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[Thael]

Ocean Consuming Void

Over the years Ocean, once named Iselsi V'relo, manipulated her cousin Jade Sage into resenting the way the Empire is being run (she hates it but could not get him to wholly agree). Her reasoning was based on how her parents forced her to live her life to exacting standards and as you know "girls just wanna have fun" so she developed a hatred for the Realm and its stifling ways. It is through her sporadic escapades on the streets that she joined with the Five Shade Association. After her exaltation her parents thought it best she be placed in the Cloister of Wisdom to calm her wild ways. She was able to learn the forms taught but retained her independant views and attitudes. One slighted clerk managed to get her name on the lists for the Heptagram voluteers for 1st age experiments. When she told her parents in an effort to be taken off the list they refused. Their resoning was that maybe she would learn how her actions affect others. The project that selected her was intrigued by the opportunity to work on an Immaculate student and thought they had the perfect item to "enhance" her fighting prowess. The disks implanted in her lower back were expected to increase her ablitily to attack by virtue of more limbs to strike with. They were correct about its effects but it was not an easy operation and left her scarred throughout most of her torso front and back and some down her arms and legs as the essence burned along her chakra lines. It also weakened her body's ability to fight off illness and it was this effect that made them toss her away as a failed experiment. She went to her cousin to see if he could help with the pain and disfigurements afflicted on her but he was not learned enough to help... yet. He was finishing up the rudiments of the Immaculate Orders instruction and slated to attend the Heptagram to further his apptitude in Sorcery and he would do everything he could to asisst her. Ocean was crushed and instead of returning to the Cloister she demanded her parents transfer her to one of their factorages in Lookshy. Embarrassed by her past actions and the shame of her "failure" in the experiment they consented to her "request". Ocean built her ties to the Five Shades and learned some business skills to keep up appearances when she received a note of distress from Jade Sage. He was in some danger and needed her assistance leaving the Blessed Isle. It was no challenge to get the right people to help liberate a sorcerer from the Empire once she promised his assistance in their endeavors. This white lie simplified things greatly. From there Jade said he had to go South to find something and promised he was still looking for info that would help him heal her. So fleeing Lookshy they headed east to Nexus, with Jade knowing she would return and see her plans to bring down the Scarlet Empire completed.


Jade Sage of the Oaken Bow

Cynis Denaj was a quiet and sensitive boy and not exactly favored in his family. He did well in his studies and showed a brilliant mind but those are not often looked for traits in his branch of the Cynis family. His exaltation surprised no one really but his choice to attend the Cloister was since he was groomed to attend the Heptagram. He almost did not get to go but he had already entered the roles of the order before other members of House Cynis knew to stop his mother's irresponsible decision (she just wanted him out of her hair). Not willing to fight the honor of being accepted the young boy, now named Jade Sage, was told he would attend the Heptagram eventually. While in the Cloister his older cousin would rant often of how she was unjustly treated by her family and others in the realm. Never letting her do what she wanted and always punishing her for things others did everyday. She would then flip her attitude and start reminiscing about all the fun she had when she escaped her duties. He began to see some of the joy of life that could be found outside his sheltered hobbies and studies. He also sympthised with her on the injustice of parental demands, which in his case focused on attending parties and social functions that intimidated him immensely. Shortly before he finished the basics of the monks education and gave him the option of staying to complete his training fully Ocean asked to see him. She asked to meet in an isolated area on the monastary grounds at night. The visitation was full of eye opening revelations and he did not want to believe but the horribly cruel tortures his kin suffered were plainly evident all over her body. His shock at how someone could be so callous as to subject a person to such pain and awe at how crude inefficient the Empire still was in its understanding of lost knowledge. Ocean was a living symbol of how far the Empire had fallen and his family was indicative of their lack of insight that would lead them further on their present path. He tried most of the night to apply his mastery of his lessons and dragon arts to help Ocean but her wounds were too much for his skills. He promised her that he would find an answer for her problem at the Heptagram and would start there as soon as he could. Jade's masters were disappointed in his choice to attend the Heptagram so early when he had so much more he could achieve with them but he was resolute. Studies at the Heptagram were structured but it was not difficult to work extra on his own time since the focus learned in the Cloister allowed him to dedicate himself wholly and resist distractions. Once he stumbled on the records sections and found the reports on the various experiments being undertaken Jade was once again startled at how inhuman they could be. They treated mortals and even other exalts just as cold and cruely as they would anathema. His questing however raised eyes among some staff when he interrogated them about their efforts and seemed to intimate they should be shamed by their works. This went on often enough that it was decided he would best be removed lest he tell those outside the school about his discoveries and expose their failures. Amongst themselves they knew it took trial and error but that was kept from the eyes of the rest of the Realm since they would not understand. Their reaction was pre-empted when one of Jade's instructors advised him to leave the school by the end of term lest he lose his life. With not much time to plan he called on his cousin to assist him. Perhaps her experience living off the Isle would help him escape from his enemies into that world. After receiving her instructions on what to do and when and where to be he was getting his things together when his benefactor returned. Master Lasck seemed pleased he was already making plans to leave and warned Jade that he would find help amoung his enemies and his death waited in the arms of his friends. On the boat ride to Lookshy later that day Jade discovered an object in his pack he did not expect. One of the book readers used to study outside the library was there with a note "Here are a few things you need to know" and left unsigned. Inside the first store tome he found information about a city to the South of the Scavenger lands that held great knowledge and many powerful items from the 1st age. Hoping that he could find the tools by which to help Ocean he set his mind on getting there.

