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Rusty
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D&D: FF - One Hundred Years

Post by Rusty »

In the next game session, your characters will experience what is essentially a century of potential "down time". It is important for the flow of the game and to allow me pre-game time to prepare results that you indicate in as much detail as you feel comfortable with what your character will be doing during this time. Keeping it all in one thread will also allow me to ensure that I have everyone's plans before the next game.

I am aware that this will be somewhat contradictory, but I don't want to be disappointing at all, so I must mention that there is a specific in game reason for this downtime, part of it can be played through as desired, and your characters, once the precise reasons for the hiatus are revealed, may see fit to change plans to some degree, therefore I would encourage some latitude in your intentions, though specifics are of course the fodder for adventures.

If you plan to do something very dangerous, please keep in mind that it will usually have null results unless the entire party (or if players abstain from involvement and do so knowing that they will be bored while the encounter resolves) is available or is recruited to conduct whatever "mission" you are on. This is ok, and you should expect perhaps some points in that timeline to 'provoke an encounter.'

Depending on how House Vuun goes, and how much you all remember about what else might need to get done in a hurry, we may initiate the hiatus period at the end of the next game session, but if things resolve quickly and time is on our side, then we should be able to get into it during the next game.
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Post by Liquidprism »

Are we suppose to be leveling during this time, or is it only a fluff thing? I am not sure what is expected of the characters during this period.

Also, I'm not sure if this will be an issue, but I would also like to point out that there might be a power balance issue at hand. Several, but not all, of the players have a template that seems to activate with time. I am not sure how these templates balance power wise with the non-templated characters. However, if the templated characters acquire more of their template stuff, then we risk a potential divergence in player power, which has problems.

On this note, what is suppose to happen with the non-templated characters? I know several have been looking for alternative choices, but I'm not sure what is being done here. Should we all be looking for something along these lines, or what? A hundred years is a long time, and the characters should be growing a lot during this period. The potential for stuff to happen is pretty big honestly if people take it seriously.

I basically just want to know what is going on, and what parts of the game I need to be paying attention to (meta, and in game). Thanks.
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Post by Rusty »

the "templated characters" you refer to more precisely increase in power due to roleplay, which occurs over time. I may levy an autolevel or something during the 100 years, but this period of time should be spent on character development, research, acquisition of temporal power if desired, and so forth. Metagame concerns should not enter into it, and the balance of power will most likely not shift. fundamental weapon bearing characters may in fact demonstrate greater mastery over their templates due to the roleplay they do for their 100 years, but the results from these improvements will be dragged out over in game time, manifesting in as balanced a way as possible.
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Post by rydi »

Dala, Lady of Light and Dark, Warrior of the Inner Fire, Bearer of the Secret Flame, God-Queen of Aturia, will spend her years in ruling the city that she and her companions fought so hard to win. Known for her charismatic leadership and gentle yet firm wisdom, she leads Aturia into a golden age never before seen by its people. Alliances with kingdoms far and wide avoid war and create great economic opportunities. Magical and mechanical discoveries from cultural exchange are applied to the city, and it becomes known for its innovations. Trade routes shift, with Aturia as a primary hub of commerce, while travelers come from far and wide to view the marvelous city. All are welcome in the city as long as they obey its laws, and it is a free city, for though she holds the throne, the true ruler is the council of Aturia, not its monarch.

Dala, the woman rather than the icon, explores herself, and the changes she underwent during her world altering quest, as well as the impact those changes had on her relationships. She sees herself as one torn between many worlds: between light and dark, learned and savage, wild and cultivated, city and tribe, friendships and greater duty. She finds a balance for herself between these dichotomies, becoming something more, something greater. She discovers in herself a deep and abiding truth that encompasses all truths.

Of her friends she sees only little, less as the years go by. She sees Imoak and Rachnar on occasion, and makes it known that the Dune Shadow tribe is always welcome, leading to cordial relations between Aturia and her old people, and in their wanderings sometimes her erstwhile tribesmen make it to see her in the city.

The former servant of Radius is seldom seen in Aturia, and as there is little respect between Dala and the bard-priest, she feels that is for the best. The itinerant monk occasionally finds his way back to Aturia as well, and there is always a place for him, both in the city and in Dala's arms; he is the father of her child after all, a child that she raised as a part of many worlds.

