A Brave New World

(We're just kinda going with this and seeing where it goes, basic info is that there's three factions set in a steampunk world called Vitiria. On this world there are three factions of humans who have dominated the planet; The Theists, The Analysts, and the Mystics. 

The Theists are a religious civilization who worship a pantheon of gods, they possess the ability to cast magic powered solely by their faith, and mainly focus on spells related to order and chaos, they are also restricted to Renaissance weaponry, the most advanced being the blackpowder musket. These zealots view the mystics as heretics (despite having changed the Mystic's religious pantheon to suit the needs of the Theists) and the Analysts as heathens who appear to be attempting to play god.

The Mystics are an occult and mysterious civilization who adopted a policy of seclusion in order to study their magical craft in safety. Mystics are unrestricted in the spells they may cast, but every spell exacts a cost upon the mystic, these costs can range from mana to life energy depending on the spell. They vehemently despise the Analysts who oppose one of their greatest philosophical tenets, due to their hatred they have utterly rejected modern technology, and as such cannot use weaponry outside of magical staves.

The Analysts are the most technologically advanced of the three factions. Their steam-based technological advances have shaped their society utterly. Through their new and powerful steam technology the analysts have created impressive weapons and scientific discoveries such as how to harness magical power in a machine. While the analysts are unrestricted in the technology they can use (but keep it at an industrial era level, it is a steampunk rp) they are utterly unable to use any kind of magic, with the exception of them using a crystal magically charged with an element in a weapon. Analysts view the mystics as ignorant and backwards tribal folk, while they see the theists as blind fools.

Profile:
Name: Andorath Incanta
Faction: Mystics
Age: 22
Sex: Male
Unique Attribute(One only): Blood Curse - The school of blood magic is forbidden to practice in Mystic society. However due to his parent's fascination with some of the darker forms of magic, he was forced by them at a young age to drink from a cursed spring, tainting his blood with corruption. The corruption increases his magical abilities making manipulating magic significantly easier, it also provides him with inherent skill and higher efficiency with Blood magic, that is, the blood requirements for certain spells is reduced.
Appearance: Andorath is an average sized male standing at about 5'11" with a lean body. He has relatively short brown hair and the beginnings of a beard on his face. He has brown eyes that flicker with occasional glints of crimson, like all mystics his eyes have a slight glow to them due to heavy use of magic. Running from the backs of his ears down to his clavicle is a red stripe on both sides, a mark from the blood curse. He wears a pair of black boots that cut off just below his knee, and loose black cloth pants. He also wears a dark brown overcoat with a purple lining and underside, collar up, buttoned up to cover his torso, with a single button undone at the neck. The base of the collar is adorned with a wreath of eagle feathers, and gold chains adorn the central area of his overcoat. Underneath his overcoat he wears a white undershirt with a small leather breastplate for added protection. He also wears a pair of white fingerless gloves covered in magical runes. His staff is bladed on the bottom end for close range defense, it has an ashwood shaft and upon it's tip is a topaz focusing crystal held in black by white and black metal that spirals around it.

--------
"Magic never comes without cost, Magic is never to be exploited, You, Mystic, must maintain your composure, lest your spell claim a part of you." Archmagus Fendralan bellowed as the assembly looked upon him and the man kneeling before him.
"Do you understand these words apprentice? Are you worthy of our cause?"
"As with all things in life, I understand that with magic there is always a price I must pay. I will never exploit the arcane arts, our understanding and respectful use of them is all that separate us from the tyrants and zealots. Finally, Archmagus, I will not allow myself to become one of the instabilitati, their greed and lust for power makes them unworthy of the use of magic." It was almost like clockwork, these words were spoken at every initiate's induction into the mystics, Andorath knew them all too well.
"Then Andorath Incanta, I hereby proclaim you a mystic, rise and accept the eagle's blessing, and wear it proudly my son."
The eagle was the symbol of the mystics, to them it represented knowledge and bravery. Andorath took the wreath of eagle feathers and placed it at the base of his collar so that it wrapped around his neck, as was customary.

After the reception Andorath walked out of the hall. The city of Epistola was beautiful, while the other factions thought the mystics a tribal people, Andorath begged to disagree. Epistola was hidden in the grand forest of Impadri, towering trees hid it's grand ivory spires,tipped with beautiful crystal. Stained glass was a favourite of the mystics, it was a form of art that they had always loved, and many of their buildings, if not topped with crystal, their buildings would have beautiful stained glass domes as roofs. The forest itself had also been influenced by the magic the Mystics had worked. Many of the leaves would glow a faint purple at night, and gold during the day. They weren't savages, or tribals, they were secretive and rightly so. The analysts had corrupted their magic arts with science, and the theists used a twisted form of divine magic that many thought was abhorrent.
It was night now, and Andorath ventured out into the forest, he always enjoyed walking through it, the trees were always so serene.

"I'm damn lucky... I didn't think they'd actually induct me. I was sure that the Archmagus was aware of the blood curse."
Andorath took out a small dagger he kept inside of his overcoat. It was similar to his staff in that the hilt featured the same white and black metal spiraling around the base of the knife. The blade itself was curved slightly, at the end of the hilt was a chain that on its end bore his family crest; An eagle wings spread in front of it almost in a 'U' shape with it's head pointing sideways, and behind it were two crossed blades, the guards of the blades featured either the sun or the moon.

