ELITE SORCERERS *** Plot The Land of Incantia is small but enormously wealthy (there is no poverty to speak of!), peaceful (they haven't had a war in over a hundred years!), and admired by all its neighboring realms (who wish they could be as great!). Incantia is also renowned for producing the best sorcerers and is home to many magical races and creatures. It is a source of old magic that can be felt by anyone sensitive to magic; that same magic makes the trees grow larger, crops produce more fruit and vegetables, keeps the air clean and sweet, gives the animals a more peaceful demeanor, and makes the water taste like cool liquid sugar (without the downside of rotting all your teeth out). Yes, Incantia is a wondrous land... ...But where there is great light, there are even darker shadows. Incantia has always been ruled by native-born Incantians, but the current king, King Redfox, has married a foreigner: a beautiful brown princess from the Vuudu Islands. Half the kingdom is tolerant and accepting, but the other half (especially the nobility) is in an uproar. They have never met a Vuuduan in their lives, as the Vuudu people rarely allow visitors to their mysterious islands, but they have heard terrible things: that Vuudu women are treated equally to Vuudu men, and that the Vuuduans only elect female rulers! The nobility are certain that the new queen, Siddiqui, is conniving to control King Redfox and become the true ruler of Incantia! And, just days ago, tragedy struck: King Redfox, a robust fifty-year-old man who practices swordplay and rides horses daily, is suddenly and violently ill. Not just any sickness, either...a strange mental sickness that only worsens with time. He babbles about the end of the world...the coming of the witch...and the rise of demons. Everyone knows that summoning demons has been outlawed for centuries, and that all texts containing demon rites have been completely and thoroughly eradicated, but King Redfox won't stop rambling about it. Queen Siddiqui, for her credit, never leaves his side and caters to him like any loving wife would do. She has truly stepped up and rules the land along with the king's closest advisers until King Redfox gets better...but a nasty rumor is spreading like wildfire that Redfox won't get better, and that Siddiqui is the one who poisoned his mind in the first place! Other omens have been seen all over that the nobles are readily twisting to fit their anti-Siddiqui agenda: angels have been seen flying high, in full battle armor, and the normally peaceful dragons are agitated and striking out at defenseless remote villages, destroying whole settlements at a time. It is only a matter of time before they start attacking larger, more populated areas. In the midst of all this drama, King Redfox gained clarity for a brief moment. "Get the Elite Sorcerers! Bring them to me! It is time to kill that evil witch!" It is the only thing he has said that has made any sense in a long time, and Queen Siddiqui has dutifully followed his decree: she sent out royal messenger phoenixes to every sorcerer of the Elite rank. They are to report to the Capital City's gates immediately and escorted to the Palace by a squad of the Capital's finest Lawmen. From there, King Redfox will presumably tell them what he wants of them...or, more likely, babble incoherently about the end of the world. Nevertheless, the Elite Sorcerers are sworn to answer whenever the Crown summons them, even if the present king is certifiably insane. The fate of Incantia lies in your hands. Geography Capital City: The most beautiful city in the world, located at the north-most point of Incantia. It is wholly constructed of pale marble atop a soaring green hill, surrounded by a great white wall that has never been penetrated. Golden apple trees grow throughout Capital City, and they cannot be found anywhere else. Anyone can pick them; they taste like sunshine and happiness, but if you eat too many in a short period of time, then you become immune and they will permanently taste like plains apples to you. The glorious entrance gates, made of purest gold, are legendary and tourists come from all around just to gaze upon their opulence. Evergreen: The nearest town to Capital City, just a few miles to the west. It is made of bricks of all colors, and is surrounded by a large wall of thorny hedges with two iron gates to come in and out. Evergreen is full of manicured trees, vegetation, and all kinds of imported plants. You can be walking down the street and pick a purple carrot from a pot on the corner and then grab some fist-sized grapes from vines growing a few feet away. Water fountains are everywhere, as well. Evergreen understandably has a sizable fairy population. Dreamwood: A sprawling woods populated by tall, slender trees, spaced widely apart; it is located in the heart of Incantia. The leaves are clear and tinted yellow, giving Dreamwood a lovely gold atmosphere when the sunlight passes through. Many