fell into disarray, and he fell into grief. the witch Cailleach was tasked with the raising of Elyan. The first thing that the the witch did was perform a through exorcism of the boy, for fear that his mothers' demonic taint had seeped into him. Without his mother for the sacrifice, Cailleach baptized Elyan in lamb-blood, and burnt the lamb's feet in dedication to the The Messiah and their God. Elyan was then entered into the the witch's monastic church, the House of the Messiah. While cloistered, Elyan learned about the Faith and was by all counts a perfectly normal, studious boy. However, when he turned 12, he began to engage in behaviours that Cailleach could not reconcile. One evening, when Elyan had been left to study in the library, Cailleach found him standing over the body of another acolyte. Elyan had slit his throat with a quill-nib. The horrified the witch had sent Elyan back to the castle, and the care of his father - claiming that there was no more that he could do for him.
When Elyan returned to his father's castle, he found that the Black Lord had let his kingdom run into disrepair. He was taxing his small-folk for more and more lavish ways to stay inside his castle, and never leave. The loss of his wife and daughters had weighed heavily on him for twelve years, and even the sight of his son was not enough to pull him from his depression. Elyan, neglected by his father, flung himself into the process of achieving manhood within his small world. He had committed the Words of the Messiah to memory, along with great works of poetry. He was a decent swordsman, and as was common amongst his people an excellent sailor. Despite his violent entry into the world - and his violence against a young acolyte - these traits nearly became forgotten, as Elyan developed, and grew into a fine young man. He was well liked, well thought of, and held both his fellow men, and the Messiah dear to his heart. But there were always whispers. Whispers that he was as monstrous as his mother - whispers that he was a monster too. But there were other whispers too; perhaps he would bring the Gwerin into a new golden age - and they would be able to return to the world.

Elyan was seventeen, when he returned to the witch, to hear what she had in store for him. She welcomed him, despite all that transpired. She told him first, that he had changed. And then - she told him many things. She told him what she had told his father, and his father before him, and many men before him. Perhaps it is what she told all men and women of the Gwerin.

Croí agus lasair , claíomh agus farraige , thit an Feaseia fola saor in aisce. leáigh sé cloch , iompú go luaith , agus líonadh an domhain . As a chuid fola , beidh crann gan toradh beith . bhfuil aon leanaí an crann , ach beidh an crann a bheith ag an flaithis , agus beidh na flaithis a chuid torthaí . Ón dteagmháil ollphéist beidh na torthaí ag fás . Nuair a bhíonn na torthaí ithe , beidh an síol a chur fréimhe . Agus amach go mbeidh an Feaseia ag fás arís . Croí agus lasair , claíomh agus farraige , is é an Feaseia aisling saor in aisce. -- The Witch of the White Bay

Heart and flame, sword and sea, the messiah's blood fell free. He melted stone, turned to ash, and filled the earth. From his blood, a fruitless tree will sprout. No children has the tree, but the tree shall reach the heavens, and the heavens shall be its fruit. From monster touch shall the fruit grow. When the fruit is eaten, the seed will take root. And out the messiah will grow again. Heart and flame, sword and sea, the messiah's dream is free. -- An Cailleach ag Mórgwnystrad

But she told him something else as well - who he would marry. She told him that he must marry the Gwerin’s herbalist’s daughter. Herbalists were always loved and respected amongst the people, and had taken on a religious significance; as the herbs of juniper and sage were the funeral spices that they used to worship the Messiah. Notoriously difficult to grow on the rocky soil; the herbalist’s daughter had proven to be remarkably gifted with such an art. Her name was Valdis, and she was believed to be the most beautiful member of the People; with tan skin, huge, dark eyes and long black hair. Elyan wanted to know why he was intended to marry her - and the witch told him.

Ní thabharfar do pósadh a bheith sásta, agus beidh ort aon leanaí . Ach ní mór dúinn go léir a dhéanamh cad ba mhaith linn is fearr gan mhaithe ár Messiah . Roghnaíodh tú .-- The Witch of the White Bay

Your marriage will not be happy, and you will have no children. But we all must do what we would prefer not to for the sake of our Messiah. You were chosen. — An Cailleach ag Mórgwnystrad

Elyan felt he had to. So, he proposed to Valdis of the Boughs, and she was in no position to refuse. They invited all of the People to their month long wedding ceremonies. The old king, Duwyn, cloistered himself away, unable to see his child’s happiness, and the impending nuptials reminded himself to much of the price he had paid to have Elyan. But the truth of the matter, was that the ceremonies were not entirely joyful. While Valdis looked upon Elyan with love in her eyes - Elyan never even looked at her, or spoke to her. His eyes were always elsewhere. He stared at the Gwerin’ s architect, a young man with black braids and a ready smile. He stared at one of the last high priests - an older man with long white hair but an unlined face. Never once did he stare at a woman - and Valdis began to understand. She resigned herself to her fate - and told herself that she would find a lover of her own. But something happened.