He drew the blade across his thumb, letting blood flow onto his hand. He looked around and saw a rabbit scouring the land for food. Andorath's eyes darkened slightly, his eye's turning deep crimson. He smeared some of the blood on his other hand and spread his hands apart at shoulder length. Five globes of blood floated in the space between them.
"Kaz'nash ro gal! Impale him!"
Immediately the globes turned into needles and congealed, they flew at high speed at the rabbit, running the creature through. Andorath walked up to it, picking up his prey.
"Well, I'll drain the blood into vials and cook the meat. At least I have dinner for the night."

My character’s faction is Theist and I’m going to allow for creativity among others if they choose the same by deviating slightly, so I am not painting all Theists the same. She is from a small community of Theists on the coast of Vitiria. Since they are small and are slightly cut off from the larger group of Theists in the country, their practices and rituals are uniquely theirs.
 
Profile
Name: Alcina Valentine
Faction: Theist
Age: 23
Sex: Female
Unique Attribute: Her ability to speak with beasts. When she was an infant, Alcina was brought to her family’s temple to be initiated. When she was placed on the pedestal, the Council blessed her, and an extraordinary light burned throughout the room. It disappeared just as suddenly, and the babe seemed just fine, save for a soft, glowing ring around her irises. From that day forward, Alcina showed powerful connections with the animals around her. Over the years she has had familiars come and go, from frogs to cattle; her current furry friend is a proud stag by the name of Bandach.
Appearance: Standing at 5’7, Alcina is pale and slender. Her skin is soft and almost translucent; the spiderweb of veins on her wrist are clearly visible as bright blue and purple. Her limbs are thin, elegant, and seemingly breakable. As a child she was nicknamed Pearl for her delicacy and strange beauty. Her hair is long and platinum blonde, which she usually wears loose to flow around her waist. Her eyes are the hard colour of lime, along with the silvery ring around them. She normally wears a flowing gown, as she is a servant girl at a rich merchant’s home.
Personality: Alcina is generally a very soft woman. She is kind and gives all the benefit of the doubt. Being a very spiritual person, she believes that treating people with goodness is the best way for her to live. Alcina is not judgemental of others, and many come to her looking for advice. She is not, however, a pushover; everyone in town knows she has the potential for great magical power to go with her strong faith, and so she has a highly revered status. Not to mention the mysterious incident in her infanthood that stunned the community and the strong deer that accompanies her. She has turned men away with a harsh word and even a firm hand.
History: Having grown up in a small town, Alcina has been surrounded by a loving community. She is a highly valued member of the temple; she sings for gods and sometimes preaches to the people about what it means to be a Theist. She chose to be a servant girl when she was 19 to occupy herself and learn new skills among the other servants.
 
 
-
 
Alcina’s glass heels clacked against the wooden floor of the merchant she served. The sound echoed down the hallways, but it was drowned out by the loud noises of music and laughter. The merchant’s house was a place for joy, which drew her to work for him in the first place. She remembered the day she asked for a position in his home; he had stuttered in shock for quite a while, talking about wages and how honoured he felt. She had found it a little amusing, for everyone around her seemed to think she was a princess even though she thought of herself as their equal.
 
A tray in hand, the young woman walked through an archway that led to the garden. It was evening, and torches were lit everywhere. Many of the merchant’s wealthy friends sat in chairs and on couches out here.
 
“May I offer you more refreshments?” Alcina asked gently to a woman in an armchair. Her makeup was a little smeared from the boisterous night.
 
She took one look at the tray of spirits and scoffed. “Oh goodness no, dear. Thank you, but I don’t think I can have any more.”
 
Alcina smiled kindly and nodded. “Please let the girls know if you change your mind.” The girls referred to any number of the other women that worked in the house.
 
“Alcina, dear,” called the merchant, Master Toll, from across the patio. She walked over and bent down to hear him. “Darling, you have been here since dawn. No protests,” he said as she opened her mouth to do just that. “Go home and rest. You are too good to me.”
 
Alcina shrugged at him and smirked. “As you wish.”
 
------------------ 

Bandach found her walking in the road to her parents’ home. The stag emanated pride and regality with every move. His antlers had twelve tines, a rare sight for deer in their prime. Alcina thought he was beautiful. When he came to her in the moonlight, Alcina placed her hand on his flank. She felt his warmth, but more than that, his feelings.
 
“I know I was gone very long today,” she told him. “I like working. Today was a big day for Master Toll.”
 
Bandach did not understand human customs and celebrations, and didn’t care. He huffed.
 
They were silent for a few minutes. They were a graceful pair; Alcina wore a long, white gown and silver cloak, which flowed with her steps like water. She closed her eyes for a moment and let Bandach guide her.
 
“Aisha said that I am getting old.”
 
“Everyone is getting old all the time.” Bandach’s voice was deep; though he didn’t speak as she could, his voice traveled out of him in vibrations in the air, which reverberated through her chest.
 
“Aren’t you wise?” she laughed. Her smile faded, though. “She thinks I should get married.”
 