fairies, unicorns, and other fantastical beings live here. People are welcome to visit, join the fairies in their wild revelries, and eventually, pass through or return whence you came. If you overstay your welcome, the fairies are known to play tricks on you. These "tricks" range from giving you freckles where you never had freckles before to irreversibly turning you into a flea-bitten donkey. It goes without saying that the fairies are generally respected and left to their own devices by all rulers and nobles. Roguetown: A prosperous town on the other side of the Dreamwood, to the east. The name is mostly ironic. Roguetown used to be overrun by criminals and killers some three hundred years ago, which is how it got its name, but has long been converted into a thriving gambling town. It is the only place that gambling is legal and is also home to many other attracts, such as upscale burlesque shows, muscle men exhibits, fine restaurants and hotels, and much, much more. It is a well-known secret that men and women sell their bodies in Roguetown, and various mind-altering drugs are readily available, but it is an unspoken rule not to talk about it. What occurs in Roguetown, resides exclusively in Roguetown. Covenwood: A wood that is infested with evil witches, to the south. It is dark and misty, and trespassers almost never return. If they do, they are usually in a permanent zombie-state that nothing can break them out of. The witches are the ultimate enemies of the God Priests, foul women that practice dark, unsavory magic, and they were hunted nearly to extinction several times throughout history. Covenwood is their last safe haven, and the God Priests are forever scheming and dreaming up ways to destroy their kind, once and for all time. Dragon Mountains: A range of huge, craggy mountains that border the southern coast of Incantia. They rise like jagged, deadly teeth from the landscape and scare away any would-be invaders. The dragons live here, feeding on sea creatures and local land animals. They are usually as lazy as cats, napping most of their lives in deep caves, but they are growing more and more violent as of late. Notable Figures King Redfox and Queen Siddiqui: The reigning rulers of the Land of Incantia. Captain Pluck: Captain of the Royal Guard, the king's closest adviser, known for his unquestionable sense of honor and integrity. Chief Slade: Chief of the Lawmen, protectors of peace and order throughout the Land of Incantia. A strong-willed man, known for ruthlessly pursuing even the smallest, pettiest of criminals and solving every case he works on. Most criminals give up before they even begin once they hear of Slade's reputation. Superior Sorceress Zulaika: Top leader of all licensed sorcerers. So powerful that she once turned night to day just to kill a clan of vampires that tried to infiltrate the Royal Palace and assassinate King Redfox five years ago. No one knows the extent of her great powers. Zulaika spends most of her time in the Sorcery Tower in the Palace and is famously antisocial. She almost always speaks in sarcasm. Only the second female ever to be appointed Superior Sorcerer. Head Librarian Noonie: The chief librarian of the library in the Royal Palace, widely believed to be an astronomical genius, capable of deciphering almost any ancient text and knowledgeable in almost every subject. The first female Head Librarian in history, known to be very snappy and exact. Loves books and knowledge above all else. Fairy Prince Chistery: Ruler of the fairies, infamously polyamorous and attracted to both sexes. Throws better parties than anything in Roguetown, but they are invite-only and you have to be someone famous or powerful to get in. Chistery rarely gets angry, but when he does, he becomes an unstoppable force that will slay anything or anyone to destroy the source of his all-consuming rage. It is best to keep him happy. Most High Priest Krakadoon: Leader of the God Priests and the God Religion. Lives in the God Temple behind the Royal Palace. Is known for his long, boring speeches about the evils of witches and demons, and how the God Religion is the only way. Possessor of many miraculous powers, including complete mastery of Elemental Fire. Feared and revered by many, from the lowliest peasant to the highest royalty. Terminology Sorcerer: Sorcerers are different from witches and God Priests in that they practice magic purely as a science. They do not believe magic has to be intertwined with religion and mysticism, they believe it is a free energy that they can utilize following formulaic procedures. Sorcerers who achieve Elite status are given a lifetime supply of riches by the Royal Treasury to finance their work in exchange for swearing to obey the Crown if they are ever called upon. God Priests: Believers in the God Religion, that there is a supreme male power in charge of everything in the universe that created everything to please Himself, including the female sex. The