At one of the many wedding parties, Elyan laid eyes on an older, but still graceful, woman in the crowd. She wore a beautiful gown imported from the far reaches of the world, and her long, pale neck was covered in pearls and opals. But the clothes did not outweigh her own, unusual loveliness She had shimmering silver hair and lavender eyes. With her were four ladies, each dressed in the finest clothes who looked exactly like her, but appeared closer to Elyan's own age. Elyan knew that he had to speak with her, as if bewitched. She looked long at him that whole evening - and whispers began to erupt from the banquet. Some said the strange woman looked like the old queen, Melusine - while others said that she was a foreigner, come to destroy the People. Yet others said that Elyan had her as a secret lover. Indeed, the young prince felt his heart fill to bursting ; he was certain he was in love with her. Despite his wife’s pleading for him to come to bed with her - Elyan left her in the middle of the night. He went to the strange Lady’s room, and begged the Lady to tell him her name. She told him that she would tell him if he came with her across the sea, to a rock in the middle of the cove. Elyan, overcome with love, agreed.

They rode away together in a silver boat, carved in the shape of a sea-serpent. The four ladies rode with them, and never said a word to Elyan. But they did sing - a beautiful, entrancing song. They taught him to sing it as well, and just as he learned it, they arrived at the rock. But Valdis would not have this. As soon as her fiancé left her - she rushed to her father-in-law, the old king. She explained what had happened, and described the mysterious woman that he had gone with. Duwyn was furious, so furious that he nearly strangled Valdis, until she bit his hand. With that bite, the Black Lord’s senses returned, and he pulled his sword from the wall, and went after his son - but did not find him in the Lady’s room. He knew, though, where he had gone. Where else could he have gone? Melsuine was a monster that had come from the sea - from one of the great inlet stones that rose out of the water. Duwyn the Black took a ship with him, and Valdis, and sailed out across the sea. A great gale rose, but Duwyn had sailed the sea all his life, and went to the rock.

When they arrived, they found Melsuine and Elyan both. Elyan laid on a stone carved with runes, and Melsuine stood over him; a sword in her hand, primed for his heart. Her four daughters had quartered a goat. One daughter placed the head of the goat on their brother’s head, blood pouring down his face. The other three had placed the goat’s legs adjacent to each of his limbs. They had wrapped sage and juniper around his body - bound tightly with nettles. The nettles had sprouted red boils along Elyan’s skin, but he did not seem to notice. The smell of Alarune clung to the air. Alarune, Valdis informed the Black Lord, was a plant that was said to only grow from where a hanged man's blood had dropped. It’s leaves, when mashed into paste and forced down the throat, were known to create visions that were almost real, and left the consumer helplessly trapped in dreams. Duwynn’s face went pale with rage, and he gnashed his teeth, biting at the side of his sword with his teeth. He charged at his once-wife, sword raised high. he four daughters began to sing their song again, and a storm began to brew above them. Lightning forked down on the ground and Melsuine's true form was revealed - a pulsating mass of teeth, eyes, and sea-creatures. Duwynn slashed and cut at her many twisting limbs. Valdis crawled away from the violence, towards Elyan’s bound body. She pulled the goat’s head from his face - and it was all bloody. She wiped the blood from his face, and began to unbind him, the nettles stinging at her hands. True Love - - a pretty concept, with little merit — was ringing in her heart. She placed a kiss to his lips, in the hope that he would wake. He did not. She sucked what she could of the Alarune from his lips, and dragged him from the stone, to the edge of the beach. She plucked strings of seaweed from the water, and wrapped them around his eyes, to sooth his dreams. The fighting raged for a long time, and the storm clashed above them. The song began to die down, verse by verse, as the sisters were cut down. Eventually, Melsuine’s monstrous features faded away, revealing a broken, ugly, old woman, with only a few teeth in her mouth and warts all over her naked body. Blood poured from her body - she was surely done. But she wasn’t done. She reached out to caress Duwynn’s face, and then, twisted his neck. They both died, their blood mixing with the water.

Valdis pulled Elyan into the boat, and they returned to the shores of Mórgwnystrad, the white beaches. She dragged her fiancé onto the shores. He did not wake - and would not wake for another year. The marriage feasts were cleared away. Valdis nursed him through these years, although she knew that when he woke, he would not care for her; and she would be as unhappy as before. The witch Cailleach came to the palace, and helped Valdis. She told Valdis many things, teaching her how to help Elyan. But Elyan still did not wake. The Gwerin managed on their own, with guidance from their priests. They didn’t need their unpopular Duwynn the Black, they didn’t need a king. But there was no golden age. The soil turned ashy and acidic. Soon, the Gwerin could not grow wheat, let alone juniper and sage. The famine began to pick them off one by one - and worse, a few foreigners had discovered them. They had seen foreigners before, of course. But not foreigners like these one. These men had come across the sea, from Penman - the City Beneath the Arch. They were mercenaries, who ate the Gwerin’s food, raped their people, and burned down their church. The castle held, for a long time, while these mercenaries ravaged the village.