Bandach still didn’t really understand the concept of marriage, so he didn’t reply. Neither of them spoke on their journey home. Alcina kissed his nose goodnight before heading inside. He stayed outside beneath the maple tree in their backyard.
 
Alcina thought about love as she lay in bed. Romantic love concerned and confused her. She loved her mother and father, and Bandach, and her friends of the temple. But nothing matched the calibre of the stories and fables of two people longing for each other for eternity.
 
She shuddered and rolled over. She was okay with being unwed. A simple life suited her very well.

Andorath strode through the forest and back into Epistola. He approached his home, it was one of the spired buildings of the city. With his free hand he dispelled the wards that kept his door locked, and opened up the ivory door of his home. He directly went into his basement, using a rope he bound the rabbit's feet, and tied the other end of the rope to a hook. He took his knife out, and created a deep incision at the base of the rabbit's neck. The rabbit's blood flowed out of it's body, dripping, and pooling into a basin below it.
As the blood pooled, he cut his palm and let several drops of his own blood mix with that of the rabbit's. This was a basic principle of blood magic; a blood mage can use the blood of another, but in doing so they will be very limited in their ability, especially when using the blood of another species. However, Andorath had found a way to circumvent this, by mixing his blood in with another's, it allowed him to use the blood as if it was his own.

After the rabbit's body had been drained of its fluids, Andorath poured the collected blood into vials marked with the same sigil, capping each one with an onyx stopper, and just as he placed the cap on the last vial, he heard someone pounding on his door.

"Negatori! Open up!"

Andorath's heart dropped. The Negatori were a small cadre of magi who specialized specifically in magic that negates other magic. Upon their induction they were taught specifically how to negate the forbidden arts, and for Andorath, that meant that if this force was skilled at all, he was without ability to resist them.

He grabbed two vials and walked up the stairs to the main level, and placed each of the vials on the floor, near the door. It seemed futile, but maybe he had a chance.
Dreading his fate, he opened the door to see three figures; two male and one female, all adorned in the white and black robes of the Negatori. The female spoke up.

"Mr. Incanta, I am Corporal Julia Azzittire. A citizen observed you earlier in the forest, and reported to us that you were practicing blood magic."

"I assure you Ms. Azzittire, I have no such knowledge in the forbidden arts."

"Then you won't mind if we take a look around your home? You're a good citizen, I trust that you won't prove us wrong."

He wasn't given a chance to respond, and he needed to act, if they found his tome or the vials down stairs he would be executed on the spot.

"Lavian, Ostro. Place the wards. I would like to protect Mr. Incanta's privacy while we search."

Wards... his parents always told him something about the wards Negatori placed. Magic negating wards were a favourite, but those were always placed well before they even acted against their target, they were more of a trap, and wouldn't be woven right in front of him. 

A beam of grey light shot past his face, barely missing him. He turned his head towards where he believed the spell originated from. Julia stood there, stave drawn, and her eyes intent on killing.

"Andorath Incanta, you are hereby sentenced to death for the dark practice of blood magic. Do not resist and-"

"And what? Ms. Azzittire, you'll make my death swift? I'll not let you stop me from practicing magic liberally."

That's what the wards were for, they intended to kill him and not have other citizens notice what was happening. They hunted him because of the blood curse, which meant they were prepared to deal with blood magic, but not regular magic, maybe he could catch them off guard. He extended his arms outwards, his left pointed at the men at the door, and his right at Julia.

"If you came for blood magic, then that's exactly what I'll give you. Now, fall into darkness!"

Shadowy shot forth from Andorath's hands, wrapping themselves around the eyes of the Negatori, effectively blinding them. It wouldn't give him too much time, but possibly enough to get a few things and flee.

He ran up the stairs into his bedroom, the stained glass windows looked beautiful as the moonlight shone through them, it was a pity this would be the last time he would see them. He grabbed two books from his shelf; The Ars Maleficari, and The Arcorium, his personal spellbook.

"There's no where to run blood mage, accept your fate!"

He ran towards the window, and jumped, shattering the glass as he broke through. There was always somewhere to run to, he could teleport, as to where he did not know. As he began to teleport the words of the archmagus echoed in his mind.

"Always have an idea as to where you wish to end up when teleporting. Otherwise you may end up in a different region, dimension, or planet other than our own."

Andorath thought of Vitiria. As long as he thought of this planet, he would remain here, but teleport to a different place. Space bent around him, and the spires of Epistola vanished, and a sandy beach appeared. Andorath looked around at his new coastal surroundings, he saw mostly just the sea, but far in the distance he saw a small town. He could not tell what the affiliation of the town was from where he was standing, but regardless it was his best hope for food and shelter. He conjured a grey hooded cloak and put it on over top of his regular clothing, and moved to investigate the city in the distance.

Profile:
Name: Farcical Flint ("Flint, Just Flint. Farcical is an absurd name that I only allow friends and my Mother to get away with calling me by.")

