Fantasy The Silverbell Few

[_Line 213]

Olomo the Quite Small's ventures are well documented, of course,
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but what must be understood about this particular point in history
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is that such ventures would have been impossible without the spells
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and swords of those known as the Silverbell Few.
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At the dawning of the Time of Deeds, when the time of heroes had
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passed, and the age of adventurers instead began, so set out the
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Silverbell Few, who are, by all accounts, the last great heroes of our
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age, accompanied by the last great explorer of our age, to boot.
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They did not bring the world into balance, like the Lost Ranger of Firshire,
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or the Weaver of the Tall Tower, or She Who Lit the Way. Yet, their story
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is one of equal importance; for as the Ranging Years do show, heroism
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is oft confined to one point in time.
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It is not often, then, that a group so small manages to usher in a
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brand new age, and mostly by themselves, to boot.
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                                                                                         -- Historian Melomel, Long of Ears, writing in the Sextet Historia, IVth Edition, in the year 1159.
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This RP is intended to play out in a more lighthearted manner, similar to RPGs of previous generations such as the Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles, and others. Races and some locations will be pre-made, though there will be plenty of unknown areas in the world to be filled in as we go along.


If this is something that garners interest, I'll probably put up a bit of setting information in this thread, and if people are willing to commit, I'll set up all the required extra stuff.


@MrSquid123, if you're still looking for something lighthearted, here it is.

 

[Ceros]

I'm interested! I love zelda and final fantasy.

 

[MrSquid123]

Interested 

 

[Hokori]

I'm interested as well

 

[Solaire_]

I'm interested! 

 

[JRPG]

I'm interested in some Final Fantasy styled stuff.

 

[_Line 213]

Wow, this is already way more interest than I initially anticipated. I'll put up some setting information later today when I'm awake so that people can start thinking about characters and so on, and from there, we can move on, if people are okay with that.

 

[_Line 213]

@Ceros @MrSquid123 @Hokori @Solaire_ @Ultraman


I actually managed to find one of my documents on this, so I have a good deal of information ready without having to type everything out again.


That said, would people like the Very Long Version of the important prehistory bits, or would a simple prologue opening a la the Minish Cap or the Wind Waker be preferred?


Regardless of choice, I'll have information on the races up tomorrow.

 

[JRPG]

@_Line 213 I prefer having everything available, but if it's too much, I don't mind short information on the stuff. The more specific, detail you are, the better it is to follow the guidelines for the lore.

 

[MrSquid123]

How long is would the full history and lore be?

 

[_Line 213]

How long is would the full history and lore be?

Leaving out stories about specific important people and the events they set in motion, the "need to know" setting information is about three or four pages, counting a few paragraphs on the races.

 

[MrSquid123]

I say go for it and go full length 

 

[_Line 213]

@Ceros @MrSquid123 @Hokori @Solaire_ @Ultraman


Also, one last question, because I forgot to mention it earlier: would you prefer to have the true history of the world, or history as it is understood? I've no real preference as to which one the players know as long as there's a separation of knowledge between what the players know and what the characters know, but I'm unsure how immersive everyone would like to be.

 

[JRPG]

It doesn't really matter. I would just put on character sheet, or make a thread about IC knowledge/keywords. @_Line 213 Although, if you do tell us the true history, you may lose the opportunity to use the true history as a surprise plot twist for the roleplayers.

 

[_Line 213]

It doesn't really matter. I would just put on character sheet, or make a thread about IC knowledge/keywords. @_Line 213 Although, if you do tell us the true history, you may lose the opportunity to use the true history as a surprise plot twist for the roleplayers.

Hence the question. I suppose I might as well go with what's known instead.

 

[_Line 213]

@Ceros @MrSquid123 @Hokori @Solaire_ @Ultraman

First of likely several loredumps below! Feel free to ask questions if you have any. Sorry for the long wait!


