WELCOME TO IWAKU WORLD - Rules & Map

Iwaku

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WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF IWAKU...

Iwaku is a realm that exists at the heart of the multiverse. It is neither fully physical nor fully dreamlike. No one can really agree on what it is. But one thing is certain - it is a world to which stories are drawn. From millions of timelines and billions of dimensions, Iwaku draws together legends and adventures and folds them into a single Meta-Narrative.

Often with cataclysmic results.


THE CREATION MYTH
There are three competing schools of thought as to how Iwaku was created. The first is the Creator Theory, which claims that a divine being was responsible. Traditionally, supporters of this theory have fallen into two groups - those who believe it was the God Homac, and those who believe it was the Goddess Engel.

The second is the Cyclical Creation Theory, which claims that Iwaku has always existed in a neverending cosmic cycle of death and rebirth. This theory is upheld by several angelic beings of the Iwakuan Realm, and also by a group of characters called the Legacy Knights, who claim to come from a future where the Cycle ended and restarted.

The third theory is the Paorou-Sama Paradox, which is only believed by madmen. It states that Paorou-Sama, the mad king of the southern wastes, created himself and the land in a time paradox and now the two are one and the same.


THE AGE OF GABRIEL
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Iwaku was once a lawless wasteland, home to the Noob Barbarians. It was King Gabriel who first stood against them, driving back the savages and consolidating the borders of his new kingdom. With the Noobs gone, Gabriel called out to the distant lands for people of valour and ambition to take sanctuary in his kingdom.

The new kingdom of Iwaku prospered, but dissent was inevitable. The first noble to stand up to the king was Lord Razilin, an ambitious and ruthless tyrant who wanted more territory. Recruiting the bitter Noob hordes and designing his own mechanical soldiers, Lord Razilin started a rebellion against the king from his stronghold at Nerf Castle. He was eventually defeated by the combined force of the King's allies, incuding the ISAF, the Teknikan Empire, and two new angels known as Rory and Asmodeus.

Rory and Asmodeus were made princes of the realm, and Iwaku prospered once more. But in time the King succumbed to madness and paranoia. He deserted Iwaku, and those he left behind fell into rival cults. The Bread Cult, the Shapeshifters, the ISAF, the armies of the Warmaster, the A-Cult, the Z-Cult, the Nekos, the Vikings - almost too many to name.

Iwaku was nearly torn apart by these conflicts, till in time the Asmodeus Roleplaying Corporation grew in power and became more of a threat to the cults than anything before. With the Ego-Zombie virus, derived from Razilin's early Noob control methods, Prince Asmodeus's tyrannical will began to dominate more and more of the population.[/size][/spoiler]


THE ADMIN WAR
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At the height of the Corporation's power, the Bread Cult and the Teknikkans conspired against it, framing Prince Asmodeus for the murder of one of Prince Rory's closest friends. The War that followed was catastrophic and almost destroyed Iwaku. Friends and brothers were divided, and many of the old names, including the Knights of Iwaku, were wiped out in the fighting. Asmodeus's corporation was brought to its knees by Rory, who had as his ally the summoned Goddess of Iwaku.

In desperation, Asmodeus turned to the very man who framed him - Paorou-Sama, the Prince of Insanity. Paorou-Sama unleashed a horrific genocide on the Iwaku public and then raised the legendary Sword of Iwaku, using it to almost destroy the world. In the process, he slew the Old God, Homac, and began to rupture the very realm that Iwaku inhabited. But at the last moment, Rory and the Goddess created a Mirror Realm and saved the fragments of Iwaku within it. Paorou-Sama was outwitted and left to die with the angel Asmodeus as the walls of reality came crashing down.