Faction: Analyst

Age: 28

Gender: Male

Unique Attribute(One only): Locomotion Augmentation Contrivances ("Or LAC technology for short, due to complaints which I find hardly reasonable, of the technology's self-explanatory name being too long... Dimwits.") - Flint covets his unique technology, like all clever analysts. He keeps his blueprints in the depths of his ridiculous mind. A skill that borderlines compulsion, is Flint's knowledge how to improve the impractical to preform the impossible.
A diminutive sized power source, along with a movement mechanism, are attached with an item. The best application of a "Locomotion Augmentation Contrivance" device are Flint's gloves and platemail. The breastplate worn is a well insulated boiler with smoke stacks and vents along the back and shoulders. Power from the chest flows passively to fuel the pistons along his joints. Covering Flint's heavy leather welding gloves are metal levers, pulleys, and wires. As the glove moves and his legs bend, the system moves in tandem, giving every gesture an unyielding grip and force.
Flint has so far found that LAC tech, while making his nigh-atomatonic power armor that grants extraordinary level of dexterity and strength, comes at a cost. "Damn thing needs to be constantly maintained and fueled. When it IS on and fueled, a handful of misfires have happened in the past. Snagged belts have stopped me in the middle of work. Once I accidentally welded the fasteners on the armor shut... Took weeks to break out of..."

Appearance: Strong arms. Blue eyes. Light Brown unkempt hair kept at a short length. Wide smile.
Flint prefers to work in formal attire, minus the hat and coat, of black silk waist coats, bright blue bow ties, brown trousers, and square-toed boots.
In his LAC attire, Flint stands at 6'2" in what once could have been a knight's iron armor. The noteworthy differences are his addition of small smoke stacks on the back of each shoulder, reaching off behind him. Across the chest is the grill for a water boiler, with cherry red light burning bright from inside. Thicker than they ought to be are the legs, arms, hands, and feet. Their proportionate sizes are twice as large as the wearer's, enlarged from wiring gears, pulleys, and steam vents running behind plates of metal.

Picture: (I plan on sketching a better image from this. The only real difference is the size of the hands and feet are slightly larger and with more steam punk between the plates)
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

He had gotten much closer to the town's gates since he teleported here. It was near midnight, and unfortunately, that meant he'd have to wait until dawn if he wanted to properly hide himself here. He stopped a reasonable distance from the gates, he could see the light of a flame flickering in the distance. There were likely guards on watch.

He wouldn't be able to use his magic against them, that would make it horribly obvious that he wasn't from there and just land him in a worse situation he was already in. He'd have to try and convince them he was from some other Theist city, which really wasn't ideal.

"You don't look like you come from Intareth,"

The female voice made him drop into a ready stance, he would look at her face and either attack or flee. She was probably one of the city's guards, or worse, she was one of the Negatori and they had already managed to find him. Turning his head he saw a woman, draped in a silver cloak, not one of the Negatori...

"My name is Alcina. You don't look like you know where you're going, so I was wondering if you needed any help."

And she definitely wasn't a guard. In the moonlight he could barely see her face, but he did make out a slight change in her facial expression... a smile perhaps? He dropped his stance, and stood upright, it was a gamble, but he needed help the Negatori would be on his trail very soon, and the sooner he could vanish the better.

He gave a small sigh, and his cloak began to come apart, pieces of it flying off into the breeze, like ash from a fire.

"Some help would be appreciated. I am Andorath, a Mystic."

He walked up to Alcina, it wouldn't be fair to her if she didn't know what helping him could do, he had to let her know, whether he really wanted to or not.

"That is, I am a Mystic currently being hunted by what your people might call Mage Hunters. Among the Mystics certain arts are forbidden and punishable by death. Alcina, I'm telling you this because if you do truly wish to help me, then you should know what you're up against."

It was a bit relieving to tell even a synopsis of his story to another human. Though she might not understand the Mystics choice in making certain forms of magic forbidden. It was well known that all mystics believed that magic was a force to be respected, and that there was no school of magic a mystic couldn't tap into, for a price. Neglect of certain schools is really akin to ignoring a child or another person, on a very simple level it wasn't respectful. She was a Theist though, so she did understand respect for forces that you cannot necessarily see. However, that begged a new question.

"Before you decide, I must ask.. why would a Theist wish to help a stranger, let alone someone who is not one of their own."

-------------------------------------------------------------

Epistola, Captial City of the Mystic Faction
(Estra Calavarro, Head Dogmatra of the Negatori)

"Lady Calavarro, we are sorry to report that the blood mage, Andorath has escaped, we've mobilized several contingents to scour the forest, as well as other areas in Vitiria."

A smile crept across the Estra's face. She was young, and relished the chase that so many practitioners of the forbidden arts gave her. She ran her hand through her straight, silver hair, it fell back into place immediately after her hand reached her side again. Her hair was shoulder length and pushed back behind her ears, save for a single black lock that made the middle of her face its resting place. 

She stood up from the chair in her office.

"As always Julia, you do not disappoint, but, please do recall three of the contingents. There are those in our midst, who like Andorath, seek only to exploit magic and cause harm. We will need some of our forces here to deal with the immediate threat"

The smile on her face turned into a crooked sneer.

"You are dismissed Julia, go with a contingent of Negatori and search the city... I need to have words with the Archmagus..."

"Trust me or those guards over there to save you from the Mage Hunters, Andorath. It's your choice."

He could hear the noise of hooves striking the ground getting closer. She had a point, the Theists would likely capture, interrogate, and kill him. It was best if he went with her, he started running towards her when out of the corner of his eye he saw the sky... twisting.