The story of the War of Three:

Spoiler

Many, many years ago, amongst the deep forests and darkened caves of the world, there dwelt the Nil, shadowy, strange, incorporeal creatures that dwelt in shadows. Though they were magical, and capable of mystic feats far beyond that of mortal men, they found themselves unable to dwell under the domain of the sun. They meant no harm, these creatures of dark; they did not choose to be created by the Outcast God, after all.


Yet, they were not Kin; that was reason enough for the Purekin, the Kho, to go to war.


The Humans and the Usofii had no such quarrel; the Humans, having little contact with the Kho, cared not for their opinions on the Nil, while the Usofii, the most magical of the Kin, were delighted to meet those with the same penchant for miracles as they. Yet, just as the two Kin decided not to join the Kho, so too did they decide not to stop them. As they returned to their castles and towns and villages, the Kho prepared.


With the power of Gapstones, they began to bend the world’s magics to their will, a feat unimaginable to Humans. Where the Kho went, their bright, glowing cities followed, slowly but surely covering all of Nuryia in an emulation of brightest daylight. The Nil could do nothing but flee before the artificial dawn, until all that were left gathered in one place, a forest at the center of the world known as the Deepglow, surrounded by the kingdoms of Humans and Usofii.


The Kho, therefore, considered the other Kin a threat. As they cut their swath through the neutral kingdoms, the Humans and Usofii did what was necessary; forming a pact against the Kho, they sought to drive them from their lands. Yet, their initial attempts were met with little success. The power of the Gapstones proved more than a match for the natural talent of the Usofii, while humans had no access to such miracles at all.


Then a miracle of their own; in the hour of what seemed to be the destruction of the Pact of Kin, there appeared two goddesses: the Golden Generals, Yuna and Wisa. Backed with their power, the Pact of Kin fought the Kho to their borders, and beyond. The tide of the war had turned, and soon, all of the Great Dawn was shattered, the shining cities of the Kho reduced to rubble. Yet, at the eve of their destruction, it seemed that nearly the entire race vanished.



Those few that remained fled towards the edges of the world, amongst the mountains and barren lands where they would never be sought. There, it is believed, they remain, though no man knows for certain.

Races:

Spoiler

Humans, the Midkin:



Spoiler





“Fighters, all of them, whether they know it or not. If they fight not with their bodies, then they fight with their words. With each other, for each other, with themselves, and for themselves. Even if they are destined to fail.”


-- Mos, to Ael, before her departure.


It is often said by the Usofii, and at one point the Nil, that there has never been a point in the history of the Midkin in which they were not fighting each other. Regardless of whether or not this is true, it is nonetheless clear that Humans approach life while aiming to learn the hard way. Though it is difficult to say whether or not this is truly in their benefit, such a bullheaded approach to life has nonetheless led to Humans seizing vast swaths of territory for themselves, and pioneering new forms of art and warfare that could not exist without their passion for all things. Though their religions differ, almost all Humans place some amount of faith in spiritual matters, if only for the sake of explaining things that they cannot understand.


Though they are nowhere near the Usofii and the Nil in terms of magical talent, they are nonetheless proficient enough to use trace amounts of magic without the aid of Gapstones, though such trinkets greatly stabilize and enhance their meager magical abilities. However, humans are strong in mind and in body, which, when backed with the fiery nature of their spirits in battle, make them a force to be reckoned with regardless. They are, in many ways, the most versatile of the Kin, ranging from intelligent spell-slingers, to quick-footed woodsmen, to unwavering knights, and filling all places in-between.


Physical characteristics: What you’d expect.


Naming conventions: The naming conventions of humans vary based on region, culture, and upbringing.


Important People: The Lost Ranger of Firshire, the Weaver of the Tall Tower, Queen Amaila Kannus IV.

Kho, the Purekin:

Spoiler

“Odd, to think that their works outlast them so. Say, do you think we will end up the same someday?”


-- Tofo Padfoot to his traveling friend, Usol Vilgarde.


