The Night Of Saints

The Claimh Solaias was a sight to behold. Eight and a half feet long and at least three feet wide, yet Astraois gripped it with one hand.

The others around him were all dead or fairly close to it, bodies with smoke curling off in ominous black plumes or naught more than charred skeletons, the flesh and organs all ripped from their bodies.

Yet Astraois was not untouched. His face was smeared with sweat and ash, the blood of his comrades and his own fatigue. His armor, normally gleaming and radiant, was dulled and filthy, only his blade remaining pure.

Before him stood his foe, the Abomination. A void, a nonentity, it was chaos. It was all the magic in the land gathered at one point, a figure that warped the world around it simply by existing.

Another burst of smoke came forth, and three hundred mile winds slashed at our hero, who held his ground, shielding the blast with his massive sword. Their duel had lasted for three days and three nights, and sunrise of the fourth fast approached.

A lack of sleep and water had Astraois near derision, and his resolve had flickered momentarily throughout the duel. No longer. With all the strength his exhausted body could muster, he swung Claimh Solais back, brilliant as the morning sun, and pushed up, leaping at the beast as he brought the sword down.

The blade sliced cleanly into the dark mass of nothingness that was the Abomination, and a massive roar shook the world. The sun rose as light and darkness clashed in a bubble, blindingly bright yet deafeningly quiet.

When the smoke cleared, neither hero nor beast was there, merely the blade, lodged into the ground.

---

This RP will consist of three main stages.

The primary stage will deal with the rise of magic and the Templars assigned to destroy the Abomination. So you know now, all of our characters will die, save Astraois. If it at all sweetens the deal, you'll have free rein as far as what your character has, equipment wise, so if its a flaming crossbow or a suit of unbreakable armor, have at it. This phase will likely not last very long, but just a good prologue to the plot.

The secondary stage will deal with the Repercussion, the brief era of time consisting of when Astraois purged the Abomination to when the Unclean were exiled. The Abomination's demise-and consequently, Astraois', disbanded the magick entity but caused trace amounts to seep into the world. The result was the Thicket, the site of the fight in the OP. Our characters or their predecessors will have been a result of the magic trace left there and will consist of all manners of things.This phase, also, is predetermined in its ending, with the creatures being exiled. Whilst the ending is decided, whether or your not your character dies here is entirely up to you. If you have a rather long-lived character in mind, you can carry over from phase two to three. If not, perhaps a descendant of some sort.

The third phase is our characters on the Black Isle, the isolated prison for the magic of the world. It was contained to one site, an island amidst an unchartable sea, where our story will take place.

The Black Isle has the contained magical power of the world infused into it. Every living thing there has to some extent been mutated by its effects. Some merely have a slight magical affinity. Others have been merged with it. Living breathing catalysts for tremendous energy.

As with any colony, any peace will be uneasy and likely short lived. Various species have emerged from said island, from dragons to succubi to unicorns, and racism is prevalent even amongst non-humans. Whether or not our conflicts will be interpersonal, between the factions, or perhaps even bring in the Humans is entirely up to how it goes. It will be a sandbox RP, save with a heavily plot-bound prologue.

Now, if no one is in favor of the prologue(s) and would much rather skip straight to the Black Isle, that is fine with me.

Thoughts?

Rules.
1. You all know how to RP.
2. The only real rule I'm going to have is magic. Magic is not something easily trifled with. It is basically the capabilty to warp the laws of physics: hence why dragons breath fire, pegasi can fly, so on and so forth. Using magic CONSCIOUSLY is very, very dangerous. Your character will most likely have some form of passive magic: for example, a dragon's scales or a phoenix's natural ability to resurrect. If your character is willingly delving into their magic and utilizing it, things may get very bad, very quickly. No one can entirely control magic, and its very nature means a spark of energy could incinerate you or perhaps just turn into a raindrop. Be very careful when f*cking with magic. Or f*cking magic. But I'm not going there.