He stopped dead in his tracks as an area in the sky twisted and bent, someone was teleporting here. He scanned the ground, there were three daisies on the ground near him. He picked the flowers and held them outwards in front of him in his hand.

He took a deep breath and released his grip on the flowers, and the flowers floated in place.

"Time, ease our passage across the planes of Vitiria. Release your shackles on Alcina and I, now!"

The flowers wilted, decayed, and turned to dust. Andorath felt the flow of time around him become much less dense around him. He ran towards Alcina, at a much faster speed than he was normally capable of. When he was beside her he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I've reduced the density of the passage of time around us, we can move faster for a little while. If you get a feeling of lightness, that's why. We must hurry to your home, someone is teleporting here and it is no longer safe."

"... Let's start from the beginning."

She did deserve to know.Whether she knew about the forbidden arts was another question all together, Theists could only work magic through faith in their gods, if you took away their faith, you took away their magic.

"Right... My name is Andorath Incanta, I was briefly fully inducted as a mystic. Those Mage Hunters that are tracking me, are known to my people as Negatori, they specialize in not just neutralizing magic, but denying it all together. They exist within our society to track down those who practice the forbidden forms of magic. Chronomancy and Blood Magic are two of a few forbidden forms, reason being that they come with a heavy cost or that their abuse could have irreparable ramifications.

What I did back there was Chronomancy, it is a forbidden practice because without a sacrifice, it will cause the user to age rapidly. However, Chronomancy didn't earn me the attention of the Negatori. The night of my induction another Mystic observed me using Blood Magic.""

Andorath was hesitant to tell her more, but trusting her was his only option right now, and the more she knew about the situation the better.

"Blood Magic is a forbidden art for two reasons. One, it uses blood, usually the caster's, as a power source instead of mana. Two, Blood Magic tends to corrupt the mage who uses it... unless you're like me.

My parents were always obsessed with dark magics, and when I was young they forced me to drink from a spring that had been corrupted specifically by blood magic. I'm innately corrupted, but the corruption has never grown in strength, rather it has only helped me. Well, helped me in terms of my magical abilities, but my blood curse is also the reason why I've always had a talent for blood magic. I don't think the Negatori know about it, but it would just give them another reason to hunt me.

Anyway, the night that other Mystic saw me I imagine that he reported to the Negatori immediately. The came to my house to 'talk' with me, but they laid wards around my home so that no one in the city would hear me being killed. I managed to escape with my more important books using a bit of shadow magic, and then teleporting away. I didn't have a specific destination in mind except that I needed to be somewhere on Vitiria, how I ended up near your town was completely by chance.

If there's anything else you need to know Alcina, please... ask."

(OOC: hey guys, just saw this! I'll be posting my intro and what not soon!)
(OOC: You get good karma and love and cookies for this ~IJ)

(OOC: sorry about the double post!)


Name: Darien Tyrell
Faction: Theists
Age: 21
Sex: Male
Unique Attribute(One only): Soulbrand. Darien is able to communicate with the spirit world, which runs parallel to the physical world and is where the Gods, among all other "mythical creatures" reside. While doing this, Darien becomes very resistant to enemy, and allied, spells, and sometimes becomes transparent enough for spells to fly right through him without any impact. His attacks also become spirit-like, going right through enemy armor. He can also exit from the spirit world in a magical blast of energy, which dispels all magic effects in his immediate area. 
Appearance: Darien is an athletic male, rising above some at the height of 6'2". He has shoulder length blonde hair that sits carelessly on his head, and he has a consistent stubble on his face. He has deep blue eyes which contrast his fair skin. He wears a pair of dark black leather boots that rise midway up his calf, and wears matching leather trousers. His torso is covered in well-fitting chainmail, which in itself is covered by a dark green overcoat. On his wrists, he wears black vambraces inlined with diamonds and sapphires, which he stores extra energy in for times of need. He wears black leather gloves that have steel studs in the knuckles for melee combat. He wields a bastard sword and a whip that can sever the magic flow of a magic user in combat, both of which he uses to excellent skill. As a last resort, he has two one-shot flintlock pistols holstered at his hips.
Personality: Darien used to have a black and white view of the world; you were either with the Theists or against them. When he was inducted into the Oathkeeper Paladins, men and women who were seen as blessed by Helion, the Sun God, to fight against all magic deemed evil and too dangerous to let survive, all that changed. Having hunted down hundreds of Mystics over the last five years, Gideon has started to wonder whether or not his leaders in the Paladins were over zealous and wrong in their quest to destroy evil magic users. He has grown somewhat hesitant because of this, and is often seen to be in deep thought. A loyal man, and as trustworthy as they come, Darien prides himself on his straightforwardness, and he often lets his honesty get the better of him.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


"Darien, we have an urgent mission for you." 


Darien rose from his knees, finishing his morning prayer to Helion. The prayer had almost become a habit more than an act of belief at this point. Darien knew that if his faith in the Paladins kept faltering, they would find out and exile him. But he kept praying every morning, hoping that it would rekindle his faith. In recent months, it was all that kept him from abandoning his position.