For the better part of the year, they were ruled by these mercenaries, while the people in the castle ate through their stores. But in the village, the food was running out, and the people were dying. The mercenary’s leader, a man named Uddyr Many-Scars decided that it was time to move on - he would enslave the population, and sell them to the highest bidder within the city of Timinster, knowing that they could fetch a good price there. Uddyr prepared his men to go - but he would not leave without raiding the castle. And he did - the guards were exhausted, the walls were crumbling, and Uddyr broke through. The mercenaries scoured the castle, until they came to the room where the witch Cailleach, Valdis, and the unconscious Elyan rested. The witch and Valdis did what they could to protect Elyan - and themselves - but Uddyr’s axe was great. When they lay dead, Uddyr prepared to drag Elyan from his bed — and only then did Elyan’s eyes open. He spoke something - something that made Uddyr’s axe drop from his grip; and made the mercenary kneel before him. Uddyr cursed him, calling him a witch, a demon, a monster — but Elyan paid him no heed. He cradled Valdis in his arms, pulling her body from the ground. He walked through Mórgwnystrad without being harmed - but seeing the violence that had been wrought against the Gwerin. His people were in chains, or dead and bleeding - piled in burning mounds. His lands were ravaged, the ground scorched to its roots. He walked through it - and not a single mercenary raised an axe against him.

Without a word, Elyan buried Valdis in the ancient Mórgwnystrade way - that had been passed down from the funeral of their Messiah. The stories say, at least - that when he went down to the beach, to place Valdis in the sea, a spring of juniper and a handful of sage washed onto the beach. He burned them, and he held the woman who was never his wife under the waves until her bodies bloated with salt. When she sank, he told Uddyr Many-Scars to release his people - and that he would be sailing to Timinster. The mercenary had no choice but to agree - he was bewitched to do so - and they sailed across the sea, marched on foot, and walked to Timinster. He commanded that Uddyr Many-Scars return to where he had come from — and walked into the city alone.

Elyan found that the treatment of the Messiah, and the Messiah’s people was different, here. But like finds like, and he soon found what he called the Gwerin - even if they had long forgotten their own names, and traditions. Elyan tried to help these subjugated, these hidden Gwerin - he taught them the ways of his people, and told them stories of their shared Messiah - stories that they had forgotten. Although many of the traditions had been lost to both of their peoples, Elyan found himself speaking stories that had not been told for thousands of years, stories that had come from his dreams. Soon, the Timinster’s Gwerin told him of the Sanguine Dirge ; and Elyan situated himself amongst them. His extreme faith to the Messiah, his unique heritage, and his developing abilities made him a valuable member of the Dirge - and he rose swiftly through the ranks, becoming what he called Cinnire - a word untranslatable in common; but it could be sussed out to be a person who led an animal by the head, while the animal walked the route it had never walked before.

Often, Elyan thought of what the witch had told him. He told no others, but it always echoed in his head. From monster touch shall the fruit grow. When the fruit is eaten, the seed will take root. And out the messiah will grow again.


P....pretty. *stares in awe*
 
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P....pretty. *stares in awe*
You can thank @FieryCold for their amazing coding. I merely fiddled with the code a bit.
If you mean Elyan himself, well. That image is the result of a 6 hour search -- and I'm pretty pleased with it!
Thanks! :3
 
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You can thank @FieryCold for their amazing coding. I merely fiddled with the code a bit.
If you mean Elyan himself, well. That image is the result of a 6 hour search -- and I'm pretty pleased with it!
Thanks! :3
All of it. Can I have the coding??? :D
 
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Reactions: Esmeray
@Sir Basil

Wow that was a lot to get through and I appreciate the effort and creativity put into it. He will make a great Coordinator in many ways if he is careful

Character accepted! Welcome to the dirge, Sanguine Coordinator!
 
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@Sir Basil

Wow that was a lot to get through and I appreciate the effort and creativity put into it. He will make a great Coordinator in many ways if he is careful

Character accepted! Welcome to the dirge, Sanguine Coordinator!
Thank you! <3
 


Elyan ag Mórgwnystrad
Male / Twenty Five / Human
"Each man is a hero and an oracle to somebody."

PERSONALITY Calm, collected, and highly articulate - Elyan is the model coordinator. He enjoys working and speaking with others, and is careful to take their opinions into account. However, he is also a deeply private person, who rarely expresses his own needs and desires. He is, on the other hand, clear on his concerns and thoughts regarding his position. In truth, all of his extroverted, leader qualities are underscored by a quiet, inwardly focused personality. Even when he is speaking, Elyan is usually very preoccupied with what's going on in his own head. He values family and community, and sees selfish actions and kin-killing as reprehensible actions that deserve punishment - although he sometimes finds it difficult to determine the difference between retribution and vengeance. He is careful not to trust too readily, and he does not make oaths without thinking, or make promises that he cannot keep. Although Elyan values physical and magical strength, he finds greater value in human goodness and generosity - as in the past, it has saved his life. He is deeply religious, and eager to spread the word of his Messiah, and the teaching that were once lost.