Aine is perhaps the companion she sees most often however, as the magus is a child of the city, and a seeker of refinement and knowledge. Dala enjoys Aine's presence, and calls upon her when possible to aid Aturia with her great knowledge; in turn, Dala attempts to subtly show her understanding not born of mere reason, but the intuitive wisdom that those immersed in books and hidden lore seem blind to. Of her last companion, the shapeshifter, she sees little, and his coming is greeted with cautious welcome, as his explorations are dangerous indeed, and carry the potential for great calamity.
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Post by Liquidprism »

Finally, after 5 drafts, and several weeks of work... it is finished. Here it is without any fanfare, Imoak's 100 Years. I hope you enjoy reading it, as much as I enjoyed writing it:

In the space of a hundred years imagine how a soul can change. In that time a lost mind can find itself, and a thousand journeys can come to an end. The barbarian Imoak experienced how true this could be. His hundred-year story begins with a journey, and ends with a conquest of the self. In those first days the giant of a warrior decided it was time to revisit his homeland.

Imoak traveled across the lands, to the northern wastes, and his people. Upon his return there was rejoicing, and happiness. His tales were grand, and his skill was a testament to the unbelievable road he had traveled. He used that skill, and strength to aid his people for many years. Fighting back a sick world’s unpleasantness as it encroached on his tribal home. This lifestyle lasted for a time, but Imoak felt something growing in his people. He knew that change was coming, and he knew also that he himself was lacking.

Eventually, it happened, the day the elders had been building toward. The day they decided that Imoak Stormdrinker Khanthalkali must be their tribe’s chief. Imoak already knew his answer, because he knew himself, and his role in greater events. He turned down the elders, and their proposition. It was not his place to lead. This was of course not what the elders wanted to hear, and they implored him to reconsider, but he would not. It was, he knew, what was best for his people.

This turn of events saddened Imoak, for he also knew that he could no longer stay. To do so would not only insult the elders, but it would also cause the social, and political pressures to mount until they became unbearable for all. For these reasons Imoak had to leave. So Imoak packed his things, and bid his people goodbye. He knew with his immortal life he might never see the same village, or his family again. How might it change before he once more would lay eyes upon his tribe, he wondered? From his family he received their embrace, and a promise to tell his story, and name through the generations. He could not have asked for more.

So the lonely warrior, in self-imposed exile, came to find himself in need of a direction. While he understood the path he walked upon, he knew it wasn’t enough to simply fight. He needed more than that. Imoak wondered how a warrior treading the path of conflict, seeking to test his strength against the gods, could find meaning. The answer came simply to the barbarian. He would travel the world, seeking out its greatest warriors, in order to test himself against them. Imoak had found that a being’s strength could only grow with constant struggle. This was one of the fundamental laws of nature.

There was still more to it however, as the barbarian would come to find out. In battle he found truth, the only truth worth having. Yet, he needed more than a simple truth. Imoak thought of his comrades, and saw the purpose in their actions. He had watched them embrace destiny. He had seen them as they turned to powerful magics, and stolen artifacts to gain the skill they would need to fulfill the fate thrust upon them. Deep down Imoak knew he also would have to embrace such a change. He understood he would have to transcend his current self, and become more if he were going to fight gods. However, Imoak would change himself, as he refused to rely on external forces.

The artifacts of the dead gods were meaningless to him. Not only in the way they enabled their users, but in their fundamental idea was well. The artifacts were aspects of dichotomies within existence. He had no need of dichotomies, what he was seeking was pure. As a warrior he found no use in those concepts opposed to those he embraced. Not if he was to find any meaning, or understand them fully. Some would argue that to know a thing you must know its opposites, a study by contrast as it were. He saw no merit for himself in this. He found no truth in peace, and no meaning in temperance. These things were more than contrary to his metamorphosis, they were the very antithesis of the role he sought.

Imoak knew he had to find his purpose, and hone it, as one would a blade. A blade, a weapon, an instrument of destruction… only a pure ideal was enough to face a god. So that is what he needed to become. Thus, Imoak looked toward those concepts that governed the path he walked: conflict, destruction, death, pain, and strength. To know a thing one had to embrace it. Devotion was required. Singular purpose. He knew he must be devoted to these things.

One might ask why any sentient being would embrace such an ideal set. One might wonder at how such a path could be anything but evil. Was this madness that Imoak was experiencing? He did not believe so, and he was not an evil creature. He did not embrace these things to destroy without meaning, or oppress, or cause pain. He embraced these things out of necessity. He embraced them to depose tyrants, and free an enslaved world. Nor were these things outside the natural order. They were a part of nature, they were the ideals of a predator. In his mind Imoak’s destiny demanded nothing less. His foes were mighty. Gods, what greater adversary could a being such as Imoak desire, what better prey?