"Yes, Lord Eiganjo. What is it?" he asked.
"The Mystics are up to something, our sources have a strong feeling about it. They believe an attack on one of our Theist towns near the coast is inevitable, and we need one of our best there to stop it. We need you to head there and be prepared for anything." Lord Eiganjo, an insufferable old bull of a man, said.
"Do you really think I'm prepared for a mission so soon?"
"Darien, Elsa... she was a phenomenal Paladin. But she got herself killed. You couldn't have saved her. We need you, and we can't have you mulling over that. Are you up to the task?"
"...Yes, when do I begin?"
"Now."


A bright light started shining around Darien. He knew this sensation before. It was the flash Teleport spell Eiganjo knew, which he would use to teleport himself or others to far off distances. The light kept getting brighter, almost blinding, until Darien was gone in a flash.


When the light faded, Darien found himself within a mile of a small town near sandy beaches. It was an hour or so past midnight. Eiganjo never had a sense of timing for missions, and Darien was hindered by that once again. He set off for the town, cautious not to make a disturbance. He saw a deer bolt past him, and he could've sworn it was carrying a note with it.


He continued on, sensing a strong presence of magic in the area. He had to be careful.

The jute traveling cloak itched. Every few paces through the forest, the hood would droop into Flint's face. Blasted thing...

Flint would rather take it off. As his companion and him continued their sojourn, Flint was forced to cover himself from head to toe. The steam jets coursing through is armor underneath were warm enough, despite his best efforts to insulate against the heat. Wearing the burlap sack of a robe wasn't for the warmth. It was the only cover that could conceal the steam powered armor he stubbornly refused to remove.

The two posed as travelers had covered quite the distance. Despite taking the lengthy forest route, they had reached the outskirts of a town. Most likely, a Theist settlement.
"We could have reached town before nightfall if you took off your contraption."
"I would feel naked without the defense," Flint replied, "and besides, we've survived. Didn't we?"

Darien kept walking towards the town, it now being an hour or so after his teleportation arrival. It was a slow walk, with most of his energy spent shielding his face from the harsh wind flying at him. That deer was a strange sighting to say the least. He knew these parts fairly well, as all Oathkeeper Paladins knew Theist Territory like the back of their hand. And he knew that deer like that seldom ventured this far near the coast. It was more likely domesticated. And if that was the case, then he knew it was carrying a letter, and it wasn't his imagination fooling him.

'A deer carrying a letter this late in the evening can mean nothing good. Blast! I wish I had seen where it had come from exactly!' Darien thought to himself. He began to regret not catching it.

The regret went away quickly, as he saw the same deer come bolting back from the direction it ran off in! Leaving no time for decision making, Darien took off in pursuit. On and on he pursued the beast, until it came upon a cottage on the outskirts of the town. Darien kept to the shadows, watching what might happen next. The deer seemed to wait patiently by the door, and Darien could have sworn he saw it lightly knock on the door with a hoof. The door opened, and a young woman's face appeared and smiled at the deer, hugging it. She looked around, almost scanning the wilderness for something. For a brief second he thought he made eye contact with the girl, but that was most likely his paranoia. 

When the door closed and the deer nowhere to be seen (possibly inside, he knew not), Darien crept closer to the house. If such suspicious activity were happening on the outside of the cottage, he knew something far greater might be lying inside. And if he were a true defender of the Theists, and an ambassador for Helion, he knew he had to find out what it was. Pulling out his whip in case a magic user were to attack him, Darien began creeping towards the cottage, being careful to be as quiet as possible.

"Agreed, staying in one place for too long will end poorly for the both of us. Grab everything you need, we'll leave shortly."

Andorath opened up the Arcorium to pages filled with summoning circles, while the creature he was going to bring forth may not kill the Negatori, it would certainly slow them down a bit. He looked around the shop for a drawing utensil, anything would work, but Andorath preferred chalk, it was easier to see. He eventually found a small piece of charcoal near a large drafting table, he took the piece in his hand and began to draw the summoning circle on the ground. Once he had finished he stuck his finger into his overcoat, moving it against the edge of his knife to draw some blood. Using the blood he drew a small sigil in the center of the circle. 

"I call you forth from the great planes, Ghiaccia!"

The temperature in the workshop dropped quickly as a being formed out of chunks of ice assembled itself in front of Andorath. However, the ice wasn't colourless like normal, instead it was a deep crimson colour, this colour was the mark of blood magic.

"Alcina, this golem will help to slow down my pursuers, but it won't be able to do so for long. I'm ready to leave when you are."

"Blasted luck!" Darien knew this was his one chance to get any information that might help him stop this magic threat, and he couldn't let this girl run off without asking her first. He began to sprint towards the girl. "Wait! I'm not going to hurt you! I'm an Oathkeeper Paladin! I just need to ask you some questions! The fate of the Theists could depend on it!"

The girl turned her head towards him, and Darien felt a brief moment of hesitation on the girl's end, but she turned and kept running. Muttering curses under his breath, Darien kept chasing after her. He could not let her get away, she knew something. But what?

The answer did not wait long to show itself. A huge, lumbering Golem, crimson like blood, came crashing out of nowhere and started charging right at him.