THE ELDER INVASION
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The Mirror Realm created by Rory and Engel needed a place to exist, and so they approached another being, a powerful woman called Diana. Happy to help her new friends, Diana gave Iwaku a place within her own realm. And so, for the next 18 years, the new Iwaku slowly recovered under the kingship of Lord Rory. It was also helped by a rebirth of the Iwaku Knights, now known as the Legacy Knights, who did their best to help people and fund the restoration of the cities. Many who served in the Iwaku War found themselves reborn in the Mirror Realm, the memories of the horror far behind them, and all sought to find new lives in this world.

But there were still flaws in this new paradise. Somehow, perhaps due to Paorou-Sama's final actions, a fragment of the old Iwaku remained lodge in the new one. To the south, beyond a great Mirror of dimensional energy, the lands of Insanity remained. Any who went there would be lost to madness and ruin. Some whispered that the Mad King still lived, while others proclaimed it was a just a trapped memory - a land that couldn't forget.

After 18 years, calamity struck. It seemed that in moving Iwaku from its old realm, some of the magical seals put in place by King Gabriel had been broken. Noobs started to raid the lands again, as well as the Elders - ancient servants of the Search Engine realms who the Noobs worshiped as gods. The major cities were hit, many of them wiped from the face of the earth, and Rory was forced to surrender.

The invasion was swift and ruthless. But a small resistance remained. The Legacy Knights and their leader, the reborn angel Asmodeus, gathered those still willing to fight and set about trying to discover the origin and weaknesses of the Elders. But the resistance did not last long. Using the legends of the Cycle and the True Hero, the Elders used false prophecies to trick the angel into madness and religious zeal. Asmodeus turned against his friends and tore the resistance apart from the inside as he desperately tried to forge one of them into the True Hero who would defeat the Elders.

Eventually, the resistance was forced to kill Asmodeus. A bomb was unleashed that drained his celestial power and used it against the Elders, but in doing so the Mirror that separated Insanity from Iwaku was cataclysmically shattered.



PRESENT...
The explosion of the Confluence Bomb, together with the destruction of the Temple of History and the multiple portals caused by the invasion, has now riddled Iwaku with dimensional bleeds. People are starting to forget history, even as their own powers and personalities change...

Through these Bleeds, more people are arriving in Iwaku, as well as Diana herself, who has descended in the AFTA Space Station and now seeks to rule Iwaku in Rory's absence.

Is Diana the True Hero come to save us? Or did she mastermind the entire Invasion?



... the Absolute War has begun...


WELCOME TO THE GAME!
Iwaku World is a mythologised story about our forum. It tells of a dreamworld where characters arrive and are pulled into epic adventures and conflicts. Most of us play as our avatars or characters from other roleplays and fanfictions. The ethos is that pretty much everything is possible, as long as it makes sense (and sometimes even if it doesn't!)

All characters and levels of literacy are welcome. The Mythos has been going for about 4 years now, but don't let that put you off. There's always new adventures and new plot twists to write! Think of this as a place to experiment and get to know (and fight) other players. You'll find most of the members here, involved in some plot or other. So don't be afraid to get stuck in.

Here are the rules:

  • This is a roleplay run by the Staff & Members of Iwaku. There is a Main Storyline called the "Mythos" that is the official story of Iwaku. Members are allowed to create their own unrelated stories within the Iwaku World Universe. If there's ever a problem, just ask one of the staff.
  • Character bios do not require approval, therefore we ask all players to be mindful of their powers. We do not allow power play or godmodding.
  • Because there are so many people involved, we ask that any posts that are MORE THAN 2 PARAGRAPHS have a summary included at the end, so that players who are absent can catch up quickly with the plot.
  • In the current Iwaku saga, there are three factions:

    The Order of Luna Ashe - representing the AFTA and Moonwings forums which recently joined with Iwaku. They are led by Diana, a kindly queen who wishes to save Iwaku from its terrible problems.

    The Crimson Cadre - representing the old guard of Iwaku, who are fighting to preserve the history of the original forum. They are lead by Paorou-Sama, a mad king who distrusts Diana's motives.