He thought on all this long, and hard. He waged a constant war within himself, just as he waged war upon the world around him. In testing himself he saw truth, and through conflict he could be transformed. While a tool was a versatile instrument, a weapon was designed for a single purpose. His comrades could serve as tools, but he would be something different. He would find his purpose as he transformed himself into a weapon.

The true test was to become a symbol of his path, and ideals. He had to embody those things, and become the material force acting on their behalf. A symbol carried power, power like that of the gods. An ideal was unbreakable. A legend was more powerful than any mortal event. These things were transcendent, and held strength, so he would evoke their power.

Thus he came to understand his course. He would become a living eidolon of the ideals in which he believed. In doing so he would try and gain their power, and deprive the gods of the same. He would become rage incarnate, destruction manifest, and war itself. He would be a living onslaught of martial violence. Through strength, and steel he would find what he needed, and the world’s memory might embrace him.

Imoak set out across the world to forge his fate anew. He had an idea, and as he traveled the world’s many lands it took both shape, and form. Imoak set out to find the greatest fighters he could. His goal was to find conflict, and battle with those beings, learning all he could by fighting them. As word spread of his victories, and his goal, something great happened. Other warriors the world over began to see merit in Imoaks path. They to began to walk the path of conflict, and seek each other out to test their mettle.

It came to be that after a time he needn’t even always travel to meet a foe, for the world would send its ‘heroes’ to face him. Many of these were self-righteous, niave, and convinced of his evil. So few understood, and even fewer cared to. His answer, and his challenge were always the same. “Let you who oppose me do so with strength. If you best me you are right, if you fall you are wrong. For the path of conflict is my sole judge, and the only truth is in a meeting of our strengths.” The outcome of these battles was always the same. Imoak would move on, leaving a broken foe behind him. His path was clear, and the rightness of his calling became propelled by the momentum of victorious destruction.

Imoak’s journey soon became something more. He traveled for many years in this way. Seeking the best the world had to offer in order to meet it head on, and overcome it. His battles became the stuff of legends, and many of his fights were written into songs, and stories. They were glorious, and beautiful affairs for those that could appreciate such things. They did not always end in death either, but few were the conflicts, which passed without at least a scar. This became Imoak’s life for many years, driving him, consuming him. A path of unrelenting violence, cut through the red haze of a trembling world.

Other beings soon took notice of Imoak’s actions, and began to wonder. Warriors of like mind found purpose in the barbarian’s design, and began their own walks into the haze of constant strife. These warriors began to seek each other out, and fight. However, they never stayed pure as had Imoak.

Rules, leagues, and prizes became the mainstay. Crowds would gather to witness the grotesque sight of violence without truth. Every region had a system, symbols, and themes to enhance the experience. The combatants became champions of their villages, and cities, instead of causes. They fought for glory, hero worship, and fame, instead of the idea. Events became commonplace, and festive.

In time the sacred ritual of Imoak’s self-imposed trial, was turned into an institution by avarice entrepreneurs. The warriors would reach their plateau, and retire under heaps of gold, and women, never transcending themselves, or trying to be more. Those fat merchants who pedaled the spectacle of blood were also contented. It was a disgusting abomination worthy of the mortal creatures that had created it. Imoak’s path had manifest in the world, and become an infectious institution. He was not pleased.

The barbarian found another drive in his existence, the drive to eliminate the wretched being his actions had birthed. He began to hunt these circuses wherever they might crop up. The barbarian would vent his ire whenever he found one, becoming a one being siege upon any such gathering so unfortunate as to be found. He taught the warriors the meaning of their existence, while he sundered the wares of the merchants. The crowds too were shown fear, as their eyes were opened the truth of real conflict. It was Imoak’s way of teaching, and giving something back.

Soon those warriors with the fortitude to endure the truth of their way became devoted. They found real purpose, and began the path again. Imoak set those who understood, to do as he had done. He sent them to seek out the abomination of his path, and smite it wherever such a thing was found. The world was scoured clean of the merchant’s ideal of battle, and replaced by the warrior’s ideal of the same. Imoak continued his walk.