BOON Elyan is formally trained as a swordsman, but that is not where his true strengths lie. His true strength lies in his ability to lead people. A gifted, and eloquent speaker who appeals to people’s ideals; his abilities at speaking are only bested by his ability to listen. He excels in swaying others, and preaching the Messiah’s words, giving them their own weight and beauty. His knowledge helps with this - as his dreams have led him to a unique understanding of the world, and given him insight that others might not have. Some say he can see the future - but this is not true. Elyan’s dreams only tell him of the past; of the world of the Messiah — so different than the world of the present.

BANE Elyan rarely expresses it; but he believes that he is the Messiah come again. This belief manifests not in arrogance, but in a paralyzing fear of failure. He is horrified by the prospect that because of his dreams - he alone knows the fate of the Messiah, and some of the old ways of the Gwerin - and that he is responsible for this knowledge. In some, small way, he delights in this. It gives him comfort to know that he knows more than anyone else about the fate of the Messiah, and he has some self-assurance in his actions. But on the other hand, he believes that this will ultimately spell destruction for the Gwerin; because he is not capable of what the Messiah was, and he sees himself as weak, and foolish. He feels that if he fails his people, that will be the end of the Messiah, and there will be no hope of his return- this is something that he cannot live with. Elyan’s terrified that his dreams will lead him to darker and more dangerous paths than the road he has already travelled. More than anything, he fears the idea that he is not actually powerful or gifted in any way. Because of this, he privately, never expressively, views all people as truly human - and thus, his inferiors. This rarely comes across in the way he speaks, but leads to him believing he must be the person to save others, and he thus - takes on too much. He fears that he is really, and truly, nothing more than human.

STYLE Elyan avoids direct confrontation when he can. He prefers to rely upon his own gift for speaking, and leading others towards their goals, rather than fight independently. He is not above utilizing his special talents, namely, his Witchwords in order to end fights before they begin. When pushed into physical confrontation, his weapon of choice is a sharp longsword - leaving one hand free to help him balance, and make signs if need be. His signs are generally a way to communicate soundlessly in battle - a carefully worked sign language that is designed to be quick and fluid. He wears medium armor; a breastplate with leather greaves and gauntlets. Although he rarely utilizes it - largely due to inexperience - he also carries a yew longbow along his back, as well as a small dirk.

WITCHWORDS Witchwords is the common parlance for Elyan's ability to convince others. Although he is a eloquent public speaker on his own, he can magically influence his voice to achieve complete control over the receiver of the Words. Although Elyan can gain control over listeners by merely altering the tonal qualities of the voice, it general only results in his ability to command the listener to follow simple instructions or very clear orders --- which the listener obeys dutifully. However, the Words have some very clear limitations; namely that the Words only last for a few minutes ; and after it wears off, the subject is immediately aware that they have been charmed, and that their will was not their own. Although Elyan can continuously speak his Witchwords to a target, to keep them under his control - that prevents his capability to do anything else, and eventually, the target will have too strong a resistance for the Words to have any continued effect.

SAGESIGHT Some say that Elyan can see the future. This isn't true ; he has dreams of the past, which he uses to inform his choices in the future. This ability only manifested in Elyan following his year-long sleep after a violent confrontation with his mother. This ability is only strong when Elyan is sleeping ; and from what dreams show him he is capable of interpreting visions of the past -- which may or may not have anything to do with his current situation. While awake, his Sight is far more limited. He is capable of a very limited form of prescience - thoughts, feelings, images into the very near past, but nothing more than that. Elyan fears that he will get lost in the Sight, and be unable to see anything but endless visions of the past.

HISTORY A thousand years ago, the Messiah died. When he was killed, a sword was placed through him, by Grand King Amaraan. The Messiah's followers were chased away, hunted to the ends of the earth. Some of them stayed, stayed within Timinster - but many fled. They lived in small communities, by the wayside, lost to the world. The Messiah's people - who called themselves "Gwerin", "The People - lived apart. The settled in a rocky, small cove. In this cove off of the Sea of Mene, there was a long abandoned castle that overlooked the white sands. This region, the Mórgwnystrad, or the White Bay in the common tongue, was where the Gwerin made their home, waiting out the witch hunt. While the world changed around them, they preserved their ancient traditions. For hundreds of years, the priests held out hope that the Messiah - who they called Feaseia - would come again. But the Feaseia did not return. They prayed, they held sermons, they whispered his name into the dark, attempting to conjure his spirit - but the Messiah never came. Nonetheless, they preserved their way of life, preserved the Word of the Messiah ; but many of the Gwerin lost faith. Some of them started to believe that he was never a Messiah at all - but simply a false God. Others thought that the Messiah was just a herald of something else - of a different God who was to come amongst them.