    The Viridian Guard - representing the neutrals who believe a compromise can be found between the old ways and the new. They are led by Porg, a young man who seems to be immune to many of the powers present in Iwaku.​

    You don't have a join a faction if you don't want to. They are just there to get you deeper into the story.
  • The map and locations are described in the post below. Please bear these in mind when adventuring.
  • There are four types of magical/supernatural energy in Iwaku. These are as follows:

    CONFLUENCE
    Anything based on science and realism.​
    Confluence is a power-source based on the laws of physics and narrative - two systems which heavily control the story-world that is Iwaku. By "laws of narrative", this means the realistic telling of a story. Confluence stops unexplained things and random events from ruining the plot-line, and ensures total realism.

    The weakness of Confluence is that you are subject to that same rules of realism and can often fall foul of them.

    The greatest user of this power was Asmodeus, who was able to create an area of effect that removed all unnatural powers from his enemies. He was also unable to be defeated by anyone who had not suffered and earned the right to be a true hero. But in the end it destroyed him, as his own Confluence powers eroded the angelic powers that had made him mighty.

    Examples: Any realistic firearm and combat training; Any non-magical biological ability for your race that can be explained by scientific laws; Anything that enforces cause and effect.​


    REALITY-BENDING
    Anything that can't be explained.​
    If Confluence represents the story, then Reality-Bending represents the re-writing of the story. Reality-Bending is where things happen without logic or cause. It is similar to Chaos Theory. The power comes from sheer will and random desire.

    The weakness of Reality-Bending is similar to Confluence, in that you can become the victim of your own powers if you let the chaos get out of hand.

    The greatest user of this power was Paorou-Sama, who was able to save parts of the old Iwaku and keep them behind the Mirror as the Realm of Insanity. He now rules there according to nothing but his own whims, but suffers from the fact that he cannot exist beyond the Mirror because of the amount of Reality-Bending he has performed.

    Examples: Anything that seems to come out of nowhere, like returning from the dead, summoning bizarre objects, making things happen without reason. Or exploiting narrative rules, such as strolling out of a building because explosions only happen when the hero is running from it.​


    DREAMWEAVING
    Anything that uses magical power sources.​
    Dreamweaving is more along the lines of traditional magic. It is a power drawn from realms beyond the physical world, including the elemental planes, the realm of the dead, the shadow planes, heaven, hell, past, future, and so forth. A Dreamweaver must tap that power and draw it into his own world before shaping it into something of use.

    The weakness of Dreamweaving is that it requires a link to the other realm. This link can be severed, hijacked or go haywire if your channeling is disturbed.

    The greatest user of this power was Rory, who was a master of time-travel, dream-walking and invocation. His greatest feat was summoning the Goddess of Iwaku into mortal form - a deed for which he earned his place as King of the Realm.

    Examples: Necromancy, Shadow-manipulation, elemental magic, holy powers, infernal powers, shape-shifting, spontaneous healing.​


    SOULARTS
    Anything drawn from the soul.​
    If Dreamweaving is the power from beyond, then SoulArts is the power from WITHIN. It is based upon the soul, the powers that are deep within the essence of who you are. The lesser known of the styles, SoulArt powers are often channeled through emotions and desires, and can range from empathic healing to hateful telekinesis. They can also manifest in Soul-Blades: weapons that literally embody a user's soul.

    The weakness of SoulArts is that it comes completely from your own body, so if you are injured or drugged or unconscious, those powers can be interrupted. It is also based upon strong desires, so your emotions must be in tune with what you want.

    The greatest user of SoulArts was Porg, who was able to tap a huge range of powers from within his soul, helping him to achieve feats of heroism according to his heart's desire.