He became battle incarnate, a walking spirit of martial death, or so the legends told. Imoak became feared, and the fight cults began to grow into something new. The threat of a peerless warrior of rage, and ire overshadowed their every meeting. None knew where the spirit, or those true to his path, would strike. The threat itself harrowed these events, and the wisest participants came to appreciate even deeper truths about the nature of conflict.

Imoak and those that followed in his footsteps became akin to pilgrims on a journey. Those lesser warriors always looking to better themselves, and prove their strength, while each secretly hoped to meet the architect of the path before them. For Imoak’s part he sought only to change himself, and find the truth of blood, and sword. Each wound gave him new insight, just as each struggle refueled his purpose. Slowly, ever so slightly, he felt himself growing, but into what he did not know.

So the barbarian lived his hundred years in constant conflict, growing stronger with every passing day. He sharpened his edge, trying to become a weapon able to cut the gods themselves. With a single-minded purpose he did this. He would follow his heart, he would fulfill destiny, he would save his people, and the world. For one hundred years he faced the world, and at the end of that time, by his count… Imoak Stormdrinker Khanthalkali was winning.
Last edited by Liquidprism on Sun Aug 15, 2010 10:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Rusty »

So, you hundred years interval has started. You are all noe level sixteen with 890000 xp, and you have the opportunity to claim a domain. Select a subdomain from the apg that is Appropriate to your character and, if you include it in you 100 years post as a theme or activity, then you may use it's powers and spells as a cleric of yourr hd. You gain the fulminant proprties of divine rank 0, at least by the time your 100 years ends.

There exists the opportunity to forward any special templates or personal goals you may have by exploring them with this time, as well as the opportunity for some free feats and items. You do not have to make a post to the boards yourself, but if you don't you are expected to tell a story accounting for some of your major activities at the next game session, all of you should plan on relating at least a summary of your activities. Free feats are gained by including good drama, character development, and other pcs in your adventures. For example, if jason joins paul on a journey into the inner planes, the two of them could gain teamwork feats for this. These feats are intended to be teamwork or group feats, or hihgly flavorful themed feats from terrain or monster type books like lords of madness. I anticipate each of you getting at least one feat in this way, and probably not more than three.

This is an opportunity to further develop your character and your relationships with each other and the game world. Please don't hesitate to contact each other for devoloping this, or me for info on places and npcs.
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Post by Liquidprism »

So, should we level before next session?
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Post by Rusty »

Yes
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Post by Rusty »

An addendum, you are all now represented in the sky with constellations. You may take some liberty with describing how you are depicted in the sky and what the sages who have identified you call you.
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Post by Amseriah »

After the events that took place in the Mage Tower, Saubwa left Arturia. He just left a note for the party telling them that we had to go on a sabbatical but that he would remain in contact as best he could, and he left Belian for Rachnar with a second note telling the dwarf that he couldn't take her on his journey and that Rachnar was probably the best suited out of all of their companions to take her. Saubwa wasn't sure how the others felt after their ascension to a divine being, but he felt as though something was wrong. The blood of the Orderers creation tainted and tried to change his Unformed body and mind, while his new state of being also tried to taint the blessing of the gods, to Unmake it. He wasn't sure if this had ever happened before, an Unformed becoming a god through the energies of the Orderers, but he felt as though now more than ever he HAD to find the doorway to the Outer Darkness. Just thinking of that place...a place too nightmarish and chaotic for a mortal mind to witness without their mind breaking, yet a place that he remembered in his dreams...stilled the crazed gnawing of his body and soul, and provide him with the knowledge of how to kill the gods or at least survive a war with them.

Firstly he contacted the Representative of Apo-theid (OOC: I think that is it's name...I tried to find reference to it on the board but came up empty) knowing that she wanted to discuss things with him and he felt as though another ally on his journey would benefit him greatly. After contact and alliances were made, he journeyed to the Astral Plane looking for the cult that he had learned about in his studies of in the library on the Arcanopteryx. He stays with them for a couple years, learning all that he can about what they have learned, and also using this place to push the boundaries of his new Unformed existence. He felt sure that while he may not get immediately destroyed upon entering the Outer Darkness as he was now, he was not truly one of the Unformed yet. He had to break his understanding of the way that the Formed world worked and view what truly Was reality. Leaving the cult, Saubwa then made his way to the Plane of Negative Energy to find the stronghold of the entity referred to only as the "Associate", this aside from the strange song by One seemed to be his best clue to finding the door that he was looking for.