"Helion give me strength!" Darien cried in a brief moment of panic. Without a battle partner, he had no extra abilities to use in this fight. It was just him... and the golem. He had never fought without a partner before, Elsa was always right by his side. With that thought, Darien hesitated with uncertainty, which gave the golem enough time to swing his arm back for an attack. Coming back to his senses, Darien was only quick enough to grab his sword and put it between the golem's arm and him. It didn't help too much.

The golem sent him flying with the blow. Darien managed to pull himself up quickly, and prepared for the next move. He pulled out his whip, snapped it at the golem's leg, and pulled its leg out from under it, sending it to the ground. Instead of going for the kill, Darien went for a different approach.

"Whoever sent this creature after me, I am not your enemy! I do not wish to fight, only to ask questions so I can protect my people! I mean no ill will, unless you mean death to the Theists! I parlay!" Darien shouted to no one in particular. He set sword and whip on the ground as a motion of good faith for whoever might be looking, making sure to keep his flintlocks hidden behind his back, however. His arms spread wide, he watched the golem get up, and start walking towards him. 

'Oh, Helion, please let this work." Darien thought, hoping someone, or something, would stop this thing.

Name: Eliena Farneth
Faction: Analysts
Age: 21
Sex: Female
Unique Attribute(One only): Eliena was born to a pair of Analysts who sought to augment the natural characteristics of the human body.  At a young at she was found to be gifted with unnaturally high agility (if you've ever seen freerunners in action she is like that).  Naturally her parents took advantage of this ability by experimenting with different movement systems.  As she grew older Elleena began to experiment with her own augmentations.  It was then that she came up with GUMS, the Gas Using Maneuver System.  This system was designed to take her natural agility and boost it so that she could jump higher, move faster and preform acrobatics that would normally expend lots of energy easily.  This system relies on shooting concentrated bursts of methane gas through pieces on her fingers, calves and feet.  It was during a test of this system, past the boundaries of her city, that she came across a Mystic about to be killed by a beast of some kind.  As a test run she used the GUMS to move swiftly around the beast and beat it off with her physical strength.  The Mystic, while grateful that their life was spared, did not want to be in the debt of an Analyst and so gave Eliena three special crystals infused with a spell that would allow them to convert any carbon-based item they were placed on into methane gas.  This would allow her to refuel when not in an Analyst city.  The downside was that they would have to be recharged after each use by a Mystic.  
Appearance: Eliena is lean and muscular, standing at about 5'7''.  She has eternally messy light brown shoulder length hair and hazel coloured eyes.  (As a result of all the freerunning agility that she did among other things her frame became fairly lean and muscular making her a bit of an outcast amongst the female Analysts of her city.  When it was discovered that she had saved the life of a Mystic she was outcasted even more.  She also like to be physical and fight))  The GUMS: the system begins with two 4L titanium cylinders strapped to her back through the use of a harness that crosses her chest and waist.  Coming out of the tops of each cylinder is a large pipe that splits into two smaller pipes.  One set of pipes goes over her shoulders and down her arm before splitting at the wrist into a set of five pipes shaped like the bones in the human hand.  At the tips of each "finger" pipe is a cover, that sits over her finger nail. On the underside of the finger there is hole so that gas can flow out when released, ; the index finger cover hides the release valve that blocks the gas from flowing down the pipe.  

The second set of pipes travel down her back occasionally connected by a flexible aluminum joints at the knees, hips, and midway down her side. Although these joints are flexible, they aren't very strong and need to be replaced occasionally.  The pipe runs down into special steel toed boots made for her system.  Under the soles of the  boots are pipes that run from the central entry pipe to small holes placed along the bottom of the boot.  The trigger for this system is a gear that sticks out the inner side of each boot.  The gear is connected to a flap inside the pipe that runs along her leg; when closed this flap prevents any gas from leaking and when open gives her an extra boost from her feet when she jumps.


For her clothing, a puffy sleeved and patchy white shirt covers the pipes running down her arms, and down her back, up to just before her wrists.  Over this shirt is a leather chest piece for armour, which the leather harness sits over.  Her gas canisters rest overtop of her upper clothing.  Eliena wears fairly loose fitting pants, also patchy from wear and tear, that cover the leg pipes.  Her boots, leather, come up to mid calf and are done up with laces; the small pressure gears stick out the side.  On her left shoulder is a strange metal contraption made up of three pieces of metal and an extendable pipe that connects to the left tank.  On her head she has a pair of goggles with polarized lenses made out of metal with a leather strap.  The last article of clothing is a belt that has a small pouch for her three magic crystals and a larger pouch containing tools for repairing the GUMS.  When travelling she wears a brown cloak to cover up the tanks on her back, and to hide that she is an Analyst from Mystics or Theists.



EDIT:  Added a picture of her hand (cuz I find it a bit confusing from the description)
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Andorath heard Alcina's screams, and instantly darted towards the door. Throwing the door open he saw Alcina sprinting towards the workshop, and a figure about to suffer at Ghaccia's hands. Whoever this strange figure was it would be better to let him die, one less person who knew about him meant one less possible person hunting him. Andorath's head began throbbing, robbing him of his focus on the situation. A sinister voice echoed in his mind;

"That's right, it would be one less person tracking you. Just let him die, he's of more use to you that way. You could drain his blood and reanimate his body. Less scars on you, fuel for your rituals, and a mindless slave to protect you. In fact, why not do that to the girl as well, after all, she's really just a liability."