At the apex of the War of Three, the Kho, masters of Gapstones and the wondrous constructs that came alongside their creation, mysteriously disappeared at the eve of their destruction. To this day, they are believed to be a dead race, yet this is not entirely the case. Pockets of surviving Kho have shut themselves off from the rest of the world, living out what amounts, surprisingly, to a peaceful existence. Those who, for whatever reason, do end up venturing out into the world outside of their enclaves take care to conceal their true natures. Though their taller-than-average height and great physical strength cannot be changed, most dye their naturally-white hair with pigments, and conceal their golden eyes with tinted glasses. As they should, seeing as Kho are still considered unwelcome by most in the Pact.


Though they are expert craftsmen and strong fighters by nature, they lack the ability to use any sort of magic without the use of a gapstone. In the golden years of their civilization, they spent much of their time crafting devices that would use magic for them, though much of this knowledge has been thrown away, in favor of simplistic, low-profile living.


Physical characteristics: Tall, 6-7 feet. White hair, golden eyes. Skin color varies along a human-like spectrum, but with a slightly more yellow / golden hue.


Naming conventions: Kho possess short, one-to-two syllable names. They carry the first name of either their mother or father as their last name, depending on who was deemed to be more involved in their upbringing, but most Kho go by their first names alone.


Important People: She Who Lit the Way.

Usofii, the Smallkin:

Spoiler

[SIZE=11pt]“To despise the Usofii is to despise heartiness and luck themselves, for never has a single race been more closely acquainted with either.”[/SIZE]


[SIZE=11pt]-- Sayings of the Wisest[/SIZE]


[SIZE=11pt]The oldest (according to them, at least) and shortest race, the Usofii are known for many things; their shrewdness and intelligence, their quick wit and taking to magic, and their love for food, music, and perhaps oddly, large hats. Sharp in all their senses, rarely do the Usofii have time for the spiritual sides of life, instead placing their stock in physical sensations. Ironic, considering their penchant for magic, with or without the use of Gapstones; save for the Wisps, not a single member of the other races may beat the best of the Spellfolk of the Smallkin. In fact, the Usofii are so magical, that even those without training are able to indirectly influence the world around them; when one finds themselves among the Usofii, things simply seem to go a bit better, a trait known by humans as the Luck of the Land. What they have in wit and magic, however, they severely lack in physical strength, more often than not. Their short stature and relative rotundness result in a people that would rather not take to violence as the first solution.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=11pt]In olden times, they got along most well with the Nil, likely on account of their shared talent for magic. When the Nil went into hiding following the Battle of Three, the Smallkin turned to Humans, the Midkin, for compatriotship. Nowadays, the Usofii are the most widely spread of the races, far surpassing even Humans in number. Travelers and trailblazers, traders and trappers, where the Usofii go, others are sure to follow.[/SIZE]


Physical characteristics: Small, 3-4 feet. Usually furry, colors vary in the gold-brown spectrum. Padded, three-toed feet. Long ears, round bodies and noses.


Naming conventions: Usofii generally do not have family names, instead having a name given to them by their parents, followed by a descriptor that either informs others of their status, or of some physical characteristic that is deemed noteworthy or important. However, it is also not uncommon for Usofii born in specific cultures to carry names that draw from said culture, instead of their own.



Important People: Kokoro the Aritificer, High Magus Pohlin Glowfur, Ambassador Meha the Bright Smiler.

Nil, the Wisps:

Spoiler

“Oft, when passing the Deepglow, one may see and hear the trees shift and whisper, as if in the wind, even when there is not so much as a breeze; travelers say that such a strange sight is caused by the remnants of the Wisps, waving hello.”


-- Excerpt from a Glasslae Region children’s story.


Though their existence is well-known, it is also well known that most Nil do not travel. The reason for this is rather simple; they require no food in order to live, and therefore do not trade, and they also cannot exist without shadow. If a Nil is caught in the wrong place when the sun rises, they will evaporate, and die. However, their lack of bodies also allow them to use various objects (and if there’s enough “room” in someone, as they put it, other people) as vessels, which grants at least some protection from the hazards of harsh sunlight.