The entity spoken of in Xeromonius's writings was a very well learned and dangerous being indeed. He seemed to have information that would be the key to unlocking the riddle of the song and leading Saubwa to the place that he knew that he must go. The information was not free however...the Associate required trade for the information that would lead Saubwa to the Outer Darkness. So it was that he traded 3 things to the being for the information that he was seeking: His given name-Gnarl Bonesplitter, the name and life that he made for himself- Saubwa Kepesk (OOC: I imagine this having an interesting effect on those who knew him but I leave that to you Gid), and his very connection to the world that he was forsaking (OOC: trading away his druidic abilities to this being). Whether it was his time in this place or time and dedication pursuing the path of the Unformed, the Spark of the Divine that was gifted to him, began losing the war, becoming more tainted and warped by the Darkness that He was seeking to embody, or it could have been the Spark answering unspoken desires and morphing itself to be a proper conduit for the new godling. The Associate provided the creature that begins to call itself Nameless with directions to the physical location of the Graveyard to the Gods and tells of his seeing beings that were tainted by the energies of aberrations going there only to leave this realm of existence.

His quest to find the Outer Darkness nearly complete, Nameless sends out a mental call to One, summoning his guide to witness his final steps away from the Ordered world and into the Unformed worlds. He travels the planes to the Graveyard and explores it until he finds the location that the Associate spoke of, the doorway into the Outer Darkness, only to find it impossible to open. The old entity the Formed creature, bound by constraints of time would have become disheartened by this discovery. This new creature, however, with mad certainty and faith in his path stayed the course. He was certain that he had indeed found the gateway and refused to leave it until he had discovered it's secrets. Years went by, with him studying it, trying to commune with it, alter his perceptions of it, and of course continually pushing the boundaries of his new life (OOC: he is doing all that he can in this time to progress down the path of the Unformed). Suddenly, in a flash it hit him and he walked through the portal, out of the place that the Orderers created and into the Outer Darkness. Whether it was he who changed, his perceptions that changed, or whether he changed the doorway, the solution was so simple...the door couldn't be opened because it was already open.

Finally in the Outer Darkness, Nameless along with One, explored this place, learning of it and of the strange and powerful entities that were native to this place. Beginning with the areas inhabited by the most formed creatures and the sycophantic Alienists, Nameless wandered the Outer Darkness and learned all that he could about it’s denizens. He also spent large amounts of time experimenting with the Spark within him...although to call it a spark was incorrect, the moment that he stepped through the portal the rest of his being devoured it, diffused it, and twisted and tainted it. It was no longer a spark, at the center of his being...it was now a cold and dark shadow that seeped through his entirety. At first all he could do was use it to hide from those without the means to see through the shadows, over time however, he was able to tap into it to warp and mold the Outer Darkness the way that the elder Unformed were able to (OOC: night subdomain, then later darkness domain...I took liberties, I may or may not be able to access the spells from the darkness domain in the formed world yet). The last shreds of his former self were destroyed in the years spent here, just to be replaced with more...the only way to describe it. He/It wasn't the same being at all, but it wasn't anything different, and it was simply more of what it was. Two things never changed however, his dedication to killing the gods who would so mercilessly destroy the people and the world that they were supposed to watch after, and the loyalty that he had to his friends and companions that he had began this strange journey with. So it was that after years in the Outer Darkness (OOC: about 25 yrs), Nameless stepped out of the calming uncertainty of the Unformed worlds and back into the Formed worlds of the Orderers.

Nameless found that much had changed in the world since his departure from it, upon examination he had also changed very much. Dala had taken over rulership of Arturia and had led the kingdom and her people to great prosperity. Aine had opened a school for magic and guided it’s studies and direction. Imoak was traveling the world, hellbent it seemed on finding an opponent worthy of his strength and prowess. Rachnar it seemed spent most of his time in the forge in the Arcanopteryx perfecting the art of his crafts, but seemed mildly discontent. Nameless didn’t ask of Belian...they had parted on somewhat bitter terms and he didn’t know how the years had altered her views on his path. Of his other companions, he knew very little, but he was open to meeting with them on occasion to share information and camaraderie. He did contact the Avatar/Agent of Apo-theid upon his return, reconnecting with the agent and the entity. His time spent in the Outer Darkness had taught him new skills that once back in the formed world began proving invaluable, such as the ability to mask his thoughts and aura form those who would try to read them. These skills proved to be especially useful when he decided that it was time to gather temporal power. The Daggerspell Order welcomed him back into the fold with minimal explanation, just telling them that he had been investigating all that was happening in the world with the War of the Gods revealed worked. With the high turnover rate of agents, Nameless found himself to be one of the few senior agents and his areas of expertise while in the field gave him an edge when the time came to replace the leadership of the Order. Under his guidance the Order grew to a size that it had never before known, and he sent agents out to all corners of the world, to gather information and spread misinformation as the case required. He also branched the Order out from simply the Daggerspell Shapers and Mages, and he gathered some of the brightest minds and greatest agents that he had access to and opened up the Fochlucan College, specially designed to train agents more directed towards intelligence and courtly espionage. Some of the first graduates of the College were sent to Arturia where he personally presented them to Dala, and gave them permanent stations in her court as bards and courtiers for her to use as eyes and ears amongst her people and the neighboring areas.