[Avilister]

Posting histories either here or to me in a PM would be appreciated. If you're invested in the mentor, I'd also like to know what your character's perception of him was. Peace has mentioned a 'rainbow man' for example.

I will probably make this worth eeps in order to goad you all into giving it to me. :P

[rydi]

i want to write stuff down. just burnt out. and i still have stuff for other games... post in goddamned gurps "captain".

[adam]

Mmmm eeps

[Thael]

Ocean (who is off scene now) did not puchase Mentor but Jade did... it was an instructor(s) at the Immaculate Order and Heptagram. He believes it was 2 different people but was really the same Sidereal molding his latest tool.

[adam]

Zal`es is an orphan. He was found wandering in the eastern forests of the Greyfalls region. At the age of 8, Zal`es was already over 6ft tall, his large size at such a young age caught the eyes of the Imperial Legion.

He spent the next few years training in Greyfalls and doing patrols around the rivers, quickly surpassing most of the other soldiers in both strength and stealth. His first assignment was with the 4TH Cathak Lion-Talon where he was a scout, patrolling for bandits. By the age of 13 he was leading his own Fang and helped to defeat a bandit lord who has terrifying the country side. Zal`es's exploits made him known to Mnemon Ice Hand, the Dragon-Blooded who commanded the 23rd Legion, Fifth Dragons. Mnemon Ice Hand groomed Zal`es for command of his own Scale of medium infantry. For the next 10 years Zal`es commanded the 23rd Legion's, Fifth Dragon, Fourth Talon, Second Scale and did it well.

A small village near the Hundred kingdoms within the Realms control had not paid their taxes over the past couple of seasons. Zal`es and his Scale along with 2 other Scales where to go there and ensure that they paid their taxes. The people of the village were having a hard time due to a diesiese that spread amongst their crops. Tatoru Yereva, the Fifth Dragon's Thaumaturge, was in charge of the mission. Tatoru ordered that the village be burned as a show of the Realms control over the area. Zal`es could not beleive that was the order given, and that is when the might of the Unconquered Sun filled him. Zal`es began to glow like a sunrise over the plains, and started to rally his troops to stop the slaughter of the innocent that was happening before him. Members of Zal`es Scale where stunned that their leader had turned into an Anathema, but a few where able to see the wrong that was the Legions actions and started to stop their fellow soldiers from hurting more innocent. Zal`es and the few soldiers he was able to turn to his cause managed to stop the burning of the village and push back the Realm's soldiers. The Realm's soldiers managed to rally about a mile out of the village, but they suffered heavy losses, almost a full Scale. Tatoru sent a message to Grayfalls and apprised them of the situation. The message that Tatoru received back was to wait and that a Wild Hunt will be there within a few days.