God Religion is the only Religion in Incantia and they have a large, rabid following, although a good portion of Incantia are put off by their vehement speeches about God and his mastery of all things. Regular God Priests can perform minor miracles, such as healing sickness and reviving a stillborn child, but only the most powerful and talented Priests ascend to Most High Priest. All God Priests share the power to manipulate fire to some degree and they wear dragon amulets, as they believe dragons are God's favorite beasts. Witches: Not much is known about the vile witches, other than the fact that they curse anyone who dares enter Covenwood and that they are often seen in the company of wild animals, both magical and mundane in nature. Witches once summoned powerful demons as easily as a maid sweeps dirt outside, but that was all taken from them during the Demon Purge. Without demons, they were left vulnerable and it was much easier to drive them out of civilization. There must be young witches and adult witches, but they are always depicted as hunchbacked old hags in illustrations. Witchcraft is not considered as potent as sorcery, or the God Priest's powers, and the God Priests repeatedly call witches "powerless" and "weak"...and yet no one has been able to wipe them out, no matter how hard they try. Gameplay You, an Elite Sorcerer of Incantia, will choose four advanced spells or three advanced spells and a weapon for your character. (Yes, the weapon may be enchanted, but it may only possess ONE power. For instance, a bow that conjures its own arrows or a shield that deflects harmful spells.) You may add a spell and/or enchanted weapon at the end of each chapter, of which there will be only three. Visible effort is expected from each player in their writing: push yourself to flesh out your character, interact with others, collab post, and have fun. Excessively shorts posts will be called out in private messaging by the GM (myself). If you are feeling lazy or tired, do not write a crude, ugly, slapdash post or a three sentence blurb. Wait until you feel energized and give it a proper go. As GM, I will lead you through the story when necessary, but during action scenes or moments when crucial information is being given, I may or may not give you direction. It will be up to you to pay attention and try to anticipate events, as your character. At times, I will PM separate information to different players and it will be up to them how to utilize it. If you fail to follow a clue or take action when action is needed, terrible things may occur, some reversible and others not. Again, it is up to you and your critical thinking skills. I promise I won't trick you, but just be forewarned: some things in the story may not be preventable, but your reactions are always up to you. Choose wisely...and may the games begin. Character Template (Example) Given Name: Zulaika Harden. Other Names(optional): Superior Sorcerer, Stormstress, Terror of Incantia. Gender: Female. Appearance: Medium height, strong features, black curly mane, tan skin, usually seen wearing dark colors, leather gloves, and manly boots, fierce gray eyes, a beakish nose, hard-set mouth, and wide shoulders. Spell Repetoire: 1. Lightning Hands - Generating lightning from her hands. From there she can throw it as a spear or shape it in any way she wants, such as a lightning ball, a lightning shield, or a lightning cage. 2. Windcall - Call existing winds and make them do her bidding. If the wind is blowing strong, this spell is more powerful. If the wind is light, she can't do much other than blow out a candle or make a kite fly. 3. Storm Summons - Draw a storm from near or far. Other than changing the battle terrain, this spell also increases her lightning and wind spells by tenfold. 4. Chance - This spell has random, sometimes helpful, effects. It is a spell of Zulaika's own devising, cobbled together from God Priest prayers and old luck spells. She only uses it in times of great need, or if she's feeling dangerous. Short Bio: What? What? You wanna know my story?! Fuck off! I was raised by an abusive father, escaped him when I was fifteen, and built my own life in Roguetown, doing what I had to do to survive. From there I saved enough money to move to Capital City, where I could make a more honest living, and guess what? Some old kooky sorcerer took one look at me and told me I had powerful storm magic. Well, whoopedy fucking doo, didn't do me much good when my old Pa was beating me senseless every morning and night, did it? Anyway, I learned how to control my power, mastered it, then became a certified Elite Sorcerer. My powers became so renowned that King Silverfox...I mean, REDfox, hehehe....had no choice but to make me Superior Sorcerer. Now get outta my face, before I make some lightning and wreck your life, ya fucker!