--This RP will be fairly mature, given the nature of some mythological creatures (centaurs, succubi) and as such be prepared for anything that goes on. I'll allow whatever level of detail everyone is comfortable with, but if someone starts getting a bit squirmy, I'll start moderating it.--

Templates
(Phase I)

Name:
Age: (21-40)
Sex: (male)
Description: (Should be in great physical condition)
Personality:
Weapon of Choice:
Other
((Note that in this phase, you are a Templar, elite knights tasked with destroying magic. Your leader, Astraois, is the strongest of said Templars. If someone wants to play Astraois, feel free to, but you'll have to check with me about a few plot things))

Phase II

Name:
Age:
Sex:
Species: (What exactly are you? Can be pre-existing or your own. No colossus'ing. If you want something ridiculously powerful, think Doctor Manhattan. An entity so ungodly powerful that their inability to relate to human interests borders on schizoid disorder; normal creatures would be so far beneath them that thingst like wars or crime wouldn't mean anything to them. This could make for a boring and godmoddy RP, so I'd prefer for the number of these species to be kept down. And varying types of species can exist: for example, I picture dragons as behemoths will thick magical scales that are nigh impossible to kill conventionally. You might see them as baseball sized lizards who can't fly. Various subspecies can exist)
Description:
Personality:
Bio:

Phase III

Name:
Age:
Sex:
Species:
Description:
Personality:
Bio:


----Considering dropping Phase II. Also, Tech level is medieval, with a Roman/Renaissance level of intelligence and art.---

Do we have to do all these sheets all at once?


Also, I'll make a sheet once I see some interest from other people. I'm really busy lately, and I don't want to take the time on something that isn't going to start.

Entirely understandable.

Depending on if people want Act I and II...not necessarily. You can do them one at a time, or omit an Act, all at once, etc.

Yes. Entirely, yes. I'll make an Act one sheet immediately, for now.

Sounds good. Also, I like the gaelic names.

Lets say that bI'm interested, but not at this exact moment. Could I join later on?

Since shade's not on, I'd venture to say yes? At the very least, there's three parts, so it would make sense that we could introduce new characters then without any inconvenience.

Yes, you can join later on if wanted.

I am assuming that Act I and Act II are wanted? I'm borderline on Act II, so I may just write a synopsis of what happens and we can go straight to Act III. It will be some 100-200 years before Act III's beginning, anyways.

I'd say 1 sounds good. Two, maybe. Would it be possible for some of our equipment to make it down through the ages to our future characters? I'm fine either way, but it might be cool if that could happen. Obviously, having a suit of unbreakable armor in a late-stage game wouldn't be kosher, but something less "broken" might be.

It is possible. The "Site" (for lack of a better term as to where Astraois and the Abomination fought) will be the nexus of the island, and with that the most magically concentrated portion. It will likely be very difficult to enter (think the Forest from messenger) and/or have some archaic, powerful creatures lurking around (perhaps even the souls of the warriors who died).

It's fairly possible, yeah, but likely not at the beginning (unless you play said archaic creature). Obviously you'd have to be fairly humanoid: a magical bracelet would be fairly useless on something the size of a dragon or something like that.

But otherwise, fine with me. If this was the Sporum I'd have to restrict it, but I know no one here is cheap enough to essentially rig their characters to be the best (Colossus) so I have no worries.

Right. Now I just have to pick a fighting style... teehee. Can't decide between sword and board, longsword, war flail, or voulge-guisarme.

I was going to be Captian Concussion, so one of the swords might vary our combined style a bit.

Well, that knocks out the war flail. Everything else I've got is bladed. I assume you're getting some kind of club/hammer?

Two Warhammers, my preference.

He must have legendary arm strength.

Or randomly been born a ranger, one of the two. However, yes, indeed he must be quite strong, and probably some kind of barbarian.

You know what. I am interested in joining now. what kind of sheet do i have to fill out?

found it. nevermind

I enjoy the premise of this RP, and have filled out my sheets. If I need to change them, just tell me.