Centuries passed, and despite their efforts, the Gwerin changed. Although they had long been ruled by a collection of high priests, the high priests dwindled. Soon, there was only one chieftain, and one family that ruled them all. Twenty-five years ago, Mórgwnystrad's high priest, their chief and leader, was a man called Duwyn the Black. He was called this for his grim and violent outlook - but he was not always so. Once, he was a man who kept to the teachings of the Messiah - and believed that he would come again. When Duwyn was younger, he had met a witch. She was not so much a witch, as she was the oldest of the Gwerin - so old that nobody knew how old she was. There were stories that she had lived since the days of the Messiah. There were stories that she was the Messiah's concubine, while other stories said that she simply washed his feet and kissed his hands. But from those kisses, she had learned some of the Messiah's teachings. When a man came of age, within Mórgwnystrad -- they went to the witch to learn of their fate. Duwyn the Black was no exception to this rule. He had knelt across from the witch, and she told him many things. She told him what she had told his father, and his father before him, and many men before him. Perhaps it is what she told all men and women of the Gwerin.

Croí agus lasair , claíomh agus farraige , thit an Feaseia fola saor in aisce. leáigh sé cloch , iompú go luaith , agus líonadh an domhain . As a chuid fola , beidh crann gan toradh beith . bhfuil aon leanaí an crann , ach beidh an crann a bheith ag an flaithis , agus beidh na flaithis a chuid torthaí . Ón dteagmháil ollphéist beidh na torthaí ag fás . Nuair a bhíonn na torthaí ithe , beidh an síol a chur fréimhe . Agus amach go mbeidh an Feaseia ag fás arís . Croí agus lasair , claíomh agus farraige , is é an Feaseia aisling saor in aisce. -- The Witch of the White Bay

Heart and flame, sword and sea, the messiah's blood fell free. He melted stone, turned to ash, and filled the earth. From his blood, a fruitless tree will sprout. No children has the tree, but the tree shall reach the heavens, and the heavens shall be its fruit. From monster touch shall the fruit grow. When the fruit is eaten, the seed will take root. And out the messiah will grow again. Heart and flame, sword and sea, the messiah's dream is free. -- An Cailleach ag Mórgwnystrad

With these words in his heart, Duwyn left. He became a great prince - for they had long since adopted the titles of their neighbors, the tradition of high priests cast to the wayside. The story goes that Duwyn had gone fishing with his courtiers, but being a young man, had gone off on his own. He sailed out of the cove, towards one of the great inlet stones that rose out of the water. When he returned to his fishing party, he had a woman in his arms, of unearthly beauty and grace. Her shimmering hair was the colour of starlight, or so the bards claimed, and she had bright violet eyes. Duwyn behaved like a man bewitched around her, and insisted on marrying her on the spot. His father, Henno Longtooth, rejected the marriage, so Duwyn strangled him with a fishing line. There were no further complaints about the marriage. Melsuine bore Duwyll four beautiful daughters, each lovelier than the last. They were named Rhiana, Cwym, Glynna, Dyaeffryn.

However, the Lady's behaviour was strange. She was not of the Gwerin -- so people were naturally susipicious and untrusting of her. But she did nothing to win their trust, spending her days locked away, never mingling with the people, or learning their ways. Although the old faith - the Messiah's faith - was falling to pieces; Duwyn was still very devout, and held a Mass every Friday night, for the lost leader of the Gwerin. But his wife, the Lady Meulsine, did not hold this same faith. She always left Mass before the Annointment, and took the daughters with her. On one such occasion, The Black Lord became curious about her behaviour, and asked a trusted knight to follow her. The knight followed her from the Mass, and watched as she sunk into the water of the cove, taking her daughters down into the deep with her. The knight watched, horrified, as they took on terrible, inhuman qualities; too many fins, teeth, and eyes. He rushed back to report this to Duwynn. Duwynn was uncertain of what to do -- so he turned to the only one who might have known what to do, the old witch, Cailleach. Cailleach read the signs in the water, she carved runes, and she cut her wiry arms open and whispered the Messiah's name to her blood. She pronounced her verdict; Melusine was under a powerful curse, and had been for many years. She was aegelcuwif; a Mother of Monsters. She warned Duwyn that his unborn child -- for Melsuine was pregnant - was surely damned. But Duwyn begged and pleaded, and eventually the witch relented. She said that maybe she could lift the curse -- but it might kill Melusine, even if it spared the child.