Nameless never neglected what he had become, and spent time every year returning to the Outer Darkness, to continue forging alliances with the strange and alien beings there and to push his body, mind, and skills in his newfound form. He also experimented in the Formed world with his new abilities. It seemed as though he had become something truly unique, an Unformed yet a god of the Ordered realms. The divine shadow that suffused his being, he found, could be used to the same effects in the Ordered world as it had in the Outer Darkness, albeit some of the magics that made very real things in the Outer Darkness created objects and beings that were slightly less substantial (OOC: Referring to the shadow conjuration and shades spells). He also began experimenting with bestowing divine power onto mortal worshippers, adopting orphans as a wealthy but lesser noble, he taught them of his philosophies in parables and told of the Nameless God who could grant powers upon those who devoutly worshipped him. The philosophies that he espoused were primarily protection of the weak from the powerful, by means of stealing from those who used their wealth in oppressive ways (slavery and the like), and if and only if it was absolutely necessary assassination of those who were destroying the society that they were in by their misuse of power. Secondary philosophies centered around the Nameless God’s abhorrence of crime just for the sake of crime or for the sake of victimizing those weaker than yourself, especially rape and murder. Nameless uses some of his powers in front of the children to show them what the devout can be granted (OOC: Domain spells and domain ability). If he succeeds in actually granting them the powers of priests, he will send some of them out to start small churches devoted to himself, while keeping a few around him to serve as the heads of the church.
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Once Aine got the university up and running, she began to use breaks from teaching to travel about. She fully recognized that without continuing to learn herself, she would not be able to competently teach those that came to her school. She began to travel abroad first on the material plane, but eventually also to other planes, in order to expand her magical knowledge, her personal experience with in cosmos in which she lived, and to spread the word about her school (particularly when she encountered promising students or potential teachers).

During these travels, she would often adopt her alternate form (though calling it such was a bit of a misnomer, the only visual difference it naturally caused was to turn her normally stark-white hair a deep raven black). Though less intelligent than her more commonly adopted aspect, she increasingly found value in the insight provided by her antithesis. Additionally, it provided to be useful for its ability to dampen magical ability, both when teaching, and when encountering hostile casters. More practice with the abilities provided with both forms allowed her to more readily recognize when each form would be more useful, and how to use the abilities appropriately.

She often thought back to her encounter with the sleeping being from whom she'd inherited this particular aspect of her power, and especially to the one time that being had actually opened her eyes and looked at Aine as she attempted to learn in her presence. The more she thought back to this event, the more she became sure that taking the Book of Magic had been the right thing to do. She felt sure that its previous wielder had given her approval, and that so far she'd been using its powers to further goals that her predecessor would find acceptable. She found that she longed for the chance to talk to that colossal sleeping person, but knew that it was unlikely she would get the chance to do so, certainly not any time soon, and possibly not ever.

The Book of Magic was not the only source of Aine's power, and certainly not the only one she explored. Slowly but surely, she found that as she managed to collect more people that paid her some form of worship (a task aided somewhat by her travels and absurdly magnetic personality), her faculty with her divinely granted abilities slowly expanded. This was not a quick process, or an easy one to notice any progress with. During her travels, she did what she could to perform deeds and spread word of her divinity that might help to garner more worship.