(Phase I)

Name: Fern Waseff
Age: 27
Sex: male
Description: Gunkle is an acrobat. Lean and hard.
Personality: Irrepressibly flamboyant, he is always trying to make people smile. But when it comes to battle, he becomes downright scary in how utterly focused and lethally serious he becomes.
Weapon of Choice: He prefers to wield specially made weapons suited to his combat style. Before becoming a Templar, he was an acrobat and dancer. Therefore his style is very up-close and personal, and very fluid and dynamic. The weapons itself is his whole person, as his suit of armor is just bands of extremely sharp metal that weave across his whole body, with magics implanted in the metal so that he can walk and eat and sleep without making himself or others bleed out. His signature move is the “Iron Hug”, Where he wraps his limbs around his opponent and just shakes and rattles until his opponent is just bloody ribbons of defeated flesh.
Other: When he is battle mode, do not under any circumstances try to get him to stop. He will stop for nothing but death or the express command of his captain, who has his complete loyalty.

Phase II

Name: Just hawk a loogie, it’ll sound close enough.
Age: No real way of telling, but the best common guess is about 300
Sex: Male
Species: Eldrazi
Description: Big, Giant, Huge, Enourmous, Gigantic, Humungous, Collosal, have I said it enough? Think mountain range that got up and started walking around. He is all grey skin, very thick to the point of invulnerability, and has gotten so old that he has mosses, bushes and even animal nests on his sack-style clothing. Thankfully he is a rather un-missable target, and never bothers to dodge at all.
Personality: He has the mind of a child, despite his years. He will obey any order given forcefully enough, and has no concept of death (that he causes), property damage (that he causes), or indeed morality of any sort. He just enjoys playing with rocks (we call them small mountains), splashing in the wading pool (we call it a lake), or napping on the straw beds (we call them wheat fields). Has no memory to speak of, and doesn’t care about those “buggies” walking around below him.
Bio: No one really knows, as he has no discernable language and no one else is as old as him.

Phase III

Name: Lestat, Gentleman Vampire
Age: 250
Sex: Male
Species: Vampire
Description: As he is rather young in vampiric terms, he doesn’t have that many powers and still has many weaknesses. He has outgrown his vulnerability to sunlight, but is still repelled by articles of faith, cant cross running water and will be obliterated by a strong enough fire. Thankfully, he has the strength and speed of any 20 large men, as well as the ability to cloak himself for brief periods. He does have to feed, but merely on life essence rather than blood. A Psionicist, rather than an exsanguinarian. He is learning how to curb his feeding frenzies so that he can take energy from someone and not kill them, though I wouldn’t rush to volunteer as it hurts like nothing else. He really makes the perfect grim reaper, sweeping across the post-battle carnage and absorbing those unfortunates life into himself. And finally, his vision is unaffected by light or atmospheric conditions. It could be pitch-black and pouring sheets, he can see like it’s a sunny noon.
Personality: Gentlemanly, always being courteous whenever possible. He never prolongs his victims suffering, and always makes sure his volunteers know how much it will hurt before taking anything from them. Also a sucker for the opposite sex, he will do anything to help a woman.
Bio: Born to an aspiring minor noble family, he was raised with manners, grace, and a certain subtle flair. He was always told to be a gentleman, and when a gang of marauders sacked his town and took all the boys to be raised as fodder for their vampiric master, the last words he heard a living person say was his mother fervently whispering “never forget where you came from”. And he never has. He has always tried with all his willpower to never become the monster that stole his life, and on the whole has succeeded. After destroying his master and creator with several other acolytes, he was a loner for a long time, and gradually found the courage (shortly after he outgrew the sunlight vulnerability) to try to again live with the living. Shortly he found work as an assistant at a hospital, where when the head medical practitioner found out his secret, he was put to work as an angel of death, quietly and peacefully killing off the ones who were wasting beds or would never have lived even with surgery. That job has never really left him even a century later, and now you are most likely to find him swooping across battlefields after the carnage proper is complete in full reaper regalia, giving what he calls mercy to those in pain and suffering.