Duwyn agreed, but told the witch that if she was unable to save his child, she would find himself at the bottom of the sea, along with all the demons that dwelled there. The witch agreed, and began to prepare. She slaughtered a white ewe, and lit juniper and sage boughs. She mounted the ewes head towards Duwyn's castle, and whispered the Messiah's name. The air in Mórgwnystrad was said to smell like funeral spices for a full week. At the end of the week, the witch came to Duwyn, and said that she would be ready to perform the rite. But the night before the ritual, Melsuine went into labour. The child that she gave birth to, the boy, was not born right. He was not as beautiful as her daughters, nor was he as healthy - the witch suspected that he would succumb to fever or cradle-cough before his first week of life. Duwyll, disgusted with the witch and fearful for his child, took comfort with his wife. Melsuine learned of what her husband had planned for her, and for her daughters from a tearful confession. Duwyn had come to terms with the belief that he would have to kill his aegelcwif. She, according to the legends, lay with her Lord one last time, before snatching her children, transforming into a dragon, and flying into the sea.

The Black Lord's lands fell into disarray, and he fell into grief. the witch Cailleach was tasked with the raising of Elyan. The first thing that the the witch did was perform a through exorcism of the boy, for fear that his mothers' demonic taint had seeped into him. Without his mother for the sacrifice, Cailleach baptized Elyan in lamb-blood, and burnt the lamb's feet in dedication to the The Messiah and their God. Elyan was then entered into the the witch's monastic church, the House of the Messiah. While cloistered, Elyan learned about the Faith and was by all counts a perfectly normal, studious boy. However, when he turned 12, he began to engage in behaviours that Cailleach could not reconcile. One evening, when Elyan had been left to study in the library, Cailleach found him standing over the body of another acolyte. Elyan had slit his throat with a quill-nib. The horrified the witch had sent Elyan back to the castle, and the care of his father - claiming that there was no more that he could do for him.
When Elyan returned to his father's castle, he found that the Black Lord had let his kingdom run into disrepair. He was taxing his small-folk for more and more lavish ways to stay inside his castle, and never leave. The loss of his wife and daughters had weighed heavily on him for twelve years, and even the sight of his son was not enough to pull him from his depression. Elyan, neglected by his father, flung himself into the process of achieving manhood within his small world. He had committed the Words of the Messiah to memory, along with great works of poetry. He was a decent swordsman, and as was common amongst his people an excellent sailor. Despite his violent entry into the world - and his violence against a young acolyte - these traits nearly became forgotten, as Elyan developed, and grew into a fine young man. He was well liked, well thought of, and held both his fellow men, and the Messiah dear to his heart. But there were always whispers. Whispers that he was as monstrous as his mother - whispers that he was a monster too. But there were other whispers too; perhaps he would bring the Gwerin into a new golden age - and they would be able to return to the world.

Elyan was seventeen, when he returned to the witch, to hear what she had in store for him. She welcomed him, despite all that transpired. She told him first, that he had changed. And then - she told him many things. She told him what she had told his father, and his father before him, and many men before him. Perhaps it is what she told all men and women of the Gwerin.

Croí agus lasair , claíomh agus farraige , thit an Feaseia fola saor in aisce. leáigh sé cloch , iompú go luaith , agus líonadh an domhain . As a chuid fola , beidh crann gan toradh beith . bhfuil aon leanaí an crann , ach beidh an crann a bheith ag an flaithis , agus beidh na flaithis a chuid torthaí . Ón dteagmháil ollphéist beidh na torthaí ag fás . Nuair a bhíonn na torthaí ithe , beidh an síol a chur fréimhe . Agus amach go mbeidh an Feaseia ag fás arís . Croí agus lasair , claíomh agus farraige , is é an Feaseia aisling saor in aisce. -- The Witch of the White Bay

Heart and flame, sword and sea, the messiah's blood fell free. He melted stone, turned to ash, and filled the earth. From his blood, a fruitless tree will sprout. No children has the tree, but the tree shall reach the heavens, and the heavens shall be its fruit. From monster touch shall the fruit grow. When the fruit is eaten, the seed will take root. And out the messiah will grow again. Heart and flame, sword and sea, the messiah's dream is free. -- An Cailleach ag Mórgwnystrad

But she told him something else as well - who he would marry. She told him that he must marry the Gwerin’s herbalist’s daughter. Herbalists were always loved and respected amongst the people, and had taken on a religious significance; as the herbs of juniper and sage were the funeral spices that they used to worship the Messiah. Notoriously difficult to grow on the rocky soil; the herbalist’s daughter had proven to be remarkably gifted with such an art. Her name was Valdis, and she was believed to be the most beautiful member of the People; with tan skin, huge, dark eyes and long black hair. Elyan wanted to know why he was intended to marry her - and the witch told him.

