Euclid Leaf
Metamorphasis, Genesis, Metastasis
...
You wake up, in an unknown place, in an unknown age.
A sense of nostalgia washes over as you slowly regain your senses. Its feels very familiar, to breathe, as if once again, to move and to feel. Though just barely. Was this another life? When you try to look deeper, there are only grasps swirling inside your mind. There are no clear memories, just hazes and a strange loneliness. Almost like they had been extracted and lost. Your feelings might not even be fully intact either, numb and surely confused too. Everything about you feels fragmented, as though a puzzle that was left undone and unfinished. You look down at yourself, seeing a wispy and unrefined form. Was this what you always looked like? No. That fact you seem confident of, odd enough. Then, was this death? The afterlife? Taking a quick glance around, you are given no more answer than if you had just continued to keep your eyes closed. Only more questions.
Surrounding you are the ruins of a place that might have been grand and wondrous long ago, a pale and dusty stonework that was shattered at the ceiling. The scene outside the opening fills you with awe and dread. Or maybe you might find it familiar. A red stilted sun stares back at you through the crack, from within the bounds of a deep and endless void.
It shines, though barely, like a dying ember.
As you stare at the overwhelming sight, a voice greets you. It echoes in your ears.
"Welcome to our dying world..."
You turn around to see a great figure sitting on the archways that overlap within the shattered structure, a pale young girl with massive horns sprouting out of her silvered-haired head, like branches of an ancient tree. She is staring at the same sky you had been, pale moon-like eyes shining solemnly. An ivory dress wraps around her slender form, and an odd combination of metal plating and armor chained-latched around her body. As if to contain something. Her skin itself glows faintly, bearing a beautiful light which strikes a complete enigma in this cold, wretching place.
Before you can utter a remark, she speaks again.
"You may be confused, scared mayhaps. But do not worry. You are safe from danger, little one, so long as you are here in my domain. I am what you call a deity, a Goddess. The last, in fact..." she says, "You may call me Nera..."
Jumping from her perch, she floats downwards with a supernatural flutter, like a flower petal blowing in the wind. For a brief moment, black-taloned feet can be seen underneath the folds of the embellished dress, which soon disappear as she lands before you, tapping the stone floor with a rhythmic beat. The womanly being stands at an abnormal height, overshadowing you almost.
Though this downward gaze was terrifying, much like a predator happening upon a helpless prey, her posture and tone did not support this notion.
"I can see it in your eyes, a sea of questions. 'Why am I here?' 'What is this place?' 'What happened to my memories?', among many other things. As much as I would love to indulge in conversation with someone again, however, I'm afraid that we must hold delay to our own desires. Others, like you, have arrived. They too must be awfully confused, scared, all alone... So I cannot answer you right now. But I can answer the question of 'what' you are, because that one is simple. You are a 'lost soul'. A thing that has been forgotten and has long lost its purpose." her pink lips breaking into a smile, "That title might seem unflattering, and in some ways, it is. But you are also this world's last hope."
She extends a hand tipped with long black claws, "Will you accept this fate, little one?"
...
Afterword:
Now is time I answer some questions. :^D
Firstly, I hope my writing prompt fulfilled its purpose, which was to leave a mystery while both explaining the plot and the setting of this roleplay all at once. I felt like this round-about method was necessary, being that this setting, and one of the major points of this particular roleplay, is to figure out a new and strange world as you go along.
As you will notice, I have not provided a character sheet. That is on purpose. This roleplay will feature a 'formless' character from which you will build and develop as you play and earn more power, ranked simply by how much "Essence" they have accumulated. Only once you overcome your first challenges and reach the first tier of power, will you be awarded a sheet to fill out. As a fair warning, there will be stats for traits involved in this roleplay, so if you don't like that, then you might as well turn away now. Now, don't worry. There won't be huge numbers to jumble around or giant totals you need to calculate. Often times, the problem with an XP system, is that it encourages grinding, and doesn't contribute cohesively in a narrative sense. And since we're trying to tell a story, above all, despite the somewhat RPG-like attributes, having breaks in the narrative to gain 'levels' would defeat the purpose.
So characters will only really be issued upgrades after major victories, or after special story interactions. Most of which, involve fighting huge terrifying monsters and engaging in epic boss battles, as the the thread title suggests. Each point of 'Essence' earned is big and meaningful, resulting in a 'Level up', if you will.