Name: Brgaro Jonon
Age: 37
Sex: Male
Description: Broad shouldered and heavily muscled, he stands rather imposingly at 6ft 3 inches. He keeps his brown hair short and under his hooded cloak, made of extremely durable fibers durable as nearly any metal, which stands as mostly what he ends up wearing. Aside from that, he's hide shorts, but that is the full extent of what he chooses to wear. His face is calloused and already wrinkled, scarred in some spot from fights long ago. He opts to bring to battle, his two trusty warhammers, several throwing hammers, and of course, a reinforced buckler he wears on his back instead of in his hands, merely to dissuade attacks from behind.
Personality: A true warrior, he lives for the fight. He hates all dishonorable tactics, and always makes sure to atleast yell as he begins to strike a foe, never striking from behind, and preferring to engage in one on one battle provided his foe has not warrented otherwise. He's a serious man, who knows that he has a purpose here beyond mere fighting, and he has a strong sense of honr as previously stated. He cares deeply for his allies, and would prefer to avoid unneeded casualties on his side. However impossible that's become.
Weapon of Choice: Two Warhammers
Other

I'll worry about the other phases as we near them.

If only we weren't anti-magic, then I could get a single throwing hammer that returns to me... like Thor... or any DnD character I've ever played who found an enchanted one.

Zorth, scratch your Act II sheet entirely: I've decided we're skipping that one. Sorry. Only problem I had was the 20 strong men-level strength, that's a bit much, but if he has somewhat heightened power and speed that's alright.

I'll put mine up when I find the time. Both accepted.

Too lazy to edit in.

Name: Astraois
Age: 40
Sex: Male
Description:

Astraois, or the Saint, stands at around 6'8, and has a rather slim build. He is entirely bald, aside from the sides of his head which are adorned with a silver mane; he seems to have aged far more than he shows. WIth that, he's in incredible shape for a 40 year old, with rippling muscles and a somber demeanor suggesting rigid training.

His posture is upright, and he nearly always wears some form of armor: perhaps he's turned a bit paranoid with the years, and he prefers full plate armor when possible. His suit is custom made, by himself, designed to reflect as much light as possible on the front. The effect is rather effective, psychologically, and his armor is silver with gold hem, and a diamond studded helm.

He is clean shaven, and his eyes are a harsh brown. His face rarely betrays emotion, aside from the thrill of battle, the sick adrenaline rush of stabbing or slicing. When he's butchering his foes or mauling an enemy, his features are magnified with a kind of demented light, his eyes wide and full of energy, his smile large and wicked. When he's at rest, or alone, though, he appears aged. Weary. A drained shell of a man.


Personality:

Astraois has spent every day of his life training. Either a toddler playfighting with sticks or a teenager cleaning armor, intentionally dirtying it, and cleaning it again. His mind is near entirely honed to focus on combat. He's mastered books of strategies and memorized tales of lore, and his personality beyond that is really kind of...devoid. He has vague notions of right and wrong, but he's ultimately just a pawn. A vassal to his lord, he has come to live for battle, and while an incredible combatant, it is all he is. He cannot engage in healthy conversation or tend to the sick, he cannot paint or sing. He can fight with more brute force than any other can muster, and he is not the hero many thought the prophecy would bring.

That being said, he is good at what he does. Years of warfare have made him conditioned to the sight of innards being ripped out and blood splattered across dry soil, and he's taken more than his fair share of wounds to be able to fight long after others have given up. His willpower is unwavering and his loyalty unshakeable. The ideal soldier.

Weapon of Choice:

The Claimh Solais. The holy blade, it's much wider and thicker than the average broadsword and far longer. While heavy, Astraois seems capable of wielding it one handed, either out of some incredible strength or some kind of magical augmentation. The blade is razor sharp and seems capable of slicing through near anything, but it has far more power beyond that. It has an intense glow about it, visible even through its scabbard, and it seems to give Astraois more power than without it. His reflexes become ridiculously fast, fatigue a foreign concept, and magic seems to be entirely ineffective. He is killable, but the Claimh Solais is the weapon to end all weapons. It isn't a sword, it's almost a creature, and there are times when it seems to be fighting more than he, guiding his hand and mind beyond his control.