Zal`es fortified the village awaiting the attack that he knew would come. Out of the 38 men who went to his side 24 remained. It was on the 5th day that the Wild Hunt came. Zal`es knew that he could not defeat them so he ordered his men to evacuate the village and flee into the countryside. So they could save the village, Zal`es ran into the country side and drew as much attention that he could to himself. The Wild Hunt and half the soldiers followed Zal`es and the chase went on for days. In the end 2 of the Wild Hunt were severely injured and many of the soldiers where slain or injured.

Zal`es eventually came to a large keep in the Hundred Kingdoms and his persuders gave up then as they did not want to war with the Hundred Kingdoms. Zal`es continued to move further away from Greyfalls as he wanted to stop the Realm from hurting any more innocents but did not have the means currently to stop them.

One night as Zal`es was traveling he stopped into a cave to get away from a storm. Inside the cave he found it oddly familiar and he started to explore it. Deep into the cave he noticed that it seemed that it suddenly stopped even though it didn't seem like it did. Along one of the walls he found a some words that he couldn't read but he could almost understand. It seemed to Zal`es that this was a marker for a tume. zal`es flaired his anima banner to get a better look at the letters when the wall next to him started to grind. Inside was the remains of a man as large as Zal`es, next to a suit of armor that called out to Zal`es. Zal`es went up to the armor and he felt to start to hum with power. After a thousand years of sitting this armor looked like it had been made yesterday. Zal`es put on the armor and started to look to the future of a Realm free Creation.

[rydi]

that was good. i like it. and now you have a history... unlike me

[Thael]

I am pretty sure we know enough about the crazy little runt to last us a life time... any more and we might go just as crazy...

[rydi]

alas, you need more because i need xp.

[Avilister]

Again, if you want super-secret-histories™, you can PM them to me instead :P

[rydi]

(hope this will do. i could have gone into more detail, had more conversations, etc. but it would have been a pain to write, and to read. so i just kept it simple.)


The Deathknight now known as Eternal Peaceful Repose was once a simple peasant by the name of Alesha in the Eagle Prefecture off of the Storm Coast of the Blessed Isle. She was born different than other children, and in other, less kindhearted places in creation she would never have survived past her early years. But in Glalo, the people were kind, and willing to give her a chance to prove her worth, despite her mind being touched by the spirits, which she would occasionally converse with, according to the village wise woman who often took on the burden of teaching the girl. Despite her strangeness, and her seeming detachment, the girl became a valued member of the community. Her gentleness, kindness, and determination when given a task won her acceptance, and even love, from the other villagers. And she seemed to bring good luck. After she began speaking to the spirits, the village saw better harvests and kinder winters.

The girl’s life was a happy one, and she had never experienced the painful hardships so common to the peasant class. All of this was to change however, after several young dragonblooded came to visit their village. Sessus Orvak,escorting a few of his friends from the Chenow family and house Ragara came through the small town while returning from a hunting trip. During this trip, Orvak and his party became lost in one of the many valleys branching off from the Ahbrem mountains, and literally stumbled into a ruined manse, seemingly untouched for centuries except for offerings left by the nearby village. Seeing a great opportunity, the youths agreed to do whatever they could to claim the area as their own. Orvak suggested that his Ragara friend go an petition the village be disenfranchised for their interaction with the region’s spirits, while he went along with his friend and cousin to petition his father for a holding in the region and a small contingent of troops to hold the region. Finally, Orvak’s Chenow cousin covertly contacted a Guild buyer he knew, in hopes of getting rid of inconvenient witnesses to the ruins, and making a tidy profit in one fell swoop.

When they returned, over two years later, the village had nearly forgotten their visit. But this visit would be permanently etched into the minds of those that survived. Orvak came with 50 well trained soldiers and his dragon blooded oathsworn band. Before the mission, Orvak made it clear that this mission was off record, and that anything the soldiers found was theirs to take. The soldiers swept over the town, killing perhaps 50 simply as a show of power. The rest were rounded up, their belongings loaded onto wagons, and their homes burned. The women were used for the pleasure of the soldiers. After the struggles died down, the soldier, with help from the Guild representatives, began the slow work of removing the tongues of the townsfolk and branding them with the symbol of the guild.