    Examples: Second chances, lucky breaks, inhuman endurance, regeneration, great speed, heightened senses, berserk triggers, mind-affect powers.​
 
IWAKU CITY
The great city of Iwaku, constructed in less than eighteen years is the pride of the great land. Around 50km from wall to wall, the city of Iwaku would take around 7 hours to walk across east to west, though the south to north route would take longer, because the Lake would have to be circled and then either Shade or Chaos bridge would have to be crossed.
The majority of the city has an aesthetic similar to a prosperous Medieval European city. Tiled roofs and paves streets (except for those which allow cars, which are now tarmac'd) though most of the larger buildings and many of the smaller deviate from this.

(1) Castle Iwaku
Sitting on a single piece of jutting land, the giant Castle Iwaku is an impressive site to behold. To the immediate south falls the lake, then the City of Iwaku, which the castle looks over. To the North the view is simply of the sky, the great endless sea stretching out miles below. To the East and West respectively are the Shade and Chaos bridges, two huge long arching bridges that connect the small island the Castle sits on to the mainland the City has settled on, both sitting across the apex of the waterfall.

(2) Iwaku Mall
The Iwaku Mall is an impressive structure and a testament to the engineering prowess of the Iwakiun workers. The entire structure is built around a huge war memorial called the pillar of names, which stands in the central plaza, reaching up through all 5 above ground floors.

The mall itself is shaped like a huge dome, which holds nearly any kind of shop an Iwakiun mind could imagine. There are also 4 large tunnel like halls extruding from the main building, that create almost a shuriken shape. The east hall acting as a bridge across the river which runs through the city, as well as an entrance for the underground car park from the east side of the river. The South entrance is a pedestrian only entrance which connects to Market Street. The West entrance comes out near the university and houses many cut price or 'student' shops. The Nroth hall extends out onto the lake and houses many expensive restaurants as well as a marina for private boats.

The Mall has a 'modern future'* aesthetic, that clashes somewhat with the majority of the city.

The Pillar of Names
Standing at the center of the Mall is the pillar of names. a monolith constructed at the end of the Admin War, it lists the names of every life lost in the war, and despite it's size (around 2 meters across and 5 stories high) it could not possibly hold that many names and thus is enchanted with power full magic and an anti confluence field. Within a couple of feet of the pillar confluence cannot enforce a reality strong enough to break the magic on the pillar.

The Mall Station
The second floor of the mall, while hosting many many stores of all kinds is also the location of the Mall's station. Two platforms connect to the monorail service which rings the city before heading inwards towards the mall. Only being two platforms this does not take up too much room in the huge structure.

Peridox Plaza
Plaza Peridox is a plaza inside Iwaku Mall, and is the largest open area inside the mall. Plaza Peridox used to be the center of informal commerce in Iwaku City, until Rory decided to create Iwaku Mall and enclosed the plaza.

Topped by a skydome made of tough, shatterproof fiberglass, Plaza Peridox is surrounded by different stores selling antique furniture, some of which also double as coffee shops or tea houses. In the middle of the plaza is the Pillar of Names, which reaches up to the skylights. Reaching radially outward from this statue are streets that lead to different parts of the mall.

The Iwakandy Store

The Bread Store
One of the most concentrated bread cult operation inside the Kingdom of Iwaku, the cultists built a bakery near the Pillar of Names to honor their fallen brethren. The bakery is self-sufficient and is ran by high ranking bread cultists.

This is one of the few bread cult establishments that caters to ordinary Iwaku citizens, they sell bread and pastries after offering their spirits the bread god. Orochi owns the Bakery, but lets the cultist run it; he often serves as a peace keeper between his cultists and members of the Shapeshifter guild.

Reiz Street
A popular street, famous for it's numerous bars and nightclubs playing all types of music and catering to all tastes. During the day it has a few cafe's but is mainly used as southern access to the Mall's car park. It does not contain a pedestrian entrance to the mall, for that you have to cross over to Market street.

Market Street
The aptly named Market Street is home to many small businesses that could not afford to house themselves in the extravagant Mall. It is also home to a daily market, which is a favorite for all the exotic and rare good that can be found there.​

(3) The South Gate
A new structure by Iwaku City's standards, being less than ten years old, 'The South Gate' is a huge transport hub located unsurprisingly at the south most point of Iwaku City, where the old ARC tower used to stand.