Other

Astraois has enchanted armor that, as silly as it sounds, is really rather comfortable. It provides good protection and weighs next to nothing, letting him maintain great mobility and wear it almost constantly. It seems very immune to rust or dirt and glows brilliantly in the sunlight.

Oh darn, can I move my phase two into my phase 3 then?

State of the Jac wrote:

Oh darn, can I move my phase two into my phase 3 then?

No problem.

(Phase I)

Name: Gregory Ircora
Age: 38
Sex: Male
Description: Gregory is a large man, at 6'2", but he is only moderately muscular, having a more tough or athletic build. He doesn't come off as the nicest guy, based solely on his rather gruff outer appearance, with shaggy black hair that sticks out more on the top, but stays far above his shoulders. He has a graying beard as well, connected to his hair by the sideburns, but not hanging low at all. He wears an eye-patch over his left eye, which has a large scar running horizontally down from his forehead, to his lower cheek, near his mouth almost. His other eye is a brilliant shade of green, a nice and calming look about it that betrays his though exterior. His skin is certainly tanned, though aside from the cut on his face, he doesn't have any more on the rest of his body.
Typically, he wears a pretty heavy set of armor, which is why his body is so undamaged, for his armor is said to be unbreakable. Steel grey in primary color, with a goldish trim around the edges, and what looks like a blue, glowing gryphon engraved into the front. The armor certainly gives him a much bulky look, with shoulder pads, an armed breast plate, and the whole sha-bang. He also has a flat topped helmet that goes with it, following the same color pattern and having a cross shaped opening on the front. There are two horns that protrude from either side of the helmet as well, said to have been ripped off the head of some vile beast, but it certainly isn't a proven fact.
Sitting on both sides of his waist are two swords, one long and one smaller. The longer of the two appears to be some sort of broad sword, a long handle with a slightly upward curved hilt, a small, blue jewel adorning the center. The yellow blade almost drags the ground when sheathed as well, being less then 8 inches off from it. The smaller of the two is more of a short sword, easily grip-able in just one hand for even an average person, and being only slightly longer then a forearm. The handle is purple and bandaged, and the hilt is shaped similarly to a W, with the center being the blade being the middle of the W. The blade itself is silver in color, and it thickens out towards the tip. A small amulet sits at the base of this blade, expertly engraved with a picture of a gryphon, such as the one on his armor.
Personality: Despite his appearance, Gregory is a pretty friendly guy, enjoying jokes and messing around. Typically, he is very laid back and calm about things, rarely letting anger get the best of him. Gregory is a strong believer in chivalry as well, and won't strike an unarmed enemy unless it is of a vile nature, like a beast. He can be serious though, and this side of him comes out during battle, where his focus lays upon his target, and his lone eye seems to stare into the target's mind almost. Rage isn't something foreign to him either, but as mentioned, he normally keeps taps on it, though there are times when he flies into a violent rage, though it is a rare sight indeed.
Weapon of Choice: His long blade and short blade, though the short blade is often reserved for special occasions and he rarely uses both at the same time.
Other: Nope.avi