During the entirety of this horrible day, the gentle Alesha was confused and frightened. She followed obediently where she was told, not understanding what was done to her or her people. Even when ravaged by the soldiers she simply did as she was told by her mother: “Be quiet, do what you’re told, and don’t struggle. Everything will be all right”. Though Alesha knew her mother was mistaken, and everything wouldn’t be all right. When they were lined up for silencing and branding however, Alesha couldn’t stand to let her mother and her friends suffer, and stood ineffectually between her people and the soldiers, tugging on them to stop them despite her mother’s frantic cries and the villager’s whispered rebukes to stop struggling. The soldiers were loath to kill the girl, for she would certainly fetch a nice price with the guild, but Orvak felt an example should be made, and stabbed her in the stomach, leaving her to slowly die.

For the next hour, her people were mutilated and herded off as she watched. The Guild loaded them on carts, and were escorted by most of the other dragon blooded, while Orvak prepared to examine the area of the ruins with his remaining soldiers and his cousin. As she watched in mute horror, Alesha found herself bewildered. She couldn’t understand such needless cruelty, nor could she fathom why something so unfair was allowed to occur. She was taught that right would triumph, that the world was fair, and she began to think that those who taught her were mistaken. Why would one live in a world such as this? Why would one have children, and continue their lives with such pain and cruelty hanging over one’s head… better nothingness than this.

At her point of painful realization, as life passed from her, Alesha was visited by the shadowy manifestation of Eye and Seven Despairs. The deathlord offered her the power to make things right, to correct the wrongs of the world and end suffering such as she and her people had experienced. Alesha would only have to give up her name, her destiny, and her freedom. And to her, these seemed a small cost to make everything right. Her new master gave her the title Eternal Peaceful Repose on a whim, thinking it poetic.

The new abyssal exalt felt her frame flood with dark power, and she felt a comforting, cold peace she had never before known. She felt strong, as she had never felt before, and as she watched the dust thrown up by the soldiers in the distance, she knew what she would do. She ran to catch up with the troops, hiding in the grass nearby. And as sun set, she picked them off, one by one, stealing them away to take their power for her own.

When only a dozen soldiers, and the two dragonblooded remained, the “princes of the earth” decided they would fight back. They searched for her, but only succeeded in losing more men. When they finally found her, it was because she let them. The lunged at her, but she was impossibly fast. She tore them down slowly, as they tried in vain to harm her. When she had brought them both down, and had Orvak in her hands, she calmly whispered “why?” He didn’t understand at first, but then he explained that their manse was worth more than their entire village, and then went on to explain that she would be hunted forever for killing one of his breeding, and alternated between threats and bribes in hopes of preserving his life… Eternal Peaceful Repose could not find it in herself to feel anything but a cold anger, and immense pity for this little man who likely couldn’t even conceive of true happiness, love, or kindness. She ended him quickly.

So lost was she in her activities with Orvak however that she was entirely unaware of the Chenow cousin creeping up on her slowly. He had only feigned death, and now his ruse would award him with the head of an anathema… if only he could move. Why couldn’t he move? When he looked up he noticed a man, who he knew wasn’t there before. A man whose sword ran straight through his chest and pinned him to the ground. A man who silently disappeared from reality as he stared at the young woman only feat away.

Eternal Peaceful Repose realized how close she had come to her own demise when she stood up from Orvak’s corpse and noticed the other dragon blood mere feet from her. She was confused by the wound in his chest, but it was not her way to question such things when answers were not forthcoming. Instead, she set out to follow the other soldiers that had taken her people, following the ruts made by the wagons for miles. But by the time she found them, it was too late. The Guild boats were already gone, and all that remained were their escort. She was upset by this. The soldiers suffered for it. Only a few of them escaped, telling tales of a horrible girl that killed their whole command… But their account was confusing, and in the end only a warrant for her arrest was issued, with a picture but no name.

Eternal Peaceful Repose was at a loss for what to do after she finished off the last of the soldiers. She might have sat there until her own death claimed her if the man that had saved her earlier hadn’t shown up again. He appeared before her from nowhere, clad in heavenly garments of many colors, wrapped in power and shining from the many charms he had active, like a rainbow made human. He was defensive, not knowing what to expect from this creature of darkness, but too curious not to interact with her.