The magical prowess of the Nil is often whispered of in tales, with some revering them for their latent ability, or treating them as guardian spirits of specific places they inhabit.


Physical characteristics: Black, shadow-like, and mostly incorporeal. They fade into nothing when there are no shadows for them to make contact with.


Naming conventions: The Nil do not have names; each Nil is more than capable of telling who is who amongst each other. As a result, the only names that they have are those that are given to them by other races.


Important people: The Nil have no true figures of note that are known to the other races. However, it is believed by some that She Who Lit the Way had a Nil for a companion.

The next loredump, which I hope to get up tomorrow, will talk about worshiped gods, and what Gapstones are.

 

[MrSquid123]

Sounds great

 

[Hokori]

Hey, I'm really liking what you've posted so far can't wait for the next update!

I do have one question though. If a Kho were to be found out would they be hunted down? Or do they simply conceal their identity to avoid discrimination?

 

[_Line 213]

Hey, I'm really liking what you've posted so far can't wait for the next update!

I do have one question though. If a Kho were to be found out would they be hunted down? Or do they simply conceal their identity to avoid discrimination?

This depends on location. They're very rare, so there's a chance that some people wouldn't even recognize one if they were spotted, merely thinking them to be a tall and rather strange-looking human. In other places, however, reactions range from charged discrimination to active persecution.

 

[_Line 213]

@Ceros @MrSquid123 @Hokori @Solaire_ @Ultraman




Second loredump! After this, I'm going to start setting up our thread system, since hosted projects are offline for the time being. If we last to the point where hosted projects resurface (assuming that they do), then we can talk about whether we want to move to one or not.


On Magic and Gapstones

Spoiler

“When it comes to magic, there is no tool or object more important than the Gapstone.


The workings behind them are rather simple, but in order for such to be understood, one must first talk about the Principle of Ambient Energy.


Though there are many debates over the various aspects of the world, there is one particular facet of it which is well-understood enough to be considered fact without a doubt by most academics; what the layman knows as “magic” or “miracles” are various forms of ambient energy found throughout the world. Additionally, the longer that a person or an object remains around a concentration of ambient energy,  the more of said energy they absorb into themselves. This phenomenon has been compared to a rag in a bucket of water; the longer that it stays in, the more wet it will become, though of course, exposure to energy takes a far longer time than merely dropping a piece of cloth into liquid.


However, it therefore stands to reason that objects that have been present in energy-rich regions for long periods of time have absorbed a great deal of ambient energy. This hypothesis is not only true, it is also the principle behind the selection and creation of Gapstones.


Gapstones are, in their simplest form, pieces of stone taken from areas high in ambient energy, with holes carved through them. When taken out of areas of high magical condensation, the holes in the middle of Gapstones function as portable leylines; the ambient energy immediately surrounding a Gapstone passes through the hole in the center, and, if the energy alignment of the stone itself is stronger than that of the energy of the surrounding area, will additionally convert it to its particular type. A Gapstone taken from an area rich in Fire Ambience, for example, will often convert energy in areas with lesser concentrations into energy more closely resembling that found in Fire Ambient regions.


Over the ages, craftsmen have managed to further enhance Gapstones by inscribing them with special runes or patterns with the use of special carving tools. Such patterns have the ability to amplify or change the nature of the operation of any given Gapstone; some more powerful inscriptions even have the ability to shift the Ambience of a stone to something else.


It goes without saying that the Kho were, at the height of their civilization, at least, masters in the creation of Gapstones. As a result, the majority of knowledge regarding their usage and creation grew with them, and died with them as well. It is known from excavations and explorations of their remaining ruins that they were capable of creating great palaces and machines driven by the power of Gapstones, but that knowledge is currently lost to the Kin of our modern era.”


-- Mophus XI, “Ambience and Related Fields,” Chapter II, Written in 988.

On Gods and Worship

Spoiler

“Though religion is a subject of interest mostly for various human nations, there are still a fair few countryfolk and Usofii that stick to various superstitions and religions as well. Though there are a great amount of minor religions throughout various regions, there are still various methods and subjects of worship which have found greater popularity than others.