Ní thabharfar do pósadh a bheith sásta, agus beidh ort aon leanaí . Ach ní mór dúinn go léir a dhéanamh cad ba mhaith linn is fearr gan mhaithe ár Messiah . Roghnaíodh tú .-- The Witch of the White Bay

Your marriage will not be happy, and you will have no children. But we all must do what we would prefer not to for the sake of our Messiah. You were chosen. — An Cailleach ag Mórgwnystrad

Elyan felt he had to. So, he proposed to Valdis of the Boughs, and she was in no position to refuse. They invited all of the People to their month long wedding ceremonies. The old king, Duwyn, cloistered himself away, unable to see his child’s happiness, and the impending nuptials reminded himself to much of the price he had paid to have Elyan. But the truth of the matter, was that the ceremonies were not entirely joyful. While Valdis looked upon Elyan with love in her eyes - Elyan never even looked at her, or spoke to her. His eyes were always elsewhere. He stared at the Gwerin’ s architect, a young man with black braids and a ready smile. He stared at one of the last high priests - an older man with long white hair but an unlined face. Never once did he stare at a woman - and Valdis began to understand. She resigned herself to her fate - and told herself that she would find a lover of her own. But something happened.

At one of the many wedding parties, Elyan laid eyes on an older, but still graceful, woman in the crowd. She wore a beautiful gown imported from the far reaches of the world, and her long, pale neck was covered in pearls and opals. But the clothes did not outweigh her own, unusual loveliness She had shimmering silver hair and lavender eyes. With her were four ladies, each dressed in the finest clothes who looked exactly like her, but appeared closer to Elyan's own age. Elyan knew that he had to speak with her, as if bewitched. She looked long at him that whole evening - and whispers began to erupt from the banquet. Some said the strange woman looked like the old queen, Melusine - while others said that she was a foreigner, come to destroy the People. Yet others said that Elyan had her as a secret lover. Indeed, the young prince felt his heart fill to bursting ; he was certain he was in love with her. Despite his wife’s pleading for him to come to bed with her - Elyan left her in the middle of the night. He went to the strange Lady’s room, and begged the Lady to tell him her name. She told him that she would tell him if he came with her across the sea, to a rock in the middle of the cove. Elyan, overcome with love, agreed.

They rode away together in a silver boat, carved in the shape of a sea-serpent. The four ladies rode with them, and never said a word to Elyan. But they did sing - a beautiful, entrancing song. They taught him to sing it as well, and just as he learned it, they arrived at the rock. But Valdis would not have this. As soon as her fiancé left her - she rushed to her father-in-law, the old king. She explained what had happened, and described the mysterious woman that he had gone with. Duwyn was furious, so furious that he nearly strangled Valdis, until she bit his hand. With that bite, the Black Lord’s senses returned, and he pulled his sword from the wall, and went after his son - but did not find him in the Lady’s room. He knew, though, where he had gone. Where else could he have gone? Melsuine was a monster that had come from the sea - from one of the great inlet stones that rose out of the water. Duwyn the Black took a ship with him, and Valdis, and sailed out across the sea. A great gale rose, but Duwyn had sailed the sea all his life, and went to the rock.

When they arrived, they found Melsuine and Elyan both. Elyan laid on a stone carved with runes, and Melsuine stood over him; a sword in her hand, primed for his heart. Her four daughters had quartered a goat. One daughter placed the head of the goat on their brother’s head, blood pouring down his face. The other three had placed the goat’s legs adjacent to each of his limbs. They had wrapped sage and juniper around his body - bound tightly with nettles. The nettles had sprouted red boils along Elyan’s skin, but he did not seem to notice. The smell of Alarune clung to the air. Alarune, Valdis informed the Black Lord, was a plant that was said to only grow from where a hanged man's blood had dropped. It’s leaves, when mashed into paste and forced down the throat, were known to create visions that were almost real, and left the consumer helplessly trapped in dreams. Duwynn’s face went pale with rage, and he gnashed his teeth, biting at the side of his sword with his teeth. He charged at his once-wife, sword raised high. he four daughters began to sing their song again, and a storm began to brew above them. Lightning forked down on the ground and Melsuine's true form was revealed - a pulsating mass of teeth, eyes, and sea-creatures. Duwynn slashed and cut at her many twisting limbs. Valdis crawled away from the violence, towards Elyan’s bound body. She pulled the goat’s head from his face - and it was all bloody. She wiped the blood from his face, and began to unbind him, the nettles stinging at her hands. True Love - - a pretty concept, with little merit — was ringing in her heart. She placed a kiss to his lips, in the hope that he would wake. He did not. She sucked what she could of the Alarune from his lips, and dragged him from the stone, to the edge of the beach. She plucked strings of seaweed from the water, and wrapped them around his eyes, to sooth his dreams. The fighting raged for a long time, and the storm clashed above them. The song began to die down, verse by verse, as the sisters were cut down. Eventually, Melsuine’s monstrous features faded away, revealing a broken, ugly, old woman, with only a few teeth in her mouth and warts all over her naked body. Blood poured from her body - she was surely done. But she wasn’t done. She reached out to caress Duwynn’s face, and then, twisted his neck. They both died, their blood mixing with the water.