She looked at him and asked him “what do I do now? He was taken aback by the question, and gave it much thought. He sat down in front of her, and they watched one another for many hours. Finally, he stood up and told her to follow him. He took her to the nearest port, where they boarded a boat and traveled to the nearest shadowland. While they traveled, he spoke to her of many things. He asked her what she felt, and what she thought. He explained things about the world, and a little about the true powers that ruled it. He began to teach her a few martial forms, and he taught her to write in old realm once he saw that she seemed to already speak it.

The man seemed impressed with her ability, and with her personality. He seemed to like her, a fact which did not seem to make him happy. When they reached the shadowland, he bid her farewell. She tried to make him stay, but he explained his vacation was nearly over, and that she would have to travel alone for a short time. But he would return. And he explained that she should go in and that all would be taken care of from there.

She did as she was told, and wandered around aimlessly in the shadowland. Only a day passed before she was picked up. She was held for questioning by a man of immense power, but her strange mind did not make for easy questioning, and he tired of her quickly, saying that she would be delivered to the Eye and Seven Despairs, to rot along with the rest of his useless creations. She didn’t understand, nor did she care.

When she arrived at Cold House, she found herself ushered in quickly. She was brought before her deathlord, who looked her over briefly and with seeming disinterest. “So sweet, she reminds me of my childhood… Train her Red Famine, and when she is ready, bring her hear so I may take her to the masters. Now leave. I have… Things I need to do.”

Her training was strange. She learned more of the things the Rainbow Man spoke of, the world, and the other powers in it, who Red Famine said were her enemies. But she didn’t trust this man, and decided she wouldn’t believe him. She learned to master the dark power inside her, and she learned a bit of fighting. But her teacher tired of her quickly, and presented her to their, the Shadow Man that had offered her a second chance at life, after only a few weeks. She didn’t trust the Shadow Man any more than her trainer; he seemed so cruel to his servants. He punished the ghosts near him, and his other deathknights, so capriciously, but was strangely kind to her.

He seemed enchanted by her, in some sort of dreamy reverie, when she was presented to him once more. He took her hand and guided her through his labyrinthine manse, to a room that looked out on an endless void. Eternal peaceful repose was awed by the beauty of that place. But then her calm was broken by heavy, horrible thoughts that gnawed their way into her mind. A voice older than time called to her in words beyond language, and she answered questions she didn’t understand. She wasn’t sure how long they stood there, but when it was over the voice seemed… not pleased, but perhaps dismissive? The deathlord quietly led her from the room. When they had exited the presence of the Thing in the void, Eye and Seven Despair told her that she had passed the only test that mattered. He spoke gently to her, and gave her pretty bracelets before he told her trainer to drop her off around Nexus. He told her to be good (this confused her, considering where she was at), then pulled small figurines out of a cabinet and began playing with them, ignoring his two servants from then on. Red Famine wasted no more time on her. He hid his for his master and his new chosen, if only barely, and he quickly loaded her on a boat destined for Nexus.

While on the boat, she met the Rainbow Man once more. He asked her many questions yet again, and he taught her things. He told her that many of the things she learned in their time apart were wrong, and that she should find her own path. When it was time for her to board a different vessel, he bid her farewell, saying that he would keep in touch, and that she should remember to do what she thought was right, not simply give in to dark desires and her master’s wishes. She really didn’t understand most of what he explained to her, but she appreciated what she did understand, and she would miss him. He was the only one that had been nice to her and really explained things to her. She stopped thinking about that quickly, as such thoughts led her to thoughts of the past, and of her parents… thoughts she didn’t want to have. So she boarded the next boat, and decided she would make new friends…

[rydi]

oh, and somewhere in there she attunes to her hidden manse. maybe after she kills Orvak? whatever.

[Avilister]

I'll also go ahead and award 5 exp for character backgrounds. So far these are rewarded to Eternal Peaceful Repose, Jade Sage of the Oaken Bow, Zal'es, and Khyler.

[rydi]

who the hell is khyler?

[adam]

Khyler the dinosaur?
Its not like we use each others name in the game.