The southgate has six platforms, each servicing a different train connection. 2 platforms on the second floor service the monorail which rings the city, each accommodating one train which rings the city either clockwise or anti-clockwise.

The ShapeShift town has a direct connection, which cuts through a couple of smaller settlements.

A train leaves to the east, zig-zagging up through several small villages to terminate at one of the known locations of The Brigadoon.

Another platform services trains to the south east, going through the mountains and over to Dystopia, among other places.
There is a platform for the carriage which traverses the forest. Visiting the small settlements, though it mainly acts as a mail coach.

Platfrom six is the subject to something that is almost an urban legend. This is where the so called 'Crimson Jim' is said to alight, though this is so rare that it is generally considered a myth. The Crimson Jim is a monstrous train, armored and dented, which does unpredictable services to Insanity.

Above the two stories of train platforms lies the airship dock, which has a small amount of spaces for private airship, but is primarily used for small ferry-ships which run services all over Iwaku as well as to the castle. These are more expensive and slower than trains.

The South Gate has a steampunk aesthetic.

The Gatekeeper Tavern
The top floor of the South Gate houses the Gatekeeper Tavern. a wide stairway on each side supporting the inn and bar in a arch above the rest of the structure makes it similar to a bridge. This tavern is a homely place, which boasts 'any drink you can ask for' and serves everyone and anyone, as well as unusually not hiking up it's prices because it is in a Train station.​



(4) Crane Park
to the east of the river running through the city lies Crane Park, named after the one who created the Anirune forest. This park spans more than a kilometer from south to north along the bank of the river. It consists of three loosely defined sections, each symbolizing the three great arts of Iwaku: Confluence, Reality Bending and Dreamweaving**

(5) CoffeeCake University

*You know.. like those buildings that exist nowadays that try to look all futuristic.. made of glass and white/shiny silver metal.

**SoulArts is not accepted as one of the governing powers. It is accepted that people can have inner power, but the term SoulArts (having been conjured up by Porg) is not in use and it is not considered as a main power.

THE BADLANDS
The name given to the areas of Iwaku that do not fall into the city, the cult quarter or Insanity. Sprawling plains and towering mountains, alongside the great Anirune forest and the north sea make up this area.

(6) The Plains

The Gosai Mountains

(7) Vetmimir/Little Valhalla

The Breweries

(8) Mount Iwaku

Anirune Forest

(9) Porg's Meadow

(10) Lake Iwaku

(11) The Brigadoon

(12) The Razillin Desert

(13) Roleplay Chasm

History Isle

The Labyrinth

The Goddess shrines

THE CULT QUARTER

(14) The Shapeshifter Village

(15) The Chocobo Stables

Myrnodyn's Lab

(16) Dystopia

Little Moscow

(17) O'Hare Field

(18) Venun Hill

INSANITY

The Mirror

(19) Translvania

(20) The endless highway

(21) Soldiers grave

(22) Nerf Castle

(23) Bread Bakeries
The Bakery is the Bread Cult's base of operations within Iwaku, and as such, its main office lies inside insanity, though the Bread cultists also maintain branches in other parts of Iwaku(Ex:Vetmimir). However, due to the Bread
Cult's hostility towards the Shapeshifters, the Bread Cult decided against building a branch within the cult quarters, where shapeshifter presence is high.

Even though most The Bakery branches look like taverns at first glance, The Bakery buildings have some pretty unique features, such as roof tiles that look like small baguettes, and croissant-shaped windows. Inside, The Bakery looks very much like a bakery, though the building itself also contains training facilities for bread cult members.

The Bakery is operated entirely and exclusively by the Bread Cult, with novices (supervised by Elder cultists) providing most of the menial work. This provide novice Bread cultists training in the ways of the Bread God.