No, she wasn't a liability, she helped him. More importantly she wasn't a tool, regardless of faction she was still a human like him. He couldn't do that to Alcina.

"Whoever sent this creature after me, I am not your enemy! I do not wish to fight, only to ask questions, so I can protect my people! I mean no ill will, unless you mean death to the Theists! I parlay!"

The figure wasn't a threat. Or was he? There was a whip and blade on the ground near him, Andorath could only guess that they belonged to this stranger. Regardless, he was now unarmed.

"Kill him."

He didn't deserve death, everything he had said sounded honest, and killing someone who's unarmed was simply wretched. 

"KILL HIM."

"No... Blood curse or not, I deserve to live free, and this stranger does not deserve death. I won't have my curse dictate my actions," He held his arm out in front of him, palm open and faced the Ice Golem, "return to your frozen homelands. Ghiaccia, I release you from your bonds!"

Just as the crimson coloured golem was about to strike the stranger it stopped moving. Loud, audible cracking noises echoed as the ice began to fracture, large chunks broke off and fell to the ground. As each piece struck the ground it burst into a small flurry of snow.

Before Andorath could walk over to the man, Alcina was at his side panting after sprinting. He placed a hand on her shoulder, hoping that it would provide some measure of comfort, if minimal.

"Alcina, I think we should talk to this person and... if they're lying... I'm sure we'd prove to be more than a match for them."

Truthfully, Andorath didn't know the strength of the stranger, but given the events of the night, it was a lot for any one person to deal with. He could only hope that Alcina was coping better than others were. He began walking towards the stranger, hoping Alcina would follow.

Andorath yelled to the stranger, "I know not who you are, but I seek only my freedom and not harm to the Theists! I am Andorath Incanta formerly of the Mystics, but I am now hunted by my own kind. Ask your questions and I will answer!"

Darien let out a huge sigh of relief when he heard the command for the golem to stop. He had no idea if his tactic would result in success or death, and he was quite relieved when it turned out to be the former. He saw the figure who cast the golem away, and he heard the man shout back at him.

"I know not who you are, but I seek only my freedom and not harm to the Theists! I am Andorath Incanta formerly of the Mystics, but I am now hunted by my own kind. Ask your questions and I will answer!"

Keeping his hands spread to keep the good faith of him meaning no harm, he continued.

"I was sent here by my Commander to stop a Mystic threat against the Theists before it could get out of hand. If you're no longer with the mystics, then I am sure you would like to hunt some of your hunters! If you help me protect my people, you have my sword, and friendship, to use against those trying to kill you. Do you know of any mystic movements in the area, aside from your own?"

Eliena scowled as she walked slowly behind Flint.  His refusal to take his armour off bothered her so much because they had to move at a much slower pace.  She was made for running and jumping, flips and twirls, not this slow, plodding pace that put a turtle's movement to shame!  It was finally as darkness fell that they reached the outer edge of a town. Finally! She thought.

"We could have reached town before nightfall if you took off your contraption."  Eliena remarked somewhat sourly.
"I would feel naked without the defense," Flint replied, "and besides, we've survived. Didn't we?"

"Barely.." she said sarcastically, although she could sympathize with him.  After living most of her life with some kind of device on she always felt bare when she had to remove her GUMS to do some maintenance work.  "It looks like we'll have to wait till morning to go in.   We don't know if they are Theists or Mystics yet."  
Eliena bent down to adjust a gear on her the insides of her boots.  The slight hiss of gas always brought a small smile to her face.  She placed her index fingers into their covers before bending down.  A quick expulsion of gas from her feet aided a jump up the side of a tree where she used her momentum to grab onto the bark with one hand and spin herself until she was vertical facing down.  Another burst of gas, this time from her fingers helped her get to the branch right above her.
"I'll sleep up here tonight!"  She called down to Flint;  below she could hear him grumbling as he settled in for the night.  The last thing she heard as her eyes closed and she drifted to sleep was the groan of metal as he turned over.

"It might be too late for that." Darien said.

The skies were warping, changing as if the very grip of reality were bending to something's will. That's because that's exactly what was happening. They were not going to be alone for much longer.

"These mystics that are coming after you, they're not who I think is coming are they?"

"If you're thinking of the Negatori, that's exactly who's coming." Andorath answered grimly.

"I've only had the pleasure of fighting this kind of Mystic once before, but it came at a cost..." Darien said. The wound was still too fresh. "We're not going to outrun them at this pace."

He looked at the girl, who was still sitting on the deer. She had no idea what was about to come.

"You. Hide. NOW." Darien said. He turned to Andorath. "I need you to trust me on this. Hold still."

"Wha-" Andorath began. 

Before he could finish his question, Darien grabbed Andorath's shoulder. His eyes began to glow a bright white, and he felt a surge of power being thrown into his, and Andorath's, body. Lasting only a moment, the bonding was complete. Just in time too, as he saw the final stages of a teleportation begin to show itself near their location. They had run out of time.

"Wha-What the HELL did you do to me!?" Andorath managed to say.

"Just get ready to cast a spell, Mystic. And don't get killed."