Of course, in the vein of fantasy heroics and epic tales, there will be chances to acquire all kinds of strange loot throughout the journey too. Some powerful artifacts, other curses that will have mysterious effects that linger throughout the roleplay. If it helps, imagine this roleplay to be a cross between Shadow of the Colossus and Dark Souls. Although this will have more of a lighter and more fantastical focus, with wondrous, yet depressing, environments and a whole slew of interesting NPCs to interact with. I plan to have pretty much everything in this setting to feel grand and massive in scale, with each step of the journey being tracked as we update the HUB and your sheets.
Yes, you read that right. There will be an expandable HUB area that will slowly be populated by new inhabitants, most of which will help you in some way, and physically change based on your decisions in this strange new land.
So characters will only really be issued upgrades after major victories, or after special story interactions. Most of which, involve fighting huge terrifying monsters and engaging in epic boss battles, as the the thread title suggests. Each point of 'Essence' earned is big and meaningful, resulting in a 'Level up', if you will.
Of course, in the vein of fantasy heroics and epic tales, there will be chances to acquire all kinds of strange loot throughout the journey too. Some powerful artifacts, other curses that will have mysterious effects that linger throughout the roleplay. If it helps, imagine this roleplay to be a cross between Shadow of the Colossus and Dark Souls. Although this will have more of a lighter and more fantastical focus, with wondrous, yet depressing, environments and a whole slew of interesting NPCs to interact with. I plan to have pretty much everything in this setting to feel grand and massive in scale, with each step of the journey being tracked as we update the HUB and your sheets.
Yes, you read that right. There will be an expandable HUB area that will slowly be populated by new inhabitants, most of which will help you in some way, and physically change based on your decisions in this strange new land.
Of course, this journey cannot be made alone. This is a story where you and your companions will have to fight against all odds, and only together will you be overcome the dark treats that lurk in this world. Creating bonds with those around you, discovering your own past, abandoning it or turning away from it for this new life. While teamwork and camaraderie is very important, no single character will feel like they are any less powerful alone. Each will be epic in their own way. It's just the things you face will be even MORE powerful. Disclaimer; because of the presence of magic and the how the progression of your characters will work, who eventually hit near god-like levels at the end-game, things will start to get real crazy and break all logic and science. If you don't like that, then I'm afraid this roleplay probably isn't for you. 'The rule of cool', goes a long way here. So long as it still makes sense in the context, of course. But don't let that fool you into thinking your character will be free of consequences. On the contrary, punishment is taking very seriously. Understand your limits well. Slip up and you might lose an arm. Or a friend's.
TLDR; If you are looking for some fun character building, quirky NPCs, a distinct leveling and reward-system, and super epic boss fighting -- all in a depressing yet fantastical world, then this is the roleplay for you.
The Cast:
I will only be accepting up to a handful of players for this roleplay, maybe 4 - 6. This story is meant to focus on a small set of characters, to better grow and develop them. And some of the dynamics of the choice system work best this way. Since this will be a smaller, more focused roleplay, I only ask those who wish to join to be fully ready to commit to the journey and willing to interact with the others. Inside and outside of the roleplay, such as in the OOC. If for some reason you lose interest in this roleplay, or if something comes up, please notify me. If not, I will assume you have dropped it in a 7 days of inactive time. Might seem short, but so is a simple update. If you do not care about this roleplay, then why should I treat you the same?
Rules:
1. All Site Rules Apply.
2. In Here; My Word is Law - We may debate over what happens, or whether an outcome is fair or reasonable, but in the end; if I say something goes, it will be final.
3. Respect Each Other - That means no fighting over what happens in the roleplay, flaming/insulting others, or generally just being toxic and unpleasant. We are fully capable of talking out issues and dealing with problems in a mature fashion.
4. Quality of Writing - While this roleplay lies underneath the 'casual' label, I would advise anyone who is even thinking of joining; to consider their application seriously. I recommend a bit of even higher skill than what casual entails. However, some of the point of this roleplay is to experiment and improve all of our writing knack. At the very least, I expect a coherent understanding of the English language. As for posts, the length of a post does not matter so much to me as effectively conveying your ideas. I'm sure you're tired of reading this, but remember; Quality over Quantity.
5. Lastly; Have fun! - That's why we're here, after all. If you just wanna talk in the OOC about topics outside of the RP itself, I'm always happy to indulge. I'm a big chatter bug. :^D