Much of this is made somewhat easier by a new pattern of stars in the night sky. At first Aine was represented by a closed book, though scholars noted over the hundred years that the book appeared to be opening. Indeed once the hundred years were complete, they noted that a previous collection of stars thought to be completely separate, were actually the figure of a woman holding up the now-open book. The name astrologers gave to the constellation has changed appropriately and varied somewhat by region. At first it was known simply as 'the book', 'the tome', 'the grimoire' and other similar epithets. Eventually adjectives like "opening" were added. Since the revelation of the figure holding the book was made, it has been called things such as 'the scholar', 'the wizard', 'the lady of learning', and 'the mage'.

One of Aine's primary tasks when at home was to ensure that the people of Arturia were able to protect themselves. While the city's walls were certainly a big help, the defenses installed by the Church of Bulwark were not entirely obvious in their use to everyone. She ensured that the city's defenders knew how to employ the potent runic circles that had been installed to protect their home. As Aine's understanding of magic expanded, she began to employ her spells to ensure a favorable local climate for farmers and to ward off the worst of the natural disasters that they knew were coming.

Of her companions, there were some she saw more than others. She offered to assist with any travel, extraplanar or not, that the others wished to engage in, provided she could take the time away from teaching in order to do so. This suited her needs as well as theirs, as she wished to see more of the world anyway. Certainly she saw more of Dala at home than any of the others. Aine largely attempted to stay out of political matters, but freely provided advice when asked.
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Amseriah
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Post by Amseriah »

Nameless's constellation looks like a man that shifts throughout the year into a tree, dragon, and a woman, the only times that the forms are clear are on the Solstice's and Equinox's. All other times the constellation is in a state of flux, which causes quite a stir amongst sages.
Ivanovich
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Post by Ivanovich »

Rurik continues to use the aid given by the orders of the shield and dragon to strengthen the Aturian Civil Guard. He will build the core and upper echelon of the Guard, the officers, using the original recruits gained by the Orders and will fill out the rest of the ranks with conscription of the able bodied citizens. All people capable of being in the Guard will do so for a short mandatory period. Rurik will found help found a military academy in order to train future officers and find those who are more willing to be in the Guard than the conscripts. Rurik will invite both the orders to stay and found chapters in Aturia to bolster the military. He will seek a meeting with the Ivory Queen along with Dala to formalize a political and military alliance between the two city states. Following the success of these two goals Rurik will either bring Road’s End under the control of Arturia through either diplomacy or military action. The military once it is formalized will be under civilian control of the Council with the High Commander of the Aturian Civil Guard being appointed by the monarchy and approved by the Council. If the civilian government wills it, Rurik will continue on for some time as the High Commander.

During this time Rurik will focus on raising his child with Dala and teach what he can to his daughter. He will approach Dala, after their daughter is about 10, about having a second child. This time Rurik will bear the child and Dala will use a polymorph spell to become male. Their second child will be a boy and Rurik will focus his energies into raising both children. The daughter is a paladin/(other) and the son is a sorcerer/(other).

During his spare time Rurik will continue to work with the Temple of Optimus and aid the needy as much as he can. During this time he will begin to focus more on his own ideals and divinity as well. He will continue to espouse most of the teachings of the Optimus. He will begin to focus on his own divinity that he was gifted with and preach about strength through purity. Both purity of the mind and body as a way to strengthening ones self.

After the first 40 or so years once the military is fully cemented under civilian control and his children are adults, Rurik will step down as the High Commander. After making sure that the transition of power is smooth and complete Rurik will say good bye to Dala and his children and leave to explore the world and himself. He will head south through the pass along with eastern coast and travel the southern half of the continent. While doing this Rurik will spread his message of purity and strength. He will encourage all who will listen to endeavor to strengthen oneself through pure actions. (I will outline what is and is not pure more fully later) Rurik uses his fundamental weapon more often when preaching and attempting to spread the message. He will also actively explore his own desires that are not evil or harmful to others. He will spend sometime deny these desires as well and actively resisting his inner desires. Periodically while he is traveling Rurik will pass through Aturia to check on the city and his family.

After traveling for about 30 or 40 years Rurik will return to Aturia for good and settle back down with his children and aiding the military as necessary. He will teach at the military academy as well as at the Temple of Optimus. He continues to preach of purity of the mind and body as way to strengthen one self physically, spiritually and mentally. During this period of his life he will found an order of paladins devoted to his ideals of purity and defending creation as a whole and not devoting themselves to any one god, but the precepts of exalted good. The order will become known as the Knights of Creation and Rurik will lead them until such time as he is needed else where. His order will expand past the region of Aturia and spread the precepts of exalted good to the far reaches of the world.
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