The Cardinal Sins

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Tsu

Lazy Stony Cat God
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FOLKLORE MEMBER
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  1. 1-3 posts per day
Writing Levels
  1. Advanced
  2. Prestige
  3. Adaptable
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Genres
Fantasy, Romance
THE CARDINAL SINS

Lore
Since the birth of their evolution, humanity has unknowingly walked alongside of the supernatural. Parallel to the land exists an alternate realm--a limbo if you will; forged at the hand of an alien life form whose existence transcends the comprehension of mere mortals.

Many millennia ago, there was a race born from the dark matter which defined the universe of ancient times. Gifted and sentient, they grew bored of their barren domain and reached to their power in hope for fulfillment. Taking the matter from the very void, they shaped and formed masses of unfathomable size. Yet even with these creations, the universe remained bare. Centuries of toil became nothing more than a re-imagination of the very domain which stultified their interests. Thus, it was an eternal slumber that most chose to embrace, rather than suffer the hollow existence that their lives were cursed to be.

There were two who remained behind. Two who held hope in their hearts that all was not lost in light of their goal. In their eyes, the work of their kin was nothing more than a single step towards greatness. Reaching again to their individual power, the first of the beings infused the stars with the energy that brimmed deep within himself. Glistening beauty exploded across the universe, thus giving birth to the first of the stars. The second being chose to reach into himself where traces of the elements gave birth to diverse environments all across the universe. Thus, it was with this creation that the planets were born--in particular one, which was fated to house the universe’s first life apart from the Ancients.

In the eyes of the Ancients, the birth of humanity was a reward for the labor and toil they sweat across the centuries of their past. Revealing themselves in mortal form, the beings came to be revered as gods over the heavens and land of their domain, yet treatment was not equal between the two. In light of his grace and the beauty of his creations, Decarab the Beautiful was the name bestowed upon the master of the stars. For the other, however, the name of Aciel the God Burner was cursed upon his identity out of humanity’s fear for the infernos which had become his trademark element.

From the initial contact, centuries passed with relations seemingly innocent at worst, yet hidden from Decarab was the rampant darkness which gradually began to root itself deep within Aciel’s heart. For the first time in the history of existence, sin was born into the universe through the envy which began to degenerate the Ancient’s mind. Aciel did not wish for the destruction of humanity or even the partner at his side. Instead, he wished for them to feel the pain which stemmed from the rejection he experienced across a lifetime of generations. Till the very end, Decareb remained ignorant to his partner’s plans--at least until it was far too late.

From the moment sin reached the hearts of the people, it was matter of years before the world was thrust into darkness. Jealous envy began to eat away at the minds of the people while bitter anger brought arms against their own kind. Sloth and gluttony brought productivity to a devastating halt, and lust left families broken and torn. In light of the chaos, those that kept their heads away from the sin took advantage of the mayhem such that their pride and avarice left them as kings above the common folk. Even a god became vulnerable to the corruption.

Decareb grew furious. To him, the people were beautiful beings that deserved nothing less than his respect and protection against the ill-natured. Nonetheless, in their current state, they had become nothing more than animalistic brutes. In his anger, Decareb cast aside his bond with Aciel and bound the Ancient at the core of a star; however, regardless of his retaliation, the damage upon humanity was irreversible. For the first time in centuries, Decarab reached for his power and constructed a minor realm that he merged parallel to the world of humanity. It was a realm unreachable by the hands of mortality, but one which embraced the souls of the dead. Its purpose was for the judgement of humans beyond life--the good who were put to tranquil rest, and the evil who were cast to suffer in an eternal prison forged to contain the corruption of Aciel and his star.

The system was an appropriate measure in balancing the evil which plagued humanity, yet over time, a new issue was born in light of unforeseen circumstances. Managing humanity was far from an effortless task, and the millennia of labour was beginning to take its toll upon the lone Ancient. With little time left before an imminent slumber, Decarab grasped for the final trickles of his power. In doing so, he expanded his realm into a perfect image of the world he loved and selected particular souls he deemed fit for his goal. These souls were chosen based on premature death--moral humans who had yet to fulfill their life’s potential through an untimely end which defied their fate. Reborn as a race of the Ancient, the new souls were given lesser powers for the purpose of managing the balance of humanity. That being said, they were unable to directly interact with the humans. To rectify this limitation, each soul which became known as a Zodiac were tasked to acquire a mortal host. By entering into a contract, the host was given a fraction of the Zodiac’s power in exchange for a body to enact the Zodiac’s will.

With this in place, all seemed well as Decarab bode his farewell to the universe and entered into his inevitable slumber. Unexpected, however, was the influence of corruption which now began to seep into both the realm of the dead in addition to that of the living. A degeneration of the Zodiacs began to occur, and a new threat known as Hollows sporadically began to rise. Unlike their counterparts, Hollows were a corrupted abomination which existed in between both realms. As such, they were capable of directly interacting with humanity whilst unseen by mortal eyes. There, they began unrestrained terror from the shadows of darkness for centuries to come--at least until the humanity’s retaliation began. With the balance of the world threatened, the Zodiacs and their hosts began a counterattack in an effort the eradicate the rising plague of hollows. Nonetheless, it is still centuries later that the war rages on with seemingly no end to their manifestation.
Plot

The year was 1473; a period in time when both darkness and strife beset the land which stretched the sole continent of the Eastern Hemisphere. It was nearly a millennia since Decareb had fallen to slumber; thus leaving the fate of his people in the hands of themselves and the Zodiacs. All did not remain well, however. Across the continent, remnants of a once great nations stood as reminders for the terror of the hollows who had claimed the territory as their own.

Nonetheless, it was towards the south-eastern region of the continent that the kingdom of El’yssi existed as one of few bulwarks left in the land. El’yssi was built upon a religious foundation strictly enforced by an organization known as the Dominion. Originally, the Dominion was in place for the sole purpose of protecting the people from the high levels of hollow activity which plagued its land; however, over time, its influence gradually began to spread until it had seized control of the nation's inner political workings.With a god no longer in the realm, it was towards the messengers of his will that the people turned for their guidance and protection. Thus, it was not the royal family, but rather, the Templars of the Dominion who assumed the true strength of the nation through the power of the Zodiacs contracted at their side. Such political turmoil was not a curse, however. The Dominion existed with the populace's best interest in mind, and the wings of their protection extended far beyond the reaches of their borders. Even so, their strength was not infinite.

Some lived lives indifferent of the world around them; others fought to protect the land they thought as their own; yet many fell to the suffering brought upon by the darkness of the era. Such was the state of the world--but was it here to last? Unbeknownst to even the Zodiacs, themselves, was the machinations of fate which brought both realms on the brink of great change. A new era was on its way.

For the better or worse?...Only time could tell.
What to expect?

The Cardinal Sins is a historical fantasy role play which is based upon a game, currently in-development, by myself. The role play, itself, intends to follow a set story line during an era which will primarily focus around the kingdom of El’yssi. Overall, players of the role play will assume the role of human characters who find themselves waking up without substantial knowledge about themselves or their immediate whereabouts. Depending on the number of interested sign-ups, however, other roles may become available in the future.

More details concerning the world aspect will come when the actual thread is formed; however, any questions are more than welcome in the comments below. If you are interested in joining, definitely say so! I do not have a determined set number of players that I am accepting, but expect it to be around 6-8.
 
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