New Phase II

Name: Aru Farrio
Age: 69
Sex: Male
Species: Gryphon
Description: Aru is fairly young for a gryphon, being equivalent to a teenager in body and mind. His body is well muscled and strong, and he is about 7 and a half feet to the shoulder, easily putting him a fair size over any human. His face and torso are like that of a bird, a golden eagle to be exact, so his shiny, feathered coat is a darker shade of brownish gold, with some black on his back and spotted on his chest. His beak is yellow towards his face, but fades into black at the tip, and curves down into a sharp point. His eyes are actually ice blue, an uncommon color for a gryphon, and they shine with a mischievous light. top his head are two triangular ears with curved tips and pink insides. His forelegs are yellow, and look like a eagle's feet, and he is very capable of gripping things with them, like a bird, and also capable of creating deadly slashes with his talons, easily sharp enough to gut a normal, unarmored human wide open. At around his chest, the feathers fade into a cream colored fur almost, feline in appearance of course. The underside is more white, and his tail is rather puffy and tipped with black at the end, showing he isn't a completely typical form of gryphon once more. The hind legs are strong, and capable of great leaps, and hiding inside the tips are sharp nails, though not as sharp as his forelegs'. Sitting on his back, near the area where the feathers stop and the fur begins, sit two brown wings, seemingly small when pressed against his sides or back. When unfolded though, they are more then twice his size in length, and flow out brilliantly. Given his size, his wings are understandably strong, and are even capable of creating powerful winds when used on the ground. Given that he is a gryphon, he doesn't wear any clothing, nor even consider it, and his body isn't exactly a rock with defence either. He cuts and bleeds almost as easily as any other normal animal, but that doesn't mean killing a gryphon is easier then a human, for he is strong enough to rip a human in half with only a little trouble.
Personality: Aru is a very troublesome character, playing tricks on poor creatures for kicks and often teasing hunters. That said though, he isn't a terrible creature, and actually has a very fun and energetic side. He is the kind of guy who has a hard time standing still when excited, and never seems to run out of energy, no matter the activity. He is rarely violent towards sentient creatures, and typically avoids them all together, unless he's feeling mischievous. Aru would much prefer a feast over a bloodbath, if that is any indication of his person, though he has gone overboard with some pranks and tricks before, sometimes to the point of killing or injuring his target. He really tries his best not to though, but he doesn't have very good self-restraint with his power or size, and has a hard time realizing that's what makes him such a big threat to humans.
Bio: Born the newest in a long line of Guardian Gryphons, or as some might call domesticated gryphons, who ally themselves to humans or other sentients they find interesting. His great grandfather owed his life to a warrior of some kind, thus Aur was born into it as well, for the oath was agreed to stretch 5 generations of their line, and to stay no matter what. Aur never much cared for the details of this, and really didn't look forward to it, unlike his very honor bound father. He is actually the youngest of five kids, and technically last in line to inherit the responsibly, but he is still charged with watching the warrior family's youngest children as well.
Most of his very youthful youth was spent playing around with his siblings, like most young gryphons, but around the time he reached fifty, he started to grow more independent, and thus gained responsibilities from his father. To a human, that might seem like a long time, but for a gryphon, that made him only about 12 or 13 in proportion. He disliked the children he has been put in charge of at the time, the oldest of them being just 7, and the youngest a new born practically. He never understood why he, the youngest of the family, had to watch these kids. He wasn't the next in line to become the family guard, so why did he have to fulfill the duties of his oldest sibling, and only sister, Morgoria. He put up with them still, an watch them grow for 9 years before he could no longer take it. Throughout those 9 years, the children he watched grew in number, and almost all of them treated him like a big dog or pet, which he always found highly insulting. The littlest pulled his tail, the oldest used him for labor, and the ones in between just drove him nutty. He was driven to do something most gryphon's would never have thought of, even in the worst situation, and ran away from his duty.
At first, he felt extreme guilt over it all, having betrayed the oath and his father's trust, but he just couldn't take any of it anymore. His first few years in the wild were miserable as well, for despite not wanting to admit it, he had become to accustomed to living with that wealthy warrior's family, where hunting and living off the land wasn't something they did. He hated admitting it, and he did't want to think it, but he truly was nothing but a pet now, like most of his family who weren't responsible for being the guard dogs. Know how to survive wasn't hard to him, for that wild instinct was still there, but knowing how to do something, isn't exactly being able to do it. For those first few years, he struggled to learn them, but by today, they are now as common place to him as breathing almost. He learned to live with the guilt of abandoning his post as well, actually being able to put it back behind him, another oddity that most gryphon's wouldn't have done. He certainly wasn't that noble, loyal beast that his species was so often described as, for he was far more willing to trick a person these days then help them. That said, he also does his best to avoid situations that could end him in an oath towards another, for he has freedom now, and he doesn't want to give it away again...


Haaaaay, does this work dude!?