Valdis pulled Elyan into the boat, and they returned to the shores of Mórgwnystrad, the white beaches. She dragged her fiancé onto the shores. He did not wake - and would not wake for another year. The marriage feasts were cleared away. Valdis nursed him through these years, although she knew that when he woke, he would not care for her; and she would be as unhappy as before. The witch Cailleach came to the palace, and helped Valdis. She told Valdis many things, teaching her how to help Elyan. But Elyan still did not wake. The Gwerin managed on their own, with guidance from their priests. They didn’t need their unpopular Duwynn the Black, they didn’t need a king. But there was no golden age. The soil turned ashy and acidic. Soon, the Gwerin could not grow wheat, let alone juniper and sage. The famine began to pick them off one by one - and worse, a few foreigners had discovered them. They had seen foreigners before, of course. But not foreigners like these one. These men had come across the sea, from Penman - the City Beneath the Arch. They were mercenaries, who ate the Gwerin’s food, raped their people, and burned down their church. The castle held, for a long time, while these mercenaries ravaged the village.

For the better part of the year, they were ruled by these mercenaries, while the people in the castle ate through their stores. But in the village, the food was running out, and the people were dying. The mercenary’s leader, a man named Uddyr Many-Scars decided that it was time to move on - he would enslave the population, and sell them to the highest bidder within the city of Timinster, knowing that they could fetch a good price there. Uddyr prepared his men to go - but he would not leave without raiding the castle. And he did - the guards were exhausted, the walls were crumbling, and Uddyr broke through. The mercenaries scoured the castle, until they came to the room where the witch Cailleach, Valdis, and the unconscious Elyan rested. The witch and Valdis did what they could to protect Elyan - and themselves - but Uddyr’s axe was great. When they lay dead, Uddyr prepared to drag Elyan from his bed — and only then did Elyan’s eyes open. He spoke something - something that made Uddyr’s axe drop from his grip; and made the mercenary kneel before him. Uddyr cursed him, calling him a witch, a demon, a monster — but Elyan paid him no heed. He cradled Valdis in his arms, pulling her body from the ground. He walked through Mórgwnystrad without being harmed - but seeing the violence that had been wrought against the Gwerin. His people were in chains, or dead and bleeding - piled in burning mounds. His lands were ravaged, the ground scorched to its roots. He walked through it - and not a single mercenary raised an axe against him.

Without a word, Elyan buried Valdis in the ancient Mórgwnystrade way - that had been passed down from the funeral of their Messiah. The stories say, at least - that when he went down to the beach, to place Valdis in the sea, a spring of juniper and a handful of sage washed onto the beach. He burned them, and he held the woman who was never his wife under the waves until her bodies bloated with salt. When she sank, he told Uddyr Many-Scars to release his people - and that he would be sailing to Timinster. The mercenary had no choice but to agree - he was bewitched to do so - and they sailed across the sea, marched on foot, and walked to Timinster. He commanded that Uddyr Many-Scars return to where he had come from — and walked into the city alone.

Elyan found that the treatment of the Messiah, and the Messiah’s people was different, here. But like finds like, and he soon found what he called the Gwerin - even if they had long forgotten their own names, and traditions. Elyan tried to help these subjugated, these hidden Gwerin - he taught them the ways of his people, and told them stories of their shared Messiah - stories that they had forgotten. Although many of the traditions had been lost to both of their peoples, Elyan found himself speaking stories that had not been told for thousands of years, stories that had come from his dreams. Soon, the Timinster’s Gwerin told him of the Sanguine Dirge ; and Elyan situated himself amongst them. His extreme faith to the Messiah, his unique heritage, and his developing abilities made him a valuable member of the Dirge - and he rose swiftly through the ranks, becoming what he called Cinnire - a word untranslatable in common; but it could be sussed out to be a person who led an animal by the head, while the animal walked the route it had never walked before.

Often, Elyan thought of what the witch had told him. He told no others, but it always echoed in his head. From monster touch shall the fruit grow. When the fruit is eaten, the seed will take root. And out the messiah will grow again.


Dayum!! I am so ready to accept this dude as my commander!
 
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I am sure Elyan is ready to accept you into his heart !
Better watch your words, else me and Vio start devolving into suggestive commentary at your expense ;D
 
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can I have the boy to girl ratio as well as the sub-race ratio? Just so I have a clearer understanding was to what I should be looking for in terms of a character.
 
I am sure Elyan is ready to accept you into his heart !
Better watch your words, else me and Vio start devolving into suggestive commentary at your expense ;D
Last I checked I already occupied Vespie's heart, so I dunno how that would work out. Isn't that right? ;)
 
Last I checked I already occupied Vespie's heart, so I dunno how that would work out. Isn't that right? ;)
can I have the boy to girl ratio as well as the sub-race ratio? Just so I have a clearer understanding was to what I should be looking for in terms of a character.
I know that I'm human, and that our good doctor is a werewolf. And we're both dudes.
 
Well time to read these and work on my own, I'll also tell emp when I see him that you are interested in trading slots with him @Vio

Also my bio will be female. And Lycan. Knowing emp, he'll likely go human male, normal. Or female elf.
 
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