Chapter One: Kill the Witch! It was midday. The sky was partially cloudy, casting alternating stripes of shadows and light across the land, and a slight breeze played through the branches. It was, by all means, a nice day. Zulaika Harden, the Superior Sorceress, breathed in the fresh, sweet air...and spit a glob of saliva on the cobbled street. She was not happy that she was stuck serving a mad king, no matter how good-looking he may be. She was not happy that she had to be up at this ungodly hour called 'noon' (she had been up late drinking fine whisky and reading spell texts, and now she had a massive migraine). And she was not happy that she had been ordered by Queen Siddiqui to meet the Elite Sorcerers at Capital City's platinum gates. Queen Siddiqui was a nice lady and all (devastatingly beautiful, actually - it was a real humbling experience to realize you'd never look at good as her), but this was cruel and unusual torture for Zulaika. She hated parading around in public; people always stared and pointed and whispered when she walked by. ("That's her, the Superior!" "Look, it's the Terror!" "Wow, it's Zulaika herself! And geez, she sure does look hungover!") Zulaika tried to ignore them as she stomped down Main Street, her dusty black cloak billowing behind her. She had her large hood pulled forward to shade her eyes from the harsh sun, but every loud sound made her head throb with pain. I'm never going to drink again, she lied to herself. Finally, she reached the Great Gates. There were already forty Lawmen there, twenty on each side, dressed in fancy blue and white finery. Their swords glinted and their gold badges shone. Chief Slade stood out from the throng: a tall, imperious individual in a sweeping white cape and a huge blue hat with an over-sized white ostrich feather sticking out of it. Could he be more of an ass? Zulaika thought grouchily. But even she had to admit he was handsome, in a rugged, stony kind of way. She wondered briefly if kissing him was like kissing a statue. "Superior Sorceress," Slade said as Zulaika approached. He looked down his nose at her in a disapproving way. He openly despised Zulaika. As if she gave two shits. "Chief Lawman," Zulaika replied, giving him a mocking bow. Bad idea. She almost tipped over from residual drunkiness and stumbled before regaining her posture. Slade scowled, disdain and disapproval rolling off him in waves. "Ehem," Zulaika said, brushing the front of her dark maroon shirt. "So. Why are the gates closed?" "We were waiting for you," Slade replied with barely concealed hatred. Zulaika gritted her teeth. She had had enough of his snobbery. "Oh, really? Well, I'm here now. Let me do the honors." Before he could react, she raised her hands and the huge gates were blasted open by a sudden gust-wind. Slade had to clutch his precious hat to keep it from flying off, but the feather flew straight up into the air. Several of the nearby Lawmen stumbled from the force of the wind and shot dirty looks at Zulaika. "There," Zulaika said, grinning evilly. Then she twitched her fingers and a helpful breeze carried Slade's ostrich feather to her. "This is yours, good sir," she said with fake cheeriness, holding it out. Chief Slade snatched it and set about sticking it back into his hat, grumbling under his breath about insolent females. Zulaika ignored him and took up her position opposite Chief Slade to wait for the Elite Sorcerers. Fuuuuck, my head hurts, she thought moodily. But soon she was distracted by a dark cloud passing over the sun, casting them all in shadow, and a cold chill made her shiver that had nothing to do with the weather. Zulaika whipped around and saw a horned shadow on the roof of a knickknack shop. The shadow had red eyes. But the next moment the sun came back, the shadow vanished, and Zulaika was left wondering if it was real or a figment of her whisky-soaked imagination.
Walker frowned as he finished up his work. He was sat in a small carriage, one side containing an oak desk and the other side holding the bench that he was resting on. Before him lay a series of scrawled out numbers, runes, and the occasional letter where the magic had a few variables. To him, the worst part of being a sorcerer was that he no longer saw it as an art, and instead the equivalent of accounting. It was a matter of balancing numbers here and there to ensure that things worked. It rendered the idea of magic somewhat boring. While he did not know all the answers, he, or someone else at least, would do, given enough time had passed. There was no mystery to it anymore, or at least not the sense that he was ripping away some grand curtain and was revelling some inner truth of the universe. Eventually, the carriage came to a stop, and he got out, grabbing all of his papers and shoving them into a satchel that hung over his shoulder, before putting the dark quill into his chest pocket of his coat, the feather sticking out from it and seeming to blend in with his dark grey coat. After a moment, he arrived at the gates, looking at them now they had just been opened, and giving a quick bow.