-- Maedan, Giver of Light and Life: Though Maedan is not one of the original gods worshiped by the kingdoms of the Kin, Maedan’s influence nonetheless began to spread after multiple delves into Khoan ruins gave the world knowledge of his existence.


According to records collected by the Khoan people, Maedan was the creator of not just the Kho, but all life. Though this claim is debated in scholarly circles, it would at least explain the rough similarity between the Kin, and has therefore been accepted as an uneasy fact by many throughout Nuryia. Perhaps surprisingly, a great deal of research involving Maedan has to deal with archaeology, due to most records pertaining to him being lost within Khoan ruins. As a result, some of the greatest archaeologists in the world, such as the Delver-Priests of Marrus, belong to monastic orders.


It is believed by many followers of Maedan that the Kho wished to destroy the Wisps because they are a product of Unlife, as opposed to true life.


-- Yuna and Wisa, the Golden Generals: Sometimes also referred to as the Golden Goddesses or the Shining Sisters, Yuna and Wisa are seen as the patron gods of the Pact of Kin, and hold the greatest amount of influence in what is called the New Triumvirate, which consists of Yuna, Wisa, and their brother, Maedan (though in many places, Yuna and Wisa are worshipped on their own). Yuna is described and depicted as a tall, strong, Human woman with a longsword and kite shield, both of which are said to require a godly degree of strength to lift, let alone wield, while her sister Wisa is described and depicted as a sharp-minded Usofii with a staff exactly three times her height, capable of casting magic that both creates and destroys on a nigh-incomprehensible scale.


The worship of the Golden Generals begins directly after the War of Three, which was also the first appearance of the two sisters. Various accounts describe the same events in nigh-identical detail, and all of them have been painstakingly rewritten in order to ensure that none of the tales fall out of the minds of the people. Though there are various sects that follow certain recollections more closely than others, the fact that the stories manage to remain so close to one another is the main point of proof that followers of the Golden Generals use to assert the authenticity of their existence.


Though there are temples and churches devoted to their worship throughout various cities and countries, the most important are built atop locations of various battles towards the end of the War of Three, where the Collective Recollections (as the holy books are called) state that miracles by one or both of the goddesses were performed during the war.


-- Waygods


In many rural areas, various cultures worship what many refer to as Waygods, small deities that preside over individual areas. Waygods, it is said, often require vessels, which are generally given in the form of small structures, important objects, or even large Gapstones. Though Waygods are often considered to be the most “real” classification of deity, seeing as interactions (and even conversations) with them have been well-documented throughout history, many academics often question whether or not they are truly powerful enough to be classified as gods, and whether or not they should simply be considered powerful spirits instead.


Perhaps strangely, people in some areas consider Wisps to be Waygods as well, and treat them with the reverence that most Waygods would normally receive, sometimes going so far as to create shrines and vessels for them.


-- Shrosen


Little is known about the potential deity known as Shrosen, other than the fact that the Wisps consider him to be their creator. They have been rather unwilling to divulge information about him to the other races, for reasons that only they seem to know. Seeing as very few know of Shrosen’s status amongst the Nil in the first place, it is not all that common for the Kin to ask.”



-- Unon of Holistic Sight, “A Brief Overview of Worldly Religions,” Written in 830.

 

[yonmita rae]

All this looks awesome! I'm very interested in a lighthearted Rp, can't wait to see more!

 

[Drakerus]

Wow you went to town and back on the lore. This looks really interesting!

 

[MrSquid123]

Really looking forward to this

 

[_Line 213]

@Ceros @MrSquid123 @Hokori @Solaire_ @Ultraman @yonmita rae @Drakerus


All the threads, except the IC one, are now up! They're all accessible from each one using the links at the top, and the IC thread will be added to them when the time comes.


I've gone ahead and linked the character sheet below!

 

[yonmita rae]

I just had a question from reading the second lore, if you're not a Kho you can't use gapstones right?